About five years ago I did some playtesting of a Ganesha Game for starship combat, Song of Void and Stars. Unfortunately the game never saw the light of day but I did write up two battle reports. The first, using Wizkids Rocketmen ships was featured on the Song of Void and Stars blog. The second was due to be published there but sadly never was. I've recently found the document and photos and thought I'd publish it here.
Star Trek Battle Report
This battle report is based on a clash between a Federation
and a Romulan Task Force. It takes place
in the Chalcis System, close to Chalcis III and its moon.
Federation Task
Force
USS Farragut (Nebula Class) C4 Q3, Indirect CV 5, Move
Medium, Range Long, Doctrine: Battleship, Shield Generator, Evasive Thrusters,
Power Flux De-coupler, Engine Shielding
USS Hood (Excelsior Class) C3 Q3, Indirect CV 3, Move
Medium, Range Medium, Shield Generator
USS Stargazer II (Constellation Class) C3 Q3, Indirect CV 3,
Move Short, Range Medium, Shields, Escort Support
USS Victory (Constellation Class) as above
Makar (D’deridex class) C4 Q3, Indirect CV 4, Move Medium,
Range Long, Doctrine: Battleship, Shield Generator
Terix (D’deridex class) as above
Pi (Talon Class Scout Ship) C2 Q3, Indirect CV 2, Move
Medium, Range Medium, Shields , Escort Support
Chi (Talon Class Scout Ship) As above
Both forces close in on Chalcis III using the planet’s mass
to mask their intentions from their enemies.
The Federation took the initiative when the Stargazer II
accelerated ahead of the task force and launched photon torpedoes at the Pi. The rest of the Federation Task Force followed
more cautiously.
The Pi pushing its impulse engines to near maximum headed
for cover behind the moon. The Chi broke
away from the cruisers on an intercept course with the Pi. Both Romulan
Cruisers held their fire and moved towards the Federation ships.
The two Federation Escorts headed for the Red Planet, the
Stargazer II fired more torpedoes at the Pi.
In an effort to overload its shields the Excelsior fired its Phasers at
the Pi. The beams struck the smaller
ship, piercing its shield and damaging several of its systems. The Farragut also targeted the Pi with a sustained
shot from its main Phaser array. The
beam damaged the Scout’s weapons but the small ship survived.
The Chi sheltered from the Federation ships fire behind the
Red Planet’s Moon. The Terix moved to
cover the Pi’s flight, launching torpedoes at the Farragut as she went. The Makar increased power to its impulse
engines and powered directly towards the Farragut firing a sustained Phaser burst
at her foe. The Farragut’s shields
flared but held. As the Pi made a run
for the cover of the moon, her repair teams managed to get her shields and
systems back on-line but she was too slow to avoid the Stargazer II’s
torpedoes. They struck her as she ran,
if she hadn’t raised her shields she would have been vaporised, as it was her
shields absorbed some of the impact before collapsing. The resulting damage destroyed her port wing
and several of her weapon systems.
The Stargazer II manoeuvred to port to try to intercept the
Photon torpedoes speeding towards the Farragut but in the event was only able
to destroy the Pi’s Torpedoes heading for herself. The Farragut ignoring the homing torpedoes
turned across the path of the Makar, firing a sustained burst of Phaser Fire at
the Romulan Cruiser. The Makar’s shields
absorbed the burst but were temporarily depleted. The Excelsior and the Victory held their fire
waiting for a better shot. The Terix’s
Torpedoes brought down the Farragut’s shields but did no other damage.
The Makar flew alongside the Farragut raking her with Phaser
fire resulting in damage to several of her systems. The Farragut’s Power Flux De-couplers were
ineffective. The Terix tried to finish
the job the Makar had begun by firing a sustained burst of Phaser fire at the
federation flagship and launching a large spread of torpedoes at the weakened
vessel. She scored a series of hits on
the hull of the Farragut destroying some of her weapon systems. The Pi continued towards the moon, whilst the
Chi performed a slingshot around it. She
headed towards the Farragut, launching Photon Torpedoes towards the Federation
Cruiser.
Seeing her flagship taking damage the Stargazer II flew
alongside her and tried to destroy one of the incoming torpedo spreads but her
Phasers went wide and the torpedoes continued their inexorable flight towards
the Farragut. The Hood placed itself
between the Terix and Farragut firing a sustained burst at the Romulan. It brought down the Romulan’s shields but did
not damage the ship. The Farragut
followed the Hood, turning so that the Torpedoes about to strike her did not
hit her aft. At the same time her repair
crews brought her systems back on-line and she launched a spread of torpedoes
at the vulnerable Terix. The Victory,
lagging behind her allies fired a sustained Phaser burst and a Photon Torpedo
spread at the Makar. The Phaser shots
brought down the Makar’s shields and the Photon Torpedoes caused damage to her
systems. The Farragut’s torpedoes
damaged Phaser emitters on-board the Terix.
At the same time the Farragut was struck by two Torpedo spreads. Her shields collapsed and multiple hits
crippled her main Phaser array and caused damage to most of her remaining
weapons. Just as it looked as if the Pi
might reach the safety of the moon, she was struck by several torpedoes and
with her shields still down; there was nothing to stop them tearing her apart.
The Terix closed with her crippled foe, the Farragut, aiming
to deliver the Coup de Grace. Turning
across her line of flight and firing a sustained Phaser burst into her already badly
damaged hull. Pushing her crew to the
limit, the Farragut fired her Evasive Thrusters and was able to dodge the
Terix’s fire. The two other Romulans manoeuvred
without firing.
The Farragut managed to strengthen her shields and fire
Photon Torpedoes at the Terix. At the
same time, the Hood fired a sustained Phaser burst at the Terix and launched
more Photon Torpedoes at the Romulan.
The Phasers destroyed the Romulans damaged weapon arrays. Seeing the vulnerable Romulan dead ahead the
Stargazer II laid in an intercept course, firing Phasers and Photons as she
went. The Phasers scored some damaging
hits on the Terix’s systems. The Victory
performing an emergency heading change put most of her power into her impulse
engines and cut across the aft of the Makar firing Phasers and Photons. The Phasers brought down the Makar’s shields
but otherwise she was unharmed until the Photons struck damaging her Phaser
Arrays. The Terix’s defences were
completely overwhelmed by three Photon Torpedo spreads striking her at
once. Explosions blossomed along her
length as she slowly collapsed in on herself before vanishing in a fireball.
The loss of the Terix shook both the Makar and the Chi but
they did not flee. In fact the Makar was
able to repair the damage to its hull and bring its Phaser Arrays back
on-line. She skirted the planet’s upper
atmosphere firing Phasers and Photons at the Victory. The Phasers tore through the Victory’s shields
damaging her hull and Phaser Arrays. The
Chi repaired its system damage and launched a torpedo at the aft of the
Victory. They tore through the Engineering
Section breaching the warp core. There
wasn’t time to launch escape pods before she was ripped apart.
The battle now came down to the crippled Farragut, Hood and
Stargazer II against the shaken Makar and the Chi.
The Hood turned to starboard and fired a sustained Phaser
burst against the Chi. The Scout’s
shields flared as they absorbed the impact.
The Stargazer II fired her Phasers and Photon Torpedoes as she manoeuvred
around the Chi. The Scout with its
shields already overloaded by the Hood was no match for the Victory’s barrage
and she blossomed into a growing ball of plasma. Seeing the futility of continuing an unequal
fight the Captain of the Makar, gave the order and her Helmsman took her out of
the system at Warp. With the Farragut
crippled the Federation task Force was in no position to pursue.
The blue gaming stones were used to mark the shields on the various ships.
