Step 7: Weapons

Naturally, most warships will be heavily armed. The ability to engage and destroy the enemy is critical to any kind of military spacecraft, and its weaponry is the salient feature of the design. Even nonmilitary craft frequently carry some kind of light armament to discourage piracy or enemy attack. if the weapon is not currently firing at someone or something, it doesn’t need to be powered.

Many ships don’t have enough power to energize all of their weapon systems, defenses, and engine capacity at the same time, and must shunt power from one system to the next as the situation demands. Weapons fall into one of four categories: beams, projectiles, launched ordnance, and special weapons. Most ships will be fitted with an armament of no more than two or three different kinds of weapons; it’s much more effective to pour the concentrated fire of a large battery against one target than to attack it piecemeal with one of everything.

Arcs of Fire

When a designer installs a weapon in a hull, he must choose whether the weapon will bear in the forward, starboard, port, or aft firing arc. (Launched ordnance, including missile racks and launchers, is exempt from this; it can “fire” in any direction regardless of the ship’s orientation with no special arrangements.) Arcs of fire are discussed at greater length in Chapter 1: Basic Combat. In addition, beam and projectile weapons of small or light firepower may bear on zero arc. All weapons installed in small craft are assumed to include the full zero arc automatically.

Standard mounts in light or larger vessels may be designated to bear on the zero-port or zero-starboard arc, plus one other firing arc.

Turrets in light or larger vessels may be designated to bear on the zero-port or zero-starboard arc, plus two other firing arcs. For example, a battleship might install ten plasma guns as a secondary battery in standard mounts. The designer decides that five bear on the zero-port firing arc, and five on the zero-starboard.

These weapons can bear on one other firing arc in addition to the zero arc, so the designer decides that the zero-port guns bear on the port arc in addition to the zero arc, and the zero-starboard guns bear on the starboard arc.

Standard Mounts

All beam, projectile, torpedo, and special weapons include a standard mount. This mount allows that specific weapon to fire into one specific firing arc. It’s possible to stagger weapons over a variety of arcs, so a destroyer armed with four fusion lasers might mount two forward, one port, and one starboard.

No more than 25% of the ship’s hull points may be spent on standard mounts firing to any one arc (except the zero arc). For example, in a ship of 40 hull points, no more than 10 hull points of standard weapon mounts can be designated as weapons that bear on the forward firing arc. Beam and projectile weapons of 9 hull points or less automatically bear on the zero arc as well as the assigned arc (or arcs, in the case of turreted weapons).

Fixed Mounts

By eliminating any mechanical training devices, it’s possible to build a slightly cheaper and smaller version of a standard weapon system. A fixed mount fires along one hex row at no penalty. A weapon in a fixed mount can fire into the normal arc (say, the forward arc instead of just the single line of hexes dead ahead of the ship), but suffers a +3 step penalty to the attack roll because the ship must train the weapon by fine maneuvering.

Since the fixed mount requires less hardware than the standard mount, a beam, projectile, or torpedo system in a fixed mount costs 25 percent less than its listed cost, and requires 25 percent less space.

Turrets

By mounting a weapon in a raised structure with clear fields of fire to all sides, it’s possible to allocate three arcs of fire to a weapon mount instead of the one arc allowed by a standard mount. The turret includes significant machinery, extra armor, climate control, and other systems common to the ship, so it costs 25% more money and hull points than the standard mount.

Sponson

The sponson is a bulge or blister in the side of the ship where a weapon can be mounted for an improved field of fire. It’s not as good as a turret; a sponson allows fire only into two arcs instead of three. The sponson costs 25% more than a standard mount of the same type, but it does not require any additional allocation of hull points.

Banks

Beam weapons of PL 8 or higher can instead be mounted in banks. A bank works much like a turret, in that it extends the weapon’s firing arcs from one arc to three and costs 25 percent more than a standard mount. However, the banked weapon takes up no extra hull points; the bank consists of a simple emitter plate or band through which the energy beam is “steered” by phase interference, much like the electronically scanned phased array radar system.

Multiple Weapon Mounts

It’s possible to save space and money by housing multiple weapons in the same fixed mount, standard mount, turret, or bank. Because the mount machinery, power supplies, targeting computers, and so on can be installed once instead of twice, this is an efficient way to increase a ship’s firepower. Apply the multiple weapon savings after you figure the space and cost requirements for the type of mount (fixed, standard, turret, or bank).

Twin Mounts require 1.5 times the space and cost of a single weapon in the same type of mount. Power requirements are unaffected, so it’s just like powering up two of the weapon in question. Triple Mounts require twice the space and money of a single weapon in the same type of mount.

Again, power requirements are unaffected.

Quad Mounts take 2.5 times the space and money of a 72 single weapon in the same type of mount. The power requirements are unaffected. There are two disadvantages to multiple weapon mounts.

First, all weapons in a multiple weapon mount must be fired at

IR Laser (PL 6)

Somewhat more powerful than the visible laser, the IR (infrared) laser focuses light in the infrared spectrum. It delivers more energy to the target than the basic laser.

the same target, using the same fire mode, if they’re fired at all. Modification: At an additional cost of 200,000 credits and

(The captain can choose to leave some barrels of a multiple mount unfired to save power or ammo, but every barrel that fires must fire at the same target using the same mode of fire.) Second, multiple weapon mounts possess a single location for system damage. A ship with four separate fusion lasers can suffer one weapon hit and have three fusion lasers left, but a ship with four fusion lasers in the same mount can have all four knocked out or destroyed by one lucky hit.

Concealed Mounts

Weapons can be built into concealed mounts, providing an unpleasant surprise for a potential enemy. Detecting concealed weaponry requires a specific sensor check at a +3 step penalty (or +1 if the check is made via hi-res video). Deploying concealed weaponry in the course of a fight forces a new edge check, provided the weapon in question actually hits and causes damage in the fire phase.

Concealed weapons take up 1.5 times the space and cost 1.5 times the amount of money that an unconcealed mount of the exact same type.

Beams

Beam weapons direct some form of energy on the target to spectacular effect. They range from weapons as simple as a high-powered laser to monstrous devices capable of harnessing the fundamental forces of the universe against the target. Beams represent a good mix of cost, range, accuracy, and damage potential.

However, they tend to use a lot of power. See TABLE 5-8: B EAM WEAPONS on the next page.

Laser (PL 6)

The simplest beam weapon, the laser is used generally for small craft or point-defense batteries. It directs a focused beam of white-hot light to the target. The heavy laser is simply an oversized laser that pours more energy

1 hull point, the IR laser can be configured for burst or autofire attack modes. This increases the power consumption to 3 power points per round.

X-Ray Laser (PL 6)

This device lases very high-energy x-rays. It is the most powerful of the light lasers. Modification: At an additional cost of 300,000 credits and 1 hull point, the X-ray laser can be configured for burst or autofire attack modes.

This increases the power consumption to 4 power points per round.

Neutron Gun (PL 6)

This device directs an intense blast of neutron radiation at the target, creating severe radiation effects and wreaking havoc on both mechanical and biological targets. The heavy neutron gun is simply a larger version of this device.

Fusion Laser (PL 6)

Using a controlled fusion reaction to prime an immensely powerful high-energy burst of radiation, the fusion laser is an extremely powerful version of the x-ray laser.

Graser (PL 6)

Like the x-ray laser, the graser is a device that lases very high-energy electromagnetic waves—in this case, gamma rays. It causes severe radiation damage to its target.

Hydrogen Bore (PL 6)

This mammoth weapon is basically a fusion torch drive designed to function as a weapon. It uses magnetic fields to direct a blast of fusing hydrogen at its target. The temperature of the hydrogen bore’s discharge approaches ten thousand degrees.

The hydrogen bore can be fired only as a special weapon; see Chapter 1 for details. Note that it is an area-effect weapon and may inflict damage on targets in the general vicinity of the primary target.

on the target. It’s too big to install on light spacecraft, but

is common on destroyers and larger warships. Modification: At an additional cost of 100,000 credits and 1 hull point, the laser (not the heavy laser) can be configured for burst or autofire attack modes. This increases the power consumption to 3 power points per round.

Particle Beam (PL 7)

An improved version of the PL 6 neutron gun, this device projects a stream of protons, neutrons, or alpha particles at the target, accelerating each to near light-speed. Not only does it deliver a scathing blast of hard radiation, but the kinetic energy of particle impact can vaporize its target. The heavy particle beam delivers a higher volume of particles to the target.

Progress Level 8: Energy Age

Progress Level 9: Matter Age

• Weapon modifications may make additional fire modes available.

** Area effect weapon; see TABLE 5-11. Weapon: The name of the weapon.

Tech: The tech track required by this weapon. If more than one tech track code appears here, the builder need only have access

to one of the tech tracks mentioned.

Hull: The number of hull points required for the installation of this weapon system.

Pow: The power required to employ this weapon in one round of combat.

Cost: The cost, in millions of credits, Concord Dollars, or denomination appropriate to your game.

Acc: The weapon’s base accuracy modifier.

Range: The weapons short/medium/long ranges in megameters (units of 1,000 kilometers).

Fire: The weapon’s type (low impact, high impact, or energy) and firepower (Small, Light, Medium, Heavy, or Super-Heavy).

Damage: The weapon’s damage for an Ordinary/Good/Amazing-quality success on the attack roll.

Mode: The weapon system’s allowed fire modes. ‘F’ stands for single-shot; ‘G’ stands for group (or battery) fire; ‘B’ stands for

burst fire; and ‘A’ stands for autofire.

Plasma Cannon (PL 7)

74 The plasma cannon uses a powerful charge to convert a mix of chemicals into a white-hot plasma and then accelerates the mass toward the target with a simple rail gun. The result is a bolt of incandescent plasma that can explosively vaporize mundane materials. The heavy plasma cannon simply fires a larger bolt.

cost of 2,000,000 and 2 hull points. Its power consumption increases to 8 points.

Kinetic Lance (PL 8)

The kinetic lance creates a stream of virtual particles simulating solid matter. At the speeds involved with space combat, the impact of the lance is quite destructive.

Modification: At an additional cost of 200,000 credits and

1 hull point, the plasma cannon can be configured in a rapid-

fire quad mount for burst or autofire attack modes. This increases the power consumption to 5 power points per round.

Fusion Beam (PL 7)

Like the hydrogen bore of Progress Level 6, the fusion

EM Cannon (PL 8)

The EM cannon works much like the laser or maser cannons, but it concentrates its peak power in the radio band. It is especially effective against electronic equipment, inducing an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) effect similar to that of a nuclear explosion.

beam initiates a fusion reaction and then directs the blast at

the target. The PL 7 version is simply smaller and more efficient. The colossal fusion bore is simply an exceedingly large example of this same technology.

The fusion bore can be fired only as a special weapon; see Chapter 1 for details. The fusion bore is an area-effect weapon.

Matter Beam (PL 7)

The matter beam works much like a particle accelerator, except that it fires particles of antimatter. The power requirements to manufacture and contain antimatter within the weapon’s bore are significant, but the effects are nothing short of spectacular. The heavy matter beam fires a substantially greater number of antimatter particles with a correspondingly greater effect. Note that this weapon cannot be fired through an atmosphere.

Dark Fusion Gun (PL 8)

Based on dark matter reactions, the dark fusion gun initiates a reaction in which normal matter fuses into dark matter, releasing an extreme amount of energy.

Weak Force Gun (PL 8)

The weak force gun interferes with the nuclear weak force, causing intense radioactive decay effects at the point of impact. The target suffers thermal and radioactive damage as its own atoms irradiate the vicinity.

Strong Force Gun (PL 8)

The nuclear strong force is the force that binds atoms together. The strong force beam emitted by this weapon causes the target’s atomic nuclei to bind together so tightly that they fuse, releasing an incredible amount of energy. The target, in effect, becomes its own hydrogen bomb.

The strong force gun is an area-effect weapon; see TABLE 5–11.

Quantum Cannon (PL 7)

The quantum cannon fires a stream of highly charged subatomic particles designed to destabilize the atoms of the target and create localized fission reactions. The boson gun is simply a larger and more powerful version of this device.

Maser (PL 8)

The maser channels an enormous amount of power through a linear antenna array, creating a broad-spectrum blast of electromagnetic energy. It devastates the target with heat, light, and intense radiation. The pulse maser is a larger version of the same weapon, firing in high-energy pulses.

The gatling maser uses multiple firing arrays to handle even higher energy compressions into shorter pulse widths without burning out the emitters. Modification: At an additional cost of 300,000 credits and 1 hull point, the maser cannon can be configured for burst or autofire attack modes. This increases the power consumption to 6 power points per round.

Zero Bore (PL 8)

The zero bore creates a stream of energy that encourages extraordinary amounts of quantum energy fluctuation—the so-called “zero point” energy. Anything in its path is wrecked by the spontaneous detonation of space itself. Like the hydrogen and fusion bores, the zero bore can be fired only as a special weapon.

The zero bore is an area-effect weapon; see TABLE 5–11.

Blacklaser (PL 9)

Using the fluorescence of a gaseous form of dark matter, the blacklaser fires a beam of coherent light. To human eyes, it resembles the low-ultraviolet glow of a blacklight, but it’s actually composed of much more energetic and dangerous radiation than ordinary photons.

String Projector (PL 9)

The string projector creates a short-lived cosmic string that passes through the target. A cosmic string is a very shortlived chain or rift of extraordinarily mass; think of it as punching a mountain through the target.

Tachyon Gun (PL 9)

The tachyon gun actually fires a blast of high-energy, faster-

Projectiles

Like the naval cannons of old, projectile weapons use a motive force of some kind to deliver a distinct payload to the target. The simplest projectile weapons use nothing more than kinetic energy to defeat the target; a 1-kilo block of vanadium steel moving at 20 or 30 percent of light speed delivers energy comparable to a small nuke. More advanced projectile weapons use more efficient propulsion or deliver more dangerous payloads.

than-light particles at the target. Due to its ability to fire in a line Projectile weapons generally cost less and use less pow-

of sight regardless of relative speed between the firing ship and the target, the tachyon gun ignores all penalties for firing at extreme high-velocity targets (see Chapter 4).

Progress Level 6: Fusion Age

Progress Level 7: Gravity Age

Progress Level 8: Energy Age

Progress Level 9: Matter Age

• Area effect weapon; see TABLE 5-11 for more information. ** Ignores target armor and shields or screens. Weapon: The name of the weapon. Tech: The tech track required by this weapon.

er than beam weapons, but they don’t have the same range or accuracy. The damage is about the same.

Point Defense Gun (PL 6)

76 The point defense gun is primarily a defensive system in-

a low-yield nuke is the warhead of choice).

tended for use against incoming missiles. At close ranges, it

can be employed in an offensive role. The point-defense gun can’t be used both defensively and offensively in the same action round. The point-defense gun can fire in burst or automatic mode with no additional modification.

Rail Cannon (PL 6)

Using a series of electromagnets to propel projectiles down a magnetic track, the rail cannon can be devastating at close ranges. The projectiles are kinetic-energy weapons with no explosive charge.

Needle Driver (PL 6)

The needle driver is a larger and heavier version of the rail cannon with an extremely high rate of fire. It fires small metal flechettes at the rate of thousands of rounds per minute. It can fire only in burst or autofire mode.

Gauss Gun (PL 6)

Based on superconducting technology, the gauss gun is another electromagnetic accelerator that fires its BB-like slugs at an extremely high velocity.

High-Velocity Rail Gun (PL 6)

The largest and most powerful of the electromagnetic rail weapons, the hi-velocity rail gun uses a long track and an immense amount of power to accelerate a relatively small mass to 0.95c, or 95 percent of the speed of light. The kinetic energy delivered by even a few grams of mass striking at this speed is incredible; the BB-sized projectile can vaporize several hundred cubic meters of solid steel.

Mass Cannon (PL 7)

The mass cannon uses gravitic technology to “charge” a small bit of matter with an incredible amount of gravitational energy and then hurls it at the target. It strikes with the effect of a wrecking ball, battering the enemy to pieces. The heavy mass cannon is a larger and more powerful version of the same weapon.

Accelerator (PL 7)

Of all the weapons available to spacecraft, this might be the closest to the old naval rifles that ruled Earth’s oceans for centuries. It uses a linear accelerator to throw an unguided warhead at the enemy. (Refer to TABLE 5–9.) Any warhead of size 2 or smaller may be used as the accelerator’s payload (the listed damage and firepower figures assume that

The accelerator has a capacity of 16 warhead size points, so it hold sixteen 1-point warheads or eight 2-point warheads. The weapon’s magazine can be increased by four warhead size points by spending an extra hull point and 50,000 on the weapon system. The heavy accelerator fires any warhead of size four or smaller; the default figures represent a high-yield nuke.

Its magazine has a capacity of thirty-two warhead size points, which can be increased by four warhead size points per hull point allocated, at an additional cost of 50,000 per hull point. The warheads fired by the accelerator and heavy accelerator are area-effect weapons.

Tach Rifle (PL 7)

The tach rifle falls somewhere in between a projectile weapon and a missile system. Its projectiles are self-powered tachyon rockets, but the rounds are not self-guiding— since the tachyon rocket actually breaks the light-speed barrier for an infinitesimal moment, there is no way that it could possibly implement course corrections in mid-flight. The rocket’s guidance system is basically a timer that drops it back into real space just in time to strike the target with an extreme high-velocity impact.

The super tach rifle is a more powerful version of the same weapon, firing larger tach rockets.

Antimatter Gun (PL 7)

This refinement of the PL 6 rail gun technology throws a piece of antimatter at the target. The impact alone is extremely destructive, but the “splatter” of antimatter from the disintegrating warhead creates a cluster-bomb effect for hundreds of meters around the point of impact. The antimatter gun is an area-effect weapon.

Sliver Gun (PL 8)

An extremely efficient mass driver armed with flechettes (or slivers) of tungsten steel, the sliver gun is the 27th-century version of a heavy machine gun or autocannon. It cycles at a rate of fire of almost 4,000 rounds per minute, and each sliver can tear through a meter or more of heavy armor. The sliver gun can be fired in burst or autofire modes with no special modification, but this increases its power consumption to 6 points of power per round.

Neutronium Driver (PL 8)

This weapon is basically a rail gun configured to fire a projectile of false neutronium—an object the size of a baseball with a temporary mass of thousands of tons. Since neutronium is electrically neutral, the driver mechanism actually encapsulates the projectile in a sleeve or sabot of ordinary matter to fire the slug.

Bomb Projector (PL 8)

Capitalizing on the rare technology of matter transmission, the bomb projector is simply a device that teleports a powerful bomb to the vicinity of an enemy ship and detonates it. Its range is short, but it’s unusually accurate for a projectile weapon. Any warhead of size 2 or smaller can be installed; refer to TABLE 5–10.

The weapon stats assume that the warhead is a low-yield nuke. The bomb projector has a capacity of sixteen warhead size points, so it holds sixteen 1-point warheads or eight 2point warheads. The magazine can be increased by four warhead size points per extra hull point (and 50 K) spent on the weapon system.

Most of the warheads fired by this system are area-effect weapons.

Bomb Salvo (PL 8)

An improvement of the bomb projector, this weapon is possible only with matter transmission technology. It teleports a salvo of four size 2 warheads (see TABLE 5–10) to the vicinity of the enemy ship. These attack as missile salvo or battery fire, with a –1 step bonus to the attack roll of the second warhead, a –2 step bonus to the attack roll of the third, and a –3 step bonus to the attack roll of the fourth.

The bomb salvo has a capacity of sixteen warhead size points, so it holds sixtee 1-point warheads (four salvoes) or eight 2-point warheads (two salvoes). The magazine can be increased by four warhead size points per extra hull point (and 50 K) spent on the weapon system.

Kinetic Converter (PL 8)

Based on the technology of energy transformation, the kinetic converter instantaneously imparts an immense amount of kinetic energy to a projectile, firing it at tremendous speed. No magnetic acceleration or propellant is necessary, so the converter can fire projectiles of almost any size or composition.

Black Hole Gun (PL 9)

Related to the singularity projector, the black hole gun creates a quantum black hole and fires it at the enemy. A quantum black hole is extremely small—no bigger than a single molecule—but it contains a mass of hundreds of millions of tons. Each projectile is roughly the mass of a mountain.

Tidal effects within a few dozen meters of the black hole are extreme, ripping even the toughest armor to shreds. The black hole gun can be fired only in ‘special’ mode; see Chapter 1 for details. The warheads delivered by this system are usually area-effect weapons.

Tunneling Driver (PL 9)

This device employs the principle of quantum tunneling to launch a projectile that materializes inside the target, bypassing the enemy’s surface armor. Any warhead of size 2 or smaller (see TABLE 5–10) may be delivered in this fashion; the weapon stats assume that the tunneling driver is firing a low-yield nuke. The tunneling driver ignores the target’s shields, screens, and armor. (Jammers and other devices that interfere with targeting still affect the attack roll, however.) The driver has a capacity of sixteen warhead size points, which can be increased four size points by spending an extra hull point and an additional 50,000 on the weapon system.

Missiles, Bombs, and Mines

Missiles, bombs, and mines are grouped together because they all share two important features: The weapon’s effectiveness is largely determined by the type of warhead delivered to the target, and the launch system is extremely simple compared to a beam or projectile weapon. Weapons in this category consist of four basic components: the launch system, propulsion system, warhead, and guidance system. There are a couple of ways to handle missiles, bombs, and mines in combat.

Four missiles fired at the same time make up a salvo; forty missiles fired at one time make up a flight (a very impressive display of firepower). Ten bombs or mines deployed at the same time comprise a pattern. Generally, it’s advantageous to hit the enemy with a number of warheads at the same time instead of firing a bunch of weapons one at a time.

Launch Systems

Launch systems are designed much like other weapon systems. They take up some number of the ship’s hull points, require some power to operate, and cost money to install. The launch system chosen also governs how many missiles, bombs, and so on, can be fired in a single round.

However, the important weapon characteristics—accuracy, range, firepower, and damage—are determined by the type of ordnance carried.

Launched Ordnance

Here’s a brief summary of how you need to equip your warship to carry launched ordnance: Bombs require a bomb rack or bomb bay, a bomb propulsion system (really just a casing), and a warhead. Mines require a minelayer, a mine propulsion system (again, a simple casing), a warhead, and a guidance system. Missiles require a missile rack or tube, a missile propulsion system, a warhead, and a guidance system.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of customizing your ship’s ordnance, check out the standard launch systems described later in this section.

78 Launch Systems

Weapon

or cell system can torch off a number of missiles at the same time. Bomb Rack (PL 6): As you might expect, this launch system is designed to carry bombs. Its capacity can’t be expanded, but a ship could buy and mount multiple bomb racks.

Bomb Bay (PL 6): The bomb bay has a capacity of 40 light, 20 medium, or 10 heavy bombs. Its capacity can be expanded by 4 points (4 light, 2 medium, or 1 heavy bomb) for each additional hull point assigned to the system beyond the 10 hull points normally required. Minelayer (PL 6): This system consists of two or more mine rails, low-powered magnetic accelerators designed to deploy a pattern of mines into one hex adjacent to the launching ship in a single phase.

Unlike other launched weapons, at least ten mines (a single mine pattern) must be deployed to be effective. Since the minelayer also includes machinery for deploying the mines, it has half the capacity of other launch systems of a similar size. Missile Rack (PL 6): This is a system that can hold eight light missiles, four medium missiles, or two heavy missiles.

Its capacity can’t be increased, but it’s easy enough to buy

multiple missile racks. Missile Tube (PL 6): This is an internal missile storage and launch facility. Its basic capacity is twelve, and it can fire one missile per round.

While its rate of fire is inferior to the missile rack, the missile tube enjoys one advantage; it can be reloaded in space. Ordnance Cell Array (PL 7): This system is similar to the vertical launch cells of today’s naval vessels. Each missile is pre-loaded into a single cell or canister; the array consists of dozens of these canisters.

Bombs, mines, and missiles of various sizes and warheads can be carried as the shipbuilder sees fit, offering a great deal of tactical flexibility.

Propulsion Systems

The fuselage, engine, casing, and general design of the weapon is included in this category. Propulsion systems range from virtually none (bombs or mines) to sophisticated devices such as the tachyon missile. The size of the propulsion system indicates how many points of launch system capacity it takes up.

For example, a medium bomb takes 2 points of capacity, so a bomb rack (capacity 4) could carry two medium bombs. The warhead rating of the propulsion system describes the maximum size of the warhead that can be fitted to that propulsion system. Very large and powerful warheads require heavy propulsion systems, while small warheads require light propulsion systems.

The weapon’s propulsion system also provides a basic accuracy rating. This reflects the fact that small missiles are generally more nimble than large missiles, and thus more likely to hit a target that’s trying not to be hit.

Endurance is the number of rounds in which the missile can accelerate. After the missile’s endurance runs out, it must maintain its last course and speed and can no longer maneuver. (Bombs and mines don’t accelerate, so they don’t have an endurance rating of any kind.) Acceleration measures the missile’s ability to change its course and speed each phase. If you prefer to play with simpler missile rules, refer to Chapter 1 for details on light, medium, or heavy missile speeds.

Bombs (PL 6): A bomb is basically nothing more than a warhead delivered through the deft maneuvering of some ship. Light, medium, and heavy versions exist to accommodate warheads of various sizes. Mines (PL 6): Again, a mine doesn’t require much in the way of propulsion.

Light, medium, and heavy versions are available. Chemical Rocket (PL 6): In the absence of any better technology, a simple chemical rocket works as a propulsion system. It has no chance of catching any ship equipped with a decent engine, but it’s dangerous to low-speed ships such as sailships.

Missile (PL 6, 7, 8): As different engines become available, missile capacity and speed increase. It’s important to make a note of exactly what Progress Level missile a ship carries, since the PL 7 and 8 missiles are hundreds of times faster than the PL 6 missile engines. The PL 6 missiles are built around ion engines; PL 7 missiles are built around particle impulse drives or gravity induction engines; and the PL 8 missiles are built around inertial flux drives or gravitic redirectors.

Tachyon missile (PL 8): This is a special missile propulsion system that uses an FTL drive to deliver the warhead to the target instantaneously. A ship firing a tachyon missile ignores the penalties for firing at targets moving at extremely high velocity. In fact, the tachyon missile can be fired even while a ship is traveling FTL against another FTL target within range. (See “FTL Combat” in Chapter 1.)

Warheads

The warhead is the business end of the bomb, mine, or missile. Warheads range from simple kinetic energy penetrators—steel spears—to explosive devices harnessing the fundamental forces of the universe. Warheads vary in size, and so require different propulsion systems and launch arrangements.

This is reflected by the warhead’s size. For example, a mass reaction warhead is a size 2 warhead, which means that it’s too big for a light bomb or a light missile. A medium or heavy bomb or missile would be required to carry a mass reaction warhead.

Accuracy represents just how good of a hit is necessary for the warhead to take effect. Very large weapons such as fusion bombs and matter bombs don’t need to detonate on top of their target to wreck it, so they have an accuracy bonus. This is cumulative with the accuracy modifiers for the propulsion system and the guidance system.

Firepower rates the type (low impact, high impact, or ener-

gy) and firepower (small craft to super-heavy) of the warhead. It’s the best indication of just how destructive the warhead is; a light bomb can blow up a vehicle or a building, while a superheavy warhead may destroy fortress ships or entire cities. The weapon’s damage rating indicates the damage inflicted by an Ordinary, Good, or Amazing-quality success on the attack roll.

AA Burst (PL 6): This small warhead is intended for use against small craft, enemy missiles, and vehicles. It can seriously damage a fighter or trader, but it’s unlikely to cause any significant damage to a destroyer or cruiser. The warhead consists of a high explosive burst charge and a directed spray of shrapnel.

The AA burst is an area-effect weapon. It can damage targets dozens of meters from its burst point. The quality of the attack roll indicates how close to the target the missile got before it detonated.

CHE (PL 6): The conventional high-explosive warhead can wreck many small craft, but it’s useful only in salvos or flights against light and medium warships. Heavy vessels such as battleships can ignore the weapon despite its payload of hundreds of kilos of advanced chemical explosives. The CHE warhead is an area-effect weapon.

KE Submunition (PL 6): This warhead consists of a bundle of dozens or hundreds of tungsten steel darts or rods, each mounted on small rocket motors. When the weapon approaches its target, the warhead splits into a deadly sleet of high-velocity metal arrows. The impact energy alone can vaporize meters of heavy armor.

Any other targets within 200 meters of the primary target are attacked at the same time. Each target gets its own attack and damage rolls. Low-Yield Nuke (PL 6): Marginally more acceptable than the H-bomb, the low-yield nuke is a fission weapon designed to “fizzle” in an explosion of only 2 or 3 kilotons, instead of a 30 or 40 kiloton city-killer.

This is still an enormous amount of firepower, capable of devastating a city center or military base. The low-yield nuke is an area-effect weapon. Don’t forget that damage upgrades against targets of inferior toughness—the nuke inflicts 2d6m against things like people and cars within its 800-meter blast radius.

While the low-yield nuke will devastate an area more than a kilometer across, in a space battle this almost always means that only a single enemy ship is affected. On the megameter scale of combat, a single hex is 1,000 kilometers across. High-Yield Nuke (PL 6): This a 1-megaton monster, a city-busting fusion bomb hundreds of times more powerful than the low-yield weapon.

In open space, it’s unlikely that more than one enemy ship could be affected by a single blast. However, a high-yield nuke is a city-killer. Plasma (PL 7): The plasma warhead is an improvement on the advanced explosives of the previous Progress Level.

It creates a blast of white-hot plasma that can blast a small ship like a fighter out of the sky with one shot. MRB (PL 7): This warhead uses a dark matter reaction to

create a powerful wave of energy. It’s more concentrated than a nuclear blast, but less likely to cause unwanted collateral damage. See TABLE 5–11 for details on area-effect weapons.

Matter (PL 7): The matter warhead is more properly called the antimatter warhead; it contains a kilo or two of antimatter in a magnetic bottle, and detonates simply by shutting down the containment vessel. It’s equivalent to a nuke. Starload (PL 8): The most powerful of the purely tactical warheads, the starload is fueled by a dark-matter reaction akin to that of the matter reaction burst of PL 7.

However, it’s miniaturized for smaller applications. Like most warheads, it can cause damage in a wide area of effect. Note that the bantam starload rocket described in the Player’s Handbook is a much smaller version of this weapon.

Nova Burst (PL 8): This warhead creates an incredible gravitational force to compress normal matter into an incredibly dense mass, which then explodes in a colossal detonation. A single nova burst can cripple a destroyer or

cruiser, and may seriously damage larger warships. The nova burst is an area-effect weapon. Zero Point (PL 8): This bomb creates a spontaneous quantum fluctuation of energy akin to the Big Bang, albeit on a smaller scale.

It can devastate thousands of square kilometers in an instant. The warhead may miss its target by dozens of kilometers and still inflict lethal damage to robust targets such as orbital fortresses or heavily armored battleships. Null Bomb (PL 9): This horrifying weapon simply generates a field in which all atomic bonds cease to exist.

All nearby matter is reduced to subatomic dust.

Guidance Systems

The last component of a missile or mine is its guidance system. How does it recognize its target, and what controls its detonation? The only game effect a guidance system provides is a final modifier to the weapon’s accuracy.

Most missiles

tend to be very accurate, but this is balanced by the fact that they must survive enemy counter-fire to reach their target. Active Radar (PL 6): The weapon carries an active radar seeker that locks onto the target and guides the weapon. It’s a ‘fire and forget’ system, since the weapon needs no guidance from the launch platform once its radar seeker activates.

This guidance system is most appropriate for missiles, since mines with actively emitting warheads would be very easy to spot and avoid. EM Homing (PL 6): The weapon is fitted with a sensitive antenna array that detects the target’s electromagnetic emissions and homes in on them. EM emissions normally include sensors, fire control, radio communications, and “engine noise” caused by powerful magnetic fields in fusion or antimatter plants.

EM homing is especially effective against attempts to jam the missile through electronic countermeasures; the seeker head defaults to a “home on jam” mode that guides the warhead to the source of the electronic emissions. If the target is not actively emitting in the electromagnetic

Sample Bomb and Missile Systems

spectrum, the missile’s accuracy drops to a +2 step penalty. IR Homing (PL 7): The weapon is fitted with a sensor that detects the target’s heat signature. Ion engines, fusion torches, missile launches, and other heat-producing devices create a large infrared signature for the warhead to lock onto.

If the target is “cold and dark” and doesn’t emit any heat, the guidance system’s accuracy drops to a +2 step penalty. Command (PL 6): The weapon is directed through an active command signal from its launch platform. In other words, someone on the launching ship is using a joystick to fly the missile at the target (actually, he’s probably using some kind of sophisticated hands-off computer software, but you get the idea).

Command guidance is cheap and reasonably accurate, but it’s not a ‘fire and forget’ system like the other forms of guidance available at PL 6. Mass Homing (PL 7): The mass detector, a Gravity Age technology, makes this seeker head possible. The weapon locks onto the gravitational signature of the target and pursues it with great accuracy.

Unlike the EM or IR homing

If you don’t want to go to the effort of custom-building every missile your warship carries, you might want to check over

this list for some pre-packaged weapon systems to install. Obviously, any of these systems could be customized easily by

changing the ordnance carried.

SMP Bomb Rack (PL 6)

The SMP bomb rack weapon system consists of a bomb rack with two KE submunition warheads in medium bomb casings.

It takes up only a single hull point, so it’s suitable for fighters, strike fighters, and other small craft that need to deliver a

reasonable punch to a ground target or a large ship.

Fusion Bomb Rack (PL 6)

Take the two KE bombs off the rack and replace it with a high-yield nuke, and you’ve got a weapon of mass destruction. The

fusion bomb can destroy a hardened enemy base, wipe out a city, or wreck a battleship in a single blow. Of course, the bomb

rack mounts only one fusion bomb, but how many fusion bombs do you really need?

CHE Missile Rack (PL 6)

This is a launch rack fitted with four light missiles, each equipped with a CHE warhead and an active radar guidance sys-

tem. It’s most useful against small craft, light warships, or relatively soft ground targets. This weapon system would be a

good mount for a strike fighter against small craft or light ships, or for an extra antiship punch on board a larger vessel.

Missile Mount (PL 6)

Consisting of a launch tube with 7 hull points devoted to an expanded missile magazine, this system features 20 light mis-

siles—10 with KE submunition warheads for use against enemy vessels, and 10 with AA burst warheads for use against

fighters and enemy missiles. All missiles are guided by active radar, so they’re fire-and-forget. It’s a good general-purpose

mount for a PL 6 destroyer or corvette, providing both offense and defense.

Plasma Missile Rack (PL 7)

This system consists of a missile rack with eight light missiles, each armed with a mass-homing plasma warhead. It’s a

good weapon for fighters or strike fighters to use against other small craft, and it offers a reasonable antiship punch

against light warships such as destroyers.

Matter Missile Rack (PL 7)

Substitute two heavy missiles with matter warheads for the light missiles of the previous system, and you’ve got a capital

ship killer or city-buster. This rack mounts two matter missiles with mass-homing warheads. The super-heavy firepower

and extreme damage of these weapons means that a single fighter or strike craft can blast a battleship out of existence—

with a lucky shot.

Ordnance Array (PL 7)

This 20-hull point ordnance cell system includes 20 plasma missiles, 10 matter missiles, and 10 mass reaction burst mines

(enough for one mine pattern). This would constitute the main battery of a light cruiser or destroyer. The plasma missiles

can be used against small craft or incoming missiles, the matter missiles can threaten a capital ship, and the mines are

suitable for a variety of missions.

Note that the ordnance array is very flexible; a ship designer could mix and match the ordnance carried to any number

of specific missions.

Nova Array (PL 8)

This is an ordnance cell array packed with forty AI-guided nova burst warheads on light missiles. This is sufficient for ten

salvoes or one flight of missiles. The nova array could be the main armament of a missile corvette or cruiser. It can over-

whelm medium or heavy warships with a massive volley of powerful missiles.

systems, there aren’t many countermeasures that can fool 84 the mass homing warhead. AI Probability (PL 8): This guidance system consists of a passive/active EM seeker head coupled to a powerful computer processor. Not only can it home in through the target’s electromagnetic signature, but it can also form extremely accurate predictions of the target’s future movement and plot sophisticated intercept courses.

Torpedoes and Special

Weapons

The last category of weapons available to the shipbuilder is torpedoes and various special weapons. Torpedoes generally carry a punch disproportionate to their size, offering a small ship the ability to damage a much larger one. Special weapons are a catch-all for a number of strange devices that just don’t fit anywhere else.

Cable Gun (PL 6)

The cable gun fires a magnetic grapple to a distance of about 10 kilometers; its winches can then drag the grappling ship (or its target) into contact, making a boarding action possible. The firing ship must be in the same hex as the target, and it must match the target’s course and speed (see Chapter 1). The winch attached to the cable gun can “drag” 50 hull points of mass.

This means that a ship larger than 50 hull points that cables another ship larger than 50 hull points simply doesn’t have the winch capacity to drag its target closer or itself to its target. However, multiple cable guns add their capacities together, so a ship with four cable guns can pull 200 hull points—enough to drag itself to its target

The main drawback to this weapon is the fact that each use wrecks the equipment; the RF spike can be fired once, and then the installation must be replaced. Spare components for the RF spike cost 100,000 and take up one hull point of space per three shots. It takes d4 hours to replace the RF spike if the parts are on board.

Thermal Inducer (PL 6)

This is the classic heat ray, an energy field in which molecular motion is drastically accelerated, thus raising the target’s temperature. It affects all targets in a single hex within range. The inducer begins with an accuracy of +3 steps in the first round that it is fired, but this improves by one step in each consecutive round that the weapon is trained on the same target ship.

For example, if an inducer is fired at the same ship three rounds in a row, its accuracy is +3 steps in the first round, +2 steps in the second, +1 steps in the third, and so on. The weapon’s best possible accuracy is –3 steps.

Thermal Nullifier (PL 6)

The opposite of the thermal inducer is the thermal nullifier. This weapon creates a field that suppresses molecular motion, lowering the target’s temperature. In extreme cases, all molecular activity is arrested, reducing the target to absolute zero—a very damaging state for most spaceships.

Like the thermal inducer, this is a beam or field that affects all targets in a single hex, plus any targets that lie directly between the firing vessel and the target. The inducer begins with an accuracy of +3 steps in the first round that it is fired, but this improves by one step in each consecutive round that the weapon is trained on the same target ship, to a maximum accuracy of –3 steps.

or its target to itself if either is 200 hull points or less in

size. The reel speed is 100 meters of cable per phase, so a target one kilometer away would take ten phases to reel in. If the grappled target creates an acceleration of 0.01 Mpp that isn’t instantly matched by the grappling ship, the cable snaps.

The cable gun mount and winch includes one spare cable per cable gun, which can be installed in about an hour of work.

RF Spike (PL 6)

Also known as the HERF gun (High Energy Radio Frequency), this weapon consists of a powerful capacitor and a simple linear antenna. It generates a one-shot electromagnetic pulse that burns out the capacitor and its antenna, but it can cause serious EMP damage to the target. The RF spike has super-heavy firepower, but it never upgrades its damage against any target, regardless of toughness.

In other words, it has the same effect on a dreadnought that it does on a fighter (although the dreadnought probably has a lot more boxes on its damage track).

An application of advanced gravity tech, the tractor beam works a lot like the cable gun of PL 6, except that it’s much better. It can be used at range, and against targets whose course and speed differ wildly from the firing ship. Each tractor beam mount is capable of capturing up to 50 hull points.

Multiple tractor beams can “combine” to capture larger vessels. If the tractor beam can affect the target, the firing ship can apply an acceleration of 0.25 Mpp per phase to the target vessel. If the firing ship has enough tractor beams to affect the target multiple times, this acceleration capacity increases as shown below:

Weapon

For example, a destroyer mounts three tractor beams, so it can affect a target of up to 150 hull points. It encounters a scoutship of 30 hull points and tries to capture it. The tractor capacity is 5 times that needed to hold the scout, so the destroyer can apply an acceleration of 3 Mpp to the ship each phase.

Depending on the power of the scout’s engines, this may be enough to slow it down, halt it altogether, and begin to pull it in. Ships without acceleration compensation can be instantly destroyed by the extreme acceleration imparted if the operator is not careful; see “Acceleration Kills” in Chapter 4.

If the target is too big to affect but the tractor-armed ship isn’t, the tractor beam will pull the firing ship towards its target, not the other way around. If both ships can be affected, the smaller ship moves toward the larger. Note that the acceleration applied by the tractor beam always pulls the target in; a tractor-armed ship can’t shove another ship into a convenient asteroid or planet.

Once the tractor beam scores a successful hit, it remains “locked on” and exerts its acceleration each phase until the firing ship releases the beam or the target escapes. A target ship can shake off a tractor beam with a successful crew check (or pilot skill roll against Vehicle Operations-space craft) provided the check equals or exceeds the success grade of the tractor beam’s attack roll. In other words, it takes a Good success in a crew check to shake off a tractor beam that scored a Good hit when it initially captured the target vessel.

Mass Converter (PL 7)

86 The mass converter manipulates matter at a distance, causing the target’s atoms to strip each other of electrons. The corrosive effect can turn steel into a fine gray powder in seconds. The mass converter ignores all defensive screens or shields except for the ablative screen.

Matter Torpedo (PL 7)

This energy torpedo launches a ball of dark matter plasma at the target, which explodes with tremendous effect upon impact. Its outstanding firepower makes up for a short range and high power demand. The plasma torpedo is a larger and more dangerous version of the same weapon.

EM Torpedo (PL 8)

This weapon is built around a specialized electromagnetic pulse warhead powered by a fusion reaction. It’s kind of like guided ball lightning fueled by a small H-bomb. It generates an extreme amount of EM noise, and causes ionization damage and electronics degradation in the target.

Neural Inhibitor (PL 8)

This weapon creates a pattern of neural interference that is

use. It transports up to ten characters at one time onto an enemy vessel, provided the target does not have a functional ablative screen to interfere with the transporter’s carrier signal. In most cases, the boarding transporter is used to insert teams of heavily armed marines or bomb-equipped saboteurs to take the fight to the enemy directly.

Code Arranger (PL 9)

Perhaps the ultimate weapon, the code arranger “re-codes” the basic characteristics of the target’s atomic structure into something not at all useful, such as antimatter, hydrogen, or random energy. Armor is completely useless against the code arranger’s insidious attack, since it is normal matter too and can thus be affected in the exact same manner as the rest of the target vessel.

Null Torpedo (PL 9)

This weapon consists of an energy field that neutralizes all electromagnetic energy at the point of impact. Without electromagnetic energy, matter cannot exist—chemical bonds of all kinds instantaneously fail, leaving nothing but an electrically neutral cloud of subatomic dust. In effect, the null torpedo disintegrates whatever it hits.

essentially incompatible with all multicellular life. It ignores

all defenses and armor, and causes no damage to the ship at all. Instead, the damage inflicted by the neural inhibitor only causes crew losses. On an Ordinary success, the neural inhibitor reduces the target’s crew check rating by 1 point; on a Good success, 2 points; and on an Amazing success, 4 points.

A given ship can only be affected by a neural inhibitor once per battle (the crewmembers susceptible to the particular frequency of the interference die or collapse, and additional exposures don’t harm those who survived the first shot). The damage figures listed for this weapon are directly applied to any important crewmember (i.e., player-controlled hero) on board the target ship.

Fission Activator (PL 8)

This field generator creates a region in which otherwise stable atoms—for instance, the alloys of a ship’s hull—begin to undergo nuclear fission. Depending on the type of fissionable involved, the reaction may release a great amount of energy,

Step 8: Defenses

Large warships are extremely valuable investments, both in terms of the amount of money required to build one and in the training and skill of the crew. Preventing lethal damage and balancing firepower, mobility, and protection have always been major concerns of the naval architect. No one wants to build the next Vasa or Hood.

The first line of defense for any ship is its sheer size and basic compartmentation. Because large ships have superior toughness ratings, fire from smaller weapons and ships downgrades in its effectiveness; see Chapter 1. It’s hard for a space marine with an assault rifle to cause serious damage to a colony transport, even if the colony transport is completely unarmed and unarmored.

The warship’s second line of defense is its armor, discussed earlier in this chapter. Armor serves to block or reduce damage that could otherwise cause the ship grievous harm. However, armor isn’t the only to protect a ship— many other advanced defensive systems exist.

See TABLE 5-13: DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS on the next page.

or it might just “fizzle,” creating local weaknesses and rup-

tures in the target’s structure. The fission activator affects all

targets in a single hex, but it has no effect on any targets intervening between the target area and the firing ship.

Boarding Transporter (PL 9)

Based on the very rare matter transmission technology, this weapon is a teleportation device that is safe for human

Chaff (PL 6)

Consisting of a number of small rocket launchers positioned around the ship, the chaff system deploys a cloud of millions of tiny metal strips or particles to interfere with active sensors and missile seekers. Deploying chaff adds a +1 step penalty to enemy missile attack rolls and sensor checks for three full action rounds. Enemy vessels equipped with mass detectors may ignore the effect of chaff.

Power: The number of power points required by one unit of this type, or one hull point of this system in the case of a sys-

tem defined as a percentage of the hull. A ship dedicating 12 hull points to a damage control system requires 12 points of

power to keep the system operational.

Cost: The cost for one unit of this system, or per hull point of a system based on a percentage of the hull.

Coverage: The number of hull points one unit of this type can protect. For example, a deflection inducer covers 20 hull

points, so a ship of 200 hull points needs 10 inducers to gain the protective benefits.

If the ship changes its course or speed after deploying chaff, it leaves the cloud and loses the defensive benefits. The chaff system includes enough rockets for 4 chaff launches (although it’s easy to buy multiple chaff systems and increase this to 8, 12, or more chaff launches). Since large ships require more chaff for complete coverage, the system is ineffective if there is not at least one launcher per 100 hull points of the ship to be covered.

For example, an armored cruiser of 500 hull points requires 5 chaff dispensers for basic coverage. If the shipbuilder wanted to increase the system capacity from 4 launches to 8 launches, he’d have to buy 10 chaff dispensers.

Damage Control (PL 6)

While all ships are equipped with some damage control provisions, this system represents a sophisticated and complete approach to compensating for damage. It in-

cludes redundant systems, casualty control modes for major machinery, extra compartmentation, repair materials, and advanced monitoring systems throughout the ship. Equipping a ship with damage control systems requires 5 percent of the hull, but the ship gains a –2 step bonus to all damage checks it must make. In other words, it’s more likely to keep its systems operational under heavy enemy fire.

Decoy Drone (PL 6)

This is a small, unmanned vehicle equipped with electronic devices designed to mimic the EM and IR signature of the launching ship. Launching a decoy drone forces any enemy ships to make a sensor check or break track on the launch ship. If the enemy succeeds, the drone is spotted and ignored.

If the enemy fails, it can still fire at the launch ship, but there’s a 50-50

chance that it targets the drone instead. Naturally, any 88 successful hit destroys the drone and resolves the enemy’s uncertainty as to the true position of the ship that deployed the decoy drone. One hull point devoted to the decoy drone purchases a drone bay with three drones.

Additional drones can be bought by installing this system multiple times. Since large ships require larger drone emitters, the drone bay must be 1 hull point in size for every 100 hull points of the launch ship. For example, a battleship of 1,000 hull points requires a drone bay of 10 hull points, which contains three big decoy drones.

Jammer (PL 6)

A jammer system interferes with fire control radar and missile guidance systems. A ship equipped with a jammer can attempt to scramble missile seekers and enemy sensor checks. The jammer-equipped ship adds a +2 step penalty to enemy missile attacks and sensor checks.

Large ships require multiple ECM emitters to cover the entire hull. An armored cruiser of 500 hull points must purchase 5 jammers to use this system at all.

Magnetic Screen (PL 6)

The first primitive energy shield, the magnetic screen uses vast amounts of power to surround the ship with potent lines of magnetic force. While it’s running, the magnetic screen adds a +2 step penalty to missile attack rolls and projectile weapon attack rolls. It has no effect on beam weapons or torpedoes.

Large ships require multiple screen units to cover their larger hulls. Note that a ship may have only one kind of screen (magnetic, particle, deflection inducer, or ablative shield) active at any one time.

Stealth Hull (PL 6)

By coating the ship’s hull in a soft covering of radar-absorbent material, the stealth hull makes it more difficult to detect the ship with radar or laser energy. Enemy active sensor checks suffer a +2 step penalty against the stealth ship. Mass detectors, IR detectors, and EM detectors are not affected.

Like many other systems, the stealth hull requires more hull points for larger ships.

Defense Network (PL 7)

This system consists of scores of small, disposable laser weapons deployed in a cloud surrounding the launching ship. Once deployed, the defense network is creates a near-impenetrable screen against missile and mine attack. Each time a missile attack is made against the protected ship, make a crew check and consult the following table:

Number of Surviving Missiles

Attack M

1 missile –

O

0

G

0

A

0 Missile flights are reduced to a number of salvos. Ordnance that “leaks through” the network attacks normally. The defense network blocks one missile flight, four mine patterns, ten salvoes, or forty individual missile or mine attacks before it’s exhausted.

Since the constellation of defensive remotes can’t maneuver, the ship loses its defense network if it changes course or speed after deploying the remotes. One hull point holds three cloud deployments (larger ships need multiple hull points to hold three deployments appropriate to their size). The shipbuilder can provide additional deployments of the defense network by buying multiple systems.

Deflection Inducer (PL 7)

The deflection inducer surrounds the ship in belts of gravitational energy intense enough to bend beam weapons away from the ship and stop projectiles cold. An operational deflection inducer adds a +2 step penalty to all enemy fire. Large ships require multiple inducers to cover the hull, so a ship of 40 hull points requires 2 inducers, a ship of 400 hull points requires 20 inducers, and so on.

A ship may only have one type of screen (magnetic, particle, deflection inducer, or ablative shield) active at one time.

Particle Screen (PL 7)

This defensive device generates a shell or aura of alpha particles—helium nuclei stripped of their electrons. This adds to the ship’s armor rating by the following amounts: d4 (LI), d4 (HI), or d6 (En). Secondary damage is calculated normally; the particle screen simply increases the ship’s armor roll by the appropriate amount.

For example, a destroyer might be fitted with light cerametal armor, which stops d6 points of high-impact damage. If a particle screen also protects the destroyer, it stops d6 points of primary damage for the armor, plus an additional d4 points for the particle screen, for a total of 2 to 10 points. A ship can’t have more than one screen, shield, or deflection inducer active at the same time.

Large ships require multiple screen units.

Stealth Shield (PL 7)

The stealth shield is a sophisticated electromagnetic transceiver that detects incoming EM energy from radars, ladars, and other sensor devices, and then generates an interfer-

ence pattern to negate it. It also monitors the protected ship’s own EM emissions and cloaks them in a similar manner. Finally, the stealth shield masks the ship’s mass signature.

A ship equipped with a stealth shield applies a +3 step penalty to all enemy sensor checks and missile attack rolls. Note that the stealth shield can’t be used in conjunction with a jammer, although it can operate with chaff or a defense network.

Stardrive Scrambler (PL 7)

This device scrambles the distinctive mass signatures and drivespace resonances created when a ship enters drivespace, making it very difficult for a starfall detector to determine where the ship is bound when it makes the jump. This adds a +4 step penalty to the listening ship or outpost’s sensor check to predict the departing vessel’s destination. Naturally, the scrambler must be active and powered during the jump to mask the ship’s signature.

Repair Bots (PL 7)

In addition to the features described under the PL 6 version of damage control, the ship is equipped with a number of robotic devices stored at various points throughout the hull. These bots are directly controlled by sophisticated damage control hardware and software. The repair bots can rapidly deploy to the damaged part of the ship and begin to effect repairs.

This provides the ship with a –3 step bonus on any damage checks. In addition, the ship’s engineer can repair stun or wound damage remotely—see “Repairs” in Chapter 1.

Ablative Shield (PL 8)

This device surrounds the ship in an energy field that absorbs and dissipates attacks. In other words, it uses the ship’s power to ablate attacks before they take their normal effect. There are two components to an ablative shield: the generator and the capacitor.

The generator works much like other defensive devices; each unit purchased provides a certain amount of hull coverage and demands a certain amount of power. All of the ship’s generators must be powered to create the ablative shield. The second component is a shield capacitor.

Energy pouring into the ship’s shields needs to be diverted somewhere, and so shield-protected ships often carry huge capacitors to store this energy until it can be safely discharged later. Each hull point devoted to the capacitor can store up to 10 shield points of energy. This means that a shield generator is useless without a capacitor to absorb the energy.

Incoming damage converts into shield points as shown below: Critical 5 points

For example, a shielded ship is struck by a neutron gun for 6 points of mortal damage, which converts to 18 shield points. Next round, it’s hit by three laser shots for 5 stun points each, raising the total in the capacitors to 33. The following round, a nuclear missile detonates nearby, inflicting 4 critical points (another 20 shield points), for a total of 53 shield points into the ship’s capacitors.

When the ship’s capacitors are full, the ablative shield automatically fails. There’s just nowhere else for the energy to go. A hit may be partially ablated by a failing shield.

If the ship’s capacitors had 3 more shield points left and the ship was struck for 6 mortals, one point of mortal damage would take up the last 3 shield points, and 5 mortals would continue through to affect the shielded ship. Thus, ablative shields offer an impervious defense—for as long as the capacitors hold out. Note that damage upgrades or downgrades due to firepower versus toughness are applied before the shield takes effect.

Capacitor Bleed-off Rates: Each round, capacitors bleed off 1 shield point of stored energy per 10 shield points currently stored, with a minimum of 1 shield point per round. This takes place during the repair phase. If a ship is carrying 23 shield points in its capacitors, it loses 2 points, dropping to 21 shield points at the end of the round.

This represents radiators, heat sinks, or energy grounds designed to dissipate stored energy harmlessly. Ablative Shields and Toughness: Generally, an ablative shield has the same toughness as the generating ship. Heavy ships produce heavy shields, for instance.

However, it’s possible to buy more ablative shield generators than are strictly necessary to generate a stronger shield (albeit at the cost of more power and space). A shield of at least three generators (6 hull points) is light toughness. A shield of at least ten generators (20 hull points) is medium toughness.

A shield of at least thirty generators (60 hull points) is heavy toughness. A shield of at least one hundred generators (200 hull points) is super-heavy toughness. Energy Compilers: The energy compiler is a refinement or modification to the ablative shield capacitor.

When an ablative shield backed by an energy compiler is struck by enemy fire, the compiler funnels some of the attack’s energy back into the shield, reinforcing it and making it more resistant to damage. The energy compiler has a capacity of 20 shield points per hull point, and reduces the power requirement for the ship’s shield generators from 2 power points per unit to 1 power point per unit, provided there is some amount of energy stored in the compiler from previous enemy fire.

Cloaking Unit (PL 8)

This device is an improvement of the PL 7 stealth shield. It renders the ship essentially invisible in every known medium.

The cloaking unit imposes a +4 step penalty to enemy sensor

Command Systems

90 checks and missile attack rolls. Obviously, the cloaking unit

can’t be used in conjunction with a jammer or chaff bloom, since those devices would give away the ship’s position.

Displacer (PL 8)

Based on the spatial compression engine, the displacer is a device that “slides” the ship a few hundred meters several times a second in a series of randomized local teleportations. All enemy attacks against the displacing ship suffer a +3 step penalty. Like most other defense systems, large ships may require multiple units to receive the defensive benefit.

Nanite Repair Array (PL 9)

The final refinement of damage control systems, the nanite repair array consists of nodules or blisters filled with microscopic repair machines scattered throughout the ship. It offers a –5 step bonus to all damage checks the protected ship must make. In addition, the ship’s engineer can repair stun, wound, or mortal damage remotely.

See Chapter 1.

Table 5-7: Hull Point Costs for Fixed Mounts and Turrets

Table 5-8: Beam Weapons 73

Table 5-9: Projectile Weapons

Table 5-11: Area Effect Weapons

Table 5-12: Torpedoes and Special Weapons

Table 5-13: Defensive Systems