Talon 2Nd Edition Play Book

1 2ND PRINTING PLAY BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................. 2 Scenario 12 - The Battle of the Line .................... 14 20. Victory ................................................................. 2 27. Design Your Own Scenarios ............................... 15 21. Setup ................................................................... 2 28. Campaign Game .................................................. 15 22. Reinforcements ................................................... 3 29. Battle Modes ....................................................... 15 23. Transports ............................................................ 3 30. Terrain ................................................................. 16 24. Jury Rigging ........................................................ 4 31. Empire War Mode ............................................... 17 25. Multi-Player Games ............................................ 4 32. Playing Space Empires: 4X With Talon .............. 19 26. Scenarios ............................................................. 4 33. Optional Rules .................................................... 21 Tutorial ................................................................ 4 Credits ....................................................................... 21 Scenario 1 - War is Upon Us ............................... 7 Ship Design and Fleet Doctrine ................................... 22 Scenario 2 - A Chance Encounter ....................... 8 Tactical R&D ............................................................... 23 Scenario 3 - The First Fleet Engagement ........... 8 Extended Example of Play ........................................... 25 Scenario 4 - Patton’s End .................................... 9 Advanced Play Example .............................................. 31 Scenario 5 - The Loss of Beta Centauri .............. 11 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................ 34 Scenario 6 - Secrets ............................................. 11 Astrometrics Lab Sheet ................................................ 36 Scenario 7 - Convoy Ambush .............................. 11 Lifetime Score Sheet .................................................... 37 Scenario 8 - The Sector Capital .......................... 12 Empire War Ship List ................................................... 38 Scenario 9 - Base Assault .................................... 12 Space Empires/Talon - Ship Chart ............................... 39 Scenario 10 - Dogger Bank ................................. 13 Space Empires/Talon - Research Chart ........................ 40 Scenario 11 - Battle of Saturn ............................. 13 © 2015 GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 • www.GMTGames.com © 2015, 2017 GMT Games, LLC 2 • Some scenarios may cap the maximum level of victory at Great or Minor. 20.3 Lifetime Score • Players are encouraged to track their wins/losses and Lifetime Score. 20.4 Sportsmanship • It is considered good sportsmanship to concede defeat when there is no reasonable chance of victory. It is better to call the game INTRODUCTION and start another one instead of dragging it out for no reason! There are 5 ways to play Talon: • Unless specified in a scenario, the conceding player’s ships that are currently in a weapon arc and within weapon range of an • You may play the scenarios in the Play Book which detail the enemy ship are considered destroyed. This occurs even if a given most critical battles of the first Talon War and are a great place enemy weapon group is not fully charged. All other ships outside for new players to start. (Page 4) of weapon range and arc are considered to have safely retreated • You may Design Your Own Scenario, spending Ship Points to from battle. FTR squadrons still require a surviving friendly CV deploy whatever ships you want. (Page 15) to retreat else they are considered destroyed. • You may play a Campaign in which you and your opponent play • It is possible that both sides may be left with no ships at the end a series of scenarios. (Page 15) of battle or that both sides have ships remaining with ineffective • You may play Empire War mode which has strategic level Weapons. In this case, both sides lose and the battle should be decisions. (Page 17) replayed. • You may play GMT’s Space Empires: 4x using Talon to resolve battles. (Page 19) Lifetime Score: However you decide to play Talon, we encourage 21. SETUP you to keep track of your Lifetime Score. Depending on your level Unless otherwise noted in the scenario instructions, the following of victory you score 0 to 3 points each game. This is tracked by apply to every game: opponent. A tracking sheet is provided in the back of this booklet • Place the map width-wise between the players. and a file can also be downloaded to do it electronically. Hopefully, an app will soon follow. • The Talon always start the scenario as the Initiative Player. • Some scenarios have specified setup areas for each side. If they do not, use this setup map for ship deployment: 20. VICTORY The goal of most battles is to control that region of space. Unless otherwise specified by the scenario, use the following victory condition: 20.1 Last Ship Standing If a side becomes the only side with ships remaining on the map, that side wins the battle (even if it had more ships destroyed). Missiles do not count as ships for this purpose. Fighters that have lost their CV or Base DO count for this purpose. 20.2 Degree of Victory • Destruction of enemy ships and preservation of your own ships is important, especially if you are playing a Campaign game or if you are using the Lifetime Score. A score can be generated after the battle to see how well the winner performed. • Total the Ship Point value of ships destroyed on each side. Ship Selection Ship Point values can be found on the Player Aid Card. Divide Most scenarios specify which ships are deployed. the loser’s total by the winner’s total. The degree of victory is as follows: Terrain ≥ 3 Devastating victory (worth 3 points) Most scenarios dictate exactly where Terrain is placed. Otherwise, ≥ 1.5 Great victory (worth 2 points) see the Terrain Placement section (30.2). < 1.5 Minor victory (worth 1 point) Ship Deployment • These points are added to your Lifetime Score and/or Campaign • The side deploying the fewest ship counters (including FTRs game score. and Bases) must set up all ships first. That side must cover • It is possible for the winner to have more points destroyed than each deploying ship with an unused terrain counter to hide the the loser. counter. Once the first side has deployed all ships, the other • Hull damage has no impact on the victory level. side then deploys all of his/her ships without covering them. All deploying ships must assume a forward facing. Once both sides © 2015, 2017 GMT Games, LLC 3 have deployed all ships the unused terrain counters are removed • Missiles, Bases and Fighters do not block reinforcement. from the initial setup player’s ships. If there is a tie for number • The reinforcement cannot intentionally be placed such that the of ship counters being deployed, the Talon player deploys first. floating map would remove other ships from play. If there is no Talon player (such as Same Faction Combat) then • Ships may assume any facing and any Speed. chose a side to deploy first at random. • Ships may not deploy to a hex with Terrain. • Fighter Launch: FTRs are not placed during deployment with a friendly CV or Base. After deployment is over but before Impulse • When a CV drops out of FTL as a reinforcement during the A begins, FTRs must be launched into a hex adjacent to a friendly Reinforcement Phase the same rules apply as in Section 21, CV or base. The space must NOT contain terrain or other ships. Ship Deployment, Fighter Launch and the FTRs must launch Only 1 FTR counter may be launched to a given hex. The space a immediately after the CV arrives. FTR is launched into MAY be outside the deployment zone. If a • During some reinforcement phases, a player may be allowed to given FTR counter cannot be placed, it is not launched in this battle. deploy more than one ship or may have to choose between certain Starting Ship Properties ships to deploy, as per the scenario instructions. • All ships start with all of their Weapon Groups fully charged. • Terran ships do not start with charged Batteries (Batteries cannot 23. TRANSPORTS hold a charge while a ship is traveling at FTL Speeds). • Transports are required for some scenarios and represent ships • The starting Speed for most ships is 3 (a ship’s starting Power carrying critical supplies or troops. Curve is boxed on the Player Aid Card) and the appropriate Power • A Transport may not dock with a Base or land on a planet unless Curve should be written on the ship. The starting Speed will be it is moving at Speed 1. the Speed for each ship the first Round. There is no Power Phase before beginning the scenario. • If a scenario includes more than two Transports, the first two Transports must be deployed with all other ships at the start of the scenario. However all remaining Transports may be deployed during any Reinforcement Phase at the owner’s discretion. The 22. REINFORCEMENTS owner of these excess Transports may decline to deploy them, in • The Reinforcement Phase occurs after the Power Phase of certain which case they are considered to have retreated. game Rounds, specified in a scenario.

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