Moving ships:  Ships in the age of Space Tyrants are built to be a size similar to that of Manhattan Island.  Their engines are designed to propel them at speeds many times the speed of light.  Their bulk and speed mean that they cannot maneuver as nimbly as smaller vessels.  In the game, this restricted movement is represented by a ship's Maneuverability Class (MC).  Each round, a ship can move forward up to it's Speed in hexes.  It may also turn a number of times equal to its MC.  Each turn is a single 60º turn, moving the ships front from its current face on the hex to an adjacent face.  Ships must move a hex forward before initiating a turn.  Ships may never turn twice in the same hex, and must always move in the direction they are facing.   Some ships have a MC marked with a *, these ships have Perfect Maneuverability, and are exempt from the turn rules.  Ships with Perfect Maneuverability may be turned to face any direction at the beginning of the ships' movement and after entering a hex.

Ramming: ships may use their own bulk as a weapon to collide with other ships, usually as a last resort.  By moving into the opponent's hex, the moving ship initiates a ram manuever.  This deals damage to each ship equal to half the other ship's max hull points (not current) plus the speed of the moving ship.  Armor and shields reduce this damage, though armor values are halved, and shield values are doubled.

Scatter chart: The scatter chart is used when an effect misses its intended target, and instead hits a hex near the target.  Roll 1d6 and count clockwise from the front of the target, that's the hex that is hit.

Proximity chart: roll 1d10, 7-10 is a direct hit, treat 1-6 as a result on the scatter chart.



A one on one game is called a battle.  A battle with more than two players is a grand melee.  Each game is divided into rounds, during which each player moves and acts with the ships in his armada.  Each players moves and acts with all his ships at once, with each player taking turns.  Determine the order of which player acts first at the beginning of the game using whatever method you desire.

Captains: Every ship has a captain (naturally) and every ship you purchase for your squadron comes with a captain. However, you should keep track of captains independently of ships, since captains may move from ship to ship.  Most players like to give their captains names, to better keep track of them, and to give them some personality.  As a captain sees more battles, he becomes more experienced and more knowledgeable about space warfare, and gained experience points (XP).  A captain who has been on the same ship for an extended period of time receives some additional benefits due to his knowledge of the ship and its crew.  


XP: captains gain XP to represent the experience they have gained in battle.  Whenever a captain's ship disables another ship, he gains 1 XP.  If his ship survives the game without being disabled, he gains 1 XP.


Attacks:  Ships attack each other by choosing a weapon and firing on a ship in range.  Every weapon has a range, which is measured in hexes.  The weapon can only hit targets within this range.  Each weapon may only be fired once per round, but may be fired at any time before, during, or after the ship's movement (if any).  By default, all weapons on a ship can target any other ship that is not to the rear of the ship.  Exceptions to this rule are noted in the weapon or ship's description.  To attack with a weapon, declare the weapon you are firing with, and roll 1d10.  Add the accuracy modifier of the weapon, and the accuracy modifier of the ship, plus any other modifiers if applicable.  Compare the final result to the AC of the target ship.  If you equal or exceed the AC, you hit.   Rolling a 10 on the d10 always hits.  Rolling a 1 on the D10 always misses.  If you roll a 10 on the D10 and the total attack roll exceeds the AC of the target, you critically hit the target.