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 Gunboat Rules
GZG
has been releasing new minatures for their fleets of a new class of ship -
Gunboats.
These small
miniatures are larger than fighters but still small enough that a group of
3 come with a single stand and are identified as Gunboats or Missile Boats
but Full Thrust never had
'official' rules covering this type of ship.
The Gunboat Rules
below are highly based on the Full Thrust: Project
Continuum rules for Gunboats but then I mixed in some old
rules for building Small Craft from many years ago that I had saved and
worked into a spreadsheet.
Gunboats as
defined here are Small Craft with 2 slots for systems. Small Craft
can have up to 5 slots but all the Gunboat rules here are limited to that
2 slot definition. See the Gunboat Construction rules below for more
information on slots.
GZGverse and Standard Gunboat Designs
 Gunboats
3 gunboats in a group on a
stand - 6 combat endurance
18 MU regular movement - 9 MU secondary movement Gunboats straddle the line
between a very small ship, and a very large fighter. Gunboats are carried
on hull mounted racks or in bays and are launched at the same time as other
ordnance/fighters. They operate in groups of three on a single stand.
Gunboats have a speed of 18 MU and move like fighters with a secondary
move of 9MU. They can fly in
escort of a ship like fighters. Gunboats have six points of combat
endurance like fighters and they use this endurance like fighters to make attacks on enemy ships, fighters
or ordinance or to make a secondary move during the
Fighter Secondary Movement Phase.
Gunboat Actions
Gunboats may only attack
targets in their front arc like fighters.
Gunboats mount slightly larger and more powerful
fire control systems than those on fighters, allowing them to engage
targets up to 12 MU away. The entire gunboat group must target the same
enemy ship/fighter group. If the gunboat squadron is engaging enemy
fighters or ordnance, it may split its fire among eligible targets within
range, just like fighters. Gunboat armaments vary widely. See the gunboat
type descriptions for options and costs.
 Gunboats
Attacking Ships
Multi-Shot and Single Shot anti ship weapons
from a Gunboat target ships as normal. Point Defense weapons target ships as fighter weapons doing a single point of damage on a 6 only
(-2 DRM). Gunboats may only be armed with weapons and other
technology from their background. For example if your fleet does not
employ Grasers then you may not use Graser gunboats.
Gunboats Attacking Fighters
A
Gunboat's Point Defense weapons target
fighters and other gunboats as normal.
The Gunboat's Anti-Ship weapons can target fighters with a -1
dice roll modifier Gunboat Endurance
Like
fighters, Gunboats use 1 Combat Endurance point per turn that the group
attacks (ships or fighters), makes a secondary move, or performs Evasive
Maneuvers. Normally
Gunboat groups have 6 CEF points but this can be increased with a
Long Range modification.
Attacking a Gunboat
The larger size
of gunboats means that they are engaged by anti-ship weaponry more easily
than than fighters while still being small
enough to be effected by Point Defense weaponry.
Point Defense / Fighter Weapons
Gunboats may be
engaged in the Point Defense Phase by a ship's PDS in range like they were
fighters. Fighters may attack and target gunboats as if the were
fighters. Gunboats are tougher that Fighters so
a gunboat can take 2 hits from Point Defense/fighter weaponry
before it is destroyed. A single point of damage will not
destroy the Gunboat and for simplicity, the Gunboat will not have any
negative effects other than another single point of PD/Fighter damage will
destroy it.
Optional Damage rule: If a gunboat
takes a single hit but is not destroyed, roll a d6, on
a 1-3 - no result, on a 4 - loose first weapon, on a 5
- loose second weapon (or first weapon if only 1), on
a 6 - cut movements allowances in half. Gunboats have a Heavy/Screened
modification avalilable that can reduce their chance to take point defense damage just
like Heavy Fighters. The Heavy/Screened option does not protect from
ship weapons. To determine which
gunboat(s) in a group are destroyed, the owning player should roll
randomly. Gunboats then make their attacks in the Fighter Attack Phase
(phase 10). Ship Weapons
Direct
Fire Anti-Ship weapons may fire at gunboats normally
in The Ship’s Fire Phase using the same rules as for
fighters with each HIT destroying ONE gunboat. In the
case of weapons where a Hit does multiple points of
damage (Grasers or Pulse Torps for example) no need to
roll damage as the gunboats is already destroyed.
Evasive Maneuvers
Gunboats, like
fighters in the Beta
Fighter rules, can use Combat Endurance Factors to
jink and move in random ways to make them harder to
hit by Ship weapons. Each CEF point spent gives
a -1 Evasive Target DRM to the gunboats in the grouip.
Point Defense/Fighter weapons are not affected by the
Evasive Manoeuvres.
 Gunboat Carriers
For a ship to carry Gunboats into battle, the ship must be equiped with
Gunboat Racks, a Gunboat Bay, or a Boat Bay large enough to recover the
whole group.
Gunboat Racks - 9 mass
A group of 3 gunboats can be
mounted in external racks for 9 mass, the cost of the Rack is included in
the cost of the Gunboat. Gunboats cannot be refueled or rearmed in
combat using their carrying rack, which reduces the utility
of some weapon loads unless they have a large enough boat bay to recover
the whole group.
Gunboat Racks are external systems and are subject to threashold rolls
like other systems. If a rack is damaged by a threashold roll, roll
another d6 to determine if 1, 2 or 3 gunboat connectors are damaged and if
a gunboat is still attached to a damaged connector, then the gunboat is
destroyed. Gunboat Bay - 12 mass
A
group of 3 Gunboats may be kept in a Gunboat Bay which is very similar to
a Fighter Bay. Gunboat carrying ships with a Gunboat bay or a boat bay of
sufficient size to recover the whole group may use that bay to retrieve
and rearm gunboats during combat.
Gunboat Construction Small Craft
fall between fighters and small starships and have
between 2 and 5 slots for weapons and systems.
Gunboats as defined here are a subset of Small Craft
that have 2 slots. These
construction rules are Gunboat specific and are
limited to only the 2 slot versions of Small Craft.
The Small Craft pages on this site will cover the
whole range of Small Craft up to 5 slots and expand on
the rules here.
Build Your Own Gunboat
Spreadsheet Standard Gunboat designs for the
GZGverse are available on the Gunboat SSDs
page Gunboat Base
Frame A Gunboat starts with these base
stats:
Primary/Secondary Movement of 18 MU / 9MU
2 slots for systems
6 Combat
Endurance Factors
NPV 3 / CPV 12
Gunboat Modifications
| Modification |
Slots |
NPV |
CPV |
Description |
| FTL Drive |
1 |
4 |
4 |
May enter/leave the table using FTL
drive, does not require a carrier |
| Heavy / Screened |
0 |
4 |
4 |
PDS fire treated as if the gunboat has
Level 1 screens (-1 DRM) |
| Fast |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Movement upgraded to 27MU / 9 MU |
| Slow |
0 |
-2 |
-2 |
Movement reduced to 15MU / 6MU |
| Cargo Slot |
1 |
- |
- |
Space to hold stuff |
| Passengers/Troops |
1 |
- |
- |
Space for people or aliens |
| Long Range |
0 |
.5/CEF |
2/CEF |
Extra Combat Endurance Factor points |
Gunboat Slots
Gunboats have 2 slots for weapons or
other systems (FTL). Small Craft may have up to 5 slots as anything
larger is a starship. Each 'slot' is roughly equal to a normal
fighter for comparison.
FTL Modification
With advanced miniaturization, a FTL Drive unit can be (just barely)
crammed into a gunboat hull. This allows the gunboat to enter and leave
FTL like a ship, and make interstellar moves on its own. FTL Gunboats
cannot be carried in racks or fit in Gunboat Bays. They count as being
mass 4 for purposes of docking in boat bays. It does not consume an
endurance point to enter a battle from hyperspace. Unlike FTL fighters,
FTL Gunboats do not need a carrying vessel. FTL Gunboats can only mount
normal FTL drives. More advanced FTL drives cannot be crammed into the
tiny hull. Gunboat FTL drives generate very weak “distortion waves” when
the gunboat enters or leaves hyperspace; it is insufficient to damage any
nearby units. The gunboats themselves are very vulnerable to distortion,
however. If there is a ship, planet, asteroid or other object sufficient
to cause distortion where the Gunboat engages its FTL, the gunboat is
destroyed. The maneuverability of gunboats means that they may elect to
move in any direction while charging their FTL Drive, up to the normal
maximum of 18 MU/turn. The next turn they make a half move in that
direction, and disappear into FTL space.
FTL Gunboats can enter the table using their FTL
like ships . This does not consume a point of endurance. Like a ship the
FTL Gunboat enters with a speed between 1 and 10, and makes a half move
straight ahead. The FTL Gunboat can then use a point of endurance to make
a second move of 9 MU in any direction. FTL Gunboats are very vulnerable
to distortion effects on their miniaturized drive systems, if they jump or
arrive within 6 MU of a “massive object”, they are automatically
destroyed.
Heavy/Screened Modification
Some
gunboats are equipped with either screens or use heavily reinforced hulls.
Point Defense and Fighter attacks to the gunboat are treated as if they
had Level 1 Screens (-1 DRM). Gunboats can not carry strong enough
screens or reinforcements to have any effect if hit by Anti-Ship level weapons.
Fast Modification
With more powerful engines,
Fast gunboats can move 27MU per turn with the secondary move of 9MU
Slow Modification
More economical engines reduce
the speed of a gunboat to 15MU with a secondary move of only 6MU
Long Range Modification
Gunboats start with 6 points of
combat endurance but this can be insreased so they can have up to 6 additional endurance points.
Gunboat Weapon Systems
| System |
Type |
Slots |
NPV/CPV |
Range |
Description |
| Point
Defense System |
Point Defense |
1 |
3 |
6MU |
PDS may fire in support of
ships |
| Area Defense
Array |
Point Defense |
2 |
9 |
12MU |
2 BD* to 6MU, 1 BD* to 12MU |
|
Scattergun |
Point Defense |
1 |
6 |
6MU |
Scattergun |
| Beam Battery |
Multi-Shot |
1 |
3 |
12MU |
Class-1 Beam Battery |
| EMP Battery |
Multi-Shot |
1 |
3 |
12MU |
Class-1 EMP Battery - EMP
Damage |
| Graser |
Multi-Shot |
2 |
6 |
12MU |
Short range Class-1 Graser |
| K-Gun |
Multi-Shot |
2 |
9 |
12MU |
Short range Class-2 K-Gun |
| Needle Beam |
Multi-Shot |
2 |
6 |
12MU |
Needle Beam target
systems hit on 6 |
| MKP Pack |
Ordinance |
1 |
5 |
12MU |
Light MKP pack |
| Pulse Torpedo |
Ordinance |
2 |
8 |
12MU |
Short range Pulse Torpedo |
| Rocket Pod |
Ordinance |
2 |
9 |
12MU |
3 Rockets hit on 3+ to 6mu, 4+ to
12MU |
| Salvo Missiles |
Ordinance |
2 |
9 |
12MU |
Salvo of 4 missiles, placed weapon |
| Submunition Pack |
Ordinance |
1 |
5 |
12MU |
Short Range Submunition Pack |
Weapon System Descriptions
Point Defese System
A PDS system with a range of 6 MU
for defending against fighters and gunboats. The small built-in fire
controls of the PDS do allow them to be fired at different targets. The
Point Defense systems may fire in support of
allied ships within 6 MU. PDS fire attacks fighters/gunboats with
BD*, ships with BD-2*. Area
Defense Array
An enhanced Point Defense System against
fighters and gunboats, the Area Defense
Array can generate 2 BD* of PDS fire out to 6 MU and 1 BD* of PDS fire out to 12 MU.
May
fire in support of friendly units within 6 MU.
Scattergun
A single shot Scattergun with a 6MU range that inflicts
BD* hits on fighters and missiles, 1d3 hits on Heavy Fighters. If more
than one is mounted on a gunboat, they may
be fired either individually, or on the same turn. Because they have
their own guidance systems, they can be individually targeted even if
fired simultaneously.
Beam Battery
A Class-1 Beam Battery with a range of 12 MU
doing BD* damage.
All Beam Batteries mounted
must be fired at the same target due to limited fire control.
EMP Battery
A Class-1 EMP Battery with a range of 12 MU. All EMP
Batteries mounted
must be fired at the same target due to limited fire control.
BD* hits applying EMP Damage. Graser
A
short range Class-1 Graser with a range of 12 MU. BD* hits with each
hit doing d6 damage.
K-Gun
A short range Class-2 K-Gun. The K-Gun will hit
on a 2+ to 4 MU, a 3+ to 8 MU, and a 4+ to 12 MU. Like a normal K-Gun, the
damage from this Class-2 K-Gun is 2 points of
damage but doubles on a subsequent roll of 1 or 2 to apply 4 points of damage.
K-Gun damage is Armor Piercing and ignores screens. Needle Beam
A Needle Beam with a range
of 12 MU.
Multiple Kinetic Penetratior (MKP) Pack
A single
shot MKP Pack. If more than one is mounted they may either be fired singly
or simultaneously against the same target. They do BD hits.
Each hit delivers 3 points of AP damage. MKP attacks ignore screens.
Plasma Bomb
Similar to a Plasma Bolt,
this weapon is dropped during the Ordnance Launch Phase at the current
location of the gunboat, which then must move away to escape destruction
when the bomb explodes. If the Gunboat is engaged by other
fighters/gunboats it may still drop its bomb(s) but may not move away.
Damage is the same as a Class-1 Plasma Bolt doing 1 d6 damage to all
ships, fighter groups and gunboat groups within 6MU of the exploding bomb
Pulse Torpedo
A single-shot short range Pulse Torpedo Launcher. The Pulse Torpedo will hit on a 2+ out to 4 MU, a 3+ out to 8 MU, and
a 4+ out to 12 MU with a hit doing d6 damage. Pulse Torpedo attacks ignore screens.
Rocket Pod
A pod of 3 direct fire Rockets with a range of 12MU. The Rockets will hit on a
3+ out to 6 MU, and 4+ out to 12 MU. Each Rocket that hits will do d3 damage.
The gunboat may launch none, some or all of its rockets for a single point
of combat endurance. All the rockets must be launched at the same
target and also the firing gunboat must not be engaged by other fighters/gunboats at time of
launch. Rocket attacks ignore screens.
Salvo Missiles
A Salvo Missile pack of 4 missiles (not 6). Due
to fire control limitations, the target spot needs to be within 12 MU. The missiles are launched during the
Ordnance Launch Phase and may not be engaged by other fighters/gunboats.
These missiles attack as a normal salvo missile with d6-2 missiles
attacking the nearest target who my fire defensively. Each missile
that hits the target does d6 damage. and ignores screens
Submunition Pack
A single-shot Submunition
Pack. If more than one is mounted they may be fired singly or simultaneously against the same target.
A Submunition pack attacks with 3 BD* to 4 MU, 2 BD* to 8MU and 1 BD* to
12MU. Submunition attacks ignore screens.
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