A couple of months ago, an announcement posted to TMP caught my eye. It was a preview of a new set of rules called Galleys and Galleons. It provides for naval battles for 1-5 ships per side using the Song of Blades and Heroes system. My response was "genius!" While I'm not fond of the SBH scale (individual figures vs. units) I found the activation system intriguing (and used it in my latest medieval rules). When I read about G&G I realized that the SBH activation would be excellent for small "fleets" of ships, which then turned my thoughts to space fleets. I began to think about taking G&G when it was released and modifying it to a spaceship game. Imagine my surprise and joy when I accidentally stumbled across a post on The Stronghold Rebuilt about a set of rules called Void and Stars, which featured space battles for small fleets using the SBH system. Alas, it appears those rules never went beyond the playtest stage. Nevertheless, I have been inspired to try my hand at writing up a basic set of SBH-inspired rules for space battles.
I do have one problem - no ships. I picked up a bunch of ships last year, but changed my mind and decided that they would not really do for fleet actions. Fortunately, The Stronghold Rebuilt has provided inspiration with scratch-built ships. I plan to make 2 small fleets out of balsa wood, although I may make some paper counters first.
'Void and Stars' had some good points. But its fundamental flaw was that the activation system just didn't work - ships flew in a straight line for a fixed distance if they missed their activation roll, which left a fleet without top-notch command and control flying smack into planets or in a way that utterly ignored the enemy.
ReplyDeleteIn addition the damage system was a little clumsy, although at the stage the author stopped working on it there had been some moves to streamline it a little.
As a game it was about 50-60% there.
Every so often I have a look at it and consider how I might rewrite key bits of it. One day I'll actually give it a go.
Thanks for the info. I'll keep it in mind as I tinker.
ReplyDeleteInspired by your post I wrote down the musings I've had on activation in 'Void and Stars' into a blog post:
ReplyDeletehttp://hordesofthethings.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/void-and-stars-alternative-activation.html