Ship Engagements #

At the beginning of the engagement, each side declares a goal. Combats are rarely to the death. Starship engagements are played in rounds.

During a ship engagement, either one or neither of the ships has the Advantage. Each round, ships exchange fire and attempt to outmaneuver each other, jockeying for the Advantage.

A ship accomplishes its goal if it has the Advantage at the end of a round and fulfills at least one other requirement. Requirements for common goals are listed below.

Either side may surrender at any point, granting the opponent their goal.

Starship Engagement Throws #

A starship engagement is a series of Task Throws. If a crew member has the relevant skill, they may add their Skill Rank to the Throw. The Target for all Throws is 8, unless increased by a damaged ship component.

PCs are assumed to know basic starship operation even if they don’t have any relevant Skill Ranks, and can make any Throw in ship combat with a DM of +0.

Each crew member may use their skill for one Throw each round. If there are fewer than 3 crew members on a ship, they make additional Throws with a DM of +0.

Procedure #

• Sensor Contact Before the first round, each side Throws + Computer, with maximum Impact equal to the ship’s Sensors rank. The side with greater Impact begins with the Advantage. If Impact is tied, or neither side succeeds, neither side begins with the Advantage
• Each round:
  1. Gunnery Phase
     • If one side has the Advantage, they shoot first. Otherwise, attacks and damage happen simultaneously.
     • Each side throws + Gunnery Skill Rank.
     • On a successful Throw, deal damage equal to the Impact of the Throw + 1. Maximum Damage is the attacking ship’s Guns Rank.
     • If one side has the Advantage, they may sacrifice it to dodge, avoiding all damage this round. Declare a dodge after the Gunnery throw, but before rolling hit locations
  2. Maneuver Phase
     • Each side’s pilot throws + Helm, with maximum Impact equal to the ship’s Thrusters rank.
     • If one side scores greater Impact than the other:
       • If neither side has the Advantage, the winner gains the Advantage.
       • If the losing side has the Advantage, they lose it.
       • If the winning side has the Advantage, they keep it.
     • If Impact is tied or both sides fail the roll, the Advantage doesn’t change.

Damage #

For each point of damage a ship suffers, roll 1d6. On a 1-4, a ship component is hit. On a 4, the crew is hit. On a 5-6, the attacker chooses a target. The first time a component is hit, it is damaged. The second time, it is disabled. Damaged and disabled components will limit a ship’s ability to function.