SCENARIO #11: THE PLANET KILLER

Play with Cadet ships First then try with Full scale ships. Reduce planet Killer Damage by 50%.

From a distant corner of the galaxy comes word that some"thing" is destroying entire planets. It is the size of several large ships and seems to be either a living thing or perhaps some massive ship sent on a raid by one of the hostile races. Your ship locates the monster as it approaches another inhabited world.

PLAYERS: One. The monster moves by automatic rules. As an alternative, find a friend and use two ships against the monster. This will teach you teamwork, as each ship must be ready to distract the monster if the other ship is in jeopardy.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: The 32-Impulse Movement Chart, DAC, Advanced Impulse Procedure Chart and Sequence of Play, the map of sectors A and B, the counters for one ship (and its shuttlecraft, torpedoes, or drones as appropriate), the counter for the planet, the counter for the Planet Killer, one die, some scratch paper (to keep track of damage to the monster and any other things), and a copy of the SSD for the ship you selected.

MAP: Use the entire A+B map. If the ship leaves the map before the monster is destroyed, the monster wins.

SCENARIO SET UP: For purposes of the acceleration limits, all ships are presumed to have been moving at their maximum speed on the turn before the scenario begins.

The Planet Killer in hex 0101.

One planet in hex 2514 (See Cadet Scenario #9)

One ship in hex 2503. Facing is at the option of the player.

LENGTH: The scenario continues until either the monster destroys the planet or the starship destroys the monster.

SPECIAL RULES
1. The monster moves by special automatic rules. As his "mission" is to destroy the planet, the monster will always move (unless distracted by the ship) toward the planet. In cases where the monster may move into either of two hexes (both of which are "toward" the planet), the player may roll a die (odd numbers going left, even numbers going right), toss a coin, or simply alternate.
2. The monster has a speed of six hexes per turn.
3. If, at the beginning of any impulse, a starship is within two hexes of the monster, the monster will begin to follow the starship (as a seeking weapon). If two or more starships are within this "detection" range, the monster will follow the closer one. If two are at the same range, decide by die roll.
4. On the first impulse that the monster "detects" (is within six hexes of) a starship, it will fire its "weapon." This operates as a phaser, but uses the special chart below:

Die roll 1 2 3 4 5 6
Damage 40 30 20 10 5 1

Range has no effect on the result, but the weapon is limited to a range of six hexes. If the monster is within range of the planet, it will fire at the planet. The monster can fire its weapon only once per turn. Exception: The monster will always fire its weapon at a starship it has not fired at during that turn when it (the monster) begins to follow that starship. The monster will also fire its weapon (in addition to any other fire on that turn) at any plasma torpedo (operates as a phaser) that moves within two hexes. The weapon has a 360° field of fire.
5. The monster has a turn mode of "0" and can change direction by one or more hex sides on every impulse. That is, it can move freely without satisfying any turn mode requirements.
6. The monster is equipped with the close-in defense system. Whenever a drone enters the hex of the monster, there is a 50% chance that the drone will be destroyed before it hits. Roll a die: 1-3 means the drone hit the monster; 4-6 means the drone is destroyed. The monster will also use this system on any shuttle within three hexes (4-6 means destroyed), but will not fire at a given shuttle more than once per turn.
7. If the monster moves adjacent to the planet, it will cease movement, unless it moves to follow a starship.
8. The Planet Killer will not follow a shuttlecraft, drone, or plasma torpedo.


HOW TO WIN THE SCENARIO
The monster wins if it can inflict 200 points of damage on the planet. The player wins if he can destroy the monster. The problem is that you don't know how to destroy the monster, and we aren't going to tell you. If you intend to be a starship commander, you are going to have to work some of these things out for yourself. Use your labs (and possibly probes, but don't use too many
of them) to gain scientific information on the monster. When you have accumulated 100 points, roll one die and consult the table
below to determine how the monster can be killed.

DIE ROLL HOW THE PLANET KILLER CAN BE DESTROYED
1 Planet Killer can be destroyed by a suicide shuttlecraft.
2 The Planet Killer will be torn to pieces and destroyed if held in a tractor beam at a crack you just found.
3 The Planet Killer can be destroyed by 200 damage points, including UP TO 150 points of damage scored prior to rolling this result.
4 The monster can be destroyed if struck by an antimatter probe (fired as a weapon).
5 The monster can be destroyed by a boarding party transported to a special brain cell you have located.
6 Insufficient data. Accumulate 50 more points, roll again.

NOTE: Accumulation of scientific data is continuous. Even after accumulating 100 points of this data, you continue to accumulate more. For every 50 points after the first 100, you can make another roll on the chart, which might give you the same result or a different one. If you receive result 4 but have no probes left, you'll have to find another way to kill the monster (by accumulating more data). In the case of result 3, actions you conducted before the die roll can affect the monster. In any other case, however, you cannot take those actions until that result has been found.


INSTANT REPLAY

Obviously, this can be played with any ship. An alternative is to use two ships (in hexes 1401, 2814; each controlled by a different player) and increase the speed of the monster.