Chapter 5: Space
Part One: Starships during the Dawn of the Republic
Starships in this ancient age are far less advanced than those found in later eras.
Hyper-drives:
Hyper-drives are very slow. Hyper-drive speeds are rated with a multiplier of x1 to x5 or greater, which is not on the same scale as regular multipliers, with typical hyper-capable ships like battle cruisers or a high-speed star transports having a multiplier of x3. Bulk freighters have a speed of x4 or x5, fast vessels have a speed of x2, and quick mail vessels and clippers have a speed of x1.
Astrogation:
Given the limits of computer technology, astrogation takes a very long time. It takes a default of 10 minutes to perform the calculations with machine-calculators and similar technology, and nav-computers are greatly limited in how much data they can store. Even more difficult is the fact that very little of the galaxy has been mapped.
Shields:
While rudimentary and small-scale ray shielding exists, particle shielding has not yet been invented. Ships, therefore, do not have a shield rating, and instead must rely upon their armor to resist damage. Hyper-capable ships possess radiation shielding to protect the crew from the hyper-space winds, but this shielding will not resist damage.
Automation:
Droid automation is almost unheard-of aboard starships. Because of this, crews in the Dawn of the Republic age are up to ten times larger than in later eras. Even the smallest fighters require three crew members (a pilot, a gunner, and a system expert), and large starships require tens of thousands of workers to keep the vessel running.
Part Two: Starship Rules
Artificial Gravity and Acceleration Fluid:
Larger ships possess artificial gravity, complete with inertial dampers that prevent sudden movement from being transferred to the crew.
Most fighters, too small for artificial gravity, are full of “acceleration fluid”—a thick, viscous fluid that severely reduces the strain on a pilot during sharp accelerations.
Mid-range vessels, including small transports and scout ships, possess neither artificial gravity nor fluid. Those piloting such a vessel can make one full move without trouble; each additional move action causes 1D stun damage to everyone onboard. Anyone who is not strapped in suffers an additional 1D.
Escape Velocity and Repulsorlifts:
Ion drives will not be invented for many centuries, meaning that most ships operate using crude atomic or supercharged-chemical thrusters. These often cannot escape more powerful gravitational fields.
As a general rule, ships with a Space move of 7 or greater can escape Heavy gravity worlds. Ships with a move of 5-6 can escape Standard gravity worlds. Ships with a move of 3-4 can escape Light gravity worlds. Ships with a move of 2 or less can escape only Microgravity worlds.
Ships can be equipped with repulsorlifts, though this is common only on vessels that spend a great deal of time in an atmosphere, since repulsor technology is expensive. Repulsorlifts allow a ship to maneuver in an atmosphere. They increase the gravity that a ship can escape from by one step, and without repulsorlift, ships suffer –1D to atmospheric maneuvers.
If a ship is unable to escape from a planet’s atmosphere under its normal power, there are several things it can do. Archaic installations possess laser-assisted launch systems that use lasers and “launch pads” (Cost 2 per trip) fixed to the base of the ship. Advanced installations use repulsor-launchers that use contragravity technology to sling the ship into orbit. Without ground-based installations, the ship must use external boosters (Cost 2 for starfighters, 3 for freighters, 4 for starships) that increase the ship’s launch capability by one step.
Part Three: Starship Combat
Weapon Systems:
There are four major space combat weapons: missiles, bolters, blasters, and lasers.
Missiles are heavy military weapons. They cause a fair amount of damage, and can be launched in large clusters to improve both damage and accuracy.
Bolters are regular slugs traveling at extremely high velocities. They possess limited range but can cause good damage.
Blasters are projectiles wrapped in an energy-cocoon. Commonly outfitted on more advanced ships, they cause slightly more damage than regular bolters, and economies of scale mean that they take up no more space.
Lasers are found on civilian vessels as primary defensive weapons, and on larger capital ships as point-defense weapons used to intercept incoming warheads and strafing starfighters.
Resolution:
While future ships will be equipped with automatic sensor and targeting systems that automatically lock onto an enemy ship, ships in this era possess only manual sensor technology. To resolve an enemy ship, the sensor operator must make a Sensors check. The basic difficulty is Easy at passive sensor range and Moderate at active sensor range. Scale modifications are in also use.
If the pilot is performing a starship Dodge, that roll can replace the base difficulty.
If a ship cannot be resolved, it cannot be targeted except with dumb-fire attacks (no Fire Control bonus, and range penalties are doubled). Even worse, the ship’s pilot cannot use his starship dodge to avoid the ship’s attacks, since he cannot see it.
Attacking:
An attacker rolls his Starship Gunnery or Capital Ship Gunnery against either the basic difficulty (Easy at short, Moderate at medium, Difficult at long, Very Difficult at extreme) or against the defender’s piloting check if he’s chosen to dodge, just like in character-scale combat.
If a laser, bolter or blaster attack is successful, it hits and causes damage.
If a missile attack hits, the missile is locked on and fired. If the target is within ten spaces, the target is hit. If he is more than ten spaces away, the missile moves at 10 space units per round, then attacks again using the attacker’s basic ability. Dumb-fired missiles cannot be fired at targets more than 10 space units away.
Speed and Missile Attack Modifiers:
It is harder to hit fast-moving targets with missiles. Lasers, bolters, and blasters suffer no penalty.
Space Speed | Atmospheric Speed | Difficulty Modifier |
3 | 100-150 | +5 |
4 | 151-200 | +10 |
5 | 201-250 | +15 |
6 | 251+ | +20 |
Salvos:
A ship with missile pods can fire whole salvos, up to its total ammunition. These additional missile launches aren’t treated as additional attacks; instead, each missile adds +1 to hit and damage.
Dumb-Firing:
It is possible to dumb-fire weapons if the sensor operator has not locked on to the ship. The base difficulty is Moderate for one space unit, Difficult for two, Very Difficult for three, and Heroic for four—or the defender’s vehicle dodge, whichever is higher.
Point-Defense:
It is possible to intercept missiles with lasers, bolters, or blasters when such a weapon enters into range. The point-defender makes a Gunnery check against a flat difficulty based on range, treating the missile as character-scale. If hit by any starfighter or starship-scale attack, the missile will explode and be destroyed. (For what it’s worth, starfighter-scale missiles have a character-scale Strength of 2D and capital-scale missiles have a speeder-scale Strength of 2D; one can safely assume that any weapon a space vehicle mounts will blow one away.)
Fire-Linked Weapons:
When weapons are fire-linked, the attacker makes a single roll to determine whether or not all the linked attacks hit. A ship can only link identical weapons facing the same direction, and only in groups of half the total number of weapons or all. (So, a ship with four blasters could choose to link two or four; a ship with fourteen blasters could choose to link seven or fourteen). Every fire-linked weapon in a group adds +1D to the damage. It takes an action to switch between fire-linked and non-linked. Fire-linked guns can only fire once per round.
Fire-linking is preferable for less skilled pilots who cannot spend dice on attacking multiple targets, or when attacking larger ships with powerful armor.
Sensor Rules:
A sensor’s basic range is its passive range. Active range is doubled and grants a +1D to sensors, but reveals the presence of the vessel. Scans grant +2D to sensors and can be performed out to passive sensor range.
Scans can look for power sources and distribution (Very Easy), radioactives (Very Easy), gravity (Very Easy), life signs (Easy), system damage (Easy), specific species life signs (Moderate), energy weapon fire (Difficult), Bio-readings on a specific person (Very Difficult), non-energy weapon fire (Very Difficult), internal chemicals (Heroic), or any other sort of radiation or emission (varying difficulty). Passive sensors can calculate mass, and active sensors can determine the ship’s silhouette (and type).
Damage Results:
0-3: Controls Ionized (-1D, and if the ship suffers a number of results equal to Hull +1, ship’s controls are frozen for two rounds)
4-8: Lightly Damaged
9-12: Heavily Damaged
13-15: Severely Damaged
16+: Destroyed
Light Damage:
1-2: -1D from Maneuver
3: One weapon destroyed; gunner takes 3D damage
4: One weapon system damaged, -1D to hit and damage
5: -1 Hull (minimum 0D)
6: -1 Move
Heavy Damage:
1: -1D from Maneuver
2: Cockpit/bridge damaged, -1D from Maneuver, crew takes 4D damage, fluid destroyed
3-4: One weapon array destroyed; gunners take 4D damage
5: -1D Hull (minimum 0D)
6: -2 Move
Severe Damage:
1: Control core damaged, dead in Space
2: Overloaded Generator (Moderate check to shut down generator)
3: Disabled hyper-drive (if no hyper-drive, structural damage)
4: All weapons disabled; gunners take 5D damage
5: Structural damage—ship disintegrates in 1D rounds
6: Destroyed
Part Four: Sample Vessels
At this point in history, almost nothing is mass-produced and standardized. Because of this, every starship produced is unique. While smaller ships, especially fighters, receive some degree of standardization (such that it’s possible to recognize a “Coruscanti Kimno Starfighter”), larger vessels are almost always unique, and even smaller vessels vary considerably in design and style.
Old Multi-purpose Fighter (Z-95 analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 14.2 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Old starfighter
Crew: 3
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 3D+2, starship gunnery 3D+2, sensors 3D+1
Cargo Capacity: 40 kilograms
Consumables: 3 hours
Cost: 3 used (no longer available new)
Maneuverability: -1D
Repulsorlift: No (but no atmospheric maneuver penalty)
Space: 3 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: 260 (750 kmh)
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 7/-1D
Gravity: None
Weapons:
Light Missile Pod
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 3 (300 meters)
Damage: 2D
Ammo: 8
Two Cannons (fire-linked)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D
Range: 2 (200 meters)
Damage: 1D
Ammo: 20 each
Universal Space Superiority Starfighter (X-Wing Analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 16.5 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Multipurpose starfighter
Crew: 3
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 5D, starship gunnery 4D+2, sensors 3D
Cargo Capacity: 55 kilograms
Consumables: Six hours
Cost: 4 (new)
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 12/-1D
Gravity: None; fluid cockpit
Weapons:
2 Medium Missile Pods (fire-linked)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 3
Damage: 3D
Ammo: 12 each
Twin Blaster Cannons (fire-linked)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 2
Damage: 2D+1
Ammo: 30 each
Rate of Fire: 1 each
Rugged Fighter/Bomber (Y-Wing Analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 19 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Fighter/bomber
Crew: 4
Crew Skill: Starfighter piloting 4D+2, starship gunnery 4D+1, sensors 3D
Cargo Capacity: 55 kilograms
Consumables: Twelve hours
Cost: 5 (new), 4 (used)
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 3 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 2D+1
Sensors: 10/-1D
Gravity: None, fluid cockpit
Weapons:
4 Heavy Missile Pods (fire-linked)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 4
Damage: 4D
Ammo: 20 each
Twin Blaster Cannons (fire-linked)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 2
Damage: 2D+1
Ammo: 30 each
Rate of Fire: 1 each
Medium Defense Laser
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Rear
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 2D
Rate of Fire: 2
Heavy Assault Blastboat (Skipray Blastboat analog)
Scale: Capital (due to power output)
Length: 37 meters
Skill: Starfighter piloting: Blastboat
Crew: 20
Crew Skill: Capital ship gunnery 5D, starfighter piloting 4D, starship gunnery 5D+1, sensors 4D+1
Cargo Capacity: 10 metric tons
Consumables: 2 weeks
Maneuverability: 0D
Repulsorlift: No
Space: 4 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 1D
Sensors: 18/0D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
Twin Heavy Missile Pods (fire-linked)
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 3 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 4
Damage: 4D (starfighter-scale)
Ammo: 20 (reload x5)
Quad Blaster Cannons (fire-linked)
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 5
Skill: Starship gunnery
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 3
Damage: 3D+1 (starfighter-scale)
Ammo: 50 each
Rate of Fire: 1 each
2 Medium Point-Defense Lasers
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 2 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 2D (starfighter-scale)
Rate of Fire: 2 each
Stock Light Freighter #1 (YT-1300 analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 32.2 meters
Skill: Space transports: Light Freighter
Crew: 5 to 10
Passengers: 4
Cargo Capacity: 60 metric tons
Consumables: 1 month
Repulsorlift: Yes
Maneuverability: -2D
Space: 2 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: 225 (650 kmh)
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 5/-1D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
One Laser Cannon
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 1
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Space Range: 3 (300 meters)
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 1
Stock Light Freighter #2 (Gthroc Freighter analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 41 meters
Skill: Space transports: Light freighter
Crew: 5 to 10
Passengers: 8
Cargo Capacity: 75 metric tons; 40 cubic meters
Consumables: 1 month
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: -1D
Space: 2 (escape microgravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 1D+2
Sensors: 7/-1D
Gravity: None
Weapons:
One Laser Cannon
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 1 (cockpit control)
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 1
Light Scout Ship (Scout Ship analog)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 29 meters
Skill: Space transports: Light scout ship
Crew: 3
Passengers: 2
Cargo Capacity: 70 metric tons, 30 cubic meters
Consumables: 1 month
Repulsorlift: Yes
Maneuverability: -1D
Space: 3 (escape standard gravity)
Atmosphere: 260 (750 kmh)
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 15/0D (+1D to planetary scanning)
Gravity: None
Weapons:
One Laser Cannon
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3 (300 meters)
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 1
Surface-to-Orbit Shuttle
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 26 meters
Skill: Space transports: Small shuttle
Crew: 1 or 2
Passengers: 10
Cargo Capacity: 35 metric tons, 15 cubic meters
Consumables: 1 week
Repulsorlift: Yes
Maneuverability: -1D
Space: 3 (escape standard gravity)
Atmosphere: 260 (750 kmh)
Hull: 1D+1
Sensors: 7/0D
Gravity: None
Weapons: None
Medium Multipurpose Transport (Gallofree Yards Transport analog)
Scale: Capital
Length: 103 meters
Skill: Space transports: Medium transport
Crew: 60
Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, space transports 4D, starship gunnery 3D+1, sensors 3D
Cargo Capacity: 9,000 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x5
Hyper-drive Backup: None
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: -2D
Space: 1 (escape microgravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 1D
Sensors: 5/-1D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
4 Medium Laser Cannons
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 2D
Rate of Fire: 1
Multi-purpose Corvette/Blockade Runner (Corellian Corvette analog)
Scale: Capital
Length: 177 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Blockade runner
Crew: from 300 to 1,650, depending on configuration
Crew Skill: Capital ship piloting 3D+2, sensors 3D+1, astrogation 3D, capital ship gunnery 4D+1, starship gunnery 4D+1
Passengers: Up to 400 depending on configuration
Cargo Capacity: 1,600 metric tons; 650 cubic meters
Consumables: 3 months
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x3
Hyper-drive Backup: None
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: 0D (-1D in atmosphere)
Space: 3 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: 260 (750 kmh)
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 20/0D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
3 Light Starship Missile Pods
Scale: Capital
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 6 (600 meters)
Damage: 2D
Ammo: 4 each (reload x3)
6 Medium Point-Defense Lasers
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: 3 Turret, 1 front, 1 right, 1 left
Crew: 2 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3 (300 meters)
Damage: 2D
Rate of Fire: 3 each
Frigate/Light Destroyer/Escort Starship (Nebulon-B Frigate analog)
Scale: Capital
Length: 314 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Frigate/destroyer
Crew: 7,920
Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D, capital ship gunnery 4D+1, capital ship piloting 3D+2, sensors 3D+1, starship gunnery 4D+1
Passengers: 50 (troops)
Cargo Capacity: 3,000 metric tons
Consumables: 1 year
Cost: Not available for sale
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x3
Hyper-drive Backup: x20
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: -1D
Space: 2 (escape microgravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 1D+2
Sensors: 20/-1D
Gravity: Standard artificial gravity
Weapons:
12 Medium Missile Launchers
Scale: Capital
Fire Arc: 6 front, 3 left, 3 right
Crew: 10 each
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 6 (600 meters)
Damage: 3D
Ammo: 8 each (reload x2)
12 Point-Defense Lasers
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: 3 front, 3 left, 3 right, 3 rear
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Space Range: 2
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 2 each
2 Grapnel Launchers
Scale: Capital
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 20 each
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 1
Damage: 2D
Rate of Fire: 1 each
External Starfighter Supports
Can hold up to twenty starfighters on external supports; 10 can be launched per round
Destroyer/Cruiser (Mon Calamari Cruiser analog)
Scale: Capital
Length: 1,100 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Destroyer/cruiser
Crew: Skeleton 10,900 with Command 6D; Total crew: 48,500
Crew Skill: Capital ship piloting 5D+2, sensors 3D+1, astrogation 4D, capital ship gunnery 5D
Passengers: 800 (troops)
Cargo Capacity: 10,000 metric tons; 2,500 cubic meters
Consumables: 1 year
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x2
Hyper-drive Backup: x20
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 3 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 4D
Sensors: 20/0D
Gravity: Standard artificial gravity
Weapons:
30 Heavy Missile Batteries (fire separately)
Fire Arc: 10 front, 8 left, 8 right, 4 rear
Crew: 20 each
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 12
Damage: 4D
Ammo: 8 each (reload x2)
12 Anti-Starfighter Missile Batteries (fire separately)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: 3 front, 3 left, 3 right, 3 rear
Crew: 8 each
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 3
Damage: 2D
Ammo: 16 each (reload x10)
20 Point-Defense Lasers (fire separately)
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: 8 front, 4 left, 4 right, 4 rear
Crew: 5 each
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Range: 2
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 3
4 Grapnel Launchers
Fire Arc: 2 front, 1 left, 1 right
Crew: 20 each
Skill: Capital ship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 1
Damage: 2D
Rate of Fire: 1
Starfighter Bay
Can hold a wing of 72 starfighters
Pirate Raider (heavily-modified light freighter)
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 41 meters
Skill: Space transports: Light freighter
Crew: 5 to 10
Passengers: 8 (raiders)
Cargo Capacity: 10 metric tons
Consumables: 1 month
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: -1D
Space: 3 (escape light gravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 2D
Sensors: 7/0D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
One Light Missile Pod
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 2
Skill: Starship Gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Range: 3
Damage: 2D
Ammo: 8 (reload x2)
One Laser Cannon
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Front
Crew: 1 (cockpit control)
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 1D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 2
Deep Space Exploration Craft
Scale: Capital
Length: 171 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Heavy scout ship
Crew: from 150 to 730, depending on configuration
Crew Skill: Capital ship piloting 3D+2, sensors 4D+1, astrogation 4D, starship gunnery 4D
Passengers: Up to 200 depending on configuration
Cargo Capacity: 800 metric tons; 300 cubic meters
Consumables: 6 months
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x2
Hyper-drive Backup: x20
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: 0D
Space: 2 (escape microgravity)
Atmosphere: NA
Hull: 1D+1
Sensors: 25/1D
Gravity: Standard artificial gravity
Weapons:
6 Point-Defense Lasers
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: 3 Turret, 1 front, 1 right, 1 left
Crew: 2 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3 (300 meters)
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 2 each
Launch Bay
Can contain two small scout ships, and can launch one per two rounds.
Star Ferry/Starship Transport
Scale: Capital
Length: 122 meters
Skill: Space transports: Star ferry
Crew: 140
Crew Skill: Astrogation 4D, space transports 4D, starship gunnery 3D, sensors 3D
Cargo Capacity: 9,000 metric tons
Consumables: 3 months
Hyper-drive Multiplier: x3
Hyper-drive Backup: x20
Nav Computer: Yes
Repulsorlift: No
Maneuverability: -2D
Space: 1 (escape microgravity)
Atmosphere: N/A
Hull: 1D
Sensors: 5/-1D
Gravity: Light artificial gravity
Weapons:
2 Laser Cannons
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 0D (+1D to hit)
Range: 3
Damage: 1D
Rate of Fire: 1 each
Starship Storage Bay
Can hold from 10 to 30 small starships. Can launch one starship per three rounds.
Adaption Rules:
To adapt a Rise of the Empire Era starship to the Dawn of the Republic Era, do the following.
Multiply crew requirements by ten
Halve cargo capacity
Halve consumables
Add +1 to hyperdrive multiplier
Subtract –3D from maneuverability
Halve speed
Reduce Hull by 2D
Ignore shields
Halve range of sensors and reduce sensors by –1D
Reduce fire control to 0D for old or public vessels, 1D for military vessels
Reduce weapon damage by –1D for bolters and –2D for lasers
Part Five: Space Travel
Traveling from one star to another is accomplished with a ship’s hyper-drive. A hyper-drive is given a rating that determines how many parsecs it can travel per week, usually from x½ to x5—this is the hyper-drive’s multiplier.
Travel Factors:
The number of days it takes to travel from one star system to another is equal to the distance in parsecs. Multiply this result by two factors: the quality of the route and the hyper-drive multiplier of the ship.
Major World | Minor World | Colony | Outpost | Uninhabited | |
Major World | x1/2 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 |
Minor World | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 |
Colony | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 |
Outpost | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 |
Uninhabited | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 | x8 |
Major World: Over one billion people
Minor World: Between ten million and one billion people
Colony: Between one thousand and nine million people
Outpost: Less than one thousand people
The Nav-Computer:
The quality of the ship’s nav-computer determines how many routes the computer can hold, from 1-10. Super nav-computers are rated A (seven-sector cluster plus 10 routes), B (enter subsector), C (4x4 subsectors), or D (entire sector grid). Routes can be freely programmed and re-programmed into the nav-computer’s flexible memory banks. A route has a cost of 2, although its effective quality fades by one per year (after one year the cost is 1).
Manual Calculation:
If a ship does not contain the appropriate route, it must be calculated manually. This action has a difficulty of 10, +5 per parsec after the first, +5 per intervening star system. These calculations require one hour per parsec.
Traveling along a newly-charted route has a multiplier of x10, incurs a –2D penalty to the Astrogation check, and the calculations are only good for one journey.
Astrogation:
The astrogator’s Astrogation check determines any other bonuses to movement that the ship may receive. The difficulty depends on the quality of the route. The base difficulty is equal to the distance traveled. Modify this by the quality of the route, based on the size of the worlds.
Major World: +0
Minor World: +5
Colony: +10
Outpost: +15
Uninhabited: +20
Success allows the ship to jump. The usual modifiers from SWRPG page 112 apply. Failure by 10 or more results in no jump. Failure by 1-9 results in an astrogation mishap, as found on page 111 of the Star Wars RPG.
Note that results of 3-4 (radiation) is particularly bad before the perfection of hyper-space shielding: everyone inside must make a Perception, Willpower, or Control check, or suffer 1D to Dexterity due to spasms and 1D to Perception due to hallucinations and acute paranoia. This effect lasts for 1D days, and in that time the number of Dark Side points a character receives per evil act is increased by one. Those sensitive to the Force receive terrifying visions and dark temptations.
Example:
The Lucky Shot, a bulk freighter, is traveling from Alderaan to Aquillae. The Lucky Shot’s hyper-drive multiplier is x3, and her astrogator has an Astrogation skill of 5D+1. The distance between Alderaan and Aquillae is five parsecs. Alderaan is a minor world and Aquillae is a major world.
First, the Astrogation check to jump successfully is (5+0+5)=10, which isn’t too difficult for an astrogator with a skill of 5D+1.
The base time taken is five days (it’s always equal to the number of parsecs traveled). This is multiplied by 3 for the Lucky Shot’s hyperdrive multiplier, and 1 for the route quality between a major and minor world, for a total time of 15 days. Two weeks and one day after the initial jump, the Lucky Shot arrives in Aquillae.
In-System Travel:
A ship’s sub-light thrusters allow a ship to move through a star system. Typically, it takes 1D days to reach a moon, 1D weeks to reach a nearby close-system planet, and 1D months to reach a distant planet.
Micro-jumps are possible, but difficult. A micro-jump between two planets in the outer system has a difficulty of Moderate and takes 1D hours. A micro-jump between one planet in the inner system and one in the outer system is Difficult and takes 1D minutes. A micro-jump between two planets in the inner system is Very Difficult and takes 1D rounds. Typically a ship emerges at the edge of a system.
Part Six: The Environment of Space
Gravity:
There are five types of gravity found on different planets: Microgravity, Low Gravity, Standard Gravity, and Heavy Gravity.
As a general rule, Asteroids (size 0) have Microgravity, size 1 worlds have Light gravity, size 2-9 worlds have Standard gravity, and size A worlds have Heavy gravity.
Microgravity grants a +2D bonus to Strength, but incurs a –1D penalty to Dexterity (minimum 1D). Weapon range is effectively indefinite. Further, every month spent in a Microgravity environment, any character lacking special calcium drugs must make an Easy Strength check or permanently lose one point of Strength (minimum 1D).
Low gravity grants a +1D bonus to Strength, but a –1D bonus to Dexterity (minimum 1D). Weapon range is doubled. Every month spent in Low gravity, any character lacking special calcium drugs (cost 2 per month) must make a Very Easy (unmodified) Strength check or permanently lose one point of Strength (minimum 1D).
Heavy gravity incurs a Strength penalty of –1D, and those with modified Strength of less than 1D cannot move. Weapon range is halved. Every year spent in Heavy gravity, any character lacking special cardiovascular drugs (cost 2 per month) must make a Very Easy (unmodified) Strength check or permanently lose one point of Strength (a drop below 1D means that the character dies of a heart attack).
A character can spend 1 CP each to become used to Light gravity and Microgravity environments. He suffers no Dexterity penalties in such an environment once he has adapted, but he still suffers degeneration without medicine.
Atmosphere:
Characters in a Thin atmosphere suffer a –1D penalty to Strength. Every day, the character is allowed to make an Easy Strength check; success removes the penalty.
Characters in a Dense atmosphere suffer a –1D to Knowledge and Technical (due to light-headedness) for 1D hours minus the number of dice in Strength.
Characters in Tainted atmospheres require breathing apparatus. Without one, the character suffers a –1 to all actions. The character must make an Easy Stamina check every hour or move to –1D to all actions, then –2D, and so on. Reaching 0D Strength means that the character has died.
Characters in Very Thin or Exotic atmospheres require breathing apparatus. Without one, they begin to suffocate. A character can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to his Stamina dice, +3 if he had a chance to take a breath beforehand, +6 if he had a chance to hyperventilate. After that, he must make a Stamina check with the difficulty increasing by one step per round until he passes out. Once he passes out, he will die in 1D minutes.
Characters in Trace or Vacuum atmospheres require vacuum suits. Without one, they begin to suffocate. Further, it is impossible to hold one’s breath: attempting to do so requires a Moderate Perception check to realize the danger; otherwise the character is Mortally Wounded as his lungs explode. Characters in a Vacuum atmosphere suffer 1D damage per round, increasing by 1D per round—characters in a Trace atmosphere are spared for one round, but then suffer normally.
Once removed from a Trace or Vacuum atmosphere, a character must make a Strength check to determine his overall condition.
Less than 5: Blind in both eyes, deaf in both ears, bends incur permanent –1D Strength penalty
5-10: Damaged eyes incur –1D to sight-related Perception checks. Deaf in both ears, bends incur permanent –1 Strength penalty
11-15: Hard of hearing, -1D to hearing-related Perception checks
15+: No permanent effect
Deafening, blinding, and severe bends can be fixed with a Moderate Medicine check and 2D hours of surgery. Damaged hearing and vision and minor bends can be fixed with an Easy Medicine check and 1D hours of surgery.
Characters in a Corrosive atmosphere require an environment suit. A breach in the suit causes 2D cumulative damage per round, to a maximum of 10D damage per round. Exposure to a corrosive atmosphere without a suit causes 10D damage per round.
Characters in an Insidious atmosphere require an environment suit, but the suit will dissolve in 2D hours. A breach in the suit causes 5D damage per round, to a maximum of 20D damage per round. Exposure to an insidious atmosphere without a suit causes 20D damage per round.