Step 1: Class And Hull

The first step in building a starship is selecting a ship class and an appropriate hull type. For our purposes, a class is simply a very broad measurement of the ship’s general size, toughness, and firepower, while a hull is a fairly specific beginning point for the shipbuilding process.

Class

Ship classes include small craft, light, medium, heavy, and super-heavy. Each of these broad classes includes a number of specific hull types that you may choose from. For example, medium ships include the light cruiser, heavy cruiser, and the armored cruiser.

What’s a Class, Really? A class of ships consists of all the ships built to a common plan. Although some of the ships may be modified from this baseline later, they’re essentially identical in all important details. For example, the U.S. Navy currently operates two major classes of destroyers: the Spruance-class ASW destroyers, and the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers.

There are several advantages to finding a plan that works and then sticking to it; the cost per unit drops dramatically when you don’t have to come up with new plans, systems, and manufacturing processes for each new ship you build. In addition, crew training and tactical doctrines can be applied more easily to lots of different ships instead of one at a time.

Typically, an enemy observer can identify the class of a particular warship by its visual profile or its sensor and weapon suite, but unless he has access to some kind of intelligence information, the exact identity of the ship is rarely obvious. In other words, it’s pretty easy to identify a Spruance-class destroyer, but much harder to figure out that the ship in question is the Foster, Hayler, or O’Bannon.

Small Craft

The smallest warships are, of course, fighters and other small craft. Typically, these ships are small enough to be carried aboard medium or heavy vessels; a battleship will frequently carry several launches or scouts, while a true carrier may embark hundreds of fighters and strike ships. Note that formation combat rules may be used in place of individual controlling the movement and attacks of each fighter involved in a squadron-sized battle; see Chapter 1: Basic Combat for details.

Light Ships

Ranging from light freighters and attack ships on up to destroyer leaders, light ships are usually too big to be carried aboard other vessels. Ships such as corvettes and destroyers are the most numerous true warships; a planetary fleet may include hundreds of these vessels.

Medium Ships

Cruisers, light carriers, and large merchantmen are common medium ships. They screen heavy and super-heavy vessels, and are capable of executing detached operations for extended periods of time.

Heavy Ships

A heavy ship such as a battleship or fleet carrier is a national investment. One or two serve as the centerpieces of most task forces and operational groups; more than a dozen in the same place at the same time represents an overwhelming amount of force—a sector fleet ready for a major engagement.

Super-Heavy Ships

Not every game will feature super-heavy ships; these titans are each a fleet in themselves, carrying dozens or hundreds of small craft and mounting weaponry that can destroy a heavy cruiser in one hit. Be warned: building a super-heavy ship can take a long time!

Hull Selection

Choose the hull type you want to use for your spaceship. While we’ve attached some very specific names to these hull types, there’s no reason you couldn’t design any kind of ship using any kind of hull. For example, if you want to design a destroyer-sized ship that embarks a single flight of four strike fighters, you could choose a destroyer hull despite the fact that you’re building a “mini-carrier”. Similarly, a heavy cruiser hull might be used to build a survey cruiser, a fast freighter, a command ship, or an orbital assault ship. The name is simply a placeholder.

Table 5-1a: Military Hulls

Table 5-1b: Civilian Hulls

Hull Points: The number of hull points available in this type, representing its capacity for installing systems. The first number is the basic hull point total, the number in parenthesis is the bonus hull point total.

Tough: The ship’s toughness rating. Note that some ships have Good toughness, one step less than Small Craft.

Target: The ship’s basic resistance modifier to enemy fire, based on its size and maneuverability.

Maneuver: The ship’s maneuverability class.

5% and 10%: This is the number of hull points a system requiring 5 or 10 percent of the hull requires. This information is simply a shortcut to save you time and effort.

S, W, M, C: The ship’s Stun, Wound, Mortal, and Critical damage tracks.

Crew: For information purposes only, a general estimate of how many crewmen a typical ship of this type carries.

Cost: The cost of the hull, in credits, Concord dollars, or the appropriate currency for your campaign.

Civilian Hulls

Launch

This is a boat, pinnace, or gig designed to simply move small amounts of people from one point to another. They’re rarely armed or armored.

Courier

The courier is a more robust ship capable of extended operation away from its base. Few are drive-capable.

Trader

The smallest common commercial hull, the trader (or tradesman) generally carries a mix of small, high-value loads, personnel, and information or mail.

Fast Freighter

Fast freighters are a commercial hull generally employed in small, frequent runs, such as carrying supplies to small outposts and bases. The fast freighter usually carries some minor defensive armament.

Fast Transport

Designed to carry small amounts of high-bulk cargo such as heavy machinery or vehicles, the fast transport sees service in the same kind of work as the fast freighter.

Hauler

The hauler is a spacegoing tug that drags heavy, nonpowered loads and modules. Most haulers are fitted with big power plants and huge engines, at the expense of cargo capacity and crew quarters.

Industrial

Industrial ships include a mining ship, mobile outpost, or similar vessel intended to carry very specialized machinery for a specific mission. Industrial hulls are rarely armed.

Medium Freighter

The medium freighter usually carries containerized cargo. Most operate in regular runs between densely populated systems.

Clipper

This is a small liner or personnel transport intended for passenger use, not heavy cargo. Many clippers are fitted with top-notch engines for the best possible speed.

Medium Transport

Medium transports are similar to medium freighters, but they are fitted for specialized cargoes such as vehicle decks, liquid or gas tanks, or bulk holds.

Tanker

A large civilian hull intended for the transport of large quantities of gases or liquids. While other forms of cargo storage may be installed, most ships of this size carry water, hydrogen, petrochemicals, or oxygen.

Liner

This is a full-sized passenger ship. While any vessel this size must carry some cargo, the liner specializes in moving a large number of passengers, usually in some degree of luxury. A liner is about 400 meters in length and weighs in at 60,000 to 90,000 tons. The crew numbers about 200, not counting the hotel and restaurant staff, which might be as many as 1,000 more.

Heavy Transport

The heavy transport is designed to move a huge amount of specialized cargo such as bulk freight, containerized freight, or roll-on/roll-off vehicle storage.

Super-Freighter

The largest ships built for routine commercial purposes, the super-freighter can be fitted with tanks or other specialized cargo facilities to make it into a super-tanker or supertransport.

Colony Transport

This colossal ship is designed to haul everything a new colony needs to a new star system. Thousands upon thousands of colonists with heavy machinery, prefabricated buildings, equipment, and supplies can fit within its cavernous storage decks.

Military Hulls

Fighter

Designed for action against other small craft, fighters lack the punch to be very effective against large targets unless they’ve been designed to carry bombs or torpedoes.

Strike Fighter

Also known as the heavy fighter, the strike fighter is usually armed with a bomb or torpedo capable of seriously damaging a large warship or tough ground target. It may or may not be equipped with weapons suitable for defending itself against enemy fighters.

Cutter

Many system patrol craft or police vessels fall into this category. The cutter is rarely drive-capable. Note that a military ground assault ship might fall into this hull size.

Scout

The largest small craft, a scout is designed to cover space and locate enemies without engaging in serious combat. A scoutship is 40 to 50 meters long and masses 100 to 200 tons.

Escort

Escorts are a long-endurance patrol craft employed for a variety of duties, including the protection of merchant shipping and remote bases. A typical escort ship is about 50 to 70 meters long and weighs 1,000 tons. A crew of 30 to 40 is normal, although a handful could operate the ship for a short time. Gunboats or missile boats could fall into this category.

Corvette

Basically a larger version of the escort ship, the corvette serves as both a gunboat and fleet escort. These are the smallest military vessels expected to operate independently in wartime.

Frigate

A military vessel used for scouting and escort duties, the frigate is primarily intended to screen larger vessels against small craft attack. A frigate is roughly 100 to 120 meters long and weighs about 2,000 to 3,000 tons, carrying a crew of about 100 men and women.

Destroyer

Destroyers take their name from the torpedo-boat destroyers of the late 19th century. They’re integral to the defense of a task force, screening it against small craft and attack ships. Destroyers are often armed with a one- or two-shot weapons useful against much larger ships. A destroyer is usually about 150 to 200 meters long and masses about 8,000 metric tons. It carries a crew of 150 to 200.

Light Cruiser

The light cruiser is a warship that serves several roles. It may be part of a task force, escorting capital ships; it may operate independently as a scout and raider; and finally, it may serve in diplomatic and scientific tasks. Light cruisers frequently have an outstanding endurance and can operate with little or no base support for months on end. An escort carrier or assault transport could be built on a light cruiser hull.

Heavy Cruiser

Generally considered the smallest capital ship, a heavy cruiser is a serious warship. It can outfight anything it can catch, and outrun anything it can’t outfight. A typical heavy cruiser is about 250 to 300 meters in length and masses about 50,000 metric tons. It carries a crew of 500 to 1,000.

Armored Cruiser

These vessels often serve as the centerpiece of a raiding or patrolling task force, especially if heavier warships are in short supply. Many armored cruisers are configured for task force command functions; the command cruiser is a fairly common variant of this hull type. A light carrier or assault carrier could easily fit into a ship of this hull type.

Battlecruiser

The battlecruiser is a formidable warship that sacrifices weight of armor in exchange for speed. Its heavy weapons can make short work of any smaller vessel, and it can usually outrun anything big enough to stand up to it in a fair fight.

Battleship

The mainstay of many stellar navies, the battleship is heavily armed and armored, although not very maneuverable. Battleships serve as the backbone of any battle fleet. The average battleship is roughly 400 to 500 meters in length and masses about 150,000 tons, with a crew of about 2,000 men and women.

Fleet Carrier

Designed to carry large numbers of strike craft and interceptors, the fleet carrier has the ability to launch devastating attacks from millions of kilometers away. Most are very lightly armed, relying on their escorting vessels to defend them against attack.

Dreadnought

The mightiest ships found in the battle lines of a stellar navy, dreadnoughts are titans armed with awesome firepower and impregnable defenses. A dreadnought is around 800 to 1,200 meters long and weighs about 600,000 to 1,000,000 tons. Typically, a crew of 4,000 to 5,000 is required.

Super-Carrier

Like the fleet carrier, the super-carrier is designed specifically to operate large numbers of small craft. A super-carrier might have an air wing of 200 to 300 interceptors and strike craft.

Super-Dreadnought

Sometimes found serving as fleet command ships or flagships, the super-dreadnought is roughly twice the size of its smaller namesake.

Fortress Ship

The fortress ship combines the best features of the dreadnought and the super-carrier. It is armed with an impressive main battery, and it embarks hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of small craft, too. A fortress ship might be 2,500 to 4,000 meters in length and weigh as much as 3–5 million metric tons. Crew and passengers could easily approach 100,000 men and women.

Like any super-heavy military ships, fortress ships are national assets that serve as the centerpieces of sector defense fleets; they’re almost always accompanied by an escort of dozens of cruisers and destroyers.

Using Hull Resources

Hull Points

Your choice of hull type provides you with the first critical pieces of information about your ship. First and foremost is the ship’s hull point score. This measures how much room the hull contains for all the critical systems it must contain, from weapons to crew quarters. Hull points are also crucial for building the ship’s damage track when you’re done with your ship design.

Economy of Scale

Larger ship hulls can be fitted with more systems than their size would otherwise indicate. There are several reasons for this: First, the square-cube law dictates that squaring an exterior dimension will cube the volume, so that as a hull gets a little longer and a little wider, the volume of space enclosed in the hull increases at a much faster rate. Second, many systems take up more space as they are designed for a higher capacity, but they don’t take up a proportional amount of extra space. For example, crew quarters for 400 hands aren’t twice as big as crew quarters for 200 hands. This is because things like washrooms, passageways, mess decks, and lounges don’t need to be doubled to handle twice as many people. Even things like power plants and engine systems become more efficient in size.

To reflect this, light ships have 10% more hull points than they “should” have, medium ships have 20% more, heavy ships have 30% more, and super-heavy ships have 50% more. These bonus hull points are represented on TABLE 5–1 in parenthesis. These bonus hull points don’t add to the ship’s damage track, and they don’t count for calculations based on percentages of the ship. They’re just free hull points.

For example, a battle cruiser has 1,000 hull points, plus an additional 300 hull points for economy of scale. If a system requires 1 hull point per 20 hull points of ship, or 5 percent of the ship’s hull, only the base 1,000 hull points are used for this calculation. In this case, the system takes 50 hull points—even though 5 percent of a 1,300 hull point ship would require 65 hull points, not 50. The cost of the system and its power demands would be based on the size of the system actually installed (50 hull points).

The rule for economy of scale means that large ships can afford proportionally more space for “options” such as weapons, defensive devices, or additional crew quarters than a smaller ship. Of course, large ships are also extremely expensive, so it’s not really more efficient to build one big ship than it is to build a number of smaller ones. But you can definitely use the same space more efficiently in one hull than you can in ten smaller ones with the same total of hull points.

Firepower and Toughness

The first thing determined by the ship’s class is its toughness. Weapons increase or decrease in effect based on the kind of target they’re used against. This is an extension of the rules for weapon firepower and target toughness presented in the ALTERNITY core rulebooks; consider the firepower and toughness scale to extend as described here:

Ordinary = Small Craft Good = Light Amazing = Medium, Heavy, Super-heavy

This means that a weapon of heavy firepower is one firepower grade above a target of medium toughness, two firepower grades above a target of Light toughness, and five grades above a target of Ordinary toughness. This has drastic effects on a weapon’s effectiveness against targets of different toughness, as described in Chapter 1: Basic Combat.

Damage Track

Finally, the choice of hull also provides the ship’s damage track—the number of stun, wound, mortal, and critical points. For small craft, the stun point score is equal to half the ship’s hull points; for light ships, one-quarter; for medium ships, one-eighth; for heavy ships, one-sixteenth; and for super-heavy ships, one-thirty-second.

Ships gain proportionally fewer damage points as they increase in size because large ships are, in some ways, just as fragile as small ships. A typical ship hull includes thousands of kilometers of duct work, piping, and conduits, plus hundreds of thousands of kilometers of wiring. Damage in one area frequently causes secondary damage somewhere else, through cascading system failures and decompression.

A ship’s wound point score is equal to its stun point score; its mortal score is equal to half its stun score; and its critical score is equal to half its mortal score.