HIGH SEAS FLEET
INTRODUCTION
Simple World War I Naval Combat rules.
Map, counters, and dice game.
SHIP STATS
Cost = Cost in Build points for balancing scenarios and creating custom forces.
Speed = Maximum number of spaces the ship can move per turn.
Armor = Based on Thickest Armor (usually amidships belt).
Hull = Equivalent to displacement in tons (rounding up).
If Hull is reduced to 0 the ship is sunk.
HG = Heavy Gun Batteries (Gun size in inches)
LG = Light Gun Batteries (Gun size in inches)
GENERAL NOTES
Number of guns is based on broadside maximum.
Guns do not include Machine guns and AA guns.
Depot ships sometimes have one or more light guns.
All Warships except Gun and Mine boats have Torpedoes (1 Attack/turn).
U-boat speeds are for above/below surface.
Shore batteries are located on land.
A Mine Field contains about 30 mines.
SAMPLE GERMAN SHIP STATS
Ship Type: Cost Speed Armor Hull HG LG
Bayern Class(1915): Bayden
Dreadnaught 30 4 5 28 8(15) 8(6)
Lutzow Class(1913): Derfflinger, Hindenburg
Battle Cruiser 20 5 3 25 8(12) 6(6)
Blucher Class(1908)
Armored Cruiser 12 5 2 16 8(8) 4(6)
Deutschland Class(1904): Pommern, Schlesien, Hannover
Old Battleship 10 3 4 13 4(11) 7(7)
Konigsberg Class(1915): Nurnberg, Emden
Light Cruiser 5 6 1 5 0 6(6)
Vulkan Class(1915)
Destroyer 2 7 1 1 0 4(4)
A 1-95 Class(1915)
Torpedo Boat 1 5 0 1 0 2(3)
Delphin(1906)
Gun Boat 0.5 2 0 1 0 2(4)
Nautilus(1906)
Mine Layer 1 4 0 1 0 8(3)
M28-30 Class(1915)
Mine Sweeper 1 3 0 1 0 2(4)
93 & U96 Classes(1917)
U-Boat(Patrol Sub) 3 4/2 0 1 0 1(4)
Depot Ship X 3 0 5+ 0 0
Shore Battery 7 0 5 1 1 0
Mine Field 1 0 0 - 0 0
Notes:
The Nautilus carries 200 mines. M28-30 Class ships carry 30 mines.
SAMPLE BRITISH SHIP STATS
Ship Type: Cost Speed Armor Hull HG LG
Royal Sovereign Class(1913): Resolution, Revenge
Dreadnaught 30 5 4 26 8(15) 7(6)
Renown Class(1915): Repulse
Battle Cruiser 25 6 2 27 6(15) 8(4)
Lord Nelson Class(1904): Agamemnon
Old Battleship 15 4 4 17 4(12) 5(9)
Courageous Clas(1916): Glorious
Cruiser 20 7 2 19 4(15) 9(4)
Vindictive(1918)
Aircraft Carrier 10 6 1 10 4(8) 0
Carlisle Class(1917): Cairo, Calcutta, Capetown
Light Cruiser 5 6 1 5 5(6) 2(3)
Erebus, Terror(1916)
Monitor 10 3 2 8 2(15) 8(4)
Admirality Class(1918): Bruce, Cambell, Stuart
Flotilla Leader 3 8 0 2 0 5(5)
Yarrow Class(1918): Tomahawk, Torch, Tumult
Destroyer 2 7 0 1 0 3(4)
Torpedo Boat 1 5 0 1 0 2(3)
Gun Boat 0.5 2 0 1 0 2(4)
Mine Layer 1 3 0 1 0 2(4)
Mine Sweeper(Sloops) 1 3 0 1 0 2(4)
Submarine 3 4/2 0 1 0 1(3)
Depot Ship X 3 0 5+ 0 0
Shore Battery 7 0 5 1 1 0
Mine Field 1 0 0 - 0 0
Notes:
The Vindictive can carry 6 Aeroplanes.
THE MAP
Use a hex Map.
Scale: Each hex = 600 feet.
1 Nautical mile = 10 hexes.
The 2 basic terrain types are land and sea.
DICE
Six, ten, and twenty sided dice are needed.
COUNTERS
One counter per ship.
Indicate ship facing on counter.
TURN SEQUENCE
Players take turns moving one ship at a time.
The player with more ships goes first.
A player may have any of his ships fire some or all of its guns at any time.
A Gun battery can only be fired once per turn.
Record which guns have fired.
When all players have moved once this is called a round.
One round is equal to 1 minute of game time.
MOVING
Ships cannot stack (1 Submerged U-Boat and 1 Surface ship is allowable).
A ship may move some, none, or all of its movement allowance.
A ship can rotate 1 hex face for free before each move of 1 space forward.
A ship can rotate additional hex faces at a cost of 1 point per face.
Ships may move in reverse during the turn at speed –1.
U-Boat movement is hidden: write moves on a piece of paper.
A ship detects a U-Boat within 4 spaces on a roll of 5-6 on
1D6. (+2 if the U-Boat attacks)
RANGE TABLE
Battery Type: Long Medium Short
Heavy 15-11 10-5 5-1
Light - - 5-1
Torpedo - - 2-1
A Heavy Gun has a maximum range of 15 spaces.
A Light Gun has a maximum range of 5 spaces.
GUNNERY
A gun will hit on a roll of 17-20+ on 1D20.
Modifiers to this roll:
-1 Long Range
+1 Short Range
-1 Indirect Fire
-1 Rough Seas
-2 Moonless Night
-1 Night
-2 Storm
-1 U-Boat attacking
-2 Attacking Submerged U-Boat
-1 Attacking small boat (Destroyer or Smaller)
-2 Smoke Screen
-1 Green Crew
+1 Veteran Crew
-1 Ship has been hit
-1 Ship at half speed or less
-2 Ship is sinking
If a Gun attack hits roll on the Gun Damage Table.
If a Torpedo attack hits roll on the Torpedo & Mine Damage Table.
A natural roll of 20 always hits.
HEAVY GUN TABLE
Size Damage ROF
15" +4 1
14" +3 1
13" +2 1
12" +1 2
11" +0 2
10" -1 3
9" -2 4
8" -3 5
LIGHT GUN TABLE
Size Damage ROF
7" +1 6
6" +0 7
5" -1 8
4" -2 12
3" -3 15
Damage = Modifier to roll on Gun Damage Table.
ROF = Shots per turn: For playability every gun only shoots once per turn.
The higher ROF is already factored into the Damage modifier.
GUN DAMAGE TABLE
1DX Result:
0-1 No effect
2-5 Minor Damage: A Destroyer or smaller is 'damaged'
6-10 Reduce Hull score by 1 points
11-14 Reduce Hull score by 2 points
15-16 Reduce Hull score by 3 points
17 Reduce Hull score by 4 points
18 Reduce Hull score by 5 points
19 Reduce Hull score by 6 points
20+ Reduce Hull score by 2D6 points
Roll 1D20 for a Heavy Gun.
Roll 1D10 for a Light Gun.
Medium Range gets -2
Long Range gets -5
Subtract targets armor value from above roll.
HIT LOCATION
Every time a ship takes damage roll 1D20:
1-4 Turret is destroyed: 2 HG or 2 LGs.
5-6 Funnel damaged: Speed reduced by 1 point permanently
7-8 Tower damaged: All attacks at -1
9-20 Hull damaged only
If a turret is destroyed there is a 1 in 6 chance the
Magazine Blows (Lose 2D6 Hull points)
A ship at 0 or less Hull points will sink in 1D3 turns.
If crippled or at one-quater hull points a ships' Speed is reduced by half.
TORPEDO & MINE DAMAGE TABLE
1D6 Result:
1 Reduce Hull score by 1 point
2 Speed reduced by half current total permanently
3 Speed reduced by 1 point permanently
4-5 Sink in 1D6 turns
6 Explode: Sink Immediately
ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE
Only Light Gun batteries can attack U-Boats.
The U-Boat must be detected first.
The U-Boat must be within 4 spaces.
MINES
Mine locations are secretly written down in setup or by
the controler of Mine Layers during play.
A ship moving into a mined hex will hit a mine on a roll of 6 on 1D6.
A Destroyer or Gunboat may sweep a hex of mines before entering it.
Sweeping costs 4 Move Points.
AEROPLANES
These fly at a speed of about 50 hexes per minute.
They can carry one bomb.
To make a bomb attack they must be over the target.
The bomb hits on a roll of 17+ on 1D20. Roll 1D20 on the Gun Damage table.
A warship can destroy an enemy plane within 2 hexes with
AA fire on a roll of 17+ on 1D20.
LINKS
Old Photos & Specs