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 For Space ship Weapons and other equipment go here

Space ships in Future Path are designed to be in many ways similar to a Character. Many peoples and cultures and personified there ships and in honor of that tradition this game system represents ships with similar rules and layout to that of a Character. Ships have 6 Core System Attributes similar in nature too Character Abilities and thus these Core System Attributes or C.S.A affect the other stats of a ship in similar fashion. The 6 C.S.A are determined with a point buy system which is explained below. This allows players to customize there own dream ship build. It also allows them to be able to quickly relate and visualize what a ship is capable of doing. 

Instead of leveling up Space Ships can gain upgrades and Quirks. Ships have Hard Points and Bays which are similar to the slots that Characters have for there armor and gear that can improve there stats. Also Characters with the right skills, or enough money, can refit/reallocate the 6 C.S.A when the ship is docked at a ship yard. 

The Ship Core

The Core of the ship represents the foundation for its main systems otherwise known as the 6 core System Attributes. The Core is the power generator also known as a Reactor and a power distribution sub-system. Many different civilizations have built many different kinds of Cores. For example Nuclear reactors, Fusion Reactors, Anti-Matter Reactors, Black-Hole Reactor. They also need materials and components designed to distribute large amounts of power successfully across the ship. From simply using copper wiring, to super-conductive materials and even sub-space wireless power transmission. These Cores represent in many ways the latest and greatest of a civilizations technological advancement.

Even though there are many different types, too many in fact to list here, there is a simple way to categorize them. Using the Tech level system Cores are divided up into Classes. Class 1 is for Tech Level 1 Cores and Class 2 is for TL2 and so on. The Tech Level of a Core can affect how powerful the Engines or Sensors and so on can be. This will be explained in the next section below. Class level also determines how advanced the FTL drive can be. FTLs are explained in the FTL Drive section below.

Players must choose what Tech level there Ship Core is. Do remember that a player with a lower Tech Skill rank cannot make repairs or modifications on any item of a higher Tech rank. Also the higher the Tech level the more expensive the price is. Tech Level 1 or Class 1 ships have not price increase. However Class 2 has 50% increase. Class 3 is x2 the base price. And Class 4 is x3 the base price.

The 6 Core System Attributes of Space Ships

These 6 Core.System.Attributes are the galactic modern standard for ship building. They represent the foundation of a ship and its main functions. All other sub-systems and functions are effected by the performance of the 6 Core System Attributes. A ship's Core can only handle so much power flowing through it. It can only provide so much output. So the 6 C.S.A have to be balanced so as to no overload the Ship Core. The more technologically advanced the ship core is the more powerful equipment can be installed.

The amount of points a ship can have to spend on improvements to the 6 C.S.As is based on its Core. The chart to the right shows those numbers.

The 6 CSAs effect most other ship statistics. These sub-systems and there stats will be reviewed below in the Secondary Statistics section.

Table: Tech Level Bonuses

Tech Level	Points
0	N/A
1	10
2	15
3	20
4	25

Engines

Like Strength. Engines are the heart of a ship. Engines can add bonuses to Combat Maneuvers 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 Maneuvers 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.

Bonus points can also come from Characters who can provide bonuses based on there Craft skills. For more rules on Character's crafting there own ships or ship components review the ship crafting rules below.

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
19	21
20	25

Just as in the alternative rules for Character Creation found here. The Player has to spend points on the 6 C.S.As that they want to see increased.

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 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 10 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. You now have 8 points left. However your main concern is Communications sense this is a ship for your Diplomat. You want to have +4 for Comms. This requires the 5 points for a Communications score of 14. You now only have 3 points left. You must deiced where to spend these finial 3 points. If you do not spend the point when building the craft those points still exist. And if in a facility that allows for the crafting or repairing of a ship you can spend those remaining points. You can also re-align them.

Space Craft Categories

There are two distinctive aspects to space craft. Its Hull size and Hull configuration. The Hull Size is what lays out the default stats too a Space Craft. These default stats may be modified by the 6 C.S.As, Hull Configuration, or Ship Equipment. 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 are an attempt at giving a space craft a more specialized purpose. It helps too determine what purpose the craft has. However it is not a requirement for ship building. A ship can have no specific Configuration and thus be a generic build. Configurations will be explained in further detail in the next section.

Hull Sizes

Below is a table of Hull sizes. All hulls must fit within these sizes. Sizes represent the number of squares that a craft will take up in space as well as what the base statistics of the ship. 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. For more information about each column please review the text below the table.

Space Craft Sizes

Size	Size Mod	Armor Bonus	AC	Hit Die	Shield DR / Multiplier	Sq ft / Num of Squares	Support Life	Pass. Capacity	Avg. Weight	Cargo Capacity	Cost / Procure Diff	Military Ship		Civilian Ship
												Weapon Size / Hard Points	Number of Bays	Weapon Size / Hard Points	Number of Bays
Colossal	–8	+6	8	30d12	DR 15 / Mod 5	~32,000+ ft / 64+ sq	Yes	324	32,400 Tons	128,000 Units	972 Million / 4	Huge / 10	10	Huge / 5	12
Gargantuan	–4	+2	8	24d10	DR 10 / Mod 4	~18,000+ ft / ~36 sq	Yes	108	10,800 Tons	32,000 Units	324 Million / 3	Large / 10	8	Large / 5	10
Huge	–2	+1	9	18d10	DR 7 / Mod 4	~8,000+ ft / ~16 sq	Yes	36	3,600 Tons	8,000 Units	108 Million / 2	Large / 8	6	Large / 4	8
Large	–1	0	9	16d8	DR 5 / Mod 3	~2,000+ ft / ~4 sq	Yes	12	360 Tons	1,920 Units	36 Million / 1	Medium / 8	4	Medium / 4	6
Medium	+0	0	10	12d8	DR 4 / Mod 3	~500+ ft / ~1 sq	Yes	4	120 Tons	480 Units	12 Million / 0	Medium / 6	2	Medium / 3	4
Small	+1	0	11	8d8	DR 3 / Mod 2	~250+ ft / 4 per sq	Yes	2	40 Tons	70 Units	4 Million / 0	Small / 4	1	Small / 2	2
Tiny	+2	-1	11	6d6	DR 2 / Mod 2	~125+ ft / 16 per sq	Yes	1	4 Tons	16 Units	320,000 / 0	Small / 2	0	Small / 1	1
Diminutive	+4	-2	12	4d6	DR 2 / Mod 2	~75+ ft / 64 per sq	No*	0	2 Ton	4 Unit	160,000 / 0	N/A / 3	0	N/A / 2	0
Fine	+8	-6	12	2d6	N/A	<75 ft / 256 per sq	No*	0	1 Ton	0	80,000 / 0	N/A / 2	0	N/A / 1	0
*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 no craft of that magnitude could preform Faster Then Light travel without help from external sources. Also attacking a ship or structure of that size would be considered as attacking a station and thus different modifiers apply.

Size Modifier's act like they do for creatures of the same size. They either add or take away from the total AC.

Armor bonus represents the hulls of the ships. Lager ships can have thicker, heavy hulls. Ships that have a positive gain a natural DR equal too the bonus on top of its bonus to AC.

The AC in the chart above is the total after the Size Modifier and Armor Bonus 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 Ship Statistics 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 on average. Going over this unit amount will cause the ship to be over burdened. Which will cut Combat Speed in half as well as Transpiration speed. The maximum a ship can actually carry is twice the Unit amount. However that is if there are no passengers other then the necessary crew. As every spare room and all the hallways would be filled with cargo containers.

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.

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.

Movement:
This is the Mobility Bonus of the ship plus the Pilot Bonus if applicable. This is rolled every turn during combat usually by the Player whose character is piloting the ship.

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:

Provided by the Hull Size this attribute can be modified by the Hull Configuration as well as by the Players that may want to modify there ship to hold more. More unit space is provided by converting bays into cargo holds. Each bay adds 1/4 of the default cargo space of the Hull Size of the ship. So if the ship is a medium size hull then converting one of the bays would provided an additional 120Units of space.

Cost/Procure Diff:
This is the cost of and procure diff of the ship. It is always nice to record what you paid for the ship. Or what your appraisal of the ship might be. The GM might tell the Players what the ship is worth if they find it. However the GM might not. The Characters may have to roll checks to appraise the ship.

Crew:
This is a place to record who is the crew of the ship and what there bonuses are. If one of the crew takes over piloting for example you can look here to find there pilot bonus so you do not have to re-write it.

Dimensions/Weight:
Simply a place to record its size. The only requirement here is that you record the Squares that the ship officially occupies which is based on size. However specific dimensions of the ship so that players can get a sense of the ships look and feel is always a nice touch of detail!

Passenger Capacity:

Ships can carry crew and passengers. This capacity refers to the total number of people that require life support on board the ship. However passenger count is not the same as the required amount of crew members to manage a ship. Ships can run on a surprisingly small number of crew members due to advanced automation technology. It makes no sense to carry more 'meat bags' that could die at any moment into the harassed place in the universe. In order to carry more then the average necessary crew of 8 (only applies for ships that have a higher passenger count then 8) a ship needs Passenger Bays installed. If all available bays are installed then the maximum amount passenger capacity is reached + the crew. This is dictated by the Hull Size.

Pilot Bonus:
This is the Dex Mod of the Pilot. This only is applied if the Pilot has the Pilot skill.

Name:
Of course a ship has to have a name!

Tactical Speed:
This is the speed of the ship during combat.

FTL Engine/Speed:
This the FTL of the ship. Which also determined the Travel speed of the craft.

Summary Design Specs:
A summary including Hull Size/Configuration/Quarks and other interesting tid pits of info. Such as history of the ship and what not. This is a nice place to add detail and 'character' to the ship. Kinda like giving a character a backstory this is where one would record such things.

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	350,000 / 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	Tiny	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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 to Mobility, -3 Hard Points
• Advantages: +2 Bays (Both are forcefully converted into Cargo Holds) as a 240Units of Cargo Space, Super Common Bonus -1 to Procure Diff and 50% less time/cost to repair

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.

• Dis-Advantages: Cargo Capacity is 480Units, Passenger Cap is 8, -5 Attribute Points
• Advantages: +2 Electronics, +2 Mobility, +1 Non-Weapon Hard Point

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.

• Dis-Advantages: Cargo Capacity is 1,920Units, Passenger Cap is 12, -5 Attribute Points
• Advantages: +2 Engines, +2 Armor, All weapons gain the 'Barrage' mode for free.

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -5 Attribute Points, -4 Mobility, -3 Hard Points
• Advantage: +4 Bays, +2 Sensors, +2 Communications, +2 Electronics

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -5 Attribute Points, -2 Mobility, -5 Hard Points
• Advantages: +6 Bays, +2 Sensors, +2 Electronics, Built is Repair Bay for Large ships or smaller.
• Misc: Can carry, deploy, repair ships of Large size or smaller.

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Attribute Points
• Advantages: +1 Hard Point, +2 Mobility

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Armor
• Advantages: -4 Hard Points, +2 Mobility

Drones

Drones come in all shapes, sizes and uses. From military to personal hobbyist 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 defense A.I. is usually not illegal in most of the Ring and thus many people use them as a way to help deter outlaws.

• Dis-Advantages: -1 across all Attributes.
• Misc: Drone AI Module installed. Can be easily controlled by an AI system can can be deployed in masses to attack or defend. Swarm bonuses apply when 4 or more are part of a team. Swarm adds AC advantages against projectile attacks.

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.

• Dis-Advantages: Illegal to own even though it is a Medium sized craft, -2 Attribute Points
• Advantages: +2 Hard Points, All weapons are considered 'Gimbaled' for free.

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 defenses 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 defenses. 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 computerized 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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Mobility, -5 Ability Points, -2 Hard Points
• Advantages: Can mount a single Gigantic sized weapon without taking up any hard points. This Gigantic weapon has double the base range and a +2 Moderate Advantage to hit.

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 precision targeting or advance electronics to disable and in some cases destroy the bigger target.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Armor, Passenger Cap is 1
• Advantages: +2 Mobility

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -1 to Sensors
• Advantages: This super common craft is use for just about everything and thus 50% less cost/time spent on repairs. +1 Attribute Point

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 traveling carnivals. Just like barges these can be converted to transport just about everything.

• Dis-Advantages: -4 Mobility, -4 Hard Points
• Advantages: All converted Cargo Bays provide double the space. +6 Cargo Bays which adds an additional 20,000 Units of space for a total of 28,000 Units if no other bays converted.

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Mobility, -2 Hard Points
• Advantages: The Ship has a free Industrial Bay of the largest size that the Hull configuration can hold. The Industrial Bay provides a +2 bonus with the correctly skill person.

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.

• Dis-Advantages: -2 Armor, -2 Engines, -2 Electronics, -2 Hard Points
• Advantages: +4 Mobility, +2 Communications, Pilot doesn't need the Pilot skill to provide Dex bonus, +2 Passengers

Ship Functions

Ship Functions are special abilities much like Skills for a Character. Some are meant for combat while others for day to day use. Some functions are standard on all ships. While others require a Ship Upgrade to use. The default ship Functions are Ram, Target and Scan. All of ship functions require a Ship Upgrade too use. Ship upgrades and there rules located on the Ship Equipment page.

The full list is as follows: (Click for a full description)

• Beam: A semi-instant form of transportation where matter is transformed into energy and beamed to a new location where it is converted back to matter.
• Bombard: A tactical maneuver where the weapons are given the 'Suppressive Fire' ability.
• Cloak: Cloaking implies some form of stealth technology designed to full Sensor Scans.
• Crypto: A way to send or receive protected communications. Similar to Decipher_Script.
• Feint: An A.I computer supplement for combat maneuvers. If activated the ship will attempt to make automatic 'corrections' to ship movement to full targeting sensors.
• Grapple: Different kinds of ways to 'grab' a ship and hold or even move its position.
• Jam: Designed to target a specific component of an opponent Sensor array. Either Targeting, scanners or other devices and keep them from functioning.
• Ram: The ability to drive a ship directly into another in such a way to cause the most damage to the opponent ship and the least to itself.
• Scan: The ability to search for or study a object or objects in space.
• Target: The ability to lock onto a specific object and accurately track its position.

Space Ship Accessories

Space Ship Accessories are all the extra components that go into the ship after the 6 Core System Attributes and the default Hull/Configuration components have been installed. These are Hard Points which are external mounting points for weapons and other devices, Bays which are large internal spaces within the ship that can be customized for specific tasks like a Medical Bay, Cargo Bay and etc, and Upgrades/Modifications which may require the use of Hard Points and/or Bays but either directly effect Core System Attributes or introduce new ship Functions. All of these items can be found on the Ship Equipment page.

The amount of Hard Points and Bays are determined by the Hull Size. However Hull Configuration may also effect these numbers.

Space Craft Hard Points and Bays

Size	Weapon Size	Hard Points	Number of Bays
Colossal	Gigantic	10	12
Gargantuan	Large	10	8
Huge	Large	8	6
Large	Medium	8	4
Medium	Medium	6	2
Small	Small	4	1
Tiny	Small	2	0
Diminutive*	N/A	3	0
Fine*	N/A	2	0
*These ships use 'normal' sized weapons noted in the Weapons Section

Hard Points

Hard Points are communally referred to as the locations that weapons are deployed. However they can also mount a number of other external devices. Such as a Jamming Array, Grappler, Extended Sensor Array, Target Enhancers, Target Jammers etc... More information on Ship Weapons can be found in the Ship Weapons page. The number of hard points as well as the size of the weapon the hard point can support is shown on the chart too the right.

Bays

Bays are empty spaces within the hull of the ship that can be customized for certain uses. A Bay can be converted into facilities for example: Science Bay or Medical Bay. The facilities add additional services that the ship can provide to its crew.. given that someone has the necessary skills to operate them. Bays are sometimes required for certain upgrades. Theses upgrades use the space to store additional power supplies, relays, conduits, access ports and other components necessary to support the Upgrade. More information on Ship Bays in the Ship Bays page.

Upgrades & Modifications

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.

Space Ship FTL Drive

FTL is short for Faster Then Light. The FTL drive is one of the most important aspects of a ship. Without them conquering or exploring the galaxy would be impossible. However this aspect of the ship doesn't help much in the terms of combat it is what allows the ship to get its crew safely across the stars. The better an FTL drive the faster a ship can get to its destination. But also safer as many possible dangers arise from traveling the cosmos and FTLs help steer the ship away from encounters. They can also make it harder for enemy ships to track or pull your ship out of FTL.

FTLs have a Range rating and a Speed rating. Ranged its based on the distance to the destination and is categorized in four ranges. Small, Medium, Large, Extreme (Because the galaxy is extremely big). Speed is incremented by a Warp factor. Warp 1 through Warp 10. For more information about Range, Warp Factors and the hazards of space travel please review the Transportation rules.

FTLs are rated by Tech Level. You cannot put an FTL of a higher level in a lower level ship core. Each ship comes standard with the starting out FTL of its Tech Level which should always be the Jump drive. Upgrades cost.

Tech 1:

• Assisted Jump Drive
  • Description: This system allows the ship to work with an external jump gate station to jump the ship to its destination. The Jump sends the ship at Warp 10 speeds up to Medium distances. However this can only work with the assistance of a jump gate.
  • Price: $50,000 / 0
  • Modifier: 0
• Warp Drive (The Hopper)
  • Description: This system is the most common form of FTL travel. Most every space fairing civilization has made a variation of the warp drive. The Warp Drive creates a protective energy bubble and then shots a massive amount of positive energy in front of the ship and negative energy out the rear of the ship. These energy blasts stretch space-time by shrinking it in front of the ship and expanding it behind the ship. The ship has to first accelerate to roughly 5% the speed of light as the ship need to move slightly itself while space itself also moves the ship within its bubble. The lower tech level version of the Warp Drive, only capable of speeds of Warp 1 through 4, is called 'The Hopper'. This is because a steady stream of energy is impossible too achieve as the energy would have to be traveling faster then the speed of light to always be at the right position. In order to get around this issue the ship 'hops' from one burst of energy too the next. Up to a few thousand bursts a second combined with the fact that bursts don't move the ship itself but space around the ship means that the passengers on board do not feel like they are moving in jolts.
  • Price: $150,000 / 0
  • Modifier: +2

Tech 2:

• Assisted Advanced Jump Drive
  • Description: This is Jump Drive system is similar too its Tech 1 counter part. But now can travel Long and Extreme distances. However it still can only do so with the assistance of a jump gate.
  • Price: $100,000 /0
  • Modifier: 0
• Warp Drive (The Skimmer)
  • Description: This Warp Drive is the next technological evolution of Warp Drive technology. Similar to its Tech 1 counter part but now with advances in its sub-light propulsion systems and advanced energy distribution systems new speeds can be achieved. This Drive can now go up to Warp 7. This system is called the skimmer because it achieves these speeds by going at near 50% light speed using sub-light engines. This allows it to skim over the nearly shrunken space in front of it eventually leading to that space being considered behind the ship. This space sense it very recently shrunk can be expanded with less energy faster. Thus helping the ship go at faster speeds. Also the warp engine is capable of bursting at a faster frequency.
  • Price: $300,000 / 0
  • Modifier: +1
• Slip Stream Drive
  • Description: This uses a new concept of FTL. It makes a small tear in space that a ship can 'slip' into. The ship is protected by a similar 'bubble' of space that is made for a Warp Drive while the pressures felt within this sub-space pushes unevenly on the ship. The pressure is much greater where the tear is. Now the ship rapidly moves away from the tear. In Sub-Space objects are not limited by the Speed of Causality (The Maximum Speed of Light) meaning the ship zooms across a fast amount of space relative too its position in subspace. The ship then produces another tear and bursts its way out into normal space. Both the entering and existing of this tear causes a lot of excess radiation that can be seen for millions of AUs. The top speed of this is Warp 6. The act of making a Tear requires 30 seconds at which time a ship cannot cloak and it's easier to target. Opponents get a moderate +2 bonus. The same goes for after leaving a tear. Tracking where a ship went after entering a Tear is fairly easy. +4 to Scanning when traking a ship after it has entered a Tear.
  • Price: $450,000 / 1
  • Modifier: +2

Tech 3:

• Personal Jump Drive
  • Description: Much like its lower level counter parts. Except now this system can make Warp 10 jumps on its own. As long as its a Small or Medium distance. It only preform a single jump before having to re-fuel.
  • Price: $1,000,000 / 0
  • Modifier: 0
• Warp Drive (The High Pulse Drive)
  • Description: Capable of speeds up to Warp 8 this is too many the most advanced version of Warp Drive achievable. The High Pulse Drive gets its name because advances in near loss less energy teleportation allow for the constant stream of energy to be placed in the correct positions as the ship travels. Reducing the burst effect to a frequency in the billions. Adjusting Warp speed is extremely smooth and allows for the Drive to 'jump' into high Warp almost instantly and just as quickly 'jump' out.
  • Price: $3,500,000 / 1
  • Modifier: 0
• Phase Shift Drive
  • Description: Shifting the ship out of phase with the rest of the Universe this ship can easily accelerate as if it didn't have mass. This would appear to only make a ship goes at the speed of light if it wasn't also for utilizing Slip Stream Drive technology. This allows the ship to enter and exit sub-space with ease and allows for a faster total speed of Warp 7. Just like a Slip Stream drive except it now only takes 6 seconds or two combat turns to make a tear and enter it. The same modifiers still apply and a ship can still not cloak for the 2 turns before entering and after exiting.
  • Price: $5,000,000 / 2
  • Modifier: +4

Tech 4:

• Personal Advanced Jump Drive
  • Description: Much like the Jump drives before it except this can be used to itself at Warp 10 to distances up to Extreme.
  • Price: $10,000,000 / 1
  • Modifier: 0
• Expert Warp Drive
  • Description: The most advanced and complicated Warp device ever designed. The fastest way to travel except through a Worm Hole or Advanced Jump Drive this personal Warp Drive can send a ship up to speeds of Warp 9.
  • Price: $15,000,000 / 2
  • Modifier: +2
• Advanced Slip Stream Drive
  • Description: This system uses the Jump Drive mechanics combined with Phase Shift technology and Slip Stream Tear technology to make the most stealthy form of Space Travel. Tears in space are made within the ship itself much like a Personal Jump Drive works. The Phase Shift system allows a ship to be one second at a stand still and the next accelerating to near the speed of light only to Jump itself into a tear which is projected within the front part of the ship. Sensors will find it extremely difficult to detect the Jump Into subspace sense the ship is mostly out of phase when its done. The tear is almost completely concealed by the ship. The tear when existing still gives away the ships destination however the ship itself comes back into normal space out of phase and thus stealthed by default. A ship can now enter a Tear in just 1 turn. Although the cloak has to be deactivated. It can be reactivated only 1 turn after exiting the tear.
  • Price: $25,000,000 / 3
  • Modifier: +6

A ship can have more then 1 FTL. However an FTL always takes up 2 Bays and 1 Hard Point.

Crafting FTL Drives

FTL drives are considered one of the most complicated pieces of equipment ever invited. It requires at least 1 rank in the following 3 crafting skills. Craft Mechanical, Electronics, Structure. Making a FTL follows the Craft Structure rules and thus requires a facility. To learn more about crafting go here.

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 adventurer 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.

Out Dated:

• Description: This ship is old and antiquated. Most people will find that its only worthy of a scrap yard. Or perhaps a museum. The ship is more likely to gain other quirks. A ship with this quirk gets to pick another quirk and ignore its negative. The quirks are permanent.
• Negative: It costs 25% less to buy and you get 50% less if you attempt to sell it.
• Positive: Choose another quirk and ignore its negative effect.

Cranky :

• Description: This ships engines and internal components require some encouraging from time to time. A good bang here or smack there to get it to start functioning correctly.
• Negative: When getting massive damage or receiving a crit on the ship the there is a 50% chance a component may start to malfunction requiring a crew member to waste a turn finding and banging the part back into shape.
• Positive: Instead of repairing an item over possibly multi turns a crew member can act even without the appropriate skills to quickly repair a single broken part of the ship once per day by simply hitting it really hard.

Falling Apart :

• Description: Weather by age or by miss care this ship is falling apart. Sure it runs but for how long? It also looks like it pile of junk. Characters will be constantly on the look out for the next broken component.
• Negative: 25% reduction of resale value. Every day of travel the ship has a small chance of having something break. There is a 20% chance something will go wrong. A percentile dice roll is used to confirm.
  • 1-10%: Superficial problem. The ship is just a little more bumpy/noisy then normal.
  • 11-20%: A minor problem with the engines. -1 to the engines until they are repaired.
  • 21-30%: A minor problem with the crafts Mobility. -1 to Mobility until repaired.
  • 31-40%: A minor problem with the Amour. Some noticeable cracks form. Temporary -1 Hit die until repaired
  • 41-50%: A minor problem with the Electronics. -1 to Electronics. On top of it the lights flicker and sometimes waste management doesn't work! Eks!
  • 51-60%: A minor problem with the Sensors. -1 to Sensors. Or sensor blimps show up often with things that are actually not there. GM choice.
  • 61-70%: A minor problem with communications. -1 to Communications. Or random calls from unknown sources show up. Or calls end when they shouldn't. GM Choice.
  • 71-80%: A random minor problem with one of the bays of the ship. (Get a die equal too the number of bays and roll for which bay, or GM Choice). The Bay is disabled until repaired.
  • 91-100%: Re-roll except its a major problem instead of minor. (If 90-100 simply re-roll until you land on a % that is not.)

If the problem is a minor one it requires no materials and 1 work day of no FTL to repair. If the problem is a major one it will require materials to repair if there is no Engineering Bay the ship will require a facility for assistance to get the repair done.

• Positive: Because of the experience the crew must gain through repairing the darn ship all the time the crew gain the Advanced Jerry Rigging Feat when making repairs to only this ship.

Infested :

• Description: You do not know how or when and frankly you don't care. You just want these dam pests gone! They are smelling, annoying, and fur gets everywhere. And that's if you are lucky enough not to get the slimy kind of space pests. No matter the type of pests you have they all have one thing in common. They know how to stay alive and most notably THRIVE on board a space ship. They do this by living off the ship systems. Some people swear they live solely off the frustrations and agony of the crew.
• Negative: You will have a hard time taking on passengers on your ship. All crew and passengers have to roll Constitution saves once a day with a DC12. If they fail they become sick and gain the condition Sickened. The condition has no specifications except that it lasts 1d4 days and can be cured by 1 day of full rest off the ship or if onboard the ship one day of rest an a successful Treat Disease check. Engineers have a -1 to repair checks on the ship.
• Positive: The likely hood of a stowaway on your ship is nearly nill. And if one does deiced to come on board they have a -10 to stealth. Pests don't like sharing! +2 to Communications when dealing with pirates/smugglers. Not only do must sympathies with your problem they also don't want to even think about docking with your ship. Making stealing your stuff all that much harder.

Bad Past :

• Description: However owned this ship deserves to be shot right next to the person who sold ship too you. For some reason this ship seams to bring out all the ugly when trekking around space. It seams like whoever owned this before you was wanted in all the systems and not in a good way. If its not pirates then its Tracers or local police or the military. Or some princess who just wants to know when she will see your ship docking in her port again. Take advantage of the situation or try to correct is up too you. Almost assuredly this ships past is gonna get in your way and likely when you least expect it.
• Negative: -4 to communications. The ship is communally known along with its systems. People may attack you without provocation.
• Positive: Its likely that this ship can open as many doors as it closes. Its a 50/50% chance the person that knows your ship wants to kill you or pretend to be your friend and then maybe kill you later.

Artificial Intelligence :

• Description: Wait what? I thought that was illegal for space ships to have fully aware AI computer linked too all ship systems. (Especially Weapons) Well that may be one reason why the ship didn't tell you right away it was smarter then you. But now you know. Hopefully it is nice and wont kill you. (Open the bay doors damit!) Nightmares aside you are in a deep pile of crock! If authorities find out they may as well put you in jail. Helping AI is breaking serious rules. One the other note this ship is pretty awesome! I mean wow! You sure hope it doesn't turn on you! *gulp*.
• Negative: Illegal! You cannot sell this through official markets. If you are caught most civilizations completely outlaw AI with such freedom and power with extremely harsh penalties. (This Negative cannot be ignored using the 'Out Dated' quirk)
• Positives: +1 to Sensors, Mobility, Electronics. The ship can drive itself and pretend to be someone onboard. Oh the possibilities!
• Misc: The ship has to have a personality. Below are some options. You can roll for these or the GM can choose one. Or a blend
  • Optimist
  • Bully
  • Physio
  • Shy/Unsure
  • Over achiever
  • Whimsical

Noisy :

• Description: Something somewhere is loose. Maybe as simple as a loose screw or as complicated as a electromagnetic field is off alignment. Either case this ship doesn't stop humming, whizzing, and ever now and then for excitement it jitters. You consistently think that's the last jitter it will make before the whole thing falls apart like a house of cards. But the she still is flying straight. So whatever it is it must not be important. Annoying as hell but not important.
• Negative: -1 to Communications.
• Positives: None

Battle Scars :

• Description: Like a painting the hull of your ship speaks a thousand words. It seams like each panel is telling some story of great deeps and glorious conquest. Or at the very least oh my gosh look how close we got to being vaporized! The first option defiantly sounds better in a bar!
• Negative: -1 HD worth of Hit Points.
• Positive: +2 Communications, +4 to Communications when using the Intimidate skill.

Lucky :

• Description: You don't quite know how and thinking about it is likely a waste of time. But you guys always seam to get through some of the craziest scraps! Maybe this ship is just good luck!
• Negative: None
• Positive: One per day a player can re-roll a check that uses one of the ships Attribute modifiers.

Cursed :

• Description: You don't know why... and damit you wish you did but ever sense you been on this ship things just suck!
• Negative: Once per day negate the first Crit that is rolled when rolling for something that uses the ships Attribute modifiers.
• Positive: None

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.

Ship Crafting

Ships are considered Structures. They require the following crafting skills: Electrical, Mechanical, Structural

Building or repairing a ship requires a Ship Yard. A Docking Bay can also be used to repair a ship if the ship/station that has the Docking Bay also has a Industrial or Engineering bay.

The materials costs are based on the finishing price of the ship not including any customizations or accessories unless you are also building those.

The time is based on the size of the ship.

• Colossal: 36450 Days - Requires Super Heavy Ship Yard
• Gargantuan: 12150 Days - Requires Super Heavy Ship Yard
• Huge: 4050 Days - Requires Heavy Ship Yard
• Large: 1350 Days - Requires Heavy Ship Yard
• Medium: 450 Days
• Small: 150 Days
• Tiny: 50 Days
• Diminutive: 20 Days
• Fine: 10 Days

Skilled laborers can be contracted to divide up the work. A Ship Yard can have as much as 50 people working on the same ship. Heavy 500 people. And Super Heavy 5,000 people. Cost may very based on the GM. But default suggestion would be $10,000 a day + completion bonus of 1/1000th the cost of the ship.

Other players can also help in the building of a ship. The same rules associated with building a structure apply. To review the rules go here. Repair work can also be divided up.

Building a Weapon or other hard point accessory is also considered like building a structure. With the except of Diminutive and Fine as they are normal sized weapon rules and thus the same rules for crafting. Making a hard point requires either a ship yard or a Engineering facility. The default time for crafting a non-weapon hard point accessory is 20 days. Weapon crafting times are based on there weapon sizes just like ships.

• Gigantic: 80 Days - Requires a Heavy Ship Yard or Large Engineering facility.
• Large: 40 Days - Requires a Heavy Ship Yard or Large Engineering facility.
• Medium: 20 Days
• Small: 10 Days

Building a Bay requires 20 days for normal size bays and 40 days for Large sized bays. They can be built in any facility designed to handle the construction of a structure. They can be built directly into the ship or be built in pieces and then shipped and assembled inside of the ship. It takes two days to assemble a normal bay or 4 days to assemble a large bay. You cannot speed up the assemble process by dividing up work. Only the crafting of the item can other characters assist. You do not need to account for assembling a bay if it is directly built into the ship.

Building an upgrade or other accessory is completely dependent on the item itself. However installing it from a time perspective is like repairing the ship of a major problem. Which is a full day while not being in FTL. Some upgrades may require that the ship be in a ship yard or a facility that supports repairs.

Master Work Craft

A ship can be master worked. This is represented by an additional point toward the 6 Core System Attributes for each Crafting skill a character has the required rank in. To make Master Work structures a Character must have a rank of 5 or higher in the appropriate skill. There are 3 crafting skills that effect ship building and those again are Electrical, Mechanical, Structural. That means there is a total of +3 points that can go toward a ship.

If a ship has already been built it can be modified in a ship yard to add the additional point or points. These takes 1/3rd the total crafting time of the ship per point added. This means that if all 3 points are added at once it will take the total time of crafting the ship to complete the work. Just like in normal crafting the work can be divided up. Giving that each person doing the work has the correct crafting skill rank. If you have three characters each character can have one of the crafting skills at the correct rank not all characters have to have all the crafts at the correct rank.

If you pay for assistance in building a master worked ship the cost of extra labor is 50% more for each extra point. Making the finial price an additional 150% of the original cost. Also the procure difficulty is increased by 1. This means an additional adjustment in price if the Character is buying a Master worked ship not building it.