NEW RULES
T his chapter provides new rules to try in games of A Call to Arms, increasing the tactical demands placed on players.
The A rmy of Light
Since the fi rst days of A Call to Arms, players have been able to combine League races into a single fl eet. However, this is not really appropriate for most battles, as the League only joined forces in a major way during the Dilgar Invasion. After that, they were just as likely to fi ght one another!Becau of this, combined League fl eets may now only include ships with an In Service Date of up to 2259. Players looking to create a multiracial fl eet after this may instead u the Army of Light.
An Army of Light fl eet may u ships from any of the following fl eet lists:
Earth Alliance: Dawn of the Third Age Minbari Federation Narn Regime
Interstellar Alliance Abbai Matriarchy Brakiri Syndicracy Drazi Freehold Gaim Intelligence pak’ma’ra
Vree Conglomerate
When choosing ships for an Army of Light fl eet, the following rules must be obeyed.
G You may only choo ships (and their variants) from the
following list:
Army of Light Ships
Earth Alliance: Aurora Starfuries, Hyperion, Nova, Olympus, Omega, Thunderbolt Starfuries Minbari Federation: Flyers, Nials, Sharlin Narn Regime: Frazis, G’Quan, T’Loth ISA: Aurora Starfuries, Minbari Flyers, Nials, Thunderbolt Starfuries, White Star, White Star II
Abbai Matriarchy: Bimith
Brakiri Syndicracy: Avioki
Drazi Freehold: Breaching Pods, Sky Serpent, Sunhawk,
Warbird
Gaim Intelligence: Klikkita, Sataaka
pak’ma’ra: Halik
Vree Conglomerate: Xill, Xorr
The Army of Light must include ships from
at least two different fl eets.
G Whenever the ships of different races start working together,
there are always frictions and misunderstandings. The Initiative for the Army of Light will be +0. G The special rules for each fl eet are still ud as normal, but a
ship from one fl eet in the Army of Light may never benefi t or be penalid by the special rules of another fl eet.G Special rules for fl eets that affect campaigns are never ud
for an Army of Light, even on their own ships.
Battles in Hyperspace
Fighting a battle in hyperspace is always a mark of desperation for both sides in war. The discharge of high energies common in battle never bode well for vesls trying to navigate through this strange
realm and the slightest hit or over-ambitious manoeuvre can cau a ship to lo its lock-on to its hyperspace beacons and nd it wildly off cour, left to roam forever in the netherworld.
Initiating a fi ght in hyperspace is never part of a well conceived plan and is often done in great haste. This alone makes an already dangerous situation perilous for the ships involved. There is no training and no experience that can prime a Captain for the trials he will face if his superiors throw caution to the wind and order him into battle.
There has never been a battle in hyperspace that did not end in disaster for both sides.
Scenario: Almost any existing scenario may be played with the rules, making things a lot more demanding for the players. However, given the complexities of fi ghting in hyperspace, it can be presumed that players will already have a lot on their minds. It is therefore recommended that simpler scenarios are ud in conjunction with the rules, such as Call to Arms or Space Superiority.
Pre-Battle Preparation: No stellar debris is ever ud in scenarios using the hyperspace rules.Scenario Rules: The following rules are ud when fi ghting battles in hyperspace.The pulsing energy waves prevalent throughout hyperspace create havoc with nsors and other active systems.
Regardless of whether ships normally have the Stealth trait or not, all ships in hyperspace battles have Stealth 4+. Ships with no or low stealth will be shielded by hyperspace shockwaves, but they also disrupt tho ships who u active means to gain stealth.G It is vital for ships to maintain a lock-on to their navigational
beacons in hyperspace if they are to have any hope of fi nding
their way back to realspace. In the End Pha of every turn, every ship must make a Crew Quality check. If a ship rolls less than a total of 6, it has lost its lock on its beacon. A –1 penalty is incurred if the ship fi red any weapons in the turn. It also suffers another –1 penalty if it took any Special Actions and another –2 penalty if it is Crippled or Skeleton Crewed. A ship that has lost its lock-on may continue to fi ght in the battle but will count as destroyed for victory conditions at the end of the game (the crew will spend the rest of their lives wandering hyperspace, hopelessly looking for a route back to realspace).
G If a ship los its lock-on to the beacon, it may re-roll the
Crew Quality check in the End Pha so long as it is within 10” of a at least one friendly ship that is still locked on. Ships with the Advanced Jump Engine trait may re-roll the Crew Quality check if they are within 15” of a friendly ship.G Any weapon described as a torpedo or missile will lo any
AP or Super AP trait it normally posss.G Players may not keep ships in rerve in realspace, to be
brought into hyperspace. It is impossible to open a point into hyperspace with any real degree of accuracy and even ships with Advanced Jump Points are unlikely to appear anywhere near the battlefi eld. All ships prent in the fl eet must be deployed at the start of the fi ght. Ships are free to make a Tactical Withdrawal as normal, by opening a jump point into realspace.Victory and Defeat: As scenario being played. However, if you are playing a campaign game, every surviving ship should be awarded an extra Experience Dice, regardless of whether it was on the winning or losing side in the battle – they are lucky to be alive and will have earned the admiration of their peers.Shadows, Vorlons and Ancients: Ships from the fl eets will never lo their lock-on (in effect, they do not require it anyway).
Breaking Down Fleet Allocation Points
As well as using the Fleet Allocation table above, you can u a single Fleet Allocation Point to buy ships of multiple Priority Levels, as shown on the table below.
You can keep splitting a Fleet Allocation Point as many times as you like, but you may only ever split one of the smaller Fleet Allocation Points down further.
You cannot therefore split a War level point to get two Battle level points, and then split both of thes
e into four Raid level points, in order to get more ships than would otherwi be allowed. You could, however, just split one of the new Battle level points.
Flights and Ships
The maximum number of fl ights that may make contact with a ship’s stem in a single turn (such as when making suicide runs or boarding) is equal to the starting Damage of the ship, divided by ten, plus two. Always round down.
So for example, an Omega destroyer getting hammered by incoming Klikkitaks would face a maximum of six fl ights each turn.
Flights and Victory Points
Flights of fi ghters launched from ships do not yield Victory Points when destroyed. Only tho purchad as parate Wings from a fl eet list will give Victory Points.At the end of a battle, count how many fi ghter fl ights purchad as parate Wings have been destroyed. The opponent will be awarded full Victory Points for every Wing destroyed, regardless of exactly which Wing each fl ight came from , as if the Wing was a
ship of the same Priority Level.
NEW S HIP S
F
leets throughout the galaxy, reprenting the interests and
power projection of their governments, are constantly being updated and modifi ed. This chapter looks at the newest vesls to appear on the frontline.
Abbai Matriarchy
Though known throughout civilid space as pacifi sts who would do almost anything to avoid open confl ict, the Abbai rapidly came to understand that survival of an empire, particularly one as large as theirs, depended on a strong show of arms. Despite their innate reticence, Abbai weapons technology accelerated throughout the Third Age, with lessons from the Dilgar War and Shadow War learned, and then applied.
Skirmish
Often ud to lead Shyarie formations, the Fetula is clasd as a cutter but within Abbai fl eets rves in a gunship role. With powerful quad particle arrays, the Fetula often waits for the Shyaries to completely disrupt an enemy, before moving in to pound it into surrender. In larger battles, it often escorts Bimith defenders, adding its own fi repower to theirs.Speed: 10T urn: 2/45o Hull: 5
Damage: 12/3Crew: 13/3Troops: 1Craft: None
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 2, Shields 10/2
In Service: 2180+Weapon
Range Arc AD Special
Quad Particle Array
8F 8T win-Linked Quad Particle Array
8A 8T win-Linked Quad Particle Array
8P 8T win-Linked Quad Particle Array
8
S
8
T win-Linked
Brakiri Syndicracy
As one of the richest governments in the galaxy, the Brakiri stand just below the ‘major’ powers.
Their military is extremely well-equipped and, ship-for-ship, they stand comparable to the Earth Alliance, though they have proportionally much lower defence spending, resulting in a smaller fl eet. They stand as a race with great potential.
Skirmish
As the u of gravitic shifters becomes better understood by Brakiri admirals, so does the spread of the weapon increa throughout the fl eet. The Haltana is built upon the reliable Halik hull, and sports veral shifters, making it a superb ‘spoiling’ frigate, disrupting enemy plans, and perhaps literally shaking ships to pieces.Speed: 8T urn: 2/45o Hull: 5
Damage: 36/8Crew: 42/8Troops: 3Craft: None
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 1In Service: 2262+Weapon Range Arc AD Special
Graviton Pulsar 12F 8AP , T win-Linked Gravitic Shifter 12F —Gravitic Shifter Gravitic Shifter 12P —Gravitic Shifter Gravitic Shifter 12P —Gravitic Shifter Gravitic Shifter 12S —Gravitic Shifter Gravitic Shifter
12
S
—
Gravitic Shifter
Centauri Republic
The fate of the Centauri Republic has been a roller-coaster of destiny. Once covering a sizeable part of the known galaxy, the Centauri have known both great victories and crushing defeat. As both the Earth Alliance and ISA ro in power and prominence, the Republic was cut off behind its own borders, in an exile that was mostly lf-impod. Throughout all of this, the Centauri have managed to remain one of the leaders in
space combat technologies.
Skirmish
A powerful frigate, the Amar los the battle lar of the Darkner,
but sports hangars that are truly extensive for a ship of this size.
Placed within long-ranged strike fleets, the Amar supports the
attack force with its fi ghters before adopting a more traditional
frigate role with its matter cannon. The Amar’s jump engines
ensure it is a vital craft for strikes of this nature.
Speed: 12
T urn: 2/45o
Hull: 4
Damage: 25/6
Crew: 30/6
Troops: 2
Craft: 4 Sentri fl ights
Special Rules:
Carrier 2, Jump
Engine
In Service:
2249+
Weapon
Range Arc AD Special
Matter Cannon15F6AP, Double
Damage
Earth Alliance – Third Age
Despite the need to recover from both the Earth-Minbari War
and its own Civil War, the Earth Alliance of the Third Age is
riding high, confi dent of itlf and sure of its power. With a
backbone of Omega destroyers and older Hyperion cruirs,
Earthside R&D constantly looks for an edge, and many
new hulls regularly leave spacedock, designed for ever more
specialid roles.
Tantalus-class Assault Cruir
Raid
The Tantalus is a military assault warship ud by the Earth
Alliance, though never in large numbers. Capable of carrying four
full battalions into battle, the T antalus has enough assault shuttles
on board to transport all of its troops planetside in less than an
hour, while maintaining its own fi ghter escort. In later years,
the Starfuies were replaced by Thunderbolts, in order to provide
fi ghter cover to the shuttles all the way through the atmosphere.
Speed: 6
T urn: 1/45o
Hull: 5
Damage: 45/10
Crew: 52/12
Troops: 12
Craft: 2 Aurora Starfury fl ights
and 2 Breaching Pod fl ights
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 2,
Interceptors 2, Jump Engine,
Lumbering, Shuttles 4
In Service: 2248+
Weapon Range Arc AD Special
Heavy Pul
Cannon
12F8T win-
Linked
Medium Pul
Cannon
10A4T win-
Linked
Heavy Pul
Cannon
12P10T win-
Linked
Heavy Pul
Cannon
12S10T win-
Linked
Earth Alliance – Crusade Era
With the ont of the Drakh Plague and the Crusade to save
Mankind’s homeworld, the Earth Alliance has become more
aggressive. Unwilling to reveal the slightest weakness to its rivals,
EarthForce has stepped up to a war footing, though there is no
clear enemy to fi ght. Other governments look on nervously as
Earth’s fl eets expand and are now en throughout the galaxy.
Skirmish
Replacing the heavy pul cannon batteries with an advanced
network of point defence systems, the Chronos escort frigate
is a superlative companion for larger vesls. Tough and able
to add its own railguns to any sustained bombardment of an
enemy ship, it also provides superior anti-fi ghter cover.
Speed: 8
T urn: 2/45o
Hull: 6
Damage: 16/3
Crew: 18/5
Troops: 2
Craft: None
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 6,
Interceptors 2, Escort
In Service: 2271+
Weapon Range Arc AD Special
Railgun15T4AP, Double Damage
Chronos-class Missile Frigate (Variant) Skirmish
An attempt to combine the toughness of the Chronos hull with a
design that could withstand long-ranged attacks while launching
its own, the missile frigate is a light bombardment vesl. Intended
to be ud alongside an Apollo or as part of a squadron, it is a
support vesl rather than a frontline attack craft.
Speed: 8
T urn: 2/45o
Hull: 6
Damage: 16/3
Crew: 18/5
Troops: 2
Craft: None
Special Rules: Anti-Fighter 2, Interceptors 2
In Service: 2302+
S C EN A R I O S
T
his chapter introduces a variety of new scenarios for your games, each designed to test your tactical intellect! Not all are completely ‘fair’, and each prents a new t of challenges. Master the battles, and you can call yourlf a true master of the game.
G ravity Well
A recent battle saw the loss of the fl agship for one fl eet, but distress signals have been picked up from the admiral’s lifeboat. The signals are being transmitted from within an asteroid that encircles a dangerously volatile star. A rescue attempt is launched immediately, but it soon becomes clear that the enemy have picked up the signals too, and are interested in having a little ‘chat’ with the admiral.Fleets: Both fl eets have three Fleet Allocation Points.
Pre-Battle Preparation: Roll for Initiative as normal – the losing fl eet will be forced to t up fi rst. Th
e fl eets are deployed anywhere
in their own deployment zones as shown on the scenario map.
Scenario Rules: The asteroid fi eld is Density 7. Any ship (not fi ghter fl ight) that is within the asteroid fi eld during the End Pha and did not perform any Special Actions in that turn may arch for the admiral by rolling one dice – a bonus of +1 is added to this roll if any friendly fi ghter fl ights are within 6” of the ship and are also within the asteroid fi eld. On
the roll of a 6, the admiral’s lifeboat has been found, and he will be immediately transported to the ship.
