Combat in Star Trek

Combat in Star Trek

There are lots of different gaming systems available for Star Trek. The goals of creating this set of rules was to create a simple system that has the feel of the battles seen in the TV series and the early movies. Currently the setting covered is from the The Original Series (TOS) to the end of the movies based on TOS.  These will be extended into the The Next Generation (TNG) and Deep Space 9 (DS9) era in time. But at the moments it’s the Kirk era that is covered.

One thing that a lot of other systems have done is to add a lot of systems that we never see on the TV. For example Starfleet Battles added a lot of rules for drones, though these are never seen.  And actually there are already guided missiles in the form of the photon torpedo. The same for transporter bombs and fighters though plausible they are never really seen so will not be included.

So we will stick to the basic systems & weapons for the classic era these being:

Phasers

Phasers were the most common and standard directed energy weapon in the arsenal of Starfleet and several other powers. Most phasers were classified as particle weapons and fire nadion particle beams. These cannot be used at warp. Range 300,000 km.

Photon Torpedoes

Photon torpedoes were warp-capable tactical matter / antimatter semi guided missile weapons commonly deployed aboard starships and starbases by various organizations. Range 750,000 km. There are several classes with different yields for example antimatter & quantum. Torpedoes can also have two types of fuses.

Disruptors

Disruptor is the designation of several types of weapons in common use among many races in the galaxy including the  Klingons, & Romulans. Thought originally called sonic disruptors the lack of sound in space makes the original description implausible. Instead there are matter disruptors that break the atomic bonds at the molecular level. The disruptor is shorter ranged and has a lower rate of fire but discharges more destructive energy. Range 200,000 km.

Plasma Torpedoes

Plasma torpedos are a type of powerful torpedo weapon based on enveloping high-energy plasma. It was employed by various military forces, including those of the Romulans. Plasma torpedos lose destructive energy with range. Guidance of the weapon is unclear, but in Balance of Terror the weapon does track the Enterprise to some degree as it reverses course. Range up to 200,000 km.

Deflector Shields

Deflector shields or screens these were originally designed to deflect space debris at relativistic speeds. Neither matter nor highly concentrated energy could normally penetrate a shield. When shields were “up,” or energized at a high level, most matter or energy that came into contact with the shields was harmlessly deflected away. When the shields were up, only minor hull damage would be expected during combat. In the 23rd and 24th century. Continuous or extremely powerful energy discharges could progressively dissipate the integrity of a shield to the point of failure. Shields were said to be “holding” if damage was not sufficient enough to allow a compromise; if the shields were “buckling” or “failing,” then a total loss of shield protection was imminent.

Cloaking DEVICE 

Cloaking device also known as a cloaking system, cloaking shield or invisibility screen, was a form of stealth technology that used selective bending of light (and other forms of energy) to render a starship or other object completely invisible to the electromagnetic spectrum and most sensors.

Tractor Beam

Tractor beam or stabilizing beam was an attenuated linear graviton beam used by starships and space stations to control the movement of external objects.

Sensors

Sensors also referred to aboard starships as subspace sensors or sensor probes, was used to refer to any device that was used to scan, record, or otherwise observe any aspect of an environment surrounding a starship, space station, or person. 

Sensor Probe referred to a specific type of automated probe, used by Starfleet.

Sensor Lock required before being able to accurately target weapons as in “Locking phasers on target”

Transporters

Used to move people and materials from ship to ship or ship to planet. They are sometimes used offensively to beam a boarding party onto another ship as seen in The Search For Spock and the Borg in The Best of Both Worlds. They are not used to beam offensive weapons onto other ships or space and then detonating them. In The Balance of Terror the Romulan commander uses disposal tubes to jettison the nuclear warheads not a transporter.

Transporters have a limited range. They can’t be used at warp, due to the range and warp bubble blocking the transporter lock. They can’t be used through deflector shields as they block the transporter signal, as do transporter inhibitors.

Simplified boarding actions will be possible but it’s not going to be fought out like Space Crusade.