Space fleet combat system

[Kane0]

So my group is in a lull between games and we’re passing sessions with one shots, and i’ve been playing a lot of Homeworld lately so i’m in the mood for replicating some space fleet combat at the game table.

Can anyone recommend any games ir systems that we could use to knock over a conflict in one night? Preferably supporting up to 4 players

[Alcore]

4 players = 1-4 ships vs enemy...

or 4 fleets?


If it is the first then (mongoose) Traveller is the system I would prefer. it can handle 'large' engagements of five or less ships quite well with squadron rules (that work reasonably well) that distill the squad into 'one' ship in relation to the other ships. Fortunately the ship combat system is (almost*) stand alone from the rest of the system.

Once the number of large ships reaches the double digits then things can get bogged down. Pirates of Drinax 'adventure path' (book 1, the 'final battle') does have another subset of rules to handle large engagements but those rules are kinda sparse. Should giant fleets be the ideal this system isn't for you if you want a rule heavy system to simulate it.

I also recommend getting Microsoft paint up and making a crude black + (color that won't burn eyes out) map that looks like a submarines sonar. My players have reacted kindly to a visual representation of who is where and it even led to once using another enemy as a shield; something the rules did not support normally.




*Ship Skills might be an issue. Mongoose Traveller 1e has a table in the skills section that shows the percentage rate of success for any die roll with or without modifiers. Translation might be tricky or even rounded. 2nd edition is better in my opinion but it is lacking this table which is valuable for translation into other systems.

[Composer99]

I haven't looked at it in years, but I have an old Star Trek starship tactical combat game (which I think is this one) that might fit the bill.

Something else in that genre of game might work better, of course.

[KineticDiplomat]

Full Thrust Lite is a free rule set meant to get people playing one of the more popular fleet games by means of a rules easy intro.

If you’re up for more crunch, Full Thrust 2 is the full version of that. I think they have a Star Wars one as well.

[Kane0]

Awesome thanks guys

[Alcore]

with squadron rules, For Fighter Craft (that work reasonably well) that distill the squad into 'one' ship in relation to the other ships.

I am glad we are helping


here is a slight edit to add forgotten context...

[Adamantrue]

I haven't looked at it in years, but I have an old Star Trek starship tactical combat game (which I think is this one) that might fit the bill.

Something else in that genre of game might work better, of course.

Star Fleet Battles is the game I'm familiar with. Its very detailed, and admittedly lots of fun.

But, it is VERY rules-dense and math oriented. I wouldn't suggest it for a casual game, or a one-and-done. Even with just the basic rules, let alone all the additional content available.

[Mutazoia]

West End Games had a starship combat game for Star Wars, called "Star Warriors." It was a pretty decent rule-set. There were rules for small scale fighter combat, fighter vs capital ship combat, and capital ship to capital ship combat. It was fairly easy to learn and could be used as a more detailed substitute for the Star Wars RPG ship combat rules.

Then there was Renegade Legion, originally by FASA.

There were several games under the Renegade Legion title.

1. Interceptor - Small ship to ship combat (fighters)
2. Bllood and Steel - Ground combat
3. Leviathan Ships of the Line - Capital Ship combat
4. Prefect - A more traditional "War Game" that dealt with large scale operations, such as the invasion of an entire star system.

If you want to go pure starship combat, I would probably recommend hunting down Renegade Legion. Not that dislike Star Warriors...I love it, but I think that Renegade Legion would be more in line with what you are looking for. (Obviously, you could mix "interceptor" and "Leviathan" to have starship combat at all scales.)

P.S. I should also note that, unlike Star Warriors, Renegade Legion has rules for constructing your own ships, so you're not forced to play the standard ships of the line if you don't want to.

[Pauly]

For space battles Full Thrust is one of the best. It can take some time to learn the intricacies.

Battlefleet Gothic is lighter and set in the 40k universe. Less complex, more fun, but comes with all the GW grimdark setting.

For tactical fighter -v- fighter action Silent Death is the best vehicle based minis game I’ve ever played.

[Kardwill]

For our Fate "Mass Effect" campaign, I used the normal Fate combat rules, and things went perfectly.

For example, for our big end-of-story-arc pirate raid :

- I drew a rough map divided in a buch of zones

• The planet's lower orbit where enemy ships would be able to effectively threaten the civilian population,
• the high orbit where you found the defense satelites, the local starbase, and the shipyards
• the planet's Moon, where the pirates had highjacked a mining rockslinger to use it as some sort of "asteroid gun"
• a few more or less "empty space" zones that the pirates had to cross in order to get to the planet

- The ships and space stations were normal characters (with skills, aspects and stunts since we played Fate). The "big ships" (the PCs' patrol cruiser, the pirate flagships, the starbase) were full characters, while the smaller ships (pirate raiding frigates, pirate fighter squadrons, and the planet's orbital defense crafts) were created using the "minions" rules. The killer satelites and the Rockslinger were more environmental hazard (they attacked any enemy at range until someone did something about them - For example, the more "infantry themed" PCs used a shuttle to get to the Moon and launch a raid against the Rocklinger to take it back from the pirates)

I just "rethemed" the skills and stunts so that they would fit a space battle : "Shoot" became "missiles", "close combat" became "beam weapons", "athletics" became "manoeuver", "perception" became "detection", etc... Same for stunts, where "feats" that allowed you to punch harder or to tank an attack became stuff like "nuclear missiles" and "energy shields. But otherwise, the ships played exactly like characters, and used the same combat rules.


Even if you use another system, it may be possible for you to run your space battle like a normal fight, just "bigger" and badass? The advantage is that everyone knows the rules, and it takes about as long as any big fight

[MrZJunior]

Triplanitary tries to take a more realistic approach to space combat if that is what you are interested in. You need to factor in momentum, gravity wells, and other such things. If your ship runs out of fuel you're stuck on your current heading!