"Final Frontier - The Rules" Topic

Having been busy typing away all this week, I've now managed to finish the first draft of my Star Trek-inspired hex-based space combat rules. They can be found, and downloaded, from my blog here:

link

Feel free to download them and try them out. Whilst not the most complicated set of rules, I do think I've managed to capture the spirit of the genre, and they're free, so what have you got to lose?

Those who do try them out, I'd appreciate any constructive feedback on them, either here or on my blog.

Thanks all

Thanks, I'll try it out.

Okay, I've given these a read, and I like it. Part of it reminds me of WarpWar – which is a good thing – and other parts remind me of another hex-based game, with dice as power allocation, that escapes me at the moment. Also good.

I'd like to see rule for combat and damage broken out of the systems descriptions, but the way it is isn't bad – you kind of learn as you go along. That's just personal preference for itemization.

I might be inclined to make everything customizable – Scanners, Shields, and Beams would be things to be purchased, or not, and Engines would be separate from Reactors, producing speed and power, respectively. How those numbers would work out, I'm not sure – this is all off the top of my head right now. But it would reflect Trek a little bit more, and would allow for things like unarmed, unshielded freighters.

I think there's a lot of flexibility here for other non-Trek-ish settings, too. Lower tech settings could use the Speed as Vector Change, and just mark endpoints, Shields could become point defense, and things like that.

I'm also thinking of how to include flights of fighters…not very Trek, I know, but I have a bunch of cool little fleet-size fighter minis!

One significant caveat, however: I haven't actually played them yet…