Space
While people, droids, and creatures have Move Attributes, anything capable of travel between star systems has a Space Attribute instead. Whether in "normal space" or "hyperspace", this number serves as a convenient proportional measurement of how far the starcraft travels within a given five standard seconds -- and will only matter in comparison to other objects within the same local area. The other objects could be so many possibilities:
- other starcraft,
- stellar or planetary bodies,
- space stations,
- the expanding front of a gravitic or energy wave,
- navigational buoys,
- missiles,
- sensor range extremities,
- proximity mines,
- unexpected kinks in a formerly clear hyperlane,
- Captain Kolene's tolerance
On those occasions where a pilot limits their starcraft to atmospheric travel, the Space Attribute has an associated Atmosphere listing. Starships with no Atmosphere listing are not capable of entering atmospheric environments except as part of a crash.
So what is Space supposed to mean?
Space is the distance in meters that could hypothetically be covered in cruising speed travel, in a straight line, over a single combat phase of 5 seconds.
A ship can move once per initiative round, all at once.
It may be possible to move faster by rolling a starcraft's category-based piloting skill (starfighter piloting, space transports, capital ship piloting) -- but that counts as the character's Dice Action for that round of initiative. It might even remove the options to dodge or parry for that round!
Cautious Movement: half Space Attribute or less
The ship proceeds at a very slow rate. Perhaps the co-pilot is running constant scans for obstacles or hidden targets. Perhaps the pilot wishes to reduce the ship's chances of being detected by long-range passive scanners.
Unless the terrain is Difficult (or worse), this is a free action -- just like normal conversation. If the terrain does come with severe complications, the related piloting skill roll faces a difficulty which the GM reduces by one level.
Cruising Movement: full Move Attribute or less
I don't know -- fly casual!
Starcraft travel at their standard operating speed. They may be conducting business as usual along a well-marked hyperlane or crossing the intervening vacuum between the jump from lightspeed and the edges of BoSS Planetary Traffic Control.
Cruising speed counts as an action in an initiative phaseW, but no actual roll is necessary unless the terrain is Difficult or worse.
High Speed: race at speeds up to twice Space Attribute
No better way to test your skills
than to fly fast and push the limits of your machine.You need to know every single bolt of your machine
because your life does depend on it.OH! And make nice with your astromech!Just trust me on this one.
There's plot in progress; if this ship does not make good time, they might miss it!
High Speed Movement requires a roll on a relevant piloting skill. Defaulting to Attribute (probably Mechanical) is possible, but trained skills are less likely to face increases to Difficulty levels.
Terrain difficulties of "Difficult" or higher will increase one difficulty level for the skill roll even when attempted by a trained athlete! The character has less spare attention to notice unstable footing or similar obstacles before they are already atop them.
All-Out: sprint up to four times Space Attribute
You feel that? The thrum of the engines pushed past maximum.The scream of the angels, they are jealous because I have faster wings.
All-out travel is for true emergencies. It absolutely requires a roll on the related piloting skill, and the commitment to top speed increases the difficulty at least one level for any terrain.
It also removes the possibility of doing anything else in that phase. Pilots moving all-out cannot make Perception checks, they cannot communicate with team or bystanders or opponents, they cannot fire weapons, they cannot even dodge or parry. If this starcraft has crew stations for additional personnel, those other functions are still available (albeit at increased levels of difficulty) -- a navigator or co-pilot could attempt astrogation checks or make a sensors roll for a shorter range than normal, perhaps adjust shields settings. Gunners at designated gunnery stations might be able to fire. All of these additional crew functions do carry a potential risk of overstraining the engines.
Type
Natural
Typical Space Attributes
- Small craft such as starfighters, yachts, or scout ships, whether designed for military or citizen ownership, have Move Attributes scattered all across the spectrum. various craft sized for small traveling party sizes
- The Private Dancer has a hyperdrive multiplier of x1, a Space of 4, and an Atmosphere of 800 kmh.
- A typical Mining Survey Ship has a hyperdrive multiplier of x2, a Space of 5, and an Atmosphere of 850 kmh.
- In 12636, the Royal Naboo J-type 327 Nubian constructed by the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps of Naboo, had a hyperdrive multiplier of x1.8, a Space of 6, and an Atmosphere of 950 kmh.
In following years, the signature starcraft of that same royal diplomatic fleet were replaced with the Naboo J-type Cruiser, which had a hyperdrive multiplier of x1, a Space of 5, and an Atmosphere of 850 kmh. - When Funds are truly not a personal consideration, a Corellian Industries FXE Luxury Space Yacht suits three crew members and up to ten passengers. It advertises a hyperdrive multiplier of x1, a Space of 11, and an Atmosphere of 1250 kmh.
- Depending on the particular model, an X-Wing Starfighter probably has a hyperdrive multiplier of x1. It may have a Space anywhere from 8 to 15.
- Most non-military medium freighters and space transports start with a Space of 4. assorted medium-sized space transports
- A Wayfarer Medium Transport has a hyperdrive multiplier of x2, a Space of 5, and an Atmosphere of 850 kmh.
- A Firefly Class Midbulk Transport, series 1 through 3, typically had a hyperdrive multiplier of x2, a Space of 4, and an Atmosphere of 800 kmh. Since these medium freighters were originally exclusively constructed for military use, they also had a Hard Burn acceleration system for emergencies. The Hard Burn replaces the normal engine functions with a Space of 6 and an Atmosphere of 950 kmh. Hard Burn uses up fuel at 150% whether that is the hypermatter in the hyperdrive or the anthracite-dilutim compound that fuels the atmospheric maneuvering thrusters.
- Capital ships are military craft. They ought not be owned by private interests.
That does not mean much in certain parts of the Galaxy.They do tend to be difficult to capture and keep in sufficiently good condition without the resources of a multi-system government to support them.Most capital ships have a hyperdrive multiplier of x1 or better. Capital ships do not typically have an Atmosphere Attribute; beware the exceptions.
Capital Ship examples
- An Aesir-Class Battlestar from the Colonial Era, known to fans of Jedi Quest, had what we now would consider a hyperdrive multiplier of x3 and a Space of 5.
- The Vigilant, a Venator-class Star Destroyer, survived her thirty years of near-constant travel with a Space of 6. She has probably had some upgrades since then.
- An Archer-class Corvette may be on the small end of the capital ship scale, and come equipped with a slower hyperdrive multiplier of x2, but it also has a Space of 7 and an Atmosphere Attribute of 1000 kmh.
W
House Rule: Nah!
In the Shards campaign, we do not count full Space transit as an action in a combat phase (requiring that the pilot's player withhold a die from all other rolls that phase) unless 1) the terrain is Difficult or worse; 2) the starcraft is taking an unfamiliar and extremely complicated route; 3) the pilot character is pushing their ship's Space to its maximum, which would be "High Speed" or "All-Out".
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