High Guard System Reference Document
Spacecraft Operations
- Structure
- Armour
- Power
- Drives
- Fuel
- Bridge
- Sensors
- External Components
- Internal Components
- Weapons
- Primitive & Advanced Spacecraft
- Construction Time
Structure (top)
Reinforced Structure: For every 5% of the ship’s total tonnage allocated to reinforced structure, the ship gains extra structure points. Reinforced structure costs MCr 0.2/ton.
Reinforced Hull: For every 10% of the ship’s total tonnage allocated to reinforced hull, the ship gains extra hull points. Reinforced hull costs MCr 0.1/ton.
Armoured Bulkheads: Adding internal bulkheads requires tonnage equal to 10% of the tonnage of the protected system, but negates the first hit on that system.
Modular Hull: Up to 75% of a ship’s internal tonnage may be designated as modular, allowing it to be swapped out easily. This tonnage may not include the bridge, power plant, drives or any structural or armour options. Different modules can be installed for different tasks. Making a modular hull increases the cost of the overall hull by the percentage designated as modular.
Armour (top)
Armour does not need to be added in 5% elements, but it must be added in whole armour point values.
Armour options must be added when the ship’s armour is installed, and cannot be easily retrofitted.
Heat Shielding: A ship without a functioning gravitic drive attempting re–entry without heat shielding will burn up. If equipped with undamaged heat shielding, re–entry is successful on easy (+4) Pilot, 10–60 minutes skill check, with failure resulting in burn up (this task is often undertaken more slowly). Damage to the ship from proximity to a star in the absence of heat shielding are at the referee’s discretion, but should be harsh! Heat shielding does not provide protection against starship combat weapons; even fusion weapons. Heat shielding costs MCr 0.1 per ton of hull
Radiation Shielding: Radiation shielding improves the ship’s protection against radiation from both natural sources (solar flares, pulsars) and artificial (nuclear bombs, meson hits). A ship with radiation shielding decreases the amount of rads absorbed by all crew by 1,000, treats the bridge as if it is hardened and provides 6 extra armour points against radiation damage from nuclear weapons, particle beams and fusion guns. Radiation shielding costs MCr 0.25 per ton of hull.
Reinforced Hull
| Hull Size | Reinforced Structure per 5% | Reinforced Hull per 10% |
|---|---|---|
| 10–90 | 1 | 3 |
| 100–1,000 | 2 | 5 |
| 1,000–2,000 | 4 | 10 |
| 3,000–10,000 | 8 | 20 |
| 20,000+ | 16 | 40 |
Armour
| Armour Type | TL | Protection | Cost | Max Armour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium Steel | 7 | 2 per 5% | 5% of base hull | TL or 9, whichever is less |
| Crystaliron | 10 | 4 per 5% | 20% of base hull | TL or 13, whichever is less |
| Bonded Superdense | 14 | 6 per 5% | 50% of base hull | TL |
Power (top)
Emergency Power: An emergency power system allows a vessel to keep functioning even when its main power plant has been knocked offline by damage and is a cheaper alternative than a second backup power plant as described on page 106 of the main rule book. If the power plant suffers a third hit, the emergency power system activates, and allows the ship to function normally for 30 minutes or 5 Combat Rounds of full operations – or until it suffers another power plant hit.
An emergency power system has a tonnage and cost equal to 10% of the tonnage and cost of the main power plant.
Chemical power plants: A chemical power plant is 40% bigger than its fusion equivalent, costs MCr 1.25 per ton and requires 20 times the amount of fuel for the same endurance.
Fission power plants: Page 109 of the core rule book (first printing) is now amended. Fission plants provide the same power as a fusion power plant and can provide any power performance level. However, they are twice the size and price of a fusion power plant. They are available at TL7.
Solar Panel: Extendible solar panels provide backup power for vessel’s power plants. They are sometimes installed in scout or mining ships, giving them greater range and endurance. The size of solar panels required to power a ship is 1/10th that of the main power plant, to a minimum of 0.5 tons. If the panels are fitted to a ship without a power plant, then assume the (non–existent) main power plant is sized to deliver a performance rating of 1. A ship equipped with solar panels consumes power plant fuel at one–quarter the normal rate as long as it is only engaged in minimal manoeuvring and does not fire weapons. Minimal manoeuvring does not include long periods at full thrust, so solar panels are useless for trade vessels. Solar panels cost MCr 0.1 per ton. No power plant fuel is consumed, and endurance is considered as infinite, if the ship is not manoeuvring, using active sensors or refining fuel for use. Jump cannot be entered with solar panels deployed.
Chemical Batteries: The sizes of chemical batteries are based on the power plant required to deliver a performance rating of 1. A chemical battery the same size as a fusion power plant of the same tech level will provide 1000 hours of use assuming the vessel is not manoeuvring, using active sensors, refining fuel, making significant use of long range communicators or energy using weapons (such as lasers, rail guns, meson guns, fusion guns and particle beams). Alternatively, the same sized battery will give 1 hour (10 combat turns) of performance without these restrictions. A battery can be scaled in size to give any endurance and costs 4 times the equivalent fusion power plant. A TL7 battery is the same size as a TL 8 battery. The time to recharge a battery is equivalent to the battery endurance used (in low power setting) divided by 1000 then multiplied by 2. If using solar panels to recharge the battery, the “power plant rating” is 0.1.
Drives (top)
Manoeuvre Drive
Reaction Drive: The reaction drive takes the same space as a gravitic drive, and costs less, but this is offset by the large fuel requirements in addition to fuel used for the jump drive and power plant. To calculate a ship’s fuel requirements, use the following system:
Fuel Required (as a percentage of the ship’s displacement) = 2.5% x Maximum Thrust x hours of Maximum Thrust required.
As space combat turns are 6 minutes long, each hour of fuel gives 10 turns of operation at maximum thrust. The total reserve of fuel is expressed as a number of G/Turns, which are equivalent to the total number of thrust points available. Each thrust point spent reduces the number of G/Turns remaining in the tank, and a ship cannot manoeuvre once this fuel is spent.
Solar Sail: A deployed solar sail covers an area dozens of kilometres across. It is made of a flexible synthetic fabric that has limited self–repair capabilities. Particles emitted by the sun – the ‘solar wind’ catch the sail and provide a minuscule amount of thrust. A ship using a solar sail as its primary method of propulsion has a Thrust of 0 and requires several days or weeks to change its course or speed. A solar sail costs MCr 0.01 per ton of ship, and takes up 5% of the ship’s total tonnage when stowed. Obviously, this is ineffective in a combat situation. Jump drive can not be used with a sail deployed.
Burning Your Bridges (or using Jump Fuel in an Emergency)
Starships have jump drives, which require significant amounts of fuel to sustain a jump. If you have enough jump fuel left it is possible to start to draw on the jump reserve for the Reaction Drive. Each parsec of Jump capability requires 10% of the tonnage of the hull in fuel. Each 10% of fuel will provide an extra 40 Thrust Points of Operations.
However, each time the fuel is reduced below a 10% increment, the jump range is decreased by 1 parsec. So, if an Cruiser with Jump 2 worth of fuel left in the tanks was forced to eat into its jump reserve, the first fuel used would reduce the range to 1 parsec, and jump would no longer be capable once fuel fell below 10%. This is a risky manoeuvre for an attacker, as this reduces their chance to escape from a system that they have jumped into and attacked.
Jump Drive
Fast–Cycle Jump: A normal jump drive requires the engine to be prepped before jump, and the ship cannot jump again until the engine has been prepared and the ship’s batteries have recharged. This procedure takes at least one hour, and usually as many as sixteen if all checks are preformed. A fast–cycle drive recharges much faster and does not normally require preparation. After a jump, roll 2d6. On a 3+, the drive does not need a preparation roll and can jump again immediately. However, the time between jumps raises the chance of a misjump.
| Time Between Jumps | Misjump DM |
|---|---|
| One minute or less | –6 |
| One minute to 30 minutes | –2 |
| 30 minutes to one hour | –1 |
A fast–cycle jump drive costs 10% more than a conventional jump drive.
Stealth Jump: A stealth jump drive minimises the burst of radiation caused by the transition from jump space into real space. Normally, a ship that emerges into real space will be automatically detected if it emerges within the “minimal” detail range of the sensor. However, detecting a ship equipped with a stealth drive emerging into real space requires a Sensor, Intelligence or Education, Difficult (–2) skill check if within “limited” detail range of the sensor or a Very Difficult (–4) skill check if within “Minimal” detail range of the sensor. A stealth drive takes up no extra tonnage but costs ten times the amount of a standard jump drive.
Extended Drive Ratings for Drives Above Z
| Rating | J–Drive | M–Drive | P–Plant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tons | MCr | Tons | MCr | Tons | MCr | |
| AA | 135 | 260 | 51 | 104 | 79 | 206 |
| BB | 145 | 280 | 55 | 112 | 85 | 222 |
| CC | 155 | 300 | 59 | 120 | 91 | 238 |
| DD | 165 | 320 | 63 | 128 | 97 | 254 |
Extended Performance by Hull Volume Table
| 1400 | 1600 | 1800 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| BB | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| CC | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| DD | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Fuel (top)
Drop Tank: Military assault ships sometimes use external fuel tanks that are explosively jettisoned as the ship enters jump space. The virtue of a drop tank is that it allows a ship to carry a large amount of extra fuel, but the tank carries a risk. Jumping is a delicate procedure, which is greatly complicated by having big empty fuel tanks flying around in close proximity to the jump bubble.
Jump tanks come in two parts. Firstly, there are the docking ports, fuel injectors and explosive collars that allow the spacecraft to mount drop tanks and to jettison them quickly. Secondly, there are the physical tanks themselves.
A drop tank mount costs MCr1 per 50 tons of fuel in the drop tank, and takes up two tons of space per 50 tons of fuel for the fittings to transfer fuel.
A drop tank itself costs MCr 0.1 per 50 tons of fuel space.
Jumping using a drop tank applies a –(15–TL) DM to the roll for misjumping (see page 141 in the core rulebook).
When a drop tank is used, roll 2d6. On an 8+, the tank survives the ejection process and can be retrieved and reused. Otherwise, it is destroyed by the expanding jump bubble or warped by the jettison explosion. At TL14 the use of drop tanks has been improved to such a degree that drop tanks designed at this tech level or above will automatically survive use.
A ship’s M–Drive rating must be recalculated when carrying a drop tank. For example, a 200–ton ship with a 150–ton drop tank counts as being a 400–ton ship for the purposes of determining its effective M–Drive rating. Round the tank’s tonnage up to the nearest hull size. Drop tanks can also be used to store fuel for other purposes, such as reaction drive propellant.
The jump performance for the ship is calculated assuming that the drop tanks are not attached unless the jump is to be carried out without jettisoning the drop tanks. In this case, the jump performance should be calculated in a similar manner to the effective M–Drive rating.
The power plant rating must be calculated assuming the drop tanks are not in place.
Drop tanks are relatively fragile and if they are attached when the ship is attacked, they are very vulnerable to fire. A drop tank has one hull point and one structure point per 100 tons. Determine the proportion of the drop tank is of the combined ship and drop tank. When the ship is fired on, there is a probability equal to this that the drop tank will be hit, until the drop tank is destroyed. For every point of damage it will suffer hit it will take hull and structure damage as normal and automatically suffer a “fuel” hit as well to the fuel in the drop tank.
Metal Hydride storage: Instead of storing the ship’s hydrogen in liquid form at extremely low temperature with a high risk of explosion if a leak occurs into the inhabited spaces of the ship, it is possible to store hydrogen in a more bulky form in a room temperature non–flammable metal hydride matrix. Any portion of the ship’s fuel tankage may be designated as metal hydride storage. This storage holds 50% less hydrogen fuel than a more normal tank. It is available at TL9 and costs MCr0.2 per ton. If the storage is hit the following revised damage rules are used:
- First Hit: minor damage 1d6% of fuel lost
- Second Hit: loss of 1d6x3% fuel
- Third and Subsequent Hits: as per normal fuel hit.
Bridge (top)
Command Bridge: A command bridge is intended for use by warships that will be co–ordinating the efforts of a squadron of other spacecraft. It incorporates a large–scale holographic display of fleet actions, enhanced communications and control electronics, and space for more command staff. A spacecraft command bridge takes up 80 tons, but gives a +1 DM to Tactics (naval tactics) checks. A command bridge costs 50% more than a conventional bridge of the same size. Capital ship command bridges take up 80 tons per section of ship and located in a single location (which may be separate from the main bridge).
Compact Bridge: A compact bridge crams as much equipment and control stations into as small a place as possible. Compact bridges take up 25% less tonnage than a normal bridge of the same type. However, all skill checks performed on the bridge suffer a –1 DM due to the un–ergonomic design.
Detachable Bridge: This bridge design can be ejected from the ship in an emergency to become a lifeboat for the command crew. The bridge has two weeks of life support and battery power, while emergency thrusters give it basic manoeuvring capabilities. A detachable bridge is even capable of soft–landing on a planetary surface. Detachable bridges may not be fitted to ships of more than 6,000 tons. See the table below for details of the various types of this bridge.
| Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 | Type 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship size | 200 tons or less | 201–1,000 tons | 1,001–2,000 tons | More than 2,000 tons |
| Tonnage | 15 | 30 | 50 | 80 |
| Cost per ton of ship | MCr 0.8 | MCr 0.8 | MCr 0.8 | MCr 0.8 |
| Hull | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Structure | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Thrust | 0.1g | 0.1g | 0.1g | 0.1g |
Hardened Bridge: A hardened bridge is shielded against radiation attacks. The ship’s computer systems are immune to EMP and the number of rads absorbed by the bridge crew is reduced by 1,000. Hardening a bridge adds 25% to the cost of the bridge. If a ship has radiation shielding installed, it is assumed to be hardened.
Holographic Controls: This bridge design incorporates advanced interactive holographic displays, reconfiguring itself to adapt to the current situation. A bridge with holographic controls is always optimised, and gives a +2 bonus when rolling for Initiative. A holographic bridge adds 25% to the cost of the bridge.
Sensors (top)
Survey Sensors: Survey sensors integrate a suite of probe drones and deployable satellites into the sensor system, and are optimised for scanning large areas at great speed. Survey sensors are equivalent to Advanced Sensors, but reduce the time taken to scan a planetary surface by one step.
Countermeasures Suite: A countermeasures suite is specifically designed for jamming enemy transmissions. It is functionally equivalent to an advanced sensor suite, but has a higher DM for counter–measures. Meson transmissions cannot be jammed. The DM for these sensors is +4.
Military Countermeasures Suite: The military counter–measures suite is the cutting edge of counter–measure technology in the Imperium, incorporating both powerful transmitters and advanced electronic–warfare programs to shut down enemy communications. The DM for these sensors is +6.
Sensor Upgrades
Improved Signal Processing: (TL 11, 1 ton , MCr 4) Improved signal processing provides a +2 DM to sensor tasks and improves of range band of “full” and “limited” by 1 for radar, lidar, densitometer, thermal and visual sensors. However, this comes at a cost of increased vulnerability to jamming, with all jamming DMs doubled.
Enhanced Signal Processing: (TL 13, 2 tons, MCr 8) As for Improved Signal processing except that it has a +4 DM, the range band increase is two and the susceptibility to jamming has been overcome.
Distributed Arrays: (TL 11, triples weight and cost of sensor suite and associated signal processing). By using multiple hull mounted arrays in an integrated computer controlled arrangement, it is possible to increase the effective sensor antenna size and increase the longest range of the sensor (all increased range performance is at “minimal” level of detail). Visual and Thermal sensors can now detect at Very Distant Range (from 150,000 to 300,000km), EM and active radar/lidar to Distant range (50,000–150,000km) and passive radar/lidar to Long range. This modification can not be added to standard sensors and can only be added to ships of 5,000 tons displacement or more. Due to their surface area requirements only one sensor suite per craft can be fitted with distributed or extended arrays.
Extended Arrays: As per the distributed array, but as the arrays are extended well beyond the hull of the ship on retractable arms, there is no limit on the size of the ship. However, with the arms extended the ship can be detected at a +2 DM by all sensors bar NAS and it may not use its manoeuvre or jump drive.
External Components (top)
Aerofins: Extendible aerofins improve a spacecraft’s manoeuvrability in atmosphere only, giving a +2 DM to all Piloting checks made in an atmosphere. Aerofins take up 5% of the ship’s tonnage, and cost MCr0.1 per ton. The DMs for atmospheric operations (see page 137 core rulebook) still apply.
Breaching Tube: All airlocks include flexible plastic docking tubes that allow passengers to cross from one ship to another by floating through the air–filled tube. A breaching tube is a military version of the common docking tube. Instead of a thin myomer, the breaching tube is made of a combination of ballistic cloth and reflec. The breaching tube does not end in a docking collar, but in a magnetic clamp with a ring of plasma torches that can burn through the hull of an enemy vessel when attached.
A breaching tube takes up three tons of space and costs MCr 3.
To use the breaching tube the craft must be adjacent to the target vessel and then succeed in a docking action (see Core Rule book page 147). As the vessel does not have to line up with an airlock, this manoeuvre is easier than using a normal docking tube and receives a +1 DM if the boarding vessel does not want to enter via the airlock.
If access is acquired via an airlock the plasma torches quickly burn through the airlock and boarding can begin immediately. If trying to get through the hull, the plasma torches will take 1 full turn to cut through, increasing by 1 turn for each 2 points of armour (round down).
Each breaching tube provides 5 armour against personal and vehicle weapons and 10 armour against lasers. A hit from a starship weapon will destroy the breaching tube if a successful Point Defence roll is made (see core rulebook p149).
Docking Clamp: A docking clamp allows a spacecraft to carry a small craft or other vessel on the outside of the hull. Recalculate the ship’s Thrust Number by adding the tonnage of the spacecraft and the docked craft together, round up to the nearest hull size, then compare that to the thrust by drive volume table. If performance is reduced to the point that it has no rating, then treat the ship as if it has the equivalent of a solar sail. Jump performance is reduced in a similar manner, but reductions below 1 mean the drive cannot function.
The size of the vessel that can be clamped depends on the size of the docking clamp.
| Clamp Tonnage | Attached Ship Maximum | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10–30 | MCr 0.5 |
| 5 | 40–90 | MCr 1.0 |
| 10 | 100–300 | MCr 2.0 |
| 20 | 400–2,000 | MCr 4.0 |
| 50 | 2,000+ | MCr 8.0 |
Grappling Arm: A grappling arm is a remote–control device for picking up or manipulating objects in space. The arm is a flexible tentacle of thousands of telescoping segments, capable of reaching out up to 250 metres. The arm ends in a set of cameras and grippers of varying sizes, from large claws to tiny micro–manipulators. It also carries a toolkit which can be customised for a particular task.
A grappling arm takes up two tons of space and costs MCr 1.
Internal Components (top)
Armoury: Ships carrying a large number of marines or soldiers can benefit from an armoury, a specialised weapons store. An armoury can only be accessed by those with the correct codes (usually the ship’s senior officers and security team) and contains a wide variety of weapons. In game terms, an armoury has enough snub pistols for the crew, enough accelerator or gauss rifles for any marines, and a selection of other military equipment like grenades, combat drug packs, combat armour and communications equipment. A general armoury for a spacecraft costs MCr 0.5 and takes up two 2 tons of space.
Where military vessels are concerned, the number of armouries built into the ship’s design is based on crew size. One armoury is installed for either every 50 crew members, or every 10 marines, in order to provide adequate storage for equipment, weapons and ammunition.
Briefing Room: A specialised briefing room is useful on mercenary cruisers and other adventuring ships, where teams can discuss plans or meet with clients privately. A briefing room gives a +1 DM to Tactics (military tactics) checks made when planning missions on board ship. Ships with command bridges and fighter squadrons require additional briefing rooms and facilities. Capital ships must therefore have one briefing room per ship section, and one briefing room for every 20 fighter or bomber crew.
Hangar: Normally, when a small craft is included in the design of a larger one, it is installed into a form–fitting enclosure in the hull of the mother vessel. The scout’s air/raft, for example, is carried in a small compartment in the forward section, with barely enough room for passengers to scramble on board. Most repairs and maintenance require the air/raft to be launched first.
Adding a full–scale hangar allows for repairs and maintenance of the small craft when they are back on the ship. The hangar includes spare parts and specialised testing and repair equipment for the stored craft.
A hangar requires 30% of the space allocated to the small craft, and costs MCr 0.2/ton.
Launch tubes: Launching and recovering small craft from a larger vessel is usually an activity taking 30 minutes to launch or recovery one craft. Launch tubes allow small craft to be launched and recovered rapidly from a ship. The size of a launch tube is twenty–five times the tonnage of the largest craft that will be deployed in this manner, and they cost MCr 0.5/ton. With a launch tube, up to ten small craft can be launched per round. Multiple launch tubes can be installed.
Laboratory: Space allocated to laboratories can be used for research and experimentation. Each four tons of lab space allows for one scientist to perform research on board ship. The cost for research equipment varies depending on the type of research undertaken, but is generally around MCr 1.0 per 4 tons.
Library: A library room contains computer files as well as lecterns, display screens, holotanks and even hard copies of books. A good library is useful for both research and passing time in jump space. Having a library on board a ship gives one extra week of training time for new skills per week spent in jump space.
Vault: A vault is a special armoured chamber in the heart of a spacecraft, designed to survive attacks that would annihilate the rest of the ship. A vault has another four Hull and Structure points that only come into play when the ship housing the vault is destroyed. A vault can contain cargo, staterooms or any other internal components equivalent up to 6 tons.
| Component | Type | TL | Tonnage | Cost (MCr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | ||||
| Drop Tank Mount | External | 9 | 2/50 tons of fuel | 1/50 tons of fuel |
| Drop Tank | Fuel Tank | 9 | – | 0.1/50 tons of fuel |
| Metal Hydride Storage | Internal | 9 | Varies | 0.2/ton |
| Bridge | ||||
| Command | Internal | 12 | 80 | 50% more than standard bridge |
| Compact | Internal | 8 | Varies | 10% more than standard bridge |
| Detachable | Internal | 10 | 15 30 50 80 | 0.8/ton of ship |
| Hardened | Internal | 12 | Varies | 25% more than standard bridge |
| Holographic | Internal | Varies | 25% more than standard bridge | |
| Sensors | ||||
| Survey | Internal | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| Counter–Measure | Internal | 13 | 7 | 6 |
| Military Countermeasure | Internal | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| External | ||||
| Aerofins | External | 8 | 5% of ship | 0.01/ton |
| Breaching Tube | External | 10 | 3 tons | 3 |
| Docking Clamp | External | 8 | Varies | Varies |
| Grappling Arm | External | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Solar Panels | External | 8 | 10% of power plant | 0.1/ton |
| Internal | ||||
| Armoury | Internal | 10 | 2 | 0.5 |
| Briefing room | Internal | 8 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Hangar | Internal | 8 | Varies | 0.2/ton |
| Laboratory | Internal | 12 | 4 | 1 |
| Library | Internal | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Vault | Internal | 14 | 12 | 6 |
Weapons (top)
Changes to Core Rule Book
- Pulse lasers inflict 2d6 damage and have a –2DM to hit and beam lasers inflict 1d6 damage. Beam lasers become available at TL9.
- Missiles are capable of thrust 10, with the turns to impact on page 147 halved (rounded up). However, missiles have limited endurance of 60 minutes (10 turns) before they run out of fuel.
- Sandcaster munitions can be constructed with at TL5 allowing low tech worlds to supply some of a navy’s munitions.
- Meson screens reduce radiation damage from meson guns and meson flicker weapons. Radiation hits from these weapons suffer a –DM equal to twice the active number of screens.
- No launcher includes ammunition in its purchase cost. Missiles, torpedoes and so forth must be purchased separately.
Advanced Rules for Weapon Bays on Non–Capital Ships
- Standard spacecraft and small craft can always carry one bay but the maximum number is limited by displacement/1000, multiplied by the power plant rating number (rounded down, but with a minimum of one).
- Meson bays can only be fitted in ships with power plant rating of 5+. Fusion and particle bays can only be fitted in ships with a power plant rating of 3+. There are no limits on the fitting of non–energy weapons, lasers and railguns. If the power plant rating is 3 or 4 a maximum of 50% of turret weapons can be particle beams. If the power plant rating is 1 or 2, a maximum of 25% of turret weapons can be particle beams.
New Weapon Mounts
Barbettes: Barbettes are a weapon mount half–way between turrets and bays. A barbette takes up a turret hardpoint, and uses the Gunner (turrets) skill, but also takes up space inside the ship, as the larger weapons mounted in a barbette need room for capacitors, targeting mechanisms, ammo feeds and other components.
Large Bay: Large bays are hundred–ton bay weapons, used only on larger warships. They cost twice as much a 50 ton bay. The characteristics of large bays for the bays in the core rule book are as follows:
| Weapon | TL | Range | Damage | Cost (MCr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missile | 6 | Special | Flight of 24 missiles | 24 |
| Particle Beam | 8 | Long | 9d6 + crew hit | 40 |
| Fusion Gun | 12 | Medium | 8d6 + crew hit | 16 |
| Meson Gun | 11 | Long | 8d6 + crew hit | 100 |
Missiles
Long Range Missile: Long range missiles have a smaller warhead to allow them to carry larger engines and travel faster. A long–range missile travels as follows:
| Range | Turns to Impact |
|---|---|
| Adjacent | – |
| Close | – |
| Short | 1 |
| Medium | 1 |
| Long | 1 |
| Very Long | 2 |
| Distant | 3 |
A long range missile only deals 1d6–1 damage instead of 1d6. It travels at thrust 15 and has an endurance of 7 turns.
Multi–warhead Missile: Multi–warhead missiles carry a payload of several warheads. The downside is that the larger payload slows the missile, so it takes longer to reach its target.
| Range | Turns to Impact |
|---|---|
| Adjacent | – |
| Close | – |
| Short | 1 |
| Medium | 1 |
| Long | 2 |
| Very Long | 3 |
| Distant | 6 |
A multi–warhead missile that hits its target deals 1d6 damage 1d6 times. It travels at thrust 8 and has an endurance of 10 turns.
Missile Types:
Shockwave Missile: These missiles carry a special magnetic–pulse warhead. The blast is harmless to spacecraft, but it scatters and polarises sand clouds, making them useless. A ship struck by a shockwave missile cannot use sand for the rest of this turn.
Ortillery Missile: Ortillery missiles are specially designed for planetary bombardment. They are too slow to be used as anti–ship weapons except at Close or Adjacent range.
| Missile Type | TL | Cost per 12 missiles (Cr.) |
|---|---|---|
| Shockwave | 7 | 35,000 |
| Ortillery | 7 | 25,000 |
Torpedo Weapons
Torpedo Barbette: Torpedoes are heavy anti–ship missiles (and some navies often refer to them as heavy missiles). Each torpedo carries tremendous destructive force. They can be defended against using standard anti–missile countermeasures. A torpedo barbette fires one torpedo per round, using the normal rules. A torpedo barbette can fit no other weapon. A torpedo barbette costs MCr 4, taking up five tons of space and does not include any ammunition
Torpedo Bay: The 50 ton version fires three torpedoes at a time. Otherwise this weapon performs as a normal torpedo launcher. The 100 ton torpedo bay fires six torpedoes at a time.
Torpedo Types:
Each torpedo takes up two and half tons of space. They are normally purchased in two–shot loads of five tons each. A barbette holds two torpedoes.
Basic: The basic torpedo consists of a small but powerful engine, guidance computers, and a fragmentation device for kinetic–kill attacks. It deals 4d6 damage on a successful hit.
Nuclear: Nuclear torpedoes deal 6d6 damage, as well as an automatic radiation crew hit.
Bomb–Pumped Laser: A bomb–pumped laser torpedo is a one–shot laser weapon. The torpedo contains a small nuclear device that is detonated prior to impact to charge a laser. The explosion destroys the torpedo, but also generates a powerful x–ray laser burst. The bomb–pumped laser is a normal laser attack, but deals 6d6 damage. The basic roll to hit is as a missile, but is defended against as a laser. Point defence can be used, but suffers a –2DM due to the fact the bomb–pumped laser can be used in a stand–off role.
Ortillery: Heavy ortillery torpedoes are used for bombing fortified positions. They deal 8d6 damage, but are much too slow to be effective in space combat. They move at the same speed as a multi–warhead missile. Attacks made with an Ortillery Torpedo have a –2DM to hit, and Point Defence attacks against the torpedo have a +2DM.
| Torpedo Type | TL | Damage | Cost per torpedo (Cr.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 7 | 4d6 | 5,000 |
| Nuclear | 7 | 6d6 | 15,000 |
| Bomb-Pumped | 9 | 6d6 | 18,000 |
| Ortillery | 8 | 8d6 | 12,000 |
Railguns
Railguns can only be used at Short range or less.
Railgun Barbette: A barbette railgun takes up five tons of space, includes space for 20 shots of ammunition and deals 3d6 damage on a successful attack. Each ton of railgun ammo contains twenty shots and costs Cr 1,000.
Railgun Bay: A 50 ton railgun bay consists of multiple linked railguns. It always fires in full auto mode, has Autofire 8 and includes space for 200 shots of ammuntion. The railgun bay deals 3d6 damage on each successful hit. The 100 ton version of the railgun bay is as the 50 ton bay version except it has Autofire 12 and includes space for 400 shots of ammunition.
Ortillery Railgun: This variation on the standard 50 ton railgun bay is also known as a mass driver. It fires larger projectiles at slower speeds that are optimised for smashing planetary targets. The bay includes space for 10 shots of ammunition. A single hit from an ortillery railgun is like a tactical nuclear strike, but attacks against mobile ground targets with an ortillery railgun suffer a –4 DM. Each ton of ortillery railgun contains two shots.
Particle Weapons
Particle Beam Barbette: A particle beam barbette works just like a smaller particle beam turret, but inflicts 4d6 damage instead. It takes up five tons of space.
Meson Weapons
Meson Flicker: A meson flicker 50 and 100 ton bay weapons work like a meson gun, but fires multiple pulses instead of a single meson blast. The meson flicker’s weaker pulses do no structural damage but inflict considerable radiation hits to the crew.
Point Defence
Sandcaster launchers are remarkably flexible weapons, capable of carrying different payloads. All sandcaster ammo is stored in standard drums.
Chaff: Sandcaster chaff disrupts sensors and communications within the chaff cloud. All Comms, Sensors, Remote Operations or missile attack rolls within a chaff cloud suffer a –1 DM. Chaff clouds can be fired at any target within Close range. They do not provide protection against laser fire.
Pebbles: Pebble canisters are designed as basic offensive rounds for a sandcaster. Pebble round canisters allow the sandcaster to deal 1d3 damage instead of one damage when used as an attack. They do not provide protection against laser fire.
Sandcutter: Sandcutter rounds fire a hail of electromagnets into the midst of an enemy sand cloud. These magnets cause the sand to coagulate, reducing the effective protection. A successful use of a sandcutter shot halves the protection offered by a sand cloud. Sandcutters are usually fired in concert with a beam attack. They do not provide protection against laser fire.
Sandcasters are as effective as lasers as long as the missile it is defending against is fired from at least medium range.
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Mount | TL | Tonnage | Cost (MCr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Missile Barbette | By missile | Special | Barbette | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| Heavy Missile Bay | By missile | Special | Bay | 9 | 50 | 12 |
| Heavy Missile Bay | By missile | Special | Bay | 9 | 100 | 24 |
| Railgun Barbette | 3d6 | Short | Barbette | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| Railgun Bay | 3d6 x 4 | Short | Bay | 9 | 50 | 30 |
| Large Railgun Bay | 3d6 x 6 | Short | Bay | 9 | 100 | 60 |
| Ortillery Railgun | 8d6 | Short | Bay | 9 | 50 | 30 |
| Large Ortillery Railgun | 12d6 | Short | Bay | 9 | 100 | 60 |
| Particle Barbette | 4d6 | Long | Barbette | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| Meson Flicker | 1d6+2 crew hits | Long | Bay | 13 | 50 | 80 |
| Large Meson Flicker | 2d6 +1 crew hits | Long | Bay | 13 | 100 | 160 |
Screens
The number of active screens a spacecraft can support is limited to the power plant divided by 2, rounded up. Small craft can not carry screens. Screens onboard a ship are divided into groups during the design process. The largest group is the primary and another other groups are back ups. The number of screen in each group is limited as above. Screens in each group combine their effect to give multiple dice rolls.
Black Globe Generator
Any ship using a Black Globe generator cannot manoeuvre, dodge, jump or use weapons or sensors whilst the globe is active. All energy levelled at a Black Globe using vessel is absorbed, irrespective of its type.
Black Globe generators are only available at TL15 and are currently not commercially available. Black Globe generators require 50 tons and when available cost MCr 100.
As a ship using a Black Globe is unable to move or even see out, the device has considerable limitations. These are offset by the capability to flicker the Globe (switching the field off and on hundreds of times per second) thereby giving the ship intermittent protection whilst allowing manoeuvring, sensor use, and so forth to take place in the periods when the globe is switched off. The maximum flicker rating is determined by its screen rating in accordance with the following table.
| Active Black Globe generators | Maximum Flicker Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10% |
| 2 | 30% |
| 3 | 40% |
| 4 | 60% |
| 5 | 70% |
| 6 | 90% |
Each 10% of flicker acts as 2 points of armour against all weapons (including meson weapons). It is important to note that this affects both inbound and outbound fire.
A ship’s ability to use its manoeuvre drive is also affected by the use of the black globe. Reduce the maximum thrust available by the flicker rating (round to nearest whole number, with 0.5 rounded down). For example a ship has a maximum thrust of 4. It is operating a black globe at a flicker rate of 20%. Maximum thrust is reduced by 4 x 0.2 = 0.8, rounded to 1. Maximum thrust is now 3.
As the energy striking the Black Globe is channelled to the ship’s capacitors, the ship must have sufficient capacitor capacity to absorb the incoming energy if it is to avoid overloading its systems and exploding catastrophically. Vessels equipped with jump, teleport and hyperspace drives have a considerable built in capacitor capability. Additional capacitors can be fitted, particularly for those ships without these drive systems. A suitable drive system will have 20% of its size consisting of capacitors. Additional capacitors can be added at a cost of MCr3 per ton.
Each ton of capacitor will absorb 36 points of energy.
When the Globe is in flicker mode, a proportion of the energy equal to the flicker rate is absorbed and channelled to the capacitors. If the Globe is fully switched on, all the energy is absorbed and channelled to the capacitors. In capital ship barrage combat the amount of energy transferred to the Globe is based on the damage inflicted before the effect of the equivalent armour is taken into account. The amount of energy a particular weapon transfers depends on its type and is detailed in the table below.
| Weapon Type | Energy Value |
|---|---|
| Laser | 1 per weapon |
| Particle Beam Turret | 2 per weapon |
| Particle Beam Barbette | 4 per weapon |
| 50 ton Particle Beam | 15 per bay |
| 100 ton Particle Beam | 30 per bay |
| 50 ton Meson Gun or Flicker Gun | 50 per bay |
| 100 ton Meson Gun or Flicker Gun | 100 per bay |
| Missile or Torpedo | 2 each |
| Nuclear Missile or Torpedo | 50 each |
| Railgun | 4 per weapon |
| 50 ton Railgun | 15 per bay |
| 100 ton Railgun | 30 per bay |
| Spinal Mount | 10 x mount damage |
If a Black Globe absorbs energy and the ship’s capacitors are full, then the ship explodes. It is therefore paramount that energy be discharged regularly to avoid catastrophe. This can be done by channelling the energy into the ship’s own, internal energy requirements. However, the Black Globe must be switched off, and during a combat round the ship can only discharge energy equal to (0.01 x ship tonnage x power plant rating) points of energy, minus 10% for every 10% of flicker rate of the Black Globe screen.
Any ship that has its Black Globe permanently switched on and with zero flicker is effectively rendered invisible. This offers significant opportunities if done outside the range of sensors. However this advantage is very limited under battle conditions: any ship that turns on its Black Globe and suddenly vanishes from sensor view can immediately have its vector plotted accurately. And, because the ship cannot move, the vector prediction will always be correct. All weapons will automatically hit the target and if using the barrage fire rules, a +6 DM (simple) is used by the firing ship.
Capital Ship Barrage attack characteristics
| Weapon | Range | Damage per weapon | Attack Roll DMs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulse Laser | Short | 2 | –2 |
| Beam Laser | Medium | 1 | |
| Turret Particle Beam | Long | 3 + 1 radiation hit | |
| Sandcaster | Close | 1 per 4 sandcasters fired | |
| Pebbles | Close | 1 per 2 pebbles fired | |
| Normal or Smart Missile | Special | 1 per missile | |
| Nuclear Missile | Special | 2 + 1 radiation hit per missile | |
| Long Range Missile | Special | 1 per missile | –1 |
| Multi–Warhead Missile | Special | 1d6 per missile | |
| Shockwave Missile | Special | Negate use of sandcasters if at least 5% damage inflicted | |
| Ortillery Missile | Adjacent | As normal missiles | |
| 50 ton Missile Bay | 12 missiles | ||
| 100 ton Missile Bay | 24 missiles | ||
| 50 ton Particle Beam | Long | 6 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 100 ton Particle Beam | Long | 9 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 50 ton Fusion Gun | Medium | 5 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 100 ton Fusion Gun | Medium | 8 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 50 ton Meson Gun | Long | 5 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 100 ton Meson Gun | Long | 8 + 1 radiation hit | |
| Torpedo | Special | 4 per torpedo | |
| Nuclear Torpedo | Special | 6 + 1 radiation hit per torpedo | |
| Bomb Pumped Laser Torpedo | Special | 6 per torpedo | |
| Ortillery Torpedo | Special | 8 per torpedo | –2, additional +1 for point defences |
| 50 ton Torpedo Bay | 3 torpedoes | ||
| 100 ton Torpedo Bay | 6 torpedoes | ||
| Railgun | Short | 3 | |
| 50 ton Railgun Bay | Short | 12 | |
| 100 ton Railgun Bay | Short | 18 | |
| Particle Beam Barbette | Long | 4 + 1 radiation hit | |
| 50 ton Meson Flicker | Long | 1d6 + 2 radiation hits | |
| 100 ton Meson Flicker | Long | 2d6+1 radiation hits |
Primitive & Advanced Spacecraft (top)
There is a 5% price discount per TL for older technology devices if bought new at the source, to a maximum of –30%. Characters can buy second–hand outdated technology for a fraction of the price (10% to 75%, depending on condition and usability).
Hulls
Low Technology Hulls are not as space–worthy as standard hulls, and use lower–grade material. They have lower Hull and Structure values.
High Technology Hulls are constructed using new materials according to the most advanced naval architecture designs, making them stronger.
| TL | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 110% | 125% | 150% | 200% |
| Hull per | 100 | 90 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 50 | 45 | 40 | 35 | 25 |
The Hull Per row determines how many Hull and Structure points a spacecraft will have at that technology level. Normally, a ship has one Hull point and one Structure point per 50 tons. At higher technology levels, a ship can have more Hull and Structure for its tonnage.
Drives
The standard TL for drives is given in the Drive TL table.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manoeuvre | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Jump | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| TL –1 | TL +0 | TL +1 | TL +2 | TL+3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnage | 200% | 100% | 95% | 90% | 75% |
| Cost | 150% | 100% | 110% | 125% | 200% |
Power Plants
| TL 8–10 | TL 11–14 | TL 15+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnage | 125% | 100% | 75% |
| Cost | 100% | 100% | 200% |
Armaments & Screens
| TL –1 | TL +0 | TL +1 | TL +2 | TL+3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnage | 200% | 100% | 90% | 75% | 60% |
| Cost | 150% | 100% | 110% | 125% | 200% |
| Pulse Laser | 7 | Missile | 6 |
| Beam Laser | 9 | Nuclear Missile | 6 |
| Particle Beam | 8 | Smart Missile | 8 |
| Fusion Gun | 12 | Torpedo | 9 |
| Meson Gun | 11 | Railgun | 9 |
| Nuclear Damper | 12 | Meson Flicker | 13 |
| Meson Screen | 12 |
Instead of decreasing the tonnage of the weapon or screen, it is possible to select upgrades for a higher–technology weapon or screen. One upgrade may be added per extra Tech Level.
Some upgrades are double upgrades, consuming two ‘slots’. An upgrade may only be taken once.
Accurate (Double Upgrade): Accurate weapons have a +1 DM to all attack rolls (not applicable to screens). In capital ship combat, if all the weapons firing in the barrage are accurate, a +1 DM is used on the attack roll.
Easy to Repair: Easy to Repair armaments give a +1 DM to all repair attempts in spacecraft and capital ship combat.
High Yield: When rolling damage for a High Yield weapon or performance of a high yield screen, any ‘1’s rolled on the dice are counted as ‘2’s. For example, a roll of 1, 1, 2 on a High Yield Particle Beam attack would deal 6 damage, as the two ‘1’s become two ‘2’s. In capital ship combat, if all the weapons firing in the barrage have high yield, a +1 DM is used on the attack roll. High yield screens have no effect in capital ship combat
Long Range: The optimum range for the weapon is increased by one band. For example, a Pulse Laser has an Optimum range of Short. A Long Range Pulse Laser has an Optimum range of Medium instead (not applicable to screens)
Resilient (Double Upgrade): The first hit on a Resilient weapon is ignored. This only applies in capital ship combat if all the weapons of that type in that section are resilient.
Variable Range (Double Upgrade): A Variable Range weapon increases its Optimum Range by one band in either direction. For example, a Pulse Laser has an Optimum range of Short. A Variable Range Pulse Laser has an Optimum Range of Close–Medium (not applicable to screens)
Very High Yield (Double Upgrade): When rolling damage for a Very High Yield weapon, any ‘1’s or ‘2’s rolled on the dice are counted as ‘3’s. For example, a roll of 1, 1, 2 on a Very High Yield Particle Beam attack would deal 9 damage, as all the dice are below the threshold and become ‘3’s. In capital ship combat, if all the weapons firing in the barrage have high yield, a +2 DM is used on the attack roll. Very high yield screens have no effect in capital ship combat
Construction Time (top)
The construction times for bespoke and particularly military designs is as follows and is based on their displacement:
The first number is for the first ship of that class built in that yard and the second number is for subsequent ships.
| Size (tons) | Duration (weeks) |
|---|---|
| 50 or less | 24/15 |
| 60 to 80 | 32/19 |
| 90 to 100 | 40/24 |
| 200 to 300 | 48/29 |
| 400 to 500 | 64/38 |
| 600 to 700 | 96/58 |
| 800 to 900 | 112/67 |
| 1,000 to 4,000 | 120/72 |
| 5,000 to 7,500 | 144/86 |
| 10,000 to 15,000 | 160/96 |
| 20,000 to 40,000 | 174/104 |
| 50,000 to 75,000 | 192/115 |
| 100,000 | 208/125 |
| 200,000 to 400,000 | 224/134 |
| 500,000 to 900,000 | 232/139 |
| 1,000,000 | 240/144 |