The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I first played Silent Death at a demo ran by Don Dennis, the line editor for it over at Iron Crown Enterprises. It was love at first self-destruct as I took and dealt death all threw space.

I went out the next day and bought a copy of Silent Death: The Next Millenium. Despite the $50 price tag - over twice the price of the Rookie Rules - I had learned enough of the rules in one game of Silent Death that I wanted as much bang for my buck as possible.

I was not disappointed.

SD:TNM is a large boxed set. In it you receive miniatures - not only 48 ship miniatures, but also asteroids, wormholes, torpedos, and a number of others. It also included a scenario pack, a ship pack, and a thick perfect bound book, as well as two large poster sized space hex maps.

The hex maps are fairly plain - but hey, it's space. 'Nuff said.

The miniatures are nicely-detailed and provide a broad base of ships for the beginning play. They include 4 miniatures of 12 different ships. More ships are detailed in the book; however, the 12 minis give a chance to get up and running right away. Additional minis are available in pewter for about $5 a blister pack.

The other minis provide a good visual reference for what they are used for. However, I would have preferred that they were a little more specific as to, for example, what size torpedo each color is.

The scenario pack includes 6 scenarios designed to be played in order by the beginning player. The book unfolds, unstaples, and rips apart to be ready to play - though if you want to keep the pack, you may want to photocopy them first.

The book was my joy, personally. I expected a long set of boring rules; despite the rapidity of learning the rules of the game, I was prepared for something like the "Car Wars Compendium". What I got, however, was much, much more then that.

Silent Death is set approximately 9,000 years in the future. TNM is a few years after an Apocalypse - the insect-like Night Brood (or Grubs) ran rampant through human space, destroying all they came across. Attracted to violence, they lie dormant until a high enough level of violence occurs, then they swarm. The Imperium fell due to their use of a "doomsday" weapon on the Grubs, which attracted even more of them.

The book includes a history, short fictions, and a breakdown of human space (and two alien races) by faction. The Grubs keep conflict down to small actions - which are readily taken - but after a certain point, battles are called off to keep from attracting nearby clutches of Grubs.

The basic rules are included, plus a number of optional rules. The optional rules do add some complexity at times - however, at other times, they make things easier (such as the no-cost manuvering for torpedos rule). All in all, this is still space opera, not hard science fiction - there are no vectors of approach or close track of fuel consumption and delta-vees. Instead, you literally "fly 'til you die".

The rules are simple. At the beginning of a turn, everybody declares missile lock-ons and torpedo launches. Ships then move in order of initiative. Lowest number goes first in a contest ruled by 1d10 + piloting. Losing the initiative is deadly; everyone knows exactly where you are. You are followed then by torpedos, which you can dodge, jam, shoot down, or just cross your fingers and pray. Torpedos do a mammoth amount of damage, and there is a perverse pleasure in shooting a torpedo at someone that is bigger then their ship.

Gun combat comes next, consisting of rolling 3 dice and adding modifiers. One of the dice becomes the damage, depending on the roll and the weapon. After gun combat, missiles hit their targets, then (if you desire, as I did four times the first time I played) ships can self destruct.

The rule book also includes a complete ship construction rules, as well as the details of a number of different ships commonly used.

The day after buying SD:TNM, I ran a game of "Red Shirt Smash" - the scenario I played the first time. It involves a number of "level one" ships duelling it out - when killed, a new one comes in the next turn. If a ship does a certain amount of damage and escapes out the center, it gets a bigger ship. The winner is the one that "upgrades" a level three ship. As the ships get bigger, the quality of their crew goes down.

I ran it with nine players, including myself, and I was the only one who had ever played it before. The players (varying in age from 18 to 25) enjoyed it immensely. The rules were understood within one turn; by the end of the game everybody could handle it completely on their own, without any coaching or even referencing the back of the ship sheets. We didn't finish the game due to time, however.

All in all, this is a great game - either for continued campaigns or one-shot beer and pretzel games. The game is stylistically nice, with artwork spread liberally by Dan Smith, yet not overly pretentious and worried about "style".

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Silent Death: The Next Millenium
Author: Don Dennis (line editor) Category: miniature Company/Publisher: Iron Crown Enterprises Cost: $50.00 Page count: n/a Capsule Review by SeanMike Whipkey on 01/22/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Post-apocalypse	I first played Silent Death at a demo ran by Don Dennis, the line editor for it over at Iron Crown Enterprises. It was love at first self-destruct as I took and dealt death all threw space. I went out the next day and bought a copy of Silent Death: The Next Millenium. Despite the $50 price tag - over twice the price of the Rookie Rules - I had learned enough of the rules in one game of Silent Death that I wanted as much bang for my buck as possible. I was not disappointed. SD:TNM is a large boxed set. In it you receive miniatures - not only 48 ship miniatures, but also asteroids, wormholes, torpedos, and a number of others. It also included a scenario pack, a ship pack, and a thick perfect bound book, as well as two large poster sized space hex maps. The hex maps are fairly plain - but hey, it's space. 'Nuff said. The miniatures are nicely-detailed and provide a broad base of ships for the beginning play. They include 4 miniatures of 12 different ships. More ships are detailed in the book; however, the 12 minis give a chance to get up and running right away. Additional minis are available in pewter for about $5 a blister pack. The other minis provide a good visual reference for what they are used for. However, I would have preferred that they were a little more specific as to, for example, what size torpedo each color is. The scenario pack includes 6 scenarios designed to be played in order by the beginning player. The book unfolds, unstaples, and rips apart to be ready to play - though if you want to keep the pack, you may want to photocopy them first. The book was my joy, personally. I expected a long set of boring rules; despite the rapidity of learning the rules of the game, I was prepared for something like the "Car Wars Compendium". What I got, however, was much, much more then that. Silent Death is set approximately 9,000 years in the future. TNM is a few years after an Apocalypse - the insect-like Night Brood (or Grubs) ran rampant through human space, destroying all they came across. Attracted to violence, they lie dormant until a high enough level of violence occurs, then they swarm. The Imperium fell due to their use of a "doomsday" weapon on the Grubs, which attracted even more of them. The book includes a history, short fictions, and a breakdown of human space (and two alien races) by faction. The Grubs keep conflict down to small actions - which are readily taken - but after a certain point, battles are called off to keep from attracting nearby clutches of Grubs. The basic rules are included, plus a number of optional rules. The optional rules do add some complexity at times - however, at other times, they make things easier (such as the no-cost manuvering for torpedos rule). All in all, this is still space opera, not hard science fiction - there are no vectors of approach or close track of fuel consumption and delta-vees. Instead, you literally "fly 'til you die". The rules are simple. At the beginning of a turn, everybody declares missile lock-ons and torpedo launches. Ships then move in order of initiative. Lowest number goes first in a contest ruled by 1d10 + piloting. Losing the initiative is deadly; everyone knows exactly where you are. You are followed then by torpedos, which you can dodge, jam, shoot down, or just cross your fingers and pray. Torpedos do a mammoth amount of damage, and there is a perverse pleasure in shooting a torpedo at someone that is bigger then their ship. Gun combat comes next, consisting of rolling 3 dice and adding modifiers. One of the dice becomes the damage, depending on the roll and the weapon. After gun combat, missiles hit their targets, then (if you desire, as I did four times the first time I played) ships can self destruct. The rule book also includes a complete ship construction rules, as well as the details of a number of different ships commonly used. The day after buying SD:TNM, I ran a game of "Red Shirt Smash" - the scenario I played the first time. It involves a number of "level one" ships duelling it out - when killed, a new one comes in the next turn. If a ship does a certain amount of damage and escapes out the center, it gets a bigger ship. The winner is the one that "upgrades" a level three ship. As the ships get bigger, the quality of their crew goes down. I ran it with nine players, including myself, and I was the only one who had ever played it before. The players (varying in age from 18 to 25) enjoyed it immensely. The rules were understood within one turn; by the end of the game everybody could handle it completely on their own, without any coaching or even referencing the back of the ship sheets. We didn't finish the game due to time, however. All in all, this is a great game - either for continued campaigns or one-shot beer and pretzel games. The game is stylistically nice, with artwork spread liberally by Dan Smith, yet not overly pretentious and worried about "style". Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)