Raise Shields

Raise Shields

1.1 WHAT IS A MICRO WARGAME: A micro wargame is an easy to learn, fast to play, and inexpensive game for fans of wargaming who may not have enough time for a full-blown kitchen table spanning battle. A micro wargame can be played over a lunch break, on a train, on a plane, or just in the comfort of your own home when you have a free minute. All the micro wargames I put out will consist of 5-20 printed sheets of paper: Including rules, 12 playing maps, and one sheet of counters.

A Micro Wargame Designed by N.C. Patterson Easy to learn Fast to play Inexpensive CONTENTS: • • • • • • •

1.0: INTRODUCTION 2.0: PREPARING TO PLAY 3.0: PLAYING THE GAME 4.0: MOVEMENT PHASE 5.0: CANNON PHASE 6.0: END OF ROUND 7.0: CAMPAIGN PLAY

1.0 INTRODUCTION: Raise Shields is a micro wargame that emulates space themed ship-to-ship battles as made famous in science fiction television shows, books, and movies. At its core, the rules for Raise Shields are based upon the previously released Micro Wargame Pirate Sails. However, this rendition of the rules includes options for customizing your own spaceship for use in play as well as some simple options for campaign play.

1.2 THE AGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION: One of my favorite themes of science fiction television, books, and movies is space exploration. Going forth into the unknown and encountering new species, worlds, and cultures is just part of the fun. However, just like those who discovered vast amounts of the world we lived in, so too is space exploration a dangerous endeavor. That is why it is best to go out into the void wholly equipped and ready for anything. You never know when you might run into a violent or hostile alien force hellbent on destroying you.

1.3 WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO PLAY: To play Raise Shields, you will need: • • • • • • •

These rules. A printed off copy of the game map. A printed off copy of the ship rosters. A printed off copy of the ship counters. The first player marker. At least five six-sided dice (referred to as D6s in these rules) Pencils and erasers.

2.0 PREPARING TO PLAY:

player places their ship counter along the outer edge of their side of the map in the “Starting Zone” (As indicated by the grayed-out area on each side of the map). a. Ships must be placed with the front end facing toward a straight edge of a hex. The front of the ship has three arrows facing outward. Each arrow should be pointing at one of three different sides of the hex. b. The front of the ship must be facing out toward open space, not sideways or backward toward the map’s edges.

Before your first time playing, print and cut out all the Ship Counters and the Ship Rosters.

2.1 PICK A PLAYING POINT LEVEL: The point level determines how many “credits” each player will be allowed to spend on their ship. Credits enable players to purchase weapons, armor, and shield upgrades. For your first time playing, use a point level of 0— meaning you only play with the base ship capabilities. 0 1 2 3 4

0 Credits Per Players 5 Credits Per Players 10 Credits Per Player 15 Credits Per Player 20 Credits Per player

Each player will need a ship roster to represent their personal starship.

2.2 SET UP: 1. MAP: Set the map on the table between the players. 2. SHIPS and ROSTERS: Give each player a ship roster, a colored ship counter, and a pencil with an eraser. 3. BUILD SHIPS: Each player should now build their starship with upgrades according to how many credits they have (see 2.4 Star Ship Building). After choosing your upgrades, write in your ship’s Hull, Shield, Crew points, etc. in the respective boxes. If you plan on playing a campaign game, record these numbers again below the upgrades line so you can remember what your base starting stats are. 4. PLACE SHIPS: Players roll to choose which side of the map they start on. If only playing with two players, you must start on opposite sides of the map. Each

2.3 SHIP ROSTERS: Ship rosters help you keep track of your ship’s statistics throughout the game. Each roster has 5 specific statistics. •

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Stress: Making dangerous maneuvers, as well as taking damage, can add stress to your ship’s integrity. Take on too much stress, and you may be threatened with a compromised hull. Crew: This number shows how large your crew is. The more crew members you have left alive determines your ship’s overall morale. Additionally, crew members can repair the ship as it takes damage. Shields: Shields are your first line of defense against attack. Initial damage

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will hit shields first and then your hull and weaponry second. Hull: The hull is the backbone of your ship. Once your hull statistic hits zero, your ship is destroyed. Cannons: This is how much firepower your ship has. Each ship begins with 10 laser cannons, five on each side.

2.4 STARSHIP BUILDING: Each starship begins with a base level of 10 shield points, 10 hull points, and 10 laser cannons. Before beginning play, players may choose to purchase any of the following upgrades for their ship. •

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Shield Bonus (5 Credits): Shields are an essential first defense against attackers. You raise your starting shield level by 5. You may purchase this twice. Armor Plating (5 Credits): If your shields ever fail or an attack managed to penetrate them you will want to have a hearty outer lining to your ship. You double your hull points. Evasive Maneuvers: (5 Credits): You install new microjets which make maneuvering easier in battle. You receive +1D6 when rolling for evasion and may reroll any stress tests (but must take the second result). Impulse Engines (5 Credits): You may move up to 6 spaces without making a stress test. Your first negative stress modifier you gain each turn counts as 0. Crew Quarters (5 Credits): You add on more space to house more crew members. Add 5 new crew members to your ship. You may purchase this twice. Phaser Cannons (5 Credits): Laser Cannons can only do so much damage. Phaser Cannons fire at Long Range as if they are at Close Range (hitting on a 5 or 6) and a Close Range as if they are at Boarding Range (4, 5, or 6). Pulse Cannons (10 Credits): Pulse Cannons are one step above Phaser Cannons. They fire at all ranges as if it were Boarding Range (hitting on 4, 5, or 6).

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Plasma Cannons (15 Credits): These powerful cannons have the ability to slice right through shields. They don’t receive the same range bonus as the other cannons. However, on any roll of 6, the damage goes straight through to the hull. Plasma Torpedo (5 Credits Per Torpedo): torpedoes are the most powerful weapon available. However, once you use one, it is gone forever. Torpedo’s fire at all ranges as if it were Boarding Range (hitting on 4, 5, or 6) and always hit the hull instead of the shields.

highest score gets to choose who is the first player for the round. Give that player the First Player Marker. 2. MOVEMENT PHASE: Starting with the first player, each player takes turns, in clockwise order, moving their ships one at a time around the map. Ships follow the map hexes. (See section 4.0) 3. CANNON PHASE: Starting with the first player, each player takes turns firing upon enemy ships if able. (See section 6.0) 4. REPAIR PHASE: Your crew may attempt to repair damage made against the ship.

Restrictions: You may only ever have one type of cannon on your ship at a time. You may, however, have torpedoes in addition to your cannons. You may only purchase shields and armor twice, Evasive Maneuvers once, and everything else once. Torpedoes are the only exception. You may buy as many of those as you have credits.

4.0 MOVEMENT PHASE:

Once you have purchased something, write it on your ship roster to remind you.

4.1 STEPS FOR MOVEMENT:

Example: For instance, if you purchased Armor Plating two times, you would write in the new hull number (Base of 10 + 5 + 5 = 20) in the space next to the base you started with. You now have 20 hull points before your ship is destroyed.

3.0 PLAYING THE GAME: You are now ready to play Raise Shields. Games of Raise Shields are divided up into rounds, and each round has 4 parts to it.

3.1 GAME ROUND: 1. MORALE ROLL: All players roll 1d6 and add their morale score (determined by the number of crew members left alive on their ship). The player with the

During the Movement Phase, starting with the first player for the round, each player takes turns moving their ships one at a time. Meaning, the first player would move their ship, the next player theirs, and so on, going around the circle until every ship has been moved.

When moving, follow these steps. 1. Check travel direction. (See section 4.2). 2. Move your ship, keeping track of possible stress modifiers for the turn. 3. Make necessary Stress Tests. (See section 4.5) Ships may never move backward. Each ship counter shows three arrows pointing forward. These are the three directions it may move. Each ship may move between 2 to 6 spaces on their turn without penalty but may move more or less by taking on stress modifiers. Multiple factors can affect your movement. As you move your ship, count how many stress modifiers you gain during the turn from both turning and speed.

4.2 TRAVEL DIRECTION:

4.4 SPEED and STRESS

Before moving, always check which direction your ship is traveling. In outer space, there is no air or wind resistance. Therefore, once you begin moving one direction, you must continue moving that direction indefinitely unless you make a purposeful turn or stop.

Depending on how far you move, you take the chance of inflicting stress on your ship. Possible movement options are as follows: • • •

Whichever direction your ship is facing at the beginning of movement is considered it’s “Travel Direction.” If during your movement, you ever turn out of your travel direction, you’ll be required to make a stress test.

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Move 5-6 and accumulate a -1 Stress Modifier. Move 2-4 and no stress modifier. Move 1 and accumulate a -1 stress modifier. Move 0 and accumulate a -2 stress modifier.

4.5 STRESS TEST: At the end of your movement, you will then calculate any stress the ship might have taken. This is done through a stress test. This test is always made at the end of the movement action. To make a stress test do the following: 1. Roll 2d6. 2. Negate any accumulated stress modifiers for the round (from both turning and speed). 3. Negate your ship’s current stress value. 4. Check the results table below.

4.3 TURNING Each turn you make adds to your stress modifier for the turn. If you turn one click (measured as one hex side), you accumulate -1 stress modifier for the round. If you turn two clicks (two hex sides), -2—and so on.

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You have successfully made the maneuver without taking on any stress. You still successfully made the maneuver but must take on ONE stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. You still successfully made the maneuver but maybe went too far. Roll a d6 and halve the result. Move that many spaces in your current travel direction. Additionally, your ship must take on ONE additional stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. You still successfully made the maneuver but definitely went too far. Roll a d6. Move that many spaces in your current travel direction.

Additionally, your ship must take on TWO additional stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. -0-5 Your ship was damaged in the maneuver. Roll 1d6 and take that much hull damage. -6 Your ship buckled under the maneuver and was destroyed. (EXAMPLE: Harry rolls 2d6 and gets a result of 6. He accumulated -1 stress modifier from moving 6 spaces and also -1 from turning one click this turn for a total of -2 stress modifiers. His total roll after modifiers is now 4. He then checks his current stress level which is 3 and negates that from his total as well—leaving a result of 1. He is forced to move 1d6 spaces and take TWO additional stress levels.)

1. DECLARE TARGET AND CHECK LINE OF SIGHT: Choose one other ship on the board to attack. Cannons may only shoot out from the side of your ship within the ship’s firing arch (example below) unless you have torpedoes, which may be fired from any direction. You can use a ruler or other straight edge to see if you are in line of sight of the target ship. You may never shoot through another ship, friendly or enemy.

4.6 OTHER MOVEMENT RULES: •

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If your ship ever moves off the map edge, they have fled the fight and are considered out of the game. You may never move onto or through another ship by choice. If you are forced into another ship by a stress test, stop moving immediately. Both ship’s take 1d6 damage to the hull.

5.0 CANNON PHASE: Starting with the first player for the round, each player may make one attack from both sides of each of their ships as well as one torpedo if they have it. This is done one ship at a time, just like in the Movement Phase. The first player fires with both sides of one ship, the next player fires, and so on—going around the circle until all ships who can fire have done so.

5.1 ATTACKING: To make an attack, follow these steps.

2. CHECK RANGE: Check how many hex spaces away the target is. a. BOARDING: If the target is only 1 hex away, they are at Boarding Range. You will hit on results of 4-6. Additionally, you can choose to board the enemy ship. (See section 6.2) b. CLOSE RANGE: If the target is 5 or fewer hexes away, they are at Close Range. You will hit on results of 5-6. c. LONG RANGE: If the target is farther than 6 hexes away, they are at Long Range. You will hit on results of 6. 3. ROLL ATTACK DICE: Count the number of active cannons you have on that side

of the ship (maximum 5). Take 1d6 for each active cannon. Roll the dice. 4. CHECK FOR HITS: Dice are counted individually—NOT added together. For each die showing a HIT result (4-6 at Boarding Range, 5-6 at Close Range, 6 at Long Range) you score a hit on them.

5.2 BOARDING: When at boarding range, you may choose to sacrifice one point in your crew value to “board” the enemy. When doing this, results of 6 always count as 2 HITS to a target ship. NOTE: You MUST be at actual Boarding Range to board an enemy ship. Even if you have an upgraded cannon that allows you to make hits as if you were in boarding range, you still must be 1 hex away to board.

5.3 DEFENDING: Now the ship being targeted by the attack gets a chance to defend. To defend, roll 1d6. You may always increase your ship’s stress by 1 to take an additional die. If you have “Evasive Maneuvers” take an extra die. Roll the die. If rolling 2d6 or 3D6, add the results together. 1. Negate your ship’s stress level from the result. 2. Halve the result. 3. This final number is how many hits you evaded from the attack—if any.

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Attacker decides where damage goes All damage goes to the Hull All damage goes to the Cannons on the closest side of the ship. If the attack is hitting the front or back of the ship and not a side, the damage goes to the Hull instead. 4 All damage goes to the Crew 5 All damage is taken as Stress 6 Defender chooses where damage goes • When damage goes to the hull or the crew, negate the amount from your current total and record the new result. • When damage goes to the cannons, mark off the boxes next to the cannons on that side of the ship being attacked. Every two checks removes a cannon from play. You can no longer fire with that cannon. • When damage is taken as stress, just add it to the stress level of the ship.

5.5 REPAIRS: At the end of the round, each player may attempt to repair their ship. For each crew member on board, roll 1d6. Each result of 6 counts as a “Repair Point.” These points can be spent as follows. • •

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1 Point to Repair one Shield point. 2 Points to Repair on Cannon. (This only repairs one of the two cannon’s boxes. Not both.) 3 Points to Repair one Hull point.

5.4 TAKING DAMAGE:

Repair points do not carry over between rounds.

After determining how many hits a ship is taking, the defender applies the damage directly to the shields.

6.0 END OF ROUND:

If any damage penetrated the shield or you have lost your shields completely, roll a die to see where the damage ends up. Use the following table to determine the result.

When all players have finished making their attacks, it’s time to check for victory.

6.1 WINNING You win if you meet the following condition.

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All other ships have been destroyed or have fled the map.

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If no one has met the winning conditions and won the game, the round starts over with another Morale check from the crew members of each ship.

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7.0 CAMPAIGN RULES: If you want to continue playing with the same ships for a few different games in a row, you can. At the end of each game, calculate the credits you earned during the battle. • •

If your ship fled the previous battle, you don’t have to pay for the repairs.

APPENDIX 1: OPTIONAL RULES: •

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APPENDIX 2: RULES CLARIFICATION: •

5 credits for each ship you destroyed. 10 credits if you won the battle.

If your ship was destroyed in the previous battle. It costs a minimum of five credits to bring it back into working condition. You would begin the next game at half the shields and hull but with full cannons and crew. You may spend ten credits instead to bring it back to complete working condition with all stats at the maximum. If you don’t have the necessary credits, your ship is considered out of the campaign for good.

No Cannon: You may choose to end the game and declare a winner if all other ships are devoid of cannons. The losing ships have “fled” the battle. One Cannon: You may also decide on the optional rule that all ships always have at least one cannon on both sides at all times, thus negating the above winning condition. Team Play: When playing with four players, you may choose to play on teams of two.

Large Map: For a larger game, print off two copies of the map and place them side by side to form a bigger play area. Fleet Map: For an extra-large game, print off the map four times and place them all in a 2x2 grid. Fleet Play: You may choose to print off extra ship rosters and counters and have players play multiple ships.

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When determining which side your cannons are facing, or which side of cannons are being damaged, always compare the Ship Roster to the Ship Counter. The Port (Left) side on the Ship Roster always corresponds to the (L) side on the counter. The Starboard (Right) side on the Ship Roster always corresponds to the (R) side of the counter. Raise Shields: A Micro Wargame Copyright © 2019 Noah Patterson

Raise Shields QUICK REFERENCE Game Round: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Morale Roll Movement Phase Cannon Phase Repair Phase

Additionally, your ship must take on TWO additional stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. -0-5 Your ship was damaged in the maneuver. Roll 1d6 and take that much hull damage. -6 Your ship buckled under the maneuver and was destroyed. Attacking: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Morale: Crew + D6 Roll Movement Phase: 1. Check Travel Direction. 2. Move Ship. 3. Make necessary stress tests. Movement Options: • • • •

Move 5-6 and accumulate -1 Stress Modifier. Move 2-4 and no stress modifier. Move 1 and accumulate -1 stress modifier. Move 0 and accumulate -2 stress modifiers.

Range: Boarding* No hexes Hits on 4-6 Close 5 or Less Hits on 5-6 Long 6+ Hits on 6 *Can spend one Crew Point to make all 6s worth 2 hits. Defending: 1. Determine Dice Modifiers: a. Evasive Maneuvers add 1d6. b. Choose to increase stress by 1 to roll an additional 1D6. c. Otherwise, roll only 1d6. 2. Roll dice. Add results altogether. 3. Negate ship’s stress level. 4. Divide result by half, rounding down. 5. The final result is how many hits you dodged.

Stress Test: 2d6 – Stress Modifiers – Stress Level 6+

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You have successfully made the maneuver without taking on any stress. You still successfully made the maneuver but must take on ONE stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. You still successfully made the maneuver but maybe went too far. Roll a d6 and halve the result. Move that many spaces in your current travel direction. Additionally, your ship must take on ONE additional stress. Mark this on your Ship Roster. You still successfully made the maneuver but definitely went too far. Roll a d6. Move that many spaces in your current travel direction.

Declare target & check line of sight Determine range. Roll 1D6 per cannon. Check # of hits (determined by range)

Damage Chart: 1 2 3

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Attacker decides where damage goes All damage goes to the Hull All damage goes to the Cannons on the closest side of the ship. If the attack is hitting the front or back of the ship and not a side, the damage goes to the Hull instead. All damage goes to the Crew All damage is taken as Stress Defender chooses where damage goes