Space Marauders
Space Combat Rules 1.0

Introduction To Space Combat
In Space Marauders, ship-to-ship combat is something that is very important and common. Most of the time, ship engagements will be rather simple, but down the road the players may be controlling large fleets of ships.

Ship Chassis
Every ship in Space Marauders has a chassis which has a set amount of HP, defense slots, and weapons slots. A standard ship chassis may look like this:
HP: 30 WS: 10 DS: 10
This example has 30 HP, 10 weapon slots (WS), and 10 defense slots (DS).
HP (Hull Points)
The most important part of a ship is its hull holding it together. Hull Points are the amount of damage that a ship chassis can take before it is destroyed.

Weapon and Defense Slots
Weapon slots are how many weapons a ship can take on its chassis. Likewise, Defense slots are how much armor or shields a ship can take on its chassis.

Weapons
There are two main types of weapons: kinetic and energy. Kinetic weapons are generally strong, but use ammo and can jam. Energy weapons are not bound by ammo or jamming, but are a lot rarer and usually less powerful.
All weapons have a strength value, and a number of shots. When firing a weapon battery, I roll a 6-sided dice for each shot fired.
On every one that lands on a 4 and up, it counts as a hit. We add the strength of each shot that hit in a battery together, and then subtract the enemy’s armor value from that. If the result is over 0, then that ship loses that amount of HP, and they lose half the amount from armor and shields (rounding down).
Example: A weapon battery has a strength of 10, and 3 shots. Two shots hit, resulting in a strength 20 hit. The targets armor is 16, so the amount of penetrating damage is 4. We remove 4 from the ships HP and 2 from its armor.

Weapon Types
Kinetic weapons have two extra stats: jamming threshold, and ammo. When firing a kinetic weapon, if more ones are rolled than sixes by the weapons jamming threshold, the weapon jams and cannot be fired next turn. Kinetic weapons also have ammo. Each weapon holds an amount of ammo in its weapon slot. Every time a kinetic weapon is fired, the amount of ammo is reduced by each shot. Energy weapons do not have jamming or ammo.

Defense Types
When armor is damaged, it must be repaired at a starport. When shields are damaged, they may be recharged out of combat. When subtracting points from armor and shields, shields always go down first before armor, as they are being hit first.
Finding Weapons and Armor
Many unique types of weapons and armor will be found in deep space and bought at starports. As the galaxy is a large place, there is sure to be a wide variety of them all around, each with their own special stats and rules.

Example Weapons
This is a list of example weapons that we may encounter in space. Note that this is not all the weapons ever available, just a few.
Kinetic Weapons
Shrapnel Cannons: Known for their low power and high rate of fire, Shrapnel cannons can be found on human ships everywhere.
Strength 4, 6 shots, Jamming threshold 1, 180 Ammo
Autocannons: More military grade than shrapnel cannons, autocannons are rarer and found usually as basic weaponry on military cruisers.
Strength 8, 4 shots, Jamming threshold 2, 120 Ammo
Shredder Guns: An advanced version of the Shrapnel Cannon. Shredder Guns are infamous for tearing any armor apart in sustained volleys of piercing slugs.
Strength 6, 8 shots, Jamming threshold 1, 180 Ammo
Mass Drivers: Mass drivers use a magnetic accelerator to accelerate projectiles to sub-light speed, while retaining a high rate of fire.
Strength 12, 3 shots, Jamming threshold 1, 60 Ammo
Railcannons: Railcannons take high caliber slugs and launch them at light speed towards a target, tearing through almost all matter with ease.
Strength 40, 1 shot, Jamming threshold 1, 20 Ammo
Energy Weapons
Laser Repeaters: These are the Shrapnel Cannons of the energy weapon world, prized by pirates as they are easier to maintain than its kinetic counterpart.
Strength 3, 5 shots.
Photon Cannons: A higher powered variant of the Laser Repeater, Photon Cannons are found mostly on military exploration ships.
Strength 7, 3 Shots.
Fusion Beam: Fusion beams create a focused beam of energy from atomic fusion, which can bore through armor when focused.
Strength 9, 3 Shots. If all three shots hit, the strength is multiplied by two.
Arc Caster: Arc casters fire an arc of electrons at the target, shorting out shields and frying armor.
Strength 7, D6 Shots (determined every time a battery fires). For every roll to hit of 5 or 6, another shot may be fired (which also grants more shots for every 5 or 6 you roll).
Example Defenses
Armor
Ferronium Hull Plating: Interlocking plates of simple ferronium are an ample defense against asteroid and debris impacts. Military grade weapons, on the other hand...
Armor Value 2
Nanofiber Plating: Nanofiber Plating uses the most advanced polymers and fibers known to man to create a substance which can withstand high velocity impacts and intense heat.
Armor Value 3
Ablative Armor: Ablative armor is programmed to even out holes and spread out impacts across the ship, making penetration near impossible.
Armor Value 4
Shields
Magnetic Shields: High powered magnetic fields can be focused to block out energy and kinetic weaponry alike.
Shield Value 2
Reactive Shields: Reactive shields create a barrier of energy around a ship which can be focused around impact points to block out shots.
Shield Value 3
Hyperkinetic Shields: Reactive shields can be fitted out with special capacitors to boost performance.
Shield Value 4