Raiders of the Rim:StarshipRules

These are homebrew rules for Star Wars starships in Raiders of the Rim, based on Starblazer, Fate of the Stars, Tachyon Squadron, and other sources.

Starship Design

Ships have 4 basic Skills plus Scale. The basic Skills (attributes, whatever) are Drives, Systems, Guns and Shields. Respectively, these allow you to speed, box clever, shoot and defend better the more points you have. Each basic Skill category also gets a series of Stunts, representing special features and advanced systems.

Ships also have two Stress tracks: Hull and Systems. These are both x 2 the ship's Scale, so a Tie Fighter with Scale 1 has 2 boxes in its Stress tracks.

When building a ship, players get 3 basic Skill points per point of Scale, and 3 points for Stunts or further Skills enhancement. So, with a Scale 3 light freighter or yacht, you get 3 basic Skill points to enhance the ship's starting Mediocre +0 level in the 4 basic Skills. You get an additional 3 points for Stunts or to further enhance the basic Skills. (Note that a typical ship design is unarmed and unshielded at Skill 0 - you need Skill points in Guns and Shields to arm up.)

Drives

• Fast ship - +2 Drives bonus for sublight tests involving speed
• Advanced hyperdrive - reduces transit time in hyperspace, halves jump fuel consumption, maximizes 1 dice in jump rolls
• Advanced astrogation - reduces calculation time for jump to lightspeed, calculation becomes supplementary rather than primary action in a round, +2 for jump rolls
• Maneuverability - +2 in Pilot vs Pilot contests, or other tests of Pilot maneuvering skills

Systems

• Enhanced sensor suite - +2 in Systems vs Systems tests for detection; +1 zone range for detection
• Stealth suite - +2 in Systems vs Systems tests for escape and evasion or passing undetected
• Stasis pods - 10x base passenger capacity in stasis pods
• Passenger deck - double base passenger capacity
• Mining systems - tractors, fusioncutters and nets for detaching and catching minerals in space
• Enhanced hold - double base cargo capacity, special environmental fittings for handling exotics
• Shuttle/dropship - Scale 2 subsidiary ship
• Enhanced database - maximize 1 dice on any Knowledge or Investigation roll on board
• Enhanced engineering - maximize 1 dice on any Engineering roll on board

Guns

• Proton torpedoes - missile weapon (1 shot per Scale point only)
• Tractor beam - Guns vs Drives/opposing Pilot contest against target to capture it (only your Scale or below)
• Hyperdrive inhibitor - Guns vs Drives contest against target to prevent its escape to hyperspace
• Ram - ship hardened with offensive ram, Pilot vs Pilot contest in same zone, no Shields protection, rammer talks half damage
• Exotic weapon - unusual technology, doubling repair time for inflicted damage
• Super weapon - (Scale 6 minimum) devastating WMD

Shields

• Enhanced shields - +2 to Shields
• Hardened - +1 Stress box for both Hull and Systems
• Decoys - +2 in defensive moves in conflicts (1 shot per Scale point only)
• Point defense - (Scale 4 minimum) +2 Shields attack on small craft inside deflector shields

Starship Navigation

Aside from the special cases detailed below, many of the skills and especially stunts of starship construction don't apply when it comes to ship navigation. This is assumed to proceed relatively smoothly, except when the GM rules otherwise and requires rolls.

The rules for starship navigation are based on Fate's Zone system, and are inexact when it comes to speed and distance.

• Same Zone: Point-blank range, docking distance, deflector shield perimeter for snub fighter attacks
• 1 Zone distance: Close beam weapon range, near visual observation range
• 2 Zones distance: Long beam weapon range, same orbit
• 3 Zones distance: Extreme detection range, interlunar distances
• 4 Zones distance: Interplanetary distances

Closing the distance between two friendly vessels seeking to rendezvous doesn't require a test. Pursuits follow usual Fate rules.

Asteroid Fields

An asteroid field adds +1 to +2 to a ship's chances of evading detection while in the field, but periodic Pilot rolls need to be made to avoid damage to the ship. The difficulty of these rolls and the resultant damage are up to the GM. Miners may also elect to scour through asteroid fields for their riches. All kinds of exotic asteroid fields abound in the galaxy, including ones haunted by or composed of living beings, radioactive or electromagnetic fields, etc.

Hyperspace Jumps

A hyperspace jump requires a starship to be at least 2 zones distant from a planet's surface, or any object as large as a small planetoid. Calculations for the jump to lightspeed take at least one round of calculations, although with the Advanced Astrogation stunt, this becomes a subsidiary action in a round.

These hyperspace jump range calculations are based on the canonical 6 weeks of hyperspace travel from the Galactic Rim to the Core Worlds along one of the major hyperspace lanes.

A standard hyperspace jump can cover roughly 1 parsec (3.26 ly) per point of Difficulty. The relevant roll is dictated by the ship's Drives rating, and other factors. So, a 1-parsec jump requires a +1 success, a 2-parsec jump a +2 success, and so on. This total can be influenced by external environmental factors. For instance, a hyperspace lane typically lowers the Difficulty (increases the range) of a jump by 1, or even 2, while a miscalculated jump or local environmental interference may raise the Difficulty by 1 or far more.

After each jump, a starship needs to stop and recalibrate its hyperdrive, and make the calculations for the next jump, at the new Difficulty. Consequences of a hard failure can include flying into the heart of a star, or other equally unpleasant outcomes.

A hyperspace jump takes an unpredictable but limited amount of time - usually around 3 hours per parsec - and a lot of fuel. Typically, each point of Difficulty burns 10% of the ship's fuel supply.

Starship Combat

Starships have to detect each other to enter combat.

Detection

Detection is a Systems vs Systems test, modified by advanced sensors suites, asteroid fields, stealth suites, etc. Unless a ship has a definite reason, orders, etc. to continue scanning, it cannot keep trying to detect until it finds a target; the first failure is definitive. However, once detected, a target is tagged, and cannot evade unless it can change the situation (e.g. fly into an asteroid field) to allow a fresh test.

Closing to engage

Once detected, ships need to move to within engagement range to start a combat. If a ship wants to avoid combat, it can do a series of Pilot vs Pilot tests as per a typical chase. The pursuer may also be a torpedo as well as another starship. Typically, closing within 2 zones of the target is enough to allow an engagement to begin.

Engagement

On entering an engagement, the combatants each make a Pilot roll. The result is their position on the engagement ladder.

The engagement ladder determines the combatants' relative tactical positions and firing sequence. This also applies to torpedoes as well as manned craft. The engagement ladder is also closely tied to the possible actions for each combatant in each turn.

At the end of each turn, combatants move 1 level down the engagement ladder, unless the turn's outcome determines otherwise.

Engagement Actions

The following are some of the standard engagement actions available to combatants. Others may be available depending on Guns and Systems types, and other factors.

Actions basically take half or all of each turn - 2 half actions can both be done in a single turn.

Attack Actions

• Desperate attack (full turn): Spend a Fate point to climb 2 levels on the engagement ladder, then attack a ship at or below your new level.
• On their tail (full turn): Position yourself in the level directly above your target on the engagement ladder. Attack your target with a +2 bonus to your attack roll, increasing by +1 each turn.
• Targeted attack (full turn): Target and degrade Drives, Guns, Shields or Systems. Success with style allows removal of 1 stunt per attack.
• Snap shot (half turn): Attack a ship at your level or below on the engagement ladder.

Non-Attack Actions

• Create an advantage or overcome (either half of turn): As standard Fate Core actions.
• Push (second half): Overcome action, Pilot vs. Pilot. If aggressor wins, they push defender down the engagement ladder.
• Repair (second half): Overcome action with Engineering vs. Fair (+2) to clear one damage instance.
• Pickup (full turn): Pick up a stranded pilot, jettisoned cargo canister, asteroid ore chunk, etc.
• Shake off a tail (full turn): Overcome action, Pilot vs. Pilot. If successful, both reposition in next turn.
• Reposition (second half): Overcome action with Pilot. Position your ship at or below new result on engagement ladder. Do not degrade.