ZeroSpace 3e EN:Starships
This chapter is a work in progress.
What I'd like here is a sort of mini-game, a game within the game. However, I want it to use the same basic game mechanics as normal character combat. It also needs some method of determining range bands without getting into measuring hexes or needing a battle mat -- in other words, no "facing", and no meter-by-meter (or megameter-by-megameter) movement.
Ideally, I would like it to be simpler than character-on-character combat.
So how do rolls work? Ships have Mass and Maneuverability, but the rolls ought to be made by players, using their character's Combat, Navigation, and Piloting skills.
To maneuver between star systems, a character on a starship makes a Navigation roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Astrogation, against ... what difficulty?
To maneuver within a star system, a character on a starship makes a Navigation roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Orbital Mechanics, against ... what difficulty?
To land, take off, or maneuver in close proximity to other starships or other celestial objects, a character on a starship makes a Piloting roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Spacecraft, against ... what difficulty?
To use a starship's sensors, a character on a starship makes a Navigation roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Sensor Operation, against ... what difficulty?
To maneuver in space combat, a character on a starship makes a Navigation roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Orbital Mechanics, against ... what difficulty?
To attack a target in space, a character on a starship makes a Combat roll, possibly with a bonus granted by expertise in Starship Gunnery (if aboard a starship) or in Star Fighter Combat (if flying a star fighter), against ... what difficulty?
In game terms, starships operate much like characters. Where characters have Brawn, Agility, Perception, and Endurance, starships have Mass, Maneuverability, Sensors, and Durability. Most starships also have armor or energy shields (some starships have both). Some starships have weapons, and a few have exotic equipment like tractor beams.
Time And Distance
Time
Movement
Range Bands
There are five range bands: close, short, medium, long, and remote. Starship weapons have an effective range given in their description. Due to the vast distances involved, attacking more distant targets is usually not possible. If the GM declares that the attack is possible, the attacker incurs an attack penalty (-3).
Range | Typical weapons |
---|---|
Close | Antimatter nebulizer, hellfire projector, arc generator, tractor beam |
Short (10 km) | Fusion beam, point defense laser, nemesis cannon, plasma torpedo |
Medium (50 km) | Fusion cannon, particle cannon, laser array, proton torpedo |
Long (500 km) | Gaussian stunner, hellbore, laser cannon, photon torpedo |
Remote | Planetary defense battery, warp missile |
If you'd prefer to emulate a setting more like Star Trek and less like Star Wars, multiply the weapon ranges by a factor of one thousand. So instead of short, medium and long ranges being 10 km, 50 km, and 500 km, they'd be 10,000 km, 50,000 km, and 500,000 km. (This doesn't actually make any difference in the game.)
Pursuit
Closing (or fleeing) would be an opposed Maneuverability roll. If both ships want to close (or flee), the roll is not opposed: instead it is treated as combined effort on a challenging task (difficulty 3).
On a successful roll, the range between the ships decreases (if closing) or increases (if fleeing) by one range band. On an extreme success, the range increases (or decreases) an additional range band for each 3 that the winning ship rolled over the target number (one range band at 0-2, two range bands at 3-5, etc.).
Roll Succeeded By |
Range Band Change |
---|---|
0-2 | 1 |
3-5 | 2 |
6-8 | 3 |
9-11 | 4 |
Order Of Play
As with personal combat, everything that happens in a round of starship combat is assumed to occur more or less simultaneously, but we make people take turns to keep the game orderly.
The most important factor in determining which starship acts before which is situational awareness. If a starship is not aware of their opponent, then they don't have the opportunity to attack. For example, if a Voyan Purifier is patrolling with its camouflage field active, and it encounters a Zniss deep space scout, there is no need to roll to see who goes first. The Zniss ship is unaware that there is anyone to fight. In the first round of combat, only the Voyan starship has the opportunity to act. Depending on what the Voyan ship does, it's possible that they might be the only ship with an opportunity to act for several rounds. Only after the Zniss become aware of the Voyan starship do they get the opportunity to act. At that point, the order of action in each round is the Voyan ship first, and then the Zniss. If the combatants become aware of their adversaries in a set order, then that is the order in which they act in combat -- at least, until someone changes it.
Normally, starships take their actions in the same order that they have an opportunity to act. However, if the various combatants become aware of each other more or less simultaneously, or if you would prefer to roll dice to see who goes first, the players and the GM should each make a Sensors task roll at the beginning of the scene. Turns proceed each round from the highest roller to lowest.
Emergency Action
Actions
Movement Action
Task Action
Attacking, taking evasive maneuvers, scanning...
Communication Action
Rolling Dice
Action Value
Difficulty Value
Unopposed Tasks
Opposed Tasks
Bonuses And Penalties
Being Disabled
Cover
Ramming
Combining Effort
Extended Tasks
Taking The Average
Taking The Max
Consequences
Success
Extreme Success
Damage And Repair
Unnamed Ships
Special Actions
Evasive Maneuvers
During the ship's turn, or as an emergency action, a ship may use its action to initiate evasive maneuvers. Performing evasive maneuvers reduces all attackers' margin of success by 3. A ship which is using its action to perform evasive maneuvers continues to receive this benefit until it takes its next turn.
A ship may initiate evasive maneuvers after the attacker has determined that the attack will successfully hit: there is no need to evade an attack that misses.
Grappling And Tractor Beams
Special Attack Types
Armor Piercing
If an attack is armor piercing, the defense value (DV) of the defender's armor is reduced by one-half (round in defender's favor).
Shield Penetrating
If an attack is shield penetrating, the defense value (DV) of the defender's energy shields is reduced by one-half (round in defender's favor).
Sensory
Stunning
Spending Plot Points
Armaments And Defenses
Armor
Armor provides protection against most forms of direct damage: anything which inflicts Durability damage. The defense value (DV) of a starship with armor is equal to its Mass + 1, or the defense rating of the armor, whichever is greater. As always, this protection does not stack with energy shields or other forms of defense -- only the highest defense value applies.
Heavier armor restricts a starship's mobility. The effective Maneuverability of a starship with armor may be limited.
Defense Rating |
Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|
1 | 400 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 8 |
2 | 800 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 7 |
3 | 1,600 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 6 |
4 | 2,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 5 |
5 | 4,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 4 |
6 | 8,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Maneuverability rank 3 |
Energy Shields
Energy shields provide protection against most forms of direct damage: anything which inflicts Durability damage. The defense value (DV) of a starship with an energy shield is equal to its Mass + 1, or the defense rating of the energy shield, whichever is greater. As always, this protection does not stack with armor or other forms of defense -- only the highest defense value applies.
Shields which are stronger also generate more electromagnetic interference. The effective Sensors of a starship using an energy shield may be limited.
Defense Rating |
Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|
1 | 1,600 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 8 |
2 | 3,200 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 7 |
3 | 6,400 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 6 |
4 | 8,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 5 |
5 | 16,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 4 |
6 | 32,000 KCr ✕ Mass | Maximum Sensors rank 3 |
Camouflage Fields
Camouflage fields are an unusual defensive system based on the theory that an opponent can't destroy what they can't target.
Camouflage fields do not provide any protection against direct damage. Instead, the defense value (DV) of a starship with a camouflage field makes opposing sensor rolls more difficult, and if the other ship fails to detect the camouflaged ship, they can't target it with weapons.
Camouflage fields and energy shields are mutually incompatible: a starship equipped with both can only use one of them during its turn.
Okay, so how would this work? Maybe to attack during its turn, a starship first has to successfully detect the enemy with sensors? Or maybe this is only a requirement if the other ship is using a camouflage field?
Short Range Weapons
Short range weapons are typically useful up to a distance of 10 kilometers. The attack value (AV) of a starship using a ranged weapon is usually equal to its relevant attack attribute (typically Maneuverability) + 1, or the attack rating of the weapon, whichever is greater.
Type | Attack Rating |
Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Pocket Blaster Pistol | 2 | 300 Cr | |
Target Blaster Pistol | 2 | 450 Cr | attack bonus1 (+3) if attacker does not move |
Blaster Pistol | 3 | 500 Cr | |
Repeating Blaster Pistol | 3 | 2000 Cr | attack bonus1 (+3) (fires multiple rounds at target) |
Stunner | 3 | 350 Cr | Stunning |
Blaster Carbine | 4 | 900 Cr | Two-handed |
Flamethrower | 6 | 350 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) (wide spray), Terrifying5 |
Pacification Grenade | 8 | 250 Cr | Exploding2, Sensory3, Stunning4, single use |
Fragmentation Grenade | 12 | 200 Cr | Exploding2, single use |
Shock Grenade | 12 | 250 Cr | Exploding2, Sensory3, single use |
Incendiary Grenade | 12 | 250 Cr | Exploding2, Terrifying5, single use |
Stun Grenade | 14 | 250 Cr | Exploding2, Stunning4, single use |
Medium Range Weapons
Medium range weapons are typically useful up to a distance of 50 kilometers. The attack value (AV) of a starship using a ranged weapon is usually equal to its relevant attack attribute (typically Maneuverability) + 1, or the attack rating of the weapon, whichever is greater.
Type | Attack Rating |
Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Light Repeating Blaster Rifle | 3 | 2000 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) (fires multiple rounds at target) |
Pain Rifle | 4 | 450 Cr | Two-handed, Stunning4 |
Sporting Blaster Rifle | 4 | 800 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) if attacker does not move |
Repeating Blaster Rifle | 4 | 4000 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) (fires multiple rounds at target) |
Heavy Blaster Rifle | 5 | 1000 Cr | Two-handed |
Heavy Repeating Blaster Rifle | 5 | 6000 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) (fires multiple rounds at target) |
Wrist Rocket | 8 | 350 Cr | Single use |
Pacification Cannon | 8 | 800 Cr | Two-handed, Exploding2, Sensory3, Stunning4 |
Long Range Weapons
Long range weapons are typically useful up to a distance of 500 kilometers. The attack value (AV) of a starship using a ranged weapon is usually equal to its relevant attack attribute (typically Maneuverability) + 1, or the attack rating of the weapon, whichever is greater.
Type | Attack Rating |
Cost | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sniper Blaster Rifle | 5 | 9000 Cr | Two-handed, attack bonus1 (+3) if attacker does not move, Penetrating3 |
Light Blaster Cannon | 10 | 3000 Cr | Two-handed, fires every other round |
Heavy Blaster Cannon | 16 | 4500 Cr | Two-handed, Exploding2, fires every other round |
A Note On Repeating Weapons
Weapons which fire multiple rounds, such as turbolasers and swarm torpedoes, usually grant an attack bonus (+3), and they might or might not do more damage than their single-shot equivalents (AR 4 instead of AR 3, for example), but the attack is only resolved once. Whether the damage from an attack is inflicted by one discrete injury or twelve, it's all just one attack roll. There's no "roll damage three times" mechanic like some game systems have.