There are two such weapons in Star Fleet Battles. Cricket may easily ignore the Chloridian Space Coagulation Cloud, but he will sooner or later have to find an acceptable way to simulate the Tholian Web in Starmada. It will surely be necessary if Tholian Armada is ever to be published. Since Starmada does not do Energy Allocation, some sort of linear minefield is the only way that I can presently think of to simulate a Tholian Web. By the method that seems to have been employed to determine Range Conversions in Klingon Armada, the maximum length of a strand of Tholian Web would be 6 or 7 of whatever movement unit you care to use. It would not be unacceptable to have an Ammunition limit as Tholian ships were limited in how much Web they could sucessfully tend. If I remember correctly, the Damage caused by a Tholian Web depended solely on the velocity of the ship trying to cross it (with the Tholians being immune). I think that the cost (as compared to a normal mine) would have to be somewhat arbitrary, as you could not predict the Damage caused in advance.

Before we consider the matter of carriers, we must consider the question of fighters. The fighters in Firestorm Armada have been revised since the publication of the Rulebook. The website has sheets of fleet statistics for download. The fighter speeds have been reduced (probably for purposes of game balance) and this makes them easier to convert into Starmada. The small sizes of Firestorm Armada Wings (in the original game,the term seems to refer to single fighters, but in this conversion, I am letting the number of guns that a Wing can fire be represented by the number of fighters in a Starmada flight) make it necessary to bend the rule for the minimum size of the flight. There is adequate precedent for doing this to accomadate the requirements of a specific background.

I also find that I have to add the trait Increased Hits to Fighters. As the existing Fighter Traits seem to require, as a modifier, that we take the Square Root of an existing Weapons Trait Modifier and round it down, Increased Hits (Fighter) = Square Root 2.3 (rounded down) = 1.5.

Assaulters (Breachers) = (Square Root (201(by the Starmada Admiralty Annex Rulebook)*(2+1)Squared*15/4/6))*1.5*1.7(rounded up) = 86. 86*0.5 (TL +4) = 43.

Bombers = (Square Root (183* (4+1)Squared*12/4/6))*0.8*1.5*1.7(rounded up) = 98.  98*0.5 (TL +4) = 49.

Interceptors = (Square Root (183* (3+1)Squared*18/4/6))0.8*1.5*1.7(rounded up) = 96. 96*0.5 (TL +4) = 48.

Fighters = (Square Root (183* (3+1)Squared*18/4/6))*1.5*1.7(rounded up) = 120. 120*0.5 (TL +4) = 60.

In the above figures, 0.8 is the modifier for Interceptors or Bombers, 1.5 is the modifier for Increased Hits (Fighter), and 1.7 is the modifier for Repeating (Fighters).

Repeating this in standard format:

Assaulters (Breachers): Size 2 - Speed  15 - Attack 4+-Defense 0, Increased Hits; Repeating (43 Capacity).

Bombers: Size 4 - Speed 12 - Attack 4+-Defense 0, Bomber; Increased Hits; Repeating (49 Capacity).

Interceptors: Size 3 - Speed 18 - Attack 4+-Defense 0, Interceptor; Increased Hits; Repeating (48 Capacity).

Fighters: Size 3 - Speed 18 - Attack 4+-Defense 0, Increased Hits; Repeating (60 Capacity).

The largest of these will be multiplied by the number of Wings on the ship to determine Carrier Capacity. Unfortunately, these are not close enough in size to prevent someone from cramming in a couple of extra breachers above the intended complement, but this is likely unimportant as long as there are enough marines.

This is the closest version of the Razorthorn that I can make to the original statistics. It is, however, less flexible than I would like.

Terran Alliance Razorthorn Battleship (2057 CR) all systems are TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 31 30 29 28 27  26 25* 24 23 22  21 20 19 18* 17  16 15 14 13 12  11* 10 9 8 7  6 5 4* 3 2  1.

Engines (1,2): 6 6 6 6 6  6 5 5 5 5  5 4 4 4 4  4 3 3 3 3  3 2 2 2 2  2 1 1 1 1  1.

Shields (3,4): 4 4 4 4 4  4 4 4 3 3  3 3 3 3 3  3 2 2 2 2  2 2 2 2 1  1 1 1 1 1  1.

Weapons (5,6): 1: UY, 2: VZ, 3: W, 4: X, 5: X, 6: Y.

Battery U: Primary Weapons (Energy):

Co-Axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 3/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

Co-Axial B: ---/5-8/9-12, 2/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK]

Battery V: Primary Weapons (Kinetic):

Co-Axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 4/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

Co-Axial B: ---/5-8/9-12, 3/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G] [G]

Battery W: Turrets (Energy):

Co-Axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

Co-Axial B: ---/5-8/ 9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery X: Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Y: Point Defense (Kinetic): 1-2/3-4/---, 1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

2nd Mode: 1-2/3-4/5-6, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor(B); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Z: Interceptors (Energy): 1/2/3, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor (KEB); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Special Equipment: Critical Hit Save (2+); Damage Control ( 5 dice); Datalink: Range 6 (1); Hyperdrive; Marines (10); Teleports (5).

VBAM Statistics

Cost: 26; Maintenance: 9 (It counts as a Gunship); Defensive Value: 21; Anti-Ship: 37; Anti-Fighter: 13; Command Rating: 11; Command Cost: 4.

Adjusted for size, the Combat Rating would be reduced to 1693 CR and the Defensive Value would be reduced to 22.

This version of the Razorthorn Battleship is not the one with the closest weapon statistics, but it is the one most faithful to the notion that you should be able to split the fire from a battery between targets howsoever you please.

Terran Alliance Razorthorn Battleship (2,245 CR) All systems are TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 34 33 32 31 30  29 28 *27 26 25  24 23 22 21* 20  19 18 17 16 15  14* 13 12 11 10  9 8 7* 6 5  4 3 2 1.

Engines (1,2): 6 6 6 6 6  6 5 5 5 5  5 5 4 4 4  4 4 3 3 3  3 3 3 2 2   2 2 2 2 1  1 1 1 1.

Shields (3,4): 4 4 4 4 4  4 4 4 4 3  3 3 3 3 3  3 3 2 2 2  2 2 2 2 2  2 1 1 1 1  1 1 1 1.

Weapons (5,6): 1: VY, 2: VY, 3: VZ, 4: W, 5: X, 6: X.

Battery V: Primary Weapons & Turrets (Energy):

Co-Axial A:1-4/5-8/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

Co-Axial B:---/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK] [IK] [IK] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery W: Primary Weapons (Kinetic):

Co-Axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

Co-Axial B: ---/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G] [G] [G] [G]

Battery X: Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Y: Point Defense (Kinetic): 1-2/3-4/---, 1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

2nd Mode: 1-2/3-4/5-6, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor (B); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Z: Interceptors (Energy): 1/2/3, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor (KEB); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF][ABCDEF]

Special Equipment; Critical Hit Save (2+); Damage Control (5 dice); Datalink: Range 6 (1); Hyperdrive; Marines (10); Teleports (5).

VBAM Statistics

Construction Cost: 27, Maintenance Cost: 8, Defensive Value: 23, Anti-Ship: 39, Anti-Fighter: 14, Command Rating: 11, Command Cost: 5.

In my personal house rules, ships take a penalty of Hull/25 (rounded down). This is applied as an addition to any To-Hit dice roll against the ship. This discourages the tendancy to build very large ships. This penalty only rises until Hull 125, where it makes the ship unmissable by anything but a dice roll of 1. From Hull 125 up, I penalize the ship by adding 1 to the cost of a turn for every additional Hull 125.This Penalty only rises until Hull 625, where it makes the Ship's course unchangeable except by accumulating Thrust over multiple turns (if you use that option). From Hull 625 up, I penalize the ship by adding 1 to any impact roll against the shields for every additional Hull 625.This eventually strips the ship of any shields, leaving only it's bloated mass as it's sole defense.

In the present case, it becomes easier by 1 to hit the ship. One could, by analogy to Counter-measures, divide by 1.5 in calculating the Defense Rating. This would make the Combat Rating 1847 CR and reflect the fact that, in some ways, increasing the Hull Size has reduced the combat efficiency. The VBAM Stats would reflect this by keeping the Construction Cost the same, but reducing the Defensive Value to 22.

This is the final version of the frigate.

Terran Alliance Pilgrim Frigate (315 CR) All systems are at TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 8 7 6 5* 4 3 2 1.

Engines (1,2): 11 10 9 7 6 5 3 2.

Shields (3,4): 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.

Weapons (5,6): 1: WZ, 2: W, 3: X, 4: X, 5: X, 6: Y.

Battery W: Primary Weapons (Kinetic):

Co-Axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating

Co-Axial B: ---/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G] [G]

Battery X; Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1,Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Y: Point Defense (Kinetic): 1-2/3-4/---, 1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

2nd Mode: 1-2/3-4/5-6, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor (B); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF]

Battery Z: Interceptors (Energy): 1/2/3, 1/4=/1/1, Interceptors (KEB); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF]

Special Equipment: Critical Hit Save (5+); Damage Control (2 dice); Datalink: Range 6 (1); Hyperdrive; Marines (2); Teleports (1).

Somewhat large for a Frigate, but very effective if you can maneuver to keep the target between Range 5 and Range 8.

I almost forgot these.

VBAM Statistics

Construction Costs: 11; Maintenance Costs: 4; Defensive Value: 5; Anti-Ship: 17; Anti-Fighter: 2; Command Rating: 5; Command Cost: 3.

These will be useful for those who use Victory By Any Means as their campaign mode.

I would like your opinion. Before I post the final version of these three ships, do I need to add Datalinks to them?

Datalinks come from the Victory By Any Means version of Starmada. They allow any two ships equiped with Datalinks and within Range 5 of each other to share Target Locks and use Linked Fire (similar to the Trait: Firelink) against the same Target vessel. Ships equipped with more than one Datalink may form Datagroups.

The source material In Firestorm Armada Would seem to justify using Datagroups as part of play with these ships.

This brings up another point.  Firestorm Armada has Datagroups as large as Range 8 in Diameter. While this is easy to calculate, how large should a Datagroup be limited to being? And for that matter,  how many separate ships should a Datagroup be limited to containing?

The type of weapon is listed for those who ( like I often do)  still use the shield rules from the Starmada/Victory By Any Means crossover book. Houserule ships do not belong in the design section, only standard rules ships should be found there. Otherwise, it would get too confusing.

Sorylian Collective Skyhammer Cruiser (504 CR) All systems are TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 12 11 10 9 * 8  7 6 5* 4 3   2 1.

Engines (1,2): 10 10 9 8 7  6 5 5 4 3  2 1.

Shields (3,4): 2 2 2 2 2  2 1 1 1 1  1 1.

Weapons: 1: W, 2: X, 3: Y, 4: Z, 5: Z, 6: ---.

Battery W: Primary Weapons (Energy): 1-3/4-6/7-9, 3/4+/1/1, Range-Based ROF; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[HJ] [IK]

Battery X: Primary Weapons (Kinetic): 1-3/4-6/7-9, 3/4+/1/1, Range-Based ROF; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G]

Battery Y: Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 2/4+/1/1, Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[AB] [AB]

Battery Z: Point Defense (Kinetic): 1-2/3-4/---, 1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Special Equipment: Critical Hit Save (4+); Damage Control ( 3 dice ); Hyperdrive; Marines ( 8); Teleports ( 4 ).

VBAM Statistics:

Cost: 14, Maintenance: 4, Defensive Value: 8, Anti-Ship: 22, Anti-Fighter: 3,Command Rating: 6,Command Cost: 3.

This still does not come as close as I would like to capturing the original flavor of the ships.

If we were to accept two other house rules, we could more closely approximate the original weapons on these ships. First, let us consider Co-axial Banks. These are weapons which not only can be fired together as a single weapon at the same target, but must be fired together and cannot be fired separately.

Let us take as an example: Co-axial A: 1-3/4-6/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating and Co-axial B: ---/7-12/13-18, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating. These form a single weapon which has four range bands. To see how to calculate with these, I will use them as the Port & Starboard Weapons of a Razorthorn. Co-axial A: 43.47 rounds up to 44; [HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK] [IK]: 44*(6+12)=792. 792*(9+6)/6=1320. Co-axial B: 43.47 rounds up to 44; [HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK][IK]: 44*(6+12) = 792. 792*(18+6)/18 = 1056. 792+792 = 1584 SU cost of weapon. 1320+1056 = 2376 ORAT of weapon.

But,you may protest, the range bands are not equal. Then, let us try this: Co-axial A: 1-4/5-8/---, 2/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating and Co-axial B: ---/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Minimum Range; Increased Hits; Repeating. Co-axial A: 57.96 rounds up to 58; [HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK] [IK]: 58*(6+12) -1044. 1044 * (12+6)/12 = 1566. Co-axial B: 28.98 rounds up to 29;[HJ] [HJ] [HJ] [IK] [IK] [IK]: 29*(6+12) = 522. 522*(12+6)/12 = 783. 1044+522 =1566 SU. 1566 +783 = 2349 ORAT. Since two of the bands overlap completely (the only circumstance in which all four bands can be exactly equal), this weapon's damage statistics have a bulge in the middle. Since most of the weapons in Firestorm Armada have the majority of their damage in mid-range, I shall proceed with this scheme.

Terran Alliance Sentinel Cruiser (504 CR). All systems are TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 12 11 10 9* 8   7 6 5* 4 3  2 1.

Engines (1,2): 8 8 7 6 6  5 4 4 3 2  2 1.

Shields (3,4): 2 2 2 2 2  2 1 1 1 1  1 1.

Weapons (5,6): 1: V, 2: W, 3: X, 4: Y, 5: Y, 6: Z.

Battery V: Primary Weapons (Energy): 1-3/4-6/7-9, 2/4+/1/1,  Range-Based ROF; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[HJ] [IK]

Battery W: Primary Weapons (Kinetic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 2/4+/1/1, Range-Based ROF; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G]

Battery X: Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 2/4+/1/1, Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Y:Point Defense (Kinetic): 1-2/3-4/---,1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

2nd mode: 1-2/3-4/5-6, 1/4+/1/1,  Interceptor (B); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF] [ABCDEF] [ABCDEF]

Battery Z: Interceptors (Energy): 1/2/3, 1/4+/1/1, Interceptor (KEB); Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF]

Special Equipment: Critical Hit Save (4+); Damage Control (3 dice); Hyperdrive; marines (6); Teleports (3).

VBAM Statistics

Cost: 14; Maintenance: 5 (It is a gunship.); Defensive Value: 7; Anti-Ship: 22; Anti-Fighter: 2; Command Rating: 6; Command Cost: 3.

After some brief research ( no more than 120 dice rolls), I conclude that a single Interceptor (averaging) against a Level 1 shield will give 0.82 negative Damage points per turn, against a Level 2 shield, it will give 0.64 negative Damage points per turn, and against a Level 4 shield, it will give 0.45 negative Damage points per turn. Not much of a defense, even if we round up.

Since a Pilgrim has but one Interceptor, it averages, at most, one Defensive point per turn. This is also true for the Sentinel. A Razorthorn has three Interceptors, but still averages little more than one point of negative damage.

Against Ballistic weapons, if you use the Point Defense with an Interceptor mode, the situation is better. A Pilgrim still averages only one point, but the Sentinel averages two and the Razorthorn averages slightly more than three negative Damage points.

As to the Damage that is being defended against, the Pilgrim would inflict an average of 3.3 Damage per turn against another Pilgrim, an average of 2.6 Damage per turn against a Sentinel, and an average of 1.8 Damage per turn against a Razorthorn.  The Sentinel would inflict an average of 4.9 Damage per turn against a Pilgrim, an average of 3.8 Damage per turn against another Sentinel, and an average of 2.7 Damage per turn against a Razorthorn. The Razorthorn would inflict an average of 11.5 Damage per turn against a Pilgrim, an average of 9 Damage per turn against a Sentinel, and an average of 6.3 Damage against another Razorthorn. I conclude that Interceptors are not such an outrageous defense as to unbalance a game of Starmada.

Terran Alliance Pilgrim Frigate (211 CR) All systems TL +4.

Hull (1,3,5): 6 5 4* 3 2  1.

Engines (1,2): 11 10 8 6 4  2.

Shields (3,4): 1 1 1 1 1  1.

Weapons (5,6): 1: X, 2: Y, 3: Z,4: ---, 5: ---, 6:---.

Battery X: Primary Weapons (Kinetic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 1/4+/1/1, Range-Based ROF; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[G]

Battery Y: Torpedoes (Ballistic): 1-4/5-8/9-12, 3/4+/1/1, Fire-Linked; Increased Hits; Repeating

[ABCDEF]

Battery Z: Point Defense (Kinetic):1-2/3-4/---, 1/4+/1/1, Carronade; Increased Hits; Repeating.

[ABCDEF]

Special Equipment: Critical Hit Save (5+); Damage Control (2 dice); Hyperdrive; Marines (2); Teleports (1).

VBAM Statistics

Cost: 10; Maintenance: 4 (It is a gunship); Defensive Value: 4; Anti-Ship: 15; Anti-Fighter: 1; Command Rating: 4; Command Cost: 3.

I am basing the shields in this conversion on the Damage Resistance minus 2. The shields in the Firestorm Armada system greatly resemble the Interceptors in Agent's Of Gaming  Babylon 5 Wars or Mongoose Publishing's A Call To Arms. Considered as an option for Starmada, an interceptor would best be considered as a weapon firing at the shields of it's own ship and generating negative Damage when it hits and penetrates the shields (This would be more of an advantage on poorly shielded ships and mostly useless on very well shielded ones). These negative damage points could then be subtracted from the damage dice to be rolled against the ship (especially those that inflict Continuing damage, Double damage, or Extra Hull Damage).

The trait: Interceptor (KEB) should Have a Multiplier of 1, because even negative damage is just plain damage. This would make the Multiplier of traits: Interceptor (KE), Interceptor (KB), and Interceptor (EB) equal  to 0.7 and the Multiplier of traits: Interceptor (K), Interceptor (E), and Interceptor (B) equal to 0.4. These should be modified by a further multiplier to account for the circumstance that, while the Interceptor shares the Arc of the weapon of which it is a part, an Interceptor negates damage coming from all bearings. An Interceptor in a 6-arc mount should have its SU multiplied by 1, 5-arcs by 1.2, 4 arcs by 1.5, 3 arcs by 2, 2 arcs by 3, and 1 arc by 6. This makes the 6-arc mount the cheapest for an Interceptor.

While the Interceptor is in effect, a defensive system; it is designed as a weapon and should be costed in ORAT as a weapon. Also, the damage of  non-piercing weapons should not be affected by Interceptors. The Trait : No Hull Damage may not be combined with the Trait: Interceptor.