Battlestar Galactica Starship Combat Rules



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Colonial Battlefleet

Second Edition

v. 1.0

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By Harry and Leslie Pratt

Introduction

BSG: Colonial Battlefleet is intended to replicate the feel of space combat as it appears on the new Battlestar Galactica show that airs weekly on the SciFi channel.

To play the game you will need:

- Miniatures or counters to represent the spaceships

- Miniatures or counters to represent missiles and torpedoes (a lot of them!)

- Several each of six sided, eight sided, ten sided, and twelve sided dice (d6,d8,d10,d12)

Note: In some places you will be required to roll one or more d9’s. To roll a d9, roll a d10 normally, but treat the 10 as a zero.

- Printouts of the ship combat record for each ship participating in the battle

- A battle mat marked in hexes large enough to accommodate your ship models/counters*

*Colonial battlestars are assumed to take up 2 hexes in this rule set.

The game is designed to be simple to learn and fast paced, yet still provide an engaging tactical experience that will provide countless hours of fun.

The object of the game is to destroy your enemy’s fleet. The cylons accomplish that by hanging back with their carriers and sending wave after wave of missiles and fighters at the colonial fleet, possibly accompanied by Cylon battleships, trying to overwhelm the Colonial defenses.

Conversely, the colonials want to get in as close as possible to the cylon base carriers so that they can pound them into so much scrap with their powerful rail guns.

You may also wish to create scenarios with other objectives as well, perhaps based on sequences from the show, such as the battle at Ragnar Station, or simply scenarios you dream up yourself.

Playing the Game

The simplest way to learn BSG: Colonial Battlefleet is simply to walk through each step of game play and explain the rules that pertain to it.

When you have started with the Game Effects phase, and proceeded all the way through the Damage Control phase, you have completed a turn. Unless you are playing a certain scenario, there is no set limit to how many turns each game lasts. You will find that in the early and late stages of the game, the turns are completed fairly quickly as there is not a lot that takes plave in any individual phase. Towards the middle of the game the turns tend to stretch out a little as many ships are taking lots of actions.

Experienced players should be able to complete a small task force on task force game within 2 hours at most, assuming only one player per side. If instead you have multiple players per side with each player controlling a single capital ship and its accompanying fighter squadrons, the game will be somewhat longer. An additional hour for each experienced player per side is probably a good rule of thumb.

On to the game!

Turn Sequence

1. Game Effects

2. Roll Initiative

3. Capital Ship Movement

4. Capital Ship Shooting/Missile & Torpedo Deployment

5. Missile Movement

6. Capital Ships Deploy Fighters

7. Fighter Movement

8. Fighter Shooting

Game Effects

During this phase, ongoing special damage results are applied or and or appropriate rolls are taken. If it becomes relevant which order Game Effects are applied, the side that won initiative the previous turn chooses the order.

Special scenario rules can also be handled during this phase after all other game effects have been applied. Examples could include asteroid drift, gravitational attraction towards a black hole or other space object, and so forth.

Roll Initiative

One player from each side (Cylons and Colonials) rolls 1d12 for the entire side, re-rolling ties. The side that rolls the highest wins initiative for the entire turn.

Capital Ship Movement

The side that lost the initiative roll must move all their capital ships before the winning side moves theirs.

Normal Movement

Each capital ship has a speed value. This is the number of hexes that ship can change its velocity each turn. At the beginning of the game all ships start with a carry-over velocity of 2. The first turn each ship may then adjust its velocity up or down by its speed value before making its move. Its current velocity is then recorded and carried over to the next turn. A ship may never have a negative velocity, ships always move forwards or not at all!

Example:

A colonial battlestar (speed 2) has a carry-over velocity of 5 from the previous turn. This means that this turn the battlestar MUST move forward a number of hexes between 3 (-2 speed change) and 7 (+2 speed change). The battlestar does not have to change the full 2, however. It can add or subtract any number 0-2 from its velocity.

The colonial player decides to subtract one from his velocity, and moves his ship forward 4 hexes (5-1). He then records 4 as his current speed, which becomes his carry over velocity for the following turn.

In addition to a speed value, each ship also has a turn rate. This number is the number of “clicks” a ship may turn. Turning in BSG: Colonial Battlefleet is done in half-hex side increments. Thus a turn of 1 “click” from a flat hex side facing means the ship is now facing down the “point” of the hex.

When moving down the “point” of a hex, simply count each hex line, and each open hex as 1 hex moved forward. If you land on a hex line (due to an odd rather than an even current velocity) you simply choose which of the two hexes on either side of the line the ship winds up in at the end of its movement.

This method may seem harder at first than only turning full hex-sides, but it is necessary due to the subtle changes in heading called for by the barrage of missiles you will soon be placing on the board! It does create a more interesting and tactical game and after just a couple games will become second nature to you!

All changes of facing happen before movement. Therefore a capital ship is always turned first, then moved in a straight line. It may never change its facing later in its move.

If a ship has a zero velocity for the turn it may spin to any facing regardless of its turn rating.

Lumbering

Some ships with older drive systems are so big and slow that they use a different set of rules for movement. These ships will have “Max X” for their Speed and “Lumbering” for their Turn Rate. The X in their Speed stat is the number of hexes the ship may move in any turn. The ship may move any number of hexes up to this number each turn, but must move only in one direction for any given turn.

Example: A ship with Max 4, Lumbering may move 1-4 hexes in direction A on turn 1, then may move 1-4 hexes in direction B on turn 2. What it may not do is move two hexes one way, then two hexes another in the space of a single game turn.

Capital Ship Shooting/Missile & Torpedo Deployment

The side that won the initiative shoots with its capital ships before the looser. However, all shooting is considered to be simultaneous, therefore damage is not applied until the end of the phase.

All fire must be declared before any dice are rolled. The shooting player may shoot all remaining weapons carried by his ship each turn if he or she wishes. There is no penalty for splitting fire, but you may not change targets once you start rolling dice and see how effective your shooting is.

To declare that a weapon is being fired at a target, the target must lie in the weapons firing arc. Missiles and torpedoes have their own special rules (see below) and turret mounted weapons are considered to have a 360 degree fire arc. Otherwise a weapon will have one or more of the following fire arcs:

(F)orward

(P)ort

(S)starboard

(A)ft

The forward firing arc begins with the hex directly in front of the ship and extends away from the ship in a cone. The aft firing arc is a mirror image of the forward firing arc, except it begins with the hex directly behind the ship.

Anything to the left of the ship that is not in its forward or aft firing arc, is considered to be in its port firing arc. Similarly, anything to the right of the ship not included in its forward or aft firing arcs is considered to be in its starboard firing arc.

Direct Fire Weapons

Direct fire weapons include rail guns, beam cannons, and any other weapon that does not launch a projectile whose movement is plotted on the tabletop.

Each direct fire weapon will have a “To Hit” value of a certain number of dice. For example, a Heavy Rail Gun has a “To Hit” value of 2d12.

To shoot a direct fire weapon, the player rolls the to-hit dice, adds them together, and compares the total to the range to the target. If the result of the die roll is equal or greater than the range to the target, a hit has been scored!

Example: A colonial Mercury class battlestar dreadnought wishes shoot a Cylon battleship 13 hexes away with a heavy rail gun battery. The heavy rail gun has a to-hit value of 2d12. The colonial player rolls 2d12 getting a 3 and an 11, for a total of 14. Since this is greater than the range to the target, a hit is scored, and the colonial player may roll for damage against the cylon ship.

If a hit is scored, you then roll the listed damage dice of the weapon and resolve the damage as described under Damage Resolution in the multi-phase rules section below. Damage resolution is listed separately because the same mechanics apply to each of the various shooting phases in BSG: Colonial Battlefleet.

Missiles and Torpedoes

Some ships, such as Cylon carriers, are not equipped with direct fire weapons, and instead have missiles or torpedoes as their primary weapons systems. The movement of missiles and torpedoes is plotted on the battlegrid and therefore no to-hit roll is required. Instead, use the following rules:

During the capital ship shooting phase, missiles and torpedoes may also be deployed. Missiles and torpedoes are deployed in any adjacent hex to the firing ship with any facing. However, they must be placed so that their subsequent movement in the next phase does not enter the ship’s own hex causing the ship to shoot itself!

It is important when deploying and moving missiles and torpedoes that the miniature/counter clearly shows which hex side or hex point the miniature is facing as this will become very important later in the game!

Missiles hit or miss the target by entering a hex occupied by a capital ship during the missile or torpedo movement phase (or if they missiles or torpedoes are run over by a capital ship during the capital ship movement phase!) They will attack any capital ship whose hex they enter, friend or foe!

The difference between missiles and torpedoes lies in how they move, as described below.

Missile & Torpedo Movement

Each player moves the missiles (or torpedoes) he or she deployed in the current or previous turns.

Missile Movement

To move a missile, you may turn it up to one click in either direction, then move it straight forward six hexes. If it enters the hex of any capital ship, friend or foe, it attacks and damage is resolved. Any reactive fire flak batteries carried by the target ship get a chance to shoot down the missile before damage is rolled.

Torpedo Movement

Torpedoes move in a similar fashion to missiles. However, they receive only one change of facing on the first movement phase after their deployment. Thereafter they move in a straight line 6 hexes per turn until they enter a hex occupied by a capital ship, leave the board, or are deemed to no longer have any chance of affecting the battle. Like missiles, torpedoes may be shot down by reactive fire flak batteries carried by the target ship.

For more information on Reactive Fire weapon systems, see the special rules section.

Capital Ships Deploy Fighters

Unless the scenario specifies otherwise, fighters are always assumed to start the battle docked safely in the ship that carries them. In order to use the fighters, the player must first deploy them.

Capital ships may deploy fighters in their fighter deployment zones. Initiative is not relevant to this phase, so each side may deploy fighters simultaneously.

For Battlestars (assuming a battlestar takes up 2 hexes), the fighter deployment zones are the middle hex in the three adjacent hexes on each side. Thus, a battlestar may deploy 2 fighter squadrons per turn.

Cylon ships may deploy fighters in any adjacent empty hex. Thus carriers may normally deploy up to six fighters per turn.

If a fighter deployment zone hex is occupied by any object, the capital ship may not deploy fighters into that hex.

Note: Each fighter model in BSG: Colonial Battlefleet represents one squadron of fighters.

Fighter Movement

The side that lost the initiative then moves all fighters currently in play. Fighters have a speed value like capital ships, however they are not subject to the same movement restrictions. Fighters have no “facing” and may simply move any number of hexes in any direction(s) up to the max move value of the fighter as listed on its sheet.

After the side that lost the initiative has moved its fighters, the side that won the initiative moves its fighters following the same process.

If a fighter carrying boarding parties moves into a hex occupied by an enemy capital ship, remove the fighter and follow the rules for boarding actions starting in the next Game Effects phase. See the special rules section below for more information on boarding parties.

Fighter Shooting

The side that won the initiative proceeds through each applicable step of the fighter shooting phase as described.

1. Cylons may make one Cylon Computer Infiltration roll against every colonial capital ship with networked computer systems within range. Any fighters that participate in the cylon computer infiltration attack, may not participate in any later steps in the cylon shooting phase. For more information on the computer infiltration attack, see the Special Rules section.

2. Any fighters armed with torpedoes may deploy their torpedoes. Note that these torpedoes will not be moved until the next missile/torpedo movement phase.

3. Surviving fighters may shoot at adjacent targets. Fighters must be adjacent to a target in order to attack it. Fighters shooting at a capital ship with reactive fire flak batteries will receive return fire as they execute their attack runs.

3a. Any targets with the Dogfight special rules that are attacked by fighters may take simultaneous return fire against the attacking fighters – assuming they have not already made a dogfight roll this turn. In a dogfight, damage rolls are made for both sides before models are removed. See the Dogfight special rule.

After the side that won initiative has completed all steps of the shooting phase, the side that lost the initiative may then proceed through each step of the shooting phase with any surviving fighters.

Multi-phase Rules

Damage Resolution

Ships (and missiles) have an Armor or Defense rating that determines whether the ship takes damage from a particular weapon hit. Generally, capital ships will have Armor ratings, while fighters, missiles, and other small craft will have a defense rating that represents their ability to dodge, rather than absorb weapons hits. Armor and defense ratings work in similar ways with small differences. These differences are outlined below. In addition, some weapons may have special rules that apply only against targets with one type of rating or the other.

Armor Ratings – To see if a weapon hitting a target with an Armor Rating does damage, roll the appropriate damage dice for the weapon. Compare each damage die individually to the target’s armor rating. If the die roll equals the target’s armor rating it inflicts 1 point of hull damage. For each point by which the die roll exceeds the target’s armor rating, it inflicts an additional point of damage. Total the damage done by all dice from the weapon, and mark off that many hull point boxes on the target’s damage track.

Defense Rating – To see if a weapon hitting a target with a defense rating does damage, roll the appropriate damage dice for the weapon and compare each die rolled individually against the target’s Defensive Rating. Any roll equal to or greater than the target’s Defensive Rating destroys the target. Ships/missiles that have a defense value, do not have hull points and are destroyed by any successful damage.

Important: Ships/missiles with a defense value are completely immune to any weapon that does not specifically state that it can affect ships with a defense rating instead of an armor rating. Capital weapons are just too big and cumbersome to employ effectively against small targets.

Critical Hits

In addition to hull damage, ships can also suffer critical damage results and lose the use of vital systems.

Whenever the attacker rolls doubles on the damage dice for a single weapon system, a critical hit is scored. However, the doubles must be high enough to actually penetrate the armor of the ship being targeted.

Example: a Colonial Battlestar Dreadnought hits a Cylon carrier (Defense Value 8) with a Rail Gun (Damage Value 4d9). The Colonial player rolls his damage dice and scores 6, 6, 9, 9. The sixes are discarded, because they did not penetrate the Cylon ship’s armor. However, the pair of 9s inflict a total of four points of damage plus a critical hit.

For each pair of numbers rolled, a critical hit is scored. Thus in the example above if the Colonial player had rolled 9,9,9,9 that would be two full pairs and the shot would have inflicted two critical hits on the Cylon ship.

Whenever a critical hit is scored, roll on the following table:

Critical Damage Table (1d6)

1 Flight Operations Disrupted

2 Special System Damaged

3 Weapon System Destroyed

4 Bridge Damaged

5 Fire in Space!

6 Reactor Core Damaged

If a CIWS rolls doubles when attacking a capital ship, they may also roll normally on the table above. The weapon also still gets its “free” special critical roll in addition to the normal roll for crossing off the box. (See CIWS in the special rules below.)

If any roll yields a result that does not apply because all the appropriate systems are already damaged, simply move to the next higher critical result and apply that damage result instead.

Flight Operations Disrupted The control area that governs flight operations for the ship has been destroyed. The ship may not launch or recover fighters until operational control has been re-routed. Check the box next to Flight Operations on your ship data sheet.

During each Game Effects phase, roll 1d6. On a 6, control has been re-routed and the ship may launch and recover fighters normally. Erase the checkmark next to flight operations on your ship data sheet.

Special System Damaged The attacker chooses one special system from the Special portion of the defender’s ship card. Place a checkmark next to that system on your ship data sheet. That special rule may not be used by that ship for the rest of the game.

Weapon System Destroyed One of the ship’s weapons systems has been destroyed. The attacker chooses a single weapon system on your ship data sheet. Put a check mark next to the weapon system that is chosen. That weapon system may not be fired for the rest of the game.

Bridge Damaged The ship may no longer change its heading or velocity until a backup system has been put in place. Ships with the Lumbering special movement rule remain in place.

During each Game Effects phase, roll 1d6. On a 6, navigational control has been restored and the ship may maneuver normally. Erase the checkmark next to Bridge on your ship data sheet.

Fire in Space! Add 1 to the number of fires on the ship.

During the game effects phase, roll 1d6 for each fire. On a result of 1, add 1 to the number of fires and roll on the critical chart to see what additional damage has been caused by the fire. On a 5 or 6 reduce the number of fires on the ship by 1 for each 5 or 6 rolled.

A ship may have multiple fires either through the fires spreading, or from rolling this critical multiple times before the fires are extinguished.

Reactor Core Damaged The ships’ power system has been damaged! Put a check next to Reactor Core on your ship data sheet.

During the game effects phase roll 1d6 and subtract 1 from the die for each previous roll for this effect. On a score of 1 or less the ship explodes in a catastrophic explosion. All ships/missiles within 2 hexes suffer a d12 hit.

On a natural roll of 6 the reactor has been repaired and this critical is discarded. Erase the checkmark on your ship data sheet.

If this critical result is rolled a second time, the catastrophic explosion happens immediately.

Special Rules

Boarding Party

This ship is equipped with Cylon Centurion or Colonial Marine boarding parties. It can move into the hex occupied by a capital ship. When that happens, remove it. Thereafter, in each game effects phase, the attacker rolls 3 dice (according to their troop type), and the defender rolls one die (according to his troop type) for each attacker die and compares the results individually. For each point by which the attacker die exceeds the defender die, note 1 crew casualty next to the hull points damage box.

If the number of crew casualties ever exceeds the remaining number of hull points on the ship then the entire crew has been killed and the opposing player may take control of the ship.

If the attacker die equals the defender die nothing happens.

If the defender die beats the attacker die, that attacker die is discarded, and can’t be used in future turns as those soldiers have been killed.

Cylon Centurions roll d10s

Colonial Marines roll d8s

CIWS (Close-In Weapons System)

This is a small caliber, rapid fire projectile weapon. It doesn’t pack much of a punch (relatively speaking), but is highly accurate. No “to hit” roll is needed with a CIWS, simply roll the damage dice. All CIWS’ have a range of 1.

Against targets with an Armor Rating this weapon can never inflict more than 1 point of hull damage total regardless of the die roll(s). However, any successful damage roll allows the attacker to make a special critical roll. The attacker chooses one result from the Critical Damage Table (except for Reactor Core Damaged) and rolls 1d6. If the die roll equals the result chosen, the target suffers the chosen critical damage result.

A CIWS can affect targets with a Defense value instead of an armor rating.

CCIA (Cylon Computer Infiltration Attack)

Any time a ship with this special rule is within 4 hexes of a ship with the Networked Computer Systems special rule, the cylon player may roll 2d8 and adds +1 for each other ship with this special rule within 4 hexes of the target. Only one roll is made against the defenses of all ships within range.

The colonial player rolls 3d6 for each ship within range of the attack and compares his result to the cylon player’s score. If the cylon player’s score exceeds the colonial players score, the cylon may “switch off” the colonial ship. The colonial ship continues moving on its current heading and velocity and may take no actions (including reactive fire) until the end of the following turn.

After 1 turn of inactivity, the affected ship (if it hasn’t been blown out of the stars) returns to normal as the computers have managed to isolate and eliminate the cylon virus – at least temporarily. For the rest of the battle, that ship cannot be affected by another computer infiltration attack.

If the colonial player’s roll equals or exceeds the cylon player’s score, then the attack has been defeated by the colonial computer’s firewalls. However, the cylon player is free to try another computer infiltration attack on each turn thereafter, until an attack is successful or he no longer has ships able to participate in the attack.

These rolls are made during the Fighter Shooting Phase. Cylon ships that participate in a computer infiltration attack may not participate in any other steps of the fighter shooting phase – including dogfighting.

Dogfight

Whenever a ship with this rule is attacked by a fighter, it may also roll its own attacks against the attacking fighter. Damage from both attacks is resolved simultaneously.

A ship may only ever take one Dogfight attack per turn.

Flak Mode

This is a capital weapon that has an alternate fire mode that allows it to work like a flak battery. Weapons with this ability may target any hex within the normal range of the weapon. No “to-hit” roll is needed.

A weapon with this ability targets a single hex within range and rolls the number of flak dice indicated. ll weapons with this ability must target the same hex the results are compared to the defensive value of any model in the target hex. All flak mode fire must be declared simultaneously. A player cannot wait to see if his first flak mode attack hits before deciding to roll his second.

Networked Computer Systems

This ship gets +1 to any reactive fire rolls is makes for each other ship with a networked computer system within 4 hexes.

This ship is also vulnerable to Cylon Computer Infiltration

Nuclear Detonation

This weapon is an area attack. The primary target suffers a 4d12 hit upon impact. In addition to the primary damage, all adjacent targets take a 2d12 hit. All targets 2 hexes away take a 1d12 hit. No target may be affected more than once by the same blast.

This damage can affect ships/missiles with a Defense Rating.

Nuclear Payload (x)

This ship is armed with one or more nuclear torpedoes (as shown by the number (x)).

According to the ship type (capital vs. fighter) this ship may deploy nuclear torpedoes in the appropriate phase (Capital Ship Shooting or Fighter Shooting).

Fighters may not shoot in the turn they deploy nuclear torpedoes. Fighters may deploy as many nuclear torpedoes as they carry in a single volley.

Capital ships may deploy as many nuclear torpedoes in a single spread as they have torpedo launchers noted on their data sheet.

Reactive Fire

This weapon is not fired in the normal shooting phase. Instead it is fired when a target attacks the ship carrying this weapon system.

A reactive fire weapons system rolls its attack dice against EACH missile, torpedo, or fighter that triggers the system.

Example: A Colonial ship with reactive fire Flak Batteries of 3d10 is attacked by five missiles in one turn. The Colonial player rolls 3d10 five times, once for each missile, in an attempt to shoot it down before it hits.

Against missiles and torpedoes, damage from a Reactive Fire weapon is resolved BEFORE the action that prompted the reactive fire.

Against fighters, damage is resolved simultaneously with the fighter attacks.

Re-Roll Damage

This weapon is extraordinarily powerful. During the damage resolution step, any damage dice that fail to penetrate the target’s armor may be re-rolled once.

Re-Roll To Hit

This weapon is more accurate than most, or has an extremely high rate of fire that makes it easier to hit. If the weapon misses on its to hit roll, the to hit dice may be re-rolled once.

Respawn

The base ship for these fighters carries a virtually unlimited number of them. Any time these fighters are destroyed, return them to the base ship, ready to be deployed again during the next fighter deployment phase.

Each ship carrying fighters with the “Respawn” ability will have a “Command and Control” rating for that fighter type. This rating is the maximum number of that fighter type that the base ship may have in play at any one time. New fighter squadrons may not be launched until old ones are destroyed.

Tactical Net

This ship coordinates nearby fighter squadrons into tight defensive formations. All allied fighter squadrons within 4 hexes gain a +1 to their Dogfight rolls. This bonus does not apply to offensive attacks, only to the defensive dogfight rolls.

FAQ:

Q1. Can two ships ever occupy the same hex?

A1. No. If a ship would end its movement in a hex occupied by another ship, simply stop its movement short of the other ship and adjust its velocity accordingly for the next turn.

An exception to this rule is when a capital ship ends its movement in a hex occupied by a non-capital ship, such as a fighter. In that case, the small ship is displaced into an adjacent hex to make room for the capital ship. The opponent chooses which hex the small ship is displaced into.

This rule is in place to accommodate the needs of a miniatures based game without overly cluttering hexes. If you are playing with counters, you may wish to allow “ship stacking.” If you play with this option you will need to roll randomly to determine which ship is attacked when a missile enters a hex occupied by multiple enemy ships.

Q2. Can ships move through each other?

A2. Yes. Ships may always move through hexes occupied by other ships, regardless of allegiance and ship class. They simply cannot END their move in a hex occupied by another ship. See Q1 above.

Q3. Can ships move through hexes occupied by missiles (or torpoedoes) and vice versa?

A3. Yes. Any ship may move through a hex occupied by a missile (or torpedo), and any missile may move through a hex occupied by a ship. HOWEVER – if a capital ship attempts to do this it is subject to immediate attack by the missile, just as if the missile had moved into the capital ship’s hex during the missile/torpedo movement phase.

Q4. What is considered the “Front” of a Cylon carrier ship?

A4. You may use any convention you wish. We have chosen to define the “star” pattern cylon ships as facing the way of the primary point on the top star. The primary point is the point that forms the top of the “triangle.”

Q5. My battlestar model takes up 2 hexes! How does that work when the battlestar is facing the point of a hex, rather than a flat side?

A5. These rules were written with the assumption that a battlestar takes up 2 hexes, while a cylon base ship takes up 1 hex. When a 2 hex model faces the point of a hex, the model will wind up taking up space in 3 hexes rather than two. For all intents and purposes, the model is considered to fully occupy all three hexes in this instance.

For multi-hex models, all turns are based on pivoting the ship around the nose (swinging the back end while the bow turns in place).

Q6. Why are the battlestar classes shown as “Battlestart Dreadnought” or “Battlestar Cruiser.”

A6. In order to integrate ships from both the original series and the new show into a seamless universe, the background of Colonial ship design has been fleshed out.

“Battlestar” refers to a particular ship design philosophy. Late in the 5th millennium, technology had advanced to the point where single-seat fighters became feasible. At first the human colonies rushed to adopt the fighter as their primary offensive weapon, and the Star Carrier was born. This was a lightly armed and armored ship that was packed to the bulkheads with as many fighters as could be crammed in.

By the dawn of the 6th millennium however, it had been shown that these ships were too fragile to be effective. The cylon war had started, and the cylons had large, heavily armed and armored ships to support their carriers. In addition, the relatively short range of space fighters made combat happen at far shorter distances than the original planners had anticipated. What was needed was a heavily armed and armored ship that possessed its own ship-to-ship weapon systems, while still carrying a sizable fighter contingent to serve as a fighter screen and an offensive strike tool. Thus, the battlestar concept was born.

The term battlestar refers to a starship that can function in the dual role of combat ship and fleet carrier. Battlestars can be a variety of classes however. Thus it is necessary to refer to battlestars by their full class designation: Battlestar Cruiser, Battlestar Battlecruiser, Battlestar Dreadnought. Destroyers are too small to successfully employ the battlestar design and thus are simply “Destroyers.” Additionally, there are some designs of cruiser, battlecruiser, and dreadnought that are single role ships that do not user the Battlestar design layout. These may be released in future rules updates.

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