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Small Craft Rules
Between fighters
and starships, there is Small Craft. They are still small enough
that fighter weapons will still damage them but large enough to regular
ship weapons can target them like other ships. 1, 2 or 3 Small Craft
are mounted on a base and they move and are treated like fighters in many
ways.
GZG
released miniatures for
Gunboats and they follow these Small Craft rules but I gave them their own
pages so you don't need all the Small Craft rules to use them.
Gunboats are just Small Craft with 2 slots and follow the same rules as
Small Craft.
Gunboat Rules
Gunboat Examples
These Small Craft
rules are based on some discussions on the GZG Playtest Mailing List many
years ago but have been updated and modified with the Gunboat rules from
Full Thrust: Project
Continuum
 Small
Craft
1-3 gunboats in a group on a
stand - 6 combat endurance
18 MU regular movement - 9 MU secondary movement
Small Craft are stuck between being 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 1 to 3 on a single stand.
Small Craft have a base speed of 18 MU and move like fighters with a secondary
move of 9MU. They can fly in
escort of a ship like fighters. Small Craft 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.
Small Craft have slots for weapons and systems and Small Craft can have
from 2 to 5 slots. Small Craft with 2 or 3 slots can take 2
fighter/point defense hits before they are destroyed while Small Craft
with 4 or 5 slots can take 3 fighter/point defense hits.
Small Craft Actions
Small Craft may only attack
targets in their front arc like fighters.
Small Craft 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 Small Craft group must target the same
enemy ship/fighter group. If the Small Craft group is engaging enemy
fighters or ordnance, it may split its fire among eligible targets within
range, just like fighters. Small Craft armaments vary widely. See the
tables below for options and costs.
Small Craft
Attacking Ships
Multi-Shot and Single Shot anti ship weapons
from a Small Craft target ships as normal. Point Defense weapons target ships as fighter weapons doing a single point of damage on a 6 only
(-2 DRM). Small Craft 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 Grasers as weapons.
Small Craft Attacking Fighters
A
Small Craft's Point Defense weapons target
fighters and other Small Craft as normal. Their
Anti-Ship weapons can also target fighters with a -1 dice roll modifier.
Small Craft Endurance
Like
fighters, Small Craft use 1 endurance point per turn that the group
attacks (ships or fighters),
makes a secondary move, or performs Evasive Maneuvers. Normally
Small Craft groups have 6 combat endurance points but this can be increased with a
Long Range modification.
Attacking Small Craft
Small Craft are large enough that they are engaged by
ship to ship weaponry more easily
than than fighters while still being small
enough to be effected by fighter and Point Defense weaponry.
 Point Defense / Fighter Weapons -
Small Craft may be
engaged in the Point Defense Phase by a PDS in range like they were
fighters. Fighters may attack and target Small Craft as if the were
fighters. Small Craft are tougher that Fighters so
a Small Craft can take 2 or 3 hits from Point Defense/fighter weaponry
before it is destroyed. if a Small Craft is damaged but not
destroyed, for simplicity, the Small Craft will not have any
negative effects other than another single point or two of PD/Fighter damage will
destroy it.
Optional Damage rule: If a Small
Craft takes a hit but is not destroyed, roll a d6 for
each point of damage taken. On a roll of 1-3 -
no result, on a 4 or 5 - loose a random weapon, on a 6
- cut movements allowances in half. Small Craft have a Heavy/Screened
modification avalilable that can reduce their chance to take damage just
like Heavy Fighters (-1 DRM).
To determine which
Small Craft in a group are destroyed, the owning player should roll
randomly. Small Craft then make their attacks in the Fighter Attack Phase
(phase 10). Ship Weapons - Ship
based direct fire Anti-Ship weapons may fire at Small
Craft normally in the ship’s Fire Phase using the same
rules as for fighters with each HIT destroying ONE
Small Craft. 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 Small Craft is
already desroyed.
Evasive Maneuvers
Small Craft, 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 Small Craft in the
grouip. Point Defense/Fighter weapons are not
affected by the Evasive Manoeuvres.
Small Craft Carriers
For a ship to carry Small Craft into battle, the ship must be equiped with
Racks or Bays large enough to recover the
whole group. Small Craft Gunboats (2 slots) are special and can be
mounted on external Racks or in specific Gunboat Bays.
Small Craft can be docked and carried in regular Boat
Bays that will allow them to be refueld/rearmed.
Treat Small Craft as the mass defined below when
carried in a Bay: 2 slots - 3 mass; 3 slots - 5
mass; 4 slots - 6 mass; 5 slots - 8 mass
Gunboat Racks - 9 mass
Only 2 slot Gunboats can be
mounted in racks. 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. Small Craft Bay
Small Craft Construction Small
Craft fall between fighters and small starships and
have between 2 and 5 slots for weapons and systems.
Gunboats are defined as a subset of Small Craft that
have 2 slots. These
construction rules for Small Craft allow you to build
both Gunboats and larger Small Craft from 2 slot
Gunboats up to 5 slot Small Craft.
Build Your Own Gunboat
Spreadsheet Small
Craft
Frame A Small Craft starts with these base
stats: Primary/Secondary Movement of 18 MU / 9MU
2 slots for systems
- can be upgraded to 5 slots
6 Combat
Endurance Factors
NPV 3 / CPV 12
Slots and Damage
Systems and weapons for a Small Craft use 'slots' which are noted in the
tables below. A Small Craft can have from 2-5 slots. The
smallest with 2 or 3 slots can take 2 hits from fighters/point defense
weapons. The larger ones with 4 or 5 slots can take 3 hits.
Anything larger than 5 slots is a starship.
The point cost of some
systems are multiplied buy the number of slots in the Small Craft
Small Craft Modifications
| Modification |
Slots |
NPV |
CPV |
Description |
| FTL Drive |
1 |
2/slot |
2/slot |
May enter/leave the table using FTL
drive, does not require a carrier |
| Heavy / Screened |
0 |
2/slot |
2/slot |
PDS fire treated as if the gunboat has
Level 1 screens (-1 DRM) |
| Fast |
0 |
1/slot |
1/slot |
Movement upgraded to 27MU / 9 MU |
| Slow |
0 |
-1/slot |
-1/slot |
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 Factors
NPV/CPV
points are multiplied by number of non-cargo slots used |
FTL Modification
With advanced miniaturization, a FTL Drive unit can be (just barely)
crammed into a Small Craft hull. This allows the Small Craft to enter and
leave FTL like a ship, and make interstellar moves on
its own. It does not consume an
endurance point to enter a battle from hyperspace. Unlike FTL fighters,
FTL Small Craft do not need a carrying vessel. FTL Small Craft can only mount
normal FTL drives. More advanced FTL drives cannot be crammed into the
tiny hull. Small Craft FTL drives generate very weak “distortion waves” when
the Small Craft enters or leaves hyperspace; it is insufficient to damage any
nearby units. The Small Craft themselves are very vulnerable to distortion,
however. If there is a ship, planet, asteroid or other object sufficient
to cause distortion where the Small Craft engages its FTL, the Small Craft is
destroyed. The maneuverability of Small Craft means that they may elect to
move in any direction while charging their FTL Drive, up to the normal
movement maximum. The next turn they make a half move in that
direction, and disappear into FTL space.
FTL Small Craft can enter the table using their FTL
like ships . This does not consume a point of endurance. Like a ship the
FTL Small Craft enters with a speed between 1 and 10, and makes a half move
straight ahead. The FTL Small Craft can then use a point of endurance to make
a second move of 9 MU in any direction. FTL Small Craft 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
Small Craft are equipped with either screens or use heavily reinforced hulls.
Point Defense and Fighter attacks to the Small Craft are treated as if they
had Level 1 Screens (-1 DRM). Small Craft 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 Small Craft can move 27MU per turn with the secondary move of 9MU
Slow Modification
More economical engines reduce
the speed of a Small Craft to 15MU with a secondary move of only 6MU
Long Range Modification
Small Craft start with 6 points of
combat endurance but this can be insreased so they can have up to 6 additional endurance points.
Small Craft 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 Defense System
A PDS system with a range of 6 MU
for defending against fighters and Small Craft. 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/Small Craft with
BD*, ships with BD-2*. Area
Defense Array
An enhanced Point Defense System against
fighters and Small Craft, 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 Small Craft, 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 Small Craft 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/Small Craft.
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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