QuantumSpace, 1st Edition

[Quantumsurfer]

I decided to take a crack at making my own version of microspace rules. I've done my best to keep them short and sweet but I've also included a less than one page short version for convenience.

Please enjoy,

QuantumSpace, 1st Edition

QuantumSpace, 1st Edition, Short Version

[Theblackdog]

I really like this. The use of a Sensor stat as a replacement for weapons range is something that seems to be getting more popular in space games and makes for fun gameplay, so I'm glad it's included here.
I'm not super clear on how ship customization works. Do you decide the maximum Level of each subsystem when you create your ship?

[Quantumsurfer]

Thank you.

Yep, You just buy the Core, Crew, and the four Systems with the points. The Core has no limit. The Crew and the four Systems are rated 1-5. So you just decide what levels you want them to be at and then make sure you have enough energy in your core to cover them.

[Theblackdog]

At this point, my biggest personal want for this system are additional rules for movement and front/side/rear firing arcs for weapons. It's a testament to the strength of this basic system that it looks fun without these rules, however.

-Instead of just using the Sensor stat to determine Range, you could have a ship's Range against a given target be equal to its Sensor range plus its target's Core value, so a larger ship could be hit from farther away. Optionally, you can add the amount of Strain a ship currently has to the detection range as well.

-Ion weapons feel vaguely defined. I think the best way to handle Ion damage is to make it add Strain to a target ship when it hits, although I'm not sure how to best determine the amount

-I feel like a few more damage types would be a welcome addition. Some possibilities:

Spoiler

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-Particle Beams: Particle Beams reduce a ship's Crew by 1 whenever they inflict damage, as secondary radiation from the strike boils crew members alive.
-Mass Drivers: Mass Drivers may only fire directly ahead of the ship, in the direction the ship moved that turn. On a hit, it damages 2 systems instead of one.
-Missiles: When defending against a missile attack, the defender must Activate their Engines subsystem, with the Level of Activation determining the Level of the defense die roll.
-Torpedoes: Torpedoes cost 2 Energy per Level to fire (and the cost increases by 2 for each subsequent activation). When defending against a torpedo attack, the defender must Activate their weapons, with the Level of Activation determining the Level of the defense die roll. This DOES count as a weapons system activation for that round, with the appropriate penalties.

-I think applying Strain to all systems, not just the Core energy pool, would make for more interesting tactics. Here's my suggestion:
When activating a system, you may choose to Overload that system by any number of levels up to its current Activation Level. Overloading the system adds either a fixed amount equal to the Overload (for Engines, Sensors, and Stealth) or allows you to roll a second die with level equal to the Overload, and take the highest result (for Attack and Defense). However, once you've Overloaded a system, that system has Strain equal to the amount of Overload you've put on it, and the system's new maximum Level is equal to its default Level minus the amount of Strain it has. If your ship goes through a turn without Overloading any systems, it can remove all Strain from its systems.

[Quantumsurfer]

At this point, my biggest personal want for this system are additional rules for movement and front/side/rear firing arcs for weapons.

This was part of the original design but got cut when I was trimming things down for simplicity. I hated to do it. One benefit, though, is that it cuts down on vagaries stemming from different model builds. Though...bases might take care of that problem entirely. I am glad it still looks okay without them. I just hope it plays okay. If not, there's always 2nd Edition, right?

-Instead of just using the Sensor stat to determine Range, you could have a ship's Range against a given target be equal to its Sensor range plus its target's Core value, so a larger ship could be hit from farther away. Optionally, you can add the amount of Strain a ship currently has to the detection range as well.

In love with this whole idea. The only problem is that Core can become quite large, making detection virtually automatic. An attacker would still need to spend an energy point on Sensors to activate Level 1 but the Core Detection would take care of the rest of the range between them.

Strain already has the drawback of not being able to be used until you pass a turn without taking the average. (Plus, I almost cut strain for its complexity.) So I'm not sure about giving it a second drawback. That said, having a tactical range changer sounds neat as heck.

A bonus to range equal to the number of levels activated could work but I think that could also get quite large and might possibly increase the bookwork more than I'd like. Hm. I'll have to think about this one more.

-Ion weapons feel vaguely defined.

Yeah, I gave three simple examples of what you *could* do with them if you wanted. Your way is equally as valid. I think if I were playing you, I'd agree to something like: "Instead of doing normal damage to an enemy ship when it hits, an Ion Weapon deals its own activation level in Strain to the enemy ship's Core. This acts in all ways as if the enemy ship had dealt itself Strain."

-I feel like a few more damage types would be a welcome addition. Some possibilities:

Yes to all of these. I particularly like Particle Beams. I wonder if they would eliminate Crew Stations as well. Or just reduce their die.

-I think applying Strain to all systems, not just the Core energy pool, would make for more interesting tactics. Here's my suggestion:

That's kind of genius. It allows ships to push the boundaries of what they're made of, getting a boost with a built in cost, so it balances itself. A ship could conceivably double its output for a turn but leave themselves without the ability to even use that system on the next turn. Straining another system only further complicates matters, giving another boost but leaving the first affected system still out of play for the time being while the ship struggles to handle the power output. Making the Strain go away as an all or nothing condition makes you real careful about how you overload your systems.

[Theblackdog]

This was part of the original design but got cut when I was trimming things down for simplicity. I hated to do it. One benefit, though, is that it cuts down on vagaries stemming from different model builds. Though...bases might take care of that problem entirely. I am glad it still looks okay without them. I just hope it plays okay. If not, there's always 2nd Edition, right?

Mobile Frame Zero's abortive space rule set had a pretty good movement system. The movement ruler was made out of click hinges and you could spend points of movement - which I guess are represented by levels of activation here - to increase/decrease the length of the ruler or rotate the click hinges.

Firing Arcs
When adding weapons to a ship, you can choose to mount those weapons as Turrets - which can fire in all directions using normal rules - or as Batteries, which are only able to attack targets in a single 90-degree Firing Arc - to the front, sides, or rear. A weapon mounted as a Battery increases its die size by one Level when firing; if a Battery is activated at Level 5, it may take a single point of Strain to attack again without paying the energy cost. Ships can mount multiple weapons with different damage types or firing arcs.

A bonus to range equal to the number of levels activated could work but I think that could also get quite large and might possibly increase the bookwork more than I'd like. Hm. I'll have to think about this one more.

Right now, unless I'm misreading the rules, the max sensor range is only 5", and that's pretty short. You'll probably want some kind of multiplier on sensor range, as well as some kind of... divider?... on the signature radius produced by a ship with a given Core size.

I'll see if I can set up a game to playtest these rules soon.

[Quantumsurfer]

With bases and Overload rules thrown in, the firing arcs works out really nicely.

Right now, unless I'm misreading the rules, the max sensor range is only 5"

It's 8 Inches. The Level scheme for Engines and Sensors is 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Still, you have a valid point. I worried that a max activation bringing only 8 Inches would still be too short for range. Still, if you pumped energy into Move and Sensors, you could pull out a maximum of 16 Inches across the field. But that's max. Combined minimum activations would yield 8 Inches. I need something that will bump range up by a few inches here and there but not go overboard. Your Overload system will add some inches but that comes with a drawback. I'm definitely thinking a little something extra that just adds.

I'll see if I can set up a game to playtest these rules soon.

That would be amazing!