Scenery
While the void of space doesn't have as much scenery as a typical wargame, there are still plenty of opportunities for things to get in the way of your carefully laid plans!
Orbital Debris
Orbiting every inhabited planet are many thousands of objects ranging from space junk and wreckage through to satellites and mighty bastions of defence and commerce. In Dropfleet Commander these areas and obstacles are grouped into three distinct categories: Debris Fields, Planetary Rings and Large Solid Objects.
Debris Fields
There are two types of Debris Field in Dropfleet Commander: Fine and Dense. These fields are typically 6" by 3" but feel free to make the fields as large as you dare!
When Debris Fields are placed on the battlefield they are considered to be in both High and Low Orbit, any ship that moves or turns within a field will receive damage from the various objects. Resolve the damage as soon as the ship moves or turns within the field. Only roll once per ship per field per turn – if a ship moves through multiple fields in the same turn then roll separately for each.
Ships shooting at a target through/in the field have the Lock of their weapon systems modified and their scan values reduced (to a minimum of 0") due to the debris. If the target is obscured by over 6" of Debris Field(s), then they are considered out of range and no weapon systems may be fired against them.
Planetary Ring
Planetary Rings are vast celestial phenomena that surround many planets. In game terms they are represented by an infinitely thin line that crosses the battlefield. They are only in high orbit so ships may drop to low orbit or atmosphere to avoid their effects. A Planetary Ring reduces the scan of any ship attempting to fire a weapon system through it by 6" and increases the weapon systems Lock by +1.
If a ship moves through a planetary ring while the ship is in high orbit, it will receive 2 Lock 2+ hits with 1 Damage.
Large Solid Objects (LSOs)
These are most commonly large asteroids or even small moons. They should be approximately 2" to 6" in radius and occupy both High and Low Orbit. Ships cannot fire weapons through LSO's on the same orbital layers and ships on Active Scan orders may not place spikes on ships behind LSO's. If a ship or token would move over any part of an LSO they are removed from play.
Orbital Debris and Launch Assets
Launch Assets are just as vulnerable to the effects of Orbital Debris as ships and as such the following rules apply. If a Launch Asset is moved through a Fine Debris Field it is removed on a 1D6 roll of a 3 or more, and if it moves through a Dense Debris Field it is removed on a 1D6 roll of a 5 or more. Roll once per token.
If a ship with Launch Asset tokens on it enters any Debris Field, roll immediately to see if the tokens are removed, then roll to damage the ship as normal.
| Debris Field | Damage to ships entering | Lock Penalty | Scan Penalty | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lock | Attack | Damage | |||
| Fine | 3+ | 2 | 1 | +1 | -6" |
| Dense | 2+ | 2 | 1 | +2 | -12" |
| Planetary Ring | 2+ | 2 | 1 | +1 | -6" |
Space Stations
In Dropfleet Commander we refer to these constructs large enough to interact with as 'Space Stations'. For simplicities sake we group these into three categories: Small, Medium and Large. Space Stations are treated as ships in game (in that they can be targeted etc) although they do not move and follow the exceptions below.
Space Stations are always deployed in Low Orbit unless stated otherwise in the Scenario and may not change Orbital Layer.
Space Stations cannot move, turn, or be turned.
Space Stations cannot become Crippled, or suffer Crippling Damage.
Space Stations cannot gain Spikes.
Due to their size Space Stations can absorb substantial damage before being destroyed. The following table shows the characteristics of the Space Stations as similar to ships. When they are reduced to 0 Hull points they are removed from play along with any Ground Asset tokens on board. They do not roll for Catastrophic Damage.
| Name | Scan | Sig | Thrust | Hull | A | PD | G | T | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Space Station | 6" | 4" | 0" | 8 | 3+ | 5 | - | - | - |
| Medium Space Station | 6" | 6" | 0" | 12 | 3+ | 8 | - | - | - |
| Large Space Station | 6" | 8" | 0" | 16 | 3+ | 12 | - | - | - |
Many Space Stations come equipped with military grade defences to protect them from a multitude of threats. A Space Station can have any number of weapon systems mounted on it but the scenario will dictate which weapon systems, if any, a Space Station has. These weapons may be fired by the Controlling Player at the start of the Launch Assets phase (if multiple players control Space Stations then resolve the firing in Initiative Order). The weapons on a Space Station are shown on the right and each scenario will list which weapons each Space Station is using. These weapons do not need to be represented on the model as they change between scenarios. These are suggested weapon systems - feel free to invent your own for custom scenarios!
| Type | Lock | Attack | Damage | Arc | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Driver Armament | 3+ | 2 | 1 | F/S/R | - |
| Laser Armament | 3+ | 2 | 1 | F/S/R | Burnthrough (4), Flash |
| Missile Armament | 3+ | 4 | 1 | F/S/R | Close Action |
Collateral Damage
If a Space Station takes damage while occupied by Ground Assets, you must roll for collateral damage as if it were a sector.
Placing Scenery
Each Scenario will define exactly where scoring scenery should be placed. In addition, most Scenarios will define a rough amount of additional scenery (Debris Fields, Planetary Rings etc) that you should use.
Sometimes, the placement of these will be defined precisely. At other times, the Scenario will require Debris Fields to be 'evenly spaced'. When the Scenario asks for this, you should stick to the following guidelines:
- No part of any Debris Field should be placed within 6" of any board edge, Space Station, Cluster or any other Debris Field.
- There should be roughly the same quantity of Debris Fields within each table quarter.
- In tournament play, the Tournament organiser should place scenery before games.
- If their size is not defined by the scenario, a typical Debris Field is between 4"-8" across in their longest dimension. Fine Fields should generally be larger than Dense ones.