TALON 1000 1

PL AY BOOK
TA B L E OF CONT E NT S
Introduction......................................................... 2 Solitaire Scenarios.............................................. 4
New Ship Classes................................................ 2 Notes on Ship Names.......................................... 8
New Terrain......................................................... 2 AI Empire Solitaire............................................. 8
New Empire War................................................. 3 Historical Background...................................... 18
Scenarios............................................................. 4 Ship Numbers and Points.................................. 20

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 • www.GMTGames.com
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 2 TALON 1000

INTRODUCTION Each ship uses the same Power Curve and Explosion strength
as the “parent” ship of the class. For Example: A DDE has the
Talon 1000 is a dependent expansion for the game Talon. This
same Power Curve as the DD of that Empire.
expansion adds well over 1000 scenarios to the game as well as
solitaire AI. A complete game of Talon includes: Starbases
• 5 sheets of double-sided, laminated, ship counters Starbases follow all of the same
• 1 Player Aid Card rules as Bases and have the
• 1 Empire War Scenario Card same Explosion Rating. They
• 1 AI Flowchart are just larger and with more
• 1 10-sided die firepower.
• This playbook (with rules and scenarios)
• 1 10-sided die Starbases have a different Pow-
er Curve than Bases and have
an Available Power greater than
NEW SHIP CLASSES 6. This means that on some Impulses, the Starbase will get two
The new ship counters are two-sided to allow for more ships Available Power. This is the only exception in the game to the
and variety to be included in the game. Unlike the base game, rule that limits AP each Impulse to one.
some ship counters have other ships on their reverse. As much
as possible, the ships that were placed on the opposite side were The Terran Starbase has an Available Power of 9 (2 AP in Im-
chosen so as to not limit the number of scenarios possible and pulses B, D, F, and 1 AP in the rest). The Talon Starbase has an
also to make them easier to sort and store. Available Power of 8 (2 AP in Impulses C, F, and 1 AP in the rest).
If a Starbase loses AP due to damage, the Power Curve is adjusted
The classes themselves were designed to accomplish two things: accordingly (an AP of 7 would be 2AP only on Impulse F). The
1. Provide a variety of ship classes and weapons for both factions. AI player aid card contains a quick reference to these AP details.
Some of the designs are really fun to play and the variety is nice.
2. Provide a good spread of ship point values to make many
balanced scenarios possible without special rules. NEW TERRAIN – ENERGY
The new classes have some common designations and features: NEBULA
An Energy Nebula often uses
E = Escort – This is a lighter and slightly less powerful ship
the same Nebula counters as a
of that class (SCE, FFE, DDE, CLE). For example, a DDE is
regular Nebula.
a Destroyer Escort that will be weaker and less expensive (in
terms of Ship Points) than a standard Destroyer. Ten “Gold” Nebulae counters
are included in this expansion.
X = Improved – An Improved or more advanced version of that
If a scenario requires only
class (FFX, DDX, CLX, CAX, BCX).
certain Nebulae hexes to be
H = Heavy – a ship that was especially modified to carry the Energy Nebulae, different
heavy weapon of that empire even though it normally couldn’t color Nebulae counters can be
(BCH). used to differentiate between
G = Guided Missile – A ship that is armed solely with extra the two.
Missiles (DDG). In addition to all the normal Nebulae rules, any ship in an Energy
P = Phaser – A ship that, different for its class, is armed solely Nebula hex gets an extra Available Power each Impulse if they
with Phasers (DDP, CLP). would not already get one.  They are drawing Power from the
special properties of these Energy Nebulae.
D = Disruptor – A ship that, different for its class, is armed
solely with Disruptors (DDD).

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 3

NEW EMPIRE WAR Terrain?

A new Empire War play mat is included in the game. All of the 1 Consult Astrometrics Lab once (as if Light Terrain
Empire War Rules are the same, except for the following: was rolled for Random Amount of Terrain, 30.4). All
• The terrain is fixed. Each sector that has terrain has the same nebulae in the first row of the Lab are Energy Nebulae.
terrain in each battle fought in that sector (as shown). 2 Consult Astrometrics Lab twice (as if Moderate Terrain
• The two shortest paths to the other player’s home planet do not was rolled for Random Amount of Terrain, 30.4). All
provide any benefit in Ship Points until you reach the Home nebulae in the first row of the Lab are Energy Nebulae.
Planet.
3-10 No Terrain
• The Radiation Belt has special properties. All the Nebulae
hexes in those sectors are Energy Nebulae.
• Starbases (SB) and Bases (B) are placed for free as indicated Type of Battle?
on the Empire War map. 1 Convoy Intercept
• Yes, the Galactic Core has a Black Hole in each sector. 2 Base Assault
3 Orbital Conquest
SCENARIOS 4 Priority Target Mission
5-10 Last Ship Standing
Table Balance
All of the fleets on each of the tables (starting on page 5) are If it is a Convoy Intercept (29.4), roll again.
balanced to be within 1 point of the target. For example: all fleets
1-3 Terran Transport – Terrans roll on the 200 Point
on the 250 point tables are between 249 and 251 points.
Transport Table and the Talons roll on the 200 Point
Rarely, some shields had to be added or subtracted to reach that Intercept Table
balance (usually only on the smaller fleet tables). This will be 4-5 Terran Transport – As above, except it is a Wormhole
indicated by a –X Shield or a +X Shield on a fleet, where X is a Blockade (29.5)
number of FRONT Shield boxes. 6-8 Talon Transport – Talons roll on the 200 Point
Transport Table and the Terrans roll on the 200 Point
-X/+X Shields Intercept Table
–X Shield means that, before the scenario, that player marks off
9-10 Talon Transport – As above, except it is a Wormhole
that number of FRONT shield boxes (total) from his non-trans-
Blockade (29.5)
port ships. They may all be marked off one or divided up between
more than one ship. If it is a Base Assault (29.7), roll again.
+X Shield means that, before the scenario, that player adds 1-5 Terran Base – Terrans roll on the Terran Base Table
that number of FRONT shield boxes (total) to his non-transport and the Talons on the appropriate Ship Point Table.
ships. They may all be added to one or divided up between more 6-10 Talon Base – Talons roll on the Talon Base Table and
than one ship. the Terrans on the appropriate Ship Point Table.
Random Scenarios EXAMPLE: If the Terrans roll a 6 on the Terran Base Table,
Any of the following scenarios can be chosen purposefully. If their base and fleet is worth 500 points. The Talons would roll
you want to play a battle with no terrain and big ships, of course, on their 500 Ship Point Table.
pick the table that you want to roll on or just pick the fleets. How-
ever, for those who wish a truly randomly generated scenario, If it is Orbital Conquest (29.3), roll again.
roll on the following tables. Note: the 10 sided die included in 1-3 Both sides add 2 transports.
this expansion is used for these tables and not for game play.
4-6 Both sides add 3 transports.
7-8 Both sides add 4 transports.
9-10 Both sides add 5 transports.

Then both sides roll on the Last Ship Standing table to deter-
mine fleet ship point values. If there is additional terrain in the
game, do not add any planets from the Astrometrics Lab. Any
other terrain included with a planet is still used.
Both players must have at least two transports on the board
at all times (if possible) and may have up to three transports
on the board (due to counter limitations). Extra transports are
kept off board for reinforcements. If a player has less than
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 4 TALON 1000

two transports on the board (due to destruction or landing) SOLITAIRE SCENARIOS

then he must bring on more during the Reinforcement Phase,
If playing solitaire versus the AI, roll on the Terrain Table (at the
if available.
top of page 3) and then roll on the Last Ship Standing Table. Roll
randomly to determine if playing as the Terrans or the Talons.
If it is Priority Target Mission (29.8):
Roll on the Last Ship Standing table. This may generate a fleet Solitaire Difficulty Levels:
where there is not one ship that is larger than all the rest. No
Green - Player and AI get the same number of points.
matter the result, the ship (or one of the ships) with the highest
point value is the Priority Target and should be marked as such Experienced - AI gets 10% more points, rounded to the nearest
for the duration of the battle. multiple of 50.
EXAMPLE: It is a 500 Point Battle and the Talon player rolls
Veteran - AI gets 20% more points, rounded to the nearest
a 10. This generates a fleet of 4 CL, 1 CLE, 1 DDG. One of the
multiple of 50.
four CLs is marked as the Priority Target.
Elite - AI gets 30% more points, rounded to the nearest multiple
If it is Last Ship Standing (29.1), roll again. of 50.
Both sides roll on the Ship Point Table indicated. When rounding to the nearest multiple of 50, if the AI points are
1 250 Ship Points not a multiple of 100, simply add a DD to their forces.
2 300 Ship Points EXAMPLE: Playing on Experienced, the player has 300 Ship
3 400 Ship Points Points. The AI gets 10% more, or 30 points, rounded to the
4 500 Ship Points nearest multiple of 50 is a total of 350 points. Since there is not
a 350 point table, the AI rolls on the 300 point table and adds
5 600 Ship Points
a DD to its forces.
6 700 Ship Points
7 800 Ship Points Solitaire rules are also included for playing an Empire War
against the AI. See the end of the AI rules.
8 900 Ship Points
9 1000 Ship Points Co-op:
10 1100 Ship Points Solitaire Scenarios can instead be played Co-op against the AI.
The players should follow the rules as explained in Section 25
(Multiplayer Games) in the Talon Playbook.

SO, HOW MANY SCENARIOS

ARE IN TALON 1000?
Convoy Intercept (200), Wormhole Blockade (200), Base Assault
(200), Orbital Conquest (4000 if you count a different number
of Transports as different scenarios), Priority Target Mission
(1000), Last Ship Standing (1000), Solitaire Last Ship Standing
(2000) = 8600. Then you add the possibility of terrain in. That is
a tremendous number, but many are similar. If you just consider
it to be 6 major types—Asteroids, Nebulae, Energy Nebulae,
Planets, Black Hole, and no Terrain—the total number of sce-
narios is 51,600.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 5
Transport Table (200 Points)
Terran Talon
1 1 BC, 1 SCE, 1 Tran 1 BCX, 1 Tran (+1 Shield)
2 1 CAX, 1 DDE, 1 Tran 1 CAX, 1 FF, 1 Tran (-3 shield)
3 1 CA, 1 DD, 1 Tran (–1 Shield) 1 CA, 1 DDD, 1 Tran (–1 Shield)
4 1 CLX, 1 DDX, 1 Tran (+1 Shield) 1 CL, 1 CLE, 1 Tran (–1 Shield)
5 1 CLP, 1 CLE, 1 Tran 1 CLE, 1 DD, 1 FFE, 1 Tran
6 1 CL, 1 CLE, 1 Tran 1 DDG, 2 FFX, 1 Tran
7 1 CLE, 2 DDE, 1 Tran (–1 Shield) 3 DDX, 1 Tran, (–1 Shield)
8 1 DDX, 1 DD, 1 DDE, 1 Tran 1 DDX, 3 FFE, 1 Tran (–2 shield)
9 1 DDP, 2 DD, 1 Tran 1 DDD, 3 FFE. 1 Tran
10 3 DDE, 1 SCE, 1 Tran 2 FF, 2 FFE, 1 Tran

Intercept Table (200 Points – attack Transports)

Terran Talon
1 1 BCX, 1 DDE 1 BCX, 1 FFE
2 1 BC, 1 DDX (–1 Shield) 1 BCH, 1 DDG (–1 Shield)
3 1 CA, 1 DD, 1 SCE (–1 Shield) 1 CAX, 1 CLE (–1 Shield)
4 1 CLX, 1 DDP, 1 DDE 1 CA, 1 CL (–1 Shield)
5 1 CLP, 2 DD 1 CLX, 1 DDD, 1 DD
6 1 CL, 3 SC 1 CL, 3 FFE
7 2 CLE, 1 DDE (–1 Shield) 2 CLE, 1 FF
8 2 DDP, 1 DDE, 1 SC 1 DDG, 2 DD, 1 FFE
9 2 DD, 2 DDE 2 DDX, 2 FF
10 1 DD, 3 SC, 1 SCE 3 DDD, 1 DD

Base Assaults
Terran Base Talon Base
1 300 1 B, 1 CA 300 1 B, 1 CA
2 300 1 B, 1 CLE, 1 SC 300 1 B, 1 DDG, 1 DD
3 400 1 B, 1 CL, 1 DDX, 1 DDP 400 1 B, 1 CA, 1 CLX
4 400 1 SB, 2 DDP 400 1 SB, 1 CLE, 1 FF
5 500 1 B, 2 CA, 1 DD, 1 SCE 500 1 B, 1 DN, 1 DDD, 1 FFX
6 500 1 B, 2 DD, 3 DDE, 1 SC, 1 SCE 500 1 B, 3 CL, 1 DDD
7 500 1 SB, 1 CA, 1 DDP, 1 DDE 500 1 SB, 1 CAX, 1 DDD, 1 FFX
8 600 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 CLE, 1 DDE 600 1 SB, 1 DN, 1 DDX, 1 DD
9 600 1 SB, 3 CL, 1 DD 600 1 SB, 1 CLX, 2 CL, 1 FF
10 700 1 SB, 2 DDX, 2 DDP, 3 DD 700 1 SB, 3 CA, 1 CLE

250 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 1 BCH, 1 DDP, 1 DDE 1 BB, 1 DDG (+1 Shield) 1 BB, 1 DD
2 1 BC, 1 CLE, 1 SC 1 BCX, 1 CL 1 BB, 1 DD
3 1 CAX, 1CLP, 1 SC 1 CAX, 1 CL, 1 FFE 2 CL, 1 DD
4 1 CA, 2 DDX 1 CA, 1 CL, 1 FFX 2 CL, 1 DD
5 2 CLX, 1 DD 2 CLX, 1 FF 2 CL, 1 DD
6 1 CLX, 1 CLE, 2 SC 2 CL, 2 FFE 1 CL, 3 DD
7 1 CLP, 1 DDP, 1 DD, 1 DDE 2 CLE, 2 DD 1 CL, 3 DD
8 1 CL, 1 CLE, 1 DDE, 1 SC 1 CLE, 1 FFX, 2 FF, 1 FFE 5 DD
9 3 DDX, 1 DDE 3 DDG, 1 FF 5 DD
10 1 DDP, 2 DD, 1 DDE, 1 SC 2 DDG, 2 DDX 5 DD

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 6 TALON 1000

300 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 1 CV, 4 F, 1 DD 1 DN, 1 FF, 1 FFE 1 BB, 1 CL
2 1 BB, 1 DDX, 1 SC 1 BB, 1 CLE, 1 FF 1 BB, 1 CL
3 1 BCX, 2 DD, 1 SCE 1 BB, 1 FFX, 2 FFE 1 BB, 2 DD
4 1 BC, 3 DD 1 BCX, 1 CLX, 1 FFE 1 BB, 2 DD
5 1 BC, 1 DD, 3 SC 1 BC, 1 CA, 1 FF 3 CL
6 2 CA, 1 SC, 1SCE 1 BC, 2 DDX, 1 DD 3 CL
7 1 CA, 2 DD, 2 SC 1 CAX, 2 CL 2 CL, 2 DD
8 3 CL, 1 SC 1 CAX, 4 FF 1 CL, 4 DD
9 2 CLX, 1 DDX, 1 SC 1 CA, 1 CL, 1 DDD, 1 DD 6 DD
10 1 CL, 1 DDX, 1 DD, 2 DDE 2 CL, 2 FF, 1 FFE 6 DD

400 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 1 CV, 4 F, 1 CLX, 1 DDP 1 DN, 2 DDG, 1 FF 2 BB
2 1 CV, 4 F, 1 CL, 1 DDX 1 BB, 1 BCH, 1 CL 1 BB, 2 CL
3 1 BB, 1 CL, 2 DDP 1 BB, 2 CL, 1 FF 1 BB, 1 CL, 2 DD
4 1 BCX, 1 BC, 2 DD 1 BCX, 1 BC, 1 DDD, 1 FFX 4 CL
5 2 BCH, 1 DDX, 1 SC 2 BC, 1 DDG, 1 DD 4 CL
6 3 CA, 1 DD 3 BCH 3 CL, 2 DD
7 2 CA, 1 CLP, 1 CLE 2 CA, 3 FF, 1 FFE 2 CL, 4 DD
8 1 CA, 3 DDP, 2 DD 1 CA, 1 CLE, 3 DDG 1 CL, 6 DD
9 3 CL, 1 CLE, 1 DDP 3 CLX, 2 FFX 8 DD
10 1 DDX, 6 DD 2 DDX, 1 DDD, 5 DD 8 DD

500 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 1 CV, 4 F, 1 BCH, 2 SC, 1 SCE 1 DN, 1 BB, 1 DDX, 1 DD 2 BB, 1 CL
2 2 BB, 1 DDP, 1 DD 1 DN, 5 DD, 1 FF 2 BB, 2 DD
3 1 BB, 1 CA, 2 DDX, 1 DD 2 BB, 1 BC 1 BB, 3 CL
4 2 BCX, 1 CLX, 1 CLP 1 BB, 2 BCH, 1 DDX 1 BB, 2 CL, 2 DD
5 3 BC, 1 CLX 1 BCX, 2 CA, 2 DDX 1 BB, 1 CL, 4 DD
6 2 BC, 3 DD, 2 SCE 2 BCH, 1 CLE, 2 DDX, 1 FFX 1 BB, 6 DD
7 1 CAX, 3 CA, 1 SCE 4 CAX 5 CL
8 1 CAX, 1 CA, 3 CL 2 CA, 2 CL, 2 DD 4 CL, 2 DD
9 1 CLP, 4 CL, 1 DDP 1 CA, 1 CL, 1 DDG, 3 FFX, 2 FF 3 CL, 4 DD
10 2 CL, 1 DDP, 4 DD, 1 DDE 4 CL, 1 CLE, 1 DDG 2 CL, 6 DD

600 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 2 CV, 8 F, 2 DD 2 DN, 1 DDG, 2 DD 3 BB
2 1 CV, 4 F, 1 BB, 1 CA, 1 DDE 1 DN, 1 BB, 1 BCH, 1 DDG 2 BB, 2 CL
3 2 BB, 1 CAX, 1 CL 2 BB, 1 CL, 3 DDD 2 BB, 1 CL, 2 DD
4 1 BB, 4 CL, 1 DD 1 BB, 4 CL, 1 DDG 2 BB, 4 DD
5 2 BCX, 2 CA, 1 DDP 3 BCX, 1 CA 1 BB, 4 CL
6 2 BCH, 2 CLP, 1 DDX, 1 DDP 2 BC, 2 CA, 2 FF 1 BB, 2 CL, 4 DD
7 3 BC, 2 DDE, 2 SC, 1 SCE 1 BCH, 1 CAX, 1 CA, 1 CLX, 1 CL, 1 FFE 1 BB, 1 CL, 6 DD
8 1 BC, 1 CA, 4 CL 4 CA, 3 DD 6 CL
9 3 CAX, 2 CA 2 CA, 2 CL, 1 DDD, 3 DD 4 CL, 4 DD
10 3 CL, 1 CLE, 4 DD, 1 SC 2 CLX, 4 CL, 1 FF 2 CL, 8 DD

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 7
700 Ship Points
Terran Talon AI
1 2 CV, 8 F, 1 BC, 2 SC 2 DN, 3 CL 3 BB, 1 CL
2 1 CV, 4 F, 1 CLX, 3 CLP, 1 CL 1 DN, 1 BB, 1 CAX, 1 CL, 1 DD, 1 FF 3 BB, 2 DD
3 3 BB, 2 DDP 3 BB, 1 CA, 1 DD 2 BB, 3 CL
4 2 BB, 1 CA, 1 CL, 2 DD 2 BB, 2 BCH, 1 CLE 2 BB, 2 CL, 2 DD
5 1 BB, 1 BCH, 1 BC, 1 CA, 2 DD 2 BB, 1 CLX, 1 DDD, 4 DD 2 BB, 1 CL, 4 DD
6 2 BCX, 1 CLX, 1 CL, 1 CLE, 1 DDX, 1 DD 1 BB, 3 CA, 2 CL 1 BB, 5 CL
7 2 BC, 3 CL, 1 DDP, 2 DD 4 BC, 1 CL, 1 FFX 1 BB, 3 CL, 4 DD
8 1 BC, 1 CAX, 1CA, 1 CLX, 1 CL, 2 DD, 1 SCE 1 BC, 1 BCH, 1 CAX, 1 CA, 1 CLX, 1 FFX, 1 FFE 1 BB, 2 CL, 6 DD
9 1 CAX, 4 CA, 2 DDP 1 CAX, 4 CA, 1 DDG, 1 DD 7 CL
10 3 CLX, 4 CL, 1 DDP 2 CLX, 5 CL, 1 DDX 4 CL, 6 DD

800 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 2 CV, 8 F, 1 CA, 2 CLX 3 DN, 1 DDD, 2 DD 4 BB
2 1 CV, 4 F, 1 BB, 1 BCH, 1 BC, 1 CLE 2 DN, 3 CL. 1 DDD, 1 DD 3 BB, 2 CL
3 1 CV, 4 F, 3 BC, 1 CLX, 1 DD 1 DN, 4 CA, 1 DDG, 1 DDX 3 BB, 1 CL, 2 DD
4 3 BB, 1 CA, 1 DDP, 1 DDE 3 BB, 1 BC, 1 CLE, 1 FF 2 BB, 3 CL, 2 DD
5 2 BB, 2 BCH, 1 DDE, 2 SC 2 BB, 1 CA, 1 DDX, 1 DDD, 5 FF 2 BB, 2 CL, 4 DD
6 2 BB, 1 CLE, 1 DDP, 5 DD 1 BB, 1 BCX, 1 BC, 2 CAX, 1 DDG 1 BB, 6 CL
7 1 BB, 4 CAX, 2 DD 3 BCX, 1 BC, 1 CLE, 1 DDD, 1 FFX 1 BB, 4 CL, 4 DD
8 2 BCX, 4 CL, 2 DDX 1 BCX, 1 BCH, 1 CLX, 4CL, 1 DDD 1 BB, 3 CL, 6 DD
9 3 BC, 2 CA, 1 CL, 1 CLE 4 CAX, 3 CL, 1 FFE 8 CL
10 6 CA, 2 DD 4 CLX, 3 CL, 2 FF, 1 FFE 5 CL, 6 DD

900 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 3 CV, 12 F, 2 DDP, 1 DDE 3 DN, 1 CLX, 1 CL, 1 DDX 4 BB, 1 CL
2 2 CV, 8 F, 1 BCH, 3 CL 2 DN, 1 BB, 1 BCX, 1 CAX 3 BB, 2 CL, 2 DD
3 1 CV, 4 F, 1 BCX, 3 BC, 1 CLX 1 DN, 4 CA, 1 CLX, 1 DDG, 1 DDD 3 BB, 1 CL, 4 DD
4 4 BB, 1 DD, 1 SC, 1 SCE 4 BB, 1 DDX, 1 FFX, 1 FF, 1 FFE 2 BB, 3 CL, 4 DD
5 3 BB, 2 CLX, 1 DDX, 1 DD 3 BB, 1 BC, 1 CA, 1 DDX, 1 DDD 2 BB, 2 CL, 6 DD
6 2 BB, 1 BCH, 2 BC, 1 CLX 2 BB, 1 BCH, 1 CAX, 1 CA, 1 CLX, 1 DDG 1 BB, 7 CL
7 1 BB, 1 BCX, 1 BCH, 1 BC, 1 CAX, 1 CL, 1 DDP 1 BB, 4 BCH, 1 CLX, 1 CL 1 BB, 4 CL, 6 DD
8 2 BCX, 2 BCH, 1 BC, 1 DDX, 1 DD, 1 SC 3 BCX, 2 CAX, 1 CA, 1 DDD 1 BB, 3 CL, 8 DD
9 5 BC, 2 CL, 1 DD 1 BCX, 2 BC, 2 BCH, 1 CLX, 1 CL 9 CL
10 3 CAX, 3 CA, 1 DDX, 2 DDP 1 BCH, 2 CA, 2 CLX, 2 CL, 1 DDG, 2 FF 6 CL, 6 DD

1000 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 3 CV, 12 F, 3 CL 4 DN, 1 FFX, 1 FF, 1 FFE 5 BB
2 2 CV, 8 F, 3 BCH, 1 DDX 3 DN, 1 BCH, 1 CAX, 1 CL 4 BB, 2 CL
3 1 CV, 4 F, 2 BB, 2 BC, 1 DD, 1 DDE 2 DN, 2 BB, 1 CL, 1 DDG, 1 DD 3 BB, 3 CL, 2 DD
4 4 BB, 1 BC, 1 CLP 1 DN, 3 BB, 1 DDX, 4 DD 3 BB, 2 CL, 4 DD
5 3 BB, 3 CL, 2 DD, 1 DDE 5 BB, 1 DDX, 1 DDD 2 BB, 4 CL, 4 DD
6 2 BB, 2 BCX, 1 CAX, 2 CL 4 BB, 1 BC, 1 DDG, 2 FFE 2 BB, 3 CL, 6 DD
7 1 BB, 1 BCX, 1 CAX, 4 CA, 1 DDX 3 BB, 1 BC, 2 BCH, 1 DDX 1 BB, 8 CL
8 2 BCX, 2 BCH, 2 BC, 1 DDX, 1 DDP 2 BB, 2 CAX, 2 CA, 1 DDG, 2 DD 1 BB, 5 CL, 6 DD
9 4 BC, 4 CL, 1 DDP, 1 DD 2 BCX, 2 BC, 2 BCH, 1 CLE, 1 DDD 9 CL, 2 DD
10 4 CAX, 4 CA, 1 DDE 2 CAX, 2 CA, 2 CLX, 2 CL, 2 DD, 1 FF 6 CL, 8 DD

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 8 TALON 1000

1100 Ship Points

Terran Talon AI
1 4 CV, 16 F, 2 DDP 5 DN (4 of the DN get +1 Shield) 5 BB, 1 CL
2 3 CV, 12 F, 1 CA, 2 CLP, 1 DDX 4 DN, 4 DD, 1 FFE 4 BB, 3 CL
3 2 CV, 8 F, 2 BB, 1 CAX, 1 CLX 3 DN, 4 CL, 2 FFX 3 BB, 3 CL, 4 DD
4 1 CV, 4 F, 3 BCX, 2 CA, 1 CL, 1 DDX 2 DN, 2 BB, 3 CLX 3 BB, 2 CL, 6 DD
5 5 BB, 1 CL, 1 DDE 1 DN, 4 BB, 1 CL, 1 CLE 2 BB, 5 CL, 4 DD
6 4 BB, 2 CA, 1 CLX 5 BB, 1 DDX, 2 DDD, 1 DD 2 BB, 3 CL, 8 DD
7 3 BB, 1 DDX, 3 DDP, 5 DD 4 BB, 2 BC, 1 CLX 1 BB, 9 CL
8 2 BB, 1 BCH, 1 CAX, 3 CA, 1 CLX 2 BB, 2 BCX, 2 BC, 2 DDG 1 BB, 5 CL, 8 DD
9 3 BCH, 4 BC, 1 CAX 4 BCX, 1 BC, 1 BCH, 1 CLX, 1 CLE 8 CL, 4 DD
10 2 CA, 3 CLX, 6 CL, 1 DD 1 CAX, 3 CA, 1 CLX, 6 CL 6 CL, 10 DD

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 9

NOTES ON SHIP NAMES Birchall – Suggested by Nick West (notquitekarpov on BGG)

– I’ll put forward my Great Uncle, Frederick George Birchall,
Naming so many ships was a task unto itself. A lot of names
Squadron Leader RAAF, 1939-1946. He was killed in Action,
were needed. Trying to come up with hundreds of good names,
whilst attached to 1 Australian War Crimes Section. He was
hopefully with a theme was not as easy as you might think. We,
assassinated by Japanese-led communist insurgents whilst in-
of course, asked for input. We got a lot of it and few people
vestigating Japanese War Crimes after the War. 
agreed on anything.
Baird – Suggested by Sean (SeanFR on BGG)—I’d like to nom-
KEY: inate a fellow Australian soldier if I may. Cameron BAIRD VC,
B
= Included in Base Game. Ships without this symbol are MG CPL, Special Operations Command - Commando, Australian
included in Talon 1000. Army. Enlisted Jan 2000 - KIA 22 Jun 2013, Khod Valley, AFG
(#+#) Number of ships in base game + expansion. whilst serving with the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG).
CPL Baird was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for
Australia for his conduct on 22 Jun 13. He was also awarded a
TERRAN Medal for Gallantry in 2007 for actions in AFG and was awarded
In some ways, the Terran names were the easiest. Well, at least a NATO Meritorious Service Medal posthumously on 20 June
compared to the Talons. Let’s face it, the AI names came quickly. 2014. A hero and true inspiration to service men and woman
Remembering that the Terran Confederation represents all of deployed to AFG at the time, including myself.
Earth, we made an effort to make it non-U.S. centric. Rivera-Diaz—Suggested by Dan Rivera (coyotelaughs on
BGG)—My Father: A man who joined the army at 17 and spent
SCE (0+3) 33 30 years in the military, raised 4 kids, and when he retired went
Gagarin, Armstrong, Glenn – back to school and followed his bliss and became a Chef. A man
We thought Astronauts were a that would give you the shirt off his back and ask if he could
good choice for a light explo- give you anything else. SGM Isabello Rivera-Diaz Jr, US Army,
ration ship. 1972-2002.
Lizak—Suggested by Ed Lizak (Cincinnatus on BGG)—SGT
Edward Lizak, US Army, 2004-2005. Technically most of my
time was US Army Reserve and Ohio National Guard but I was
SC (2+3) 37 deployed overseas 2004-2005 so that’s what I count as the most
ExplorerB, Voyager B, Discover, important part.
Expedition, Survey – We con-
tinued the exploration theme
DD (3+4) 55
started in the base game. Hercules B, Achilles B, Caleb B,
Ajax, Lancelot, Beowulf, Sam-
son – Heroes of old.

DDE (0+4) 45
This is the first of the “Veterans”
class. It was suggested on BGG, DDP (0+4) 59
that we name some of the Terran
This is the second of the “Vet-
ships after some veterans that
erans” class. See the DDE entry
served in the armed services of
for explanation.
the nations of earth. A number
of them were suggested and ten Goodfellow – Suggested by
were chosen at random. Christopher Mills, former Roy-
al Marine Commando 2001-
In my family, my grandfather served in the army in the Pacific in
2007—Charles Goodfellow,
WW2, my father in the army in Vietnam, and my brother in the
served with the Queens Royal
Air Force in South Korea. I considered naming a ship after them,
West Kents at Kohima in Burma,WW2. The loveliest person you
but with a ship named Krohn, everyone would have assumed it
could ever meet and my granddad!
was after me. I had an ROTC scholarship, but I didn’t accept it
and didn’t serve. In that light, it didn’t seem right to name a ship Cawley – Suggested by Digger Maferal (Scouter on BGG)—
Krohn. It would have been misleading. However, I kind of have James Wilford Cawley, Staff Sergeant, USMC, 1986-2003. My
a nod to my other grandfather in the Fighter names. best friend KIA AlFahar Iraq 03-29-03. He was a platoon Sgt
with Fox Co 2nd battalion 23rd Marine Regiment attached to
The text in italics was submitted on Board Game Geek by
First Marine Regt 1st Mar Div. Died in combat during invasion
the nominator.
of Iraq. I was 100 feet away from him. He earned a Navy Com-
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 10 TALON 1000

mendation with V for valor. It would honor him and his family CLX (0+3) 97
to have a ship named for him. Iron Duke, Lionheart, Crusader
Teoro – Suggested by Eric Teoro (7eat51 on BGG)—Eric Teoro, – A bit of a mismatch. The last
U.S. Air Force, 1989-1994. My Dad served in the U.S. Army two go together, but we liked
during the Korean War, as did other relatives. Uncle/Great-Un- Iron Duke so we kept it.
cle served during WWII. Grandfather served in Italian military
during the 1910s, and ancestors served before him going back
generations. It was an honor to carry on the legacy they handed
down to me.
Walters – Suggested by Eric Walters (ericmwalters on BGG)— CA (4+4) 115
Eric Walters, U.S. Marine Corps (Colonel), 1980-2010 & Ray Patton B, Napoleon B, Zhukov B,
Walters, U.S. Navy (Captain), 1955-1981. Guderian B, Jackson, Rommel,
Hannibal, Montgomery – Con-
DDX (0+4) 68 tinuing the theme of generals that
Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Eras- we started in the base game.
mus – Philosophers. All temp-
tation to name the fourth one
“Morons” was resisted.
CAX (0+4) 124
Nimoy, Bellerophon, Xerxes,
Ragnar – The last two are a bit
of a bleed downwards from the
CLE (0+3) 79 next class. We wanted to include
London, Moscow, Berlin – Cap- Nimoy because it appears in
itals. our background fiction and we
thought it was an appropriate
name. When we broke the naming
convention, with Nimoy, it gave us an opportunity to slide in Bel-
lerophon. It was a famously tough ship at the battle of Trafalgar.
The crew nicknamed her the Billy Ruffian.

CL (3+3) 88 BC (3+2) 134

Alexander , CaesarB, Sun TzuB,
B
ValhallaB, ThorB, AsgardB, Bifrost,
Genghis, Frederick – The theme
Odin, Loki – Norse.
for this class is generals that
were also influential leaders of
their country. The idea was that
BCs are more powerful than
CAs, so they had to be more than
just generals. We realize that the
division here is not perfect and that Napoleon could easily be on
CLP (0+3) 90 a BC, but we had put him on a CA in the base game, before we
Grace Hopper, John von Neu- had that distinction completely thought out.
mann, Turing – Famous computer
scientists / mathematicians. These
were inspired by our work on
Space Empires: Replicators. John
von Neumann postulated the con-
cept of self-replicating machines,
yes, but he was a giant. Grace
Hopper famously came up with the term “bug” for a computer
problem when they literally found a moth stuck in a relay of a
Mark II computer. If the US Navy can name a ship after her in
the present, it is not far-fetched to have a starship named after
her in the future.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 11
BCH (0+4) 147 was the Ace of Spades (Pik As). For the ones in the expansion,
we went with mythical flying creatures.
Thermopylae, Stalingrad, Mid-
way, Saratoga – Turning point Transport (2+2)
battles that changed the course
32
of conflicts.
NormandyB, Rodger YoungB
This is the last two of the “Veter-
ans” class. See the DDE entry for
explanation.
BCX (0+4) 156
Yorktown, Waterloo, Hastings, Hale – Suggested by K S (wamsp
Sekigahara – Decisive battles that on BGG)—In WWII, my grandpa
ended conflicts. This break down served in the US Air Force and my grandma served in the German
and clarification of the battle Wehrmacht. They met after the war and I always thought their
names meant that we would not relationship was a nice symbol of US-German post-war rela-
have a Lady Lex in the game, but tions—or should I say, the history of the Terran Confederation.
these are all good names. Sekiga- I think the “Elmer & Inge Hale” could be a nice ship name.
hara had to be included on the list Brown – This covers two entries:
because I love the GMT game of that same name. • Suggested by Justen Brown (jaybeethree on BGG)—Waldo
Brown, U.S. Army, 1942-1946. According to my grandfather’s
BB (3+2) 194 public service records, he voluntarily enlisted in 1942 as a
Thunderchild B, Prometheus B, private in the warrant officers branch... as a white man! My
DefiantB, Yamato, Bismarck – The grandfather was, as far as I know, black but he was very light
base game names were selected skinned and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of him with
for various reasons. I like to work hair so he very well could’ve passed as white throughout most
Thunderchild into sci-fi games. of his life. And for myself—Justen Brown, U.S. Navy, 2005-
It is a famous ship that destroyed 2011.
a Martian tripod in War of the • Suggested by James Brown (topman1 on BGG)—My father,
Worlds. In a sci-fi game, I feel like James Douglass Brown—He served with the 40th Infantry
that is a tip of the hat to sci-fi history. Prometheus seemed plau- Division’s Calvary Reconnaissance Brigade (Mechanized)
sible because it was used as the name of the first Earth battleship during WW2. He became a Sergeant and received an Army
in another sci-fi series. For the expansion, we used the name of Unit Commendation for his time in service.
perhaps the two most famous battleships in modern history. Let’s Base (1+0) 184
face it, the Yamato had to be in the game for another reason also.
Valley Forge – An historic
B

camp.
CV (2+2) 70
Hornet B, Wasp B, Zuikaku, Ark
Royal – Famous aircraft carriers.
Zuikaku was the last of the 6 Pearl
Harbor CVs to be sunk. It lasted
until October 1944 and gave good
service throughout the war. Starbase (0+1)
281
Gibraltar – A fortress base.
Fighters (8+8) 44
Flying Tiger B, CougarB, Black
JackB, WolverineB, Double DownB,
Ace of SpadesB, Black SheepB,
Diamond BackB, Griffon, Dragon,
Wyvern, Cockatrice, Manticore,
Sphinx, Harpy, Phoenix – The
base game names are all pretty
standard fighter squadron names,
but I wanted to squeeze in Flying Tiger and Black Sheep for WW2
reasons. Ace of Spades is a nod to one of my grandfathers. He
was in the ground crew for Jagdgeschwader 53 whose symbol

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 12 TALON 1000

TALON DDX (0+4) 55

As was mentioned in the base game, most of the Talon names are Intelligence, Charisma, Luck,
rough translations into English, although there were some that Spirit – The improved version
simply had no equivalent in our language. In situations where of the DD shares its naming
ships were named after figures or creatures in Talon history, they convention. See above.
were assigned similarly-styled names. The inspiration for this
was how the U.S. gave names to the Japanese planes in WWII
(Kate, Betty, etc.).
The militaristic foundation of the Talon society has already been DDG (0+4) 69
explained. However, it should be emphasized that it was also a Arwyn, Anwen, Bronwen, Rhon-
virtuous society and that shows up in some of the ship names. wen – These are Celtic names
that were substituted for other
FFE (0+4) 37 untranslatable ethnic names
Malice, Spite, Wrath, Hatred – within the Talon culture.
Strong, negative words for such
a little ship.

CLE (0+4) 77
Centauri, Cygni, Polaris, Rigel
– Nearby stars.

FF (2+4) 44
SurpriseB, VisionB, Future, Ora-
cle, Omen, Harbinger – Search-
ing, foresight, etc. Something
that represents the eyes and ears
of the fleet. CL (3+4) 88
FearlessB, IndomitableB, Daunt-
lessB, Furious, Vanguard, War-
spite, Resolution – Fearsome
FFX (0+4) 47 and fearless names. Do not
Scimitar, Scythe, Sickle, Saber – underestimate this ship.
Quick and cutting.

CLX (0+4) 102

Andromeda, Pegasus, Cassio-
peia, Canis Major – Significant
galaxies.
DD (3+4) 48
Hunter , Shadow , Predator B,
B B

Stealth, Silence, Stalker, Specter

– Hunter is a good class name for
this ship as it sums up the other CA (4+4) 115
names well.
SacrificeB, UnityB, JusticeB, Ser-
viceB, Solace, Defender, Duty,
Steadfast – Selfless virtues.
DDD (0+4) 51
Strength, Wisdom, Dexterity,
Constitution – Apparently senior
Talon leadership plays RPG
games.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 13
CAX (0+4) 125 Transport (2+2)
Vigilant, Triumph, Intrepid, 36
Valiant – The improved version Legion B, Tribe B, Horde, Clan
of the CA shares its naming – Appropriately named since
convention. See above. transports carry troops.

BCH (0+4) 133 Base (1+0) 184

Leviathan, Behemoth, Chimera, Hope – Core, supportive belief
B

Hydra – Mythical monsters of their culture.

from our culture to replace the
mythical monster names from
the Talon culture.

BC (3+4) 142 Starbase SP 278

Victory , Honor , Freedom ,
B B B
Faith – Core, supportive belief
Valor, Liberty, Ardor, Renown – of their culture.
Victory and purpose.

BCX (0+4) 161 DD (0+17) 50

Halberd, Longbow, Longsword, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,
Broadsword – Weapons. Epsilon, Digamma, Zeta, Eta,
Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda,
Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi – Greek
and Phoenician letters.

BB (3+3) 179
EradicatorB, EvisceratorB, Elim- CL (0+10) 100
inatorB, Devastator, Obliterator, San, Koppa, Rho, Sigma, Tau,
Annihilator – Powerful destruc- Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega
tion. – Greek and Phoenician letters.

DN (2+3) 218
DominionB, ImperialB, Royal, BB (0+7) 200
Empire, Realm – The peak of Alpha Beta, Beta Gamma, Gam-
their forces, they symbolize the ma Delta, Delta, Epsilon, Epsi-
power of their empire. lon Digamma, Digamma Zeta,
Zeta Eta – Combinations of the
same.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 14 TALON 1000

that ability, if it was higher, they could be out maneuvered too

AI EMPIRE SOLITAIRE easily by the human player.
• There are times, either because of damage or, in rare instances
because of an AI decision, that the AI will move at a speed of
DESIGNER PROLOGUE: 3. At that speed, the ships get a Turn Radius of 0. In effect, the
The barrier to a solitaire system for Talon is that there are too AI ships usually have a Power Curve of 0-4-1, but sometimes
many decisions. This is a problem for two reasons: they will have a Power Curve of 0-3-0.
1. These decisions make the AI more and more complex. There • Instead of Afterburners, each ship gets a Brake and Burn. One
are too many things to have to consider. box, the Burn, lets them move when they are not supposed
to move and one box, the Brake, lets them NOT move when
2. Solitaire players do not want to spend a lot of time managing they are supposed to move. This allows the AI to make a speed
the solitaire AI. They want the AI to be quick and easy to manage decision when they need to and not at the start of a round. The
so that they can focus on their own play. ships do not pay for this ability in their costs. A real opponent
There are currently three AI ships—a DD, a CL, and a BB. They could make better decisions with the Power Curve and this is
rate at 50, 100, and 200 points to make scenario balancing easy. meant to offset that a little (again without a lot of overhead on
These are the AI Empire. Not only are the ships run by an AI, the human player).
but they actually are AI. They are an empire of machines. These Available Power – AI ships do NOT get Available Power:
ships are a scourge to everyone. Both the Terran and the Talon, • Their weapons only have red boxes.
as well as future empires, battle them.
• They are not allowed to move the Turn Radius marker,
The break through to make the AI empire a reality was realizing reinforce shields, or change Initiative.
that many of the decisions in the game could be removed....and • They may sideslip without spending AP.
that we already had the point system to account for it. • Their ship cost has been adjusted by lowering the Power on
their ships so that they have zero AP at a speed of 4.
GENERAL INFORMATION • Effectively, their default Power Curve is 0-4-1. Rarely, it is 0-3-0.

Weapons Note: Just with the above changes, alone, the solitaire player
Two new weapons are used by the AI. One has a becomes easily playable—especially to a veteran solitaire gamer.
shorter range and recharges quicker (Laser) and Much of the rest of the solitaire rules is to provide a “letter of
one has a longer range and recharges slower (Co- the law” so that the solitaire player does not have to make any
balt Cannon). Some important points about the weapons: decisions for the AI.
• They only have red recharge boxes. This eliminates the need Variability
to decide when to allocate Available Power to recharging.
We want the AI, as simply as possible, to make some good
• As long as they are within range, they do the same damage (if obvious) decisions. However, we don’t want it to be 100%
regardless of their distance. This eliminates complicated AI known and programmable. That would give the human too much
decisions on the ideal range to fire. calculating/planning power. Randomness is inserted in the AI
• All the weapon mounts are always 3 arcs. This is expensive Ships in a few areas:
in Ship Points for the AI ships, but means greatly simplified
• The weapon damage is variable - although, notice that they
AI movement protocols.
will always do some damage. This prevents situations where
• Each weapon is in its own group. they get easily routed. Of course, they pay for this in the cost
of their ships.
Power Curve
• Since the Brake and Burn abilities can each be only used once,
Instead of a normal Power Curve, each ship has a default speed
most of the time there is some variability in their use. There
of 4. A bunch of things about this:
are some situations where it is obvious they should be used
• This removes the hardest part of the AI process - deciding what and, in those, their use will be 100%.
part of the power curve to be on.
• Sideslips are free for the AI and this allows the AI ships enough
• By having most of the ships move at the same speed, it makes flexibility that, when the move is not critical, there is some
maneuvering easier. variability on where they go.
• A default speed of 4 puts pressure on the human player.
• All the ships have the same Turn Radius of 1. At that speed, Initiative
the DD did not have to pay for a good Turn Radius, the CL This is not handled normally.
had to pay for one improved Turn Radius and the BB had to • The AI starts with the Initiative.
pay for 3 improved Turn Radius (in the point system). • The Initiative can only be changed ONE TIME during a
• The Turn Radius of 1 is important because the AI will not be scenario.
able to spend AP to bring the Turn Radius marker in. Without • The human player can take the Initiative if greater than half
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 TALON 1000 15
of his ships EACH spend an Available Power to change the Third Roll (formation):
Initiative IN THE SAME IMPULSE.
1-2: Random: When placing an enemy ship, draw it
• Once changed, the human player will have the Initiative for
randomly from available ships for this scenario.
the rest of the scenario.
• When making decisions, the AI does NOT consider the 3-4: By Type: All ships start adjacent to a ship of the same
possibility that the human player will change the Initiative. type if possible (all DDs are adjacent to each other,
etc.). Randomly draw which ship type to place, then
Damage place all ships of that type in a row adjacent to it. Next
• Each AI ship has one Critical. If 8 or 11 are rolled on the Critical randomly draw the next ship type. Place the ship drawn
table, the normal result is ignored and it is instead treated as adjacent to the first ship type drawn and then place all
one hull damage. ships of that type in a row adjacent to it. Finally, place
• A ship damaged enough to roll the Critical will have a Power the third ship type in the same way.
Curve of 0-3-0 starting the next round. 5-6: Balanced: Build a row such that the largest ships are
in the center and the smallest ships are on the outside
Movement and as balanced as possible. Divide the number of
• AI ships tend to move to the closest enemy ship. DDs in half rounded up and place them on the left
• AI ships are “sticky” and like to move adjacent to each other, of the formation. Next divide the number of CLs in
if possible. half rounded down and place them to the right of the
• The explosion strength of the three types of AI ships is 0, 1, DDs. To the right of the CLs place all the BBs, then
and 2 for the DD, CL and BB, respectively. all remaining CLs, and then all remaining DDs.

INITIAL SET UP: MOVEMENT DECISIONS

• All AI ships initially face the same direction.
AI ships will always move in such a way so as not to enter the
• All AI ships start in the same row of the set up area. same hex, if possible. However, if it does happen that it is un-
• All AI ships start adjacent to each other. avoidable, they do not incur damage like player ships do. For
• After the player sets up, the AI rolls the die three times to ease of implementation, the AI ships are considered to move
determine AI set up. simultaneously for the purposes of avoiding collisions.
First Roll (distance): AI ships may ALWAYS sideslip when they move straight.
1-3: The AI starts in the set up area row closest to the enemy No Available Power is needed (as they have none) and they do
player. not need to place a side slip counter.
4-6: The AI starts in the set up area row farthest from the A ship will move according to the following priorities (in order):
enemy player.
1. The ship’s first priority is always to avoid entering the same
Second Roll (side): hex as another AI ship that cannot move out of the way this
Impulse. In addition, ships must avoid colliding with Missiles
1-3: The row of AI ships will start on the left-most hex of
that could cause hull damage if they were to move into a
the playing area and face forward-right.
Missile-containing hex this Impulse.
4-6: The row of AI ships will start on the right-most hex of 2. If a move will allow a ship to fire weapons and possibly do
the playing area and face forward-left. hull damage against a player ship THAT IMPULSE, it will
make that move. If more than one move will possibly score
hull damage, make the move that does the most. If it is tied,
then make the move that scores that hull damage using the
fewest weapons. Possible hull damage is calculated as if the
AI ships all rolled 6s on every weapon roll. It is important that
the fire of all possible AI ships be considered when making
this determination.
3. If a ship has been assigned a Priority Target, that ship is the
Target Ship for all six Impulses of that round (unless the
Priority Target is destroyed sooner). Move closer to that target.
4. If a ship does not have a Priority Target, move toward the
closest enemy ship. That ship becomes the Movement Target
Ship for the Impulse.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 16 TALON 1000

When moving AI ships, resolve them from left to right. If two board). Choose the legal move that brings the Target Ship clos-
ships are equally to the left, then move the ship first that is farther est to the Center Hex Row in front of the AI Ship. If both move
from your board edge. methods bring the Target Ship equally close to the Center Hex
Row, then Side Slip.
If a situation comes up where an AI has a decision that has mul-
tiple choices that cannot be decided upon by the rules, then roll Deciding Which Ship is the Closest Enemy
randomly between those choices.
Ship
The Center Hex Row of a ship is the row of hexes that proceed When deciding which is the closest ship:
straight out directly in front of a ship. When determining how far • +2 is added to the distance of a ship if it is in the Side Shield
away a Target is from the Center Hex Row of a ship, count the Arc of the AI Ship.
hexes from the target to the Center Hex Row, not to the ship. A • +5 is added to the distance of a ship if it is in the same hex or
Target could be one hex away from the Center Hex Row of a ship, in the Rear Shield Arc of the AI Ship.
but 3 hexes away from the ship itself as in the example below.
If more than one ship is the same distance:
• First choose the ship with the most hull Damage.
• If still tied choose the ship with the most shield damage on the
shield facing the AI ship.
• If still tied determine target randomly.
When choosing the Closest Enemy Ship, remember that the sec-
ond move priority is to do hull damage and that moving toward
the Closest Enemy Ship is the fourth priority. It is possible that
an AI ship, in fulfilling the second priority, will turn and move
away from a Priority Target or the Closest enemy ship in order
Moving Toward a Target not in the to do hull damage that Impulse to a different enemy ship.
Decision Ship’s Front Shield Arc
• If no Turn Radius marker, then turn toward the Target ship. When to Brake or Burn
• If the Target ship is directly in the single hex row to the rear There are 2 cases where an AI may use the Brake ability:
of the Decision Ship, then turn in the direction in which the • Cause Hull Damage - If doing so will fulfill Movement
AI ship has less shield damage. If this is tied, then roll - 1-3: Priority #2.
Turn Left / 4-6: Turn Right. • Impulse F - If during Impulse F, all of the following are true:
EXAMPLE: If the ship had 2 damage on its left shield and 3 ◊ In the front Shield Arc of the AI ship, there is a player ship
damage on its right shield, the ship will turn left. that is exactly two hexes away.
• If there is a Turn Radius marker, then the ship will Sideslip ◊ That player ship is not showing its rear Shield Arc to the
away from the Target Ship. AI ship. If player ship is actually a base (which has no rear
shield arc), it is never considered to be showing a rear Shield
Moving Toward a Target within the Arc to the AI ship.
Decision Ship’s Front Shield Arc
Choose the hex - Using the legal moves available (obviously, There are three cases where an AI will use the Burn (Afterburner)
a Turn is not possible if a Turn Radius counter is on the board): ability:
• Choose the hex that can be reached that is closest to the Target 1. Cause Hull Damage: If doing so will fulfill Movement Priority
Ship. #2.
• If two hexes are equally close, choose the hex that is adjacent 2. Approach Simultaneously: If all of the following are true:
to an AI ship that is done moving for that Impulse (it either ◊ The AI ship has its Target Ship within 6 hexes in its Front
has moved already or is not moving that Impulse). This is the Shield Arc.
AI ships being “sticky.” ◊ There is a second AI ship that:
• If that does not decide the hex, choose the hex that keeps the • Started the Impulse within 2 hexes of the first AI Ship.
Target closest to the Center Hex Row of the moving ship. • It also has that Target Ship within its Front Shield Arc.
• If that does not decide the hex, choose the hex randomly (For • It is closer to the target ship.
example: 1-3: Left / 4-6: Right).
3. Reduce Hull Damage: If an AI ship has a player ship in its
After choosing the hex, next choose whether to move straight,
rear arc that has a weapon that will be able to fire at it during the
Side Slip, or Turn.
next player Impulse and using the Burn ability will prevent that,
If the hex is directly ahead, move straight. then the AI ship will Burn.

If the hex is to the left or the right then the choice is either to Each AI ship can only Brake once and only Burn once in a
Side Slip or Turn (if there is not a Turn Radius counter on the scenario.
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 TALON 1000 17
Dangerous Terrain or destroy a ship. Once all the moves have been made and it is
Dangerous Terrain is a terrain hex that could cause immediate time to fire, the AI selects its targets based on taking the sure
hull damage in this Impulse or the next. thing. This could result in the Movement Target being different
from the Firing Target.
EXPLANATION: Asteroids could cause immediate hull damage
if a ship moved into one with a downed facing shield. Nebulae To choose Firing Targets, the AI will consider the combined
could cause immediate hull damage if there is a capable enemy fire of all ships that can fire this Impulse. The fire targets are the
ship in firing range. A Planet or Black Hole would cause the following, in order:
immediate destruction of the ship and thus also qualifies. • The largest ship that the AI can destroy, even if every die roll
is a 1.
Prior to executing a move, check to see if the move would place
• Destroying a missile targeting a friendly ship (including this
an AI ship into Dangerous Terrain. If so, the AI ship will instead
ship) which, if it was destroyed (considering other fire from
move into a hex that would not cause such hull damage, if able.
friendlies), would reduce the amount of hull damage received
• Side Slip may be used. in this impulse or the next.
• This change in movement should, as much as possible, keep the • The largest ship that the AI can cause a critical, even if every
AI ship close to the intended movement hex with the intended die roll is a 1.
facing.
• The largest ship that the AI can cause hull damage.
Note that an AI ship may use Burn to move in this situation if • The smallest ship without shield reinforcement on the targeted
the Reduce Hull Damage criteria are also met. side.
If an AI ship is moving in order to accomplish Priority #2 (do • The smallest ship.
Hull Damage), it will not attempt to avoid Dangerous Terrain if If tied:
moving into a hex containing Dangerous Terrain will enable it
◊ Choose the ship that has the most charged weapons.
to inflict more hull damage.
◊ Choose randomly.

FIRE PRIORITY AND Choosing Weapons to Fire:

TARGETING Weapons are fired one at a time and decisions are revisited after
each roll. Weapons are fired in this order:
When It Fires • Smallest weapon that could destroy the target if a 6 is rolled.
An AI ship that can fire its weapons will always fire its weapons
• If no one weapon can destroy the target, then the largest
except possibly when all three of the following conditions are
weapon.
met:
• It cannot currently do hull damage (if it rolls a 6 on all attacks). EXAMPLE: Between all of the AI ships that can fire this Impulse,
the AI can fire 3 Cobalt Cannons and 3 Lasers. That is a total
• There is no combination of player ships and/or incoming
damage of 12, if every die roll was a 1. Those weapons can be
missiles that will be able to fire at it this Impulse or the next
brought to bear on the front shields of four different Terran ships
Impulse and cause hull damage.
- an SC (2 shield + 1 Reinforcement + 2 hull), two DD (3 shield
• It is not Impulse F (because if it is Impulse F, it should fire so + 4 hull), and a BC (7 shield + 6 hull). While it is possible with
it can start to charge). even average rolling to destroy the BC, the AI will not target
If all three of the above conditions are met, the AI ship will hold the BC because the decision is based on every roll being a 1.
its fire in either of these two circumstances: It can destroy either an SC or a DD even if every die roll is a
• The AI ship is at a range of 3 and not in the rear shield arc of 1. The DD is larger and will be the first target. One of the DDs
the player ship (the AI ship can’t be damaged and, if it cannot has already fired its weapon while the other has not and so the
do hull damage now, it might as well wait an Impulse until its latter is selected. No one weapon is guaranteed to destroy it, so
Lasers are in range or a better shot becomes available). a Cobalt Cannon is fired and a 6 is rolled doing 5 damage. The
critical roll is a 7, no effect. The DD has 2 hull boxes left so a
• The AI ship is at a range of 2 and would possibly be able to
Laser is fired next and the roll is a 1 for 1 damage. A second
cause hull damage on the next Impulse (because it would move
Laser is used to finish off the DD. That leaves the AI with 2 Cobalt
into a different shield arc or another ship would close and it
Cannons and 1 Laser. That is a total damage of 7, if every die
would fire at the same time).
roll was a 1. Both the DD and the SC could be destroyed so the
Choosing Firing Targets remaining DD is selected. The first Cobalt Cannon rolls a 1 for
Note: When choosing Targets for the Weapons, the decision 3 damage, knocking down the shield. The DD has 4 hull boxes
is always calculated as if it rolled a 1. This is different than left and the AI has 1 Cobalt Cannon and 1 Laser left. The Cobalt
during movement (when the calculation is made as if it always Cannon could conceivably destroy it and does with a roll of 5.
rolled a 6). When choosing where to move, the AI always thinks There is a SC and a BC remaining and the AI has a Laser left.
about maximum damage to be caused and is willing to move in Hull Damage cannot be caused to either with one Laser. Since
a position to get a shot that could possibly cause hull damage the SC has a shield reinforcement, the BC is the smallest ship

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 18 TALON 1000

without shield reinforcement and is hit by the Laser. If the SC close, select the one that has the most hull damage first. If still
did not have shield reinforcement, it would have been the target. tied, then select randomly.
If the AI is firing a Cobalt Cannon and all of the following con- To select which AI ship is assigned this PPT, choose the AI
ditions are met: ship that is closest to this PPT. When deciding distance for this
• The Firing Target is a Fighter. assignment:
• A non-Fighter enemy ship can be fired on with this weapon in • +2 is added to the distance to a ship if it is in the Side Shield
the next Impulse. Arc of the AI ship.
• +5 is added to the distance to a ship if it is in the Rear Shield
Then the AI ship will not fire the Cobalt Cannon against the
Arc of the AI Ship.
Fighter, even if it is Impulse F.
One at a time, the closest AI ship will be selected, and a die will
be rolled to see if it is assigned this Priority Target. If the die
THE POWER PHASE roll is successful, write the Priority Target on the AI ship, and
Regardless of Initiative, all of a player’s Power Phase is resolved then check the next AI ship. If the die roll is unsuccessful, do
before the AI resolves its Power Phase. NOT assign the ship as a Priority Target AND do not assign any
In addition to normal Power Phase activity, the AI does the more Priority Targets this Power Phase. Move on to choosing
following in the Power Phase: Power Curves.

Priority Targets For each PPT roll:

Priority Target assignments are made only during the Power 1-3: do not assign a Priority Target to that AI ship and stop
Phase. assigning Priority Targets.
At the start of this part of the Power Phase, erase all current 4-6: assign that Priority Target to that AI ship and choose
Priority Target assignments. the next AI ship to roll for.
When a Priority Target is assigned to an AI ship, that player ship
Modifiers that affect each PPT roll:
becomes its Target Ship for all 6 Impulses of the next Round.
Make a note on the AI ship counter. Priority Targets are erased –2 If the Player EFV is greater than the AI EFV
when they are destroyed, or at the start of the next Power Phase. +1 If the AI EFV is greater than the Player EFV
When an AI ship’s Priority Target is destroyed it behaves like
Using the formula for EFV, if the total value of the ships that are
any other AI ship that lacks a Priority Target for the remainder
assigned a Priority Target ever exceeds the value of the ships that
of the Round.
are PPTs, then the AI will stop assigning Priority Targets even if
Priority Targets may be assigned if both of the following con- the last roll was a success.
ditions are met:
• There is a player ship in the Side or Rear Shield Arc of an AI
Choosing each AI Ship’s Power Curve
ship. The default Power Curve for all AI ships is 0-4-1. The ship will
have a Power Curve of 0-3-0 for the coming Round in the three
• That player ship is NOT in the Front Shield Arc and within 6
following cases (only):
hexes of a different AI ship.
• The ship has had its Critical Hull Box marked off and must
If no player ships meet both of the above criteria, then no Priority have a Power Curve of 0-3-0.
Targets are assigned. • Its current Target Ship (either an assigned Priority Target or
All ships that meet both criteria are Potential Priority Targets what would be its Movement Target Ship if it were to move
(PPTs). at this moment) is not in its Front Shield Arc.
• All are true:
Amount of AI Ships Assigned to Priority ◊ By moving in Impulse A an enemy would no longer be in
Targets range and by slowing down to 0-3-0 that enemy would be
If Priority Targets may be assigned (see above) then follow this in range.
procedure. If not, then skip to choosing Power Curves. ◊ This enemy is the only possible target for this AI ship in
Total the Estimated Fleet Value (EFV) of the ships for both Impulse A.
sides. When doing so, ships that are DD or smaller count as 1 (This occurs when the AI has the Initiative and is one hex away
(including Fighters and CV), CLs count as 2, CA and BC count from the Target Ship OR when the AI does not have the Initia-
as 3, and ships BB and above count as 4. Ship damage does not tive, is two hexes away from the Target Ship, and the Target
impact this rating. Ship has a Speed of 4 or higher and the enemy is facing this
AI ship.)
PPTs are assigned in order of their distance to any AI ship,
starting with the closest PPT. If more than one PPT is equally

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 19
Player Anti-Gaminess Rule Initial Ship Forces and Future Purchases
During every Power Phase, all of a player’s ships (not bases) The AI does not get any Bases or Starbases. However, they are
are checked. If there is not an AI ship in its front Shield Arc and given an additional 200 points for every Base that the player
within 6 hexes, that player ship is marked with an “R”. If at any received for free and an additional 300 points for every Starbase
time during any Impulse, there is an AI ship in its front Shield Arc the player received for free.
and within 6 hexes, that “R” is erased. If it is still marked with
an “R” during the next Power Phase, then that ship has retreated The AI does not use transports—see Combat Above Planets.
and is immediately removed from the board. At the start of the game, a die is rolled on the following table to
NOTE: In battles with 300 points or less, there are situations determine the Fleet Ratio for that game.
where this rule can be difficult on the human player. Unfortu-
Empire War Solitaire - Fleet Ratio Table
nately, this rule is needed to prevent a gamey situation where a
player might use a small ship to lead away AI ships while going Die Roll DD CL BB
fast enough to prevent them from closing. The AI could be written 1 6 3 1
to help prevent them from falling for that, but that would require 2 4 2 1
a wider range of speeds and decision making and would make
the AI more cumbersome for the player to implement. If you are 3 2 2 1
able to play within the spirit of the rule, this rule can be ignored. 4 2 1 1
However, this rule is provided for those that prefer to play with 5 1 1 1
an absolute.
6 1 1 2
For the entire game, when deciding which ship to build next, the
EMPIRE WAR GAME AI will pick ships to bring their overall fleet composition closer
During an Empire War Game, the AI takes the place of either the to the above ratio. If more than one choice is equally valid, then
Terran or Talon Empire while the player takes the role of the other. decide randomly between the available choices.

All human player decisions and rules remain exactly the same. Regardless of Fleet Ratio, the AI will always spend available
ship points down to zero if possible.
Radiation Belt - AI ships do not receive an AP in the Radiation
Belt (obviously). However, their shields do operate normally EXAMPLE: At the start of the game, the AI rolled a 2 and has a
(they remain online) in the Nebulae. This only applies to Radi- Fleet Ratio of 4-2-1. If the AI currently has 11 DD, 6 CL, 3 BB,
ation Belt Nebulae. the next ship to be built would be a DD. Following that, the next
ship to be built would be random. Roll a die: 1-2 build a DD,
Difficulty Level 3-4, build a CL, 5-6 build a BB.
• NORMAL: At start, the AI is given an additional 200 points for EXAMPLE: Using the above Fleet Ratio, the AI currently has
every Base that the player received for free and an additional 12 DD, 4 CL, 2 BB. The next ship to be built should be either a
300 points for every Starbase the player received for free. CL or a BB. However, if the AI only had 50 points left, it would
When purchasing reinforcements, the AI gets double the purchase another DD.
number of Ship Points represented by their board position.
When purchasing reinforcements, the AI gets double the number
• HARD: In addition to the above, the AI gets 10% more starting of Ship Points represented by their board position.
forces. The additional points for Bases and Starbases are also
given a 10% bonus. Ship Placement
• IMPOSSIBLE: In addition to the NORMAL level, the AI gets AI ships are not limited by range and are fully repaired instantly
20% more starting forces. The additional points for Bases and after a battle. In practice, all AI ships are available to be placed
Starbases are also given a 20% bonus. in any sector during the Ship Assignment Phase. The AI is also
When purchasing reinforcements, the AI gets triple (instead of not limited by the minimum Logistics Points (LP) per sector.
double) the number of Ship Points represented by their board All human player ships are placed first.
position.
If a Front is neither in nor adjacent to the AI Home Planet
Sector, then roll on the following table to determine how the AI
breaks up its ships.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 20 TALON 1000

Die Roll Modifiers: the adjacent sector, and the remaining 550 would be assigned to
+1 if the AI has fewer LP in its fleet than the human player. the other two sectors. If the AI had less LP than the human player
+2 if in or adjacent to the AI Home Planet Sector. and rolled a 5 +1 +2 = 8, then 100% of the remaining points
would be assigned to one of the two sectors and none to the other.
Empire War Solitaire - Ship Placement Table
If, after assigning ships to sectors adjacent to the Home Planet,
Die Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 4
there are fewer sectors remaining than the table would indicate,
Roll
move up the table until the right number of sectors is reached.
1 25% 25% 25% 25%
EXAMPLE: Continuing the above example, after assigning
2 40% 20% 20% 20%
ships to the Home and adjacent sector, only 2 sectors are left to
3 33% 33% 33% 0% receive ships, if the AI rolls a 1 +1 +2 = 4, the percentages are
4 40% 30% 30% 0% 40/30/30. Since only 2 sectors are left, move up the chart to 6,
which has the percentages as 50/50.
5 50% 25% 25% 0%
6 50% 50% 0% 0% Combat Above Planets
7 75% 25% 0% 0% The AI does not use transports, although the human player still
8-9 100% 0% 0% 0% uses them normally.

Assign the percentages to sectors randomly. The percentage Transports may ONLY be landed on a planet if the human play-
equals the percentage of the AI’s fleet ship points of each ship er destroys or causes to retreat all AI forces. They may still be
class that will be assigned to that sector. Remaining ships are brought on during the Reinforcement Phase of Round 1, but may
randomly assigned. That means that even with a die roll of 1, not not land until the conclusion of the battle.
all of the Sectors will get the same percentage assigned. If the AI destroys or causes to retreat all human Bases and ships,
EXAMPLE: The result of the roll is a 3. The AI has 13 DD, 7 it automatically captures the planet if it has at least one ship
CL, and 2 BB. One random sector gets 0 ships. The other three remaining in that sector.
sectors get 4DD and 2 CL. The remaining DD, CL, and 2 BB
are placed randomly and individually between the three sectors AI Ship Retreats
that received ships. When playing a Campaign/Empire War game against the AI
(only), it may decide to retreat to preserve forces or mitigate
AI Satellite Network - Due to an extensive and advanced satellite Victory Points.
network near its home planet, if the front has advanced either in
If an AI ship is rendered ineffective due to all weapons being
or adjacent to the AI Home Planet Sector, then the AI places ships
destroyed by Critical Damage it will retreat by jumping to FTL,
in those sectors before rolling for the other sectors. If fighting in
if able.
the Home Planet Sector, the AI assigns at least 150% of the ship
points that the player assigned. If fighting in a sector adjacent to If the AI is outnumbered by 2-1 or more in total ship points AND
the Home Planet, the AI assigns at least 125% of the ship points the AI will not be able to destroy a ship in Impulse A, then all AI
that the player assigned. The ship types are chosen randomly, ships will FTL. Any ships not able to FTL at that moment (not
but the last ship will be chosen so as to get the total as close as spooled, in terrain), will FTL as soon as possible.
possible. 1-2 assign a DD, 3-4 assign a CL, 5-6 assign a BB. NOTE: Again, the above rule is provided for those who prefer to
EXAMPLE: The human player has 298 ship points over the AI play with an absolute. However, there are so many variables to
Home planet. The AI must assign 447 ship points. The first roll account for in a retreat situation that rules cannot do it justice.
is a 5 so a BB is assigned, leaving 227 points. The next roll is If you are able to play solitaire within the spirit of the rule, then
also a 5. Since only 47 points remain, the last ship assigned is a ignore the above and instead make AI retreat decisions based
DD. The AI will defend the Home Planet with 2 BB and a DD. on the Principle of Calculated Risk. This leaves the retreat
decisions to player discretion with the following advice from
If the AI does not have enough ships, it will assign as many as Admiral Nimitz:
possible, prioritizing the Home Planet first. It will then assign
ships to the remaining sectors according to the table above. United States Pacific Fleet 
EXAMPLE: The human player has advanced to the home planet USS Pennsylvania, Flagship of the Commander-in-Chief
in one sector and adjacent to the home planet in another. Based Serial 0114W 
on the ships assigned by the human player, the AI needs to assign May 28, 1942 SECRET 
450 points to the Home Planet and 500 points to the adjacent From: Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Fleet 
sector. If the AI only had 600 ship points available, 450 would
be assigned to the Home Planet, 150 to the adjacent sector and To: Commander Striking Force (Operation Plan 29-42) 
nothing to the other two sectors. If the AI had 1500 points avail- Subject: Letter of Instruction 
able, 450 points would be assigned to the Home Planet, 500 to In carrying out the task assigned in Operation Plan 29-42 you

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 21
nating from the Sacrifice, extending from their heading until it
will be governed by the principle of calculated risk, which
crossed and then turned parallel to the border towards the alien
you shall interpret to mean the avoidance of exposure of
vessel which would continue forward.
your force to attack by superior enemy forces without good
prospect of inflicting, as a result of such exposure, greater “They understand! They’ve invited us to parley as guests in their
damage to the enemy. This applies to the landing phase as territory!” yelped the Alpha. His own excitement rose for an
well as during preliminary air attacks.  instant before he forcibly calmed himself to prevent his crew’s
C. W. Nimitz own responses from clouding their thoughts in a moment like
this. All Alphas in this area of space had been told that their
probes had discovered an alien empire, and that it was urgent
to establish a relationship that benefited the Talon Empire in
their desperate fight against their enemies. “Prepare a sensor
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND sweep, and expect the same from them. Analyze immediately to
determine whether to offer them vassal status or honored equal
status. Prepare weapons for possible ritual combat.”
Time: SF 302 (SF = Since Founding of the Talon Empire) //
December 22, 2227 No response came, and none was expected beyond a few soft
yips as the bridge crew enacted his orders. Sacrifice crossed the
Sacrifice’s Alpha stepped onto the bridge of his pack’s ship. The
border and angled towards the other vessel. A moment later, the
sharp, sweet scent of excitement that the bridge’s complement was
alien vessel altered course, quickly leaving the path on the over-
emitting immediately raised the gray hairs of his mane. “What is
lay it was expected to follow. A whuffed “Sir! It’s not supposed
it?” he asked in the hooting bark of the Talon people. He cocked
to..” came from Green Eyes.
his head to get a better look at the screen which showed the
image of an unknown contact stopped along the Sacrifice’s path. The Alpha’s snarl was measured, purposeful rather than truly
angry, “Whelp. I see it. Your input was not required. You will
The angle of his head also let him see the one who responded
be silent.”
excitedly to his question, the ship’s brown furred Beta, “We think
it’s a ship. Not one of ours!” His subordinate properly cowed. The Alpha’s head cocked as he
regarded the screen for a few seconds, trying to make sense of
“A ship? A single ship? You are sure there are no others?” asked
the course change as the alien vessel aligned its port side to the
the Alpha. His scent also mingled into the bridge’s air, but a calm-
Sacrifice’s. “Status of their weapons?”
ing pheromone was added, helping the rest of his pack to focus.
His tactical officer, a maroon eyed older female with white at
He waited a moment, head remaining fixed on the view-screen
the end of her muzzle contrasting with her midnight fur, replied.
until Beta responded, “Yes! Only one.” Beta knew well what
“Powered, and locked on us!”
that meant, but allowed her Alpha the right to formally initiate
the prescribed response. He growled softly, the sound and a new pheromone his body
produced immediately raising the aggression in his pack, sharp-
“Open a channel,” he barked to his communication’s officer,
ening their senses. “They’re initiating the ritual combat. Only
a position which let newcomers to the ship observe until they
a race that knows they’re inferior would try to start one under
could find their niche.
a false invitation to parley. Let’s blood them and accept them as
Alphas spoke for their ship in all things, so the young officer vassals. Fire at best range you can get, both facing weapons.”
with the bright green eyes and light brown fur simply pressed a He panted softly, crouching slightly forward.
button and said, “Open!”
Both vessels fired simultaneously and Sacrifice shuddered.
The Alpha announced to the other vessel, “We are the Sacrifice, a
“Damage?” the Alpha snarled even as unease rippled through
Talon Empire vessel. We are seeking resources for our Empire. We
his mind. The impact was not what he would have expected from
request a negotiation and exchange of information to determine
a technologically inferior race.
if you should be vassals to us, or perhaps treated as honored
equals. We are ready to engage in combat to first blood if no His Beta responded, “Shield down! Minor hull damage. They
agreement can be reached to determine your status in regards managed to turn their front shield to us. We didn’t break it!”
to the Talon Empire.”
“Blooded...” the word floated across the bridge from the Alpha’s
He waited. Then Green Eyes said, “Channel is open. They aren’t mouth and he didn’t like the taste of it. He paused, and then with
talking. Just listening. Their translator must be slow. Wait, we’re a slight shake of his head, he gave the order to Green Eyes to
receiving an image.” Without asking for permission, knowing open a channel and said the mandated response, “Alien vessel.
the next step to take, Green Eyes put the image on the screen. Congratulations! The Talon Empire is pleased to make acquain-
The bridge was silent, if the Alpha wanted input he would ask. tance with an honored equal.” He waited. And he saw the other
It showed the two ships, and a line between them. This is likely ship turning tightly towards them-- not maintaining course as
the border to the alien’s territory—or at least what they think is would be expected at the end of a ritual battle. “Status of their
theirs, thought the Alpha. Additionally, there was a line origi- weapons?” he asked again, with a sinking feeling in his stomach,
© 2018 GMT Games, LLC
 22 TALON 1000

as if he’d eaten burnt meat. she would have preferred, to this. Regardless of how things had
turned out, he admired her focus in the battle despite her idealism.
White Nose managed to keep the whine that she felt from her
voice, “Still powered. Still locked on us.” Another useful quality she had was trust in her crew. He had
noted it on the Zhukov where they had served together for a
The Alpha turned to Green Eyes, “They received our congratu- year. He hoped that it would cause her to request him, if she
lations?” The young male simply whuffed an affirmative. received a command of her own. That was how Pillar moved its
Only seconds had passed, and now true anger rose in the Alpha. operatives into position. Be useful, be innocuous, and wait. For
His words were sharp now, “Turn to them. Prepare afterburner. all he knew there were more Pillar agents on this ship-- but he
Quickly!” had no idea who.

He could see the enemy vessel closing, and hoping to surprise It didn’t hurt that Helena, like most command track officers,
them. He barked, “Now!” and Sacrifice leapt forward. The ma- really had no idea how to code. Chariz stifled a snort with ease,
neuver allowed them to take the torpedo hits on the front shield even though here he had no worries about revealing himself.
easily preventing damage to the ship herself. Sacrifice’s weapons She really thought he could hack a newly discovered alien ship’s
struck back, almost taking down the shield of the opponent. computer in the heat of a battle? He himself didn’t know the
full power of the program and was almost as surprised as his
The two ships separated, swinging almost gracefully apart and captain at the results.
then began to curve back towards each other. A moment’s calm
in the mind of Sacrifice’s Alpha was shattered as he heard an The rest though. He was proud of that. He had used the commu-
unwelcome voice. nications wrapper which transmitted the open channel back to
the Patton to prevent communications from occurring. The alien
“They’ve stolen data!”, came a frightened snarl from Green vessel was drawn close enough for the program to successfully
Eyes. The Alpha bounded towards the cowering figure, ready to scan and interface with the other ship’s computer. But the modi-
discipline for interrupting without permission again. fied diagram? That was all him. And all it required was altering
Then the words penetrated. “Explain?” he growled. the path O’Brien wanted the other ship to follow. He regretted
the loss of the other ship; he had expected it to retreat once the
To his credit, the young officer rose to full height again and kept Patton opened fire. But once it pressed the engagement he knew
his response steady. “Our computers, they were accessed. They he couldn’t take the chance that they might surrender-- and reveal
transmitted their full information to the other ship.” what happened to them. While he had ways to cover the tracks
back to Pillar, all operatives were tasked to take all available
“Launch buoy. Set for one hour delay before it sends all infor- measures to maintain secrecy.
mation on this battle including the departure trajectory of the
enemy vessel. Also include my next words. This Empire is not to Now they were almost at the base where the storage drive would
be trusted. They have no honor.” be handed off. Chariz would certainly receive a reward for this,
maybe shore leave on Nalan 4. More importantly, he knew that
The Alpha looked back at the screen as his order was carried out, even if war came from this encounter, he had done his part to
and saw the alien—no, the enemy, ship turn more sharply than ensure that it would be a swift victory that would preserve many
expected. He realized they had managed to line up their powerful more lives as opposed to a protracted war that might otherwise
weapons on Sacrifice’s downed shield. He snarled in defiance, have developed. His musing was shattered as lights in his room
and his crew’s own echoing voices filled the bridge as torpedoes started flashing red and Captain O’Brien’s voice came over his
flew towards them. It could have been a moving moment had it intercom, “Red Alert. This is not a drill. All hands prepare for
not been their last. battle.” A sinking feeling came over him as he left his room and
Time: December 24, 2227 (TCS Patton) rushed towards the bridge.

Ensign Chariz’s face was lit by the glow of his computer as he As the doors opened, his eyes immediately found Helena O’Brien
sent off a status report to his superior. This was, of course, on a who herself was standing in profile- half towards him and half
coded channel using the software they had provided-- software towards the view-screen upon which the Patton and three other
that no one else on the ship would ever be able to find. contacts were shown. She appeared to be about to give an order,
but before that mouthed something under her breath. Chariz’s
Within Pillar, his true rank was much higher than Ensign. Just training allowed him to lipread her words, as his heart sank
as his true age was many decades older than he appeared. further.
He wondered what Captain O’Brien would think if she knew that “The jerks...”
two other hidden pieces of code may have changed her role in
history. Indeed, two pieces of code changed history from what

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

 TALON 1000 23

SHIP NUMBERS AND POINTS CREDITS:

KEY: (#+#) Number of ships in base game + expansion. Game Design: Jim Krohn

Terran Talon Development: Bob Seifert

Type Type Playtesting Lead: K. Patrick Barley
SCE (0+3) . . . . . . . . . 33 FFE (0+4) . . . . . . . . . 37 Playtesting: Michael Schuller, Peter Landry, Robert Gam-
SC (2+3) . . . . . . . . . . 37 FF (2+4) . . . . . . . . . . 44 ble, Francesc Pelejà i Graell, Caleb Krohn.
DDE (0+4) . . . . . . . . 45 FFX (0+4) . . . . . . . . . 47
Art Direction & Package Design: Rodger B. MacGowan
DD (3+4) . . . . . . . . . . 55 DD (3+4) . . . . . . . . . . 48
DDP (0+4) . . . . . . . . 59 DDD (0+4) . . . . . . . . 51 Cover Art: Eric Williams
DDX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 68 DDX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 55 Art: Brett Miller
CLE (0+3) . . . . . . . . 79 DDG (0+4) . . . . . . . . 69
CL (3+3) . . . . . . . . . . 88 Talonverse Historian: Robert Gamble
CLE (0+4) . . . . . . . . 77
CLP (0+3) . . . . . . . . . 90 CL (3+4) . . . . . . . . . . 88 Additional Scenario Design: K. Patrick Barley, Robert
CLX (0+3) . . . . . . . . 97 CLX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 102 Gamble, Michael Schuller
CA (4+4) . . . . . . . . . . 115 CA (4+4) . . . . . . . . . . 115 Layout: Mark Simonitch
CAX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 124 CAX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 125
Proofreading: Jonathan Squibb
BC (3+2) . . . . . . . . . . 134 BCH (0+4) . . . . . . . . 133
BCH (0+4) . . . . . . . . 147 BC (3+4) . . . . . . . . . . 142 Production Coordination: Tony Curtis
BCX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 156 BCX (0+4) . . . . . . . . 161 Producers: Tony Curtis, Rodger MacGowan, Andy Lewis,
BB (3+2) . . . . . . . . . . 194 BB (3+3) . . . . . . . . . . 179 Gene Billingsley and Mark Simonitch
CV (2+2) . . . . . . . . . . 70 DN (2+3) . . . . . . . . . . 218
Creative Commons Attribution: Some artwork has been
Fighters (8+8) . . . . . 44 Transport (2+2) . . . . 36 modified from icon graphics originally by users “Lorc”
Transport (2+2) . . . . 32 Base (1+0) . . . . . . . . . 184 and “Delapouite” of http://game-icons.net/ under Creative
Base (1+0) . . . . . . . . . 184 Starbase (0+1) . . . . . 278 Commons 3-By license.
Starbase (0+1) . . . . . 281
AI
DD (0+17) . . . . . . . . . 50
CL (0+10) . . . . . . . . . 100
BB (0+7) . . . . . . . . . . 200

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC

24 TALON 1000

GMT Games, LLC

P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308
www.GMTGames.com

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC