ZeroSpace 4e EN:Starships
Starships allow player characters to go from place to place in the galaxy, seeing people, places, and things which are too far away or too dangerous to visit without one. Starships also serve as a mobile base for the player characters, providing a place to store their stuff and relax.
Parts Of A Starship
Amenities
In general, larger (higher Class) starships have better and more varied amenities. A Class 2 or 3 starship has a basic med pod and an "essentials" kitchen fabricator. Class 4 and 5 ships might have a reading lounge, a gym, and even a running track on larger ships. Class 6 and 7 ships may have shops, pubs, and other forms of off-duty entertainment. A Class 10 starship is a city unto itself.
Cruisers typically have a variety of general-use laboratories, while escorts typically have one or two.
Panglossian Era ships were more comfortable than their Restoration Era counterparts, even in the Bha'atar Empire. Most Panglossian Era ships were designed with bulkheads that could be adapted to uncommon biospheres, such as a high-temperature sodium atmosphere or flooded compartments for Cetacean crew members.
Bridge
The bridge is where the pilot controls the ship's movement. It typically has stations for the captain of the ship and a number of staff officers. On smaller starships (Class 3 and below), the bridge is usually called the "cockpit". On medium-size warships, the bridge may also include combat information center (CIC) functions; on larger warships, the combat information center is a separate location.
Engine Room
The engine room provides precise control of the power core and the warp engines, and may allow direct observation of them (behind appropriate safety shielding, of course). Larger starships may have several engine rooms, and the largest ships have dozens.
An engine room is one place on the ship where one can find standard field kits.
Fabricators
Most starships of Class 3 or higher have fabricators. The fabricators on smaller ships are adequate for day to day needs, such as meals and simple shipboard items. Larger starships may have specialized fabricators for the med bay, a more complete meal library, and engineering fabricators for most replacement parts. The largest starships have a complete suite of industrial fabricators, and are capable of creating parts to build entire starships. If such a starship also has an exotic particle synthesizer, it can potentially construct power cores and warp engines.
Grav Plates
The perception of gravity on starships is provided by grav plates. Grav plates operate on the same electrogravitic principles as the thrusters used when a ship is near a planetary surface. Grav plates are mechanically simple and generally quite reliable: if a starship's grav plates have failed, something has gone terribly wrong.
Hangar
Starships of Class 4 or higher typically have a single hangar, while a starship of the "Carrier" type has a number of hangars equal to its Class. Each hangar can accommodate a single starship two Classes smaller than the main ship (typically a "squadron" -- see Squadrons, below).
A starship of the "Flight Deck" subtype (also called the "Strike Wing" subtype) has an additional hangar.
Hold
All starships have at least one hold. The dimensions of the hold may vary considerably, from the size of a lunchbox to that of a small moon. The hold might have gravity plating and a breathable atmosphere, depending on its intended use, but it is not designed for habitation.
Medical Bay
Every starship has a medical facility, although the size and sophistication of the facility varies a great deal. On smaller ships, a medical pod or "autodoc" can heal most injuries, or keep the patient alive until more advanced treatment may be found. Larger starships may have multiple, specialized medical pods, along with more advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment. The largest starships have full hospital facilities.
A medical bay is one place on the ship where one can find standard field kits.
Passageways
On Restoration Era starships, passageways are usually considered wasted space, and are made no larger than necessary: rarely wider than three meters.
On Panglossian Era starships, particularly Old Commonwealth starships, passageways were much larger. Class 3 Old Commonwealth starships had passageways two meters wide, while Class 5 and larger starships had passageways at least six meters wide and four meters tall.
Starships also have smaller access corridors used for maintenance. Such corridors are typically just wide enough to crawl through on Restoration Era starships, but are large enough for two adjacent engineers to work comfortably on Panglossian Era starships.
Power Core
Starships generally use hybrid fusion-singularity reactors. The fusion furnace, the singularity containment system, and all associated components are referred to as the ship's "power core".
Power cores are "fired up" or "brought online" to make them ready for use, and "shut down" or "taken offline" to render them inert. Bringing a power core online typically takes 6 hours, or 2 hours if the power core has been in use within the last 24 hours. Taking a power core offline takes less than a second, but there are numerous safety checks which follow, taking around an hour.
Screens
"Screen" is a catch-all term for the ubiquitous audiovisual displays aboard a starship. Holograms can be "brought up" or "shut off" with a gesture, or higher-resolution images can be displayed on physical monitors. The display is often augmented to provide additional data: sounds may be added to represent the activity of an object on the screen, such as the firing of weapons or the explosion of an engine; weapons such as particle beams, which are invisible to the naked eye in a vacuum, are spectrum-shifted to be visible; and so on.
Sensors
Sensor range in ZeroSpace is approximate.
- "Short range" is also known as "weapons range" -- the maximum distance at which starship weapons are accurate. The surface of a planet is well within the weapons range of a ship in orbit.
- "Medium range" is standard sensor range -- the maximum distance at which navigational hazards and other starships are visible to standard sensors. A standard sensor can scan a star system from anywhere within its outermost orbit.
- "Long range" is beyond the sensor range of most starships -- a long range sensor can scan a star system from up to a parsec away.
General scans can be performed in under a minute, but comprehensive scans can take hours or even days, depending on the subject being scanned.
Detailed, comprehensive scans are only possible at short range, but medium and long range sensors are more than adequate for targeting and general scans.
Thrusters
A starship's conventional engines, used for moving the ship through relatively normal space, are referred to as "thrusters". Electrogravitic thrusters are typically used when within a kilometer of a planetary surface or other inhabited area, with fusion thrusters engaged once the ship leaves this safety region. A typical starship can lift off from a planet and clear the atmosphere in a few minutes.
Warp Engines
Warp engines create a microscopically-thin Lorentzian manifold of spacetime around a starship -- typically called a "warp bubble". This allows the ship to remain relatively motionless while also achieving velocities which are relatively relativistic.
Warp engines are "fired up" or "brought online" to make them ready for use, and "shut down" or "taken offline" to render them inert. Bringing a starship's warp engines online typically takes 6 hours, or 2 hours if the warp engines have been in use within the last 24 hours. Taking the warp engines offline takes less than a second, but there are numerous safety checks which follow, taking around an hour.
Once the warp engines are brought online, a destination may be selected and the anticipated arrival time calculated. Activating the warp engines requires a standard action (see Crew Tasks) and a one-minute warmup period (ten rounds). The warmup period may be cancelled, but it may not be paused. After one minute, the warp engines engage the Lorentzian manifold generator and the ship departs for its selected destination. While the warp engines are engaged, the starship is unable to communicate with the universe outside of the warp bubble.
The warp engines are typically disengaged at a pre-set arrival time, which nearly always puts the ship where the pilot expected. However, the warp engines may be disengaged manually, placing the ship into relatively normal space somewhere between the ship's origin and its selected destination. Long trips are typically broken up into a series of shorter trips, less than two weeks in length.
Windows
What a crew member sees in a window may be augmented with distinct sounds or overlaid visuals, similar to a screen. Sophistication of the display and any audio accompaniment varies by starship and manufacturer. Most starships have a "privacy" mode, which looks the same from the inside, but looks like a glowing white haze from the outside. A starship's windows automatically compensate for the luminosity of what is outside the window.
Starship Class
The categorization and nomenclature of starships is a field rife with inconsistency. The Old Commonwealth had hundreds of starship classes, and the New Commonwealth is on its way to matching that achievement. In contrast, the Bha'atar have only two main classes of ship: warships and support ships.
This is not a system of nomenclature that lends itself easily to direct comparisons, so the game system will refer to the starship classifications below.
| Starship Class | Typical Crew | Length (m) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Min | From | To | ||
| 1 | Small Craft (Bomber, Fighter, Interceptor) | 7 | 2 | 15 | 50 |
| 2 | Littoral Vessel (Customs, Police, System Defense) | 7 | 2 | 20 | 90 |
| 3 | Corvette (Courier, Patrol Ship, Scout) | 28 | 8 | 30 | 120 |
| 4 | Light Escort (Frigate) | 56 | 16 | 80 | 140 |
| 4 | Light Cruiser | 112 | 32 | 120 | 200 |
| 5 | Heavy Escort (Destroyer) | 168 | 48 | 100 | 200 |
| 5 | Heavy Cruiser | 336 | 96 | 150 | 300 |
| 6 | Battle Escort (Battleship) | 224 | 64 | 120 | 270 |
| 6 | Battlecruiser | 448 | 128 | 180 | 400 |
| 7 | Titan | 3,500 | 1,000 | 300 | 500 |
| 8 | Leviathan | 35,000 | 10,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 |
| 9 | Star Fortress | 350,000 | 100,000 | 140,000 | 160,000 |
| 10 | Mega Star Fortress | 1,750,000 | 500,000 | 250,000 | 750,000 |
Subclass X: Experimental
An experimental starship (indicated with an "X" after its Class) may have one more console than its Class number indicates. For example, a Class 3X corvette could have four consoles installed.
Starship Class And Crew
On very small starships, a single crew member may be responsible for some or all of the ship's systems. In a fighter, for example, the pilot, the gunner, and the engineer could all be the same person. On larger starships, these responsibilities are usually distributed among specialists: the starship may have several pilots, gunners, and engineers, as well as dedicated navigators, scientists, sensor operators, and medical professionals.
"Minimum crew" refers to the number of crew required to operate a Restoration Era starship at full effectiveness for one shift. "Full crew" can vary considerably. The number of full crew given above is for a New Commonwealth (Restoration Era) starship, where the crew complement is generally three and a half times the minimum crew: sufficient for three shifts and an occasional off-duty day for each crew member. Bha'atar starships have the same number of minimum crew, but operate two shifts continuously without any off-duty days. A typical Bha'atar destroyer has 96 crew members (double the minimum crew for a destroyer). However, Bha'atar tours of duty are typically shorter than those in the New Commonwealth.
Old Commonwealth Crew Sizes
Old Commonwealth (Panglossian Era) starships could operate with less than one-quarter the crew of a comparable New Commonwealth starship, thanks to extensive automation and the ship's AI, or "geist". Old Commonwealth starships Class 4 and larger normally carried six times the minimum amount of crew; Old Commonwealth crews worked fewer, shorter shifts than New Commonwealth crews are expected to work. A typical Old Commonwealth heavy cruiser had a minimum crew of 24 and a full crew complement of 144, compared to 96 and 336 for a New Commonwealth heavy cruiser. Despite the smaller crews, Old Commonwealth starships were as large if not larger than equivalent New Commonwealth starships, and their interiors were cavernous by comparison.
Starship Attributes
A starship's attributes are ranked from 1 (the smallest ships) to 10 (the largest ships), and can't be reduced below zero or above 10. A starship has one core attribute, its Class, and six secondary attributes, its Consoles, Engines, Shields, Weapons, Armor, and Hull. A starship's Class determines the starting value of its other attributes, the size of its crew, and so on.
| Attribute | Starting Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Consoles | Class | The maximum number of consoles a ship may have equipped. The highest level console a ship may equip. |
| Engines | Class | Determines the ship's travel time. How many Engineering rolls per round the crew may attempt. |
| Shields | Class | Reduces the points of damage the ship takes from an attack. |
| Weapons | Class | How many points of damage the ship may deal (+1d6). How many Ranged Combat rolls per round the crew may attempt. |
| Armor | Class, max 5 | Reduces the points of damage the ship takes from an attack. |
| Hull | Class x 10 | How many points of damage the ship may take. |
Each attribute can be modified in a number of ways, from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 10. Here are some examples of modifying a starship's Consoles (there will be a full list further down):
- The Experimental subclass (X) increases Consoles by 1.
- The Escort starship type reduces Consoles by 1.
- A Zniss-manufactured starship increases Consoles by 1.
- A Bha'atar-manufactured starship reduces Consoles by 1.
Consoles
The Consoles attribute dictates the maximum number of consoles a starship may have equipped. Consoles provide additional capabilities to the ship (see Starship Consoles, below). The highest level console a starship may equip is equal to its Consoles.
Engines
The Engines attribute reflects the capacity of a starship's power core and the maximum strength of its electrogravitic thrusters, fusion thrusters, and warp engines. The number of Engineering rolls the crew may attempt in a round is equal to the ship's Engines attribute. If the ship's Engines is reduced to zero, the ship can't move, and the crew may not attempt Engineering rolls every round.
Shields
Energy shields protect the starship against hazards such as exploding stars and attacks from other ships. The ship's Shields are added to its Armor, and this amount is subtracted from the points of damage an attacker deals. The ship takes the remaining points of damage.
Energy shields lose effectiveness as they withstand attacks. The shields grant their full protection against the first successful attack in a scene. The second attack in a scene, the shields grant one less than their full protection. This continues until the protection granted by the shields is reduced to zero. The shields will be restored to full effectiveness after the fight is over, when the shield coils have had a chance to recharge.
The starship's engineering team may also attempt to restore the shields during combat (see Repairing The Starship, below).
Weapons
The Weapons attribute reflects the accuracy and power of a starship's weaponry. The number of Ranged Combat rolls the crew may attempt in a round is equal to the ship's Weapons attribute. The ship may be able to make additional attacks provided by its consoles, but those are handled separately (see [ZeroSpace_4e_EN:Starships#Starship_Consoles|Starship Consoles]], below). If the ship's Weapons is reduced to zero, the ship can't attack.
Note that the starship's Weapons attribute is not the physical number of its weapons. A starship with Weapons 5 might have only two physically distinct weapons, or it might have twenty, depending on the design, size, and placement of the weapons themselves. A starship's weapons may be described however the GM likes, but this is merely flavour, and makes no actual difference in combat. Here are some examples, but you are not restricted to these options.
| Ship Class | Typical weapons |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Rail cannon, turbolaser beam, neutron missile |
| 3-4 | Particle cannon, pulsar beam, fusion missile |
| 5-6 | Plasma cannon, disruptor beam, antimatter missile |
| 7-8 | Meson cannon, hellbore beam, singularity missile |
| 9-10 | Nemesis cannon, planetary defense beam array, warp missile |
Armor
Armor reduces the points of damage the starship takes from a successful attack. A starship's Armor is equal to the ship's Class, up to a maximum of 5. The starship's Armor is added to its Shields, and this amount is subtracted from the points of damage an attacker deals. The ship takes the remaining points of damage.
Hull
The Hull of a starship is one of its toughest parts. Only portions of the power core are more durable. A ship's Hull is equal to the ship's Class multiplied by ten. When a ship takes damage past its Armor and Shields, the points of damage are subtracted from its Hull.
A starship which has been reduced to zero Hull has ceased to function in any meaningful sense. It might explode; it might not. (Siobhan starships tend to implode, due to the construction of their power cores.)
Starship Types
Some common ship types modify a starship's attributes.
- Carrier
- Has a number of hangars equal to its Class.
- -2 Shields
- -2 Weapons
- Courier
- Sacrifices durability for speed.
- -1 Consoles
- +2 Engines
- -1 Hull
- -1 Weapons
- Escort
- Sacrifices flexibility for efficiency.
- -1 Consoles
- 2/3 typical length of Class
- 1/2 typical crew of Class
- Freighter
- Sacrifices everything for cargo capacity.
- -2 Consoles
- -1 Engines
- +2 Hull (cargo capacity)
- -1 Shields
- -2 Weapons
- Minimum crew equal to Class
- Hospital Ship
- Sacrifices speed and firepower for medical treatment options.
- +2 Consoles (medical only)
- -1 Engines
- 0 Weapons (This is an exception to the "minimum of 1" rule.)
- Squadron
- Has no warp engines. Must remain in vicinity of carrier.
- 0 Consoles (This is an exception to the "minimum of 1" rule.)
- +2 Hull (multiple small starships)
- +1 Weapons
SIDEBAR: Standard Cargo Units
A standard cargo module in the ZeroSpace universe is 28m x 15m x 15m -- 6300 cubic meters. This is referred to in naval architecture terms as "6300 tonnes". Most people assume that this is because 6300 cubic meters of water has a mass of 6300 tonnes.
Fun fact! A standard cargo module holds one Divine Legion in cryostasis -- 1000 genetically modified, fanatically loyal soldiers of the Infinite Dominion in full armor (weapons and other equipment are shipped separately).
Starship Subtypes
Some common ship subtypes further modify a starship's attributes.
- Flight Deck
- Has one additional hangar.
- -1 Shields
- Intel
- Optimized for delicate operations.
- +1 Consoles
- -1 Shields
- Missile
- Optimized for missile racks.
- -1 Shields
- +1 Weapons
- Science
- Optimized for science consoles.
- +2 Consoles (scientific only)
- -1 Weapons
Regional Variations
The method of manufacture may also modify a starship's attributes.
- Bha'atar
- -1 Consoles
- +1 Weapons
- Commonwealth
- +1 Hull
- Dominion
- -1 Engines
- +1 Hull
- Siobhan
- +1 Engines
- Zniss
- +1 Consoles
Starship Combat
Sometimes, people in other starships will shoot at the players' ship, leaving the player characters no choice but to return fire. Here is how that works.
Initiating Conflict
As with character combat, conflict begins when one side decides to stop talking and start shooting. Combat begins with the side that starts shooting. If the PCs start the conflict, they take their turns in whatever order they like, and then the GM takes the turns of the NPCs. If the NPCs start the conflict, the GM takes the turns of the NPCs, then the PCs take their turns in whatever order they like. When every character has had the opportunity to take a turn, the next round begins, and so on until the conflict has ended.
While the player characters are handling the important tasks, the starship's other crew (if there are any) are firing weapons, performing scans, dealing with the wounded, and making repairs, but it all goes more or less as planned and has no impact on the outcome of the conflict.
The environment goes last in a round. The status of asteroids or other uncontrolled objects are determined after after all of the characters have had an opportunity to take their turn.
Crew Tasks
There are three main tasks a crew member can attempt on their turn: piloting the starship, firing the weapons, and repairing the ship.
Squadrons are a special case. Rather than a single ship, a squadron is an arbitrary number of small starships. If a squadron is controlled by the player characters, the characters may assume the roles of pilot, gunner, or engineer however they like, and their rolls affect the squadron as a whole. The squadron loses an unspecified number of ships as it takes damage, but the player characters are in craft that survive the battle.
Piloting The Starship
The pilot may use a standard action to attempt one Piloting roll on their turn. A starship can have multiple pilots and navigators, but only one character may make a Piloting roll for the ship each round.
| Task | Effect | Roll 2d6 + | Difficulty (DV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damn The Torpedoes | +1 AV in Ranged Combat | Agility + Piloting | 12 |
| Evasive Maneuvers | +1 DV in Ranged Combat | Agility + Piloting | 12 |
| Thread The Needle | safe from collisions | Agility + Piloting | 12 |
| Engage Warp Engines | depart in 1 minute (10 rounds) | Reason + Piloting | 12 |
Damn The Torpedoes: If the pilot succeeds at this roll, crew members on the same starship gain a +1 Action Value bonus on any Ranged Combat rolls they attempt. This bonus lasts until the beginning of the pilot's next turn.
Evasive Maneuvers: If the pilot succeeds at this roll, the starship gains a +1 Defense Value bonus against any attacks. This bonus lasts until the beginning of the pilot's next turn.
Thread The Needle: If the pilot succeeds at this roll, their starship is safe from collisions with unguided objects until the beginning of the pilot's next turn. This does not grant the starship a Defense Value bonus against attacks.
Engage Warp Engines: Engaging the warp engines requires a standard action. and a one-minute warmup period (ten rounds). The warmup period may be cancelled, but it may not be paused. After one minute, the warp engines activate and the starship departs for its destination. If the character fails this roll, they will discover it when (and where) the ship arrives. Fortunately, navigation errors are rarely fatal.
Firing The Weapons
Each gunner may use a standard action to attempt one Ranged Combat roll on their turn. A starship can have multiple gunners, but the number of Ranged Combat rolls the crew may attempt per round is equal to the ship's Weapons attribute. The starship may be able to make additional attacks provided by its consoles, but those are handled separately (see [ZeroSpace_4e_EN:Starships#Starship_Consoles|Starship Consoles]], below).
| Task | Damage | Roll 2d6 + | Defense (DV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Weapons | 1d6 + Weapons | Agility + Ranged Combat | 8 + Agility + Piloting |
| Target Engines | 1d6 + Weapons | Agility + Ranged Combat | 8 + Agility + Piloting |
| Target Weapons | 1d6 + Weapons | Agility + Ranged Combat | 8 + Agility + Piloting |
Fire Weapons: If the gunner succeeds at this roll, the attacking player rolls 1d6 and adds the starship's Weapons. The target ship's Shields and Armor are deducted from this amount, and the remaining points of damage are subtracted from the target ship's Hull. A starship which has been reduced to zero Hull is disabled: it is out of the fight, and it will probably require extensive repairs. Hull may not be reduced below zero.
Target Engines: If the gunner succeeds at this roll, the player rolls 1d6 and adds the starship's Weapons. The target ship's Shields and Armor are deducted from this amount. If at least one point of damage remains, the target ship's Engines attribute is reduced by one. A starship which has been reduced to zero Engines is not able to engage its warp drive. Engines may not be reduced below zero.
Target Weapons: If the gunner succeeds at this roll, the player rolls 1d6 and adds the starship's Weapons. The target ship's Shields and Armor are deducted from this amount. If at least one point of damage remains, the target ship's Weapons attribute is reduced by one. A starship which has been reduced to zero Weapons is not able to attack (even with consoles). Weapons may not be reduced below zero.
Every successful Weapons attack against a ship reduces its Shields attribute by one, after the attack has been resolved and the damage (if any) is recorded.
Starship weaponry is much more powerful than the weapons mounted on vehicles or carried by individuals. If a starship weapon is brought to bear against a vehicle, the damage roll is increased by 6. If a starship weapon is brought to bear against an individual, the damage roll is increased by 12. Conversely, if a vehicle weapon is brought to bear against a starship, the damage roll is decreased by 6 (minimum 0). If an individual weapon is brought to bear against a starship, the damage roll is decreased by 12 (minimum 0).
Repairing The Starship
Each engineer may use a standard action to attempt one Engineering roll on their turn. A starship can have multiple engineers, but the number of Engineering rolls the crew may attempt per round is equal to the ship's Engineering attribute.
| Task | Effect | Roll 2d6 + | Difficulty (DV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repair Hull | restore 1 Hull | Reason + Engineering | 12 |
| Repair Engines | restore 1 Engines | Reason + Engineering | 12 |
| Repair Shields | restore 1 Shields | Reason + Engineering | 12 |
| Repair Weapons | restore 1 Weapons | Reason + Engineering | 12 |
| Break Free | break free of ongoing effect | Reason + Engineering | 8 + attacker's Class |
Repair Hull: If the engineer succeeds at this roll, one point of Hull is restored to the starship.
Repair Shields: If the engineer succeeds at this roll, one point of Shields is restored to the starship.
Repair Weapons: If the engineer succeeds at this roll, one point of Weapons is restored to the starship.
Break Free: If the engineer succeeds at this roll, the starship breaks free from an ongoing effect such as a tractor beam.
The crew of a damaged starship may restore half of the ship's lost Hull (rounded down, minimum 1) by working on it for a day or less (no is roll required, as long as one character has Engineering). Under ordinary circumstances, a starship's Hull will be completely restored in a week or so. Severe damage may require a stardock to repair.
Starship Consoles
Consoles are a form of starship equipment. If the character has appropriate equipment, they may add their equipment level to their Action Value, but only up to their skill level (see Skills).
Panglossian Era Consoles
Panglossian Era starships had two additional consoles. These consoles were in addition to the consoles a starship would be permitted due to its Class. For example, a Class 3X Panglossian Era corvette could have six consoles installed: these two, three more due to its Class, and an additional console due to the "Class X" rating.
Geist Management
A Geist Management Console permits the starship's AI, or "geist" (a crew position), to manage the starship's myriad automated systems. This console is not removable, although it can be upgraded.
Wormhole Network Interface
A Wormhole Network Interface Console grants the starship the ability to use the wormhole network.
Restoration Era Consoles
Tractor Beams
Tractor beams are gravitic weapons intended to prevent the target from moving. To use a tractor bream, an engineer must use a standard action to attempt a Reason + Engineering roll against 8 + the Class of the target starship.
Tractor beams do not deal points of damage to the target. Instead, on a successful roll, the Engines of each starship is subtracted from the Engines of the other starship for as long as the tractor beam is focused on the target (minimum zero). If either ship's Engines is reduced to zero, that starship is unable to move.
Both ship's Engines are restored to normal once the tractor beam is deactivated.
Inconveniences
Emergency Self Destruct
Self destruct systems are present aboard most commercial and military starships. Initiating the self destruct on a spacecraft disengages its engine coolant system, quickly causing the vessel's power core to overload and explode, destroying the spacecraft after a set time period has elapsed (usually 10 minutes).
As a safety precaution, self destruct mechanisms are intentionally difficult to enable, and even more difficult to disable. Enabling the self destruct device requires a Reason + Engineering roll against DV 12. A self destruct device can be disabled during the first half of its countdown with a successful Reason + Engineering roll against DV 15.
A starship which self destructs will explode with tremendous force, utterly destroying the starship and severely damaging any nearby starships. An exploding starship deals 3d6 + Engines points of damage to any ship within weapons range. Ships within range of the explosion apply their Shields and Armor, as usual.
Repelling Boarders
If a starship has been reduced to zero Engines and zero Shields, another ship may attempt to seize the immobilized ship by force. The hostile ship must move next to the immobile ship and dock with it (Agility + Piloting vs DV 12), after which boarding parties will storm into the immobile ship.
Repelling boarders is an extended Brawn + Hand-to-hand Combat task. The first side that wins six skirmishes (or three, or twelve) successfully takes the ship (or prevents it from being taken).