Defiance: Vital Ground 2001

From the publisher:

Welcome to the Defiance Universal Skirmish System™, the game of near future and science fiction tactical combat that lets you modify or even create the strategic setting in which your battles will take place. With force sizes varying from one unit to several platoons, each trooper matters, and the correct combination of mobility, firepower, command and control is crucial to your success.

The U.S.S. Army Customizer is a comprehensive and statistically based force construction tool that literally allows you to design any weapon, any trooper and any army that you can imagine, all the while being assured that your creation will be balanced for play against any other U.S.S. force list. A lot of work and testing went into the Customizer, and we feel that you will not find a more versatile or more balanced universal force construction tool on the market today.

The 128-page rulebook contains the necessary rules and army lists to allow players to take part in the battles for the Milky Way. Control the ground forces of one of 5 different empires, all jockeying for supremacy in the new power vacuum that the Starslayers have created:

The Vobian Empire, vast and ancient, which utilizes high-tech weaponry and cybernetic beasts to even the odds against its former subjects. The Tamerlane Khanate, progeny of the last great Mongol Empire, which still clings to a tribal past, despite the urgings of its human neighbors. The Ka-yi Sultanate, Perseus heir to the Ottoman Empire, which struggles against religious and political tradition to form a united Human Confederacy. The Nordic Alliance, descendants of the army of Gustavus Adolphus, who have used ingenuity and military know-how to overcome their limitations and become galactic players. The Meraxillan Empire, ever evolving, which cares only for its own expansion at the expense of all others.

This book contains rules which cover almost every tactical situation, including troop quality, command and control, army discipline, indirect and suppression fire, vehicles from mecha to armored personnel carriers, and more. Also included is the Starslayer Troop Builder, a complete and statistically-balanced troop construction tool that allows you to convert virtually any figure to the Starslayer rules system.