Golden Oldie - Battlefleet Gothic

I was trawling my boxes of unpainted and painted miniatures when I came across a few boxes of spaceships. My collection was a haphazard array of ships, reflecting my numerous attempts to enter this genre. The miniatures included a few fleets from Space Dreadnought 3000, Battlefleet Gothic and some modern additions, like Dropleet Commander.

This discovery coincided with Ross Lockwood's new set of space combat rules, 'Hyperspace Hack'. Therefore, after discovering an old treasure and some new rules, I had an excellent fill-in game as I continued painting for my next project. 

Spaceship Rules

Oh, if things could be that simple.  I immediately dug out some old spaceship combat rules in my collection. The aim was to fight fleet skirmishes and battles rather than worry about controlling an individual starship array of systems. 

Unlike historical games, there is nothing factual against which to judge any rules. The rules must fire your imagination and reflect how you imagine space combat. I started my intergalactic altic quest by reading all the rules I had in my collection. In the end, I returned to a golden oldie, Battlefleet Gothic. Why?

Spaceship Gothic  

The rules, beautifully written by Andy Chambers, have stood the test of time. They contain everything you expect from spaceship battles, giant ships, planet killers, speedy flights, interplanetary defence systems, and an array of space matter. I own the original 1999 rules. The edition comes in landscape rather than my preferred portrait. However, fans have produced a remastered (live) edition in a portrait setting.

Personally, I do not like the 40,000 Universe, but the rules can be adapted to a homemade setting. I came across some settings that appealed to me more in my reading. 

Battlefleet Solo

For me, the lack of solo mechanics is the main area for improvement in the Battlefleet rules. However, other rules have solo mechanisms that could be adapted. Horizon Wars Infinity Dark has a playing card activation system that establishes the activation order, the actions to be taken, and any course corrections. This system was used in conjunction with the Battlefleet Gothic rules.

The Scenario 

A convoy of colony ships had been ambushed in the Carian Sector by pirates who infest these outer world systems. However, the main merchantman, CSS New Beginnings, survived the onslaught but lost all power. As the pirates considered boarding their prize, a portal opened, and the cruiser, Iron Duke and two support frigates (Alpha and Omega) entered the sector. The pirates clocked or hid and waited for their opportunity.

The Objective.

To win the Imperial squadron, the crew had to board the stricken New Begining, pass a successful test to reboot her systems, and then escort the colony ship to safety. Simple rules using the leadership test catered for the docking procedures between the two friendly ships and the system reboot. 

The pirate fleet of smaller reconditioned frigates and raiders had to prevent the colony ship from leaving the sector without destroying it. They would also earn bonuses for killing or capturing any Imperial ship.

Tactics

The Imperial commander's tactics were simple. The two frigates would attempt to dock with the stricken vessel while the Iron Duke stood off in case the pirates returned. The pirate tactics were to wait until a ship tried to start docking with their prize and launch an attack, using their mobility to maximum impact while the ships were entangled.

The Game

The Imperial ships made a quick approach to the stranded colony ship. However, only some things went to plan. The Alpha overshot her docking portal and had to exercise a sharp turn to make another approach. The Omega was more successful and docked successfully, but this left the now static frigate vulnerable to attack. It was at this moment that the pirates launched their raid. 

The Iron Duke made mincemeat of several vessels, but the attacks came from all sides. The captain of Omega ordered 'Brace for Impact', which allowed the frigate to survive the first onslaught. However, the Alpha, exposed during her turning manoeuvre, suddenly exploded as an array blast hit the ship.

The next turn, the Omega engineers managed to re-fire the New Beginnings engines, and she started to lumber forward. The Iron Duke, impervious to the horde of small ships, continued to exact damage.

The final moves saw the New Beginning move to the safety of the jump portal as the Iron Duke covered her and the Omega retreat. The cruiser was too powerful for the small pirate vessel, and the Imperial squadron completed its mission.

Some Thoughts

The game was short and brutal, and I had forgotten how entertaining these rules were. However, my adapted solo system did not work as I wanted. The card activations led to some peculiar movements, especially for the pirates. The generated options needed to be more sophisticated, and the pre-programmed orders must be adapted for the ship type. In brief, back to the drawing board. 

Britcon 2024

Last year, I made my first visit to Britcon Gaming Day and enjoyed the weekend, so this August, I returned to Nottingham. Like last year, I attended the Two Fat Lardies workshop, where there were there was a wide variety of participation games, from a pirate raid to 1968 Vietnam.  I choose to play a naval action and a battle from the Trojan War.

Spanish Breakout

My first game was a Napoleonic naval engagement using Charley Walker's new version of Kiss Me Hardy rules. The original game's mechanics have been streamlined by using some ideas from What a Cowboy, but maintain the feeling that you are in command of great sailing ships of the era. My command was the British inshore squadron, which included a 3rd Rate and a frigate, the Gibberish. My partner had the larger ships that had come to reinforce the inshore ships to prevent the Spanish breakout. Whilst the British had the advantage of better crews, the Spanish admirals had size on their side. One ship had 118 guns! As the British would find out, these monsters could absorb a lot of damage.

In the early moves, I thought we had the Spanish, with their advance squadron, trapped between the British larger ships and the shoreline. Whilst my inshore squadron managed to get some close broadside off. Even the Gibberish managed to land a few blows without getting blown out of the water by the larger ships.

However, after the first run, the British ship found it hard to turn in the narrow confines of the bay, especially with the wind against them. Therefore, the Spanish made it to open waters, although they were severely damaged.

Before the Walls of Troy

My afternoon game, run by James Morris, used the Midgard rules, hopefully to be published later this year, in a fight between the Amazons and the Greeks. The game started with a duel between two champions, which the Amazons lost. This immediately led to a full-blown conflict between the Greeks and the Amazon. This time, I was the Amason queen Penthesilla, daughter of Ares, who commanded the right flank.

However, this was a battle when the dice god Hermes was firmly on the side of the Greeks. In the opening move, a rabble of Greek skirmishers managed to kill one of the Amazon champions. The ravens soon picked over her body as she threw successive ones ( a raven on these dice) to save herself from the Greek arrows. When the second Amazon champion fell on the left, things began to look bad. However, the Amazons fought bravely and launched a counterattack that nearly killed Achilles 'of the winged feet', but once again, Hermes came to the Greek's aid, and Achilles managed to escape almost certain death.

On the right, my Amazon was slowly being pushed back by the Greek's superior close combat skills, although Penthesilla managed to kill one of the Greek champions in single combat. Despite the glimpse of success, the day would be with the Greeks.

In both these games, the scenery and the miniatures were beautiful, as you will see from the photos. More importantly, the games were full of banter and laughter. Win or lose, you had a great game and a story to tell.

The Traders and Other Games

Elsewhere in the Hall, numerous trade stands were similar to the ones at last year's show. A floor plan for this area would have helped, although an earlier e-mail gave you the basic outline. Beyond the trade stand were the competition games with ranks of the tables. Those who follow this blog will know that this type of gaming is not my thing. However, numerous games were displayed, and the whole place buzzed.

Wrap Up

The day was rounded off by a few pints and a curry. During this evening session, my discussions involved the push and shove in pre-gun powder warfare, how wargame rules have changed since the 70s and the wonders of French cheeses—an enjoyable evening.

More Projects

I have come back with some great ideas for new projects: dark dwarves and sea witches will invade Romano-Britian. Will Arthur save the day? Playing Charley‘s revised version of Kiss Me Hardy has ‘forced’ me to invest in some 1:700 ships because they look fantastic. James’ bloody Trojan escapade has led me to explore my ‘pile of lead’, and I have found some Greek chariots. It looks like Troy might be coming to East Anglia.

Final Thanks

Overall behind-the-scenes? Thanks to Don Avis, despite commanding a Greek wing, for his spreadsheet wizardry and good humour. Also, the Britcon organisers for their fantastic attention to detail and speedy service.