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12.2: Starport

Table of Contents [Hide/Show] Starport Central Starport Outpost One Starport Offices    Operations       Hiring Escorts    Personnel/Crew Assignment       Crew Training       Hiring Crewmen    Bank       Accumulating Interest    Ship Configuration       Repairing Starships and Vehicles       Modifying Starships and Vehicles    Trade Depot    Docking Bay       Security Codes and Navigational Calibration    Other Areas (Optional)

Not every adventure in SFRPG will involve travel through space. For those that do, however, characters may wind up having to visit space stations during their travels. This is particularly true of characters affiliated with Interstel, as their corporate headquarters is a gigantic space station orbiting the planet Arth. Fans of the original games are intimately familiar with this structure. It does represent their home base after all, the point from which their adventures begin. That structure, of course, is Starport Central. A similar structure exists in orbit of a gas giant in Tandelou space. Known as Starport Outpost One, it serves the same function for Interstel crews operating in the Delta Sector. Both Starports are places where crews originally launch from space, gather information from around the Sector, equip up, repair their ship, and generally find respite. For the more unfortunate, the Starports are places where a good chunk of hard-earned money disappears to go for repairs, making a poor colony recommendation, or smuggling Endurium (depending on the year). No discussion of the Starflight Universe is complete without a discussion of Starport and the role it may play during the course of a campaign.

This section of SFRPG will be particularly Arth-centric. For campaigns involving other starfaring races, though, a GM is more than welcome to adapt the Starport stats and areas to their own orbital space stations if they wish. Alternatively, GMs can create their own space stations using the rules in Chapter 7.2.

NOTE: Some additional core rules are presented in this chapter. These rules include some situations which are not necessarily a unique function of Starport (for example, rules on how to repair vehicles are included in this Chapter, even though vehicular repair can take place on a planetary surface where a non-starfaring race resides). This has been done for the sake of the editor's convenience; because these functions can take place at Starport, they are included herein.

Starport Central¶

After the rediscovery of superluminal travel, a number of corporations on the planet Arth formed a massive conglomerate at the behest of the Council, pooling their resources in order to achieve the maximum benefits of this new technology. Thus was born Interstel Corporation. One of the first challenges encountered by the fledgling conglomerate was an issue of traffic and environmental control over the new space fleet. It simply wouldn't do for Arth to build a ground-based spaceport, as no one could foresee just exactly how many starships Arth's civilization would build, or calculate how much noise pollution would be generated by the resultant amount of traffic. With these questions in mind, Interstel set out to design a "headquarters in space", to act as a harbor and support facility not only for the existing fleet but for the future as well. Starport Central was the result. Initial construction took several years to complete; the station was barely "finished" when Arth's sun began to destabilize noticeably in early 4620. Starport Central is based on a Stanford Torus design, though since the station utilizes artificial gravity the docking areas are along the "wheel" rather than the "hub" of the station. At over two kilometers in diameter and half a kilometer in draft, Starport Central is unquestionably the largest structure ever built by the peoples of the planet Arth (and at over 60 million MU, definitely the most expensive). The station can easily hold up to a quarter of a million staff and guests and has the support structures necessary to sustain that population for an indefinite period of time. Starport is capable of berthing up to 32 craft the size of an Intrepid-class Scout at any given time, with facilities for the repair, refit and construction of up to sixteen Intrepids simultaneously. Ships are berthed in the outer rings, with habitation and engineering spaces in the central core of the station. Due to the massive size of the station, teleportation units are located throughout the entire station, allowing visitors and staff to transport to any area of the station near instantaneously. The station uses a modular design, which allows it to receive periodic upgrades to its equipment and facilities, and may if necessary increase the already substantial volume of hangar space in order to accommodate newer, larger starships.

Starport Central

Make: Light Space Station				Size Class: 30 (10,546.9x Intrepid)
SI: 17,500	Cost: 60,375,000 MU	HD/BHD/FHD: 16/31/16		INIT: 2 (Class Two Engines)	Fuel: Endurium (150 m3)
SHP: 13,000 (Class Five Space Station Shields)	AHP: 3000 (Class Five Space Station Armor)	Beam: 660 (Class Five Lasers)	Proj: 1500 (Class Five Missiles)	X: None	Crew/Passengers: 17,500/232,500 (45,600 400 m3 Suites 22,800 200 m3 Luxury Staterooms 181,600 100 m3 Staterooms)
Elements: Titanium (100 m3), Aluminum (73 m3), Molybdenum (69 m3)				Cargo Capacity: 819,950 m3 (819,200 m3 base, 750 m3 from accessories)
Accessories/Pods: Apprehension Module x6, Hospital Module x6, Repair Bay Module x16, Backup Sensor Array x8, Backup Communications Array x8, Beam Weapon Single Turret x8, Beam Weapon Quad Turret x8, Projectile Weapon Single Turret x8, Projectile Weapon Quad Turret x8, Refrigeration/Stasis Module x5, High Temp Storage Module x5, Bio-Hazard Storage Module x5, SWACS Module, Backup Shield Generator x2, , {External Docking Port x4}, {Carrier Systems}, {Quarter Hangar Bay Module}
Flaws/Bonuses: 1/2x Damage Reduction, Modular Design.
NOTES: Starport Central has a Hangar Bay capacity of 9,600,000 m3.

Starport Outpost One¶

contributed by NCCAD

Designed from start to finish within a month, Starport Outpost One was built to provide to a base of operations for Interstel in the Delta Sector. Much smaller and less capable than its larger cousin, Starport Central, it did have the virtue of being one fifth the price, while still providing most of the services of the larger station. The Spemin Crisis took Arth’s defense planners by complete surprise; early rumors for Spemin ships fielding plasma bolts and boasting of obtaining them from a distant sector in space were simply not believed. However, once convinced, it was quickly decided that the key to Arth’s survival was to establish a toehold in this new sector and launch a third fleet of ships to uncover the secret of the Spemin’s new-found power. Given the time crunch involved, and the overall success and flexibility of the Intrepid-class, it was determined that the new station be built with that class in mind; accommodations for larger ships were not allowed for, though they would still be able to dock at the station’s external pylons. As it is, Outpost One can only accommodate two Intrepids at once, which became a source of high aggravation in the early months of 4639, as captains were forced to queue up to wait for upgrades. Also, while not defenseless, the station’s shielding capabilities are markedly less than that of Starport Central, as is its weaponry. In an attempt to mitigate this, in early 4640, Director Phexipotex ordered the installation of a blastopod on one of the pod mounts, thus bolstering the station’s defenses. Finally, despite the fact that mass emigration to the Delta Sector was not foreseen, nor a major consideration in the original design of the station, Interstel’s board of directors did order a revision in the design (their only demand upon being presented with the blueprints) to include 12 colony pods. This was done solely to comply with a provision in Arth law, which then allowed a larger percentage of the station’s cost to be written off in taxes; it is thought that the 1,200,000 SPs Interstel spent on the pods saved the company nearly twice that in tax savings.

Starport Outpost One

Make: Very Light Space Station				Size Class: 23 (80x Intrepid)
SI: 5,200	Cost: 12,986,750 SP	HD/BHD/FHD: 21/29/21		INIT: 1 (Class One Engines)	Fuel: Shyneum (75 m3)
SHP: 3,000 (Class Three Space Station Shields)	AHP: 1500 (Class Two Space Station Armor)	Beam: 660 (Class Five Lasers)	Proj: 700 (Class Three Missiles)	X: None	Crew/Passengers: 130/212 (10 400 m3 Suites 100 200 m3 Luxury Staterooms 232 100 m3 Staterooms)
Elements: Aluminum (75 m3), Titanium (40 m3), Molybdenum (10 m3)				Cargo Capacity: 6,370 m3 (5,120 m3 base, 250 m3 from accessories, 1000 m3 from pods)
Accessories/Pods: Apprehension Module, Hospital Module x2, Backup Communications Array, Backup Sensor Array, Beam Weapon Single Turret x8, Projectile Weapon Dual Turret x4, SWACS Module, Repair Bay Module x4, Permanent Pod Mount x2, <20 Cargo Pods>, Expendable Pod Mount x13, <12 Colony Pods>, <1 Blastopod>, Refrigeration/Stasis Module x2, High Temp Storage Module, Biohazard Storage Module x2, Half Hangar Bay Module, {Half Hangar Bay Module}, {Carrier Systems}, {External Docking Port x4}
Flaws/Bonuses: Design makes inefficient use of interior space. -10% to accommodations and cargo spaces.
NOTES: Starport Outpost One has a Hangar Bay capacity of 568,800 m3.

Starport Offices¶

Starport is perhaps best thought of as a gigantic city in space. It certainly fits the profile of one: there are areas in which the station's population resides, others which support the continued function of the station, and others through which the station's business is conducted. Players of the original games, however, are most familiar with the area devoted to the support of the crewmembers of Interstel's fleet, and in particular the seven major offices located in this area: Operations, Personnel, Crew Assignment, the Bank, Ship Configuration, Trade Depot, and the Docking Bay. The following is a discussion of these offices, as well as the activities that usually go on in these offices and how they can be emulated during the course of a gaming session.

Operations¶

The Operations office deals with the dissemination of information. This office should not be confused with the Command and Control Center, which is also sometimes called "Operations"; that office is in charge of running Starport itself. For crews coming and going from Starport, Operations is their only source of official information from Interstel corporate headquarters. It also allows those crews to keep tabs on news regarding other personnel within the Company, and has even occasionally been used as a means of sending personal messages (though these incidents are often frowned upon and corporate HQ has been attempting to stop personal usage for years, with little success). Traditionally, information from the Operations office comes in one of two varieties: notices and evaluations. Notices encompass news and events from within the company, official briefings, information received from ships in the field, and scuttlebutt. Evaluations are notices from corporate HQ that inform crews of any bonuses they've received or any fines levied against them, including a summary of the actual suitability of any colony worlds the crew has recommended.

Given that Operations is the primary source of vital information at Starport, it makes a good setting for the onset of an adventure involving space travel. It also makes a pretty good place to bring an adventure to a close; players can learn fairly quickly if their efforts have earned them a reward or a chewing-out.

Hiring Escorts¶

The original Starflight games were solo endeavors, in that the player had but one ship at all times. Should the need have arisen, the player was fully expected to be able to take on any manner of challenge (such as combating a large Gazurtoid fleet) single-handedly and come out of it intact. While there hasn't been a great deal of re-balancing that has taken place for SFRPG, the odds of surviving many challenges that existed in the original games without some kind of backup have been drastically reduced. Fortunately, players in SFRPG don't have to go it alone. If more than one player in a group is interested in captaining a ship, the GM may decide whether or not to allow the involved players to each have their own ship. If allowed, it's assumed the ships travel together in a squadron, with one ship acting as the "force flag" of the group.

If the GM would like to keep all the PCs on one ship, players may be given the option to hire additional craft to accompany them on their journey. These craft are either known as "escorts" (if the primary ship is not as strong as the other craft) or "wingmen" (if the primary ship is as strong or stronger than the other craft). For purposes of discussion, the term "escort" will be used. Hiring an escort happens at the Starport Operations office. GMs may elect to provide a list of available ships whose crews want to gain a little extra cash by hiring themselves out as an escort. GMs will need to create a list of candidate ships, preferably one made up of ships with varying levels of equipment (for example, one with just Class One engines, one with Class Three Engines and Class One Lasers, one with Class Five everything, and so forth). The level of crew training should also be taken into consideration when creating escort ships. A good method for generating crew stats quickly involves the use of the rapid character creation routine discussed in Chapter 12.3.1. For the ships, the GM may make rolls of 1d5 or 1d10 (with the option of counting zero as ten) for basic equipment, using the results of the die rolls to set equipment Classes. A list of five to ten available escorts is sufficient. The cost of hiring an escort vessel is solely dependent upon the total cost of the craft in question; to determine the hiring cost, simply divide the total cost by twenty (note that crew experience does not factor into determining the cost, so situations may arise where an experienced crew has a somewhat limited ship wheras a bunch of newbies may have one hot starship). If the GM chooses to allow it, the PCs may also choose to try and hire themselves out as an escort ship. This might make for a particularly good and profitable adventure. Once hired, escort ships remain with the force flag ship until the ships next return to Starport. A crew may hire two escorts at a time, plus an additional escort for every 25 points in their captain's Coordination sub-discipline score.

Personnel/Crew Assignment¶

The Personnel office deals mainly with the assignment of personnel to various posts either on station or aboard starships. Crewmen can be assigned to a ship or transferred to another post at the discretion of the ship's captain (there have been a few instances where the captain transferred themselves to a different post, though those instances are extremely rare due to a substantial pay cut involved). A similar, related area to the Personnel office is the Crew Assignment office. Whereas the Personnel office deals with broad assignments to starships, the Crew Assignment office deals with specific job functions either at Starport or on specific ships. Because the work that these two offices did was so similar, Interstel combined the two offices as a cost-saving measure into a single Personnel office aboard Starport Central and Starport Outpost One in 4641.

For gameplay purposes, when new characters are added to a group (or when players begin a campaign) that's going to involve space travel, it's assumed that they begin in the Personnel section. GMs are welcome to role-play out the character creation process as much as they'd like (through a little "getting to know my shipmate better" session), though of course this is entirely their call.

Crew Training¶

While at Starport, members of a ship's crew can undergo training in various sub-disciplines (but not Skills). Crew training costs 300 MU/SP per session. A crewmember can only be trained in one sub-discipline at a time. For each session, a number of points equal to the crewmember's Learning Rate is added to the sub-discipline (and therefore also to the controlling Discipline). Remember, no character is allowed to have more than 100 points in any Skill or sub-discipline at any time. If a crewmember's training would give them more than 100 points in a sub-discipline, the points above 100 are wasted. In addition, characters can only be trained up to certain levels in disciplines based upon their species and the initial choices made by the character's creator during the creation process (see Chapter 2.4). Should training exceed that limit, the character only gains the number of points up to the limit and loses any remainder. Each training session takes 3 hours to complete. Characters can choose to stay at Starport for training, or "take correspondence courses" out in the field. A character may not take more than four training sessions per day while at Starport, and no more than two training sessions per day while corresponding. Points from training are gained immediately upon completion of the training session.

Note that characters may also experience "real-life training" as they go throughout the course of an adventure. For more on real-life training and how it works, see Chapter 11.1

Hiring Crewmen ¶

No one in the company works for free. Most of the compensation Company personnel receive comes in terms of perks; Interstel personnel get free room and board as well as clothing and Company transport. Employees are also able to receive "signing bonuses" when signing on with a crew, though there are some stipulations involved. New recruits (ones who have never served on a starship) do not receive any bonus and are ineligible for receiving a bonus for three years after joining the Company. Personnel may transfer to a new ship after that date, at which time they will receive a bonus straight from the new ship's Bank account. Personnel may only receive a bonus with a transfer if at least three years have passed since their last transfer. The size of any bonus is commensurate with the amount of training received. Finally, personnel do not actually receive any money from the signing bonus until retirement, and then only after thirty years of service to the Company. To date, the Company has collected a fair amount of money out of ship accounts for the general fund, with little of it actually going out to retirees.

For a player group that doesn't have enough players in it, the GM may elect to provide a list of NPCs wanting to "hire on" with passing starships (including, of course, the ship belonging to the player group). GMs will need to create a list of candidates made up of different species and different levels of training. A good method for generating such a list quickly involves the use of the rapid character creation routine discussed in Chapter 12.3.1. Alternatively, the GM can create a candidate list by hand, using the full procedure listed in Chapter 2.4. A list of 10-20 candidates is good if the players are at Starport Central; between 5-10 is good at Starport Outpost One. GMs should keep track of the number of hero points candidate NPCs receive in order to calculate any signing bonus they may receive. For each hero point used in the building of a candidate character, the character receives a 20 MU/SP signing bonus. If the GM chooses to allow it, PCs may also choose to try and transfer to other starships in order to gain signing bonuses, though this will require the player or GM to keep track of just how many hero points their character has earned throughout the course of gameplay. Hired NPCs will remain with the group for three in-game years, or until dismissed by the player group. A new member to a group may pick up a hired NPC as their regular character at the discretion of the GM.

Bank¶

Starport's Bank is, as with most banks, a facility whose primary function is to lend money. In this case, the lender is the Company and the debtors are Interstel's own personnel. Because starships require massive amounts of money (more than all but the richest private citizen would like have on them), the Bank lends out large sums of money to their starship crews, at a premium interest rate. Prior to 4635, this amount was typically 12,000 MU. After 4635, this amount was changed to 25,000 SP (partially to account for the inflation rate but mainly to help facilitate the active trading starship crews would be conducting in the coming years). Because of the large sums of money involved (easily enough to make six people wealthy) and the desire to limit spending of funds in the account on personal items, Interstel has had to go to great lengths to keep crews from disappearing with the cash. Money given out by the bank to Interstel crews is largely company scrip, equal in value to the standard Monetary Unit but worthless to all vendors except those who've made arrangements with Interstel. Moreover, the Bank authorizes transactions made with company scrip only to a pre-set list of company personnel. Any unauthorized person caught dealing in scrip is subject to prosecution; any Interstel personnel caught dealing in scrip with unauthorized persons is subject to immediate termination. Personnel wishing to make personal use of funds in a starship account are limited to a maximum of 0.01% of the funds currently available in the account.

The Bank is largely cosmetic for purposes of gameplay in SFRPG (especially if an assigned record's keeper within the player group is doing their job like they're supposed to), but it is a place players may visit in Starport and thus can be used for any purpose within a campaign. The Bank allows the players to check their ship's account, as well as any individual accounts characters may have. Finally, the Bank might act as a place where players get launched on certain adventures (particularly if they ever find themselves in the red...)

Accumulating Interest¶

One of the nice things about Interstel starship accounts is that they do have the capacity to earn a starship crew some additional funds, through compound interest. In theory, a crew could just kick back their heels at Starport for a couple of years and make some significant coin (of course, it's likely the lot of them would be canned after a couple of weeks, to say nothing about years; that and it's scrip anyway). The interest rate at Starport's Bank is 12%, calculated every seven standard days on the most current amount present in the account. Shrewd players may be able to use this to their advantage; by waiting to conduct a purchase until just after the beginning of the seventh day, a crew will have slightly more money in their account than if they'd been impatient. Likewise, conducting a sale prior to the calculation of interest will result in slightly more money in the account.

The calculation of interest will require a GM to keep careful track of the date and will probably involve some calculator work, unless the GM is particularly good at math. GMs may conduct their campaigns without taking bank interest into account if they so choose.

Ship Configuration¶

Few can argue against the fact that Ship Configuration is the busiest office in Starport. This is perhaps not that big of a surprise, seeing as how the Ship Configuration office is responsible for the oversight of equipping and repairing starships. A full twenty percent of Starport's staff consists of dedicated mechanics, dockworkers, painters (who are tasked with spray-painting the ship's name onto its hull) and engineers who carry out the jobs assigned to them by the Ship Configuration office. Starport maintains a wide inventory of available equipment for use by starship crews designed to cater to particular monetary means, as well as a large stockpile of repair minerals for use in trickier repair jobs. Interstel's goal with the Ship Configuration office is to get ships turned around as quickly as possible. After all, the less time the staff works, the less they have to get paid...

For gameplay purposes, a character group is assigned their first ship in the Ship Configuration office. Any modifications the group makes to their ship will take place at the Ship Configuration office. If the GM is conducting a campaign where the characters have access to ships of more than one class, the Ship Configuration office will handle the transfer of the crew from one ship to another in the event the character group decides they want a different ship.

Repairing Starships and Vehicles¶

Starships and vehicles can take quite a bit of pounding during the course of an adventure. Considering the financial investment involved in owning or operating any craft, it's not a surprise that most folks would like them pounded back to the way they were before everything went down. Repairs are fairly straightforward in general, though they work best when there's a skilled mechanic or Engineer (both will be called "Engineers" for purpose of this discussion) available to make them happen.

Some repairs can be ordered during the middle of a combat situation (for details on this, see Chapter 9.3 and Chapter 9.4). In general, though, there isn't enough time to fully restore a system prior to the conclusion of combat unless the damage to the system was fairly light. Once outside of combat, an Engineer has a better opportunity to conduct major repairs.

Engineers may only repair one system at a time, and the amount of time it takes to repair a system is dependent upon the amount of damage that the system has received. Destroyed systems cannot be repaired while out in the field; they must be repaired at a specialized facility (in the case of a starship, a set of destroyed engines is going to require getting a tow). Likewise, damage to ship's armor cannot be repaired out in the field. For most systems with a lesser degree of damage, the amount of time needed for a repair is one hour for every five points of damage to the system (rounded up). This time can be mitigated should the Engineer have a sufficient number of points in the appropriate sub-discipline, as mentioned in Chapter 3.10. For every ten points in the sub-discipline, an hour can be shaved off the repair time. To recap which sub-discipline repairs what:

• Metallurgy - Hull and Armor repairs
• Applied Relativity - Shield repairs
• Weaponry - Weaponry repairs (the time bonus for the sub-discipline does not apply when repairing Special weaponry
• Electromagnetism - Sensor and Communications System repairs
• Nuclear Physics - Engine repairs
• Mechanics - All systems (vehicles only)
  

Hull repairs take longer to accomplish than other systems. For every point of damage to the hull, a repair takes one hour to complete. Hull repairs require the craft to remain stationary for the duration of the repair to prevent the possibility of failure from structural fatigue.

Once a repair has been ordered, an Engineer may find that they need access to certain materials in order to properly repair the system. These materials always consist of one of five particular minerals, which are known appropriately as repair minerals. The five repair minerals are Aluminum, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Promethium, and Titanium. To determine if a repair mineral will be required, the Engineer will roll d% and compare the result to the amount of damage to the system. If the result of the roll is less than the current amount of damage to the system, a repair mineral will be required in order to make the repairs. If repair minerals are needed, the GM will need to determine which mineral is required and how much of the mineral will be required. To determine the amount of material needed, the GM will roll d% and divide the result by ten (no rounding). The amount indicated is the material needed (though this can be mitigated by the Engineer's Synthesize sub-discipline; see Chapter 3.10). The specific mineral needed requires a 1d5 roll. A result of one indicates Aluminum, two indicates Cobalt, three indicates Molybdenum, four indicates Promethium, and five indicates Titanium (again, the Engineer's Synthesize sub-discipline may offer a wider selection of available repair minerals). If the Engineer does not have access to a sufficient amount of the correct mineral type, all repairs grind to a halt.

There's always the chance that a craft may find itself in another scrape before repairs to a system are completed. In that event, the GM will need to determine how much of the system has been repaired so far. To do this, the GM may simply take the repair time remaining (round any remainder in minutes up) for the system and multiply it by five; the result is the amount of damage the system still has. For hull damage, the GM may assume the amount of damage remaining equals the amount of time still remaining until hull damage is repaired.

When located at a drydock facility (such as the Repair Bays under the jurisdiction of the Ship Configuration office at starport), an Engineer has the opportunity to make Armor repairs. Armor is repaired using the Metallurgy sub-discipline similarly to hull damage, but the amount of time needed to repair armor damage is calculated the same way as other systems damage. Only destroyed sensors and communications systems may be repaired at a drydock; all other systems will need to be replaced altogether. Finally, drydocks such as the one at Starport have access to unlimited materials and whole teams of Engineers. Such a combination can be used to rapidly repair a craft, though resorting to the use of this Service is extremely expensive. For details on this kind of repair, see Chapter 5.4.

Modifying Starships and Vehicles¶

Modifying a vehicle or starship is a relatively simple process, on paper anyway. All that is required is the removal of one system from the craft (if applicable), the addition of the new system to the craft (if applicable), a re-calculation of the craft's cost, and a redetermination of the craft's vital stats. For the most part, the procedure listed out in Chapter 6.2 and Chapter 7.2 for a craft's initial design can be used to conduct the paper portion of the modification. Players should pay attention as to whether or not their craft has any kind of cost multiplier (a given for all vehicles, and a possibility for starships if the starship has any bonuses). If it does, the cost of any old/new equipment will need to be multiplied by the indicated amount before it is subtracted/added to the craft's overall cost. If need be, the GM can choose to recalculate the overall cost of the craft themselves.

If a modification involves the removal of old equipment, the characters can expect to receive some money back for that equipment. The value of equipment depreciates the moment it is installed on any craft. While in the real world the amount of depreciation would be dependent upon how long the equipment has been in use, for purposes of the game all equipment sold earns 90% of its full value. This amount can be reduced based on any damage the equipment has at time of sale. For each point of damage the equipment has received, the GM should shave 1% off of the equipment's depreciated value (not the full value). Alternatively, the GM can shave off a flat one hundred from the value, if it's easier for them to calculate. Destroyed equipment should still have no value. In either case, it is the equipment's full value (not the depreciated value) which is deducted from the overall value of the craft for purposes of the modification.

Modification of any of a craft's systems takes time to complete. The amount of time needed is fully dependent upon the Class of the equipment being removed, the Class of equipment being added, and how well the mechanic (or mechanics) making the change performs in the course of doing their job. To calculate the amount of base amount of time necessary, simply add the Class of the old equipment to the Class of the new equipment. The result is the amount of time needed for the modification, in hours. For example, upgrading from a Class Four Engine to a Class Five Engine will take nine hours (4+5 = 9) For accessories, an hour is needed for each piece of equipment pulled as well as each piece of equipment needed. For example, replacing a SWACS module with a Scout Module and adding another Scout Module will take three hours total. This amount of time is modified by a mechanic's Check. Which Engineering sub-discipline will need to be Checked is solely dependent upon the craft and what type of system is being modified:

• Metallurgy Starship armor systems and all accessories not covered by Electromagnetism.
• Applied Relativity: Starship shield systems
• Weaponry: Starship weapons systems
• Electromagnetism: Starship Sensors and Communications systems (accessories, specifically any exchange involving an ECM Module, SWACS Module, Backup Sensor Array, or Backup Communications Array.)
• Nuclear Physics: Starship Engine systems
• Mechanics: Any equipment on a vehicle, regardless of the specific type of system involved.
  

The DC of the Check is ten points for every hour required. A successful Check shaves one hour off the amount of time needed to make the modification for every ten points in the degree of success. Should the Check fail, another hour is added for every ten points in the degree of failure. This Check has critical potential. In the event of a critical success, the modification takes a single hour, regardless of the equipment involved. In the event of a critical failure, an additional amount of time is added to the modification time as normal, with an additional 2d5 hours tacked onto the time needed. Each additional mechanic working on a modification will shave one hour off of the final amount of time, to a minimum of one hour. Finally, adding or removing pods from a starship always takes one hour and requires no Check.

Modifications are allowed to take place concurrently, provided there is at least one mechanic available for each modification requested. If there is an insufficient number of mechanics, the tasks that would take the longest are "queued up" and won't begin until a mechanic is freed up. In the event two modifications would take the same amount of time, the characters may select which modification they'd like to have happen first. Starport always assigns five mechanics to ships when making repairs or modifications, though there is an extra hour delay involved as the ship is towed to and from a Repair Bay.

Trade Depot¶

Both Starport Central and Starport Outpost One have trade depots along the main concourse. These offices perform many of the same functions as the trade depots commonly seen on many of the inhabited worlds of the Delta Sector, with a few key differences. The first is that neither Starport sells nor buys any standard trade goods (though the office is in charge of overseeing the delivery of standard trade goods to new crews prior to their initial departure from Starport). Neither Starport deals in any specialty trade goods, though both keep an inventory of artifacts and technologies brought in from the field for re-sale to interested parties. Finally, Starport can be considered a "No Bargaining" trading post with a Level economy; all items at Starport that can be bought and sold will have all of their price points set to the STV of the good in question.

There are also some key differences between the two Starports when attempting to trade. Starport Central will sell repair minerals to Interstel crews and will buy minerals brought in from the field. Prior to 4621 and the enacting of the Endurium Ban, Starport Central bought and sold Endurium amongst the other minerals; they stopped buying Endurium with the enactment of the ban and only sold it to ships on authorized missions prior to the widespread distribution of Shyneum. After Shyneum began to be widely distributed, Starport Central stopped all Endurium trade and began a Shyneum trade in its place. The trade port at Starport Central also purchases lifeforms and information on lifeforms brought in from the field. The trade depot at Starport Outpost One is more selective, owing to the smaller size of the station and the more limited resources at its disposal. SO1 will sell repair minerals to Interstel crews, but will not buy any minerals from those crews. Further, SO1 has never maintained a sufficient enough supply of Shyneum to distribute it to visiting ships; ships needing fuel are re-directed to the nearby Tandelou homeworlds. Finally, SO1 doesn't conduct an active lifeform trade.

Should the GM wish to make Starport a little more friendly to active traders, they are more than welcome to use the following trader character, or to create one of their own. For the sake of completeness, the generic trader presented here has been given a full set of stats similar to the canonical characters presented in the Who's Who.

Rlyy T'Lathll

Species: Thrynn		Billet: Chief Trader, Starport Central		Gender: Male
Height: 1.5 m		Weight: 84 kg		Handedness: Right
Birth Date: 28.3.4609 (Age 31; Middle Aged)			HP/NHP: 60/60
SI: 95		HD: 58/58/50		Initiative: 5
Attack Bonuses - Melee: 12; Ranged: 13			Saves - Fortitude: 8, Reflex: 8, Willpower: 10
Power: 70	Finesse: 85	Physique: 80	Intellect: 110	Acumen: 105	Charisma: 125
Three-Dimensional Maneuvers: 25 Brawling: 30 Lifting: 15	Dodge: 30 Dexterous Maneuvers: 20 Hiding and Seeking: 35	Concentration: 35 Stamina: 15 Recuperation: 30	Knowledge: 35 Cunning: 45 Resourcefulness: 30	Perception: 35 Performance: 45 Survival: 25	Personality: 40 Leadership: 35 Diplomacy: 50
Command: 180/150	Science: 180/200	Navigation: 170/200	Engineering: 150/200	Communications: 210/250	Medicine: 100/100
Inspire: 25 Battle Tactics: 20 Coordination: 30 Experience: 35 Security: 55	Biology: 30 Geology: 25 Archaeology: 35 Anthropology: 20 Sensor Use: 55 Meteorology: 15	Orientation: 35 Ballistics: 20 Vehicle Piloting: 50 Stealth: 25 Evasive Maneuvers: 30 Targeting: 10	Metallurgy: 10 Weaponry: 15 Mechanics: 25 Synthesize: 20 Jury Rig: 30 Damage Control: 30	Jam: 20 Bluff: 35 Intimidation: 30 Distress: 25 Negotiations: 60 Gather Information: 40	Intensive Care: 10 Long-Term Care: 20 Toxicology: 25 Pathology: 15 Psychology: 30
Traits: Reputation (+5; Rlyy has gained fame among Starport personnel, as everyone who visits the Trade Depot must deal with him), Wealth (+10; Years of trading have made Rlyy one rich lizard), Greed (-15; Rlyy occasionally fixed prices in his favor), Creed (-15; Rlyy believes in survival of the fittest), Intolerant (-5; Rlyy, like all Thrynn, has a grudge towards the Elowan).
Equipment: Civilian Casual Dress Outfit {5x4, 2x2}, Shoes, Hat, Hip Holster {1x8†}, Briefcase {1x64}, Wallet {EC1, 1X2, +10X1}, Debit Chit {EC0, X1}, Pencil {EC0, X1}, Paper {EC4, X16}, Audio Recorder {EC4, X16}, Hip Flask {EC1, X2}, Chronometer {EC0, X1}, Gun Scanner {EC1, X2}, PDA {EC2, X4, includes Office Application Software}, Data Crystal {EC1, X2}, Long Range Communicator {EC3, X8}, Translator {EC2, X4}, Class Three Dazzler {EC3, X8, 35NHP} (Total Encumbrance Class 22). Money: 7.2 MU.
Notes: This character's age and stats are from 4640 (though in this case, a similar set of stats can be applied to any generic trader needed by a GM). Character has 1000 hero points.

Docking Bay¶

The final "office" in Starport really isn't an office at all. Rather, it is a dedicated teleportation unit which starship crews use to transfer to their craft within Starport's Hangar Area. For Starport Central, this unit is a large pad located in the exact center of the circular main concourse. For Starport Outpost One, the unit just happens to be located right in front of the main door that leads between the concourse and the docking bay (which in the case of SO1 is kept depressurized to save on maintenance costs). In both cases, the teleportation unit is affectionately known as "The Docking Bay" by starship crews. The Docking Bay is where the players go to board their starship and make final preparations for their departure, once the crew is ready to head out.

For gameplay purposes, the Docking Bay is largely cosmetic. Transferring to the ship might make for a good piece of drama leading up to the beginning of an adventure for a GM. Otherwise, it's simply another setting that a GM may be able to incorporate into an adventure.

Security Codes and Navigational Calibration¶

The original Starflight games came from an era where it was exceptionally easy to pirate the game to others. Starflight would've been a particularly easy game to pirate (given that the creators recommended not using the original disks for game play) had it not been for the inclusion of copy protection devices into the games. Rather than just creating a generic copy protection routine, however, the designers worked their protection schema into the games, in the form of the Starport code wheel for SF1 and the Navigational Calibration routine for SF2.

GMs may, if they so choose, work these schema into their campaigns. If the GM should happen to have a code wheel of their own or have access to a routine that will give them the codes (such as the one at starflt.com), they may go ahead and use it for SFRPG. Likewise, a GM with access to a full Delta Sector map may choose to go ahead and use it for the Navigational Calibration routine. If, on the other hand, a GM wants to create the feel of the copy protection routines without necessarily including them, then they can have the player's captain make an Extremely Easy Leadership Check, as well as a successful Extremely Easy Starship Piloting Check from the ship's Navigator. In all cases, failure of the copy protection routine may have interesting consequences for the characters later on. A run-in with the Interstel corporate police is the traditional consequence for failing the copy protection routines, but a GM may choose to be fiendish and have something else occur as well...

GMs are also welcome to completely omit the copy protection schemas altogether. In those cases, launching from Starport is considered a free process requiring no fuel expenditure or skill rolls from any of the players. It's recommended that the GM at least make the departure as "scenic" as possible. Regardless of whether or not "copy protection" is used to leave Starport, docking at Starport is considered a free action as well (under normal circumstances, that is; a GM may incorporate a challenge into an adventure where a clean docking procedure is not a foregone conclusion...).

Other Areas (Optional)¶

Starport, as previously mentioned, is a city in space. Like any other city, it has its different "activity zones" (such as residential zones, commercial and industrial districts, and so forth). GMs may decide that it's unfair for characters to only be able to visit seven locations at most in a structure that's so large, particularly if they have the idea to have an adventure with Starport itself as the main setting. GMs are not limited to using only the seven main offices of Starport already discussed if they so choose, and are welcome to add whatever areas they feel are appropriate and necessary to their adventure. The following is a short list of ideas for added areas at Starport.

• Payroll Office: A place where PCs may go to pick up their individual salaries. This office can either be adjacent to the Operations office, or even perhaps part of the Operations office. The payroll office can become the place where an adventure ends (with the PCs getting their paltry salaryt), or perhaps even the place where an adventure is launched (say if for some reason Interstel is unable or unwilling to give the PCs their just compensation).
• Guild Offices: A place where PCs may go to get specific missions from independent employers, or perhaps from Interstel corporate HQ itself. Guild offices are a great way for GMs to launch a campaign; someone has a specific job and hires out the PCs to do it, no questions asked. Again, the guild offices are probably going to be located somewhere close to the Operations office.
• Bar/Lounge: A place where PCs may go to kick back and relax, and maybe catch up on gossip from other ships and captains. For Starflight "purists", there's a strong argument for such a place to exist, particularly at Outpost One (there is a "Nebula Lounge" mentioned in one of the Operations notices in Starflight II). A lounge is a lounge is a lounge; GMs can have no end of uses for them in any role-playing setting.
• Infirmary: A place where PCs may go if they’ve been seriously injured and haven't fully healed before returning to Starport. Treatment in the infirmary may be set up to behave similarly to getting repairs done at Starport (the level of service can't be beat, but you'd better be able to foot the bill). An infirmary makes particular sense if the player group goes out without a dedicated physician, or if they have one that can be considered inexperienced at best.
  

These examples are just a sample of what a GM could decide to include. As long as a location at Starport makes sense and is needed for a campaign, GMs should have no qualms about adding them to Starport. At the same time, GMs should be careful about what areas they do choose to add to Starport. It's conceivable that a GM could forget about an area of Starport that their players remember, where they previously conducted some manner of activity which the GM would rather they not do during the course of the current adventure.

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