Battleships forever

Battleships forever

Battleships forever is a tabletop war game that is based upon a real-time strategy game of the same name by Wyrdysm Games that is based upon a top-down shoot-em-up named Warning Forever by Hikoza T Ohkubo.

Goal

The goal of the game is to wipe out your enemy's fleet before he does the same to you.

Ship creation

Each player is allotted an agreed upon number of points, and builds an armada according to the following rules. It is recommended that ships are cut from cardboard, as they are completely two dimensional. You will also need at least 1d6, a scatter die (a die with an arrow on every face), and a tape measure. Distance measurements are always in inches except where otherwise noted.

Ship sections

Ship's core

Cost = 5

1 per ship (required)

May parent up to 4 sections

May contain only one weapon or thruster costing no more than 5 points

Size is always 2 inches by 1 inch

Base HP is 5 + 1 per section it is an ancestor of

Additional HP costs 2 points per HP

Max HP is 10

mass = 20 + 2 * HP

Ship section

Cost = 1 + 1/2 distance from the core (in sections)

May parent one section, weapon, or module plus one additional section or weapon per square inch of area

Must be parented by only one section

Size is up to 2 square inches with no dimension being smaller than 1/2 inch

Base HP is 1 + 1 per section it is an ancestor of

Additional HP costs 1 point per HP

Mass = 5*size (in square inches) + HP

Swivel joint

Cost = 1

Two sections may be joined by a swiveling joint.

No more than 50 mass may be outside of a swivel joint.

When swiveling, the inner section stays stationary and the outside moves.

Weapons

No weapon may cost more than 15 + distance from the core (in sections)

Weapon

Cost = 1

Base range: 12

Additional range costs 1 point for 6

Base damage: 1

Additional damage costs 2 points per damage

Base accuracy: 10

Additional accuracy costs 1 point for 5

Weapon types

Multiply the cost of the weapon by the weapon type's cost modifier

Basic gun

Cost modifier: 1

Shoots a single bullet based on the stats of the weapon

Laser

Cost modifier = 1.75

Base sweep: 1

Additional sweep: .75 additional cost modifier for 1

After a laser hits, it damages the section it hits, then may be moved between 1/2 in. and 1 in. in either direction. It damages the section it stops on, then continues in the same direction for the same distance damaging every section it stops on. It does this a number of times equal to its sweep. It measures this distance from the point of impact.

Missile

Cost modifier = 2

Base HP: 1

Additional HP: 1 point for 1

If a missile is reduced to 0 HP, it is destroyed without exploding

Explosion radius is equal to base damage

Missiles deal damage to all sections under the explosion equal to total damage/(2*distance from the explosion center)

Rail gun

Cost modifier= 1.5

After hitting any section, the bullet continues with its damage halved until it would deal less than one damage. After hitting a section, its remaining range is also halved.

Torpedo

Cost modifier= 1.5

Base HP= 1

Additional HP: 2 points for 1

If a torpedo is reduced to 0 HP, it is destroyed without hitting

Fires a single bullet based on the stats of the weapon.

May be combined with missile type (making the cost modifier = 3) using the torpedo's HP, or used like a basic gun.

A torpedo is a bullet that fires through the third dimension.

When declaring your shot, declare a range you want the weapon to hit at. After rolling scatter, measure the distance you declared (in the scattered direction.) Place a marker on this location. Then move this marker away from your ship a distance of 1d6-3 inches. The weapon hits at this location, ignoring any ship sections in its fire line. This weapon may not pass through deflected sections or flux projectors.

Modules

No section may have more than one module

Tow Hitch

Cost = 3

By using a tow hitch, a ship may pull another ship. The tow hitch is used by coming into contact with another ship. The two ships now move as a unit with a thrust equal to the combined thrust of the ships, and a mass equal to the combined mass of the ships. If towing an enemy ship, the thrust is equal to the thrust of the towing ship minus the thrust of the towed ship. A tow hitch may also be used to tow a jettisoned section, though you may not use any of the weapons or modules on the jettisoned section.

Thruster

Cost = 5

Thrusters may only be mounted on the outermost sections of a ship

Base thrust value: 10

Additional thrust: 1 point for 2

Ship speed = thrust/mass * 12 in.

Max speed = 20 in.

Deflector

Cost = 20

Used on enemy's turn, after any shot is declared, but before it scatters.

Makes one section (not the core or the section it is mounted on) invincible for the remainder of the turn

Recharges on your turn on a die roll of 1 or 2

Additional recharge: For an additional 15 points, it can recharge on a 1, 2, 3, or 4

Additional duration: For an additional 15 points, it doesn't need to recharge until it is used twice

May not have more than one on any given section

A section using a deflector stops all damage to that section, and any weapons or modules on that section, it does not stop weapons from damaging sections behind it.

Defensive gunner

Cost = 1

Used once per enemy's turn (does not shoot at objects that start the turn within 4 inches of the gun.) automatically fires at the first non-allied object within 4 inches that has HP.

May shoot torpedoes that are still in the third dimension if their path moves within 4 inches of the defensive gunner.

Damage: 1

Additional shots: 1 point per shot

Lancet

Cost = 5

Only damages weapons or modules

Destroys all weapons and modules in its fire line

Base range: 12

Additional range: 1 point per 6 inches

Base accuracy: 8

Additional accuracy: 1 point per 5

Recharge: 1, 2

Additional recharge: 20 points for recharge 1, 2, 3, 4

Flux projector

Cost = 20

Used at the beginning of the shooting phase.

You may draw a straight directly outward from the projector. This line stops all bullets from passing through it for a duration of 1 round. Each inch of the line costs one energy.

Base energy: 8

Additional energy: 1 point for 1

Base energy recharge: 1d6

Additional energy recharge: 10 points per 1d6

Demeter control unit

Cost = 1

Base control: 1 demeter

Additional control: 2 points per demeter

A ship may have a number of demeters deployed at any time no greater than its total demeter control.

Demeter launcher

Cost = 2

Launches a 1/4 in. by 1/4 in. ship mounted with a small gun. The ship is destroyed after 1 turn. Due to its tiny size, it cannot be rammed, instead it will move out of the way if it can. Otherwise, it is destroyed. A demeter is allowed a movement phase immediately after it's fired.

Base speed: 6

additional speed: 1 point for 3 inches (max 30)

Base HP: 1

additional HP: 1 point per HP

Base duration: 1 round

additional duration: 2 points per round

gun:

Range: 3 in.

accuracy: 0

Damage: 1

Targeting computer

Cost = 10

Pick a location. You may measure the range from your targeting computer to this location.

Recharge: 1, 2

Nano Matrix

Cost = 25

During your shooting phase, you may use this to heal any ship section within 3 inches of the nano matrix.

Healing is equal to 1 HP per energy used

Base energy: 6

Energy recharge: 1d6

Additional range: 1 point per inch

Additional energy: 3 points for 1

Additional energy recharge: 10 points for 1d6

Gameplay rules

The game starts with a roll-off to see who goes first. Whoever is going first deploys first.

Deployment

Each player is granted one half of the table on which to deploy in any way they want. Players alternate placing each of their ships until all ships are placed.

After deployment, the player who goes first starts his turn on phase 2, and loses half of his movement in phase 3. The game then continues as normal until one player either resigns or is wiped out or until the players agree upon a draw.

A player's turn consists of the following three phases.

Phase 1: Movement 1

During this phase a ship may move in any direction a distance up to its speed.

The ship may rotate freely during this phase.

The ship may use swivel joints freely during this phase as long as no section is more than 25% covered at any point.

Phase 2: Shooting

During this phase, a ship may shoot all of its weapons. To shoot, a ship places a marker a distance from the gun equal to its accuracy. Next, the scatter die is rolled, and the marker is moved in the direction indicated by the die by a distance of 1d6 - 1. A line is drawn through the gun and the die, extending a distance of up to the gun's range.

The bullet follows the path drawn out hitting the first section it makes contact with.

An accuracy of 0 means that the shot will always hit its target.

You may only measure range after declaring your attack.

Phase 3: Movement 2

During this phase, a ship may move in any direction a distance up to its speed minus the distance moved in phase 1.

If the ship did not rotate in phase 1, it may during this phase.

If the a section did not swivel in phase 1, it may during this phase.

Additional rules

Destruction of cores

A ship's core is destroyed when it reaches 0 HP. When destroyed, a ship's core explodes dealing damage to all sections close enough to take damage equal to the absolute value of its HP minus the distance (in inches) of any section from the destroyed core.

Destruction of sections

When a section reaches 0 HP, it is destroyed.

Ramming

When a ship is hit by a section of another ship, both sections take damage equal to the mass of the moving section times half the distance it moved divided by the mass of the stationary section (round down). No ship may endanger its core by intentionally ramming another ship with the core section. If one section is destroyed in this process, no further damage is dealt to the other section.

Jettisoned section

When a section of a ship is no longer parented by any other section, it begins to float away. The section moves away from where its parent section was with a scatter of 12. The section continues to move in the same direction until it is off the table. The section moves 3d6*10/mass (min 3, max 18) each turn. No weapon or modules attached to the jettisoned section or to any section that the jettisoned section parents may be used

Feedback damage

When a ship loses a section, all of its ancestors take one damage. No section may be destroyed by feedback damage. If a ship's core is not parenting any sections, it is immediately destroyed.

Electric feedback

If a ship loses more than 1/4 of its sections in a single turn, the ship becomes disabled until its next turn. This does not apply if the ship loses only one section. If any section reaches below -(its base HP), your ship suffers electric feedback

Weapon battery

If a ship has multiple weapons with the same stats, They may be fired as a battery. The first two shots hit where indicated by the scatter die. The next two shots hit with plus and minus one inch scatter. The next 2 shots hit in the middle again, then 2 with plus and minus 1 inch scatter, then 2 one inch of scatter outside of those, etc. After any 2 shots in a given location, the next shot hits one inch of scatter outside of that. The initial accuracy is measured from any one of the guns in the battery.

Terrain

Big rock floating in space somewhere

Exactly what it sounds like

Meteor showers

Each turn, roll a scatter die in the center of the board. On a "hit" nothing happens. If it is an arrow, follow the arrow to the edge of the board. 1d6 meteors appear around that spot (place one on the spot, then spiral out to the left, each meteor being placed 2 in. from the others.) The meteors now get "shot" from that spot with scatter 6 as a group, and move 3d6 inches each turn. Each meteor starts with 3 HP and mass = 30. Meteors have a 1 in. diameter

Black hole

If something starts its turn within 24 inches of a black hole, it moves 12 inches minus half its distance from the black hole. Black hole has infinite mass and HP. Distance is checked from the closest edge of the object.

Definitions

Parent

A section that is closer to the core and touching a given section is its parent

Ancestor

A section that is any distance inside of a given section is its ancestor

Recharge

A module with this feature, when used, may only be used again when its recharge value is rolled on a 1d6. Recharge is rolled at the beginning of your turn.

Energy

A module with this feature has a set energy pool that gets drained with use. The energy pool is refilled every round by the section's energy recharge. This is rolled at the beginning of your turn.

Disabled

If a ship is disabled, it may not take any action during Phase 2: Shooting. Further, any demeters being controlled by the ship may not take any action at all.