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Advanced Phase World Missile Rules

By: The Kitsune (foxtrot_xray@hotmail.com)
Reformatted by: Dustin M. Ramsey (DustinM@rifts-rpg.com)

Index:

Introduction

Missile Ranges, Top Speeds, and Acceleration

Missile Guidance Systems

FTL Capable Missiles

Missile Warheads

Introduction

Missiles used in the Three Galaxies are similar in many ways to those used on Rifts Earth and generally follow the same rules, however there are important differences. Some of the differences include much greater missile speeds, there are new some new sensors available, and new warhead types. These rules are designed to work with revised starship rules for Phase World.

Missile Ranges, Top Speeds, and Accelerations

In the Phase World Dimension books, you get the impression that starships lumber towards each other, not firing any weapons until rock throwing ranges (100 miles or less) and then slowly lumber together until 1 to 2 miles is reached before launching missiles. I prefer a much more dynamic starship and missile combat. Under these revised rules, missile ranges are dramatically increased and missiles can now travel and accelerate at percentages of the speed of light.

Missile fire now commonly starts at ranges greater than 1 million miles. Missiles can be used to hit targets beyond their maximum range because missiles will travel in a straight line one they run out of energy. They are of course effected by gravity wells but that can be calculated for. Targets that do not move are ideal for this type of strike. These include orbital bases and cities. There is no bonuses or minuses to hit these targets. To hit specific targets, such as an individual building in a city, the missiles are at -8 to strike. To hit a large moving target such as a Large Capital ship (Protector or Dreadnought for example), the missiles are at -16 to strike and unlike most attacks, the pilot can make a dodge so that no damage will be taken no matter how large the starship is. Targets smaller than 5 million tons that having the ability to dodge, cannot be hit in this fashion because they are too fast and agile.

Additionally, missiles do not have a maximum speed like starships, because their post-launch life span is brief enough that radiation and particle damage is not a factor. About 1 % of all missile will not reach their targets because radiation or particles will either cause them to destroy themselves, become inert, or veer off course. Acceleration is effected the same way starship accelerations are effected.

Missile Guidance Systems

Missiles from the Three Galaxies have all the guidance systems available on Rifts Earth, plus the following optional guidance systems.

Gravity Sensor:

All targets have a gravitic footprint which allows them to be tracked by gravity sensors. This includes targets that are invisible. The other advantage is that gravity sensors allow the missile to track its target in real time no matter what the distance is because gravity has no delay and is faster than light. A target can often hid under the gravity signature of other targets to trick sensors but ships that are using gravity propulsion are even easier to detect.

Neutrino Homing:

What this missile guidance system does is home on a neutrino signature. Nuclear Fission Engines, Nuclear Fusion Engines, Antimatter Engines, Fusion Thrusters, Ion Thrusters, Plasma Explosions, Fusion Explosions, Nuclear Explosions, and Antimatter explosions all create neutrinos that can be tracked. Missiles can be set to track on the strongest Neutrino signature or a specific neutrino signature.

Tachyon Beam Rider:

These missiles use a Tachyon beam to hit its target. The advantage is that the beam is FTL meaning that there no appreciable delay in painting the target. Similar to the Rifts Earth Semi Active Laser and Radar homing and sensors can pick up the beam if they are targeted.

Brilliant Missiles:

This is a more advanced version of the smart missile and the missile actually have a limited artificial intelligence guidance system. These missiles guidance systems are expensive and cost twice the normal cost for the smart missile guidance systems. This guidance system is also illegal outside of the military. This missile guidance is capable of breaking through most countermeasures even those that work against normal smart missiles. Like smart missiles, the missiles must have an autonomous guidance system. Brilliant missiles are more capable then smart missiles and have +7 to strike and +6 to dodge and providing that they can catch their target multiple times, they have three attacks per melee until they run out of fuel. Brilliant Missile also separate when launched so they cannot be destroyed as a volley. All brilliant missile automatically have the feature of IFF identification and Loiter capability. This feature can only be added to long range and larger missiles.

Note that all Phase World Missiles Types (Including minis) are available as smart missile.

FTL Capable Missiles:

Star ships will often carry a small number of cruise missiles that are capable of being used at FTL speeds for limited durations. FTL capable missiles are limited to cruise missiles only, although several governments are presently working on a FTL capable long range missile. The missiles give up part of their payload in order to fit in the FTL propulsion system. A ship can fire non-FTL capable missiles at FTL speeds, but the missile will have little maneuverability and will drop in speed at the rate of 2 LY/HR per turn until it enters normal space. The ship launches these missiles to the front by firing them and then immediately decelerating. Normally a Starship will carry about 10% of its total missile compliment is FTL cruise missiles. The FTL missiles are very expensive and cost 4 times that of a conventional Phase World cruise missile.

FTL combat is in many ways more deadly then sublight combat due to the fact that there are few point defense weaponry that can be used at FTL speeds. Tachyon and Gravity based beam weapons are the only non-missile weapons that can be used at FTL speeds. Similarly, the only type of missile that is normally useful for defense are cruise missiles with Gravity-based warheads that can be used to pull incoming cruise missiles out of FTL. Shields are often the best defense against FTL capable cruise missiles.

FTL Missile Range and Speed:

The FTL Cruise Missile has an amount of fuel which is given as 50 Fuel Points. At Sublight and a speed of 1 LY per hour it burns 1 Fuel Point per turn, giving it a powered range of fifty turns. For each additional LY/hour of speed it burns one additional Fuel Point per turn, so that at 5 LY/hour it burns 5 Fuel Points per turn, giving it a powered range of 10 turns. At maximum FTL speed of 10 LY/hour it burns 10 Fuel Points per turn, giving it a powered range of only 5 turns. When the CM runs out of fuel it decelerates at a rate of 2 LY/hour per turn, until it finally hits light speed, at which time it continues to go on at 98% of the speed of light. Of course it can no longer maneuver when its fuel runs out, so from that moment on it is traveling in a straight line until it is destroyed or it self-destructs. The missiles can be used at sublight speeds as normal cruise missiles but due to their hideous cost, this is rarely done.

FTL Missile Warheads:

Some missile warheads are more effective at FTL speeds than others. This is simply because energy usually travels at the speed of light or faster. Conventional explosives, including K-Hex and Plasma Warheads inflict half damage to the front, quarter damage to the sides, and no damage to the rear of the target. Nuclear, antimatter, fusion explosives along with X-ray laser warheads (if very close) will inflict full damage to the front, half damage to the sides, and no damage to the rear of the target. The problem with X-Ray laser warheads is that the missile is too large to carry on FTL capable missiles. The only exceptions to reduced damage at FTL speeds are Gravity warheads and Tachyon based warheads which inflict full damage due to the fact that the blast travels at FTL speeds. The space for the warhead in FTL missiles, due to the size of the missiles drives, are smaller than they are in standard missiles and are limited to the smaller sizes of missile warheads. Fusion and Nuclear warheads are limited to Heavy Warheads (Inflicts 2D4x100), Antimatter is limited to Heavy Warheads (Inflicts 3D6x100), and all other warheads are similarly restricted.

Missile Warheads

Nuclear

In Space, Nuclear Missile do not have the blast that they do in the atmosphere. In space, they do the same damage as fusion warheads on the Revised Missile Tables.

Antimatter

Antimatter in an incredibly powerful munition that uses a reaction between matter and antimatter to produce an incredible reaction that does large amounts of damage to the target. The antimatter is kept in a magnetic containment until it strikes the target and releases its antimatter. This warhead is only available in Cruise Missiles. If antimatter munitions are used in an atmosphere, they have double the blast radius as a nuclear munition of the same size. The drawback of antimatter is that it does minimal damage to targets that are impervious to energy. The other limitation is that if a ship with antimatter warheads takes a magazine hit, it creates powerful explosions that can destroy the ship.

Warhead Type	Mega-Damage	Blast Radius	M.D.C.
Antimatter Cruise Missile (medium) [1]	2D6x100	80 ft (24.4 m)	45
Antimatter Cruise Missile (heavy) [1]	3D6x100	100 ft (30.3 m)	45
Antimatter Cruise Missile (extra-heavy)	4D6x100	120 ft (36.4 m)	45
Antimatter Cruise Multi-Warhead	5D6x100	150 ft (45.5 m)	45

^[1] Warheads that can be carried in FTL Cruise missiles

K-Hex

K-Hex is a special explosive that only recently has been made useable by weapon systems. In its natural state, it is very unstable and dangerous. In order to keep K-Hex rounds more powerful than standard warheads, their damages have been modified to be above other types of warheads.

Warhead Type	Mega-Damage	Blast Radius	M.D.C.
K-Hex High Explosive Mini-Missile	1D6x10	5 ft (1.5 m)	1
K-Hex Fragmentation Mini-Missile	1D6x10	20 ft (6.1 m)	1
K-Hex Armor Piercing Mini-Missile	2D4x10	3 ft (0.9 m)	2
K-Hex High Explosive Short Range Missile	2D6x10	20 ft (6.1 m)	5
K-Hex Fragmentation Short Range Missile	2D6x10	30 ft (9.1 m)	5
K-Hex Armor Piercing Short Range Missile	3D6x10	5 ft (1.5 m)	5
K-Hex High Explosive Medium Range Missile	4D6x10	30 ft (9.1 m)	10
K-Hex Fragmentation Medium Range Missile	6D4x10	60 ft (18.2 m)	10
K-Hex Armor Piercing Medium Range Missile	4D6x10	20 ft (6.1 m)	10
K-Hex High Explosives Long Range Missile	6D6x10	50 ft (15.2 m)	20
K-Hex Fragmentation Long Range Missile	6D4x10	100 ft (30.5 m)	20
K-Hex Armor Piercing Long Range Missile	5D6x10	30 ft (9.1 m)	20

X-Ray Laser Cruise Missile Warheads

This missile is a Fusion warhead that detonates and powers a burst of Laser beams. While the beams have no bonuses to hit other than those from the starship size chart, there is a fairly large number of beams and because of the beams allows the missile to standoff the target. The missile also has on other advantage, when missile goes dead, it has half the normal bonuses and minuses to strike. This warhead is to big too be carried on an missile smaller than a Cruise Missile and are too large to be carried on an FTL capable missile.

Warhead Type	Mega-Damage	Blast Radius	M.D.C.
X-Ray Laser [1]	2D4x100 (lasers) 1D6x100 (direct warhead blast)	80 ft (24.4 m) for the warhead	45

^[1] When the warhead detonates, ten X-Ray Laser Beams are fired at the moment of its destruction. Laser Beams have a range of 4 miles (6.4 km) in an atmosphere and 40 miles (64 km) in space. X-Ray lasers do full damage against laser resistant materials. Because the laser does not have a large amount of fire control, each laser has no bonuses to strike and each laser strike should be rolled separately. With large volleys of missile, grouping the rolls may be the only way to speed up strikes but the number of lasers that should be grouped together should be fairly small.

Tachyon Beam Missile Warheads

These weapons are in many ways similar to the X-Ray laser warheads but is less powerful and far more expensive (around ten times). The weapon is powered by a very powerful fusion explosion. The explosion powers a series of Tachyon Beam Generators that fire towards the target. The missile fires a total of eight beams and each beam is less powerful than the X-Ray laser beams. While the beams have no bonuses to hit other than those from the starship size chart, there is a fairly large number of beams and the beams allows the missile to standoff the target. The missile also has on other advantage, when missile goes dead, it has half the normal bonuses and minuses to strike. This warhead is to big too be carried on an missile smaller than a Cruise Missile but is small enough to be carried on FTL Capable Cruise Missiles

Warhead Type	Mega-Damage	Blast Radius	M.D.C.
Tachyon Beam [1]	1D4x100 (tachyon beams) 1D6x100 (direct warhead blast)	80 ft (24.4 m) for the warhead	45

[1] When the warhead detonates, eight Tachyon Beams are fired at the moment of its destruction. Tachyon Beams have a range of 4 miles (6.4 km) in an atmosphere and 40 miles (64 km) in space. Because the Tachyon Beams do not have a large amount of fire control, each beam has no bonuses to strike and each beam strike should be rolled separately. With large volleys of missile, grouping the rolls may be the only way to speed up strikes but the number of lasers that should be grouped together should be fairly small. Tachyon Beam Cruise missiles are available on FTL capable missiles

Gravity Well Cruise Missile

This warhead is also to large to be carried on any missile smaller than a cruise missile. Most of these warheads have two settings but some are constructed with one setting to reduce cost of the missiles.

The first is that the warhead forms briefly a gravity effect similar to that of a black hole but much weaker. This missile has two special advantages when compared to other cruise missile warheads. The first is that because it does it damage by crushing, a physical effect, it does full damage to targets that are impervious to energy and cosmic knight. The other spacial advantage is that it can temporarily prevent starships from going FTL. It takes one gravity well cruise missile per 10 thousand tons of ship to prevent the ship from being able to go to FTL. A Warshield cruiser, for example, would take 10 gravity well cruise missiles to prevent if from going FTL. This effect only lasts for one melee (15 seconds). If there are not enough gravity wells to prevent the ship from going FTL, the ship takes double damage from ripping through the gravity wells.

The second is only for effecting FTL travel. It does this by producing a weaker but much wider gravity field. This warhead effects a 1,200 foot radius and effects 100 thousands of ton of ship to prevent the ship from being able to go to FTL. It will also pull the same amount of mass out of FTL. A ship takes about ten minutes to reset its systems before re-entering FTL. The way that the missile warheads are used against ships in FTL is that the missiles are used as mines in the path of the incoming ships. They are activated as the ship passes through the spot in question.

Warhead Type	Mega-Damage	Blast Radius	M.D.C.
Gravity Well Cruise Missile (Heavy - Setting 1) [1]	3D4x100	100 ft (30.3 m)	45
Gravity Well Cruise Missile (Heavy - Setting 2) [1]	None	1000 ft (303 m)
Gravity Well Cruise Missile (X-Heavy - Setting 1)	4D4x100	120 ft (36.4 m)	45
Gravity Well Cruise Missile (X-Heavy - Setting 2)	None	1200 ft (364 m)

^[1] Warheads that can be carried in FTL Cruise missiles

Protoculture Warhead

A special warhead that causes a massive explosion by putting a special mutant protocuture seeds in a matrix. Because of the expensiveness of each warhead of this type, Jammers have been added for the defense of the missiles, plus the casing is made out of a stealth material. This missile was designed by the REF in Phase World and is only available to them. Only available for Cruise Missiles

Damage: Massive explosion that inflicts 4D6x10,000 with a 3D4 mile blast radius.

Bonuses for Jammer & Stealth Material: These Missiles are at -50% to be detect and -2 to be hit when in stealth mode and can only be targeted 20% of the time and at -4 to be struck when in Jamming mode (Although it will be detected and home on Jam missiles will be effective).

Decoy

Special Cruise missile with no warhead but has special equipment to emulate engine and sensor signature of various starships. Can emulate CG Drive Engines and any other Three Galaxies or Phase World engine. Can also emulate various ship sized from fighter to battleship size. Has a 50% chance of decoying missiles. While decoy missiles have the same duration as a normal cruise missile, they can continue to operate their decoy systems after the engines have run out fuel and continue traveling on a ballistic course.

Self Destruct Package inflicts 2D6x10 MDC

Jamming Warhead

Special Cruise missiles with jamming equipment replacing the warhead. While the jammer is on, conventional radar, gravity-wave sensors, and missile guidance systems will not be able to function in the area affected (have only a 20% chance of detecting any targets in the area, including the Jammer missile). The jammer will affect a one mile (1.6 km) area in an atmosphere and 100 miles (160 km) in space. Missiles can be programmed to go after the signature of the Jamming with a weapon systems roll. While Jamming missiles have the same duration as a normal cruise missile, they can continue to operate their Jamming systems after the engines have run out fuel and are traveling on a ballistic course.

Self Destruct Package inflicts 2D6x10 MDC

Probe

Special Cruise missiles with sensors replacing the warhead. The sensors are equal to those carried on a light star fighter. While Probe missiles have the same duration as a normal cruise missile, they can continue to operate their Probe systems after the engines have run out fuel and are traveling on a ballistic course.

Self Destruct Package inflicts 2D6x10 MDC

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