Desktop Dropfleet Rulebook 1.5

V1.
5
1
Contents
Earth, 2673 3 Ship’s Orders 15

Dropfl eet Movement 16
Commander Rules 4
Firing 18
The Basics 4
Damage 22
Ship Characteristics 4
Ground Combat 28
Game Components 7
Launch Assets 31
Admirals 11
Building Your 37
Orbital Layers 12 Fleet
Core Rules 13 Scenarios 39
Game Turn Sequence 13 Objectives 40
Battlegroup Cards & 14 Scenery 43
the Strategy Deck
Special Rules 46
Battlegroup Activation 14
Sequence
2
Earth, 2673
After 160 years as refugees, humanity has returned to Earth.
Evicted from its birthplace, the forces of the United Colonies of Mankind have spent
almost two centuries mustering their armies to launch a mass war against their enemy:
the dreaded Scourge. Alien parasites from an unknown galaxy, the Scourge appeared
without warning, destroying the previously peaceful society. What they didn’t kill they
captured and enslaved, forcibly bonding with their hosts.
Fighting off the parasitic threat as well as enemies from the enigmatic alien Shaltari and
the splintered Post-Human Republic turned humanity into a militant race, one with a
manifest destiny amid the stars.
The UCM launched their Reconquest campaign to take back the Cradle Worlds – verdant
paradises seized by the Scourge. The battles have been long and fiercely fought, ending
in costly victories that left the colonial fighters exhausted. Humanity is nothing if not
tenacious though.
After a brief hole opened in the Scourge’s defences by the courageous Resistance fighters
left planetside, the UCM have seized their opportunity to attack. Their forces are battered,
but the surprising opportunity of an assault on Earth itself is one that couldn’t be passed
up.
The power of the space-based fleet and the mobile troops of the UCM’s army is mighty, but
still not enough to fight even the weakened Scourge armada. At the eleventh hour, aid has
appeared from some unlikely sources, forming one of the largest fleets ever witnessed.
3 The board is set; the Battle for Earth has begun.

The Basics Core Rules Building Scenarios Special
Your Fleet Rules
THE BASICS
Ship Characteristics
The strengths and weakness of different ships and weapon systems in the game are shown
through their characteristics. These show how fast they are, how much damage they can
take and so on. You can see an example of a ship’s stat sheet below.
UCM Lysander
Stealth Lighter 27 pts D
Name Scan Sig Thrust Hull A PD G T Special
A Lysander 6” 0” 12” 2 6+ 2 1-3 L Atmospheric, Full Cloak,

Launch, Open, Rare
Type Lock Attack Damage Arc Special
B Barracuda Missile Bay 4+ 2 1 F/S/R Close Action
Load Launch Special
C Dropships 1 -
Stealth Observation: This ship can Survey a Cluster regardless of its Battlegroup Tonnage value. E
A Stats Bar - This shows all the key characteristics of a ship. From how fast it moves,
to how survivable it is, its tonnage, and much more. We’ll be going into detail on
the stats bar over the next few pages.
B Weapon Systems - This shows what weapons the ship is armed with. Accuracy,
damage potential, arc of fire and more are shown here.
C Launch Capacity - Some ships are able to launch Dropships, Bulk Landers and
more. If the ship has a launch capacity, it is shown here. Ships without any do not
have this bar on their stat sheet.
D Points Cost (Pts) - All ships in the game cost points to field in your fleet. Ships with
a higher points cost will generally be more potent, but you will not be able to
field as many. This number is for a single ship within that group.
E Special Rules - Some ships have unique special rules that are detailed here.
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Your Fleet Rules
Stats Bar Thrust

Each ship has its own unique stats bar. Thrust is a ship’s maximum move
Each column shows a different aspect of distance per game turn in inches. Several
the ship. Getting to know these stats is factors such as the ship’s orders or battle
the first step towards learning how to play damage can affect available Thrust. Under
Dropfleet Commander. ordinary circumstances a ship must move
at least half of its available Thrust for
Name movement each turn (see the Orders and
What the ship type is called. Certain ships Special Orders sections of the rules for
may have individual and unique names, more details).
but they always belong to a ‘class’ of ship. Hull
The name of the ship’s class is shown here.
Hull is the number of damage points a
Scan ship can withstand before it is destroyed.
The Scan characteristic shows how good Hull is a function of overall size and
a ship is at spotting the enemy through inherent structural integrity. This means
a combination of sophisticated sensors, it is possible for ships with good armour
predictive software and crew competence. to have a weak hull and vice versa. Lost
Scan range is primarily a ‘technology’ Hull points can be tracked on a ship’s
characteristic dictated by the best possible base using the pegs and number system
equipment that can be crammed on board provided, or if players prefer with a dice/
so most ships from a particular race will counter placed beside the ship.
have the same Scan value. Certain weapon Armour (A)
systems can only be used within Scan
range or become more effective when In comparison to civilian vessels, true
used within Scan range. warships are always ‘armoured’ in some way
to make them more resistant to damage.
Signature This can range from the basic hardening of
Signature shows how visible a ship is individual components and incorporating
on enemy sensors and how far away it multiple back-up systems to being sheathed
can be spotted. Most ships use forms of in metres-thick plates of highly advanced
active countermeasures like chaff, ECM armour.
(electronic countermeasures – jamming) In game terms the Armour characteristic is
and other technologies to hide the ship a saving throw on a D6 against each point
by reducing its signature as much as of Hull damage taken expressed as 3+, 4+
possible. etc. When a ship is damaged roll a D6 for
These countermeasures are considered each point of damage inflicted on it. Each
to be in constant use and are taken successful armour save prevents one point
into account in the ship’s overall of Hull damage.
Signature. Certain kinds of damage, hard Point Defence (PD)
manoeuvring and firing weapon systems
can all act to temporarily increase a ship’s All fighting ships carry some sort of point
Signature. Signature can also be reduced defence to protect themselves against
in some circumstances, such as by issuing small objects. Point Defences are the
the Silent Running order for example. equivalent of Active Countermeasures on
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Your Fleet Rules
ground based units; systems that identify consider the Tonnage of the vessels under
and neutralise incoming threats to the their command. Tonnage also figures
ship – everything from meteorites to into scenarios where victory conditions
nuclear-tipped missiles. are often calculated using the tonnage of
surviving vessels.
The exact weapons used can take many
forms: pulse lasers, rapid fire gauss Special
guns, interceptor missiles, flak rockets, This section lists any special rules that may
energised plasma arcs – the list is endless. apply to the ship. This represents particular
All of these are small, fast-firing weapon traits of a ship’s design, special abilities or
systems with the response time necessary weaknesses the vessel may have. A detailed
to intercept tiny, rapidly-moving targets at list of all common ship Special Rules
close range. can be found in the ‘Ship Special Rules’
For the most part Point Defence relies on Section.
quantity rather than quality. The number Some ships have unique rules that are
indicated by this characteristic indicates specific to that faction and ship class
the number of dice the ship can roll in alone, such as sensor jamming abilities or
self-defence when attacked by enemy situational bonuses. Any unique Special
Close Action weapons and some Launch Rules not in the ‘Special’ section of a ship’s
Assets. These rules are covered later on. stats bar will be shown following the bar
Group (G) with details of the unique rules used.
Group indicates the normal operating Weapon System
parameters for ships of this class within Characteristics
the larger fleet. Smaller vessels such as
frigates will tend to operate in groups Most ships in Dropfleet are armed with
of one to four of the same type of ship one or more weapon systems. These can
working together, while large vessels range from a mass of turret-mounted rail
might only be found together in one or cannons to huge spinal-mount energy
twos. The Group characteristic is used weapons capable of cutting enemy craft in
when choosing a fleet before the game half with a single blast.
(see Fleet Selection).
Lock
Tonnage (T) Lock is the weapon system’s ‘to hit’ roll
There are four main Tonnage categories and represents a combination of tracking
in Dropfleet commander: Light (L), speed and power-up delay as well as
Medium (M), Heavy (H) and Super inherent accuracy. When rolling to hit,
Heavy (S). There are also some ships that each of the weapon system’s Attack dice
fall between the classes such as L2 and H2. scores a hit if it equals or beats the Lock
As with the Group characteristic, Tonnage value.
is primarily used in conjunction with Fleet
Selection as players will often have to
Attack
Attack shows the number of Attack dice
the weapon system rolls, with each dice
typically representing a salvo or volley
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Your Fleet Rules
from the same weapon system. Each Special
attack dice has to score equal or higher
than the weapon’s Lock value to score a A number of weapon systems have special
hit. rules to reflect their effects. See Special
Weapons Rules for more information.
Damage
Some weapon systems hit harder than Game
others and will do a corresponding components
amount of damage to an enemy hull.
Damage indicates the number of Hull Dice
points inflicted by each Attack dice from
Dropfleet uses six-sided dice throughout
the weapon system which successfully
the game both for its ease of availability and
hits and damages a ship.
robust handling characteristics. Most of
Arc the dice rolls players need to make require
Each weapon system has a designated fire equalling or bettering a target number based
arc it can make attacks into. There are 4 arcs: on a particular ship characteristic, i.e. a ship
F – Front, F (N) – Front Narrow, R – with a weapon with a Lock characteristic of
Rear, S – Side. Side facing weapons may 4+ would need a 4 or more to succeed and hit
also have an addition notation, i.e. Right its target.
or Left. If the weapon has no extra note When referencing dice rolls the rules will
and only says S it may fire to either side refer to six-sided dice as a D6. Rolling
– left or right. If it has the (Right) or (Left) more dice is indicated with a number
notation it may only fire on that side (in before i.e. if instructed to ‘roll 3D6’, players
addition to any other arcs shown). would roll 3 dice, ‘4D6’ would be 4 dice etc.
Weapon arcs are normally 90 degrees but If you are asked to roll a D3, simply roll a
some weapons systems are restricted to D6 and a result of a 1 or a 2 would equal a
a 22 degree narrow (N) arc instead. Ship 1, a result of 3 or 4 would equal a 2 and a
bases include these arcs for ease of use – result of 5 or 6 would equal a 3.
thin ridges delineate front, side and rear
arcs, and the raised area at the front the Dice roll modifiers
base shows the front narrow arc. Certain special circumstances can mean
that modifiers apply to dice rolls. These
e.g. a ship has three weapons profiles. One
modifiers can be negative (e.g. -1 to the
has arc: F/S/R, the second has arc: S/R, and
target number) or positive (e.g. +1 to the
the last has arc: F/S (Right).
target number). Modifiers are always
In this case the first weapon would be able applied to the target number and they
to fire from its Front arc, either Side arc or its don’t change the number you roll on the
Rear arc. dice.
The second weapon could fire from either one Modifiers can never make results
of its Side arcs or its Rear arc. impossible or a foregone conclusion. If
a modifier would make a target number
The last weapon may only fire from the Front
of 7+ or 1+ (i.e. impossible to achieve or
arc or the arc on its Right side, as it has the S
impossible to fail), this is reduced to a 6+
(Right) notation.
and 2+ respectively.
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Your Fleet Rules
For example, if you normally needed to roll Playing Space
a 4+ and had a +1 modifier to the target
number you would only succeed on a roll of Dropfleet Commander is usually played
5 or 6. Likewise if you needed a 5+ and had over a 4ft x 4ft gaming area, and scenarios
a -2 modifier, you would need a 3 or more to in this book are based on this as the
succeed (5+, with the minus 2 modifier = 3+ combat area. Players may find it easier to
to succeed). play on slightly wider tables to have space
for reserves, destroyed ship miniatures,
Rerolls spare dice, and other game components.
Sometimes players will have the ability
to ‘reroll’ certain dice. This lets the Measuring
player pick up dice that have produced distances
an unsatisfactory result and roll them
Dropfleet Commander uses inches for its
again. The result of the reroll always
unit of measurement. Players will need a
stands even if it is worse than the original.
tape measure or ruler marked in inches to
Rerolled dice may never be rerolled in any
measure distances. Throughout this book
circumstances.
shorthand for measurements is used;
Tokens quotation marks after a number indicate
the inch distance, e.g. 12” would be 12
Dropfleet Commander uses tokens and inches, 30” would 30 inches etc.
markers to track certain actions or events
during a game. Many of these are designed Pre-measuring
to give both players a visual reminder of In Dropfleet Commander it is perfectly
continuing effects and unit placement, fine to pre-measure distances before
but some are for convenience as it is often moving or shooting, or at any time in
easier to use a dice or token next to a between. Any ‘fog of war’ is taken into
miniature than it is to have to keep notes. account in the game rules already and
your captains (or equivalents) have the
Tokens are available for free download in
very best detection and calculation
the Resources section of the webstore:
equipment of a future universe on hand.
www.ttcombat.com This means that players may measure any
distances at any time.
Necessary on the tabletop (i.e. both
players need to be aware):
• ‘Spike’ status markers (can be found on
the base provided)
• Silent running markers (can be found
on the base provided)
• Orbit level markers (can be found on the
base provided)
• Clusters, Sectors and Launch Assets
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Your Fleet Rules
Note that while pre-measuring means that Traffic James and Ship
any player may measure any distance at any Placement
time, sportsmanship should be considered An unfortunate reality of moving
and players are encouraged to take each miniatures around on the tabletop
other’s word on measurements. Measuring is that occasionally you’ll end with a
every distance straight after your opponent ‘traffic jam’ where several miniatures
has done just that leads to a very negative need to be in the same place (or close to
gaming experience all round. it) at the same time. This is especially
true of larger ships which can overhang
Miniatures their bases by a considerable distance,
Miniatures are the models you use for but it can happen with the smallest of
playing the game. In Dropfleet miniatures vessels as well. Movement in Dropfleet
means one thing - ships; big ships, little is generally flexible enough that a ship
ships, swarming fighters, kill-hungry almost never has to move to an exact
bombers, torpedoes, drones, space spot so the problems usually arise from
stations, satellites and more. trying to squeeze the last possible inch of
For the purposes of clarity and ease of use, movement or keep a weapon system in arc
all distances in the game are measured to fire.
from the flight stem of each ship or asset The solution is to use a marker to show
unless otherwise stated in specific rules. the exact position of the intersecting ships
until they move far enough apart to place
Friendly and Enemy models in their correct positions again, in
Ships
the meantime they are simply placed as
All ships in your Fleet, as well as those
close as possible. These markers should
belonging to any team mates are friendly
show ship facing, and players should be as
ships, while those belonging to your
precise as possible in their placement to
opponent or opponents are enemy ships.
avoid arguments.
Certain effects and rules will specify either
friendly or enemy ships, though some Note that while not the best way of playing
rules may not specify either, in which in tournaments or competitive play, some
case both friendly and enemy ships can be Players may decide on a different house rule
affected. for this situation. Simply rule that ships
may not move to any position where they
Base Contact cannot be physically placed. This speeds
Occasionally the rules will reference game up the game and reduces the use of tokens.
objects being ‘in contact’ or tell players However, it is not a fool proof option – in
to place tokens or other game elements certain situations this can cause problems
in ‘base contact’ with a miniature’s base due to relative miniature size and placement
as a way of showing that a ship is in close when interacting with order. If it causes
proximity to something. In the case of problems (even in friendly games), revert to
ships with very large or irregular shaped using markers as above.
bases this may not be possible – in such
cases, place the token, ship etc. as close as Groups &
possible to the base, or use a ‘Traffic Jam’
Battlegroups
token as detailed below. Individual ships in Dropfleet Commander
9
Your Fleet Rules
always belong to a Group. Multiple Groups When a group activates the first ship in it
belong to a Battlegroup. It’s worth noting can be moved freely (subject to the normal
the distinct difference between Groups rules for movement). Each subsequent
and Battlegroups, as it comes up a lot! ship in the group must end its movement
within coherency range of at least one
Battlegroups are assembled together to
other ship in the group.
form your fleet, see Building Your Fleet for
more details. In the event that a ship finds itself outside
coherency range (usually due to the
All ships of the same class in a
group suffering casualties) it must move
Battlegroup automatically form a
to be within coherency range of another
group together.
ship from the group as soon as it has an
For example a UCM Battlegroup could be opportunity to do so.
comprised of six Toulon Class frigates, two
Some Groups have a special open
Berlin Class cruisers and a Madrid Class
coherency (most notably strike carriers
cruiser. It would therefore contain three
and other troop deploying ships). These
groups; one comprising the six Toulons, one
Ships do not have to maintain coherency
comprising two Berlins and one comprising
and are not subject to either Battlegroup
the Madrid.
or Group coherency rules – they are
Ships in groups have to stay fairly close effectively autonomous, though must still
together so they can rapidly share combat obey the rules for orders/special orders as
information over secure links to instantly their battlegroup.
coordinate their actions and hinder
enemy intelligence-gathering. Smaller Battlegroup
ships with more limited communications cohesion
gear and lower signature have to stay The individual groups that make up a
closer together to retain cohesion as a battlegroup are free to split up as much
fighting unit and get the same benefits. as they wish, but they avoid penalties to
What that all means is that ships in the the battlegroup’s overall effectiveness by
same group have to stay close to each staying closer together. When it comes to
other on the tabletop. comparing Strategy Ratings (see Strategy
Ratings for more details), a battlegroup
Ships with a Hull characteristic of 6
temporarily increases its Strategy
or less have a group coherency of 3”.
Rating by +1 for each of its groups
Ships with a Hull characteristic of 7 that is more than 12” away from any
or more have a group coherency of 6”. other group in the same battlegroup.
As with most of the distances in Dropfleet
Commander, coherency is measured from
the centre of one model to the centre of
another, with the centre being the stem of
the flight stand.
Special rules can increase or decrease the
standard coherency distances for groups.
10
Your Fleet Rules
Special rules can increase or decrease in their fleet.
the standard 12” coherency distance for
Your Admiral may be placed in any ship
battlegroups.
in your fleet with a Tonnage value of M, H
Disagreements or S. If placed in a ship of Tonnage H you
may upgrade your Admiral 1 level for free.
The rules are written to cover as many If placed in a ship of Tonnage S you may
conceivable eventualities as possible, upgrade your Admiral 2 levels for free.
but there will always be occasions where These free upgrades do not allow you to
obscure situations are not addressed. If exceed the maximum level allowed by
the game size (see Building Your Fleet for
Admiral AV Allowed Pts
details).
UCMF Vice 4 C/B 80
Admiral
Famous Admirals
re-reading the relevant rules section does Some Admirals have risen to legendary
not provide an answer to a problem, and status, becoming household names, and
the players cannot agree on how to proceed, are often held in fear, awe or infamy. These
simply have one player roll a dice. On a 1-3 mighty individuals may occasionally be
one interpretation is correct, on a 4-6 it is featured in battles. Famous Admirals
the other. This makes for a fair and impartial may have several special abilities, and
ruling when players can’t agree, and stops may even change the Fleet Roster to suit
further arguments. the unique fighting style for which they
are famous. Before a battle, all players
Admirals must agree to the use of Famous Admirals
before they can be chosen. Rules for
Fleets seldom succeed in battle without a good
these will be available as special online
Admiral. In fluid situations, the actions and
downloads and in future books.
decisions of frontline leaders often separates
victory from defeat. Command Cards
Admirals cost points just like ships, but they Command Cards represent the specific
do not have a Core Stat Sheet. Instead, they actions and decisions made by the
have an Admiral Stat sheet, such as below: Admiral. Each card will state when it
can be played and what its effects are.
AV – (Admiral Value): Represents the Espionage

abilities of an Admiral (higher numbers are
better). This affects things such as the roll to
determine Initiative. Play
When an Opponent plays a Command Card.
Allowed: Defines what sized engagement Target

One Enemy Command Card use.
they can be chosen to partake in. In this Effect

You may negate the effects of this enemy Command
case, a UCMF Vice Admiral can be taken for a Card.
Clash or Battle, but not a Skirmish (an action

too small to usually merit his/her presence).
Pts: How many points it costs to field this “Just goes to show that even Shaltari can fall
into a trap, provided it’s set properly.”
Admiral. A player may only field 1 Admiral
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Your Fleet Rules
Command Cards add flavour and an
additional tactical layer to games. Each Orbital Layers
race has a distinct Command Card deck The basic Dropfleet rules cover fighting in
which may not be altered in any way, space, but the truth is that battles out in the
unless specified in the rules. Players may void between stars are rare events. The true
play as many cards as they like during prize in any interstellar conflict is gaining
a turn until they run out. A player can control of the planets in a solar system.
draw cards up to a hand size equal to the Because of this the majority of combat
Admiral Value (AV) of their Admiral in between ships occurs in close proximity to
each Planning Phase. This value only a habitable (or at least colonisable) planet,
applies here if the Admiral is on the table. moon or comparable celestial body.
If your Admiral is killed, the player may
use an AV of 1 and must immediately Once an enemy fleet moves in to try
discard command cards of their choice to knock down satellite coverage and
down to 1. bombard targets on the surface it is only a
matter of time before a full-blown invasion
When a card is played or discarded for will be launched. This is the point where
any reason it should be placed face-up in a defending fleet is forced to stand and
a discard pile. If a player runs out of cards fight or surrender control of the planet
in their deck, this discard pile should be
altogether.
turned face-down and shuffled into a new
deck to draw from. There are three ‘heights’ or layers in orbital
combat, with the table surface nominally
A typical Command Card is set out as
representing ground level and ships
follows:
floating somewhere in the layers above.
Play: Describes when a card can be played
High Orbit/Space
Target: Describes the allowed Target(s) of Combat is rare in actual deep space but
the card. Each Group can only be Targeted common in high orbit. Most large ships
once per turn per player, although cards are designed to operate at this level, and
which do not specifically target them or as such are most effective in High orbit.
ships within them will still take effect (e.g. Severe damage when at lower orbital layers
‘Target: all friendly Groups’). is liable to cause Orbital Decay, a situation
Effect: Describes the effect the card has that can very easily become terminal for
on the target. Before the card takes effect, such large vessels.
other players may play cards in response. Low Orbit
Effects stack in reverse order when
multiple cards are played simultaneously The exact parameters for what constitutes
(the most recently played card takes Low Orbit can vary a lot from planet to
effect first). You may also choose to wait planet depending on composition and
until another card has taken effect before atmosphere. This ‘interface’ layer is the
playing another. most common battleground for ships as
attacking ships must come down to Low
Orbit at some point to launch an invasion
force, bombard the surface, and claim key
orbits.
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Your Fleet Rules
CORE RULES
Atmosphere activation phase) may be repeated, or have
steps to follow within them.
Few ships are Atmosphere-capable, and
even Strike Craft or munitions have to Every ship in a player’s fleet is fielded as
be specially configured to operate in part of a Group, which is a part of a larger
Atmosphere without burning up on entry. formation called a Battlegroup. During
However, to conquer a planet the invading the turn, Battlegroups on the tabletop
force must enter Atmosphere in order to activate one after another and the sub
make a landing. group of ships in them take their actions
individually in an order of the controlling
Limitations in player’s choosing. Once all Battlegroups
Atmosphere have been activated play moves to the
Atmosphere may only be entered by
Roundup Phase.
ships with the Atmospheric special
rule. Any other ships are destroyed on Planning phase
entry. Ships in Atmosphere have their 1. Pick Battlegroup Cards: Each player
available Thrust reduced to 2”. Ships picks up their Battlegroup cards and
moving into Atmosphere therefore lose stack them into strategy decks. When
any remaining movement apart from this all players are ready the activation
2”. phase begins. Battlegroups that are
Ships moving out of Atmosphere into unavailable to activate (usually for
Low Orbit must do so at the start of scenario reasons) may not be included
their movement, and follow the rules in the strategy deck this turn
for moving up an Orbital Layer and do not 2. Discard Cards: Each player may now
suffer this penalty. (see Moving between discard any unwanted Command Cards.
Orbital Layers). 3. Draw Cards: Each player may now
draw cards up to the Admiral Value
Game Turn (AV) of their most senior friendly
Sequence Admiral on the table.
A game of Dropfleet Commander is played 4. Cleanup: Any affects that result from
out in a series of turns. The number of special rules or Command Cards are
turns played will vary depending on the addressed now.
scenario being played but four to six turns
for a game is typical. In each turn all of the
ships on the tabletop will get a chance to
move and shoot, known as Activating. The
order that ships activate in is determined
by their Strategy Rating.
A turn is divided up into 3 phases, with
each phase being split up into segments.
Some segments (like those in the
13
Your Fleet Rules
Activation Phase Battlegroup

1. Both players reveal the top card of their
strategy decks.
Cards & the
2. Compare the Strategy Rating on the
Strategy Deck
cards revealed. The player with the The order that ships activate in is
lower Strategy Rating chooses whether determined by each players’ strategy
they will go first or second. In the event deck. This is a set of Battlegroup cards
of a draw both players roll a D6 and the which list the contents of their selected
high roller chooses who goes first. If Battlegroups.
both players roll the same number, roll
again until one player rolls higher. At the start of each turn both players build
their own strategy deck out of their force’s
3. The first player activates the Groups available Battlegroup cards, stacking
indicated on their Battlegroup card them in the order they intend them to be
one-by-one in the order they choose activated in over the course of the coming
and completes all of their actions. turn.
4. The second player then activates the
Groups indicated on their Battlegroup A player’s number of available Battlegroup
card one-by-one and completes all of cards are determined when they pick their
their actions. fleet (see Building Your Fleet for more
details). It can potentially be varied by
5. The Battlegroup cards are placed on the circumstances like scenarios requiring
discard pile. reserve Battlegroups to be held off-table or
6. Return to 1. When both players have casualties wiping out whole Battlegroups.
no Battlegroup cards left to reveal, play
moves onto the Roundup Phase. Strategy Rating
Roundup phase A Battlegroup card’s Strategy Rating
is used to determine which player’s
1. Ground Combat: Resolve any ground Battlegroup activates first. When the
asset movement and combats. players reveal two opposing Battlegroup
2. Launch Assets: Resolve any launch cards the Strategy Ratings on the cards are
assets. compared and the lower Strategy Rating
3. Damage Control: Roll for damage can choose to activate before or after
control on ships suffering from the Battlegroup with the higher Strategy
ongoing crippling damage results. Rating.
4. Orbital Decay. Resolve any orbital The Strategy Ratings for Battlegroup cards
decay. are determined by the Battlegroup’s type
5. Collect Victory Points: Indicated by and size, reflecting the fact that a small
the scenario being played. scouting group will be able to react more
6. Remove any excess dice and tokens quickly than an orbital bombardment
from the table. group. For details on making up your own
Battlegroups see Building Your Fleet.
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Your Fleet Rules
Equal Strategy Ratings Ship’s Orders

If two battlegroup cards are revealed which
have the same Strategy Rating both players When activating any ships in a
roll a D6 and add their Admiral Value (see Battlegroup, the player may opt to use
Admirals for details), the player with the Standard Orders or one of many special
highest total chooses who goes first – If both orders. Generally a ship may turn, then
players total is the same, roll again until one move, then fire its weapons. A ship must
players total is higher. do those in that order unless otherwise
specified, although the amount of each
Losing Battlegroups depends on the order given.
When all of the ships in a Battlegroup have Choose whether or not to have a ship on
been destroyed or are off the table for any special orders before moving or shooting
reason the corresponding Battlegroup with it. Special orders are powerful
card is removed from the player’s strategy abilities that allow greater tactical
deck and put to one side. If you reveal a flexibility. Each comes with their own pros
Battlegroup card that no longer has any and cons, often trading usefulness for an
ships remaining, remove it from your deck increased visibility (see Spikes for more
and reveal the next card. details).
Battlegroup All the ships in a battlegroup have to
Activation work together so only one ‘special’
order can be chosen each time the
Sequence battlegroup activates. The individual
When a Battlegroup’s card is revealed all ships in each of the battlegroup’s groups
the groups in the Battlegroup proceed to can opt to use the battlegroup special
activate one at a time in a sequence decided order chosen for that turn or to use
by the owning player. An active group takes Standard Orders instead.
orders and must complete all of that order’s Ships outside their group cohesion
moving, shooting and other actions before range (see above) can only use
another group can activate. standard orders.
It isn’t necessary for a player to nominate
the sequence of group activation before Standard orders
starting. Players choose the first group to Remove a Minor Spike from the ship at the
activate, complete all of its actions, and then beginning of its activation.
chose the next, in any order they like (as
which they choose may be determined by The ship may turn by up to 45 degrees
a previous Group’s successes or failures!). at the beginning of its activation, and
Once all of the groups in the Battlegroup then must move between half and full its
have activated the Battlegroup’s actions are Thrust value. It may then fire up to one
over for that turn. weapon system.
15
Your Fleet Rules
Special Orders A ship on Silent Running may not use

launch assets.
Weapons free
Active Scan
The ship may not turn, but must move
between half and full its Thrust value. The ship may not turn, and must move
It may then fire any number of weapon between half and full its Thrust value. It
systems. Add a Major Spike to the ship at may then fire up to one weapon system.
the end of its activation. After the ship has moved and fired, place a
Minor Spike on any one enemy ship on the
Station Keeping tabletop. Add a Major Spike to the ship at
The ship may use from none to half of its the end of its activation.
Thrust value to move, turn by up to 45 Ships in Atmosphere and/or with a
degrees at the beginning or end of its starting Hull characteristic of 3 or
movement and may then fire up to one less may not use this order.
weapon system. Add a Minor Spike to the
ship at the end of its activation. Only one ship per Group may use this
order.
Course Change
A ship using Active Scan can attempt
The ship must move between half and
to reveal a ship that is Silent Running,
full its Thrust value, and may turn up
although success is by no means assured.
to 45 degrees twice at any point in its
When choosing a target ship to Active
movement. It may then fire up to one
Scan, roll a die. On a 4 or more, the Silent
weapon system. Add a Minor Spike to the
Runner is spotted – reset the status
ship at the end of its activation.
wheel to show that its normal Signature
Max Thrust applies. Using Active Scan to reveal a ship
The ship may turn up to 45 degrees at on Silent Running does not cause the
the beginning of its movement and then targeted ship to gain a spike, regardless of
must move between its full and double if the attempt succeeds or not. Subsequent
its Thrust value. It may not fire any Active Scans or effects that add spikes to
weapon systems. Add a Minor Spike to the revealed ship will add the appropriate
the ship at the end of its activation. spike level.
A ship on Max Thrust may not use launch Movement

assets. When a group activates, unless otherwise
Silent Running noted, all of the ships in it may move
The ship may not turn, and must move individually. A group does not have to
between half and full its Thrust value. It maintain a specific formation when it
may not fire any weapons systems. Remove moves, but must be within its Group
all energy spikes from the ship at the end Coherency distance at the end of the
of its activation. The ship’s Signature move.
is reduced to 0 until the start of its
next activation. Use the status wheel on
the ship’s base to indicate that it is silent
running.
16
Your Fleet Rules
To move a ship, measure a position Ramming

horizontally from the flight stem directly
With the vast speeds involved in space
ahead, according to the Thrust value
travel, when two objects collide it
allowed by the ships order. Move the ship
mostly results in both objects being
to the new position. Ships may move
obliterated. With this in mind, even the
through Orbital Debris and Planetary
most insane or bloodthirsty captains will
Rings, but may suffer adverse affects of
avoid ramming their ship into another
doing so.
for risk of both being consumed in the
Moving between inevitable explosion. However, in certain
orbital layers circumstances, when there is nothing else
A ship may move voluntarily up or down to loose, incredibly desperate captains have
one orbital layer (e.g. from High Orbit to been known to rush dangerously close
Low Orbit, or Atmosphere to Low Orbit) towards the enemy in the hopes of taking
as a part of its movement, once per turn. them with them. In such circumstances
However, it must be able to turn to do it is often the close range exchanges of
so(but does not use its turn to move weapon systems or the critical overloading
between orbital layers). This means that of the ships jump drives that do the most
ships that have Weapons Free, Active damage, on rare occasions though the
Scan or Silent Running special orders doomed ship will manage to make contact
on them or ships that cannot turn for with their target, frequently consuming
any other reason may not change Orbital both in the destructive energies unleashed.
Layers. Only large ships have the mass to survive
Ships may go down an Orbital Layer at any the desperate defensive fire thrown up by
point in their movement for no penalty the enemy ship and as such, only ships of
to their movement (other than those medium tonnage or larger my attempt
associated with going into Atmosphere - this manoeuvre. As a captain must be
see the Atmosphere section for details). desperate to attempt such an action his
A ship must expend 4” of its available ship must abide by the following criteria:
Thrust to move up an Orbital Layer. A • The ship must have two or fewer Hull
ship that does not have 4” of Thrust Points remaining.
available may not move up a layer.
• The ship must choose Standard Orders
this turn and may not fire.
• If the ship ends its activation within 3”
of an enemy ship it may attempt to ram
them.
Roll a dice. On a 1-2 the attempt has failed
and the enemy ship succeeds in destroying
the Ramming ship; remove the ship from
play and do not roll for Catastrophic
Damage. On the roll of a 3+ the Ramming
action is a success and they have
17
Your Fleet Rules
successfully crashed into/detonated their To determine the effective range of a ships

jump drives/unleashed a devastating final weapons, nominate a target and use the
volley. Remove the Ramming ship and do following formula to determine weapon
not roll on the Catastrophic Damage table. range:
The target ship takes a number of Lock 3+
Attacker’s Scan + Target’s Signature =
hits equal to the Ramming ship’s original
Weapon range for attacker.
Hull value.
If the attacker is within range of the target,
Firing it may potentially fire upon it. The next
step is to check whether the target is
Once a group has moved, all of its ships
within any of the attackers weapons’ firing
may fire weapon systems if their orders
arcs.
permit them to do so.
Look at the weapon system’s Arc
Firing Procedure characteristic in the firing ship’s
1. Check detection range and arc. description and use the arcs on the base
2. Allocate Attack dice. to check if it is within arc of any potential
3. Roll to hit. targets. If there are any targets within both
weapon range and firing arc, the attacking
4. Total up Hull damage inflicted.
ship may fire weapons at those targets.
5. Roll saving throws and deduct Hull
points. There are many potential targets in
Dropfleet, however you may not fire upon
6. Roll for crippling damage if Hull is
friendly ships.
reduced to 50% or less.
7. Roll for catastrophic damage effects if As orbital space is three dimensional,
Hull is reduced to 0 or less. and because of the ability to see all other
models as stated above, ships do not block
1. Check Detection each other from shooting other ships –
Range and Firing this applies even if on the table top they
Arc may appear to be hiding behind each
other or unable to actually ‘see’ the other
In space combat few weapons really have a
ship.
‘maximum range’. Take away the effects of
atmosphere and gravity from the energy Close Action weapons are short ranged,
of a shot - whether from a kinetic striker only using the attacker’s Scan - see
or a thermal beam – and it will keep going Weapon Special rules for more detail.
for an almost infinite distance.
Energy Spikes
However ships still need to be able to Certain events cause Energy Spikes to
accurately predict where enemies will be be placed on ships to mark their current
when the weapon’s fire reaches them in status. Energy spikes represent all kinds
order to plot their location and accurately of different events that assist the enemy
fire on them. in accurately targeting the ship – engine
To fire a weapon at a target, it must be usage, weapons fire, even leaks caused by
within both weapon range and firing arc. damage or enemy ships actively scanning
for the vessel. Energy spikes come in two
types: Minor and Major.
18
Your Fleet Rules
• A Minor energy spike increases the Attack dice from a single weapon system
ship’s Signature characteristic by may not be split over multiple ships. You
6”. may repeat this for all weapon systems the
• A Major energy spike increases the ship(s) are allowed to fire.
ship’s Signature characteristic by When rolling for several weapon systems
12”. with different characteristics at once it
A ship can only be affected by one Spike at can be helpful to use different coloured
a time. If a ship already has a Minor Spike dice to represent the different weapon
and it gets a second one, it turns it into a systems instead of rolling each one
Major Spike. If a ship already has a Major separately.
Spike token it is lit up like a proverbial
Some weapon systems roll a random
Christmas tree and doesn’t receive any
number of Attack Dice (i.e. D6 or D3) that
further spikes until the Major Spike has
is determined each time they shoot. Roll
been removed or reduced to a Minor
to see how many Attack Dice the weapon
Spike.
system generates before allocating them
Signature increases gained through to available targets.
Spikes only last as long as the Spike is
An active Group will usually contain
present on the ship.
multiple ships with weapon systems to
For example; A ship with a Signature of 6” fire. All of a Group’s Attack Dice must
gains a Minor Spike. Its Signature will count be allocated between the available
as 12” until the Spike is removed. If the ship targets before any rolls to hit are
gains another Minor Spike it becomes a Major made. This helps to speed up game
Spike and the ship counts as Signature 18” play and prevents the firing player from
until the Spike is removed. When the Spike excessively optimising their shooting in
is removed, the ship returns to having a an unrealistic fashion.
Signature of 6”.
Close Action weapons
Use the status wheel on a ship’s base to Close Action weapon systems have a short
track its energy spikes, turning the wheel effective range but they are fast firing and
as appropriate when spikes are gained require small amounts of energy to use.
or lost. Players may use a marker to
represent these if they wish. Close Action weapon systems can always
be fired in addition to any other weapon
2. Allocate attack systems permitted by a ship’s orders. If a
dice ship may not fire weapon systems it may
not fire its close action weapon systems
The Attack number on a weapon profile is
either.
the number of Attack Dice that are rolled
when that weapon is used. 3. Roll to hit
Each firing ship selects a weapon system Roll allocated Attack Dice and compare
and a target in both weapon range and the results to the weapon’s Lock
weapon arc. The target is then allocated characteristic (after applying any
all of that weapon systems Attack Dice. modifiers). Any dice that have rolled at
least that number have scored a hit. Any
19
Your Fleet Rules
dice that have rolled under that number etc. Targeting and effectively damaging
have failed to hit. ships or cities in Atmosphere is roughly
analogous to hitting an object at the
Remember, rolls of a 1 after modifiers
bottom of a slime filled pond.
always miss and rolls of 6 after modifiers
always hit. Unless a weapon system is
specifically designed to attack
You can group identical weapons firing at
such enemies, any weapon system
the same target and roll them together ro
firing from Atmosphere or at a ship
help speed up game play.
in Atmosphere has its lock value
Critical Hits changed to 6+ regardless of any
Any Attack Dice which scores two other modifiers. In addition to this,
or more higher than the weapon detection range is limited to the
system’s Lock number is considered firer’s Scan value. Signature and energy
to have scored a ‘critical hit’. The Hull spikes are ignored.
damage caused by that Attack Dice Close Action weapons may not fire
ignores the target’s Armour saving into Atmosphere.
throw altogether.
Close Action weapons may not be fired
Passive Countermeasures can still attempt while in Atmosphere unless otherwise
to save against critical hits using their stated by a ship or weapon special rule.
additional Armour value (see below for
more details). Certain rules such as Bombardment and Air-
to-Air override the penalties for shooting
For example, if a weapon system has a Lock through orbital layers; these are covered in
roll of 4+ any Attack Dice that roll 6 will the special rules section or in individual ship
ignore the target’s Armour saving throw and entries.
be applied directly to the target’s Hull. A
weapon system with a Lock roll of 3+ would Bombardment
ignore Armour saves on rolls of 5 or 6 and so Sometimes a ship’s best course of action
on. is to destroy the very planet it is fighting
over. Ships may target Sectors just like any
Shooting between other target, but the following rules apply.
Orbital Layers
See the Ground Combat section for more
A ship firing from one Orbital Layer to details on Sectors and Clusters.
another suffers a +1 penalty to its weapon’s
Lock value (i.e. 4+ Lock becomes 5+). Sectors can only be targeted by ships
in Low Orbit and follow the normal rules
Shooting into & for being in Atmosphere.
out of Atmosphere
The difficulty of shooting between Orbital If a Sector receives any damage it takes
Layers is compounded when shooting saving throws against it just like a ship.
through Atmosphere, where firing Critical hits ignore the saving throw as
anything from a laser to a mass driver usual, however as most weapons will have
becomes highly inaccurate as energy a Lock value of 6+ for targeting something
bleeds off and is lost, plasma disperses
20
Your Fleet Rules
in Atmosphere, you will need a specialist Nuke the site from

weapon to achieve a Critical hit. (i.e. a orbit
weapon with the Bombardment special All capital ships carry a small compliment
rule). You may only target a Sector of nuclear warheads for very specific
with weapon systems if it does not circumstances.
contain any friendly Ground Assets.
In games of Dropfleet Commander you
Bombardment may find yourself in the position to launch
Collateral Damage one of these devastating attacks against
If a Sector takes damage and the Sector is a Sector, however be warned, you might
occupied by Ground Assets then you must suffer a reduction in your victory point
roll for collateral damage. Each point of total for destroying valuable infrastructure
damage will inflict one point of damage (see the Scenarios section for more
on a Ground Asset in this sector (armour details).
saving throws may be taken as normal -
see Ground Assets for more details). The Only ships of Medium, Heavy or Super
player that inflicted the damage chooses Heavy tonnage value may launch a
how to distribute this damage. One point nuclear missile and there are a number
of damage must be allocated to each of conditions you must satisfy in order to
Ground Asset before a second point may pull off this devastating attack:
be allocated. • You must be on an order that allows you
A Sector that loses all of its Hull points is to fire a weapon system this turn.
turned into ruins. If there are any Ground • You must be in low orbit and in scan
Assets in the Sector, roll a D6. If the result range of the Sector you wish to destroy.
is a 2 or more, all Ground Assets in the • A ship may only launch 1 nuclear
Sector are destroyed, representing the missile per turn (this is in addition to
apocalyptic devastation done to a wide any other shooting you may normally
area of the surface. This will also remove be allowed to do).
the Sector’s value as a strategic objective. • You may not target a Sector which
Ruins can still be bombarded to try to contains friendly Ground Assets.
destroy Ground Assets, though they
have no Hull value, so do not record this • No enemy ships are within 12” of the
damage. Sector you are targeting.
If the nuclear missile is launched, the
Sector is destroyed on a roll of 2+. If
destroyed, any ground assets there are
removed from play. There are not even
meaningful ruins remaining! Each other
Sector in the Cluster also suffers 1
damage if the target Sector was destroyed
(saves may be taken as normal).
21
Your Fleet Rules
4. Total up Hull modifiers). Any dice that have rolled at

least that number are successful Armour
damage infl icted saves. Each Armour save reduces the Hull
Every Attack Dice that has scored a hit damage inflicted Armour saving throw
inflicts the number of Damage points shown in the ship’s description. Any D6
indicated for the weapon system. that scores equal to or above the ship’s
Commonly this is one point of Hull indicated saving throw for Armour blocks
damage per Attack Dice but particularly one point of damage so that it has no
destructive weapons may inflict more. effect.
Some weapon system are unpredictable When a ship has more than one Armour
and will inflict a variable number of characteristic, players choose the best
damage points on each hit scored (e.g. applicable save and compare their roll to
D6, D6+1 etc.). Roll any additional dice this.
needed to determine the actual amount
Any unsaved damage will remove Hull
of damage inflicted before any Armour
points from the target ship. Track the Hull
saving throws are made.
damage lost by ships by using the damage
For example; A ship’s description includes a wheel on the model’s base, counters or
rail gun battery with a Lock of 4+, 3 Attack dice. Ships that have no Hull points left are
and 1 Damage. This means that when the destroyed and must roll for catastrophic
weapon system is fired three dice are rolled damage to see how fiery their demise is.
and each one scores a hit on roll of 4, 5 or
6. Each hit scored by the rail gun battery
Passive
countermeasures
inflicts 1 Hull damage on the target.
Some advanced ships have additional
5. Roll Armour ‘passive’ countermeasures like energy
saves and deduct shields, ablative clouds and force fields to
Hull points protect their ships in addition to regular
armour.
When a ship suffers Hull damage its
Passive countermeasures (if it has any) Passive countermeasures are shown by
and Armour may be able to prevent the an additional Armour characteristic
damage being applied. (e.g. 3+/4+ indicating a Passive
Roll a D6 for each point of Hull damage

inflicted and compare the result to the
ship’s Armour characteristic (after any
22
Your Fleet Rules
Countermeasure save of 4+). Passive the player to choice to deploy them or not
countermeasures are highly effective (as they will often have negative tactics
because they give a ship protection against effects as well).
critical hits which would otherwise punch
Players must choose to raise shields at
through armour completely.
the same time that special orders are
The downside to passive countermeasures chosen for a Battlegroup. Each ship can
is that they often increase a ship’s opt to use Passive Countermeasures or
Signature and may prevent it using its not, and if used they will remain operative
Point Defence while they’re operational until the ship’s next activation in the
– any negatives are covered in the ship’s following turn. Mark ships using Passive
specific information, or in faction specific Countermeasures with tokens. Keep in
rules (e.g. for the Shaltari) mind that raising shields will often have
negative tactical effects as well as the
When a ship has more than one
positives of Passive Countermeasures.
saving throw, players choose the best
applicable save and compare their roll Point Defence (PD)
to this. Ships usually have their Point Defence
e.g. A ship has a 3+/4+ save. It receives as another line of defence to specifically
five hits – three are normal hits, and the protect them against damage inflicted
remaining two are critical hits. The ship’s by Launch Assets and Close Action
owner rolls three dice needing 3+ for the weapon systems.
normal hits, as this is their best save. They When a ship is inflicted damage by one
cannot take normal saves against the critical of the above sources, roll a number of
hits, but may take Passive Countermeasure D6 equal to the ship’s PD characteristic
saves, so they roll the remaining two save (after any modifiers). Any dice that rolls
needing 4+, as this is the best save they can at least a 5 is a success. Each success
take against these hits. reduces the amount of Hull damage the
Shields up! ship is inflicted with by 1. Armour saves
may then be taken against the remaining
Passive Countermeasures work in a variety
Hull damage.
of different ways for different races. Some are
all encompassing energy bubbles that offer Critical hits can be stopped by Point
staunch defence against all attacks, while Defence but each point of critical hit
others are only in use to protect certain key damage blocked takes two Point Defence
areas of a ship, making them less effective successes instead of one.
overall.
For example; A cruiser with a PD
Some (usually the less powerful) Passive characteristic of 6 is attacked and suffers
Countermeasures may be constantly in four normal points of Hull damage and two
use, whereas very strong versions require points of critical Hull damage from Close
Action weapon systems. Rolling six dice
for Point Defence it gets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. – two
successes. The ship’s Point Defence can stop
two points of ordinary Hull damage or one of
the points of critical Hull damage.
23
Your Fleet Rules
6. Roll for Crippling Damage as it represents the

ship suffering internal collapses, cascade
Crippling Damage failures and systems quite literally melting
When a ship has lost a cumulative total down. It’s worth noting that smaller ships
of more 50% or more of its starting Hull like frigates are quite likely to be destroyed
points it suffers Crippling Damage. This outright by Crippling Damage.
is a one-time check to represent major
systems taking too much punishment, 7. Roll for
minor systems shorting out and Catastrophic
continuous battle damage taking its toll Damage
on the vessel.
When a ship has no Hull points remaining
A ship with the Dreadnought special rule it is destroyed. Ships with a starting
is crippled and suffers Crippling Damage Hull characteristic of 4 or more suffer
when the ship is reduced to 18 Hull or less Catastrophic Damage. Roll a D6 on the
and again at 10 Hull or less instead of the table below to see if its destruction has
usual 50% of original hull. any additional effects that apply to other
ships nearby. Ships with the Dreadnought
When a ship experiences Crippling
special rule have their own Catastrophic
Damage, roll a D6 and consult the
Damage table.
relevant table on the following page to
see where the Crippling Damage has Ships with a starting Hull characteristic of
occurred, and then roll a second D6 on 3 or less do not roll on this table and are
the appropriate sub-table to discover the removed from play when destroyed.
result. Dreadnoughts use special Crippling
Ships in Atmosphere are do not roll
Damage and Catastrophic Damage tables,
on this table and are removed from
rolled in the same way.
play when destroyed.
Ships with a starting hull value of
Ships with a starting Hull
3 or less are never subject to being
characteristic of 10 and above
Crippled and do not roll on the on the
increase the result of the D6 by 1.
Crippling Damage table.
Most Catastrophic Damage results
If the Crippling Damage is the result
can cause a ship to explode in some
of an attack, roll for the result at the
fashion. The size of the explosion
end of the firing ships activation.
is determined by the starting Hull
Ships only roll for Crippling Damage characteristic of the ship.
this way once, even if they pass their
• Ships with a Hull characteristic of 4-6
Crippling Damage threshold again (but
explode with a D3”radius.
would still be Crippled).
• Ships with a Hull characteristic of 7+
Extra damage results explode with a D6” radius.
and Armour saving Note that the explosion only ever effects
throws
ships on the same Orbital Layer as the
Many Crippling Damage results inflict
destroyed ship.
additional Hull damage on the ship.
Armour saving throws never apply against
24
Your Fleet Rules
Crippling Damage Table

Extra
2nd Orbital
1st roll Result on ship Hull Repair?
roll Decay
Damage
Bright fl ash... and nothing else:
1-2 Gains a Minor Spike. If using Silent Running special 0 No No
orders, Signature is returned to normal instead.
1-2
Subsystems 3-4 Fire: Inflicts 1 additional point of Hull damage in each 0 Yes No
Roundup phase, before rolling Damage Control.
5-6 Energy Surges: May not use special orders. 2 Yes Yes
1-2 Scanners Offline: Scan reduced to 1”. 0 Yes No
3-4
3-4 Armour Cracked: Armour value suffers +2 2 No No
Hull modifier for the rest of the game.
5-6 Hull breach: No additional effect. 2 No Yes
1-2 Engines Disabled: Thrust reduced by 50% 2 Yes Yes

(rounded up), and may not turn or change orbit.
5-6 Weapons Offli ine: The next time it activates it

Core 3-4 may not fire any weapons and may not use any launch 3 No No
Systems assets the next time it would be able to. In subsequent
activations it may fire and launch assets as normal.
5-6 Reactor Overload: Roll again on the Crippling 3 No Yes

Damage Table.
Dreadnought Crippling Damage Table

Extra
2nd Orbital
1st roll Result on ship Hull Repair?
roll Decay
Damage
Bright fl ash... and nothing else:
1-2 Gains a Minor Spike. If using Silent Running special 0 No No
orders, Signature is returned to normal instead.
Atmospheric Containment Failure: Yes - 2
1-2 3-4 Inflicts 2 additional points of Hull damage in each 0
needed
No
Subsystems Roundup phase, before rolling Damage Control.
Power fluctuations: Suffers D3 Hull Points if
5-6 going on Special Orders. If using Silent Running special 0 Yes No
orders, Signature is returned to normal instead. May not
go on Silent Running.
1-2 Scanners Damaged: Scan reduced to 6”. 0 Yes No
3-4 3-4 Bulkhead Ruptured: No additional effect. 1 No No
Hull
5-6 Auxiliary Core Collapse: No additional 2 No Yes
effect.
Engine Destroyed: Thrust reduced by 2” and
1-2 suffers D3 Hull Points if going on Max Thrust or Course 0 No No
Change.
5-6
Core 3-4 Weapon Destroyed: One weapon system at 0 No No
Systems random may not be used for the rest of the game.
Primary Core Leak: Suffer 3 additional points
5-6 of Hull damage at the end of the Clean-Up Phase for the 0 No Yes
rest of the game.
25
Your Fleet Rules
Orbital Decay
Several Crippling Damage results may
also affect a ship with an Orbital Decay
Crippling Damage effect.
Orbital Decay may be repaired even if the
Crippling Damage effect that inflicted it
cannot.
A ship affected with Orbital Decay moves
down one Orbital Layer in the Orbital
Decay step of the Roundup Phase.
Any ship that does not have the
Atmospheric Rule that moves into
atmosphere because of Orbital Decay
is Destroyed – remove it from play
without rolling on the Catastrophic
damage table.
Catastrophic Damage Table
D6 Result to all ships in explosion range
roll
1-2 Burn Up: No additional effect.
3 Blazing Wreck: Gain a Minor Spike. If using Silent Running special orders, Signature is
returned to normal instead.
4 Shredded: Suffer 1 point of Hull damage. Armour and Passive Countermeasures may be
used as normal.
5 Explosion: Suffer 2 points of Hull damage. Armour and Passive Countermeasures may be
used as normal.
6 Radiation Burst: Suffer 2 points of Hull damage. Armour and Passive Countermeasures
may not be used.
7+ Distortion Bubble: Suffer D6 points of Hull damage (roll for each ship individually).
Armour and Passive Countermeasures may not be used.
D6 Dreadnought Catastrophic Damage Table
roll
2 Fiery Descent: Any sector within 8” of the ship suffers D6 Hull Points of damage. Tokens
in these Sectors are destroyed on a roll of 2+ (roll separately for each).
3 Immolation: All ships within 8” gain a Major Spike and D3 Fires (see Crippling Damage).
4 Superstructure Failure: All ships within 12” take 2D6 damage on a roll of 5+ (roll
separately for each). Armour and Passive saves may be made as normal.
5 Magazine Detonation: All ships within 12” take 2 damage. Armour and Passive saves
may be made as normal.
Space-Time Rent: All ships with 6 or more starting Hull within 8” take 3+D3 damage.
7+ Armour and Passive saves may be made as normal. All ships with 5 or less starting Hull within 8”
are removed from play with no Catastrophic Damage rolls.
26
Your Fleet Rules
Damage Control Table Damage control

D6
roll Result Ships are able to repair crippling damage
The ship suffers one point of Hull at the start of the 3rd step in the Roundup
damage (no saves) and the Crippling Phase. To repair crippling damage, select a
1 Damage is not repaired. Roll again
for repair at the end of the next game friendly ship with one or more repairable
turn. crippling damage effects. Roll a D6 for
Crippling Damage is not repaired. Roll
each crippling damage effect that
2-3 again for repair at the end of the next
game turn. requires repair and consult the table
The Crippling Damage is repaired and below. Repeat this for each friendly ship
4-6
has no further effect. that has a repairable effect and has not
made a damage control attempt this turn.
Armour and Passive Countermeasures
cannot prevent Hull damage from this
source.
27
Your Fleet Rules
Ground Combat Sectors

Sectors are the strategically important
Although much of Dropfleet Commander areas of a Cluster and are usually the
focuses on the fighting in orbit, most areas where Ground Assets are deployed
objectives and key points being fought over to defend them against your opponents!
are actually on the planet’s surface. Ground There are many types of Sectors in the
to space combat is a tricky business because game, with each Sector detailed in the
the combined effects of a planet’s gravity Sectors section. Clusters can be made up
well and atmosphere place a thick ‘veil’ of any combination of these although the
between the two battlefields. Often a fleet’s scenarios will normally have colour coded
primary purposes will be to escort strike Sectors indicating which Sectors to use in
carriers and mother ships capable of sending which Cluster.
invasion forces down to strategic objectives
on the surface, or else to bombard those same If a scenario or special rule requires you
objectives into oblivion. to be in range of a Sector (as opposed to
in range of a Cluster), then measure to
Clusters & the nearest edge of the Sector Token.
Sectors These sectors have damage points and
rules which are detailed in the Scenarios
While the fleet battles are unfolding in
section.
orbit, the often more critical battles are
unfolding on the planet’s surface with Space Stations in
legions of troops engaged in gruelling Planetary Combat
battles for control over the planet’s key Space Stations are very large and require
strategic points. In game terms these substantial Ground Assets to control.
strategic points are called ‘Clusters’ and They are treated as a single Sector for the
they are made up of several ‘Sectors’. purposes of resolving combat. Infantry,
Armour and Batteries may be deployed
Clusters to the Space Station in the same way as
A Cluster is a predetermined area of to a Sector in a Cluster. The player with
the game map and will usually contain the most Ground Asset tokens on a Space
between 2 and 5 Sectors of varying Station at the end of the Ground Asset
significance. A Cluster has a marked Phase is the Controlling Player. In the
centre point and this is used both when event of a tie, no player controls the Space
placing the cluster on the battlefield Station. See the Space Station section
during set-up but also when any scenario for more details on using them in your
or rule requires you to be ‘in range’ of a games.
Cluster.
28
Your Fleet Rules
Ground Assets Defence Batteries

Ground assets are units on a planet’s These giant defence bastions provide
surface that fight over things worth the defending forces with the ability to
defending, capturing or blowing up destroy incoming enemy Dropships and
depending on your perspective. They can Bulk Landers but are vulnerable to attack
be anything from regiments of soldiers from the ground.
to formations of tanks to emplaced If there are no friendly Infantry or
weapon systems. Ground assets normally Armoured tokens in their sector at the
can’t shoot at ships or influence the end of the Round Up Phase and one or
orbital battle directly, but they are vital more enemy Armour or Infantry tokens
for securing strategic objectives on the is in the same sector, then the Battery is
surface. removed from play.
Ground Assets are usually deployed to the If an enemy tries to land Ground Assets
surface by Dropships or Bulk Landers (see (see Dropships and Bulk Landers) in a
Launch Assets for more details). Cluster or Space Station that contains at
Ground assets are broken up into the least one Defence Battery roll 1D6 for each
following 3 categories: Infantry, Armour Asset attempting to land.
and Batteries. In game, these are normally For each roll of 3 or more, one of the
represented by tokens. Each of these landing Ground Assets it is destroyed and
Ground Assets have their own rules and no token is placed. If the Asset is deployed
abilities. by Dropships, then it is only destroyed on
Ground Asset Armour Attack the roll of a 5 or more.
Infantry 5+/3+ 1 Once deployed, Defence Batteries may not
Armour 3+/5+ 3 move or redeploy between Sectors.
Defence Battery 3+/3+ 0
• Armour: Again just like ships this

shows the chance to avoid taking
damage. Where there are 2 armour
values, for example 5+/3+, the first is
their saving throw from damage caused
by combat with enemy units and the
second is their save from damage
caused by bombardment. (note they all
have 1 hull effectively, so a single point
of Hull Damage will destroy them).
• Attack: The number of dice the
unit rolls when in combat with other
Ground Assets.
29
Your Fleet Rules
Ground Assets Resolve Combats

Activation 1. The player with the lowest Initiative
Ground Assets are activated during the selects a Cluster and a Sector within
Ground Combat segment of the Roundup that Cluster. All players total up the
Phase. attack value of friendly tokens in the
Sector.
First of all, each player rolls 1D6 and adds
2. Each player rolls a number of dice equal
the Admiral Value of their Admiral (if
to the combined attack value of their
their Admiral is still in play). Players with
tokens. Every result of a 4+ causes 1
the same score repeat this until an order of
point of damage to an enemy Ground
Initiative is established.
Asset token in the same Sector (note
If only one player rolls a 6, they win that Critical Hits are not inflicted in
Initiative, regardless of Admiral Value. Ground Combat). Each player then
allocates each point of damage they
Movement have caused to an enemy token. One
The player with the lowest Initiative point of damage must be allocated to
selects a Cluster and moves any number of every enemy token before a second
Ground Asset tokens into any other Sector point may be allocated.
in that Cluster. However, if enemy Infantry
3. Once all damage has been allocated
or Armour tokens are already in a Sector
each player must roll for any saves on
containing friendly tokens, you can’t move
their tokens, removing any that fail
tokens from that Sector.
their saves as casualties.
Once the tokens are moved, the player 4. Return to step 1 and pick another
with the next lowest Initiative may choose Sector to resolve. Keep picking Sectors
a Cluster they have not selected this turn until every Sector containing friendly
and move Ground Assets. Repeat this until and enemy ground assets has been
every player has moved any Ground Assets resolved.
in that Cluster they wish to, before the
player with the highest Initiative selects
another Cluster and the process repeats
until all Clusters have been selected.
30
Your Fleet Rules
launch ability.
Launch Assets • Launch: How many tokens the carrier can
Ships may carry smaller subordinate launch in one turn.
craft on board in the form of strike craft • Special: Any special rules the Launch Asset
like Dropships, Fighters and Bombers or has.
munitions – ship-killing Torpedoes and
similar systems. Collectively these are Launch Asset
called Launch Assets in Dropfleet and Characteristics
they all operate using the same game Launch Assets often work similarly to a
rules. Launch Assets are represented weapon profile, although some have their
by tokens on the tabletop – either flat own unique rules. Some examples are
counters or bases with teeny tiny models shown below.
on them.
• Thrust: The maximum distance it can
An individual Launch Asset token
represents a flight of Fighters/Bombers or Type Thrust Lock Attack Damage
a group of Torpedoes. Standard sizes for UCM

Bomber
12” 3+ 2 1
Strike Craft and munitions markers are
UCM
the 20mm x 20mm tokens supplied. Note Torpedo
9” 2+ 6 1
that Dropships and Bulk Landers do not Type Thrust Point Defence Bonus
have tokens as they resolve instantly and UCM
20” +3
do not spend any time on the table. Fighter
UCM
In the rules that follow all models that Dropship
3” -
can deploy Launch Assets are referred to

as ‘carriers’. A carrier will most likely be a travel to reach its target in a single phase.
ship in practice, but it could be a ground- • Lock, Attack, Damage & Special: All
based airfield, orbital dock or other function identically to weapon system
launch facility. In such cases these are still characteristics.
counted as ‘carriers’ for rules purposes • Point Defence Bonus: Extra PD added
when it comes to Launch Assets. to a ship these are used on.
Carrier Launching Assets
Characteristics Carriers have the opportunity to use their
Each Carrier has characteristics for its Launch Assets during the Launch Assets
Launch Capability. An example of which segment of the Roundup phase after Ground
is below: Combat has been resolved.
Load Launch Special Use the same Initiative values determined
Torpedoes 1 - in the Ground Combat segment. Use the
Fighters & 6 -
same rules for determining them if you
Bombers have not done so already.
• Load: The type of launch assets the Each turn players should complete each
carrier can use. There may be a choice stage below in order of Initiative before
of different types but the carrier is moving onto the next phase.
still limited by its overall capacity and
31
Your Fleet Rules
This step is always resolved in the Time To Target

following order:
Launch Assets have to travel to their
1. Torpedoes target and may even have to spend some
2. Bombers & Fire Ships time hunting for it, space is big, they are
small and their sensor gear is limited in
3. Fighters
comparison to that of a ship. The time to
4. Dropships & Bulk Landers arrive at the target depends on the range
For each of these steps, the player with from the launching carrier to the target:
the lowest Initiative selects a Group with
• If the target is within the asset’s
which to launch. They then assign and
Thrust it’s a quick sprint and the
place all tokens of that type they wish
Launch Asset takes effect this turn.
to launch from this Group next to the
ship(s), Sectors, or Space Stations they are • If the target is more than its Thrust
targeting. but within double its Thrust a
longer journey is necessary and there
Much like Close Action weapons, Launch is a slight delay before the launch
Assets do not count against the number of assets arrive. Place the launch assets in
weapon systems the ship may fire during a contact with the target’s base (or with
turn due to special orders, but likewise each other if there is no more room left
if the carrier can’t fire for any reason around the base), they will take effect at
it cannot use Launch Assets. the end of the target’s activation in the
Once the tokens are placed, the player next game turn. Dropships and Bulk
with the next lowest Initiative may choose Landers cannot use this option, and
to launch those assets from a Group that must launch to a target within their
has not launched yet this turn. Thrust.
Repeat this until every player has Note that Launch Assets can be used
launched that asset, then move onto the against targets that are outside the normal
next asset type. Scan + Signature range, simply measure a
straight line between the launching ship
A ship that launches any Launch and its target. If that line would take them
Assets gains a Minor Spike. through a Debris Field, they must test to
If you select a group to launch Launch see if they are destroyed. Roll a D6 for each
Assets, it must launch something, you Launch Asset for each Debris Field that
may not choose not to launch anything as line would pass through. A Fine Debris
a way to make your opponent reveal their Field removes Launch Assets on a roll of 3
plans! or more and a Dense Debris Field removes
Launch Assets on a roll of 5 or more (roll
Assigned launch assets follow a ship for each debris field separately). If that line
whenever it moves and are placed next to would take them through an LSO on the
it again when it completes its move. same orbital layer, they are immediately
destroyed.
32
Your Fleet Rules
Launch Assets in Launch assets generally function like

Orbital Combat a special kind of weapon system, but
because of their unique properties there’s
Launch Assets are limited to operating in some special rules that apply to them.
certain Orbital Layers. The configuration
and design specifications required for The effects of a Launch Asset depend on
operating in atmosphere are very different its type and what it’s in contact with.
to those needed in high orbit. As such the Once a launch asset has taken effect
following limitations apply: the token is removed immediately.
• Dropships: May operate in
Atmosphere only or Low Orbit if they
Fighters
are launching against a Space Station Fighters are lightweight, agile craft intended
within 3”. as dedicated interceptors of opposing Strike
Craft and Close Action weapons. Fighters
• Bulk Landers: May operate in
serve an interceptor role for ships by flying in
Atmosphere and Low Orbit only.
close support and improving a friendly unit’s
• All other Launch Assets: May Point Defence.
operate in Low and High Orbit only.
Other Launch Assets originating from Fighters lack the firepower necessary
surface-based carriers deploy into and to make a dent on larger enemies so in
operate in Low and High Orbit only. Dropfleet they are limited to a purely
defensive role.
If a ship with Launch Assets in contact
with it enters Atmosphere, the Launch Fighter tokens can take effect at various
Assets are removed from play as they times throughout the game.
either burn up or return to their carrier. Fighters may take effect from when
If a ship is destroyed, all Launch Assets they are assigned onwards, even if
assigned to it are also destroyed. launched using twice their thrust
range.
Launch Asset Fighters can be launched against friendly
Effects or enemy ships, and their rules change
Once players have completed assigning depending on their target:
and launching their Launch Assets, you
Friendly Ships: Add bonus dice to their
must then resolve their effects.
PD characteristic against a single attack
Firstly, place any ground tokens from from Launch Assets or Close Action
Dropships and Bulk Landers. Next, weapons. The owning player must decide
starting with the player with the highest whether or not to expend the fighters
Initiative, select 1 enemy ship to resolve against an attack once the damage is
the effects of any tokens against it. Then known but before PD dice are rolled. If the
the player with the next highest Initiative protected unit moves the fighter marker is
selects 1 enemy ship to resolve and so on moved with it.
until all the of the launch asset tokens
have been resolved.
33
Your Fleet Rules
Once the Fighter marker has taken effect it but in this case they make a coordinated
returns to its carrier and is removed from attack and roll all 12 attacks at once. The
play. Any Fighters which have not taken enemy ship’s Point Defence will only roll
effect by the following Roundup Phase are once against the massed attack instead of
removed as they are forced to fly back and separately against each Bomber.
refuel.
Fire Ships
For example: 4 UCM Fighters are launched Fire Ships are a unique type of bomber.
to protect a friendly target. The target gains They follow all the same rules, but are
+12 PD and the Fighters stay with it until the resolved separately. They also coordinate
owning player chooses to use the Fighters their attack.
to supplement its Point Defence against an
attack from Launch Assets or Close Action Dropships
weapons. The owning player can choose Dropships are transporters used for rapidly
to add some, all or none of the escorting deploying armoured forces down to a planet’s
Fighter markers to its defence when attacked, surface. They are agile, well armoured and
gaining +3PD for each. armed for their size to weather the storm of
Enemy Ships: Remove one enemy Fighter defensive fire they invariably attract.
token from this ship (they keep each other Carriers assigning Dropships
occupied in dogfighting!) This may only be to Sectors may only do so from
done when resolving launch asset effects Atmosphere.
(during the roundup phase) just before
Carriers assigning Dropships to Space
Bombers take effect.
Stations may only do so from Low
Bombers Orbit.
Bombers are Strike Craft that carry serious Dropships may be assigned to target
ship-killing weaponry, typically deploying a Sectors or Space Stations within their
mixture of stand-off missiles and one-shot, Thrust.
high-intensity energy weapons.
When they do, they deliver one Armour
Bombers make an attack with their or Infantry token to the Sector or Space
profile when arriving at an enemy Station.
ship.
Bulk lander
When Bombers from multiple sources
Bulk landers are large, lightly armoured
attack the same target they coordinate
landing craft used by troopships to deploy
their run to overwhelm its Point Defence.
large numbers of ground troops or anti-ship
Roll all of the Bomber’s attacks together
weapon emplacements. Bulk Landers are
when they take effect and treat it as a
considerably slower and more vulnerable
single attack versus the target’s Point
than Dropships, as they are not designed for
Defence so the defender only rolls for
1st wave assaults on entrenched positions,
PD once for the ship instead of against
but rather as occupying or reinforcing troops
each token’s attack separately.
once a beachhead is secured.
For example: 6 Bomber tokens launched from
2 carriers attack an enemy ship together.
Each Bomber makes 2 attacks normally,
34
Your Fleet Rules
Bulk landers may only be launched Torpedoes

by carriers that are in Low Orbit or
Torpedoes are very large, ship-killing missiles
Atmosphere.
that are much more dangerous than the
Bulk Landers may target Ground types ordinarily categorised as Close Action
Sectors or Space Stations within their weapons. Torpedoes are heavily armoured
Thrust. When they do, they deliver three and well protected against opposing Point
Infantry tokens or one Defence Battery Defences with decoys and jamming to ensure
token to the Sector or Space Station. they will get close enough to the target to
deliver a potentially devastating hit.
A Note on Dropships
& Bulk Landers The relatively slow acceleration of
Since there is no actual game time Torpedoes means they never attack
between the deployment and landing of enemy ships immediately even if the
the Dropship or Bulk Lander tokens there target is within their Thrust range,
is no need to physically place them. instead place the Torpedo in contact with
the target and execute the attack at the
For speed of play and ease of use, most
end of the target’s next activation.
players will find it easier to declare where
they are deploying troops, resolve any Torpedoes make an attack with
ground fire from Batteries and then their profile when arriving at an
directly place the Infantry or Armour enemy ship. Point Defence has no
tokens without using a Dropship or Bulk effect against damage inflicted by
Lander token. Torpedoes.
When firing Torpedoes at a Space Station,
resolve the effects immediately.
35
Your Fleet Rules
Manoeuvre
A ship which activates when it has
enemy Launch Assets assigned to it can
use hard manoeuvring to try and ‘shake
off’ the enemy Launch Assets and spoil
their attack run. If the ship uses Course
Change or Max Thrust special orders
roll a D6 for each enemy Launch Asset
targeting the ship. On a roll of 5 or more,
the Launch Asset is shaken off and
removed. On a roll of 4 or less, the Launch
Asset doggedly pursues and takes effect
at the end of the target’s activation as
normal.
Outmanoeuvring
Torpedoes
Torpedoes are relentless in their pursuit
of a target and not so easy to shake off.
Only remove a Torpedo marker if a 6 is
rolled, on a 5 the Torpedo does not attack
this turn but instead remains assigned to
that ship, ready to attack again after the
target’s next activation. On a roll of 4 or
less, the Torpedo attacks at the end of the
activation as normal.
Bombers Fighters
Type Thrust Lock Attack Damage Special Type Thrust PD Bonus
UCM 12” 3+ 2 1 - UCM 20” +3
Scourge 15” 3+ 2 1 Scald Scourge 24” +3
PHR 12” 2+ 2 1 - PHR 20” +4
Shaltari 15” 3+ 2 1 - Shaltari 24” +4
Resistance 12” 4+ 3 1 - Resistance 20” +5
Resistance May not Dropships/Bulk Landers
6” 2+ 1 3 Double
Fire Ship Thrust
Type Thrust
Torpedoes
UCM 3”/6”
Type Thrust Lock Attack Damage Special
Scourge 3”/6”
UCM Light 14” 2+ 4 1 -
PHR 3”/6”
UCM 9” 2+ 4 2 -
Shaltari 3”/6”
UCM Heavy 9” 2+ 4 4 -
Resistance 3”/6”
Scourge 9” 3+ 3 2 Corruptor
PHR 9” 2+ 4 2 -
Shaltari 12 3+ 3 2 Flash
Resistance 12” 2+ 6 1 -
36
Your Fleet Rules
Building Your Fleet

Game Size vast battle, you may use two or more Fleet
Rosters split into these categories (although
Battlegroups in Dropfleet Commander are by using the lowest number of points
determined by the size of game chosen and possible). For example, if you want to play a
the individual forces that players choose. 6000 point game. You can use two ‘Battle’
There are three sizes of game; Skirmish, Fleet Rosters, but not six ‘Skirmish’ Fleet
Clash and Battle. These indicate small, Rosters.
medium and large sized games, and give
players restrictions on group numbers and The Fleet Roster
ship types. Each ship has a Tonnage value as explained
• Skirmish: 500-999 points in the Ship Characteristics section. Players
• Clash: 1000-1999 points should compare that with the battlegroup
types below and it will show how many of
• Battle: 2000-3000 points
each group of that tonnage may be in each
As the game size increases, the number battlegroup. The large table (known as the
of Battlegroups permitted is capped. This Fleet Roster) will then show how many of
means that larger games will not have many each Battlegroup may be chosen for each
more activations per turn than smaller game size. Unless otherwise stated, a single
ones, making it more practical to fight epic Battlegroup may not come to more than
engagements. If you want to play a truly 33% of your army’s total allowed points
Battlegroup Type Launch

Game Size Capacity
Pathfinder Line Vanguard Flag Max
Skirmish 0-2 1-2 0-1 0 4 10
(500-999 pts)
Clash 1-2 1-3 0-2 0-1 6 15
(1000-1999 pts)
Battle 1-3 1-4 0-3 0-2 7 20
(2000-3000 pts)
Pathfi nder Battlegroup Line Battlegroup

Light 1-3 Light 0-2
Medium 0-1 Medium 1-3
Max 3 Max 3
Vanguard Battlegroup Flag Battlegroup

Light 0-1 Light 0-1
Medium 0-1 Super Heavy 1-2
Heavy 1-2
Max 3
Max 3
37
Your Fleet Rules
cost for Clashes and Battles, and 50% for Strategy Rating
skirmishes. This does not include the
points cost of your Admiral. Once you have built your fleet, you will
need to determine your Strategy Rating
Launch Capacity for each Battlegroup in your fleet. To
Fighters, Bombers and Torpedoes are determine the Strategy Rating of each
expensive resources and as such fleets Battlegroup simply total up the Tonnage
only have a limited supply of them. This is Value of each ship in the Battlegroup
represented in game by a Launch Capacity using the table below.
Cap and you may not have more total
Launch Capacity for Fighters, Bombers Tonnage Tonnage Value
and Torpedoes in your fleet than shown in Light 1
the Fleet Roster above. Light 2 (L2) 2
Medium 5
Heavy 10
Super Heavy 15
Super Heavy 2 (S2) 30
38
Your Fleet Rules
Scenarios
• Approach Type: Each scenario will
Preparing For define where and how each fleet may
Battle deploy on the battlefield.
After choosing a game size and preparing • Number of Turns: Games are played
your fleet, you must choose a scenario. In out as a number of turns. Each scenario
war, the simple destruction of the enemy will state how many of these there will
is often not the main goal of a particular be before the game ends.
tactical operation. Perhaps critical • Victory Conditions: Each Scenario
geosynchronous orbits must be captured will state what each player must
to support ground invasions, enemy held do to secure victory. This will vary
cities might need to be razed from orbit enormously between scenarios and
etc. In futuristic warfare, many of these will strongly dictate how the battle is
objectives are time critical, necessitating played.
rapid deployment, insertion and support Approach Type
for your ground forces. A selection of
scenarios are provided in this book, and At the beginning of an engagement fleets
many more will appear in the future. approach the Battlefield in different ways.
Every Scenario will outline the following Which of these will be used will depend
to define the rules of the game: on the scenario.
• Battlefield Layout: An outline of the • Directly Deployed: Directly Deployed
scenery and battlefield required. This will Battlegroups begin the game on the
usually be quite loose, allowing you to table and within 6” of a friendly board
play the same scenario in wildly different edge. Some special Scenarios may
conditions. However, some will require define an additional Deployment Zone
specific features such as space stations. where ships may be placed.
• Number of players: Some scenarios • Battleline: All Battlegroups begin the
will only work with two sides and will game off the table but can be activated
require an even number of players in the same way as a Battlegroup
(when there is a clear attacking side and already on the table.
defending side for example). Others • Column: The fleet is approaching the
will allow any number of players, battlefield in a drawn out formation and
sometimes all vying against each other. will not all arrive at once. All Battlegroups
• Fleet Roster: In most scenarios, begin the game off the table. On turn 1,
this section will simply state that the two Battlegroups of your choice must be
Standard Fleet Roster should be used. activated and move on. On turn 2, two
However, certain special scenarios will more Battlegroups must be activated
dictate more unconventional fleets, and move on. On turn 3, all remaining
and will be accompanied by a special Battlegroups must be activated and move
Fleet Roster chart which may replace on.
the standard one or be permitted as an
alternative.
39
Your Fleet Rules
• Distant: The fleet cautiously new recruits to logistical and military

approaches the battlefield, with lighter supplies. Capturing these areas is no less
battlegroups arriving first. On turn 1, all important than having orbital dominance
Battlegroups with a Tonnage value of and in games of Dropfleet Commander,
1-9 must be activated and move on. On controlling clusters and sectors is
turn 2, all Battlegroups with a Tonnage frequently the key to victory.
value of 10-14 must be activated and
move on. On 3, all Battlegroups with a Clusters
Tonnage value of 15 and above must be Clusters are large urbanised areas on a
activated and move on. planet’s surface. Typically, they consist
• Rapid Response: The fleet has been of a range of regions from commercial
forced to respond to a developing threat and manufacturing through to civilian
on the fly. On turn 1, one Battlegroup of districts and military enclaves. Control
your choice must activate and move on. of these vast areas of manufacturing,
On turn 2, each remaining Battlegroup military and civilian infrastructure are
must be activated and move on on vital to controlling the planet. Clusters
a roll of 4+ (roll separately for each are made up of a number of sectors and
Battlegroup). On turn 3, each remaining controlling these key locations is critical
Battlegroup must be activated and to controlling the Cluster.
moved on on a roll of 2+ (roll separately
Some Scenarios will require you to Hold or
for each Battlegroup). On turn 4, all
Contest a Cluster in order to score Victory
remaining Battlegroups must be
Points (VPs) in the game.
activated and moved on.
Activating • To hold a Cluster, you must hold more
Battlegroups not on value in terms of Sectors in that Cluster
the table than your opponent, or more Sectors
When a Battlegroup not on the table is overall if they are not given a set value
activated, it must be moved onto the table in that scenario.
from any friendly edge. Groups entering • To contest a Cluster, you must hold 1 or
the table this way start in High Orbit more Sectors in that Cluster.
(although they may change Orbital layer Players score VPs for holding and/or
as normal during their turn) and may be contesting Clusters at the end of the
given Orders. Roundup Phase on turns 4 and 6 unless
the scenario defines otherwise.
Scenario
Objectives Clusters come in three sizes, each
containing a different number of Sectors,
While securing a planet’s orbital lanes and scoring different VPs, although some
is key to gaining victory, controlling the scenarios may specify different amounts.
ground is equally important. Vast swathes
Cluster Sectors Hold Contest
of the landscape are worthless, at least in
Small 2 2VP 0VP
the initial stages of the invasion, however,
Medium 3 3VP 1VP
manufacturing, population and military
sectors all provide an invading force Large 4 4VP 2VP
resources they can use straight away from
40
Your Fleet Rules
Sectors bring additional benefits or risks to the

holder.
Sectors are the key locations in Clusters
that you must secure with ground forces in
Defence Weapons
order to capture and defend their strategic This militarised sector has weapons
advantage from your opponent! There powerful enough to damage ships in orbit.
are several types of sectors in the game At the beginning of the Ground Combat
and you will be required to hold various step, the holder of this Sector may fire
combinations of these depending on the the following weapon against a ship in
mission. range with the following profile. Range is
In order to hold a Sector, you must have
more Infantry and/or Armour tokens in Defence
Weapons 3+ 2 1 F/S/R Escape
Velocity
that sector than your opponent at the end
of the scoring turn, as described in the
measured from the centre of the Cluster
scenario. If you are required to contest a
and all Clusters count as having a Scan of 6”.
Sector, you must have 1 or more infantry or
armoured tokens in that sector at the end Orbital Gun
of the of the scoring turn, as described in This represents surface based weapons
the scenario. designed to do terrible damage to orbiting
Each Sector has a value and the player that ships. At the beginning of the Ground
controls the highest total value of Sectors Combat step, the holder of this Sector may
Sector Hull Armour Value Special
fire the following weapon against a ship in
Commercial 8 4+ 1 - Type Lock Attack Damage Arc Special
Orbital 2+ 1 2 F/S/R Escape

Industrial 4 4+ 2 - Gun Velocity
Military 4 3+ 1 Defence
Weapons
range with the following profile. Range is
Orbital Orbital
Defence 6 3+ 1 Gun measured from the centre of the Cluster
Power Plant 6 4+ 4 Volatile and all Clusters count as having a Scan of 6”.
Comms
Station 4 5+ 1 Scanner
Uplink
Volatile
Cluster (of Destruction of this power plant will result
Moon (LSO)
Sectors)
in a catastrophic meltdown! If this Sector
Clusters for Clash
and Battle sized is destroyed, all other Sectors in the Cluster
games
take 4 damage (saves may be taken against
Space Station this damage as normal).
Space Station for
Clash and Battle
sizes games
Scanner Uplink
This is the nexus for a network of orbiting
controls that Cluster. and ground based scanners. All ships
and other assets controlled by the holder
Sector Special gain +3” to their Scan Value. This effect is
Rules cumulative if you control multiple Sectors
Some Sectors have special rules which with this rule.
41
Your Fleet Rules
Other Scoring Destroying a Cluster

Methods Some Scenarios will require the
demolition of Clusters! A Cluster counts
Most Scenarios have multiple ways of
as destroyed if all Sectors in a Cluster have
scoring victory points beyond holding
been destroyed.
Clusters.
Critical Locations Space Stations in
Scenarios
Critical locations are key parts of the Space Stations are sometimes included
battlefield that you must control or in Scenarios and are worth VP in various
contest with your ships in order to give ways. If a mission requires a Space Station
your ground forces a fighting chance. to be held, the holding player is the one
However, some ships are better at with the most Ground Assets aboard.
controlling space than others. In order to
hold a Critical Location, you must have VPs may be awarded for destroying or
more Tonnage Value within 6 inches of it surveying Space Stations - use the same
and in low orbit than your opponent at the rules as for Clusters above. Space Stations
end of a specific game turn, as outlined in may also count as Critical Locations
the scenario. (although only if the Space Station has not
been destroyed).
The player holding a Critical Location
scores 2VP at the end of the Roundup Kill Points
Phase on turns 4 and 6 unless the scenario Some Scenarios will explicitly reward you
defines otherwise. for destroying enemy ships. Kill Points
Surveying a Cluster equal the total points cost of all destroyed
ships plus killed Admirals. A scenario may
To survey a cluster, a ship must be in low define how may Victory Points you will
orbit, within 6” of the centre point of the receive for a given number of Kill Points
cluster and be on standard orders that scored – worked out on the last turn.
turn. This happens at the end of a ship’s
movement. Only one ship per battlegroup In addition, Kill Points are always used in
of Tonnage 5 or more may survey a cluster the event of a tie to determine a winner –
per turn. You may not survey a cluster in if the total number of VPs players score is
turn 1. equal, the player with the higher number
of Kill Points wins the game.
When surveying a cluster roll 1 dice, on
a roll of 1-4 you gain 1vp, on a roll of a 5+ Nuke the Site From
you score 1 VP and the cluster becomes a Orbit Penalty
critical location. You may only survey a Using nuclear weapons on a planet a
cluster once per game but both sides may faction needs to capture has negative
survey the same cluster over the course consequences, but can be the only
of a game. Once a critical location has solution. Unless the Scenario states
been rolled for a cluster then an opponent otherwise, a player always suffers -1VP for
that surveys the same cluster will each successful use of a nuclear weapon
automatically receive 1 VP – it does not against a Sector.
become a second critical location!
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Your Fleet Rules
Scenery Debris Fields

There are two types of Debris Field in
While the void of space doesn’t have as Dropfleet Commander: Fine and Dense.
much scenery as a typical wargame, there These fields are typically 6” by 3” but feel
are still plenty of opportunities for things free to make the fields as large as you dare!
to get in the way of your carefully laid
plans! When Debris Fields are placed on the
battlefield they are considered to be in
Orbital Debris both High and Low Orbit, any ship that
moves or turns within a field will receive
Orbiting every inhabited planet are many damage from the various objects, resolve
thousands of objects ranging from space the damage as soon as the ship moves or
junk and wreckage through to satellites turns within the field. Only roll once per
and mighty bastions of defence and ship per field per turn – if a ship moves
commerce. In Dropfleet Commander through multiple fields in the same turn
these areas and obstacles are grouped into then roll separately for each.
three distinct categories; Debris Fields,
Planetary Rings and Large Solid Ships shooting at a target through/in
Objects. the field have the Lock of their weapon
systems modified and their scan values
reduced (to a minimum of 0”) due to the
debris. If the target is obscured by over 6”
of Debris Field(s), then they are considered
out of range and no weapon systems may
be fired against them.
Damage to ships entering Lock Scan

Debris Field Penalty Penalty
Lock Attack Damage
Fine 3+ 2 1 +1 -6”
Dense 2+ 2 1 +2 -12”
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Your Fleet Rules
Planetary Ring Space Stations
Planetary Rings are vast celestial In Dropfleet Commander we refer to these
phenomena that surround many planets. constructs large enough to interact with as
In game terms they are represented by ‘Space Stations’. For simplicities sake we
an infinitely thin line that crosses the group these into three categories: Small,
battlefield. They are only in high orbit so Medium and Large. Space Stations are
ships may drop to low orbit or atmosphere treated as ships in game (in that they can
to avoid their effects. A Planetary Ring be targeted etc) although they do not move
reduces the scan of any ship attempting to and follow the exceptions below.
fire a weapon system through it by 6” and
increases the weapon systems Lock by +1. Space Stations are always deployed in
Low Orbit unless stated otherwise in the
If a ship moves through a planetary ring Scenario and may not change Orbital Layer.
while the ship is in high orbit, it will
receive 2 Lock 2+ hits with 1 Damage. Space Stations cannot move, turn, or be
turned.
Large Solid Objects
(LSOs) Space Stations cannot become Crippled, or
These are most commonly large asteroids suffer Crippling Damage.
or even small moons. They should be Space Stations cannot gain Spikes.
approximately 2” to 6” in radius and
occupy both High and Low Orbit. Ships Due to their size Space Stations can
cannot fire weapons through LSO’s on the absorb substantial damage before being
same orbital layers (but may fire upwards destroyed. The following table shows
from Atmosphere) and ships on Active the characteristics of the Space Stations
Scan orders may not place spikes on ships as similar to ships. They do not suffer
behind LSO’s. If a ship or token would Crippling Damage and when they are
move over any part of an LSO they are reduced to 0 Hull points they are removed
removed from play. from play along with any Ground Asset
tokens on board, they do not roll for
Orbital Debris and Catastrophic Damage.
Launch Assets
Many Space Stations come equipped with
Launch Assets (see page 59) are just as
military grade defences to protect them
vulnerable to the effects of Orbital Debris
from a multitude of threats. A Space
as ships and as such the following rules
Station can have any number of weapon
apply. If a Launch Asset is moved through
systems mounted on it but the scenario
a Fine Debris Field it is removed on the roll
will dictate which weapon systems, if any, a
of a 3+, and if it moves through a Dense
Space Station has. These weapons may be
Debris Field it is removed on the roll of a
fired by the Controlling Player at the start
5+, roll once per token.
of the Launch Assets phase (if multiple
If a ship with Launch Asset tokens on it players control Space Stations then resolve
enters any Debris Field, roll immediately the firing in Initiative Order). The weapons
to see if the tokens are removed (then roll on a Space Station are shown on the right
to damage the ship as normal). and each scenario will list which weapons
each Space Station is using.
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Your Fleet Rules
Name Scan Sig Thrust Hull A PD G T Special
Small Space 6” 4” 0” 8 3+ 5 - - -
Station
Medium Space 6” 6” 0” 12 3+ 8 - - -
Station
Large Space 6” 8” 0” 16 3+ 12 - - -
Station
Mass Driver Armament 3+ 2 1 F/S/R -
Laser Armament 3+ 2 1 F/S/R Burnthrough (4),

Flash
Missile Armament 3+ 4 1 F/S/R Close Action
These weapons do not need to be • No part of any Debris Field should be

represented on the model as they change placed within 6” of any board edge,
between scenarios. These are suggested Space Station, Cluster or any other
weapon systems – feel free to invent your Debris Field.
own for custom scenarios! • There should be roughly the same
Collateral Damage quantity of Debris Fields within each
table quarter.
If a Space Station takes damage and the
Space Station is occupied by Ground • In tournament play, the Tournament
Assets then you must roll for collateral organiser should place scenery before
damage. Each point of damage will inflict games.
one point of damage on a Ground Asset • If their size is not defined by the
in this Space Station (armour saving scenario, a typical Debris Field is
throws may be taken as normal – see between 4”-8” across in their longest
Ground Assets for more details). The dimension. Fine Fields should generally
player that inflicted the damage chooses be larger than Dense ones.
how to distribute this damage. One point
of damage must be allocated to each
Ground Asset before a second point may
be allocated.
Placing Scenery
Each Scenario will define exactly where
scoring scenery should be placed. In
addition, most Scenarios will define a
rough amount of additional scenery
(Debris Fields, Planetary Rings etc) that
you should use.
Sometimes, the placement of these will
be defined precisely. At other times, the
Scenario will require Debris Fields to be
‘evenly spaced’. When the Scenario asks
for this, you should stick to the following
guidelines:
45
Your Fleet Rules
Special Rules
Ship Special Rules Beast
Some technologies integrate their crews so
Ablative Armour closely with their ship control systems that the
Early human-built ships used large blocks and vessels behave more like living creatures than
plates cast out of ceramic composites. These machines.
had excellent defensive qualities but were found
to degrade rapidly in effectivess during heavy When this ship suffers a Crippling Damage
combat. result, it gains a -1 bonus to its weapon
systems’ Lock characteristics.
A ship with Ablative Armour increases its
Armour by 2 points (e.g. 5+ Armour becomes Detector
3+ Armour) until it is Crippled. At that point
Detector ships may always use Active Scan
this bonus is lost for the rest of the game.
special orders even if their battlegroup has
Aegis (X) chosen a different special order for
Aegis ships are typically equipped with the turn. Every Detector ship in a Group
sensors and weaponry that permit a blindingly may Active Scan, not just one - choose all
fast response time against Strike Craft and Detector ships you wish to Active Scan
munitions. They are normally deployed as scouts simultaneously.
or to help protect other ships in battle. Dreadnought
Ships with the Aegis special rule add a bonus A Battlegroup containing a Dreadnought
to the Point Defence value of any friendly may not contain any other ships. A
ships within 4” of them equal to the number Dreadnought has a tonnage of 30 (hench the
shown in brackets. In order to be affected, S2 in the profile). A Battlegroup containing
ships must be on the same Orbital Layer as a Dreadnought may exceed the normally
the Aegis ship, additionally the bonus also allowed 33% of your fleet’s points cost.
applies to the Aegis ship itself. If taken, your Admiral must be mounted in
For example: A ship with the Aegis (5) special a Dreadnought.
rule is within 4” of a friendly ship with a PD Standard Orders and Special Orders that
characteristic of 4. As long as they remain within allow a Dreadnought to fire one weapon
4” the friendly ship counts as having a PD of 9. system allow it to fire up to two weapon
Atmospheric systems instead.
Only ships with the Atmospheric special Dreadnoughts use special Crippling Damage
rule are capable of entering the Atmospheric and Catastrophic Damage tables, shown in
layers during Orbital Combat. the damage section. In addition, roll on the
Crippling Damage table when the ship is
reduced to 18 Hull or less and 10 Hull or less
instead of the usual 50% of original hull.
46
Your Fleet Rules
Full-Cloak Outlier
A ship with the Full Cloak special rule Ships with this rule may ignore
can never receive an energy spike for any Battlegroup (but not Group) coherency
reason, until it is Crippled. rules, and the Battlegroup will suffer
no negative modifiers to their Strategy
Launch Rating while ships with this rule are out of
Ships with the Launch special rule are Battlegroup coherency.
capable of carrying and using Launch
Assets. Launch capable ships will have Partial Cloak
their launch capacity noted in their A ship with the Partial Cloak special rule
descriptions along with the standard type can only ever receive a Minor Spike, it may
load carried (i.e. Fighters, Bombers or never be increased to a Major Spike. If a
Torpedoes as appropriate). rule or weapon would cause this ship to
gain Major Spike, it instead gains a Minor
Monitor Spike (or nothing at all if it already has
These ships feature undersized and a Minor Spike). This rule ceases to work
underpowered drives, but are configured when the ship is Crippled.
specifically for the orbital defence role.
Rare
Monitors may not usre Course Change or Rare ships are simply not available in large
Max Thrust special orders. Weapons fired numbers due to their specialised nature or
by Monitords suffer no Lock penalty for high demand.
firing between Low and High Orbit.
You may only take a maximum of one of
Open each Rare Group in a Skirmish sized game,
Some ships are designed to operate alone two in a Clash and three in a Battle.
and away from other members of their
Battlegroup. Reinforced Armour
Some ships have unbelievably dense armour
Ships with the Open rule do not need to
sometimes mated with hull shapes perfectly
maintain coherency with other members
designed to deflect attacks.
of their Group or Battlegroup and the
Battlegroup will suffer no negative A ship with Reinforced-Armour only
modifiers to their strategy rating while suffers Critical Hits from attack dice that
ships with this rule are out of coherency. score three more above their Lock number
instead of two.
47
Your Fleet Rules
Regenerate (X) Stealth

Ships with the Regenerate characteristic Stealth ships are constructed with additional
have self-sealing hulls and rapid replication subsystems to disguise limited use of
technology that allows them to quickly weapons and mask the presence of a firing
repair damage in combat. ship.
A ship with Regenerate can make a A ship with the Stealth special rule may
number of damage control rolls equal to X fire a single weapon system when using
in the Roundup phase of the turn to regain Silent Running special orders (note
lost hull points. this also means it can use close action
weapons when Silent Running).
For example, a ship with Regenerate (3) could
roll up to three damage control dice to restore The Stealth special rule only applies while
lost hull points during the Roundup phase of the ship is still uncrippled, so once it loses
the turn. 50%+ of its Hull the Stealth rule no longer
applies.
Note that there is still a chance of the ship
taking additional Hull damage if it rolls a Vectored
1 on a Regenerate damage control dice – Some ships are incredibly agile, able to turn
things don’t always work right. and change direction in the blink of an eye.
Ships with this rule are able to turn at any
point in their movement, instead of when
the order they have chosen states.
48
Your Fleet Rules
Weapon System Bloom

Special Rules Some weapons give off an especially bright
signature when fired.
Air-to-Air
Weapons systems designed for use in space Weapons with this special rule add a minor
are less effective when trying to fire through spike to the firing ship when this weapon
a planet’s Atmosphere – projectiles burn up is fired. This is in addition to any spikes
due to friction and energy weapons ionise gained from special orders or other sources.
uncontrollably. A few specialist ships, however, Bombardment
have weapon systems purpose-made for use in
Bombardment weapons are specialised
atmosphere.
systems designed to inflict maximum damage
While in atmosphere, weapons with this on surface-based targets.
rule ignore the usual penalty to Lock Value
Weapons with this special rule can only
and gain -1 to their Lock value when firing
be used on ground sectors. In order
at ships in atmosphere. All other penalties
to fire a bombardment weapon a ship
still apply, including needing a 6+ to shoot
must be in Low Orbit. A ship cannot
at ground targets. Air to Air weapons gain
use a Bombardment weapon while in
no benefit from this rule when firing from
Atmosphere, unless specifically stated
outside atmosphere. Air to Air weapons that
also have the Close Action rule may be fired Unlike other weapon systems
at targets in atmosphere in addition to other bombardment weapons incur no penalties
Orbital Layers. for firing through orbital layers or shooting
through atmosphere – it’s what they’re
Alternate fire weapons made for.
(Alt-X)
Some weapon systems, most notably energy- Burnthrough (X)
based weaponry, can be fired with a variable If an Attack dice for a Burnthrough weapon
focus or power output to generate significantly scores equal to or above its Lock number
different effects. the Attack dice can be rolled again. If the
A weapon system with Alternate fire modes second Lock roll is successful a third Lock
will be represented by two or more lines roll can be made and so on until a Lock roll
on the weapon system characteristics with is failed. A Burnthrough weapon can score
Alt followed by a number (e.g. Alt-1) in the a maximum total of (X) total Hull damage
special section. Only one weapon system points in one activation.
with the same Alt number on the weapon If a Critical Hit (i.e. rolling two or higher
characteristics may be fired by the same than the required lock number) is scored by
ship each turn. a Burnthrough weapon, only that die will
ignore the target’s Armour. Any subsequent
hits rolled by this weapon against the same
target during the same activation ignore
the target’s armour too.
49
Your Fleet Rules
Calibre (X) Hits from Close Action weapons can

be stopped by a target’s Point Defence.
Certain weapon systems have been designed
Resolve the effects of Point Defence
to be effective against ships of a specific size.
before taking any Armour or Passive
Weapons with the Calibre rule will be Countermeasures saving throws.
followed by either L, M, H, S which refers
to the tonnage value they have been
Close Action
(Swarmer)
designed to target.
Swarmers are a sub-classification of close
When these weapons are fired at targets action weapons which use decoys, split
with the same tonnage value as their projectiles and other countermeasures to
weapon, reduce the lock value on their make them more capable of overwhelming
profile by 1. If the weapon has more than 1 Point Defences.
tonnage value listed, then reduce the Lock
when shooting at any of the listed tonnage It takes one Point Defence success more
values. than normal to stop a point of Hull
damage from a Swarmer weapon. This
In addition, weapons with the Calibre H means that two successes are need to
and/or S rule inflict Critical Hits on rolls stop a normal hit from a swarmer, three
exceeding their Lock value by ONE rather successes for a critical.
than the usual two (against targets of any
Tonnage value). Close Action (Beam)
Some close action weapon systems rely
For example; a weapon with a Lock of 5+ and
entirely on projected radiation of one form
the Calibre (L) rule is targeting a frigate. As
or another and so are entirely unaffected by
frigates have a tonnage value of L (Light) you
Point Defences.
would reduce the Lock value of the weapon
by 1 to 4+. Close Action (Beam) weapon systems
obey all the normal rules for close action
Close Action weapon systems except one – Point
Some of the most devastating weapon Defences cannot be used against them at
systems usable in space are only effective at all!
relatively close range.
Corruptor
Close Action weapon systems may only be
Corruptor weapon systems cause ongoing
used against targets that are both within
damage to the target ship; Dangerous
their fire arc and inside the firing ship’s
Malware, self-propagating corrosive
Scan range. Close action weapons can
materials, incendiaries or even biological
be fired in addition to any other weapon
organisms.
systems permitted by a ship’s orders. A
ship that is unable to use any of its weapon For every Critical hit scored by a Corruptor
systems due to special orders may not use weapon, place 1 Corruptor token on the
its close action weapons either. ship. At the beginning of each Damage
Control phase, a ship with Corruptor
tokens takes 1 Damage for each token, with
no saves of any type allowed. A Corruptor
token may be repaired just like a Crippling
effect.
50
Your Fleet Rules
Crippling Escape Velocity

Weapon systems with the Crippling Escape Velocity weapon systems are
characteristic inflict crippling damage specifically designed to target ships in higher
when they score one or more critical hits orbital layers such as massive, ground based
in addition to any normal Hull Damage. anti-ship weapons.
Crippling damage is incurred regardless
These weapons ignore the penalties for
of the number of Hull points actually
firing through different Orbital Layers
inflicted providing one or more Hull
(including Atmosphere) and may be fired
damage is suffered by the target. If a target
from Atmosphere. However, they must
ship is reduced to 50% hull or below
always target an enemy in a higher Orbital
by the attack it will need to make two
Layer than themselves.
Crippling Damage rolls and apply both of
them. Flash
If a weapon with the Crippling rule is Weapon systems with the Flash
affected by another rule which would characteristic produce a highly visible energy
make Critical Hits automatic (such as the signature when they connect with a target,
Particle rule) then the roll you would have effectively ‘lighting it up’ for everyone to see.
needed to achieve a Critical Hit is the roll A ship that is hit by a Flash weapon system
required for the Crippling rule to take gains a Minor Spike in addition to any
effect. other damage effects. In addition, if the
For example, a Lock 3+ weapon would need weapon system inflicts 3 or more damage
a 5 or 6 to make an additional roll on the from the attack, another Minor Spike is
Crippling table. added to the target.
Distortion Fusillade (X)

Distortion weapon systems use the opening Fusillade weapon systems feature enlarged
of short-lived space/time wormholes to tear capacitor banks or ammunition magazines
targets apart so the more accurately the so that they can really let loosed when the
weapon hits the more damaging it becomes. time is ripe.
The damage value of a Distortion weapon When a ship uses the Weapons Free order,
system is equal to the number of hits the Fusillade weapon systems add the X value
weapon system inflicts during the attack to their Attack value to determine the
(before rolling any saving throws are number of shots the weapon system can
rolled). make this turn.
For example: A Distortion weapon with 4

Attack dice hits 3 times, this gives each hit
a damage value of 3, so up to 9 Hull damage
will be inflicted if all saves were failed! If the
same weapon were to hit with all 4 attacks, it
would inflict 16 Hull damage!
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Your Fleet Rules
Impel (X) Low Power

Impel weapons are unusual, esoteric Up to 1 Low Power weapon (or multiple
weapons that impart a change in angular Low Power weapons with the Linked
momentum to their target if they inflict special rule) may be fired instead of Close
enough damage. Action weapons in addition to other
weapons permitted by a ship’s orders.
If the firing player inflicts X damage to
an enemy ship (after saving throws have A ship that is unable to use any of its
been taken) with a single weapon with the weapon systems due to a special order (or
Impel (X) special rule, they may turn the Overcharging a weapon) may not use Low
target up to 45 degrees in either direction. Power weapons either.
Limited (X) Mauler
Certain weapons are so large, require massive Maulers are a specialised kind of close action
ammunition or overheat so quickly that it is Burnthrough weapon that are particularly
only possible to fire them a limited number of effective against thick armour as the pulses
times during an engagement. can be modulated to disrupt it at a molecular
level.
Weapons with this rule will be expressed
as L (X) in their special section. This The Lock characteristic of a Mauler
weapon may only be fired X times in a weapon is equal to the Armour
game, so make your shots count! This can characteristic of the targeted ship.
also apply to Launch Assets (typically to
torpedoes), in which case the Asset may For example; A Mauler is being fired at a ship
only be launched X times in a game. which has Armour 3+. The Lock number of the
Mauler is therefore also 3+.
Link (X) Overcharge
Link weapon systems are configured in such
A ship on the Weapons Free special order
a way that they can be fired simultaneously
may choose to Overcharge this weapon
without impacting on a ship’s other
(or group of Overcharge weapons with the
functions.
Linked special rule).
A weapon with this rule will normally be
Double the Damage value of these
paired with a second weapon with the
weapons.
same Link (X) value. In order for a ship to
fire more than one weapon it is normally If Overcharging, no other weapons (other
required to declare a Weapons Free special than Close Action weapons) may be fired
order. However, all weapon systems by the ship that turn. Launch Assets may
with the same Link (X) number count still be deployed as normal.
as a single weapon system for activation
purposes, although they may be fired at
different targets.
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Your Fleet Rules
Particle Scald
Particle weapon systems are so devastating Scald weapon systems are ones that can
at the point of impact that physical armour pummel their targets whether with rapid
and energy shields offer no defence against fire bolts of superheated plasma or payloads
them. of highly corrosive acid. They can literally
melt their way through armour and internal
Weapon systems with this rule always
components when fired at close range.
inflict Critical Hits if the Lock value of
their attack is met and passive saves may Armour against Hull damage from scald
not be taken against them. weapons suffers a +1 penalty when the
firing ship is within Scan range of the
Re-Entry target.
Re-Entry weapons are capable of firing
For example: A ship armed with Scald
from Low Orbit into Atmosphere without
weapons hits a target that is within Scan
any penalties to Lock for Atmosphere or
range. The target’s Armour is usually 3+ so
crossing Orbital Layers.
against this attack it becomes 4+ instead.
Unless otherwise stated, Re-Entry
weapons use Scan + Signature for their
Squadron-X
range. If a Group has assigned X or more
weapons with Squadron to the same
Re-Entry weapons may not target Clusters target, add a further D6 shots to the attack
or Sectors, although may shoot other dice pool of those weapons. These shots
targets outside of Atmosphere, following are added to the attacks of one of the ships
all the normal rules. when rolling to hit (attacker’s choice),
resolved with the same modifiers as that
ship’s.
Subsystem Network
Whenever a ship with this rule fires a
weapon, it may also fire an additional
weapon of the same type if it has one.
That weapon still cannot fire twice during
one turn (for example if it has the Linked
special rule).
Weapons with Low Power and Subsystem
Network may still use this rule even if
firing on Low Power. Weapons that have
been Overcharged cannot use Subsytem
Network.
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Your Fleet Rules
Unstable A ship with 13+ Hull Points requires 2

ships with Shield Booster in order to
If any Unstable weapon with a random
receive this bonus.
Attack value is fired on a Weapons Free
order, the ship suggers 1 Hull Damage per Motherships & Gates
maximum Attack value rolls. The Shaltari deploy their ground forces in
If an Unstable weapon doesn’t have a a very different way to other, less advanced
random attack value, the ship suggers 1 races. Instead of risking their troops directly
Hull Damage for using this weapon on a in a hazardous descent while physically
Weapons Free order. present aboard dropships, they employ an
interconnected web of teleport gates to
Shaltari Special transfer from a distant ship in orbit directly
Rules to the surface. That way, only the gate’s
crew are at risk on approach rather than the
Shaltari Shields whole payload of warriors. This fabulously
At the start of any friendly Shaltari advanced technology also brings with it the
battlegroup’s activation, ships in that added benefit of being able to transfer forces
battlegroup can choose to raise their on the ground between combat zones in the
shields. Once raised, the shields must blink of an eye.
remain raised until the battlegroup next
Motherships (which physically house
activates where the Shaltari player can
the troops) provide the fulcrum of this
choose to deactivate the shields (or keep
technology while smaller Voidgates (the
them raised). When the shields are raised,
equivalent of Strike Carriers) and Gates (the
the following rules take effect:
equivalent of dropships) provide the point of
• The ship may use its Passive entry to the battlefield. The latter is required
Countermeasures. as this technology requires a Gate to be
• The ship must now use the larger physically present very near to the point of
signature value in its profile materialisation.
• The ship’s Point Defence is reduced Motherships are the origin point for
to 0. Modifiers such as those made by ground troops and these are physically
escorting fighters still apply. carried aboard them. As such, they have
• The ship may not choose the Silent a Launch capacity in same way as the
Running special order. troopships of other races and they use the
same rules for when they may Launch.
Shield Booster Motherships are identified as ships that
Once per turn, if a friendly ship within have the option to launch Gates. Gates
4” and on the same Orbital Layer of are a special type of Strike Craft unique
a ship with this rule is targeted, the to the Shaltari and use the same rules as
friendly ship may re-roll all failed Passive Dropships
Countermeasures saves.
The ship with this rule can choose to
target itself.
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Your Fleet Rules
Voidgate-X In order to do this, the Voidgate must

be within 18” of the Mothership OR
Voidgates are a stepping stone between the
within 18” of another Voidgate that is in
Mothership in orbit and the small, dropship-
turn within 18” of the Mothership. You
like Gates. Since Gates cannot deploy directly
may have more than 2 Voidgates in this
from space, a Voidgate is needed to enter the
chain as long as it is unbroken. Only the
atmosphere and provide a point of entry for
Capacity of the Voidgate deploying the
them.
Gates is used if multiple Voidgates are
When a Mothership is launching chained in this way.
Gates, they are not deployed from the
The eldritch technologies and incredible
Mothership itself. Instead, they are
energies involved in this process also
deployed from Voidgates.
have an offensive side effect - the air
A Voidgate will have a Voidgate Capacity surrounding such constructs is loaded
(Voidgate-X) in its special rules, which with energetic potential, ready to
represents how many Gate tokens may be annihilate smaller enemy craft that get
deployed through it each turn (note that too close. If a Voidgate is within 6” of a
this is frequently lower than the launch Cluster then that Cluster counts as having
value of Motherships, meaning that you a Defence Battery deployed in it when
generally need multiple Voidgates to enemy Dropships or Bulklanders are
make full use of a Mothership’s potential deploying ground assets. However, Bulk
Launch capacity). Landers are destroyed on a 4+ rather than
the usual 3+.
55
Your Fleet Rules
Voidgates can also be used to relocate Any number of Ground Asset tokens may
Ground Assets once deployed. During be picked up by a single Voidgate, but only
the Ground Combat step of the Roundup one may be dropped per Voidgate per turn
Phase you may use nearby Voidgates to using this rule. Tokens picked up but not
enhance the movement abilities of you dropped in this manner are automatically
existing ground forces. destroyed.
Ground Asset tokens in Sectors within Tokens moved in this manner count as
3” of a Voidgate in Atmosphere or Space not being present in their new Sector for
Stations in Low Orbit may be moved the remainder of the turn (and therefore
to another Sector within 3” of another may not contribute to scoring that turn).
Voidgate in Atmosphere or another Space
Station within 3” of another Voidgate in Resistance Special
Low Orbit anywhere else on the table. Rules
If the token is being moved to a Sector Elite Bridge Crew
within a Cluster containing an enemy A Resistance Fleet ship may remove a
Defence Battery, that token is destroyed on Major Spike when on Standard Orders.
a roll of 6+.
In addition, when drawing Command
Ground Assets may not be deployed Cards, Resistance players always draw 1
through any Voidgate which has used additional card, and then discard 1 card of
the Max Thrust Special Order that turn their choice from their hand.
although that Voidgate may still be part of
a chain.
56

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V1.

Earth, 2673 3 Ship’s Orders 15

3 The board is set; the Battle for Earth has begun.

Name Scan Sig Thrust Hull A PD G T Special

A Lysander 6” 0” 12” 2 6+ 2 1-3 L Atmospheric, Full Cloak,

Type Lock Attack Damage Arc Special

B Barracuda Missile Bay 4+ 2 1 F/S/R Close Action

Load Launch Special

Stats Bar Thrust

AV – (Admiral Value): Represents the Espionage

Allowed: Defines what sized engagement Target

they can be chosen to partake in. In this Effect

Clash or Battle, but not a Skirmish (an action

Activation Phase Battlegroup

Equal Strategy Ratings Ship’s Orders

Special Orders A ship on Silent Running may not use

A ship on Max Thrust may not use launch Movement

To move a ship, measure a position Ramming

successfully crashed into/detonated their To determine the effective range of a ships

in Atmosphere, you will need a specialist Nuke the site from

4. Total up Hull modifiers). Any dice that have rolled at

Roll a D6 for each point of Hull damage

6. Roll for Crippling Damage as it represents the

Crippling Damage Table

1-2 Engines Disabled: Thrust reduced by 50% 2 Yes Yes

5-6 Weapons Offli ine: The next time it activates it

5-6 Reactor Overload: Roll again on the Crippling 3 No Yes

Dreadnought Crippling Damage Table

Damage Control Table Damage control

Ground Combat Sectors

Ground Assets Defence Batteries

• Armour: Again just like ships this

Ground Assets Resolve Combats

a group of Torpedoes. Standard sizes for UCM

can deploy Launch Assets are referred to

This step is always resolved in the Time To Target

Launch Assets in Launch assets generally function like

Bulk landers may only be launched Torpedoes

Building Your Fleet

Battlegroup Type Launch

Pathfi nder Battlegroup Line Battlegroup

Vanguard Battlegroup Flag Battlegroup

• Distant: The fleet cautiously new recruits to logistical and military

Sectors bring additional benefits or risks to the

Orbital 2+ 1 2 F/S/R Escape

Other Scoring Destroying a Cluster

Scenery Debris Fields

Damage to ships entering Lock Scan

Type Lock Attack Damage Arc Special

Mass Driver Armament 3+ 2 1 F/S/R -

Laser Armament 3+ 2 1 F/S/R Burnthrough (4),

Missile Armament 3+ 4 1 F/S/R Close Action

These weapons do not need to be • No part of any Debris Field should be

Regenerate (X) Stealth

Weapon System Bloom

Calibre (X) Hits from Close Action weapons can

Crippling Escape Velocity

Distortion Fusillade (X)

For example: A Distortion weapon with 4

Impel (X) Low Power