The Swede's House Rules

[thescreamingswede]

My group played heavily (at least once a week) from 1983 onward until the late 1990s (try GMing a game with an infant on one side and your game stuff on the other). The playing tapered off to once or twice a month for several years into the 2000s, then more sporadic until just a few years ago (well, more than a few now, but I'm old and I've lost track). The rules we came up with have been with us for almost that whole time. While they aren't all in one format or source code, I will try to collect them into one volume for download. For now though I will try and post a few of our changes so that when I post something about our games, there is a basic understanding as to why whatever happened happened.

Our groups have also always been RPG-centric rather than just skirmish battles. Even though one player may be controlling a ship (or fleet of ships) those vessels are fleshed out beyond the normal Captain Skill/Crew Efficiency numbers. Central Casting, as we called it, always provided generic helm, navigation, sciences and engineering personnel to aid in doing some of the things we needed rolls for. So technically, I guess, that was our first Home Rule.


The second thing we changed was how Shields were powered. Granted, many have incorporated it and some may disagree, saying that it changes how the game is played but after heavily reviewing the original series and subsequent movies, FASA's shield rules were broken in our opinion, so....

1. Sheilds

1. When powering shields, ALL 6 shield arcs power up when raised, not just one. Originally, the game said you had to apply power to each shield arc in order to raise shields. This recreates what we see on screen far more close than FASA's rule set.

2. Shields may be boosted above their maximum by putting raw power from the engines into the deflector array. Power put into shielding in this manner will always be at a 1/1 Ratio and can only boost one shield up to 50% of its maximum. If more than one facing is to be boosted, additional power must be applied to each additional facing.


Another thing we noted while playing was how off Plasma weapons seemed to be versus what was shown in Balance of Terror. Like, WAY OFF.


2. Plasma as Tracked Weapons.

In order to represent more closely what was shown onscreen of the Romulan plasma weapon, these following rules were developed to change how plasma weapons worked in FASA’s Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator and any previous publications of the game.

RULES:
1. A plasma bolt can only be fired at a target that is within its arc of fire. Once fired, the bolt can pass beyond the arc’s limitation only if the target it is set for moves beyond that arcs limit.

2. The plasma bolt moves during firing phase after all ships have moved.

3. The plasma bolt automatically hits its intended target once it reaches it. There is no To-Hit roll.

4. Ships do not block line of sight; however, a vessel may move to intercept a plasma bolt that is locked on another target. Since this is an intentional move, the hit is automatic and for full potential damage. There is no way to take a grazing hit when doing this.

5. The plasma bolt MUST travel in as straight a line as possible in order to reach its designated target. The bolt cannot be maneuvered in order to strike from a more advantageous angle. For example, the bolt cannot deliberately fly past the target vessel and turn around in order to strike the target from behind if it was initially launched while the target was originally facing the attacker. If the target creates a situation where the bolt must alter course in order to intercept and catch its designated target, then this rule no longer applies. For example, if the target out-maneuvers the plasma bolt the bolt must turn in order to hit the target.

6. Since the bolt must travel in as straight a line as possible, it cannot avoid a vessel that has crossed its path if it was not the intended target. If a plasma bolt passes through a hex with a vessel in it (friend or foe) that was not its intended target and was not deliberately attempting to block the bolt from reaching its intended target, roll against the Accidental Collision Rules provisions.

7. Plasma weapons have a fixed velocity based on their maximum range even if powered to half.

8. Plasma weapons MUST move their maximum movement point allotment EVERY phase.

9. The plasma bolt follows all standard movement rules for moving a star ship (pg 15/STSTCS) with the following exceptions.

9.1 The first four options on the Basic Course Movement Diagram (pg 15/STSTCS) are invalid moves for a launched plasma bolt.
9.2 Plasma bolts cannot make emergency heading changes.
9.3 The plasma bolt must move forward one hex before changing heading.
9.4 Plasma bolts cannot hold station.
9.5 Plasma bolts cannot move in reverse (but can be fired backwards if the launcher is mounted in the aft arc).

10. Plasma bolts may be fired at by beam weapons to detonate the plasma bolt prematurely. The plasma bolt is targeted as normal except a –3 penalty applied to the to-hit number to represent the difficulty in locking on. If the amount of damage done to the plasma bolt is equal to half or greater than the current maximum potential damage of the shot, then the plasma bolt detonates prematurely and does damage like a vessel explosion (see pg 28/STSTCS). If the damage is not enough to prematurely detonate the plasma bolt, it has NO effect.

11. If the target of the plasma bolt cloaks before the hit arrives, the plasma bolt will continue in a straight line until it strikes another target accidentally or travels to its maximum range limit.

12. Ship captains are still allowed to make a skillful maneuver in order to take grazing (half) damage unless they are deliberately trying to block the plasma bolt.

13.The damage produced by the plasma weapon will be equal to the movement points it has used up, not the number of hexes it has traveled. This effectively doubles the range of all plasma weapons since each movement point can count as two hexes of forward movement. For example: an RPL-2 originally has a range of 15 hexes. This translates into a movement of 15-MP, or 5-MP per phase. The overall distance the RPL-2 will now be effective for is 30 hexes if the bolt travels in a straight line for three consecutive phases, or 10 hexes per phase. If the bolt were targeted at a vessel uses 7-MP to reach it, it could have effectively traveled 14 hexes, Therefore the damage will be based on 7-MP, not 14 hexes. Since each Movement Point represents one hex of damage on the RPL chart, the damage from the RPL-2 at this range following these rules would be 20/10, the equivalent of range 7 on the chart.

14. Damage from the plasma bolt is applied like normal.

[thescreamingswede]

Rule 3. Weapon Firing Order

This rule was incorporated based on simple physics (of which, as High School students, we all thought we had a good handle on).

1. Weapons designated as BEAM weapons always fire first since they are based on energy travelling at the speed of light.

2. Weapons designated as MISSILE weapons (except Plasma missile weapons) always fire second since they are based on technology that allows them to travel close to but not at the speed of light.

3. Weapons designated as MISSILE: PLASMA/DRONE/TORPEDO-ARCHAIC weapons are tracked weapons, having a set Movement Point speed and are designated with an appropriate miniature or marker card on the map.


The reasoning behind this was more than just simple physics. As has been noted in some of my writings, it seems to be a common tactic to power beam weapons to minimum and use the Damage Bonuses at Range to inflict multiple hits on a vessel after a missile weapon has knocked down the shield. So it seemed illogical to have beam weapons have more than a Maximum Power of 5 if all anyone is going to do is blast the shields down with a torpedo and rain hellfire from a bunch of low power/free damage pings.

Using a weapons speed variable in the equation eliminated the free damage ride. It also really extended the game play time now that you needed to knock down shields with the beams first before plugging away with torpedoes. It also added a unique dimension to our games that was accidentally discovered.


Rule 4. Point Defenses

Like I said our game group was RPG-centric, so there were times when someone somewhere wanted to try something well beyond the initial rules. This was usually borne from something they saw on the show, but occasionally came from some half-brained attempt to foil the GM (meaning me). Since our plasma weapons were tracked and thus were able to be shot down, some unnamed ding dong thought photon torpedoes could be shot down too.


1. Beam weapons of any type may be held in reserve in order to act as point defense.

2. A minimum of 1 point is all that is required to act in the Point Defense setting however the beam weapon may be set to any power level.

3. When operating in Point Defense mode, the operational range of the weapon in question will always be Range 1.

4. To figure out the To-Hit number for a Point Defense shot, inverse the Firing Chart for the Point Defense weapon so the extreme range To-Hit number will be the number used. If there is more than one, use the highest number listed (i.e. Chart A, Range 4 = To-Hit 1-2. Use 2). Roll before the To-Hit roll is made for the incoming missile. If successful, the missile will explode for an amount of damage equal to its Damage Value/6 to a minimum of 1.

5. Multiple beams set to Point Defense may fire at a single missile. In this case add up all the To-Hit values for all the Point Defense beams and roll as per #4.

6. More than one incoming missile may be targeted by Point Defense beams however one beam can only target one missile at a time.


**EDIT**
I realized after rereading it this morning that I made an error. Originally, we subtracted the number from the To-Hit of the missile, then the player on Point Defense had to roll HIGHER than the result. So for example a missile weapon with Firing Chart S would have a 1 - 10 To-Hit. A weapon with and Inverted Firing Chart A would have a 1 - 2 To-Hit. Using 2 subtracted from 10 would be 8, so the player had to roll an 8 or HIGHER in order to shoot the missile weapon down. Upon review, it would have been simpler to just say you needed a 2 or less, adding more for each Point Defense system being fired at the same incoming missile weapon.


Another way we tried was by subtracting the Point Defense To-Hit from the To-Hit of the missile weapon then having that as the new To-Hit for the missile weapon, but after watching Balance of Terror where they shot the "nuclear device of some kind" and the subsequent detonation still did damage, we opted for the rule as written.

theSwede

[trynda1701]

thescreamingswede

Looking forward to see more.

One thing, in point defence mode, I take it you can only fire once per turn per beam weapon?



JAFisher44

Could this thread be pinned please, like rabid, Gorn and my own House Rules threads?

[thescreamingswede]

One thing, in point defence mode, I take it you can only fire once per turn per beam weapon?

Yes. The number of times a weapon could be fired followed the same rules as the original game. Even if you had a beam in reserve powered up to maximum, you got one shot at hitting the incoming torpedo.

[trynda1701]

Aug 24, 2020 14:49:32 GMT -7 thescreamingswede said:

One thing, in point defence mode, I take it you can only fire once per turn per beam weapon?

Yes. The number of times a weapon could be fired followed the same rules as the original game. Even if you had a beam in reserve powered up to maximum, you got one shot at hitting the incoming torpedo.

Gotcha.

The reason I asked was because of what we were going to try to factor drones into our games before our gaming group drifted apart. We considered saying that in point defence mode, a beam weapon powered to say three power points or more could fire in each movement phase, in point defence mode only, to hit incoming drones. So tying up phasers and slowly draining them as well, lowering offensive firepower.

[thescreamingswede]

Some of the rules we came up with were subtle changes. Since there was far more RPG in our games than was probably originally intended, communication time was important, so instead of asking a Sensors question, a player could communicate with another vessel, friendly or enemy. You had time for once sentence each. No need to put up that rule.

These were slight changes to the game that were well received.

Rule 5. Tactical Advantage

Tactical Advantage followed the same guidelines as outlined in the game (based on Movement Points), however players then rolled against their Starship Strategy/Tactics skill (or Captains Skill) right after the Power Allotment Phase once all ship movement factors were declared. The player with the highest Margin of Success was given 30 seconds to make any changes to his ship's power distribution.

We rarely did fleet actions where one player ran multiple vessels, but it occasionally happened. In these cases, the player rolled for his own ship; the other vessels were left the way they were.



Occasionally (and probably more often than not) players would have an odd point or two left over that, in reality, would have to be either put into a system that wasn't going to be needed or was wasted.

Rule 6. Power Allocation Phase

1. Power points can be held in reserve for use later in the turn.

2. Power points held in reserve only last for the turn they were held. They cannot be held over into the next turn unless held in a capacitor system.
(there were special circumstances in our RPG that allowed this. See Xytoxian Stronghold and Mauler Construction Rules)

3. Reserve power points can be put into boosting shields, but at a 1/1 ratio and only on one shield facing.
(this was an add-on to our Shielding Rules I forgot to mention. I have edited that post to reflect this.)




Rule 7. Power Shunting

1. Power can be shunted from one system to another at a loss based on when the shunt occurs. Between Phase One and Two = 33%. Between Phase Two and Three = 66%. Power shunted into or out of movement will effect the tactical advantage of the player.
(We did try playing the Five Phase turn sequence, but found it too bulky, so we went back to the Three Phase game turn.)

2. A power shunt requires a skill check against the appropriate Engineering Skill. If one isn't available, the generic Crew Efficiency Skill will suffice. A failed roll will delay the shunt by one phase. If performed and failed between Phases Two and Three, the power is lost.

3. Missile Systems may be charged in this manner but power cannot be diverted from an active missile system. Once a missile is armed, it is armed until the end of the turn.

[Suraknar]

Hello, I just wanted to say that I found these rules very interesting and will be trying the Shields Approach as well as the Plasma.

Also I wanted to say that the Weapon Firing Order was actually always there. STSTCS p.12 of the Basic Course it is specified under the Sequence of Events, step 7.

"[...]Beam Weapon Shots are resolved first in the order in which they are called, then missile shots are resolved. [...]"

Advanced and Graduate courses assume implicitly this Firing order.

And another thing that is important is that the Damage takes effect only after everyone has finished shooting. As a GM I often notice that player rush to apply effects of Damage emediatelly and this is not correct and I have to step in often . A weapon that gets damaged for instance still gets to shoot, a ship whose Superstructure goes to 0 and lower is still going to resolve its declared fire etc.

These are common occurences I believe we all faced

Thanks for posting your house rules!

[thescreamingswede]

Nov 5, 2020 1:38:03 GMT -7 Suraknar said:

Hello, I just wanted to say that I found these rules very interesting and will be trying the Shields Approach as well as the Plasma.

Also I wanted to say that the Weapon Firing Order was actually always there. STSTCS p.12 of the Basic Course it is specified under the Sequence of Events, step 7.

"[...]Beam Weapon Shots are resolved first in the order in which they are called, then missile shots are resolved. [...]"

Advanced and Graduate courses assume implicitly this Firing order.

And another thing that is important is that the Damage takes effect only after everyone has finished shooting. As a GM I often notice that player rush to apply effects of Damage emediatelly and this is not correct and I have to step in often . A weapon that gets damaged for instance still gets to shoot, a ship whose Superstructure goes to 0 and lower is still going to resolve its declared fire etc.

These are common occurences I believe we all faced

Thanks for posting your house rules!

I remember that. I knew I got it from somewhere else but it's been so long since I even looked at the original ruleset I got back in 82.

I do have more things to add to this list, one of which is a comprehensive set of highly advanced maneuvers that really expand on the basics of starship movement, but until I construct a very readable visual aid for the moves it will have to wait.

And we always played simultaneous fire. It was one of the points of the game that made total sense. One of the alternative things we tried was mapped movement where everyone pre-plotted their movement and moved at the same time, but that got really chaotic and negated the tactical advantage rules to some degree. When I finish posting the rules we used consistently, I intend to put up my "Unearthed Arcana" of rules. Those things we tried a few times but didn't like or didn't work.

[trynda1701]

thescreamingswede

A quick question about your moving plasma weapons that I missed when I originally read about them. In your example of the RPL-2 plasma weapon having moved 7MP (14 hexes under your rules), does that mean it does the damage indicated at range 7 on the RL-2 Plasma Damage Chart?

[thescreamingswede]

Dec 1, 2022 18:05:09 GMT -7 trynda1701 said:

thescreamingswede

A quick question about your moving plasma weapons that I missed when I originally read about them. In your example of the RPL-2 plasma weapon having moved 7MP (14 hexes under your rules), does that mean it does the damage indicated at range 7 on the RL-2 Plasma Damage Chart?

In order to keep the change in line with established damages, the Movement Points expended at the time of impact would correlate to the range on the Plasma Damage Chart. Since ships get that extra hex on each movement point, this effectively doubles the range of the plasma weapon without having to refigure the chart. So in your example, if the RPL-2 strikes the target ship on it's 7th movement point, it would do the damage appropriate for Range 7. This is regardless if it's hex 14 or 15 since the 15th hex would still be considered part of the 7th Movement Point.

[trynda1701]

Wasn't sure, so thanks for the clarification, thescreamingswede .

[lcdrrostron]

All excellent ideas. I've tried to come up with a better movement expenditure system, because some ships are simply way too fast on the point-to-movement ratio. Any ideas there, Swede?

[trynda1701]

Dec 13, 2022 23:12:21 GMT -7 lcdrrostron said:

All excellent ideas. I've tried to come up with a better movement expenditure system, because some ships are simply way too fast on the point-to-movement ratio. Any ideas there, Swede?

You leave us Orions alone! Just because we can move at 1/1 with a single or twin 17 point nacelles at Classes I-III is no need to be jealous!


Seriously though, what vessels do you feel are too fast?

[Gorn]

I changed my shielding rules, Swede... you can do 1 full shield facing power to raise all 6 (square counters), and do it AGAIN to raise them to 200% (circular counters, or use TWO shield tracks that are marked off by pencil). EVery game turn, the shields repower on their own by the shield points efficiency; so TOS Ent gets 2 shield points in EVERY facing at the beginning of a game turn while TMP Ent gets 4.

Simplified, automatic, and alot more like what we see in the shows. Alot more power for weapons and maneuver.

[thescreamingswede]

Dec 13, 2022 23:12:21 GMT -7 lcdrrostron said:

All excellent ideas. I've tried to come up with a better movement expenditure system, because some ships are simply way too fast on the point-to-movement ratio. Any ideas there, Swede?

I've never bothered to revamp the movement point ratios of any ships. I always thought that the more advanced the propulsion system the better it is at getting power to the ground, as it were. The Orions are an old civilization and are using technologies they've had for a very long time, so ships like the Wanderer and anything using the OWA-2 tandem engines in a Class III configuration would have that advantage. We did however add advanced tactical movement options to allow for more freedom of movement on the map. I was working on that post when real life decided I needed a kick to the balls, so that and several other projects got put on hold.

Basically we added more advanced movement types that expend higher MP per hex than just one point, things like slip turns, jinks, rolls and other more complex maneuvers. When I get the chance I'll elaborate further with another post here.

theSwede