Starship Combat

Wow, Starship Combat is...messed up. Let's see if we can make it easier, then how we can fix it.

Initiate Combat
1. Determine where the ships are on the map.
Select your role: Captain (1), Engineer (any), Science (any), Gunner (1 per weapon), or Pilot (1)
Phases - all ships take these actions by phase, simultaneously. There is no initiative roll. Captains can go on any time at any phase.
1. Phase 1: Engineering - Engineers take their action.
2. Phase 2: Helm
  1. Science officers take their action (or can delay after ships move)
  2. Pilots make a Piloting check - lowest result will move first, followed by the next lowest, etc.
  3. Pilots make a Piloting check for maneuvers, if desired.
  4. Ships move.
3. Phase 3: Gunner
  1. Gunners fire in the same order as pilots moved.
  2. Damage is applied.
Repeat.

BEGINNING STARSHIP COMBAT

When the crew of a starship has hostile intentions toward another vessel, they go to their battle stations and activate their starship’s targeting systems. This is clearly obvious to all other starships in the vicinity with working sensors, though there could still be a chance a hostile vessel can be talked down, if the GM allows it.

In general, the GM decides when starship combat begins, where the combatants are, and which way their starships are facing. This might mean that both sides are facing each other from opposite sides of the grid. However, their relative positions and facing can also be established randomly. Roll 3d6+5 to determine how many hexes separate the opposing sides. If either side consists of more than one starship, this result is the distance between the highest-tier starship on one side of the battle and its counterpart on the other. Other starships should be placed within 3 hexes of an allied starship. Then, roll 1d6 for each group of starships to determine the facing of the starships in that group, with a 1 meaning the starships are facing the top edge of the grid, and with 2 through 6 proceeding clockwise around the hex.

Phases

1. Engineering

The Engineers on all ships (if present) each take an action to repair the starships’ systems or give them a boost. These actions occur simultaneously, so they can be resolved in any order.

2. Helm

Each Starship’s pilot attempts a Piloting check. The pilot with the lowest result must move his starship first, followed by the next lowest, until all starships have moved. This check is repeated each round during the helm phase, so the order of movement can change from round to round. If a starship has no one in the pilot role, that starship acts as if its pilot had rolled a 0. If there is a tie, the pilot with fewer ranks in the Piloting skill must move his starship first. If there is still a tie, the two pilots in question should each roll another Piloting check and compare the results; the pilot with the lowest result moves first.

As they move their starships, pilots can attempt additional skill checks to perform dangerous maneuvers or push their vessels beyond their specifications.

Also during this phase, any character taking on the role of science officer can use the Starship’s systems to scan vessels or target foes. Science officers must act immediately before or after their starship’s pilot, but they can jointly decide the order they act.

3. Gunnery

During the gunnery phase, gunners fire their starships’ weapons. Starships fire in the same order in which their pilots acted during that round’s helm phase, but the effects of damage are not taken into account until the end of the phase, meaning that all starships can fire, even if they take enough damage to be disabled or destroyed during this phase.

Once all of the Phases have been resolved, if there are still combatants engaged in the fight, the next round begins, starting with a new Engineering phase.

MOVING

The pilot of a starship has a variety of actions that allow her to guide her starship through the cold vastness of space. Unlike in battles between characters, starships face a specific direction, and this determines their firing arcs and shield quadrants, as well as their direction of movement.

SPEED

A starship’s speed is the number of hexes it typically moves in a round. It can instead move fewer hexes than this amount, as determined by the pilot. This movement is in a straight line in the direction the starship is facing, though a starship’s facing can be altered while it moves by making turns (see below). A starship’s maximum speed modifies Piloting checks for that starship.

SpeedPiloting Check Modifier

4 or less

8–10

—

–1

14 or more

–2

TURNS

While moving, a starship can make turns, altering its forward movement direction, firing arcs, and shield quadrants. One turn changes a starship’s forward facing by 60 degrees, or one side of a hex. Every round in which a starship turns, it must move a certain number of hexes before each turn, determined by its maneuverability (see the table below). For example, a ship with average maneuverability making two turns in a round must move at least 2 hexes before its first turn, and at least 2 more hexes before its second turn. If a starship has perfect maneuverability (the distance between turns is 0), the ship can make two turns for each hex that it moves (allowing it to turn around a single point).

The number of turns per round a starship can take is limited only by its speed and maneuverability. Turns don’t count against a starship’s movement speed. If a ship with average maneuverability has a speed of 8, it can usually turn a total of four times during a single round.

A ship’s maneuverability also modifies Piloting checks for it.

ManeuverabilityDistance Between TurnsPiloting Check Modifier

Clumsy

–2

Poor

–1

Average

Good

Perfect

0 (see above)

MOVING THROUGH OTHER STARSHIPS

Since the hexes in starship combat aren’t representative of three-dimensional distance, starships can move through hexes containing other starships, but they can’t end their movement there. If a starship moves through a hex containing an enemy starship, the enemy starship can fire any one of its direct-fire weapons from any arc at the moving starship, targeting its aft quadrant. This free attack doesn’t benefit from any bonuses or additional abilities from other actions taken aboard the enemy starship, such as divert or lock on. Any character currently in a gunner role can make this attack. If no one is designated as a gunner (often the case in starships with only one crew member), the enemy starship can’t make a free attack. A weapon used for this free attack can still be used as normal later in the round.

STUNTS

Instead of ordinary movement, pilots can attempt stunts with their starships (see Stunt), pushing them beyond their design specifications to enact daring moves. Several stunts affect your starship’s Armor Class (AC) and Target Lock (TL).

Back Off

The starship moves up to half its speed in the direction of the aft edge without changing facing. It can’t take any turns during this movement. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10 + 1 – 1/2 × your starship’s tier). On a failed check, your starship moves backward only 1 hex. If you fail this check by 5 or more, your starship does not move at all and takes a –4 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round.

Barrel Roll

The starship moves up to half its speed and flips along its central axis. For the next gunnery phase, the starship’s port shields and weapons function as if they were in the starboard firing arc and vice versa. The starship reverts to normal at the beginning of the next round. To perform this stunt, your starship must be Large or smaller and you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier). On a failed check, the starship moves half its speed but doesn’t roll. If you fail by 5 or more, your starship moves half its speed, doesn’t roll, and takes a –4 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round.

Evade

The ship moves up to its speed and can turn as normal, but it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its AC and TL until the start of the next round. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10 + 1 – 1/2 × your Starship’s tier). If you fail, the starship moves as normal. If you fail the check by 5 or more, the starship moves as normal, but it also takes a –2 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round.

Flip and Burn

The ship moves forward up to half its speed (without turning) and rotates 180 degrees to face the aft edge at the end of the movement. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 15 + 1 – 1/2 × your ship’s tier). If you fail this check, your starship moves forward half its speed but doesn’t rotate.

Flyby

The ship moves as normal, but it can move through 1 hex occupied by an enemy starship without provoking a free attack (as described in Moving through Other starships). During the following gunnery phase, you can select one arc of your starship’s weapons to fire at the enemy vessel as if the vessel were in close range (treat the range as 1 hex), against any quadrant of the enemy starship. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × the tier of the enemy starship). If you fail this check, your starship still moves as described above, but you follow the normal rules for attacking (based on your starship’s final position and distance), and the movement provokes a free attack from that starship as normal.

Slide

The starship moves up to its speed in the direction of either the forward-port or forward-starboard edge without changing its facing. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10+ 1–1/2 × your ship’s tier). If you fail this check, the ship moves forward up to half its speed and can’t make any turns.

Turn in Place

The ship does not move but instead can turn to face any direction. If the ship has a maneuverability of clumsy, it takes a –4 penalty to its ACand TL until the start of the next round. If it has a maneuverability of poor, it instead takes a –2 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round. Ships with a maneuverability of average or better do not take a penalty. This stunt doesn’t require a skill check.

ATTACKING

Whenever one starship fires a weapon at another starship, that action is resolved with a gunnery check. Attacks are made during the gunnery phase of combat, in the order determined during the helm phase, but the damage and critical damage effects are applied after all of the attacks have been made (meaning every starship gets to attack, even if it would be destroyed or crippled by an attack that happened during the same gunnery phase). With only very rare exceptions, each of a Starship’s weapons can be fired only once per round. You make an attack using the following procedure.

RANGE AND ARC

First, determine the range between the two starships (counted in hexes) and the arc of attack. For every range increment beyond the first, the gunnery check takes a cumulative –2 penalty. The attacking starship can fire a weapon against only ships in the same arc as that weapon; see the diagram. If the targeted starship is in a hex that lies in two arcs (the shaded hexes in the diagram), the gunner decides which arc’s weapons target it; it can’t be targeted by weapons in two arcs.

GUNNERY CHECK

Attempt a gunnery check for each weapon fired against a target (except for linked weapons, which are resolved using one action and a single gunnery check; see the sidebar).

Gunnery Check = 1d20 + the gunner’s base attack bonus or the gunner’s ranks in the Piloting skill + the gunner’s Dexterity modifier + bonusesfrom computer systems + bonuses from the captain and science officers + range penalty

DETERMINING THE OUTCOME

Compare the result of the gunnery check to the target’s Armor Class (AC) or Target Lock (TL), depending on the weapon used. If you attack with a direct-fire weapon and the result of the gunnery check equals or exceeds the target’s AC, you hit the target and damage is determined as normal (see Damage below). A target’s AC is determined using the following formula.

AC = 10 + the pilot’s ranks in the Piloting skill + the ship’s armor bonus + modifier based on the ship’s size + bonuses and penalties from successful or failed stunts and actions

If the attack is made with a tracking weapon such as a missile launcher and the result of the gunnery check equals or exceeds the target’s TL, the tracking weapon’s projectile moves its speed toward the target, making turns during this movement as needed (a projectile from a tracking weapon has perfect maneuverability). If it intercepts the target before it reaches the end of its movement, it explodes and deals damage as normal (see Damage below). If not, attempt a new gunnery check at the start of the next gunnery phase to determine whether the projectile continues to move toward the target; you don’t receive any bonuses from computer systems or actions by your fellow crew members from previous rounds or the current round, but you can take penalties, such as from an enemy science officer’s improve countermeasures action. If the result of a gunnery check for a tracking weapon is ever less than the target’s TL, the weapon’s projectile is destroyed and removed from play. A target’s TL is determined using the following formula.

TL = 10 + the pilot’s ranks in the Piloting skill + the ship’s bonus from defensive countermeasures + modifier based on the ship’s size + bonusesand penalties from successful or failed stunts and actions

DAMAGE

Combat in space can be highly dangerous to the vessel and its crew. Once a starship has been damaged, critical systems might malfunction or shut down altogether, leaving its passengers without electricity, gravity, or even air. Such damage might also cause a starship to lose its sensors, propulsion, or weapons systems, which could Spell defeat during an active engagement.

When a gunner hits with an attack, she rolls the damage dealt by the weapon she is using and determines which quadrant of the targeted starship she hits. A Starship’s shield quadrants are the same as its firing arcs (see the diagram). Damage is first applied to any shields the target starship has in the quadrant hit by the attack, depleting a number of Shield Points equal to the amount of damage dealt. If that quadrant’s Shield Points reach 0, that shield is entirely depleted and any excess damage is applied to the target Starship’s Hull Points. If the ship doesn’t have shields or if its shields in that quadrant have already been depleted, apply all damage directly to the target’s Hull Points.

If a starship has a Damage Threshold, any attack that would deal damage to its Hull Points equal to or less than this Damage Threshold fails to damage the ship’s Hull Points. If the damage is greater than the Damage Threshold, the full amount of damage is dealt to the ship’s Hull Points.

If a ship is reduced to 0 or fewer Hull Points, it is disabled and it floats in its current direction of travel at a rate of half its speed until it is repaired, rescued, or destroyed. Crew members aboard such ships are not in immediate danger unless their life-support system is wrecked, but they might eventually die from starvation and thirst if they have no way to repair the ship.

If a ship ever takes damage that exceeds twice its Hull Points, it is destroyed and can’t be repaired. All systems stop functioning, and the hull is compromised. The crew might initially survive, but without protection, they won’t live very long.

Critical Damage

Starship systems can take critical damage, causing them to become less functional and eventually stop working altogether.

Critical damage is scored whenever a gunnery check results in a natural 20 on the die and damage is dealt to the target ship’s hull. The critical range is expanded to a natural 19 or 20 on the die if the target starship was the subject of a successful target system science officer action.

Critical damage is also scored whenever the target starship’s hull takes damage that causes its total amount of damage to exceed its Critical Threshold or a multiple of that threshold. For example, a starship with 100 Hull Points and a Critical Threshold of 20 takes critical damage each time its total amount of Hull Point damage exceeds 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 points (and so on). An individual attack does not need to deal more than 20 damage to score critical damage against this starship; it just needs to be the attack that pushes the starship’s total damage above a multiple of its Critical Threshold.

A starship can take critical damage even when its total Hull Points are below 0.

Shields

A starship takes critical damage from an attack only if that attack deals damage to the ship’s Hull Points, even if the result of the gunnery check is a natural 20. If the attack’s damage only reduces a Starship’s Shield Points, no critical damage occurs.

Critical Damage Effect

When critical damage is scored, the attacking PC should roll on the table below to randomly determine which of the target starship’s key systems is hit; that system gains a critical damage condition (see below), with the effect listed on the table. If the system isn’t currently critically damaged, it gains the glitching condition. If it is critically damaged again, its critical condition changes by one step of severity (glitching becomes malfunctioning; malfunctioning becomes wrecked). These conditions and their effects on crew actions are explained in Critical Damage Conditions.

To determine which system is affected, roll d% and consult the table below. If a system already has the wrecked condition (or in the case of the weapons array, if all weapon arcs have the wrecked condition), apply its critical damage to the next system down on the chart. If you reach the bottom of the chart, instead deal damage to one of the crew (as described below).

d%SystemEffect

1–10

Life support

Condition applies to all captain actions

11–30

Sensors

Condition applies to all science officer actions

31–60

Weapons array

Randomly determine one arc containing weapons; condition applies to all gunner actions using weapons in that arc (a turret counts as being in all arcs)

61–80

Engines

Condition applies to all pilot actions

81–100

Power core

Condition applies to all Engineer actions except hold it together and patch; a malfunctioning or wrecked power core affects other crew members’ actions (see Critical Damage Conditions below)

Crew Damage

If the starship’s core has the wrecked condition and further critical damage is dealt to the core, no critical damage conditions are applied to the ship. Instead, one of the crew (determined randomly) is injured, taking an amount of Hit Point damage equal to the Hull Point damage dealt by the attack (without the increase for starship weapons against humanoid targets; see Shooting Starships). That crew member can attempt a DC 20 Reflex save to take only half damage.

Critical Damage Conditions

The following are the critical damage conditions and their effects, ordered by severity. These effects apply primarily to starship combat and rarely impact noncombat play (wrecked engines can still be used to get a starship to a safe place to repair, for example—though the GM might rule that it takes longer than normal).

Glitching

A glitching system isn’t operating at peak performance. Crew actions involving the system (except the hold it together and patch Engineer actions) take a –2 penalty.

Malfunctioning

A malfunctioning system is difficult to control. Crew actions involving the system (except the hold it together and patch Engineer actions) take a –4 penalty. Also, crew members can’t take push actions using that system. If the power core is malfunctioning, all actions aboard the starshipnot involving the power core take a –2 penalty; this penalty stacks with penalties from critical damage conditions affecting other systems.

Wrecked

A wrecked system is minimally functional. Crew actions involving the system (except the hold it together and patch Engineer actions and minor crew actions) automatically fail. If the power core is wrecked, all crew actions aboard the starship not involving the power core take a –4 penalty; this penalty stacks with penalties from critical damage conditions affecting other systems.

Restoring Shields and Repairing Damage

When a starship combat encounter is over, the crew members can repair damage done to their starship, provided it hasn’t been destroyed and they haven’t been captured! Shields regenerate Shield Points at a set rate (depending on the type of shield) as long as the starship’s power core isn’t wrecked. You can double this recharge rate for 10 minutes by taking 1 minute and succeeding at an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × the starship’s tier). Any penalties from critical damage conditions apply to this check.

You can remove the critical damage condition from a system by taking 10 minutes and succeeding at an Engineering check. The DC depends on the severity of the condition (DC 15 for glitching, DC 20 for malfunctioning, and DC 25 for wrecked). The system is no longer critically damaged (it has no critical damage conditions) and can function as normal.

Repairing damage to the hull (restoring lost Hull Points) is more difficult. You must first stop the starship completely, usually at a safe location (for instance, a world with a nonhostile atmosphere or a dock on a space station), and the repairing character or characters must have access to the outside of the hull. On most worlds, the crew can pay mechanics to repair the starship; the cost and time needed are up to the GM. If the crew is on its own in uncharted territory, it can still repair the starship’s hull. Doing so costs 10 UPBs per point of damage to be repaired and requires 5 hours of work regardless of the number of points repaired. A character who succeeds at an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × the starship’s tier) can cut either the cost or the time in half. For every 10 points by which she exceeds the DC, she can reduce one of these factors by half (or by half again), to a minimum of 1 UPB per point of damage and 1 hour. Any number of allies can use the aid another action to assist with this Engineering check. Failing the check to reduce the time or cost instead increases the cost by 5 UPBs per point of damage.

CREW ACTIONS

As starship combat progresses, the various crew members aboard each vessel can take the actions their roles allow.

Actions

You can take one action (usually defined by your role) per round of starship combat. Certain actions require a minimum character level or number of ranks in a certain skill. NPC crew members are assumed to have a number of ranks in the appropriate skill equal to the starship’s tier. Class features and items affect crew actions only if specifically noted in the class feature or item. If a starship’s tier is less than 1, treat it as 1 for this purpose.

Push

Push actions (indicated in an action’s heading) are difficult to perform but can yield greater results. You can’t perform a push action if the necessary system is malfunctioning or wrecked (as noted in Critical Damage Conditions).

Changing Roles

You can switch between roles (or assume a role if you don’t already have one), but this change must occur at the start of a round before the Engineering phase. You can switch to the captain or pilot role only if that role would otherwise be vacant (or if the character in that role is unable to take actions).

Starship Combat Resolve

As your combat expertise grows, you gain extra resolve that can help with high-level crew actions. At 8th level and again at 16th level, you gain 1 Resolve Point at the start of any starship combat encounter. These points can exceed your normal pool of Resolve Points; unspent points gained this way are lost at the end of the encounter.

Captain Actions

As a captain, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your character level, during any phase of combat.

Demand (Any Phase)

You can make a demand of a crew member to try to improve his performance. You grant a +4 bonus to one specific check by succeeding at an Intimidate check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × your Starship’s tier). You must use this action before the associated check is rolled, and you can grant this bonus to an individual character only once per combat. Demand might result in negative consequences if used on NPCs, and you can’t make demands of yourself.

Encourage (Any Phase)

You can encourage another member of the crew to give her a bonus to her action. This works like aid another, granting a +2 bonus to the check required by a crew action if you succeed at a DC 10 check using the same skill. Alternatively, you can grant this same bonus by succeeding at a Diplomacy check (DC 15). You can’t encourage yourself.

Taunt (Any Phase, Push)

You can use the communications system to broadcast a taunting message to the enemy vessel. You select an enemy vessel and a phase of combat (Engineering, helm, or gunnery), and then attempt a Bluff or Intimidate check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × the enemy starship’s tier). If you are successful, each enemy character acting during the selected phase takes a –2 penalty to all checks for 1d4 rounds; the penalty increases to –4 if the enemy’s check is made as part of a push action. Once used against an enemy starship, regardless of the outcome, taunt can’t be used against that starship again during the same combat.

Orders (Any Phase, Push)

At 6th level, you can grant an additional action to one member of the crew by spending 1 Resolve Point and succeeding at a difficult skill check at the beginning of the phase in which the crew member would normally act. The type of check depends on the role of the crew member targeted: a Computers check for a science officer, an Engineering check for an Engineer, a gunnery check for a gunner, and a Piloting check for a pilot. The DC of this check is equal to 15 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier. If the check succeeds, the crew member can take two actions in her role this round (both when she would normally act), but she can’t take the same action twice. You can’t give yourself orders.

Moving Speech (Any Phase)

At 12th level, you can spend 1 Resolve Point and use your action to give a moving speech to the crew during one phase of combat with a successful Diplomacy check (DC = 20 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier). For the remainder of that phase, your allies can roll twice and take the better result when performing crew actions.

Stunts

For the back off stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the barrel roll stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the evade stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the flip and burn stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the flyby stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the slide stunt, the DC of the Piloting check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.

Restoring Shields and Repairing Damage

The DC of the Engineering check to double the recharge rate for your shields equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
The DC of the Engineering check to halve the cost or time for repairing damage your starship's hill equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.

Crew Actions

If an action isn't listed, the stated DC remains the same.

Captain Actions

For the demand action, the DC of the Intimidate check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the encourage action, the DC of the Diplomacy check is 15; the DC for checks using other skills remains 10.
For the taunt action, the DC of the Bluff or Intimidate check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times the enemy starship's tier.
For the orders action, the DC of the check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the moving speech action, the DC of the Diplomacy check equals 20 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.

Engineer Actions

For the divert action, the DC of the Engineering check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the hold it together action, the DC of the Engineering check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the patch action, the DCs of the Engineering check equal 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier to patch the glitching critical damage condition, 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier to patch the malfunctioning critical damage condition, and 20 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier to patch the wrecked critical damage condition.
For the overpower action, the DC of the Engineering check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the quick fix action, the DC of the Engineering check equals 20 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.

Pilot Actions

For the maneuver action, the DC of the Piloting check equals 15 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the audacious gambit action, the DC of the Piloting check equals 20 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.

Science Officer Actions

For the balance action, the DC of the Computers check equals 10 + 1-1/2 times your starship's tier.
For the scan action, the DC of the Computers check equals 5 + 1-1/2 times the tier of the starship being scanned + its bonus from defensive countermeasures.
For the target system action, the DC of the Computers check equals 5 + 1-1/2 times the tier of the enemy starship + its bonus from defensive countermeasures.
For the lock on action, the DC of the Computers check equals 5 + 1-1/2 times the tier of the target starship + its bonus from defensive countermeasures.
For the improve countermeasures action, the DC of the Computers check equals 5 + 1-1/2 times the tier of the target starship + its bonus from defensive countermeasures.

Engineer Actions

As an Engineer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Engineering skill. These actions can be taken only during the Engineering phase. Unless otherwise noted, each action can be performed only once per round, no matter how many Engineers are on a starship.

Divert (Engineering Phase)

You can divert auxiliary power into one of your starship’s systems, giving it a boost. This requires a successful Engineering check (DC = 10 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier), and the results depend on where you decide to send this extra power. If you send it to the engines, your starship’s speed increases by 2 this round. If you send it to the science equipment, all science officers receive a +2 bonus to their crew actions this round. If you send it to the starship’s weapons, treat each damage die that rolls a 1 this round as having rolled a 2 instead. If you send it to the shields, restore an amount of Shield Points equal to 5% of the PCU rating of the Starship’s power core, up to the shields’ maximum value. Evenly distribute the restored Shield Points to all four quadrants (putting any excess Shield Points in the forward quadrant).

Hold It Together (Engineering Phase)

You can hold one system together by constantly patching and modifying it. If you succeed at an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier), you can select one system; that system is treated as if its critical damage condition were two steps less severe for the rest of the round (wrecked becomes glitching, and a malfunctioning or glitching system functions as if it had taken no critical damage). This check isn’t modified by penalties from critical damage to the power core.

Patch (Engineering Phase)

You can patch a system to reduce the effects of a critical damage condition. The number of actions and the DC of the Engineering check required to patch a system depend on how badly the system is damaged, as indicated on the table. Multiple Engineers can pool their actions in a single round to effect repairs more quickly, but each Engineer must succeed at her Engineering check to contribute her action to the patch.

The number of actions required can be reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1 action) by increasing the DC by 5. If you succeed at this check, the severity of the critical damage is unchanged, but it is treated as one step less severe for the remainder of the combat, until 1 hour has passed, or until the system takes critical damage again (which removes the patch and applies the new severity). This action can be taken more than once per round, and this check is not modified by any critical damage to the core.

Critical Damage ConditionActions To PatchDC

Glitching

10 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier

Malfunctioning

15 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier

Wrecked

20 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier

Overpower (Engineering Phase, Push)

If you have at least 6 ranks in Engineering, you can spend 1 Resolve Point and attempt an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier) to squeeze more out of your ship’s systems. If you’re successful, this functions as the divert action, but you can send extra power to any three systems listed in that action. This action and the divert action can’t be taken in the same round.

Quick Fix (Engineering Phase)

If you have at least 12 ranks in Engineering, you can try to repair a system quickly by spending 1 Resolve Point and attempting an Engineeringcheck (DC = 20 + 1–1/2 × you starship’s tier). If successful, you remove the critical damage condition from one system for 1 hour (allowing it to function as if it had taken no critical damage), after which time it must be repaired as normal.

Gunner Actions

As a gunner, you can take any of the actions below, depending on your character level. These actions can be taken only during the gunnery phase. Though each of a starship’s weapons can be fired only once per round, multiple gunners can take actions to fire different weapons in a single round. Actions that allow you to fire starship weapons use the rules for attacking.

Fire at Will (Gunnery Phase, Push)

You can fire any two starship weapons, regardless of their arc. Each attack is made at a –4 penalty.

Shoot (Gunnery Phase)

You can fire one of your starship’s weapons. If you use a turret weapon, you can target a ship in any arc.

Broadside (Gunnery Phase, Push)

At 6th level, you can expend 1 Resolve Point to fire all of the starship weapons mounted in one arc (including turret-mounted weapons). Each weapon can target any vessel in that arc. All of these attacks are made with a –2 penalty.

Precise Targeting (Gunnery Phase)

At 12th level, you can perform a very precise strike by spending 1 Resolve Point and firing one starship weapon at a single target. If the attack hits and the enemy ship’s shields on that quadrant are depleted before your attack, you deal critical damage to a random system. If the attack would normally cause critical damage, the normal critical damage applies as well (meaning your attack could potentially deal critical damage multiple times; determine which system is damaged as normal each time).

Pilot Actions

As a pilot, you can take the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Piloting skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.

Fly (Helm Phase)

You move your starship up to its speed and can make any turns allowed by its maneuverability. This doesn’t require a skill check.

Maneuver (Helm Phase)

You move your starship up to its speed. You can also attempt a Piloting check (DC = 15 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier) to reduce your starship’s distance between turns by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Stunt (Helm Phase, Push)

You can attempt any one of the stunts described. The DCs of the Piloting checks required and the results of success and failure are described in each stunt’s description.

Full Power (Helm Phase, Push)

If you have at least 6 ranks in Piloting, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to move your starship up to 1-1/2 times its speed. You can make turns during this movement, but you add 2 to your starship’s distance between turns.

Audacious Gambit (Helm Phase)

If you have at least 12 ranks in Piloting, you can spend 1 Resolve Point and attempt a Piloting check (DC = 20 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier) to pull off complex maneuvers. You can move your starship up to its speed, treating its distance between turns as if it were 2 lower (minimum 0). You can also fly through hexes occupied by enemy vessels without provoking free attacks. At the end of your starship’s movement, you can rotate your starship to face in any direction. If you fail the check, you instead move as if you had taken the fly action (but still lose the Resolve Point).

Science Officer Actions

As a science officer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Computers skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.

Balance (Helm Phase)

You can balance the shields, redirecting power from one quadrant to protect another. With a successful Computers check (DC = 10 + 1–1/2 × your starship’s tier), you can shift Shield Points (Sp) from the shield in one quadrant to the shield in another quadrant, including to depleted shields (after rebalancing, every shield must have at least 10% of the total current SP). Alternatively, you can add up the SP from all the remaining shields and evenly distribute them to all four quadrants, putting any excess SP in the forward quadrant.

Scan (Helm Phase)

You can scan a starship with your sensors to learn information about it. This action requires your starship to have sensors. You must attempt a Computers check, applying any modifiers from the starship’s sensors. You can attempt this check untrained. The DC for this check is equal to 5 + 1–1/2 x the tier of the starship being scanned + its bonus from defensive countermeasures. If you succeed at this check, you learn the first unknown piece of information on the following list. For every 5 by which you exceed the check, you learn another unknown piece of information. Subsequent checks reveal new pieces of information, continuing down this list.

1. Basic Information: Living crew complement and ship classification, size, speed, and maneuverability.

2. Defenses: AC, TL, total and current Hull Points, total and current Shield Points in each quadrant, and core PCU value.

3. Weapon: Information about one weapon, including its firing arc and the damage it deals, starting with the weapon that uses the most PCU. Repeat this entry until all the starship’s weapons are revealed.

4. Load: Information about how the starship’s expansion bays are allocated and any cargo the starship might be carrying.

5. Other: Any remaining ship statistics.

Target System (Helm Phase, Push)

You can use your starship’s sensors to target a specific system on an enemy starship. This action requires your starship to have sensors. You must attempt a Computers check, applying any modifiers from the starship’s sensors. The DC equals 5 + 1–1/2 x the tier of the enemy starship+ its bonus from defensive countermeasures. If you succeed, choose one system (core, engines, life support, sensors, or weapons). The next attack made by your starship that hits the enemy ship scores a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20. If that attack deals critical damage, it affects the chosen system. For any further critical damage resulting from the attack, determine which system is affected randomly as normal. Your starship’s sensors can target only one system on a specific enemy starship at a time, though this action can be used to concurrently target systems on multiple starships.

Lock On (Helm Phase, Push)

If you have at least 6 ranks in Computers, you can lock your starship’s targeting system on to one enemy vessel. You must spend 1 Resolve Point and attempt a Computers check. The DC equals 5 + 1–1/2 x the tier of the target starship + its bonus from defensive countermeasures. If you succeed, your starship’s gunners gain a +2 bonus to gunnery checks against the target for the rest of the round. This action can be taken only once per round.

Improve Countermeasures (Helm Phase)

If you have at least 12 ranks in Computers, you can try to foil enemy targeting arrays and incoming projectiles by spending 1 Resolve Point and attempting a Computers check. The DC equals 5 + 1–1/2 × the tier of the target starship + its bonus from defensive countermeasures. If you’re successful, gunners aboard the target starship roll twice and take the worse result for gunnery checks during this round (including checks for tracking weapons).

Minor Crew Actions

Minor crew actions are computer-aided actions that allow a starship limited functionality if it doesn’t have the necessary crew to fill all the roles (for instance, the lone crew member aboard a Tiny starship might always be the pilot but may need to fire one of the vessel’s weapons in an emergency). You can take a minor crew action regardless of your current role, but only if no other action was performed this round for the role associated with that minor crew action. A minor crew action can be performed only once per round and doesn’t count as your action.

Glide (Helm Phase, Minor)

You move the starship at half its normal speed. The starship can take turns during this movement, but the starship’s distance between turns increases by 2. You can add your ranks in the Piloting skill to the starship’s AC and TL for this round. You can only take this action if no other pilot actions have been taken during the helm phase (including glide).

Snap Shot (Gunnery Phase, Minor)

You can fire one of your starship’s weapons with a –2 penalty to the gunnery check. You can take this action only if no other gunner actions have been taken during the gunnery phase (including snapshot).