The process of creating a vehicle is a great deal more complicated than creating a character, but it can be just as rewarding as character creation. It is entirely possible that the vehicle created by your players may become “infamous” like the
General Lee or the
Enola Gay, for example.
The basic procedure for creating a vehicle is as follows:
- Build a design concept.
- Select the species that primarily uses the vehicle.
- Select a vehicle chassis, chassis weight and user and note any modifiers.
- Select the vehicle’s armor class and determine the armor's cost.
- Select the vehicle's engine class and determine the engine's cost.
- Select all accessories for the vehicle.
- Determine the vehicle's crew and passenger complement and its cargo capacity.
- Figure up the vehicle’s total cost.
- Record the vehicle’s vital stats.
- Put finishing touches and any desired additional traits to the vehicle.
Note that this is the procedure needed to create a brand new vehicle from a previously non-existing vehicle type. Creating a vehicle of an existing type is as simple as copying the information provided from whatever source is available (usually from the GM’s own notes). As time goes by, however, the characters may wish to make modifications to that vehicle. In this case, they have to perform whichever step affects the systems they wish to modify, re-figure the vehicle’s
basic cost (more on this shortly), and finally re-compute the vehicle’s vital stats. There is also a
Mechanics Check involved in modifying the vehicle (
see Chapter 12.2).
Build a design concept
Having a design concept for a new vehicle type is a step that is often overlooked, and yet is quite important for the overall design process. Simply put, a design concept is just an idea, put down on paper somehow. For the SFRPG, this can be a drawing, a set of desired stats, or some any other mechanism that helps a designer focus their thoughts and directs them in the course of creating a vehicle. Before a designer actually begins to build a vehicle, they should take a little time to think about just what exactly it is they want to create.
The vehicle creation system as laid out in this section in this chapter has been designed to be as comprehensive as possible. Nevertheless, it's not perfect, and so there may be times when a player has to improvise. This is where having a design concept can come in handy.
Take for example a designer who wants to create an SUV-type vehicle for an adventure, and decides to put a luggage rack on top. Going through the design process, the designer discovers that there is no "luggage rack" accessory in the list, so they decide to substitute a Cargo Bay Module, using only 2 cubic meters of space. Circumstances like this can happen quite often, particularly if a vehicle is of an unusual design; a concept helps a designer think about what they might be able to do in these situations.
The vehicle creation process is really fairly straight-forward. Nevertheless, to help keep potential vehicle creators from getting overly confused, an example of each step will be provided at the end of each step in the process.
For the vehicle example, we're going to try and create a vehicle that was mentioned in the SF1 cluebook, the shuttlecraft that Captain Max Zarfleen used to attempt an escape from the Uhlek. We're going to want a fairly small Interstel craft, one that could be included in the hangar of an Intrepid
-class Scout along with an ITV, perhaps something that has most of the same general capabilities as the ITV (fitting all the senior officers on such a small craft may pose a challenge). Something hyperspace capable might be useful; if it were armed, it might even be capable of being used as a defensive craft.Select the species that primarily uses the vehicle.
Species selection is perhaps one of the easiest things that can be decided about a vehicle. Simply select a race that uses the vehicle, based upon the need of that vehicle for an adventure. Vehicles tend to stay in the territories they were manufactured in, though there may be a few imports into other territories (raise the price appropriately).
The selection of the primary user of the vehicle is a critical decision, one that should not be overlooked. This is because in SFRPG, there are many different species, each of which is at it's own particular level of
technogical development. There are four eras of development, the same four listed in Chapter 10: Stone Age, Metal Age, Industrial Age, and Starfaring Age. Certain chassis are unavailable to lower levels of development, and it's important to know whether the species in question can in fact build a vehicle that uses the intended chassis.
We've pretty well determined this step for our shuttlecraft in the design concept (proof of the importance of creating a good concept). This will be an Interstel craft, so any of the Arth races (Human, Veloxi, Thrynn, Elowan and Android) will be the primary species using the shuttle.Select a vehicle chassis, chassis weight and user and note any modifiers.¶
The next step in creating a vehicle is to select a
chassis, the
weight of the chassis, and its
user. This is a crucial step, as it will determine several of the vehicle’s base statistics, including the terrain it's designed for, its base HD, the number, classes and types of systems that can be used aboard, base cost, and base speed ratings.
At the same time, the vehicle’s size class should be determined, which affects several of the vehicle's stats, including its base accommodation and cargo capacity. As previously mentioned, size classes are dependent upon a
bounding box volume. This volume is the minimum size a rectangular prism (a box) would have to be in order to fit the whole vehicle inside of it. A vehicle is said to be of a certain size class so long as it is at least as large as the minimum required size for the size class. The bounds for possible vehicle size classes are listed in the table below.
SFRPG Vehicle Size Class Conversion Chart| Size Class | Size (times an Intrepid-class Scout) | Approximate Minimum Bounding Box Volume (m3) | "Safe" Accomodation Space (m3) | "Safe" Cargo Space (m3) |
|---|
| 1 | 0.0000228882 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 2 | 0.0000457764 | 11 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 3 | 0.0000915527 | 22 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 4 | 0.000183105 | 44 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 5 | 0.000366211 | 88 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 6 | 0.000732422 | 176 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
|---|
| 7 | 0.001464844 | 352 | 5.9 | 0.1 |
|---|
| 8 | 0.002929688 | 703 | 11.7 | 0.2 |
|---|
| 9 | 0.005859375 | 1,406 | 23.4 | 0.4 |
|---|
| 10 | 0.01171875 | 2,813 | 46.9 | 0.8 |
|---|
| 11 | 0.0234375 | 5,625 | 93.8 | 1.6 |
|---|
| 12 | 0.046875 | 11,250 | 187.5 | 3.1 |
|---|
| 13 | 0.09375 | 22,500 | 375 | 6.3 |
|---|
| 14 | 0.1875 | 45,000 | 750 | 12.5 |
|---|
| 15 | 0.375 | 90,000 | 1,500 | 25 |
|---|
| 16 | 0.75 | 180,000 | 3,000 | 50 |
|---|
| 17 | 1 |
|---|
.25300,000 | 5,000 | 100 | | Size Class 18 begins at 2.5 times the Size of an Intrepid-class starship, or 600,000 m3 |
In addition to the bounding box value, each Size Class has a
safe accommodation space and a
safe cargo space volume. These volumes indicate the amount of space usually reserved for living quarters and internal cargo bays, respectively, for a vehicle of the size indicated. The amounts take into account the fact that (unless the vehicle is a rectangular prism) the vehicle itself does not take up the whole of the indicated bounding box volume for the size class (the chart assumes only one-sixth of the bounding box volume is used) and that a small fraction of that space is used for purposes of quarters/cargo (10% for quarters, 0.2% for cargo). These values will be used to determine the vehicle's
crew complement and it's
cargo capacity during the vehicle creation process.
Most of the time, this data sets the basic properties of the vehicle's design. The stats imparted to it by the chassis, weight and user can never be directly changed, unless certain accessories or traits are given to the vehicle later in the design process.
We need to select a chassis, weight and user for our shuttle. Given what we're creating, the Shuttle chassis would make the most sense, but since we're gunning for something small we'll choose the Capsule chassis instead. We'll go ahead and just use the Medium version of the chassis; this will give us a reasonably small size while maintaining a good number of accessories. Because we want to use the craft in a defensive capability and we want to build a hyperspace capable craft with most of the functions of an ITV, we'll go ahead and set the user to Military.
Note what all this information already tells us about our shuttle. We have a choice of size classes for a Medium Capsule chassis; we'll pick the larger of them. This sets our Size Class to 5, which will give us 1.5 cubic meters of accommodation space and no internal cargo space to play with. Our base HD ratings will be 65/55/65, accounting for the base amount from the chassis and the added amount from the Military User. The shuttle's base cost is five Cost Points, and we have a times-two modifier for the Military User. Its default atmospheric speed is 1000 kph and we'll have thirteen accessory slots to play with (three from the chassis and ten from the Military user). For design purposes, the default armor will be Class Three, with a maximum possible armor of Class Seven (adding two additional possible classes for the Military User). The default engine is Class Six, the craft's top atmospheric speed is 10,000 kph, and its cost modifier is 2.5 MU per Cost Point. Finally, since we know we're dealing with a Starfaring Age craft, we know that we get a free (in terms of both cost and space) Tachyon Radar on the craft. We've already got a lot of information to play with, and we haven't really made a whole lot of decisions just yet.Select the vehicle’s armor class and determine the armor's cost.¶
Once the vehicle’s base stats are in place, its time to select an armor class for the vehicle. Armor is technically an accessory (and can therefore be modified after the vehicle is complete), but it is treated differently in that the type of armor selected for a vehicle chassis directly affects the vehicle's HD and does not count against the vehicle's maximum number of accessories. It also sets the number of
armor hit points (AHP) the vehicle has. Since shields are such an expensive option, more vehicles than not have armor as their only real defensive system, so select the armor class for the vehicle carefully.
During the design process, a designer may arbitrarily set the number of AHP for the vehicle being created. This can lead to situations wherein the indicated strength of the armor does not match with the established "classes" of armor listed in the vehicle equipment lists
(see Chapter 6.2.3). In this case, the designer will need to find the next armor class down from the amount that has been indicated; this is the vehicle's official armor class.
EXAMPLE: A designer elects to create a vehicle with 145 AHP. This doesn't correspond to any established basic armor class. Checking the chart, the next lowest established class of armor is Class Four (125 AHP), so the vehicle has Class Four armor. Note that if the AHP is low enough, the vehicle may have "Class Zero" armor. When modifying a vehicle, the values and classes of armor must correspond to the chart; the AHP cannot be arbitrarily set. For purposes of HD calculation (see below), any vehicle with 300 AHP or over is considered to have Class Twenty armor; in all other respects it is considered Class Ten armor.
Each chassis has a
default armor rating and a
maximum armor rating. The default armor rating is considered an optimal armor rating for the chassis. Installing the default armor class on the vehicle chassis will have no effect on the vehicle's HD stats. A designer can put armor on the vehicle below the optimal rating if they so desire. This will have the effect of raising the vehicle's HD. For each level below the default armor rating, increase the vehicle's HD ratings by two points. If higher than optimal armor is installed, decrease the HD ratings by two points apiece.
The maximum rating is the highest class of armor that can be installed on the chassis under normal circumstances (though there is an expensive accessory that does allow a designer to add even higher levels of armor to the vehicle). If the maximum armor rating is installed on the vehicle, decrease the HD ratings by an additional two points above what would normally be removed for higher armor levels. The maximum armor rating for a given vehicle chassis can be changed by particular vehicle users, so be sure to take this into account when selecting armor for a vehicle.
Armor is not an essential component to a vehicle, and can be ignored entirely should a vehicle designer choose to do so (though as stated above, armor is usually the only substantial defensive system most vehicles get, so removing it may greatly reduce a vehicle's survivability).
From our notes, we know that the default armor rating is Class Three and the maximum armor rating can be Class Seven. Class Three should be good enough for a craft with a secondary role in defense, so we'll just leave it with the default setting. This will add 6.2 Cost Points to the craft and give it 100 AHP. Since we've stayed with the default, we do not need to make any adjustments to the craft's HD ratings.Select the vehicle's engine class and determine the engine's cost.¶
The next most crucial thing to do is to select the vehicle’s engine class. Like armor, an engine is technically an accessory (though a crucial one for the operation of most vehicles). As with armor, engine selection can affect the vehicle's HD and does not count against the number of accessories that can be mounted on the vehicle. Each vehicle chassis has a
default engine rating. The default engine rating is considered an optimal engine rating for the chassis. Installing the default engine class on the vehicle chassis will have no effect on the vehicle's HD stats. A designer can put an engine on the vehicle below the optimal rating if they so desire
in most cases. This will have the effect of lowering the vehicle's HD. For each level below the default engine rating, decrease the vehicle's HD and BHD ratings by two points. If a higher than optimal engine is installed, increase the HD and BHD ratings by two points apiece. Engine installation has no effect on FHD.
Engine ratings have a direct effect on the vehicle's fuel efficiency (
see Chapter 8.1) as well as the vehicle's top speed. For each class above the default engine rating for the vehicle chassis, the top speed of the vehicle may be doubled. If doubling the top speed of the vehicle will put the speed above the maximum for the chassis, the vehicle's speed becomes the chassis maximum and cannot be raised above that amount. If the engine is later modified to a higher class, the vehicle's speed will not increase, but the vehicle's fuel efficiency will still increase. Sea vehicles are an exception: added engine classes only raise their top speed by a maximum of 10 kph.
Lower engine classes halve the indicated top speed for the chassis, rounding down (sea vehicles are an exception again, with lower engine classes reducing top speed by only ten kph). Most vehicles can still operate with a Class One engine installed, though the fuel efficiency and speed will both be abysmal. A few vehicle chassis have a
minimum engine rating. Any engine installed below this minimum engine rating will not provide enough power for the vehicle to operate. No vehicle, regardless of its engine settings, may have a speed of lower than five kph.
A GM, if they so desire, may reduce the maximum speed of a vehicle below the amount indicated by the engine class and the chassis maximum speed. This kind of arbitrary reduction is known as adding a "speed governor" to the vehicle. Speed governors are considered part of the vehicle's engine. Players are welcome to try and remove the speed governor from the vehicle during the course of game play in order to try and improve the vehicle's performance. Removing the governor requires a successful
Jury Rig Check (DC 50). If successful, the vehicle's top speed increases to the amount indicated by its engine class. Speed governors also keep an engine from exceeding the maximum rated speed for a chassis type, so removing them removes this limit at the risk of total structural failure. If a vehicle is being operated at speeds exceeding the chassis maximum, it takes 5% hull damage every fifteen minutes with the attendant risk of catastrophic failure and all associated penalties for hull damage (
see Chapter 9.3).
Not all vehicles require an engine. Those that don't require an engine to operate have a "Class Zero" rating as their default reactor. These chassis are capable of running on some kind of external source, such as wind, water, work animals, or even sentient-being power. If external sources are used for locomotion, the vehicle can travel as fast as the external source (e.g. a yacht driven by a 20 kph wind will travel at 20 kph, a groundcar drawn by a horse at 15 kph will travel at 15 kph, etc.). Externally driven vehicles are considered as being operated without a speed governor, with the same potential effects possible if the vehicle's speed becomes greater than the chassis maximum speed. The initiative value for an external engine is zero.
From our notes, we know that a Capsule's default engine rating is Class Six. We also know that we're designing a hyperspace capable craft, which is ultimately is going to mean sticking a Superphotonic Engine accessory onto the shuttle. Checking the notes for the Superphotonic Engine, we find that there is a pre-requisite of a Class Ten Engine prior to installation. We are therefore left with no choice but to put a full Class Ten Engine on our shuttle. Since that's four levels above the default, we'll get to add eight points to the shuttle's HD and BHD ratings, bringing the HD ratings to 73/63/65. It will also add ten points to the vehicle's Initiative rating, bringing it up to twelve. The extra engine classes will increase the shuttle's base speed by a factor of sixteen, which would bring the speed up to 16,000 kph. However, the chassis maximum is 10,000 kph, so we'll set the maximum speed there instead. Finally, the engine will add a whopping 3200 Cost Points to the shuttle.Air Vehicles, Space Vehicles, and Aerodynamic Ratings¶
Air and Space vehicles are capable of moving at terrific speeds throughout a planetary atmosphere. These speeds cause friction between the craft and the atmosphere, generating enough heat to melt the frame of the craft if heat-absorbing materials are not added to the outer skin of the craft. This of course adds to the cost of the vehicle. For every 1000 kph the vehicle is capable of traveling in atmosphere, add one to the basic cost of the vehicle. Each point added to the cost of the vehicle in this manner is counted as the vehicle's
aerodynamic rating. This rating sets the maximum speed the vehicle can travel in the atmosphere. It functions like a speed governor, except that it can be exceeded simply by installing a certain type of engine, and should the vehicle be operated at a speed greater than both its aerodynamic rating and maximum speed, the amount of hull damage it sustains is increased to 10% every ten minutes, with the attendant risk of catastrophic failure. A vehicle's aerodynamic rating can be increased or decreased at any time by adding or subtracting one point from the vehicle's basic cost per 1000 kph increase/decrease. No air or space vehicle may travel higher than 10,000 kph in a planetary atmosphere.
Space vehicles have a few additional special rules. First, it is assumed that all space vehicles are capable of moving at a speed sufficient to enter a parking orbit around the world from which the vehicle operates, and is capable of a speed sufficient to conduct any tasks locally (around the planet and its moons, but not much further than that). The chassis maximum speed for space vehicles is ignored when the vehicle is operating in space, or during launch and landing. The vehicle is restricted to the chassis maximum only when it is required to operate in the atmosphere for extended periods.
Space vehicles from starfaring societies may be operated with or without sublight engines. If a space vehicle attempts to enter interplanetary space without a sublight engine, it may do so, though the amount of time needed to reach another planetary orbital will be quite significant. For the first orbital, the time is one year. For each subsequent orbital, the amount of time is x
2 years, where x is the number of orbitals to be traveled (e.g. three orbitals would take nine years, four would take 16, etc.). Any space vehicle with at least a Class Seven engine installed may have a sublight engine installed as an accessory. Space vehicles may also be given FTL engines as an accessory in order to move between stars like a starship, but require a full Class Ten engine first. Space vehicles without FTL drives will take centuries to reach the closest stars; generally it'll take too long to make for good role-playing.
For both air and space vehicles, it is assumed that they have been given enough ablative material on their outer coating in order for the vehicle to operate in any kind of planetary environment. This includes vehicles that may be transported and used between worlds of various conditions (temperature, atmospheric density, gravity, etc.). Simply put, it's easier to make this assumption for air and space vehicles rather than have to calculate the multitude of permutations of environments the vehicle may be called upon in which to operate (though it is good role-playing to have characters comment on the suitability of a certain vehicle on certain worlds, or to have a problem with the vehicle crop up because of the environment.
Since the shuttle has a top speed of 10,000 kph in atmosphere, we have to add ten Cost Points to the shuttle for its aerodynamic rating.Select all accessories for the vehicle.
The vehicle’s accessories should be selected next, provided the vehicle can support accessories at all. If it cannot, or if the designer doesn’t feel like including accessories, then this step may be skipped over. It should be noted that a vehicle chassis that can carry at least one accessory has the potential to carry many more accessories, thanks to the Modified Chassis accessory (though this accessory will add quite a lot to the cost of a vehicle). Accessories can have any number of effects, depending upon what the accessory as and what it is supposed to do. For more on what accessories are capable of doing what,
see Chapter 6.2.3. Vehicle accessories can change a lot of the basic characteristics of the vehicle, and these should be noted in with the accessory’s effect. The cost of accessories should also be taken into account.
During this time, shield systems may be added to the vehicle. Shields are considered full accessories, and do count against the vehicle's accessory count. Like armor, at the time of design an arbitrary number of
shield hit points (SHP) may be set for the vehicle; the vehicle is considered to have the shield class of the next indicated level downward. Unlike armor, a vehicle can have whatever class of shielding the designer wishes for the vehicle. Shields have no effect on the vehicle's HD.
Weapons systems may be added to the vehicle at this time. Weapons come in two main varieties: beam weapons and projectile weapons. To add a weapon to a vehicle, a proper mount must be placed on the vehicle first, either a rack or turret for the proper weapon type. When mounting racks on a vehicle, it is important to note which
firing arc the weapon is meant to cover
(see Chapter 9.3). Vehicles may have multiple Classes of the same weapon installed, as well as multiple types of weapons (i.e. a vehicle could carry both Class Three slugthrowers and Class Two missiles, or Class Four missiles and Class Two missiles). In instances where multiple types of weapons are carried on a vehicle, be sure and note which weapon type is located on which weapon mounts. In instances were multiple Classes of the same weapon are involved, a different type of weapons mount must be selected for each Class (
for example, Dual Projectile Turrets for Class Four Missiles with Projectile Racks for Class Two Missiles). Turreted weapons cover all firing arcs (but there is a penalty involved with using turreted weapons in combat). If a vehicle carries more than one of the same type or Class of weapon (i.e. two beam weapons or two projectile weapon types, or two or more Classes of the same weapon), only one beam and one projectile system/Class can be carried without taking up accessory slots. The amount of damage or effect of a weapon should be recorded in the appropriate boxes on the Vehicle Record Sheet (Beam for beam weaponry and Proj for Projectile weaponry). In the case where multiple Classes or types of weapons are installed on a vehicle, only the highest damage amount should be recorded in the box. The "X" box, used for special weaponry, will generally be blank unless the vehicle includes one of the special weapons available to starships
(see Chapter 7.2.2), which become available through the use of the
Starship Systems Adapter accessory).
Finally, vehicles may be equipped in such a way as to give them the ability to carry other vehicles (by being equipped with the
Vehicle Rack or
Hangar Bay Module accessories). In these instances, the smaller craft does not count as an accessory. If it is standard equipment for the
parent vehicle, however, the cost of the small craft should be added to the final cost of the parent vehicle, after the rest of the vehicle's cost has been figured up (see below). Stats should be made available for the smaller craft. If a designer wants to design a carrying craft cheaply, they have the option of placing a small craft as a permanent part of the vehicle's carried cargo. Vehicle's carried in this manner must, of course, be smaller than the available amount of cargo space available to the parent vehicle, and cannot be deployed while the vehicle is in operation (even if the
Carrier Systems accessory, which normally allows this action, is installed on the parent vehicle.
From our earlier notes, we know that we have thirteen accessory slots to play with. This should be more than enough to accomplish what we need it to. Going back to our design concept, we see that we wanted a hyperspace capable craft that could also be used for defense and have most of the same capabilities as an ITV. The first thing we should add is our Superphotonic Engine (costs 1000); while we're at it, we can throw on a Sublight Engine as well (costs 500). This should make our shuttle an excellent exploration craft. We can add shields to help protect the craft; to keep things cheap, we'll go with a Class One Shield (costs 4). Since we've picked a Class One Shield, we can set our SHP anywhere from 50 to 99; let's say 65 for the heck of it. We're also going to want the shuttle to have a strong offensive punch, which means good weaponry. Let's say a full Class Ten Laser (costs 4800); this will give the shuttle a 100 point Beam damage capability, enough to threaten small starships if need be. We'll need to add a mount for the weapon; let's say a Beam Weapon Rack (costs 20). We've now used up five of our available thirteen accessory slots. Giving the shuttle the capabilities of an ITV shouldn't be too difficult; we just need to add a Cargo Module for storage (costs ten times size class, or fifty in this case), an Industrial Manipulator Module for grabbing (costs 75), and an SWACS Module for surveying (costs 150). We can set the Cargo Module anywhere up to 25 cubic meters of cargo; we'll say twenty. Total cost of these accessories adds up to 6599 Cost Points, not bad considering the capabilities all the gear gives us. Note that we've left a few slots open for players to make future modifications if they'd like to.Determine the vehicle's crew and passenger complement and its cargo capacity.¶
With the vehicle's accessories determined, there is only one major issue that needs to be addressed before the vehicle's cost and remaining final stats can be determined: its internal space. This will determine how many people are needed to run the vehicle (its crew) and how many people the vehicle can haul that aren't essential to the vehicle's operations (passengers), as well as the amount of equipment, parts and commodities the vehicle can haul at any given time (cargo).
All vehicles have a set amount of space set aside for their occupants (
without which there would be little point in most vehicles, though there are exceptions like the UAV). The amount of space typically set aside for vehicle occupants (known as the
safe accommodation space) is determined by the vehicle's size class. This space has been determined making three basic assumptions about the vehicle:
- The vehicle is no larger than the minimum space indicated for the size class.
- The vehicle's actual internal volume is only about one-sixth the amount of it's bounding box volume.
- The vehicle devotes 10% of its internal volume to accommodation space.
The amount of space available for accommodations on a vehicle can be vastly different if any of these assumptions are incorrect, but for the most part a designer can be rest assured that the space indicated is what would actually be included in a vehicle's internal volume for the space indicated. If a larger amount of space is desired or necessary, it's recommended a designer not go above 50% of the bounding box volume for the actual internal volume, and that no more than 25% of the space be set aside for living areas. Living space can also be transferred over from the vehicle's safe cargo space, if the designer so chooses.
Accommodations spaces fill in the space reserved on a vehicle. These spaces vary greatly in size from single seats all the way up to opulent, apartment-like suites. A description of the types of accommodation is provided in the table below, including the amount of space each one takes up.
Vehicle and Starship Accommodation Spaces| Name | Approximate Size (m3) | Brief Description |
|---|
| Suite | 400 | Basically a full-sized apartment. Comes with seperate full bathroom and sleeping areas off of a main living area or office space. Has its own kitchen and dining areas. |
|---|
| Luxury Stateroom | 200 | Basically an efficiency apartment. Kitchen, living space and bedroom all rolled into one space; can be partitioned off if so desired by its occupant. Has a seperate full bath area. |
|---|
| Stateroom | 100 | High-class cabin. Usually has its own full bathroom, a table and chairs for office space, large bedding area and maybe a kitchenette. Good for first-class family accommodations. |
|---|
| Double Cabin | 50 | A good medium-sized room, usually comes with a full bath and large bed, and a small work area. Typically has a shared common area. Good for first-class accommodations on space vehicles. |
|---|
| Single Cabin | 25 | Dinky in comparison to some quarters types, a single has enough room for a bed, a person's belongings, and maybe a small toilet. Typically has a shared common room. Used a lot for second-class passenger passage. |
|---|
| Steerage Cabin | 12.5 | Steerage cabins are cramped, usually containing just the bed and maybe a desk and a little space for personal effects. Usually requires a shared restroom, but otherwise affords a person at least some privacy. |
|---|
| Large Berth | 6.25 | A good size bunk that folds up into the wall, giving a good amount of space for working as well as a little more in the way of storage for personal effects. If a shared common space and bathroom are used, there's probably just enough space in the actual room for the bunk and not much else. |
|---|
| Medium Berth | 3.125 | A larger bunk that can fold up into a wall with a larger storage area. Usually good when comfort isn't a priority but some work or office space is needed. Jail cells are usually about this size. |
|---|
| Crew Berth | 1.5625 | A bunk bed with a locker for storage. Usually stacked three high. Good when you have to cram large numbers of people in a really small space. Not very private; not very comfortable. |
|---|
| Airplane Seat | 0.78125 | One reasonably comfortable partially reclining seat, with an overhead bin for a small amount of cargo as well as small space under the chair. Good for hauling passengers on trips not much longer than 12 hours at the most. |
|---|
| Bucket Seat | 0.390625 | This is about as basic as it gets; it's a seat that still offers support for the back. No cargo space is included. Good for hauling passengers for short trips of two hours or less, or longer if breaks are scheduled in. |
|---|
| Saddle | 0 |
|---|
.1953125A place to put your butt and that's it. At least you don't have to share it with anyone... |
A designer may fill in the reserved space with accommodation spaces, subtracting the amount indicated for each quarters type from the total amount of reserved space. Each accommodation space added to the vehicle, regardless of its type, adds one person to the vehicle's overall complement. Additionally, a designer is allowed to perform
hot racking on any berth-sized space. This will add an additional person for every two such berths added to the vehicle, resulting in a minor drop in overall crew performance (
see Chapter 8.1 and
Chapter 9.3 for specifics). An additional person can be added without hot racking for cabin-sized spaces and larger, an a third person may be added (or up to three children) for each stateroom or suite-sized quarters added. These quarters types assume human occupancy. If an occupant will be larger than a human, double the size of the quarters (this can be done repeatedly if the occupant is substantially larger than a human) for game play purposes. Likewise, if an occupant is smaller than a human, halve the size of the quarters. The specific quarters types do not have much in the way of game effects, but knowing how large a crew space is can be handy information when it comes to certain kinds of adventures.
The vehicle's designer is under no obligation to fill in all of the vehicle's accommodation space; some can be left open if they so desire. Any space left open can, at the designer's discretion, be passed over to the vehicle's cargo space, its hangar space (if the vehicle has any Hangar Bay Modules installed), or simply ignored.
Once the number of persons that can occupy the vehicle has been determined, the designer may set any number of those persons as the vehicle's crew, with the rest becoming passengers. As a general rule, about 20% of the indicated number of persons should be required as crew if the vehicle is either commercial or industrial (or 6 at the minimum), one person for every two size classes is required if the vehicle is civilian, and 80% or more (possibly all) of the indicated number of persons should be required to become crew if the vehicle is military. Obviously these figures won't apply to every situation (
a vehicle with the Automation Module
accessory, for instance, really doesn't require a crew at all and so all its occupants could be set as passengers), but should be good for most situations.
The vehicle's crew and passengers, once determined, should be recorded in the appropriate boxes on the vehicle record sheet, along with the various types of accommodation spaces placed inside the vehicle.
Cargo space can be determined next. Cargo space on a vehicle is kind of like the reserved living space on a vehicle, in that a certain default amount has been set aside based on the vehicle's size class. The amount set aside is approximately .5% of the vehicle's actual internal volume (again assuming the vehicle takes up only one-sixth of its bounding box volume) and then divided by three. Like living space, this can be adjusted to fit the specific vehicle type (for example, a transport ship might have something like 25% of its internal volume as cargo space, or up to 80% or so for bulk good transports).
Determining the vehicle's cargo capacity is simple enough; just add up the cargo space the vehicle gains from any Cargo Modules installed on the vehicle (Refrigeration, High-Temperature, Bio-Hazard and Waste Disposal Modules count for this tally) and add to it the amount of space reserved for cargo. The resultant amount is the vehicle's cargo capacity, which can be recorded in the cargo capacity box on the vehicle record sheet (along with the various cargo carrying modules. As with accommodation space, space reserved for cargo can be transferred to living space, hangar space (if the vehicle has any type of Hangar Bay module), or even both at the designer's discretion. Note, however, that cargo space granted to a vehicle due its modules cannot be transferred.
From our earlier notes, we know that we've got 1.5 cubic meters of space for accommodations; not a whole lot of space to cram six people in to, that's for sure! Let's go with an Aircraft Seat for the pilot and five Bucket Seats for the passengers. We'll need 0.78125 cubic meters of space for the Aircraft Seat, and a total of 1.953125 cubic meters for the Bucket Seats, bringing the total up to 2.734375 cubic meters. Unfortunately, this is well above the 1.5 cubic meters we have. In this case, we're going to have to fudge things a little bit. We know that, as a Size Class Five vehicle, the minimum volume of the shuttle is 88 cubic meters. If we say that half of that is actually occupied by the shuttle, and a quarter of that space is reserved for passengers, we have 11 cubic meters to play with. So, we can still go ahead and put the accommodations we want on the vehicle; reality is somewhere in between. The shuttle will rely on its cargo module for all cargo carrying capabilities.Figure up the vehicle’s total cost.
Once the accommodations and cargo capacities have been determined, all of the vehicle’s equipment has been selected and it is time to start figuring up the vehicle’s vital statistics, starting with its cost. Begin by tallying the cost factors of all of the vehicle’s equipment. After this "subtotal" has been tallied, it's time to account for multipliers. First, multiply the amount by the user's cost factor. Next, if the Eco-Safe Module Accessory has been added to the vehicle, the final tally of all the cost factors will be halved, rounding up, after the user multiplier has been applied. Finally, once these cost factors have been figured up, multiply the resultant amount by the
cost multiplier indicated for the chassis. The final result is the total cost of the vehicle, in MU or SP (depending on the campaign). Record the final result in the "cost" box on the vehicle record sheet.
If the
Starship Systems Adapter accessory has been added to a vehicle, the cost of any starship-scale equipment is added to the vehicle's final cost after the cost multiplier is taken into account. Small craft added to the vehicle is also added after the cost multiplier has been taken into account. Under no circumstances will the price of starship-scale equipment or small craft ever be multiplied by a vehicle's cost multiplier.
We've been keeping good track of our Cost Points as things have progressed, so it's time to tally them up. Our base cost was 5 points, armor cost 6.2, and the engine was 3200. We add ten points for aerodynamic rating, and a total of 6599 for accessories. Tallying these up gives us 9820.2 Cost Points. We now have two multipliers to attend to; a times-two multiplier for the Military User and 2.5 for a capsule's cost modifier. Multiplying these out gives us a final cost of 49,101 MU.Record the vehicle’s vital stats.
Once all the equipment has been selected and the vehicle’s cost has been calculated, it’s time to figure up the remainder of the vehicle’s vital stats. The designer should have been keeping notes as they were designing the vehicle; if not, then it's important for them to go back and record the effects of the equipment that they've installed on the vehicle. From these design notes, it is possible to determine the vehicle’s battle modifiers (SI, Cost, SHP, AHP, Max Speed, Init, HD, BHD, FHD, Crew, Passengers, and Constituents). Here is an overview of these stats:
- Strength Index (SI): Strength index is a measure of how powerful a vehicles is and how well it rates in combat alongside other vehicles. A vehicle’s strength index is a combination of its shield hit points, armor hit points, and strength of its strongest available weapon. This value is the most basic method for keeping score and helps determine whether or not the vehicle will withdraw in combat, if given the opportunity and if a battle comes to a premature end.
- Cost: This is the total cost of the vehicle's chassis, armor, engines and accessories. By this point in the vehicle design process, this should already have been calculated.
- Hit Difficulties (HD/BHD/FHD): Several factors determine how difficult it is to actually hit a vehicle, including the vehicle’s size, mass, and ability to accelerate. How hard it is to hit and cause damage to a vehicle is represented by its hit difficulty. The higher the hit difficulty, the higher the dice roll needed on a d% roll in order to damage the vehicle. Vehicles have three hit difficulties. The first is the normal hit difficulty (HD), used in regular situations. The second is the “blast” hit difficulty (BHD), used when the vehicle is exposed to the effects of blast weaponry (grenades, missiles, nuclear blasts, etc). The final is the “flat-foot” hit difficulty (FHD), used when the vehicle is “surprised” by the enemy or “disabled” in combat. Each vehicle has a base HD rating, which is modified by armor effects, engine effects, and user effects.
- Initiative (INIT): As with characters, Initiative is used to determine in which order different vehicles engaged in combat situations fight. The higher the vehicle’s initiative, the more likely it is that it will get to deliver damage before other vehicles. Initiative also determines how much the vehicle can move during "grid" combat (see Chapter 9). A vehicle’s initiative modifier is determined directly from it's engine class, taking into account any modifiers from tech level or from any accessories that modify initiative.
- Maximum Speed (MAX SPEED): This lists the vehicle’s maximum speed rating, as determined by its chassis type, it's aerodynamic rating, and/or the amount the GM indicates as a "speed governor". A vehicle may travel at any speed from zero to its maximum speed.
- Shield Hit Points (SHP): This is a measure of the strength of the vehicle’s shields, if any are installed. Shields are an outer layer of defense for a vehicle. Shields can regenerate in combat, at a rate determined by the highest Applied Relativity skill score among the characters operating the vehicle. If a vehicle’s shield HP is reduced to zero, any excess damage points are applied to any armor the vehicle may be employing (or straight to systems damage if the vehicle has no armor).
- Armor Hit Points (AHP): This is a measure of the strength of the vehicle’s armor. Armor is an inner layer of defense for a vehicle, consisting of extra thick hull plates. Armor does not regenerate in combat. If a vehicle’s armor HP is reduced to zero, any excess damage points go directly to systems damage. Certain vehicle types can take systems damage even if armor is not breached(see Chapter 9.3).
- Crew: This lists the number of personnel required to operate the vehicle. Crew listings can be filled out by any type of character, including character players, specific NPCs, or “disposable extras”. A vehicle that does not have enough personnel aboard to fill all of its crew slots may end up taking a general penalty for being undermanned (see chapter 9).
- Passengers: This lists the number of personnel the vehicle can transport as passengers. Unlike crew, passengers are not essential to the successful operation of the vehicle, though a vehicle may take a general penalty for being overcrowded (see Chapter 9) if there are more personnel aboard a craft than listed in the vehicle’s crew and passenger ratings. Passengers can come in many forms, including travelers, troops, and prisoners, to name just a few examples.
- Elements: This final statistic is simply a listing of the types of minerals that are used to make the vehicle and the amount of material that can be expected to be extracted from the vehicle in the event that it is destroyed. In general, larger vehicles will throw out more material and more expensive vehicles will throw out more valuable minerals. There are no hard and fast rules for determining constituents for a vehicle, but in general, the amounts of materials should not exceed .5 cubic meters per size class, and there should not be more than four minerals comprising the vehicle (one of which is whatever material the vehicle uses for fuel).
We're ready to figure up derived statistics. Since we know the shuttle has got 65 SHP, 100 AHP and 100 as it's maximum damage capability (from the lasers), we can add those together to get an SI of 265. We've already figured up the vehicle's cost, and we've kept track of the HD ratings as we were going along (it didn't change after we put the engines on, so the final HD ratings are 75/63/65). We also know the Initiative rating is 12 (again, determined after the engines were put in place), the maximum speed is 10,000 kph in atmosphere, and it has a crew of one with five passengers. Really all we still need to determine is elements; we'll say 2.5 cubic meters of Titanium, 1.2 of Promethium, 1.2 Tungsten and 1.4 cubic meters of Endurium (or Shyneum as needed).Put finishing touches and any desired additional traits to the vehicle.¶
After a vehicle’s vital stats have been recorded, its essential statistics are complete. If the designer is only designing a general vehicle class, they may stop there, and call the vehicle done, though a general-class name should be assigned to the vehicle if one has not been selected already. If, however, they are creating a specific vehicle (such as one the characters are trying to buy used at a discount vehicle surplus depot), then they can add details to the vehicle. Such details may include the color of the paint, any scratches or dents in the vehicle’s hull or armor, and particular flaws it has picked up due to abuse or neglect, and so forth. Flaws in the vehicle may be particularly important, as they can affect the vehicle’s modifiers and/or the ability of the characters to fix the problem. If a designer wants to add flaws to the vehicle, they may choose their own, or they may use the chart below. A designer can, if they so choose, add flaws and other characteristics to an entire class of vehicle. These flaws and characteristics can be from the vehicle's design, or serve as a reflection of the technological era in which the vehicle was constructed.
Vehicle Flaws by d%| d% Result | Flaw
(Design) | Flaw
(Acquired) |
|---|
| 01-10 | Design makes inefficient use of interior space. Reduce accommodation, cargo and hangar volume by 10% (adjust the vehicle's accommodations/cargo/hangar space accordingly). Can be repaired with DC 150 Mechanics Check. | The vehicle's paint job is scratched or chipped. No game effect. |
|---|
| 11-20 | Design is not easily modified or upgraded. -1 accessory per vehicle size class. All upgrades and modifications take twice as long to install as normal. Can be repaired with DC 175 Mechanics Check. | Part of the vehicle's outer surface is dented in. No game effect. |
|---|
| 21-30 | Vehicle's handling is generally sluggish. -1 to Initiative value. DC 75 Mechanics Check required to repair. | Something gets knocked loose. The vehicle either starts smoking or starts making some kind of unhealthy noise. No game effect. |
|---|
| 31-50 | Some systems have had to be jury-rigged in order for the vehicle to operate normally. -20 on all Mechanics Checks to the vehicle. Repair DC dependent upon specific systems affected, at GM's discretion. | One of the vehicle's systems malfunctions. Select one system randomly (as with vehicle damage, see Chapter 9). That system malfunctions immediately, regardless of its damage level. Add DC 50 to normal Mechanics Check for repair. |
|---|
| 51-60 | The cooling system is inadequate to the needs of the reactor, making it easy for the reactor to overheat at high speed. The vehicle can only travel up to half its normal maximum speed and takes 5% engine damage every minute it is over that level. Repair with DC 100 Mechanics Check. | The vehicle's engine has overheated. %5 engine damage for each minute the vehicle remains in operation unless the vehicle slows to 1/4 maximum speed. Afterwards, vehicle is limited to 1/2 maximum speed. Repair with DC 100 Mechanics Check while vehicle is not in operation, or DC 200 Mechanics Check while vehicle is in operation. |
|---|
| 61-70 | The vehicle’s handling is shaky. -20 to all Vehicle Piloting Checks while operating the vehicle. | A stabilizer has been blown loose. -1 to vehicle's Initiative rating and -20 to all Vehicle Piloting checks. Requires a new stabilizer to repair, DC 100 Mechanics check. |
|---|
| 71-75 | The vehicle has been designed with low-quality scanning equipment. +1 Range penalty to all Marksmanship and Ballistics Checks. Requires replacement of the scanner pallets to repair, DC 100 Mechanics Check. | The vehicle’s Sensors malfunction. +2 Range penalty to all Marksmanship and Ballistics Checks. If the vehicle has no scanners, roll again on this table. |
|---|
| 76-80 | Intermittent function on vehicle weapon's systems. -10 penalty to all Marksmanship and Ballistics checks. Repair requires re-wiring of weapon power taps, DC 125 Mechanics Check at twice normal repair time. If the vehicle has no weapons, roll again on this table. | The fire control systems on the vehicle have malfunctioned. -10 penalty to all Marksmanship and Ballistics Checks. If the vehicle has no weaponry, roll again on this table. |
|---|
| 81-90 | The vehicle was designed with sub-standard armor. Subtract 10% from the vehicle’s normal amount of AHP for its armor class, rounding up. Repair requires the complete removal of the armor plating and replacement (normal Mechanics check for armor repair, but at three times the normal repair time). | The vehicle's weapons capacitors short out. All weapons systems are rendered inoperative and cannot be used again until the damage is repaired. The blast causes d% damage to the vehicle. Repair requires a DC 175 Mechanics check. If the vehicle has no weapons or if the capacitor has already shorted out, roll again on this table. |
|---|
| 91-95 | The vehicle was designed with sub-standard structural materials. Subtract AHP as above. Additionally, roll 1d10. Treat the result as hull damage. Repair requires removal of the hull platings and affected members (Very Difficult Mechanics Check at ten times normal repair time). | Serious damage to the vehicle's internal framework. Reduce all HD ratings by one-half (round up). Repair requires a DC 175 Mechanics Check, adding one hour for each point of HD lost. The GM is allowed to select appropriate secondary effects for this type of damage dependent upon the vehicle environment. |
|---|
| 96-00 | |
|---|
olspan="2">Other. Some other system is either flawed or has become flawed. The GM/designer is encouraged to be somewhat cruel.
The next thing the designer must decide is what groups in general will have access to the vehicle. Obviously, it is unlikely that the general population would be allowed to purchase a battle tank, or that the military would want to use an unarmed sporting bike. Of course, there's always the chance the vehicle will be hijacked by someone who's not intended to operate the vehicle...
At this point, the vehicle is complete enough to play an adventure with, but the creation process does not need to end here. Such information as a design programme, the name of the chief designer, the vehicle’s history and so forth can also be added. This will help give the vehicle some of the “personality” that all infamous vehicles seem to have, rather than making the vehicle just a collection of numbers and stats. This part of the creation process does not have to be done at the time the vehicle is created, and indeed, such information about the vehicle can be added through the course of game-play.
We're pretty satisfied with our shuttle as is, so we're not going to give it any flaws. In fact, we're going to call it done. There's just one detail left to fill out, and that's a name. We're going to call it the C-7 Galilei
FTL Shuttle. This is the same craft that appears in Chapter 6.3.The Interstel Terrain Vehicle (ITV)
The Interstel Terrain Vehicle was the chief method through which planetary exploration took place in the original two Starflight games. This vehicle could drive on any terrain (including water and lava), collect information about the surrounding area, use two different kinds of weapons to collect lifeforms or defend the crew inside, scan ruins, find mineral deposits and mine those deposits, and hold up to 50 cubic meters of cargo. No Starflight campaign is truly complete without this amazing vehicle, and as it was the only vehicle the player could use in the original game, it is presented here as a vehicle for use in SFRPG campaigns. All Interstel starships come with one terrain vehicle at no additional charge. Players playing non-Interstel based campaigns may either adapt this vehicle for their own use, or come up with their own terrain vehicle using the above vehicle creation rules.
Interstel Terrain Vehicle| Make: Light Commercial Armored | Size Class: 6 |
| SI: 136 | Cost: 19,652.5 MU | HD/BHD/FHD: 76/67/72 | INIT: 6
(Class Six Engine) | Max Speed: 150 kph |
SHP: 0
(None) | AHP: 100
(Class Three Armor) | Beam: 36
(Class Three Laser) | Proj: 0
(None) | X: None | Crew/Passengers: 1/5
(1 aircraft seat, 5 bucket seats) |
| Elements: Titanium (1.6), Molybdenum (0.9), Aluminum (0.9), Endurium/Shyneum (0.2) | Cargo Capacity: 50 m3
(1 30m3 Cargo Module, 1 20m3 Cargo Module) |
| Accessories: Modified Chassis (+5 accessories), Cargo Module (30 m3 cargo), Cargo Module (20 m3 cargo), Scout Module (+5 Sensor Use/Perception), AAA Module (air targets), Industrial Manipulator (mining), Amphibious Landing Module (traverse water), Low-Friction Surface Traction Inducer, Non-Lethal Weapons Delivery Option (stunner), Eco-Safe Engine, Weapon Turret (mount 1 turreted beam weapon). |
NEXT: 6.2.1 Vehicle ChassisPREVIOUS: 6.1 Basic Rules Regarding VehiclesTOP