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nians, and better yet, he<br />
was still alive! What<br />
could top this?<br />
A clanking noise<br />
resounded throughout<br />
the cramped life pod,<br />
and Basaam nearly<br />
jumped out of his flight<br />
suit. Were the slimy<br />
Draconians back for<br />
revenge? If so, trapped<br />
in this life pod, he was<br />
74<br />
Defense Systems<br />
Normally, jamming and dodging are the<br />
only ways to avoid being hit by tracking<br />
warheads (besides just running away—<br />
from torpedoes at least). These options provide<br />
other defenses that can be used against<br />
both missiles and torps.<br />
Decoys<br />
Decoys are small pods which, when successfully<br />
deployed, can fool tracking torps<br />
into homing in on them instead of the target<br />
vessel.<br />
A ship can deploy a single decoy during<br />
the Torp Results Phase instead of trying to<br />
jam a torp. Immediately after a decoy is<br />
deployed, roll 1D4 for each torp currently<br />
tracking the deploying vessel.<br />
On a roll of 1 or 2, the torp is removed<br />
from the map (e.g., it has decided to track<br />
the decoy and detonates harmlessly). On a<br />
roll of a 3 or 4, the torp was not fooled by<br />
the decoy and continues to track the target,<br />
though it is still susceptible to decoy<br />
deployments in later turns.<br />
A decoy is only effective on the turn that<br />
it is deployed. Also, decoys from one ship<br />
do not affect torps tracking other vessels.<br />
Starcraft that have decoys carry a limited<br />
number of them. Keep track of their<br />
use, marking them off on the Starcraft Display<br />
as you deploy them. Once they’re all<br />
used up, they’re gone. Additionally, every<br />
time a ship takes a critical hit, it loses a<br />
decoy (i.e., in addition to any other damage,<br />
the crit knocks out one of the vessel’s<br />
remaining decoys).<br />
Point-Defense<br />
Weapon Systems<br />
Most ships are equipped with point-defense<br />
weapons: low-power, rapid-fire lasers<br />
and miniguns. These small-scale cannons<br />
can be used in last-ditch efforts to blow<br />
away incoming missiles and torps. With<br />
these systems, slower fighters and gunboats—which<br />
can’t dodge torps—actually<br />
have a chance to avoid incoming warheads.<br />
Point Defenses vs. Torps<br />
A properly equipped ship can use its<br />
point-defense weapon systems to attack<br />
torpedoes entering its hex instead of trying<br />
to dodge them. During the Torp Results<br />
Phase, roll 1D10 for each torp attacking the<br />
ship. If the roll is within the point-defense<br />
system’s kill spread (as indicated on the<br />
ship’s Starcraft Display), the torp is destroyed<br />
before it detonates, causing the ship<br />
no damage.<br />
Point Defenses vs. Missiles<br />
A ship can use its point-defense system<br />
against incoming missiles, too, provided<br />
that the point-defense system was not already<br />
used that turn (i.e., against torps<br />
during the Torp Results Phase). During the<br />
Missile Results Phase, roll 1D10 for each<br />
separate salvo of (either 5 or 10) missiles<br />
attacking the ship. If the point-defense roll<br />
is within the kill spread, that die roll is the<br />
number of missiles destroyed from that
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