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Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

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Page 1: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book
Page 2: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 2Game Components 3

Terms Important For Pilots 4Game Setup 6Sequence Of Play 6Movement 7

Moves Possible 7Stacking Counters 7Number Of Moves Per Turn 7Recording Movement 8How Damage Affects Movement 8

Fuel Supply 8Using Fuel 8Recording Fuel Use 8Recording Damage To Fuel Supply 8

Firing Weapon Systems 9Weapon Types 9Firing Arcs 9Determining Weapon Hits 9How Damage Affects Weapon Firing 10

Damage From Hits 11Determining Damage 11The Damage Display 11The System Status Display 13The Fuel Supply Display 13

Damage Descriptions 13Damage Conflict From Multiple Hits 17Replacing Cylons 17

Asteroids 18Placing Asteroid Counters 18Movement Through Asteroids 18Asteroids And Weapon Fire 18

Skill Rolls And Increasing Skills 19Skill Rolls 19Using Gunnery Skill 19Creating Experienced Pilots And Gunners 19Increasing Skill And Program Efficiency 19Familiar Fighter Bonus 20

Using Base Ships 20Base Ship Construction 21Firing Base Ship Lasers 21Base Ship Incoming Fire 21Destroying A Base Ship 22Fighter Take-Offs 22Fighter Landings 22Crashing Into Base Ships 23

The Games 23Fighter Duel 23Mass Attack . 23Campaign Game 23

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

DesignerJordan Weisman

Co-DesignerL. Ross Babcock, III

DevelopmentWm. John WheelerForest Brown

Writing And EditingWm. John Wheeler

PlaytestingMichael BledsoeChris FellButch LeeperEllen WilkersonMartin GantDavid GerhartMitchell Korsky

ProductionGraphics And Artwork

Dana KnutsonLayout

Jordan WeismanTypesetting

Karen Vander MeyProofreading

Donna Ippolito

INTRODUCTION

Battle Alert! Scramble Vipers!Deep-space scanners show a Cylon Baseship lurking

near an asteroid field. Its Raiders have been launched, andthe fight is on. Can you, as a Colonial pilot fly your Viper ina successful mission against the dreaded and deadly Cylons?Can you fly your fighter skillfully enough to put the enemyin your sights without colliding with an asteroid? Will yoube able to fire your lasers and torpedoes accurately enough

to destroy the Cylon Raider before the Cylon crew can huntyou down and destroy your fighter?

This boardgame simulates the fast-paced action offighter combat from the television series Battlestar Galactica.It may be played by one or more gamers, taking either theColonial human side or the Cylon side. Players may man anyof 3 types of fighters or play the base ships of the side theychoose.

1979 Universal City Studios, Inc. All Rights reserved.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA *a trademark of and licensedby Universal City Studios, Inc.

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Page 3: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

GAME COMPONENTS

RULE BOOKThis rule book gives all the information and data needed

to learn and play this exciting game It is written simply, witheach step thoroughly explained, and it has many illustrationsso that new gamers can learn how to play easilyPLAYING BOARD

Three 17" by 22" starfield mapsheets form the playingsurface for the game Each has a grid of 6-sided areas calledhexagons, or just hexes The six hex-sides are used to deter-mine a fighter's heading for movement and the way its gunsare pointed for firing

One of the mapsheets shows only stars, this 'blank' sheetis used in all versions of the game, and is the only one usedin the fighter duel game The other two mapsheets show thebase ships for both sides, one showing Battlestar Galacticaand the other the Cylon BaseshipPLAYING COUNTERS

There are three types of 1-inch-wide, 6-sided, coloredcounters that are used in this game They show the 6 kindsof fighters, asteroid clusters, and explosions

18 Viper CountersThe Galactica pilots fly the Viper, which is shown in the

illustration There are three types, as shown by the smallnumber on the counter The pilot also is the gunner

18 Raider CountersThe Cylon pilots fly the Raider shown in the illustration

It is just as powerful as the Viper, but it takes damage in adifferent way It also has three models Three Cylons are inthe cockpit, one gunner, one pilot, and one standby TheCylon player chooses which Cylon will do which job

Asteroid ClustersTwo huge asteroid clusters are provided, and 29 small

clusters The huge clusters are 7 times as big as the smallerclusters

20 Explosion CountersWhen a fighter blows up, one these counters is placed

on top of it, and when a base ship takes damage, one ofthese counters shows this Fires in the landing bays orlaunching bays also are shown by these counters

GAME SHEETSA pad of 2-sided Game Sheets is provided for recording

movement and damage One side of each sheet has the in-formation used by the Viper pilot, and the other has theinformation used by the Raider pilot

DICETwo 6-sided dice are provided for resolving combat and

damage One of these dice is red and the other is whiteSometimes one is rolled (the color does not matter), and atother times both are rolled Dice rolls are required to resolveweapon fire and to determine damage The colors make adifference when damage is determined

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Page 4: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

TERMS IMPORTANT FOR PILOTS

Before any pilot can really understand these rules, thereare a few terms that he should learn This section gives themeanings of these terms all in one place The definition formost of these terms is repeated the first time it is mentionedin the rules Pilots who do not understand the way a term isused in other parts of the rules can look it up here easily

ASTEROID CLUSTERPilots may fly into this cluster of space debris, and they

may shoot from it or into it, but both of these tasks are harderthan normalBASESHIP

This huge ship is the home base of the Cylon Raiderpilots It has launching bays, landing bays, and laser turretsIt is used in the Mass Attack game or the Campaign GameThough it has many lasers, the targeting system is not asaccurate as the fighter laser system It may seem invulnera-ble, but accurate hits can destroy itBATTLESTAR GALACTICA

This huge ship is the home base of the human Viperpilots Like the Cylon Baseship, it has landing and launchingbays and lasers It, too, can be destroyed by accurate fire Itis used in the Mass Attack Game and the Campaign GameCOLLISION ROLL

When a fighter flies into an asteroid cluster, he must roll2 dice to see if his piloting is good enough to avoid collisionsIf the number is greater than or equal to his piloting SkillTarget, no collision occurs If a collision occurs, damage isrolled as if the fighter took a weapon hitDAMAGE

When a shot hits a fighter, it automatically takes somedamage Sometimes the damage will be light, and some-times heavy enough to make the fighter blow up! Usually,as the fighter takes damage, it becomes slower and hard tomaneuver, it also becomes harder to hit targets or to remainin control When the fighter takes enough damage, it will notbe able to fly any longer

The Damage Chart gives the exact effects, whether thedamage is given to the fuselage, the engines, the weapontargeting system, the life support system, the steering systern, or to the cockpit This damage is recorded on the GameSheet, in the Damage DisplayDAMAGE ROLL

This is a dice roll that is used to determine the damagethat results from a successful shot This damage is deter-mined by consulting the Damage Results Tables The red dietells which table to use, and the white die tells what the resultis Hits from some weapons change the table number to givemore or less damage than averageDAMAGE CHART

The Damage Chart tells what the effect of a successfulweapon shot does to the target On it are 36 different damageeffects in 6 tables The tables are numbered 1 - 6, the greaterthe table number, the greater the damageDISRUPTED

Whenever a Cylon Raider is hit, there is a chance thatone or more of the Cylons will experience a power surgethat temporarily disrupts its programming When this happens, the Cylon cannot function at its job If the pilot is disrupted, the Raider flies randomly If the gunner is disrupted,the lasers fire randomly Disrupted Cylons can come backon line by making a successful Skill RollFIRING ARC

Lasers and torpedoes have fixed firing arcs They onlyfire directly in front of the fighter or slightly left and right

FUEL SUPPLYThe fuel supply is what allows the fighter to move and

fire, each fighter has 30 fuel points As the game progresses,the fighter has less and less fuel, either because it has beenused, or because its fuel tanks have been damaged Whenits fuel supply is gone, a fighter may not move or fire In thecampaign game, the fighter can be refueled Fuel use anddamage to the fuel supply is shown in the Fuel Record boxesbelow the Damage DisplayFUSELAGE

The fuselage is the plasmetal that forms the body, thetailfins, the canopy, and all that holds the fighter togetherIt is the easiest part of a target to hit, but it can take moredamage than other parts of the craft before the damage be-comes critical Damage to the fuselage is recorded in theFuselage wedge of the Damage DisplayGAME TURN

A game turn begins when pilots record their moves andends after all shots have been resolved Fighters are limitedin the number of movements, steering changes, and weaponshots they may make in a game turnLASER

The weapon with the longest range and the best chanceto hit is the laser Depending on the type, a fighter may have1, 2, or 3 lasers Lasers may be rearmed and fired again ineach new game turn Damage to the laser firing system isrecorded on the left side of the Game SheetLIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

This is the complex electronic and electrical system thatcontrols the oxygen and heat necessary to keep Viper pilotsalive Damage to this system is recorded in the Cockpit wedgeof the Damage Display

Cylon fighters do not have this systemMOVEMENT

Movements are the way the fighters go from place toplace on the mapsheet Forward movements cause thefighter to move straight ahead Direction changes, called vec-tor changes, cause the fighter to move forward and thenrotate either right or left, these are used to steer the fighterin one direction or another Undamaged Vipers and Raiderscan make up to 3 movements without turbos and 6 move-ments with turbosPROGRAM EFFICIENCY

For Cylon pilots, program efficiency replaces pilotingskill or gunnery skill In advanced scenarios or the CampaignGame, program efficiency is used to help the Cylon restorefull functioning after being disrupted and to fire weaponsmore accurately It also is used to remove movement restric-tions and to avoid collisions See SKILL ROLLRAIDER

This is the Cylon fighter The Mark I has 3 very accuratelasers and the most efficient turbo thruster The Mark II has2 lasers and 2 torpedoes The Mark III has 1 laser and 4 veryaccurate torpedoes, its turbo thruster is the least efficient

Three Cylons fly in the cockpit One is the fighter's pilot,another the gunner, and the third is a standby Any of thethree Cylons can do either job, as the Cylons take damage,it is up to the player to decide which one does which jobSKILL

In determining if collisions occur in asteroid clusters,Viper pilots use their piloting Skill New pilots have a pilotingskill of 0 Successful missions add to their piloting skill Pilot-ing skill also is used when making Skill Rolls in advancedscenarios or the Campaign Game See SKILL ROLL

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Page 5: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

In advanced scenarios or the Campaign Game, humanpilots also have gunnery skill, which allows them to fireweapons more accurately Beginning pilots have a gunneryskill of 0 Successful missions increase this value, which de-creases the base To-Hit NumberSKILL ROLL

In advanced scenarios, whenever damage to the fighterresults in movement restrictions or whenever the fighter fliesinto asteroid clusters, it is the pilot's piloting skill or programefficiency that is used to remove the restriction or to avoida collision Then 2 dice are rolled If the number rolled isgreater than or equal to the Skill Target, the roll was success-ful, if the number rolled is less than the Skill Target, the rollfailed

A successful Skill Roll allows the pilot to remove themovement restriction (stabilizer damage, heading changerestriction, turbo thrusters out, or speed change restriction),and allows him to fly the fighter normally in the next turnA successful Skill Roll allows the pilot to avoid collisionswith asteroid clusters

Successful Skill Rolls for Cylons allow them to restorenormal functioning after their programs have been disruptedSKILL TARGET

The piloting Skill Target is determined by subtractingthe piloting Skill or Program Efficiency from 7 This is usedin making Skill Rolls, Collision Rolls, and rolls to restoreCylon program functioning after it has been disruptedSTABILIZER

The stabilizer controls the direction that the fighter willfly If it takes damage, the pilot has no control over wherehis fighter will goTO-HIT NUMBER

This is the number that a pilot needs to roll for a success-ful shot with any weapon In general, the following is trueabout To-Hit Numbers

The farther away the target, the higher the To-HitNumber

Targets or firing ships that have moved using turboshave higher To-Hit Numbers

Shooting from or into asteroids gives higher To-Hit Num-bers

The greater the skill (program) of the gunner, the lowerthe To-Hit Number More experienced pilots and gunnershave lower To Hit NumbersTO-HIT ROLL

This is a roll with two dice that is used to determine ifthe pilot's shot hit the enemy The roll is successful if it isgreater than or equal to the To-Hit Number

TORPEDOIn general, the torpedo gives more damage than the

laser, with more chances to hit the cockpit or to destroy thetarget Depending on the type, a fighter may have 0, 2, or 4

torpedoes in its rack The Mark III Vipers and Raiders, whichcarry 4 torpedoes, have specially designed torpedo firingsystems that are quite accurate After a torpedo has beenfired, it is gone Damage to the torpedo firing system is re-corded on the left side of the Game Sheet In the campaigngame, fighters may reload torpedoes if they landTURBO

Each fighter has a turbo thruster system that allows itto make extra movements An undamaged fighter may make3 movements without the turbo thruster and 6 with the turbothruster Movement with the thruster uses fuel more rapidlythan without it When the fighter takes damage, it cannotuse its turbos as well, as shown in the Engines Wedge ofthe Damage Display Damage to the turbo thruster itself isrecorded in the upper left corner of the Game SheetTURN

In this game, this word only refers to one game turnSteering (turning) the nose of the fighter is called making avector change to avoid confusionUNCONSCIOUSNESS ROLL

When a Viper pilot takes more than two wounds, he maypass out Then he cannot perform his job If the pilot passesout, the craft flies randomly, and no weapons may be fired

To determine if this happens, 2 dice are rolled On thethird hit, if the roll is equal to or greater than 8, the roll issuccessful On the fourth hit, if the roll is equal to or greaterthan 10, the roll is successful On the fifth hit, if the roll isequal to or greater than 12, the roll is successful

If the roll is successful, then the pilot does not lose con-sciousness If he is unconscious already, he regains con-sciousnessVECTOR CHANGE

When a pilot steers (turns) the nose of his fighter in adifferent direction, he makes a vector change This pointsthe nose of his fighter to the right or the left of the way hewas facing Gentle vector changes turn the nose of the fighteronly slightly, but hard vector changes turn it a great deal

A vector change can only be made AFTER the fighterhas been moved forward, and so a fighter cannot spin inplace

Vector changes are recorded m the Movement Log Dam-age to the steering mechanism is recorded in the SteeringControls wedge of the Game Sheet Damage DisplayVIPER

This is the fighter from the Galactica It is flown by asingle human pilot who also fires its weapons Like the CylonRaider, Mark I Viper has 3 very accurate lasers and the mostefficient turbo thruster system The Mark II has 2 lasers and2 torpedoes The Mark III, designed as a torpedo ship, has 1laser (the least accurate) and 4 torpedoes, its torpedo firingsystem is the most accurate but its turbo thruster system isthe least efficient

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Page 6: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

Players first should choose sides, trying to keep thenumber of players on a side as close to the same as possibleThen they choose which game they will play, Fighter Duel,Mass Attack, or the Campaign GameLAYING OUT PLAYING BOARD

Depending on the game, one or more starfield mapsheets are laid out on a flat surface between the players

For Fighter Duel games, only one mapsheet is used, theone with nothing on it but stars There is no special way thissheet must be laid out

For the advanced scenarios of the Mass Attack game,two mapsheets are laid out - one showing the ship beingattacked, either Battlestar Galactica or the Cylon Baseship,and the blank mapsheet The illustration below shows howthese sheets are put together to make the playing surfaceThe mapsheet with the ship should be closest the playerplaying it

For the Campaign Game, all three mapsheets are laidout, so that Battlestar Galactica and the Cylon Baseship areshown The illustration shows how the sheets fit togetherPLACING PLAYING COUNTERS

Players select their fighter counters and place them onthe mapsheet The rules for this are given in the sections onthe various games

If asteroids are to be used, players determine how manywill be laid out Then the asteroids are placed on the mapsheet The rules for this are given in the section on Asteroids

This completes the setup for the gameFILLING OUT GAME SHEETS

Each Viper or Raider pilot takes a Game Sheet to recordmovement and damage, this is filled out as described belowMost steps for filling out the Game Sheet are identical forViper pilots and Raider pilots Where they differ, the differ-ences are notedRecording Viper Pilot Data1 In the upper right corner, fill in the pilot's Piloting SkillFor new pilots, this is 02 Subtract the Piloting Skill from 7 to find the Piloting SkillTarget Record this number in the space provided3 Fill in the pilot's Gunnery Skill For new pilots, this is 0Recording Cylon Data1 In the Cockpit wedge of the Damage Display, for eachCylon, record the Program Efficiency For new Cylons, thisis 02 For each Cylon, mark an X on the OPER circle to showthat it is operational3 Choose which Cylon will be the pilot, circle the P to showthis4 Of the remaining two Cylons, choose which will be thegunner, circle the G to show this5 Circle the S to show that the last Cylon is on standbyChoosing A Fighter

There are three types of fighters, with the Viper and theRaider being equal for each type Type I is designed for fast,maneuverable dogfights, it has only lasers, but they are thebest available Type II is an all-purpose fighter, with bothlasers and torpedoes, its turbos are of average efficiencyand its weapons do not fire as well as either of the morespecialized fighters Type II is a torpedo gunship, it has theleast efficient turbos and only one laser, but it has 4 torpedoesin its rack, and they fire very accurately The table belowcompares the three types

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Recording The Fighter Data1 At the top center of the sheet, circle the fighter type2 In the Systems Status Display at the left of the Game Sheet,record the turbo fuel cost in the blank provided in the TurboStatus Box Make an X on the OPER circle to show that theturbo thrusters are operational3 In the Laser Status Box, for each laser that the fighter has,make an X on the OPER circle to show that the system isoperational Cross off any extra laser systems4 In the Torpedo Status Box, make an X on the OPER circleto show that the system is operational Cross off any extratorpedoes, or the whole system if using a Type I Viper orRaider5 In the Targeting wedge of the Damage Display, fill in theWeapon Base numbers, beginning with the outer arc, andadding 1 to the Weapon Base for each arc toward the center

Recording Movement1 Viper and Raider pilots choose their movements and recordthem secretly on the Game Sheet They cross off fuel boxesto show their move

Moving The Fighters2. Vipers and Raiders are moved If any have stabilizer damage or are moving randomly, one die is rolled for each move-ment to determine direction3 If any fighter flies into an asteroid cluster or attempts toland, a collision Skill Roll is made If a collision occurs, dam-age is rolled

Resolving Fire4 Fire from Vipers, Raiders, Battlestar Galactica, and theCylon Baseship is resolved Damage is recorded by thetargets5 Fighters or asteroid clusters that have been destroyed areremoved from the game6 Explosion counters are placed on the Battlestar or theCylon Baseship to show successful hits7 Rolls are made for steering restrictions, weapon damage,and unconsciousness for the next turn, this lasts for at least1 turn

Skill Rolls8 Skill Rolls are made to remove steering restrictions, tobecome conscious, or to restore full program efficiency fromdamage taken m previous turns

Continuing Game9 Repeat steps 1 through 9 until one side is the winner

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Comparison Between Fighter Types

Type

Mark IMark IIMark III

Lasers

Number

321

WeaponBase

234

Torpedoes Turbo FuelCost

Number

024

WeaponBase-63

234

GAME SETUP

Page 7: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

MOVEMENT

MOVES POSSIBLEThere are five ways that a fighter may move It may go

straight ahead It may make a gentle turn to the left or right,these turns are called vector changes so they will not beconfused with the words game turn It also may make a hardvector change to the left or right It must move, though itmay end up in the same place, it cannot stay where it is norcan it spin in place

To go from place to place on the mapsheet, fighters usefrom 1 to 6 movements Each of these movements is de-scribed below, beside an illustration that shows how eachlooks on the mapsheet

Forward MovementThe fighter moves into the hex that its nose points to-

ward It can never move in reverse This movement may becombined with any other movement, as long as damagedoes not prohibit it

Changing DirectionIn order to change the direction it is heading, the fighter

must first move forward, it cannot spin in place Whenevera vector change is made, the fighter counter first movesstraight ahead into the hex that its nose points toward Thenit rotates left or right 1 hex-side for a gentle vector changeor 2 hex-sides for a hard vector change

A gentle vector change costs 1 of a fighter's movements,a hard vector change costs 2 movements Undamaged fight-ers may make up to 3 vector changes in a turn, damaged

fighters may not be able to make that many One vectorchange may be combined with another or with forwardmovement, as long as damage does not prohibit it

STACKING COUNTERSMore than one fighter may occupy the same hex on the

mapsheet They are assumed to be at different elevationswith respect to one another, and they will not collide Whenthis occurs, simply stack the counters one on top of another

If asteroids are used and a fighter flies into a hex contain-ing an asteroid counter, simply stack the fighter on top ofthe asteroidNUMBER OF MOVES PER TURNNormal Movement

As long as it is undamaged, a Viper or a Raider maymake up to 3 movements in a game turn using normal en-gines This means that it may move in any pattern the pilotdesires, as long as it makes no more than 3 gentle vectorchanges It can only make 1 hard vector change when usingnormal engines, because the hard vector change costs 2movements The fighter may move straight ahead, makegentle vector changes, or make a hard vector change, or anycombination A pilot does not have to make all 3 movementsIf he chooses, he may make 1 or 2, but he must make at leastone If the pilot chooses, a fighter may be moving 3 hexesone turn and 1 hex the next

When a fighter takes enough damage, the number ofnormal movements it can make will be reduced When it canno longer move, it blows up!

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Page 8: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

Turbo MovementAs long as it is undamaged, a Viper or a Raider may

make up to 6 movements in a game turn using its turbothrusters This costs more fuel than normal movement, butit means that the fighter may make 6 movements in anypattern the pilot desires as long as he does not make morethan 3 vector changes (either gentle or hard)Vector Changes

As long as it is undamaged, any fighter may make 3vector changes in a game turn This means that it can changedirections up to 3 times in any direction the pilot desires Itmay make no vector changes, 1 change, 2 changes, or 3changes The choice is up to the pilot

Gentle vector changes cost 1 movement, just like movingforward Hard vector changes cost 2 movements This meansthat a fighter may make 3 gentle vector changes using its 3normal movements, but only ONE hard vector change Onlywhen a fighter uses its turbos can it make more than 1 hardvector change Making 3 hard vector changes in the sameturn allows the fighter to make a complete circleRECORDING MOVEMENT

Movement is recorded on the Movement Log at the bot-tom of the Game Sheet The Movement Log is made up oflines showing arrows and dots, these lines are called Move-ment Records Each Movement Record has 3 groups of sym-bols, each with 1 left arrow, 1 dot, and 1 right arrow To theleft of each Movement Record is a blank and a circle

In each game turn, after a pilot decides on his move-ments, he writes the turn number in the blank beside theMovement Record where he will record his movement If hewill use his turbos, he may need 2 Movement Records togive him enough groups to show his movement In this case,he numbers them both

Second, if he is using his turbos, he crosses off the circleto the left of the Movement Record to show this

Then, he draws circles around the arrows or dots toshow what he wants to do for each movement he will makeHe makes only one circle per group of symbols, but he may(if his fighter is not damaged) draw a circle in as many as 6groups

Forward movement is recorded by drawing a circlearound the dot in the Movement Record A gentle vectorchange left is recorded by drawing a circle around the leftarrow in the Movement Record A gentle vector change rightis recorded by drawing a circle around the right arrow in the

Movement Record A hard vector change left is shown bydrawing a circle around the left arrow and the dot in theMovement Record A hard vector change right is shown bydrawing a circle around the right arrow and the dot in theMovement Record

The illustration shows how to record each type of move-ment on the Game Sheet

HOW DAMAGE AFFECTS MOVEMENTDamage to the fighter's engines or fuselage may prevent

it from making 3 normal movements, or even from making2 movements It might also prevent the fighter from making6 or even 5 movements with its turbo thrusters Damage tothe turbos themselves may prevent them from being usedfor the next turn, or even for the rest of the game Whenengine damage is so great that it can no longer move at all,the fighter explodes These things will be explained in theDamage From Hits section

Damage may reduce the number of movements possibleenough that the fighter cannot make any hard vectorchanges In addition, damage to the fighter's vector changesystem may prevent the pilot from heading in a particulardirection while he fixes the damage This will be explainedin the Damage Descriptions section

FUEL SUPPLY

It takes fuel to make the fighter move and to fire itsweapons Each fighter starts the game with 30 fuel pointsThese are shown in the Fuel Supply just below the DamageDisplay Each box stands for one fuel point As the fighteruses fuel or takes damage to the fuel tanks, these boxes arecrossed off When the Fuel Supply is at 0, the fighter cannotmove, fire, or produce the power necessary to keep the pilotaliveUSING FUEL

If a pilot chooses to make normal movement, his fighteruses 1 fuel point for the turn It does not matter how manymovements he makes, 3, 2, or 1, nor how many weaponshe fires, the cost is the same

If a pilot chooses to use turbos he uses 2, 3, or 4 fuelpoints, depending on the type of fighter he is flying Mark IVipers and Raiders use 2 fuel points when they use theirturbo thrusters Mark II fighters use 3 fuel points, and MarkIII turbos use 4 fuel points

It is obvious that the fighters are much more maneuver

able when they use their turbos, but they use fuel veryrapidly This cuts down the number of turns that the fightercan remain in the game before going dead in space or flyingback to base In the Fighter Duel Game, it is assumed thatthe Fuel Supply only shows the fuel available for the dogfight,and that the fighter will have enough fuel to fly back to baseif the pilot can get it off the starfield mapsheet before thefuel runs outRECORDING FUEL USE

After a pilot marks his movements, he crosses off 1 boxon the Fuel Supply to show that he is using only normalmovement If he is using his turbos, he crosses off the ap-propriate number of boxes to show thisRECORDING DAMAGE TO FUEL SUPPLY

Sometimes a successful hit from an enemy weapon willdamage the fuel tanks This damage may be as little as 1fuel point or as many as 10 fuel points Damage to the fueltanks is recorded by crossing off the appropriate number ofboxes8

Page 9: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

WEAPON TYPES

FIGHTERTYPE

Mark I

Mark II

Mark lll

WEAPON

LaserTorpedoLaserTorpedoLaserTorpedo

NUMBER

30

22

14

RANGE

11 hexes

10 hexes7 hexes9 hexes

10 hexes

WEAPONBASE

2

36

43

Fighter TypeMark IMark IIMark lll

Weapon BasesLaser Base

234

Torpedo Basenone

63

Each fighter has at least one laser, and it may also havetorpedoes. The following table compares the weapon sys-tems of each fighter.

Even though all the weapons fire in the same direction,shots are fired separately. Thus, a Viper II may fire both itslasers and both its torpedoes at the same target, or at asmany as 4 different targets.Lasers

Lasers may be fired once each game turn. If a laser sys-tem is damaged, that laser may not be fired for the remainderof the game.Torpedoes

Each torpedo can only be used once per game; after thetorpedo has been fired, it is gone. Torpedoes usually domore damage when they hit, having twice as much chanceas with a laser that a successful hit will explode the targetor hit the cockpit in one shot.Photon Missile

The photon torpedo has the shortest range of all 3weapons. When the fighter weapon system is undamaged,the torpedo can travel out to 8 hexes. Any target more than8 hexes away is out of effective range.FIRING ARCS

Each weapon has a firing arc, or the hexes into which itmay be fired. If an enemy fighter is not in the weapon's firingarc, then it is not a target.

Because all weapons are mounted to fire forward, thereis only 1 firing arc, which is straight ahead of the fighter. Inthe illustration, the shading shows which hexes are in thearc. In general, the arc includes the straight line of hexesthat begin at the counter; it also includes the straight line ofhexes to the left and to the right of this line. As you can see,each firing arc is 3 hexes wide.

DETERMINING WEAPON HITSDeclaring Targets

After all movement has taken place, pilots may fire theirweapons, if they desire. If an enemy fighter is in his firingarc, a pilot may choose to fire at it with one or more of hisweapons. If there are several enemies in his firing arc, hemay split his fire. He must declare which weapons will fireat which targets before any weapons fire is resolved.Resolving Fire

Weapons fire is resolved by rolling two dice and addingthe result together. This gives numbers between 2 and 12.For this game, the higher the numbers the better when firingweapons.Determining To-Hit Number

Each weapon type has a Weapon Base. This is thenumber that a pilot would have to roll to hit a target in thehex directly in front of the weapon. For undamaged fighters,the table below gives the Weapon Bases for each weapon.

To find the To-Hit Number, add modifiers to the WeaponBase to account for the range to the target and for otherspecial circumstances.Range Modifiers

The Weapon Base is the unmodified To-Hit Number fortargets that are in the hex directly in front of the fighter. Toaccount for greater ranges, add a modifier of 1 to the To-HitNumber for each hex the target is farther away.

A good way to do this is to count upward from theWeapon Base as you touch each hex between your fighterand the target. Start with the hex directly in front of yourfighter and say the Weapon Base. Move one hex away, andadd 1 as you touch the hex. Continue to do this until youreach the target. Count the target hex, but not the firingfighter's hex. As long as you count in a reasonably straightline, exactly how you do it does not matter. The illustrationshows how to count the range.

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Page 10: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

WEAPON TYPES

FIGHTERTYPE

Mark I

Mark II

Mark lll

WEAPON

LaserTorpedoLaserTorpedoLaserTorpedo

NUMBER

30

22

14

RANGE

11 hexes

10 hexes7 hexes9 hexes

10 hexes

WEAPONBASE

2

36

43

Fighter TypeMark IMark IIMark lll

Weapon BasesLaser Base

234

Torpedo Basenone

63

Each fighter has at least one laser, and it may also havetorpedoes The following table compares the weapon sys-tems of each fighter

Even though all the weapons fire in the same direction,shots are fired separately Thus, a Viper II may fire both itslasers and both its torpedoes at the same target, or at asmany as 4 different targetsLasers

Lasers may be fired once each game turn If a laser sys-tem is damaged, that laser may not be fired for the remainderof the gameTorpedoes

Each torpedo can only be used once per game, after thetorpedo has been fired, it is gone Torpedoes usually domore damage when they hit, having twice as much chanceas with a laser that a successful hit will explode the targetor hit the cockpit in one shotPhoton Missile

The photon torpedo has the shortest range of all 3weapons When the fighter weapon system is undamaged,the torpedo can travel out to 8 hexes Any target more than8 hexes away is out of effective rangeFIRING ARCS

Each weapon has a firing arc, or the hexes into which itmay be fired If an enemy fighter is not in the weapon's firingarc, then it is not a target

Because all weapons are mounted to fire forward, thereis only 1 firing arc, which is straight ahead of the fighter Inthe illustration, the shading shows which hexes are in thearc In general, the arc includes the straight line of hexesthat begin at the counter, it also includes the straight line ofhexes to the left and to the right of this line As you can see,each firing arc is 3 hexes wide

DETERMINING WEAPON HITSDeclaring Targets

After all movement has taken place, pilots may fire theirweapons, if they desire If an enemy fighter is in his firingarc, a pilot may choose to fire at it with one or more of hisweapons If there are several enemies in his firing arc, hemay split his fire He must declare which weapons will fireat which targets before any weapons fire is resolvedResolving Fire

Weapons fire is resolved by rolling two dice and addingthe result together This gives numbers between 2 and 12For this game, the higher the numbers the better when firingweaponsDetermining To-Hit Number

Each weapon type has a Weapon Base This is thenumber that a pilot would have to roll to hit a target in thehex directly in front of the weapon For undamaged fighters,the table below gives the Weapon Bases for each weapon

To find the To Hit Number, add modifiers to the WeaponBase to account for the range to the target and for otherspecial circumstancesRange Modifiers

The Weapon Base is the unmodified To-Hit Number fortargets that are in the hex directly in front of the fighter Toaccount for greater ranges, add a modifier of 1 to the To-HitNumber for each hex the target is farther away

A good way to do this is to count upward from theWeapon Base as you touch each hex between your fighterand the target Start with the hex directly in front of yourfighter and say the Weapon Base Move one hex away, andadd 1 as you touch the hex Continue to do this until youreach the target Count the target hex, but not the firingfighter's hex As long as you count in a reasonably straightline, exactly how you do it does not matter The illustrationshows how to count the range

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As you can see, the Weapon Base for the Viper Mark IIlasers is 3, and so it is the To-Hit Number for the hex directlyin front of the Viper As you count hexes toward the Raider,add 1 per hex When you get to the Raider, the To-Hit Numberis 9 This is what you must roll on the 2 dice

For the Viper Mark II torpedoes, the Weapon Base is 6,and so the To-Hit Number is 12, a hard roll to make! Pleasenotice that it does not make any difference how you countthe hexes, as long as you try to keep m a relatively straightlineSpecial Modifiers

The To-Hit Number is modified by five special cir-cumstances that make it harder to make a successful shotThese modifiers are cumulative, and so they are added toone another before being added to the To-Hit NumberShooting After Using Turbos Any fighter that uses turboshas a more difficult shot than normal The pilot (gunner)adds 1 to the To-Hit NumberShooting At A Speeding Target Any fighter that uses turbosis a more difficult target than normal Another fighter firingat it adds 1 to the To-Hit Number

Splitting Fire Any fighter that splits fire between two ormore targets has less accuracy than normal Shots at thefirst target are made with no additional modifier, but forshots at the second target, the pilot (gunner) adds 1 to theTo-Hit Number For shots at the third target, the pilot (gunner)adds 2 to the To-Hit Number, and so onShooting Into An Asteroid Cluster Any fighter m an asteroidcluster is a more difficult target than normal because of allthe space debris near it Another fighter firing at it adds 1 tothe To-Hit NumberShooting Out Of An Asteroid Cluster Any fighter in an as-teroid cluster who decides to fire at another fighter has thespace debris near him that may block his shot The pilot adds1 to his To Hit Number for all targets It is not possible to

fire from an asteroid cluster at a target in or behind any partof the same or different clusterDetermining Successful Hits

Add all modifiers to the To-Hit Number This will takeinto account the weapon type, the range, and any modifiersIn order to see if a shot hit or missed, roll the 2 dice, addthe numbers together, and compare the sum to the adjustedTo-Hit Number If the roll is the same as or more than theadjusted To-Hit Number, then the shot hit the target anddamage may be determined If the roll is less than the ad-justed To-Hit Number, then the shot is a missRecording Missiles Fired

Each Viper or Raider has only a small number of tor-pedoes m its rack The number of torpedoes left m the rackis shown on the Game Sheet to the left of the damage display,just above the Movement Log At the beginning of the game,the 4 boxes should be marked to show how many torpedoesthe fighter has If it is a Mark I, all 4 boxes should be crossedoff If it is a Mark II, 2 should be crossed off, and if it is aMark III, none should be crossed off After a torpedo hasbeen fired, whether it was a hit or a miss, mark off one ofthe boxes in the torpedo rack When all 4 boxes have beenmarked off, the fighter has no more torpedoes to fireHOW DAMAGE AFFECTS WEAPON FIRING

As the fighter takes damage, the Weapon Base goes up,and so it might be different from one turn to the next Tofind out what the Weapon Base is m any turn, look at thelarge Damage Display on the Game Sheet This shows theWeapon Bases for each weapon in the Targeting wedge(center)

Weapon fire may damage one or more weapons, andso even if the firing system may be powered, the weaponmay be damaged itself and so it cannot fire

The Damage Descriptions section gives the rules for eachof these effects

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DAMAGE FROM HITS

Each successful hit gives the target some damage Thisdamage may be given to the fighter's fuselage, its engines,its weapon systems, or its steering system It might even begiven to the pilot!

As the firing player rolls the dice, the target player records the damage on his Damage Display, sometimes cross-ing off boxes, circles, or arcs, and sometimes making notesconcerning the next game turn This section of the rulesdescribes how to determine the damage, how to record it,and how it affects playDETERMINING DAMAGEChoosing The Damage Table

The Damage Chart has 6 different tables, numbered 16 Each table has 6 different damage results, also num-

bered 1 - 6 This gives 36 different damage results In gen-eral, the greater the table number, the greater the damageOnly Table 6 gives damage guaranteed to end the game inone shot

For all hits, the damage is determined the same wayTwo dice are needed, one red and one white Both dice arerolled, but the numbers are not added together The red dietells which of the 6 damage tables to use, and the white dietells which of the 6 damage results to pick Some results arespecific for human Viper pilots, and some are specific forCylons Each weapon gives damage in a different way, asdescribed belowLasers. Lasers from the Viper or the Raider give damage justas described above For example, if the red die comes up 4and the white die comes up 3, then the damage is read fromTable 4, line 3 4 Fuselage, Stabilizer Damaged or CylonDisrupted If the red die comes up 1 and the white die comesup 6, then the damage is read from Table 1, line 6 1 Fuel LostTorpedoes: The torpedo is more powerful than a standardlaser Its damage table is determined by adding 1 to the reddie roll Thus, when a 5 or 6 is rolled, Table 6 is used, andwhen a 1 is rolled, Table 2 is used This not only gives thetorpedo added damage, but it also gives it twice as muchchance to guarantee ending the game in one shot

THE DAMAGE DISPLAYAil damage is recorded on the Game Sheet, either in the

large Damage Display in the center or in one of the smallerdisplays around it The large Damage Display is broken downinto 5 wedges There is one wedge for fuselage damage,which has an effect on all the other wedges There is onewedge for engine damage, which determines how fast thefighter can fly There is one wedge for the ability to targetweapons, which determines the Weapon Base numbersThere is one wedge for damage to the heading controls,which determine how many vector changes the fighter canmake And there is one wedge for cockpit damage, includingdamage to the Viper pilot and his life support system or tothe 3 Cylons in the Raider Each of these wedges is describedbelow

To the left of the Damage Display, is the Systems StatusDisplay It shows the status of the fighter's turbo thrusters,radio, and weapons In the upper right corner of the GameSheet for the Viper is space for the pilot's gunnery and pilot-ing skill, as well as his Collision Number In the Cockpit wedgeof the Game Sheet for the Raider, there are status boxes foreach of the 3 Cylons, including space to record their ProgramEfficiency and their Collision Number At the bottom of thedisplay, above the Movement Log, is the row of Fuel Supplyboxes

DAMAGE CHART

Die Roll123456

Die Roll12

Table 1

Damage1 Fuselage1 Fuselage1 Fuselage1 Engine1 Engine1 Fuel Lost

Table 2

Damage2 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 2 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted456

1 Engine, No Speed Change1 Engine, Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only2 Fuel Lost

Table 3

Die Roll Damage1 3 Fuselage2 3 Fuselage3 3 Fuselage4 2 Engine5 2 Engine6 4 Fuel Lost

Table 4

Die Roll Damage1 4 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 4 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 4 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted4 2 Engine, No Speed Change5 2 Engine, Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only6 6 Fuel Lost

Table 5

Die Roll Damage1 5 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 5 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 5 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted4 3 Engine, No Speed Change5 3 Engine, Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only 1 Turn6 8 Fuel Lost

Table 6

Die Roll Damage1 1 Fuselage, Weapon System Destroyed2 1 Fuselage, Targeting Computer Hit3 1 Fuselage, Viper Life Support System Hit or

Cylon Destroyed4 3 Engine, Turbo Destroyed5 Cockpit Destroyed6 Fighter Blows Up

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Fuselage DamageDamage to the fighter's fuselage is shown in the large

Damage Display, where there is a wedge marked 'Fuselage 'This wedge contains 6 arcs, each with 4 circles, as shown inthe illustration As the fuselage takes damage, the circles aremarked off, beginning at the outer arc, when all of the circlesin one arc are gone, those in the next arc are marked Thisdamage has an effect on the rest of the fighter, the rules forthis are given in the Damage Description section below

Engine DamageDamage to the fighter's engines is shown in the large

Damage Display, where there is a wedge marked 'Engines 'This wedge contains 6 arcs, each with 3 circles, as shown inthe illustration As the engines take damage, the circles aremarked off, beginning at the outer arc Engine damage alsoaffects the rest of the fighter, the rules for this are given mthe Damage Descriptions section below

The arcs also contain references to the engines themselves These words and numbers tell how fast the fightercan fly The outer arc reads "Turbo 6 - Normal 3 " Thismeans that the fighter may make 6 movements when it usesturbos and 3 otherwise As long as there is still 1 unmarkedcircle in an arc, the fighter can make the number of movesgiven When all circles m an arc are marked, then the fightermust make fewer movements

For example, if only 1 or 2 engine circles have beenmarked off, then the fighter may make up to 6 movementsusing turbos But if 3 engine circles have been marked off,then it can make only 5 movements m a turn using turbosWeapon Targeting Damage

Damage that affects the fighter's ability to target itsweaponry is shown in the large Damage Display, where thereis a wedge marked Targeting ' As the fuselage and the en-gine take damage, it becomes harder and harder for the gunsto fire accurately This is reflected by the Weapon Base num-bers which are recorded m the 6 arcs at the beginning of thegame, as shown in the illustration

When the fighter is undamaged, the listed Weapon Basefor its lasers and torpedoes is recorded in the outer arc Fora Mark II Viper or Raider, the listed Weapon Base is 3 forlasers and 6 for torpedoes When the fighter takes a targetingcomputer hit or takes enough damage to affect how accu-rately it can fire, this arc is marked off, and the Weapon Basenumbers go up by 1 When it takes even more damage,another arc is crossed off, and the Weapon Base numbersgo up again Rules showing when to cross off one of thearcs are given m the Damage Descriptions section belowHeading Controls Damage

When the fighter takes damage that affects its ability tomake vector changes, it is recorded in the large DamageDisplay, where there is a wedge marked 'Heading Controls 'In this wedge there are 3 arcs, as shown in the illustrationThe outer arc is marked '3 Vector Changes,' the second ismarked '2 Vector Changes,' and the center is marked '1 '

When the fighter is undamaged, it may make 3 vectorchanges per turn When it takes enough engine or fuselagedamage to affect its heading controls, then the outer arc ismarked off, and Me fighter can make only 2 vector changesper turn The rules for marking off these arcs is given m theDamage Descriptions section belowCockpit Damage

Damage to the fighter's cockpit is recorded m the largeDamage Display, where there is an area marked 'Cockpit'This area contains different information for the Viper andthe RaiderViper For the Viper, which has a Colonial human pilot, thisarea has small circles for the Pilot's Condition and one smallcircle for the Life Support System, as shown m the illustra-tion

The status for the Pilot's Condition is a column of 6circles As the pilot takes a hit, a circle is marked off He cantake 2 hits and still do his job, but if he takes 1 more hit, hemay fall unconscious The roll he needs to remain consciousis shown m the fourth, fifth, and sixth circles The rules forunconsciousness and death are given in the Damage Descrip-tions section below

The status for the life support system is shown in thecenter of the wedge If the life support system takes damage,the circle is crossed off The rules for this are given in theDamage Descriptions section belowRaider For the Raider, which has 3 Cylons all capable ofbeing either pilot or gunner, the area is larger There arethree columns of data, one for each Cylon - Alpha, Beta,and Gamma

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The first line is used to record the Program Efficiencyfor each Cylon, below this is a row of 4 small circles to showthe status of the Cylon The circle on the left is marked whenthe Cylon is fully operational The second circle is markedwhen the Cylon's programming is disrupted and remainsmarked until full functioning is restored The 2 circles on theright are marked when the Cylon itself is damaged A Cyloncan take two hits before it is destroyed

The bottom line is used to record which Cylon currentlyis performing which job The P is circled when the Cylon ispiloting the craft The G is circled when the Cylon is firingthe weapons And the S is circled when the Cylon is onstandby When a Cylon is disrupted, damaged, or destroyed,the player may choose to change which Cylon is doing whichjob Then he erases the circles and draws new ones to reflectthe change

THE SYSTEMS STATUS DISPLAYTo the left of the Damage Display is the Systems Status

Display There are four boxes in this display showing thestatus of the turbo thrusters, the radio, the laser turret sys-tems, and the torpedo system As these systems are dam-aged, the damage is recorded in the boxes of the SystemsStatus Display, as described below

Turbo DamageWhen the turbo thrusters take damage, this is recorded

on the Systems Status Display, as shown in the illustrationAt the beginning of the game, the fuel cost for the turbo isrecorded in the blank to the left of the turbo status box Whenthe turbo is functioning, regardless of how fast the fightermay move with it, the small circle marked OPER is crossedoff When the turbo takes temporary damage, the circlemarked DMGD is crossed off, when the damage is repaired,the OPER circle is crossed off again When the turbo is de-stroyed, the circle marked DSTRY is crossed off When tomake these marks is discussed in the section on DamageDescriptions below

Radio DamageThis damage is only used in games with more than one

person on a side Every time the pilot is wounded, the radioin the fighter is damaged Erase the mark on the OPER circleand mark DMGD In the basic versions of the game, thisdamage lasts 1 turn, in advanced scenarios, it may be repaired only after a successful Skill Roll

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Weapon System DamageWhen a weapon system is damaged by a direct hit, this

is recorded m the Systems Status Display, as shown in theillustration When a laser is damaged, then one of the circlesmarked 'Laser System' is crossed off When the torpedo rackis destroyed, then the circle marked for it is crossed off Howto determine which weapon system is destroyed is given inthe Damage Descriptions section below

THE FUEL SUPPLY DISPLAYThe fighter's fuel supply is recorded in the Fuel Supply

Display just above the Movement Log, as shown in the il-lustration This display has 30 boxes, each representing 1fuel point When the fuel supply takes a hit, the fuel lost isrecorded on the Fuel Supply Display For each fuel point lost,one box is marked off on the Fuel Supply The rules for thisare given in the Damage Descriptions section below

DAMAGE DESCRIPTIONSEach of the damage results is described below, along

with the way the damage is recorded and the effect the dam-age has on the play of the gameFuselage Hit

The fighter's fuselage has taken damage equal to thenumber of points indicated - 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 points For eachdamage point, cross off one circle in the Fuselage wedge ofthe Damage Display When all 4 circles in an arc have beencrossed off, cross off the whole arc

Damage to the fuselage also affects how fast the fightercan move and how well it can target its weapons When anarc has been crossed off, the fighter can no longer make asmany movements or target any of its weapons as well aswhen it was undamaged Furthermore, if the fuselage takes

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enough damage, this affects how well the fighter can man-euver When 2 arcs have been crossed off, the fighter canno longer make as many vector changes as when it wasundamaged The way this is recorded is called SweepingClockwise When the center arc has been crossed off, thefighter blows upSweeping Clockwise When a Fuselage arc has been crossedoff, sweep the damage around the circle clockwise by cross-ing off the adjacent Engines arc and the adjacent Targetingarc The whole Engines arc is crossed off, no matter howmany circles remain After this is done, the Display showsthe new number of movements possible (in the Engineswedge) and the new Weapon Base (in the Targeting wedge)The arcs crossed off are shown in the first illustration Thesweep has no effect on arcs already crossed off

When 2 Fuselage arcs have been crossed off, sweep thedamage even farther around the circle than before by cross-ing off the adjacent Engines arc, the adjacent Targeting arc,and the adjacent Heading Controls arc After this is done,the Display shows the new number of movements possible(in the Engines wedge), the new Weapon Base numbers (inthe Targeting wedge), and the new number of vector changesthat can be made (in the Heading Controls wedge) The newarcs crossed off are shown in the second illustration, thearcs already crossed off are not shaded The sweep has noeffect on arcs already crossed off

Engines HitThe fighter's engines have taken damage equal to the

number of points indicated - 1, 2, or 3 points For eachdamage point, cross off one circle in the Engines wedge ofthe Damage Display When all three circles in an arc havebeen crossed off, cross off the whole arc

Damage to the engines affects how fast the fighter canmove This is shown by the words and numbers in the En-

gines arcs As long as at least one circle in the outer arcremains, the fighter may make 6 movements per game turnusing turbos and 3 movements per game turn normallyWhen that arc has been crossed off, however, it may onlymake 5 movements using turbos, as shown by the Turbo 5in the second arc When the center arc, where the 7 is, iscrossed off, the fighter blows up

Like damage to the fuselage, damage to the enginesaffects how well the fighter can target its weapons Whenone Engines arc has been crossed off the fighter can nolonger target any of its weapons as well as when it wasundamaged Furthermore, if the engines take enough dam-age, this affects how well the fighter can maneuver When2 Engines arcs have been crossed off, the fighter can nolonger make as many vector changes as when it was undam-aged

The way to record the effects on the other systems isby sweeping clockwise, just as with fuselage damage In thiscase, however, the Fuselage arcs are not crossed off becausethey are to the left of the Engines arcs As above, sweepingaround has no affect on arcs that already have been crossedoffFuel Lost

The fighter's fuel supply has taken damage equal to thenumber of points indicated - 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 points For eachdamage point, cross off one box in the Fuel Supply Crossoff the box to the left first, and so on

When the Fuel Supply is completely gone, either becauseof fuel hits or because of fuel use, the fighter may not moveor fire, it goes dead in space If the fighter is a Viper, thepilot does not have enough fuel left to power his life supportsystem, and he dies If the fighter is a Raider, the Cylons useup their power supply and their memory banks are wipedclean

Advanced rules allow the fighter to refuelViper Pilot Wounded

The Colonial pilot has taken a hit Cross off the top circleon the Pilot's Condition columnUnconsciousness Human pilots can take 2 hits without thepossibility of falling unconscious When they are hit, the ap-propriate circle is merely crossed off When the pilot takes2 hits, the top 2 circles are marked off When the pilot takesthe third hit, the third circle is marked off, and he might fallunconscious

After the third hit, the player must roll 2 dice and addthe numbers together The roll is compared to the numberm the next circle If the roll is equal to or greater than thenumber in the circle, the pilot does not fall unconscious, butif it is less than the number in the circle, he is unconsciousfor the next game turn In the basic versions of the game,this condition lasts for 1 turn, in advanced scenarios, thecondition continues until the pilot makes a successful Uncon-sciousness Roll

The number in the fourth circle is 8, and so after thepilot's third hit, his roll must be 8 or more or he will fallunconscious Likewise, after one more hit, his roll must be10 or more as shown by the 10 m the fifth circle After 2more hits his roll must equal 12, as shown by the 12 in thesixth circle

When the pilot is unconscious, the fighter moves ran-domly (just as though it.took a stabilizer hit) and cannot fireweapons until the pilot revivesRegaining Consciousness At the end of the next game turn,after all movement and firing have taken place, the playerrolls 2 dice as above If the roll is successful, the pilot regainsconsciousness and can behave normally in the next turn Hewill not fall unconscious again unless he takes another hitThen the dice must be rolled once more, as told aboveDeath After taking six hits, a human pilot is dead14

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Cylon Damaged

One Cylon has taken damage, its program is automat-ically disrupted and the Cylon's function is lost, as describedin the section on Cylon Disrupted To find out which Cylonhas been hit, roll 1 die and consult the table below Each ofthe 3 Cylons can take 2 hits before being destroyed Whena Cylon takes a hit, cross off the DMGD circle If it takesanother hit, cross off the DSTRY circle If the Cylon that ishit has been destroyed already, reroll so that an active Cylonis damaged

Cylon DisruptedThe program of a Cylon has been disrupted by the hit,

and that Cylon cannot perform its function until it has beenreturned to full functioning In the basic versions of the game,the condition lasts for 1 game turn, in the Campaign Game,the condition lasts until the player makes a successful SkillRollChoosing Cylon Disrupted To determine which Cylon wasdisrupted, roll 1 die and consult the table below If the Cylonis already disrupted or has been destroyed, this result hasno effect

Pilot Disrupted: If the pilot is disrupted or damaged, thefighter moves randomly in the next turn Record this by mark-ing the DSRPT circle for the pilot and writing a PD in theblank for the next turn After all players have recorded theirnext turn's movement, 1 die is rolled to determine the speedof the fighter If the number rolled is 1 - 3, the fighter usesnormal engines only, and if the number is 4 6, the fighteruses turbo thrusters if it can If the number rolled is largerthan the number of movements possible because the fighteris damaged, the fighter makes as many moves as possibleThen, for each movement, 1 die is rolled to determine thedirection moved, just as with a stabilizer hit described belowThis continues until all movements have been used up, evenif more than 3 vector changes are made In this case, thehard vector change counts as 1 movementGunner Disrupted If the gunner is disrupted or damaged,the fighter fires its lasers randomly in the next turn Recordthis by marking the DSRPT circle for the gunner and by writ-ing GD in the blank for the next turn This fighter should bemoved first in the next turn, if possible After all movementhas taken place, 1 die is rolled A roll of 1 3 indicates thatthe lasers will be fired at the closest possible target, even ifit is another Cylon A roll of 4 6 indicates that the laserswill not be firedStandby Disrupted: This has no immediate effect on thecraft Record this by marking the DSRPT circle for thestandby A disrupted standby may not replace another Cylon

Viper Steering RestrictionThe steering mechanism on the Viper only is jammed

temporarily The fighter may not be able to make a vectorchange either right, left, or straight ahead while he clearsthe jam It is possible that the mechanism will lock left orright, forcing the fighter to turn in a circle Depending on thenumber of movements a pilot chooses to make, a steeringrestriction may cause a fighter to make more vector changesthan normally would be allowed In the basic versions of thegame, the steering restriction lasts 1 game turn, in advancedscenarios, the condition lasts until the pilot clears it by pass-ing a Skill Roll

Choosing The Restriction. To choose which steering restric-tion to make, roll 1 die and consult the following table Theroll should be made in secret so that other pilots do not knowexactly what the restriction is

Restriction Descriptions: When the control locks left,straight, or right, the fighter must move m the direction indi-cated for the next game turn When the restriction is novector change left or right, the fighter may move straight ormake changes to the opposite side, but it may not make theindicated vector change m the next game turn When therestriction is no straight movement, the fighter MUST makevector changes right or left

Recording The Restriction In the blank to the right of themovement record for the next game turn, secretly record thesteering restriction, using such symbols as an arrow left,straight, or right to show that the controls are locked, and acrossed out arrow to show that no movement may be madem that direction The illustration shows two vector changerestrictions, one for controls locked right, and the second forno vector chance right

Viper Stabilizer DamagedThe steering mechanism has taken a severe hit, and it

is impossible to control the fighter's movement in the nextturn The pilot can choose how many movements he wantsto make, but he cannot determine ahead of time whether hewill go straight, head left, or head right Stabilizer damagemay force a fighter to make more vector changes than nor-mally would be allowed In the basic versions of the game,this condition lasts for 1 turn, in advanced scenarios, it lastsuntil the pilot clears it by making a successful Skill Roll

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Cylon Damaged

Die Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Cylon DisruptedDie Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Die Roll123456

Viper Steering RestrictionsRestriction

Control locks leftControl locks straightControl locks rightNo vector change leftNo straight movementNo vector change right

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Recording Stabilizer Hits Record a stabilizer hit by writingan S in the blank to the left of the Movement Record Then,after deciding on how many movements will be made drawa circle around all 3 symbols (left arrow, dot, and right arrow)for each movement that will be made The illustration showsthis, with the pilot making three movements

Moving With Damaged Stabilizer After all other fightershave been moved, the fighter with the damaged stabilizermakes his movements For each movement he has chosento make, he rolls 1 die and consults the table below to deter-mine which direction he will move It is possible that morethan 3 vector changes may be required, or even more thanthe fighter would normally be allowed, this is permitted Forthis damage result, hard vector changes count as 1 move-ment

The illustration shows how the fighter actually movedfor each of the 3 movements the pilot decided to make Forthe first move, the pilot rolled a 1 and so he headed hardleft For the second move, he rolled a 5, and so he headedgentle right For the third move, he rolled a 6, and so heheaded hard right

No Speed ChangeThe power systems to the engines have jammed, and

the fighter's speed must remain constant This means thatif the fighter was making 4 movements during the turn whenthe damage was taken, then it must make 4 movements inthe next turn Record no speed change by writing the numberof movements required in the blank to the left of the nextgame turn's Movement Record In the basic versions of thegame, this condition lasts for 1 turn, in advanced scenarios,this condition lasts until it is cleared by passing a Skill RollDamage Reducing Speed If damage reduces the maximumspeed of the fighter, it is possible that the speed will be lessthe following turn than it was when the damage was takenIn these cases, the number of movements must be as closeas possible to the original number In the example above, ifthe fighter's maximum speed was 4, and it took 3 damagepoints to the engines, its new maximum speed would be 3Therefore, it could only make 3 movements in the next turn,not 4Using Turbos If the fighter may not change speed and turboswere used in the turn, the pilot must use turbos the nextturn if possible If that is not possible because of damage,the pilot must make the greatest number of movements pos-sibleTurbo Out, Half Speed Only

The turbo thrusters may not be used Record this bychanging the mark in the Turbo Status Display to DMGD Inthe basic versions of the game, the condition lasts for 1 turn,in advanced scenarios, this condition lasts until the pilotmakes a successful Skill Roll

Furthermore, the power systems to the engines havebeen shocked, and the fastest that the fighter can go nextturn is only half of its normal speed As always, it can moveslower than maximum if the pilot desires The table belowshows how to figure the new maximum speed Record halfspeed by writing a tiny 1/2 in the blank to the left of the nextturn's Movement Record In all games, this condition onlylasts 1 turn

Weapon DestroyedOne of the weapons has been destroyed and cannot be

used for the rest of the game To determine which was de-stroyed, roll 1 die and consult the table below When aweapon is destroyed, mark this in the Weaponry Status Dis-play at the top left of the Game Sheet In this display, thereis a circle for each weapon Crossing out the circle meansthat the weapon is destroyed and cannot fire If a weaponhas already been destroyed, this has no additional effect

Stabilizer

Die Roll12

3 or 456

Damage Vector Changes

Vector Changehard leftgentle leftstraightgentle righthard right

Temporary Half Speed

Normal Speed Half Speed3 22 11 1

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Targeting Computer HitFor each hit on the targeting computer, cross off one

Targeting arc This means that the Weapon Base for eachweapon is increased by 1 point Because this occurs relativelyrarely, pilots will find that the Targeting arcs most often arecrossed off because of fuselage or engine damageLife Support System Hit

The Viper pilot's life support system is damaged and thepilot has only 6 game turns to get the craft off the board Ifhe cannot do this, he loses the game when he runs out ofair This is recorded in the Cockpit wedge by crossing off theLife Support System circle Then, 6 Movement Records mustbe counted off, and a heavy line drawn beneath the sixth toshow that the pilot is dead if he cannot get off the boardThis has no effect if the life support system has already beenhit

Cylon DestroyedOne of the Cylons has been destroyed To determine

which, roll 1 die and consult the table below

Cockpit DestroyedThe cockpit has taken a direct hit, destroying everything

in it The game is over for that fighter, and it goes dead inspace!Fighter Blows Up

Kaboom!

DAMAGE CONFLICT FROM MULTIPLE HITSMost frequently, when a fighter takes damage from mul-

tiple hits, there will be no conflict Damage to the fuselage,engines, fuel supply, weapon systems, and pilot gunner arecumulative, with all damage being recorded as it is rolledThus, if a hit gives damage of 3 Fuselage and a second givesdamage of 5 Fuselage, the fighter takes a total of 8 damagepoints to its fuselage

Sometimes, however, the special damage to steering,to the stabilizer, or to speed change causes a conflict to ariseHow to resolve the conflict from each of these cases is de-scribed belowTwo Viper Steering Restrictions

No matter how many steering restrictions are given ina single game turn, the die is only rolled once The restrictionrolled is used for all restrictions given

Two Viper Stabilizer HitsNo matter how many hits damage the stabilizer, the die

is rolled only once per movement This roll serves for allstabilizer hitsSteering Restriction/Stabilizer Hit

Stabilizer hits are determined as usual, and the steeringrestriction is ignoredTwo Half Speed Only

The speed is reduced for each hit Thus, if a fighter mov-ing at 3, 4 or 5 movements takes two half speed only hits,it can only make 1 movement the next game turn A fightermoving at 1 or 2 movements cannot move in the next gameturn, but it can still fire

If a fighter takes 3 or more half speed only hits, it cannotmove in the next game turnTwo Turbo Damaged

The turbo is damaged from one of the rolls The secondhas no additional effectNo Speed Change/Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only

The no speed change is postponed for 1 turn, and thefighter must move for 2 turns at half speed only If the fighterwas using turbos, and damage requires it to maintain thesame speed but also knocks out the turbos, the fighter mustmake the greatest number of moves possibleNo Speed Change/Viper Steering Restriction

It is possible that a no speed change effect and a steeringrestriction will require a Viper to make more than 3 vectorchanges This is permittedNo Speed Change/Viper Stabilizer Hit

It is possible that a no speed change effect and a stabilizerhit will require a Viper to make more than 3 vector changesThis is permitted

No Speed Change/Cylon Disrupted Or DamagedThe number of movements made by the Viper should

be as constant as possible The die is not rolled to determinethe number of movements because of a disrupted Cylon pilot

It is possible that a no speed change effect and a CylonDisrupted or Cylon Damaged effect will require a Raider tomake more than 3 vector changes This is permittedTwo Viper Life Support System Hits

The second hit is ignored beyond giving the 1 damagepoint to the fuselage

Two Weapon Destroyed HitsIf a weapon is hit that has already been destroyed, the

second hit is ignored beyond giving the 1 damage point tothe fuselage

Anything And Fighter Blows UpKaboom!

REPLACING CYLONSDamaged or disrupted Cylons may be replaced by one

of the other Cylons in the cockpit This takes place at the endof a turn

When a Cylon is first damaged or disrupted by weaponfire, it may be replaced at the END of the next turn Thissimulates that it takes some time (even though it is a veryshort time) for the other Cylons to realize the problem andtake steps to correct it If a player does not wish to replacethe Cylon immediately, he can do it at any later time, as longas at least 1 turn has passed between the initial damage andthe replacement

17

Weapons DestroyedFighter TypeMark l

Mark II

Mark ill

Die Roll1 or 23 or 45 or 61 or 23 or 45 or 61 or 23 or 45 or 6

Weapon DestroyedLaser System ALaser System BLaser System CLaser System ALaser System BTorpedo SystemLaser SystemTorpedoes 1 and 2Torpedoes 3 and 4

Cylon DestroyedDie Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Page 19: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

Once pilots have mastered the basic rules, they will beinterested in making play more interesting by adding someor all of the advanced rules below Rules have been providedfor placing asteroids on the mapsheet, for increasing pilotinggunnery skill or program efficiency, for firing on and firingfrom base ships, for taking off and landing from base ships,and for repairing, refueling, and rearming fighters during thegame

Gametesters have found that adding asteroids to themapsheet makes the game much more fun! This sectiondescribes how to place the asteroid counters on the map-sheet and how they affect playPLACING ASTEROID COUNTERS

A number of the colored counters are asteroid clustersThere are two large clusters, each with asteroids in 7 hexesThere are 20 smaller asteroid clusters as wellDetermining Number

There are three (and maybe more) ways of determininghow many asteroids to use in a game No one way is betterthan the others, and players should choose the method thatworks best for them

First, both players can agree on how many counters willbe placed Second, the dice can be rolled several times, withthe total of the rolls being the number of counters that willbe placed, 3 rolls of both dice seem to work well Third, eachplayer can write down a number in secret, with the totalbeing the number of counters that will be placed, it is a goodidea to limit the number, 10 or 15 being best, depending onhow many are playingLaying Out The Counters

Asteroids are only placed on the blank mapsheet, noasteroids may be placed on the mapsheets with the drawingsof the Galactica or the Cylon Base Ship Before the clustersare placed, the fighter counters are laid out Then the twolarge clusters are laid out, followed by enough of the smallercounters to make up the total Each large cluster counts as1 cluster, even though it has 7 times as many hexes of as-teroids as the small clusters

Clusters may be arranged m any order that the playerswant A good way to get a random order is for players totake turns laying out a counter anywhere they choose untilall necessary are down Clusters may be laid touching oneanother, making good screens against shooting and interest-ing mazes for movement Clusters may not be stacked Nocluster may be closer than 1 hex away from any fighter or7 hexes away from any base ship

MOVEMENT THROUGH ASTEROIDSFighters may move through asteroids if the pilots desire

They may use the clusters to evade enemy weapon fire, orto shake pursuit The only problem with such movement isthat the fighter might hit an asteroid giving it damageDetermining Collisions

Whenever a fighter enters a hex containing an asteroidcluster, the pilot temporarily stops moving the counter untilhe determines if he hit anything He rolls both dice and addsthe rolls together If this total is equal to or greater than hisSkill Target, then the fighter did not collide with any asteroidsIf the total is less, then there was a collision and damageoccurred For beginning pilots, the Skill Target is 7

The dice must be rolled for every hex of asteroids thata fighter passes through As you can see, the more hexes ofasteroids that a fighter flies through, the more chances fora collision

Determining DamageThe Damage Chart is used to determine what the damage

is from a collision The faster a fighter is moving, the moredamage it is likely to take The number of movements thatthe fighter is making in the game turn determines whichtable to use for the damage If the fighter is making 5 move-ments and has a collision, Table 5 is used, if he has a secondcollision m the same game turn, Table 5 is used again

Just as with weapon damage, the white die is used todetermine exactly what the damage is A separate roll shouldbe made for each collisionASTEROIDS AND WEAPON FIRE

Weapons may be fired into an asteroid cluster or out ofan asteroid cluster, but no weapon may be fired through acluster, as detailed belowBlocking Fire

Asteroid clusters serve as a sort of 'smoke screen' forfighters to hide behind, because no weapons may be firedthrough them A single small cluster will block fire only if itis directly in line with the target If it is slightly to one side,weapon fire is not blocked This is shown in the illustration

Shooting Into AsteroidsA fighter can shoot at a target in an asteroid cluster, but

the shot is more difficult than normal because of all thedebris near the target No hex of asteroids can be betweenthe firing fighter and the target in a large cluster, so that thetarget must be on the edge This means that a fighter in thecenter of a large cluster is safe from weapon fire as long ashe remains there

When shooting into asteroids, subtract 1 from the To-HitNumberShooting From Asteroids

A fighter can shoot out of an asteroid cluster at a targetin open space, but the shot is more difficult than normalbecause of all the debris nearby The target cannot be in anasteroid cluster itself, for that would be the same as shootingthrough asteroids, which is impossible

When shooting from an asteroid cluster, subtract 1 fromthe To-Hit NumberClearing Asteroids

A torpedo shot into a small asteroid cluster destroys thatcluster (as well as damages any fighter in that cluster) Thus,if the pilot desires, he may use his photon missiles to clearaway asteroid clusters The explosion is contained com-pletely m the target hex, and nothing m any of the surround-ing hexes is damaged If the shot is successful, remove theasteroid hex from the mapsheet and treat the newly-clearhex as a regular, deep space hex

A successful torpedo shot at a fighter m an asteroidcluster not only damages the fighter, but it clears the hex ofasteroids

When clearing an asteroid cluster, subtract 1 from theTo-Hit Number as above for shooting into asteroids

18

ASTEROIDS

Page 20: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

SKILL ROLLS AND INCREASING SKILLS

In advanced scenarios, and particularly the CampaignGame, steering restrictions and other temporary damage toa fighter is not automatically repaired after 1 turn Instead,the piloting skill of the Viper pilot or the program efficiencyof the Cylon pilot is used to determine if the restriction isremoved The skill or program efficiency of a pilot also deter-mines if the fighter collides with asteroids when flyingthrough an asteroid cluster Furthermore, the gunnery skillof the Viper pilot or the program efficiency of the Cylongunner is used to make shots more accurate

The rules below tell how and when to make Skill Rollsand how gunnery skill is used They also tell how pilotingskill, gunnery skill, and program efficiency are increased

SKILL ROLLS

Piloting Skill RollsAt the end of a game turn, whenever damage to a fighter

gives it a steering restriction, stabilizer damage, a speed re-stnction, or turbo damage, the condition must be fixed beforethe fighter can perform normally again In basic scenariosand beginning games, this occurs after 1 game turn, but inadvanced scenarios or the Campaign Game, this does notoccur automatically Instead, the Viper or Cylon pilot mustmake a Skill Roll

Piloting Skill Rolls are made by rolling 2 dice, addingthe rolls together, and comparing the total to the pilotingSkill Target If the roll is equal to or greater than the target,it is successful and the restriction no longer applies If theroll is less than the target, it is unsuccessful, and the restric-tion applies for the end of the next game turn, when a newSkill Roll may be made

If a fighter has more than one restriction, the pilot mustchoose which restriction he will remove, because only oneSkill Roll is allowed per turn

Piloting Skill Rolls also are made whenever a fighterattempts to land on a base ship The rules for this are givenin the section on Landing FightersPiloting Skill Targets

The piloting Skill Target is found by subtracting the pilot-ing skill of the Viper pilot or the program efficiency of theCylon from 7 The result is the piloting Skill TargetCollision Skill Rolls

Whenever a pilot flies his fighter into an asteroid cluster,there is a chance for a collision The pilot must make a SkillRoll, using his piloting Skill Target If the roll is successful,the fighter flies through the cluster hex without a collisionIf the roll is unsuccessful, then he takes damage, as outlinedin the section on Asteroids A roll must be made for eachhex of asteroids a fighter passes through

Failed landings may result in a collision and a fire Thiscan be prevented by making a successful collision Skill RollThe rules for this are given in the section on Landing FightersRemoving Program Disruptions

Whenever a Cylon is damaged or his program is other-wise disrupted, he cannot perform his normal function untilhis program has been stabilized This is done by means ofa Skill Roll Cylon Skill Rolls are made against a Skill Targetcalculated just like the Skill Target of the Viper pilots Theprogram efficiency is subtracted from 7 to give the SkillTarget Two dice are rolled, and their sum is compared tothe Skill Target as detailed above

If the roll is successful, the Cylon's program is no longerdisrupted and he can function normally in the next turn If

the roll is not successful, then the Cylon cannot function andthe player may choose to substitute another Cylon to insurethat the fighter can fly normally or still fire weaponsUSING GUNNERY SKILL

Viper pilots use their gunnery skill and Cylons use theirprogram efficiency to help them fire weapons more accu-rately When firing a weapon, after the To-Hit number hasbeen calculated and all range and special modifiers havebeen added, the gunnery skill or the program efficiency issubtracted from the To-Hit Number, making a successful shoteasier No Skill Roll is necessary

This means that some shots will be automatic hits, if thetarget is close enough and the gunner's skill or programefficiency high enough!CREATING EXPERIENCED PILOTS AND GUNNERS

Sometimes, in advanced scenarios, players may wish tocreate Viper pilots or Cylons that have experience In thesecases, roll 1 die and consult the table below

INCREASING SKILLS AND PROGRAM EFFICIENCYHuman Piloting Skill

Viper pilots who complete a combat mission gain skillin piloting their fighter In order to gain skill from the combatmission, the three conditions listed below must be met Ifthese three conditions are met, then the pilot of the fightermay raise his piloting skill 1 point for every 5 combat mis-sions The maximum piloting skill is 41 The fighter must have returned from the mission This isassumed to have occurred if the fighter flies off the mapsheetafter a duel when his base ship is not part of the playingboard, he must have sufficient fuel to have left the boardunder power, even if he uses up his fuel doing so In gamesin which fighters leave their base ship, the fighter must returnto the base ship under power and land safely2 The fighter must have fired on an enemy craft The enemyfighter need not have been damaged by the fire, but he musthave been within range and within the firing arc3 The fighter must have been shot at by the enemy Damageneed not have been taken

It will be necessary to keep track of the number of combatmissions for each pilot At the beginning of each new game,divide this total by 5 and round down to find the pilotingskill This skill is recorded in the upper right corner of theViper Game Sheet New pilots have a piloting skill of 0Human Gunnery Skill

If a Viper pilot destroys two Cylon Raiders, either withdirect hits, by wearing them down, or by destroying thecockpits, then he may add 1 to his gunnery skill Themaximum gunnery skill is 4

It will be necessary for each player to record the killsmade by each pilot, so that the skill may be recorded m theupper right of the Viper Game Sheet when a new gamebegins New pilots have a gunnery skill of 0

19

Creating Skill Or Program Efficiency

Die Roll1

2 or 34 or 5

6

Skill0123

Page 21: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

Cylon Program EfficiencyCylons substitute program efficiency for piloting skill or

gunnery skill For each combat mission a Cylon flies, hisprogram efficiency increases, as long as he meets the condi-tions below If the conditions are met, then the programefficiency increases by 1 for every 8 missions1. The fighter must return from the mission, having fired onan enemy and been fired on, as stated for human pilotsabove2. The Cylon must have been the pilot or the gunner for atleast 4 turns during the mission Cylons who are standbysfor an entire mission gam no program efficiency

If the Cylon gunner destroys an enemy fighter or killsthe pilot, the program efficiency of the pilot and the gunnerincrease as well For every 4 kills, the program efficiencyincreases by 1

The player must keep track of each Cylon's successfulmissions and kills At the beginning of a new game, the

program efficiency is calculated by dividing the number ofmissions by 8 and the number of kills by 4 These numbersare added together, and the sum is rounded down to givethe program efficiency With 3 Cylons in the cockpit, a Raiderwill almost always have at least one new Cylon The programefficiency of a new Cylon is 0 The maximum program effi-ciency is 5FAMILIAR FIGHTER BONUS

If a Viper pilot or a Cylon has flown in the same fighter(this means the same craft, not the same fighter type) for 4missions, he is assumed to have learned all of its little quirksand tricks This gives him a bonus when making Skill Rollsor when firing weapons For pilots flying familiar fighters (4missions or more), subtract 1 from the piloting Skill Targetbefore making any piloting or collision Skill Rolls For Viperpilots or Cylon gunners firing the weapons of a familiarfighter, subtract 1 from the To-Hit Number before makingany To-Hit Rolls

USING BASE SHIPS

The Galactica and the Cylon Baseship are shown in theillustrations below Each of these ships is drawn on its ownstarfield mapsheet Only one is used in the Mass Attack game,the choice being up to the players

20

Page 22: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

BASE SHIP CONSTRUCTIONLaser Turrets

Base ships have laser turrets These have firing arcs thatare identical to the firing arcs of the fighters - the line ofhexes directly in front of the turret and one row of hexes toeither side The range of a base ship's laser turret is 8 hexes,but the accuracy drops off quickly close to the base shipEach turret has 2 lasers, powerful enough to do damage likea fighter torpedo Fighter lasers or torpedoes may destroy abase ship laser turret

When the base ship is not being controlled by a player,the turrets are fixed in the positions shown on the starfieldmapsheet

In more advanced scenarios, or in scenarios where thebase ship is controlled by a player, an unused counter maybe turned over to allow the turret to face in more than onedirection To do this, draw an arrow on the back of the counterto show which way the lasers point Most turrets will be ableto point in only 2 useful directions, but the turrets on thecorners of the base ship may have 3 useful directions

It is up to the player playing the base ship to decidewhich direction his lasers will point He does this after allfighter pilots have recorded their movement but before anyone has moved When no one is playing the base ship, theposition of the turrets may be determined by rolling 1 dieIf the turret has 2 useful fields of fire, a roll of 1 3 is left,and a roll of 4 - 6 is right If the turret has 3 useful fields offire, a roll of 1 or 2 is left, 3 or 4 is center, and 5 or 6 is right

Launching Tubes And Landing BaysBaseships also have fighter launching tubes and landing

bays These are shown in the illustrations In advanced MassAttack scenarios and in the Campaign Game, fighters maybe launched from the launching tubes and may return to thebase ship for refueling or rearming by landing in a landingbay Only fighter torpedoes may damage a launching tubeor landing bay If a landing bay takes enough damage, thebase ship blows up!

Flying Over Base ShipsFighters may not fly over base ships or into any hex

occupied by a base ship except the launching landing baysTo do so causes the fighter to crash and explodeFIRING BASE SHIP LASERS

Each turret has 2 lasers, which use the same fire controlsystem This means that they must fire at the same targetThe To-Hit Numbers for each laser shot is shown in the tablebelow

Damage is given in the same manner as damage from atorpedo Both dice are rolled One is added to the red dieroll to determine which Damage Table to useBASE SHIP INCOMING FIRE

Fighters shooting at base ship turrets and landing/launching bays fire as usual When they hit, the base shiptakes damage as shown below Fighter lasers may damageor destroy a base ship turret, but they have no effect onlanding launching bays This means that Mark I fighters cannot destroy a base shipTurret Hits

When a turret is successfully hit, roll 1 die and consultthe table below to determine the damage If the turret isdestroyed, place an explosion counter on it If only one laseris out, place an upside-down explosion counter on the turretto show this

Base Ship

Range12345678

Laser To-Hit Numbers

To-Hit Number467891

1112

Base Ship Turret Damage

Die Roll123456

Laser DamageNo EffectNo EffectNo Effect

One Laser OutOne Laser Out

Turret Destroyed

Torpedo DamageNo Effect

One Laser OutOne Laser OutOne Laser Out

Turret DestroyedTurret Destroyed

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Page 23: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

22

Launching Tube/Landing Bay HitsLaunching tubes and landing bays may only be damaged

by torpedoes, laser hits have no effect The explosion of thetorpedo may cause a fire There are two kinds temporaryfires, which burn out themselves, and permanent fires, whichwill burn until the base ship crew puts them out

A launching tube can take only 1 hit Any fire puts it outof action

A landing bay cannot be used for landings if it has 3hexes of fire The bay is out of action, but it is not destroyedThe bay, and the whole base ship with it, is destroyed onlywhen it contains 5 hexes of permanent fire

Torpedo fire is as usual, but damage is determined byrolling 1 die and consulting the table below

Temporary Fire A temporary fire has started from the tor-pedo explosion It will last for only 1 to 6 turns, and then willburn out all by itself, roll 1 die to determine how many goby before it will burn itself out Place an explosion counterthere, but turn it upside down to show that the fire is onlytemporary A scrap of paper showing the turn number thatthe fire will go out could be added to keep record-keepingsimple

There can be only 1 hex of temporary fire in a launchtube or landing bay A second hex of temporary fire will turnthe first hex into a hex of permanent fire Turn the explosioncounter overPermanent Fire A permanent fire has started from the explo-sion This fire will continue to burn until conscious effort ismade to put it out Place an explosion counter on the bay,right side up

DESTROYING A BASE SHIPThere is a direct path from the landing bays to the center

of the base ship Every time a new fire is started in the bay,another counter is added to the path, moving the fire closerand closer to the center of the base ship

Base ships may be destroyed by causing 5 hexes ofpermanent fire in a single landing bay The fifth hex of per-manent fire sweeps into the fuel storage area and explodesviolently, carrying fire into the very heart of the base ship

Destroying a base ship is quite difficult, because the baseship crew will attempt to fight the fires They also will attemptto keep the laser turrets operational, as outlined below Thedamage to a base ship may be repaired given good luck andenough time Turrets may be repaired and fires may be putoutTurret Repair

Repairs on a turret may be attempted in any turn thatthe lasers are not fired Roll 2 dice If the result is 10 or more,one gun has been repaired Remove the explosion counteror turn it over to show the turret's status

The number needed for repair is decreased by 1 for eachturn that repairs are attempted Thus, the result must onlybe 9 or more for a successful second attemptFirefighting

Each turn, one hex of fire may be fought in each launch-ing tube or landing bay To do this, roll 2 dice In a launchingtube or in a landing bay where there is only 1 hex of fire, aroll of 8 or more means that the fire was fought successfullyIf there are 2 hexes of fire in a landing bay, a roll of 9 or

more is needed for success If there are 3 hexes of fire in thebay, a roll of 10 or more is needed for success And if thereare 4 hexes of fire in the bay, a roll of 11 or more is neededfor success

Successfully fighting a hex of temporary fire puts it out,remove the explosion counter Successfully fighting a hexof permanent fire turns it into a temporary fire, turn theexplosion counter upside downFIGHTER TAKE-OFFSPositioning Fighters For Take-Off

Fighters take off from the launching tubes by placingtheir counters on the launching tube hex If the fighter hasbeen placed there at the beginning of the game, then it maytake off in the first turn of play If the fighter is not there atthe beginning of the game, then it must be moved to thebay from the hangar storage area in the center of the baseship, this takes 1 turn Then the fighter must be readied fortake-off, this also takes 1 turn Thus, it takes 3 turns beforea fighter in the hangar can be flying in combat 1 turn inmoving to the bay, 1 turn in readying for take-off, and 1 turntaking off It only costs 1 turn to ready a fighter for take-offif it is in a landing bay, simply move the fighter to a launchtube, and it can take off m the next turnMovement During Take-Off

When taking off, a fighter flies as though it were usingturbos It flies straight for the first 3 movements After it hascleared the bay, it may fly in any direction it chooses for thenext 1, 2, or 3 movements A fighter may not fly over thebase ship itself Taking off does not cost any fuel pointsTake-Offs Through Fires

A launching tube that is on fire may not be used tolaunch fightersFIGHTER LANDINGS

Fighters land by ending their movement on one of thethree hexes in a landing bay, each of these hexes costs amovement point, as usual A Skill Roll is not necessary innormal circumstances

If the fighter is moving using turbos, vector changes aremade, the pilot is wounded or damaged, or the landing bayis on fire, a Skill Roll is necessary The Skill Target dependson the piloting skill (program efficiency), the speed of thefighter, how many vector changes it made before landing,and whether the pilot is wounded or damaged To find thisnumber, add the number of movements made Subtract thepiloting skill Add 1 for every soft vector change, and 2 forevery hard vector change Add 1 for each wound on a Viperpilot, and 3 if the Cylon pilot is damaged Add 4 for each hexof fire the fighter passes through The result is the Skill Targetfor landing

Two dice are rolled The sum of the rolls is comparedto the Skill Target If the result is equal to or greater thanthe Skill Target, the landing was successful If the sum isless than the Skill Target, the fighter crash landed

For example, desperate because he is low on fuel, aViper pilot has a piloting skill of 3 He lands after making 5movements, including 1 gentle vector change and 1 hardvector change He has 2 wounds This means that his SkillTarget for landing is 7 (5 movements - his piloting skill of3 + 1 for gentle vector change + 2 for the hard vector change+ 2 for the wounds =9) He rolls a 6, and so he makes acrash landing

Crash LandingsA crash landing can kill the pilot or destroy a Cylon

Make a Skill Roll against the Piloting Skill Target for the pilotand for EACH Cylon If the roll is successful, the pilot takes2 wounds or the Cylon is damaged If the roll is unsuccessful,the pilot is killed or the Cylon is destroyed

Base Ship Launch Tube/Landing Bay Damage

Die Roll Damage1 No Effect2 Temporary Fire3 Temporary Fire4 Temporary Fire5 Temporary Fire6 Permanent Fire

Page 24: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

A crash landing can also start a fire in the bay Make aSkill Roll against the Piloting Skill Target If the roll is success-ful, the pilot managed to steer the fighter into a relativelysafe area and no fire is started If the roll is unsuccessful atemporary fire is started Treat this fire just as a normal tem-porary fireLanding Through A Fire

Landing in a bay that is on fire is more difficult thanusual Landings may not be made in a fire To do so wouldexplode the fighter, kill the pilot or destroy the Cylons, andadd a hex of permanent fire to the landing bay Thus, fightersmust fly through the fire hexes in order to have a chance toland safely

To see if the pilot lands safely, add 4 to the Skill Targetfor each fire hex, temporary or permanent, through whichthe fighter must fly This means that only the most experi-enced pilots can land in a bay with 2 fires, and that no pilotcan land in a bay with 3 fires

A crash landing in a bay that is already on fire automat-ically adds 1 hex of temporary fire to the bayCRASHING INTO BASE SHIPS

A fighter that flies into a base ship crashes, destroyingthe craft This can inflict damage on the base ship if hecrashes into a laser turret a launching tube, or a landingbay A hit is automatic

If the fighter is uncontrolled, either because of a stabilizerhit or an unconscious or disrupted pilot, roll damage as usualIf a fighter pilot chooses to sacrifice himself and his fighterintentionally, and is in control of his fighter, add 1 to the dieroll, so that damage is more intense

FIGHTER DUEL

THE GAMES

MASS ATTACK

CAMPAIGN GAME

This game pits the fighter(s) of one player against thefighter(s) of another, with the players' skills in maneuveringtheir craft determining the outcome It is played on only onestarfield mapsheet

The fighters begin the game out of range of each other'sweapons and facing one another For a game with only 2fighters, the craft should be centered on the mapsheet asmuch as possible, facing each other across the short sideFor games with more fighters, the craft should be equallyspaced on the mapsheet so that no player has an advantage

Fighter Duel games end when one player or side forcesthe fighter(s) of the other off the mapsheet because of dam-age or when the fighter(s) or pilots of one side have beendestroyed

Advanced games may be played with asteroids or withexperienced fighters When playing these games, playersmay decide beforehand to award skill advancement only tothe winner, or to give half awards to the loser This will helpprevent players flying their fighters off the board before theyabsolutely need to

In this game, players attempt to destroy a base ship Thebase ship is not defenseless, but has many banks of lasersprotecting it It is no easy task to blow one up, but it may bedone The game is over when the base ship is destroyed orall of the fighters have been destroyed or driven from theboard The rules for the game are given below Two versionsare possible

In one version, which also may be a solo game, allplayers are on the same side, flying Vipers against the Cylon

REPAIRING, REARMING,AND REFUELING FIGHTERS

The table below gives the number of turns that are re-quired to repair the fighter, rearm its torpedo rack, refuel, orto change it altogether A repair fixes an entire arc on theDamage Display, partial arcs cost the full amount Repairtimes are cumulative, but reloading, refueling, or changingpilots may be made at the same time that repairs are takingplace

Base Ship or Raiders against the Galactica In this case, thebase ship fires every time that a fighter is in range and theturret positions are fixed or decided by dicing after move-ment is recorded When a player's fighter is being fired upon,the dice are rolled for the base ship by another player

In the second version, one player plays the base shipand all other players play fighters flying against it If thereare enough players, one or more may play fighters defendingthe base ship In this game, the turrets of the base ship arenot fixed, but their firing arc is determined by the player whoplays it

Set up the game by determining how many fighters willbe on each side All fighters from the base ship must startthe game either on a launching pad or in the central hangarAll attacking fighters must start from the far edge of the blankmapsheet

In this game, because the map is so big, Life SupportSystem hits allow a Viper pilot 10 turns to return to the baseship or get off the mapsheet

In the Campaign Game, all three starfield mapsheets areused so that fighters can take off and land for repairs, rearm-ing, and refueling The game is not over until one of the baseships is destroyed

The game is set up by determining how many fighterseach side will have, exactly which types will be used can bedecided by the two teams on their own, or it can be agreedupon at the beginning of the game All fighters must starton launching tubes or m the central hangar

Because the playing board is so big in this game, LifeSupport System hits allow a Viper pilot 10 turns to return tothe Galactica and land If the fighter has not landed by theend of the tenth turn, he is dead

23

Repair Time Costs

ActionRepair

1 Fuselage Arc1 Engine Arc1 Targeting Arc1 Heading Control ArcLife Support SystemCylon DamageWeapon ModuleTurbo Thruster

ReplaceViper PilotCylonTorpedo Rack

Refuel

Change Fighters

Turns

11111333

111

1

2

Page 25: Battlestar Galactica Starfighter Instruction Book

Comparison Between Fighter Types

Type

Mark IMark IIMark III

Lasers

Number

321

WeaponBase

234

Torpedoes Turbo FuelCost

Number

024

WeaponBase

63

234

Stabilizer Damage Vector Changes

Die Boll12

3 or 456

Vector Changehard leftgentle leftstraightgentle righthard right

DAMAGE CHART

Table 1

Die Poll Damage1 1 Fuselage2 1 Fuselage3 1 Fuselage4 1 Engine5 1 Engine6 1 Fuel Lost

Table 2

Die Roll Damage1 2 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 2 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 2 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted4 1 Engine, No Speed Change5 1 Engine, Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only6 2 Fuel Lost

Table 3

Die Roll Damage1 3 Fuselage2 3 Fuselage3 3 Fuselage4 2 Engine5 2 Engine6 4 Fuel Lost

Table 4

Die Roll Damage1 4 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 4 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 4 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted4 2 Engine, No Speed Change5 2 Engine, Turbo Damaged, Half Speed Only6 6 Fuel Lost

Table 5

Die Roll Damage1 5 Fuselage, Viper Pilot Wounded or Cylon Damaged2 5 Fuselage, Viper Steering Restriction or

Cylon Disrupted3 5 Fuselage, Viper Stabilizer Damaged or

Cylon Disrupted4 3 Engine, No Speed Change5 3 Engine, Turbo Damaged. Half Speed Only 1 Turn6 8 Fuel Lost

Table 6

Die Roll Damage1 1 Fuselage, Weapon System Destroyed2 1 Fuselage, Targeting Computer Hit3 1 Fuselage, Viper Life Support System Hit or

Cylon Destroyed4 3 Engine, Turbo Destroyed5 Cockpit Destroyed6 Fighter Blows Up

Temporary Half Speed

Normal Speed321

Half Speed211

Fighter TypeMark I

Mark II

Mark lll

Weapons Destroyed

Die Roll Weapon Destroyed1 or 23 or 45 or 61 or 23 or 45 or 61 or 23 or 45 or 6

Laser System ALaser System BLaser System CLaser System ALaser System BTorpedo SystemLaser SystemTorpedoes 1 and 2Torpedoes 3 and 4

Cylon Destroyed

Die Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Cylon Damaged

Die Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Cylon Disrupted

Die Roll Cylon1 or 2 Alpha3 or 4 Beta5 or 6 Gamma

Die Roll123456

Viper Steering Restrictions

RestrictionControl locks leftControl locks straightControl locks rightNo vector change leftNo straight movementNo vector change right

Creating Skill Or Program Efficiency

Die Roll1

2 or 34 or 5

6

Skill0123

Base Ship Laser

Range12345678

To-Hit Numbers

To-Hit Number467891

1112

Base Ship Turret Damage

Die Roll123456

Laser DamageNo EffectNo EffectNo Effect

One Laser OutOne Laser Out

Turret Destroyed

Torpedo DamageNo Effect

One Laser OutOne Laser OutOne Laser Out

Turret DestroyedTurret Destroyed

Base Ship Launch Tube/Landing Bay Damage

Die Roll123456

DamageNo EffectTemporary FireTemporary FireTemporary FireTemporary FirePermanent Fire

Repair Time Costs

ActionRepair

1 Fuselage Arc1 Engine Arc1 Targeting Arc1 Heading Control ArcLife Support SystemCylon DamageWeapon ModuleTurbo Thruster

ReplaceViper PilotCylonTorpedo Rack

Refuel

Change Fighters

Turns

11111333

111

1

2


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