HONOR HARRINGTON
Genre Conversion Rules
Movement:
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Scale: 1 MU = 16,000 KM, but the scale between energy weapons (240,000 KM) &
missiles (2,304,000 KM) is a bit screwy at times for playability reasons.
Timescale is about normal FT (15 minutes/turn) in tactical mode.
The ships are ~40% larger than FT normal, and use weak hulls as standard. This is so I
could fit in appropriate missile & energy armament using a ~2:1 scale (some energy
mounts are abstracted into 6 arc mounts).
The strategic scale is ~10:1 against the 'normal' tactical scale.
11/7/01: Missile rules have been redone to reduce "vector fatigue" which showed up amongst some players in the last game and also reduce countermissile bookkeeping for the GM. Added proper rules for missile pods.
04/09/01: Added new sensor/ecm rules, still need playtesting though.
Safe Speeds: Once you reach weapon range, the only importance factor is the
relative speed between the combatants. For campaign games, strategic speed is 24 MU for
military ships & 18 MU for civilian vessels & Q-Ships.
There is no maximum speed in tactical mode, but travelling faster than 24-30 is not
recommended due to the difficulty in changing your overall vector.
Once ships in strategic mode reach ~10 MU, redeploy the fleets in tactical mode at the
edge of their missile envelope (80 + combined closing speed) with appropriate speed &
heading from the strategic result. (ie: 2 ships head on at max velocity (24) would
be deployed at 128 MU, but if they were moving parallel, the closing speed would be 0, so
they could deploy 80 MU apart.)
Movement: With the release of FTFB2, the new vector system is in use. Each ship has a thrust pool equal to it's MD which is used for rotations (any number), pushes (max: 1 thrust), rolling ship & main drive thrust. Only 1/2 the thrust is available for non-MD movement.
Exceeding safe thrust: Ships normally use 80% thrust ratings to avoid overloading their acceleration compensators; ships can gain an extra +1 MD thrust by exceeding this, but need to roll 3d6. On a total of 3, the acceleration compensator has failed, turning the crew into raspberry & strawberry jam; effectively destroying the ship.
Sidewalls: As an option, when marking sidewalls on the SSD, 2 separate sets are marked on. 1 for the Port Sidewall & 1 for the Starboard Sidewall, so they need to be kept separate. (This is to increase the tactical possibilities & increase the chance of dropping a screen somewhere on the ship.)
Rolling Wedge: Ships that roll wedge to avoid fire cannot fire any weapons themselves except for AMS & PDS. Incoming missile fire is covered in the missile rules.
Against energy weapons, the ship is considered to have screen-3 (roll of 6 = 1 pt + reroll) & Grazers (Pulsetorpedoes) halve their damage (round up) against a rolled wedge. This represents the difficulty of getting a clean shot around the wedge. This has no effect on shots down the throat or up the kilt. Rolling wedge is noted in orders as normal & occurs in the movement phase (after missile launch, but before energy weapon fire).
Core systems should be used, but use the option of rolling once to see if a core system is hit & then randomly determine which system is hit (1-2: Bridge, 3-4: Life Support, 5-6: Powerplant).
'Striking the Colours' can be used in larger games; treat as a separate Core System roll.
Life Support criticals also result in the Acceleration Compensator being disabled. This has the effect of reducing the ship to MD1 until repaired. If the ship attempts to use more thrust than this, the crew is turned into raspberry jam against the bulkheads.
As an additional optional rule, ships which finish less than 1 MU of each other have physically collided their wedge, resulting in immediate ram damage to both ships equal to the first threshold of the other ship & the smaller wedge being disabled (or if the miniatures have to physically touch, they have collided wedges).
Sensors: Gravatic sensors can detect an active wedge at up to
1080 MU (active missiles can be detected at 540 MU). Active radar has an effective
range of 54 MU. This makes it important in strategic mode to have sensor platforms
& pickets so you can actually detect an enemy on their way in.
In GM moderated games, stealth, ECM & tactics can modify this detection range.
Advanced ECM / Sensors / ECM Drones / Recon Drones:
Ships can carry more Advanced ECM than normal by purchasing either ship ECM or Area ECM suites (mass/cost as per MT). This has the normal effect as per the rules.
Enhanced/Advanced Sensors (mass/cost as per MT): effect is as per MT. Scans cannot be made against a ship which has "rolled wedge" as the sensors cannot penetrate the focused gravity bands.
Ships can carry 2 drones for each mass allocated to drones (cost: 10 per mass). Depending upon the settings, they have 3 uses.
Used as an EW/ECM drone, they have little effect on missile fire, but can be set up to mimic any ship within 100 mass of the launching vessel OR add an additional (max) +1 to any ECM roll required. They maneouvre as per the ship they mimic or defend. Any missile or energy weapon hit destroys any currently deployed EW/ECM drones. EW/ECM drones burn out their engines after 6 turns of activity
EW/ECM drones can be seeded into a missile salvo. In game, this has the effect of soaking up the first 6 AMS kills on the salvo (has no effect on PDS/energy defensive fire).
When used as a Recon Drone, they act as a mobile sensor platform equipped with basic sensors (roll d6-1 for any attempts at active scanning, as per MT) with a range of 54 MU and count as MD12 missiles with a total active power of MD36 (the drives fail after using 36 thrust in any combination).
Missiles: (a little complicated, but
works well)
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SMLs are modified slightly to allow for the reduced fire arcs & lower salvo density on
some ships.
All SMLs are reduced to either 2-arc broadside or 1-arc chase armament.
Salvo-2: mass 1
Salvo-4: mass 2
Salvo-6: mass 3
Salvo-8: mass 4 etc. (1 mass per 2 missiles in the salvo size)
Each time am SML launcher fails a threshold check, halve the salvo size (rounded down). ie: A Salvo-16 BB is reduced to Salvo-8 on the first failure, Salvo-4 on the second and Salvo-2 on the third. They can be DC'd as normal.
Integral Missile Magazines are not included as a system, instead, every time a Salvo launcher is hit, subtract the full salvo launcher size from the current magazine load (players choice as to what type).
If ammunition considerations are important (or you want to sucker your opponent), 'short' salvoes can be fired (ie: nuke warning shots).
For campaign play, all ships have a basic magazine equal to 20 x mass of all
launchers. This gives most ships a basic load of ~20 broadsides. These are
individual missiles NOT the number of salvoes carried & ~80-90% of the missiles in a
magazine are standard 'Laser' warheads with 'nuclear' warheads making up the remainder.
eg: RMN BC carries 12 mass of launchers (2 x Salvo-2, 2 x Salvo-10); this gives
the ship 240 missiles. Of which 210 are laser heads & 30 are nuclear warheads.
A ship can also carry extended magazines (additional missiles), every 1 mass allocated to magazine space gives the ship an additional 30 missiles (25 for Ghostrider project missiles). This magazine can be hit by threshold checks as normal.
To signify the range difference between the energy & missile envelopes, missiles use slightly different rules, than from the FTFB.
There are 2 options for firing missiles:
'Sprint' mode uses normal SML rules with a 24" range within the available
arcs.
'Standard' mode is treated differently; the missiles are treated as a cinematic
ship with MD 12 (with 3 turns of endurance). Initial thrust is 6 (from the railgun
launchers) directly away from the launcher (course 3 or 9 for broadsides) + the first turn
of thrust (MD 12); turns are limited to 1 point of turn (at the midpoint of movement) on
the launch turn.
The next 2 turns after that, movement is resolved during the missile phase using MD 12
cinematic with turns limited to 2 points (start and middle as per normal rules).
The maximum speed of missiles in normal space is 54 MU per turn.
Missile types:
Standard (laser warhead): treat as normal FTFB missile with a 6 MU attack range.
Nuclear missiles: these missiles have a 3 MU attack range and roll 2d6 damage for each
hit. If any nuclear missiles impact against the sidewall (4 or 5 damage result on
sidewall-2 ships), an immediate 5+ threshold check is made against the sidewall generators
(screens) in addition to the damage. This check is only made once per sidewall,
regardless of the number of nukes which impacted.
Players wanting to mix in Nukes with Laser missiles can do so, but the target can choose which type to destroy first with their defences.
NB: Hitting with standard mode missiles is not as easy as it might appear, as the target ship is probably maneuvering every turn to deny a chance for your own missiles to hit. It is important that you organise your first turn's movement so on turn 2 or 3, you will finish in the general area you think the ship will be. It is easy to overshoot if you send your missiles out at full velocity only to have the enemy close the range & duck under the attack envelope.
Additional missile tactics:
When launching missiles, ships can also "spin on axis" in order to increase
the broadside launch. Ships need to expend 4 MD thrust to do this and can make no
other course or speed changes while doing so (and does not count as
rolling wedge against fire), nor use it's main energy armament to supplement antimissile
fire. Missile pods cannot be used with this tactic.
The ship launches both the port and starboard broadside together as one oversized salvo.
Countermissiles/ECM: (mark as
SMR with the outer part of the circle blacked).
AMS-1: mass 1
AMS-2: mass 2
AMS-3: mass 3
AMS-4: mass 4 etc.
Countermissiles have a 360 degree arc are launched immediately after normal salvos
& can target any missile salvoes between 12 and 54 MU (once they get inside launch
range, it's too late for countermissiles). Each countermissile kills 1d6 missiles,
reducing the size of incoming salvoes. They lack the mass & power to affect anything
other than missiles (not powerful enough to damage LACs), but do have unlimited ammo for
game purposes (about 100 countermissiles per launcher mass).
For simplicity, total all friendly AMS systems firing in that turn, roll the dice &
then allocate kills amongst the incoming salvoes in range.
The AMS systems also include the use of things like basic EW & other passive
defences.
For threshold checks, treat similar to MD checks (1st failed check = 1/2 rating).
PDS: this is resolved as normal against incoming salvoes, except all surviving missiles will attack (don't roll for number of missiles). Note that other energy weapons may be assisting the PDS (see Energy Weapons).
When designing ships, use the current designs as a guide for AMS fits. In general, ships up to CL have 1 AMS, CH have 2 AMS, BC have 3 AMS, BB have 4 AMS, DN have 5 AMS and SDN have 6-8 AMS. Exceeding this can make individual ships immune to missile fire in the game mechanics.
Missile attack phase:
Any missiles which succesfully run the gauntlet of defences then rolls for damage,
depending upon the arc which it attacks from.
NB: If there is no sidewall, then any 'hits sidewall' results score that amount of damage
instead.
No Sidewall or Sidewall-1 (Screen-1):
Port or Starboard:
1-4 = damage result, 5 = hits sidewall for no damage, 6 = hits wedge for no damage.
Port or Starboard against 'rolled wedge':
1-3 = damage result, 4 = hits sidewall for no damage, 5-6 = hits wedge for no damage.
Fore or Aft (Throat/Kilt shot): 1-5 = damage result, 6 = hits wedge for no damage.
Sidewall-2 (Screen-2):
Port or Starboard:
1-3 = damage result, 4-5 = hits sidewall for no damage, 6 = hits wedge for no damage.
Port or Starboard against 'rolled wedge':
1-2 = damage result, 3-4 = hits sidewall for no damage, 5-6 = hits wedge for no damage.
Fore or Aft (Throat/Kilt shot): 1-5 = damage result, 6 = hits wedge for no damage.
EG. 5 missiles reach attack range and survive the PDS against a sidewall-1 light
cruiser.
Missile 1,2 & 3 are attacking the targets broadside rolling 3,5,6. This would
result in 3 points if it had an active sidewall or 8 points if there was no sidewall.
Missile 4 & 5 have maneuvered for a throat shot & roll 4,5. This give 9
points of damage, as there is no sidewall to interpose against the missiles.
Energy Weapons:
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All energy weapon range bands are halved except against targets with no sidewall up
(civilian vessels & throat/wedge shots). (ie: Class-2 roll 2d at 6" & 1d at
12", Pulsetorps use 3" bands).
Weapons classed as broadside (PBS/SBS) only need to pay for 1 arc; this is to keep the
ship sizes down.
All energy weapons can also be used to supplement the PDS against missiles. One
firecon is required to target any number of salvoes. The ship's weapons all
count as class-1 (grazers count as well), when used against missiles targeting that ship
as per the rules for Class-1 vs missiles (5-6 kills 1 missile + reroll). Weapons
allocated in this way are not available for normal broadsides and cannot be used
with ADFC.
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Lasers: treat as standard energy batteries, except unless they are 6-arc, they
restricted to 2-arc broadside or 1-arc chasers.
Grazers: treat as pulse torpedoes (mass 4 for both broadside & chase).
Grav Lance: Mass 12, range 6. On a roll of 2+, the targets' sidewall is destroyed
(as per needlebeam) & target takes 2d6 damage.
Energy Torpedoes: treat as submunition packs which can fire every round. If the
target has a sidewall up, then Energy Torpedoes cannot cause any damage; these can be
resolved separately after a Grav Lance has fired.
Mines: Mines are similar to FT, except each mine is a 'laser'
warhead (6 MU threat range).
Minelayers use the normal rules from FT. Each minelaying system uses 8 Mass &
carries 100 mines. Additional mines can be carried the same as missiles (every 1 mass
gives 20 mines).
The average minelayer has 5-8 minelaying systems & can lay up to 10 mines per system
per turn (usually 2-5 strategic turns for a full minefield, depending on capacity).
Mines are only detectable using radar sensors at half normal range (27 MU in the
case of 'normal' FT military sensors).
Generic Light Attack Craft
LAC squadrons are treated as fighters which can be targeted by normal energy
weapons (see Class-1 vs fighter in FTFB - requires 1 firecon for any number of
weapons to shoot fighters).
All weapons roll only 1 die (within the weapons normal range, but ignore extra die) &
score normal PDS fighter kills. Ships can attack any LAC within weapon range
regardless of whether they are being attacked themselves or not.
Normal PDS and AMS are ineffective against LACs, as they do insufficient damage to
penetrate & the PDS will be busy against the LAC missile launch anyway.
It is recommended that the endurance rules be used for LACs.
Generic LACs launch 1 laser missile per fighter (using their capship missiles pods) on the first turn and attack as normal fighters against the appropriate arc's defences. This is balanced by the increased number of weapons which can 'kill' a LAC compared to FT fighters.
RMN Wayfarer Light Attack Craft
RMN Wayfarer had more effective LACs than the old generics due to technology upgrades. They are treated as "Heavy" fighters for damage purposes (5 kills 1, 6 kills 2+reroll).
Project Ghostrider LACs
The new Shrike/B LAC which is built by the RMN during Echoes of Honor is even deadlier
& has better defences. Weapons kill 1 Shrike/B on a 5 or 6 roll with re-rolls on
a 6 (heavy fighter equivalent).
As for offensive weapons, Shrike/Bs launch 2 laser missiles per fighter on the first turn,
and attack as torpedo (Grazer) fighters for their full endurance period.
The LAC missile launch occurs before any defensive fire, so could result in a mutual kill result, as energy weapons kill the LAC's before they can fire their weapons & the missiles are not intercepted by the PDS. Note that LACs can both fire missiles & use their energy weapons in the same turn.
FTFB cost for LACs (subject to playtesting) are 36 pts for generic LAC squadrons, 48 pts for Wayfarer LAC squadrons & 64 pts for Shrike/B LAC squadrons.
Extended range ER missiles (5 turn endurance). Due to the increased mass, Ghost Rider missiles only get 18 missiles per mass of launcher, but trade it off for the increased range (25 missiles per mass of extended magazine).
Pod Launched Missiles:
Ships can tow a number of missile pods behind them equal to the number of firecontrols available (ie: 1 tractor beam per firecontrol). For game purposes, this doesn't degrade MD speed, but it is noticable to enemy ships if they ask.
Towed Missile Pods launch 6 missiles (3 mass each) with 5 arc fire available (FS/AS/A/AP/FP) and follow all other rules for missiles.
Internal Launch Rails mass the same as the pods being launched (Salvo-6 of 3 mass,
requires an additional 3 mass for launch rails). This lets you roll pods out the
rear of your ship with 5 arc fire (FS/AS/A/AP/FP) and continue doing this every turn.
Internal Pods can be programmed for delayed launch, and can delay a number of salvoes
equal to the firecontrols available. The launching ship can expend no thrust during
this time without losing the extra salvoes.
Differences between PRH & RMN:
Up to 'Flag in Exile', RMN PDS & countermissiles get +1 to all rolls against PRH
missiles.
>From 'Honor among Enemies' onwards, they lose this advantage due to technology upgrades
acquired by the PRH.