ZEPPELIN BATTLES of the GREAT WAR

INTRODUCTION

The first trial flights of zeppelins were made in 1900. During WWI the Germans used them to bomb London and Paris. World War I began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918. By the end of the war, the zeppelins were easy targets for the faster, more agile, smaller, and less fragile fighter biplanes. However, what if Orville and Wilbur Wright did not successfully fly their powered airplane in 1903, but instead ten years later. In this alternate history there are no effective combat airplanes. Commitments in military research and industrial production would have instead focused on the zeppelin as a weapon carrier. This microgame provides a tactical simulation of zeppelin warfare as it once might have been.

SETUP
This game requires a hexmap, dice, and chits to represent units. 
Units willvary according to the scenario.

TURN SEQUENCE
1. Determine Initiative: Roll High. 
2. Initiative loser Moves
3. Initiative winner Moves
4. Roll wind direction and speed seperately for each zep
5. All units fire weapons and deal damage simultaneously
6. Roll for damage caused by fires
7. Patch crews repair damage

ALTITUDE
There are 10 steps of Altitude (1-10).
Use a ten sided die to record the altitude of your zep.
The ground would be considered altitude = 0.
A gounded zep is not necissarily destroyed.

ZEPPELIN UNIT TYPES TABLE
Airship		Cargo		Move 		Hydrogen		
Class		Slots		Points		Gas		
Scout		2		5		10
Escort		3		4		20
Destroyer	4		4		30
Frigate		5		3		40		
Cruiser		6		3		50		
Battleship	7		2		60
Dreadnaught	(+1)		2		(+10)

MOVE POINTS
This is the number of hexes a zep can move per turn.
Rotating a zep one hex face costs one Move Point(MP).
Increasing or decreasing altitude one step costs 1 MP.

WEAPONS CARGO TABLE	
Weapons		Slots		Range		Ammo		To hit on 1D6		
Large Cannon	2		15		5		1-3			
Small Cannon	1		10		10		1-4			
Machine Gun	1		6		20		1-5	
Flame Thrower	1		3		5		1-3		
Small Arms	0(1 per zep)	4		Unlimited	1-3
All weapons fire out of a set 90 degree arc (Forward, Aft, Port, Starboard)
Determine how weapons are positioned on each zep.
Crew Small arms fire can be made in any direction.
A target must be at the same altitude or up to 2 steps lower.

OTHER CARGO TABLE
Other Cargo	Slots	Notes
Engine		1	Increase Base Speed +1
Ammo		1	10 Large or 20 Small Cannon Shots.  
Patch Crew	1	Repair Punctures and put out fires.
Gas Tanks	1	10 Gas
Bombs		1	May be dropped on Zeps. Target destroyed on roll of 1-3 on 1D6.
Passnegers	1	May function as ‘Small Arms' weapon
Bulk Cargo	1	May apply to scenario victory conditions
If Ammo, Gas Tanks, or Bombs are destroyed, the zep suffers Blowout.

DAMAGE TABLE
Damage Result	Flamethrwr	Small	Machine Gun			
1D20		L.Cannon	Cannon	Small Arms	Notes		
Cargo Hit	1		1	1		1 random cargo destroyed
Steering Hit	2		2	2		Zep cannot turn
Engines Hit	3		3	3		Base Speed -1	
Cabin Hit	4		4	4		Spark- Zep catches on fire
Minor Puncture	5-7		5-14	5-20		-1 Gas	per turn until patched	
Major Puncture	8-12		15-19	-		-2 Gas	per turn until patched	
Crit Puncture	13-18		20	-		-3 Gas	per turn until patched	
Blowout		19-20		-	-		Zeppelin Destroyed
Damage: A zeppelin hit by a flamethrower is considered to be ‘in flames' 
and must roll on the flamethrower damage column once per turn until a 
patch crew puts the flames out.

PATCH CREW REPAIR TABLE					
1D6	Repair						
1-2	No repairs made					
3-5	1 Leak (-1 Gas per turn) or 1 Fire		
6	2 Leaks or 1 Critical Puncture or 1 Fire	
 
HEX MAP WIND DIRECTION & SPEED
1D12	Direction of Wind	1D6	Wind Speed
1		NW		1		0
2		N		2		0
3		NE		3		1
4		SE		4		1
5		S		5		2
6		SW		6		2
7		W
8		E
9		Zep rotates to left 60 degrees. Do not roll Wind speed. 
10		Zep rotates to right 60 degrees. Do not roll Wind speed. 
11		Zep pushed up 1 Altitude step. Do not roll Wind speed. 
12		Zep pushed down 1 Altitude step. Do not roll Wind speed. 
A Zep is pushed a number of hexes equal to the Wind speed in the indicated direction.
Every turn a zep is at less than half gas remaining it drops.
Every turn a zep is losing gas, it drops: 
1D6	Altitude Steps Dropped:
1	0
2-4	1
5-6	2

Beginning Scenario: Patrol Skirmish over Enemy Lines
Zeps start on opposite ends of the map facing towards the middle.
Zeps start at an altitude of 1D10.
Victory Conditions: Destruction of the enemy. Major victory if both your 
zeps survive. Victory if only your bigger zep survives. Minor victory if
only your smaller zep survives.

AIRSHIPS OF THE GERMAN IMPERIAL ZEPPELIN AIR SUPREMACY DIVISION
Size 3:	"The Blitzkrieger" LC/SC/MG		
Size 7: "The Bismark" 2SC/LC/Ft/PC/Engine/Bombs	

AIRSHIPS OF THE ROYAL BRITISH ZEPPELIN AIR FORCE
Size 6:	"The Victoria": LC/LCAmmo/2PC/MG/SC 
Size 4: "The Liverpool": 2SC/MG/SCammo/Engine

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