Fleet Captain: the attack chart

By: Unknown on 10:45

This is the first Fleet Captain piece where I'm not so sure of my footing.  Please feel free to tell me that ships are too fragile under these rules.  I can't make up my mind.

If I did my math right, this chart expresses a very simple idea:

• Roll attack the attack die, roll the defense die.
• If the attack die is higher, you have penetrated the shields and do damage.
• Damage inflicted is attack roll divided by defense roll, dropping fractions.

Ship hull points tend to range from 4 to 8 for Escorts, 6 to 12 for Cruisers and 10 or higher for Battleships and such.  Ships can blow up fast and unexpectedly.

One of my design goals is being able to play out a 3-battle mini-campaign in a single 4 hour convention slot, so ships shouldn't last too long once the shooting starts.

However, running out of hull points doesn't automatically damn your ship.  Each round you are out of hit point you roll on the Countdown to Doom chart to follow.  You might survive a few more turns at diminished capacity or you might be able to trick someone into boarding your ship just before your self-destruct system activates.  Or maybe you just plain explode, inflicting damage on neighboring vessels.  As with everything else, your Fleet Captain is better able to deal with such emergencies.