Navigation has already been established as an important aspect of the original games. Of the various aspects of navigation, however, it can be argued that the most important was exploration on planetary surfaces (which for this discussion will be referred to as "
intraplanetary travel", or travel between two points on the same planet). For purposes of this discussion, intraplanetary travel covers any movement on a planet's surface or in a planet's atmosphere, up until a vehicle reaches an altitude high enough to be considered in orbit of the planet. The key issues to be discussed are
how long it takes to arrive at a destination, and
how hard it's going to be to successfully navigate a safe course.
The first thing to note about these intraplanetary travel rules is that they are designed to augment a role-playing adventure, not supplant it. If a GM has an adventure planned out in the wilderness, they might consider incorporating a few of the scenarios that are possible using the exploration rules, but they are by no means bound by the exploration rules. On the other hand, a GM may decide to make an adventure based solely upon the random events generated by the exploration rules. This is totally permissible.
For more information on the features of a so-called "planet-side adventure", see Chapter 11.2.2. Also, the rules in this chapter assume that planetary exploration will take place in a vehicle, and so will use terminology appropriate to vehicles. These rules can still be applied to a party travelling without the use of a vehicle.
Most pieces of planetary data are crucial to surface exploration; the GM needs to have information on the current planet readily available whenever their adventure calls for exploration of a planet's surface. Some of the more important pieces of information are the planet's
surface type, biomass percentage, mineralogical percentage, surface gravity, and
weather. Some crucial information such as terrain (and therefore terrain difficulty;
see Chapter 8.1), cannot be determined until the characters actually begin exploration. A list of lifeforms commonly found on the planet and the stats of those lifeforms should be readily available, particularly if the planet in question has a high biomass percentage. If a lifeform list is not available, the GM will need to prepare a list beforehand. For information on how to create lifeforms,
see Chapter 10.2.5.
Coordinates and Determining Distances¶
Navigating a planet's surface isn't that much different from traveling through space (as will be discussed in the next two sub-chapters). In order for a character group to get to where they want to go, they have to first know where they are and be able to come up with a way to get there. That means having a way of determining where exactly Point A and Point B are and figuring up the shortest path between those two points. The Starflight Universe used mercator projections to select landing sites on a planet's surface, effectively turning a spherical coordinate system (geographical) into a Cartesian coordinate system (flat, with an x and y axis). SFRPG incorporates the same system as the original games for intraplanetary travel; travel on a planet's surface uses a grid, but uses the terms and conventions of the geographic coordinate system. Latitude is used as the y-axis, while longitude is used as the x-axis. Travel occurs along the points of the compass: north corresponds to increasing latitude (increasing y), south corresponds to decreasing latitude, east corresponds to increasing longitude, and west corresponds to decreasing longitude. North in SFRPG is always true north, defined as the pole that is clearly on one's left side, when standing at the Equator, while facing the rising primary star.
All planets are divided by 180 lines of latitude and 360 lines of longitude. Latitude lines wrap around a planet at even intervals parallel to the equator, with ninety lines north of the equator and 90 lines south of the equator. By definition, 0N/S is the Equator, 90N is the North Pole, and 90S is the South Pole. Longitude lines wrap around a planet at even intervals, perpendicular to the equator, with one line at each degree of the Equator. One of these longitude lines is arbitrarily set as the Prime Meridian (0 E/W). This meridian is usually either set as the center-point of some natural surface landmark visible from space, or as the meridian facing the planet's primary at a particular time (usually when the star system was first explored). Lines to the right-hand side of the Prime Meridian are in the Eastern Hemisphere, while those to the left are in the Western Hemisphere. The longitude line exactly opposite of the Prime Meridian is 180E/W, also sometimes known as the Date Line. Cardinal directions are set by observation; at the equator, a person facing the direction in which a planet rotates will have North to their left and South to their right. When shown on a flat mercator map, the intersection between the planetary equator and Prime Meridian is always placed at the center of the map by convention, with North on the upper side of the map.
The original Starflight games were very simplistic when it came to planetary coordinates. While on a planetary surface, if the player reached the normal maximum boundaries for geographical coordinates (180 degrees E/W, or 90 degrees N/S) and continued to travel in the direction they were going, the games would go
past the maximum. Thus, it was possible for a player to wind up at a set of coordinates such as 95Nx187E. This is one area where SFRPG differs from the original games; if the players go far enough to "wrap around" the globe, they enter the other east/west hemisphere. If the players go over a pole, they wind up at a longitude 180 degrees away from where they were, traveling in the opposite north/south direction.
Naturally, the actual distance traveled on a planet's surface from one degree to the next (either longitude or latitude) is going to be dependent upon the size of the planet itself. For those bent on being completely realistic, that means a
lot of math; a discussion of the level of math needed will not be included in these rules. For the record, on a planet the size of Earth (roughly 6500 kilometers in radius), one can expect to travel about 110 kilometers before traveling one degree latitude. The distance between lines of longitude changes depending on latitude, with the distance decreasing sharply as one approaches the poles.
For many cases on a planet's surface, simply using a travel distance in kilometers will suffice. Determining how long it will take a vehicle to travel that distance is fairly simple to compute, as both the distance and the desired speed are known; simply divide the distance by the speed to get the time required (in hours). In those cases where a traveler needs to go from one precise set of coordinates to another set, two methods are available for determining the distance. These two methods are known as the
simple count and the
real count. Simple count has the advantage of being quick to calculate and is best used in situations where a player group decides to go somewhere the GM didn't anticipate. Real count, aside from being more realistic, saves the characters distance and ultimately lowers the DC of the
Vehicle Piloting Check needed for intraplanetary travel (see below). Both methods require the GM to convert the coordinates of both the source and destination points into x and y values, and give a final distance in "degrees travelled". The N/S coordinate is the y value, and the E/W coordinate is the x value. Treat any position South and/or West as a negative value. No matter which system is used, the final distance in degrees travelled will need to be converted back into kilometers; to do this, multiply the planet's gravity by one hundred, and then multiply that result by the number of degrees travelled. The final result is the distance in kilometers.
To employ simple distance, a GM simply adds the change in the east/west position to the change in the north/south position. These values should always be treated as positive, even if a traveler is moving southward, westward, or both.
For example, a traveller wants to move from 37Nx95W to 35Nx97W. The change is two degrees southward (35-37 = -2) and two degrees westward (-97-(-95) = -2). In both cases, the values are negative but should be treated as positive. Using simple count, the distance travelled would be 4 degrees (2 + 2 = 4). On Earth, with a gravity of one gee, this would equate to 400 kilometers (1.0 * 100 * 4 = 400) Real Distance, as the name implies, utilizes the algebraic distance formula to calculate distance. Since all points on a planet can be expressed as an x and y coordinate, changes in x and y will form the legs of a right triangle. The distance between the source and destination coordinates can therefore be calculated using the Pythagorean theorem. To use real distance, calculate the change in x and y as in simple count. Square both values, add them together, and take the square root of the result to find the final answer, which should be rounded to the closest integer.
Using the simple count example, the change in x is 2 and the change in y is 2. We square both changes and get four (2 x 2 = 4). Adding them together, we get 8. We take the square root of 8 and round it to the closest integer, which is 3 (√8 ≈ 2.828, rounds to 2). On Earth, this would equate to 300 kilometers. Intraplanetary Travel
Planetary exploration relies on a procedure involving a series of die rolls made by the player and GM each hour the characters continue to explore the world. To travel on a planet's surface, the vehicle's Navigator will need to make a
Vehicle Piloting Check. The DC of the Check is dependent on the amount of time required to reach the destination, as well as the effect of the initial terrain and weather. The GM, meanwhile, will be checking to see if there are any changes in the terrain, changes in the weather, lifeform encounters or mineralogical discoveries. All of these will be determined with one or two d% rolls, and can affect the amount of time it takes to reach the destination.
When a vehicle sets out on a planet's surface (or in the planet's atmosphere), the first thing that needs to happen is the determination of the terrain difficulty and weather severity. This is performed by the GM, and there are several methods that can be employed. If the GM has a planetary map (either because they have made their own or have access to a mercator from the original games) they may be able to tell the elevation in the area where the vehicle is current located. As a general rule, higher land elevations are harder to traverse for land vehicles. Sea vehicles are limited to the water, with areas further from the shore easier to traverse. A GM can determine terrain difficulty for an air or planetbound space vehicle by referencing the planet's stats, and using the planet's gravity and atmospheric density to make a best guess. Alternatively, the GM can select a terrain difficulty at random, or roll 1d5 and use the following chart based on the planet's type to come up with an initial terrain difficulty (
note that this chart assumes the use of a land vehicle).
Determination of Initial Terrain Difficulty by Planet Type and 1d5 roll| 1d5 Result | Planetary Type |
|---|
| Liquid | Rock | Frozen | Molten | Gas |
|---|
| 1 | Very Easy | Extremely Easy | Very Easy | Easy | Difficult |
|---|
| 2 | Extremely Easy | Very Easy | Easy | Moderate | Very Difficult |
|---|
| 3 | Very Easy | Easy | Moderate | Difficult | Extremely Difficult |
|---|
| 4 | Easy | Moderate | Difficult | Very Difficult | Impossible |
|---|
| 5 | M |
|---|
oderateDifficult | Very Difficult | Impossible | Extremely Difficult |
The GM must also select the initial weather conditions. Again, this can be performed randomly, or with a die roll. In this case, the weather is determined via a d% roll, using the following chart based on the planet's global weather rating. Note that this chart will also be used for hourly weather checks, and includes information on how much damage severe weather may cause to a vehicle. Temperatures listed alongside the weather conditions refer to the derived temperature at the vehicle's specific latitude, based on the overall global temperature range. For reference, temperatures rated as Temperate and Tropical are warm, Subarctic and Arctic are cold, and Searing and Inferno are hot. When a weather condition occurs that has warm as a possibility for both listed conditions, the GM may either select one at random or roll 1d2, with a result of two indicating the second possibility.
Determination of Planetary Weather via d%| Weather Descriptor | Global Weather Category |
|---|
| Weather (Type) | Base Wx
Damage | None | Calm | Moderate | Violent | Very Violent |
|---|
| Clear (Calm) | 0 | 00-99 | 00-49 | 00-19 | 00-09 | 00-04 |
|---|
Overcast (Calm; Cold, Warm)
Misty (Calm; Warm, Hot) | 0 | N/A | 50-64 | 20-39 | 10-24 | 05-09 |
|---|
Hazy (Calm; Cold, Warm)
Foggy (Calm; Warm, Hot) | 0 | N/A | 65-79 | 40-59 | 25-39 | 10-19 |
|---|
Snowing (Light; Cold)
Raining (Light; Warm, Hot) | 0 | N/A | 80-89 | 60-69 | 40-54 | 20-29 |
|---|
Snowing (Heavy; Cold)
Raining (Heavy; Warm, Hot) | 0 | N/A | 90-94 | 70-79 | 55-69 | 30-39 |
|---|
Thunderstorm (Severe; Warm, Hot)
Hailing (Severe; Cold) | 75 + (8*1d10) | N/A | 95-97 | 80-89 | 70-84 | 40-69 |
|---|
Electrical Storm (Severe; Warm, Hot)
Windstorm (Severe; Cold) | 100 + 1d10x10 | N/A | 98-99 | 90-99 | 85-99 | 70-99 |
|---|
| Earthquake | 3 |
|---|
d10x1000-04 on any planet with gravity at or above 2G. |
Terrain and weather phenomena may have a significant impact on intraplanetary transit. The following table lists the potential effects of terrain and weather on the difficulty of a journey, as well as the effects on the amount of time it takes to make that journey.
Effects of Terrain and Weather Phenomena on Interplanetary Transit| Terrain Difficulty/Weather Severity | DC Modifier | Time Modifier
(Minutes) |
|---|
| Extremely Easy Terrain | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| Very Easy Terrain | 5 | 0 |
|---|
| Easy Terrain | 10 | 5 |
|---|
| Moderate Terrain | 15 | 10 |
|---|
| Difficult Terrain | 20 | 15 |
|---|
| Very Difficult Terrain | 30 | 20 |
|---|
| Extremely Difficult Terrain | 40 | 25 |
|---|
| Impossible Terrain | 50 | 30 |
|---|
| Calm Weather | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| Light Weather | 15 | 10 |
|---|
| Heavy Weather | 30 | 20 |
|---|
| Severe Weather | 5 |
|---|
030 |
Because changes in terrain and weather during the course of a transit may have an effect on the amount of time it takes to make the transit, the GM should be sure as this point to log the initial conditions, as well as the current fuel level of the vehicle.
With the initial terrain difficulty and weather determined, the vehicle's crew will need to plot a course to a destination. This destination can be any coordinate set on the planet's surface, a vector (direction of travel and distance), or a full route (
for example, something like 20 kilometers north then 20 kilometers back to the ship). If planetary coordinates are given as the destination, they can be compared with the coordinates of the vehicle's present position (its source position) to get information on how far it is to the destination (using one of the distance formulae discussed earlier in this chapter. For vectored travel, the distance has already been given. In adventures where the plot indicates the characters will need to go to a specific destination, the GM can have distance information prepared ahead of time. In situations where the GM is running a more open campaign, the players will tell the GM where they'd like to go. The GM will then have to calculate the necessary information as rapidly as possible, if necessary. In any case, once the piloting Check has been made, the vehicle and its occupants are committed to the transit attempt.
The time of transit can be readily calculated from the vehicle's speed. All vehicles have a maximum speed listed in their stats, which should be in units of kilometers per hour. Before the Navigator performs the
Vehicle Piloting Check, they should declare exactly how fast the vehicle will travel to its destination. A speed may be selected up to the vehicle's maximum speed. Note that there are some situations wherein a vehicle may be operated at speeds that exceed the design of the chassis; these situations are discussed in
Chapter 6.2.
Once the distance to the destination has been calculated in kilometers, simply divide the distance by the speed indicated and add in the modifiers for the initial terrain and weather conditions. The final result is the amount of time it would ordinarily take to make the journey, in hours. The result should not be rounded; any remainder should be multiplied by sixty to get a leftover amount of minutes. For the DC, take the distance and divide it through by the unit distance for the type of vehicle being used, rounding up (
see "Fuel Efficiency in Normal Situations", Chapter 8.1). Add to that result the amount of any engine damage the vehicle currently has. The final result is the DC of the Vehicle Piloting Check needed to make the journey.
If the Check succeeds, the vehicle proceeds to the destination. If the Check fails, however, the vehicle will take an additional amount of time (in minutes) to reach its destination equal to the degree of failure. This Check has critical potential: in the event of critical success, the vehicle will arrive at its destination early by an amount of minutes equal to the degree of success (minimum 10 minutes). In the event of critical failure, the Navigator gets the vehicle Lost and as a result the journey takes twice as long as it should have. Additionally, the vehicle will have one encounter which cannot be negated by a Navigator's
Stealth Check.
Encounters on Planets
Once the vehicle's Navigator has made their
Vehicle Piloting Check, the GM will have a good idea of how long the journey to the vehicle's final destination would ordinarily take. The key word there is
ordinarily; there are many possible events that may occur during the course of an intraplanetary transit. Each hour of transit, the GM will make a single concealed roll. By comparing the result of this roll to various indices, the GM will be able to tell whether or not any changes will be made to the terrain, whether or not the vehicle will meet up with a lifeform, whether or not the vehicle comes across any mineral deposits, and what the weather will be like for the next hour of the transit. Collectively, these factors are known as
encounters on a planet's surface. Aside from making the trip more interesting, encounters provide opportunities for the players to exercise their sub-disciplines, and possibly gain wealth in the form of captured lifeforms and mined minerals. They may also increase (or decrease) the amount of time ultimately required for the transit.
Compared to the possibilities of encounters in space, the procedure for determining if an encounter occurs on a planet's surface is much more complex. Each little sub-section of this discussion should be considered as a step in a procedure. The GM should follow each step in turn, until they arrive at the end of the procedure (repeating it as often as necessary).
Determining Hourly Terrain, Weather, and Fuel Usage¶
If the current hour is the first hour of transit, the GM has already determined the terrain and weather for that first hour. In that case, the GM's roll will not affect terrain and weather. Otherwise, the GM's roll resets the terrain and weather. Changes to the terrain are dependent upon the weather for the previous hour, using the following chart to determine changes.
Effect of Previous Hour's Weather on Terrain Difficulty| Previous Hour's Weather | If the GM's roll is... | Then... | Otherwise... |
|---|
| Calm | 00-19 | Terrain difficulty improves one level. | Terrain difficulty remains the same. |
|---|
| Light | 00-99 | Terrain difficulty remains the same. | N/A |
|---|
| Heavy | 80-99 | Terrain difficulty remains the same. | Terrain difficulty worsens one level. |
|---|
| Severe | 0 |
|---|
0-99Terrain difficulty worsens one level. | N/A |
Changes to the weather use the same chart that was used to set the initial weather conditions. The GM merely compares the result of their roll to the table, using the column that corresponds to the global weather. Once the GM knows the terrain and weather for the next hour, they will need to keep those conditions secret until after they've calculated the fuel efficiency and fuel use for the upcoming hour (the procedure for which is covered in
Chapter 8.1). The distance covered during that hour is, perhaps a little obviously, equal to the vehicle's speed.
Perform a Meteorology Check (Optional)
Once the fuel usage has been calculated, the GM should record the result of their hourly roll, the terrain, weather, and fuel reserves of the vehicle. At this point the GM should ask if any of the vehicle's occupants would like to make a
Meteorology Check. This Check can be used to attempt to mitigate the effects of severe weather during the credit hour. If at least one of the vehicle's occupants wishes to make the attempt, the Check is made by the character with the highest
Meteorology score. The DC of the Check is equal to the GM's die roll plus fifty. If the Check succeeds and severe weather is indicated for the hour, the weather will automatically do the least possible amount of damage. If the Check fails or if no Check is made, the GM will have to make the indicated die roll for damage. This Check has critical potential: in the event of a critical success, no damage occurs at all. In the event of a critical failure, the maximum possible amount of damage is done. A
Meteorology Check cannot be used to mitigate the effects of earthquakes. If the weather for the hour is not severe, a
Meterorology Check may be still be made, though there is no practical distance between failure and success.
After any
Meteorology Check has been made, the GM may finally reveal the current terrain difficulty and weather for the current hour. If any damage is indicated from the weather type, the GM immediately applies the indicated number of points to the vehicle (
for more on applying damage to vehicles, see "Resolving Damage" in Chapter 9.2.) In addition, if severe weather is indicated for the current hour, the vehicle's Navigator must perform an
Orientation Check to avoid becoming Lost, which in this case tacks another thirty minutes onto the transit should the Check fail.
The effects of the weather listed here indicate effects on the vehicle-scale only. For a list of potential weather effects on characters and objects on the character-scale, refer to
Chapter 12.4.2.
Perform a Stealth Check (Optional)
Once the weather has been resolved for the hour, the GM may ask if the vehicle's Navigator would like to make a
Stealth Check. This Check can be used to attempt to avoid an encounter with any planetary lifeforms during the current hour. Only land and sea vehicles may come across lifeforms during the course of a transit. To determine if a lifeform may be encountered, the GM will compare the result of their hourly roll to the planet's bio rating. If the roll is less than the bio rating, lifeforms may be encountered during that hour.
The DC of the
Stealth Check is equal to the GM's die roll plus the planetary bio rating. If the Check succeeds, the vehicle will avoid any lifeform encounter, unless the Navigator failed the initial
Vehicle Piloting Check, an encounter would otherwise be indicated, and if the GM has not yet forced an encounter and would like to do so. If those conditions are fulfilled, or if the
Stealth Check fails and an encounter is indicated, an encounter with a lifeform will occur. If no encounter is indicated by the GM's roll, a
Stealth Check can still be made, though there's no difference between success and failure in that case.
Conduct a Lifeform Encounter
If an encounter with a lifeform is indicated, the GM needs to determine what lifeform was encountered. The best way to do this is to consult the list of lifeforms indicated with the rest of the planet's stats, if such a list exists. If one does not ordinarily exist for the planet, the GM may use the rules in
Chapter 10.2.1 and
Chapter 10.2.5 to generate a list of their own.
Planets may have anywhere from one to nine different specific species of flora and fauna that can be encountered during transit. To determine the specific lifeform encountered, the GM will make a 1d10 roll and use the table below to determine which lifeform on the planet's list has been encountered. The GM should determine the number of lifeforms in the planet's lifeform list and find the matching column, and read the intersection that matches the result of their roll.
Lifeform Selection by 1d10| d10 Result | Number of Lifeforms in Planetary List |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|
| 0 | Ruins or sentients are encountered; see below. |
|---|
| 1 | Use lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. | Use first lifeform. |
|---|
| 2 | Use second lifeform. | Use second lifeform. | Use second lifeform. | Use second lifeform. | Use second lifeform. |
|---|
| 3 | Use second lifeform. | Use third lifeform. | Use third lifeform. | Use third lifeform. | Use third lifeform. |
|---|
| 4 | Use second lifeform. | Use third lifeform. | Use fourth lifeform. | Use fourth lifeform. | Use fourth lifeform. | Use fourth lifeform. |
|---|
| 5 | Use second lifeform. | Use third lifeform. | Use fifth lifeform. | Use fifth lifeform. | Use fifth lifeform. |
|---|
| 6 | Use fourth lifeform. | Use fifth lifeform. | Use sixth lifeform. | Use sixth lifeform. | Use sixth lifeform. |
|---|
| 7 | Use third lifeform. | Use fourth lifeform. | Use seventh lifeform. | Use seventh lifeform. |
|---|
| 8 | Use fifth lifeform. | Use sixth lifeform. | Use seventh lifeform. | Use eighth lifeform. | Use eighth lifeform. |
|---|
| 9 | U |
|---|
se ninth lifeform.
Once the specific lifeform has been determined, the GM should roll 1d5. The result indicates the
number of lifeforms encountered (
e.g. if Psychic Blaster is indicated and the 1d5 comes up as a three, then three Psychic Blasters will be encountered). The GM may adjust this number down if the resultant composite strength index of the group of lifeforms would be higher than the SI of the vehicle in question (
for more on strength indices, see Chapter 9.1). An encounter with a group of lifeforms does not automatically indicate a combat situation, though there is always that possibility when dealing with wildlife. The GM may use any excuse to initiate combat (the lifeform sees the vehicle as food, the vehicle intruded on its territory, the lifeform considers the vehicle a threat to its offspring, etc.) that they wish, but should limit combat situations to lifeforms that are actually capable of causing damage. During the course of the encounter,
Biology Checks may be made to determine vital stats on the lifeform group (for more on the
Biology sub-discipline,
see Chapter 3.8).
Lifeforms may be stunned and captured, to be sold off at a trade center later on. In order to do this, a vehicle must be equipped with a stunner weapon or a Non-Lethal Weapons Delivery System, and an Industrial Manipulator or Industrial Lifter Module. Additionally, the vehicle must have enough available cargo space to contain the lifeform. If these conditions are met and the vehicle's occupants would like to pick up the lifeform, they may do so. Picking up a stunned lifeform adds one minute to the transit. Lifeforms that are killed as a result of a combat action may be collected, but if the vehicle and its occupants are from an Industrial Age or Starfaring Age society, a Refrigeration Module is also required.
If the result of the roll for the determination of the species encountered is a zero, then rather than having an encounter with a lifeform, the vehicle either finds a ruin or comes across other vehicles. To determine which, the GM may roll 1d2, with a result of one indicating a ruin and the other indicating vehicles. Groups of travelling sentients can be substituted for vehicles on planets with primitive populations (Metal Age or earlier).
Vehicle encounters generally involve some interaction with a group of local sentients. An encounter with a vehicle group can be handled similarly to an encounter with a group of ships in space (for details,
see Chapter 8.3). When setting up an encounter with another vehicle group, the GM should consider the current SI of the transiting vehicle and quickly compose a group of encountered vehicles that come close to matching the SI (it's generally okay to go under or over the SI as long as the group comes within 250 points either way; any amount substantially below that may be a very easy encounter should combat ensue, while any substantially above may be very difficult). Encounters do not generally mean combat, though combat can occur in any given encounter depending upon the actions of the characters. An encounter may simply be hailing and talking to aliens for a while (
a good opportunity to advance a story and to get in some good role-playing). It can also be a situation where the transiting vehicle just leaves, with the other vehicles not giving chase (
though there's not much fun in that). Of course, depending upon who's encountered, combat may very well be an automatic result. In case combat ensues, the GM can refer to the combat rules in
Chapter 9. During the course of the encounter,
Vehicle Technology Technology Checks may be made to determine vital stats on the group. In the event that a group of sentients is encountered instead, an
Anthropology Check may be made for the same purpose (for more on these sub-disciplines,
see Chapter 3.8). Vehicle encounters terminate either when there is sufficient space between all encountered vehicles (either they or the characters leave the area) or are destroyed as the result of combat. Picking up the debris from destroyed vehicles functions in the same way as mining (see below).
Ruins may contain nothing, or they might have a curio inside. Curios are classified in the same way as artifacts and special technologies, except that they really serve no other purpose that to be picked up and sold off somewhere. They can provide a little extra spending cash for a group, but are by no means a primary source of income. An
Archaeology Check with a DC of 75 is used to determine if a curio is found. If the Check is successful, the GM should roll 1d% and use the following table to determine which specific curio may be discovered, using the information in
Chapter 5.9 to determine the curio's size and value.
Curio Discovered Via d% Roll| d% Result | Curio |
|---|
| 00-02 | A Mulligan |
|---|
| 03-05 | Portazilla |
|---|
| 06-08 | Cute Doodad |
|---|
| 09-11 | Metal Ball |
|---|
| 12-14 | Rubber Widget |
|---|
| 15-17 | Quivering Lump |
|---|
| 18-20 | Throbbing Mass |
|---|
| 21-23 | Nice Thing |
|---|
| 24-26 | Wee Green Blobbie |
|---|
| 27-29 | Surprising Utensil |
|---|
| 30-32 | Oval Object |
|---|
| 33-35 | Pretty Picture |
|---|
| 36-38 | Strange Cloth |
|---|
| 39-41 | Bladed Toy |
|---|
| 42-44 | Blue Bauble |
|---|
| 45-47 | Octagonal Lens |
|---|
| 48-50 | Plastic Thing-A-Ma-Jig |
|---|
| 51-53 | Mobius Device |
|---|
| 54-56 | Spiral Tube |
|---|
| 57-59 | Buttoned Box |
|---|
| 60-62 | Glowing Disk |
|---|
| 63-65 | Humming Gizzy |
|---|
| 66-68 | Translucent Cube |
|---|
| 69-71 | Small Obelisk |
|---|
| 72-73 | Silver Gadger |
|---|
| 74-75 | Golden Globe |
|---|
| 76-77 | Pyramid Device |
|---|
| 78-79 | Armalcolite Relic |
|---|
| 80-81 | Frightening Apparatus |
|---|
| 82-83 | Complex Machine |
|---|
| 84-85 | Ticking Sphere |
|---|
| 86-87 | Adrynna's Gold |
|---|
| 88-89 | Amazing Artifact |
|---|
| 90-91 | Hot P.Y.T. |
|---|
| 92-93 | Pink Tube-A-Tron |
|---|
| 94-95 | Interesting Item |
|---|
| 96-97 | Red Herring |
|---|
| 98-99 | P |
|---|
recious Doodad
Picking up a curio requires the vehicle to have an Industrial Manipulator Module or Industrial Lifter Module, and enough available cargo space to contain the curio in question. If these conditions are satisfied, the vehicle may pick up the curio at the discretion of the vehicle's occupants. Picking up a curio adds 1 minute to the time of transit.
Determine if any Minerals are Found, and Conduct Mining¶
Finally, after any lifeform encounter has been resolved, it is possible that the vehicle will come across mineral resources. Only land and sea vehicles can come across minerals during the course of a transit. To determine if minerals have been discovered, the GM will compare the result of their hourly roll to the planet's mineral rating. If the roll is less than the mineral rating, mineral deposits will be discovered during that hour. If minerals are discovered, the vehicle in question is equipped with an Industrial Manipulator Module and has some space still open for cargo carrying, the GM should make a fresh roll to determine which mineral has been discovered, using the chart below to make the precise determination.
Mineral Deposit determination by d% Roll| d% Result | Mineral Indicated |
|---|
| 00-39 | Use first mineral listed in planet's lithosphere. |
|---|
| 40-69 | Use second mineral listed in planet's lithosphere. |
|---|
| 70-89 | Use third mineral listed in planet's lithosphere. |
|---|
| 90-98 | Make another roll and use the table in Chapter 5.8 to make the determination.. |
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| 99 | I |
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ndicates an Endurium deposit.
Once the mineral deposit has been identified, the GM will make a final d% roll for land vehicles or a 1d10 roll for sea vehicles, dividing the result by ten and keeping any decimal. To this amount, the GM will add a bonus equal to the highest
Geology score divided by ten of any member of the vehicle's crew, again keeping the decimal. The final result is the size of the mineral deposit encountered.
With the size and type of the mineral deposit determined, the GM may ask the vehicle's occupants if they wish to mine any minerals. If so, the vehicle's occupants may pick up as much of the material as they wish, until either the deposit is exhausted or the vehicle cannot carry any more cargo. For each 0.5 cubic meters of material that are mined, an additional minute is added to the time of the transit.
Resolving the Transit
After minerals have been resolved, the GM subtracts one hour from the time remaining in the transit, and then repeats the encounter procedure. This will continue until there is no time remaining in the transit, at which point the vehicle has arrived at its final destination. For the hour of the final roll (which takes care of any remaining leftover minutes), the calculation of the fuel remaining and distance travelled should be held off until after any lifeforms, curios or minerals have been collected, as at that point the final overall transit time has been calculated. In the event that enough time is added to that final hour such that the time remaining in transit goes over 60 minutes, another hourly roll will be required. When calculating fuel consumption and distance travelled for the final hour, the GM may either treat those extra minutes as a full hour, or may perform the math necessary to get the final actual results.
An Example of Transit
Because there is so much that goes into a planetary transit, it seems unfair to not provide an example of how its done. The following is a typical example of how a transit might work.
An Interstel starship lands on Koann III (α112x200, p5) to explore the ruins there as part of an ongoing campaign. Unfortunately, the ship has landed at 57Nx64W, and the ruins are at 59Nx64W, so a jaunt out in the ITV will be needed. The GM has consulted their notes on Koann III: it's a Liquid world with a gravity of 1.4G, with Moderate planetary weather. The GM also takes note of the planet's 90% bio rating, 45% mineral rating with a Titanium, Antimony and Nickel lithosphere, and Arctic to Tropical planetary temperature (knowing that information will be needed later on). Koann III is an Alpha Sector world, which means it has no set lifeform list. The GM has elected to create a list for the planet using the procedure in Chapter 10.2.1 (opting to include lifeforms from SF2), and has come up with the following list of lifeforms: Hot Fungus, Thorny Roller (a custom lifeform of the GM's own design), Psychic Blaster, Single Leaf, Spinning Crab, and Sticky Fruit. Again, that information may be needed during the coming transit.
The GM decides to roll for the initial conditions on the planet. The GM rolls 1d5 and looks up the chart for initial terrain difficulty. The result is a four, which for a Liquid planet indicates Easy Terrain, which will add 10 to the DC and 5 minutes to the trip. The GM then rolls d% and looks up the chart for planetary weather conditions. The result of 03 is universal; clear skies, calm weather and no modifications to DC or time. The GM logs these conditions, as well as a full fuel tank and empty cargo hold for the ITV.
Because the planetary gravity is 1.4Gs, the distance between planetary coordinate degrees is 140 kilometers (1.4*100 = 140). Since the vehicle will need to go two coordinates north, the final distance travelled will be 280 kilometers (140*2 = 280). This distance is the same no matter which system the GM is using for distance calculation, since the movement's along a cardinal direction.
Checking their notes, the GM sees that an ITV has a top speed of 150 kph. The GM asks the vehicle's pilot how fast they wish to travel to their destination. The Navigator decides to go at the ITV's top speed. The trip will take 1 hour and 57 minutes (280/150 = 1.86, 0.86*60=52, 52+5 (from the terrain) = 57), with a DC of 66 (280/5 (unit distance for a land vehicle) = 56, 56+10 (from the terrain) = 66).
The ITV's Navigator has a Navigation of score of 250 with 20 of that in Vehicle Piloting
, which equates to a 45 modifier to the Check. The dice are rolled; the result is 06 for a total of 51. The six is a critical failure, increasing the time of the journey to 3 hours and 54 minutes, and guaranteeing at least one encounter. Alas, since the Check has been made, the Interstel crew is committed to the transit.
The ITV's Class Six engines give it a 30% base fuel efficiency. Since the weather is calm for the first hour and the terrain is Easy, the ITV will use 1% of its fuel for every two distance units traversed, which for a land vehicle is five kilometers (this is all according to the procedure in Chapter 8.1). So, the ITV will use 1% of its fuel for every 10 kilometers for the first hour. The ITV is moving at 150 kph, so it'll traverse 150 kilometers during the first hour. Thus, it will use 15% of its fuel during the first hour, leaving it at 85% fuel (150/10 = 15, 100-15 = 85).
The GM makes their roll for the first hour, coming up with a 27. Since this is the first hour, the throw will not affect the terrain or weather. A lifeform encounter is indicated since the planet has a bio rating of 90% (27 < 90). Mineral deposits will also be found, since the planet has a min rating of 45% (27 < 45).
The GM asks if anyone would like to make a Meteorology
Check. Given their luck so far, the crew decides it might not be a bad idea. The Check is made and is high enough to succeed, at which point the GM can report sunny skies. The GM then asks if the Navigator would like to make a Stealth
Check. Although the Navigator knows that the GM could force an encounter even if he succeeded, he agrees to make the attempt. He has ten points in his Stealth
score and (again) gets a +25 bonus for his Navigation discipline score. The roll is made and comes up as 46, for a total result of 91 (46+25+10 = 91). The DC for the Check is the sum of the planet's bio rating and the GM's roll, so the Check fails (90+27 = 117). A lifeform encounter is the result. The GM rolls 1d10, which comes up as a six, indicating the fifth lifeform on the list. That's a Spinning Crab. The GM then rolls 1d5, which comes up as a two. Two Spinning Crabs are encountered. After a couple of quick shots the crabs are stunned, with the ITV taking a small amount of damage in the process. The players elect to pick up both crabs, which will add two minutes to the transit.
The GM then makes a fresh d% roll, which comes up as a 94, indicating a rare mineral. The GM must roll on the table in Chapter 5.8; this comes up as a sixty, indicating Platinum. The GM then rolls for the amount; 41 is the result, indicating 4.1 cubic meters of Platinum. The Scientist amongst the players has a Geology
score of 10, which will add one cubic meter to the find. So, the GM informs the group that they have come across 5.1 cubic meters of Platinum and asks if they'd like to mine any of it. The group decides to take three cubic meters of it, adding three minutes to the transit. At the end of this hour, the ITV is now holding two Spinning Crabs (which have a volume of one cubic meter) and three cubic meters of Platinum, for five cubic meters total, leaving 45 cubic meters in the hold. The ITV has 85% fuel remaining. Through lifeform pickup and mining, five minutes have been added to the transit, leaving 2 hours and 59 minutes until the ITV completes the transit.
The GM now makes the roll for the next hour, which comes up as 33. Calm skies were indicated in the previous hour; the GM checks the table to see if the terrain improves as a result. Unfortunately, it doesn't, and the terrain remains Easy. Checking the weather chart, a roll of 33 still indicates calm weather, but not clear skies. The temperature is tropical (which is warm), so the GM rolls d2 to see which condition applies; a result of one indicates Overcast skies. Since the conditions haven't changed from the previous hour, the GM knows another 15% of the vehicle's fuel is gone, leaving 70%. The players decline the Meteorology Check but go for the Stealth
Check. The Check comes up as 90, which with 35 total bonus is just enough to overcome the DC of 123. The GM decides this is a good time to penalize the characters for the prior botch, and rolls d10 to pick a lifeform. The result is eight, indicating the sixth lifeform on the list; the roll of 1d5 comes up as four, so four Sticky Fruits are encountered. Not thinking about the impact it'll have on the transit, the players snap up all four. Eight more cubic meters of space disappear. More importantly, four minutes are added to the transit. The GM then rolls for minerals. 16 results, indicating the first listed mineral in the planet's lithosphere (which is Titanium). d% is rolled, coming up as 79. A total of 8.9 cubic meters of Titanium are discovered. Since Titanium is a repair mineral, its valuable even if it can't be sold off; the players snap up all of it, adding eight minutes to the transit. At the end of the second hour, the ITV has 70% fuel remaining and 28.1 cubic meters of space left in its hold. The ITV is holding two Spinning Crabs, four Sticky Fruits, three cubic meters of Platinum and 8.9 cubic meters of Titanium. A total of twelve minutes were added to the transit this hour, bringing the remaining transit time to 2 hours and 11 minutes. Enough time has now been added to the transit now to require an additional hourly check.
The GM's roll for the third hour is a 70. This again is out of the range of values for improving the terrain, so the terrain remains easy. Weather-wise, a 70 indicates Heavy Rain, which is Heavy Weather. That's going to reduce the fuel efficiency to 1% per 1 unit distance. The net result is that twice the amount of fuel will be burned this hour. The ITV is down to 40% fuel. Additionally, the change in the weather tacks on 20 minutes to the transit. The Meteorology
Check is performed and succeeds, but there's still no damage from the weather. The Navigator makes his Stealth
Check; 95 is the result, with the 35 bonus giving a total of 130. Alas, the DC for the Check is 160 for this hour. The GM's combined d10 and d5 roll show an encounter with four spinning crabs. Combat is a little more intense this time, but eventually all four crabs are subdued and collected, adding four minutes to the transit. Because the GM's hourly roll was higher than the planet's mineral rating (70 > 45), no minerals are discovered this hour. At the end of this hour, the ITV is down to 40% fuel and 24.1 cubic meters cargo space remaining. It's hauling 6 Spinning Crabs, 4 Sticky Fruits, three cubic meters of Platinum and 8.9 cubic meters of Titanium. 24 minutes are added to the transit, leaving one hour and 35 minutes in the transit.
Fourth hour's roll is a 44. This does not worsen the terrain, and improves the weather back to Calm (Foggy is rolled). 15% fuel is used, leaving the ITV at 25%. Additionally, since the weather has improved back to Calm, 20 minutes are subtracted from the transit. The Navigator's Stealth
Check comes up as 70, which with a 35 bonus results as 105, not enough to dodge an encounter. An encounter with a single Thorny Roller results. After a fierce fight, the 2.5 cubic meter beast is subdued and captured, adding a minute to the trip. 9.1 cubic meters of Cobalt are discovered, another valuable repair mineral. The players pick it all up, adding nine minutes to the transit. At the end of the fourth hour, the ITV is down to 25% fuel and 12.5 cubic meters of space remaining. It is hauling a Thorny Roller, six Spinning Crabs, four Sticky Fruits, three cubic meters of Platinum, 8.9 cubic meters of Titanium, and 9.1 cubic meters of Cobalt. There are twenty-five minutes left in the transit.
Since there are only 25 minutes remaining in the transit, it's time for the GM to make the final hourly roll. It comes up as 96, which does not improve the terrain and indicates an Electrical Storm. This tacks on 30 minutes to the transit; there are now 55 minutes left in the transit. More importantly, since the weather has become Severe, the fuel efficiency has dropped down again. Since this is the final hour, the GM holds off of making the distance and fuel consumption calculation for the time being. The GM asks the characters if they wish to make a Meteorology
Check. They elect not to, and the GM has to inform the unlucky crew of the sudden change in the weather. Checking the table, the GM sees that the storm will do 100 + 1d10x10 points of damage to the ITV; a d10 roll comes up as 2, so the storm does 120 points of damage to the ITV (2*10=20, 20+100=120). The Navigator performs a Stealth
Check, but the GM's hourly roll is high enough that a lifeform encounter is not indicated. Mineral deposits will not be discovered, either. No more time will be added to the transit from either, so the transit is resolved this hour.
The GM realizes just how close the vehicle will be to being totally out of fuel, and elects to do the math rather than just counting the extra 55 minutes as a full hour. At a speed of 150 kilometers per hour, the vehicle would travel 137.5 kilometers during the last transit (150 * (55/60) = 137.5). At a fuel efficiency of 1% per 5 kilometers, it'd take 28% of the vehicle's fuel to cover that distance (137.5/5 = 27.5, rounds up to 28). The ITV only has 25% of its main fuel tank remaining, but like all vehicles carries a 5% fuel reserve. The ITV makes it to the ruins on the reserve, with 2% fuel remaining in the reserve tank. Getting back to the ship on that much fuel would ordinarily be a major problem. Fortunately for this crew, they have a Planetary Teleporter and can use it to transport the ITV back to the ship.
Still, considering how close they cut it and how much damage was done to the ITV, maybe next time the crew will try to land a little closer to their final destination.Teleportation
The Starflight Universe contains some fairly remarkable technologies. Included in these are energy shields, laser weaponry, and faster-than-light engines. Of all the technologies that do appear in Starflight, however, perhaps none is more miraculous than that of
teleportation, or the instantaneous movement of objects from one place to another using technological means. Teleportation is a very powerful technology; if abused, it can easily break a campaign. To help out the weary GM, this final sub-section in this Chapter will briefly discuss teleportation and how it relates to transit in general in SFRPG.
There are three specific technologies within the game that allow teleportation: planetary teleporters, personal teleporters, and teleportation booths (also known as teleportation as a service). All three of these technologies have one thing in common: they can only be used to transport objects from one point on a planet's surface to another point either on the planet's surface or in orbit of the planet. No teleportation technology within the game should be allowed to teleport objects much further than orbit, and those that do should have an exorbitant power requirement, be incredibly expensive (on the order of a fully-loaded starship's cost), and be extremely rare and/or fragile to operate.
Teleportation technologies all require the operator to perform a
Quantum Mechanics Check with a DC of 30. If the Check succeeds, the teleportation is successful. If not, then something goes wrong with the process. In that event, the object being teleported is not damaged. The operator must wait at least ten minutes before making a fresh attempt. This Check has critical potential: in the event of a critical failure, there is a major malfunction with the teleportation equipment. Inanimate objects being teleported are automatically destroyed. Living organisms being teleported in such a case take 10d10 points of Lethal Damage, which cannot be mitigated by shields or armor. A Fortitude Save can be made to halve the indicated amount of damage.
Of the three specific technologies mentioned, there are a few other limitations. Teleportation as a service is only available between communities of Large City status or greater. Planetary teleporters may only be used to transport a vehicle back to its home location; they cannot be used to teleport the vehicle anywhere else on the planet's surface. Finally, personal teleporters are very expensive and require the full charge of a Large Battery in order to operate. They are good for a single teleportation before their batteries are drained; due to the rules regarding the recharge of batteries, a fresh battery must be installed every time the device is used. GMs might find these limitations to be inadequate, depending upon how wealthy their character groups are. In those cases, the GM is welcome to find other reasons to limit the amount of teleportation that happens in their campaigns.
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