M S PA CE

Starship Combat Example

Colin Brett has been kind enough to let me publish his test r un
of the starship combat r ules in M-SPACE. See more of Colins
work athttp: //w w w.colinabrett.me.uk /
Introduction
An example of starship combat in M-SPACE. Presented in mechanical and narr ative formats, to describe the dice roll s and
stor y aspects of a space battle. First, the ships.

SPEED

H A NDLING

SIZE

110

Hit Locations

Hit Points

Gamma Star Solar Federation Patrol Ship

Br idge

Crew

5 0 (12 Crew member s)

Weapons

13

01-05 Br idge

Engine

6 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

06-11 Engines

Maneuver

5 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

12-16 Manoeuvre

Sick Bay

20

Hyper space

Open Space

17-35 Sick Bay

20

36-75 Crew
Compar tm.

50

76-8 0 Ion Cannon

Shields

81-8 4 Por t L aser

A r mor

A pps

8 5-8 8 Star board

L aser

8 9-96 Open Space

97-0 0 Hyper space

Weapons: Dor sal Ion Cannon (5): Damage 2D6 +1, r ange 10, 360 degree
arc. Por t L aser (4): Damage 2D6. Star board L aser (4): Damage 2D6.

Captain Kur t Torr ance

A tough, no-nonsense, by the books ship captain with a strong sense
of dut y and fair play... except when dealing with pir ates, whom he consider s the scum of the univer se.
DE X 8
Action Points 2
Pilot 8 5%

Gener al Crew Skill s

Gunner y 8 0% , Mechanical 70%

Speeding Blade Pirate Raider

Br idge

Crew

30 (7 Crew member s)

SPEED

Weapons

H A NDLING

Engine

7 (Thr ust Rating 70)

SIZE

62

Maneuver

5 (Thr ust Rating 70)

Sick Bay

1 ( Autodoc)

Open Space

Hyper space

Shields

Hit Locations

Hit Points

01-07 Br idge

0 8-19 Engines

2 0-2 8 Manoeuvre

2 9-30 Sick Bay

A r mor

31-8 0 Crew

A pps

Compar tm.

30

81-8 4 Prow
Weapons: Prow Blaster (2): Damage 1D10, 90 degree for w ard arc. Ster n
Blaster (2): Damage 1D8, 18 0 degree rear arc

Captain Sasha Reeves

Hot-headed and somewhat reckless, she is w anted for numerous acts
of pir ac y and smuggling and has been on the r un for three standard
year s.
DE X 11
Action Points 2
Pilot 75%

Gener al Crew Skill s

Gunner y 75%, Mechanic s 5 0%

Blaster

8 5-8 8 Ster n
Blaster

8 9-96 Open Space

97-0 0 Hyper space

The Scenario
The Gamma Star has been tr acking the Speeding Blade. The Solar Feder ation vessel has one chance to capture or destroy the
pir ate before it escapes into an asteroid field. The GM control s
the Gamma Star, while the PCs (Pir ate Char acters :) are aboard
their ship, the fleeing Speeding Blade. Despite being pir ates,
and therefore bad guys, the PCs are regarded as the protagonists in this encounter, while the GM control s the antagonists.
The Situation (Round 0)

a) Mechanics
Initiative for the fir st round:
1d10 + Handling

Choose Of fensive or Defensive

Positioning.

Both Captains order their crews. Initiative for the first round
is made on D10 + Handling of the vessel. Torr ance roll s D10 +
5, for a total of (3 + 5 =) 8; Reeves roll s (6 + 7 =) 13. A win for
the pir ate vessel. The captains must then choose whether to
per form Of fensive or Defensive actions. The pir ate ship won initiative and the Captain elects to take Defensive actions, sensible against such a heavily armed warship. The Solar Feder ation
vessel elects to take the Of fense. Their actions will take place
in Round 1, below.

b) Narr ative
Aboard the Gamma Star ...
+ + + SitRep to Captain Torr ance + + +
We have her, sir. The Speeding Blade is heading towards an
asteroid field.
Move to intercept before she gets in amongst the asteroids other wise well never find her.
Aye aye, Captain.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Speeding Blade...
Weve been pinged, Captain! SolFed frigate closing fast!

All hands to battle stations. Prime cannons fore and af t. Flank

speed to the asteroid field.
Aye aye, Capn.
Round 1

a) Mechanics
The Speeding Blade has initiative at the star t of this encounter.

Defensive

Reeves begins Defensive manoeuvres and roll s 90% on her Pilot

roll, a failure. Torr ance makes Of fensive Manoeuvres and roll s
61%, a success. This gr ants Torr ance one level of success and he
chooses the Dominate Special Ef fect, making his Gunner y roll s
Easy (80% + 20% = 10 0%) this round.

harder to hit, but its al so more dif fi-

Torr ances skilled Piloting gr ants him Gunner y initiative. He

opens fire with the Dorsal Ion Cannon: a Gunner y roll of 74 is a
hit, causing 4 points of damage to the Speeding Blades Sick Bay
(location roll 29). The Sick Bay occupies one module and there-

Initiative changes to the par ticipant

fore has only one Hit Point; the Autodoc is in wrecks. It cant be
repaired until they land nex t time. All pir ates roll 1d4-1 for personal damage.

Positioning:

Make

you

cult for your own gunner s to hit.

Success vs Failure: one success level
gr ants one Pilot Special Ef fect.

with the highest level of success in

the previous roll.
A section is beyond quick-fix repair s
when hit points are reduced to their
full negative value or lower.

Reeves fires back with the stern blaster; gunner y is at Hard because of her Defensive Positioning. A roll of 05%, scoring a critical hit on the Gamma Stars Crew Compar tments (location roll
5 4%). She picks Maximum Damage as Special Ef fect (she has one
Success Level higher than Torr ance), for a total of 8 Hit Points
damage.

Success vs Cr itical: one level of suc-

Pilot initiative nex t round will go to the pir ate vessel, as it had
the highest success level in the last roll.

Initiative changes to the par ticipant

b) Narr ative
Sasha Reeves knows she is heavily out-gunned and star ts a series of tight turns and shif ts in relative altitude. Torr ance pursues with great skill, allowing him to target the fleeing pir ate
more easily. Gunfire lances thr ugh space, resulting in little more
than scorched paint work.

cess gr ants one Gunner y Special Effect.

with the highest level of success in

the previous roll.

Round 2

a) Mechanics
Reeves continues Defensive Manoeuvres and makes the first Pilot roll. W ith a 28% she scores a normal success.
Torr ance continues the Of fensive and roll s 41%, a success.
Initiative remains unchanged when
Level s of Success are equal.

Both Captains made the same level s of success (one each), so

no Special Ef fects are applicable. Gunner y initiative remains
with Reeves.
Reeves fires with the Stern Blaster: a roll of 0 3 is a critical hit
again! Torr ance opens fire with both Por t and Starboard L asers,
respectively rolling 81% (a miss) and 25%, a hit. This gr ants
Reeves one level of success and Gunner y initiative. She picks
Maximum Damage (8). Location rolled: Crew Compar tments.
Torr ances location roll is 56, Crew Compar tments for 7 points
of damage.
Initiative nex t round will stay with Reeves and she will make the
first Pilot roll.

b) Narr ative
Torr ance continues his pursuit of the Speeding Blade, maintaining weapons lock on the fleeing pir ate. Reeves seems unable to
lose him. He fires both laser batteries and blows a hole in the
side of the pir ate ship. He smiles grimly.
Reeves retalliates in kind, the Speeding Blades Stern Blaster
lancing through the Crew Quar ters.
Round 3

a) Mechanics
Successful

Defensive

Positioning:

both ships gunner y at Hard.

Reeves had one level of success in the previous Gunner y round:

this gr ants her the Pilot initiative this round. She continues Defensive Manoeuvres and roll s 66% on her Pilot skill, a normal
success; both ships gunner y roll s will be Hard (-20%).

Torr ance roll s 18% on Pilot skill and maintains Of fensive Manoeuvres.
Both Captains made the same level s of success (one each), so
no Special Ef fects are applicable. Gunner y initiative remains
with Reeves.
Reeves fires with the Stern Blaster, scoring 21%, a normal hit
for 7 points of damage against the Gamma Stars Dorsal Ion
Cannon. The Cannon has only 5 hit points and so is disabled
until repaired. All aboard Gamma Star roll s 1d4-1 for personal
damage.

A hit exceeding a technical sections

Torr ance retaliates with the Por t L aser, rolling 5 4%, a hit against
the Crew Compar tments again. Damage is 10 points. Crew Compar tment hit points are more than halved (30-7-10 =13).

Typically, crew compar tments, open

Initiative nex t round will stay with Reeves, as both gunner y roll s
were at the same Success Level.

ver y much. To get around this, use

b) Narr ative

hit points render s it useless until repaired. All crew member s must al so
roll for any per sonal damage.

spaces and cargo bays are easy to

hit, but they will not af fect the ship
Special Ef fects like Mar ksman and
Choose Location.

The pursuit remains close, both Captains using ever y gr amme

of their skill to gain an advantage.
Reeves is sickened by the losses her ship is sustaining. That Ion
Cannon will be the death of us all, she thinks. She orders her
gun crews to open fire and is rewarded when the Ion Cannon is
hit with withering Blaster fire. Revenge is sweet!
Round 4

a) Mechanics
Reeves maintains Defensive Manoeuvres but roll s 90% for her
Pilot skill, a failure. Her own ships gunner y roll s will be Hard,
but Gamma Stars gunner y is unaf fected.
Torr ance roll s 6 4% Pilot skill, gr anting him one level of success, for which he chooses the Dominate Special Ef fect, r aising
his Gunner y skill to 10 0%.

Failing Defensive maneuver s results

in a gunner y penalt y (-20%) only for
the evading ship.

W ith hit locations, gener al hit points

are not used.

The SolFed ship fires first with Por t and Starboard L asers.
These roll 22% and 35% respectively, scoring normal hits for
2 points (against the Speeding Blades Engines (not suf ficient
to disable the engines) and 7 points versus the Crew Compar tments (only 6 hit points lef t in that section).
The Speeding Blade retalliates with a 19% from the Stern Blaster. This is a hit against (location roll 31) the Sick Bay, scoring 3
points (not enough to disable the medical facilities).
Initiative nex t round will be with Torr ance.

b) Narr ative
The ships continue their zig-zag r ace to the asteroid field.
Reeves, for the first time in three standard years, buckles herself into the pilot seat as the ship shakes under the pounding of
the Gamma Stars lasers.
Torr ance, for his par t, is looking over damage assessments
from the Speeding Blade. All in all, he thinks, things are going
r ather well.
Round 5

a) Mechanics
Three

successful

Mechanics

skill

roll s are needed to take a damaged

section on line again (restored to 1
hit point; this is only a tempor ar y fix).

Torr ance has the Pilot initiative but roll s a failure. Rather than
maintain his of fensive this round, he elects to repair the Dorsal
Ion Cannon. He sends his best starship mechanics (losing the
oppor tunit y to open fire, as they were al so gunners - lousy planning) and the Mechanics skill roll is 21%, a success. Only t wo
more successful roll s are needed to get it online again.
Reeves maintains Defensive Manoeuvres and this time roll s 24%
Pilot skill. A success, which gr ants her one level of success
over her opponent. She gains Gunner y initiative this round and
chooses the Dominate Special Ef fect, which will make her Gunner y roll s Easy (75% + 20% = 95%)
The pir ate vessel opens fire, rolling 9 3%. This would normally
be a miss but Reeves Piloting skill and choice of Special Ef fect
makes this a hit instead. The damage roll is 4 versus the Crew

Compar tments (location roll 41).

Torr ance returns fire with both lasers. 3 4% for Por t versus the
(location roll 62) Crew Compar tments, 14% for Starboard against
the Open Spaces (96). Damage roll s are 4 and 6 for Por t and
Starboard respectively.
Initiative nex t round will be with Reeves.

b) Narr ative
Torr ance wants his Ion Cannon back on line. W ith it, he will be
able to vapourise the Speeding Blade. He locks autopilot onto the
pir ate vessel and relays orders to the repair crews.
Damn! shouts Reeves as yet another burst of laser hit. Crew
compar tments will not stand another hit now, with only 2 hit
points lef t. At least she has the satisfaction of seeing the SolFed
ship being scorched too.
Round 6

a) Mechanics
Reeves chooses Of fensive Positioning this time and her Pilot
roll is 51%, a success. Torr ance maintains Of fensive posture and
roll s 91%, another Pilot roll failure.
Reeves has one level of success and this time chooses Dominate,
intending to take the fight to her pursuer. Her Gunner y skill s are
Easy (or 95%) this round.
The Speeding Blade turns and fires the Prow Blaster, rolling a
57%, a normal hit on the Gamma Stars Por t L aser. The damage
is 5 points, suf ficient to disable the L aser.
Torr ance fires back with Starboard L aser, rolling 5 8%, a hit for
7 points of damage against the Speeding Blades Open Space,
hit points now below zero for that section. Rolling 1d6 on the
Area Damage Table: the crew mess has a hull breach. Unless
repaired, it will be in complete vaccum in 10 rounds. Ever yone
in the crew al so take 1d4-1 hit point damage. Movement around
the ship is al so restricted, as securit y doors seal of f the mess.

For a hit exceeding a crew sections

hit points, a roll on the A rea Damage
Table is made.

Initiative nex t round will remain with Reeves.

b) Narr ative
W ith her ship badly mauled, Reeves elects to fight, not flee. She
is sure her crew would suppor t the decision, though there is no
time for a bridge conference. She skillfully whips the Speeding
Blade 180 degrees and flies str aight at the Gamma Star. The
specially augmented Prow Blaster catches the SolFed ships
Por t L aser and she watches it blown into smithereens.
Torr ance cannot believe the audacit y of this common pir ate. His
Por t L aser damaged, he retalliates with the Starboard L aser,
striking a satisfactor y hit against the Speeding Blade.
Round 7

a) Mechanics
Reeves roll s 0 3 on her Pilot skill (Of fensive), a critical success.
Torr ance responds with a 15% Pilot roll, a normal success.
Reeves chooses Dominate Special Ef fect again.
Reeves gains Gunner y initiative.
The Speeding Blade fires its Prow Blaster, this time rolling
Just as in regular combat, finding
weak spots like engines, maneuver,
weapons, etceter a, is a ver y ef fective.

22% (a hit) versus the Gamma Stars Engine systems (location

roll 09), for 8 points of damage. This is suf ficient to disable the
Gamma Stars engines (which have 6 Hit Points).
The Gamma Star returns fire with the Starboard L aser. It roll s
91%, a miss.
Initiative nex t round will be Reeves.

b) Narr ative
The Speeding Blade continues her near-suicidal charge at the
Gamma Star. Reeves skill s, audacit y and sheer luck win out as
the row Blaster destroys the enemys drive system. The Gamma
Star is adrif t in deep space, maneuvering thr usters at least allowing for some movement.

Round 8

a) Mechanics
Reeves has Pilot initiative and roll s 08, another critical success
(10% of Pilot skill 75 = 7.5, round up to 8).

Cr itical hits are 10% of the skill

value.

Torr ance, with disabled engines, is unable to pursue. The GM

r ules his Pilot skill roll is Ver y Hard this round (85% - 4 0% =
4 5%). W ith a 16%, the SolFed ship turns towards the pir ate vessel.
Reeves has one level of success in Piloting, so elects to take the
W ithdr aw special ef fect.

W ithdr aw is of ten a good Special Ef-

The pir ate vessel makes a par ting shot from the Stern Blaster,
rolling 59%, a hit against the Gamma Stars Sick Bay, for 3 points
of damage.

are blown to pieces.

Torr ance dispatches his mechanics to get the engines online

again.

b) Narr ative
It is a narrow escape. Reeves pull s a safe distance away from
the Gamma Star and punches the badly damaged Speeding Blade
into Hyperspace.
Torr ance sees the pir ate vessel vanish from his scanner screens
and curses the enemy. Ill get you nex t time, he vows. But for
now, he has more impor tant matters to deal with.

fect to get out of a fight before you