Planetcide Core Rules (An Ortus Novae Fan Expansion)

 Planetcide is a fan made expansion for Punkinfig's Ortus Novae set of rules with a few modifications. I have found Ortus Novae not only to be brilliant as a lightning fast mass battle standalone game but also perfect for expanding upon. 

The game is built upon Ortus Novae rather than Ortus Novae space so keep this in mind when reading the rules!

Fleets: These are represented by at least 2 ships on one stand, the stand base should not exceed 40mm. Their Die Scale can be anywhere from d4 to d8. Their speed however is not dictated by the Die Scale and is instead a flat 7 Inches. 

Megaships: These are represented by a single ship on one stand (not exceeding 50mm) These are for things like armoured space stations and "Super" space battleships. Their Die Scale can be anywhere from d4 to d10 and like with Fleets their speed is a flat 7 inches. Megaships also roll two of their Die Scale dice instead of one and pick the highest result.

If Fleets or Megaships move within 1 inch of a Planet model or an asteroid field then they must roll a dice of their Die Scale. If they get a 1 then they are destroyed from impacting it.

Planetkillers: These are your "that's no moon." type of models. Their Die scale is anything d12 and above and they are considered "Elite" meaning they roll two Dice of their Die Scale and add the numbers together. Planetkillers come in all shapes and sizes but all use the same rules. They also all move a flat 5 inches. They are also the only ships in the game that are able to fire on Planet models. 

If Planetkillers move within 1 inch of a Planet model then they must roll a single d10. If they get a one then they crash into the planet and both the Planetkiller and the Planet are destroyed.

Whenever a planet killer is destroyed it leaves behind an asteroid field in the same manner in which a planet would. Planetkillers however can take 3 hits before they are destroyed.

Stargods: These are any spacebourne creatures large enough to threaten an entire planet. They act exactly the same as Planetkillers except they move a flat 7 inches and must be touching a planet model to attack it. When Stargods are destroyed they do not leave behind an asteroid field but instead a "Radiation Zone" which in game terms is actually exactly the same as an asteroid field but is simply different for cinematic effect. 

If an Empire contains both Stargods and Fleets/Megaships than there is a chance that the Stargod will go berserk and attack it's allies. To represent this roll  2d6 every time the Stargod attacks something. On a result of a double 1 or "snake-eyes" the Stargod must also immediately attack the closest friendly model.

When a Planet is destroyed by a Stargod it does not leave behind an asteroid field. Instead the Stargod is restored to full Heath and can take up to 3 hits again, even if it has taken hits previously as the beast has rejuvenated itself from eating the planet. 

Planets are divided into 4 distinct categories.

Small-Takes 3 hits to destroy.

Medium-Takes 6 hits to destroy.

Large-Takes 9 hits to destroy.

Defended- essentially a defended planet is just an stationary Planetkiller except it cannot fire upon fleets and can only fire after it has taken one hit. Defended planets take 3 hits to destroy.

All planets have a fixed Die Scale result of 8 apart from Defended Planets which as stated above, act as stationary Planetkillers and thus can have a Die scale of d12+ and are considered Elite.

What to use for playing pieces?

The game is quite abstract in scale and intended to be more "cinematic cool" rather than scale-accurate. because of this you can use almost any models you like provided they fit on the stand. I have designed some miniatures that you can 3d Print with this game specially in mind however you don't have to use these. The game can look equally awesome if not more (when attention is given) using flat paper or cardboard counters for all the units.(Tracing around a plate or saucer for planets) Alternatively the models from Star Trek Ascendency look good grouped into fleets and the ships from Star trek: Attack wing would fit alongside these as Megaships or even small planetkillers for the larger ones. Planets can be made from polystyrene balls either cut into domes and placed flat or mounted on a base for a full planet appearance. Asteroid fields can be made easily out of polystyrene as well.

Making your Empire's ships out of small Lego parts can also look impressive. 28mm scaled sea monsters make great Stargods and some robot/mecha toys or models could serve as "Tenga Toppen Gurren Laggan" style planetkillers.

I have also found the small Bandai death star model is great for a planetkiller.

I hope you have fun playing Planetcide!