Starship Battles: Ground Assault

Rules Preview (these are NOT the finalized version, as the game is still under development)
Last update: 2/6/2011 (updates in RED)

Overview

 Ground Assault is played on standard 1-inch square grids, as opposed to the 2-inch grids
used by the original Starship Battles game, and with only 100 points of models, as
opposed to 200.
 Each player chooses 4 Base Emplacements to represent his or her base. These
Emplacements are then deployed in the player’s starting area (within 4 squares of the
map’s short end, if there are only 2 players), making sure that no Emplacement is
within 2 squares of another.
 After all Emplacements are setup, Military Units are deployed next. You may keep some
Military Units in reserve, as part of your Pool instead of deploying to your Starting
Area, provided that the Units are small enough to occupy only 1 square on the map.
 Each player takes turns moving and attacking with all their Military Units.
 The first player to completely destroy their opponent’s Emplacements OR Military Units
wins the game.

Scaling:
For those of you who want to use a mixture of Starship Battles, Ground Assault, and Star
Wars Miniatures, use the following conversion:
 1 inch in Starship Battles = 5 inches in Ground Assault.
 1 inch in Ground Assault = 5 inches in Star Wars Miniatures.
 1 Class 4 model in Starship Battles = a squadron (1-12) Air Units in Ground
Assault
 1 Infantry Unit in Ground Assault = a squadron (1-12) of characters in Star Wars
Miniatures.
Now, before you run to grab your calculator, let me assure you - the scale will not add up.
All 3 games were designed to be GAMES, not dioramas! The pieces are made in a size
that makes them practical to be moved around a board, not to accurately reflect the
respective sizes of those vehicles.

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 MODELS

Base Emplacements- A Base Emplacement is deployed at the beginning of the game and
cannot move. Unless specified otherwise,
Emplacements cannot Attack, but may be
Attacked by any
enemy Military Unit.
Emplacements count
as both Impassable
Terrain and as
Models. If all your Emplacements are
destroyed, you lose the game.

Emplacements do not have Stat Cards, as all relevant information is already printed on
their rectangular bases:
Faction: Name:
Not used in this game, but Each Emplacement is
included for future updates. Unique; you may not have
multiple copies of
Defense & Hit Points: an Emplacement
DEF measures how in your Base.
difficult an Emplacement is to
damage, while HP measures Special Abilities:
how much damage the Each Emplacement grants
Emplacement can take before you a different advantage in
being destroyed. the game, so choose them
wisely.
Military Units- A Unit is any model or token that has a corresponding Stat Card, and can
Move and/or Attack. Military Units have either circular
(Light Side) or octagonal (Dark Side) bases. If all your
Military Units are destroyed, you lose the game.
Movement and Targeting rules are determined by a Unit’s
Speed and Type.

Air Units – These are Units that fly through the air. They can cover great distances very
quickly, but are generally very fragile. Air Units receive a –4 penalty
when Targeting Infantry.
Small Air Units that only occupy 1 square are also called Fighters.
Assume that the term “Fighter” is equivalent to the term “Starfighter” as
printed on any Stat Card from the first Starship Battles set. If a weapon
or Special Ability targets Starfighters, then it will also target Fighters.

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Ground Units- Ground Units are the most versatile pieces of the game, as they may
target any enemy Military Unit without penalty. While slower than Air Units, they tend
to make up for it with greater armor. They have an advantage in that they can use terrain
as cover to boost their Defense, but that same terrain can also impede their movement.

Infantry Units- Infantry Units are not represented by 3-D models, but by 2-D tokens.
Infantry are cheap and weak, but do not underestimate their impact on
the battlefield. Most Infantry Units are highly specialized troops that
can perform feats that are impossible by other Units. And the fact that
they can end their turn in the same square as one of your opponent’s
Ground or Air Units means that they can be invaluable for breaking
through blockades. They also tend to be annoyingly difficult to hit from
a distance. Infantry receive a –4 penalty when Attacking Air Units.

Normally, the difference between Infantry,

Ground, and Air Units is very obvious, just by
looking at the model. But repulsorlift craft act as
Ground Units, even though they do not actually
touch the ground. If you are ever confused by a
model, look at the Unit’s Stat Card.
 Air Units have a targeting reticle behind
the picture.
 Ground Units have a grid pattern behind
the picture, to represent the ground.
 Infantry Units have vertical bars to either
side of the picture, and the word "Hull"
has been replaced by "Health".

This game has no Class!

In the original Starship Battles game, models were categorized by "Class", which
determined how many squares they took up on the map, how they moved, and how they
targeted other ships. Ground Assault isn't designed to operate on the same scale, so Class
is not as important. If you want to use a model from Starship Battles in your Ground
Assault game, double the Unit's Class and use that as its Speed. If the Unit has any
special abilities that target "Class 4" Units, then treat the ability as if it targets any Small
Unit (a Unit that takes up only 1 square). If the Unit has any special abilities that target
"Class 3" Units, then treat the ability as if it targets any Large Unit (a Unit that takes up 4
squares).

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GAME SEQUENCE

A game is divided into Rounds, with each Round further divided into Phases:
1. Initiative is rolled - All players roll a D20. The player with the highest score goes first.
Play then proceeds clockwise to the player on the left.
2. All players move Air Units – The player that won Initiative may move any of his Air
Units he wishes, following the movement rules listed below. Once that player is
done, the player to the left may move all of their Air Units, and so on until all
players have had a chance. If any Air Units move adjacent to an enemy Model with
Point Defense, that Model may make an immediate Point Defense Attack against it;
resolve damage immediately.
3. All players move Ground and Infantry Units - The player that won Initiative may move
any of his Ground or Infantry Units he wishes, following the movement rules listed
below. Once that player is done, the player to the left may move all of their Ground
or Infantry Units, and so on until all players have had a chance. If you move any
Units adjacent to an enemy Model with Point Defense, that Model may make an
immediate Point Defense Attack against it; resolve damage immediately.
4. All players make attacks and apply damage – All players, in order of Initiative, may
make attacks. Resolve as per the rules below. Make a note of damage dealt, but do
not remove any Units from the game or flip over any cards yet.
5. Damage is resolved – Once all attacks have been rolled, and all damage has been
calculated, now apply that damage to each Unit or Emplacement. If a model has
sustained more damage than its Hull rating, remove the model from the game.
6. Check for winning conditions – If any player has lost all of their military Units or all of
their Emplacements, they (along with any remaining pieces they may have) are
removed from the game. If more than 1 player is still in the game, then start a new
Round by re-rolling for Initiative.

Time constraints- If all players agree, they can limit the game to a time to a certain
amount of time (an hour, for example), or a number of turns. Once the limit is reached,
the game is over. Each player adds up the number of points for each of their Military
Units still on the map. They then add an additional 20 points for each Emplacement they
still have. The player with the highest point total wins.

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 FACING AND ARCS

The base of each non-Infantry Unit has a notch to indicate the front. This notch must
always face a side of the occupied square(s); it can never face a corner. The direction this
notch is pointing is referred to as the Unit’s Facing. Facing is vital for determining a
Unit’s Firing Arcs, which in turn determines what enemies it can attack, and what its
defenses are when attacked. Infantry Units do not have a Facing, and therefore do not
have Firing Arcs.

Ground and Air Units have 4 Firing Arcs:

Front Arc – all squares within a 90 degree cone along
the Unit’s Facing.
Rear Arc – all squares within a 90 degree cone behind a
Unit, opposite its Facing.
Starboard Arc* – all squares within a 90 degree cone to
the side of a Unit, clockwise from it’s Facing.
Port Arc* – all squares within a 90 degree cone to the
side of a Unit, counter-clockwise from it’s
Facing.

*In most situations, the Starboard and Port Arcs are collectively referred to as the Side Arcs.

These Arcs do overlap. In the image to the right, the squares marked with 2 colors are
considered to be in 2 of the AT-AT’s Firing Arcs. In any given phase, the acting player
gets to decide which of those Arcs the squares are counted as.

The square(s) a Unit occupies itself can be considered part of any Arc. The acting player
decides which Arc to use for those square(s).

Using Firing Arc to determine legal Targets:

 Each weapon in the game specifies an Arc. The weapon can only be used against
enemies that are within that Arc. If no direction is listed, then assume it can only
target enemies in the Front Arc. If a weapon has a description of “Turret”, then it
can be used against an enemy in any direction.
 When targeting an enemy that occupies the same square(s), the attacker can define the
enemy to be within any Arc.
 Infantry Units do not have Firing Arcs, and can attack in any direction.

Using Firing Arc to determine Defense:

 The Stat Cards for Ground and Air Units have 4 Defense Ratings, each one
corresponding with a Firing Arc. When the Unit is attacked, use the Defense that
corresponds with the direction the Attack came from. When being attacked by an
enemy occupying the same square(s), the attacker can choose which Arc / Defense
score to use.

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 As a general rule of thumb, most small Units have identical Defense ratings for all
Arcs, so their Facing is not as important as for larger Units.
 Infantry Units do not have Firing Arcs; they have a single Defense score that is used
regardless of the direction an attack comes from.

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 MOVEMENT

A Unit’s Speed and Type determine how it moves.

If using a Stat Card from the original Starship Battles Game, or a Ground Assault Stat
Card from an earlier version (neither of which has a Speed rating listed), you can easily
determine the Speed from the Unit's Class. A Ground Unit's Speed is equal to the Class.
An Air Unit's Speed is equal to twice its Class.

When a Ground Unit elects to move, it can perform one of the

following for each point it has in its Speed rating:
 Move to the square(s) directly ahead, without changing its
facing.
 Turn its facing 90 degrees and then move to the square(s)
directly ahead.

When an Air Unit moves, it can turn 90 degrees (this turn is

optional), and then:
 Spend 1 point to move to the square directly ahead, without
changing its facing.
 Spend 1 point to move diagonally 1 square, without changing
its facing.
All Air Units MUST move at least 1 square each turn, unless its Stat
Card specifies otherwise.

When an Infantry Unit elects to move, it can spend its movement

point to move to any Adjacent square.
An Infantry Unit that is Adjacent to an Allied Emplacement may
instead spend its entire Movement Phase to move to any other square
Adjacent to the same Emplacement.

Determining if a move is legal:

 All Units may move through squares occupied by an Allied Unit.
 Air Units may move through squares occupied by enemy Units.
 Ground Units may not move through a square occupied by an enemy Ground
Unit.
 Infantry may not move through a square occupied by an enemy Infantry Unit.
 Air and Ground Units may not end their movement on a square occupied by
another model (an Emplacement or another Ground / Air Unit)
 Infantry Units may not end their movement on a square occupied by another
Infantry Unit, but may end their movement on a square occupied by a Ground or
Air Unit.
 All Units may move through Clear and Difficult Terrain without penalty.
 Ground Units may not move through Impassable Terrain.
 Infantry Units may not move through Impassable Terrain
 Air Units may move through any type of Terrain.

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  Air Units must move at least 1 square each turn, unless that Unit's Stat Card
specifies otherwise.

Clear Terrain - terrain that is not marked on the map in any way is considered clear
from obstacles and obstructions. All Units may move freely.

Difficult Terrain – This terrain type can be used to represent swamps, thick foliage,
rocky hills, or other terrain that can break up line of sight and make it difficult for
vehicles to pass. Difficult Terrain does not affect Air Units at all. Ground Units gain +4
Defense while in Difficult Terrain, but all movement costs are doubled (2 movement
points to move forward, 2 points to turn 90 degrees and move forward, and 4 points to
move diagonally). Infantry Units can still move through Difficult Terrain, but many of
their special abilities may not work (as described on the Unit's Stat Card). They also gain
+4 Defense while occupying this terrain type.

Impassable Terrain – This terrain type is used to represent sheer cliffs, or other types of
terrain that generally cannot be navigated by either vehicles or infantry. Ground Units
and Infantry may not move through Impassable Terrain at all, but does not affect Air
Units. Most Base Emplacements count as Impassable Terrain, which means Air Units can
soar over them while Infantry and Ground Units have to walk around them.

Deployment and Launch – If you have Units in your Pool, you may put them into play
during the Movement Phase. Air Units are placed adjacent to a Model with Fighter
Launch, and Infantry Units are placed adjacent to a Model with Troop Deployment. You
may place a number of Units into play up to the model’s Launch or Deployment rating (ie
a model with Troop Deployment 2 may have 2 Infantry Units deployed from your Pool to
Adjacent squares per Round). Placing a Unit into play in this way counts as its
movement for that Round- a Fighter or Infantry Unit may not move after it has been
deployed unless it has the Rapid Deployment ability.

Troop Transport – A Unit that has the Troop Transport or Open Transport ability may
carry Infantry Units. At the end of its Movement, it can elect to remove any Adjacent
Infantry Units from play and place them on its Stat Card or to take Infantry Units from its
Stat Card and place them back into play in any adjacent square. Infantry Units cannot be
removed from play and added back into play during the same turn; Transports spend the
turn either loading troops or unloading troops, not both. Infantry Units placed on a
Transport’s Stat Card are considered to be carried by that Transport, and are not part of
your Pool. If the Transport is destroyed, so are all the Infantry Units it’s carrying. A
Transport may never carry more Infantry Units than its Troop Transport rating (ie a
Model with Troop Transport 1 can only carry 1 Infantry Unit; a Model with Troop
Transport 2 can carry 2 Infantry Units). If an Infantry Unit is removed from a
Transport’s Stat Card, and placed back into play, it is considered Deployed, and may not
move again that Round unless it has the Rapid Deployment ability.

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 ATTACKING

An Attack is resolved in the following way:

1. A Unit targets an enemy Unit or Emplacement.
2. The Attacking Unit rolls a D20. The result is modified by the Attack value of its
weapon. An Infantry Unit Attacking an Air Unit or an Air Unit attacking an Infantry
Unit takes a –4 Penalty on the Attack roll.
3. The result of that roll is compared to the Defending Unit’s Defense value + the range
(in squares) between the Attacker and the Defender. If the Defender is a Military
Unit, as opposed to an Emplacement, then it has 4 different Defense values, each for a
different Arc (front, sides, and rear). Use the value that corresponds with the direction
the Attack is coming from. If the Defender has Cover, then it gets a +4 bonus to its
Defense.
4. If the modified Attack roll is greater than or equal to the modified Defense value, the
Attack hits, and deals the amount of damage listed in the weapon’s description. If the
modified Attack roll is lower than the modified Defense, the Attack misses and deals
no damage.
5. If a Unit has more than 1 weapon, it may make multiple Attacks, but only one per
weapon.

Targeting
As a General Rule of thumb, any military Unit can target any enemy model. However,
there are 3 complications to this rule:
 If the weapon specifies a Firing Arc other than “Turret”, the enemy must be
within that Arc, relative to the Attacking Unit. If no Arc is specified, then the
enemy must be within the attacker’s Front Arc.
 Infantry may only Target, or be Targeted by, Adjacent enemies.
 If neither the Attacker nor the Defender are Air Units, and you cannot draw a
straight line between the two without intersecting Impassable terrain, then the
Defender cannot be Targeted.

Cover
There are 3 instances when a Unit is considered to have Cover:
 A Ground or Infantry Unit that is occupying a space marked as Difficult Terrain
has Cover.
 If neither the Attacker nor the Defender are Air Units, and you can draw a straight
line between the two that crosses through Difficult terrain (not counting the
square the Attacker is occupying), then the Defender is considered to have Cover.
 If an Air Unit is attacking or defending against a Ground Unit, draw a straight line
between them. If the 2 squares that that line crosses closest to the Ground Unit
are Difficult or Impassable Terrain, then the defender has cover.

Critical Hits and Misses

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  If the D20 comes up as a 1, then the Attack automatically misses, regardless of
the target’s Defense.
 If the D20 comes up as a 20, the Attack automatically hits, regardless of the
target’s Defense, and the weapon deals an additional point of Damage.

Point Defense
Point Defense Weapons are used outside the normal Attack Phase. They are used during
the Movement Phases, against an enemy Unit as it moves into an adjacent square. Point
Defenses are not bound by the same targeting rules as a standard Attack (meaning that
Firing Arc is ignored). A Unit or Emplacement can never Attack the same Target with a
Point Defense Weapon twice in the same turn. A Point Defense weapon may only be
used to interrupt a Movement Phase; it cannot be used during the Attack Phase.

COMMAND COUNTERS

Command Counters
A Unit with a Command Counter means it can be piloted / driven by a Commander who
can offer some additional benefit. The Commander is simply a stat card with modifiers
on it. All you do is match up the Commander’s class with the Command Counter class.
For example, a Starfighter with a Command Counter 4 on it can only be piloted by a
Class 4 Commander. A freighter with a Command Counter 3 on it can only be driven by
a Class 3 Commander. A 1-4 Counter can be piloted / driven by any commander, and a
1-4 Commander can pilot / drive a Unit of any Class. A vehicle with multiple Command
Counters can have more than one Commander actively controlling the vehicle.

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 GLOSSARY

Air Unit – A Military Unit that flies. Air Units may change their facing by 90 degrees at
the beginning of their movement, and then move forward or diagonally 1 square
per Speed, without changing Facing. They may move through any terrain type
without penalty. An Air Unit may end its movement on the same square as an
Infantry Unit, but not on the same square as any other Model.
Anti-Infantry – This Unit gains +4 Attack when targeting Infantry Units.
Anti-Air – This Unit gains +4 Attack when targeting Air Units.
Artillery – This Unit gains +4 Attack when targeting Emplacements.
Blind Spot – This Unit takes a –4 Penalty when targeting Adjacent Enemies.
Bounty Hunter – This Unit gains +4 Attack when targeting Unique Units.
Bomber (Air Unit only) - During its turn, if this Unit moves through an Enemy
Emplacement, that Emplacement takes 3 damage, Save 11.
Charging Assault – At the beginning of its Attack Phase, if there are no adjacent
enemies, this Unit may move 1 square, provided that square is marked as Clear
terrain and if that would cause this Unit to become Adjacent to an enemy. This
Unit may then make a standard attack on the same turn.
Double-Time (Infantry Only) - During the Attack Phase, if there are no adjacent
enemies, this Unit may move 1 additional square, providing that square is Clear
Terrain.
Emplacement – An Emplacement represents a building or some other structure.
Collectively, your Emplacements are referred to as your Base. At the end of any
Round in which all your Emplacements are defeated, you lose the game.
Emplacements may not move, and count as Impassable Terrain.
Infantry Deployment – This ability is identical to Fighter Launch, except that only
Infantry Units from your pool may be deployed.
Interceptor (Air Units only) - During its turn, if this Unit moves through an Enemy
Bomber, the Bomber takes 1 Damage, Save 11.
Facing – the direction a Ground or Air Unit is pointing, as defined by the notch on its
base.
Fighter – A Fighter is a small Air Unit that only occupies 1 square. The term Fighter
and Starfighter are interchangeable in this game.
Large - A unit with a 2-inch base that occupies 4 squares.
Low-Altitude – This Air Unit may only be played in Ground Assault games; it cannot be
used in standard Starship Battles games.
Model – Any game piece that represents a Unit or an Emplacement. A 2-D token used to
represent an Infantry Unit is still considered a Model.
Non-Atmospheric – This Air Unit may not be used in Ground Assault games; it can only
be used in standard Starship Battles games.
Open Transport # - This ability is identical to Troop transport # except that during the
Attack Phase, this Unit may make an additional Attack using the same Attack and
Damage stats as one of the Infantry Units currently on its Stat Card.
Penetration # – This Unit’s attacks ignore # points of Damage Reduction.
Proton Bombs # –All Adjacent Ground and Infantry Units receive # Damage, save 11.

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Unit – A Military Unit is any model that has a Stat Card and can move. At the end of
any Round in which all your Units are defeated, you lose the game.
Rapid Deployment – This Unit may move and attack on the same turn it is deployed or
launched.
Repulsorlift – During its Movement, this Unit is not slowed down by Difficult Terrain,
Save 11.
Small - A Unit with a 1-inch base that only occupies 1 square.
Speed – A number that represents how many squares a Unit can move in a single turn.
Tow Cable - During your enemy’s Movement Phase, target an Adjacent Ground Unit;
that Unit cannot move, save 11.
Trample – When this Unit moves into a square occupied by Infantry, that Infantry Unit
is defeated, save 6.
Troop Transport # – At the end of this Unit’s movement, you can either remove
adjacent Infantry Units from play to place them on the Transport’s Stat Card or to
take Infantry Units from the Transport’s Stat Card and place them back into play
in any adjacent square. The Transport can either remove Infantry Units from play
or return Infantry Units from play, but cannot do both during the same turn. If this
Unit is defeated, any Infantry Units on its Stat Card are also defeated. This Unit
may only transport up to # Infantry Units at a time.
Turret – This weapon may target enemies in any direction, regardless of Firing Arc.

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 STARSHIP BATTLES FIRST SET ERRATA

The following ships should have Non-Atmospheric added to their stats:

Mon Calamari Star Defender Viscount
Mon Calamari Cruiser Home One
Mon Calamari MC80
Rebel Assault Frigate
Venator-Class Star Destroyer
Rebel Cruiser
Tantive IV
Wild Karrde
Super Star Destroyer Executor
Banking Clan Frigate
Commerce Guild Destroyer
Imperial Interdictor Cruiser
Imperial Star Destroyer
Invisible Hand
Trade Federation Battleship
Trade Federation Droid Control Ship
Virago

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 STATS

AT-AT
20 Points
Large Ground Unit
Speed 3
Full Strength:
Hull 3
Defense: 18 (Front), 17 (Sides), 16 (Rear)
Laser Cannon +4 / 2 (Front Arc)
Medium Laser Cannons +6 / 1 (Front Arc)
Artillery (+4 Attack vs. Emplacements)
Trample (When this Unit moves into a square occupied by Infantry, that Infantry
Unit is defeated, save 6.)
Troop Transport 3
Damaged:
Hull 3
Defense: 17 (Front), 16 (Sides), 15 (Rear)
Laser Cannon +2 / 2 (Front Arc)
Medium Laser Cannons +2 / 1 (Front Arc)
Trample
Artillery
Troop Transport 3

AT-ST
5 Points
Small Ground Unit
Speed 4
Full Strength:
Hull 1
Defense: 15 (all sides)
Laser Cannon +3 / 1
Light Blaster +3 / 1
Anti-Infantry (+4 Attack vs. Infantry)
Damaged:
N/A (Defeated)

Stormtrooper Squadron
5 Points
Infantry
Full Strength:
Defense: 16 (all sides)
Hull 1
Blaster Rifle +2 / 1
Infinite (this Unit is returned to your Infantry Pool when defeated)
Damaged:

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 N/A (Defeated)

Snowspeeder
4 points
Small Flying Unit
Speed 8
Full Strength:
Hull: 1
Defense: 15 (all Arcs)
Laser Cannon +1 / 1 (+4 Attack against Ground Units)
Low Altititude (Can only be used in Ground-based games, not standard Starship
Battles)
Tow Cable (During your Movement Phase, if this Unit can become Adjacent to an
Enemy Ground Unit by moving 4 or fewer Squares, stop its movement to make the
Ground Unit save vs 6 or be destroyed)
Damaged:
N/A (Defeated)

Ideas for future Units

Ugnaught Demolitionist Squad (Infantry) – Adjacent Emplacement takes 4 damage,
save 11.
ARC Trooper (Infantry) – has Rapid Deployment
Scout Trooper (Infantry) – has Accelerate
Rebel Pilot (Infantry) – Instead of deploying during game setup, it may deploy when one
of your Air Units is Defeated. Rebel Pilot goes into play in any adjacent square.
Battle Droids (Infantry) – Infinite
Hailfire Droid (small Ground) – Anti-Air
Republic Gunship (large Air) – Anti-Infantry, Troop Transport 1
Jedi Temple (3x3 Emplacement) – all Jedi Units gain +2 Attack and Defense
Imperial Landing Platform (3x2 Emplacement) – Fighter Launch 2; Air Units may end
their movement on this Emplacement
Imperial Bunker (2x2 Emplacement) – Infantry Deployment 2
Landed Acclamator (3x3 Emplacement) – Fighter Launch 1; Infantry Deployment 1
Communication Relay (2x2 Emplacement) – You may add or subtract 1 to any
Initiative roll for the remainder of the game.
Massassi Temple (2x2 Emplacement) – Your Infantry Units gain +1 Attack and
Defense
Sith Temple (3x3 Emplacement) – Your Military Units do +1 damage against Jedi Units
Luke Skywalker (Class 4 Commander) – once per game, you may designate a signal
attack from this Unit as an automatic critical hit. Do not roll a D20. Instead, treat
the Attack as if you had rolled a natural 20.
Boba Fett (Class 3 Commander) – This Unit gains the Bounty Hunter special ability (+4
vs. Unique Targets)

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