Spaceship Battles Using Scape Rules

[Maddog80]

Has anyone ever tried to use Heroscape rules for spaceships? I’ve been disappointed over and over when it comes to spaceship miniatures rules. I want something rules-light like Heroscape that plays fast and fun. I tried Battleship Galaxies, but I didn’t really enjoy the game that much, probably because it wasn’t Heroscape. Therefore I’ve decided to adapt Heroscape rules to spaceship battles. I decided to use the Star Trek Tactics ships from Whizkids Heroclix. Eventually I’d like to add ships from Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and other universes.

I purchased a few cheap ships from Troll and Toad and began researching them. I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, but I watched a few Youtube videos to get a feel for starship combat in that universe. I understand that all Klingon and Federation ships use a “warp core” to power their ships and shields for protection.

First, I changed life to “hull,” and wound markers to “damage markers” for a more appropriate flavor for the game. All ships have the flying power, and there is no height advantage. I added some rules for planets and asteroids and printed space hex sheets from the internet for the map. The hexes are similar in size to regular Heroscape hexes.

Addressing the warp core engine in the form of a special power:

WARP CORE 3
Begin the game with 3 Energy Markers on this card. Add one to the Move and Attack of this ship for each Energy Marker on this card. At the end of each round, place an Energy Marker on this card, up to a maximum of 3 Energy Markers or the number of Hull remaining, whichever is lower.

Each ship will have a warp core rated from 1-5 depending on how powerful and advanced it is. In the shows the captains have the ability to designate power to specific systems, so the warp core will be tied in with movement, attack, and shields.

Addressing the shields in the form of a special power:

DEFLECTOR SHIELD 2
Start the game with 2 Shield Markers on this card. Add one to the Defense of this ship for each Shield Marker on this card. When this ship would receive one or more Damage Markers, you must remove one Shield Marker from this card for each Damage inflicted and ignore that damage. After taking a turn with this ship, you may remove an Energy Marker from this card and place another Shield Marker on this card up to a maximum of 2 Shield Markers.

The shield special power addresses how shields absorb damage but after a few big hits the shields are downed. However, captains are able to divert power to shields to help maintain shield integrity.

Nearly all ships will have the above special powers with some having a third and possibly a fourth. The Klingons employ a cloaking device. Here is what I came up with for them:

STEALTH
After taking a turn in with this ship in which you did not attack, you may place a Stealth Marker on this card. While the Stealth Marker is on this card, this ship cannot be attacked by non-adjacent figures and does not taking leaving engagement attacks. If this ship attacks with the Stealth Marker on this card, the target rolls one less defense die. After attacking with this ship, remove the Stealth Marker form this card.

Here is the first ship I designed:

U.S.S. ENTERPRISE-A
Federation
Unique Ship
Constitution Class
Star Cruiser
Medium

HULL 6
MOVE 2
RANGE 6
ATTACK 2
DEFENSE 2
POINTS 175

Warp Drive 4
Begin the game with 4 Energy Markers on this card. Add one to the Move and Attack of this ship for each Energy Marker on this card. At the end of each round, place an Energy Marker on this card, up to a maximum of 4 Energy Markers or the number of Hull remaining, whichever is lower.

Deflector Shield 3
Start the game with 3 Shield Markers on this card. Add one to the Defense of this ship for each Shield Marker on this card. When this ship would receive a one or more Damage Markers, you must remove one Shield Marker from this card for each Damage inflicted and ignore that damage. After taking a turn with this ship, you may remove an Energy Marker from this card and place another Shield Marker on this card up to a maximum of 3 Shield Markers.

Engineering Miracle
After taking a turn with the Enterprise, you may roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 16-20 you may add one Energy Marker to this card, or remove a Damage Marker from this card.

I have 5 other ships designed, but I need to make some tweeks before posting. My buddy and I played a small battle between 3 ships apiece in which the Klingons crushed the federation ships. I played the Federation and had some terrible rolls. It was a lot of fun managing the energy markers and shields. I’m very pleased with the way game plays. Any ideas or feedback appreciated!

[Maddog80]

OK, I finally have some cards ready. I've played a few games with this cards with friends and my wife.

A rule with "Ships" that we play is each "Damage Marker" (Wound Marker) reduces the move and attack by 1. I'm currently making cards for Marines that can beam aboard when shields are down and try to take control of that ship.

[Bloody Bogle]

This looks really interesting. I've always thought this was a cool idea, and its nice to see somebody actually doing something with it.

Just an FYI, I do own Star Wars Miniatures: Starship Battles Starter Set, and I'd be willing to trade if you wanted to branch out of just Star Trek ships.

[Maddog80]

Updated my post with some more traditional cards.

[Lord-IVD]

Very Cool set up, I could see more being done with this idea !

[cwidje]

This is a cool idea; did anything else ever become of this?