Build
Your Ship already has…
Airlocks, but no Spacesuits
It is Small
Basic Comms, Impulse Navigation and Data Drives
Basic LuxSpeed Engine.
A Piloting console
A Weapons console
A Hull
A fuel capacity
A small galley, and living quarters for 6 of your crew.
Extra space in the ship for three additional Upgrades or Cargo.
You have three Stats: Pilot/Hull/Weapons. Plus 3 open Slots for Augments or Cargo or whatever else.
Assign 1/1/2 in those 3 Stats.
Pilot and Weapons point equals a d6, called a Stat Dice. Your first Hull dice is fixed at 6, the next ones add 3 to the Hull Stat Dice value.
The Hit Protection of the Ship equals Hull Stat dice multiplied by 3.
Total Fuel capacity is equal to (Pilot Stat+#Captain/s)x6
You may purchase one Upgrade. The crew starts with a debt of that upgrade.
Choose a name, and traits.
Ship Combat
As always, make judicious use of common sense. For example, a drone attack would be resolved only after everybody has acted (to allow for the drone to reach the enemy ship)
The basic procedure goes as so:
Everyone at the table declares which console they are in. Any useful skills the PCs can justify allow that PC to roll twice.
Roll group initiative 1-3 the PCs act, 4-6 the NPCs act.
Resolve Upgrade attacks (hacking, tapping comms, drones etc)
Resolve Piloting tactics (ram, Luxspace jump, high-grav turn)
Resolve Weapon attacks
Repeat
The Mechanical Attack goes as so.
Each Stat or Upgrade has a value equal to the number of dice you can roll. (2=2d6, 3=3d6) Each Player in a console rolls a dice, along with the dice of the Console/Upgrade.
The total number of the Stat Dice is counted, with each Player having one dice they add to that total.
You roll to attack, I roll to defend, we roll any Advantages, advantages do not stack.
If the defense is higher than the attack, it does nothing except protect the HP of the defender. If the attack is higher than the defense, HP is subtracted according to the difference.
Any 1’s on the dice impose a disadvantage, with advantages subtracted first, single dice rolling at a disadvantage.
Tactics by the Pilot can impose a broad advantage on all PCs in an Upgrade, Pilot console or Weapons Console. They also impose disadvantages.
It is recommended that each person, in each console, has their own dice. When a Dis/Advantage is imposed, you resolve it per player.
Example
Each player adds a d6 to the Stat Dice, relevant advantages get ADVd6. Example: Ship has a stat of 2, adds 2d6. Pete and Wam each add 1d6, for a total of 4d6. If Wam has ADVd6 one d6 would be rolled twice, using the highest roll.
When you attack, the players in Weaponry add a d6 for a stat point, and a d6 or ADVd6 for participation, to beat the combined Pilot Roll+Hull points of the opposition. If the weaponry beats the opposition's Pilot+Hull Stat Dice, the difference is damage. The same thing is done when being attacked. A 1 on a dice leaves progressive dice being rolled at a DisADV. Example The Weapons:1 fires. Two PCs man it. the rolls are then 3, 4, 1. A DisADV is imposed, starting on a PC Dice. Next Roll: (2,5), 3, 4 = 9 Next Roll: (3,4), 1, 3 = 7. Another DisADV is imposed. Next Roll, (2,3), (1,5), 4 = 7. Any ADVs are cancelled first.
Pilot Tactics
These are very much last moment plans. It should also be understood that these are barely the only plans - environmental aspects can be used as Pilot tactics, and should be improvised or planned for in play. Write them up.
Tactic | Effect | Advantage | Disadvantage |
Ram | Ram Your Hull into another | Enemy Hull Damage | Self Hull Damage (Smaller vessel or Hull Stat Dice difference) |
LuxSpace Jump | Phase into LuxSpace for a couple minutes | Cannot be damaged | Next Round, Defense=Hull Stat Dice. |
High-Grav Turn | Turn ship, causing HighGrav | ADV to Pilot Defense | Next round rolls have DisADV |
Hold | Stop ship relative to nearby star | ADV to Weapons/Upgrades | Next Round Defense has DisADV |
Deaden | Switch off all ship systems | All opponent attacks are at DisADV | Cannot act next round, Boot up. |
Upgrades
The slots are essentially always cargo holds, until you dedicate it to a Upgrade.
Name | Description | Price |
Landing Gear | Allows you to Land on a Planet | C |
LuxNav AI | Halves LuxSpace Travel | CCCC |
DeepSleep Quarters | Allows up to Six DeepSleep for LuxSpace travel | CC |
Secret Cargo | A secret cargo hold | C |
Drone Bay | Allows a 3 drones of various uses to be docked | CC |
Hacking Console | Allows for hacking of systems | C |
Spacesuits | Spacesuit storage and refueling | C |
Med Bay | Allows for 1d10 healing time | CCC |
Dedicated Work Bay | Allows for Advantage or preparation in a specific subject. Farm/Dojo/Weaponry/Science/Animal Pen | ~CC~ |
Additional Weapons | Another Weapon Fitting (allows an increased damage dice, Special effect or more dice) | ~CC~ |
Additional Quarters | Allows space for 4 Hired Crew | ~CCC~ |
Ship Traits
Outside | Sounds | Inside Space |
Grimy | Creaky | Distinct Smell |
Shiny | Sound dulled inside | Oddly Proportioned |
Slogans across Hull | Rattling Pipes | Feels Cramped |
Banged up | Creepy Silence | Feels Spacious |
Bulky | Echoey | Badly Lit |
Sleek | Loud | Brightly Lit |
History | Build | Inside Look |
Found abandoned | Homebuilt | Sharp Angles |
Barely used | Old Model | Dull Paint Job |
Previous name famed | Corp prefab | All curves |
No records (wiped/lost) | Bog Standard | Industrial Aesthetic |
Military | Historically significant specifications | Colourful Paint Job |
Station Module (Bar/Home/Clinic/Farm etc) | Modular Layout | Baroque Facades |
Space Travel
Ships all have a Lux-Engine. Interplanet travel uses impulse, Interstellar travel uses LuxSpeed through LuxSpace. LuxSpace is a type of universe having outlived 3 universes before ours. Like a capricious sea it requires focus to traverse, with a live crew, or an expensive LuxNav AI. Failure to prepare for LuxSpace travel has resulted in madness, ghost Ships, raiders and entire fleets disappearing.
LuxSpeed engines are Basic, or Complex. Complex Engines are pre-fall, and cut the time travelled in half. Basic Engines can be fine-tuned at great cost for a single trip of half-time. A LuxNav AI halves the time. An awake competent crew-member halves the time.
I assume essentially “units” of distance between stars. A Basic LuxSpeed one unit trip, no fine tuning, Deep-Sleeping crew, no encounters and fortunate LuxSpace tides, is a 144 days of just waiting.
Designer’s Note: 144 is a 12 squared. 12 has a bunch of factors so you could divide by two for quite some time before you hit a single indivisible number.
Travel inter-planet is 1 trip:1 fuel per impulse trip in a system.
Per unit LuxSpeed trip with working, living crew 1 unit:2 Fuel per person+engine.
Per unit luxspeed with Deep-sleeping crew 1 unit:1 fuel per person+engine.
Ship augments requiring energy increase the fuel cost by 1 per upgrade.
Sleeping on your trip means you could get lost (if no dedicated luxspeed navigation computer), or captured en route.
Deep-Sleep
However you wish to flavour it, Deep-Sleep is cryogenic, hormonally induced, or whatever else. LuxSpace is mildly stressful, and boring, and DeepSleep allows for maximized resources.
LuxSpace Encounters
Roll 1d6 per unit of Travel, 6 is an encounter.
Roll 1d6 if an awake crew, 1d12 if asleep. A LuxNav computer counts as if the crew is asleep.
1. | Gravity Well (+d4 Fuel cost) | 11. | Black Hole (+d12 Fuel Cost) |
2. | Lux Tide (Lost) | 12. | 1d6 Lux-Raptors (Extremely Dangerous) |
3. | Trader | 13. |
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4. | Lux Piscean School (CCC if caught) | 14. |
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5. | Systems Failure (+12 days) | 15. |
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6. | Raider Ship | 16. |
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7. | Transmissions (1-6 Chance to have value) | 17. |
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8. | Pre-Verse Lighthouse (Means Beware) | 18. |
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9. | Abandoned Ship | 19. |
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10. | Appear in Nebula (5-6 Systems Failure) | 20. |
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Please let me know what you think of it in the comments!
(Also, as for the name: Belta, Δv or something else?)
