SPACESHIPS

AS SOLDIERS IN
STARGRAVE
Painting by Nikolai Lockertsen

SPACESHIPS AS SOLDIERS IN STARGRAVE is a home-brewed supplement for Joseph A. McCullough’s tabletop

miniatures skirmish wargame STARGRAVE. This supplement provides rules for players to have the spaceships that
their imaginary crews use to ply the space-ways be represented as active, playable miniatures in their tabletop
STARGRAVE games. Spaceships expand STARGRAVE by providing a unique and versatile Soldier option for
standard “planet-side play” games AND ALSO enabling players to play “space-scape”-themed scenarios depicting
their crews’ missions in space aboard their ships, engaging in smuggling, ship-to-ship battles, alien encounters,
deep space salvage operations, etc, using the same core STARGRAVE rules as “planet-side play.”

AUTHOR NOTE: EDITORIAL AND DEVELOPMENT MARK UP IN THE ALPHA AND BETA VERSIONS
SPACESHIPS AS SOLDIERS IN STARGRAVE is a home-brewed work-in-progress that has been drafted before the
release of the STARGRAVE rules and therefore based on early release chapters and vlogger flip-throughs, as well
as on the author’s familiarity with other Joseph A. McCullough games with which STARGRAVE shares a core set of
mechanics and design approaches. SPACESHIPS AS SOLDIERS IN STARGRAVE has, to date gone through NO play-
testing. As an untested work-in-progress this draft features editorial and game development mark up in the form
of highlighting. Readers interested in the improvement of this supplement may want to note that text highlighted
in yellow is “proposed” and may be changed based on play-testing data. Text with blue highlighting denotes
sections that still need the content to be drafted. Text sections with grey highlighting are “notes dumps” - very
rough content that needs substantial editing and formatting before it can be considered “draft.”

AUTHOR NOTE: REALISM IN SPACESHIPS IN STARGRAVE

“Realism” in this supplement is like light in a black hole: NON-EXISTENT. ☺ Absolutely nothing in this supplement
is meant to come within a million light years of realism. Whether it’s propulsion systems, map scales, gravitational
effects or supernovas, EVERYTHING here is a “flight of fancy” (pun intended) designed for highly-compatible game
play with the STARGRAVE ruleset. Have FUN folks!!!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO USE THIS SUPPLEMENT

In order to include a spaceship as a soldier in your crew you’ll need a miniature to represent it no smaller than
1.5” long with a 16”-tall flight stand that will seat your spaceship mini securely on your terrain table (the author
recommends mounting your flight stand to one of those digital camera stands with bendable legs). It is
recommended that the miniatures representing ships be no longer than 3”. This is to avoid large differences in the
targetability of different player’s ships and to minimize mishaps stemming from players being more likely to bump
larger models. But as long as models sit securely on the table and players are happy with their choice of model,
there is no reason models larger than 3” cannot be used. In planet-side games, the use of 1.5”-3” models
represents the ships being viewed by the crewperson minis on the ground looking up at ships in flight above
them. (Obviously, if viewed from a player’s overhead, birds-eye perspective, the ship minis would be VERY large in
proportion to the crew/Soldier minis on the tabletop.)

[ 1]
For space-scaped play players will need a token or small-scaled (6mm or 10mm) miniatures to represent their
ship’s crew when the crew is conducting spacewalks or serving as an”away team” on a planet, space station or
other ship during space-scaped play. (At time of writing, Brigade Miniatures has a line of 6mm sci fi miniatures,
including a set of astronauts.) Also for space-scaped games players MAY opt to use a 1”-2” flight stand.

<<SIDEBAR>> IMAGINING SPACE DRIVES & FLIGHT SYSTEMS IN SPACESHIPS IN STARGRAVE

This supplement approaches spaceships with the assumption that while players’ games may be galactic or trans-
galactic in terms of “world-building narrative,” the action of the game as played on-table takes place within the
scope of planetary systems. The author assumes that spaceships in STARGRAVE may have faster-than-light
hyperdrives or warp drives allowing them to jump across solar systems or galaxies or over to other galaxies with
relatively short travel times, but that the game’s action is focused on crews plying their trades and having
adventures within planetary systems, where the ships travel using thrust-based propulsion systems rather than
their drives that bend or penetrate space-time.
This author chooses to imagine, and has based some of the mechanics of this supplement, on the notion that
when travelling in and through planetary systems, spaceships in STARGRAVE use “reverse energy (anti-matter)
collider engine” drives (aka “rekkie drives”) that produce top speeds of around 2 million miles per hour. At that
speed, a ship would travel from Earth to Mars in 17 hours (at a time when their orbits bring the two planets
closest to each other).
Furthermore, this author imagines that ships in STARGRAVE are able to operate in planetary atmospheres, and do
so without having to have the aerodynamic properties of aircraft. This author imagines ships having “gluon
gravity-interference generators,” aka “GIG generators” or “GIGs” that allow them to “fly” in atmospheric
conditions regardless of their aerodynamics. GIGs are essentially miniaturized particle accelerators that produce
small gluon particle fields; these fields don’t so much neutralize gravity as “interfere” with it in a micro-local and
temporary manner, thus giving spacecraft a form of semi-levitation or controlled free-fall. Ship design then
combines GIGs with various types of more conventional thrusters that provide the climb and maneuvering
capabilities in atmospheric conditions.
All that said: the author HEARTILY invites you to imagine the technology of your spaceships in STARGRAVE as
anything you like that makes your game fun!

SPACESHIP BASICS
A spaceship is added to a player’s crew roster as a Robot Specialist Soldier that costs 0 credits.
To deploy their spaceship as part of their crew in a planet-side game, a player must first spend 50 cr in
maintenance and upkeep costs; if the player’s crew cannot afford this upkeep cost the spaceship cannot be used
in the game. Then, the player must take out of play either her Captain or her 1 st Mate – that crew member is
commanding the ship during the game and is referred to as the “commander-during-play.” A player must make
the decision to include their spaceship in a game BEFORE the scenario is determined BUT the decision about
whether to have their Captain or 1 st Mate be the commander-during-play and sit out the game is made AFTER the
scenario has been selected for play, representing a command decision about the role requirements of the mission
and who best fills those roles.
Spaceships have a unique stat block:
Soldier Move Fight Shoot Armor Will Health Cost Notes
Spaceship 6”/4” Uses the Uses the 9 Uses the Each power & piece 0 cr Incredibly Complex
stat of its stat of its stat of its of gear has 6 Health Robot; Flying,
commander- commander- commander and the ship has a Immune to Toxins &
during-play during-play -during-play Strain Pool of 8 Never Wounded
Traits; Cargo Pods;
Away Teams;
Powers

[ 2]
SPACESHIP STATS SPECIAL RULES
Spaceships stat blocks have some unusual characteristics compared to other crew members.
Split stats and Move: Like other crew members, spaceships can have split stats and, in fact, have one split stat in
their basic stat line. A ship’s Move stat is a split stat, with the first stat being used when the ship is being played in
planet-side play in support of a crew’s ground operation and the second stat being used in “space-scape” games.
Fight: A spaceship’s Fight stat is only used to determine whether an opposing player’s ranged attack hits -
spaceships cannot engage in melee combat. (To melee in planet-side pay would require an impossible level of
piloting skill to avoid collisions with terrain and to compensate for the atmosphere and/or the gravity well of a
planet. In space-scape games, melee would require ramming another spaceship across the vast distances in space
while moving at unbelievable speeds. Both of these feats are simply too difficult for the space-going vehicles of
the STARGRAVE game world, and their pilots, to accomplish.)
Fight, Shoot and Will: During game play, a ship uses the Fight, Shoot and Will stats of its commander-during-play,
though a ship’s stats can grant bonuses or apply penalties to rolls using these stats.
Health: A spaceship has two types of “health:” strain pooland system health. Opponent attacks that target the
ship in general that cause damage reduce its strain pool and attacks that target and cause damage to specific
systems that operate weapons and powers reduce the health of those systems. As with any soldier, any single
attack that causes four (4) or more points of damage causes a spaceship to become stunned.
Attacks that target the ship generally, and hit and penetrate armor cause strain, reducing the ship’s strain
tolerance. Like a Captain or 1st Mate, uses of a ship’s powers also cause strain. If a ship’s strain poolis reduced to
zero, the ship is removed from play for the remainder of the current game and must roll on the Spaceship Survival
Table during the post-game.
In addition to its strain pools, each of a ship’s powers or pieces of gear has its own individual health stat. During
play, opposing players can specifically target these powers and pieces of gear and if the health stat of a power or
piece of gear is reduced to zero (0), it cannot be used for the rest of the game, nor in subsequent games until it is
repaired. A spaceship’s health stats are ONLY affected by powers, weapons or other in-game effects that affect
robots UNLESS the ship in question is techno-organic (see optional rule).

SPACESHIP TRAITS
Incredibly Complex Robot: This is a new trait. A robot with this trait adds +4 to the TN of an attempt to target it with
the Control Robot power.
Flying, Immune to Toxins and Never Wounded: Spaceships possess these traits per the STARGRAVE rule book.
Cargo Pods: Having a Spaceship as a Soldier automatically gives a player the External Cargo Pods ship improvement for
no cost.
Away Teams: Spaceships are equipped with airlocks and space suits and/or small utility pods or limited-range
shuttles that allow squads of crew members to operate outside the confines of the ship during space-scaped
games - these squads are called “away teams.” A player may have one (1) away team operating outside their ship
during a space-scaped game unless otherwise stated in the special rules for a scenario.

SPACESHIP BACKGROUND AND POWERS

Like a Captain or a 1st Mate, Spaceship Soldiers have a Background; all ships have the same background:
SPACESHIP
Stat Stat modifications during recruitment/creation: the player can modify three different stats by +1,
Modifications choosing from the following: Fight, the planet-side play side of its split Move stat, the space-scape
play side of its split Move stat, Shoot, Armor, Will, Health for a specific ship power or piece of gear
(ship’s system) or the Strain Pool portion of its Health stat.
Core Powers A ship's power is considered “core” if the power being activated is a core power for its current

[ 3]
 commander-during-play.

A starting spaceship selects five (5) starting powers from the Available Powers, in the table, below. Also in the
table is a list of “Prohibited Powers” that spaceships cannot select. The table identifies crew backgrounds for
which the listed power is a core power.*
SPACESHIP POWERS
Available Powers (33) (Adrenaline) Surge [Bio] Data Jump [Rog Tek] Pull [Psi]
Armory [Vet] Data Knock [Cyb, Tek] Quick Step [Cyb, Rog]
Bait & Switch [Rog] Data Skip [Tek] Remote Firing [Rob Vet]
Break Lock [Psi] Destroy Weapon [Psi] Remote Guidance [Rob]
Bribe [Rog] Drone [Rob, Tek] Repair Robot [Rob]
Camouflage [Bio, Cyb] Electromagnetic Pulse [Rob, Tek] Re-wire Robot [Rob]
Cancel Power [Rog] Energy Shield [Cyb Vet] Target Designation [Vet]
Command [Vet] Fling [Bio] Target Lock [Cyb]
Control Robot [Cyb, Rob] Fortune [Rog Vet] Toxic Secretion [Bio]
Coordinated Fire [Vet] Holographic Wall [Tek] Transport [Tek]
Create Robot [Rob] Power Spike [Cyb, Vet] Wall of Force [Psi]
Prohibited Powers (11) Antigravity Projection [Tek] Haggle [Rog] Temporary Upgrade [Cyb]
Armor Plates [Bio] Heal [Mys] Toxic Claws [Bio]
Concealed Firearm [Vet] Lift [Psi] Void Blade [Mys]
Dark Energy [Mys] Puppet Master [Mys]
Techno-Organic Ships Only (8) Control Animal [Mys] Psionic Fire [Psi] Restructure Body [Bio]
Life Leech [Mys] Psychic Shield [Psi] Suggestion [Mys, Psi]
Mystic Trance [Mys] Regenerate [Bio]
*Key: “Bio”=Biomorph, “Cyb”=Cyborg, “Mys”=Mystic, “Psi”=Psionicist, “Rob”= Robot Expert, “Rog”= Rogue, “Tek”=Tekker, “Vet”=Veteran

The activation number required to use spaceship power is dependent on the background of the crew member –
Captain or 1st Mate – who is its commander-during-play. If a ship’s power is a core power for its commander-
during-play then the activation roll is modified accordingly. If a ship’s power is NOT a core power in the
background of the ship’s commander-during-play, then the penalty to the activation number required to activate
it is reduced by one (1) (because the ship’s technological systems provide an assist), so if the commander-during-
play is a Captain the activation number for non-core powers goes up by +1 (instead of +2) and if the commander-
during-play is a 1st Mate the penalty is +3 (instead of +4).
When using out-of-game powers, either the Captain or 1st Mate must be named as the commander-during -play
and serve in that roll for ALL out-of-game powers used between two games. The crew member acting as
commander-during-play for a spaceship’s out-of-game powers CANNOT use their own out-of-game powers.
Each power that a ship possesses has its own starting health stat rating of 6.

OPTIONAL RULE: TECHNO-ORGANIC SHIPS

As an optional rule, if all players agree, a player can choose to have their spaceship be a techno-organic construct
instead of a purely mechanical one. Techno-organic ships have biological/organic base structural compositions
and systems (including some version of an organic brain and nervous system) onto which mechanical systems
MAY have ben grafted (which would make the ship cybernetic). Classifying a ship as techno-organic removes its
Robot status, and because it’s alive on some level, gives it access to the following normally-prohibited powers:
Control Animal, Life Leech, Mystic Trance, Psionic Fire, Psychic Shield, Regenerate, Restructure Body and
Suggestion. Furthermore, out-of-game, players can use the Heal power to do damage repair for techno-organic
ships.

SPACESHIP GEAR

[ 4]
Every spaceship comes equipped with the following standard gear: _______, _______ and _______. In addition,
spaceships have six (6) gear slots for additional gear – armor, weapons and equipment. This gear represents ship
systems that can benefit ground operations or affect other ships during planet-side play, and which affect other
ships or space-scape terrain in space-scape scenarios. During recruitment/creation, a player can select up to five
slots worth of gear from the Standard Gear List to outfit her ship with selections being limited to the following:
Armor – light, heavy, combat
Weapons - carbine, flamer, grenades (fragmentation & smoke), grenade launcher, rapid fire, shotgun
Equipment - ?rebreather?, deck,
Each piece of gear with which a spaceship is equipped has its own starting health stat of 6 health.

SPACESHIPS DURING PLANET-SIDE PLAY

If a player chooses to include a spaceship in a planet-side game, she must first spend 50 cr in maintenance and
upkeep costs; if the player’s crew cannot afford this upkeep cost the spaceship cannot be used in the game. Then,
she must decide which one crew member, her Captain or her 1 st Mate, will be the ship’s commander-during-play;
that crew member is commanding the ship during the game and is referred to as the “commander-during-play”
and is represented in the game by the player’s spaceship mini. A player must make the decision to include their
spaceship in a game BEFORE the scenario is determined BUT the decision about whether to have their Captain or
1st Mate be the commander-during-play and sit out the game is made AFTER the scenario has been selected for
play, representing a command decision about the role requirements of the mission and who best fills which roles.
When a player is deploying her crew on the board at the beginning of the game, she places her spaceship
anywhere on the table.
Spaceships are activated during the phase in which their commander-during-play – the Captain or 1st Mate –
would normally activate, and the ship’s activation takes the place of that commander-during-play’s activation (a
Captain or 1st Mate in the role of commander-during-play CANNOT themselves move, shoot, fight or use their own
powers during spaceship activation.) A spaceship may also activate ANY one (1) friendly crew member on the
board during its activation phase (instead of the usual three ). A spaceship performs up to two actions like any
other crewperson or Soldier. One of those actions must be a move action, though a player can choose to have a
Spaceship move 0” during its move action. Spaceship movement does not involve changes in altitude, except for
the ancillary effects of a horizontal move putting their flight stand on top of terrain. A ship’s move MUST end with
its flight stand sitting securely on the table. If an intended move cannot end with stable flight stand placement,
the player must modify her intended move to produce secure placement.
Like other crew members, a spaceship may normally make one attack or use one power during an activation.
Spaceships may make a Power Move like a Captain or 1st Mate. Spaceships experience strain for using powers just
like crew members, but as explained previously, they have a separate strain pool as part of their Health stat from
which strain is deducted.
When spaceships are targeting powers and weapons, only rock, metal, masonry and other “hard” geological and
structural elements can block Spaceship LOS; ship powers and weapons ignore smoke, foliage and other forms of
“soft cover” or “soft concealment” when determining LOS (this is due to spaceships’ robust scanning technologies
that operate across multiple spectra - radar, infrared etc.) Players should agree before the start of the game about
what terrain elements have a material composition with the potential to block Spaceship LOS. Whether or not
potential LOS blockers actually block LOS at a particular point in a game depends on the line drawn from the
spaceship to a particular target at any given moment in play.
If an opposing player targets a player’s ship she may choose to target the ship in general, or to target any one,
specific system that enables the ship to use a power, or a specific piece of gear. Attacks that target the ship in
general and penetrate the ship’s armor cause a flat one (1) point of strain to the ship regardless of how many
points of damage would normally be done because of die rolls or damage modifiers. Critical hits cause a flat two
(2) points of strain.

[ 5]
EXAMPLE: Player A’s Gunner targets Player B’s Spaceship generally with a rapid fire weapon ranged attack and
rolls a 15+3 shoot against the ship’s roll of a 7+3 Shoot for its commander-during-play+1 because the ship has a
Shoot stat bonus for a total modified roll of 11. The attack roll of 18 is greater, and so is then compared to the
spaceship’s armor of 12 and penetrates the ship’s armor. Normally the hit would cause 6 damage, +2 for the bonus
to the rapid-fire weapon hitting a single target, for a total deduction of 8 health points. But because Player A
targeted the ship in general - not a specific power or piece of gear - the ship deducts one strain pool point instead.

Attacks that target specific powers or gear cause their normal damage, reducing the individual health stat of that
specific power or piece of gear. If the health stat of a power or piece of gear is reduced to zero (0), it cannot be
used for the rest of the game, nor in subsequent games until it is repaired. When a player activates her spaceship
during a game turn, as a free action, she may divert power, thus transferring stat points, from one ship system to
another, or to the ship’s strain tolerance. When a player diverts power, she restores one (1) point of health or
strain pool for every two (2) points she removes from the system from which she is diverting power. A player with
an extra action during a ship’s activation (eg from a ship’s Adrenaline Surge power) may divert power a second
time during the turn.
EXAMPLE: Player A activates her spaceship. The ship system that operates its Energy Shield power has been
damaged and has 2 out of 6 health remaining. The system that runs its Create Robot power is undamaged, having 6
health points. The player diverts 4 Health points from that system to Energy Shield, increasing the available health
of the Energy Shield system to 4 out of 6 and reducing the available Health of the system that operates its Create
Robot power to 2 out of 6. On her next turn, when Player A activates her ship, its status shows 6 strain against its 8
strain tolerance. The player diverts 2 health points from the system that operates Create Robot power to remove 1
strain, reducing it to 5 strain against its 8 strain pooland making the available health for the Create Robot system 0
points, thus disabling that system.
Any single attack that hits and would cause four (4) or more points of damage based on the die roll causes a
spaceship to become stunned like any other soldier.
If a player’s spaceship strain tolerance is reduced to zero, it is removed from play for the rest of the current game;
after the game the player rolls for the ship on the Spaceship Survival Table.
SPACESHIP SURVIVAL TABLE
Roll Result
1-2 The crew have potentially suffered serious casualties: all crew members who were on board the ship must roll
on the appropriate survival table penalty. Also: damage to the ship is critical; repairs cost +1 cr/point of health
and +2 cr/point of strain pool until the damaged system has been fully repaired
3-4 The crew have potentially suffered significant casualties: all crew members who were on board the ship must
roll on the appropriate survival table with a +1 bonus to the roll. Also: damage to the ship is serious and/or
extensive enough to cost +1 cr per point of health and strain tolerance
5-6 No crew on board the ship were seriously injured but damage to the ship is critical; repairs cost +1 cr/point of
health and +2 cr/point of strain pool until the damaged system has been fully repaired
7-8 No crew on board were seriously injured but damage to the ship is serious and/or extensive enough to cost +1
cr per point of health and strain tolerance
9-13 No crew on board the ship were injured; damage to the ship is significant but repairable at normal cost.
14-18 No crew on board the ship were injured and damage to ship is minor and can be repaired at normal cost OR
the crew can manage to make the repairs using spare parts and salvaged materials at no cost but the time
required to make repairs in this manner means the spaceship cannot be used in the next planet-side game
19-20 Damage to ship is insignificant and quickly repaired by the crew using spare parts and salvaged materials

SPACESHIP REPAIR
Spaceship gear and the systems that operate powers function normally as long as the system has even a single
point of health. However, those points do NOT replenish between games unless players repair these systems by
spending credits, using powers or having their ship sit out planet-side games (providing crew with time to make

[ 6]
repairs at no cost). Out-of-game repairs cost 5 credits/point of health restored for each system and 10 cr/point of
strain pool restored. Some powers (eg Repair Robot) can be used out-of-game to repair spaceships. Finally for
each planet-side game a player plays WITHOUT using her ship, one point of damage is repaired for every damaged
system and accumulated strain is reduced by one point.

SPACE-SCAPE PLAY
The term “space-scape play” refers to scenarios where only players’ spaceships are on the board – no other crew
members or their minis are used – and the terrain table is set up to represent outer space - a “space-scape.”
Unless otherwise stated in this section, ships follow the same rules during space-scape play as they do during
planet-side play. The following space-scape-specific rules apply in space-scape play:
Scale: Planet-side play uses a what-you-see-is-what-you-get gameboard scale where (by this author’s estimation)
1” equals 4’-6’ (depending on the exact scale of the miniatures being used). By contrast, space-scaped games use
a largely abstract and narrative-driven “triple-perspective scale.” The term “triple-perspective” refers to the fact
that three different board perspectives exist simultaneously within the player’s view, with that view “zooming in”
and “zooming out” on each of these perspectives as players take in different elements on the board. The view of
the spaceships on the table is the one that’s “zoomed-in” in the furthest with 2.5”-3.5” spaceship minis having a
scale where 1” equals 30’/9m. This makes the ship minis HUGE in proportion to the board. (Measured at
“planetary” scale [see below] a 3”-long spaceship mini would be 750 miles long and at “astrogational” scale it
would be 22,500 miles long!) The view of the second most distinct and significant elements on the table after the
ships, namely planet-like bodies, is the “middle-ground view,” with 1” being roughly equal to 250 miles/400 km.
The rest of the elements – area terrain like asteroid fields, gravitational fields, solar flares and other fields of
electromagnetic energy, wormholes, etc., are viewed from an “astrogational” scale zoomed out 30x from
planetary scale where 1” roughly equals 7500 miles/12,000 km.
The “void of space:” Players are encouraged to use any surface or play mat they wish for their space-scape, from
pure black to star fields to brightly-colored patterns representing colorful projections of light from nearby
nebulae. Whatever the visual representation, the terrain table in space-scape play becomes a semi-abstract
representation of the void-and-vacuum of outer space, where planet-side concepts of “up” and “down” have no
meaning for game purposes, and where the absence of up and down directions combined with huge distances
mean that “altitude” and “elevation” also have no meaning. As a practical result, in space-scape play, 16” flight
stands are NOT used for spaceship minis. If any player prefers, for aesthetic reasons, that their mini sit on a short
flight stand (2” or less) they may choose to mount their mini accordingly – this has no in-game effect beyond
some potentially slight changes to LOS in relation to planetary body-type terrain that doesn’t provide significant
tactical advantage.
Crew aboard ships in space-scape play: Before a space-scape game, players must identify which of their crew will
be aboard the ship for the game. At a minimum, they must have either their Captain or 1 st Mate aboard as
commander-during-play. Any crew NOT aboard the ship avoid the risk of being injured should the ship be required
to roll on the spaceship survival table, but crew that sit out a space-scaped game MUST also sit out the next
planet-side game. (This represents the time/effort required for those crew members to rendezvous with the ship
from wherever they are during the space-scape game when they are not on board.) Crew who are not on board
the ship do not have to roll on their survival table if the ship is reduced to zero strain pooland removed from the
game. However, crew who were not on board the ship during space-scape play CANNOT level-up or otherwise
benefit from experience earned during that game.
The distances in space-scape play are so great that crew members’ powers have no effect beyond the ship they’re
crewing and the other crew or creatures on board their ship. Crew may use their powers during the appropriate
activation phase if those powers can affect the ship they’re on board as a soldier, however, eg a Captain or 1 st
Mate using Repair Robot to fix damage.
Other ships in space-scape play: Spaceships and other constructed objects do not block line-of-sight or provide
cover (unless specifically stated in a description or special rule) – scaled to planetary and astrogational scales,

[ 7]
most constructed objects would be mere specks, if not microscopic, and thus, as physical objects, do not get in
the way of visually identifying other craft, much less interfering with a ship’s long-distance scanners.
Planet-like bodies: Space-scaped terrain tables often feature terrain pieces 2” or larger representing planets,
moons, large asteroids, comets, et. al., collectively called “planet-like bodies” or “planet-like terrain.” These
terrain pieces function the same way that standard terrain pieces function in planet-side play, blocking line of
sight, providing cover, etc.
Planet-like terrain also has some particular characteristics:
● Each piece of terrain must be marked with a “center circle,” a ¼”-3” diameter circle proportional in size to
the planet-like body and positioned as close to the center of its area footprint as reasonably possible. This
center circle will be the main reference for determining specific in-game effects, notably the direction in
which gravitational pull moves an object affected by that pull.
● Planet-like bodies typically have gravitational fields (unless specified otherwise in a scenario’s special rules).
Ships within the gravitational field of a piece of planet-like terrain are pulled towards the center circle of
that piece of terrain during the move portion of their activation. When a mini within a gravitational field
moves, after each 1” of movement it moves in the direction of the gravitational pull affecting it at the rate
dictated by the characteristics of the planet-like body. If a spaceship is within the gravitational fields of two
planet-like bodies, its movement is only affected by the larger of the two bodies. If the bodies are equal
size, the body that affects the ship’s move is determined randomly, once, then remains influenced by that
body for the duration of the time the ship would be affected by both bodies. For game purposes, the
gravitational fields of planet-like bodies do NOT affect other planet-like terrain unless otherwise stated in
the special rules for a scenario.
● Ships coming into contact with the center circle of a piece of planet-like terrain MAY suffer damage (akin to
falling damage in planet-side play). If a spaceship mini comes in contact with the center circle of a planet-
like body, an immediate Fight roll is made. If the spaceship wins, it has successfully navigated the planet-like
body’s gravitational pull and any atmospheric and surface features and avoided any structural failures or
collisions. If it loses, it suffers damage normally with the player choosing how to distribute that damage
across all systems and it additionally deducts two (2) points from its strain pool from a small planet, three
(3) points for a medium planet and four (4) points of strain for large planet-like bodies.
● Planet-like bodies travel along an orbital path and thus such terrain pieces will move during the creature
phase. Unless stated otherwise in a scenario, planet-like bodies move 3”, total (no double-moves), along
their predetermined orbital path during their activation in the creature phase.

PLANET-LIKE TERRAIN CHARACTERISTICS TABLE

Size Gravity Field Range Gravitational Pull Fight Strain Damage to
Ship from Lost Fight
Small planet-like body 3” (to closest surface ½” of pull per 2” of target move- +1 2
(2”-3” approximate diameter point on terrain ment (round down) or one 2”
with a ¼”-½” center circle) piece) pull (on stationary target)
Medium planet-like body 6” (to closest surface ½” of pull per 1” of target move- +2 3
(3”- 8” approximate diameter point on terrain ment (round down) or one 3”
with a ½”-2” center circle) piece) pull (on stationary target)
Large planet-like body 9” (to closest surface 1” of pull per 1” of target move- +3 4
(8”+ approximate diameter point on terrain ment (round down) or one 4”
with a 2”+ center circle) piece) pull (on stationary target)

Area terrain: Certain space-scape terrain features are represented by “area terrain,” that is, terrain defined by a
boundary enclosing a certain area instead of a model depicting a single, distinct piece of terrain. (In planet-side
play, rough terrain can be an example of area terrain.) Examples of area terrain in space-scape games include
asteroid fields, electromagnetic energy fields and wormholes. Area terrain can be represented on the board with

[ 8]
something as simple as a piece of colored felt or paper or with more finely-crafted pieces – the important thing is
that the boundaries of the area covered by the terrain be clear to, and agreed upon, by all players.
● Asteroid fields – Asteroid fields have a density rating for how difficult the field is to navigate, recorded as a
TN typically ranging from 10-18. Anytime a ship’s movement takes it through any part of an asteroid field,
its commander-during play must make a successful Will check versus the field’s TN. If the check is successful
the ship has avoided any damage-causing collisions. If the check fails, the ship’s strain pool is reduced by a
number of points determined by the field’s density rating (see table below); additionally one randomly
determined piece of gear or a system that operates a ship’s power takes damage equal to the difference
between the commander’s modified Will roll and the field’s density rating.

Asteroid Field Density Rating Strain Pool Reduction Resulting from Failed Navigational Will Check
<10-12 1 point
13-15 2 points
16-18 3 points
19+ 4 points

● Energy fields - These fields emanate or project various types of energy across a wide-and-diverse spectrum
including heat, electro-magnetic energy, gamma rays and even mysterious, as-yet unclassified cosmic rays.
These fields possess power-like abilities that affect spaceships, away teams and creatures that come into
contact with them; other targeting rules and/or options in the power description for a field’s power-like
ability should be ignored. These abilities require no activation rolls and cause no strain to the energy fields.
As area terrain, these fields can be of three types: “static” and maintaining a constant size, “pulsing,” or
expanding and contracting or “flaring,” projecting a narrow concentration of energy outwards in a focused
direction. Energy fields use the same specifications for small, medium and large planets for determining
their terrain footprint and the size of their center circle. Area energy field terrain effects affect a spaceship
as soon as it crosses the terrain boundary. Area-type terrain that pulses - expands and contracts - do so in
the creature phase, increasing their footprint one planet-like body size category higher then returning to
their original footprint on alternating turns. Fields that flare project that energy during the Creature Phase.
The table, below, provides some standard energy fields for use in space-scaped games (and players are also
highly encouraged to create their own):

ENERGY FIELD TERRAIN CHARACTERISTICS TABLE

Field Foot- Size Range Type Power-like Ability Notes
Print (Planet-
Like)
Cosmic Vortex Area Any Static Cancel Power Cancels one random Line of Sight
power affecting or coming from
the figure contacting the field
Electro-magnetic Pulse Area Any Pulsing Electro-magnetic Per the power description
Pulse
High-Frequency Pulsar Area Any Pulsing Data Skip Affects both locked and unlocked
data loot tokens
Plasma Cluster Area Any Static Destroy Weapon Weapon affected is random
Nebulae Oscura Flare ½“ center Flare Dark Energy The shooting attack is made against
circle only the figure contacting the field
Solar Flare Flare ½“ center Flare Psionic Fire Template placement is random
circle only
Tachyon Wave-Core Area Any Pulsing Quick Step Commanders-during-play or away
team leaders of affected figures
make a Will roll (TN 15); if suc-

[ 9]
 cessful the player may choose the
direction of the move. If unsuc-
cessful the move is random

● Wormholes – Have to have an inscribed center circle, the same as planet-like terrain. Wormholes have a
gravitational pull like a planet, only MUCH stronger. That pull may be equally strong in proximity to any
point on its area boundary or it may be a directional field, creating a tractor beam-like effect. A spaceship
pulled to the center circle of a wormhole will, at the very least, be subject to extreme gravitational forces
and likely take damage. A wormhole also produces a variety of bizarre effects due to the way it warps
space-time. Wormholes are frequently difficult to identify visually and thus in games that feature them,
wormholes terrain typically appears on the board in the creature phase as a surprise encounter.

Size Gravity Field Range Gravitational Pull Fight Damage

Small wormhole (3”-6” diameter 6” 1” of pull per 1” of target movement
with a 1”-2” center circle) (round down) or one 3” pull (on +3 +3
stationary target)
Large Wormhole (8”-12” diameter 9” 1½” of pull per 1” of target movement
with a 3”-5” center circle) (round down) or one 4½” pull (on +4 +4
stationary target)
Directional Wormholes: roll a scatter die to randomly determine the direction that the gravitational pull extends
out from the center circle. The field of the pull is a ninety-degree arc centered on the directionality of the pull.

WORMHOLE CENTER CIRCLE CONTACT SPECIAL EFFECTS

A crew that experiences the distortions of the space-time continuum that manifest inside a wormhole will come out
the other side forever changed! Roll a d20 to determine what happens. Where a Will roll is required the TN is 14.
1-3 The wormhole’s warping of reality fundamentally alters one Specialist crew member. Randomly determine
which crew member is affected. If that crew member is robotic, they transmute into a living organism; if
they’re already an organism they turn into a robot.
4-6 During the trip, the crew encounters and salvages an alien space probe imbued with an artificial intelligence
(possibly named Ne’Zonz…?). The probe counts as an alien artifact. A crew member of the player’s choice
must make a Will roll to unlock data at a -2 penalty. If it succeeds, the crew acquires an advanced data deck
and figures out how to make part of the probe function as a randomly-determined piece of gear. If it fails, the
ship and crew are infected with an alien computer virus and all decks and any ship powers with the word
“data” in the title are lost and any robot crew members suffer a -1 to a randomly determined stat and all
power activation checks if it has powers.
6-9 At the other end of the wormhole the crew lands the ship on an uncharted planet to make repairs. There they
encounter an intelligent alien species. The Captain must make a Will roll. If it succeeds, the species regards
the crew favorably and lavishes them with gifts worth 1d20x20 credits. If it fails, the species regards the crew
with contempt and manages to commit vandalism and larceny such that the crew loses 1d20x20 credits. If the
crew does not have enough credits on hand to cover these losses, they lose what credits they have plus one
randomly determined piece of gear.
10-13 The ship and crew experience time travel! The Captain must make a Will roll. If it succeeds, in the alternate
timeline experienced by the crew, they meet someone different who joins them and the crew gains one
randomly-determined Standard or Specialist Soldier with a credit cost. If it fails, in the alternate timeline they
never met someone who was on the crew when this game started and the crew loses one randomly-
determined Standard or Specialist Soldier with a credit cost.
14-17 The mind-bending experience of the wormhole potentially teaches the crew something new, or, alternately,
causes brain damage! Randomly determine whether the Captain or 1 st Mate undergoes this experience. That
crew member must make a Will roll. If it succeeds, they gain 1d20x7 XP and can level up depending on how
the player distributes the points. If the roll fails, they lose 1d20x7 XP and lose any levels and advantages
gained from those levels depending on how the player distributes the losses.
18-20 The wormhole’s warping of reality fundamentally alters the Captain or 1 st Mate. Randomly determine which

[10]
 crew member is affected and that member must make a Will roll. If it fails, the crew member loses one
randomly-determined power. If it succeeds the crew member acquires a randomly-determined power, which
is automatically treated as a core power regardless of the crew member’s background.

Terrain movement: Objects in space move! There are two types of movement: drifting and orbiting:
● Drifting bodies: Individual asteroids, asteroid fields and derelict craft, et al, may be classified as drifting
bodies. Drifting bodies move during the creature phase a total distance of 1.5” in a random direction.
Drifting bodies are affected by the gravitational pull of planet-like bodies and wormholes.
▪ Meteor showers: Drifting bodies that come into contact with the center point of a planet-like body
become meteors. Spaceships that are touching a drifting body terrain piece or partially or wholly within
the boundary of drifting area terrain that is in contact with the center point of a planet-like body are
considered to be navigating through a meteor shower. Such ships must make a fight roll at a -2 penalty.
● Orbiting bodies, such as planets and comets, move a flat 3” during the creature phase, along a
predetermined path. During board set-up, one player should roll a scatter die to determine the direction of
the planet-like body’s orbit. Before the game starts players should assess the orbital paths that scatter rolls
have determined for planet-like bodies and should come to agreement about any path(s) that will result in a
planet-like body colliding with another planet-like body or entering the gravitational pull of a wormhole,
should there be wormhole terrain on the board. Players should aim for the alteration to be the minimum
change to the determined direction necessary to avoid unwanted interactions of terrain. Players can ignore
comets (see below) and asteroid fields – the former will be regarded as passing “over” or “under” the planet
(causing a meteor shower) and the later will simply cause a meteor shower.
▪ Comets: Comets are a special type of area terrain that comes in three sizes: small, medium and large.
Small comets are represented on the board by one flamer template. Medium-sized comets are
represented by two templates laid one overtop the other lengthwise with a half-overlap creating one
big rounded shape at the bulbous end of the “teardrop.” Large-sized comets are medium-sized comets
with one additional template placed directly over the longitudinal centerline of the medium-sized
comet, halfway down its length, thereby extending that overall length. The intense albedo of comets
and the huge field of debris they spray as they travel in space cause them to block LOS. Spaceships
partially or wholly within the boundary of comet terrain cannot establish LOS to anything else on the
board, nor can LOS be established to them. If a spaceship comes into contact with any point on a comet
within 3” of its furthest-forward point, that ship must make a fight roll at a -1 penalty.
Away Teams: All spaceships in STARGRAVE are assumed to be equipped with airlocks, space suits and/or small
utility pods or small, limited-range shuttles that allow squads of crew members to operate outside the ship during
space-scaped games. Crew members operating outside the ship in space-scaped games are called “away teams.”
A player may have one away team operating outside their ship during space-scaped games unless otherwise
stated in the special rules for a scenario. Away teams can be represented on the board with a token or
appropriate miniature. When a player sends an away team out of her ship, she must designate at least three crew
members on board her ship as members of the team and the team must be led by either the Captain, 1st Mate or
a Specialist Soldier. Once outside the ship an away team is treated as a single soldier with the stat block from its
bestiary entry. If an away team is reduced to zero health during a game all crew members who were part of the
team must make a survival roll after the game.
Experience: Space-scaped games add two items to the list of standard ways that players’ crews earn experience
from STARGRAVE games:
10 XP for each of an opponent’s ship’s systems that are reduced to zero health by the end of the game.
30 XP for reducing an opponent’s ship’s strain pool to zero .

Space-scaped scenarios will often feature scenario-specific ways for players to earn XP, just like planet-side play.

<<SIDEBAR>> “LINKED” SPACE-SCAPED & PLANET-SIDE GAMES

[11]
Adding spaceships and space-scape play to your STARGRAVE games opens up the possibility of linking together
two or more space-scape and planet-side games within a single narrative arc or with a single objective. For
example, players could undertake a mission that requires them to play through a space-scaped game where their
ships fight through a pirate-held sector of space to reach a particular planet, then play a planet-side scenario
where they send their crews down to that planet to secure an objective and then play a second space-scape game
where the crew that has the objective has to fly to the other end of the board while the second crew attempts to
hijack the objective off the first crew’s ship before it leaves the board/sector. Though this supplement doesn’t
provide ready-made, linked space-scape and planet-side scenarios, the author enthusiastically encourages players
to create their own!

“LEVELING-UP” - IMPROVEMENTS FOR SPACESHIPS

Spaceships can be given “leveling-up”-like improvements, but these come from spending credits NOT from
allocating experience points. In between games, a player may make ONE of the following improvements to her
spaceship by paying the cost of that improvement: give the ship a new power for 400 cr, or increase one of the
ship’s stats for 300 cr, or reduce the activation roll by one for one power the ship already has for 200 cr. The
player pays the cost of the improvement but the improvement doesn’t take effect until the ship sits out one
planet-side game while the shipyard makes the improvement.

SPACE-SCAPE SCENARIOS
This section offers three scenarios for space-scape games in the standard STARGRAVE scenario format. Per that
format, refer to the “space-ti-ary” section of the supplement for details the space-scape creatures that are used in
the scenarios:

SCENARIO 1
A RED-ZONE RUN
In a seedy tavern, on a planet widely regarded as a “rabid hole full of scuzz and vitriol,” two freelance crews learn
about a long-abandoned, remote biostation. The station is reputed to have scientific records pointing to a rare
plant that can yield a powerful narcotic. If true such a plant would have hold great pharmaceutical value. The
crews are even able to obtain an encrypted data key that can reputedly unlock and upload the planet-side
station’s data from orbit via tightband comms. Sounds like a “milk run,” yeah? But… no. The hitch is that the
planet on which the bio-station sits is deep in what’s called a “red zone:” a sector of space controlled by a pirate
warlord.
Set-Up:
Place one medium-sized planet in the center of the board and have players pre-determine its orbital path. Three
data loot tokens should be placed on the rim of the planet, equidistant from each other.
The table should otherwise be populated, medium-densely, with any selection of space-scape terrain players
desire and agree on.
Players decide which of their crew are on board the ship for the game. Players then make an initiative roll to
determine set up order. The player who wins the roll can choose either to pick the table edge for ship set up or
place her ship on the table first. The player who places her ship on the table second must place it on the same
table edge as her opponent and cannot place it within 9” of the other ship.
Special Rules:
At the start of every turn, one of the players makes a pirate patrol check with a TN of 9. If the roll fails, a pirate
ship enters the board in the center of a randomly-determined table edge. Each turn the roll succeeds, the TN
increases by 1 for the duration of the game. If the die roll for the pirate patrol check is a 1 or a 2 a warlord’s ship
appears instead of a pirate ship; this only happens once per game. Pirate Spaceships and Warlord Spaceships
activate in the creature phase and employ the tactics laid out in their “space-ti-ary” entries.

[12]
If a crew successfully unlocks a data loot token, the player may choose to have her crew’s Captain or 1 st Mate
make a Will roll with a TN of 12. If the roll is successful, then that loot token contains the bio-station’s scientific
data.
The game ends after 7 turns or if both players’ ships are removed from the game.
Treasure & Experience:
The loot token that contains the bio-station’s scientific data gives the player who secures it three (3) rolls on the
loot table.
+20 XP for identifying the bio-station’s scientific data packet.

SCENARIO 2
SALVAGING “G.A.R.D.A.”
What are the chances of two crews happening upon the same salvage opportunity at the same time? Well, space
is vast, but also FULL of wonders… A formerly prominent planet completely ravaged by the war is still protected
by an autonomous orbital defense station. The station itself is chock-full of valuable salvage, but the crews must
bypass the station defenses – do the two ships cooperate to defeat those defenses, or compete with each other
hoping to be the one left standing to secure the salvage?
Set-Up:
Place one medium-sized planet in the center of the board and have players determine its orbital path. Place a
Geo-stationed Autonomous Remote Defense Array (GARDA) miniature in contact with the edge of the planet.
Place two physical loot tokens under the GARDA miniature. Place two physical loot tokens on the rim of the
planet, equidistant from each other and from the GARDA. The table should otherwise be populated, fairly
densely, with any selection of space-scape terrain players desire and agree on.
Players decide which of their crew are on board the ship for the game. Players then make an initiative roll to
determine set up order. The player who wins the roll can choose to set up first or second. The player who sets up
first chooses a table edge and places her mini anywhere on the board in contact with that edge. The player who
sets up second chooses any other table edge and places her mini anywhere on the board in contact with that edge
that is not within 8” of the first player’s mini.
Special Rules:
The two loot tokens placed under the GARDA represent the salvage value of the station and move with the
miniature.
The GARDA activates in the creature phase and employs the tactics laid out in its “space-ti-ary” entry.
The game ends after 7 turns or if both players’ ships are removed from the game.
Treasure & Experience:
Any physical loot token from the GARDA gives the player who secures it two rolls on the loot table.
+20 XP for each loot token procured from the GARDA
+30 XP for reducing the GARDA to zero health

SCENARIO 3
AN UNCLASSIFIED, FIRST-CONTACT OBJECT
Two freelance crews on separate smuggling runs using a little-used space-lane have a close encounter with what
is likely a new alien phenomenon. The crews will have to decide if the alien comes in peace or whether to shoot
first and ask questions later. Either way, the alien encounter is a high-value proposition for any crew that acquires
data or new tech or biotech from it, or delivers it, “dead or alive,” to a planetary government or sector warlord.
Set-Up:

[13]
The ships are traveling along an established space-lane, so even though this route isn’t much used anymore,
terrain on the table should be sparse, without any planets or wormholes.
Place a token in the center of the board. to represent an unclassified first-contact object (UFO.
Players make an initiative roll. The winner of the roll gets to choose either the table edge the players’ ships will
start from or to place her ship first. Then, the first player places her ship anywhere touching the chosen table-
edge. The second player places her ship anywhere on the selected no closer than 8” to the other ship. Both ships
begin the game with an unlocked data loot token.
Special Rules:
At the start of the creature phase in turn 1, one player rolls a die to determine what the UFO really is: 1-7 =
Silicate Space-Squid, 8-12 = Xeno-fungal Spore-oid, 13-20 = Mysterious Xeno-craft. Replace the UFO token with an
appropriate miniature for the creature rolled. The creature activates in that creature and every subsequent
creature phase unless reduced to zero health and employs the tactics laid out in its “space-ti-ary” entry.
The game ends after 7 turns or if both players’ ships are removed from the game.
Treasure & Experience:
+20 XP for each loot token procured
+30 XP for reducing the UFO-turned-creature to zero health

“SPACE-TI-ARY”
Below is a “bestiary” (or “space-ti-ary” as this author likes to call it) with write-ups for the six creatures featured in
this supplement’s three space-scaped scenarios.
Space-scape play creatures often have powers and power-like abilities. These powers are treated as core for the
purposes of any required activation rolls.

Away Team
“We’ve salvaged the schematic data from the derelict battlecruiser but we’re taking heavy plasma fire from pirate
boarders! Teleport us back to the ship before we run out of ‘red-suits’!” Away teams are groups of three or more
ship’s crew (either players’ crews or “NPC” creatures) operating outside the environs of a ship in space-scaped
games (Away teams are NEVER used in planet-side play - in these games a player’s crew of miniatures ARE the
away team!) Away teams can conduct all manner of operations including hard-suited “spacewalks” in the vacuum
of space, on a salvageable derelict or an asteroid, performing a boarding action or flying a short-range shuttle
down to a planet’s surface on a retrieval mission, et. al.
Regardless of an away team’s mission or objective, they activate during the phase when the crew member leading
the away team activates, be it the Captain, 1st Mate or a Specialist Soldier; Independent “NPC” or “creature”
away teams activate in the Creature Phase. When activated and making attacks or using powers, an away team’s
range is ALWAYS limited to 1”. Away teams suffer a -2 damage modifier to all attacks; if this takes the damage
they would otherwise inflict below zero then no damage is suffered by the target. Away team led by a Captain or
1st Mate can use their leaders powers, but CANNOT use any powers that are Core to the Psionicist background
and can only use powers that target Self Only (NO “Self Only or...”) or thar target loot tokens or figures carrying
loot tokens. Powers, power-like abilities and attacks that cause an away team to move can only move the team a
maximum of 2”, regardless of what is written in the description of the power, ability or attack. If a player’s away
team is reduced to zero health during the course of the game, that player must make a roll on the Survival Table
for each and every crew member who was part of the away team during that game.
Away Team
M F S A W H Notes
1 0 0 9 0 8 Leader Activation; 1” Range Cap; -2 Damage; Limited Usable Powers,Movement Cap; Survival Table

[14]
 Geo-stationed Autonomous Remote Defense Array (G.A.R.D.A.)
As the Endwar approached, the combatants no longer had the military resources to mount offensives AND defend
homeworlds or perceived territorial gains. Geo-stationed Autonomous Remote Defense Arrays or GARDAs were
an attempt to “do more with less.” GARDAs were designed to be simple, powerful robotic defense systems that
could put out a lot of firepower for a short period of time, hopefully eliminating or driving off attackers before the
array’s ammunition was spent. GARDAs were placed in orbit around strategically valuable planets where they’ve
remained since the Endwar. The vast majority of these stations have broken down and burned up in reentry after
their orbits have decayed and so the very existence of this defense system has been largely forgotten. But a few of
these stations have remained operational long past their expected service expiration date.
Operational GARDAs don’t know how to interpret the ID signals of the present-day spacecraft and so, in
accordance with their programming, treat all unknown craft as hostile. A GARDA use Adrenaline Surge every time
it activates until its health drops below 12. At the first opportunity it will project an intervening Wall of Force
between it and what it predicts is its enemy’s main axis of attack. It will then deploy a drone and as each drone is
deployed it will deploy an additional drone. If its health drops below 10 it will use Repair Robot on itself and
attempt to raise its health above 10.
Geo-stationed Autonomous Remote Defense Array (GARDA)
M F S A W H Notes
3” 0 +3 14 0 20 Robot; Grenade Launcher-type and Flamethrower-type weapons; Must remain in orbit (in contact with
the rim) of the planet-like terrain where deployed; Powers: Adrenaline Surge, Drone, Repair Robot,
Target Lock, Wall of Force

Mysterious Xeno-Craft
Many forms of intelligent life travel the spaceways and not all of them are known or care to disclose their
motives, goals or the limits of their tech. Ply the spaceways long enough and you might encounter an enigmatic
craft and crew of unknown origin: a mysterious “xeno-craft.” While spacecraft with unknown origins usually
appear unique, they frequently evidence remarkably similar characteristics: they’re usually fast, do not seem to
employ offensive weaponry, have advanced stealth capabilities and can move unpredictably by warping
spacetime. Xeno-craft are always bent on acquiring data and employ hacks and viruses that can sever data
packets from the memory banks of other spacecraft.
Xeno-craft will use their moves to try to maintain a position equally proximal to all players’ ships in the sector.
Their advance stealth technology works like the power Camouflage except that it requires no activation roll and in
order to establish line of sight to the xeno-craft within 12” a successful Will roll must be made against a TN of 12.
At any opportunity, a xeno-craft will use its Bait & Switch power to try to force a target to let go of a data loot
token, which the xeno-craft will then attempt to acquire and transport out of the sector (by moving off the
furthest board edge) under the cover of chaff, jammers and other electronic countermeasures deployed via
grenade-like mine laying.
Mysterious Xenoship
M F S A W H Notes
5” +3 +3 10 +4 14 Robot; Grenade-type weapon (smoke only); Stealth technology, Powers: Bait & Switch

Pirate Spaceship
The spaceways of the ravaged galaxy are rife with pirate spaceships crewed by violent opportunists. When
outgunned, pirates would rather run and live to plunder another day, but frequently they raid in groups under the
banner of a warlord. Pirate spaceships are usually not the most advanced ships around, but their tactics are to
have pairs of ships work in tandem and use tractor beams and speed boosts to run down their prey. In game, once
a pirate spaceship closest to a player’s mini reacts to that mini, it will not voluntarily switch targets. Furthermore,
the pirate spaceship on the board closest to that first pirate spaceship will immediately zero-in on the target of
the first pirate spaceship, ignoring all other potential targets; this will happen regardless of whether the second

[15]
pirate spaceship was on the board when the first ship zeroed in on its target. Once a second ship zeroes in on a
target it will also not voluntarily switch targets. Anytime a pirate spaceship’s target is out of range of its weapons
it will use its tractor beam Pull power to close the distance.

Pirate Spaceship
M F S A W H Notes
4 +1 +1 10 +1 12 Robot; Carbine-type weapon; Formation tactics; Powers: Pull

Silicate Space-Squid
“Space squid” is the name given to an unusual intelligent, non-organic life form found throughout the galaxy.
Space squids are silicate-based creatures with a 3” long, 2” wide teardrop-shaped organic brain housed in a dense
shell from which a 4” diameter web of silicate nano-filaments radiates. Aggressive predators with only crude
sensory perception, space squids frequently mistake spacecraft as prey.
Space squids will pursue the nearest spacecraft, attempting to disable it with an Electromagnetic Pulse. If the
squid can get its target within its web of nanofilaments, those filaments act as a Void Blade, which the squid uses
to attempt to “crack the shell” of its prey, seeking energetic and chemical nutrition on which to subsist.
Silicate Space Squid
M F S A W H Notes
3” +3 +1 11 0 20 Animal; Silicate nano-filament web; Powers: Electromagnetic Pulse, Void Blade

Xeno-fungal Spore-oid
Xeno-fungal spore-oids are colonies of space fungus living on asteroids hurtling through space. These colonies
spray spores far and wide as they travel, seeking to propagate themselves by landing spores on organic matter
where they can more easily sprout into new colonies of fungus.
Xeno-fungal spore-oids are 2” diameter asteroids with an orbital movement trajectory. The colony moves its full
move along this path each turn as a free action and can then use its movement allotment to vector to the left or
right of its trajectory in an effort to get closer to fertile targets for its spores. Spore-oids will spray spores on
spacecraft. These spores are able to penetrate hulls and infest life support systems harming the target ship itself if
it Is techno-organic and otherwise harming a ship’s commander-during-play the same as if it had the power Life
Leech. If attacked, the spore-oid will defend itself by attempting to use Destroy Weapon against its assailant,
shooting streams of caustic spores that dissolve wiring, melt plastic and instantly oxidize metal. If spaceships
maneuver behind planet-like terrain leaving the spore-oid with no targets for its propagating spore spray, the
colony can emit a narcotic mist of spores that penetrate the hulls of ships and infect life support systems, sending
crews into a mind-fogging euphoria that acts as the Suggestion power, telling them to fly closer to the spore-oid.
Xenofungal Spore-oid
M F S A W H Notes
3” 0 +2 11 +2 16 Animal; Always has cover from asteroid “midden,” Powers: Destroy Weapon, Life Leech, Suggestion

Warlord’s Spaceship
Warlords are powerful leaders who dominate whole planetary systems or sectors. Because only the richest, most
successful pirates become warlords, their personal spaceships are always more advanced and powerful than
those of their rank-and-file, possessing rapid-fire weapons, cloaking devices, shields and computer targeting
systems. Warlord Spaceships always enter the board with their Camouflage and Energy Shield powers already
successfully activated. Warlord spaceships use hacking systems more sophisticated than the typical pirate
spaceship to focus on plundering valuable data. When a Warlord Spaceship encounters a soldier carrying a data

[16]
loot token it will use its Bait & Switch power to free up that data. It will then attempt to secure that data and play
keep away with it, sending it to an allied Pirate Spaceship using Data Jump anytime this is possible.
Warlord’s Spaceship
M F S A W H Notes
4” +3 +3 13 +3 16 Robot; Rapid Fire-type weapon; Pirate Spaceships count as a Warlord Spaceship’s “crew;” Powers:
Adrenaline Surge, Camouflage, Data Jump, Energy Shield, Target Designation

ENDNOTE: SPACESHIPS IN STARGRAVE PLAYER COMMUNITY OPEN DESIGN INVITATION

The author of Spaceships in STARGRAVE openly invites the gaming community to contribute to the evolution and
improvement of this home-brewed expansion. This invitation is specifically aimed at players of STARGRAVE and at
players experienced in Joseph A. McCullough’s similar games - Frostgrave, Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago and
Rangers of Shadowdeep – with which STARGRAVE shares design philosophies and core mechanics. Please share
suggestions, critiques and playtesting data with this author - and our “ ‘grave games”community - towards the
goal of making this home-brewed supplement the most fun, balanced, appropriately-flavored experience it can
be.
In that spirit of collaboration, this author would like to share the design goals for Spaceships-as-Soldiers that have
driven his “brewing” to date. Below is a list of the intended advantages and disadvantages of players choosing to
use a spaceship in a planet-side game, in relation to other soldier choices. This “design board” pays particular
attention to comparing the choice of a spaceship to that of a Captain or 1 st Mate, since one of these will HAVE to
sit out the game to be the ship’s commander-during-play. It is the author’s hope that the open-design process can
test and refine the design principles on this list, especially in terms of fun and game balance:
SPACESHIP FEATURES/ADVANTAGES SPACESHIP LIMITATIONS/DISADVANTAGES/COSTS
3rd array of powers with lower non-core activation penalties Cannot engage in hand-to-hand/melee combat and thus also
increases crew tactical flexibility cannot tie-up or gang-up on enemy models
Allow the commander-during-play to earn XP Removes the Captain or 1st Mate from play
Better ranges and LOS than other Soldiers/crew Take up a Specialist crew slot
Elevated position provides a vantage point that negates most Can only affect treasure tokens with powers
terrain cover and concealment effects
More resilient to damage than Captain or 1 st Mate Can only activate one other Soldier instead of three (3)
Has a 0 cr recruitment cost Has an upkeep cost to be usable in planet-side games
Spaceship improvements cost credits instead of XP

[17]
 SPACESHIP SPECIFICATIONS SHEET
This reproducible sheet is for players to record the specs of their spaceships. It has designated
spaces for stats and 14 places to record powers and gear with boxes for max health and current health.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[18]
 SPACESHIPS IN STARGRAVE
SPACESHIP SPECIAL RULES SUMMARY SHEET
A player must make the decision to include their spaceship in a game BEFORE the scenario is determined BUT the
decision about whether to have their Captain or 1 st Mate be the commander-during-play and sit out the game is
made AFTER the scenario has been selected for play, representing a command decision about the role
requirements of the mission and who best fills those roles.
Spaceships cannot engage in melee combat.
Fight, Shoot and Will: During game play, a ship uses the Fight, Shoot and Will stats of its commander-during-play,
though a ship’s stats can grant bonuses or apply penalties to rolls using these stats.
Health: A spaceship has two types of “health:” strain pooland system health. Opponent attacks that target the
ship in general that cause damage reduce its strain pool and attacks that target and cause damage to specific
systems that operate weapons and powers reduce the health of those systems
A ship's power is considered “core” if the power being activated is a core power for its current commander-during-play.
The crew member acting as commander-during-play for a spaceship’s out-of-game powers CANNOT use their own
out-of-game powers.
If a player chooses to include a spaceship in a planet-side game, she must first spend 50 cr in maintenance and
upkeep costs.
When a player is deploying her crew on the board at the beginning of the game, she places her spaceship
anywhere on the table. ‘
Spaceships are activated during the phase in which their commander-during-play – the Captain or 1st Mate –
would normally activate, and the ship’s activation takes the place of that commander-during-play’s activation (a
Captain or 1st Mate in the role of commander-during-play CANNOT themselves move, shoot, fight or use their own
powers during spaceship activation.) A spaceship may also activate ANY one (1) friendly crew member on the
board during its activation phase (instead of the usual three ).
Spaceship movement does not involve changes in altitude, except for the ancillary effects of a horizontal move
putting their flight stand on top of terrain. A ship’s move MUST end with its flight stand sitting securely on the
table. If an intended move cannot end with stable flight stand placement, the player must modify her intended
move to produce secure placement.
When spaceships are targeting powers and weapons, only rock, metal, masonry and other “hard” geological and
structural elements can block Spaceship LOS; ship powers and weapons ignore smoke, foliage and other forms of
“soft cover” or “soft concealment” when determining LOS
If a player’s spaceship strain tolerance is reduced to zero, it is removed from play for the rest of the current game;
after the game the player rolls for the ship on the Spaceship Survival Table.
Spaceship gear and the systems that operate powers function normally as long as the system has even a single
point of health. However, those points do NOT replenish between games unless players repair these systems by
spending credits, using powers or having their ship sit out planet-side games (providing crew with time to make
repairs at no cost). Out-of-game repairs cost 5 credits/point of health restored for each system and 10 cr/point of
strain pool restored. Some powers (eg Repair Robot) can be used out-of-game to repair spaceships. Finally for
each planet-side game a player plays WITHOUT using her ship, one point of damage is repaired for every damaged
system and accumulated strain is reduced by one point.
in space-scape play, 16” flight stands are NOT used for spaceship minis. If any player prefers, for aesthetic
reasons, that their mini sit on a short flight stand (2” or less) they may choose to mount their mini accordingly –

[19]
this has no in-game effect beyond some potentially slight changes to LOS in relation to planetary body-type
terrain that doesn’t provide significant tactical advantage.
Crew aboard ships in space-scape play: Before a space-scape game, players must identify which of their crew will
be aboard the ship for the game. At a minimum, they must have either their Captain or 1 st Mate aboard as
commander-during-play. Any crew NOT aboard the ship avoid the risk of being injured should the ship be required
to roll on the spaceship survival table, but crew that sit out a space-scaped game MUST also sit out the next
planet-side game. (This represents the time/effort required for those crew members to rendezvous with the ship
from wherever they are during the space-scape game when they are not on board.) Crew who are not on board
the ship do not have to roll on their survival table if the ship is reduced to zero strain pooland removed from the
game. However, crew who were not on board the ship during space-scape play CANNOT level-up or otherwise
benefit from experience earned during that game.
The distances in space-scape play are so great that crew members’ powers have no effect beyond the ship they’re
crewing and the other crew or creatures on board their ship. Crew may use their powers during the appropriate
activation phase if those powers can affect the ship they’re on board as a soldier, however, eg a Captain or 1 st
Mate using Repair Robot to fix damage.
In space-scape play: Spaceships and other constructed objects do not block line-of-sight or provide cover

[20]