Game Design

Daniel Kast

Development Assistance
Jim Callahan, David Eynon, Brian Jurczyk, John Richert, Derek Rompot, Noel Weer

Illustrations
David Eynon

Graphic Design & Layout

Daniel Kast

Additional Contributions & Playtesting

John Acar, Daniel Baker, Kyle Barton, Devin Callahan, Richard Colwell, Symon Cook, Andrew Damon, John
Davidson, Klaus Deckenbach, Peter Drake, Brian Dyck, David Eynon, Ben Frayser, Steven Gabriel, Eric
Garvue, Kevin Gray, Dean Gundberg, Chris Gunning, Keeton Harrington, Sam Hart, Garrick Herbst, Garrett
Hunter, Darren Kehrer, Don Kuehn, Chris Mazurek, Brad McElhaney, Jeff Miller, Robb Minneman, Thomas
Nicar, Jason Noble, Bob Norman, Rich Oden, Juha Pohjalainen, Sam Pullen, Joshua Rasey, Jerry Robinson,
Ken Rodeghero, Demian Rose, Peter Schutze, Matthew Siedl, Mark Siefert, Kevin Smith, Brad Sweet, Ken
Taborek, Bas Van Der Meer, Martin Wilfr, Chad Wilson, Timothy Wolfe

Special Thanks
Scott Franklin
W. Gregory Klett
Timothy Swenson
All the members of the MJ12 eGroup
groups.yahoo.com/group/mj12games/

MJG-0111

Version 2.0, October 23, 2004

Copyright 1994-2004 Majestic Twelve Games. All rights reserved.

Starmada, the Starmada X logo, and the Majestic Twelve Games logo are trademarks of
Majestic Twelve Games
5335 S. Valentia Way #459
Greenwood Village, CO 80111-3129
www.mj12games.com
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Section 0Introduction 6 The Damage Roll4.2.3 14
What is Starmada? 6 Effects Of Damage4.3 15
Okay, Ive played Starmada,but what is X? 6 Destroyed Starships4.3.1 15
Game Components0.1 7 Crew Casualties4.3.2 15
The Game Board0.1.1 7 Section 5Fighters 16
Playing Pieces0.1.2 7 Fighter Bays5.1 16
Starship Records0.1.3 7 Including Fighters In A Fleet5.1.1 16
Dice0.1.4 7 The Fighter Phase5.1.2 16
Pencils & Paper0.1.5 7 Fighter Movement5.2 16
Glossary0.2 7 Fighter Stacking5.2.1 16
Section 1The Starship Record 9 Fighter Combat5.3 16
Starship Name & Class1.1 9 Fighter Attacks On Starships5.3.1 16
Combat Rating1.2 9 Fighter Attacks On Fighters5.3.2 16
I.D. Box1.3 9 Starship Attacks On Fighters5.3.3 16
Hull1.4 9 Fighters & Explosions5.3.4 17
Engines1.5 9 Appendix AStarship Construction 17
Shields1.6 9 Designing A StarshipA.1 17
Damage Chart1.7 10 Hull PointsA.1.1 17
Weapons1.8 10 Space UnitsA.1.2 17
Special Equipment1.9 10 Engines & ShieldsA.1.3 18
Movement Orders1.10 10 WeaponsA.1.4 18
Directional Diagram1.11 10 Special EquipmentA.1.5 19
Section 2Playing The Game 11 Tech LevelsA.1.6 20
Starting The Game2.1 11 Evaluating The DesignA.2 20
Choosing Your Forces2.1.1 11 The Offensive RatingA.2.1 20
Setting Up2.1.2 11 The Defensive RatingA.2.2 20
The Sequence Of Play2.2 11 The Combat RatingA.2.3 20
Orders Phase2.2.1 11 The Damage ChartA.3 20
Movement Phase2.2.2 11 Number Of HitsA.3.1 20
Fighter Phase2.2.3 12 Assigning Hits To The Damage ChartA.3.2 21
Combat Phase2.2.4 12 Appendix BWeapon Abilities 22
End Phase2.2.5 12 Continuing DamageB.1 22
Winning The Game2.3 12 Doubled Range ModifiersB.2 22
Section 3Movement 12 Extra Crew CasualtiesB.3 22
Movement Points3.1 12 Extra Hull DamageB.4 22
Movement Orders3.2 12 Halves ShieldsB.5 22
Maneuvers3.2.1 12 Ignores ShieldsB.6 22
Movement Point Cost3.2.2 13 Increased DMGB.7 22
Moving The Starship3.3 13 Increased PENB.8 22
Stacking3.3.1 13 Inverted Range ModifiersB.9 23
Leaving The Game Board3.3.2 13 Must Re-Roll Penetration DiceB.10 23
Section 4Combat 13 Must Re-Roll To-Hit DiceB.11 23
Before Attacking4.1 13 No Hull DamageB.12 23
Declaration Of Targets4.1.1 13 No Range ModifiersB.13 23
Firing Arcs4.1.2 13 Range-Based DMGB.14 23
Range4.1.3 13 Range-Based PENB.15 23
Line Of Sight4.1.4 14 Range-Based ROFB.16 23
Attack Procedure4.2 14 RepeatingB.17 23
The To-Hit Roll4.2.1 14 Re-Rolls Penetration DiceB.18 23
The Shield Roll4.2.2 14 Re-Rolls To-Hit DiceB.19 23
Shield-ResonantB.20 23
3
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Variable DMGB.21 23 ComponentsD.3.1 32
Variable PENB.22 23 Movement Point CostD.3.2 32
Variable ROFB.23 23 Facing D.3.3 34
Appendix CSpecial Equipment 24 Moving The StarshipD.3 34
Anti-Fighter BatteriesC.1 24 StackingD.3.1 34
Armor PlatingC.2 24 Leaving The Game BoardD.3.2 34
Armored Gun BatteriesC.3 24 Appendix EMovement Options 34
Battle SatellitesC.4 24 Evasive ActionE.1 34
Cargo BaysC.5 25 Performing Evasive ActionE.1.1 34
CarronadeC.6 25 Effects Of Evasive ActionE.1.2 34
Cloaking DeviceC.7 25 Emergency ThrustE.2 34
Effects Of CloakingC.7.1 25 Floating Game BoardE.3 35
Limitations On Cloaked StarshipsC.7.2 25 HyperspaceE.4 35
Construction BayC.8 25 HyperdriveE.4.1 35
DecoysC.9 26 Entering HyperspaceE.4.2 35
DronesC.10 26 RammingE.5 35
Electronic CountermeasuresC.11 26 Ramming ProcedureE.5.1 35
Electronic Warfare SystemC.12 26 Effects Of RammingE.5.2 36
Fighter BayC.13 26 Kamikaze FightersE.5.3 36
Launch BaysC.13.1 26 RollsE.6 36
Ionic ShieldingC.14 26 Three-Dimensional MovementE.7 36
Long Range SensorsC.15 26 Recording AltitudeE.7.1 36
MarinesC.16 26 Changing AltitudeE.7.2 36
Boarding PodsC.16.1 27 Effects Of Altitude On CombatE.7.3 36
Shipboard CombatC.16.2 27 TowingE.8 37
Security TeamsC.16.3 27 Appendix FFighter Options 37
Medical BayC.17 27 Alternate Fighter InitiativeF.1 37
MinesC.18 27 Initiative CardsF.1.1 37
Mine DetonationC.18.1 27 Movement OrderF.1.2 37
Minesweeper ArrayC.18.2 28 Customized Fighter FlightsF.2 37
Organic HullC.19 28 AssaultF.2.1 38
OverthrustersC.20 28 BomberF.2.2 38
PassengersC.21 28 Extended RangeF.2.3 38
Point-Defense SystemC.22 28 FastF.2.4 38
Redundant ShieldingC.23 28 HeavyF.2.5 38
Repair BayC.24 28 InterceptorF.2.6 38
Science LabC.25 29 LargeF.2.7 38
ShockwaveC.26 29 ShadowF.2.8 38
Spinal MountC.27 29 SlowF.2.9 38
Anime-Style Spinal MountC.27.1 29 SmallF.2.10 38
Stealth GeneratorC.28 30 DogfightingF.3 38
StutterdriveC.29 30 Launch & RecoveryF.4 38
SunburstsC.30 30 Long Range FightersF.5 39
Tachyon Detection & RangingC.31 30 ScreeningF.6 39
TroopsC.32 31 Appendix GCombat Options 39
Vehicle BayC.33 31 Damage ControlG.1 39
Appendix DVector Movement 31 Directional ShieldingG.2 39
Introduction D.1 31 Expanded Weapon RangesG.3 40
The Compass D.1.1 31 Expendable WeaponsG.4 40
Movement PointsD.2 31 Overloading ShieldsG.5 40
Movement OrdersD.3 32 ScreensG.6 40
4
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Sensor LockG.7 41 Admirable-class Cruiser 50
Appendix HScenario Options 41 Contentious-class Frigate 50
Alternate Set-UpH.1 41 Furious-class Light Cruiser 50
BogeysH.2 42 Impervious-class Battlecruiser 50
Bogey MarkersH.2.1 42 Leviathan-class Space Control Vessel 50
Scanning BogeysH.2.2 42 Mojhari-class Cruiser 51
ObjectivesH.3 42 Spiteful-class Corvette 51
BreakoutH.3.1 42 Tamburlane-class Drone Carrier 51
Conserve ForcesH.3.2 42 Thor-class Frigate 51
Gather IntelligenceH.3.3 42 Triumphant-class Cruiser 52
Hit & RunH.3.4 42 The Arcturan Federation 58
RestraintH.3.5 42 Alliance 58
Search & DestroyH.3.6 42 Crisis 58
Variable ForcesH.4 43 Federation 58
The Terran Empire 43 Resistance 58
Purser Wheylan 43 Collaboration 59
By Any Means Necessary 43 Salvation 59
The Edenist Movement 44 Aftermath 59
Hero Anatare 44 Betrayal 59
Neo-Feudalism 45 Government 59
The Collapse 45 Fleet Organization 60
The Colonies 45 Scenarios 60
Goddard Mojhari 46 Ambush04 60
From Regency To Empire 46 Skirmish05 60
The Arcturan Federation 46 Enter The Seraphin06 60
Vilni Harloss 46 Arcturan Starships 60
The Frontier Campaign 47 Augustus-class Assault Transport 61
Pax Imperium 47 Concordia-class Command Carrier 61
The Commonwealth 47 Excalibur-class Cruiser 61
The Donegal Alliance 48 Hyperion-class Battlecruiser 61
A Rude Awakening 48 Lancer-class Corvette 61
The Nesting 48 Peregrine-class Escort 61
First Contact 48 Pharsalos-class Destroyer 61
Scenarios 49 Seraphin-class Battle Carrier 61
Helios Nebula01 49 Shiltron-class Gunboat 62
Hide & Seek02 49 Thunderbolt-class Dreadnought 62
Evacuation Of Okonto IV03 49 STARMADA (Version 1.0) 68
Imperial Starships 49 Index 75

5
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Section 0Introduction
Fire at will, Commander!
No sooner had Fleet Captain Frederic Antimony
spoken these words, than a flash appeared on
the viewscreen, and a half-dozen enemy
starfighters disappeared from existence.
Antimonys crew had learned long ago to
anticipate their captains moves, and almost
before the order came down the Indefatigables
powerful laser batteries lashed out with
frightening efficiency. A cheer erupted from the
bridge crew.
Antimony wished he could share in their
enthusiasm and optimism. He knew better than to
underestimate his opponent; the battle had been
joined, and until it was won, he could not allow
himself even a moments lapse in concentration.
And yet, Antimony could not help feeling a little
disappointed. He had expected more from his
opponent; so far, she displayed little of the
brilliance that had forced the Imperial Starmada
into this climactic confrontation.
The Fleet Captain betrayed little of this
introspection as he turned to relay a new set of
orders to his subordinates. Just then, one of the
communications officers let out a cry of alarm.
Captain! Three enemy destroyers are
de-cloaking in our starboard quarter!
Antimony whirled and fixed his gaze on the
screen, where the new antagonists were just now
coming into view. So, he thought to himself, this
will be interesting after all...
What is Starmada?
Starmada is a miniatures board game of starship
combat, in which players attempt to blast each
others fleets into just so much space junk. If
youve never played a game like this before, dont
fret; the core set of rules has been designed with
simplicity and ease of play in mind, accessible even to
the greenest of beginners. On the other hand, if you
happen to be a seasoned wargaming veteran, we think
youll find the simplicity of the rules quite refreshing. It
allows you to concentrate on the finer points of
squashing your opponent instead of arguing about rules
interpretations, all without sacrificing any of the flavor or
excitement of more complex games.
Speaking of flavor, you will note that this game contains
background and fleets for two different races. In
addition, there are several scenarios designed around
this default setting. However, Starmada is much more
than just an attempt to simulate space battles in (or sell
miniatures for) yet another sci-fi universe. If youre like
us, you recognize that most of the fun is in designing
your own ships, races, and histories. Or, perhaps youve
always wanted an easy way to pit starships from your
favorite TV shows and/or movies against each otherif
6
so, then Starmada is your game! In Starmada, you
will find the most comprehensive starship design
system on the market today, supplemented by
our easy-to-use (and freely-available) Starmada
X Construction Assistant (SXCA), which you can
find at our web site:
www.mj12games.com/starmada/sxca.xlt
In other words, Starmada is truly a universal
game.
Okay, Ive played Starmada, but what is X?
Starmada initially hit the gaming community in
1994, as a set of freeware rules distributed by
the new (at least to me) medium of Usenet. After
struggling through a few growing pains, the third
edition came out in 1996, and from then until the
publication of the Compendium in 2001, Starmada
hasnt looked back.
However, with its impending tenth birthday on
January 22, 2004, we here at MJ12 began to feel
as though there was a need for one last revision
of the rules, in an attempt to shore up a few of
the loopholes that have managed to creep in, as
well as include a few improvements that weve
been tinkering with over the past few years.
Thus, the idea for Starmada X was born.
If you own a previous version of Starmada,
notably the Compendium, the obvious question is
Do I need to buy Starmada X? Well, clearly our
answer is going to be yes; but in the interests of
keeping long-time players happy, X is close
enough to the old Starmada that it was possible
to generate a list of the changes that owners of
previous incarnations can get hold of and use to
bring their rules up to date. You can get this from
our web site (www.mj12games.com). But after
trying this new edition a few times, were
confident that youll find it worthwhile to get your
very own copy of the full rules.
Anyway, thats enough of an introduction. To quote from
the first version of Starmada all those years ago:
But if its not scientifically accurate, at least its fun, so
put your favorite space-opera soundtrack in the CD
player and start playing.
I couldnt have said it better myself.
Daniel Kast
cricket@mj12games.com
Denver, CO
January, 2004
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Game Components0.1
In addition to the rules themselves, there are
several things you will need to have on hand in
order to play a game of Starmada, many of which
have been included with this release. The others
should be available from the game store where
you found this product.
The Game Board0.1.1
Starmada is a board game, and like most other
board games, the playing area is covered with a
number of spaces, in this case called hexes
(short for hexagons). These hexes regulate
things like movement and weapons fire.
An appropriate game board should be available
at most game stores, or in the collection of one of
your gaming friends. A game of Starmada should
be played on a game board at least 30 hexes
across and 40 hexes wide.
Our preferred game board is a piece of 4 by 6
black felt with a 40mm hexgrid printed on it. It
was previously manufactured by Geo-Hex, but is
now carried by Monday Knight Productions:
mondayknightproductions@yahoo.com
Starmada can also be played without a game
board, on an open tabletop. This option may be
preferred by experienced wargamers, who often
recoil in horror from hexes. Such an arrangement
will require slight modifications to these rules, but
not many. When playing in this way, the rule of
thumb should be one hex = 4cm. Thus, the
playing area should be at least 120cm by 160cm
(approx. 4 x 54).
Playing Pieces0.1.2
Each starship and fighter flight in Starmada is
represented by its own playing piece. At the time
of this writing, there are several different lines of
starship miniatures available, almost all of which are
perfectly suited for games like Starmada. One of the best
sources of information about the various miniatures
currently in production is Dean Gundbergs Starship
Combat News:
www.star-ranger.com
In addition to starship and fighter flight playing pieces,
you will also need a number of explosion counters, the
use of which is described in Section 4: Combat.
Starship Records0.1.3
You will need to keep track of several bits of information
about each starship involved in the game. Section 1: The
Starship Record tells you how to make use of the starship
record for this purpose. For right now, all you need to
know is that the records are used to keep track of the
current status of your fleet. As a starship takes damage,
various systems on its record are marked off until the
ship itself is destroyed.
7
Dice0.1.4
All dice used in Starmada are traditional six-sided
ones. You will need quite a few of these; about a
dozen should suffice. The game can be played
with fewer, but there are times when many dice
need to be rolled, and its nice to be able to do so
all at once.
In addition to the dice used for generating
random numbers, you may also wish to have a
set of different-sized (or different-colored) dice
that can be used to indicate how many fighters
remain in each flight as described in Section 5:
Fighters.
Pencils & Paper0.1.5
In addition to pencils for filling out the starship
records, it might be a good idea to have some
extra sheets of paper handy to keep track of
various things throughout the game.
Glossary0.2
Often when you first encounter a concept in
these rules, it will be printed in a different font.
This means that the term is defined below:
Battery: A group of weapons on a starship, all
with the same capabilities, range and to-hit
values.
Class: The template to which a particular
starship conforms. Most ships are not unique
designs, but one of a number of nearly identical
vessels.
Combat Rating: A number indicating the ships
ability to give and receive punishment relative to
other ships in the game. The higher the Combat
Rating, the more effective the design will be.
Crew Casualty: It is assumed that all damage
suffered by starships includes some amount of
casualties; however, certain types of damage have a
greater than normal capacity for killing crewmembers.
Crew casualties are marked off of the ships hull boxes,
but can be overlapped by hull hits.
Damage: There are two meanings:
1. The number of dice a weapon uses when making a
damage roll (abbreviated DMG);
2. The effect(s) of a weapon hit on a target.
Damage Roll: The act of rolling dice to determine what
effect a weapon hit has on the target. See damage.
Damage Chart: A section on the starship record that
determines what types of damage the ship takes, and
with what frequency each type of damage occurs.
Directional Diagram: A hexagonal display on the starship
record that is only relevant to certain optional rules.
DMG: See damage.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Engine Hit: A type of damage that represents a loss of
power by a starships engines. Each engine hit reduces
the number of available movement points by one.
Explosion Counter: A marker indicating the last location of
a destroyed starship. An explosion has a strength
value, depending upon the size of the ship that created
it. Every turn, this strength is reduced by one until the
explosion has dispersed.
Fighter: A small, fast attack craft used to harass enemy
starships and defend against opposing fighters. These
rules use the terms fighter and fighter flight pretty
much interchangeably.
Fighter Flight: A group of six fighters that move and
attack as a single entity.
Flight: See fighter flight.
Firing Arc: One of six arcs which regulate the directions
in which a weapon can fire, as illustrated below:
AA BB
CC DD
EE FF
Game Turn: See turn.
Hull Hit: A type of damage that represents the
weakening of a starships superstructure. When a ship
has taken as many hull hits as it has hull points, it is
destroyed.
Hull Points: A quantification of the size of a starship, and
the number of hull hits the ship can take before
destruction.
Line Of Sight: A starship is said to have line of sight to a
target when a straight line, drawn between the center of
the sighting ships hex and the center of the targets
hex, does not cross any part of a hex containing an
object that blocks line of sight.
Maneuver: One of the following:
1. A change in a starships facing (see turn);
2. A sideslip, or a move in which a starship moves
forward and to the left or right without changing
facing;
3. A move backwards.
Maneuvers are included in a starships movement
orders, and are distinct from forward movement.
Movement Orders: The system of notation that allows
players to simultaneously determine where their
starships are going to move.
8
Movement Points: A number reflecting the amount of
thrust produced by the engines of a starship. In game
terms, movement points are used to move the ship
across the game board.
MPs: See movement points.
PEN: See penetration.
Penetration: The number of dice a weapon uses when
making a shield roll (abbreviated PEN).
Phase: One of several subdivisions in each game turn,
organized in a way to bring order to the chaos of battle.
Pill Bug: A small terrestrial isopod crustacean of the
genus Armadillidium closely related to the sow bug and
having a convex, segmented, flexible body enabling it to
1
curl into a ball when disturbed.
Range: There are two meanings:
1. The distance between two objects, as determined
by counting the number of hexes along the shortest
path between the two;
2. The maximum distance at which a weapon may
attack a target. Range is divided into three equal
bands; short, medium, and long. For example, a
weapon with a range of 12 has range bands of
short 1-4, medium 5-8, and long 9-12.
Rate Of Fire: The number of dice a weapon uses when
making a to-hit roll (abbreviated ROF).
ROF: See rate of fire.
Scenario: A specific collection of rules for setting up the
game, the forces to be used, and conditions under
which victory may occur for either side. A scenario is
often intended to simulate a specific historical battle.
Sequence Of Play: The order in which the phases of a
game turn are conducted.
Shield Hit: A type of damage that represents a reduction
in the effectiveness of a starships shields. Each shield
hit reduces the ships shield rating by one.
Shield Rating: The amount of protection provided by a
starships shield generators; given as a number from 0
to 5. Sometimes referred to as just shields.
Shield Roll: The act of rolling dice in order to determine
whether a hit is blocked by the targets shields. See
penetration and shield rating.
Shields: See shield rating.
Ship: See starship.
Side: These rules have been written with the assumption
that there are two players involved in the game.
Although this is the most typical situation, there is no
reason to exclude more players from the carnage.
Simply divide each fleet among the players on that side.
1
Source: www.dictionary.com. Note that pill bugs may not
wheel.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
When doing this, remember that only the player
actually controlling a starship should write
movement orders or roll dice for that ship.
Throughout these rules, the term player refers
to the specific individual controlling a ship; side
refers to all of the players involved in the
command of a fleet.
Special Equipment: Any of a number of different
items that a starship may possess which give it a
particular advantage or ability beyond the basic
rules of the game. Special equipment is
described in Appendix C.
Special Equipment Hit: A type of damage in which
a starship loses one of its items of special
equipment.
Starmada: The greatest game of starship combat
ever written. -
Starship: A star-faring vessel; the basic unit in
Starmada. The terms starship and ship should
be considered interchangeable.
Starship Record: The piece of paper on which is
recorded all of a starships capabilities and
weapon systems.
To-Hit: The number a weapon needs to roll or
better on a single die in order to score a hit on its
targete.g., 4+ indicates that a roll of 4, 5, or 6
results in a hit.
To-Hit Roll: The act of rolling dice in order to
determine hits on a target. See to-hit and rate
of fire.
Turn: There are two meanings:
1. A period of time during which each step in
the sequence of play is conducted once.
Better known as a game turn.
2. A maneuver by which a starship changes the
direction in which it is facing.
Weapon Hit: A type of damage that represents the loss of
a weapon. There are up to three different types of
weapon hit, (a), (b), and (c), each of which corresponds
to one of the starships weapon batteries.
Victory Points: The method by which a winner is
determined. Victory points are usually scored by
destroying enemy starships, although some scenarios
may include different methods for earning them.
VPs: See victory points.
9
Section 1The Starship Record
In this section, we introduce the starships you will
use to vanquish your foes. There are several
thousand different types of ships scattered
throughout the galaxy, each with its own
strengths and limitations. Here, we will be
discussing how to read the starship record, and
how it is used to keep track of a ships status.
Each starship in a game of Starmada will have a
corresponding record, a sample of which is
provided on the next page.
Starship Name & Class1.1
The first item on the starship record is the ships
name. This should be unique, and serves to
differentiate which record represents which
miniature on the game board.
Each starship design is given a name; this is
referred to as its class. For example, the sample
record is for an Admirable-class Imperial cruiser.
Combat Rating1.2
Each starship has a Combat Rating, which is a
number indicating the ships ability to give and
receive punishment relative to other ships in the
game. The higher the Combat Rating, the more
effective the design will be. The ships Combat
Rating is written to the right of the ships name.
I.D. Box1.3
Further to the right, beside the Combat Rating, is
a box labeled I.D. This can be used to write in a
number or other identifying information so that
players may differentiate which playing piece
represents which starship.
Hull1.4
The starships hull boxes regulate how much
damage the ship can sustain before destruction. There
is one box per hull point possessed by the ship. Each
time the ship takes a hull hit, one of its hull boxes should
be filled in; once the last box has been filled, the ship is
destroyed. Hull boxes also regulate crew casualties.
Engines1.5
The number of engine boxes designates how many
movement points (MPs) has to use in the upcoming
Movement Phase. Whenever the ship takes an engine
hit, one of the engine boxes should be filled in, and the
number of MPs available is reduced by one; once the
last engine box has been filled, the ship is dead in
space.
Shields1.6
Every starship has some sort of energy barrier, if only to
protect it from the impact of meteors and other debris.
However, the main function of a ships shields is to
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
defend against enemy to the standard attack
weapons. In Starmada, procedure when using this
shields are given a weapon. Weapon special
numerical rating from 0 to abilities are described in
5. The number of shield Appendix B: Weapon
boxes indicates the ships Abilities.
current shield rating.
Whenever the ship takes a The bottom line indicates
shield hit, one of the shield how many weapons there
boxes should be filled in; are, and the firing arcs into
once the last shield box which each may fire. More
has been filled, the ship details on firing arcs can
has no more protection. be found in Section 4:
Combat; for now, you
Damage Chart1.7 should note that each box
indicates a single weapon
Below the hull, engine, mount.
and shield boxes is the
starships damage chart, Players should also note
which determines what that a letter designation is
kind of damage is suffered given before the name of
whenever the ship is hit by each weapon type; e.g.,
enemy weapons. The (a). This is used when
effects of each damage determining damage
code are given in Section 4: effects, as described in
Combat. Section 4.2.3: The Damage
Roll.
Weapons1.8
Special Equipment1.9
A ship may have up to
three groups of weapons, Below the weapons is a
or batteries. Each battery space used to list any
consists of a number of weapons of the same type and special equipment the starship may be carrying, like a
with the same capabilities. A battery is represented by cloaking device or fighter bays. The effects of the
two or three lines. On the top line is the weapon type, various types of special equipment are detailed in
followed by the batterys characteristics: Appendix C: Special Equipment.

x Range is the distance at which a weapon can attack Movement Orders1.10

an enemy, and is divided equally into three bands:
short, medium, and long. For example, weapons Below the special equipment is a section reserved for
with a range of 9 would have range bands of 1-3, the recording of movement orders, as described in
4-6, and 7-9. Section 3.2: Movement Orders.

x To-hit is given as a number followed by a plus sign Directional Diagram1.11

(e.g., 4+), and indicates the number that a to-hit
At the bottom right, you will notice a hexagonal display,
roll must equal or exceed in order to strike its
called the directional diagram. This is not used in the
target.
basic Starmada game, but is reserved for certain optional
x Rate Of Fire (ROF) is the number of dice the weapon rules (e.g., see Appendix G.2: Directional Shielding, p.37).
rolls when attempting to hit a target. For right now, you can safely ignore it.
x Penetration (PEN) is the number of dice per die that
hits the target rolled against the targets shields
(i.e., the shield roll). For example, a weapon with a
PEN of 2 that hits with a pair of to-hit dice will roll a
total of 4 penetration dice.
x Damage (DMG) is the number of dice per die that
penetrates the targets shields rolled for damage
(i.e., the damage roll). For example, a weapon with
a DMG of 2 that penetrates a targets shields with a
pair of dice will roll a total of 4 damage dice.
The middle line of the battery display, if present, lists the
special abilities of the weapon. These denote changes

10
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Section 2Playing The Game
The Universe is a large place, and there are an
unlimited number of situations that you can
simulate with Starmada. Maybe one of the fleets is
blockading a star system, and the other is
attempting to escort a shuttle of VIPs to safety.
Or perhaps one fleet has been given orders to
pick up a communications buoy, while the other
happens on the scene.
However, most games are of the meeting
engagement type, in which evenly matched
fleets slug it out, with the side inflicting the most
damage considered the winner. This is the type
of battle described here; if you play another type
of situation, the rules for setup and play will need
to be modified accordingly.
Starting The Game2.1
Before getting down to business, there are some
preliminary steps that must be taken.
Choosing Your Forces2.1.1
The first thing players need to decide upon is the
size of the fleets involved. This determines the
total Combat Rating of the starships on each
side. The recommended size is 1000 points,
although you may adjust this number if you want
a longer (or shorter) game.
Once the point total for each side has been
determined, each side should select starships
with Combat Ratings that add up to this total, or
as close to it as possible, and fill out a starship
record for each one.
Sides do not have to start with the exact same
Combat Rating total; as long as the difference
between the two forces is no more than 10% of
the lower total, the battle should be fairly even.
For example, a fleet of 1024 points is fighting a
fleet of 988. The difference between these two
totals is 36 points. As 10% of 988 is 98, and 36 is less
than this number, the sides can be considered equal.
Setting Up2.1.2
Once each side has chosen its starships, the playing
pieces can be placed on the game board. Each side
should set up along one of the long edges of the game
board, with no starship farther than five hexes from the
edge and no closer than five hexes to either side. In the
diagram below, the shaded areas represent the valid
set-up areas:
11
5 Hexes 5 Hexes
5 Hexes
5 Hexes
When placing starships, each side should roll a
die, with the lower roll meaning that side places
its starships and fighter flights first. A starship
must always be placed on the board so that its
front is pointing clearly towards one of the hex
sides.
After the sides have finished setting up, the game
can begin. If both sides agree, objects can be
placed on the game board (e.g., asteroids,
planets, etc.). This can either be done by mutual
consent, or one side can place all of the objects,
with the other side given the choice of which
edge of the board to set up its forces along.
For the most part, these objects only have the
effects of blocking line of sight and prohibiting
movement through the hexes they occupy;
however, somewhere in the universe there may
be objects that are not so docile...
The Sequence Of Play2.2
Starmada is played in a series of turns, each of
which is divided into several phases. All of the
activities of one phase should be completed
before moving on to the next. Once all of the
phases have been completed, one game turn is
over, and the next begins with the Orders Phase.
Sequence Of Play
1. Orders Phase
2. Movement Phase
3. Fighter Phase
4. Combat Phase
5. End Phase
Orders Phase2.2.1
At the beginning of each turn, the players on each side
secretly write down movement orders for the starships
they control. In addition, there are several types of
special equipment and optional rules that require
pre-turn plotting; this is done during the Orders Phase.
Movement Phase2.2.2
Once orders have been written, the ships are moved on
the game board according to their orders. Detailed
instructions for this process are outlined in Section 3:
Movement.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Fighter Phase2.2.3
Fighter flights are treated differently than
starships, and as such are given their own phase
in which to operate. Rules for fighters are given in
Section 5: Fighters.
Combat Phase2.2.4
After all fighter flights have acted, the Combat
Phase can begin. Weapons fire is conducted
according to the rules given in Section 4: Combat.
End Phase2.2.5
There are some actions that may need to be
completed during the End Phase; these are
noted in the relevant sections of the rules.
Winning The Game2.3
A basic game of Starmada is played for ten turns,
at the end of which the side with the most points
is the victor. Victory points (VPs) are scored by
destroying opposing starships; some scenarios
may include other methods by which sides can
earn VPs. Whenever a ship is destroyed, the
opposing side immediately receives a number of
points equal to that ships Combat Rating.
If, at the end of ten turns, one side has scored
more points than the other, that side has won a
minor victory; if one side has scored at least
twice as many points as the other, that side
achieves a major victory.
between maneuvers. A starship may only begin its
movement with a maneuver if the last thing it did in the
previous Movement Phase was move forward.
12
Section 3Movement
The movement system given here is, admittedly,
not all that realistic. No attempt has been made
to simulate what maneuvering in space is or
might be like. Starmada is a simple
move-and-shoot game; anything more complex
would take away from the spirit of the rules.
Movement Points3.1
The movement of starships in this game is
governed by the concept of movement points
(MPs), which indicate how far a particular ship
can move in a single turn. The number of MPs a
ship has at its disposal is determined by the
number of engine boxes on its starship record.
Movement Orders3.2
a.k.a., The Brian Rule
For each starship under their control, players
must write down movement orders on their
starship records. Although this may sound
time-consuming, it really isnt; once youve got
the hang of it, youll be able to write movement
orders for an entire fleet in no time. And
playtesting has revealed that prerecorded
movement actually speeds things up in the long
run, as players are not able to conduct an
exhaustive search for the most advantageous
location. Instead, players must try to outguess
their opponents.
Maneuvers3.2.1
Movement orders consist of a series of
maneuvers, separated by forward movement. For
example, the orders 3P2 mean that the starship
is to move 3 hexes forward, turn one hex side to
the left (port), and then move another two hexes
forward. A ship may not perform two maneuvers
in a row; it must move forward at least one hex
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
The various possible maneuvers are:
Code Maneuver
P Turn to Port: The starship is turned one
hexside to the left (counterclockwise). A
turn to port costs one MP.
S Turn to Starboard: The starship is turned
one hexside to the right (clockwise). A
turn to starboard costs one MP.
L Sideslip Left: The starship is moved to
the hex in front of it and to the left,
retaining its current facing (see diagram
below). This maneuver costs two MPs.
R Sideslip Right: The starship is moved to
the hex in front of it and to the right,
retaining its current facing (see diagram
above). This maneuver costs two MPs.
B Move Backward: The starship is moved
into the hex directly behind it. Unlike
other maneuvers, a ship does not have
to move forward between a move
backward and another maneuver. Thus,
PBP and BBB are perfectly legal
movement orders. A move backward
costs two MPs.
Movement Point Cost3.2.2
Each maneuver has a corresponding MP cost, as
given above. Forward movement costs one MP
per hex. Thus, movement orders of 3P2 would
cost 3 + 1 + 2 = 6 MPs.
No starship may spend more MPs than it
currently has available. A ship does not have to
spend all of its MPs, but any unused are lost; i.e.,
MPs cannot be saved from turn to turn.
Moving The Starship3.3
After all movement orders have been recorded, the
starships are moved on the game board, according to
their orders. It does not matter in what order they are
moved; all ships may be moved simultaneously if
desired.
Stacking3.3.1
Starships may occupy the same hex without penalty;
however, no ship may attack a target in its own hex.
Leaving The Game Board3.3.2
Starships may leave the game board; however, any that
do may not re-enter the game and are considered
destroyed for victory purposes.
13
Section 4Combat
We come now to the most important section of
the rules; the part where you get to blow each
other to smithereens...
Before Attacking4.1
During the first Combat Phase of the game, each
side should roll a die; the side with the higher roll
resolves its attacks first. In the next Combat
Phase, the other side will go first. Continue
alternating this way until the end of the game.
Keep in mind that all combat is considered to be
simultaneous and that no damage is applied until
the end of the Combat Phase (see Section 4.3:
Effects of Damage).
When it comes time for a starship to make its
attacks, there are four things that must be taken
into account: declaration of targets, firing arcs,
range, and line of sight.
Declaration Of Targets4.1.1
Before resolving any of its attacks, a starship
must declare at which targets it will be firing, and
what weapons it will be using against each,
remembering that each weapon can only be fired
once per Combat Phase.
Firing Arcs4.1.2
There are six firing arcs in the Starmada game, as
shown in the diagram below:
AA BB
CC DD
EE FF
The weapons section of the ship record indicates which
arcs are covered by each weapon. For example, a box
under the heading AB would indicate one weapon that
can fire into the A and B arcs. Obviously, a weapon may
only attack targets that lie inside the indicated arcs.
A starship may not attack any targets in its own hex.
Range4.1.3
The distance from a firing starship to its target is
referred to as the range, and is determined by counting
the number of hexes along the shortest path between
the two. When determining the range, you should count
the hex containing the target, but not that of the firing
ship.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Each batterys range is divided into three bands: short,
medium, and long. A weapon may not attack targets
outside its long range band.
Line Of Sight4.1.4
In order to attack a target, a starship must be able to
trace a line of sight to that target. This means that an
imaginary line drawn from the center of the firing ships
hex to the center of the target hex must not cross any
part of a hex containing an object that blocks line of
sight. For example, explosion counters block line of sight.
AA
BB
CC
DD
In the example above, the shaded hexes represent
explosions. The firing ship could not fire at targets in
hexes A or D, as the line of sight is blocked. The line to
hex B is obviously open, while the line to hex C crosses
the side of an explosion hex, but not through it, and is
therefore not blocked. If hexes on either side of the line
contained explosions, the target in hex C could not be
attacked.
Starships and fighter flights do not block line of sight.
Attack Procedure4.2
In order to make an attack, three separate rolls are
needed: the to-hit roll, the shield roll, and the damage
roll. The procedure given here is for the most basic of
weapon types. Most weapons will be handled quite
differently; these differences are outlined in Appendix B:
Weapon Abilities.
The To-Hit Roll4.2.1
Each weapon receives a number of to-hit dice equal to
its rate of fire (ROF). Roll the appropriate number of
dice; each die that equals or exceeds the firing batterys
to-hit number hits the target. Add +1 to each die if the
target is at short range, and subtract -1 if the target is at
long range.
For example, three laser cannons (ROF 1) with a to-hit
of 4+ and a maximum range of 9 are firing at a target 7
hexes away. The player rolls three dice, and they come
up 3, 4, and 6, respectively. Normally, this would
indicate two hits; however, since the target is at long
range (7-9 hexes), the player must subtract -1 from
each die. This means that the 4 is now a 3, a miss. Had
the target been at short range, all three weapons would
have hit, since the +1 would have changed that 3 to a 4.
Modifiers to the attack roll may occasionally result in a
situation where a 7 or more is needed to score a hit. As
14
this is obviously impossible on a six-sided die, use the
following method to determine hits:
If: Then:
7+ is needed Two dice with unmodified rolls of 6
result in one hit.
8+ is needed Three dice with unmodified rolls of 6
result in one hit.
9+ is needed Four dice with unmodified rolls of 6
result in one hit.
Etc. Etc.
For example, a starship is attacking with 5 weapons
(ROF 1) against a target with Electronic
Countermeasures (ECM) at long range. The weapons
to-hit value is 5+, and the target has Electronic
Countermeasures. Because of the long range (-1) and
the ECM (-1), a roll of 7 is needed to score a hit. Five
dice are rolled, coming up 1, 3, 4, 6, and 6. As two 6s
were rolled, the target suffers one hit.
To-hit dice from multiple weapons in a single battery
may be combined for this purpose; however, to-hit dice
from weapons in different batteries must remain
separate.
Regardless of modifiers, whenever a to-hit die comes up
a 1, the roll automatically fails.
The Shield Roll4.2.2
For each die that hits the target, roll the appropriate
number of penetration dice and compare the results to
the targets shields rating. Each die that exceeds that
number causes damage to the target.
In our example from above, one hit was scored. The
weapons have a PEN of 1, indicating that only one
penetration die is rolled. The target has a shield rating of
3, which means the firing player must roll a 4 or better to
cause damage. The die is re-rolled and results in a 5:
success!
The Damage Roll4.2.3
For each die that penetrates the targets shields, roll the
appropriate number of damage dice and compare the
results to the targets damage chart. The resulting
alphanumeric code indicates the type of damage
suffered:
Code Damage Type
H Hull Hit: One hull box should be filled in.
E Engine Hit: One engine box should be filled in.
S Shield Hit: One shield box should be filled in.
Q Special Equipment Hit: The starship loses one
piece of special equipment.
a Weapon Hit: One of the starships weapons in
battery (a) is destroyed.
b Weapon Hit: One of the starships weapons in
battery (b) is destroyed.
c Weapon Hit: One of the starships weapons in
battery (c) is destroyed.
A number in front of a letter indicates multiples of that
type of hit; e.g., 2E means two engine hits.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
In our example, one die penetrated the targets shields.
Therefore, it is re-rolled on the damage chart, coming up
a 3. As the targets ship record shows that a damage roll
of 3 results in Ea, the starship takes one engine hit
and one weapon (a) hit.
When a starship takes a weapon hit, the exact weapon
lost from the indicated battery is up to the defending
player.
When a starship takes a special equipment hit, note that
only those items with an associated damage box (or
boxes) can be damagedfor example, a ship cannot
lose its organic hull to damage. The exact special
equipment lost is up to the defending player.
If some of the indicated damage cannot be appliedfor
example, Ea on a target that has already filled in all its
engine boxes, but still has some weapons in its a
batterythen only apply that damage that is still
relevant, and ignore the rest. However, if none of the
indicated damage can be appliede.g., Ea on a ship
that has already filled in all of its engine boxes and lost
all of the weapons in its a batterythen the ship takes
a hull hit instead.
Effects Of Damage4.3
As combat is simultaneous, all damage is applied at the
end of the Combat Phase. Players should mark damage
with a slash on the starship record (/) when it first
occurs, and then fill in the boxes once all attacks have
been resolved.
Note that once targets have been declared, players
cannot change their minds; thus, if an enemy starship is
destroyed or rendered useless early in the Combat
Phase, it is not possible to shift your focus to another
target.
Also during the End Phase, any starship inside an
explosion should have a number of penetration dice
rolled against it equal to the strength of the explosion.
For example, if a ship is inside a strength 4 explosion, 4
dice are rolled against its shields. Any of these dice that
penetrate the shields are then re-rolled for damage.
As noted above, attacks cannot be made through hexes
containing explosions; however, attacks into or out of
explosions are possible, with a negative modifier equal
to the strength of the explosion. Thus, a starship inside
a strength 2 explosion would have its to-hit rolls
modified by -2.
Crew Casualties4.3.2
In certain situations, the rules may call for a starship to
take a crew casualty. When this happens, the next hull
box should have a line drawn through it (). This does
not represent actual hull damage, and real hull hits
overlap crew casualties as they occur. However, once
all hull boxes have been marked, either with crew
casualties or hull hits, the target can no longer move or
attack, as the crew members have all been killed or
incapacitated. This awards VPs to the opposing side as
if the ship had been destroyed.

Destroyed Starships4.3.1
A starship that has been destroyed is removed from the
board, the opposing side gains VPs, and an explosion
counter is put in its place. Explosion counters have little
effect on the game other than to block line of sight.
However, if a starship chooses to enter a hex containing
an explosion counter (or if a ship explodes while in the
same hex as another), there is the possibility for
damage.
The initial strength of an explosion counter depends
upon the size of the destroyed starship:
Hull Points Strength Of Explosion
1-3 1
4-8 2
9-15 3
16-24 4
25+ 5
During the End Phase, each explosion counter is
reduced in strength by one; any counter already at
strength 1 is removed. Explosions are not reduced in
strength during the first End Phase after their
appearance.

15
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Section 5Fighters
Many starships carry fighters: small, fast attack
craft used to harass the enemy and protect
friendly vessels from opposing fighters. Because
of their unique nature, fighters have been given
their own section of the rules (as well as a
separate phase in the game turn sequence).
Fighter Bays5.1
In order to use fighters in a game of Starmada, at
least one of your starships must have fighter
bays. Each fighter bay allows a side to use one
fighter flight; each flight represents six individual
craft and is treated as a single unit.
Including Fighters In A Fleet5.1.1
Fighter flights are represented by their own
playing pieces. They do not have starship
records, as the only important information about
a fighter flight is how many fighters it has left.
Each flight starts with six fighters, and once they
are all destroyed, the flight is removed from play.
The easiest way to denote fighter damage is to
place a small die next to the flights playing piece;
the number showing on the die indicates the
number of fighters remaining in the flight.
Unless otherwise noted in a scenario, fighter
flights begin on the game board; they are
assumed to have been scrambled before the
first turn.
The Fighter Phase5.1.2
Fighter flights move and attack during the Fighter
Phase of each turn. Their movement is not
written down ahead of time, and any damage
inflicted by fighters is administered immediately;
thus, any ship or fighter destroyed by a fighter
flight does not have an opportunity to return fire
before being removed from play.
At the beginning of each Fighter Phase, if both sides
have fighter flights, each side should roll one die; the
side with the higher result has the advantage for the
current phase. That side is allowed to choose one flight
(friend or foe) to move and attack first. When that flight
has finished its actions for the turn, the side that lost the
initiative roll has the chance to decide which flight will go
next. The sides continue to alternate until one side has
no more flights left to move, at which point the opposing
side may move any remaining flights as desired.
Fighter Movement5.2
Fighter flights are moved directly on the game board;
i.e., no movement orders are necessary. Flights can be
moved up to 10 hexes from their starting position, in any
direction and/or flight path; they have no facing and
therefore no need to spend MPs to turn, sideslip, or
perform other maneuvers.
16
Fighter Stacking5.2.1
Fighters may move through and even end their
movement in the same hex as another starship or
fighter flight; however, a fighter may not attack a
ship in its own hex. Fighters may attack each
other while in the same hex.
All fighter flights from the same side in the same
hex are considered a single target; when hits are
scored, they may be taken from any or all of the
flights in any combination desired by the owning
player(s).
Fighter Combat5.3
After a flight has finished moving, it has the
option of immediately attacking any opposing
starship or fighter flight in an adjacent hex.
Fighters may also attack enemy fighters in the
same hex.
Fighter flights that are destroyed are removed
from the board; no explosion counters are
placed.
Note that the damage from fighter flights is
applied immediately. For example, if a starship
takes a shield hit from fighter attacks, it loses that
shield for the remainder of the Fighter Phase as
well as for the upcoming Combat Phase.
Fighter Attacks On Starships5.3.1
In order to attack a starship with a fighter flight,
roll one die for each fighter in the flight; the to-hit
number is 5+. Each die that hits is re-rolled for
penetration, treating the targets shields as half
their current value (rounded up). For example, if
fighters are attacking a ship with shields 3, the
effective shield value is 2 (3 x = 1.5, rounded
up to 2). Each die that penetrates the shields
results in one die of damage.
Fighter Attacks On Fighters5.3.2
When attacking another flight, roll one die for each
fighter left in the attacking flight. Each die that comes up
a 5 or 6 destroys one fighter in the target flight. Each die
that comes up a 1 destroys one fighter in the attacking
flight (it is assumed the target is fighting back).
Starship Attacks On Fighters5.3.3
When starships attack fighters, the following must be
taken into account:
x Weapons attack fighters with a -1 to-hit penalty.
x Any to-hit die that hits a fighter flight automatically
destroys one fighter; no penetration or damage rolls
are necessary. Thus, weapons with PEN>1 and/or
DMG>1 waste these capabilities when attacking
fighters.
x Weapons with the following abilities have no effect
on fighters: Must Re-Roll Penetration Dice; No Hull
Damage.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Fighters & Explosions5.3.4 Appendix AStarship Construction
Any fighter flight that enters a hex containing an Since the primary motivation behind Starmada is
explosion is immediately destroyed. the creation of a set of starship combat rules
which can be used to simulate any battle in any
science fiction setting, the game would not be
complete without some way of designing your
own starships. In this section are the construction
guidelines that we have settled upon. However,
as with the rest of these rules, players should feel
no guilt about making changes. Think fighter
bays should take up less space? Go ahead and
reduce their space unit requirement. Have a
problem with the Combat Rating multiplier for the
cloaking device? Try building a few ships with a
different factor and see how it works. Starmada is
made to be tinkered with, so roll up your sleeves
and dig in!
Although every attempt has been made to reduce
the complexity of this system, you will still need
the help of a sturdy calculator to get through
these steps. Additionally, players can make use
of the Starmada X Construction Assistant, a
spreadsheet template that can be downloaded
from our web site:
www.mj12games.com/starmada/sxca.xlt
In setting down these construction rules, we had
two goals in mind:
1. First, we wanted to ensure that starships
were constructed in a realistic manner.
Although this is a science fiction game, and
many things are possible, a ship with two
hull points and forty-seven laser cannons
should not be one of them.
2. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the
system should also contain a method for
different designs to be evaluated for
comparison.
The rules that follow achieve this dual purpose
admirably (we hope).

Designing A StarshipA.1
This section deals with the physical construction of a
starship; Appendix A.2: Evaluating The Design shows how to
determine the ships Combat Rating.

Hull PointsA.1.1
The first decision in starship construction is the size of
the ship; i.e., how many hull points does it have?
This decision is entirely up to the designer, but will have
an impact on all of the steps that follow.

Space UnitsA.1.2
The limiting factor in starship construction is space. In
this sense, space is an abstract combination of volume
and mass. Each part of a ship takes up a certain
amount of space, and the sum of the space

17
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
requirements for all of a ships components cannot First, determine the desired range value; this must be
exceed the total number of space units (SUs) available. either 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18. Then, multiply the desired
range value by the to-hit factor:
The number of SUs a starship has to fill is defined in the
following table: To-Hit 3+ 4+ 5+
Factor 0.67 0.5 0.33
Hull Space Engine Shield
Size Units2 Factor3 Factor4 For example, if a weapon is to have a range of 12 and a
1 100 3 25 to-hit of 3+, then the base SU cost is going to be 12 x
2 220 8 37 0.67, or 8.
3 360 16 47
4 520 26 57 Next, determine the weapons ROF, PEN, and DMG
5 700 38 66 values; each must be no less than 1 and no greater than
6 900 52 75 3. The weapons SU cost is then multiplied by the ROF
7 1120 69 84 +1, the PEN, and the DMG.
8 1360 89 92 For example, if our weapon is to have a ROF of 3, a
9 1620 112 101 PEN of 2, and a DMG of 1, then the SU cost is now 8 x
10 1900 138 109 (3 + 1) x 2 x 1, or 64.
11 2200 167 117
12 2520 199 125 Each special ability possessed by the weapon also
13 2860 235 134 incurs a modifier:
14 3220 274 142 Ability Factor
15 3600 316 150 Continuing Damage 1.3
16 4000 363 158 Doubled Range Modifiers 0.9
17 4420 413 166 Extra Crew Casualties 2.0
18 4860 467 174 Extra Hull Damage 3.0
19 5320 526 182 Halves Shields 1.8
20 5800 588 190 Ignores Shields 2.5
Increased DMG 2.3
Engines & ShieldsA.1.3 Increased PEN 2.3
Without engines, a starship would be unable to move Inverted Range Modifiers 1.3
around. Without shields, the ship would be completely Must Re-Roll Penetration Dice 0.3
vulnerable to enemy weapons. Must Re-Roll To-Hit Dice 0.5
No Hull Damage 0.7
The number of SUs required by a starships engines No Range Modifiers 1.2
and shield generators is based upon the size of the Range-Based DMG 1.6
ship, according to the table above. Cross-reference the Range-Based PEN 1.6
number of hull points with the Engine Factor column, Range-Based ROF 1.6
and multiply this value by the number of movement Repeating 2.4
points (MPs) desired. The result is the number of SUs Re-Rolls Penetration Dice 1.5
required by the ships engines. Re-Rolls To-Hit Dice 1.6
Shield-Resonant 2.7
Then, multiply the appropriate value from the Shield
Variable DMG 1.7
Factor column by the number of shields the starship is
Variable PEN 1.7
to have. The result is the number of SUs required by the
Variable ROF 1.7
shield generators.
For example, if our weapon had the Doubled Range
WeaponsA.1.4 Modifiers and Increased DMG abilities, its SU cost
The SU requirement of a starships weaponry is based would become 64 x 0.9 x 2.3, or 132.5.
upon each weapons range and to-hit values. The weapon must finally be given its firing arc(s). The
modifier for this is based on the number of arcs covered
by the weapon:
Number Of Arcs:
2
The number of space units is determined by the following 1 2 3 4 5 6
formula: Factor 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Hull Points x 10 x (9 + Hull Points)
3 If we were to give our weapon a firing arc of ACE, its
The engine factor is determined by the following formula:
final SU cost would be 132.5 x 2.0, or 265. (Thats a
1.3
(Space Units x 0.01) x3 pretty big weapon-)
4
The shield factor is determined by the following formula:
0.5
(Space Units x 0.01) x 25

18
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Remember that a starship cannot have more than three which has an SU cost of 10%, would require 52 SUs on
batteries, or a group of weapons with the same range, a size 4 ship and 252 SUs on a size 12 ship; however, a
to-hit, ROF, PEN, and DMG values and special abilities. fighter bay will take 50 SUs regardless of the ships size.

Special EquipmentA.1.5 There is no limit to the number of different types of

Finally, you need to decide upon any special equipment
the starship is to have. Many types of special equipment
take up a certain percentage of the total SUs available,
while others have a set cost. Thus, a cloaking device,
special equipment that can be added.
Note that some types of special equipment come in
batches; e.g., battle satellites must be added to the
starship in groups of 5.

Special Equiment SU Cost Offensive Rating Defensive Rating Hit? TL?

Anti-Fighter Batteries 5% - x1.2 Yes Yes
Armor Plating 5% - x1.5 No No
Armored Gun Batteries 50% of weapon SUs Increase all weapon - No No
offensive ratings by 50%
Battle Satellites (5) 60 45 +45 Yes Yes
Cargo Bays 50% - - No No
Carronade 5% Hull Points x (MPs + 1) - Yes Yes
x2
Cloaking Device 10% - x1.5 Yes Yes
Construction Bay 200 - - No No
Decoy 2% per decoy - x1.2 per decoy Yes Yes
Drones (5) 20 30 +30 Yes Yes
Electronic Countermeasures 5% - x1.5 Yes Yes
Electronic Warfare System 5% - x1.2 Yes Yes
Fighter Bay 50 50 +50 Yes Yes
Ionic Shielding 10% of shield SUs - x1.5 No No
Launch Bay 10 5 +5 Yes Yes
Long Range Sensors 5% - x1.2 Yes Yes
Marine Squads (5) 40 40 +40 Yes Yes
Medical Bay 10 - - No No
Mines (10) 25 50 +50 Yes Yes
Minesweeper Array 5% Hull Points - Yes Yes
x (MPs + 15) x 10%
Organic Hull 10% - x2 No No
Overthrusters 5% - x1.5 Yes Yes
Passengers (100) 10 - - No No
Point-Defense System 10% - x2 Yes Yes
Redundant Shielding 50% of shield SUs - x1.5 No No
Repair Bay 100 - - No No
Science Lab 10 - - No No
Security Teams (5) 10 20 +20 Yes Yes
Shockwave 20% of shield SUs Hull Points x (MPs + 1) - Yes No
x Shield Rating
Spinal Mount: Hull 1-3 10% Hull Points x (MPs + 21) - Yes Yes
x 20%
Spinal Mount: Hull 4-8 10% Hull Points x (MPs + 24) - Yes Yes
x 20%
Spinal Mount: Hull 9-15 10% Hull Points x (MPs + 27) - Yes Yes
x 20%
Spinal Mount: Hull 16-24 10% Hull Points x (MPs + 30) - Yes Yes
x 20%
Spinal Mount: Hull 25+ 10% Hull Points x (MPs + 33) - Yes Yes
x 20%
Stealth Generator 10% - x2.5 Yes Yes
Stutterdrive 20% of engine SUs - x1.5 Yes No
Sunbursts (5) 10 10 +10 Yes Yes
Tachyon Detection & Ranging 5% - x1.5 Yes Yes
Troops (250) 10 - - No No
Vehicle Bay 25 - - No No

19
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Tech LevelsA.1.6
In some cases, players may wish to represent the
advantages and/or disadvantages possessed by
different races with varying levels of technological
sophistication. In order to keep things as simple as
possible, these rules assume that all weapons and
equipment (or reasonable facsimiles thereof) are
available at any tech level; what differs is the efficiency
of the tech, and by extension, the amount of space
needed to achieve the desired effect. Thus, a tech level
-2 weapon would take up four times as many SUs as an
otherwise identical tech level +2 weapon.
There are five tech levels (TLs) available, with TL -2
being the lowest, or least advanced, and TL +2 being
the highest. There may be other TLs, but they are
beyond the scope of Starmada (for now).
Tech Level SU Modifier
-2 200%
-1 140%
0 100%
+1 70%
+2 50%
A given race or fleet will have a TL for each of four
different categories: engines, shields, weapons, and
special equipment. The TL provides a modifier to the SU
cost of the appropriate systems; e.g., a TL +1 in engines
would reduce the SU cost of the engines to 70% of
normal, while a TL -2 in weapons would double the SU
cost of all the starships weaponry.
Note that, in the case of special equipment, only those
items marked as Yes in the TL? column of the chart on
the previous page apply the SU Modifier.
You should note that the evaluation process (see below)
is unaffected by TLs, as the Combat Rating is based
upon the actual capabilities of the starship; TLs simply
change how much stuff a ship may carry.
Evaluating The DesignA.2
Now that you have finished your starship design, you
must compute its Combat Rating. This is a three-step
process: first, you determine the offensive rating; then,
you determine the defensive rating; finally, the Combat
Rating is computed.
The Offensive RatingA.2.1
The offensive rating is based upon the average number
of hits the starship can expect to inflict in one game turn.
To do so, first determine the offensive rating of each
weapon possessed by the ship:
Weapon SU Cost x (Range + MPs) / Range
For example, if a weapon takes up 64 SUs, with a range
of 12, on a starship with 5 MPs, the weapons offensive
rating is 64 x (12 + 5) / 12, or 90.7.
A starships base offensive rating is:
Hull Size x (MPs + 1)
20
Then add to this the sum of the ratings of the ships
weapons.
In addition, certain types of special equipment also
contribute to the offensive rating, as shown in the
special equipment table (above).
The Defensive RatingA.2.2
The defensive rating is determined by computing how
many hits the starship can take before being destroyed.
To start, multiply the number of hull points by 2. Then,
multiply this by the appropriate shield factor:
Shield Rating
0 1 2 3 4 5
Factor 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.0 3.0 6.0
Next, apply any defensive rating modifiers required by
the starships special equipment, as shown in the
special equipment table (above). Note that all
multiplication should be done first, then any addition.
For example, a starship has 5 hull points, a shield rating
of 3, electronic countermeasures, and a fighter bay. The
defensive rating is 5 x 2 x 2.0 x 1.5 + 50, or 70.
The Combat RatingA.2.3
After the offensive and defensive ratings have been
computed, the Combat Rating can be determined. The
Combat Rating is found by multiplying the offensive
rating times the defensive rating, and then taking the
square root of the product, rounding off to the nearest
integer.
For example, if a starship has an offensive rating of 200,
and a defensive rating of 70, the Combat Rating is (200
0.5
x 70) , or 118.
The Damage ChartA.3
The final stage in creating a starship is to figure out its
damage chart.
Number Of HitsA.3.1
First, you must determine how many of each type of hit
will be present on the chart. This is done as follows:
The number of engine hits is equal to:
MPs x 2 / Hull Points (round up)
The number of shield hits is equal to:
Shields x 2 / Hull Points (round up)
The number of each type of weapon hit is equal to:
Number of Weapons in the Battery x 2 / Hull Points
(round up)
To determine the number of special equipment hits, first
determine how many special equipment items on the
ship are susceptible to damage, which is indicated by a
Yes in the Hit? column of the special equipment table
(see above). Then, apply the following formula:
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
5
Number of Special Equipment Hits x 2 / Hull Points This is combined to a final damage chart of:
(round up)
1 2 3 4 5 6
If a starship has a specific type of equipment multiple HQ Ea Hb Eb H S
times (e.g., 3 batches of 5 drones), then include it
multiple times in this equation. For example, if a ship Thats it!
has electronic countermeasures and 20 mines (10
mines twice), there would be a total of 3 possible special
equipment hits.
For example, HIMS Admirable has 8 hull points, 5 MPs,
3 shields, 4 blasters (battery a), 6 laser cannons
(battery b), and two pieces of special equipment that
can be damaged. Therefore, the number of each type of
hit is:
Engine Hits:
5 x 2 / 8 = 1.3, rounded up to 2
Shield Hits:
3 x 2 / 8 = 0.8, rounded up to 1
Special Equipment Hits:
2 x 2 / 8 = 0.5, rounded up to 1
Weapon (a) Hits:
4x2/8=1
Weapon (b) Hits:
6 x 2 / 8 = 1.5, rounded up to 2

Assigning Hits To The Damage ChartA.3.2

Once the number of each type of hit has been
determined, it is necessary to place them on the
damage chart. This is relatively simple; first, assign an
H to each of the 1, 3, and 5 slots. Then, place the first
three system hits (proceeding in the order E, S, Q, a, b,
c) in the 2, 4, and 6 slots. Then, start wrapping around
from 1 through 6 and back to 1 again until all hits have
been assigned.
If any spaces on the damage chart are still empty after
this process, they should be marked as H hits.
For example, HIMS Admirable has 2 E hits, 1 S hit, 1
Q hit, 1 a hit, and 2 b hits. These are then assigned
as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6
1H
2H
3H
4E
5E
6S
7Q
8a
9b
10b

5
If you are going to include hyperspace (p.35) in your game,
then each starship should have a hyperdrive, which is
considered special equipment for damage purposes.
Therefore, dont forget to add this when determining the
number of pieces of special equipment on the ship.

21
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Appendix BWeapon Abilities
This appendix lists the effects of all the special
abilities that may be possessed by a starships
weaponry.
Obviously, with so many options available, there
may be the potential for confusion. While weve
made every effort to account for any conflicts,
undoubtedly weve missed a few. So, if youre
ever faced with a combination of effects that
seems to contradict itself, use your best judgment
and move onremembering always that the
point is to have fun.
If you do find yourself having to make such a
ruling, please let us know, so that we may inform
other players of the problem and an appropriate
solution. You can contact us through our web
site:
www.mj12games.com
Continuing DamageB.1
This weapon does no damage in the Combat
Phase; instead, roll a number of dice equal to its
DMG value in the following End Phase:
Roll Effect
1-3 No further rolls are made for this DMG
point
4-5 Roll once on the targets damage chart
6 Roll twice on the targets damage chart
Any dice that do not result in a 3 or less will
continue doing damage in subsequent End
Phases.
For example, a DMG-3, Continuing Damage
weapon rolls three dice in the first End Phase
after it hits its target; these come up 1, 4, and 6.
This results in Roll once and Roll twice,
so three dice are rolled on the targets damage
chart. The 1 means that one of the damage dice
is no longer active, so in the next End Phase, only two
dice would be rolled on the above chart.
Doubled Range ModifiersB.2
This weapons range modifiers are doubled; i.e., +2 at
short range and -2 at long range. This cannot be
combined with Inverted Range Modifiers or No Range
Modifiers.
Extra Crew CasualtiesB.3
All weapon hits are assumed to cause some amount of
casualties on the target. However, this weapon is
specially designed to kill or incapacitate enemy
crewmembers. Each damage die from this weapon
inflicts one crew casualty in addition to the result from
the targets damage chart. This cannot be combined
with Extra Hull Damage.
22
Extra Hull DamageB.4
This weapon carves huge chunks out of the
targets hull. Each damage die rolled by this
weapon inflicts one hull hit in addition to the
result from the targets damage chart. This
cannot be combined with Extra Crew
Casualties.
Halves ShieldsB.5
This weapon treats the targets shield rating as if
it were half normal, rounded up; e.g., the weapon
would penetrate a shield rating of 5 on a roll of 4
or higher (half of 5 is 2.5, rounded up to 3). This
cannot be combined with Ignores Shields or
Shield-Resonant.
Ignores ShieldsB.6
This weapons penetration dice automatically get
through the targets shields. This cannot be
combined with Halves Shields or
Shield-Resonant.
Increased DMGB.7
This weapons DMG value is affected by the
success of the shield roll. The amount by which
the shield roll exceeds the targets shield rating is
multiplied by the weapons DMG value to
determine the number of dice rolled on the
damage chart. If the target has no shields, or the
weapon also Ignores Shields, a shield roll should
still be made to determine the DMG value
multiplier.
For example, a PEN-3, DMG-2, Increased DMG
weapon is attacking a target with a shield rating
of 4. The penetration dice come up 2, 5, and 6.
The 2 fails to penetrate and is ignored; the 5
results in normal DMG (2), while the 6 does
double normal DMG (4). Therefore, a total of 6
dice will be rolled on the targets damage chart.
Increased PENB.8
This weapons PEN value is affected by the success of
the to-hit roll:
To-Hit Die Equals: Effect
To-hit Number PEN x1
To-hit Number +1 PEN x2
To-hit Number +2 PEN x3
To-hit Number +3 PEN x4
Etc. Etc.
For example, a ROF-3, PEN-2, Increased PEN weapon
is attacking a target with a to-hit number of 4+. The to-
hit dice come up 2, 4, and 5. The 2 misses and is
ignored; the 4 results in normal PEN (2), while the 5
does double normal PEN (4). Therefore, a total of 6 dice
will be rolled against the targets shields.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Inverted Range ModifiersB.9
This weapons range modifiers are reversed; i.e., +1 at
long range and -1 at short range. This cannot be
combined with Doubled Range Modifiers or No Range
Modifiers.
Must Re-Roll Penetration DiceB.10
This weapon is highly susceptible to shield interference.
Whenever one of this weapons penetration dice gets
through the targets shields, the die must be re-rolled; if
this second roll does not also succeed, the die has
failed to penetrate. This cannot be combined with
Re-Rolls Penetration Dice.
Must Re-Roll To-Hit DiceB.11
This weapon is highly inaccurate compared to other
weapons of the same class. Whenever one of this
weapons to-hit dice hits its target, the die must be
re-rolled; if this second roll does not also succeed, the
to-hit die has missed the target. This cannot be
combined with Re-Rolls To-Hit Dice.
No Hull DamageB.12
This weapon is unable to cause damage to the targets
hull. Ignore any hull hits caused by this weapon. This
cannot be combined with Extra Hull Damage.
No Range ModifiersB.13
This weapon does not have any range modifiers; i.e., +0
at short range and -0 at long range. This cannot be
combined with Doubled Range Modifiers or Inverted
Range Modifiers.
Range-Based DMGB.14
This weapons DMG value is tripled at short range, and
doubled at medium range. Thus, a DMG-1 weapon
would have DMG-3 at short range and DMG-2 at
medium range.
Range-Based PENB.15
This weapons PEN value is tripled at short range, and
doubled at medium range. Thus, a PEN-1 weapon
would have PEN-3 at short range and PEN-2 at medium
range.
Range-Based ROFB.16
This weapons ROF value is tripled at short range, and
doubled at medium range. Thus, a ROF-1 weapon
would have ROF-3 at short range and ROF-2 at medium
range.
RepeatingB.17
This weapon may re-roll any of its to-hit dice that hit the
target; if this second roll succeeds, another hit is scored,
and the die may be re-rolled again. This continues until
the die fails to hit the target.
Note that since all fighters in a hex are considered a
single target, a repeating weapon may continue to
23
attack fighters until it misses or all fighters have been
destroyed.
Re-Rolls Penetration DiceB.18
This weapon is allowed to re-roll (once) any of its
penetration dice that fail to penetrate the targets
shields. If this second roll also fails, the penetration die
does not get through the shields. This cannot be
combined with Must Re-Roll Penetration Dice.
Re-Rolls To-Hit DiceB.19
This weapon is allowed to re-roll (once) any of its to-hit
dice that fail to hit the target. If this second roll also fails,
the to-hit die has missed. This cannot be combined with
Must Re-Roll To-Hit Dice.
Shield-ResonantB.20
This weapons PEN value is multiplied by the shield
rating of its target. For example, a PEN-2 weapon
attacking a target with a shield rating of 4 would roll 8
dice to penetrate the shields. Against a target with a
shield rating of zero, the weapon rolls its normal
penetration dice. This cannot be combined with Halves
Shields or Ignores Shields.
Variable DMGB.21
Before rolling this weapons damage dice, roll one die
per point of DMG on the following chart:
Roll Effect
1-3 One damage die
4-5 Two damage dice
6 Three damage dice
For example, a DMG-2, Variable DMG weapon has
penetrated its targets shields. Two dice are rolled,
coming up 2 and 6. This results in a total of four damage
dice, which are then rolled on the targets hit location
chart.
Variable PENB.22
Before rolling this weapons penetration dice, roll one
die per point of PEN on the following chart:
Roll Effect
1-3 One penetration die
4-5 Two penetration dice
6 Three penetration dice
For example, a PEN-2, Variable PEN weapon has hit its
target. Two dice are rolled, coming up 1 and 6. This
results in a total of four PEN dice, which are then rolled
against the targets shields.
Variable ROFB.23
Before rolling this weapons to-hit dice, roll one die per
point of ROF on the following chart:
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Roll Effect Appendix CSpecial Equipment
1-3 One To-hit die
4-5 Two To-hit dice Most starships are furnished with some type of
6 Three To-hit dice special equipment; these require their own
section of the rules in which to explain their use.
For example, a ROF-2, Variable ROF weapon is
being fired. Two dice are rolled, coming up 2 and Anti-Fighter BatteriesC.1
4. This results in a total of three to-hit dice, which
are then rolled to hit the target. Many starship designers, not content to rely on
friendly flights to protect their starships from
enemy fighters, have chosen to equip their
designs with anti-fighter batteries (AFB), tiny
weapons which can only attack at extremely
close quarters.
Whenever a fighter flight attacks a starship
equipped with AFB, it loses a fighter on a roll of
1, just as if it were attacking another fighter flight.

Armor PlatingC.2
As a low-cost, low-tech alternative for increasing
the staying power of a starship, several designers
have opted for an extra layer of reinforced
material to protect it from harm.
Whenever a starship with armor plating takes a
hull hit, roll a die: if the result is 5 or 6, the hit has
no effect.

Armored Gun BatteriesC.3

Starship designers are constantly looking for a
way to enhance the survivability of their ships
weaponry. One simple method is to reinforce the
weapon mounts themselves, not only increasing
the thickness of the armor, but also adding
shielding against electromagnetic interference
and improving auto-targeting systems to hedge
against temporary loss of control.
Whenever a starship with armored gun batteries
(AGB) suffers a weapon hit, roll a die: if the result
is 5 or 6, the hit has no effect.

Battle SatellitesC.4
Battle satellites, or battlesats, are small,
remotely-operated craft that can significantly extend a
starships attack capability. Launched during the End
Phase, a battlesat moves and attacks during the Fighter
Phase. A ship can only launch up to three battlesats per
turn, but there is no limit to the number that can be
active at any given time.
Battlesats have 5 movement points, but no facing; they
can therefore move in any direction at any time.
Each battlesat has a single weapon with a range of 12
and a to-hit of 3+. It has ROF, PEN, and DMG values of
1, and no special abilities. This weapon can fire in a
360 arc.
Starships may attack battlesats as if they were fighters.
Battlesats become functionless once their launching
vessel is destroyed.

24
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
If a player chooses to lose battlesats as a result of a
special equipment hit, roll a die; the result is the number
of battlesats lost. If the number exceeds the number of
battlesats remaining on the starship, then another piece
of equipment must be chosen instead.
Cargo BaysC.5
Many scenarios may require the inclusion of freighters
or other cargo-carrying vessels. However, cargo bays
cannot simply be added to any starship that has a few
extra space units left overin order to make transport
cost-effective, a ship must devote fully 50% of its hull
space to cargo capacity.
A starship with cargo bays receives one cargo unit (CU)
per hull point. These CUs may then be filled with cargo,
according to the needs of a given scenario. This cargo
should be assigned a victory point (VP) value between
10 and 25, depending upon the relative worth of the
items carried. For example, food being transported to a
starving colony may have a VP value of 20, while food
being taken to a regional capital may only be worth 10.
Each time a cargo-carrying vessel takes a hull hit, the
opposing side immediately receives a number of VPs
equal to the cargos value. (To keep things simple, a
single ship should be considered to be using all of its
CUs to carry a single type of cargo.)
Because cargo bays increase the number of potential
VPs for the opposition, half the total VP value in cargo is
deducted from their sides total Combat Rating. Thus, a
fleet of 540 points with 150 points in cargo would only
count as 465 points (540 (150 x )) when balancing
the scenario. This means cargo-carrying fleets will be
allowed more combat punch, but they will also have
more to protect.
Starships equipped with a cloaking device do not
contribute to this Combat Rating refund.
CarronadeC.6
A carronade represents an extremely short-ranged
weapon system, intended for close-in defense. A
starships carronade is fired during the Combat Phase.
The hex directly in front of the firing ship is designated
1, with the others numbered 2-6 in a clockwise direction.
Roll a number of dice equal to the number of hull points
remaining on the ship; the result of each die represents
a hit against any target(s) in the indicated hex.
For example, if a ship with 3 hull points fired its
cannonade, with the dice coming up 1, 3, and 3, this
would score one hit against any target(s) in the front
hex, and two hits against any target(s) in the aft-
starboard hex.
For purposes of carronade fire, each fighter flight is
considered a separate target. Thus, if one hit were
scored against a hex containing two fighter flights, each
flight would lose one fighter.
25
Cloaking DeviceC.7
The most advanced form of defensive equipment ever
devised is the cloaking device. While it is activated, a
starship equipped with a cloaking device is completely
invisible to enemy sensors.
A starships controlling player must decide to cloak or
not during the Orders Phase, and write this intention in
the ships movement orders. Just before moving the
ship, the player rolls one die: on a 1, the device fails to
activate that turn. Otherwise, the ship is removed from
the game board. A ship must make a separate roll for
each turn in which it is to be cloaked.
Effects Of CloakingC.7.1
A cloaked starship may not attack, nor can it be
attacked. While a ship is cloaked, its player must be
very careful to make note of the hexes in which the ship
begins and ends its movement, so as to avoid
arguments later. The easiest way to do this is to leave a
marker in the hex last occupied by the ship when visible,
and then track its movement relative to this location. In
order to facilitate this, the ship disks for cloak-capable
vessels are two-sided; one side for use normally, and
the other side for when the ship has cloaked.
A ship that attempts to cloak and fails is still unable to
make any attacks, as power has already been allocated
to the cloaking device. However, a failed cloak does
give some measure of protection; any attacks against
such a target are at -1 to the to-hit roll.
Limitations On Cloaked StarshipsC.7.2
While cloaked, a starship cannot utilize any of the
following types of special equipment:
x Battle Sattelites*
x Carronade
x Drones*
x Fighters*
x Marine Boarding Pods*
x Mines*
x Minesweeper Array
x Organic Hull
x Shockwave
x Spinal Mount
Those items noted with an asterisk (*) already on the
board may continue to operate normally; however, no
additional drones, fighters, etc., can be launched until
the ship de-cloaks again.
Construction BayC.8
Construction bays allow a starship to build other
starships. The number of bays determines the largest
size of ship than can be built; e.g., a ship that has 5
construction bays may build a ship that has up to 5 hull
points. Only one ship may be built at a time, regardless
of size.
Note that construction cannot occur during combat; as
such, construction bays have no effect on the normal
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Starmada game. They are included here for those
players who would like to use them for campaign
purposes.
DecoysC.9
A starship equipped with decoys can launch them
during battle in order to draw enemy fire away from the
ship itself. Each decoy emits a sensor signature almost
identical to that of the launching ship, and causes
significant confusion to enemy targeting systems.
A starship wishing to deploy a decoy must record its
intention during the Orders Phase. To-hit rolls against a
target with an active decoy automatically fail on an
unmodified roll of 1, 3, or 5.
The drawback to decoys is that, once launched, they
are only effective for a single turn. After the Combat
Phase is over, the decoy is considered dead.
Decoys have no effect against fighter attacks, but they
are effective against drones.
DronesC.10
Drones are analogous to modern cruise missiles. They
are treated exactly like fighters, with the following
exceptions:
x Drones do not start the game on the board. Instead,
they are launched during the End Phase; the
drones are placed in the same hex as the launching
ship. The drones then move in the Fighter Phase of
following turns. A starship may launch up to ten
drones per turn; all drones launched during a single
turn must be placed in one group, which is the
drone equivalent of a fighter flight.
x Drones do not destroy attacking fighters on a roll of
1.
x Drones may only attack once; their attacks hit on
any roll of 4 or better. Once a drone group has
attacked, it is removed from the board. If the target
has anti-fighter batteries, the drones only hit on a 5
or 6.
Drones act independently of their carriers once
launched, and remain functional even if the starship that
fired them is destroyed.
If a player chooses to lose drones as a result of a
special equipment hit, roll a die; the result is the number
of drones lost. If the number exceeds the number of
drones remaining on the starship, then another piece of
equipment must be chosen instead.
Electronic CountermeasuresC.11
Although all starships have electronics on board, some
have been given very sophisticated jamming equipment;
this is referred to as electronic countermeasures (ECM).
Any ship that attacks a target equipped with ECM must
subtract -1 from its to-hit rolls.
Fighter attacks are unaffected by ECM.
26
Electronic Warfare SystemC.12
The electronic warfare system (EWS) represents a suite
of sensor equipment that can counteract many
obstacles to obtaining a firing solution. A starship
equipped with EWS may ignore any single -1 penalty to
each of its to-hit rolls, except for the modifier for long
range.
This means, for example, a ship with EWS may ignore a
targets ECM, the penalty for attacking a target with a
failed cloak, or any other -1 to-hit penalty.
Fighter BayC.13
Each fighter bay allows a starship to field one fighter
flight (see Section 5: Fighters).
Launch BaysC.13.1
Although fighters typically begin the game already on
the board, it is possible to keep them in reserve and
launch them during the game.
Any starship with fighter bays automatically has the
ability to launch one fighter flight during each End
Phase. The flight is placed in the same hex and facing
the same direction as the launching ship.
Each launch bay possessed by the ship increases this
capacity by one flight per turn; e.g., a ship with two
launch bays would be able to launch up to three flights
per turn.
Ionic ShieldingC.14
While the Ignores Shields ability allows a weapon to
bypass ordinary starship shielding, such weapons are
susceptible to interference, provided the proper
equipment is available.
A starship equipped with ionic shielding forces opposing
Ignores Shields weapons to roll against its shields, just
like all other weapons.
Long Range SensorsC.15
A starship equipped with long range sensors (LRS) is
able to ignore the -1 to-hit penalty for attacks at long
range.
MarinesC.16
Marines are not actually equipment; rather, they are
troops trained in the arts of shipboard and planetside
combat. Their primary use in Starmada is to assault
opposing starships in an attempt to capture them. (They
can also be useful in preventing the same thing from
happening to their own ship.)
Marines are assigned to starships in squads: each
squad represents a group of about 4-6 individual
soldiers who fight as a unit.
If a player chooses to lose marines as a result of a
special equipment hit, roll a die; the result is the number
of marines lost. If the number exceeds the number of
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
marines remaining on the starship, then another piece
of equipment must be chosen instead.
Boarding PodsC.16.1
In order to get aboard enemy starships, marines make
use of boarding pods. Launched during the End Phase,
Boarding pods are treated exactly like fighters, with the
following exceptions:
x Boarding pods are launched during the End Phase;
the pods are placed in the same hex as the
launching starship. Each pod launched removes
one marine squad from the launching ship. The
pods then move in the Fighter Phase of following
turns. A starship may launch up to ten pods per
turn; all pods launched during a single turn must be
placed in one group, which is the boarding pod
equivalent of a fighter flight.
x Boarding pods do not halve the targets shields
when making a penetration roll.
x Boarding pods cannot attack fighters, but defend
themselves as normal (i.e., any roll of 1 results in
the loss of one attacking fighter).
x Whenever a pod successfully penetrates a
starships shields, it is removed from play, and one
attacking marine squad is placed on the target ship.
For example, a starship has 10 marine squads on
board. During the End Phase, the player decides to
launch five boarding pods. A counter is placed on the
board representing one flight of five pods, and the
player removes five marine squads from the ship record.
Two turns later, the pods attack an opposing starship.
Three pods make a successful to-hit roll, but only one
penetrates the shields. This means that one pod should
be removed from the flight, and the target ship now has
one enemy marine squad on board. The remaining four
pods may attack again in subsequent turns.
Shipboard CombatC.16.2
Shipboard combat occurs during the End Phase; one
die is rolled per marine squadattacking and
defendinginvolved in a boarding action. On a roll of 5
or 6, the opposing force loses one marine squad; on a
1, a friendly squad is eliminated. If the defender has no
marine squads, each 5 or 6 rolled by the attacker results
in a crew casualty hit.
If shipboard combat results in the last hull box being
crossed off, and there are still enemy marines on board,
the attacking marines have captured the defending
starship, and victory points are scored as if the ship had
been destroyed. However, the ship is still unable to
move or fire.
Security TeamsC.16.3
For starship designers who do not wish to waste space
on boarding pods, but still want a measure of protection
against enemy marines, security teams are invaluable.
In the simplest of terms, security teams are defensive
27
marine squads. They may not be launched offensively
in boarding pods, but are in all other respects treated
exactly like marines.
Medical BayC.17
Medical bays allow a starship to treat casualties, above
and beyond those suffered by the ships own crew. The
number of bays determines the maximum number of
crew casualty hits that can be treated; e.g., a ship that
has 5 medical bays may treat up to 5 crew casualty hits.
Note that medical treatment cannot occur during
combat; as such, medical bays have no effect on the
normal Starmada game. They are included here for
those players who would like to use them for campaign
purposes.
MinesC.18
Traditionally, mines are used for strategic purposes, to
slow down and harass opposing forces. However, they
can be used to some effect during battle as well.
Mines are deployed during the End Phase; a starship
may deploy as many mines as desired during a single
turn. Once deployed, a mine should be marked off of the
starship record, and two markers are placed on the
board. These can be as far apart from each other as
desired, but each must be within 10 hexes of the
deploying ship. One represents the actual location of the
mine, while the other is a dummy. Whenever a player
decides to detonate a mine, he or she must also remove
one dummy counter from the board, so that the
number of markers is always double the number of
mines.
Mine counters are susceptible to attack as if they were
fighters. Whenever a counter is destroyed, check to see
if it was real or a dummy; if it was real, remove a dummy
counter from the board; if it was a dummy, do not also
remove an actual mine from the board.
If a player chooses to lose mines as a result of a special
equipment hit, roll two dice; the total is the number of
mines lost. If the total rolled exceeds the number of
mines remaining on the starship, then another piece of
equipment must be chosen instead.
Mine DetonationC.18.1
Mines are detonated in the Combat Phase. Each mine
can make a single attack against any and all targets
(including cloaked vessels) within two hexes. These
attacks automatically hit starships; all that needs to be
done is to roll the appropriate number of damage dice
against each ships shields:
Distance From Mine Damage
Same hex 3 dice
1 hex away 2 dice
2 hexes away 1 die
Attacks against fighters and other small craft are
handled differently: each fighter (not each flight, but
each individual fighter) has a to-hit roll made against it; if
this roll is successful, the fighter is eliminated.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Distance From Mine To-Hit
Same hex 4+
1 hex away 5+
2 hexes away 6+
Un-detonated mines in the blast radius must check to
see if they are destroyed as if they were fighters; these
mines do not themselves detonatethey are simply
removed from the board, along with one dummy counter
per destroyed mine.
Once detonated, a mine is destroyed and has no further
effect on the game.
Minesweeper ArrayC.18.2
A starship equipped with a minesweeper array has a
chance of detecting and safely detonating mines within
15 hexes.
During the Combat Phase, a starship with a
minesweeper array can roll a number of dice against
mine counters equal to its current hull points:
Range Roll Needed
1 2+
2-3 3+
4-6 4+
7-10 5+
11-15 6+
These dice can be split up as desired; either one per
counter, or several dice against a single counter. Each
successful roll removes the mine counter; at this time it
is revealed whether the counter was a dummy or real
mine. If an actual mine was removed, then a dummy
counter should also be taken off the board; however, if a
dummy counter was removed by the minesweeper, do
not also remove an actual mine from the board.
Organic HullC.19
The organic hull is not so much a piece of special
equipment, but a description of a vessels makeup.
Some races have perfected the ability to grow rather
than build starship hulls. While the debate still rages
over whether any of these vessels are truly alive, no one
can deny they are very dangerous opponents.
A starship with an organic hull loses 10% of its total
space units, as the process is not as efficient as
traditional ship construction. However, in exchange for
this loss of space, the ship gains the ability to
regenerate itself.
During the End Phase of each turn, a starship with an
organic hull may roll one die for each hull and engine hit
it has taken. If the die is a 5 or 6, the damage is
repaired.
For example, a starship with an organic hull has
suffered three hull hits and two engine hits. Three dice
are therefore rolled for the hull, coming up 2, 4, and 5.
This means that one hit is repaired. Two dice are then
roll for the engine hits, coming up 1 and 3, resulting in
no regenerated movement points.
28
An organic hull cannot repair crew casualties. If a
starship has lost all of its hull boxes, the ship is dead in
space. While the ship could conceivably continue to
repair itself, there are no longer any crewmembers
available to operate its systems.
OverthrustersC.20
Overthrusters are specially-designed reaction drive
thrusters linked to an advanced computer prediction
system. This allows a starship a high degree of
maneuverability, giving the ship an advantage when
bringing its weapons to bear.
At the end of the Movement Phase, after all Movement
Orders have been executed, starships with
overthrusters may make a free one-hexside turn. They
may do this even if the last thing they did in their
movement orders was turn.
PassengersC.21
The inclusion of passengers as special equipment
allows Starmada to simulate luxury liners, cruisers with
VIP quarters, etc. The presence of passengers has no
effect on combat.
Point-Defense SystemC.22
The point-defense system (or PDS) is a generic option
intended to represent any number of possibilities,
depending upon the given universe in which you are
playing. For example, the PDS could be a
sandcaster-type device that throws a cloud of fine
particles into space, confusing guidance systems and
scattering energy beams; or perhaps it is a network of
rapid-fire laser cannons that intercept incoming fire
faster than organic reflexes can react.
Whatever the specifics, the game effects of a PDS are
always the same. Shield rolls against a starship
equipped with a PDS automatically fail on an unmodified
roll of 1, 3, or 5.
Redundant ShieldingC.23
Some starships have additional shield generators, not to
improve the overall effectiveness of its shielding, but
simply to increase the generators staying power.
Whenever a starship with redundant shielding takes a
shield hit, roll a die; if the result is 5 or 6, the hit has no
effect.
Repair BayC.24
Repair bays allow a starship to repair damage to other
starships. The number of bays determines the largest
size of ship than can be repaired; e.g., a ship that has 5
construction bays may repair a ship that has up to 5 hull
points. Only one ship may be repaired at a time,
regardless of its size.
Note that repairs cannot occur during combat; as such,
repair bays have no effect on the normal Starmada
game. They are included here for those players who
would like to use them for campaign purposes.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Science LabC.25 Hull Points Short Medium Long
1-3 1-7 8-14 15-21
Science labs allow a starship to conduct 4-8 1-8 9-16 17-24
experimentation and research. 9-15 1-9 10-18 19-27
Note that research cannot occur during combat; as 16-24 1-10 11-20 21-30
25+ 1-11 12-22 23-33
such, science labs have no effect on a normal Starmada
game. They are included here for those players who A spinal mounts DMG value is equal to the number of
would like to use them for campaign purposes. hull boxes remaining on the firing starship; the bigger
the ship, the bigger the punch.
ShockwaveC.26
A spinal mount cannot be destroyed as a result of a
The shockwave device is a vicious weapon. When weapon hit; it is weakened only as the ship takes hull
triggered, it releases a powerful pulsed fusion blast that damage.
radiates from the starships shield generators into
surrounding space. Anime-Style Spinal MountC.27.1
The shockwave is triggered in the Combat Phase. Roll This option allows players to simulate the devastating
one die for each hull point remaining on the firing super-weapons seen in various Japanese animation
starship against each target (friendly or otherwise) in the series. While the spinal mount as given above is a very
same or an adjacent hex; each die that comes up equal large and imposing weapon, it is still somewhat weak
to or less than the ships current shield rating scores a compared to the main guns in this source material.
hit against the target. There are no modifiers to these Therefore, the following modifications to spinal mount
rolls. These hits are then rolled against the targets mechanics may be applied:
shields as normal.
During the End Phase, a starship with a spinal mount
For purposes of shockwave attacks, each fighter flight is must announce its intention to fire the mount in the next
considered a separate target, rather than treating all Combat Phase. When it comes time to fire the weapon,
flights in the same hex as one target. However, the a target hex is nominated. Then, draw a line from the
shield rating is considered to be half normal, rounded firing hex through this target hex, extending out to the
up, when attacking fighters. Mounts maximum range. To-hit rolls are made against
every target in all hexes along this line of fire. There are
For example, a starship with 5 hull points and a shield no modifiers to these to-hit rolls, aside from those for
rating of 3 triggers its shockwave. Each target in the short and long range.
same or an adjacent hex has 5 dice rolled against it,
with hits scored on a 3 or less. All fighter flights within
one hex of the firing ship are also attacked separately
with 5 dice each; however, these only result in hits on a
roll of 2 or less (3 x = 1.5, rounded up to 2).

Spinal MountC.27
Spinal mount is the term given to the class of
weapons which run the length of a starship, utilizing this
space to achieve unheard-of levels of damage potential,
whether through particle acceleration, energy
amplification, or other, more arcane forms of
technology. Firing a spinal mount is conducted exactly
In the example above, all targets in any of the shaded
as any other weapon attack, except that the mount can
hexes are attacked by the spinal mount.
only be fired within a restricted arc in front of the ship,
as illustrated below. For purposes of this rule, each fighter is considered a
separate target, rather than treating all flights in the
same hex as a single target. Damage is rolled
separately for each target that is hit.
A starship may not fire its spinal mount in two
successive turns; the weapon must have time to
recharge. A ship that declares spinal mount fire in an
End Phase does not have to do so in the very next
Combat Phase; it can maintain the weapon as charged
indefinitely. A ship may not begin the game with its
spinal mount charged; therefore, the weapon cannot be
Spinal mounts have a to-hit value of 5+, ROF and PEN fired until at least the second turn.
values of 1, and range bands based on the size of the
starship:

29
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
If desired, these rules can be applied to a specific race
or starship design, while leaving the spinal mounts of
other races and/or ships spinal mounts.
Stealth GeneratorC.28
The stealth generator acts to modify a starships target
signature on enemy tracking systems, effectively forcing
them to believe the target is further away than it actually
is. When attacking a starship equipped with a stealth
generator, the range is counted as if it were one range
band greater: i.e., a target at short range is considered
to be at medium range; targets at medium range are
attacked as if at long range. Targets with stealth
generators cannot be attacked at long range.
Stealth generators cannot be used in conjunction with
ECM.
StutterdriveC.29
The stutterdrive is an off-shoot of hyperspace
technology. It tears a small wormhole in the fabric of
space-time, drawing the starship through hyperspace to
reappear a short distance away, without occupying the
space in between. Unfortunately, the use of this device
is still not an exact science, and there is some
randomness in its application.
In order to use a stutterdrive, one direction on the game
board must be labeled North; the opposite direction
then becomes South. The others are Northeast,
Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest, respectively.
Stutterdrives are used in the End Phase. The starship is
allowed to move itself again, using up to one-half its
current movement points (rounded up). Once this is
done, however, one die should be rolled per MP used.
For each die that comes up a 1, the ship must be
scattered. Re-roll these dice, and consult the table
below:
Roll Direction
1 North
2 Northeast
3 Southeast
4 South
5 Southwest
6 Northwest
Apply these directions to the desired re-entry hex to
determine the actual location of the starships
reappearance.
For example, a starship uses its stutterdrive to move
forward five hexes. Because of this, five dice are rolled,
resulting in three 1s (!). These three dice are re-rolled,
resulting in a 1, 2, and a 5, which equate to North,
Northeast, and Southwest. Since the latter two
directions cancel each other out, the ships re-entry hex
will be one hex North of the desired hex.
If the starship reappears in the same hex as a solid
object, such as a planet or asteroid, the ship is instantly
destroyed! There is no effect if the ship emerges in the
same hex as another ship.
When using an inertial movement system, the
stutterdrive does not affect its starships vector in any
way.
SunburstsC.30
Against long-ranged weaponry, smaller and/or weaker
starships have an interesting problem; as they spend
time closing with the enemy, they have a good chance
of dying before ever bringing their own weapons to bear.
One way around this difficulty is the use of sunbursts.
Sunbursts are one-use devices; once launched, a
sunburst is crossed off the starship record.
Sunbursts are launched during the End Phase. When
used, a player should nominate a target hex within 12
hexes of the launching starship, and then roll a die.
Roll Effect
1 No effect; the sunburst was a dud
2-4 An explosion counter is randomly placed in one
of the hexes adjacent to the target hex
5-6 An explosion counter is placed in the target
hex
A starship may only launch one sunburst per turn.
The exact strength of the explosion counter is
determined by a further die roll:
Roll Explosion Strength
1-3 1
4-5 2
6 3
If a player chooses to lose sunbursts as a result of a
special equipment hit, roll a die; the result is the number
of sunbursts lost. If the number exceeds the number of
sunbursts remaining on the starship, then another piece
of equipment must be chosen instead.
Tachyon Detection & RangingC.31
The tachyon detection & ranging (TDAR) system uses
faster-than-light particles to fix a targets position far
more accurately than traditional starship sensors.
During the End Phase of each turn, a ship equipped
with TDAR can make a single roll against one enemy
starship to which the acting ship has line of sight (TDAR
cannot be used on fighters); on a roll of 5 or 6, a lock
has been achieved.
During the Combat Phase in the turn following a
successful TDAR lock, any weapons on the starship
achieving the lock that are able to hit the target will hit
the target. Keep in mind that this simply means there is
no need for a to-hit roll; all other requirements for the
attack must be met (i.e., there must be line of sight, the
target must be within range and the relevant firing
arc(s), etc.).
A cloaked starship that attempts a TDAR lock
immediately becomes visible, although it may re-cloak in
the next Movement Phase. If the target of a TDAR lock
successfully cloaks in the next Movement Phase, no
attacks against it are possible, although the roll to
establish the cloak is made at a -1 to the die.
30
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
If the target of a TDAR lock has a stealth
generator, it has no effect against attacks from
the ship using the TDAR; however, the stealth
generator is still effective against attacks from
other ships.
The target of a TDAR lock receives a +1 to all to-
hit rolls made against the starship using the
TDAR.
When firing a Repeating weapon at the target of
a TDAR lock, only the first shot is an automatic
hit; normal to-hit rolls are necessary for any
additional shots.
TroopsC.32
The inclusion of troops as special equipment
allows Starmada to simulate military transports.
If a player chooses to lose troops as a result of a
special equipment hit, roll two dice and add them
together; the result is the number of 25-troop
increments that have been lost. For example, if
the roll comes up 6, then 150 troops are
eliminated. If the result exceeds the number of
troops remaining on the starship, then another
piece of equipment must be chosen instead.
Vehicle BayC.33
Vehicle bays allow a starship to transport ground
vehicles, typically in conjunction with troops.
Each bay can carry and service up to 1 Kmt
(1,000,000 kg) of vehicles.
Note that vehicles cannot be deployed during
space combat; as such, vehicle bays have no
effect on the normal Starmada game. They are
included here for those players who would like to
use them for campaign purposes.
Appendix DVector Movement
It seems that those who play space combat
games are irreconcilably divided into two camps:
those who believe there is no reason to fiddle
with any sort of realistic movement system, as
the intent of the game is to have fun; and those
who believe the absence of such realism actually
prevents the game from being fun. Obviously,
Starmadas basic rules fall distinctly in the former
categoryhowever, theres no reason why
devotees of the latter philosophy should be left
out in the cold. Thus, we present these optional
rules for vector movement.
Players should note that this appendix applies
only to starships; the movement of fighters and
other small craft is unchanged.
Introduction D.1
During the design and playtesting stages of this
games development, a wide variety of inertial
movement systems were tried and discarded,
mainly because they changed the focus of the
game. Starmada is intended to be fast-paced and
exciting; most of the alternate movement systems
bogged down to number-crunching exercises of
the type Starmada was intended to avoid.
In the system presented here, the idea is to allow
players to determine where their starships are
supposed to go, and then find the movement
point cost, rather than apply thrust and then
determine where the ship ends up. As a result,
the actual mechanics of vector addition are
hidden from the players, while still giving the
feel of a frictionless environment. There are
some approximations made and limitations
imposed, but these are a minor price to pay for a
system that is inertia-based, easy to use, and
above all, fast.

The Compass D.1.1

In order to use this system, one direction on the game
board must be labeled North; the opposite direction
then becomes South. The others are Northeast,
Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest, respectively.
Obviously, these terms have no real meaning in space.
They are simply a convention used to keep track of the
direction in which a starship is traveling and/or facing at
any given time.

Movement PointsD.2
The movement of starships in this system is governed
by the concept of movement points (MPs), which
indicate how much thrust a particular ship can apply in a
single turn. The number of MPs a ship has at its
disposal is determined by the number of engine boxes
on its starship record.

31
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Movement OrdersD.3
For each starship under their control, players must write
down movement orders on their starship records.
Although this may sound time-consuming, it really isnt;
once youve got the hang of it, youll be able to write
movement orders for an entire fleet in no time.
ComponentsD.3.1
Movement orders consist of three parts: heading,
speed, and facing.
x Each turn, a starship travels in one of the six
compass directions (i.e., North, South, etc.); this
direction is the ships heading. A ship with speed of
zero has no heading.
x Speed is the number of hexes the starship is to
travel in the current turn. Ships may never have a
speed less than zero or greater than ten. (Strictly
speaking, ships could continue accelerating with
practically no upper limit; however, such speeds
would quickly make the game meaningless as
opponents shot past each other at ridiculous
speeds. Therefore, this arbitrary speed limit must
be imposed.)
32
x Facing is the direction in which the starship is to
point at the end of its movement. Again, this must
be one of the six compass directions, but may differ
from the ships heading.
A completed set of movement orders might look like
this: N5 / SE, where the heading is North, the speed is
5, and the facing is Southeast.
Movement Point CostD.3.2
Heading and speed combine to form a starships vector,
a mathematical value having both magnitude and
direction. A ship will continue to move according to its
most recent vector unless thrust (rated in MPs) is
applied to change that vector. The amount of MPs spent
depends upon a comparison of the current vector to that
from the previous turn.
Consult the Vector Movement Point Cost Table to
determine how many MPs are required to change a
starships vector from that of the previous turn to that
desired for the current turn. Cross-reference the
previous speed with the new speed and the difference in
heading; e.g., if the ships previous heading was North,
and its new heading is to be Southeast, the change in
heading is 120.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Vector Movement Point Cost Table
New Heading Previous Speed
Speed Change 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
120 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
180 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
2 0 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
60 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
120 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
180 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
3 0 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
60 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9
120 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
180 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
4 0 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
60 4 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 9
120 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12
180 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
5 0 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5
60 5 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 9
120 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13
180 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
6 0 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4
60 6 5 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9
120 7 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 14
180 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
7 0 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3
60 7 6 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 9
120 8 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 15
180 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
8 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2
60 8 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9
120 9 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 16
180 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
9 0 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1
60 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 10
120 10 10 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 16
180 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
10 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
60 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10
120 11 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 16 17
180 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

33
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
For example, if the previous vector was N5, and Appendix EMovement Options
the new vector is to be SW6, you would cross-
reference 5 with 6 and 120, getting an MP cost In this appendix, we discuss various optional
of 10. rules that relate to starship movement. Each
option that follows is self-contained, and should
Note the following: be agreed upon separately by all players before
x If there is no change in heading, the MP cost being introduced to the game.
is equal to the difference between the two
speeds. Evasive ActionE.1
x If the heading change is 180, the MP cost is Combat can be dangerous, and often starship
equal to the sum of the two speeds. captains decide it is better to avoid damage than
to stand fast and slug it out with a better-armed
x There is no entry for a speed of zero on the opponent. Evasive action is a way for ships to try
chart. If either the previous or the new vector and elude enemy fire until a better opportunity
has a speed of zero, the MP cost is equal to presents itself.
the non-zero speed; e.g., changing from N5
to 0, or from 0 to S5, would take 5 MPs. Performing Evasive ActionE.1.1
A starship that intends to perform evasive action
Facing D.3.3
should record this in its movement orders for the
A starship may turn to face any desired direction turn. Performing evasive action cuts a ships
each turn. As indicated above, the facing may be available Movement Points (MPs) in half,
different from the ships heading. rounded down. Thus, a ship with 5 MPs would
only have 2 after performing evasive action. A
Moving The StarshipD.3 ship with no MPs remaining cannot take this
option.
After all movement orders have been recorded,
the starships are moved on the game board, Effects Of Evasive ActionE.1.2
according to their orders. It does not matter in
what order they are moved; all ships may be Any starship that performed evasive action in the
moved simultaneously if desired. preceding Movement Phase forces all attacks
made against it to suffer a to-hit penalty for the
StackingD.3.1 rest of the current turn. However, the ship
performing the action also has the same penalty
Starships may occupy the same hex without
applied to its to-hit rolls.
penalty; however, no ship may attack a target in
its own hex. The effect of Evasive Action depends upon the
current MPs (before the 50% reduction) of a
Leaving The Game BoardD.3.2 given starship:
Starships may leave the game board; however, MPs Modifier
any that do may not re-enter the game and are 1-3 0
considered destroyed for victory purposes. 4-8 -1
9+ -2
This means that starships with 3 or fewer MPs gain no
benefit from Evasive Action; they are simply too slow to
affect enemy targeting systems. Keep in mind that these
modifiers apply both to attacks against the evading
starship as well as to attacks made by the evading ship.

Emergency ThrustE.2
In most every battle, there comes a time when that extra
bit of thrust becomes critical; with this rule, captains
have an opportunity to get just such a boost at a key
moment for a price...
When plotting a starships movement for a turn, players
may choose to apply Emergency Thrust. This doubles
the number of movement points available in the
upcoming Movement Phase. However, during the
subsequent End Phase, a ship performing emergency
thrust must roll one die per hull point remaining; each
die that comes up a 1 or 2 causes a hull hit of damage.

34
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
This option cannot be used in the same turn during
which Evasive Action has been taken (see above).
Floating Game BoardE.3
In the basic rules, the game board is self-contained and
exclusive; all combat occurs within its boundaries, and
any starship exiting the board is considered to be
destroyed. While this is simple, it does not adequately
reflect the boundlessness of space. Therefore, the
floating board option can be used.
Whenever a starships movement would take it off the
game board, all objects should be first floated a certain
number of hexes in any appropriate direction in order to
free up space for the ship to complete its movement.
Make sure all objects maintain the same relative
positions to each other.
In the example above, the starship on the top has
movement orders 1P1; however, this would carry it off
the edge of the board. Therefore, all objects on the
board (including the explosion counter) are floated two
hexes in the same direction, so that the ship can legally
complete its movement orders as shown below.
The game board should never be floated for fighter
movement. If the board cannot be floated in such a way
to allow all starships and fighter flights to remain on the
board, then floating cannot occur.
HyperspaceE.4
All of the action in the Starmada game is considered to
be taking place in the normal, Newtonian universe.
However, many science fiction settings include faster
than light travel. In order for this to be possible, the
concept of hyperspace has often been postulated. The
exact nature of hyperspace (and even its name) can be
left up to the particular universe in which you are
playing; its use in Starmada is to give starships an
escape route from battle. Also, some scenarios may
require ships to enter hyperspace to fulfill certain victory
conditions.
35
Unless the scenario rules state otherwise, starships that
enter hyperspace are considered to be destroyed;
however, the opposing side receives only half the
normal amount of victory points (rounded up).
HyperdriveE.4.1
In order for a starship to enter hyperspace, it must have
a hyperdrive. All ships in the Starmada rulebook are
considered to be so equipped. Fighters do not have
hyperspace capability.
Starships without hyperdrives receive a 10% bonus to
the number of space units they receive during the
construction process.
Hyperdrives are considered special equipment, and may
be taken as damage from a Q hit (p.14).
Entering HyperspaceE.4.2
Hyperdrives cannot be used on a whim; the decision to
enter hyperspace must be made well before the actual
jump occurs.
A player who wants a starship to enter hyperspace must
declare this intention during the End Phase (the
hyperdrive is easily detected by opposing sensors). The
actual jump into hyperspace will occur anywhere from 1
to 9 turns later.
During the End Phase in which the decision is made to
enter hyperspace, and in each End Phase thereafter,
the player should roll one die; the result is added to a
running total for that starship. Immediately after this total
reaches 10, the ship is removed from play and is
considered to be in hyperspace.
For example, a starship wishes to enter hyperspace,
and its player announces this decision in the End Phase
of turn 3. A die is rolled, and a 4 results. In the next End
Phase, if a 6 is rolled, the running total would reach 10,
and the ship would immediately enter hyperspace.
A starship may attempt to speed up the process by
rolling two dice in a single End Phase and adding the
sum to its running total; however, if either die comes up
a 6, the hyperdrive stalls, the total drops back to zero,
and the ship takes a hull hit. This is therefore a
dangerous tactic for heavily-damaged ships.
A starship may cancel its hyperdrive warm-up at any
time; however, the process must begin from zero if
started again later on.
RammingE.5
While the idea of starships intentionally colliding with
one another may not be entirely realistic, considering
the distances and speeds involved, it is still pretty cool,
and so the following rules have been included.
Ramming ProcedureE.5.1
Any starships that end the Movement Phase in the
same hex may choose to ram each other. If all players
agree to avoid each other, there is no chance for a
collision. However, if (as is often the case) one or more
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
players wish to ram, the following procedure must be
followed:
One die is rolled for each starship in the hex, and the
current number of MPs the ship has is added to the
result. The result is the ships initiative; any ties should
be re-rolled.
Proceeding, in order, from the starship with the highest
initiative to the ship with the lowest, players declare
which ship they intend to ram, or else they may choose
to avoid collision altogether. Players may only choose to
ram a ship with a lower initiative score.
The effects of ramming are resolved simultaneously.
Effects Of RammingE.5.2
For each starship involved in a collision, roll a number of
dice against its shields equal to the total number of hull
points remaining on the ship(s) it collided with.
For example, three starships are involved in a collision:
Ship A has three hull points, Ship B has five, and Ship C
has six. Ship A would have eleven dice rolled against its
shields, Ship B would have nine dice rolled against its
shields, and Ship C would have eight dice rolled against
its shields.
Each die that penetrates the shields is rolled for damage
as normal.
Kamikaze FightersE.5.3
Fighter flights may also choose to ram; however, as this
invariably results in the death of the pilots involved, it is
not something that should be done lightly.
So-called kamikaze or suicide attacks are treated like
any other fighter attack, with the following exceptions:
x The attack is successful on any roll of 2 or better (3
or better if the target has anti-fighter batteries).
x Each fighter that hits the target rolls 3 dice against
the targets shields.
x The fighters involved in the attack, whether they are
successful or not, are automatically destroyed.
x Fighters cannot ram other fighters.
RollsE.6
The concepts of up and down are meaningless in
space; therefore, a starship may elect to perform a roll
in its movement orders. Doing so costs 2 movement
points, and flips the starship over relative to the other
ships in the game. While a ship is flipped, its port and
starboard sides are reversed; e.g., weapons in the
ships A arc now fire into the B arc, and vice versa.
Players should place an appropriate marker next to any
starship that has executed a roll; it takes another roll to
turn the ship right side up again.
Three-Dimensional MovementE.7
While it is easier to ignore the fact that space is three-
dimensional, and just play Starmada in two, the rules
given here allow players to add a new wrinkle to their
games.
Players who believe this system to be unrealistic are
absolutely right. It is set up in this way so that altitude
levels are tactically important, as well as to avoid
cumbersome and time-consuming range computations.
Recording AltitudeE.7.1
In order to play in three dimensions, each starship will
have to keep track of its altitude, or its Z-axis position
relative to the other ships in the game. This can be done
by placing a die next to each ship; the number facing up
on the die gives the ships current altitude. Obviously,
this means there are six altitude levels (1 through 6).
Players who wish to expand the number of levels
available will need to come up with another method of
recording each ships current altitude.
Changing AltitudeE.7.2
Players should record any changes of altitude in their
starships movement orders; each change (up or down
one level) takes 2 MPs. For simplicitys sake, if you are
using a vector movement system, assume that starships
are canceling out their Z-axis momentum each turn, and
that vertical movement in one Movement Phase does
not affect the next.
Starships may change their altitude by any number of
levels per turn; however, they may not descend below
level 1 or above level 6.
Fighter flights may also change altitude; they need only
spend 1 MP per level up or down.
Effects Of Altitude On CombatE.7.3
When a starship makes an attack against a target at a
different altitude level than its own, a -1 to-hit penalty is
suffered per level of difference.
For example, a starship at level 3 wants to attack a
target 4 hexes away at level 2. The weapons range
bands are 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12, so the target flight is at
short range; this gives the ship a +1 to-hit bonus.
However, because the target is one level lower than the
firing ship, a -1 penalty must also be applied, and the to-
hit roll is made with no modifier.
Starships may not attack a target in the same hex, even
if they are at different altitudes.
Fighters may only attack targets at the same altitude
level.
A starship with an Electronic Warfare System (see p.26)
may not ignore the -1 to-hit penalty for differing
altitudes.
36
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
TowingE.8
A starship may, if it spends one complete turn in
the same hex as another ship, choose to tow
that ship, provided that the ship to be towed is
willing to cooperate. (It is assumed that all ships
have the necessary tractor beams, tow cables, or
what have you in order to perform this function.)
A starship may only tow one other ship at any
given time. While towing, a ships movement
points are reduced based upon the size of the
ship being towed. First, multiply the towers
movement points by its hull size. Then, divide this
by the sum of the towers size and that of the ship
being towed, rounding down. The result is the
number of movement points available.
A starship of size 5 and with 7 movement points
wishes to tow another ship of size 3. 5 times 7 is
35; dividing this by the sum of the two ships
sizes (10) results in a value of 3.5. This means
the towing ship can use 3 movement points in the
upcoming Movement Phase.
Obviously, while being towed, a starship moves
with the towing ship. A ships engines cannot be
used while it is being towed. No towing or towed
ship can perform Evasive Action or Emergency
Thrust (p.34).
Multiple starships may combine forces in order to
tow a single vessel, keeping in mind the
following:
x All towing starships must spend a full turn in
the same hex as the ship to be towed, and
end that turn facing in the same direction;
x All towing starships must move together
while performing the tow; and
x The movement points available are
determined by multiplying each towing
starships size by its current movement
points. These numbers are all added together, and
the total is divided by the total number of hull points
in the group (including the towed ship), rounding
down.
A size 4 starship with 6 movement points and a size 6
ship with 5 movement points are both going to attempt
to tow a third ship of size 10. The two towing ships have
their size and movement points multiplied together,
yielding 24 and 30. The sum of these numbers, 54, is
then divided by the total ship sizes, 20. The result is
rounded down, resulting in a movement value of 2 for
the group.
37
Appendix FFighter Options
The rules in Section 5.0: Fighters are very simple
and concise; however, in many science fiction
universes, starfighter operations can be much
more complicated...
Alternate Fighter InitiativeF.1
Instead of the procedure given in Section 5.2:
Fighter Movement (p.16), players may choose to
use these rules.
Initiative CardsF.1.1
In order to use this system, a deck of cards will
be needed. At the beginning of each Fighter
Phase, pull out a number of cards equal to the
number of fighter flights on the board. One side
should be designated black, and the other red;
the distribution of cards should mirror the number
of fighter flights on either side.
For example, if Side A has four fighter flights and
red cards, and Side B has three fighter flights and
black cards, there should be seven cards set
aside: four red and three black.
Shuffle these cards, and set them face down next
to the game board.
Movement OrderF.1.2
When moving fighters, the initiative cards are
flipped over, one at a time. The color of the
drawn card determines which side will act; that
side should choose one of its fighter flights that
has not yet acted in the current Fighter Phase.
Once that flight has moved and attacked, another
card is flipped over, and so on, until all flights
have acted.
If a fighter flight is destroyed or otherwise
removed from the board before it has had a
chance to act in the current Fighter Phase, one
card of that sides color should be removed. The
remaining cards should then be reshuffled.
Customized Fighter FlightsF.2
The basic fighters in Starmada are pretty straightforward;
however, there are players who may wish to have
fighters with specific characteristics. Using the rules in
this section, they can do just that.
Each option that follows has an associated multiplier; to
determine the change in Combat Rating for the fighters
carrier, apply all modifiers to 50. Then, subtract 50 from
the resultthe difference is the amount that must be
added to (or subtracted from) the ships CR.
For example, a starship has 5 fighter flights, and these
are to be labeled as fast and heavy. This requires
multipliers of 1.2 and 1.4; applying these to 50 yields a
product of 50 x 1.2 x 1.4 = 84. Thus, each flight adds an
additional 34 (84 50) to the ships Combat Rating;
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
since there are 5 flights, this results in a final CR
addition of 170 (34 x 5).
AssaultF.2.1
A flight with Assault capability rolls 2 dice per remaining
fighter when attacking. If the target is another fighter
flight or a starship with Anti-Fighter Batteries (see p.24),
the Assault flight has any friendly casualties cut in half
(rounded up); e.g., if the Assault flight rolls three 1s,
only 2 friendly fighters are taken as casualties.
Multiplier: x1.4
BomberF.2.2
Bomber fighter flights receive a +1 to-hit bonus when
attacking starships, but subtract -1 when attacking
opposing fighters (or other small craft).
Multiplier: x1.2
Extended RangeF.2.3
Fighters with Extended Range can make attacks against
any target within 2 hexes, rather than being limited to
the standard 1-hex range.
Against targets 2 hexes away, the flight suffers a -1 to-
hit penalty; however, it will not suffer losses on rolls of 1
against such targets.
Multiplier: x1.3
FastF.2.4
A Fast fighter flight moves 12 hexes per turn, instead of
just 10.
Multiplier: x1.2
HeavyF.2.5
A Heavy fighter flight only loses a fighter for every
second hit it takes.
Multiplier: x1.4
InterceptorF.2.6
Fighters designated as Interceptors receive a +1 to-hit
bonus when attacking opposing fighters (or other small
craft), but must subtract -1 when attacking starships.
Multiplier: x1.2
LargeF.2.7
Large fighter flights have more fighters than normal;
they begin the game with 8 each. In addition to the point
modifier, Large flights take up more hangar space than
normal fighters: 3 Large flights take up 4 starship
Fighter Bays.
Multiplier: x1.3
ShadowF.2.8
Shadow fighters utilize cloaking technology to make
themselves invisible until the moment they choose to
attack.
38
The decision to cloak or de-cloak is made at the time
the flight is to be moved. A die must be rolled for each
turn the flight wishes to remain cloaked. If a 1 comes up,
the attempt fails; otherwise, the counter or miniature is
removed from the board. A flight whose attempt to cloak
fails loses its actions for the current Fighter Phase, but
defends itself as usual.
While cloaked, a shadow flight cannot attack. Its
position should be carefully noted on a sheet of paper.
Multiplier: x1.5
SlowF.2.9
A Slow fighter flight receives moves only 8 hexes per
turn, rather than the normal 10.
Multiplier: x0.8
SmallF.2.10
A Small fighter flight has only 4 fighters in it, rather than
the standard compliment of 6. In addition to the point
modifier, Small fighter flights take up less hangar space:
3 Small flights can be housed in 2 starship Fighter Bays.
Multiplier: x0.7
DogfightingF.3
Instead of making an attack at a one-hex range, fighter
flights may be given the option of closing to point-blank
range with enemy fighters; this is called dogfighting.
In order to initiate a dogfight, a fighter flight simply
moves into the same hex as a single enemy flight, and
attacks normally. The difference between this and a
standard attack is that the flights involved are pinned;
no fighters may move out of a dogfight hex until all
opposing fighters have been eliminated.
Only two flights may be involved in a single dogfight;
one from either side.
Fighters involved in a dogfight may not attack any target
other than their opponent in the dogfight.
Small craft without the ability to attack fighters (e.g.,
boarding pods; see p.27) may not initiate dogfights, but
may be pinned by one.
Fighters may not engage in dogfights with starships.
Launch & RecoveryF.4
In the basic rules, fighter flights begin the game on the
board, already launched and ready for action. In
addition, the time frame of the typical Starmada game is
not long enough to require fighters to return to their
base of operation and refuel/rearm. Therefore, fighter
launch and recovery would only be performed under
certain conditions as defined by individual scenarios.
Whenever a starship wishes to launch a fighter flight,
this is done during the End Phase. Only one flight may
be launched per turn. Fighter flights are placed in the
same hex and facing the same direction as the carrier.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Fighter flights are recovered during the Fighter Phase.
During the movement portion of its action, a flight must
move into the hex containing its carrier from the hex
directly astern. As it moves into the hex containing the
carrier, the fighter flight is removed from the board.
Starships may only recover one flight per Fighter Phase.
Fighter flights may not be recovered and then re-
launched in the same game.
Long Range FightersF.5
Long range (or deep space) fighters are equipped with
hyperdrives, which allows them to travel interstellar
distances on their own, without the need for a carrier to
house them.
Long range fighters (LRFs) are treated like fighters in
every way, and can also be modified as described in
Appendix F.2: Customized Fighter Flights (p.37). They have
a Combat Rating (and Victory Point value) of 60.
LRFs may enter hyperspace; they use a different
procedure than starships, however. During the End
Phase, any LRF flight wishing to enter hyperspace rolls
one die; if the result is a 5 or 6, the flight is removed
from the board and considered to be in hyperspace.
Otherwise, the attempt fails, and the flight must wait
until the next End Phase to try again.
ScreeningF.6
Fighter flights may, instead of attacking, provide cover
for friendly starships and other fighter flights by
performing screening. When screening, the fighters use
their electronic systems to jam an area of space.
Fighter flights that screen force all attacks made through
their hex (friendly or otherwise) to suffer a to-hit penalty;
this penalty is based upon the number of individual
fighters (not the number of flights) that are screening:
In the example above, a fighter flight in the shaded hex
is screening. There are currently 4 fighters in the flight.
Because the line of sight between the two starships
crosses this hex, attacks from one ship to the other
would be made at a -1 to-hit.
No. of Fighters Penalty
1-3 0
4-8 -1
9+ -2
Fighter attacks are unaffected by screening.
39
Appendix GCombat Options
In this appendix are several optional rules that relate to
starship combat. As with Appendix E: Movement Options
(p.34), these rules are modular, allowing players to pick
and choose which will be used in any given game.
Damage ControlG.1
This optional rule assumes that starships have a
dedicated corps of crew members whose sole function
in battle is to repair damage as it is inflicted. While these
repairs are temporary and not as effective as those
which can be done at a drydock, damage control efforts
can often mean the difference between life and death.
Only engine, weapon, shield, and special equipment
damage can be repaired in the field; hull damage must
wait until the ship can reach sophisticated repair
facilities.
During each End Phase, a starship may roll a number of
repair dice depending upon the current number of
undamaged hull points. The result of each die is
compared to the ships Damage Location Track; the
player may choose one of the indicated damage types
to be repaired:
Code Result
a, b, c Weapon repaired (from the indicated battery)
E One point of engine damage is repaired
Q One piece of special equipment is repaired
(players choice)
S Shields increased by one
6
Note that hull damage (H hits) cannot be repaired by
damage control.
For example, if the result on the damage location track
is EQa, then the player may choose to repair one point
of engine damage, one piece of special equipment, or
one weapon in the a battery.
As noted above, there are limitations to these repairs:
x Weapons that are repaired fire at a -1 to their to-hit
rolls. An R should be written next to each repaired
weapon to indicate this penalty. Repaired weapons
that are damaged a second time cannot be repaired
again.
x Shields cannot be restored completely to their
original strength. For example, a starship with an
initial shield rating of 4 can only use damage control
to bring its shields back up to 3. Screens (see p.40)
can only be restored up to a level 4 less than the
starting amount.
Directional ShieldingG.2
Starships may be allowed to focus their shields towards
one specific hex side; this designation is made in the
6
If using the Screens option (p.42), when choosing an S
result to repair, roll one die to determine the number of screens
regained.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
movement orders, and can be changed from turn
to turn. The effect of this is to add 1 to the shield
rating against any attacks across the indicated
hex side, but subtract 1 from the shield rating
against attacks across any of the opposite three
hex sides.
The direction in which a starships shields have
been focused can be indicated by using the
directional diagram on the starship record.
+1
+1
-1 -1 -1 -1
-1 -1
For example, a starship with shields 3 wishes to
reinforce its forward hex side. This means that
attacks crossing that hex side would be against a
shield rating of 4, while attacks crossing the
opposing three hex sides would only be against a
shield rating of 2.
Should the line of sight cross between two hex
sides, the less-protected hex side is attacked.
Starships with a current shield rating of either 5
or zero cannot use this option.
Expanded Weapon RangesG.3
With this option, the number of range bands for
starship weaponry is expanded from three to five.
In addition to Short, Medium, and Long, there are
also Point Blank (PB) and Extreme (X) ranges.
When firing at targets within Point Blank range,
the to-hit modifier is +2. Conversely, targets at
Extreme range incur a -2 to-hit penalty. Starships
equipped with Long Range Sensors (p.26) only
incur a -1 to-hit penalty at Extreme range.
remainder of the game. This is an effective way
of putting weapons on a starship that might
otherwise take up too much space.
Whenever a starship fires an expendable
weapon, it should be immediately crossed off the
ship record sheet, as it cannot be fired again.
In ship construction, expendable weapons have
their SU cost divided by 5, and their offensive
rating divided by a number based upon the ships
hull size:
Hull Points Divisor
1-3 2
4-8 3
9-15 4
16-24 5
25+ 6
Overloading ShieldsG.5
During a pivotal moment in an engagement, what
starship captain wouldnt want that extra bit of
protection? With the Overloading Shields option,
wishful thinking can become reality provided
you can survive the consequences.
In a starships movement orders for a turn,
players may choose to overload their shields,
giving an extra +1 to their effective shield rating
for the current turn. However, at the end of the
Combat Phase, any ship performing this action
immediately takes a shield point of damage; if the
shields are already completely lost, the ship
takes a hull hit, instead.
This option cannot be taken by a starship with
either 0 or 5 shields remaining. A ship cannot
overload and perform directional shielding in the
same turn (see p.39).

ScreensG.6
Range PB S M L X Screens are an alternate form of shielding, with which a
3 - 1 2 3 - starship captain can have a great deal of flexibility in
6 1 2 3-4 5 6 deciding how to protect the ship from damage. In
9 1 2-3 4-6 7-8 9 essence, a screen system allows a player to choose
12 1-2 3-4 5-8 9-10 11-12 how much shielding is provided to each hex side, and to
15 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-15 change this orientation from turn to turn.
18 1-3 4-6 7-12 13-15 16-18 The decision to use screens instead of shields can
21 1-3 4-7 8-14 15-18 19-21 either be made across the board (i.e., use these rules
24 1-4 5-8 9-16 17-20 21-24 for all starships), or this can be reserved as a special
27 1-4 5-9 10-18 19-23 24-27 technology that only certain ships may take advantage
30 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-25 26-30 of. Regardless, a ship will begin with a number of
screens equal to 4 times its shield rating.
Note that the span of the medium range band is
unchanged, while the standard short and long ranges Screens are directed (or angled) during the Movement
are split into two bands each. Phase. A player notes on the starship record card how
many screen points will be allocated to each of the six
Expendable WeaponsG.4 hex sides surrounding the ship: forward, forward-port,
forward-starboard, aft, aft-port, and aft-starboard. The
Weapons designated as expendable are intended to
screens may be distributed as desired, except that no
represent missiles, torpedoes, and what-have-you,
hex side may have more than 5 screens at a time.
which can only be used once and are then gone for the
40
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
In order to keep track of the number of screens
angled in each direction, the hexagonal display
on the starship record sheet can be used.
2 +1
3 2
-1 3 -1
-1
In the example above, a starship with 10 screens
has decided its main threat in the upcoming
Combat Phase will be coming from its aft and aft-
port sides. The screens are therefore distributed
as shown. Should an attack somehow originate
from the opposite side, where there are no
screens, the ship will be completely vulnerable.
Attacks against a starship with screens are made
against the hex side crossed by the line of sight
from the attacker to the target. Should the line of
sight cross between two hex sides, the more
weakly protected side is attacked.
When a starship with screens takes shield
damage, another die should be rolled to find out
how many screens are lost. In other words, each
shield hit results in a loss of 1 to 6 screens. If
more screens are lost than the ship currently has,
all remaining screens are lost, and a hull hit is
taken.
Sensor LockG.7
During the End Phase, a starship may choose to
attempt a sensor lock on any one enemy ship to
which it has a line of sight (locks cannot be
attempted on fighters, drones, or other small
targets).
In order to make this attempt, two dice are rolled:
if the result is equal to or greater than the
distance to the target, the lock is achieved.
Starships with Long Range Sensors (p.26) can
roll three dice. The result of a sensor lock is a +1
to-hit modifier to all attacks against that target in the
upcoming Combat Phase. However, attacks against all
other starships will be at a -1.
A sensor lock must be re-rolled each turn in order to
maintain it.
41
Appendix HScenario Options
While the basic Starmada setup (as defined in
Section 2: Playing The Game) can be very fulfilling in
its own way, players may wish to eventually play
other types of games. Presented here are some
options that can be used to add a bit of flavor.
Alternate Set-UpH.1
The basic rules for setting up a game of Starmada
are a quick & simple method that works perfectly
well for most situations. However, players who
want to put a little more decision-making into the
set-up phase of the game can make use of the
following option.
First, determine the number of starships on both
sides of the battle. Then, roll 3 dice and add
these results to the total. If one side has Long
Range Sensors (LRS; p.26) anywhere in its fleet,
a fourth die can be added; if both sides have
LRS, five dice can be rolled. Either side may
choose not to use its LRS die; this decision must
be declared before the dice are rolled. The
overall total is referred to as the engagement
range for the battle.
For example, the Imperial Starmada has 6 ships
involved in a battle, while the Donegal Navy has
8, for a total of 14. Three dice are then rolled,
coming up 2, 4, and 5. Adding these to the
previous total results in an engagement range of
25.
Next, pull out a standard deck of playing cards,
and pull out a number of cards equal to the total
number of starships. One side should be
designated red and the other black; the
number of red and black cards pulled out of the
deck should mirror the number of ships on the
respective sides of the battle. For example, if side
A has 7 ships and has been designated red,
and side B has 5 ships and is black, then there
should be 7 red cards and 5 black cards.
Now, flip over these cards one at a time. The color of
the first card determines which side places one of its
starships anywhere on the game board. (Keep in mind,
however, that there must be plenty of room for the other
side to place its ships, so it would be best to stick close
to one of the edges.)
The subsequent cards determine the order in which
sides alternate placing starships, according to the
following restrictions:
x No starship may be placed closer than the
engagement range to any opposing ship. Thus, if
the engagement range is 21 hexes, the closest you
can place one of your ships to one of your
opponents ships is 21 hexes.
x Each starship (aside from the first, obviously) must
be placed within six hexes of an already-placed
friendly ship.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
The game board may be floated as needed to
accommodate starship placement (see p.11).
Once all starships have been placed on the board, any
fighter squadrons involved in the battle can be put into
play. Again, a number of cards should be set aside,
reflecting the number of fighter squadrons on either
side. As these cards are flipped over, each side places
one squadron at a time on the board. Each squadron
must begin within three hexes of a friendly starship,
although this can be any ship, not necessarily their
carrier.
The game board should never be floated for fighter
placement.
After this has been done, the game begins normally.
BogeysH.2
In the normal Starmada game, starships begin on the
game board, fully visible to all players. Those who wish
to add more of an element of the fog of war to the
game might want to give these rules a try.
Bogey MarkersH.2.1
At the start of the game, each starship is represented by
a bogey marker; players only know which bogey
represents which ship on their own side (bogeys are
never used for fighter flights). Bogeys move around the
board just like the ships they stand in for, and remain on
the board until forced to reveal themselves:
x A bogey must reveal itself in the End Phase before
the turn in which it wishes to make any attacks; this
represents the targeting sensors being turned on.
x A bogey that is successfully scanned (see below)
is revealed immediately.
x A bogey must reveal itself when attacked by an
opposing fighter flight.
Scanning BogeysH.2.2
During the Combat Phase, each starship may attempt to
scan one bogey; the scanning ship must have a line of
sight to the bogey in question, but there is no range
limitation.
Roll a die for each scanning attempt. On a 5 or 6, the
bogey is replaced with the appropriate starship counter
or miniature. Ships may also choose to use their active
sensors; this allows detection on a roll of 4 or better, but
the scanning ship must reveal itself (if still a bogey) on a
roll of 1.
Bogeys may not be attacked in the same Combat Phase
in which they have been scanned.
Starships may not make attacks and scan for bogeys in
the same Combat Phase.
ObjectivesH.3
Instead of simply kill or be killed, sides may opt to
randomly select one of the following objectives. Each
objective provides a way for the side to gain further
42
victory points, although points are still awarded in the
usual way, as well.
Roll Scenario Objective
1 Breakout
2 Conserve Forces
3 Gather Intelligence
4 Hit and Run
5 Restraint
6 Search and Destroy
In order to maintain fairness, sides should not roll for
their objective until after the forces have been selected.
BreakoutH.3.1
Each friendly starship that exits the opposite edge of the
game board is worth a number of victory points equal to
its Combat Rating. The floating game board option (see
p.35) should not be used with this objective.
Conserve ForcesH.3.2
At the end of ten turns, the side gets a number of victory
points equal to the total Combat Ratings of all friendly
starships still in the game. The side also receives half
value (round down) for any friendly ships that escape to
hyperspace.
Gather IntelligenceH.3.3
Victory points may be gained for successfully scanning
enemy starships. Each enemy ship scanned is worth a
number of VPs equal to its Combat Rating.
In order to scan an opposing starship, a ship must roll a
die; if the result is greater than the range to the target,
the scan is successful.
Each opposing starship may only be successfully
scanned once.
Fighters may not be used to perform this scan, nor can
opposing fighters be scanned.
Hit & RunH.3.4
The object of this engagement is to harass the enemy,
rather than destroy them outright. Victory points are
scored whenever an opposing starship loses half of its
starting hull points (rounded up), instead of when it is
destroyed.
RestraintH.3.5
When an opposing starship fires (e.g., makes a ranged
attack, launches drones, etc.) before being fired upon, a
number of victory points are scored equal to that ships
Combat Rating. VPs may only be obtained in this way
once per opposing ship.
Search & DestroyH.3.6
Double victory points are earned for destroying
opposing starships.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Variable ForcesH.4 The Terran Empire
Players wishing a unique challenge may opt to So it was with a sense of relief, rather than
determine their fleet sizes randomly, rather than concern, that the citizens of Terra watched the
deciding upon a specific Combat Rating total. ascension to power of Purser Wheylan.
The relative size of the battle should be decided To them, the one-time opposition leader offered a
upon (small, medium, or large), and then two dice chance for humanity to pull itself from the ashes,
are rolled on the chart below for each side; the and more importantly, for Terra to take back her
result is the size of that sides fleet. rightful place as the center of human
civilization...
Roll Small Medium Large
2 200 300 400 Vicar Buros (AA +415- )
3 240 360 480
4 280 420 560 Purser Wheylan
5 320 480 640 ...Purser Wheylans ascension to the throne in
6 360 540 720 +2687 marked as great a turning point in human
7 400 600 800 history as did the invention of the hyperdrive
8 440 660 880 three centuries before. Wheylan did not go so far
9 480 720 960 as to reset the calendar in his honor, deciding
10 520 780 1040 instead to retain the Anno Astra system, but in
11 560 840 1120 most other respects, the current history of
12 600 900 1200 humanity can be said to go back only as far as
When using this method, the smaller side Wheylans reign. This is not to say that nothing is
receives a number of bonus victory points equal known of the preceding millennia, only that what
to half the difference between the two fleets does survive is pitiful in its scarcity. Examination
sizes. of records from other worlds have shed some
light on the decades just before Wheylan, but for
For example, a 320-point fleet is going up against the most part, the first Emperors New Destiny
a 480-point fleet; the difference is 160, so the campaign was surprisingly successful...
smaller fleet gets a VP bonus of 80 points.
By Any Means Necessary
...Modern students (as well as several historians)
often make the mistake of assuming the New
Destiny was Wheylans way of covering for past
injustices and less-than-noble activities on his
way to the throne.
While this may have played a role, such a view is
a vast oversimplification of his motivations, and
fails to take into account the attitudes of the
citizenry of Terra at that time. Indeed, Wheylan
was exceedingly candid about his actions during
the first few years of his reign, when several scandals
broke regarding his partys methods.
That none of these incidents seriously threatened
Wheylans rule is a reflection not only of his diplomatic
skills, but also of the populaces disgust with the state of
the Regency before Wheylan. While there were those
who feared the eventual sacrifice of individual liberties,
most people applauded the moves Wheylan was
making; rebelling against what they called the
8
bureaucratic process , they felt that strict adherence to

7
The position of Regent of Terra did not officially become the
Imperial Throne until +290; however, the change was in name
only. Wheylan was Emperor from the moment Regent Corinaro
abdicated. For a more in-depth look at Corinaros
administration, abdication, and subsequent disappearance, see
Buros excellent work, Betrayal of Trust, New Phoenix Press,
+453:11:2.
8
While the exact origin of the term bureaucratic process
remains unknown, it is usually ascribed to the political essayist
43
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
the Code of Regency and other policies was crippling
the administrations ability to govern. Thus, few were
truly upset when some of the Terran Partys more
unorthodox methods came to light. Truly, the ends
justified the means for the people of this time. In fact, it
is a tribute to Wheylan and his Regency that the rights
of the private citizen were preserved and in some cases
even expanded during the first half of the fourth century.
It would appear Wheylan saved his less reputable
methods for his dealings with the corporate nobility...
...A more correct assessment of the New Destiny
program must take into account the very real ideological
factors that went into Wheylans decision to turn
humanitys collective back upon the past. To the
Emperor, who was very much a Linearist in every sense
of the word, the unification of humanity under one rule9
was civilizations ultimate goal; its First Destiny, to use
the term coined by Gunthar Neumann in his +227
10
treatise, Alexanders Legacy.
With its First Destiny secured, Wheylan was anxious to
lead humanity towards its next goal, which he called its
New Destiny. While he certainly wished to be
remembered as its founder, this movement was not
entirely about securing Wheylans place in history. In
fact, its main goal was to turn our attention to the future,
and focus our energies upon a new purpose, which for
Wheylan was a redefinition of (or, more precisely, a
return to) humanitys primary role in the Universe...
The Edenist Movement
...Few people today can understand the profound effect
that the Edenists had upon the culture of the third and
fourth centuries. Mankinds initial expansion into the
galaxy was followed by a serious reexamination of most
human religious and philosophical doctrines. The
discovery of past life on Mars and extant microbes
elsewhere in the Solar system shook things up in the
century before the hyperdrive. However, it was not until
known to us only as The Watcher. Yavei Burrs New Destiny
Revealed (Burr, +437:5) is a wonderful resource for students
of the period, in which a strong case is made for The Watcher
being a member of Regent Corinaros inner circle. I will leave
the reader to discover for himself Burrs theory about The
Watchers exact identity.
9
That all of humanity was not (and is still not) under the
complete control of the Empire is a fact Wheylan quietly
ignored when presenting his New Destiny program. However,
his foreign policy showed him to be quite obsessed with the
idea of bringing the colonies into the Imperial fold.
10
As this work was one of the strongest influences upon
Wheylans personal philosophy, it is perhaps one of the
greatest ironies of this era that its titles meaning has been
obscured by the consequences of his own New Destiny. From
internal references, and the few remaining external sources, it
is clear that Alexander was a great warrior-priest who managed
to unify several of the warring tribes of prehistorical Terra.
While Neumann himself obviously considered Alexander to be
an historical reality, most modern scholars feel he could only
have been a mythological figure. See Opal Withers The
Imperial Myth, Wither Publications, +396:4:27.
44
high-order life forms were discovered on planets orbiting
Barnards Star in +63 that humans were forced to
seriously consider the implications of extraterrestrial life.
One of the results of this upheaval eventually became
known as the Edenist movement.
The Edenists began to formulate their ideas immediately
after the discovery of Gaia (as Barnard IV was dubbed
by the Stellar Expansion Commission in +64), and first
came to the publics attention during the debates over
the proposed colonization of Gaia in the late +70s. But it
wasnt until several years after New Phoenix was
founded in +102 that the Edenist movement really
began to make an impact. Not strictly of the Judeo-
Christian tradition, the Edenists nevertheless looked to
the Bible for their inspiration. While for most of them the
book was allegory mixed with fable and only the
slightest hint of historical truth, it still contained some
powerful messages, the most important of which was in
the beginning of the Book of Genesis.
To the Edenists, the story of Adam and Eve was a
retelling of humanitys abandonment of its true function;
that of custodian. They were divided over the nature of
this appointment; many felt the authority of a
supernatural being was necessary to give validity to
their beliefs, while others believed this position was
humanitys simply by virtue of its standing as the only
intelligent life in the galaxy. But all Edenists were agreed
that it was time for humans to reclaim their role as
caretaker of the Universe...
Hero Anatare
...The Edenists gained their first position of power in
+120, when Hero Anatare was appointed governor of
New Phoenix. Anatare was an avowed Edenist, and
while it was her skill as an administrator and
exobiologist (as well as her political maneuvering) that
got her the appointment, the Edenists as a whole took
this event as a sign that the North Atlantic government
was on their side. Several lobbying groups with Edenist
ties began cropping up in New York and Geneva11, and
the movement grew in size and influence well into the
+130s. However, neither the North Atlantic Union nor
12
the Connor/Grumlin Group , which had been granted
the contract for New Phoenix, would ever espouse
Edenist ideals as official policy, despite a number of
adherents in the Senate.
This reluctance of governmental and corporate officials
to recognize Edenist philosophy would eventually lead
to the movements decline in the early +140s. When
Governor Anatare resigned midway through that decade
11
Little is known of the organizational structure of the North
Atlantic Union, although it was likely similar to that of the
Federation of Oceania, whose records survived the New
Destiny largely intact.
12
For a detailed description of the advent of the corporate
nobility, see Okkam al-Bharis reconstruction of a work by Nolar
Quitlan, The New Aristocracy: The Rise of House Connor, New
Phoenix Press, +351:8:13, originally published some time in
the +220s.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
in order to protest Connor/Grumlins alleged exploitation
13
of the ecosystems on several planets , the Edenist
movement appeared to be finished. Little could anyone
have predicted that the Collapse and subsequent Terran
War14 would eventually lead to an Edenist resurgence in
the next century...
Neo-Feudalism
...Although the exact reasons for the Collapse are still
debated, what is known is that the system of
governmental subcontracting (the so-called Neo-
Feudalism) had reached the breaking point sometime
in the early +150s. Since before the hyperdrive,
governments had started dealing with their budgetary
problems by allowing private interests to bid for
contracts giving them control of functions previously
reserved for governmental agencies. Among the first
victims of this policy were the postal services, as the
corporate world was much better equipped to handle the
changing nature of information transfer.
Initially, the government paid the corporations, and
everyone seemed happy with the solution. Governments
were able to simplify their operations, the public was
pleased as corporations were much better at providing
quality service than the government ever had been, and
corporations were content, as the prestige more than
made up for any profits lost in the actual provision of
service.
It was sometime in the first century after the hyperdrive
that some corporations were given the power to directly
tax the public. No one is sure how or why this change
was made, but the effects are undeniable: civic unrest
became more and more commonplace as the turn of the
century neared, and trust in the government took a
dramatic downturn.
Individuals loyalty began to shift, and nationalism gave
way to corporate identity. Political boundaries, while still
extant, became less and less important to the average
citizen, which made the politicians who argued over
them seem more and more foolish. More importantly, as
reliance upon corporations became the norm, the idea
13
Suspicions that Anatare had participated in such activities on
New Phoenix have never been taken seriously due to lack of
evidence. It is likely we will never know for sure if these
allegations are true, as everything we know about the history of
the Edenist movement comes from Wheylans personal
memoirs, and he had every reason to protect the character of
one of that movements most important historical figures.
Certainly, any theory regarding Anatares complicity would
have to explain her decision to resign in +145, as she would
certainly have known the effects this act would have on Edenist
popularity.
14
Scholars still debate over the exact dates of the Terran War.
Most agree, however, that it was an effect, and not a cause, of
the Collapse, and therefore began sometime after +158.
The end of the War is much harder to determine, and there are
those who believe it never really ended so much as died out. In
any event, hostilities must have ceased before the
establishment of the Regency in +200.
45
of national independence weakened to the point that,
early in the second century, several multinational
confederations sprang up around the globe. Initially,
these groups were little more than mutual-defense and
trade pacts, but as the years went on, individual nations
gave up more and more of their sovereignty to the
confederations until the political realities of Terra would
have been unrecognizable to those who had lived only
fifty years before...
The Collapse
...Sometime in the middle of the year +158, the Eurasian
Union dissolved itself. The reasons for this breakup are
still unknown: in fact, most scholars agree that
discussion on the matter is pointless. In lieu of a major
archaeological discovery, the information available
about this time is appalling in its scarcity. Some
theorists have gone as far to suggest that Purser
Wheylans New Destiny program was but an attempt to
specifically hide certain aspects of the Eurasian
dissolution and subsequent Collapse. The validity of
these theories must, by their very nature, remain
perpetually in question.
Because of this, very little can be said about the political
events of the mid-second century, other than to
characterize it as a period of slow but certain decline.
One by one, the great multi-national confederations
ceased to exist: some peacefully, others through
conflict. It is likely that one of these conflicts triggered
the Terran War.
In the wake of these changes, most governments found
they did not have the wherewithal to continue as before.
Those not overwhelmed in the initial stages of the War
settled into a stalemate which dragged on for years, and
possibly decades. Resources, both material and human,
were drained to the point that, without a strong external
threat to unify them, the people of Earth would certainly
have descended into a new Dark Age...
The Colonies
...It is not within the scope of this work to cover the
development of the colonies, important though it soon
proved to be to Terran history. Simply put, the colonies,
the earliest of which dated back to +24, experienced a
rebirth of culture and technology unmatched since
prehistory.
While never breaking out into full-scale war, several of
the colonies sank into disputes of one sort or another as
the second century dawned.
While no historical or political reason can be determined
for these quarrels, cultural anthropologists claim they
can be explained by the maturation of the colonies and
their separation from Earth. As they became more
independent, many of the colonies were extremely
anxious to prove their worth, not only to the other
colonies, but also to the home world.
When the Terran War broke out, several colonists saw
an opportunity to validate themselves, and a movement
to rescue Terra from herself gained more and more
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
momentum as the second century waned. Finally, in
+198, the First Expedition was sent by Betal Corianis of
the New India colony. It is generally assumed that, had
the other colonies participated in this endeavor, Terra
would have been brought under colonial control, and
subsequent events would have been quite different...
Goddard Mojhari
...When the Regency was first inaugurated in +200, few
on Terra would have predicted its eventual
transformation into the Imperial Throne and the
enormous amounts of power which would be
concentrated in the hands of one individual by the turn
of the next century. It is truly ironic, considering the
intent of the Regency, reflected even in its title, was to
protect the status quo by centralizing the efforts of the
15
various Terran nations and corporate demesnes in the
defense against aggression by the colonies. Of course,
had the first Regent been anyone other than Goddard
Mojhari, the expansion of the Regencys power might
never have occurred...
...After mobilizing Terran forces to repel the Second
Expeditionary Force from New India in +201, Mojhari
took the opportunity to form the Starmada, Earths first
standing multi-national space fleet. By awarding
commissions to the best young members of the
corporate aristocracy, the Regent began a process of
assimilation and accommodation that eventually led to
most of the Houses owing allegiance to him in some
form or another...
From Regency To Empire
...While Mojhari and his successors were content to lead
the forces of the Starmada into battle only as a last
16
resort in the defense of Terra , Wheylan showed no
such restraint. As discussed earlier, the Emperors
Edenist leanings affected not only his domestic policy,
but his approach to foreign affairs as well. In +301, the
one-hundredth anniversary of Mojharis defeat of New
Indian forces near Jupiter, Wheylan began the next
phase of the Colonial Wars by sending an arm of the
Starmada against Polaris County, which held fast for
nearly half a century before finally succumbing to
Imperial rule in +348. It is this stubborn refusal to yield
on the part of the County citizens that allowed the
formation of the Arcturan Federation. Had Wheylan
been able to finish the Polaris campaign according to
his own timetable, the Arcturans and their neighbors
15
It should be mentioned that not all of the emerging Houses
participated in Earths defense. House Mberti is currently still in
exile. While Mberti was strictly neutral during the Colonial
Wars, this stance was understandably irritating to those united
behind the Regency, and convincing the other Houses of
Mbertis treacherous nature in +277 was not very difficult for
Emperor Wheylan.
16
The assault upon the military bases at Proxima Centauri may
be seen as an exception; although this, too, was conducted
only after diplomatic efforts had failed, and the situation directly
affected the safety and stability of Earth.
46
would have had little time to organize and repel Imperial
aggression.
The fourth century saw Wheylan and his heir, Emperor
Roen, expanding and consolidating the Imperial
holdings, until Roen halted the Starmadas advance at
the borders of the Donegal Alliance in +391, an act
which is still not understood today...
The Arcturan Federation
...It is one of the main precepts of historical study that
there is no such thing as objective reporting; all
accounts of historical events are affected to some
degree or another by the nature of those recording
them. No example of this in recent years is clearer than
that of the Arcturan Federation. Depending upon which
side of the border you happen to be sitting on, current
relations between the Federation and the Empire can be
(and have been) seen as anything from peaceful
cooperation to full-scale cold war17.
As stated earlier, the difficulties involved in subduing the
systems of Polaris County were directly responsible for
giving the Arcturans enough time to organize; but just
barely. The ink was scarcely dry on the Articles of
Federation when a contingent of the Imperial Starmada
appeared on the outskirts of the Kilarie system early in
+349. The inhabitants quickly proclaimed their
allegiance to the newly formed Federation; just as
quickly, Kilarie became the newest addition to the
Imperial holdings.
When this annexation was consummated by the Battle
of Kilarie, in which Arcturan forces were thoroughly
routed, it appeared as though the Federation would
prove little more than a footnote in the annals of Imperial
expansion...
Vilni Harloss
...Great men often seem to arise precisely when and
where they are needed; but perhaps this is less a
coincidence and more a reflection of the importance of
good timing when setting oneself up for posterity.
Regardless, the point seems equally valid when
discussing great women, as the example of Vilni
Harloss will attest.
Harloss early years are somewhat of a mystery; some
have claimed this as evidence that there is more to her
story than is commonly known.
17
The official Imperial position is illustrated by an Imperial
Senate vote, taken on AA +418:4:27, in which the Federation
was made an official member of the Commonwealth.
While the Arcturans are intelligent enough to take advantage of
this situation economically, they have yet to comply with the
Oath of Fealty requirement necessary to complete the deed,
and are to this day listed as petitionary members, but
members nonetheless. That the Emperor has allowed this state
of affairs to continue says more about the difficulties of total
assimilation than any book ever could.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
It is extremely more likely that we know little about Vilni
Harloss as a child for the same reason we know little
about anyone else from the Terranovae Sector during
this time. Known to have been the site of a remote
Terran military base during the days of the Regency,
this area of space was cut off from the rest of the
Empire during the early stages of the Colonial Wars. It
only reentered the arena of human history with the
advent of Harloss.
18
Despite her early anonymity , within months of her
thirtieth birthday, Harloss name would be known by
every citizen of the Arcturan Federation. While
impassionate historians may hedge at using the term,
there is no doubt about the sincerity of late fourth-
century Arcturans when they referred to Vilni Harloss as
the Savior of the Federation...
The Frontier Campaign
...Harloss strategy in countering the Imperial invasion
may not have been unique in human history,
considering the vast amount of that history lost to us,
but it certainly was a break from military conventions of
the time. Indeed, it may have been the single most
important factor in forcing the Imperial Admiralty to
abandon tradition as a guide for tactical decision-
making, and thus (ironically) turning the Starmada into
the efficient fighting force it is today.
What Harloss did may have seemed unthinkable even
to her own officers at the time; the obvious benefit was
that her opponents were completely bewildered.
Leaving system defense forces in place, Harloss
gathered the bulk of her starships into a single fleet, and
promptly left Arcturan space in +353. Initially, the
Imperials seem to have regarded this as a simple act of
cowardice; a select few far-sighted members of the
Admiralty managed to implement some precautions
against a possible guerrilla campaign by the departed
forces, but this was the extent of their thinking on the
matter. The Starmada continued its advance, and while
the SDFs managed to slow their progress, it was only a
matter of time before the whole of the Federation was
under Imperial control.
It wasnt until the fifth system in Imperial space had
surrendered to Harloss fleet that the Imperials felt it was
impossible to ignore the situation any longer. To his
credit, there is every reason to believe that Emperor
Roen was unaware of the situation until the Admiralty
was forced to reveal it to him. Whether or not this was
18
There have been reports in recent years which claim to prove
without doubt that Harloss appearance at this time in history
is less than miraculous.
The theories about genetic experiments and superhuman
breeding camps go back for centuries, but recent claims
notwithstanding, the evidence that such facilities even existed,
much less played a role in Harloss development, is virtually
nonexistent. Nevertheless, interested readers may wish to
examine Uller von Broods recent monologue on the subject,
Supermen: Purser Wheylans Master Race, Yavlin Associates,
+447:5:1.
47
the first he had heard of the situation, it is certain that
19
+354 marks a turning point in the Arcturan Conflict .
Virtually the entire Admiralty was replaced during this
year, and on +354:3:12, the Starmada made its first
retreat from a system in Arcturan space, as forces were
drawn off in order to chase Harloss down...
Pax Imperium
...Despite Harloss brilliance, and the Admiraltys
inability to understand her strategy until it was too late,
the Frontier Campaign would never have worked if not
for the feelings of those Imperial citizens Harloss was
liberating. The Arcturan leader was careful to
concentrate her efforts on those systems which had
recently been absorbed into the Empire; this allowed her
to be reasonably certain that, as she moved on, the
systems would not simply revert back to Imperial
control, and would need to be reconquered. It is
certainly no accident that her first efforts were in Polaris
County, which, it may be remembered, played such a
meaningful (if indirect) role in the formation of the
Federation in the first place.
While it took relatively little time for the Starmada to
catch up with Harloss, it was not so easy to defeat her.
Over the next five years, Imperial forces were
consistently unable to force Harloss to commit to a
20
decisive battle , and the fact that more and more
starships were needed to reclaim and garrison those
systems Harloss had liberated only served to make the
task more difficult. Finally, in +359, the Emperor sued
for peace.
Of course, this is not how the Imperials would have
characterized the situation, and to be sure, there was no
hint of resignation on the part of the Emperor.
Nevertheless, what he offered the Arcturans was
nothing short of complete, mutual withdrawal from each
others space...
The Commonwealth
...In the end, the Frontier Campaign did much to solidify
the Empire, and allow it to become a more powerful
economic and political entity.
Learning from the ease with which the Arcturans were
able to lure the peripheral systems from his grasp, the
Emperor began plans for a Commonwealth even before
the end of the Conflict. However, it wasnt until his
successor, Emperor Hadric, put the matter before the
Senate in +404 that the Commonwealth became a
reality.
Those systems involved in the Frontier Campaign, plus
several more acquired along other fronts during the time
19
The fact that these years are regarded as a conflict by the
Empire and a war by the Federation is yet another example of
the differing feelings on either side.
20
Many scholars have pointed to the disastrous Battle of Tharil
as proof that, rather than an inability to force Harloss to stand
and fight, it was an Imperial reluctance to face her in open
battle which explains the five years of cat-and-mouse.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
of the Arcturan Conflict, were allowed to retain a large
portion of their sovereignty in exchange for a recognition
of the Emperor s ultimate authority and certain
mandatory trade restrictions. By doing this, the military
ties that bound the Empire were exchanged for an
economic and cultural interdependence that was
primarily responsible for the Empires even swifter
21
expansion over the next century ...
The Donegal Alliance
...There is a general tendency in the media to portray
the Donegals as techno-wizards; while it is true that
the Alliance was formed among worlds which had, in
pre-Imperial times, provided much of humanitys
technological development, it is dangerous
oversimplification to presume that this is the extent of
Donegal culture22. The Alliance managed to halt the
Imperial advance (it is presumed) through superior
technology, and they maintain that edge to this day, but
they have acquired a high degree of artistic and
philosophical sophistication as well. To write them off as
toy makers and gadgeteers is an underestimation that
may adversely affect relations with the Alliance.
Certainly, in the current political climate, it would not be
in the Empires best interest to provoke the Donegals.
While they are small in number, their technical prowess
could easily serve to hold the Empire off long enough for
another powersay, the Arcturansto decide the time
is right to test the Imperial mettle. While there is every
reason to believe the Starmada is one of the most well-
trained, well-equipped space forces in the galaxy, it is
just as reasonable to think a multi-front war would be a
difficult challenge, to say the least. This is especially
true when one considers the newest threats to Imperial
security...
A Rude Awakening
...When the intrepid (and numerous) members of the
Bensen family announced their plans to colonize a
planet in the Janvier system late in +386, it was hardly
news. The Bensens had long been known for their
terraforming prowess, and few believed this latest
venture would be less than successful. Scientists had
long suspected the system contained at least one, and
possibly two, planets that would be within tolerance
limits for human habitation, despite official survey
reports to the contrary. Thus, they were delighted when
the Imperial Bureau of Colonization and Commerce
finally gave the Bensens permission to move in.
21
It is worth noting, however, that no new systems have been
acquired in the vicinity of the Arcturan Federation since the end
of the Conflict.
22
The Donegals may be one of the few successful examples of
a technocracy (i.e., government by the scientific elite) in
human history; as one can imagine, this does not do much to
dissuade popular impressions.
48
Unfortunately, this decision eventually cost the Empire
much more than the eighty-nine lives of the Bensen
expedition23...
...Even the word Sssk is but a human approximation
of the sounds made by reptilian vocal chords. It is not
even certain that they have a name for themselves, and
so the designation is likely inaccurate on more than one
count. Everything about them seems foreign to human
experience, and if House Izraedi knows anything more,
they arent telling...
The Nesting
...Ever since the uprising, there has been little new
information about these enigmatic creatures, and the
public has had to satisfy itself with nothing more than
rumors and the occasional admission by one minor
Imperial official or another. There is little wonder the
Sssk have featured so prominently in the minds of
Imperial citizens: while the Empire has faced many
opponents, never before had one of those foes sprung
from the ground beneath its feet, figuratively speaking.
Imperial policy towards the Sssk was fixed nearly a
century ago, when Emperor Hadric created the Imperial
Guardians specifically to manage the perceived threat
that the Sssk posed to Imperial security.
While the snake-like race preferred a planetary
environment inhospitable to humans, there was some
concern on the Emperors part that they might one day
decide to expand beyond those worlds tucked into what
seemed to be every dark corner of the Empire.
Almost on a monthly basis, explorers stumbled across
yet another nesting (the term has been used to refer
both to a single community of Sssk and to the race as a
whole), whereupon House Izraedi was forced to step in
and conduct what they referred to as damage control.
The reason this course of action was selected over a
more aggressive stance is still unknown24, although the
events of the uprising have perhaps validated Hadrics
concerns. That the conflict was of limited duration and
destructiveness can be attributed mainly to the efforts of
the Izraedi. It would appear the Imperial Guardians have
developed some type of relationship with the Sssk...
First Contact
...To say that the Empires first exposure to the
Kalaedinese could have gone better is a vast
23
The fate of the Bensen clan is still a matter for debate. In
their autobiography, Family Business (Bensen Publications,
+399:12:10), the two surviving members of the family, who
had been cut from the Janvier Expedition only days before
departure due to health reasons, make some startling claims.
The most important of these is that the Empire knows much
more about the incident than has been disclosed, and that
there may be Bensens still alive. The IBCC has made no
comment.
24
Speculation that the Imperial Starmada has been using Sssk
vessels and crews as mercenaries during the past century is as
yet unconfirmed.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
understatement. The incident is still fresh in the minds of
both the Admiralty and the citizenry at large. Although
four scant years have passed since the Battle of
Agirant, one high-ranking officer in the Starmada has
stated that she could not remember a time when the
Kalaedinese did not occupy a place of honor in my
nightmares. Indeed, several individuals have stated
privately that fullscale war would be preferable to the
current situation out on the rim; at least in that case it
might end quickly...
...For obvious reasons, the Admiralty will never state
this publicly, but it is clear from recent skirmishes that
the Kalaedinese navy surpasses the Starmada in both
tactics and resolve. It is believed that only the superior
economic might of the Empire stands in the way of all-
out invasion. That being said, it is little wonder that
recent reports of increased production at certain
facilities within the Kalaedinese Expanse have caused
serious discomfort within the Imperial Palace...
Scenarios
that has just been placed. Continue until 20 asteroids
have been put on the board.
The Arcturan forces should be placed first, inside the
asteroid field. The Imperials then choose one side of the
game board to set up along normally.
SPECIAL RULES: Asteroids block line of sight through the
hexes they occupy, and neither starships nor fighters
may move through asteroids.
VICTORY: In addition to scoring VPs normally, the
Arcturans receive the point value of any of their ships
that manages to escape off the edge of the board
opposite the side from which the Imperial forces begin.
Evacuation Of Okonto IV03
Many of the populations within Polaris County chose to
abandon their homes rather than live under Imperial
rule. While most of these evacuations occurred without
opposition, at Okonto IV, the Starmada decided that the
civilians should stay right where they were.

The scenarios in this section are reflective of the types IMPERIAL FORCES: 1000 pts.
of battles fought by the Imperial Starmada during their
ARCTURAN FORCES: 600 pts.
efforts to subdue the restless border sectors collectively
referred to as Polaris County. During this half-century SET-UP: Use the standard set-up rules.
of conflict, Starmada crews learned to respect their
Arcturan opponents, as what should have been a quick SPECIAL RULES: None.
strike into the heart of the resistance movement VICTORY: Do not tally VPs normally; instead, if the
developed into a long period of guerilla warfare. Arcturans still have starships on the board by the end of
Helios Nebula01 turn five, they have achieved their goal of delaying the
Starmada long enough to evacuate the planet.
Generally accepted as the first major engagement of the
Siege, the Battle of Helios Nebula occurred on the
outskirts of the Helios system in +301.
IMPERIAL FORCES: 500 pts.
ARCTURAN FORCES: 500 pts.
SET-UP: Use the standard set-up rules.
SPECIAL RULES: The dust and radiation inside the nebula
plays havoc with starship shielding. Treat all ships
shield ratings as if they were one lower (e.g., a ship with
shields 4 would be treated as if it had only 3 shields).
VICTORY: Use the standard victory conditions from the
Starmada X rulebook.

Hide & Seek02

As the Starmadas incursion gained momentum, it
became typical for the Arcturans to avoid contact in the
hopes of combining with other defenders to form a
cohesive counterstrike. Obviously, the Starmada had no
intentions of allowing this to materialize.
IMPERIAL FORCES: 600 pts.
ARCTURAN FORCES: 300 pts.
SET-UP: Place one asteroid counter in the center of the
game board; then, each side should alternate placing
further asteroids by rolling one die and then placing an
asteroid that number of hexes away from the asteroid
49
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Imperial Starships
Starships of the Imperial Starmada have a tech level
(see p.20) of zero in all areas.
Admirable-class Cruiser
Mass: 133.0 Kmt Crew: 549
The idea for the Admirable came out of the Admiraltys
desire for a showpiece to be used on diplomatic
missions. Whereas the Leviathan was meant to be a
flagship in the military sense of the word, providing an
imposing presence as well as a truly functional piece of
military hardware, the Admirable is intended to show the
colors in a less intimidating, but undeniably meaningful
fashion.
The first Imperial starship to mount blasters instead of
fusion torpedoes, the Admirable class features the latest
in creature comforts for the crew. While this is due
solely to its function as ambassadorial escort, and not to
any policy shift in regards to quarters for military
personnel, it is a state of affairs that is taken full
advantage of by those who serve on these ships. This
fact, combined with the strictly-maintained spit-and-
polish exterior favored by Admirable captains, has
stirred more than its fair share of mockery from other
crews. Nonetheless, serving on an Admirable is one of
the choicest assignments in the Empireany officer
who says differently was probably denied a transfer to
one.
HIMS Admirable is home to the Pleiades, the
Starmadas showpiece fighter squadron. Painted in navy
blue and blood red, rather than the traditional dull grey,
these fighters are used mainly for recruitment purposes,
but their combat ability is second to none.
Contentious-class Frigate
Mass: 45.9 Kmt Crew: 213
A frigate-class vessel, the Contentious is an example of
what can happen when starship design is attempted by
committee. The Admiralty was looking for a replacement
for the older Pugilist class, and there was much concern
among the younger flag officers that Starmada ship
design was not progressing as quickly as it should.
Reliance on outdated equipment, building methods, and
combat tactics was causing a deterioration of ability on
the part of the line officers, or so the argument went. As
a way of placating this faction, the Admiralty gave the
task of creating a new design to a group of the more
outspoken youngsters; the Contentious was the result.
The most glaring weaknesses of this design is in its
defenses. Possessing shield generators hopelessly
underpowered for a starship of its size, the Contentious
must rely on its array of mass drivers to deliver a
knockout blow before an opponent can exploit this
vulnerability. With only three laser cannons to
supplement the anti-fighter batteries, the Contentious is
also susceptible to fighter attacksa fact which does
not escape the notice of these ships captains.
Still, with its high maneuverability, mass drivers, and
drone racks, the Contentious can hold its own against
50
smaller opponents; for this reason it is mainly assigned
to patrol duties in sectors with a hostility rating of Yellow
or below.
Furious-class Light Cruiser
Mass: 88.9 Kmt Crew: 330
Following quickly on the heels of the Imperial design,
the Furious was an attempt to reign in a tendency
towards bigger and bigger vessels, which threatened to
force a major change in operational policy. In fact, until
the commissioning of the Leviathan, the Imperial was
the last battleship-class starship to enter service.
The Furious-class cruisers most distinctive feature is its
Donegal-designed main weapons array, giving its fusion
torpedoes an unprecedented field of fire, at least among
Imperial starships. Although they sacrifice a bit of range,
most weapons officers are more than happy to live with
the trade-off in exchange for a 240 arc.
The only complaint of Furious crews over the years has
been with its power transfer system. Depending upon
whose estimates you accept, anywhere from a third to
half of all Furious-class ships in service suffer from this
undiagnosed problem. Simply put, the Furious is a bit
cranky. Whenever the ship is about to jump into
hyperspace, there is the odd chance that the lighting
system will fail, usually requiring the crew to function for
the next 24 to 48 hours under emergency lighting. All
attempts to correct this problem have failed, and so
many Furious engineers have gotten somewhat
superstitious about it, to the extent that in some cases
they have been known to convince their captains to
avoid hyperspace jumps on certain days of the week
Impervious-class Battlecruiser
Mass: 246.3 Kmt Crew: 693
The Impervious was the first Starmada design to boast
the neutron torpedo. Most military analysts refuse to
accept the Admiraltys explanation of the weapon as a
natural extension of fusion torpedo technology, and
lean towards the explanation that their design was
acquired from the Sssk, probably through the
intervention of House Izraedi. Regardless of how it was
added to the Imperial repertoire, the neutron torpedo
takes up less room, is easier to maintain, and offers the
potential for truly astounding results in combat.
However fascinating the story of its weaponry, this class
derives its name form the extra-thick layer of dellanium
alloy placed around the most sensitive parts of the
vessel. The class ship, IMS Impervious, earned the
nickname Ironsides after a clash with pirates in the
Toranni system. When the shields collapsed in the midst
of battle,the Impervious armor withstood nearly a dozen
direct mass driver hits, forcing the pirates to withdraw
and abandon their prize.
Leviathan-class Space Control Vessel
Mass: 210.4 Kmt Crew: 765
Tradition within the Imperial Starmada holds that several
mid-sized combat vessels are preferable to a smaller
number of large battlewagons. The flexible nature of
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Starmada fleet assignments means that the more
quickly forces can be dispersed, the more responsive
the Starmada can be to the changing needs of front-line
commanders.
However, in recent years, calls for a powerful starship to
counter the Arcturan Seraphin have grown louder and
more frequent. Therefore, the Leviathan experiment was
undertaken with an aim to produce a flagship for the
Starmada. Almost important a psychological weapon as
it is a warship, the Leviathan mounts an impressive
array of fusion torpedo launchers.
The Leviathans true nature is belied by its two separate
batteries of laser cannons and its carronade. These
show that the Leviathan is intended as a fighter-killer,
perfectly suited to protect against the swarms carried by
the Seraphin. While the Arcturans and Imperials are
nominally at peace for the time being, the Leviathans
construction is an obvious statement that has not gone
unnoticed
Mojhari-class Cruiser
Mass: 132.1 Kmt Crew: 474
Goddard Mojhari is a name well-known to all Imperial
schoolchildren, and the starships that bear his name are
well-known to everyone in the Imperial Starmada. The
Mojhari-class vessels are legendary for their exploits.
From rescue missions to first contacts, escort duty to
open conflict, there seems to be nothing beyond the
capability of the Mojharis and their crews.
Looking at the schematics, it is somewhat difficult to
explain the success of this design. The only remarkable
feature is the Mojharis spinal mount; while effective, it is
hardly something to write home about. Even its
conventional weaponry is less than impressive
although the blasters have a significant range, they are
few in number.
In the final analysis, perhaps the Mojhari stands as a
testament to the continued importance of well-trained
and committed personnel; one retired member of the
Admiralty once remarked, There is more honor to be
had in serving on a garbage scow among men of
distinction than on the mightiest battleship surrounded
by the merely qualified. The service record of the
Mojhari-class supports the truthfulness of this
observation.
Spiteful-class Corvette
Mass: 21.4 Kmt Crew: 93
After the relative failure of the Arrogant experiment,
many were truly surprised to learn that the Admiralty
was pursuing the development of another corvette-class
starship. As others have pointed out, however, the
difference may ultimately be in the way the ships are
used, rather than in design philosophy.
The first thing to notice about the Spiteful is its size
nearly one and a half times the displacement of an
Arrogant. However, the differences seem to end there.
Although fitted with a more efficient shield generator, the
Spiteful ends up with comparable protection, mainly due
51
to the increased surface area and the additional power
requirements of a larger crew.
The strength of the Spiteful did not truly reveal itself until
it was field-tested in a battlegroup along with a pair of
Belligerents. It was here that effective tactics were
formulated, using the Spitefuls in collaboration with
fighter squadrons. Because the Arrogants were mainly
used without fighter cover, many suggest that direct
comparison of the two designs is unfair. It would seem
that the Admiralty agrees with this, as the success of the
Spiteful has caused them to stop plans for the
Arrogants removal from service and to investigate the
feasibility of a refit.
Tamburlane-class Drone Carrier
Mass: 67.3 Kmt Crew: 390
One of a very few task-specific designs in the Starmada,
the Tamburlane is also one of the most controversial
starships in the fleet. The only class to make extensive
use of drone racks, these ships have sacrificed much of
the shielding and armament that normally accompanies
warships of this size.
Because of this, the general tactic for a Tamburlane is
to stay well behind the main battle line and launch its
drones when appropriate. This does not sit well with
many of the younger captains who have been assigned
to these vessels, and more than one destroyed
Tamburlane can be blamed on impatient, glory-starved
officers trying to use their ships in roles for which they
were never intended.
For a service that relies on flexibility and broadly-defined
mission parameters rather than specialization, a
dedicated drone carrier is something that is difficult to
assimilate. Over the years, Tamburlanes have been
used in may different ways, none of which have resulted
in much success. Currently, the ships are quite often
forgotten about, languishing in the central provinces of
the Empire, far away from the enemy and any
opportunity to prove themselves.
Although there is no way to prove it, there is a belief
among Starmada officers than Tamburlane captains
tend to be somewhat mentally unstable. It is generally
assumed that this stereotype stems from the need for
Tamburlane crews to keep themselves occupied in
unorthodox ways.
Thor-class Frigate
Mass: 87.3 Kmt Crew: 345
One of the oldest designs in the Starmada (along with
the Monitors), the Thor-class missile frigate has been in
service for well over fifty years. Several refits have been
attempted, but none have been as effective as the
original. For example, of the 78 Thors produced at the
Dromedia Prime shipyards over the years, nearly half
remain in their original configuration.
Many crews initially scoffed at the Thors clean lines and
slender build when it made its first training runs a half-
century ago. But time and again, the design has proven
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
itself in engagements across the galaxy, most recently
in skirmishes against the Kalaedinese Expanse.
Much of the Thors exemplary service record can be
attributed to its long-ranged missile batteriesmost
captains find it easy to remain out of harms way while
pelting enemy targets at will. Smaller vessels will find
themselves outmatched against the Thors weaponry;
however, larger vessels are a bit of a problem. The
Thors relatively weak shield generators mean that they
will not survive close engagements with sizeable foes.
For this reason, a Thor will almost never be found
outside of its primary role as an escort for larger
warships.
Despite almost universal acceptance throughout the
fleet, the Thor design is slowly being phased outall
remaining vessels are scheduled to be mothballed
within the next decade. And while the Admiralty denies
any involvement, reports of Thor-class ships appearing
in mercenary navies are becoming more and more
common
Triumphant-class Cruiser
Mass: 130.2 Kmt Crew: 444
Triumphant crews are among the most arrogant,
insufferable, and downright obnoxious in the entire
Starmada. Unfortunately for their critics, they have good
reason to be. In the twenty-five years since the design
52
was introduced, not a single Triumphant-class starship
has been lost, in combat or otherwise. In addition, the
IMS Hastings is the only vessel that can claim three
Kalaedinese warships as its victims. Truly, this design
has proven itself on countless occasions, and a dozen
more are scheduled to enter service in the next few
months; most of these will depart immediately for the
Eastern Frontier.
The Triumphant is not a big ship, nor is it all that fast. Its
defenses are average, at best. It is the weaponry, and
the crews ability to use it, that has proven to be the
difference for this design. The Triumphants missile
batteries are among the longest-ranged in the
Starmada, and its new cluster missile guidance system
has ensured a hit ratio unmatched by any other ship in
the fleet. While its fighter defenses are somewhat
outdated, this is more than made up for by the sheer
number of laser cannons bristling from the Triumphants
hull.
It is possible that aesthetics play just as big a role in the
Triumphants reputation as does its battle record.
Designed by renowned astronautical engineer Klaus
Van Gulik, the ship is considered a masterpiece of both
engineering and artistic expression. It is no accident that
the silhouette used on all Starmada recruiting materials
is that of the Triumphant; only the Indomitable is more
recognizable among the civilian population.
 440 I.D. 124 I.D.
Admirable-class Contentious-class
Imperial Cruiser Imperial Frigate
Hull 8 Engines 5 Shields 3 Hull 4 Engines 7 Shields 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQ EQ Ha Eb Hb S HEb ES HQ EQ Ha Eb
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Blasters 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Mass Drivers 1-3 4-6 7-9 3+ 1 1 1
Range-Based PEN Extra Hull Damage
AB AC BD EF AC BD

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 3+ 1 1 1 Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 1

AB AC BD CE DF EF AC BD EF

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery C
Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment
Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Fighter Bay Anti-Fighter Batteries Drone Electronic Countermeasures

Hyperdrive Hyperdrive

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10
 143 I.D. 612 I.D.
Furious-class Impervious-class
Imperial Light Cruiser Imperial Battle Cruiser
Hull 6 Engines 4 Shields 2 Hull 12 Engines 4 Shields 5


1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQ Ea Ha Eb Hb S Ha Eb Hc Sc H Q
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Fusion Torpedoes 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 3 1 Neutron Torpedoes 1-5 6-10 11-15 5+ 1 1 1
Battery A

Battery A
Increased DMG
ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 1 Mass Drivers 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1
Battery B

Battery B
Extra Hull Damage
AB AC BD CE DF EF AB AC AC BD BD EF

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 1
Battery C

Battery C
ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD CDEF CDEF CDEF CDEF CDEF

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Hyperdrive Anti-Fighter Batteries Armor Plating Electronic Countermeasures

Hyperdrive

Movement Orders Movement Orders
1 6 1 6
2 7 2 7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 10 5 10
 551 I.D. 286 I.D.
Leviathan-class Mojhari-class
Imperial Space Control Vessel Imperial Cruiser
Hull 11 Engines 3 Shields 4 Hull 8 Engines 5 Shields 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQc Ea Ha Sb Hb Qc HQ EQ Ha Eb Hb S
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Fusion Torpedoes 1-5 6-10 11-15 3+ 1 3 1 Blasters 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1

AB AB BD BD EF EF ACE ACE BDF BDF

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 3+ 1 1 1

AB AB AC AC BD BD EF EF AB AC BD CE DF EF

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 1

AB AC BD CE DF EF

Battery C
Battery C

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Carronade Electronic Countermeasures Fighter Bay Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Fighter Bay

Hyperdrive Hyperdrive Spinal Mount

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10
 36 I.D. 386 I.D.
Spiteful-class Tamburlane-class
Imperial Corvette Imperial Drone Carrier
Hull 2 Engines 8 Shields 2 Hull 5 Engines 5 Shields 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HES 2EQ HEQ 2EQ HEa ES HQa EQa HQa EQ HQ SQ
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Fusion Torpedoes 1-3 4-6 7-9 3+ 1 3 1 Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 1
Battery A

Battery A
AB AB AC AC BD BD EF

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Battery B

Battery B
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Battery C

Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment
Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Hyperdrive Anti-Fighter Batteries Drone Drone

Drone Drone Drone

Electronic Countermeasures Hyperdrive

Movement Orders Movement Orders
1 6 1 6
2 7 2 7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 10 5 10
 135 I.D. 204 I.D.
Thor-class Triumphant-class
Imperial Missile Frigate Imperial Cruiser
Hull 6 Engines 6 Shields 2 Hull 8 Engines 4 Shields 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQ EQ Ha Ea Hb Sb Ha Eb Hb Sc H Q
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Cluster Missiles 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1 Fusion Torpedoes 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 3 1
Variable ROF
ACE ACE BDF BDF ACE ACE BDF BDF

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-2 3-4 5-6 3+ 1 1 1 Laser Cannons 1-3 4-6 7-9 5+ 1 1 1

AB AC BD CE DE EF AB AC AC BD BD CE DF EF

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Cluster Missiles 1-6 7-12 13-18 3+ 1 1 1
Variable ROF
ABCD

Battery C
Battery C

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Hyperdrive Anti-Fighter Batteries Electronic Countermeasures Hyperdrive

Long Range Sensors

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
The Arcturan Federation
...The colonies of Arcturus V and VIII were settled
in the year +54, during humanitys expansionist
era. These two large Terran planets grew to be
extremely prosperous centers of trade,
commerce, and activity in the region. Since the
Arcturan sector, like the neighboring Terranovae
sector, was rich in mineral wealth, contained
many habitable planets, and several diverse
ecosystems, it naturally gained regional
dominance...
...The intelligent feline humanoid population
indigenous to Concordia presented a challenge
for settlement: not that they were warlike,
barbaric, or otherwise undesirable. Quite the
contrary; the Ferias were very approachable,
devoted primarily to spiritual and intellectual
enlightenment.
With the arrival of humans from Terra in +59, the
Pritarra (spiritual priestess) of the Ferias people
proclaimed that divine messengers had come,
bringing a new age of enlightenment. This
sparked the beginning of a new era of peace,
prosperity, and cultural exchange...
Alliance
...The Alliance was a loose collection of worlds in
the Rim Expanse formed in the year +303. While
not incredibly large in scope, this densely-packed
region of rich planetary systems was very well-
suited to mutual protection and trade, as well as
information and resource sharing.
After Emperor Wheylan began his New Destiny
Program and the siege of Polaris County was
undertaken, a mutual trade and defense pact was
signed between several worlds in both the
Arcturan and Terranovae sectors.
The Alliance was primarily the achievement of
the Garmin and Bayonne families. It served
notice to the Emperor that there would be resistance to
his aggressive advancements, while drawing the core
worlds closer and establishing strong ties between the
minor worlds.
These bonds would be severely tested during the
tumultuous years of Imperial rampage through the old
colonies of Terra...
Crisis
...The Arcturan Federation was formed in the years
+348 and +349, as the Arcturan Alliance crumbled
under the sheer weight of the advancing Imperials.
Earlier in the fourth century, the majority of Alliance
members were willing to let the status quo continue as
long negotiations with the Empire dragged on during the
years of the Polaris County siege. Led for fortyfive years
by Carlos Garmin, the venerable leader and founder of
the Alliance, many looked to him for guidance and
58
support. But when it became apparent that the
Empire would soon prevail, as the Starmada
launched a major assault upon Polaris itself,
internal confidence in the Alliance fell to an all
time low. It was believed that Garmin and the
Senate had been naively tricked into
complacency, and many called for Garmins
resignation...
Federation
...It took the sheer willpower and mystique of
Adherbal Mauritus and Camille Aelfric, from the
systems Nova Carthago and Tyre VII, to unite the
squabbling planet-states of the Alliance into a
unified force. When, in +347, it was revealed that
for the better part of two decades these two
leaders had been secretly supplying the forces of
Polaris County to continue their resistance to the
Empire, many claimed that Mauritus and Aelfric
had singlehandedly saved the Alliance from
destruction. As a result, there was a renewed
sense of unity among the worlds, and soon
afterwards negotiations began that ultimately led
25
to the formation of the Arcturan Federation .
While this new effort at cooperation sounded
great on the outside, there was major squabbling
internally. Factions aligned with the Garmin,
Malfvas, and Bayonne families began to wrestle
for influence and control over the Arcturan Naval
Forces. After the humiliating and devastating
defeat at the Battle of Kilarie, hope for the
fledgling Federation was nearly lost...
Resistance
...Faced with an overpowering opponent in the
Imperial Starmada, the outclassed Arcturans
found themselves with undermanned ships,
underarmed fleets, and undersupplied forces.
Only when command of a new Federation Task
Force under the legendary Vilni Harloss
successfully led an insurgent campaign against the
Empire did the Arcturan economic and military machine
begin to fall into line. Harloss utilized a guerrilla
campaign of liberation, resource capitalization, and
maneuver to tax the forces of the Empire and gain time
for the Federation to rebuild itself.
Vilni was a woman of twenty-two years of age at the
beginning of the war with the Empire. She was the
adopted daughter of a Ferias family on Nova Carthago,
her parents having died in a tragic accident when she
was young. Raised and educated in the Ferias Tradition
(presence of thought, devotion of mind, and clarity of
25
Several attempts on Mauritus life during and after this time
have been documented, and it is widely accepted that the
majority of these can be laid at the feet of Emperor Wheylan
himself. Wheylan did not bestow many opponents with the
courtesy of personal hatred, but Mauritus was one of the rare
individuals who was able to successfully (and repeatedly)
frustrate the Emperor.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
transformation), and then enrolled in one of the best
military academies in the Arcturan Alliance, she excelled
quickly and with determination. When the call to arms
was raised, Harloss found herself swept up in the
current of newfound nationalism.
Her heroic presence, both on and off the battlefield, her
devotion to the millions of souls she helped to liberate,
and her skills in strategic anticipation allowed her to
outguess, outclass, and outmatch her numerically-
overwhelming foe for years on end26...
Collaboration
...The Arcturans need for a swift infusion of military and
technical expertise led a contingent of the Arcturan
Federation to the doors of the Donegal Alliance, who,
seeing that they could easily be next in line after the fall
of the Federation, agreed to assist their new allies. In
exchange, a lucrative trade agreement and mutual
assistance pact was developed; a pact that is
maintained to this day, for the Federation has not
forgotten the aid received in their most desperate hour...
...In the months ending the year +353, several major
families, along with some of the most wealthy
individuals in the Federation, used much of what they
had gained from the Donegals in order to begin one of
the greatest ship-building projects in recorded history.
Huge amounts of resources were poured into the
construction of a new class of starship; as one investor
remarked, it was to be a mobile battle station, with the
power to call forth the Angel of Death herself. And so,
the Seraphin-class battle carrier emerged.
Four of these ships were ultimately constructed during
the years of the Arcturan Conflict, and they helped stem
the tide against the still-overpowering Starmada...
Salvation
...When the Imperials finally hunted down Vilni Harloss
and her Sacred Corps, they found themselves facing an
enemy that was prepared for a specific battle, at a
specific location, with all of the cards played in their
favor.
With three Imperial task groups pinned by Harloss'
Concordia command cruiser and her support ships, the
four SeraphinsMichael, Uriel, Gabriel, and Raphael
jumped in-system with two smaller task groups. In the
ensuing engagement, a combination of superior fighter
cover, long-range volleys, and encircling tactics wore
down the three Imperial task groups and pounded them
into submission.
The Battle at Tamarind in +359 is a red-letter date in the
history of the Arcturan Federation. While the Federation
lost its greatest general27, her sacrifice won an
26
It is for this reason that, to this day, the Ferias School of
Thought is taught to all officers in the Arcturan military forces.
27
Although all reputable reports from the battle substantiate the
conclusion that Harloss died when the crippled HIMS
Indestructable collided with her command carrier, rumors of
59
incredible victory that shifted the balance of power for
many years to come and assured the Arcturan
Federation its independence from Imperial rule...
Aftermath
The Imperial War all but drained the economic
resources of the Arcturan worlds. The sheer cost of the
four Seraphin battle carriers and associated support
fleets eliminated many of the resources of the oncerich
worlds of the Alliance. Emperor Wheylan had no idea
that the Arcturan economy was on the verge of collapse
near the end of the War; after the defeat of the Imperial
Starmada at the Battle of Tamarind, when the Arcturan
delegation to the Empire put an offer for peace on the
table, the Emperor accepted readily.
However, sensing this missed opportunity several years
later, the Empire crafted a new strategy to undermine
Federation influence: the Commonwealth. Learning from
the ease with which the Federation liberated several
border systems during the war, Emperor Hadric
countered by giving the reconquered systems a degree
of autonomy.
Forming the Commonwealth allowed individual systems
to believe in their freedom, while leaving in place an
economic interdependence that all but eliminated the
threat of defection to the Arcturans. This has done much
to stifle Federation attempts at rebuilding its economy to
prewar levels, and is a source of resentment among
many Arcturans. Truly, this uneasy peace cannot last
too much longer...
Betrayal
...During the border conflict of +425 with the Imperials
over trade routes to the Donegal Alliance, the heart of
the Federation was shaken by the loss of the Lucifer,
now known as the fallen one, which was captured
during the Arcturans first encounter with the S'ssk. The
fact that the reptilians were under the control and
direction of the Imperials and House Izraedi only added
to Arcturan fury over the incident.
As the Lucifer left its task group to provide escort cover
for a group of merchant vessels, the S'ssk jumped into
the system and caught the Arcturans unawares. In the
ensuing battle, all of the S'ssk Nesting ships were
destroyed, but the Lucifers fighter squadrons turned to
head back to the battle carrier only to find that it was
leaving the battle under the control of S'ssk boarding
parties: the entire crew had been killed and the ship
captured. This was a significant prize for the S'ssk and
House Izraedi, now the sworn enemy of the Arcturan
Federation.
Government
The Arcturan Federation has evolved into a sort of
elective kingship, an oligarchic/republican regime
centered around the annually-elected dual magistracy of
Harloss survival have been popular spaceport banter for
decades.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
the Shoffets (the Ferias word for judges). The first two
Shoffets were Adherbal Mauritus and Camille Aelfric,
both appointed shortly after the defeat at Kilarie in +349.
The Grand Council is a tri-cameral legislature, with an
inner permanent committee of thirty elders (referred to
as the Gerousia), a high court of 235 judges, elected for
life by a college of the planetary governors; and a
popular assembly ostensibly comprised of all Arcturan
citizens. The Council is based on Arcturus, although a
majority of the power is currently centered in the
Terranovae Sector with the recent election of Didera
Mauritus from Nova Carthago and Pauls Kinnemon from
Sytris Major.
The symbol of the Arcturan Federation is a circle
surrounded by four triangles, representing Arcturus itself
with the four original Seraphin Battle Carriers in orbit,
ever watchful over the citizens below.
Fleet Organization
The Arcturan space forces are separated into two
distinct factions, the richer Home Guard fleets and the
poorer sector fleets, which are governed and
maintained directly by the Federation. There is constant
friction between the Home Guard fleet, which is
supported by the individual sector governments and
planetary economies, and the Sector Fleets.
A majority of officers enter service in Home Guard
starships through social connections and political ties,
while service in the Sector Fleets is considered
backwater duty. Officers from the Sector Fleets are
generally ignoredthe one exception is the Sacred
Corps of the Terranovae Sector Fleet, service in which
is a great honor.
The Sacred Corps are the descendants of Vilni Harloss'
own squadron. Composed of volunteers from the
Terranovae Sector Defense Force, these dedicated
individuals train, fight, and live with the Ferias Tradition
pulsing in their blood. They are sworn protectors of the
Federation and their flagship is the refit Concordia
command cruiser of Harloss herself.
The Seraphins are maintained exclusively in the Home
Guard fleets, because of the cost of their maintenance
as well as the stature they bring. Normally, four out of
the seven extant Seraphin fleets patrol along the
imperial border in Polaris County at any given time.
However, they are indirectly controlled by the planetary
governors and judges who financially support and
appoint officers to the fleets.
Scenarios
The following scenarios are taken from the opening
actions of what has become known as the Siege of
Polaris County; a period of nearly fifty years when the
forces of what would become the Arcturan Federation
fought what was essentially a holding action against
the Imperial Starmada. In the end, the proto-alliance
failed in its primary objective, as Polaris County is to this
day a part of the Empirehowever, the Arcturans
60
eventual unity and independence was assured by those
who gave their lives in these Dark Days.
Ambush04
After the first months of the Siege, the Arcturan forces
started to overcome their initial panic. In a few cases,
they even managed to conduct offensive operations of
their own.
ARCTURAN FORCES: 1000 pts.
IMPERIAL FORCES: 500 pts.
SET-UP: The Imperial forces should set up first in the
center of the game board; the Arcturan forces should
then be divided into two halves of at least 400 pts. Each
and set up in either of the normal set-up areas.
SPECIAL RULES: None.
VICTORY: The Imperials receive double the normal
amount of VPs.
Skirmish05
Many of the most important events during the Siege
were not pitched battles between mighty dreadnoughts,
but chance encounters between escorts that swung the
balance of local control.
ARCTURAN FORCES: 400 pts., must have at least three
ships.
IMPERIAL FORCES: 400 pts., must have at least four ships.
SET-UP: Use the normal set-up rules.
SPECIAL RULES: None.
VICTORY: Victory in these all-to-frequent encounters
usually went to the side that drew first blood. The first
ship destroyed counts for double normal VPs.
Enter The Seraphin06
Considering the level of investment required to produce
one of their flagships, the Arcturans were
understandably reluctant to put their Seraphins into
battle. However, as time went on, it became more and
more apparent that a drastic step was required in order
to help turn the tide.
ARCTURAN FORCES: One (1) Seraphin-class starship.
IMPERIAL FORCES: 1800 pts.
SET-UP: Use the normal set-up rules.
SPECIAL RULES: None.
VICTORY: Score VPs as normal.
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Arcturan Starships
Arcturan starships are constructed using tech levels
(p.20) of +1 in weapons and special equipment.
Augustus-class Assault Transport
Mass: 89.3 Kmt Crew: 615
The Augustus-class assault transport is designed to get
fighters and troops to the front as quickly as possible.
These ships are among the latest generation of designs
from New Syrtis Spaceworks.
While no Augustus-class ships have seen true combat
as of yet, they have completed many humanitarian
missions, including the evacuation of the mining colony
on Phoebe 327.
Concordia-class Command Carrier
Mass: 111.2 Kmt Crew: 543
The Concordia began as a heavily-modified Excalibur,
commanded by Vilni Harloss herself. Now, the
Concordia represents a complete line of light cruisers
suited for command positions and large fleet
engagements. The starship is specifically fitted for large
scale command and control.
Excalibur-class Cruiser
Mass: 88.3 Kmt Crew: 405
The largest percentage of the offensive firepower in
Arcturan Federation fleets is contained in the numerous
Excalibur-class cruisers. These ships, while 20%
smaller than the Hyperion battlecruisers, pack the same
offensive punch and twice the fighter capacity. Usually
reserved for command positions in the sector and Home
Guard Squadrons, Excaliburs are common throughout
the navies of the Federation.
Hyperion-class Battlecruiser
Mass: 85.8 Kmt Crew: 390
The Hyperion is a staple of every Arcturan fleet. An
imposing ship possessing an excellent combination of
firepower, speed, maneuverability, fighter support, and
defensive mine-laying capability, it is well suited for a
multi-role position in any task group. In fact, it is rare to
find any Arcturan Federation force of significant size
without at least two or three Hyperions.
Lancer-class Corvette
Mass: 10.0 Kmt Crew: 75
The Lancer is the first stand-alone development of a
new Arcturan ship design after the mutual-assistance
pact with the Donegal Alliance. The introduction of the
concentrated power of plasma bolters on a swift, small
ship gives new quickness to the sting of the Arcturan
Federation fleets.
The inexpensive nature of this vessel keeps it in active
service within both the Home Guard and sector fleets.
Usually accompanying a flotilla of larger ships, the
Lancer is known for lightning strikes on damaged
vessels.
61
A famous engagement during the border dispute in
+425 saw a Lancer corvette, the Fusilier, trying to
outflank a small Imperial convoy in support of several
frigates and the Durandal light cruiser. Luis Onarga, the
Fusiliers captain, just promoted due to a convenient
family connection, was unprepared for the realities of
combat. So, he ordered the corvette to try a very wide
flanking action, in order to wait until the best opportunity
would arise before committing himself.
When the trap was sprung, two Imperial Admirables
jumped in-system from opposing directions to catch the
Arcturans in a beautiful pincer move. When the second
Admirable literally appeared right in front of the Fusilier
from out of hyperspace, Captain Onarga jumped back
from the command station into the weapons officer, who
accidentally triggered a full volley from the banked
plasma cannon directly into the Imperial ship.
The Fusilier completely knocked the shields out and
caused considerable damage to the Admirables power
systems. This event caught the immediate attention of a
heavy bomber flight from the nearby Daedalus frigate,
which promptly strafed the Admirable and destroyed it.
In the end, the crew did not mind Captain Onargas
incompetence, for the 135th Heavy Bomber Group
bought a round of drinks for the entire Fusilier crew after
the battle.
Peregrine-class Escort
Mass: 22.1 Kmt Crew: 123
Peregrines are light, fast attack craft that are usually
assigned to escort roles and raiding parties. The
swiftness of the Peregrine yielded its name during the
space trials of the class, Big Green Skye Industries
premiere product. The Navy was quick to recognize the
advantages of a swift attack craft to capitalize on the
starfighter superiority that Arcturan Fleets typically
achieve.
Pharsalos-class Destroyer
Mass: 34.7 Kmt Crew: 159
The Pharsalos is a venerable ship from the Alliance
days that is still in service in the sector fleets of the
Home Guard defense forces. While it is currently
undergoing a major revision and overhaul, there are still
some ships that carry the legacy of almost 100 years of
service.
The most notable Pharsalos vessel to enter service was
the Iapetus, well-known for its role in the Battle at
Tamarind, trying to ram the Indomitable and protect the
Concordia from its fatal collision. This devotion to Vilni
Harloss is well remembered in the corridors of that
vessel.
Seraphin-class Battle Carrier
Mass: 282.8 Kmt Crew: 1419
The guardians of the Arcturan Federation and the
symbols of national pride, these offensive juggernauts
are few in number due to their sheer size and cost.
However, they bring incredible amounts of firepower
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
and presence to any engagement. With a crew
complement of over 1400, these ships are truly
impressive sights.
In addition to the revamped Michael, Gabriel, Ithuriel
(Uriel), and Raphael, there are the new Azrael, Ariel,
and Sariel battle carriersalong with the now-lost
Lucifer, of course. The Gabriel, Michael, Raphael,
Ithuriel, Ariel, Sariel, and Azrael are the seven angels of
the Federation. The Angel of Death, Azrael, is painted
entirely black and is part of the Arcturan Assault Fleet.
Shiltron-class Gunboat
Mass: 9.5 Kmt Crew: 90
The Shiltron gunboat is the latest collaborative effort
between the Donegal Alliance and the Arcturan
Federation. Essentially a small floating gun, this design
62
has yet to be fully tested. Many in the Arcturan Navy are
quite interested to see it perform in actual combat,
having significant reservations about the design. Faster
even than a fighter squadron, it is felt be critics that such
mobility is wasted on a starship with such a short life
expectancy.
Thunderbolt-class Dreadnought
Mass: 211.6 Kmt Crew: 885
There are only two Thunderbolt dreadnoughts built to
date, the Thunderbolt and the Maelstrom. Only used in
one limited combat exercise, these vessels may prove
to bring the offensive punch to task groups with the
utilization of the spinal mount. While more of an
intimidation factor, the swath of destruction that the
Thunderbolts have been able to deliver in field trials is
awesome.
 537 I.D. 518 I.D.
Augustus-class Concordia-class
Arcturan Assault Transport Arcturan Command Carrier
Hull 6 Engines 3 Shields 3 Hull 7 Engines 2 Shields 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQb EQ HQ Sa Ha Qb HQc EQc HQ Sa Ha Sb
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Stingray Missiles 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1 Ion Cannons 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1
No Range Modifiers Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1
Extra Hull Damage
ACE ACE ACE BDF BDF BDF ACE BDF

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1

ACE ACE ACE BDF BDF BDF

Battery C
Battery C

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Armor Plating Fighter Bay Hyperdrive Armor Plating Fighter Bay Hyperdrive

Long Range Sensors Marine Squad Marine Squad Long Range Sensors Security Team Shockwave

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10
 372 I.D. 318 I.D.
Excalibur-class Hyperion-class
Arcturan Cruiser Arcturan Strike Cruiser
Hull 6 Engines 4 Shields 3 Hull 6 Engines 5 Shields 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HQ EQ Ha Eb Hc Sc HQc EQ Ha Ea Hb Sc
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Ion Cannons 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1 Ion Cannons 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1
Battery A

Battery A
Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1 Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1
Battery B

Battery B
Extra Hull Damage Extra Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1
Battery C

Battery C
ACE ACE ACE BDF BDF BDF ACE ACE ACE BDF BDF BDF

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Armor Plating Fighter Bay Hyperdrive Armor Plating Fighter Bay Hyperdrive

Long Range Sensors Mine Long Range Sensors Mine

Movement Orders Movement Orders
1 6 1 6
2 7 2 7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 10 5 10
 23 I.D. 44 I.D.
Lancer-class Peregrine-class
Arcturan Corvette Arcturan Escort
Hull 1 Engines 10 Shields 1 Hull 2 Engines 8 Shields 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
H3ESa 4EQa H3EQa 4EQ H3EQ 3ESa HESa 2EQ HEQ 2Ea HEa ESa
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Plasma Bolters 1-3 4-6 7-9 4+ 1 1 2 Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1

AB AB ACE ACE BDF BDF

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery C
Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment
Armor Plating Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors Armor Plating Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10
 67 I.D. 1732 I.D.
Pharsalos-class Seraphin-class
Arcturan Destroyer Arcturan Battle Carrier
Hull 3 Engines 7 Shields 2 Hull 13 Engines 2 Shields 4


1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
HEa 2Eb HSb ESb HQ EQ HQc EQ HQ SQ Ha Qb
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1 Ion Cannons 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1
Battery A

Battery A
Extra Hull Damage Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB AB

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1
Battery B

Battery B
Extra Hull Damage
ACE ACE BDF BDF AB AB ACE ACE BDF BDF

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1
Battery C

Battery C
ACE ACE ACE BDF BDF BDF

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Armor Plating Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors Armor Plating Fighter Bay Fighter Bay

Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors Mine

Mine Security Team Shockwave

Spinal Mount

Movement Orders Movement Orders
1 6 1 6
2 7 2 7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 10 5 10
 23 I.D. 453 I.D.
Shiltron-class Thunderbolt-class
Arcturan Gunboat Arcturan Dreadnought
Hull 1 Engines 12 Shields 0 Hull 11 Engines 3 Shields 3


1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
H4EQa 5EQ H4EQ 4EQa H3EQa 4EQa Ha Ea Hb Sb Hc Qc
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Ion Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1 Ion Cannons 1-6 7-12 13-18 4+ 1 1 1
Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

Battery A
Battery A

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Mass Drivers 1-5 6-10 11-15 4+ 1 1 1
Extra Hull Damage
AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Laser Cannons 1-4 5-8 9-12 4+ 1 1 1

AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

Battery C
Battery C

Special Equipment Special Equipment
Armor Plating Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors Armor Plating Hyperdrive Long Range Sensors

Spinal Mount Security Team Spinal Mount

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

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 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
From: dsk33593@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu MAP
(Cricket )
Newsgroups: rec.games.design A blank 1-hex sheet will work quite well for a
Subject: Starmada (1 of 4) map. Any hex map will do, if you ignore any
Date: 22 Jan 1994 19:36:16 GMT underlying terrain or colors. In general, the map
Organization: University of Illinois should be between thirty and forty hexes across.
at Urbana
Lines: 149 COUNTERS
Message-ID: There are three types of counters required for
2hrv7g$op7@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu Starmada; ship counters, shield counters, and
NNTP-Posting-Host: uxa.cso.uiuc.edu damage counters.
x Ship counters should identify the type of ship,
STARMADA (Version 1.0) give a ship identification number, and have a
little arrow to show the direction in which the
Rules for Tactical Space Combat ship is facing.
Game Design by D. S. Kast
x Shield counters need only say SHIELD on
1993 by Daniel S. Kast. The contents of this file them.
may be distributed freely, so long as this notice is
retained, and no profit is made from such x Damage counters need only say DAMAGE on
distribution. them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS If the battle being played out requires them, you
will need counters to mark the locations of
0.0 Introduction
asteroids, planets, and other heavenly bodies.
1.0 Ships Also, explosion counters can be used to mark the
2.0 Game Setup final resting places of destroyed ships.
3.0 Sequence of Play
4.0 Movement Counters can be made by cutting out 1/2-3/4
5.0 Combat squares of cardboard, or by purchasing blank
6.0 Morale counters, which are carried by most gaming
7.0 Ending the Game stores.
8.0 Ship Construction DICE
9.0 Admirals & Heroes
A number of 6 sided dice are needed to play
Starmada. About 8 dice should be sufficient.
0.0INTRODUCTION
DIE ROLLING CONVENTIONS0.2
Starmada is a game of stellar fleet combat in
which players maneuver playing pieces A large part of this game is based on die rolls.
representing various types of starships across a Some die roll concepts must be explained up
hex-grid in a general attempt to smash each front.
other into space dust. The emphasis in this game
DICE
is upon simplicity, resulting in a game that can be
completed in an evening and is easily adaptable into a All dice used in this game are 6-sided. Rolls are made
campaign setting (which is being worked on as you read with one ore more 6-sided dice. The notation xD6
this). Although it is called a space combat game, there means to roll x number of 6-sided dice, and add the
has been no attempt to keep Starmada realistic; if results together.
anything, this game is based upon wet-navy conflict
(and was developed after watching many many hours of ROLL MODIFIERS
movie and TV sci-fi combat scenes). But if its not In some situations, modifiers are applied to rolls. A
accurate, at least its fun, so put your favorite space notation of -1 or +1 means to subtract 1 or add 1 to the
opera soundtrack in the CD player and start playing. die roll. If you roll a 6, then -1 would mean that you
really rolled a 5. Some modifiers are written with the
GAME COMPONENTS0.1 dice included, i.e. 2D6-1. This means to roll two 6-sided
Certain items are required to play Starmada, these rules dice and subtract 1 from the total.
being the most important. Since this game is distributed
electronically, the other items cannot be included and TARGET ROLLS
will have to be improvised or cannibalized from other A target roll is die roll where the total sum of all dice
games. must equal or exceed a specific number, called the
target number. An example would be rolling an 8+ on
2D6. Most rolls in Starmada are target rolls.

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 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
1.0SHIPS
There are three basic types of ships in Starmada:
fighters, escorts, and capital ships.
x Fighters are small attack craft which are sent
against the enemy fleet in waves. They are grouped
into flights of four to eight fighters. Each flight is
represented by a single counter. These rules often
refer to ships; this word includes fighter flights.
Flights are sometimes just called fighters. The two
terms should be considered interchangeable.
x Escorts are larger ships which are used to provide
cover for the capital ships. Escorts operate in
squadrons of 2 to 5 ships, with the average
squadron having 3 ships. Each squadron has a
squad leader, which is picked at the beginning of
the game and not revealed to the other players.
The loss of the squad leader affects the combat
effectivness of the remaining ships in the squad.
x Capital Ships are large engines of destruction, and
form the command element of the fleet. The game
ends when one side loses all of its capital ships (or
just capitals).
x Independents: There are also ships that do not fall
into any of these categories. Independent ships are
identical to escorts in most ways. Their most
important distinction is that they function
individually, not in squadrons. Most of the time
independents are non-combatants or support ships.
SHIP SYSTEMS1.1
Each ship has a number of attributes and systems:
TYPE
This is F for fighter, E for escort, or C for capital.
HULL SIZE/MASS
Hull size is a number that shows the relative size of the
ship, and mass is the total mass of the vessel, in metric
kilotons (1 kmt = 1,000,000 kg). It has little to no bearing
on play, but is a major factor in the ship construction
process (see Section 8.0).
MOVE
This is the number of movement points that a ship has.
SHIELDS
Shields absorb hits and are represented by counters
placed beneath the ships counter.
ARMOR CODE
Armor provides the ship with resistance to damage.
Armor is rated from A to E, with A being the strongest.
SAVE
Save is a target roll that keeps a ship from receiving
damage. A ship that fails its save is destroyed
(exception: fighters take two hits before being
destroyed).
ATTACK DICE
69
This is the number of dice a ship uses for attacking. A
ship may divide its dice between targets.
RANGE
This is the maximum distance at which a ship may
engage targets. One-third of this range is short range,
and two-thirds is medium range.
TO-HIT
This the target number a ship must roll on its attack dice
to hit a target.
DAMAGE CODE
This is the ability of a ships weapons to penetrate
armor. Ranges are A through E, with A being the best.
MORALE
This represents the combat nerves of the ships crew.
During battle, morale checks are made after various
events. Ships that fail a morale check are considered to
have jumped into hyperspace and left the battle.
Capitals never make morale checks.
COMMAND CONTROL
Only capital ships have command control, which is the
ability of each capital ship to control a fleet.
2.0GAME SETUP
There may be specific requirements on fleet
composition and placement when playing out a pre-
determined battle or scenario; included here are basic
rules for playing out the typical slug-fest.
FLEET COMPOSITION
The ships on each side should be roughly equivalent to
each other; use the hull sizes as a guide, although you
can only really get a feel for how evenly matched ships
are by playing, as your playing style has an effect upon
ships effectiveness. The mix of ships is at the whim of
the players, but the following guidelines should be
followed: a) There should be at least two escort squads
per capital ship in the fleet. b) You should only have as
many fighter flights as you can fit in the hangars of your
other ships; fighters have no hyperspace capability and
therefore have no other way of getting to the battle
(some scenarios may do away with this restriction
such as when one side is fighting around its home
planet, etc.)
SQUAD LEADERS
For each squad of escorts, a squad leader will have to
be chosen. Write down the ID number of the squad
leaders on a piece of paper. Do not reveal a squad
leaders identity unless it is destroyed.
PLACEMENT
The ships should be placed within five hexes of the
respective edges of the hex board, and any
planets/asteroids should be placed as agreed upon.
MORALE RATINGS2.1
Each ship has a crew, and each crew is different (unlike
ships, which can generally be counted on to be the
same within each class). Because of this, morale ratings
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
must be assigned to each ship. If you are playing a pre- Action Phase Sequence
generated scenario, the morale ratings will already be 1a Side A (the side without the initiative) moves its
selected, and if you are in a campaign, morale is fighters.
determined by the ships experience. But for a standard 1b Side B (the side with the initiative) moves its
pick-up game, you may either set all morale levels at 7+, fighters.
or roll on the following chart for each ship: 1c Side Bs fighters attack.
Roll Morale 1d Side As fighters attack.
1 9+ 2a Side A moves its escorts.
2 8+ 2b Side B moves its escorts.
3 7+ 2c Side Bs escorts attack.
4 7+
2d Side As escorts attack.
5 6+
6 5+ 3a Side A moves its capital ships.
Remember that capital ships have no morale rating. 3b Side B moves its capital ships.
3c Side Bs capitals attack.
ADMIRALS & HEROES2.2 3d Side As capitals attack.
If you are using the rules for admirals and heroes (see These 12 segments are conducted in order; each must
Section 9.0), you will have to determine the details. be completed before the next can begin. Thus, an
Again, scenarios and campaigns will do this for you, but escort destroyed in segment 2c cannot attack in
in a pinch, use the following method: segment 2d.

Select one capital ship per side to be the flagship, and END PHASE
place your admiral on it, secretly (write it down on a The turn ends. If either side has completed its
piece of paper, or mark it on the bottom of the ships conditions for victory, it is declared the winner at this
counter). Then, roll a die for each non-capital ship in the point.
fleet. On a roll of 6, the ship has a hero on board. Again,
record this secretly. The opposition will not know where 4.0MOVEMENT
your hero is until he takes action (i.e., he affects his Each ship has a number of movement points to use for
ships morale check, or he makes a Luck roll). Now, roll
moving or turning. Moving one hex forward or turning
a die on the Tactics and Leadership columns below for one hex side costs 1 movement point. A ship may move
your admirals abilities, and on the Leadership and Luck
equal to or less than its movement points, but may not
columns for each hero. exceed them. Movement points can not be saved from
Roll Tactics Leadership Luck turn to turn. A ship may move through a hex occupied
1 +1 +1 11+ by another ship, but it may not end its turn there
2 +1 +1 11+ (exception: fighters may dogfightsee Section 5.2).
3 +1 +1 10+
4 +2 +1 10+ 5.0COMBAT
5 +2 +2 9+
Each ship may attack 1 or more ships, up to the total
6 +3 +2 9+ number of attack dice it has. Attacks are made with
Section 9.0 contains the rules for using these three distinct rolls: to-hit, damage, and saves. In order to
personalities. make an attack, the firing ship must check to see if the
target can be attacked. There are several factors that
3.0SEQUENCE OF PLAY have an effect on this:

The game is played in a series of turns, each of which is RANGE

divided into the following phases:
COMMAND PHASE
In this phase, each side makes an initiative roll. 2D6 are
rolled, adding the command control ratings of the sides
capital ships. The side with the highest total has the
tactical advantage for the turn.
ACTION PHASE
Once the initiative for the turn has been determined, the
ships move across the hexmap and make their attacks.
A ship may only attack a ship that is within its firing
range. Attacks made at 1/3 or less of maximum range
are given a +1 on to-hit rolls. Attacks made at 2/3
maximum, but above 1/3, are not given any modifier.
Attacks made at greater than 2/3 maximum are given a -
1 on to-hit rolls.
ARC
Each ship has a firing arc that is centered on the ships
facing. Fighters have a 60-degree firing arc and can
only fire at ships directly in front of them. Escorts have a
180-degree firing arc and can fire on ships 1 hex side,
either way, of its facing. Capital ships have a 300-
degree firing arc and can fire in all directions except
directly behind them.

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 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat

Fighters Escorts ATTACKING FIGHTERS

Non-fighters have a -1 to-hit penalty when attacking
fighters.
FIGHTER DAMAGE
Fighters are not destroyed on the first hit of damage.
Because each counter represents mulitple ships, fighter
flights can take more than 1 hit of damage: they are
destroyed by the second hit of damage. When a Flight
takes its first hit, place a Damage counter on its ship
counter. Damaged fighter flights fire with a -1 on all to-
hit rolls and -1 on all damage rolls.

Capital Ships DOGFIGHTING

If a fighter flight ends its movement in the same hex as
OBSTACLES an enemy ship, a dogfight ensues. When dogfighting, a
There are some objects (asteroids, planets, etc.) that fighters attack dice automatically hit. In addition, its
may get in the way of an attack. Before an attack is opponent cannot move until the fighter breaks off or is
made, place a straight edge between the centers of the destroyed (this means that two fighters dogfighting each
firing ships and targets hexes: if the edge crosses a other are locked in combat until one or the other is
hex occupied by one of these objects, line-of-sight is destroyed). Note that, since a fighter cannot end its turn
blocked, and the attack cannot occur. Ships do not in the same hex as a friendly ship, there will never be
block line-of-sight. more than two ships in a single dogfight. A ship involved
in a dogfight may not attack or be attacked by any ship
ATTACK PROCEDURE5.1 other than the one it is dogfighting with. Dogfighting
fighters never check moralethey are too busy doing
Attacks are made in the following manner: other things to realize whats going on around them.
1. Select and announce targets for all of the firing
ships attack dice.
COMBAT MODIFIERS5.3
2. For each target, roll the assigned attack dice. Each Following is a summary of all the conditions that affect
die that equals or exceeds the to-hit range is a hit. combat rolls:
Remove one shield counter from the target for each SHORT RANGE
die that hits. Attacks made at or less than 1/3 of maximum range roll
3. If there are no shields left, the hit then goes to the at +1 to-hit.
armor. For each hit, roll a die. Compare the LONG RANGE
damage code of the attacking ship against the Attacks made at greater than 2/3 maximum range roll at
armor code of the defending ship on the damage -1 to- hit.
chart to see if damage is done.
FIGHTERS
Armor Damage Code Non-fighters attack fighters at -1 to-hit.
Code A B C D E
A 4+ 5+ 5+ 6+ 6+ DAMAGED FIGHTER
B 3+ 4+ 5+ 5+ 6+ Damaged Fighters attack at -1 to-hit and make damage
C 3+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 5+ rolls at -1.
D 2+ 3+ 3+ 4+ 5+ LEADERLESS ESCORT
E 2+ 2+ 3+ 3+ 4+ Escorts with no leader roll at -1 to-hit.
The number gained from the chart is the minimum DOGFIGHTING
score needed for a die to inflict damage (once it has Dogfighting fighters automatically hit.
hit, of course). Then, for each die that scores
damage, the defending ship must make a save or 6.0MORALE
become space dust.
Ships must make a morale check after certain events.
4. For each damage hit to the armor, the defending
ship can make a saving roll. If any saving roll is x Fighters must make a morale check after receiving
missed, the ship is destroyed and immediatly damage.
removed from the game.
x Escorts must make a morale check whenever one
FIGHTER COMBAT5.2 of their squad-mates is destroyed.

There are some special considerations that apply to x Fighters and Escorts must make a morale check
fighter combat: when a friendly capital ship is destroyed.
x Capital ships never make a morale check.
71
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Fighters do not check morale while dogfighting. Hull Size Mass (kmt) Save
1* 1-12 None
All escorts and fighter flights have a morale value.
2 13-24 6+
Morale checks are done by making a target roll on the
3 25-40 5+
morale value with 2D6. If a ship does not make the to-hit
4 41-70 4+
roll, it has panicked and left the battlefield by going into
5 71-250 3+
hyperspace. Its counter should be taken from the board.
6 251+ 2+
(Fighters technically do not go into hyperspacethey
are too small to have the necessary equipment. *Fighters are treated as single ships with hull size 1 and
However, flights are still removed from the board after a mass 6-12.
failed morale check; the fighters are scattered and have
ceased to be an effective fighting unit.) Capital ships must be at least hull size 4.

The fact that capital ships do not make morale checks SELECT MOVE ALLOWANCEDETERMINE ENGINE
does not mean they cannot jump into hyperspaceif MASS8.2
you feel the odds are truly against you (or if you are just
plain chicken), jumping away from a battlefield is a The amount of mass taken up by the ships engine
perfectly acceptable spineless-wimp maneuver for any depends upon how fast the ship will move. Select the
ship. move score you desire, and use the following formula to
determine engine mass:
Morale checks made when an admirals flagship is
destroyed are made at -1. mass = (mv * ms * 0.07)1.1
mv = move score
7.0ENDING THE GAME ms = total mass of the ship (in kmt)
Different scenarios may have various objectives that Fighters multiply this result by 0.5 (since they are
must be accomplished before the game can be won. actually groups of small ships, which have smaller
However, in the standard shoot-em-up Starmada game, engines).
the first side to destroy/drive off all opposing capital
ships is the winner. SELECT ARMOR CODEDETERMINE ARMOR
8.0SHIP CONSTRUCTION MASS8.3
In order to do the next two calculations, you will need to
This section contains guidelines for constructing your
use the ships skin sizethis is the amount of surface
own ships with which to do battle. Ships are first
area the ship has. The skin size can be computed from
assigned a hull size, which limits the amount of material
the following formula:
that may be placed inside the hull. Then, systems are
chosen to be placed on the shipobviously, the total skin = ms2/3 * 0.215
mass of systems on the ship cannot exceed the chosen
mass of the ship. Fighters have a skin size of 2.5. The armor mass
depends upon the desired armor code. Multiply the skin
You should play Starmada a few times before attempting size by the armor code modifier from the following chart
to use these construction rules, so that you may see to determine the amount of mass on the ship taken up
how the different systems affect play. You will need a by armor.
calculator; round all mass calculations off to the nearest
tenth of a kmt. Armor Code A B C D E
Modifier 2.6 1.4 1.0 0.8 0.6
STEP ONECHOOSE HULL SIZE8.1
To begin the construction process, you should first SELECT NUMBER OF SHIELDSDETERMINE
select the type and size of the ship. This will limit the GENERATOR MASS8.4
amount of equipment that can be carried. It is a good
idea to have a general concept in mindis the ship to The mass of the ships shield generator is determined
be fast and maneuverable, or a near- motionless battle by multiplying the number of shields by the skin size.
platform? Select a hull size, and then determine the
mass of the ship (in metric kilotons) from the range SELECT WEAPON DATADETERMINE WEAPON
given on the chart below. Also record the ships save SYSTEMS MASS8.5
target.
A ships weapon systems performance depends upon
four factorsnumber of attack dice, range, to-hit target,
and damage code. Escort vessels also factor in the
number of ships in a squadron:

72
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
mass = ad * rng * thm * dcm / ns0.5 mass = mj2 * am / 20
ad = number of attack dice mj = maximum jump range (in light-years)
rng = range of weapons (a multiple of 3) am = accuracy modifier:
thm = to-hit modifier (5+ = 0.33; 4+ =
0.50; 3+ = 0.67) Accuracy 5+ 6+ 7+ 8+ 9+
dcm = damage code modifier: Modifier 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8

Damage Code A B C D E CARGO BAY

Modifier 2.67 2.17 1.67 1.17 0.67 Each kmt of cargo space allows the ship to carry 0.75
kmt of cargo.
ns = number of ships in a squadron
(escorts only; minimum 2) HANGAR SPACE
Fighters cannot carry hyperdrives, and so must be
SELECT COMMAND CONTROL RATINGDETERMINE carried on larger ships. Each fighter flight carried takes
CC EQUIPMENT MASS8.6 up 15 kmt of hangar space.

The mass of a capital ships command control systems REPAIR FACILITIES

is equal to the initiative bonus squared. Only capital A ship destroyed in combat may be repairable; ships
ships may have a command control rating. with repair facilities may attempt to repair any ship of a
hull size up to its repair level. Repair facilities mass is
MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS8.7 equal to the repair level squared times 10.

Any remaining space in the hull can be taken up by any
or all of the following systems (fighters ignore this step).
Most of them only have an effect in campaign settings.
HYPERDRIVE
All ships must have a hyperspace drive in order to move
from one star to another. A hyperdrive is rated by two
characteristics: accuracy and range. The accuracy is the
target number for a 3D6 roll and represents the
probability that a hyperspace jump will be on-target.
Range is the maximum number of light-years that can
be traversed in a single jump. The mass of a hyperdrive
is determined as follows:
MEDICAL FACILITIES
Repaired ships will have inexperienced crews unless a
medical ship is on hand to save the crew. Ships may
attempt to save the crew of a ship of hull size up to its
med-level. Medical facilities mass is equal to the med-
level times 10.
SURVEY FACILITIES
Many vessels are equipped with scientific equipment.
The survey level represents the number of dice the ship
can roll when surveying a new star system. Survey
equipment mass is equal to the survey level squared
times 2.
PASSENGER SPACE
Each kmt of passenger accomodations may hold up to
100 passengers.
TROOP SPACE
Each kmt of barracks may hold up to 250 troops.

SAMPLE SHIPS8.8
The following ships were created using the above construction rules:
Ship Type HS/MS MV SH AC SV AD RG TH DC
VALKYRIE fighter (F) 1/10 10 0 D na 2 3 4+ D
TYR frigate (E) 3/25 6 1 C 5+ 2 6 4+ C
notes: squad size 3, hyperdrive (6+/6), 100 troops
THOR battlecruiser (C) 5/90 3 3 A 3+ 3 9 4+ B
notes: cc +2, hyperdrive (5+/10), 450 troops
ODIN carrier (C) 5/100 2 1 C 3+ 2 6 5+ D
notes: cc +1, hyperdrive (6+/10), 4 fighter flights, 350 troops

73
 Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
9.0ADMIRALS & HEROES
If you wish, you may add flavor to your Starmada games
by including Admirals and Heroes, exceptional
crewmembers who improve the combat effectiveness of
their vessels.
The Admiral is the leader of the fleet; he is always
located on a Capital ship, and there is never more than
one per side. Admirals have a Tactics bonus and a
Leadership bonus. The Tactics bonus is added to his
sides initiative rolls, while his Leadership bonus is
added to all Morale Checks made by his side.
74
Heroes are those extraordinary individuals whose mere
presence has a profound effect upon the course of a
battle. Heroes also have a Leadership bonus, but they
are applied only to the ships carrying the heroes. In
addition, heroes have a Luck rating. Whenever a ship
carrying a hero is destroyed, roll 2D6if the result is
equal to or greater than the heros Luck rating, the ship
avoids destruction. There is no limit to the number of
heroes in a fleet, but there may only be one on each
ship, and Capital ships may never carry them.

Index
A measures
AFB see Anti-Fighter Battieries
Altitude...................................... 36
Also see Three-Dimensional
Movement
Anti-Fighter Batteries.................. 24
Armor Plating ............................. 24
Armored Gun Batteries ................ 24
B EWS see Electronic Warfare
Battery .................................. 7, 10
Battle Satellites.......................... 24
Boarding Pods ............................ 27
Also see Marines
Bogeys ...................................... 42
Scanning for ...................... 42
C Combat ............................. 16
Cargo Bays................................. 25
Carronade.................................. 25
Class ..................................... 8, 11
Cloaking Device.......................... 25
Combat Rating.................... 7, 9, 20
Construction Bay ........................ 25
D Long Range ...................... 39
Damage ........................... 7, 10, 14
Crew Casualty............... 7, 15
Damage Roll ................. 7, 14
Effects of ........................... 15
Engine Hit ..................... 8, 14
Hull Hit .......................... 8, 14
Shield Hit....................... 8, 14
Special Equipment Hit... 9, 14
Types of ............................ 14
Weapon Hit ................... 9, 14
Damage Chart ...................... 10, 14
Creating ............................ 20
Damage Control.......................... 39
Decoys ...................................... 26
Defensive Rating ........................ 20
Dice ............................................ 7
Directional Diagram.......... 7, 10, 40
Directional Shielding .................. 39
Also see Shield Rating
DMG see Damage
Dogfighting ................................ 38
Also see Fighters
Drones....................................... 26
Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
E L
ECM see Electronic Counter-
Electronic Countermeasures ....... 26
Electronic Warfare System .......... 26
Emergency Thrust....................... 34
Engines ................................... 7, 9
SU Cost............................. 18
Evasive Action ............................ 34
Explosion Counters ............. 7, 8, 15
System
F Also see Mines
Facing ....................................... 34
Fighter Flight see Fighters
Fighters ................................. 8, 16
Alternate Initiative ............. 37
Custom.............................. 37
Dogfighting........................ 38
Fighter Bay........................ 26
Fighter Phase.................... 16
Kamikaze .......................... 36
Launch & Recovery........... 38
Movement ......................... 16
Screening.......................... 39
Stacking ............................ 16
Firing Arcs ............................. 8, 13
Force Size .................................. 11
Variable............................. 43
G Also see Shield Roll
Game Board ................................. 7
Floating ............................. 34
Leaving ....................... 13, 34
Setting Up ......................... 11
Size of ................................. 7
Game Components ....................... 7
Game Turn ............................. 8, 11
Glossary ...................................... 7
H
Heading ..................................... 32
Hull Points ......................... 8, 9, 17
Hyperspace................................ 35
Hyperdrive................... 21, 35
I
Introduction................................. 6
Ionic Shielding ........................... 26
75
Launch Bay ................................ 26
Line of Sight ........................... 8, 14
Long Range Fighters.................... 38
Also see Fighters
Long Range Sensors.................... 26
LRS see Long Range Sensors
M
Marines ..................................... 26
Medical Bay ............................... 27
Mines ........................................ 27
Minesweeper Array..................... 28
Movement............................ 12, 34
Maneuvers .................... 8, 12
Movement Orders ... 8, 12, 32
Movement Points ..................
.......................... 8, 12, 18, 31
Three-Dimensional............ 36
Vector................................ 31
MPs see Movement Points
O
Offensive Rating ......................... 20
Organic Hull ............................... 28
Overthrusters............................. 28
P
Passengers................................ 28
PDS see Point-Defense System
Point-Defense System ................. 28
PEN see Penetration
Penetration............................ 8, 10
Phase .................................... 8, 11
Pill Bug ........................................ 8
R
Ramming ................................... 35
Range.............................. 8, 10, 13
Expanded.......................... 40
Modifiers for ...................... 14
Rate of Fire............................. 8, 10
Redundant Shielding .................. 28
Repair Bay ................................. 28
ROF see Rate of Fire
Rolls.......................................... 36
S
Scenarios .................. 8, 14, 49, 60
Objectives ......................... 42
Options.............................. 41
Science Lab ............................... 29

Screens ..................................... 40
Also see Shield Rating
Security Teams .......................... 27
Also see Marines
Sensor Lock ............................... 41
Sequence of Play .................... 8, 11
Shield Rating.................... 8, 14, 18
Defensive Rating Factor.... 20
Directional Shielding ......... 39
Overloading Shields .......... 40
Screens ............................. 40
Shield Roll ............................. 8, 14
Shields see Shield Rating
Shipboard Combat ...................... 27
Also see Marines
Shockwave ................................ 29
Spinal Mount .............................. 29
Anime-Style....................... 29
Side ............................................ 8
Space Units................................ 17
Starmada
The Universal Game of Starship Combat
Special Equipment..........................
.................... 9, 10, 14, 19, 24
Starship....................................... 9
Attacks on Fighters ........... 16
Construction...................... 17
Designs ....................... 49, 60
Destroyed.......................... 15
Placement ......................... 11
Stacking ...................... 13, 34
Starship Record...................... 9, 10
Stealth Generator ....................... 30
Stutterdrive ............................... 30
SUs see Space Units
Sunbursts .................................. 30
T Vehicle Bay ................................ 31
Tachyon Detection & Ranging ...... 30
TDAR see Tachyon Detection &
Ranging
Tech Levels ................................ 20
Technology see Tech Levels
Three-Dimensional Movement ..... 36
Also see Movement
76
To-Hit .................................... 9, 10
Evasive Action Modifiers ... 34
Range Modifiers................ 14
Screening Modifiers .......... 39
Sensor Lock Modifiers....... 41
To-Hit Roll ..................... 9, 14
Towing ...................................... 37
Troops....................................... 31
Also see Marines
Turn ............................................ 9
V
Vector Movement ....................... 31
Vector MP Cost Table ....... 33
Also see Movement
Victory Points......................... 9, 12
VPs see Victory Points
W
Weapons ............................. 10, 14
Designing ............... 19, 22-24
Weapon Abilities ........................ 22
Winning..................................... 12
 Starmada X Starship Record Sheet

I.D. I.D.

Hull Engines Shields Hull Engines Shields

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery A
Battery A
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery C
Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10

Copyright 2004 Majestic Twelve Games. All rights reserved. Players are given permission to copy this sheet for personal use only.
 Starmada X Starship Record Sheet
I.D. I.D.
Hull Engines Shields Hull Engines Shields
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Battery A

Battery A
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Battery B Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery B
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG
Battery C

Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment
Movement Orders Movement Orders
1 6 1 6
2 7 2 7
3 8 3 8
4 9 4 9
5 10 5 10
Copyright 2004 Majestic Twelve Games. All rights reserved. Players are given permission to copy this sheet for personal use only.
 Starmada X Starship Record Sheet

I.D. I.D.

Hull Engines Shields Hull Engines Shields

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery A
Battery A
Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery B
Battery B

Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG Weapon Type Range To-Hit ROF PEN DMG

Battery C
Battery C
Special Equipment Special Equipment

Movement Orders Movement Orders

1 6 1 6

2 7 2 7

3 8 3 8

4 9 4 9

5 10 5 10

Copyright 2004 Majestic Twelve Games. All rights reserved. Players are given permission to copy this sheet for personal use only.