This is primarily for those of you in the studio audience who aren't that familiar with Star Fleet Battles. I'm hoping that this'll make the page more fun and understandable.
I have simplified the definitions somewhat. I am leaving out most
of the exceptions and special cases SFB has generated over its 20 years
of life. If I put all those in, I might as well just post the game
rules, and that's about 1000 pages of reading.
Legend
Sometimes it's easiest to use a symbol than spell it out. I use:
# = any number or a set of numbers.
If I said "Phaser-#", I am talking about something which applies equally
to a Phaser-1, -2, -3, -G and any other phaser.
? = any letter in the same way # = any
number. If I write "plasma-?" I am referring to any or all plasma
torps, depending on the context.
SSD: = The topic's designation on a SSD comes next
| Impulse (also: IMP) | An impulse represents one "moment" of time in SFB. A turn in SFB is has 32 impulses in it. A starship can do a large number of things in a single impulse. There is a very specific order for when they are done. In brief: Movement comes first, then Impulse Activity, then Weapons fire. |
| Impulse Drive (SSD: IMP) | A fusion-based sublight drive carried by most starships. It provides energy and sometimes helps out with a ship's movement. A ship can never get more than 1 hex of movement from the impulse engines and it always costs 1 point of IMP power. It's a great deal for battleships and dreadnoughts, but it sucks for frigates and destroyers. |
| Phaser (SSD: P-# or PH-#) | An energy weapon used by most races. Phasers are used as "swing weapons", providing extra damage or defense as needed. Most non-phaser weapons have a harder time hitting drones and plasma torpedoes. Phasers are one of the few weapons which can affect a plasma torpedo at all. |
| Phaser-1 (SSD: P-1 or PH-1) | The P-1 is the best all-around shipboard phaser, second only to the P-G in potential power and has the best range. Firing at close range, a ship's P-1's contribute as much or more damage as its heavy weapons. |
| Phaser-2 (SSD: P-2 or PH-2) | A phaser-2 is an older-tech heavy phaser still used by a few races. Its range and power is about halfway between the P-1 and P-3, but it costs the same amount of energy to charge as a P-1. Wherever you see a P-2 on a ship, you can bet there's someone (probably a bunch of someones) wishing it were a P-1. |
| Phaser-3 (SSD: P-3 or PH-3) | This weapon is a short-range defensive phaser. While it can be fired at a ship (and sometimes is) captains often keep their P-3's in reserve against the unexpected. |
| Phaser-4 (SSD: P-4 or PH-4) | The one phaser that is so powerful that ships can't mount it. It range and power both dwarf the P-1. It is used extensively on larger bases (Base stations, Battle Stations, Starbases). The phasers often worry attacking starship captains more than the heavy weapons on the base. |
| Phaser-G (SSD: P-G or PH-G) | The Gatling Phaser is a Hydran invention and is mostly used on their ships. (Orion Pirates use captured Hydran P-Gs) The P-G fires four pulses of energy, each of which is identical to a P-3 shot. A P-G can fire any number of pulses at one time, making it much more powerful than the P-1 at extremely close range. Captains dream of using a P-G offensively, but end up having to use it defensively. The Hydrans mount P-Gs on their fighters, making them some of the nastiest around. Some Federation fighters carry P-G's too. |
| Phaser-M (SSD: P-M or PH-M) | A simulator weapon that represents the largest phaser that could possibly work on a ship. It's always an add-on, with one or two P-M's in a "wing" attached to the ship. They use a limited firing arc identical to the mauler. |
| "Pop the Weasel" | SFB slang for launching a Wild Weasel. |
Go back to Vorlonagent's Main Page
Drop a line to Vorlonagent.