Encounter One - back in print!

 Is there still a market for home published rules booklets ?

Way back in the mists of time, a lot of wargames rules were published by their authors as A5 stapled booklets with card covers, black and white text, and minimal illustrations. They might include a printed card quick reference sheet.

They were often sold by mail order or at games shows that the authors were attending. Some of them sold well enough to be stocked by games shops or miniatures producers.

Now most gamers have internet access and a home printer, so digital downloads seem to have the market covered. 

Over the years I have published a few wargames rules that have been freely available online as pdf documents. 

Recently, I printed off a small batch of the new edition of Encounter One. 

My primary intention is to gift copies to people that have helped or encouraged the project, secondary is to have some rule sets available when I play the game for new players to pick up. If there are any left after that, I would offer them for sale and hope to recover some of my costs. Mainly, I would just like to see people playing the game.

Would you buy a printed rule set, even if you can download the rules for free then print it yourself? 

What would you consider a reasonable price?

A5 stapled rules booklet, card cover, black and white, 42 pages + A4 card Quick Reference Sheet. 

Encounter One - Fleet Design Factions and Races

The Empire are my faction of choice. Their approach to ship design is Peace through Superior Fire Power. Bigger ships and more of them. My Empire ships follow a traditional design approach harking back to wet navies when Battleships ruled the waves and Gunboat Diplomacy was standard policy. They have the resources and infrastructure that allows for assembly-line production of warships. Unfortunately, that also makes it more difficult for them to change production or produce new designs. 

The Empire's Arrow missile has good range and accuracy making it an effective match for their Beam arrays. Their Fighters are inexpensive, so I have tended to include fighter bays on my warships rather than build dedicated carriers. If you like Star Wars or Warhammer, then the Empire could be a good fit for you.

The Federation may have the best equipment in the human sphere. They are versatile with access to most systems. Where the Empire will build a bigger ship and then more ships, the Federation will design and build a better ship. And then work on improving it. I have tended to associate the Federation with the authoritarian military regime from Blakes Seven. This was distinctly unfair as Encounter One's Federation are much closer to the progressive good guys of Asimov's Federation in opposition to the stratified conservatism and centralised control of the Empire.

I have come to expect Federation ships to make use of the special equipment such as Mirage Projectors and mine fields to sow confusion amongst their enemies. The Federation Bolt is the best in the game with longer range and better accuracy. As the Feds don't get Arrow missiles, Bolt fills the missile gap. Scatterpack may not be the wonder weapon it appeared in the earlier editions, but may still have some use at close range. Kennedy Fields are great in defence and can negate some other systems e.g. Tractors and Photon Torpedoes. The downside is, they reduce the effectiveness of your own fire and when your Kennedy Fields fail, they are likely to take out your ship too.  

If you like Star Trek, then the Feds may be a good fit for you.

Novans are utterly hostile aliens. Their focussed aggression and xenophobia make them very dangerous. Expect hyper-aggression from the Novans. Most of their ships are in the 20-35 mass 'Cruiser' range, and they fly them like fighters. Then Inertialess Drive lets them reset the table for their next attack run.  They lack Escorts and larger ships due to the cost penalty. Zen auto repair and Clever Metal make them hard to kill, they can soak up missile attacks and shrug them off, but Novan ships are expensive for their size. Their best weapon system is their Photon Torpedoes, unless going against Kennedy Fields. Their Dart is the best long range missile in the game. Fighters are cheap, so send them out in swarms.

ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK! KILL ALL THE HUMANS! EXTERMINATE!

Rim Raiders are chaotic but they are largely underpowered with few special weapons or defences. They excel in boarding actions. Their Farradyne Field will make a mockery of your grand fleet manoeuvres and shut down your fighters. Their Bolt is a decent weapon. Expect swarms of small ships, close action and prepare to repel boarders. Rim Raiders are the Pirates, Reivers, Star Vikings and Barbarians. Rim Raider ships are captured, re-built and bodged together. You can use a real mix of different styles including repurposed ships from other factions in a Rim Raider fleet.

Auregans are strange. It is never entirely clear whose side the Auregans are on, or even if they know which humans they are dealing with. Their distinct Morale rules can make them behave oddly. You can hire them as mercenaries, but they might not stay bought or commit themselves to battle. Their ships start at Mass 20 and get bigger, so manoeuvrability can be an issue. They have one decisive Ship Killer weapon system, but at most table top ranges it is pretty ineffective. They get masses of cheap defences and their Drones are effective. Their large mass can make weaponised Tractor Beams horribly effective, especially if several Auregans get in a tug-o-war. But for all their size, they are vulnerable to critical hits and they don't like to take damage.  

DO NOT POKE THE AUREGAN. 

The Great Houses are autonomous space faring factions within the Empire and Federation. Their policy tends to align with the Federation as they pursue their own interests rather than be subsumed by the great Powers. They have access to most systems and decent equipment at reasonable cost. If don't want to get embroiled in the almost constant strife between Empire and Federation, then a Great House fleet could be a good choice. You could create several Great House fleets, each with a distinctive style or design philosophy.

The Guild are a commercial alliance of merchant houses operating within the Empire and Federation. They pretty much regulate most trade between star systems. Most Guild vessels are commercial Merchants, Transporters, Bulk Carriers, Hydrogen Tankers, Luxury Passenger Liners and Low Berth Coffin Ships, Couriers, Salvage Tugs, and Free Traders. The Guild with the assistance of Minor Houses also operates Pirate Hunters, Customs Cutters, and Q-Ships. They have access to technology from the Empire and Federation, but their main drive is making a profit and conflict is costly. Disputes within the Guild are usually resolved by arbitration, litigation, stock exchange, or in extreme cases hostile take-over. Guild Merchant Houses operate the Jump Point Space Stations, Traffic Control and Hyperspace beacons necessary for travel between the stars. Attacks on Guild ships may result in harsh commercial penalties, blockade, boycott and/or restrictions of trade against the offending planets and their ships.  In theory Guild ships may only carry defensive armament, but it is not unknown for Guild captains to take up Privateering as a profitable sideline. The Guild will hire out ships to the Minor Houses and these may be armed as warships.  

If you are building a merchant fleet then use the Guild list.

The Minor Houses represent the smaller semi-autonomous cultures within the Empire. They lack the capacity to build their own starships, so must hire them from the Guild. In return, the Guild will employ Minor Houses as mercenaries to defend their merchant ships or carry out limited offensive operations. 

Encounter One - Ship Design

 Encounter One - Ship Design.

I must spend a lot more of my time designing ships than I do playing the game with them. Some of that is in refining existing designs, swapping out weapons or equipment, or fine tuning mass and points costs. I like symmetry in my ship diagrams and round numbers for the points and/or mass. The main reason that my Broadheads have two Dart Launchers is that they neaten the points cost off to 250 points! I can argue that My Empire has a tradition of putting a physical shot across the enemies bow before opening up with their Beam arrays, but it's a fairly weak justification. 

Most of the model ships I use are about as old as the rules. I bought them a long time ago and have played a few games with them. We have history, and I am fond of them. Also, I am trying to complete a collection, which is another hobby in itself. 

You can use whatever ships you have. There are loads of wonderful miniatures available now. Use what ever you like. 

My two main fleets are Empire and Novans. I really like the QT models designs for the Empire's ships and over the years I have acquired a fair fleet from QT and Citadel. My Novan's have a xenophobic predator focus that fits nicely with the old Citadel bio ships. They are getting harder to find now, and the price for Tyranid War Drones is ridiculous. I do have a small Federation fleet, but they are not favourites and I usually think of them as The Enemy.

I believe there are two main approaches to ship design. There may be others but these are what I have in mind. They are not exclusive and most players will use a combination to get the fleet they want to play.

1 - Miniatures driven. Pick out a model spaceship, decide its role and what equipment it ought to have, then design the layout to fit. You may have to trim some of the equipment to get it within mass or points value, but you should be able to design someway towards your concept. 

2 - Competition driven, Work out your strategy, design your ships to maximise their effectiveness, then pick out some miniatures to suit. 

My designs are mostly Miniatures Driven. I start with the model ship then work out what its role is and how it should be equipped. I tend to design my ships for general roles rather than to meet a specific enemy. My fleets are built around the model ships I have, not the ones I want. I still want them to be effective in a game, so there are elements of maximising their weapons. 

It is a huge advantage if you have some idea what your opponent is bringing to the table, or what their likely strategy is. If you don't know what you are likely to be up against, then you may need to generalise on your design and make allowance for Plan B.

These are some of my Design Guidelines. 

• Loading up on Shields is little help if the enemy is mainly armed with missiles. 
• If the enemy has a lot of fighters, then you need point defence and or your own fighters. 
• Loading up on Point Defence is a waste of points and mass if the enemy doesn't use missiles or fighters. 
• If you have Marines on board, be prepared to use them. Either to defend your ship or take the enemies ships.
• Kennedy Fields are game changers. Not only do they provide very effective defence against Beam and Missiles, they also nullify many of the other special weapons such as Photon Torpedoes or Tractor Beams. They can be beaten by concentrated fire and they have a very specific vulnerability. 
• Clever Metal provides a very effective defence against Hull damage from most Missiles, Scatter Pack and Mines. But it is expensive, even if you are playing Novans.
• Concentrate your Beams in Arrays. So consider six ST5 Beam launchers as a single ST30 Beam array. You can do this with missile batteries too. 
• I have a tendency to put my best weapons in the forward arc. This works reasonably well with more agile smaller ships, but is less handy for bigger ships. They may struggle to keep the pointy end towards the enemy. In this case, broadside batteries and turrets can be your friend.
• Smaller ships are more cost effective.
• Bigger ships look more impressive.
• Don't mix Missile systems on the same ship. Recalculating Hit probability for each weapon system can soon gets tedious. And yes, I know my own published designs break this rule. But, these may not be the ships I put on the table! 
• Don't poke the Auregan.

Have fun, design some ships and put them on the table. If you send me your designs, I will add them to the blog (with permission) as part of a Jaynes Spaceships.

 

Encounter One - Turning Gauge

 

Encounter One - Turning Gauge

A handy widget useful for manoeuvring your model space ships on the table top. This one can turn to Port or Starboard. Scale 1cm to 1 Metral. 

Print it to scale onto self adhesive label paper, stick to a suitable piece of card, mdf or plastic and then carefully cut it out.

Free download in *.pdf and *.gif format. Other formats can be made available on request.

E1_Turn_Gauge.pdf      pdf    52KB

E1_Turn_Gauge.gif        gif image   14KB     

If anyone has a laser cutter, I would be delighted if they could cut a couple for me!  

Encounter One - Factions Part 1

I had opportunity to discuss Encounter One's Timeline, Races (or Factions) and History with Malcolm Booth recently.

Hi Malcolm, 

just a quick query re Encounter One. Third edition introduced the Guild, Great Houses and Minor Houses. Apart from Photon Torpedoes, they don't say which stat line the new factions use on the missiles tables? 

I had followed the lead on Photon Torpedoes and used Empire stats for Great House Bolt and Federation stats for Guild and Minor Houses. Looking again, GH don't get Arrow like the Feds, so I wonder if they should have Fed Bolt?

On the same subject which Stats line should the new Factions use for Dart? 

Federation don't have Arrow or Drones so I used Empire stats for the new factions.

I am now thinking the Great Houses are aligned with the Federation. The Minor Houses align with Empire and the Guild can buy the best from both!

Malcolm:

It was sort of based on Dune to be honest, the Landsraad. The great houses provide a control over both the Empire and Federation - from memory in the history they grouped to stop a war between the two- and the minor houses just hope nobody gets annoyed at them 😊

It's a very long time since I read Dune. That does make sense with published time line in 3rd edition.

I was thinking of the Great Houses as autonomous star-faring cultures within the Empire and Federation.

They occupy multiple solar systems, but maintain treaties and mostly cordial relations with the great powers.

The Minor Houses have achieved space flight enough to occupy a few planetary systems, but need to hire their star ships from the Guild.

The Guild is a cooperative of Mercantile houses trading across the galaxy.

Malcolm followed up with an email giving a lot more info about the background to the game:

The question around the relationship between the Empire, Great Houses, and Minor Houses is a good one.

As I said, we were pretty much influenced by the social structure portrayed in Dune, with the Empire staring out as a Great House which became so powerful that it could not be challenged by any, or any grouping, of the other houses – so, in the potted history, House Corollan ‘…gains majority in the Council’, suggesting that they gathered sufficient support to become de facto rulers.

That sort of suggests that the ‘Empire’ is, in fact, a coalition of Great Houses, acting in concert, under the direction of one house, although the impression in the Dune universe is that House Corrino has become so powerful that it’s rule cannot be challenged.

To flesh out the Encounter One universe a little more you could imagine that House Corollan, rather than simply having influence over the other Great Houses, has in some way (marriage, purchase, intrigue) absorbed several of these Houses, together with their military infrastructure, to achieve a position of dominance which allowed them to declare themselves as an empire.

The timescale for this would be from -105PN, when the Great Convention is signed, to -10PN, when House Corollan declares itself as the first Terryan Galactic Empire, so around 950 years

The term ‘Galactic Empire’ was probably a bit grandiose, as the time scale from the first outward spread of colonisation would only be around 1,400 years.

Of course, once the improved hyper-space engine is developed (in year zero PN) you can imagine House Corollan, with its greater resources, getting the lion’s share of the new colonies and, more importantly, their resources, bolstering the empire’s position.

The Guild is, of course, a reference to the Spacing Guild in the Dune universe, except it doesn’t have the same monopoly on interstellar travel. I think your view of the Guild as a collection of mercantile houses is a good analogy, and if you use a Guild list then you are basically a Minor House which can’t source its own ships, rather than the Guild itself becoming involved in combat situations.

The Federation, as you say, is made up of newer systems operating in the periphery, but still part of the Empire. I think in this we were influenced by Asimov’s Foundation story line, with more progressive elements far from the centre of the Empire not being as influenced by tradition as the more established systems and pushing back against imperial influence. Systems which would have, over time, gained Minor House status but who don’t want to become embroiled in the politics of the Confederation of Great Houses in Council.

I think Minor Houses not being able to ally with the Federation sort of falls in with this, as you could imagine the Minor Houses, jealous of whatever influence they may have under the imperial social order, being wary of these ‘Johnny come lately’ peripheral systems who were threatening to turn the established order on its head.

The Great Houses, on the other hand, would be sure of their own position and would find common cause with the Federation if it suited their needs.

The Rim Raiders, from memory, were the outer systems and Minor Houses which were being persecuted by some faction and went rogue, suggesting they left their home system(s) for a more nomadic lifestyle (I think in the original edition the phrase was ‘fled to hide and flee again’)

Bottom line, we plagiarised everything from Dune to Star Wars, but fortunately neither Frank Herbert’s estate, Isaac Asimov’s estate, nor George Lucas have noticed. 😊

Re the Missile Tables: 

Stat lines for the new factions were missing from the missile tables in the 3rd edition rules. I added them to the 2021 digital edition but I was not sure that I got them right.

I think GH should use Fed Bolt, and G/HM should use Empire Bolt. 

Feds and GH don't use Arrow, and F don't use Drones. 

So that leaves Dart. I had Empire stats for GH & HM, and Fed stats for Guild!

These need to be Empire for Guild and House Minor, and Federation for Great Houses.

Malcolm:

I think what you’ve done makes sense. So Minor Houses have arrow, Feds are newer systems so don’t have it, Rim Raiders were rogue minor houses so do have it. And as you say, if anyone takes exception they can always flag it

I have now amended the missile tables and updated the rules.

Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
DART
E / G / HM	3	1	1	2	3	5	8	11	12	13
F / GH	4	2	1	2	7	12	13	14	14	14
N	5	3	2	3	6	9	14	16	17	17
PD%	-	-	-	10	15	20	25	35	50	70
ARROW
E / G / HM	18	16	17	16	14	12	10	8	5	2
A	17	15	13	10	7	4	1	-	-	-
N	16	14	12	10	7	4	1	-	-	-
RR	19	17	15	12	9	5	1	-	-	-
PD%	10	15	20	30	50	60	70	80	85	85

BOLT
E / G / HM	20	20	15	10	5	-	-	-	-	-
F / GH	20	20	20	17	10	3	2	-	-	-
N	20	18	15	11	6	-	-	-	-	-
RR	20	18	16	11	5	1	-	-	-	-
PD%	10	20	30	45	60	80	95	-	-	-
Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
DRONES
E/GH/G/HM	18	15	11	6	1	-	-	-	-	-
A	19	17	14	9	4	2	1	-	-	-
RR	17	14	10	4	1	-	-	-	-	-
PD%	5	10	20	35	50	75	90	-	-	-
Range:	20	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	180	200
PHOTON TORPEDOES
E/GH/G/HM	10	18	18	15	5	-	-	-	-	-
F	10	15	18	18	10	-	-	-	-	-
N	8	20	20	20	15	-	-	-	-	-
RR	10	18	15	10	-	-	-	-	-	-