Silent Death
Encyclopedia
Silent Death is a miniatures space battle game
by Iron Crown Enterprises
(ICE), based on the Star Strike
sourcebook to the Spacemaster
role-playing game
, but with vastly simplified mechanics. In particular, combat is fast and lethal, and so chances of crewman death or ship destruction are frighteningly high in a single battle. This makes Silent Death much more suitable as a standalone game than as a space-combat addition to a role-playing game.
of two of the dice is determined by the type of weapons. For example, the more accurate laser and ion weapons receive d8s, whereas clumsier (but potentially deadlier) blaster and plasma weapons receive d6s. The third die is determined by a crewman's gunnery skill, and can vary between a d4 and a d10. If the sum of the dice, after a few modifications, is greater than or equal to the defender's defensive value, the shot is a hit, with the damage also being shown on the same dice. A Splattergun, for instance, does "medium" damage, and so the middle of the three dice values would be the amount of damage delivered, after subtracting the defender's damage reduction. Different damage mechanics apply for ships equipped with (slow-moving) torpedoes or (fast-moving) missiles. The damage taken is marked off on a ship's damage track, which will show special damage taken at certain levels, including losing weapons, armor, and drive, or taking a special critical hit. These simple attack rules make for much more fast-paced combat than most of ICE's games.
, which was itself discontinued in 2001. There is however a community project to bring back the gameplay of the Silent Death Online game which can be found at SDOProject.com
Silent Death is available again from Metal Express.
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
by Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
(ICE), based on the Star Strike
Star Strike
Star Strike is a single-player video game, released by Mattel for its Intellivision video game system in 1981. The Intellivision's best-selling game in 1982, with over 800,000 copies sold, Star Strike was inspired by the famous "trench run" sequence in the 1977 film Star Wars, as the player must...
sourcebook to the Spacemaster
Spacemaster
Space Master is a science fiction role-playing game produced by Iron Crown Enterprises, written by Kevin Barrett, developed by Kevin Barrett and Terry K. Amthor...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, but with vastly simplified mechanics. In particular, combat is fast and lethal, and so chances of crewman death or ship destruction are frighteningly high in a single battle. This makes Silent Death much more suitable as a standalone game than as a space-combat addition to a role-playing game.
Basic rules
The base rules revolve around ships with just a few key attributes: drive indicates the speed of the craft, damage reduction its armor, and defensive value its difficulty to hit, based on size, speed, and energy shielding. Most attacks are made with a single roll of three dice. The sizeDice notation
Dice notation is a system to represent different combinations of dice in role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such as 2d6+12....
of two of the dice is determined by the type of weapons. For example, the more accurate laser and ion weapons receive d8s, whereas clumsier (but potentially deadlier) blaster and plasma weapons receive d6s. The third die is determined by a crewman's gunnery skill, and can vary between a d4 and a d10. If the sum of the dice, after a few modifications, is greater than or equal to the defender's defensive value, the shot is a hit, with the damage also being shown on the same dice. A Splattergun, for instance, does "medium" damage, and so the middle of the three dice values would be the amount of damage delivered, after subtracting the defender's damage reduction. Different damage mechanics apply for ships equipped with (slow-moving) torpedoes or (fast-moving) missiles. The damage taken is marked off on a ship's damage track, which will show special damage taken at certain levels, including losing weapons, armor, and drive, or taking a special critical hit. These simple attack rules make for much more fast-paced combat than most of ICE's games.
Games
The original version of Silent Death, with a relatively small number of ships, all fighter-class, was followed by two expansion sets, which added more ships, optional rules, and Gunboat-class craft. A later revision, called Silent Death: The Next Millennium, combined these rules into a single sourcebook and overhauled the look of the miniatures, also replacing the standard lead with plastic models. Later additions to this version added yet more ships, including capital ships. Each source book came with a number of standard scenarios for two or more players, but each ship also had a cost value, so players could construct their own fleets and run battles at any scale.History
When ICE went bankrupt, the rights to Silent Death were purchased and used to make an online game, Silent Death OnlineSilent Death Online
Silent Death: Online, often abbreviated to 'SDO' or 'SD', was a top-view spaceship fighter game created by Mythic Entertainment who originally licensed the rights from Iron Crown Enterprises, before purchasing them upon its bankruptcy....
, which was itself discontinued in 2001. There is however a community project to bring back the gameplay of the Silent Death Online game which can be found at SDOProject.com
Silent Death is available again from Metal Express.