Ironclads Admirals Handbook

This Page Intentionally Left Blank
playing ironclads
ironclads
space battles in the
victorian aether
A table top tactical space combat game set in 1890s.
Ironclads Concept, Design & 3D Modelling by

Robin Elliott
Ironclads Designed by Additional Writing & World Building

Dave Mortimer Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams
Editing:
Anthony Boyd, Dave Mortimer, Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams
Graphic Deisgn & Typesetting:
Robin Elliott
Art:
James Hayball, Robin Elliott
www.tripleacegames.com
Permission is granted to print this e-book for personal use only.

No site license is given. Each player must own their own copy.
©2021 Triple Ace Games Ltd. Ironclads and all related marks and logos are
trademarks of Triple Ace Games Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
“For Mum who inspired me to be the artist I am”

Maureen Isobel Elliott 1940-2020
DRAFT RULES DECEMBER 2021

contents
CONTENTS Dice ................................................................... 29
MAP OF THE KNOW SOLAR SYSTEM.......................... 4 Range Finding ................................................... 29
An Opponent...................................................... 29
CHAPTER 1 HISTORY.
HISTORY................................................... 5 Several Players.................................................. 30
FIRST STEPS................................................................ 6 A Battlefield........................................................ 30
First Blood To Germany........................................... 7 3D PRINTING............................................................. 30
THE RACE FOR MARS.................................................. 8 Printer Types.......................................................... 30
The First Martian War............................................. 8 FDM Printers.......................................................... 30
America Joins The Race.......................................... 9 Filaments............................................................... 31
NEW TECHNOLOGY..................................................... 9 DLP Printers........................................................... 31
Which Printer Brand?............................................ 32
THE SECOND MARTIAN WAR.................................... 10
Adding Armour Plating.......................................... 11 READY TO PRINT!....................................................... 32
A New Tactic........................................................... 11 Model Making........................................................ 32
First Steps.............................................................. 32
A SLIGHTLY MORE CIVILIZED APPROACH................ 11
The Anglo-French Venusian War........................... 12 PREPARATION............................................................ 33
New Mineral Discoveries...................................... 12 Paperwork.............................................................. 33
Measuring ............................................................. 33
A NEW AGE OF PIRACY.............................................. 13 Game Information................................................. 34
The Ice War............................................................ 14 Dice Rolls............................................................... 34
ANOTHER PLANET..................................................... 15 Re-Rolls.................................................................. 34
A WAR BY ANY OTHER NAME.................................... 16 Using The Website................................................. 34
DEEP IN THE AETHER............................................... 17 IMPORTANT RULES................................................... 35
Diagrams................................................................ 35
CHAPTER 2 IRONCLADS QUICK-START....................
QUICK-START.................... 19
Faction Specific Rules........................................... 35
What To Supply...................................................... 19
What To 3d Print.................................................... 19 SPACE. IT’S REALLY BIG!........................................... 35
Printing Your Models............................................. 19 Battle Boards & Mats............................................ 36
Terrain.................................................................... 36
SHIP SHEETS............................................................. 20
The Sky’s The Limit............................................... 36
SET-UP........................................................................ 21 Storing Your Models.............................................. 37
Operation “Dogs Of War”...................................... 22
SPORTSMANSHIP...................................................... 37
Primary Objective.............................................. 22
Declaring Your Intentions...................................... 37
RANGES AND ARCS................................................... 22 Rules Disagreements............................................ 37
How To Play............................................................ 22 Table Etiquette....................................................... 37
Area Command TOKENS................................... 22
GAME BOOKS............................................................ 40
1) Command Phase........................................... 22 Fleet Manuals........................................................ 40
2) Order Phase................................................... 23 Mission Book......................................................... 40
Manoeuvre......................................................... 23
Propulsion.......................................................... 24 CHAPTER 4 GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW..........................
OVERVIEW.......................... 41
Steering.............................................................. 24 THE GAME ROUND.................................................... 42
Engage............................................................... 25 1) The Command Phase....................................... 42
Action.................................................................. 25 Placing Acts........................................................ 42
Other Orders.......................................................... 25 2) Order Phase...................................................... 42
Bombardment.................................................... 25 Activating ACT’s.................................................. 42
Barrage............................................................... 25 I. Identify Triggered Ships.................................. 42
Helmsmanship................................................... 26 Ii. Align Armaments........................................... 42
Full Steam.......................................................... 26 Iii. Orders............................................................ 43
Completing Your Turn........................................ 26 Manoeuvre......................................................... 43
3) Maintenance Phase...................................... 26 Engage............................................................... 43
End Of Game...................................................... 26 Special Orders...................................................... 43
The Full Rules........................................................ 26 3) Maintenance Phase.......................................... 43
Alternative Mission: Secret Salvage..................... 26 Continuous Effects & Damage Types............... 44
Setup...................................................................... 26 Victory Conditions.............................................. 44
Primary Objective.................................................. 26 THE NEXT STEP......................................................... 44
Battle Honours...................................................... 26
CHAPTER 5 PREPARING FOR BATTLE......................
BATTLE...................... 45
CHAPTER 3 PLAYING IRONCLADS............................
IRONCLADS............................ 27
What Is Ironclads?................................................. 28 BATTLE SIZE AND TYPE............................................. 46
The Models............................................................ 28 BATTLE TYPES........................................................... 46
Standard, Elite & Legendary Ships................... 28 Campaign Battle.................................................... 46
Requirements........................................................ 29 Matched Battle...................................................... 46
Magnets............................................................. 29 Narrative Battle..................................................... 46

contents
Solo Battle............................................................. 47 ENGAGEMENTS......................................................... 68
Competitive Play.................................................... 47 I. DECLARE TARGETS................................................ 68
EXAMPLE MISSIONS................................................. 47 Valid Target............................................................ 69
Capture The Flag................................................... 47 Line Of Sight.......................................................... 69
Mining Mission...................................................... 47 Range..................................................................... 69
Escort Duty............................................................ 47 RANGE.................................................................... 69
Battle Honors......................................................... 47 Arc Of Fire.............................................................. 70
FLEET POINTS............................................................ 48 Range To Target..................................................... 70
BUILDING A FLEET.................................................... 48 II ATTACK ROLLS........................................................ 70
Ship........................................................................ 48 Critical Hits & Critical Damage............................. 71
Squadron And Flotillas.......................................... 48 Damage Types....................................................... 71
Fleets...................................................................... 49 III. DEFENCE ROLLS.................................................. 71
OFFICERS................................................................... 49 Damage.................................................................. 71
Multiple Targets..................................................... 72
GAME SETUP............................................................. 50 Wreckage .............................................................. 72
Deployment............................................................ 52 Wreckage Dissipation........................................... 72
Standard Deployment........................................... 52
Scripted Deployment ............................................ 52 SPECIAL RULES......................................................... 72
Special Order......................................................... 72
CHAPTER 6 GAMEPLAY: FLEET COMMAND............. COMMAND............. 53
SHIP-TO-SHIP BOARDING.......................................... 72
TAKING COMMAND................................................... 54 Scuttling................................................................. 74
Area Command Tokens......................................... 54 Hulks...................................................................... 74
THE COMMAND PHASE............................................. 54 Crewing.................................................................. 74
Strategically Placed Tokens.................................. 55 CHAPTER 9 GAMEPLAY:
Direct Commands.................................................. 56
Renew Orders........................................................ 56 THE MAINTENANCE PHASE......................................
PHASE...................................... 76
ORDER PHASE........................................................... 56 THE MAINTENANCE PHASE...................................... 76
Activating ACT’s..................................................... 57 I. Resolve Continuous Effects............................... 76
I. Identify Triggered Ships..................................... 57 Ii. Apply Continuous Damage................................ 76
Ii. Align Armaments............................................... 57 Iii. Victory Check.................................................... 76
Iii. Orders................................................................ 57 Iv. Start Player........................................................ 76
MOVING THROUGH YOUR FLEET.............................. 59 NEXT TURN ............................................................... 76
ORDERS & EFFECTS................................................. 59 CHAPTER 10 BUILDING SHIPS.................................
SHIPS................................. 77
Action Stations...................................................... 59 THE SHIPYARD........................................................... 78
Engage................................................................... 60 Vital Statistics........................................................ 78
Manoeuvre............................................................. 60 How To Build Ships................................................ 78
Special Action (If Applicable)................................ 60 Ship Building Checklist: ....................................... 78
CHAPTER 7 GAMEPLAY: MOVEMENT.......................
MOVEMENT....................... 61 STEP 1: CHOOSE A HULL.......................................... 79
MANEUVERING.......................................................... 62 STEP 2: HARDPOINTS............................................... 80
Selecting A Ship To Maneuver.......................... 62 Vital Statistics........................................................ 80
Maneuver Order................................................. 62 Arc Of Fire........................................................... 80
Action Order....................................................... 62 WHICH ARMAMENTS?.............................................. 81
Speed And Maneuverability.............................. 62 Turret Gun (Armament)......................................... 81
Propulsion.......................................................... 62 Torpedo (Armament)............................................. 81
Steering.............................................................. 62 Mining Drill (Contraption)...................................... 84
Creating A Template Chain................................ 63 Circular Saw (Contraption).................................... 84
Reverse Thrusting.............................................. 63
Rotating.............................................................. 64 STEP 3: HULL PLATES............................................... 84
FLIGHT TEMPLATE RULES......................................... 64 STEP 4: PROPULSION............................................... 84
Area Command Tokens......................................... 64 Boilers And How They Work.................................. 85
Contact With A Models Base................................ 64 STEP 5: STEERING.................................................... 85
Maneuver Steps ................................................... 65 STEP 6: EXTRA CREW................................................ 85
I. Rotate Before Movement............................... 65
STEP 7: SPECIAL CREW............................................. 86
Ii. Place Movement Templates.......................... 65
Marines.................................................................. 86
Iii. Propel Ironclad.............................................. 65
Iv. Rotate After Movement................................ 66 8: FINAL POINTS........................................................ 86
V. Collisions........................................................ 66 APPENDICES............................................................... 87
APPENDICES
Limits Of The Aether.............................................. 66
CHAPTER 8 GAMEPLAY: ENGAGEMENTS. ENGAGEMENTS................. 67

playing ironclads

playing ironclads

Chapter 1: History
“A SAILOR’S LIFE First Steps
FOR ME”
The decision to announce a race to the Moon
Fleet Senior Chief Petty Officer
Charles Watson, helmsman on was never intended to start a race to colonize the
the USAL Eastlake, a Lake Erie- planets. The best plans of mice and men rarely
class troop ship, flinched as work out as planned, though.
another shell caromed off the Technically, it was the Leagues of Adventure,
armored hull. Flinching was an scientific and social clubs, who participated
automatic response, though the and won the challenge, not one of the great
countless turret guns arrayed nations of the world. Since the Leagues had their
against them were still at headquarters in London, they naturally planted
extreme range. Any hits would
be bad fortune, impacting with
the flag of Great Britain on the Moon.
little kinetic energy. That first race has since become legend.
Watson kept the Eastlake on Different Leagues claim to have been victorious.
a straight course rather than Stories abound that they did so with rockets
trying to avoid the incoming launched in volcano explosions or by enormous
shots. Yes, there were dozens cannons, and steered through the void using
of guns firing at them, but few cheese-seeking mice or vanes coated in anti-
rounds were hitting home. gravity paint. All impossible, of course, but
Moving the ironclad would be
such tales of human ingenuity and daring fuel
tempting fate and likely to move
the ship into a stream of rounds. the imaginations and the pages of the penny
It would be different once they dreadfuls.
closed range, of course. Turret Many thought the British would seek to extend
guns were largely ineffective their imperial might into the heavens, but the
weapons but with enough of planting of a flag, while a source of immense
them working in concert you pride, was seen only as proof of scientific and

Chapter 1: History
engineering superiority in government circles. could sink a battleship given

With a flag on the Moon, Britain naturally enough time, and the Lake Erie-
assumed it now controlled the celestial orb and class was definitely no warship.
there was little point returning. It would only take a few volleys
to spell disaster for the troop
The Germans, however, assumed otherwise. It
ship and its troops.
was typical of the British to announce one thing Watson looked at the distance
and do the opposite. More importantly, Germans counter. If it was correct they
dismissed Britain’s territorial claims as nonsense—a would have less than 4,000
flag proved nothing. yards to go. Then they would
With a tiny terrestrial empire and little land left try to cut their away into the
worth claiming, the Kaiser was adamant that, hull and dock. Well, not them
having lost the Race for Africa to Great Britain exactly, but their garrison of
and France, his nation would not fall behind its marines. They would shoot
across the void in their boarding
rivals again.
capsules and prepare the way
Unable to fund the entire venture from its by cutting through the station’s
own coffers, the government offered private hull and holding a beachhead
enterprises the opportunity to colonize the other until the men and women of 3rd
planets. In return, the government would tax the Company, 19th Regiment, 5th
companies on the amount of land they owned Infantry Division arrived.
and the resources they exploited. As the distance closed Watson
The first obvious target was the Moon. The felt a distinct rumbling through
first true aether ships were crude constructions the decks. The Lake Erie-class
powered by steam engines burning coal and only carried a light cannon
and the gunnery crew had
concentrated oxygen tablets. Those early ships just launched their counter
were small, commercial craft (today they would attack. Watson knew it
be classified as Gunboats), equipped only with wouldn’t do much against the
mining tools and lacking the modern technology Ottoman space station they
regularly employed today. were attacking but it kept the
FIRST BLOOD TO GERMANY gunners busy.
The range counter ticked down
The news that Germany had landed on the through 1,500 yards and then
Moon and actually staked a territorial claim by 500 yards. Turret guns shells
constructing a rudimentary facility caught the were thudding against the hull.
other nations by surprise, especially the British. Watson knew the marines were
Even so, they did nothing. now beginning their boarding
Mars, it was determined, was simply too far action and the vessels would be
away to reach. Food substitution pills would keep coming to a halt very soon. Until
a crew nourished for months, but the amount of then, he had the responsibility
of keeping the Eastlake steady
water and fuel required for such a journey would while it drifted toward the space
demand a massive aether ship. Such a vessel station.
was beyond any nation. Watson gave a brief smile.
It was not for several years, when news arrived People said he was a fool when
back on Earth that miners had discovered new he joined the aether navy, but
minerals on Moon, that the Great Powers realized Watson knew in his heart it
their error in ignoring the Moon. would be a sailor’s life for him.

Chapter 1: History
THE AETHER Among the ores discovered by the Germans
In layman’s terms, the aether was selenium ore. A crystalline mineral, selenium
(from the Greek for “upper air”) ore was quickly discovered to be combustible in
is the air in the space between aether, the thin vapor that filled the heavens.
celestial bodies. Burning hotter than coal, it would enable aether
It is extremely thin, far too thin ships to create far more thrust, thus allowing
to breathe unaided. Even the air
circling the highest mountains
them to venture further into space.
is dense by comparison. This is The Great Powers flew into a frenzy. Fingers
not to say it does not possess were pointed by the public, government inquiries
properties that bridge officers were launched to appoint blame, and questions
need to be constantly aware of. were asked as to what could be done to rectify
As in Earth’s atmosphere, the situation.
bodies moving through the Germany may have had a head start, but lack
aether push the medium aside. of terrestrial resources hampered its ability to
Even the largest ironclads capitalize. By the time Germany was ready to
produce minimal aether wakes, advance to Mars, its next target, its rivals had
but the movement of huge
not only staked their own claims on the Moon
objects, such as the planets and
some of the larger asteroids, and started mineral exploitation, but were hastily
produces chaotic swirls. constructing aether ships capable of reaching
Ships passing through a the red planet. A new race had begun—the Race
planet’s wake are subjected to for Mars!
turbulence. Worse, the aether
wakes travel outward, colliding The Race for Mars
with other planet’s wake to
generate large, more fearsome Mars was a rich, highly-sought prize. The
storms. Moon was an airless rock utterly devoid of
The closer to the body one is, the water. Settling there required enormous costs
greater the disturbance in the and special measures. Mars, however, boasted
aether. Likewise, large planets breathable air and water, as evidenced by the
produce more turbulence than witnessing of channels on its surface.
smaller bodies. While its rivals hastened to mine selenium
At best, these wakes are ore, Germany raced for Mars. Desperately short
equivalent to riding through of ships, it launched a handful of vessels without
a storm-riven sea—there may
be some structural damage to
bothering to perform lengthy surveys to find the
the ship and aether sickness richest mineral veins. Germany openly claimed
to the crew, but nothing life- the entirety of Mars, but the other Great Powers
threatening. At worst, they were not going to accept its claims without
can cause hulls to crack and testing its resolve.
rip external equipment from Within a year, Great Britain had launched
its mounting. For this reason, her first Mars-bound aether ships. While survey
captains much prefer to vessels scouted the surface, primitive warships
approach planets from the attempted to oust the Germans.
forward rotational side (i.e., the
planet’s direction around the THE FIRST MARTIAN WAR
Sun). Aether warship crews today fight with
advanced weapons and at great ranges. Those

Chapter 1: History
first pioneering warship mariners had nothing RESTRICTIONS ON

but mining tools at their disposal. INTERPLANETARY
Naturally, the engagement was fought at close- TRAVEL
quarters. As the British fleet arrived over the The discovery of selenium ore,
German colony, the defenders launched every porphyrite shards, aetherium
ship at their disposal. For two days, the small crystals, and the atomic ore
fleets cut, drilled, and hammered at each other mercurium, has revolutionized
over the surface of Mars. Slabs of hull plating interplanetary travel.
Along with advances in boiler
and entire aether ships, their hulls ablaze, technology, and the invention of
slammed into the red soil, as did the unfortunate atomic engines, the whole of the
crews of stricken vessels. With no support or inner Solar System is available.
repair facilities available, the mauled British fleet Even the Moon can be reached
eventually withdrew, ending the war. The first war in just a few hours.
on another world was won by Germany. Yes, ships still requires fuel and
Realizing that Germany would defend her water, but there can be supplied
territorial claims with blood, her rivals set out by tenders, spacestations, or
on a new course. German claims to her existing asteroids.
holdings were grudgingly acknowledged while Timing is the key to making a
successful voyage. Warships,
colonies were founded elsewhere on the planet. freighters, mining ships, postal
AMERICA JOINS THE RACE ironclads, scientist and research
A young and idealistic nation, and once subject vessels, and liners, among many
to British rule, America initially had no designs of others, can all move between
creating a planetary empire. The president, the the planets under their own
steam, but unless they plan their
Senate, and Congress all declared that America
journey to allow water and fuel
was not, and should never be, a colonial power. stops, they must wait patiently
Such youthful enlightenment was destined for the orbits to circle around to
to fail eventually. As the other nations began a more reachable position.
their land grabs and started to reap the rewards
of exploiting new resources, America found SHIP SYSTEMS
herself sidelined in global politics and gradually Aether ships require more than
becoming impoverished. propulsion and steering to
If only to prevent the others from claiming the operate in the vast coldness of
entire solar system as their own, America entered the aether. With interior space
restricted, aether ships employ a
the race. Still opposed to colonialism, America range of weird science artifacts
would assume any extraterrestrial acquisitions to make life bearable.
into the Union as new states, not satellite nations
or colonial colonies. COMMUNICATION
Communications between
New Technology decks or compartments within
an ironclad relies on speaking
Despite their ultimate desire for peace, all tubes, in the same manner as
the Great Powers realized that the race for the conventional wet-navy ships.
planets had turned onto a dark path from which When communicating between
there was no return. different ironclads, ships use
No longer would exploiting the other planets semaphore flags or signal lamps.

Chapter 1: History
While both are good for short be purely commercial. Engineers and scientists
distances and short messages, were put to work creating weapons suitable for
it is not realistic to use them to aether warfare. As each nation developed a true
send long messages. aether navy, the cornerstones for later technology
Long range fleet couriers are used were set. Every faction its own simple weapons—
to pass orders between command
bases and distant fleets. light cannons, torpedoes, and turret guns—but
Message capsules also form the each followed a different path elsewhere.
main way an admiral can deploy The British, for instance, favored heavy ballistic
its fleet. These small clockwork weapons, which could be retrofitted from her
powered gadgets can be sent mighty traditional navy. Germany, on the other
from the admiral’s ship into the hand, took great leaps forward in aether rocket
battle for captains to pick up the and torpedo technology. Of the others, only the
message. Americans adopted weird science.
COMPUTATORS
Plotting a navigational course The Second Martian War
or firing pattern requires a great A late player in the game, Russia soon realized
deal of mathematical skill. that its rivals had already staked claims on the
Most crews rely solely on the richest swathes of land. In a bid to jump ahead in
brain power of their navigation
and gunnery officers to get to
the game, the Tsar ordered the Imperial Russian
their destination and blow the Fleet to attack and conquer existing holdings in
enemy out of the aether. More Mars.
modern ironclads make use The Russians could not have arrived at a
of mechanical computators to worse time. Having secured its territorial rights,
support their crew. Germany watched with amusement as her rivals
Likewise, a ballistic computator squabbled among themselves. With its rivals
can take into account the distracted, Germany could muster its entire
direction and speed of both Martian aether warship fleet to meet the Russian
the firing and target vessels,
advance. As the Russian fleet advanced, their
gravitational effects of planets,
and aether turbulence, before approach was detected by powerful telescopes.
delivering a firing solution. While the Russians were still three days from
The navigational analytical engine orbit, the German fleet maneuvered to engage.
aids in plotting optimism courses, This time the war would be fought with true
either through the aether or in a warships. With advanced technology still largely
planet’s atmosphere. on the drawing board, it would be the retort of
CREW COMFORT basic weaponry that echoed through the aether.
Lacking support ships capable of rearming
Napoleon once said that an
army marches on its stomach. and repairing their fleet, the Russians put all
This adage applies equally well their eggs into one basket, as had the British
to the various aether navies. In earlier. Again, it was a costly mistake.
addition to supplying nutrition, With poorer quality ships and untrained crews,
regular meals boost morale. the Russians were decisively beaten. With its fleet
In order to save space, many in tatters, Russia had no option but to sue for
larger vessels are fitted with a peace. As well as financial restitution, the Peace of
Mars, signed by all nations with Martian territory,
10

Chapter 1: History
restricted Russia to colonizing certain areas of the gastronomic engine instead of

planet. Naturally, these areas were known to be a galley.
sorely lacking in any valuable resources. Designed to be used by even
ADDING ARMOUR PLATING common ratings, one simply
selects a menu item (officers
The first true aether warship engagement have the great choice, naturally)
proved to the Great Powers that something other and presses a button. The
than hull plating was required to protect vessels. machine automatically selects
Not only were warships expensive to construct, raw ingredients from the ship’s
but crew morale was dismal. Rather than taking stores, adds some seasoning, and
pride in their ships, crews began to talk about cooks the food. When the meal is
them as “iron coffins.” ready, a bell chimes, saving the
Heavy armor, much thicker than used by crewman from watching over the
pot. The finished meal may not be
traditional “wet” navies, was added to strengthen up to epicurean standards, but
the hull and improved morale. it’s hot, fresh, and allows catering
A NEW TACTIC for all tastes.
With planetary facilities still in their infancy, no Every ship carries a supply of
nation had the ability to construct new vessels nutritional substitution pills
on the surface of other worlds, nor could heavy for emergencies. Packed with
essential nutrients that are
damage repaired to its fullest. released slowly, swallowing a
As ground-based engineers and laborers single pill allows a mariner to go
worked to construct such facilities, the various a full 10 days without needing
navies sought an interim solution. Freighters were to consume food. The pills have
hurriedly re-purposed to serve as mobile repair no effect on water consumption,
centers, ammunition carriers, and hospitals. and have an unfortunate side
Placed in high orbit, these valuable resources effect—chronic flatulence.
were protected by military warships. Hence they are for emergency
Although the use of these auxiliary vessels use only.
would diminish with time as ground-based bases, MEDICAL FACILITIES
and later huge orbital stations, they remain
An injured or sick crewman is
essential in the Asteroid Belt. not a productive one. While
most ironclads carry at least
A Slightly More one medical officer, most
Civilized Approach recuperation is done by using
While the nations continued to squabble weird science.
By far the most essential pieces
over Mars, they all set out to colonize Mercury
of equipment are the blood
(believed to be rich in minerals) and Venus (which analysis computator (detects
scientists believed was another Earth under its diseases in the blood) and
cloud clover). the tissue regeneration elixirs
Having learned their lessons during the brief (speed up healing).
struggle for Mars, the nations actively tried to Before battle, crew may be
avoid confrontation in securing land on those issued nerve destimulizer
worlds. Numerous skirmishes occurred, but no pills (numb pain sensors
Faction was prepared to start a major war. After and increase blood clotting),
all, there was room for everyone. endurance enhancement elixirs
11

Chapter 1: History
(boost stamina), Morpheus THE ANGLO-FRENCH VENUSIAN WAR
reduction tonics (reduces the Of all the skirmishes, the Anglo-French Venusian
need for sleep), or physique War came to causing a war back on Earth. Having
enhancement serums (boosts set their sights on the same fertile region, the
strength but the user develops
a ravenous appetite). two fleets arrived in orbit at the same time. Both
Outside of combat, poorly refused to leave and tensions gradually rose.
crew can be cured by doses of Who fired the first shot depends on which Faction
antibiotic pills or toxic resistance you’re from.
pills (good for warding of atomic What is fact is that the battle was fought. With
radiation diseases). both fleets equipped with advanced weaponry for
Many warships contain a the first time, great devastation was wrought. A
portable pharmacopeia engine British victory was ensured by what many officers
in the sickbay, a complicated still call an ungentlemanly act.
piece of machinery that allows
even novices to produce
With his fleet in danger of being destroyed, Rear
conventional pharmaceuticals Admiral Richard Muttley, the British commander,
in seconds. sent an uncoded signal via lamp to his remaining
Very advanced warships and vessels stating that a (nonexistent) rearguard ship
the best passengers liners use had received word that British reinforcements
heliograph engines, which employ were a matter of hours away. Facing what he
the direct energy of the Sun to believed would be fresh warships, and with his
power weird science crystals ammunition supplies rapidly dwindling, the
to focus healing energy; life French commander, Contre-Amiral Louis Martin,
preservation machines, which
abandoned the field.
prevent death in an emergency,
and full immersion accelerated Despite securing victory, Muttley was removed
healing baths, a ceiling-height from his command and given a “promotion” to a
glass tube which uses clockwork- desk job on the Moon.
powered. electrocstatic generators Although there were no other engagements
to regenerate unconscious people. between the two belligerents, the War continued
SENSORS for four years, when peace was officially declared.
NEW MINERAL DISCOVERIES
Space is big, but it certainly
isn’t empty. Detecting an The discovery of porphyrite in the rocks of
obstacle, be that another ship, Mars unlocked even greater potential than
wreckage, stray asteroid, or selenium ore. Propulsion systems took another
celestial anomaly, is normally leap forward, reducing travel times once again.
performed by the bridge crew Surveying vessels had already undertaken
using a periscope or binoculars. lengthy journeys to the asteroids. The brave
They are often aided by a
collideoscope. crews of these vessels, often along in the great
When activated, the device void, hacked, sliced, and drilled their way into the
sends out regular bursts of rocks as they sailed through space.
ultrasonic waves. These bounce No nation has released any numbers, but it is
back off a nearby object, estimated that mortality rates were as high as 60%
whereupon they are detected during the early days of asteroid exploration. Even
by an antenna array. The today, reports are sent concerning the discovery
computator then automatically of a wrecked scout vessels lost years beforehand.
12

Chapter 1: History
Many asteroids proved rich in certain takes control of the ship and
elements, such as iron and nickel, while others steers it away from a collision.
were made of ice, but these findings were given
no attention except by Germany—such things COMMUNICATION
could be found elsewhere, where they could be BETWEEN PLANETS
exploited at significantly lower cost and effort. It Attempts to communicate
was only the discovery of aetherite that sent the between worlds using lights
Great Powers rushing into the deep reaches of never left the drawing board.
the solar system. Not only could messages only be
Like with selenium ore and porphyrite, aetherite viewed by the receiving station
was a potent fuel when refined. A new range of telescopes at night, but the power
requirements of creating a light
propulsion systems had to be constructed, but
powerful seen across space were
the cost was considered worth it. Ships burning astronomical.
aetherite could reach the Asteroid Belt at speeds A heliograph system using the
that made mineral exploitation a worthwhile Sun’s light was suggested in
endeavor. place of lamps, but the entire idea
More importantly, the previously ignored had an inherent flaw—any signal
common elements could be mined and smelted would be received by anyone
in place, allowing the construction of mining with a telescope. Even encoded
stations and aether ships locally. With the ice messages could be decrypted.
Heliographs are used to send
asteroids providing adequate water, the only
emergency broadcasts only
outside resource required was food. where speed outweighs security
concerns.
A New Age of Piracy Believe it or not, the various
Despite claiming vast swathes of the other postal services deliver to each
distant world, even in the
planets and governing them, most mineral
Asteroid Belt. It may take takes
exploitation is undertaken by private companies long months to receive anything,
under license. Although forbidden from selling but post carries on!
propulsion ores to rival nations, the companies Governments send important
exist to make money, not pander to governments information via high-speed
and their politics. As a result, selenium ore, couriers. Those working between
porphyrite, and aetherite have all found their Earth and the Moon are usually
way into the hands of smaller nations and even gunboats, while destroyers are
independent groups. required for longer distances.
Dedicated couriers typically
Directly attacking a colony is a fool’s errand.
eschew heavy weapons, using
Not only are major colonies and space stations lighter ones because they weight
protected by aether warship fleets or squadrons, less. The rest of the available hull
many have gun emplacements capable of space is dedicated to upgrading
knocking an aether vessel out of the sky. the propulsion to its maximum
No nation has the resources to escort single rating. Rarely employing armed
freighters. Most often, merchant vessels gather escorts, they rely on their speed
into convoys, but private ventures cannot always to avoid trouble.
afford the fees demanded by the navies, nor do
their schedules allow for lengthy delays. When
13

playing ironclads
circumstances dictate, lone vessels

are forced to ply the trading lanes
between worlds. They are ideal
targets for pirates and commerce
raiders.
The largest pirate band is the
Scavengers, a powerful Faction
operating from somewhere in the
Asteroid Belt. All attempts to locate
their base of operations have failed.
Lesser Factions, still potent enough
to attract the attention of the Great
Powers, are the Brazilians, Mexicans.
THE ICE WAR
The dark side of Mercury is
uninhabitable due to the extreme
cold (temperatures hover around
–160°C, or –256°F). A source of
water ice, it is routinely mined in
order to provide cooling and drinking
water to the Mercurian colonies.
With water so essential, the existing
Factions signed a treaty that made any
attack against ice mining operations
a crime against humanity (most
inhabitants are, after all, civilians).
This has not prevented bloodshed,
however. Every nation has reported
unmarked aether ships hacking away
chunks of ice from the frigid surface,
and most have endured attacks
against civilian mining vessels
and freighters. Damaged enemy
vessels would self-destruct rather
than surrender, leaving the Factions
unable to identify the perpetrators.
Naturally, the nations immediately
pointed their fingers at each other
and accused their rivals of blatant
piracy in breach of the treaty. As
tensions rose, the commanding
governors and admirals, refusing to
wait for orders from Earth, which was

Chapter 1: History
in opposition at the time, set about solving the “RAT-A-TAT-TAT”

situation the old-fashioned way. Turret gun shells tore into
The result was a short-lived and bitterly-fought the Spanish gunboat’s hull.
Seconds later, several small
war over the dark side of Mercury. Peace ensued explosions signaled they had
after orders to stand down were received from struck something important. The
Earth, though the Factions still engage in regular second gun fired at a different
skirmishes over ice. target, its shells missing all
Somewhere in the minds of the various save for one, which caromed
planetary governors is an imaginary line. Until it is harmlessly off the hull.
HMAS Conclave, a British
crossed, no side wishes to declare open warfare. Convention-class light destroyer,
As for the unknown Faction, their acts of piracy was helping to defend HMAS
continue unabated, with the other Factions still Carnarvon, one of the new
in the dark as to their identity. Fortress-class battleships.
Carnarvon was making its way
Another Planet from the naval shipyards on
Mars to its first posting around
Since 1840, scientists have argued as to distant Venus. The Admiralty
whether or not there is a planet circling the demanded HMAS Carnarvon
Sun inside the orbit of Mercury. Certainly the enter orbit around Venus
astronomer Edmond Modeste Lescarbault immediately, even though that
meant sailing halfway across
believed so. Although his claim of seeing a transit the Solar System.
of Vulcan is heavily disputed, his “findings” Along the way, a Spanish flotilla
allowed him to calculate some basic information. had taken umbrage that a
Vulcan, he insisted, orbited at a distance of 13 British squadron was passing
million miles from the Sun and had a year of just aether territory claimed by their
19 days and 17 hours. king. Comprising three light
cruisers and four gunboats,
Even those who accepted his work had little to which the commanding officer
be enthusiastic about. That close to the Sun, the had obviously thought powerful
planet was considered too hot to colonize, even enough, they had been polite
using the technology employed on Mercury’s enough to give a warning. When
baking surface. the British ignored the message,
The French and Austro-Hungarians were the the Spanish maneuvered to
attack. While HMAS Carnarvon
only Factions to attempt to reach the hypothesized trained its weapons on the
planet, though both fleets were forced to abandon cruisers, HMAS Conclave and her
their expeditions as the fierce heat began to burn sister ironclad, HMAS Assembly,
and melt the heavily reinforced hulls long before had turned their turret guns
they reached its orbit. Vulcan, it was declared, against the oncoming gunboats.
could never be inhabited. “Signal from Assembly, sir,”
said Commander Sinclair with
The expeditions did establish Vulcan existence a frown on the face. “It reads,
as a scientific fact, however, thus officially ‘One gunboat killed. Winner
expanding the Solar System to nine planets in buys dinner.’ Message ends.”
total and bumping up the others planets up one Captain Emmanuel Travers
place in the order. harrumphed. “We will still win
15

Chapter 1: History
this contest. Tell both turret guns A War by Any
to stay on the first gunships. Other Name
Let’s get this over with and
move onto the cruisers.” In the same way that the colonization of the
Sinclair relayed the message. New World bolstered the fortunes of Spain and
He nodded in response to a Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries, so the
reply only he could hear from the acquisition of new territory on the other worlds
gunnery commanders. Another has revitalized the Great Powers.
burst of turret guns shells tore Lust for exotic goods has gripped the world’s
across the aether and slammed citizens. From Venusian fruits, vegetables, and
into the Spanish gunboat. It
woods to Martian gems to Mercurian crystals, the
continued moving under its own
power before the damage from people demand more and more. As profits grow,
the hits began to take its toll. so the governments reap the rewards of taxation
Growing explosions tore through and selling operating licenses. Private enterprise
the ironclad, blowing sections of has boomed on the newly opened worlds, and
its into the void. Moments later, there are growing numbers of migrants searching
the gunboat blew apart. There for a better life and increased prosperity.
would no survivors from that, Day by day, the once-isolated colonies begin to
Travers thought. encroach closer and closer to the lands of their
The crew briefly cheered at the
rivals. Vacant areas of land are no longer ignored
sight before hastily returning to
the work. The turret guns fired as each country seeks to ensure even greater
again, this time on the second prosperity for its citizens and deny wealth to others.
gunboat. Ripping through the Skirmishes are no longer contained to a
hull, they tore into the engine handful of warships or single squadron. Above
room, destroying boilers and the planets and in the darkness of the aether,
sending men tumbling and entire fleets clash to establish dominance.
spinning into the aether. Another Fueled by media reports, citizens demand
burst and the gunship had been their governments respond to every perceived
destroyed.
slight outside of Earth’s orbit with military force.
A brief explosion filled the port
window and promptly vanished, In many eyes, the engagements fought in the
extinguished by the lack of air. aether are remote from their daily lives. Lives are
One of the gunboats had strayed lost on a daily basis, but the number of dead is
too close to HMAS Carnarvon minute to the bloodshed of a land battle. In many
and she had unleashed her cases, the dead are nothing more than a minor
own turret guns, scoring an statistic easily ignored by those baying for blood,
immediate kill. while the newsmen crown the victors in glory and
“Send a message to Assembly,” calls them heroes.
Travers said. “Tell that, ‘We win The newspapers have proclaimed that the
two versus one. Dinner in your
mess tonight.’ Please send my “Battle for the Aether” has begun, though total
regards to the gunners, Mr. war is still a long way from being declared. That
Sinclair, for a fine example of said, every skirmish, every lost aether warship,
shooting. Offer them another tot brings the Great Powers a step closer to open
of rum tonight. Anyway, look like war. When war is announced, the aether will
we’re having dinner aboard the quake with the rumble of explosions and the
Assembly.” screams of dying mariners.
16

Chapter 1: History
Deep in the Aether... TO JUPITER AND

BEYOND!
HMAS Goshawk, a Bird-of-Prey-class bombard
Beyond the five terrestrial
destroyer, was being stalked two German Jäger- planets lie the four gas giants—
class torpedo destroyers, their tubes aligned Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
on her hull. Sighting a dense cluster of asteroid Neptune. Separating the two is
nearby, her captain gives the order, “Advanced the Asteroid Belt, a dense mass
to flank speed and head for the rocks!” The of tumbling rocks many almost a
helmsmen quickly turn the destroyer and you hundred million miles deep.
make a run for cover with all haste. Even with reinforced hulls and a
The German ironclads make chase, one firing collideoscope, few vessels would
survive more than one or two
a torpedo in the hope of getting a lucky strike collisions. Giving the hazards
at your aft end. The torpedo sails wide and facing asteroid miners, who
disappears into the aether, a fortunate shot from rarely venture deep into the belt,
your point of view. an attempt to cross the entire
Approaching the asteroids, your navigator field is considered an act of
informs you that it considerably larger than first madness.
thought. The captain nods, his only thoughts Scientists are well aware that
on the coming battle. “Steady as she goes,” he all the gas giants have at least
one satellite, and three of them
orders.
boast multiple moons.

Chapter 1: History
Based on telescopic exploration, The German ships hasten to catch you up, but
many scientists believe that HMAS Goshawk as vanished into the asteroids.
Io may be subject to extreme Hiding from the Germans, you watch the two
vulcanism. If that proves true, destroyers split up. Now is your chance!
it would mean a plethora of Staying hidden behind an asteroid, your two
valuable ores being thrown out
mortar tubes are in position for a shot. Boom!
from the moon’s molten core.
Thus far, only the Germans Boom! Seconds pass as they hurtle through the
have attempted the long, and aether, high above the intervening asteroids. Twin
hazardous, journey to Jupiter. explosions roar through the aether, signaling a
Even fueled by aetherite, an double hit! Debris and crew are forced out into
ironclad would take many months the aether to a horrible death.
to reach the Jovian satellites. From out of nowhere a torpedo hits your ship.
Initially keen to announce their The second destroyer swung around and caught
expedition to the world, the you napping! Your ships suffers damage but
Germans have fallen silent is only a glancing blow. You call for a second
since. Spies indicate something bombard broadside, praying Goshawk will be in
went disastrously wrong, but the position in time.
nature of the disaster remains
The first mortar fires and strikes the engine,
unknown outside the German
high command. blowing away chunks of armor plating. A second
torpedo is launched, but it bounces off your
BRIEF TIMELINE armored hull. The second mortar takes aim and
1837 First landing on fires. Boom! With a deafening roar, the shell
the Moon by the explodes inside the engine room, scattering
Leagues of Adventure junk in a plume of steam. It is over and HMAS
(Great Britain) to Goshawk survives to fight another day!
commemorate the That was a description of a scenario that
coronation of Queen is commonplace in Ironclads—an enjoyable
Victoria skirmish between friends. The players in the
1842 Germany lands on the game take on the roles of opposing admirals
Moon playing out these great battles on the tabletop
1844 Selenium discovered and further their nation’s goals.
on the Moon, opening Ironclads is a fictional universe in which great
the aether powers are striving to conquer new worlds and
1849 Germany lands on explore the distant Asteroid Belts and deeper
Mars regions of the Solar System.
1851 First Martian War Welcome to Ironclads!
1853 Venus colonized
1854 Anglo-French Venusian
War
1857 Second Martian War
1860 Third Martian War
1862 Mercury colonized
1864 Asteroid Belt colonized
1890 Today
18

Chapter 2: quick start rules
Ironclads Quick-start
fig. 1
For your first game of Ironclads we
recommend following these quick-start
instructions to get you up and playing as
soon as possible.
WHAT TO SUPPLY
• x6 D6’s for attacks.
• x6 D6’s for Hull
• x12 Magnets (round 2mm x 1mm)
• x1 Tape Measure (in inches)
WHAT TO 3D PRINT
BEGIN HERE
To get playing you will need to 3D print
Super glue the
the following files: neodymium magnets
British Fleet into the recesses in
the ironclad hull and
• x1 British Gunboat
armament. Make
• x1 British Destroyer sure the poles of the
• x3 Armaments magnet attract!
German Fleet
• x1 German Gunboat
• x1 German Destroyer
• x3 Armaments
Game Components
• x4 Flight Stands
• x3 British Area Command Token
• x3 German Area Command Token
• x3 Flight Template
• X1 Crates Objective Token
• x4 Ship Sheet
• x1 Asteroid and stand
• x1 Loot Marker - Crate
All the .stl files for 3D printing will be

found in the folder marked QUICK-START
in your digital files collection.
PRINTING YOUR MODELS
We recommend resin printing your
miniatures to get the best quality. Once
you have gathered all of these parts, you fig. 2
will be able to begin playing Ironclads.
You could paint your minis right away The finished ironclads ready to do battle!
but this is not necessary to try the game.
Text in blue is a game term. A glossary of game terms is on page 87. 19

Ship Sheets 2
A Ship Sheet shows all your ironclads’ 1
stats. They are also used used to track
8
damage, speed, and armamentss. Here 3 4 5 6 7
you can see a picture of a ship sheet 9
with the following items marked: 10
1. Ship Name: So you can identify
which ship it represents. 9
2. Faction: Nation alignment. 10
3. Propulsion (PRO): This is how many

Flight Templates the ironclad can
fig. 3
use to move. 11
BEGIN HERE
4. Steering (STE): This is the number

of steering points the ironclad can arcs of the armament and how many
use each manoeuvre. attack dice it can use at each range.
5. Hull (HUL): This is the amount of 10. Firing Arc: Armaments have 5
damage that the ship can sustain different firing arcs. Always align you
before being destroyed. armaments from the center of the
6. Crew (CRE): Number of ironclad ironclad. Armaments at the front of
crew aboard. a ship can only use the front facing
7. Marines (MAR): The number of 5 segments and rear armaments
marines aboard. can only use the backward facing
8. Armour (ARM): Level of resistance 5 segments. When aiming your
in the hull of the ironclad. armament use the segments as if the
9. Armaments: These show the firing armament is in the center of the ship.
20

11. Damage Tracker: 6-sided dice Build your Ironclad first attaching the Flight
are used to track Hull, Crew, and Base by gently inserting the base into the
Marines damage. Different coloured key socket in the bottom of your ironclad
dice help with identification.
Set-Up
You will need a flat 3ft x 3ft (or 1m
x 1m) playing surface (also referred to
as a map) and a separate small area
for your ironclad Ship Sheets and game
components. The players should sit
opposite each other on their side of the
BEGIN HERE
playing surface.
Each player picks a Faction and takes Then add the
the two Ship Sheets for that Faction. The armaments to
players should put their Units together the magnetic
to match the Ship Sheets by connecting hardpoints.
armaments to a magnetic hardpoint
on the ironclad. Each destroyer has two
armaments and each gunboat has one
armament. The ironclads should be
mounted to a Flight Base. Once this is fig. 4
done, the two vessels should be placed
with one segment of their base aligned
21

within 3” of the map edge closest to the 3D printed ruler. An ironclad is

them. Align armaments in any direction considered in range of a Command
you wish. Token or another Unit if any part of
Both players pick the Area Command the ironclad’s base or token is in the
Tokens relevant to their Faction. (Each required range.
should have a pool of 3 tokens.) Place
the asteroid in the centre of the play Ranges Inches
area. All other components should be
Close (C) 2”
placed beside the play area in easy reach
for both players. Short (S) 4”
OPERATION “DOGS OF WAR” Medium (M) 6”
For your first game we suggest a Long (L) 8”
BEGIN HERE
straight up fight. Intelligence reports Long Close (LC) 10”

there is an enemy patrol in your area. Long Short (LS) 12”
Track them down and destroy your Long Medium (LM) 14”
opponent’s entire squadron!
Long Long (LL) 16”
Primary Objective
Win by destroying all your opponent’s An Firing Arc is determined by looking
ironclads. at the segments of the ironclad’s Flight
Base. Line of Sight requires the target
Ranges and Arcs ironclad to be sighted within that Firing Arc
by extending a straight line from the base.
Much of the gameplay in Ironclads
relies on ironclads being within a How to Play
specific range. There are eight ranges in
Ironclads: Close Range (C), Short Range The game is played over a number of
(S), Medium Range (M), Long Range Rounds until the Victory Conditions are
(L), Long Close Range (LC), Long Short fulfilled.
Range (LS), Long Medium Range (LM) Choose a starting player randomly.
and Long Long Range (LL). Anything Each round will follow three steps:
beyond Long Long Range cannot be hit. 1) Command Phase
You determine range by using any 2) Order Phase
measuring tape with inches on it or 3) Maintenance Phase
Each step is completed before moving

e
to the next. Once the Maintenance Phase

ang
gr
2 is complete, a new Round begins.

lon
1
ge
AREA COMMAND TOKENS

ran
3
2
ium
Each Area Command Token has a

med
4
number of symbols or Orders. Below is
e
ang
3
a key to the three basic Commands you
r
5
rt
4
will need to know.
sho
fig. 5 1) COMMAND PHASE

ge
an
er
During the Command Phase, the

s
clo
22

players pick the three Area Command the player may discard an unused ACT.
Tokens (ACTs) and begin placing them. This allows them to reposition all of their
Taking it in turn, the Starting Player other ACTs that haven’t been used yet
places one of their ACTs face down, and repair 1 damage suffered to a single
either in the play area or on one of their ship in your fleet. If this is done, play
Ship Sheets. TheAction
ACTs can be placed in automatically passes to the next player
any order. without any of ironclads being triggered.
Engage Once all of the ironclads that will be
MANOEUVRE used are identified the active player now
Manouvre
Action has a chance to align their armaments.
ENGAGE They can choose to align them on some
Repair
Engage of their ironclads or on all of the Ironclads
BEGIN HERE
that have been triggered—it is their choice.
Action
ACTION
+1 Dice when Engaging at all ranges
Manouvre The player then selects and orders
each Triggered ship one at a time.
Engage
+1 Dice when
Repair
ACTs in the play area can Engaging
be placedat C & SNote a ship must complete all of its
when they are revealed selected orders before the next ironclad
anywhere, but Manouvre
during the OrderUnlimited
+1 DicePhase Steering
when When
unitsatManouvering
Engaging
only allisranges
Triggered.
within Short Range
Repair of the token will be A player may decide not to Trigger an
Movement
+1 Dice Template when
when Engaging & manouvering
at C ironclad,
S even if it is in activation range.
Triggered, so choose wisely. Tokens
must be placed+1inDicean when space onat allSimilarly,
emptyEngaging ranges a player may also decide not to
Command the FleetWhen Manouvering
Unlimited Steering
map—you cannot stack them together or use all of their orders. Once the player
place them on any model
+1 Dice when
Movement
base.
Engaging at C has
Template when S finished ordering their ironclads,
& manouvering
The tokens placed on Ship Sheets the ACT is removed from the map and
only activate that single unit.
Unlimited Steering returned to the player’s ACT pool ready
Command the FleetWhen Manouvering
Once all ACTs have been placed play for the next Command Phase.
moves to the Order Phase. Template when manouvering
+1 Movement Every ACT has a number of icons. Each
2) ORDER PHASE icon is a single Order. Each Order has its
Command the Fleetone of own set of rules to follow. Some orders
Players now alternate choosing are effects that improve other orders on
their ACTs to activate. The Starting Player the ACT. Some of these are explained
Action
goes first. The player selecting the token below, while others will be listed in the
is the Active Player. All other players are appropriate Fleet Manual.
Engage
called an Opponent.
The Active Player is permitted to select Manoeuvre
Manouvre
any ACT in play to activate. Players may Each ironclad has two statistics that
look at their own face-down ACTs at any determine Repairhow it can move—Propulsion
time in the game but must make sure they and Steering.
are placed back in the same position. Propulsion:
+1 Dice when ThisEngaging
is the number of
at all ranges
Once the Active Player has selected an Flight Templates an ironclad can use
ACT, it is turned over. If the chosen ACT this during +1 Dice this ACTEngaging
when to move (see
at C fig.
& S 6).
is on a Ship Sheet, that single ironclad Steering: Steering points can be
is Triggered only. If the ACT is on the spentUnlimited to rotate Steering
at the start
Whenor end of the
Manouvering
map, all ironclads within Short Range manoeuvre or to change direction whilst
of the ACT are Triggered. Alternatively, using+1 Flight Templates.
Movement Template when manouveri
Command the Fleet 23

PROPULSION depending on the exit chosen (see

fig. 6 fig. 7). If contact is made with any
The speed of your
part of a base or model, no more
ironclad equals the
Flight Templates can be placed (see
number of Flight
Templates it uses in a V. below for collisions). If contact is
single action. made with an ACT, the Active player
moves the ACT up to close range
distance away from that template.
The player can choose to use any
number of Flight Templates up to
the ironclad’s Propulsion Rating
The steps below must be followed during an action.
BEGIN HERE
in strict order when performing a iii. The ironclad is now moved and
Manoeuvre. Any of the first three steps placed with the back of its flight
may skipped by the Active player: base adjacent to an exit of the final
i. Rotate Flight Template. Again, the player’s
ii. Flight Templates ironclad must have enough Steering
iii. Move Ironclad points remaining to use the exit
iv. Collisions chosen. If the ironclad cannot be
Each step is explained below. placed without making contact with
i. Steering points are used when another model (either through base
the ironclad is turned one or two to base or ironclad to ironclad/
segment in any direction. The cost asteroid contact), see V. below.
is indicated on the Flight Template. iv. In Ironclads, collisions between
ii. Place the back of a Flight Template ironclads is ignored. Although the
adjacent to the front of the game takes place on a 2D tabletop,
ironclad’s base. Additional Flight it is assumed that the 3D nature
Templates may now be added of the aether allows captains to
by placing the back of the new make appropriate adjustments to
Flight Template adjacent to one avoid collisions. If your ironclad
of the exit points on the previous would collide with another player’s
template. Steering points are used ironclad you end your movement
instead. Remove the last Flight
STEERING Template that was placed and
Pilot your ironclad place your ironclad in its place. This
by spending your ends your movement. No damage
steering points on is taken by either ironclads and you
1 or 2 point turns. continue your turn.
This example If a collision occurs with an obstacle
would cost a total (such as an asteroid) during any of
of 3 Steering. the above steps, you automatically
end your movement. Roll two six-
sided dice. For every 4, 5, or 6 rolled,
apply one point of damage to the
fig. 7 ironclad involved in that collision.
24

Engaging
Defending
Ironclad
Ironclad
Arc of fire
BEGIN HERE
fig. 8 Armament in short range
Armament segment
Action
Engage
Engage that are not blocked are recorded as
When a player takes an Engage action, damage on the damage tracker. If the
may choose any number of the number of amount of damage is equal to
they Manouvre
ironclad’s armaments which have a viable or greater than the ironclad’s remaining
target. Multiple targets can be attacked hull points, the unit is destroyed and
Repair
with different armaments by the same is removed from its flight stand and
+1 Dicethe
unit during when Engaging
Engage Order.atAllalltargets
ranges placed as wreckage at the spot it was
must be declared first then each attack destroyed. Wreckage is an obstacle that
must+1beDice when Engaging
completed separately.at C & S is treated identically to asteroids for line
Players cannot measure the range to of sight and collision damage.
Unlimited
the enemy Steering
ironclad When arc
or check Manouvering
of fire ACTION
Action
before firing,
+1 Movement AnEngage
Action order allows you to choose
Once a shot hasTemplate when manouvering
been declared, the
between a Manoeuvre or an Engage
player measures the range and arc of fire Manouvre
Action
order.
from Command
the armaments the Fleet
segment. Measure Engage
Repair
nearest base to base distance. If the
target is outside the range of the chosen
Other Manouvre
+1 Dice when
Repair
Orders
Engaging at all ranges
armament, it automatically misses. If it is +1 Dice when Engaging at C & S

BOMBARDMENT
+1 Dice when Engaging at all ranges
in range, then the appropriate number of
Gunnery
Unlimited
+1 crewsWhen
Dice whenSteering
Engaging at Con this ironclad are
& S Manouvering
dice for that range are rolled by the Active
functioning
Action
Unlimited with
Steering the
When uttermost
Manouvering
+1 Movement Template when manouvering accuracy
player. All rolls of 4 or 5 count as hits and
and +1so
Engage gainTemplate
Movement an advantage.
when manouvering This order
any roll of 6 is a Critical Hit. Critical hits Command the Fleet
allow you to
Manouvre the add
Fleet +1 attack die but only if
cannot be blocked by Armour. Command
the Repair
armament is targeting an enemy as
The opponent rolls dice based on
Medium or Engaging
Long atRange.
their defence. (Note that some ironclads +1 Dice when all ranges
do not have any armour, so you don’t BARRAGE

+1 Dice when Engaging at C & S
get to roll.) Any dice that roll 4, 5, or 6 This ironclad’s

Unlimited crew have trained to
Steering When Manouvering
block one hit each. Any additional hits coordinate their when
+1 Movement Template shots. This order allow
manouvering
Command the Fleet
25

Action
Engage
Manouvre
you Repair
to add +1 attack die but only if the you playing Ironclads. With a few games
armament is targeting
+1 Dice when Engaging at all ranges an enemy as under your belt, it is now time for you
Medium or Long Range.
+1 Dice when Engaging at C & S to absorb the full rules in the following
HELMSMANSHIP
Unlimited Steering When Manouvering chapters.
Action
The
Engagehelmsman on this ironclad is a
+1 Movement Template when manouvering
veteran
Manouvreof the service and can achieve
Command the Fleet Alternative Mission:
fastRepair
manoeuvres. You have unlimited
Secret Salvage
steering when
+1 Dice when Engagingmanoeuvring
at all ranges this round, Parts for a new secret armament have
but +1cannot turnat C sharper
Dice when Engaging &S than a Flight were jettisoned when a freighter was
Template allows.
Unlimited Steering When Manouvering attacked. The parts are now awaiting
FULL
+1 MovementSTEAM
Template when manouvering retrieval in the aether. You have been given
the location of the missing parts. However,
BEGIN HERE
Your ironclad is pushing its engines to

Command the Fleet
spies heard you are manoeuvring to

the limit. You gain a single bonus Flight
intercept them. The enemy is coming!
Template when manoeuvring this round.
SETUP
COMPLETING YOUR TURN
Place the Crate Objective Token in
Once a player has completed their
the centre of the playing area. Place five
orders for an ironclad, they may then
dice close to the Objective Token.
trigger another ironclad within S Range
of the current Command Token. When PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
all ironclads within range have been Retrieve three cargo crates (dice)
Triggered, the ACT is removed from the from the Objective Token and get them
play area and placed in your pool. back to your starting position.
Once all players have used ACTs, this New Rule: When an ironclad is within
phase is complete. Play now moves to Close Range of the Crate Objective
the Maintenance Phase. Token you may automatically trigger a
3) MAINTENANCE PHASE Loading Order.
New Rule: Loading Order. Place one
Any ongoing effects now trigger.
cargo on your ironclad’s Ship Sheet
Scenario specific actions are now
sheet. Ironclads can only carry one
triggered and must be performed (e.g.
Cargo Crate at a time.
move asteroids).
New Rule: Once carrying the cargo
Check to see if the victory conditions
crate, if the ironclad loses one point of
have been met. If victory has not been
damage the cargo crate is automatically
achieved, the Starting Player moves to
jettisoned.
the next player clockwise and a new
round begins. BATTLE HONOURS
END OF GAME Battle Honours are optional awards
given on top of the main objective to the
The end of the game occurs when player who completes them first.
the objective victory conditions are Cargo King: First player to
achieved. pickup a cargo crate.
Eagle Eye: First player to make
The Full Rules their opponent drop three crates
This section is just a quick start to get during play.
26

CHAPTER 3
PLAYING IRONCLADS

Chapter 3: playing ironclads
WHAT DO YOU NEED? what is ironclads?

To play Ironclads you will need: Ironclads is a miniatures game and is entirely
3D printable, giving players freedom to create
3D PRINTER & MAGNETS massive fleets to their exact requirements. Set in
● A 3D resin printer 1890, at the height of Victorian industry, Ironclads
● Neodymium 2mm x 1mm has an exciting steampunk background, where
round magnets
science and engineering have joined forces to
THE RULES create incredible advances. Players battle it out
● This rulebook to be the first to fulfil mission objectives or defeat
their opponents in simple skirmishes.
A FLEET Ironclads is designed for the hobby gamer, a
● One Fleet Manual (Faction model maker who takes pleasure in creating and
specific) painting miniatures for playing epic battles on
● 3D printed miniatures any tabletop. With Ironclads, you can produce as
many miniatures as you like on your own resin
AN OPPONENT
● A game requires two or more
3D printer.
players THE MODELS
Every ironclad in the game has a set of stats
A BATTLEFIELD that describe how it behaves. A number of
● A flat surface sample ships can be found on pages 20-21.
intoduction
● Black cloth or starfield map

More ironclads can be found in the Fleet Manual
TAPE MEASURE & DICE Faction books.
● A tape measure, ruler, or Standard, Elite & Legendary Ships
printed measuring sticks
● 6-sided dice Ironclads comes with several Standard Ship
designs. Standard ships can be fully customised
following our ship building rules, which start on
page 78. Using a modular weapon hardpoint
system allows different armaments to be attached
to the model. These make up the bulk of any fleet
and there is no restriction to the number or type
of Standard Ships you add to your fleet, as long
as you have the necessary fleet points.
Elite Ships are special ironclads that come
with fixed stats and specific, and sometimes rare,
armaments. Elite Ships have playing restrictions,
such as the total number of that type of ironclad
added to your fleet.
We also have uniquely named Legendary
Ships, which also come with fixed stats and, in
some cases, feature rare weapons. You will be
only able to one of these named ironclads to a
fleet, although you can always make a fleet of just
Legendary Ships, so long as they are all different.
28

Requirements ABBREVIATED DICE

When a dice roll is described in
The first thing you’ll need is a suitable 3D the rules it is abbreviated to xd,
printer. We recommend obtaining one of the with x being the total number of
many affordable resin printers—these offer dice required. E.g., Tom is asked
amazing quality for a great value. An FDM printer to roll 3d6.
is optional—you can use this to print other game
components that don’t require the higher quality.
MAGNETS
We’ve designed our ironclads to be fully
customizable, so all but a few of the models
require magnets. These allow you to not only 2mm
1mm
decide which armaments are attached, but the
magnets allow you to rapidly change weapons
when building fleets. The ironclads all use round
neodymium 2mm x 1mm magnets.
MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
DICE
Make sure you get a good supply
The game requires each player to have at least of 2mm x 1mm neodymium
10 six-sided dice (10d6). Most players already magnets.
have a number of dice lying round, but if not,
your local game store should be able to provide
introduction
a good range.
During the game you’ll have to roll a number of
dice. For instance, if you need to roll 3 six-sided
dice, it’s abbreviate to 3d.
In the event you need more dice than you have
available, simply use existing dice as make up
the numbers. Remember to keep the number of
success in your head, though!
RANGE FINDING
During a game of Ironclads, you’ll be asked
to measure distances for certain effects. Within
the 3D printer files that come with the game, you
will find an optional measuring sticks that allows
to measure up to 4”. For longer distances we
recommend a retractable metal tape that uses
inches.
AN OPPONENT
While there will be a few missions that
are setup for solo play, you’ll get the best for
the game by having at least one opponent.
With an opponent, you can play a number
of battle types, including Campaign Battles,
Narrative Story Battles, and Matched Battles..
29

SEVERAL PLAYERS
More players allows you to play grand Ironclads
games. You can play Team Games, with multiple
players on each side, or a Free-For-All, with players
competing to be the last ironclad standing.
A BATTLEFIELD
Any flat surface is good for fighting Ironclads
battles. We recommend a minimum 3ft x 3ft (1
metre x 1 metre) playing area. A black cloth helps
to simulate the aether, but a starfield mat is
even better. There are some very good neoprene
starfield mats available to buy.
RESIN PRINTS 3d printing
All of the models, game
components, ship stands, So you like the look of Ironclads, you’ve bought
and templates shown in the into the game, and now you want to get 3D printing.
illustrations within the pages of If you are new to 3D printing there is a lot to learn.
this book have be printed using There will be many questions for someone
resin printers. who hasn’t ventured into the world of 3D printing
before. This section attempts to advise players
intoduction
in the basics of 3D printing and gives some

answers to typical questions.
PRINTER TYPES
For the hobby gamer, there are two main types
of printer currently on the market—FDM (Fused
Deposition Modelling) and DLP (Digital Light
Processing). We recommend you
print the models in Ironclads using
resin printers, as you will get much
better quality and detail from that
type of printer. An FDM printer is
really only suitable to print out
some terrain pieces.
The cost of both DLP and FDM
printers has drastically reduced in
recent years, and decent printers
can be picked up for a couple
hundred dollars or pounds.
FDM PRINTERS
Although it is possible to print
Ironclads using an FDM printer
using supports, we wouldn’t
recommend it as the quality of the
30

models will be much lower than if you print with

a resin DLP printer. The technology behind FDM
printing is simple. A plastic filament is fed into
a heated nozzle, which produces temperatures
around 200°C (390°F). The filament is deposited
as a thin layer onto a build plate. Layer by layer,
a three dimensional object is created. The pro’s
are that the process is simple and the printers
are easy to manage. The con’s are that it is slow,
and no matter the settings, you will always see
layer lines which reduce the fidelity.
FILAMENTS
There are many filament types on the market
but it is best to stick to PLA (polylactic acid) or
ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) for your
printing. PLA is easier to print due to its lower
melting point and higher stability.
ABS is harder to print with. It also requires a
printer with a heated bed and enclosure, as the
ABS filament is prone to warping as it cools. A
introduction
heated bed and enclosure reduces this effect.
DLP PRINTERS
This technology has become much more
prevalent for hobbyist, and new machines are
coming onto the market all the time. If quality
of printing is what you are looking to achieve
in your prints, then a DLP resin printer does
beat FDM printing technology hands down.
However, there are a number of drawbacks
to keep in mind before going down this road.
DLP printers use a kind of curable resin,
a liquid that becomes solid when a UV light
source is concentrated on an area of the
resin. Over the time of the print, the layers
are built up to create a fully-formed object.
Because of the very thin layers that are built
up over the time of the print, it produces a
very smooth print quality.
The main drawbacks with the resin is that
it can be a bit smelly, messy, and requires
some personal protection equipment. There
is also a degree cleaning required post
printing. In most cases, a home environment
31

would not be suitable for DLP printing unless you

have a well-ventilated hobby room or garage.
WHICH PRINTER BRAND?
This really depends on your budget and your
situation. Certainly the more money you spend,
the easier the setup of your printer will be. We
recommend checking out some of the many 3D
printing channels on YouTube, which go into the
details of the types of printers worth looking at.
There are also many tips and printing guides out
there on the internet. Our best advice is to take
time setting up your printer and dialling in the
settings. Once you have done this, you will be
able to print out awesome models for Ironclads
and get playing the game quicker.
Ready to Print!
So you’ve done the research and finally
purchased a brand new printer, but where do you
start with Ironclads? If you’ve read this, then you
intoduction
may have skipped over our Quick Start Guide on

page “Ironclads Quick-start” on page 19. We
recommend following the Quick Start Guide as
this will get you playing the game in the shortest
time possible. The next step is to read this
manual so you can fully understand the game
and get the most out of Ironclads.
Model Making
So you’ve read the rules and you are keen
to get playing. This is the hardest step with
Ironclads, as you will have to begin by 3D
printing the models and assembling all of the
game components. Although its not necessary
to paint the models before play, you may wish to
get a fleet painted. All this is going to take some
time, though.
FIRST STEPS
Once you have played a few starter games
you’ll be ready to build a fleet. Start by choosing
a Faction. Each Faction has strengths and
weaknesses, so choose carefully—you will be
32

spending a lot of time preparing your models for

battle.
Preparation
Once you’ve completed creating the models and
components, Ironclads is a game that requires
only a little planning. You will need to prepare
your fleet before the battle, ensuring you have all
the correct models, including their armaments
and respective Ship Sheets.
PAPERWORK
Every ironclad has stats. We have prepared
blank Ship Sheets for you can print and fill in the
appropriate details for your ironclads (see page
87 for a set of blank Ship Sheets). Elite and
Legendary ironclads will come with pre-loaded
Ship Sheets.
MEASURING
Ironclads uses inches as its measuring system
introduction
and there shouldn’t be any need for complicated
33

FLIGHT TEMPLATE calculations. For all movement on the table top,

Ironclads uses a system of templates to make it
easier for players to manoeuvre their ironclads.
GAME INFORMATION
All ironclad data, armament information,
and damage indicators are considered “open
knowledge” for your opponents. That is, you may
not hide this information from rivals unless your
Faction has a special ability that allows certain
information to be hidden.
In contrast, Area Command Tokens should be
CLOSE RANGES kept secret (placed face down) when stored in a
pool and when placed during play.
ge
DICE ROLLS
an
gr
During the game you will need to make die

lon
rolls using one or more dice to determine the

outcome of actions.
ge
A roll of 1, 2, or 3 is considered a failure

an
mr
(unless otherwise instructed). In the case of a

diu
combat engagement it would count as a miss. If

me
intoduction
the roll is a 4 or 5, it is counted as a success. Any

ge
6 rolled is considered a Critical Hit. Normally this

an
tr
has the effect of making armour ineffective. (See

or
page 71 for more information on Critical Hits

sh
in combat engagements.)
e
ng
Faction specific rules may supersede the core

ra
mechanic and, in those cases, you must follow

se
clo
the new rule.

Re-rolls
In some cases, you will be allowed make a re-
ARCS roll. A re-roll could be just one dice or a pool of
dice—it depends on the situation or the effect.
You will never get more than one re-roll per
situation and must use the second result, even
2 if it worse.
3 1 USING THE WEBSITE
Ironclads makes best use of DLC (downloadable
4 2 content). Our website contains a good deal of
material useful for the game, with more great
content planned in the future. Some material
5 3
will have a price tag and others will be free. Also,
4 our Facebook group and forums will be available
to discuss the game, tactics, rules questions,
34

introduction
and any other questions you may have about RE-ROLLS
Ironclads. When a re-roll occurs, the player
must use the second result.
Important rules Only one re-roll per situation is
permitted.
To play Ironclads and get the most out of the
game, you will need to read this entire rule book.
Important rules and examples are indicated in DLC
the sidebars for quick reference during play. Downloadable content for
DIAGRAMS Ironclads can be found at
www.tripleacegames.com
Sometimes a picture tells a thousand words.
For more complex rules, we have included
diagrams to help explain them. The diagrams
must be used in tandem with the rules, as its FACTION RULES
possible that the diagrams themselves are not When a Faction rule directly
enough to explain complex situations. breaks a core rule, the Faction
rule supersedes the core rule.
FACTION SPECIFIC RULES
Many Faction rules are not given in this main
book. Players need to reference their Faction’s
Fleet Manual.
35

Space. It’s Really Big!

Ironclads is a skirmish level game. We know
that small, steam driven ships would easily be
USA Standard Ironclads swallowed up in the vastness of the aether. So
our battles focus in on events that take place in
this epic backdrop.
Ironclads is a table top game. We recommend
that 500 point battles you use a 3ft x 3ft (1m
x 1m) table or battle area. When more models
USA Gunboat are added to the battle, a larger area to play the
game will be required.
BATTLE BOARDS & MATS
Players can purchase neoprene mats depicting
various scenes of planets or stars. To be honest,
it’s hard not to recommend anything else as a
USA Destroyer
mat—they are easy to store and transport, and
don’t cost a lot of money. However, if you fancy
something a little more bespoke you can easily
construct your own playing area. Using MDF
board and paint, creating an Ironclads battle
intoduction
board can be made on a budget. Your local Do-

USA Cruiser
It-Yourself store will provide everything required.
Fancy a battle where your ironclads are flying
over the surface of Mars? Come on, constructing
Martian terrain would be a fantastic project,
wouldn’t it? Don’t just make it flat terrain, either!
Add some rocks or valleys and your ironclads will
have to maneuver through the terrain to find the
enemy or find hiding places to take shelter. Take
USA Battleship a look at page 39 for a recent terrain board we
have used in our demo games.
TERRAIN
Space may look empty but there are plenty of
features to be found in the aether. Asteroids of
all shapes and sizes can be discovered, debris
from lost ironclads, and strange pockets of gas
or particles await captains of unprepared ships.
Included in the game files you will find a number
of 2D and 3D printable terrain pieces to print
and paint to enhance your game.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
The great thing about Ironclads is that the
models are produced on a home 3D printer.
36

The variation in design, coupled with unlimited

customization in every model, gives you endless ASTEROIDS
freedom to create super-sized fleets. Only your
imagination is the limit! As the game develops. You will find a multitude of
Triple Ace Games will be releasing further designs different asteroids to include in
your battles.
and Factions for you to add to your collection.
STORING YOUR MODELS
You may think that throwing your models in
a bag or crate is fine, and that is entirely your
choice. However, after spending many hours
printing and painting your models, we shiver
at the thought of treating all that work harshly.
Miniature storage solutions exist and a robust
foam storage system is heartily recommended.
Sportsmanship
As with any tabletop game, playing competitively
might cause some friction with your opponent,
especially if you disagree with a rule. Remember
that Ironclads is just a game and that it’s not
introduction
worth losing a friend over.
DECLARING YOUR INTENTIONS
It can be helpful to declare your intentions
to your opponent. Letting your them know that
you intend to hide behind an asteroid, stay out
of range of a certain ironclad, and that you are Battleship Broadsides!
planning to use an officer’s special ability can
help prevent disagreements later.
RULES DISAGREEMENTS
If you and your opponent disagree about how a
rule should be implemented, we recommend that
you both roll one six-sided die. Whoever scores
highest gets to decide how the rule should be
played for that game—and don’t forget to contact
us to help you out in future.
TABLE ETIQUETTE
With miniatures gaming, it is important for
players to be understanding at the table. If you
are beating your opponent or getting crushed,
then its good to remember that its just a hobby
and the aim is to just have fun.
Respect your opponent, play by the rules, and
treat your opponent in the same way as you
37

ARTWORK
intoduction
38

ARTWORK
introduction
39

would expect to be treated—and don’t forget to

have fun!
Game Books
Alongside this core rules book, there are a
number of other great Ironclads volumes to aid in
your gameplay.
FLEET MANUALS
These must have books contain all the relevant
information for your chosen Faction. Each Fleet
Manual has background information about the
aether navy and their otherworldly colonies; a
large number of standard ironclads (with filled-
in Ship Sheets); background details for several
officers (along with their Officer Cards); an
explanation of Area Command Tokens; a range
of Faction-only armaments; and full details of
how to build a fleet.
MISSION BRIEFINGS MISSION BOOK
The Mission Briefings book
Ironclads comes with a complete book of
intoduction
contains 27 missions for you to

battle. From rescues to mining missions. Missions are the heart and soul of the
operations you will have plenty game and they lead the player deeper into the
of options to flex the power of Ironclads setting. In addition, there are missions
your Ironclads. on the Triple Ace Games website to download.
Please note that some missions might use
ironclad models you don’t have access to. You

CHAPTER 4
GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW

Chapter 4: gameplay overview
TURN SEQUENCE The Game Round
1) Command Phase What follows is an overview of Ironclads,
Place ACTs the turn sequence, and important rules. The
2) Order Phase following chapters go into more detail for each
part of the round. A start player for the first round
Activate ACTs is chosen randomly.
i. Identify Triggered Ironclads is played over a series of game rounds.
ships Rounds are broken into three distinct phases:
ii. Align Armaments 1) Command Phase
2) Order Phase
iii. Orders
3) Maintenance Phase
3) Maintenance Phase 1) THE COMMAND PHASE
i. Check continuous effects
During this phase, all players in the game take
ii. Check victory conditions turns (beginning with the Starting Player) to place
one Area Command Token at a time on the battle
area or a Ship Sheet. Once the players pools are
depleted of ACTs, the Order Phase can begin.
Placing Acts
WHAT ARE ACTS? ACT’s need to be placed so that they will be
ACTs are Area Command Tokens. effective in later Order Phases. Models that are
intoduction
These are used to command within Short Range of an ACT will be Triggered
the ironclads in your fleet. Any and ready for action. You should bear this in
ironclads within Short Range of
an ACT will be Triggered.
mind when placing your ACTs.
2) ORDER PHASE
Each player will take turns activating one ACT at
a time. When an ACT is complete the next player
selects their next ACT. Each ACT is completed
ACTS ON SHIP SHEETS in the following steps. See the Fleet Command
Sometimes you may wish to chapter on pagepage 56. for more details.
order one single Ironclad rather Activating ACT’s
than a squadron. Placing an ACT
directly on an Ironclads ship The active player selects their first ACT. This
sheet gives direct control over Triggers all ships within Short range of the ACT.
that single ship. ACTs in the play area allow multiple units to be
Triggered but ACTs placed on a Ship Sheets only
Trigger that ship.
i. identify triggered ships
TRIGGERED SHIPS
The player identifies all of their ships within
Only ironclads that have been short range of the ACT.
triggered can act during the
orders phase. You may find that ii. align armaments
your ships have moved out of The active player may now rotate their
range of an ACT! armaments to align with the base segment to
42

be used by the firing arc. This is done for every ALIGN ARMAMENTS
Triggered ironclad. Pointing your weapons at
the correct angle to be most
iii. orders effective is an important step
The ACT is revealed. Every Area Command forget to do this then you will
Token has a number of order symbols on it. quickly find that your ironclads
These dictate the type of order the model can are useless hunks of scrap!
take in this phase. The player can choose to use
all the orders or may select any number to use.
In certain situations, the player may not be able
to use certain orders. STEERING POINTS
Manoeuvre When moving don;t forget that
Steering Points will need to be
The Manoeuvre Order allows the model
spent as you place your flight
to move around the battle area using Flight templates to make course turns.
Templates provided with the game. Each
ironclad has a movement
rating and this number
tells you how many Flight
Templates you can use.
See Movement chapter on
pagepage 62. for more
introduction
information.
Engage
When a model is
involved in an Engage
action, the player can
choose to attack a rival
player’s fleet. Choose a
weapon on the activated
model that is in range of
a rival players model and
make an attack roll. See
Engagements chapter on
pagepage 67. for more
information.
SPECIAL ORDERS
ORDERS
There are many different order symbols,
allowing many types of activity. Each Faction has All of the ACT’s that are available
a set of ACTs that will be different from the other to a player can be added to their
game pool. Remember you can
Faction. Please see your favoured Faction’s Fleet
only ever have 2 of any type of
Manual for details. ACT in your pool.
3) MAINTENANCE PHASE
The Maintenance Phase allows players to
43

MAINTENANCE carry out important administration on their ships,

effects and check victory conditions.
The maintenance phase is a
clean up phase where some
During this step, any scenario specific actions
effects may need to be resolved must be discharged (e.g. move asteroids).
or continued. Asteroids may The Start Player changes to the next clockwise
need to be moved or the removal player and a new round begins.
of wreckage from the play area. If a player’ fleet has been completely destroyed
or has only Hulks remaining in the play area, the
game automatically ends.
Continuous Effects & Damage Types
HULKS
In future releases certain weapons and
Hulks are ironclads that have orders will have continuous effects, such as
lost all of their crew. These
floating ghost ships can be re-
Fire Damage or Caustic Damage. In this phase,
crewed, though. See pagepage players check to see if those effects carry on into
74 for more information on the next round or if they are spent, in which case
Hulks. they are discarded from the game. These effects
often will require a token that may need to be
removed from play during this phase.
VICTORY Victory Conditions
A standard condition of victory Every game of Ironclads requires some
intoduction
ids total destruction. The players victory condition to end the game, even if that is
in this game are looking to destroying your opponent’s fleet.
eliminate all of their opponents
Some Ironclads games are straight-up fights.
ironclads.
In essence, two fleets go head-to-head to find out
who has the better fleet. The winning condition
is fairly easy to determine—it’s a matter of last
ironclad standing.
IMPORTANT RULES However, missions or campaigns can offer
1) Placing ACT’s (see page more in-depth winning conditions. Other victory
54) conditions may involve retrieving certain pieces
2) Weapon Alignment (see of salvage, protecting, or destroying, a specific
page 57) ironclad or asteroid base, getting freighters
3) Activating Acts (see page across the map before they are destroyed by the
57) enemy, or photographing enemy ground activity.
4) Triggering a Unit (see See the chapter on the Maintenance Phase
page 57)
5) Orders (see page 57) The next step
6) Continuous Effects (see That completes our brief overview of the rules.
page 76) The following chapters delve much deeper into
7) Victory Conditions (see the rules for Ironclads.
page 76) ● Preparing for Battle (page 46)
● Commanding Your Fleet (page 54)
● Movement (pagepage 62)
● Engagements (page 68)
● Maintenance (page 76)
44

CHAPTER 5
PREPARING FOR
BATTLE

Chapter 5: preparing for battle
Battle Size and type
BATTLE SIZES Ironclads is designed for campaign,
competition, and friendly skirmish play. For each
It is really up to the players
decide on the scope of the battle.
of these situations, a fleet point value is assigned
For your first few games we before play. In the case of a friendly skirmish, you
recommend 500 point battles. should discuss the fleet value with your opponent
Also the Mission Briefings book before you start playing. This will allow you both
details many scripted missions to build viable fleets to bring to the battle.
that can be played. In the chart below is a set of guidelines for
battle sizes:
Type Fleet Points Play Area
Small Battle 500 3ft x 3ft
Medium Battle 1000 4ft x 4ft
Large Battle 1500 4ft x 6ft
Epic Battle 2000+ 4ft x 8ft
Battle Types
CAMPAIGN BATTLE
intoduction
Whether you decide to create you own

FLEXIBLE GAMING campaign or play the official published
Ironclads has been designed campaigns, Ironclads is designed for this kind of
for several battle types. From gaming.
tournament play to casual
Campaign battles are, by their nature, three
battles the game rules can
handle this variety. or more linked battles. These require players
to build a fleet that must complete specific
objectives and survive each mission through
to the final mission. They may have the added
difficulty of not gaining reinforcements after
each battle, making these campaign battle more
challenging.
MATCHED BATTLE
A matched battle is a very common setup,
where each player builds fleets to match the
same number of Fleet Points.
NARRATIVE BATTLE
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Ironclads has history. You’ll be able to replay
With such a rich background
important battles from the history of Ironclads
and history that is found in the
setting of Ironclads, important on the table top. Sometimes these will be difficult
battles can be replayed. to win due to facing unbeatable fleets, but who
knows, you may change history! Battles may have
46

very strict points constraints and sometimes

require specific ironclads to be used. SOLO PLAY
SOLO BATTLE To get the most out of Ironclads
Most games will require at least two players to two players is recommended.
start a game. However, there will be a number of However there will be a couple
of solo style missions.
solo missions. These will be assaulting specific
targets, perhaps a heavily defended space
station or asteroid gun emplacement.
COMPETITIVE PLAY TOURNAMENT PLAY
Official tournaments are
Ironclads can be played in organized play. planned and if you would like
Organizers of the event in question will notify the to hold a tournament contact
competitors in advance what the fleet value and Triple Ace Games at custserv@
any mission objectives. tripleacegames.com for help
setting up your event.
Example Missions
Here we list a few mission examples you will
encounter in Ironclads.
CAPTURE THE FLAG
This objective can include securing a mining
introduction
site or other object floating in the aether or it
might involve securing an expanse of the battle
area.
MINING MISSION
SPECIAL MISSIONS
Special resources are found secreted in Some missions will require new
mineral rich asteroids and require mining. models to be created for that
Escorting a mining ship to asteroids in order to specific scenario. These will
gather rare elements brings an exciting new way be made available when the
to play Ironclads. mission is published via Triple
ESCORT DUTY Ace Games.
A small fleet of merchant ironclads need
escorting across enemy space. It’s your job to get
them there safely.
BATTLE HONORS
As well as major winning conditions, every
scenario features a number of Battle Honors. SIDE MISSIONS
These awards are given to players in recognition
of their epic skill in battle. Battle honors don’t Battle honors are side missions
that reward a player by
always require you to win the game—they might
completing certain objectives.
reward your play style or some extraordinary It rewards players that employ
achievement. These allow all players to walk interesting game play and
away from the table with some award, even if tactics.
their fleet ultimately lost the battle.
47

Fleet Points
EPIC FLEETS Ironclads is a game with no limits in terms of
Building large fleets is a goal the availability of 3D printed miniatures. The only
we fully endorse! The game is limit is the time it takes to build and paint the
designed to enable players to
miniatures. Over time, we hope admirals create
fully explore the possibilities of
large fleet operations. So we massive fleets and have truly mass battles. This,
command you to go for it! ultimately, is our vision.
We have to bring some order to this situation,
of course, and so fleets will have self imposed
limits in the form of Fleet Points.
Every ironclad has a number of Fleet Points.
The standard ships in the Fleet Manuals already
have already been calculated. When you
combine ironclads into squadrons, flotillas, and
fleets, the overall Fleet Point for each ironclad
is added together. This total is your fleet’s point
value.
Building a Fleet
Building a fleet is all about planning, There
intoduction
MAKE A PLAN is an amount of effort and time required to 3D

Designing your fleet on paper is print and collect your units together. Then there
a good place to start. Choose is painting before finally taking your fleet into
your pre-built ships that are
battle.
published in the Fleet Manuals
or design custom ironclads from To minimize wasted time, it is always wise
scratch using the ship building to plan a fleet on paper first. That way you can
rules found on page 78. plan out your strategy before you decide to start
3D printing your ironclads. Using your Faction’s
Fleet Manual means you’ll be able to select the
ironclads, weapons, crew, and officers, and build
a mighty fleet that you can be proud of.
SHIP
A ship is a single ironclad of any class, which is
NAMING YOUR SHIP represented on the table as a miniature. Building
All ironclads need a good name! squadrons and flotillas from individual units and
We have provided a number forming fleets is fundamental to the game.
of ships names which can be
found in the appendices of SQUADRON AND FLOTILLAS
each of the Fleet Manuals. You A squadron is a formation of between two to
can of course create your own six ships. A flotilla is simply two to four squadrons
names and we have also blank using the same name designation.
templates so you can print the For instance, you might have the 4th Escort
name flags for your miniatures.
Squadron and 23rd Heavy Squadron. Linked
48

together, they might form the 3rd Heavy Escort CIVILIAN SHIPS
Flotilla. You may need to add a civilian
ship to your fleet to enable
FLEETS you to carry out specific fleet
actions. Remember to allow for
A fleet includes multiple squadrons of mixed this fleet point spend.
class ironclads. A fleet could have a minimum
of two ships, but can also have many, many
more. Fleets can also include single ironclads
of any class not been formed in a squadron. OFFICER CARDS
For example, you might have a single carrier or Every ironclad has crew that
single cruiser. In truth, though, it is better to have operate the machine. However
gunboats or destroyers flanking such ships. you can spend fleet points on
some special crew members.
Officers Officer cards can be bought
during the fleet build process.
Every aether ironclad has a compliment Each Ironclad is allowed to have
of officers and ratings (also known as crew) one officer attached to it for the
as standard. Players can use Fleet Points to battle and each of these officers
purchase unique officers with special abilities. has a skill that can be employed
Types: There are four types of Officer in the during the battle. Choose wisely
game—Captain, Engineer, Gunner, and Helm. though admiral as they can only
introduction
Note that in this instance, Captain refers to the perform this skill once!
position, not the actual rank.

Limits: An ironclad may only ever have one

MERCENARIES Officer and a fleet only ever one Officer with the
These officers are open to same name. Thus, no single vessel may have
any faction making them very two Captains, for example, nor can you use
flexible when choosing officer Kapitänleutnant Leopold von Battenburg twice
cards. in the same battle.
Unless an Officer has “Mercenary” as their
Faction, they can only be purchased by his
listed Faction. Mercenaries may be purchased
by any Faction, but only one unique individual is
permitted between all the Factions involved in
the battle as normal.
Assigning Officers: Every Officer must be
assigned to a ship at the start of a battle. They
may transfer to a different vessel that has no
officer present using the standard rules for
Crewing (see page 74).
EXAMPLE: Julie has chosen AETHER-
KAPITÄN INGE KRIEGER a German
Captain who has the following skill, “Use
all manouvre orders as Engage for this
intoduction
ACT.” She is building a German fleet so can

have this card and she notes the cost as
8cp’s. She assigns the captain to one of
her destroyers that makes up her fleet. She
is now ready to face her opponent in battle
with her German ships.
Game Setup
Players should have decided on the battle
STARTING PLAYER type and/or mission they are playing and have
Many of the steps during built their fleets for that scenario beforehand.
the game require players to As part of your fleet build you have two of
determine a starting player. each ACT as stated in your chosen fleet manual.
Simply rolling a dice to see who As previously discussed, small standard
gets highest result is a traditional battles are typically fought on 3ft x 3ft (1m x
way to decide however you may 1m) play areas.
wish to decide some other way. The following setup guidelines can be used for
any sized play area.
1. Each player rolls 1d6. The player rolling
highest (re-roll any ties) chooses who
becomes the Starting Player. The Starting
Player or moves clockwise to the next player
at the end of the maintenance phase.
50

introduction
51

2. Players now take it in turns to place terrain

TERRAIN PIECES pieces, beginning with the Starting Player.
Terrain must be further than 4” (Short
Most of the games you will
play take place in the aether.
Range) from any other pieces of terrain
However the surface of Mars and must never be placed inside a player’s
can also be a battle location deployment area.
and terrain pieces for rock Note that some missions will have fixed
formations will be needed as placements for asteroids, salvage markers,
well as asteroids. loot markers, or other items of terrain.
3. The second player now chooses which side
of the play area to begin deploying their
forces. The Starting Player automatically
takes the opposite side for their fleet.
ZONES OF DEPLOYMENT DEPLOYMENT
Placement of your ironclads There are two types of deployment— standard
is very important and poor deployment and scripted deployment.
placement may scupper your Standard Deployment
chances of a battle win.
With standard deployment, players have the
greatest freedom when placing their ironclads.
STANDARD Their Deployment Zone is anywhere within
intoduction
6” of their edge of the play area. Note that an

Anywhere within 6 Inches of ironclad’s flight base must be wholly within the
their edge of the play area. Deployment Zone.
Players should sit opposite.
Players alternate in placing a single ironclad
into their Deployment Zone. If one player has
more ironclads than their opponent, their
remaining ships can be placed at the end of the
deployment zone.
EXAMPLE: Roger has two sets of ironclads—
one set of two British destroyers and
another for four gunboats.
He begins by placing his destroyers in
one corner of the play area, making sure
to place them within the 6” of their table
edge. They then place their gunboats 16”
to the right of their destroyers, but still
SCRIPTED within 6” of the play area closest to them.
Follow the setup rules in your scripted deployment
published scenario.
With some published scenarios, you use
scripted deployment. In this case, the Standard
Deployment rules are ignored and the placement
of ironclads and terrain will be specified by the
mission.
52

CHAPTER 6
FLEET COMMAND
53

Taking Command
To begin any great battle, you must be
able to dispatch orders to your ironclads.
How do we do this in Victorian times deep
in aether space?
With signal maps easily translated
and flags having too short a range in
combat, the problem of how to effectively
command a large force was solved by the
development of aether capsules. Using
an ultra-efficient clockwork engine, these
six inch long self-propelled devices carry
ships orders from an admiral’ ironclad out
into the aether, where they wait in position
until picked up.
Clever admirals will understand how to
create an efficient chain of orders, leading
to a skillful victory against an opponent.
Clever opponents, on the other hand,
have caused havoc on the battlefield by
intercepting their enemies orders. This
remains a valid strategy during play.
AREA COMMAND TOKENS
In the game, aether capsules are
represented by Area Command Tokens
(ACT). Each Faction has a pool of different
ACTs that issue a variety of orders. Don’t
worry, all of the ACTs for your chosen
Faction will be available to you during the
battle. IMPORTANT RULE: Only two of any
ACT can be in your pool during the game.
However, the number of ACTs you can
place during a round depends on the Fleet
Point total of your specific game. As the
battle evolves, you will choose different
ACTs from your pool for each game round,
reflecting the orders you need to give at
that point.
the command phase

You place your ACTs during the Command
Phase. Beginning with the Starting Player
and taking it in turns players place a single
ACT token. Occasionally a player may have
54

Chapter 6: Fleet Command
fewer ACTs in which case they pass once all of ACT’S vs FLEET POINTS
their ACTs are placed. The number of ACT’s you can
Placing rules are: have for your battle is shown in
1. ACTs must be placed face down so your the table below.
opponent cannot see them. FLEET ACT’S
2. ACTs can be placed in any order. POINTS
3. You can place ACTs anywhere in the play
area. Up to 200 3
4. Ironclads may have a maximum of two ACTs 201-1000 4
placed directly on its Ship Sheet. 1001+ 5
5. ACTs must be placed on an empty space of
the play area. ACTs placed on the play area
must not be in contact with any other ACT or
base.
Once all player’s ACTs have been placed, this
step ends.
Strategically placed tokens.
Players who place ACTs on the play area are
strategically placing their tokens. When placing
ACT’s in this way, you must imagine where your
ironclads will be when activated in the order
phase. You are aiming to get a string of ACTs, so
that all your ironclads continue to be activated
throughout the battle. Sometimes, you will find
your ironclads have accidentally wandered out
of position or your ACT has been moved. Admiral
gameplay
Short Range
3. Illegal placements.
1. Directly on a 2. Ironclads only activate You cannot place an
Ship Sheet. within Short Range. ACT on ironclad or
terrain bases.
55

Charles Drake, a British admiral, likened this

problem to a billiards game, in which he was a
hopeless player and always found the cue ball
out of position.
Direct Commands
When placing up to two ACTs directly on a
Ship Sheet, only that ironclad can be Triggered
by the token. To be clear, no other ironclads
can be Triggered by this token, unless another
effect changes this rule. See below for Activating
Ironclad outside of
Command Tokens.
the activation zone
renew orders
Before you turn over an ACT, you may decide
instead to discard it in order to perform a Renew
Orders command. You must pick up all of your
Short Range ACTs from the play ares and from any Ship Sheets,
look at them without showing your opponent,
and then place them in the play area or Ship
Sheets in a more useful way. In addition you
may repair one hull point damage suffered on a
ship under your command. Unfortunately, once
you complete this, play passes to the next player
without any of your ironclads being Triggered.
EXAMPLE: In her last turn, Sarah has found
Both ironclads inside that her ironclads did not travel as far as
of the activation zone she hoped. Sadly, none of her ACTs are in
range of her ironclads. She decides to issue
a Renew Orders command, removes one
ACT from play, and gathers up her remaining
gameplay
ACTs. She repairs one hull point on here

destroyer and can now place the ACTs back
in range of her ironclads and return to the
fight.
Order Phase
Now that you have sent your orders to all
ironclads, you can begin activating your fleet
to carry out those instructions and get into the
battle proper.
Beginning with the starting player players take
turns as the active player and choose one of
their ACTs to activate. All other players are called
an Opponent during the turn.
56

The active player can choose to select any ACT

in the play area or on one of their Ship Sheets. IMPORTANT
Players may always look at their own face down Ironclads have to be within
ACTs but must make sure they are placed back in Short Range (S) of an ACT to
the same position. be Triggered.
Activating ACT’s
The active player chooses and selects their
first ACT. This Triggers all ships within Short
range of the ACT.
ACTs in the play area allow multiple units to be
Triggered but ACTs placed on a Ship Sheets only
Trigger that ship.
i. identify triggered ships
The player identifies all of their ships within
short range of the ACT.
ii. align armaments
The active player may now rotate their
armaments to align with the bases segment the
firing arc will be traced from. This is done for
every Triggered ironclad.
iii. orders PLAN AHEAD
Any ironclads within Short Range (S) of the Getting a chain of tokens
ACT are Triggered. The chosen ACT is flipped is the most efficient way to
over and the player orders each ironclad one at battle.
a time. Remember, that once you have chosen
an ironclad it must complete selected orders,
including engagements, before you can move
onto the next ironclad. You may decide not to use
gameplay
a Triggered ironclad. In this case, skip to the next
ship.
EXAMPLE: With several ships Triggered
due to them being in tight formation and
within range of his Command Token, Rod
first selects a gunboat out of the group
of Triggered ironclads. He then performs
a Manoeuver order and then an Engage
order, attacking his opponent’s destroyer
which is in Medium Range of his gunboat.
Once all models that can be Triggered have

completed their selected orders or have been
57

58

skipped, the active player passes clockwise, who

automatically becomes the new active player.
The Command Token is returned to the pool, IGNORE ORDERS
ready for the next Command Phase.
Sometimes you will not be
Moving through your fleet able to complete all orders
on an ACT due to the current
Once a player has completed all the orders game situation. Simply skip
available for an ACT it is removed from the play the orders you do not wish to
area and placed face down back in their pool. use.
The pool is kept for the game round and the
tokens can then be re-issued by the admiral.
Once all players have used all of their ACTs and
they have been removed from the play area or
Ship Sheets, the Orders Phase is now complete.
orders & effects

Some ACTs will have a mix of Orders and EFFECTS
Effects that modify the order. For example the Effects like Full Steam or
British have the Bombardment and Barrage Helmsmanship modify other
orders. These add dice modifications to any orders. In the case of Full
attacks used during an engage order. You will Steam you gain 1 additional
find several of the modifying orders on ACT’s in flight template extending your
the game. Reference your chosen nations Fleet speed for as long as the order
Manual for details on how these orders work in is in play.
the game.
EXAMPLE: Sue has chosen to play the
Germans and has selected an ACT that
has Helmsmanship as one of the modifying
orders she is using. After activating her
gameplay
ACT and triggering a nearby destroyer
she now uses the maneuver order on
the same ACT but receives the benefit of
the Helmsmanship Order and is able to
complete a series of sharps turns making
her ironclad highly maneuverable.
ACTION STATIONS
The types of orders you can take once you have
flipped your ACT depends entirely on the token DIFFERENT ACTS
type. Each order type has its own set of rules. Check your nations Fleet
Those available to your Faction are contained in Manual to check out all of
the appropriate Fleet Manual. Some orders are the available ACTs that can
generic while others are Faction specific. be used during a battle.
59

In general, the following orders may be

SOME SAMPLE ORDERS available:
ENGAGE
Action
Battle - Perform an attack with an armament.
Barrage Boarding - Marine attack. Target the crew of an
opponents ironclad.
Bombardment Crewing - Moving crew from one ironclad
to another (must be your own nations
Decoy ironclad).
Mining - Drilling operations if ironclad is
equipped with mining armament.
Engage
MANOEUVRE
Renew Orders Movement - pilot an ironclad in the play area.
SPECIAL ACTION (IF APPLICABLE)
Full Steam Temporal Shift - Pull another ship to within C
range only. Target ships of the same size or
Helmsmanship smaller.
Dock Ship - Transport a ship on a larger
Maneuver ironclad.
Launch Ship - Release ironclad from a larger
Overload ship.
Overload - Take 1 DMG to add 3 dice for attack
Repair rolls. Energy weapons only.
Renew Orders - reorder all ACTs in play
Stutter Jump Repair Ship - Fix ironclad hull points.
gameplay
60

CHAPTER 7
MOVEMENT
61

Chapter 7: movement
FLIGHT TEMPLATES Maneuvering
Flight templates have 8 sides. Flying in the aether is one thing, but piloting
By placing them side-by-side
you can chain together a
effectively in a pitch battle is another. This
complicated manoeuvre. chapter covers ironclad movement and how the
movement templates interact with your ironclads.
SELECTING A SHIP TO MANEUVER
Area Command Tokens can Trigger one or more
ironclads. In order to move, an ironclad must
have been Triggered by an ACT with a Maneuver
or Action order on it. If it does, the active player
can now choose one of the Triggered ironclads
to move.
MANEUVER ORDER
This is the symbol on the Command Token that
denotes you can move your model:
ACTION ORDER
This symbol may be used as a maneuver order.
SPEED SPEED AND MANEUVERABILITY

The number of flight templates Each ironclad has two important stats when
equals the propulsion rating any kind of maneuvering occurs—Propulsion
on your ironclad. This is (which determines an ironclad’s speed) and
the maximum speed your Steering (which shows how nimble an ironclad
ironclad can travel during a is).
gameplay
single manoeuvre order. PROPULSION

This is the number of Flight Templates that
an ironclad can use this order. You may use
any number of Flight Templates during your
STEERING POINTS Maneuver, up to a maximum equal to the model’s
Propulsion Rating. The arrow on a template is
TYPE SP* used to show the path of the ironclads movement.
Ahead 0 The first template is placed with the arrow at the
Gradual Turn 1 front of the ironclads flight base. The following
flight templates arrows showing the exit points of
Hard Turn 2 the previous template. See fig. 9 for an example.
*Steering Points STEERING
Ironclads have differing steering equipment
and vessels vary in how well they can change
62

Chapter 7: movement
direction. Steering points represent this in the TURNS

game. The more points the ironclad has, the A gradual turn cost 1 steering
sharper it can turn. point and sharp turns costs 2
These can be spent to change direction whilst steering points each. Piloting
using Flight Templates. A Flight Template has five your ironclad in a straight line
positions for steering and each direction costs a costs 0 steering points.
number of Steering points. For instance, going
straight ahead costs 0 points. A gradual turn
costs 1 point and a hard turn cost 2 Steering
points. You can spend up to the full value of your
steering points for every Maneuver order, but
may wish to spend less.
CREATING A TEMPLATE CHAIN
Combining the Flight Templates allows you
to pilot an ironclad around obstacles and
opponent’s ships with ease, but once you are BACKWARDS
committed to the movement you must attempt Ironclads can propel
to place your model at the end of the string of themselves forward and
templates (see collisions page 66). backwards. If you require
your ironclad to move itself
REVERSE THRUSTING
backwards use the flight
Models can thrust in reverse. You observe the templates in the same way
same rules as moving forward, but in reverse. but placing at the back of the
When reversing, place your first Flight Template flight base.
gameplay
Fig. 9 A flight template chain.
63

Chapter 7: movement
at the back of the models base with the arrow

ROTATING pointing away from the ship.
Ironclads can rotate on the spot, ROTATING
which is very handy when in At the beginning and end of its movement,
tight spots. Rotating each flight an ironclad can be rotated on the spot as long
base segment costs 1 Steering as it has enough Steering points to enable this.
Point. To do this, place a Flight Template adjacent to
the ironclad’s base on any edge that is easily
accessible and rotate the ironclad one segment
of the base at a time. Each segment rotated
costs 1 Steering point.
flight template rules

When using Flight Templates you must observe
the following rules.
AREA COMMAND TOKENS
Templates may be placed on top of any
ACTs. At this point, the active player places
the displaced token on the template. Once the
FLIGHT TEMPLATE ship is moved the active player repositions the
ACT that was displaced during the movement.
When repositioning an ACT in this way, you
must place the ACT up to Close Range from
the edge of the Flight Template that displaced
the ACT. This can be used as a valid tactic to
force your opponent to be out of position for
subsequent activations.
EXAMPLE: David can see that one of his
gameplay
destroyers is close to one of his opponent’s

ACTs, so he purposely makes a diversion so
his flight base contacts the ACT token. This
allows him to now move that token away
from his opponent’s ironclads, possibly to a
spot on the play area where they will not be
triggered. Unfortunately this is the case so
CLOSE CONTACT Robin’s ironclads won’t trigger in his round.
If coming into contact with CONTACT WITH A MODELS BASE
another flight base or model
you must retract your templates If contact is made with another ironclad’s or
until the ironclad can be safely asteroids base, no more Flight Templates may
placed on the play area. be placed and the moving ironclad ceases its
maneuver at this point. You must follow the rules
on collisions (see page 66).
64

Chapter 7: movement
maneuver steps KEEPING TOGETHER

Now that you have the basics of ship During a game you will have
maneuvering, we can bring all the elements to decide if your want to keep
together to perform a complete movement your ironclads together in a
command. tight squadron or to break them
Follow these steps when performing a into single ships or smaller
squadrons. The benefits of
Maneuver. They must be performed in order, but keeping the ships together is
any of the steps can be skipped by the active being able to use a single ACT
player if they do not apply: to command all of a squadron
i. Rotate Before Movement at the same time. This economy
ii. Place Movement Templates of orders allows you to get
iii. Propel Ironclad more from your fleet than if you
iv. Rotate After Movement were ordering individual ships.
v. Collisions Another benefit is shielding
Each step is performed as below. certain ships from enemy
fire. However the downside to
keeping a close squadron is
I. ROTATE BEFORE MOVEMENT that perhaps you can’t get a
Rotating (as described above) before moving great position to fire all of your
forward can be especially useful in tight spots. armaments.
II. PLACE MOVEMENT TEMPLATES
Place the back of a Flight Template adjacent
to the front segment of the ironclad’s flight base.
Additional Flight Templates may now be added by
placing the back of the new movement template
adjacent to one of the exit points of the previous
template. Steering points are used depending on
the exit chosen. You can change your mind at any
time and reposition your Flight Templates until POSITIONING
you either make contact with a base or you finish Piloting your ironclad efficiently
gameplay
this step. is important for gaining tactical
III. PROPEL IRONCLAD supremacy. Making sure you
can bring all of your armaments
The ironclad is now repositioned. Place it with to bear on a target is clearly
the back of its base adjacent to an exit of the important. Getting good at
final Flight Template. Again, the player’s ironclad planning a flight path is crucial
must have enough Steering points remaining to for game victories.
use the exit chosen. If the ship makes contact Broadsides are very effective
with another model or base then skip to the ways to destroy an oponent.
collisions step.
EXAMPLE: Jane is piloting through an
asteroid field and has placed a number of BROADSIDES
Flight Templates onto the table to map a A battleship broadside is a
route. Things will be close, but she thinks devastating attack on most
she can place her gunboat at the end of her ironclads.
65

Chapter 7: movement
Flight Template chain. Picking up her model,

2D BATTLEFIELD she soon realizes she cannot place her
Ironclads is designed to ignore ironclad without it touching her opponent’s
“altitude” as the designers of gunboat. She needs to backtrack. Picking
the game wanted to keep the up the last movement token in her chain,
rules simple. she is now able to place her ironclad on the
table without touching anything.
IV. ROTATE AFTER MOVEMENT
After placing your model at the end of a Flight
Template chain, you may spend one Steering
point per one base segment to rotate the ironclad
in any direction, assuming no collisions have
occurred.
V. COLLISIONS
COLLISIONS
Ironclads never collide with each other.
This ironclad has made contact Although we’re using a 2D play area to fly through
with the asteroid and will have in the real world, the aether is a 3D space—
to be placed one flight template ironclads have plenty of room to maneuver
back.
themselves to avoid potential collisions. Anyway,
causing a collision is suicidal—ironclads do not
use rams
If your ironclad would collide with another
player’s ironclad, or you are unable to place your
model and flight base without it touching another
ship, then you may not place it in that position.
Remove the last Flight Template you placed and
try to place your ironclad on the exit point of the
prior flight template. It may be that you will have
to repeat this process until you can legally place
your model.
gameplay
Asteroids and wreckage are the only obstacles

on the tabletop that can cause damage to an
ironclad. If a collision occurs with one of these
during any of the above steps, you end your
movement as above. You now must roll 2d6. For
each 4, 5, or 6 rolled on the damage die, apply
one point of damage to the ironclad involved in
that collision.
YOU CAN’T FLY OFF
THE EDGE Limits of the Aether
You cannot place an ironclad An ironclads flight base and flight template can
if its base overlaps the edge of only be placed if it is fully within the play area.
the play area.
66

CHAPTER 8
ENGAGEMENTS
67

Chapter 8: engagements
ENGAGE COMMAND Engagements

In general terms, the Engage So, admiral, this is where we get down to the
order is most commonly used to meat of the matter. We have already discussed
initiate a combat action, but it piloting in the aether in the previous chapter,
can also be used to initiate one now your captains need to understand what
of several different operations, to do when they actually encounter an enemy
including mining, boarding, and ironclad.
crewing. Other Engage orders
An engagement has three steps as follows:
may be added to the game in
the future. i. Declare targets.
ii. Attack rolls.
iii. Defence rolls
MULTIPLE TARGETS
You are able to target more than i. Declare targets
one ship if you have more than When a player is taking an Engage order,
one armament on your ship.
they must inform their opponent regarding their
specific intentions. The following information
IMPORTANT should be imparted to your opponent:
A player cannot measure the a. The armaments they intend to use in the
distance to the target before engagement.
they declare an Engage action. b. The ship targeted by each armament
To add tension to combat operations, players
are reminded that they may not measure the
LINE OF SIGHT
C
gameplay
B A
arc of fire
68

distance between the attacking ironclad and LINE OF SIGHT

target ironclad. Players who utilize precise If a line drawn from the firing
navigation and place their models at optimal ironclad can hit any of the target
ranges for their weapons will gain an edge over base WITHOUT crossing the
base or model of an obscuring
their opponents.
object, then that ironclad can
VALID TARGET fire.
First the player must check to see if they have
a valid target. You must check using the following
qualifiers.
Is the target: ASTEROIDS
...within line of sight? You cannot target asteroids
...within range? unless there are scenario rules
...within arc of fire? that have allowed it.
If you can answer “yes” to all of these then
you have a valid target. If not, your gunners are
unable to fire at the target.
LINE OF SIGHT ARC OF FIRE
If the shot is obscured by the base of another The target ironclad must fall
within the arc of the weapon
ship, asteroid, or other piece of space debris, being fired on it.
you cannot target it. If a line drawn from the
firing ship can hit any of the target base without
range
RANGE
gameplay
69

HIT DICE crossing the base of an obscuring object, then
A successful hit is a 4, 5, or 6. the ironclad may fire. Some weapons ignore line
of sight altogether.
ARC OF FIRE
CRITICAL HIT Next, the player must confirm that the target
Critical Hits only occur on a roll is within the firing arc of the armaments base
of a 6. segment being used. If the model is outside the
weapons arc you automatically miss the target.
ARCS EXAMPLE: Placing her ironclad near an
The arc of fire is always taken asteroid, Jane is unsure whether her craft
from the centre of the flight is able to target her opponent’s gunboat.
base regardless of where the Deciding to take a risk, she declares an
armament is mounted on the attack and engages the gunboat. Using
ship. There are 8 segments in a the measuring tape she discovers that her
flight base. All armaments may target is just falls outside of the arc of fire.
only fire from 1 of 5 segments. She is unable to target the ship and her
These being the front 5 attack fails.
segments or rear 5 segments.
An armament cannot fire RANGE TO TARGET
backwards in toward the ship. Next confirm the distance to the target from
the firing ship. You must be able to show to your
opponent that your selected target is within
RANGES range for that weapon.
There are eight ranges in If the target is outside that weapons range, it
Ironclads. is considered a miss. However, if it is in range
Ranges Inches
(measured from any part of the weapons segment
to the nearest edge of the target’s base), the
Close (C) 0-2” active player now moves to attack rolls.
Short (S) 2-4”
EXAMPLE: George is targeting a German
Medium (M) 4-6”
gameplay
battleship and declares an attack. His

Long (L) 6-8” weapon works best at Medium Range and
Long Close (LC) 8-10” would allow him to roll 3 attack dice. After
Long Short (LS) 10-12” measuring the distance, he discovers that
Long Medium (LM) 12-14” that the target is actually at Long Range.
Long Long (LL) 14-16” Because of this, the number of dice he can
roll is two.
ii attack rolls
ATTACK DICE To score a successful hit on your target, you
roll the number of dice as listed on your weapon
Use D6 dice for your attacks. for that range.
You may several dice when
making broadside attacks.
If you have managed to get within the optimal
range for the weapon, you will be able to roll
70

the most dice. Most weapons give dice at other MISSES

ranges but will be less effective. A roll of 1-3 are always
Scores of 4 and 5 are a standard hit, while considered misses unless a
any score of 6 indicates a Critical hit. Scores of game effect says otherwise.
1, 2, or 3 are considered a miss unless another
game effect says otherwise.
STANDARD HITS
CRITICAL HITS & CRITICAL DAMAGE
Hits occur on a roll of a 4 or 5
Any attack roll that shows a 6 on the dice is but these can be blocked with
considered a Critical Hit. Critical Hits cannot be an defence roll if the target
negated by defense rolls. ironclad has armor.
DAMAGE TYPES
At launch, the game only uses standard
damage. Other damage types will be added to CRITICAL HIT
the game in the future. See the weapons stats Any roll of a 6 on attack dice is
in your fleet manual for the type of damage that a critical hit and this cannot be
it delivers. blocked by a defence roll.
iii. Defence rolls

An opponent may attempt to negate some or
all of the standard hits by making a Defence roll.
Defence rolls are made on d6s, just like attack
dice. DEFENCE ROLLS
Assuming an ironclad has an armor value, a
Damage can be blocked if a
player can now roll a number of dice equal to
defence roll is a 4,5 or a 6.
their ironclad’s Armor Value. Results of a 4, 5, or
6 each reduces the number of standard hits by 1
down to a minimum of 0.
DAMAGE
gameplay
Any remaining hits is recorded as damage
on the ironclad’s Ship Sheet damage tracker.
If the number of hits recorded is equal to or
greater than the model’s current hull points, it is
removed from play and replaced with a wreckage
marker. For more info, see page “Wreckage” on DAMAGE
page 72. Any hits that are not negated by
EXAMPLE: David is defending an attack a defence roll does 1 damage to
the target ironclad.
and has 3 armor on his battleship giving
him 3 defense dice. His opponent rolled a
2, 4, 5, and 6. That scores three hits. David
grabs his three dice. He rolls three dice,
scoring a 3, 3, and 6, meaning he negates
1 hit. His ironclad sustains 3 damage. He
71

adjusts the Hull Points on the Ship Sheet

MISSING CREW accordingly.
Some armaments kill crew as WRECKAGE
well as damaging the hull of
an ironclad. If an attack of this When a model is destroyed, replace it with
nature kills all the crew but a wreckage marker. The wreckage is now an
does not destroy the ironclad obstacle. As an obstruction, rules pertaining to
it becomes a Hulk and a Hulk collisions (see page 66.) must be observed.
token is applied to that ship. WRECKAGE DISSIPATION
During the Resolve Continuous Effects step in
the Maintenance Phase you must check to see if
the wreckage dissipates. Roll 1d6 for each piece
of wreckage on the play area. On a 4, 5, or 6, the
WRECKAGE wreckage is removed from the play area.
Wreckage is temporary and
may get removed during the
Special Rules
maintenance phase. There are Some armaments, ships and officers allow the
special models you can 3D print engage action to be used in a special way.
to signify the wreckage build up SPECIAL ORDER
in the play area.
These will usually be because they have
selected a specific ironclad or an armament
that allows them to perform a special operation,
or the scenario chosen allows players to do
some type of special order. Refer to the model,
armament, or scenario, as applicable, rules for
full instructions.
MULTIPLE TARGETS Ship-to-Ship Boarding

In some cases, it is When captains equip their ironclads with
gameplay
preferable to target marines it automatically unlocks an ability to

two or more ironclads make or defend against boarding actions.
simultaneously during an Boarding is triggered once an ironclad carrying
Engage order. The Triggered marines takes an Engage order and is within Close
ironclad may split its fire by Range of the target.
selecting one weapon to To see if the action is successful, you make a
target an individual enemy Marine Combat roll. The number of dice you use is
ironclad. This must be equal to the number of Marines you have on your
declared by the active player Ship Sheet. Marines hit on a 4, 5, and 6 however
before the Engage action is they score double damage (two hits) on a 6.
carried out. Your opponent gets to defend using their
Marines stationed on their ironclad. They roll a
number of dice equal to the number marines they
have and reduce the number of hits by one for
each 4, 5 and 6 rolled. If hits remain reduce the
72

73

number of crew on the ship. If all of the crew are

BOARDING destroyed the ship becomes a Hulk. All marines
Marines in a boarding action hit return to their ship.
on a 4, 5, or 6 as usual. However, Scuttling
a 5 or 6 results in scoring two
hits. This rule also includes Scuttling is triggered once an ironclad carrying
marines used as defending marines takes an Engage order and is within Close
troops as well. Range of an enemies Hulk. Roll 1d6 for each
marine involved in the scuttling order. On a roll of
a 4 or 5 is a hit and a 6 is two hits. Reduce the
hull point of the Hulk for each hit. If the Hulks hull
points are reduced to zero the hulk is destroyed and
is removed from play and replaced with a wreckage
DEFENDING HULKS marker.
Because a hulk has zero Crew HULKS
rating, it cannot defend itself. A ship with zero crew rating due to weapon
In normal battles, it is assumed
damage or successful boarding actions become
that ironclad captains will always
be manoeuvring to lessen the a floating hulk. Use the Hulk Token to denote the
effects of ordinance hits on the ship’s status. Hulks are still considered to be
hull. A hulk that is not moving is part of the original players fleet, but are now in
only reliant on its Armor Value. danger of being destroyed by an opponent’s fleet
All Defense rolls are reduced by or a scuttling order.
one dice. Hulks cannot be commanded.
CREWING
You may transfer some crew from a ship to an
ironclad or hulk if you have an Engage order and
are within Close Range. In the case of a hulk, this
allows it to become active again. Remove the
Hulk Token from the ironclad. You cannot transfer
more Crew to any ironclad than that ironclad’s
gameplay

CHAPTER 9
MAINTENANCE

Chapter 9: maintenance
1. Resolve continuous THE MAINTENANCE PHASE

effects The Maintenance Phase steps allows players
2. Apply continuous to carry out important administration on their
damage ships, effects and check victory conditions.
3. Victory Check During this step, any scenario specific actions
4. Start Player must be discharged (e.g. move asteroids).
The Start Player changes to the next clockwise
player and a new round begins.
If a player’s fleet has been completely
destroyed or has only Hulks remaining in the play
area, the game automatically ends.
CONTINUOUS EFFECTS
i. resolve continuous effects
Currently there will only be
some continuous effects that In this phase continuous effects as stated in
will need administration from the scenario or in the fleet manuals armaments
missions. In future expansion section are applied. This could include effects
of the game some weapons will ending or escalating out of control or asteroid
require effect resolution in the movement causing collisions. If more than
Maintenance Phase. one effect is to be resolved the starting player
chooses the order of the resolution.
ii. Apply continuous damage
DAMAGE EFFECTS All damage occurring through continuous
Further expansion in the game effects is applied simultaneously. After all hits
will introduce new damage types are applied any ships that have had hull points
and these will require resolution reduced to zero are removed from play and
in the Maintenance Phase. replace with a wreckage marker as per rule on
page 72.
iii. Victory check
VICTORY Check if victory has been achieved by meeting
gameplay
Check mission objectives or the mission objectives. This may be total

Fleet Point totals to see if a destruction or reaching a number of fleet points
player has reached a victory destroyed as agreed at the start of the game.
condition.
iv. start player
The final step in the maintenance phase is to
move the start player clockwise to the next player.
START PLAYER Next turn

The first time a start player is At this point in the turn sequence all players
chosen it is random. After that return to the Command Phase an the starting
the players take it in turns to be player begins a new turn. The entire turn
the Start Player.
sequence is repeated in this way until a victor is
uncovered.
76

CHAPTER 10
BUILDING SHIPS
77

Chapter 10: building ships
OUTFITS
The Shipyard
Outfits are the assemblage Welcome to the shipyard! What we’re about
of a ironclad’s weapons, to tell you is absolutely top secret. It is vital
boilers and engines, steering that captains understand the nuts and bolts
enhancements, hull upgrades, of ironclad design. Learning how to combine
and any other contraptions. armaments, hulls, and contraptions with engines
and steering upgrades is vitally important.
VITAL STATISTICS
CPS
Each ship has a number of vital statistics.
CPs is the abbreviation of
Base Fleet Points (BFP): The starting number
Construction Points.
of points the hull has excluding its outfit.
Fleet Points (FP): The total number of FP
ARMAMENTS
points the ironclad has including its outfit.
Armaments are weapons that fit Construction Points (CP): The number of CP
to your ironclad’s hardpoints. points you may spend on your ships outfit.
Hull Points (HP): The amount of damage the
ironclad can take before being destroyed.
CONTRAPTIONS
Hardpoints (H): The number of nodes the
Contraption’s are gadgets that ironclad has to place armaments or contraptions.
are not weapons and perform Propulsion (P): Each hull has a standard engine,
other roles in the game. Such as
which will move the ship one Flight Template on
the Minig Drill.
the table. Spending CP can improve this statistic.
Steering (S): A simple rudder is fitted to your
hull. Upgrading, by spending CP, gets you a better
steering.
BUILDING YOUR UNIT
Crew Rating (CR): The overall crew size. Every hull
starts with a crew rating.
Weapon
HOW TO BUILD SHIPS
Building ships is an easy process. First, decide
on the hull type for your ship. Then, research and
put together an outfit for the ship. Each hull type
has a CP spend which you cannot exceed. Each
part of your outfit costs a number of Construction
Hull Points, so you must juggle the CP you have to get
the outfit of your dreams!
Flight Base First grab a blank Ship Sheet from page
“Appendices to complete” on page 87. Follow
ship building
the checklist below to actually build your ship.

Ship Building Checklist:
IMPORTANT! 1. Choose your Hull. Note down its BFP.
An ironclad must have at least 2. Fit out your hardpoints. You must select
one weapon as part of its outfit. at least one armament as part of your
outfit. You don’t need to add gadgets to
78

all hardpoints. For every armament or HARDPOINTS

gadget equipped, add up the CP cost. A hardpoint is a node where you
3. Add Hull Plates to increase your hull’s can attach am armament or
strength. It cost three CP to purchase one contraption. You don’t need to
Hull Plate and you may never have three use all hardpoints.
additional points. Add to the CP cost. After printing your ironclad,
remember to fit a neodymium
4. Choose engines. Add to CP cost. magnet into the every hole. This
5. Choose steering. Add to CP cost. universal system allows you to
6. Add extra crew. Add to CP cost. quickly switch out weapons to
7. Buy Special Crew. Add to CP cost vary your tactics.
At this point, check to make sure you have not IMPORTANT!

exceeded the hull’s allotted CP spend. If you have,
you will need to adjust your outfit until it is legal. Hull plates, propulsion,
steering, and crew
8. Fill in your Ship Sheet. Remember to compliments can only ever
assign at to a Faction and then it a class be improved by a maximum
name. Finally, decide what ironclad’s of three points each,
name will be. assuming you can spare the
Construction Points.
Step 1: Choose A Hull
Every Faction has multiple hull types. These
break down into the following types: SAMPLE HULL
UNIT CLASS TABLETOP SIZE The following statistics show a
Gunboat 25mm German gunboat.
Destroyer 55mm BFP CP HP AV
Cruiser 60-70mm 36 15 3 0
Battleship 70-100mm P S CR FP
Civilian Ships Various 2 4 3 51
USA Standard Hull Types

Gunboat Destroyer
ship building
Battleship
Cruiser
79

Please study your Faction’s Fleet Manual for

more details on hulls. You will also discover that
each Faction’s hull characteristics vary, reflecting
its navy’s and technology level.
WHAT’S A HARDPOINT? Step 2: Hardpoints

A hardpoint is the universal Right, lets get down to the business end of
mounting point for all ironclad building, Armaments!
armaments and gadgets to be
fitted too. The ingenious magnet
Each of the different hull configurations has a
system allows for weapons to be number of hardpoints. You may fit one armament
rotated which is an important or contraption to a hardpoint, so long as you have
aspect of game play. paid the CP cost.
VITAL STATISTICS
Each armament has a Construction Point cost.
In Ironclads, all armaments have an effectiveness
range. For each of the ranges, the armament
IMPORTANT allows the player to roll a number of dice. In the
During play, you will be able Ship Sheets, the number of dice is recorded next
to rotate your armaments and to each range.
contraptions to face different Arc of Fire
arcs, but only when allowed.
Every armament also has a firing arc. Each of
the segments is filled in shows the limits of that
armament, regardless of the armament’s actual
facing. Armaments can be rotated during the
game, so their arc of fire will change as the game
progresses.
Artwork
ship building
80

Example: A gun with an arc of 3 will be RANGES

able to target any ships that fall within 3 Every armament has an
effective range. Use the chart
segments of the direction the armament is below to apply your range
facing. finding effectively.
WHICH ARMAMENTS?
Each Faction has a selection of armaments RANGE MIN MAX
only available to that Faction. You’ll find details Close (C) 0” 2”
in the relevant Fleet Manual. Below are some of Short (S) 2” 4”
the common, or generic, armaments available to Medium(M) 4” 6”
all Factions.
Long (L) 6” 8”
Turret Gun (Armament)
Long Close (LC) 8” 10”
The turret gun is a small bore gun which
Long Short (LS) 10” 12”
can pivot quickly, giving it a benefit of quickly
Long Medium 12” 14”
adjusting its arc of fire. Derived from naval guns
(LM)
of a similar size, all nations have access to this
Long Long (LL) 14” 16”
projectile firing armament.
Turret Gun
C S M L ARMAMENTS
2 2 1 1 It is considered that all
LC LS LM LL armaments can be attached to
any hull type but you will find
0 0 0 0 some restrictions due to the CP
CP 9 Arcs 3 cost of some armaments. When
they are expensive it might be
Torpedo (Armament) best to place them on a larger
Aether torpedoes were developed from hull type!
submarine warfare for use on ironclads. The
standard torpedo launcher, first used by the
Germans, is a very useful addition to any ironclad,
as they pack a warhead powerful enough to
harm even the heaviest ironclads. Although the NATIONS
power of the explosive charge does not diminish All armaments and contraptions
with distance, they are notoriously hard to aim. listed here are common to all
ship building
As the range extends, so gunners have difficulty nations. If you are looking for
more specialist gear check out
targeting key systems and structural weak points. the relevant Fleet Manual.
Torpedo
C S M L
3 3 2 1
LC LS LM LL
0 0 0 0 81
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DECEMBER 1
Mining Drill (Contraption)
CLOSE QUARTER The mining drill is an effective but crude
If you are deciding on using armaments. However, its main use is in the
close range weapons it is collection of ore, usually taken from rich veins of
probably worth spending some metals to be found on asteroids.
CPs on boosting your hull rating.
When getting close to the enemy Mining Drill
you will probably get plenty of C S M L
damage in return! 3 0 0 0
LC LS LM LL
0 0 0 0
CP 7 Arcs 1
Circular Saw (Contraption)
MINING The circular saw was developed to cut up
space debris and abandoned space hulks as a
Some of the missions you will
encounter will require you to way to salvage precious materials. Crudely used
mine minerals from asteroids. as a armament, the circular saw can make quick
Equipping the Mining Drill will work of an ironclads Hull.
a requirement for those kind of Circular Saw
missions.
C S M L
3 3 0 0
LC LS LM LL
0 0 0 0
CP 7 Arcs 1
If you roll 1 or more critical
hit your target loses 1 crew.
TOUGHER HULLS Step 3: Hull Plates

Being able to hold of an attack Ships will take damage—its an inevitability.
by soaking damage can be
an important decision when
While a ship’s Armor Value cannot be changed,
building an ironclad. Just 1 or you can weather more damage by strengthening
2 points of hull can make the and thickening the superstructure.
difference between life or death. * For each point of hull plates costs 3 CPs.
* Each CP spend gives your warship one
additional hull point.
ship building
Step 4: Propulsion
Every ironclad has a standard engine, which
allow it move a number Flight Template. You may
improve your engines if you want your aethership
to produce higher speeds.
84

Per +1 point of
Size COMPROMISE
Propulsion
Gunship 3 CP You will find that building
ironclads requires several
Destroyer 6 CP compromises. Larger guns over
Cruiser 9 CP speed? Or thicker hull plates
Battleship 12 CP over manoeuvrability? Having
a mix of different ships with
differing capabilities is certainly
BOILERS AND HOW THEY WORK a tactic worth exploring. You
Similarly technology to “wet” navies is used may find that the fleet you take
to power ironclads. There is, of course, some to the table may need further
variation to the application of these technologies. tweaking once they have been
exposed to a battle.
What follows is the types of boilers used in
ironclad engines.
Coal powered boilers are dirty and fuel hungry,
but they none the less have their place in all
Faction’s fleets. Great Britain developed the
technology to allow coal fired engines to work in
the aether. The Scottish inventor, Charles Watt,
the great grandson of James Watt, who did so
much for the steam engine, developed a system
of oxygen pills that shoveled into the fireboxes
of ironclad boilers, Coupled with a complicated
system of valves and filters, they are able to vent
the smoke into the aether.
Step 5: Steering THE HELM

Steering is vital if you want to avoid asteroid and Often the aspect most over
ships and bring your guns to bear. Every ship has looked is steering ability.
a basic steering rating, but this can be improved The German fleet have
during this phase of your design. engineered the best ironclads
for manoeuvrability but other
Per +1 point of nations can have improved
Size steering if the CP is spent.
Steering
Gunship 2 CP
Destroyer 4 CP
Cruiser 6 CP
ship building
Battleship 8 CP
CREW
Step 6: Extra Crew Certain weapons kill crew. A ship
Every ship has a basic crew rating. Adding with zero crew is immobilized.
further crew can be useful when facing certain Ships can be captured in this
tactics and factions. way.
85

SHIP BUILDING * Each point of crew costs 1 CP.
CHECKLIST: * Each CP spend gives your ship one
Step 1 additional Crew Rating. A maximum of 3 CP may
Choose your Hull. Note down spent this way.
its BFP.
Step 2 Step 7: Special Crew
Select armaments Currently you may only add Marines to your
Note CP cost. ironclads, but later expansion will introduce new
Step 3 types of crew with cool special abilities, such as
Increase hullplates Engineers, Medics, and Soldiers.
Add to CP cost. MARINES
Step 4 During this step you may also purchase a
Upgrade engines. marine contingent. This step is optional. These
Add to the CP cost. are fighting units that can be used in boarding
Step 5 actions or repelling boarders. See page 74 for
Upgrade steering boarding scuttling actions.
Add to the CP cost. * You will find the Marine entry in the
Step 6 sidebar if you want to add Marines. It tells you the
Add crew unit strength, its dice used in boarding actions,
Add to the CP cost.
and its CP cost. Indicate this on your ship with a
number equal to the dice and an M.
Step 7
* For every four dice of Marines you can
Buy special crew types
must use one hardpoint space for an armory.
Add to the CP cost.
This is a physical add-on (like armaments) that
Step 8 reduces the number of guns you can employ.
Add up you CP cost plus your * If you buy 4 dice worth of marines and
base fleet points. This is your want more, you start buying again from 1 die.
units total fleet point value.
Step 9 Size Dice CP Spend
Fill out your Ship Sheet and Squad 1 1
give your ironclad a name. Section 2 3
Platoon 3 6
TIME TO BATTLE!
Company 4 12*
A hardpoint is required for an Armoury
ship building
8: FINAL POINTS
Well done, admiral, you’ve built a fine warship.
Now all you have to do is give the ship a name. We
have given you plenty of naming conventions in
relevant Fleet Manual. For guidelines on building
a fleet of ships refer to your fleet manual.
86

Ironclads Admirals Handbook

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Ironclads Concept, Design & 3D Modelling by

Ironclads Designed by Additional Writing & World Building

Permission is granted to print this e-book for personal use only.

“For Mum who inspired me to be the artist I am”

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engineering superiority in government circles. could sink a battleship given

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first pioneering warship mariners had nothing RESTRICTIONS ON

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restricted Russia to colonizing certain areas of the gastronomic engine instead of

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circumstances dictate, lone vessels

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in opposition at the time, set about solving the “RAT-A-TAT-TAT”

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Deep in the Aether... TO JUPITER AND

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All the .stl files for 3D printing will be

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3. Propulsion (PRO): This is how many

4. Steering (STE): This is the number

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within 3” of the map edge closest to the 3D printed ruler. An ironclad is

straight up fight. Intelligence reports Long Close (LC) 10”

Each step is completed before moving

to the next. Once the Maintenance Phase

2 is complete, a new Round begins.

AREA COMMAND TOKENS

Each Area Command Token has a

fig. 5 1) COMMAND PHASE

During the Command Phase, the

DRAFT RULES DECEMBER 2021

Command the Fleet 23

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PROPULSION depending on the exit chosen (see

DRAFT RULES DECEMBER 2021

armament, it automatically misses. If it is +1 Dice when Engaging at C & S

do not have any armour, so you don’t BARRAGE

get to roll.) Any dice that roll 4, 5, or 6 This ironclad’s

Command the Fleet

DRAFT RULES DECEMBER 2021

Your ironclad is pushing its engines to

spies heard you are manoeuvring to

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DRAFT RULES DECEMBER 2021

WHAT DO YOU NEED? what is ironclads?

● Black cloth or starfield map

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Requirements ABBREVIATED DICE

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in the basics of 3D printing and gives some