2669. It is the final year of the Terran-Kilrathi War, and Earth has very narrowly escaped total destruction at the hands of the Kilrathi's Hakaga fleet. In the wake of the battle, Confederation High Command launches an untried carrier, Lexington, on a mission to eliminate the Kilrathi homeworld of Kilrah. Launched with a 62-man Special Ops crew, Lexington has been equipped with the means to construct new mining and fighter construction facilities should the need arise. Meanwhile, Kilrathi Prince Thrakhath nar Kiranka has deployed KIS Shiraak as his "final messenger to the Terrans", hoping to make a final strike at the vulnerable Terran homeworlds. Though there are no plans to retrieve the carrier, Shiraak is given nearly identical capabilities to those of Lexington. Though neither of the crews of those two ships knew it at the time, they were destined to collide in one of the greatest unsung battles in the entire war...

Contents 1 The Basics: Terms, Equipment, Minutia 2 Object of the Game 3 Game Setup 4 Craft Statistics 5 Gameplay 5.1 Hide Forces 5.2 Collect Production Points 5.2.1 Mines and Transports 5.2.2 Strip-Mining 5.3 Build 5.3.1 Building Bases 5.3.1.1 Fortress Upgrades 5.3.1.2 Salvaging Bases 5.3.2 Building Units 5.4 Move Forces 5.5 Combat 5.5.1 Resolving Combat 5.5.2 Special Situations in Combat 5.5.2.1 Leech Missiles and Cloaking Devices 5.5.2.2 Transports 5.5.2.3 Carriers 5.5.2.3.1 Torpedo Runs 5.5.3 An Example of Combat 5.5.4 A Longer and More Thorough Example of Combat 6 Seldomly-Asked Questions (SAQs) 7 Version History 8 PDF Download 9 Special Thanks 10 Disclaimers

The Basics: Terms, Equipment, MinutiaEdit

Armada: PNP is a two-player strategic game set in the Wing Commander universe. It is an adaptation of the original Wing Commander: Armada first released by Origin back in 1994, meant to be played with pencil and paper. Players in this game will build bases and fighters on a specific map with the goal of locating and destroying the enemy's carrier. This guidebook is a complete text, containing all the rules needed to immediately start playing a single Armada map or even a full-fledged Campaign.

To play Wing Commander Armada: PNP, you'll need the following equipment:

• The Wing Commander Armada: PNP guidebook (this text).
• Four six-sided dice (d6s), two for each player. While a single twelve-sided die (d12) can be substituted and utilized by each player, using d6s will preserve the statistical probabilities upon which the game has been designed and decrease the amount of inherent randomness in the game.
• The Armada Strategic Counter sheet and the Confederation/Kilrathi logo sheets available at http://wcrpg.wikia.com/wiki/Tokens, pre-cut into individual counters.
• A Wing Commander Sector Map. This can be one of the maps available at http://www.wcnews.com/maps/, a custom map using the procedure presented in WCRPG, or a map of a player's own design.
• A screen for both players, behind which they will place their unused tokens.

The game has been designed such that the amount of calculation required should be minimal, though there may be some long division involved. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all decimal remainders should be rounded to the next whole integer, with decimals of 0.5 rounded up. A calculator is not required to play the game, but players should feel free to use one if it helps speed up gameplay.

Object of the GameEdit

In all games of Armada: PNP, the object of the game is to locate and destroy the enemy carrier before the enemy's forces can find and destroy your own. To destroy a carrier, a torpedo-wielding craft must be put in a combat situation that includes that carrier and must survive long enough for any craft defending the carrier to be destroyed or to conduct a successful "torpedo run" on the carrier.

Game SetupEdit

To play a game of Armada: PNP:

1. The "neutral" set of tokens (mines, shipyards and fortresses) are placed in an area between the two players. Both players have the opportunity to utilize these tokens through the course of gameplay.
2. Once both players have agreed upon a map on which to play a game, both players roll their dice. The high roller has the choice of what side they will play in the game (either the Terran Confederation or the Kilrathi Empire), what system on the map to set their initial forces, and what system upon which their opponent must set their initial forces. The high roller should carefully choose the initial disposition of forces, selecting for themselves an area easily defended or accessible to a large portion of the map, while denying the same advantages to their opponent.
3. Each player then receives the corresponding forces as indicated by the high roller's selection (Confederation or Kilrathi tokens), as well as the matching logo tokens.
4. From their forces, each player receives the following:
   1. A carrier (either Lexington or Shiraak, the tokens Lx-1 or Si-1).
   2. Two light fighters (Arrows for the Confederation player and Dralthi-IIIs for the Kilrathi player. The specific token number does not matter)
   3. One shipyard. These are taken from the collective pool of "neutral" tokens.
   4. Four of their logo tokens. These are kept in an area near the board and represent the player's initial amount of Production Points. These must be left in plain sight of both players at all times.
5. Each player places their carrier, light fighters and shipyard on the systems indicated by the high roller. The carrier and fighters are set face down, shile the shipyard remains face up.
6. An additional logo token is placed near or underneath the shipyard token such that the logo is still somewhat exposed. This token is a control token, indicating the system is under the control of a specific player.
7. Game play may then proceed according to the rules.

Craft StatisticsEdit

All craft in the game have a set of statistics associated with them, which are used to measure the craft's relative value in combat and to indicate their relative overall worth. The statistics associated with all craft are as follows:

• Cost: This lists the craft's overall cost to produce in Production Points. To build the craft, the player will need to have an available shipyard and will have to spend the indicated number of Production Points.
• Shipyards: In addition to having a monetary cost in Production Points, all craft have a Shipyard cost. This indicates the number of available shipyards that must be in the player's possession in order to build the craft during the course of a turn. To count as an available shipyard, the shipyard must be in the player's possession and must not have been used to produce another craft during the course of the player's turn.
• Maneuver: This is a general measure of the craft's overall maneuverability and how it stacks up to other craft in the game. Each combat group (a set of one or more fighters) has an overall maneuvering score, which is simply the sum total of the Maneuver scores of all craft in that group. In combat, the maneuver scores of the opposing groups are compared, with any difference acting as a dice bonus (or penalty) to the attacking group.
• Strength: This is a measure of a craft's general overall strength, itself generally defined as the maximum potential damage the craft can cause with a single gun volley combined with a missile salvo. The rating is a ratio of the craft's strength to other craft in the game. Each combat group has an overall strength score, which is the simply the sun total of the Strength scores of all cract in that group. In combat, the strength scores of the opposing groups are compared, with the difference setting the potential combat outcomes. In general, the higher the strength score, the better.
• Hits: This is a measure of the craft's ability to avoid or absorb damage before its destruction. In combat, the outcome of a die roll will prescribe a number of hits for one or both players to allocate to their forces. A craft is destroyed when it absorbs a number of hits equal to its hits score.
• Special Features: This last stat lists any special features of the craft in general. Craft with special features carry a Cloak, Leech Missiles, or Torpedoes. The effects of each of these special features will be discussed later in the game's rules.

The statistics for the various in-game craft as as follows:

• Kilrathi Empire
  • Dralthi-III Light Fighter: Build 2, Shipyards 1, Maneuver 0, Strength 1, 1 hit
  • Shoklar Medium Fighter: Build 3, Shipyards 2, Maneuver 0, Strength 3, 3 hits (Cloak)
  • Jrathek Medium Fighter: Build 4, Shipyards 2, Maneuver 0, Strength 3, 4 hits
  • Kor'larh Heavy Fighter: Build 5, Shipyards 3, Maneuver 0, Strength 4, 5 hits (Torpedo)
  • Goran Heavy Fighter: Build 6, Shipyards 3, Maneuver -2, Strength 6, 6 hits (Torpedo)
  • Jakhari-class Transport: Build 2, Shipyards 1, Maneuver -4, Strength 1, 10 hits
  • Shirrak-class Carrier: Build N/A, Shipyards N/A, Maneuver -4, Strength 2, N/A hits

• Terran Confederation
  • Arrow-V Light Fighter: Build 2, Shipyards 1, Maneuver +1, Strength 1, 1 hit
  • Phantom Medium Fighter: Build 3, Shipyards 1, Maneuver 0, Strength 3, 4 hits
  • Wraith Medium Fighter: Build 4, Shipyards 2, Maneuver 0, Strength 5, 5 hits (Leech)
  • Gladius Heavy Fighter: Build 5, Shipyards 2, Maneuver 0, Strength 5, 4 hits (Torpedo)
  • Banshee Heavy Fighter: Build 6, Shipyards 3, Maneuver -2, Strength 5, 6 hits (Torpedo)
  • Bellau Wood-class Transport: Build 2, Shipyards 1, Maneuver -4, Strength 1, 10 hits
  • Lexington-class Carrier: Build N/A, Shipyards N/A, Maneuver -4, Strength 2, N/A hits

GameplayEdit

Each turn of the game consists of five phases: Hide Forces, Collect Production Points, Build, Move Forces, and Combat. Players conduct their actions simultaneously during each phase, indicating to their opponent when they are ready to proceed to the next phase of the turn.

Hide ForcesEdit

Certain actions conducted during the game require a player to expose the location of some of their units (including combat, base construction and using transports to collect additional Production Points). At the beginning of every turn, both players will take the time to turn all of their units face down (except for any mines or shipyards in their possession; shipyards expended in the previous turn should be turned face up once again). A player may elect to skip this step if they so choose (though why anyone would voluntarily leave their units where their opponent may see them is questionable at best), and may not hide a unit later in the turn if they fail to do so during this turn phase.

Collect Production PointsEdit

After hiding their units, both players may collect Production Points to use in the construction of new units and bases. The number of Production Points a player receives depends upon the number of mines they currently control and the number of systems they currently control; the number of both should simply be tallied up. For every five mines and/or systems the player controls (round up to the next five), the player receives on Production Point. For example, the Kilrathi player controls seven systems and four mines. They control eleven systems and mines total, which gets rounded up to fifteen; the Kilrathi player therefore earns three Production Points that turn. A player's Mines always remain exposed.

A player must have available unused logo tokens to collect Production Points; in the rare event where none are available, the player may not collect Production Points. A player may also always waive their right to collect Production Points during the course of a turn (though why they may want to do so is dubious).

Mines and TransportsEdit

If the player so chooses, they may expose a Transport located in the same system as one of their mines. Doing so will allow them to collect an additional Production Point that turn. The player may do this as many times as they have Transports and Mines in the same system, but may only collect for ONE Transport in any given system (i.e. it does no good to expose two or more Transports in the same system as a Mine).

Strip-MiningEdit

If a player so chooses, they may "strip mine" during the course of a turn. This effectively doubles the number of mines in their possession for that turn ONLY, possibly allowing them to collect additional Production Points. When a player chooses to strip mine, they must select one of the mines under their control and remove its token from the game. (Optional Rule: When a player removes a mine from a system for strip-mining, they may not replace the mine with another mine or any other type of base for the duration of the game).

BuildEdit

Once both players have collected their Production Points, they may elect to either build new units or new bases. A player always has the option to build nothing during the course of a turn and stockpile their Production Points if they so choose.

Building BasesEdit

A player may build new bases during the course of their turn. To produce a base, the system in which the player would like to build the base may not already contain a base (i.e. a base may not contain a mine and a shipyard, a mine and a fortress, a shipyard and a fortress or all three base types) and the player's carrier must be in the same system. The player must expose their carrier's position by turning its token face up. The player then expends the amount of Production Points necessary for the base's production (placing the logo tokens back in their stockpile). If the player does not have enough Production Points, they may not build the base, simple as that. The token for the new base is picked up from the "neutral" token stockpile and placed in the system face up. If there is no available token for the base, the player may not build that type of base until a token becomes available for it.

There are five types of bases the player may build in a given system:

1. Mines - These are use to enhance the player's Production Point collection potential. Mines cost two Production Points to build.
2. Shipyards - These enable the player to produce more units and more powerful units. Shipyards cost four Production Points to build.
3. Light Fortresses - This sets up a static defense in the system, consisting of three of the lightest fighters available to the player (either three Arrows or three Dralthis). Light Fortresses cost ten Production Points to build.
4. Medium Fortresses - These are like a Light Fortress, except they contain three mid-range fighters instead of the light fighters (either three Wraiths or three Jratheks). Medium Fortresses cost twenty Production Points to build.
5. Heavy Fortresses - These are similar to the other two types of fortresses, except they contain the heaviest fighter type available to a player (either three Banshees or three Gorans). Heavy Fortresses cost thirty Production Points to build.

A player who builds a new shipyard or new fortress of any type gains the benefits of that base immediately (e.g. a player could build a shipyard and then immediately use that shipyard to build a new unit). However, new mines may not be used to enhance the player's production potential until the next turn.

Fortress UpgradesEdit

Should a player build either a Light Fortress or Medium Fortress, they have the option on a later turn to upgrade that fortress to a heavier version. To upgrade a fortress, there must be a token available in the neutral token pool of the desired fortress; if there is not an appropriate token available, the fortress may not be upgraded. Also, the carrier does not need to be present to upgrade a fortress. If a token is available, the player need only expose the fortress, pay the upgrade cost, and replace the old fortress token with the new one. The old fortress token is returned to the neutral token pool. Upgrading to a Medium Fortress from a Light Fortress costs ten Production Points, as does upgrading to a Heavy Fortress from a Medium Fortress. Upgrading directly to a Heavy Fortress from a Light Fortress is possible; it costs twenty Production Points to do so.

Fortresses can also be downgraded at the discretion of the player. Doing so requires the presence of a token of the desired fortress type in the neutral token pool; the fortress cannot be downgraded if the right token is not there. Downgrading requires the exposure of the fortress and the replacement of its token with the new fortress token, with the old token returning to the neutral token pool. There is no Production Point benefit involved in downgrading a fortress (i.e. the player receives no Production Points by downgrading a fortress), but there may be strategic reasons why a player may want to do this.

Salvaging BasesEdit

A player may salvage a base during the course of their turn, dismantling it and removing it from the board. This may be done as a means of generating emergency revenue or as a way of consolidating the player's forces in an area of the board. Salvaging a base requires the presence of the carrier. To salvage the base, the carrier is exposed and the base's token is returned to the neutral token pool. When a base is salvaged, the player receives a number of Production Points depending on what kind of base was salvaged. Mines return one Production Point, Shipyards return two Production Points, and Fortresses (regardless of their variety) return five Production Points.

Building UnitsEdit

A player may build new units (Fighters and/or Transports) during the course of their turn. Production of new units may occur at any single shipyard that has not already produced a unit during the course of the current turn (this is what's known as an "available shipyard"). All units have a "shipyard" cost, which may indicate that more than one available shipyard be available to build the unit. In this case, all the shipyards used to produce that unit are considered "expended" once the unit has been built, though the unit may come into play at any one of those shipyards. Production of new units also requires the player to have an unused token of the desired unit available; if no such token is still available, the player may not build the unit. Finally, production requires the expenditure of the number of Production Points indicated by the type of unit being built. If the player does not have a sufficient amount of available Production Points, they may not build the unit.

Should all the prerequisites for building a new unit be fulfilled, the player spends the indicated number of points required for the unit, places the new unit token face up in the same system as one of the shipyards being expended to build it, and turns all expended shipyards face downward. The new unit may be moved right away and may be used in combat, but will not be turned face down until the next turn.

Unlike bases, units may not be salvaged by a player during the course of gameplay. The only way to make an individual unit token available for purchase again once it has been built is for that unit to be destroyed in combat.

Move ForcesEdit

Once both players have indicated they are through building new units or bases, game play moves on to the movement phase. A player may move their Fighters, Transports and Carrier (collectively known as "units") to any system currently connected to the system that unit is located in by a direct jump tunnel. All units may only make one jump per turn. Units do not have to be moved if the player does not want to move them.

To indicate the movement of a unit from one system to another, the player sets the unit(s) making the jump to the next system along the jump line to that system, with the "top" of the unit (the portion of the unit that contains the identifier text) aimed towards the destination system. All units keep their current facing during this process; players should be cautious when examining their units to avoid exposing them to their opponent inadvertently. If so desired by the player, a logo token may be placed on top of a stack of units moving toward a new system with a portion of the token sticking out towards the destination system.

Once an indication has been made that a unit will move, that unit must move; the player may not revoke the move declaration for that unit. Players should therefore consider carefully what units they will move prior to making any declarations.

When a player is done making move declarations, they should declare so to their opponent. The opponent may then indicate they are also ready to move on, or make additional movement declarations. If the opponent makes additional move declarations, they may make as many as they wish; when they are finished, they must ask their opponent (the player who made the initial declaration) if they want to make any changes to their declarations. The initial player may then indicate they are ready to move on, or make changes based on what their opponent has done. The process of making movement declarations and asking the opposing player for confirmation continues until both players indicate they are ready to move on.

Once both players have indicated they are ready to move on, all movement declarations are resolved. All units that have moved are now moved into the systems indicated by the movement declarations of both players, and play proceeds to the combat phase.

CombatEdit

Once all movement has been resolved, a number of combat situations may occur. The players may resolve these situations in any order they agree upon.

The following combat situations may occur during the course of the game:

1. A player has moved their forces into a neutral system (one without a Claim Token), and their opponent has not also moved forces into the system: In this case, the player lays immediately lays claim to the system by placing a logo token on the board face up in the same system. If the player has no available logo tokens, they must take the token out of their current Production Point pool; they do not get to reclaim a token later if one becomes available. In the very rare event that there are no logo tokens available and the player's Production Point pool is empty, the system simply remains neutral.
2. Both players have moved their forces into a neutral system: In this case, combat will need to be resolved before either player may lay claim to the system (with control of the system going to the final victor). In the event that a player needs to retreat units out of the system (under the circumstances explained later in these rules), they may move their forces back to any single system from which any of their forces originated.
3. A player has moved their forces into an enemy-controlled system (one with an opposing Claim Token), but their opponent has no forces in that system: The player automatically lays claim to the system in this event. The opponent must return their logo token to their available pile and the player will replace it with their own. If the player has no available logo tokens, they must take the token out of their current Production Point pool; they do not get to reclaim a token later if one becomes available. In the very rare event that there are no logo tokens available and the player's Production Point pool is empty, the system simply becomes neutral. In all cases, the opponent must surrender one Production Point back to their logo token pool if they have any Production Points available; if not, the player may claim one Production Point instead.
4. A player has moved their forces into an enemy-controlled system (one with an opposing Claim Token) that contains a base, but their opponent has no forces in that system: What happens depends upon the base's type, as follows:
   1. If the base is a shipyard, the player lays claim to the system as if the system were neutral. In addition to all other effects, the opponent's base is destroyed and its token is returned to the neutral tokens pool.
   2. If the base is a mine, the player lays claim to the system as if the system were neutral. Instead of losing just one Production Point, the opponent must roll 1d6 and must surrender an amount of Production Points equal to the result (if any are available). The player immediately gains an amount of Production Points equal to that surrendered by their opponent. If the opponent surrendered no Production Points, the player is still entitled to immediately gain one Production Point. In any case, the mine token is returned to the neutral token pool.
   3. If the base is a Fortress, then combat will need to be resolved. Control of the system will go to the victorious player. The opponent's Fortress forces cannot retreat; the fortress will be destroyed automatically if the opponent would otherwise be indicated to retreat. If the player wins the battle, the fortress token is removed from the board and returned to the neutral token pool.
5. A player moves their forces into an enemy-controlled system that contains one or more opposing units: In this case, combat will need to be resolved before either player may lay claim to the system (with control of the system going to the victorious player). In the event that the player needs to retreat units out of the system (under the circumstances explained later in these rules), they may move their forces back to any single system from which any of their forces originated. The opponent may retreat to any single friendly system of their choosing; if no such place exists, they may move to any single neutral system of their choosing. If there are no friendly or neutral systems into which the opponent may retreat, the player may choose one of their systems into which their opponent may retreat; note that this will likely set up a fresh combat situation.
6. Both players moves their forces toward each other along the same jump line: This situation will produce a combat situation "en route" to a system, which will need to be resolved before the victorious force may move to the destination system. Note that upon final arrival at a destination system, a new combat situation may result.

Once all combat situations have been resolved, the turn ends. Gameplay continues with the Hide Forces phase of the next turn, unless a carrier was destroyed as the result of a combat resolution. In that event, the game ends and whoever destroyed the carrier is the victorious player.

Resolving CombatEdit

A combat situation requires resolution anytime a player's forces (their Fighters, Transports and/or Carrier) comes into contact with those of their opponent. Armada: PNP uses a relatively simple dice mechanic to determine the outcome of combat situations. It's important to note that as in the original game, combat in Armada: PNP is only resolved once one side's forces have been completely eliminated. Once combat is joined, it's a fight to the death; there is no retreat (except in one circumstance, which will be explained below).

The first thing that must happen when a combat situation requires resolution is the establishment of who is the "attacker" and who is the "defender". This is very important, as it is the attacker who actually conducts all die rolls during combat. In the case where a player jumps into a hostile system, the player is the attacker and their opponent is the defender (regardless of whether or not the opponent already had forces in that system). In the case where players are jumping into one another (i.e. a combat situation "en route" to a system) or in the case where both players have jumped into a neutral system at the same time, the attacker can be established through this set of priorities:

1. The player with the highest total combat Strength is the attacker.
2. If both players have an equal total combat Strength, the player with the larger number of available Hits is the attacker.
3. If both players have equal Strength and equal Hits, the player with the higher overall number of systems under their control is the attacker.
4. If both players have equal Strength and Hits, and have an equal number of systems under their control, the player who controls the most Mines is the attacker.
5. If both players have equal Strength and Hits, and an equal number of systems and Mines under their control, the player who controls the most Shipyards is the attacker.
6. In the highly unlikely event that all other criteria result in a tie, both players may roll 2d6. The player with the higher result is the attacker. This die roll may be repeated in the event of ties on the dice until there is a clear higher result.

Once the attacker has been established, both players expose their forces and tally up the total Maneuver score and Strength score of their group. The attacker then subtracts the defender's total Maneuver score from the total Maneuver score of their own force; the result is a modifier that will be applied to the outcome of their die rolls. Similarly, the attacker must also compare their total Strength score to that of the defender's forces; this will be expressed as a ratio of the attacker's total Strength score to that of the defender's total Strength score. This is calculated most easily by dividing the larger score by that of the smaller score, and rounding any decimal remainder. This ratio will determine what column the attacker will use on the Combat Results Table (CRT) below when making their combat rolls.

Wing Commander Armada: PNP Combat Results Table

	1-5	1-4	1-3	1-2	1-1	2-1	3-1	4-1	5-1
<2	AE	8/0	7/0	6/0	5/0	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0
2	8/0	7/0	6/0	5/0	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0
3	7/0	6/0	5/0	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1
4	6/0	5/0	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1
5	5/0	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1
6	4/0	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2
7	3/0	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3
8	2/0	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4
9	1/0	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4	0/5
10	1/0	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4	0/5	0/6
11	1/1	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4	0/5	0/6	0/7
12	0/1	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4	0/5	0/6	0/7	0/8
>12	0/1	0/2	0/3	0/4	0/5	0/6	0/7	0/8	DE

Once the die modifier has been identified and the column to be used on the CRT has been established, the attacker rolls 2d6, adds the die modifier to the result, and checks the corresponding result on the CRT. From this roll, one (or both) player(s) will have a number of Hits inflicted on their forces (results are listed in the CRT as the number of Hits inflicted on the Attacker/Defender). The indicated player(s) must allocate all of the Hits indicated to their forces, though they may do so in any combination they wish. To indicate Hits taken by the various craft in their group, a player may place logo tokens on the corresponding craft, or simply keep track of hits on a piece of scrap paper.

A craft is destroyed once it absorbs a number of Hits equal to its Hits rating. Once this occurs, the craft may not absorb additional Hits if any more are to be inflicted. The craft is removed from the board and returned to the player's available token pool. When a craft is destroyed, the Maneuver modifier and Strength score ratio must be re-determined prior to the next combat roll. Combat is concluded once a player's group has been completely destroyed.

The results of "AE" and "DE" are special; if the result of the combat roll is "AE" (Attacker Eliminated), then the attacker's entire force is automatically eliminated and the defender is automatically victorious. Likewise, "DE" (Defender Eliminated) automatically wipes out the defending forces and gives automatic victory to the Attacker.

Special Situations in CombatEdit

While the combat rules as prescribed above will handle about 90% of the combat situations that occur in the game, there are a few special circumstances that may occur and that require their own special discussions. These situations include the use of Leech Missiles, Cloaking Devices and Torpedoes, what happens when a Transport is in combat, and what happens when an enemy Carrier is present.

Leech Missiles and Cloaking DevicesEdit

The Terran Wraith Medium Fighter and the Kilrathi Shoklar Light Fighter are both equipped with devices (Leech Missiles and a Cloak, respectively) that alter combat resolution somewhat. When either of these forces are present, a number of Hits will automatically be scored on the enemy forces, while at the same time a number of Hits on the group that has a hold of this technology will be ignored.

Functionally, Leech Missiles and Cloaks have the same set of combat benefits. When at least one craft equipped with either piece of technology is in combat, they will use it to increase the amount of lethal damage the opposing force receives. Prior to the first combat round, the player controlling the craft will roll 1d6 per specially-equpped craft in their combat group; the result of the roll is a number of Hits that their opponent must immediately apply to their forces. Also, for each craft so equipped remaining in the player's group, they may ignore one Hit when they occur. The number of Hits that may be ignored is decreased by one each time any Hits are nullified.

TransportsEdit

Transports may occasionally find themselves caught in a combat situation. Unlike the Carrier, Transports may be assigned Hits in combat. If a Transport is destroyed, the player who controls that Transport must roll 1d6 and loses a number of Production Points equal to the result (if available). Transports are unique in that they can "survive" combat; if all craft in a combat group are destroyed except for the Transports in that group, battle is concluded. The Transports are captured in this case; the victorious group takes immediate control over the Transport tokens (they are not replaced with tokens from the player's own pool) and they are considered part of the victorious player's forces at that point. If a captured Transport is later destroyed, the token is removed from the game. When a Transport is captured, the original owner must surrender 1d6 Production Points from their available pool to their opponent; if they have no Production Points in their pool, their opponent will still immediately gain 1d6 free Production Points. In the rare case where a combat situation consists of a Transport versus an enemy Transport, a single combat roll takes place at a 1-1 Strength Ratio once the attacking force is established. Whoever "wins" this roll (i.e. whoever takes no Hits) is victorious and automatically captures the other Transport, with the same effects.

CarriersEdit

Carriers are considered separate from a combat group; they can be present while combat takes place and their Maneuver and Strength scores will be added to those of their combat group, they cannot take Hits and can survive the destruction of the rest of their combat group. Should the rest of a carrier's combat group be destroyed, what happens depends on whether or not there are any torpedo-carrying craft in the victorious combat group. If there are, then the carrier is destroyed and the player controlling the victorious combat group wins the game. If not, however, then the carrier remains where it is (or proceeds to its destination, in the case of an "en route" combat situation). The opposing force is forced to retreat and system control remains with the carrier. The opposing force must retreat to the closest friendly system (of that player's choice). If no such system is available, they may retreat to a neutral system of their choice. If neither a friendly or neutral system is available for a force to retreat to, the player controlling the carrier may choose into what system the opposing force will retreat.

In the rare event that the two carriers come into contact with one another with no other defensive forces present, a single 1-1 combat round occurs; whatever side does not take Hits is victorious and forces the enemy carrier to immediately retreat.

Torpedo RunsEdit

Combat groups that have a torpedo-wielding craft need not wait until the end of combat to see if their craft will destroy the enemy carrier when it is present. After Hits have been allocated and prior to the next combat round, a "torpedo run" may be declared. The player controlling the torpedo craft will roll 2d6. On a result of two (snake-eyes), the enemy carrier is immediately destroyed and that player wins the game. On all other results, no torpedo hits are scored and combat continues to the next round. Bear in mind that torpedo runs do not expend the torpedo; if all torpedo runs are unsuccessful but the torpedo-wielding craft survives long enough for the carrier's defensive group to be destroyed, the enemy carrier will still be destroyed. A player may only make one torpedo run per round, regardless of the number of torpedo-carrying craft in their combat group.

An Example of CombatEdit

The Confederation and Kilrathi players have both moved a combat force consisting of one unit into the neutral system of Redwop during the movement phase of a round. Since this is a situation where the attacker is not clear, both players expose their forces. The Confederation force consists of a single Arrow Light Fighter, while the Kilrathi force consists of one Dralthi. The first priority for establishing the attacker is combat Strength. Both the Arrow and the Dralthi have a combat Strength of 1, so there is still a tie and so the next priority is examined, number of Hits. Again, both the Arrow and the Dralthi may only take one hit, so there is still a tie and the next tie-breaker comes into play, territory size. Here the tie is broken: the Kilrathi player controls four more systems than the Confederation player, so the Kilrathi force will act as the attacker.

Since there is only one craft in each group, totalling up the Maneuver and Strength scores is easy: it's merely the score for the single unit. The Kilrathi force has a Maneuver score of 0, a Strength score of 1, and 1 Hit. The Confederation force has a Maneuver score of 1, a Strength score of 1, and 1 Hit.

Since the Kilrathi is the attacker, they must subtract the Confederation's Maneuver score from their own for the dice modifier. In this case, the modifer is -1 (0-1 = -1), and so the Kilrathi player will have to subtract one point from the result of their combat rolls. They must also determine the Strength score ratio; in this case, since both groups have the same level of Strength, the ratio is simply 1-1.

Now the Kilrathi player rolls 2d6. The dice are cast and a seven results. Ordinarily for a 1-1 Strength ratio, this would indicate that both sides will take one hit. However, due to the die modifier, the result of seven is modified downwards to a result of six, which indicates the attacker takes a hit. The Kilrathi player curses as they are forced to allocate one hit to their Dralthi, sufficient to destroy the fighter and end combat. Control of the Redwop system immediately goes to the victorious Confederation player.

A Longer and More Thorough Example of CombatEdit

Later in the same game, the Confederation player has gained the upper hand and boldly moves a large strike force consisting of three Wraiths, four Gladii and five Banshees into the Atrapi system, where there is a large Kilrathi force assembled. Since the Confederation player has moved into a hostile system, they are automatically the attacker in this case.

The Confederation player is surprised to find Shirrak in the system, along with a defensive force of 4 Dralthi, 2 Shoklars, a Korlarh and a Goran. Three Transport ships are also present. To complicate matters, the Kilrathi player reveals a Medium Fortress, adding three Jratheks to the mix. Both players begin calculating their stats for the forthcoming battle. The Confederation side has a total Maneuver score of -10 (from the five Banshees), a total Strength of 60 (each craft has a Strength score of 5 and there are 12 Confederation craft total), the capacity to take 61 Hits total (five for each Wraith, four for each Gladius and six for each Banshee), a total of three Leech equipped ships and Torpedoes. The Kilrathi player has a total Maneuver score of -18 (the Transports and Shiraak really weigh the Kilrathi force down), a total Strength score of 34 ((4*1)+(2*3)+(3*3)+(1*4)+(1*6)+(3*1)+(1*2) = 4+6+9+4+6+3+2 = 34), the capacity to take 63 Hits (the three Transports really beef things up here), two Cloaking Devices and Torpedoes. The presence of torpedoes on the Kilrathi side doesn't help them much, but the presence of the Confederation torpedoes makes this a potentially game-ending battle.

The Confederation as attacker subtracts the Kilrathi's -18 Maneuver score from their own -10 Maneuver score. The final result is 8 (-10 - -18 = 18-10 = 8), a significant die modifier. To determine the Strength score ratio, the Confederation player has the higher score, and divides their score of 60 by the Kilrathi score of 34. The result is 1.76, which will get rounded up to two. The Confederation player will use the 2-1 column on the CRT.

Combat now begins, but because both sides have special pieces of equipment, the presence of that equipment is accounted for. The Terran player rolls 3d6, one for each Wraith in their group. The result is ten; the Kilrathi player allocates nine of those hits to a Transport and the last hit to another Transport. The Kilrathi player then rolls 2d6 for their two Shoklars. An eleven results; the Confederation player allocates five hits to two of their Banshees and the final hit to a third Banshee. Not an auspicious start for either side...

Now the Confederation player rolls for the first combat round. The result of the roll is a seven, to which the +8 bonus is added, making the result a 15. Checking the results for >12 at 2-1, the players easily see that the Kilrathi player must take six hits. Since the Kilrathi player still controls two 'Shoklars and its the first time they've been Hit in regular combat, they get to ignore two of those hits. Realizing that their group's low Maneuver score is going to give the Confederation player a huge advantage, the Kilrathi player decides to bite the bullet: they allocate one hit to their previously heavily damaged Transport (giving it ten hits total), and the rest to the other previously damaged Transport. Since transports can only take ten hits, one Transport is destroyed. This changes the Kilrathi player's total Maneuver score to -14 and their Strength score to 33. The Kilrathi player rolls the d6; a one results. The Kilrathi player happily surrenders a Production Point back to their logo token pool. True they lost a ship, true they lost a Production Point, and true they are now slightly weaker...but they've taken a huge chunk out of the Confederation player's die modifier advantage, which is reduced to +4 (-10 - -14 = 14-10 = 4). The slight change in their Strength (from 34 to 33) is not enough to tilt the battle significantly in the Confederation player's favor; the ratio remains at 2-1. The Confederation player elects to try a torpedo run since they have torpedo-equipped craft. The result is six; no joy. Combat goes on to the next round.

Since it's the second round, the attack bonuses for Leeches and Cloaks don't apply any more, and the Confederation player simply rolls. The die result is ten for a total of fourteen. They may only ignore one hit at this point for their Shoklars, so another five hits go to the Kilrathi player, which they again allocate to the second Transport. The Confederation player makes another torpedo run; the result is 12, so again the carrier remains untouched.

The next round's die result is an eight, which is modified to a 12. This indicates five Hits to the Kilrathi player, which (since they already have now used their Cloaks twice) is not modified. The Kilrathi player allows the second transport to be destroyed and assigns the remaining hits to their third and final Transport. Again, the biggest change this causes is the equalization of the Maneuver scores of the two fleets (they are now both at -10, so there is no longer any die bonus); there is still no change in Strength ratio. The loss of the Transport costs the Kilrathi player two Production Points, but they've managed to kill the Confederation player's die roll advantage. Boxcars is again the result for the Confederation player's torpedo run, so play goes onto the next round.

In the next round, an eleven results, which goes unmodified. The Kilrathi player takes four hits, which they allocate to their Transport. The torpedo run result is eleven. In the next combat round, a ten results on the dice; the Kilrathi player takes three Hits. Not wanting to get rid of their last Transport just yet, the Kilrathi player assigns one hit to the Transport (putting it at nine hits) and two to one of the fortress Jratheks. The torpedo run result is again an eleven. A twelve comes up on the next battle roll, which force the Kilrathi player to take five more Hits, which are spread amongst the fortress Jratheks; two of them are left with three hits and one with a single hit. The Confederation player's torpedo run is, once again, no good.

The next round's combat roll comes up as a six. This ordinarily would indicate the 1-1 hit result, but since the Confederation has specially equipped fighters that have yet to see their bonuses used, they may ignore their hit. The Kilrathi player allocates their hit to the relatively undamaged Jrathek. The Confederation player moves on to their torpedo run, which is a five. The same set of combat results comes up for the next combat round; again the Kilrathi player simply allocates the one point of damage to the third Jrathek, moving all three Jratheks up to three damage points. A seven in the next round results in one point of damage to the Kilrathi Goran and another seven gives a failed torpedo run. The Confederation player's rolling advantage is definitely gone.

A five is rolled in the next round, which the Confederation player's Wraiths nullify; this is the last hit the Wraiths can nullify, and so special equipment no longer has any effect whatsoever for either player. A six comes up in the torpedo run. Both players take a hit with the six in the next round; the Confed player assigns it to his relatively undamaged Banshee; the Kilrathi to their Goran. A seven results in a failed torpedo run. A nine in the next round give the Kilrathi player two points of damage, which they assign to their Goran; a nine is rolled in the torpedo run.

The Confederation player winces as a four is rolled for the next two combat rounds in a row. Both hits are assigned to the relatively undamaged Banshee. Again, the torpedo runs have no effect. A nine in the next round followed by an eight in the round after that gives three Hits to the Kilrathi player; only one of these hits are assigned to the 'Goran (putting it up at five hits), with the other two going to the Korlarh. Again, the torpedo runs are ineffective. A six comes up in the next round, resulting in one hit for both sides; the Confederation player assigns a fifth hit to their third Banshee and a third hit is assigned to the Korlarh. The round after that sees another hit to the Kilrathi player, which also goes to the Korlarh.

The next two rounds result in one-and-one hits to both players. The Kilrathi forces are getting pretty beat up by now, and the Kilrathi player is forced to assign the hits to one of their Shoklars. Likewise, the Confederation's Banshees can't sustain further damage, so the two hits are assigned to one of the Wraiths. The torpedo runs remain ineffective.

Two sevens in the next two rounds force two more Hits on the Kilrathi player, who has no choice but to assign the hits to their second Shoklar. At this point, the Kilrathi forces have absorbed as much damage as they possibly can, and subsequent rounds are going to see ships exploding if the Kilrathi player takes any further damage. The torpedo runs remain ineffective.

Unfortunately for the Kilrathi player, the next round's roll is a nine. Two hits. Realizing their only hope is to reduce the result of the die modifier yet again, the Kilrathi player decides to destroy their third and final Transport with one of the Hits. The Kilrathi player allows one of their Dralthis to bite the bullet as well. The Kilrathi player's Maneuver score becomes -6 while their Strength score becomes 30; this still keeps the Strength ratios at 2-1, although it's now exactly two to one. The Kilrathi player loses three Production Points; they fear the battle - and therefore the game - is already lost. The torpedo run comes up as a a five; no joy.

In the next combat round, the die roll comes up as 11 and the Kilrathi player thanks themselves for a good decision; the die modifier is now -4, so the result becomes 7, indicating only a single Hit (as opposed to four hits otherwise). Another Dralthi buys it; the Strength score becomes 29, still not enough to affect the ratio. But it matters little: The Confederation player rolls for the torpedo run, and is rewarded with snake-eyes, a successful run. Shiraak is destroyed, and the Confederation player has won the game.

Seldomly-Asked Questions (SAQs)Edit

How do I go about asking a question?

Armada: PNP has a thread at the CIC forums. The specific thread address is at http://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/threads/armada-pnp.25874/ . Keep in mind that you will need to be registered with the forums in order to post your question. I check the forums on a regular basis (at least at the time of this writing), so I should be able to answer your question fairly quickly. I also intend to add a forum for Armada: PNP at the WCRPG Wiki at a later date.

I've noticed over here that this rule says something, but this other rule says something contradictory. What's up with that?

Armada: PNP has, admittedly, never been fully proofread and I do sleep on occasion (despite all reports to the contrary). If you notice something like this, let me know (same way you go about asking a question) and I'll correct the problem as soon as I can.

How did you come up with Armada: PNP?

In November and December of 2011, with WCRPG's development in full swing, I started building silhouettes of the various craft in the Wing Commander continuity, with the intention of turning them into a set of general use counters similar to those found in games such as Star Fleet Battles; indeed, I had already designed such a set for the Starflight III community. I didn't have a specific intention for these counters until November 17, 2011; that intention has yet to be revealed to the Wing Commander community, but it quickly became apparent that I needed a testbed to try out a few of the mechanics (not to mention an actual game with which to use some of the counters), so I decided to adapt the original Armada game to a pnp system.

Just how true is Armada: PNP to the original game?

It's a reasonably faithful adaptation of the Armada/Campaign portions of the original game. A lot of the game's content has been adapted straight from the in-game information, and the bulk of how the game plays is still the same. The biggest difference has to do with the replacement of resources with Production Points, a necessary change to reduce the game's overall amount of required bookkeeping. This, of course, necessitated a change in the in-game use of Transports (though they still have the same end-effect, to enhance the player's production capabilities). The ships had to be analyzed for their overall combat potential; again, this was done in order to vastly simplify combat. The rules for concealment and exposure had to be put in play, as (unlike the original game), both players have a pretty good idea of where their opponents assets are located. Those rules were put in play in an attempt to preserve at least some of the fog of war present in the original game. Finally, while Armada: PNP utilizes a form of combat similar to the Quick Combat option in the original game, the actual Quick Combat algorithm has been thrown out. Simply put, the old algorithm heavily favored players who bought the heaviest class of fighter available to them, leaving no real reason to build anything less. The new algorithm gives some advantages to having a varied combat force.

Belleau Wood-class Transport? Jakhari-class Transport? Where did these names come from?

Star*Soldier, the official documentation of Wing Commander Arena; they are identified along with a top-down model of the specific craft on page 3 (in the "Letter of the Month" text box). They are a bit of a retcon; Arena was released a full 13 years after Armada, of course. Actually, there is surprising little information on the Transports in Armada. Even in the game's documentation, little is discussed other than what they're intended to do (ferry resources around).

Why isn't the (insert ship and/or piece of equipment here) included in the game?

This first edition of the rules was intended as a faithful re-creation of the original Armada game, and so the focus was on the craft and equipment that appeared in the original game only. If it's not in the game right now, it's because it wasn't in Armada originally.

So, when will we see material from (insert game name here) added to Armada: PNP?

There is a plan in the works to include craft from the other games at a later time, though this plan is in its formative stages at the present time. If you have a preference for something you'd like to see in future versions of Armada: PNP sooner rather than later, post it as a question in the forums and I'll do my utmost to make it a priority change for the next game version.

So, what happened to Lexington and Shiraak anyway?

Canonically, both carriers disappeared and were never heard from again (confirming Armada's position as a stand-alone product that had little to do with the rest of the WC continuity). What I like to think happened (and bear in mind that this is my interpretation of events only) is that Lexington's forces ultimately destroyed the Shirrak (since we hear of no other major attacks on the Terran homeworlds in later WC games) and ultimately made it to the Kilrah system, where the ship's Special Operations teams were able to hollow out the Theta-class bases that housed the Temblor Bombs. Unfortunately, Lexington was discovered and destroyed by the Kilrathi, but not before the seeds of Kilrah's destruction had been planted. I like to think that Jeannette Devereaux was the commander of Lexington mentioned in Voices of War; naturally, there's no way to confirm this, but it would be consistent with the bulk of the commander's story...

Here's an idea: why not use the rules from Wing Commander: Tactical Operations, WCTB, WCRPG, or another pnp form of Wing Commander to have actual battles instead of just some lame dice roll for combat?

Way ahead of you, mister spacedude. There are plans in the works to enhance Armada: PNP by having full sets of statistics become available at a later date, which players can then use to add-on to the game by allowing combat using the specific systems mentioned in the question above. A full game of Armada: PNP enhanced with these rules will take longer to complete, of course, but for some players they should vastly enrich their game experience.

Version HistoryEdit

12/21/11 - v. 0.7: Initial draft rules completed. 1/11/12 - v. 0.7.0: First draft rules converted to MS Word .DOC format and Adobe Acrobat .PDF format.

PDF DownloadEdit

File:Armada-pnp.pdf

Special ThanksEdit

To Chris Roberts and the rest of the team at Origin Systems, for creating one of my all-time favorite games (indeed, one of my all-time favorite science-fiction series, games and stories that have continued to inspire me throughout the years).

Also for the continuing support of the Wing Commander community. I'm glad y'all liked my counters. Here's hoping we can put them to good use.

DisclaimersEdit

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

WING COMMANDER, WING COMMANDER II: VENGEANCE OF THE KILRATHI, WING COMMANDER III: HEART OF THE TIGER, WING COMMANDER PRIVATEER, WING COMMANDER: ARMADA, WING COMMANDER IV: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM, PRIVATEER 2: THE DARKENING and WING COMMANDER: PROPHECY, and all related materials are Copyright 1990-1998 by Origin Systems, Inc., All Rights Reserved. WING COMMANDER ARENA and all related materials are Copyright 2007 by Electronic Arts, Inc. WING COMMANDER: FREEDOM FLIGHT, WING COMMANDER: END RUN, WING COMMANDER: FLEET ACTION, WING COMMANDER: HEART OF THE TIGER, WING COMMANDER: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM, WING COMMANDER: ACTION STATIONS and WING COMMANDER: FALSE COLORS are Copyright 1992-1999 by Origin Systems, Inc. No permission for use of any of these materials has been obtained by the WCRPG Project, and we're all certainly hoping EA doesn't decide to clamp down on us for it...

NOTICE: This text attracts every other piece of matter in the entire universe, including games from other publishers, with a force proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

This game consists of 100% matter. Any incidental contact of any portion of this game with antimatter in any form will result in a catastrophic explosion. The effects of contact with dark matter cannot be predicted at this time and thus extreme care should be used when this game is played in proximity to dark matter. Do not play this game in close proximity to a gravitational singularity, as severe bodily harm may result.

This text contains minute electrically charged particles moving in excess of five hundred million miles per hour and thus should be handled with extreme caution.

All of the materials used to play this game will exert an equal but opposite force to any force applied to said materials. This phenomenon is not unique to this game.

If all of the matter contained in the equipment used to play this game were to suddenly revert into pure energy, the force of the explosion would be sufficient to destroy this planet and cause massive gravitational shifts that could pose a significant hazard to all other bodies in this solar system. This feature is not unique to this game and the writer cannot assume responsibility for any damage that may occur.

Any reference to any life-form living, dead, undead, non-existent, or in any other state that is not intentional is not intentional. Any reference that was intentional was intentional. If neither of these states are satisfied, this entire universe is likely a figment of your imagination and you should seek professional help.

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