Helldorado - Wargame Rules Review 28mm

 Swashbucklers invading Hell - definitely a unique wargame concept...

I really liked the idea of Helldorado - conquistadors and swashbucklers invading Hell.  70YW fantasy is refreshing for my jaded palate. Making a hell terrain table would be straightforward and fun.  I got a bunch of minis on discount before the new version launched.  I undercoated the minis....   .

...then they sat in the cupboard.  Where they still sit, bar a few play-test outings.

Why?

Well some of the sculpts are hit and miss. Some are gorgeous, some are a bit lame.  Kinda like the Confrontation metal models I have (though those have a much better gorgeous: lame ratio).  Must be a French thing. The sculpts were also limited in scope; the old moulds were OOP and the new casts had yet to be produced.  Maelstrom Games happily took my preorder but delays meant I had almost forgotten the game by the time it arrived.  So painting enthusiasm was low.

Secondly, by then I was disillusioned with Malifaux and was not keen on another rules-heavy, 'boutique' skirmish game with no campaign rules.  

Thirdly, the game endows models with multiple hitpoints. Now I really detest tracking hitpoints on vehicles at the best of times, but still less in a infantry skirmish game.  Plenty of great infantry games get by without them, so I regard them as an uneccessary complication that adds little to the game besides record-keeping.

The Shiny
It is a lovely softcover rulebook, with an embossed title on the cover. Production values are similar to Privateer Press books. It is lavishly illustrated but IS clearly a translation from French - it is awkward to read. Quite a few typos.Slightly better than Infinity and the old Confrontation rules in readability and layout though.

There are 35 pages of fluff, 40 pages of actual rules, 225 pages of army lists (the majority of the book!) and 20 pages with 4 scenarios and unique rules for hell terrain.

I particularly like any counters and blast templates needed are included as a physical colour card push out inside the back cover.  I detest having to make special props for a game and it is pleasant to have quality tokens 'ready to go' rather than have to find and print out a lame pdf off a website.

The fluff is interesting and engaging - it is certainly a unique setting!

A great quality production, but the wording can be a bit jarring.

 A beautiful rulebook, but the French-to-English translation is a little lacking at times

Gameplay
Models have a few stats - Movement distance; Shooting Skill and Combat Skill - both of which indicate the amount of dice to roll in an attack; Defence (the attack rolls must score above this to hit); Protection (a unit's armour or toughness); Lifepoints (hitpoints) and Faith (ability to use and resist magic).


Initiative ("Dominance")
After an initial roll (modified by leadership bonuses), initiative is held by the player who killed the most points of enemies the previous turn. Interesting concept.

Upkeep
Any long term spells, healings and effects take place here.

Actions
Players take turns activating units.  The "dominant" player chooses who activates first.
Sides with less units can nominate an enemy unit to be activated.  Another interesting idea.  

Actions are the usual - run, walk, charge, shoot, cast magic etc.  Units have a control area which extends beyond the base of the model.

Combat
Players roll dice equal to their "Shoot" or "Combat", duly modified by relevant effects.  Any dice beyond 5 simply allow re-rolls.  Each dice equal or over enemy Defence hits.

Shooting is similar but attack rolls must beat either the Defence OR a number based on the range, whichever is higher. The target cannot retaliate, unlike close combat.

Each hit is noted against the unit's particular weapon type which may alter the actual damage done.
 The enemy "Protection" score can reduce the damage taken.  Damage is applied simultaneously.

A little unusual, but nothing special except for the annoying hitpoint record keeping already noted. Even the most basic 'minions' have about 4 hitpoints to track. 

Command
Each side has a pool of command points which refreshes each turn.  Command can be lost permanently as units are lost or certain effects are caused.

These commands can be used to "buff" units by adding to shooting, combat or defence stats.  A command could be used to activtate two units in a row. 

This adds an interesting layer of complexity, tactics and decision making to the game.

Magic
Some magic auras might target a unit or a particular area of the map.  "Lemures" are a weird twist to usual magic rules - they are weird little minis that are invoked. They then can move and cast spells specific to themselves.  Each magician can control only a few at a time.

States, Traits, Special Abilities
Units can go beserk, be stunned, slowed etc and suffer various effects (magical and ability-based) . There are a wide range of special traits and abilities.

Army Lists/Units
Thankfully if you lose a unit card (or have a French one like I do) all the unit data for all factions is included.  Each unit has 2-3 special orders which cost Command points to activate.  They might also have 1-4 traits  (like "elusive"  "Defensice shot"  "fanatic") or spells.  All the special rules make it quite complex but not so ridiculous as Malifaux or Warmachine. At least the rules are common to all factions and you don't need the enemy army book or data cards to work out what their special rules can do.

 Team Toulouse have done some great hell terrain boards over on Cool Mini or Not

Scenarios & Terrain
There are 4 scenarios and terrain rules  which are interesting and appropriate.  "Infernal Haze"  "Stalagtites"  "Giant Skeletons"  "Field of Laments"  "Decomposing Bodies"  "Rain of Larvae" which have interesting game effects.  Terrain is important to add tactics and interest to a game and it is good to see it get attention in Helldorado.

A campaign system to connect scenarios and advance unit would have been appreciated but as usual, the more complicated the game, the less likely you are to get advancement rules.  This hurts replayability - think how many people play still Necromunda and Mordheim campaigns centuries after their release - neither are particularly good games gameplay-wise but  their campaign system does help involve you in the game.

TL:DR
Fascinating fluff, an interesting alt-move initiative system, different combat system but annoying record-keeping; a interesting "command" system which adds tactics and interesting magic rules.  Hell terrain adds flavour and strategy and the army lists are pleasingly complete with no need for 'codexes.'  However units DO have a lot of special rules and combos, comparable to Warmachine but not as over-the-top as Malifaux.  There is a very wide range of special rules but they are universal to all factions and not unique to individual units.  I am somewhat disappointed there are no campaign rules.

Yes, I will be getting out the paints again and finally get into my hellscape terrain board....

Luftwaffe 1946 - Rules Review

The second book I have tried for my Weird War II needs - or more specifically, my urge to recreate the world of Crimson Skies in an air pirate campaign.

 WW2 what-if planes are amazingly cool. Check out Luft 46 models for model kits like this one and the Luft 46 website for overall details and info on some amazing and unusual warbirds. 

The first Luft Krieg - was reviewed here and whilst it had some good points, I felt it was an unremarkable ruleset which unecessarily complicated a simple smooth damage system. Lightning Strike (another game by DP9) showed how the Silhouette system could be a success.  Luft Krieg could have been a good squadron-scale ruleset if it had been a bit faster to  play (by simplifying altitude and damage).

 Initiative
Aircraft are moved by flights in order set by d10 rolls. This is reasonable but I may simply draw cards instead. 

Movement
They use 1.5" hexes and have a worrying precise time and ground scale.  11 hexes/move is the speed of sound so we don't have to worry about aircraft shooting off the table. I like aircraft speeds to be manageable.

Dive moves carry over from turn to turn.  There are 60 altitude levels. Planes must move in a straight line until they have enough 'manuever points' to perform a specific maneuver. I'm not keen on this level of tracking.  There are 7 maneuvers from Split Ss and Immelmans to barrel rolls.  Maneuvers are carried over from previous turns i.e. you moved 3" straight at the end of last turn; if you move 3" straight at the start of this turn you can make a 'level 6' maneuver. How you are supposed to track or remember this I do not know.

The altitude could, I suppose, be split into 4 bands of 6 with different coloured microdice showing bands and the pips showing exact height within the band but this is fiddly and I am not impressed with the 'carry over' movemement


Combat
Firing and modifiers are a d10 roll to exceed the range.  Doubles can do special damage.  Rifle calibre MGs use d6. Arcs of fire are forward, rear or all-round.  If you can't miss due to modifiers you get an extra die roll to hit. 

There are special rockets and wire guided missiles, and ramming rules.  It also has surface to air missiles and other what-if WW2 science that would suit Crimson Skies.  There are plenty of rules for bombing and strafing ground targets, although the bombing rules have a page of modifiers which didn't excite me too much.

Planes have half a dozen to a dozen hitpoints to be destroyed, besides the criticals. 

Morale
This is unusual for most flying game and a test is taken when a plane takes 50% damage.  I do like the skills and traits which pilots can develop over time. Annoyingly I think pilot quality though has been merged with plane performance stats which otherwise don't make sense (to me, anyway).

Scenarios
There are 10 scenarios but I am not particularily interested in Weird War 2 so much as the ability to adapt the rules for Crimson Skies so I only skimmed them.

TL:DR
Sensible combat, morale and damage rules, but a ridiculous 60 altitude levels as well as tracking speed (and maneuvers) from turn to turn make this clunkier than Luft Krieg without offering any particular advantages.

Luft Krieg also has the advantage of allowing sky fortresses and flying aircraft carriers within the scope of its mechanics, and with a bit of tweaking could have simpler damage tracking. Not a bad ruleset, and a decent alternate if you want to avoid 'guessing game' rules (Wings of War, Check Your Six) but I'll pass.

Great Rail Wars & Deadlands (Weird West Wargame): A Belated Review

 I was inspired by this werewolf western... High Moon

I looked through "Six Gun Sound"  (a Two Hour Wargames product) as a possible Western alternative to the rather simplistic Legends of the Old West. I counted 46 charts in the first 30 page main rules section.  I decided to look elsewhere.

(Yes, 2HW fanboys will point out you only use 4-5 of those charts regularly; but the fact so many charts exist suggest you will need them at some point of the game. Also, the rules layout are not very reader-friendly) 

Inspired by a comic (High Moon) I read recently, I then dug out a copy of the Great Rail Wars weird wild west rules I had on my bookshelf.  Recommended to be by some guys on TMP, this is an old system though still available new on ebay and as a pdf on Wargames Vault. I think it is actually an ancestor of the Savage Worlds generic RPG system. A condensed version of the system "Showdown" is found here for free.

Jonah Hex  - Great idea, good comic - awful, awful movie

A Fistful of Models
I liked the weird west concept, but was initially turned off the GRW system due to the inability to get good weird western models outside of the official GRW suppliers, Jeff Valent Studios (who have a bit of an unreliable reputation, according to the gossips on TMP) and the models that did exist were rather chunky, oversize and uninspiring.  And I had just discovered the awesome characterful Malifaux minis (before I realised the game, like Warmachine, was bascially about remembering more special rules than your opponent) so the rulebook has been tucked away until now.  So could it work for a standard Western campaign?

I am going to compare it primarily with Malifaux (also a Weird West ruleset per se) and Legends of the Old West (a warband campaign game based on GW's simple LOTR rules).


The Shiny
A softback rulebook with lots of black and white cartoon pictures.  Easy enough to read in its layout but certainly not a top-level production, a la Infinity the Game, Anima Tactics or similar.

There is 22 pages of fluff about the weird west, 37 of actual rules and 77 of various appendixes and faction information (aka army lists).

Setup
There are only 3 scenarios (one of which is a typical 'kill em all' one).  Having troops who are "scouts" allow advantages in deployment.

There is a random terrain generator in the appendixes if you wish to use it. 

Stats
These are represented using different dice (d4 through to d12); with d6 to d8 being about average and d12 being heroic.  The usual 'pass' is a 4+ (a system also used in Ambush Alley Games like Tomorrow's War).

Rolls are open ended - if you roll the maximum (i.e. a '8' on a d8) you may roll again.

There are also 'Fate Chips' which are drawn randomly and can be spent to re-roll events. I like this - rather like the resource management from Malifaux.  

Initiative
Each bunch of minions or hero figure get dealt a card and move in order of best (Ace) to worst (deuce).
No IGOUGO - nice!  In addition Jokers allow for random events.  Sometimes units can activare twice due to supernatural intervention.

Movement
Units have a coherency rule like 40k (i.e. all models within 4" of another person in a posse). Units can sprint with an extra d6" but have to give up firing etc.  There are climbing, jumping and hiding rules as well. Figures can also go prone and there are riding and vehicle rules.

Combat
To hit a target the firer must beat a target number (usually 4 -up to 8 at long range). There are rules for two handed shooting and models have the ability to pop out of cover and fire snap shots.

Figures are either knocked down, out of action and killed. There are no markers (yay!) as you simply tip the figure on its side or remove it. How refreshing! Heroes may have specific wounds, however.


Morale
Units who have lost men must pass a morale test or are 'shaken' (-1 to die rolls) or flee.


Cannons & Magic
There are rules for cannon and large vehicle weapons and also magic powers.  Sorcerers, priests, mad scientists and shamans all inhabit the weird west.   Evil magicians can suffer burnout on critical failures.
I liked the "Harrowed" possessed gunslingers who are resistant to damage, can see in the dark, pass through objects and gain power by defeating enemies in melee. However they can be overcome by their demon and controlled by your opponent if they are weak willed.


Abilities & Spells
There is a very wide range of traits, spells and abilities.  However each unit only tends to have 1-2 each maximum so it is much more sensible than Malifaux's plethora of unique rules.

There are also unique gizmos and relics that have unique attributes. 

There is a definite RPG vibe in this section.

Army Lists
There is a wide range of 'units' from Confederates to witches to mercenary railroadmen.  Skinwalkers and undead, wolves and Indians....   lots of interesting stuff whether you use them in the 'official' faction or not.

There is rather extensive fluff which is tied in with the Deadlands RPG, which did not really interest me, but seemed well fleshed out.

Making it Work: Campaign
The Savage Worlds RPG system means a DIY campaign is quite workable.  The pocket Savage Worlds general rulebook is quite cheap (in fact I realise I had already bought it on a whim).  When I looked through it today - B4, full colour, nicely presented, 160 pages - at $10 it is a stunning bargain - with production values exceeding many $30-35 rulesets. I suspect it may be sold at a loss to 'hook' you into the Savage Worlds RPG engine so you buy their sourcebooks because I have never seen a quality glossy rulebook so cheap.

So the lack of a campaign system is not as crippling as it normally would, and in fact I am very interested in the RPG supplements.

 In this review I am discussing the miniatures game not the RPG but I suspect the game mechanics are very similar.

TL:DR
The skills are based on different dice so you need to have plenty of d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20s. It has a simple resource management (chips) and lots of traits and spells enabling you to create interesting forces.  lack of suitable minis could be an issue.  However you could re-task many Malifaux figures for this rather easily and I am now eyeing off the new Wyrd minis Guild box. The gameplay is reasonably straightforward and there are no markers to clutter up the gameboard.

I am definitely going to investigate this further as it seems a little more interesting than the WH Legends of the Old West system which is rather rigid and bland (basically LOTR with six-guns). It seems very adaptable with a wide range of skills and traits; and I think the Savage Worlds Explorer's Guide at $10 is a fantastic bargain and lends itself well to skirmish gaming in any period.  In fact, Deadlands Reloaded (the RPG based on this system) might be a better buy that the GRW ruleset itself.

Tip: Download the Showdown rules and test the core gameplay for yourself. The Savage Worlds engine obviously works for skirmish gaming which makes their RPG supplements attractive (I'm going to buy the Deadlands RPG and their Solomon Kane occult 18th century one; will post a review when I get them)

Heat & Energy Management: DVtG

Heat management was cool in Battletech, and the energy management was one of the only good things in the torturously detailed Star Fleet Battles rules.   Capacitor is a key element of EvE Online gameplay.
All amount to the same thing  - managing a resource that allows extra defences, shooting or thrust.

I don't want any excess record keeping and I think this rule should be strictly optional and in no way radically alter the 'vanilla' game mode.  Ships operate like normal but simply have the ability to 'overload' a system. 

Overloading - for when normal firepower isn't enough

Overloading

Ships must pass a CQ test to overload. If they succeed they may:


(a) Add 50% (round up) to thrust
(b) Add 50% (round up) to firepower


(I could probably add (c) Add 50% to defence  but currently thrust can be used to give an evasion bonus which has the same effect)

Once they have done this the ship is classed as "Overloaded" until it has the status removed by cooling down/recharging.

 An Overloaded ship cannot be overloaded again until it has been cooled down to normal levels. 

An "Overloaded" ship may not use full thrust and firepower; if they do they must roll a CQ test*. If they pass they may continue as normal.

Emergency Shutdown

*If they fail the test they suffer an emergency shutdown and may not use thrust or energy weapons next turn.  They must pass a CQ test to over-ride the shutdown to evade or fire in reaction.

Cooling Down/Recharging

To recharge (or remove the overload counter) the ship must use under 50% firepower AND thrust (or use 0% of either thrust OR firepower) next turn.  If they then pass a CQ test they have cooled down to normal.

Direct Reactor Feed/Radiators Open

"Radiators Open" allows overloads to be recovered without any loss of mobility or firepower but increase the risk of damage (they are -2" range to be hit due to the large heat signature).

 Design Comment:

I think this system is fairly straightforward (normal/overload/shutdown) and allows ships to gamble firepower or mobility resources one turn with the trade-off in decreased efficiency in a later turn. Definitely a lot easier than the Battletech or SFB rules that's for sure - and players can take it or leave it as they desire. 

Fighters & Drones & Combat - DvTG

Now I am happy with the way I dealt with missiles (eliminating record keeping whilst allowing vector movement) but my attempt to simplify fighter/drone movement (doing away with drift markers) feels a little awkward. 

Fighter v Drone

Personally I doubt Star Wars style manned fighters will play any part in future conflicts. I can envision a PT-boat/fast attack craft sized vessel with a small living area patrolling crowded or high-traffic areas like asteroid belts and near orbit in a police role; where cost is important and a human is needed to make split second decisions. Most space fighters mimic WW2 fighters vs WW2 naval battleships - a totally false analogy as they work in different mediums (air, water) whereas both spaceships and fighters are in space - and a big ship can carry just as much thrust/weight as a small one.  Larger spaceships can carry more fuel and much better armour at similar speeds, and could pick off multiple smaller ships long before they were in threat range with their more powerful weapons and sensors. Risking expensively trained crew on near suicidal missions suggests the trend toward drones/UAVs seems set to continue. However fighters should work pretty much the same so simply substitute "fighter" for "drone" and ignore all drone control range references.

Drones: less sexy than an X-Wing

Drone Types

I think ships can carry multiple drone types (or rather  the same drone type can be programmed for multiple missions). For simplicity's sake, a drone swarm must contain all the same type.  A drone swarm has up to 6 drones which can be tracked with a microdice.

Combat Drones
These carry a single energy or kinetic weapon and tend to score a single hit per shot. 

EW Drones
These can be programmed to carry out the same range of tasks as an EW module, but must stick with the same mission type once launched.  CQ rolls are -1 with each drone that is destroyed.

ECM Drones
These can attempt to jam enemy ships but are very weak; CQ d6 to roll, with a -1 each drone that is destroyed. 

Web Drones
These can attempt to tractor enemy ships but are CQ 6 to tractor with -1 each drone that is destroyed. 

Repair Drones
These can do the same job as Repair Microdrones but at far greater ranges.

  Drones can provide useful air support and recon for planetary assaults without risk to human pilots

Drone Combat

Remote Control vs AI: If within CQ range of their ship drones may use the ship CQ but default to CQ6 (drones aren't very bright) when beyond remote control range. 

Drones have a 1" range due to limited sensors. When firing they simply need to roll above CQ in order to score a hit. 

Dogfighting. Drones within 1" of another drone are assumed to be 'dogfighting'.  Roll CQ for each fighter in the swarm involved.  Roll a defensive dice (=CQ) for each defending fighter (up to the total number of defending dice). Each hit an attacker scores than cannot be equalled by a defender scores a hit.

Bonus: +1 to dice pool each thrust level higher

More to be added - (Planetary CAS, refueling & rearming, etc)

Ship Systems: DvTG

 ------Special Systems-------

Again, smaller ships will have an advantage when deploying specialist weapons; as a cheaper, faster delivery platform that can evade damage more easily. 

To further this; carrying a system is a % cost of the overall ship price; so a 10% fee for a warp interdictor would cost 3 on a 30pt cruiser and 30 on a 300-point dreadnought.This is 'gamey' but is to encourage small ships with a specific role (besides cannon-fodder).

EvE Online - a source of inspiration for give all size ships a useful role

Stasis Grav Web (Tractor Beam)

Rule: Tractor Beam
Lock on: The tractoring ship must roll their CQ to lock the tractor beam on (8" maximum range)
Both ships move their drift markers towards each other; the smaller shop moves d6"; the larger ship moves d6"/2. The target ship and the tractoring ship cannot jump into hyperspace.

EW Module

Rule: Narrow-beam Jamming
+2 to enemy target ship range for all firing
Rule:  Narrow-beam Active Sensors
-2 to all fire directed at a specific enemy ship (from all friendlies)
Rule:  Defensive Jamming
+2 to all enemy fire directed at self (from all enemies)

The EW vessel can choose the rule to apply for a specific turn. They must roll their CQ to lock an enemy target.  The EW range is 2 x the crew quality in inches.

Comm Link Relay

Rule: Relay

The ship can double the CQ range of a ship and 'pass on' command benefits to ships in range . It can be helpful for controlling missiles or drones at long range, or can allow a skilllfull commander to direct a distant squadron. I.e. a comlink ship within the CQ range of another ship (i.e. 10") can 'hand on' command benefits a further 10" on.  This is an automatic passive ability and needs no roll to succeed. 

ECM Jammer

Rule: ECM Jamming

May roll a contested roll against a target ship. If it succeeds, the target ship is jammed and cannot fire or lock any targets.

Rule:  ECM Burst

Maybe able to break enemy locks on self (or any ship within CQ range); any ship in range (including self) must beat a contested CQ roll to lock. 

Scout Module (Probes+Sensor Array)

Rule: Block Jamming

May re-roll a failed contested jamming roll

Rule: Uncloak

Can deploy scanning probes to  detect cloaked ships. Maximum 1 probe per ship may be deployed at once. 

Cloaking Device

Rule: Cloak

Cloaked ships cannot move at a speed exceeding their thrust. While cloaked ships use the "Detection" rules detailed elsewhere. Ships cannot fire when cloaked and must uncloak to fire. 

Hyperjump Equipment

Hyperjump Beacon

Ships (friendly or enemy) can jump to the beacon from another system

Hyperjump Engines

Ships can jump out of the system to any jump beacon

Remote Repair Microdrone Bay

Rule: Repair Boost. 

Ships may re-roll any failed repair rolls or roll a 2nd repair roll (of another system) at CQ6. 

Rule: Remote Repair. 

Ships can repair friendlies up to /2 CQ range using the same Repair Boost rules. 

Repair drones are spider-like repair bots who have boosters enabling them to fly short distances. They cling to the outside of the ship's hull. They have inbuilt tools to cut, wield and they can secrete a microfilament to seal breaches.

Command (Flagship) Module

Rule: Command Bonus

The command bonus means dice go up a level for CQ checks in a specific area. This is set before the scenario as the computers need to be optimised for the best performance. Friendlies must be within the CQ range in order to benefit. 

Bonus Areas: Initiative, Repair, Maneuvers, EW, Recon/Sensors

Design Note: I have borrowed many ideas from EvE Online, combining many similar systems into a single system in most cases.  EvE is excellent in the way it makes all ship sizes viable; their smaller frigate/cruiser size ships often have roles such as "tacklers" who stop enemies from warping off and slow their speed; "EW" ships who disrupt or outright jam enemy fire; "reppers" who fix friendlies and "drone cruisers" who are hard to target and carry swarms of drones...

I will probably allow discounts (i.e. 50% off price or similar) to modules to specific shiptypes  which will hopefully encourage specific roles...

"Scout Frigate" - has scout sensors, comm link


"Interceptor Frigate" - has stasis web and jump beacon


"AWACS Frigate" - has ECM Jammer and command module


"Support Cruiser" has 2 repair drone bays

Stealth in Space? DvTG

Now I don't think true stealth in space is possible, but then I saw a cloaked Star Trek ship and realised it must be true...  anyway for gameplay purposes a stealth ship might add interest, so here goes:

TOKENS
"Subships" are not placed on the table but instead represented by a token, which is placed anywhere on the board before the normal ships are set up.   They may never start closer than 2 x enemy CQ range from enemy.

Numbers and symbols can be noted on the underside of the token.  

MOVEMENT
The ship tokens do not have drift markers but simply can move any direction at a distance equal to their thrust.  This stops overpowered subships blasting around the map with impunity, makes them more submarine-like, and more importantly, speeds up gameplay.

"BLINDS" or Dummy Tokens
To borrow from Two Fat Lardy games, each subship may have a few "dummy" tokens, based on the Crew Quality. So there is more than 1 token per subship.
CQ6 = 2 tokens
CQ8 = 3 tokens
CQ10 = 4 tokens
CQ12 = 5 tokens

You have 2 choices
(a) "silent hunter" you do not note down which token is the real ship, which means you can replace ANY token (dummy or not) with the actual ship when attacking; but it also means ANY token (dummy or not) has a random chance of being the actual ship.

(b) "they're everywhere"  you do note down which token is the ship, which means only that specific token can attack and be attacked.

 Cloaking is real - I saw it on TV!

GLOBAL DETECTION
It is assumed that all ships are aware of the presence of subships, due to sensor anomalies etc.  But to clearly detect a ship, they must localise the contact.

Roll 1 CQ dice each escort on the table.

If there are more successes than failures, the player can choose one subship token to be revealed.  

If it is the subship, it is placed on the table.

If you have not noted which token stands for the subship, there is a random roll to determine if the token was in fact the correct one. 

SPECIFIC DETECTION
Make a contested CQ roll for the subship vs any escort in CQ range.  If the escort wins it can reveal the token like global detection above.  The escort must be moving at under CQ velocity (i.e. CQ 8 = 8" max velocity) in order to roll. 

You can use the CQ value of whichever subship you want but it is a subship with that CQ which must be plaed on the table.

LOCALISING THE CONTACT
Once the location of the shubship has been determined, it must still be pinpointed by fire control computers and sensors.   An escort in the specific location must win a contested CQ roll in order to allow the subship to be attacked.

EVADING/BREAKING CONTACT
The subship (if it is in range of an escort) must win a contested roll to be replaced with a token.

EVADING DETECTION
Once the token is out of the CQ range of an escort, if your subship passes a CQ roll you can remove any other dummy token from anywhere on the table and place it thrust distance from the subship in order to confuse matters. 
 
DUMMY TOKENS
If a dummy token is revealed to be fake, it is removed. However the subship player can have the token back; he may place it up to thrust range from any of his other subship tokens.  

WOLFPACK
You may have more than one subship (1-4 squadron) sharing the same token.