COMBAT RESOLUTION

Initiative: The order in which ships move and fire is determined by their initiative ratings. A ship’s initiative is the sum of its maneuverability plus the level of the ship’s battle computer. In addition, ships equipped with battle scanners add +3 to their initiative. Ships with the highest initiative then move first, ties being resolved randomly by the computer. Furthermore, a ship with a higher initiative can fire first if an enemy ship moves into range. There is one exception to the firing order. Ships utilizing a subspace teleporter to move or a cloaking device to surprise an enemy always fire first after moving or decloaking.

Beam Weapon Attacks: Beam weapons generally have a range of one space and strike enemy targets instantly. The probability that the weapons hit depends on the attack level of the firer, the defense level of the defender, and the firing range. The attack level is determined by the type of battle computer aboard the firing ship. If the ship also has a battle scanner, +1 is added to its attack level. The defender’s maneuverability is the basis for his defense level.
The size of the ship also modifies the defense level as well as special devices such as the inertial stabilizers and inertial nullifiers. For those weapons with extended range, +1 is added to the defender’s defense level for each space beyond one. Cloaked ships that have not fired their weapons also receive an additional +5 levels of defense.
Each weapon attack is resolved separately. The table below indicates the probability of a weapon hitting given the attacker’s attack level and the defender’s defense level. A roll of 1–100 is made. If the roll is equal to or exceeds the weapon hit probability shown below, the weapon hits. The same roll also determines the amount of damage scored. The higher the roll, the more damage that is inflicted. A roll equal to the base hit probability does the minimum damage listed for the weapon. A roll of 100 does the maximum damage. Any roll in between is interpolated for the amount of damage scored.
For example, an attacker with an attack level of 2 fires a laser at an enemy ship with a defense of 2, giving a 50% chance to hit. The laser, which does 1–3 points of damage, rolls a 75, midway between the 50% needed to hit and the 100% maximum. The laser hits and does 2 points of damage.