Power Projection: Fleet

Power Projection: Fleet

In my hands I have a copy of Power Projection: Fleet (PP:F), well, not
when I'm typing. What follows is a run-down of the contents of the
book, rather than an actual review. I'm probably not the best person
to review the game as I've helped-out with playtesting and demoing
Power Projection: Escorts (PP:E), PP:F's little cousin, for the past two
years.

Physically the book is made up of 60 pages of rules. In the centre are two A4
pages of colour counters, 49 ships and three planets. A number of the ships
are identifiable as known Traveller ships. Next are two A4 pages of game
counters. These are the same as supplied in PP:E and are black ink printed on
yellow paper. They are available for download in colour at the Power
Projection website. Finally, there are 12 pages of Ship Status Diagrams
(SSD's). These cover 31 ships, of which six are fighters and a blank system
map.

The cover is another Jesse De Graff picture, different to the one used on
Power Projection: Escorts. It shows a number of Third Imperium ships giving
fire in defence of a planet. I can recognise a Tigress, a PF Sloan, a
Plankwell and there are a number of ships too small to identify. I like it,
but I'm a big fan of Jesse De Graff's work.

The rules are broken down into a number of sections, and in fact there are two
games here, the miniatures game and the strategic game. I have described each
section in the order they appear in the book.

The rulebook kicks off with an introduction section, starting with a piece of
fiction. This is the same piece as in PP:E. It then moves onto what is
required to play, some Traveller background, a full introduction to the
concepts behind the rules and fairly thorough designers' notes. (7pp)

Next up are details on fleets, task forces, their composition and structure.
Rules for their command and control are also here. Crew quality gets covered
here as well. (2pp)

Individual component symbols and SSD's take up the next section. Each
component symbol is accompanied by a short description of what it represents.
A few of the components symbols have changed from PP:E, and spinal mounts and
black globes have now been added. (3pp)

The vector movement system section is next. This looks to be very similar to
the section presented in PP:E, and I would have expected the authors to have
made changes in light of the publication of PP:E.
(7pp)

The combat section adds to the rules previously presented in PP:E. The new
additions are spinal mounts, black globes, boarding actions and psionics.
(14pp)

Jump operations are covered with rules for entry/exit during a game
and also the affects of misjumps. (2pp)

A completely new section on planets supplies a means of recording their
details in a similar manner to the SSD called Planetary Status Diagrams (PSD).
Assaulting them and their surrender is also covered in this section. (4pp)

A scenario engine for one-off games is presented with game and table
set-up instructions. The heart of this section is 22 missions, 11 for
the attacker and 11 for the defender. (4pp)

Next up are rules for the strategic game. It would require a fair
amount of effort to set-up a game, but all areas needed are covered,
from ship construction to logistics. I expect parts of this section would be
useful for smaller campaigns where a number of connected games are played out.
(12pp)

The ship conversion rules are aimed at ships originally designed with the
second edition of High Guard. Due to similarities, MegaTraveller and Traveller
20 ships are also easily converted. Ships designed with Traveller: The Next
Era and Gurps: Traveller would require more (guess)work. (4pp)

The rules finish with a comprehensive run-down of gravity levels at
various radiuses, for a cross section of planets and stars of various sizes
and types. (1pp)

Be lucky,