Space Ships

This page is for rules on Building, repairing, buying and selling of Space craft within the Future Path universe. For rules on combat in a Star ship go here. For rules on piloting and exploration with space ships go here

Space Craft Categories

There are two distinctive aspects to space craft. Its Hull size and Hull configuration. The Hull the primary foundation too a Space Craft. All other aspects are derived from a crafts Hull. When building a ship or trying to price the ship out the price is first based on its size. Then its configuration (if it has one). Configurations determines what purpose the craft has and different hall configures can allow access to different things thus changing the price. Configuration may also determine the procure difficulty.

Hull Sizes

Below is a table of Hull sizes. All hulls must fit within these sizes. Sizes are here to represent the number of squares that a craft will take up in space. Much like a character taking up a 5ft square of personal space craft also have the same personal space except they are in 500ft blocks instead.

Space Craft Sizes

Size	Size Modifiers	Armor Bonus	Sq ft	Num of Squares	Base Price	Support Life
Colossal	–8	+6	~32,000+ ft	64+ squares	12 Million	Yes
Gargantuan	–4	+2	~18,000+ ft	~36 squares	4 Million	Yes
Huge	–2	+1	~8,000+ ft	~16 squares	1.8 Million	Yes
Large	–1	0	~2,000+ ft	~4 squares	800,000	Yes
Medium	+0	0	~500+ ft	~1 squares	200,000	Yes
Small	+1	0	~250+ ft	4 per sq	50,000	Yes
Tiny	+2	-1	~125+ ft	16 per sq	20,000	Yes
Diminutive	+4	-2	~75+ ft	64 per sq	10,000	No*
Fine	+8	-6	<75 ft	256 per sq	5,000	No*
*Emergency Craft/Escape Pods Only can support life and be this small.

Anything more then ~60,000 square feet, 18,000 meters in size is consider Super Colossal and can only be a ship with exceptions from the GM. It would be considered a station. Even if the station has the ability to move around in the universe of Future Path no craft of that magnitude could preform Faster Then Light travel using a system completely self contained. In order to travel fast distances a 'ship' that size would have to be moved by an external source. Also attacking a ship or structure of that size would be considered as attacking a station and thus different modifiers apply.

Space Craft Attributes

Hull Size determine points that are given to 6 Main Attributes These 6 Main Attributes are similar in nature to a Characters 6 Ability scores. However not every Attribute is a perfect pairing to a Character's ability score. Some stats are more like a skill. Players spend points on the 6 Main Stats similar to character creation alternative rules. Below is the 6 Attributes and a summary.

There is also additional Statistics that will be reviewed below in the Secondary Statistics section.

Table: Tech Level Bonuses

Tech Level	Points
0	-5
1	0
2	+5
3	+10
4	+15

Engines

Like Strength. Engines are the heart of a ship. Engines can add bonuses to Combat Manoeuvres as well as certain Ship Feats.

Mobility

Like Dexterity. Can add bonuses to AC, Initiative and bonus bonuses to Tactical Speed.

Amour

Like Constitution. Can add bonuses to AC and extra Hit Die

Electronics

Like Intelligence. Provides bonuses to Manoeuvres and ship functions that uses electronic upgrades.

Sensors

Like Wisdom. (The Character skill Perception uses Wisdom). This provides bonuses to the ship sensors giving it better abilities to scan and find things in space.

Communications

Like Charisma. Adds to a Characters Charisma bonus while attempting to communicate to other ships. Also enhances the range of communication systems and makes it hard to jam.

All ships start with 15 points that a Player can spend on customizing the ship. More points can also be gained based on the Tech Level the Space Ship. Please review the chart too the right.

Bonus points can also come from Characters who can provide bonuses based on there Craft skills. Each of the main 6 Attributes is associated with a kind of Craft skill. High enough in the associated craft skill can provide bonuses too that Main Stat. More on this in the Space Ship crafting section.

Lastly additional points can be provided by Hull Configurations. Different configurations provide bonuses and special abilities that help make the ships stand apart from one another. Some of the bonuses come in the forum of additional points.

Spending Points

Table: Ability Score Costs

Score	Points
7	–4
8	–2
9	–1
10	0
11	1
12	2
13	3
14	5
15	7
16	10
17	13
18	17

The ship size determines the starting value of each of the 6 Main Stats. Fine, Diminutive, and Tiny start out with 9 pints each. Small, Medium, Large start out with 10 points each. Finally Huge, Gargantuan, Colossal start with 11 points each. Hull size also effects other stats. More on that in the next section.

Just as in the alternative rules for Character Creation found here. The Player has to spend points on the 6 Main Stats that they want to see increased. The cost stacks. Meaning that if you want a +2 in Engines you have to pay for the +1 and +2 costs. So that it will cost a total of 3 points. For the Fine, Diminutive and Tiny sized crafts that start out at 9 instead of 10 simply shift the costs down one. So going from a 9 to a 10 will cost 1 point and 10 to 11 cost an additional 2 points and so on.

Example of spending points

You have a Tech 1 Medium sized Hull and you want to spend points on your Communications. That mean you have 15 points to spend. You also want better Mobility and Engines. So you put a +1 in Mobility and a +1 in Engines. Each will cost 1 point. However your main concern is Communications sense this is a ship for your Diplomat. You want to have +3 for Comms. This requires the 1 point for +1 and then another cost of 2 points for +2 and finally 3 points for the +3. You have to spend all 6 points to get the +3 bonus too Comms. In total you have spent 5 points and have 10 points left. You can keep going till you have spent all points.

Space Ship Default Statistics

Each Hull Size has default values for the ship Statistics. Much like a Hero Base Class. Below is the default information below.

Space Craft Statistics

Size	AC	Hit Die	Shields Multiplier	Cargo Capacity	Passenger Capacity	Weight	Cost Procure Diff
Colossal	8	30d12	DR 15 / Mod 5	128,000 Units	324	32,400 Tons	36 Million / 4
Gargantuan	8	24d10	DR 10 / Mod 4	32,000 Units	108	10,800 Tons	12 Million / 3
Huge	9	18d10	DR 7 / Mod 4	8,000 Units	36	3,600 Tons	4 Million / 2
Large	9	16d8	DR 5 / Mod 3	1,920 Units	12	360 Tons	320,000 / 1
Medium	10	12d8	DR 4 / Mod 3	480 Units	4	120 Tons	160,000 / 0
Small	11	8d8	DR 3 / Mod 2	70 Units	2	40 Tons	80,000 / 0
Tiny	11	6d6	DR 2 / Mod 2	16 Units	0	4 Tons	32,000 / 0
Diminutive	12	4d6	DR 2 / Mod 2	4 Units	0	2 Tons	16,000 / 0
Fine	12	2d6	DR 2 / Mod 2	1 Unit	0	1 Ton	8,000 / 0

The AC in the chart above is the total after the Size Modifier is applied.

The Shield column has both the Damage Reduce provided by the base shields as well as the multiplier that is used with the ship's Shield Statistic. Learn more about ship Shields in the following section.

The Cargo Capacity is measured in Cargo Units. This is a generic way to loop both volume and weight into a single unit. This represents the maximum extra volume and weight a ship can carry. Each Unit is 100Lbs and 1x1x1ft square of volume. Going over this unit amount will cause the ship to be over burdened. Which will cut Tactical Speed in half as well as Transpiration speed.

The prices in the above graph already include the procure difficulty. Procure Diff and price can increase due to Hull Configurations and customizations.

Ship Statistics

Besides the 6 Main Attributes ships have other Statistics as well. Just like a Character has stats that are effected by there ability scores these stats can be effected by the 6 Main Attributes.

Craft Statistics:

Attack Damage Bonus:
The Attack Damage Bonus effects the damage roles provided. It is equal to 1/2 the Engine Mod round down. It is added to the total damage of each weapon fired.

Combat Attack Bonus:
This effects the ships ability to preform tactical manoeuvres and abilities. It is effected by the Engine Mod.

Combat Defence Bonus:
This effects a ships chance of being effected by an enemies tactical manoeuvres or abilities. It is 10 + Engine Mod + Mobility Mod + Misc Mod

Hit Die:
Hit Die and number of Hit Die are provided by the Hull Size of the craft. However Hull Configuration can change this as well. The ship also gets bonus Hit Dice based on the Armor Mod.

Initiative:
Initiative effects the order of combat as well as determining who goes first in a stand-off. The total is: (Mobility + Sensors) - Armor.

Shields:
Shields is a ships Damage Reduction. A ship doesn't have to have shields. Having shields usually causes negative effects along side the positive ones. Base shield damage reduction and its modifier are provided by a shields Hull Size and possibly its Configuration. However this can be further modified by the Electronics Mod. The new total is: Base Shield DR + Modifier * Electronic Mod.

Targeting Bonus:
This effects the Accuracy check for a ship to determine if its weapons are on target. This total is added to d20 accuracy check rolls. The total is: Mobility Mod + Sensors Mod

Below are things that cannot be effected by the 6 Main Attributes. They are provided by default from Hull Size/Configuration. However some modifications done by Characters such as installing gadgets or upgrades that can change the below stats.

Misc Statistics:

Cargo Capacity:

Cost:

Crew:

Dimensions:

Passenger Capacity:

Pilot Bonus:

Pilot Dex Mod:

Procure Difficulty:

Name:

Weight:

Summary Design Specs:

Space Ship Abilities and Upgrades

Ships can have modifications installed in the form of System Upgrades. Ever Statistic of a ship from the 6 main Stats to all Secondary Stats can have System Upgrade installed. These can be installed by a Character with the correct Craft skill or simply paid for. A list of System Upgrades can be found in the Wealth and Equipment section.

Ships can also have modifications outside of upgrading key systems. But instead add new Abilities to a craft. Usually this upgrade depends on at least one of the 6 Main Stats or the bonus from Combat Maneuver Attack Bonus. A detailed list of Space Ship Abilities can be found in the Space Ship Combat section here.

Hull Configurations

Below is a table with common Hull configurations of the Future Path Universe. Further below is more detailed description of the crafts. Different configurations supply different bonuses to help to stylise the Space Craft. Below the table is a more detailed list of the Hull configurations and there bonuses.

Space Craft Configurations

Configuration	Avg. Size	Avg. Price Procure Diff
Barges	Medium	250,000 / 0
Battle Cruisers	Large	400 Million / 3
Battle Ships	Huge	800 Million / 4
Capital	Colossal	20 Billion / 5
Carriers	Gargantuan	8 Billion / 5
Cruisers*	Medium	20 Million / 2
Drones*	Diminutive	10,000 / 0
Destroyers	Medium	25 Million / 2
Dreadnoughts	Gargantuan	2 Billion / 5
Fighters	Small	500,000 / 1
Frigates	Medium	2 Million / 2
Freighters	Huge	4 Million / 1
Industrial	Large	1 Million / 0
Shuttles	Small	50,000 / 0
*Prices vary wilding depending on application. The name doesn’t necessary imply military application and vice-a-verses.

Barges

The 'pack mule' of the galaxy. The barge is the most common cargo transport ship in existence. Many different corporations create different configurations from hauling every day goods, to people, to extremely volatile substances. Many young adventures found themselves starting out in some capacity aboard a barge. Not the most heroic place to start out with but there is sort of a romantic underdog appeal to the barge. This is probably helped by the fact that they can be found in every corner of the galaxy making them a dime a dozen and the Hull is pretty customizable. Which attracts all sorts of different types of people. Many of a raider or pirate uses a heavily modified Barge Hull to be a weapon against other ships of its like in lawless space.

Battle Cruisers

A standard in most military fleets these larger, heaver counter parts to the Cruiser are powerful heavy hitting machines of death. While BattleShips dominate the heavens with impressive presence of power. The BattleCruiser is what gives a military its flexibility. Smaller and generally faster most militaries use these ships as a counter for smaller ships and a less expensive solution to dealing with small scale pirates and bandits.

Battle Ships

These terrifying ships are massive war machines and are usually the backbone of militaries. These machines can be used to fight other BattleShips while also grouping up to take on larger objects. Considered necessary for any large scale conflict in space these expensive massive machines are a must have.

Capital

So massive they are sometimes mistaken for stations these epic craft seam to defy logic as they effortlessly float in the heavens. Any military or civilization attempting to prove itself to others may build these behemoths. Usually Capital ships are not used to fight directly in combat but as a base of operations and control. Thus some consider them nothing more the propaganda and an expensive fear machines. Most Capital ships are used as Command ships or Super Carries not for ships but for soldiers. They are excellent solution to the mass logistic problems of larger militaries.

Carriers

Carriers are the main ship that makes a large fleet mobile. It can also provide flexibility in combat as it can deploy an array of different types of ships and drones. Most Carriers are designed to hold and maintain smaller ships. But some are designed for troop deployment to stations and planets. There are also Super Carriers which are Capital class Carriers that are able to old larger size or simply more ships/people. In some cases doubling as a Command Ship.

Cruisers

A smaller light weight version of the Battle Cruiser. However the purpose is the same. They are flexible combat vessels. Common in both Military and police forces and is usually seen as the first response to aggressive outlaws. Considered by police forces as there solution to deal with the more deadly pirates, gangs, and other criminal organizations. The military however sees these as inexpensive portal/recon/scientific/experimental craft.

There is also non-military applications for hulls similar to cruisers. Everything from personal transportation of a VIP to a luxury liner. The rich would much rather distance themselves from a fancy customizes barge for there travels. After all anybody can afford one of those. Demilitarized older model cruisers are often sold by militaries to other governments or people as for a verity of different reasons. And sometimes you may find that they are not so de-fanged as they are meant to be.

Drones

Drones come in all shapes, sizes and uses. From military to personal hobbiest these machines all have one thing in common. Some sort of A.I. and a connection to a central controller or computer system. The military has a wide range of uses from complementing a ships systems to being part of a Carrier fleet that can send swarms of drones down upon an enemy in coordinated attacks. However many people have drones for personal use. It also helps that drones with self defence A.I. is usually not illegal in most of the Ring and thus many people use them as a way to help deter outlaws.

Destroyers

These ships where meant to ask the question: "How much fire power can one medium ship truly have?". While similar sizes and speeds to a Cruiser these ships are rarely seen used by anybody except the military. They are designed to back a massive bunch for there size. Made a cheap considering there fire power and have a minimalist crew. Squads of these craft are usually used to compliment attack fleets that target other Medium to Huge sized craft. These Destroyers go toe to toe with the best Battle Cruisers and Battle Ships. The idea being that the Destroyer will be specifically fitted for its target ship and if a few ships die in the process this is nothing compared to loosing a bigger ship that has more people and cost more money.

Dreadnoughts

Dreadnoughts have an interesting history. It is believed the precursors to the Dreadnought was a super heavy battle ship designed as a "Station buster". Stations had ever defences and could take a long time to bring down by a fleet of Battle Ships. So to minimize the amount of forces committed to a single attack a large ship was designed. However shortly after stations just got bigger defences. In order to find a use for these super powerful focused weapons it is believed these ships where then used to hit targets on planets and moons. The terror of seeing massive scale death raining down from the sky put fear into people who named the ships Dreadnoughts.

Dreadnoughts have evolved over time to include taking out of Dreadnoughts as well Carriers and Capital ships. The more powerful weaponry at the time for taking out these ships was explosive forces from Nuclear or anti-mater which made radial explosions that where discriminatory of who it effected. Dreadnoughts where the first mobile forum of focus weaponry which had the counter intuitive effect of bring these larger scale ships into every day combat. It did this because these larger ships where simply dying at larger and larger ranges where they own effectiveness was computerised but now they can be brought into the heat of battle where they would be most effect without worrying about its destruction also leading to everyone else’s destruction.

Fighters

Similar to combat aircraft of the modern world these machines fly through space instead of the atmosphere. Some can do both however. Although they are usually only effect in one or the other. Usually only a single pilot supported by advanced A.I. these craft carry massive punch. Similar design philosophy to that of the Destroyer Hull configuration except at a smaller scale these craft where uses almost like cannon fatter by most militaries as a way to swarm any ships and use percision targeting or advance electronics to disable and in some cases destroy the bigger target.

Frigates

A common craft in the Ring this space ship is normally used only for military purposes. But it is also the common police craft as well as what is normally used by VIPs transportation if they are not rich enough to afford a Cruiser. Just like the Cruisers you will find them being sold everywhere.

Freighters

When a Barge cannot do the trick Freighters take over. These are the industrial scale cargo transportation ships. Although some have been converted into other things such as massive travelling carnivals. Just like barges these can be converted to transport just about everything.

Industrial

Factory in a can. These ships of varies sizes are the backbone of non planetary or moon based industry. This usually means mining and refining of asteroids but it is not always limited to that. These are must have for new settlers to a solar system that are hopping to there new homes resources to start a new colony or terraform a planet.

Shuttles

Personal transport vehicles. The more versatile the more expensive. The basic kinds can only fairy from station to station. And can only accommodate say two passengers. But the more advanced you get the more people it can carry further and further distances to more and more different places. Such as planets, move around as a planet side craft, or even go under oceans.

Ship Quirks

Ship's can have Quirks about them. Similar in nature to a Character difficultly/trait ships can have Quirks/defects that can add more personality uniqueness to ones ship. Any adventure is going to get some scars and bumps along the way and his ship is no different. Ships are expensive and you don't want to just replace it the moment it cracks its first Quantum coolant tank. Over time the ship is going to start to gain its own personality in the eyes of its crew.

Here are some 'Quirks' or 'defects' that ships can gain over time. They can be 'earned' or given by the GM. Players with the right skills and equipment can over time remove most defects and quirks if they want. Although some can be made permanent if GM wishes it.

Ship Positions

There are 3 main positions that can directly effect a ship. Small size or smaller ships can combine these positions without taking penalties. However larger ships require the positions to be filled by a dedicated person or take a Moderate -2 per extra position a single Character is fulfilling.

The 3 main positions are:

• Helm: Supplies the Pilot bonus
• Weapons: Supplies a bonus to accuracy checks
• Communications: Supplies that characters CHA mod as a bonus to communications and to jamming or counter jamming.

There are also 4 other positions that are note worthy.

• Captain
• Engineer
• Science
• Medical

The Captain can use the Leadership feat to provide bonuses to the people in different positions on the ship. The Captain can use there CHA Mod instead of the Comms officer if they are the one doing 100% of the talking.

The Engineer does not effect the stats of the ship. However they can help to repair the ship even while in combat if the ship has an Engineer station or facility. A ship can also provide information and tools at the ready for an Engineer to help repair the ship giving the Engineer bonuses to repair.

The Science officer can be anyone that wants to preform science related skills on the ship using a ship provided science station or facility. Not all ships come with a Science station or facility. They are upgrades that can be installed. A person using this station can gain bonuses.

The Medical officer just like the Science officer requires a Medical facility. Anyone using the Medical facility with the necessary skills can gain bonuses.

More positions can be made up by the GM for the purpose to storytelling and game play. As long as those roles are clear and the Players are aware of them before gaming.