A starship class template is nothing more than an alternative list of design specs that allow players and GMs to increase (or decrease) a ship’s Hit Dice and swap out some or all of a starship’s systems. The following starship class templates are presented as examples:
[h=4]LIGHTNING-CLASS TEMPLATE (PL 7)[/h] The Lightning-class template can be applied to any PL 6 light starship. The starship’s design specs should be adjusted as follows.
Engine Upgrade: Induction engine, thrusters (tactical speed +1,000 feet).
Armor Upgrade: Neutronite (hardness 40, tactical speed –500 feet).
Defense System Upgrade: Light fortification (25% chance to ignore a critical hit; replaces a PL 5 or PL 6 defense system).
Sensors Upgrade: Class V sensor array (+2 initiative), improved targeting system (targeting system bonus +5).
Communications Upgrade: Drivesat comm array, mass transceiver.
Weapons Upgrade: 2 fire-linked quantum cannons (24d8 damage; range incr. 6,000 ft.; replaces PL 5 or PL 6 fire-linked weapon system).
Grappling System Upgrade: Tractor beam emitter (replaces grapplers).
[h=4]KATANA-CLASS TEMPLATE (PL 8)[/h] The Katana-class template can be applied to any ultralight fighter or assault fighter. The starship’s design specs should be adjusted as follows.
Hit Dice: Increase by +1d20.
Engine Upgrade: Inertial flux engine, thrusters (tactical speed +1,500 feet).
Armor Upgrade: Ablative (hardness 40).
Defense System Upgrade: Advanced damage control (3d10), magnetic field, medium fortification (50% chance to ignore a critical hit; replaces a PL 6 or PL 7 defense system).
Sensors Upgrade: Class VII sensor array (+2 initiative), improved targeting system, Achilles targeting software (increases threat range of all weapon systems by 1).
Communications Upgrade: Drive transceiver
Weapons Upgrade: 2 fire-linked maser cannons (18d8 damage; range incr. 6,000 ft.; replaces PL 6 o r PL 7 fire-linked weapon system).
[h=5]STARSHIP ENGINES[/h] A starship’s engine determines how fast the ship moves. The more efficient the engine, the faster it can move the ship—and the more expensive it is. In addition, certain low-tech engines burn fuel of some sort, increasing the operational cost. In space, fuel-burning engines rely on vector jets to adjust their course, using fuel only in short, controlled burns to increase momentum.
To build a starship engine from scratch, a character must succeed at a Craft (mechanical) check (DC 30) after investing 120 hours in its assembly. A character without a mechanical tool kit takes a –4 penalty on the skill check. The character must also make a Wealth check against the engine’s purchase DC.
Installing an engine requires a successful Craft (mechanical) check (DC 30) after investing 60 hours in the process. A character without a mechanical tool kit takes a –4 penalty on the skill check.
The various types of engines are listed below.
Minimum Ship Size: The minimum size the starship must be to have this type of engine.
Tactical Speed Bonus: The bonus that the engine provides to the starship’s tactical speed, given in feet and squares.
Purchase DC: The engine’s purchase DC.
[h=6]THRUSTERS (PL 5)[/h] Thrusters can propel a ship through a planetary atmosphere and land it safely on a planetary surface. Thrusters also serve as secondary engines when primary engines fail or shut down. Common types of thrusters include the scramjet, chemical rocket, repulsion thrust, or powered airfoil, although the exact form doesn’t matter.
A ship with thrusters as its primary source of propulsion must refuel after every battle or every orbital mission. Thruster fuel has a purchase DC of 31.
Minimum Ship Size: Huge
Tactical Speed Bonus: +0 feet
Purchase DC: 10 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]FUSION TORCH (PL 6)[/h] This engine consists of a fusion reactor with one wall of the magnetic bottle missing, directing the thrust in the form of super-heated plasma. The fusion torch is intended for space-only applications; its exhaust stream would melt anything it landed on and incinerate everything within a few hundred yards of ground zero; it also expels a tremendous amount of radiation. Many ships fitted with fusion torch rockets use thrusters for atmospheric travel. Otherwise, they must remain permanently in space, relying on shuttlecraft to reach a planet’s surface. The fusion torch uses hydrogen for fuel.
A ship using a fusion torch as its primary source of propulsion must refuel after every three battles or interplanetary trips. Fusion torch fuel has a purchase DC of 23.
Minimum Ship Size: Gargantuan
Tactical Speed Bonus: +500 feet (+1 square).
Purchase DC: 10 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]ION ENGINE (PL 6)[/h] The ion engine generates power to break down molecules of a fuel material to create ions, and then expels them by means of a magnetic impeller. It doesn’t provide as effective a mass-thrust ratio as the fusion torch, but it’s more fuel efficient, and its exhaust is not nearly as dangerous. Ion engines don’t function in any kind of atmosphere, so most ships with this kind of power plant also come equipped with thrusters.
A ship using an ion engine as its primary source of propulsion must refuel after every five battles or interplanetary trips. Ion engine fuel has a purchase DC of 29.
Minimum Ship Size: Huge
Tactical Speed Bonus: +500 feet (+1 square).
Purchase DC: 15 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]PHOTON SAILS (PL 6)[/h] Photon sails are immense but extremely fragile foil structures only a few molecules thick. Light pressure from a nearby star (or laser drive station, when available) provides motive force. The sails’ acceleration rates drop to half if the ship is beyond the edge of a star system and drop to one-quarter if the only available light is starlight. The sails can be wrecked by minor damage, but every ship equipped with photon sails carries at least three spare sets. Unfortunately, it takes 12 hours to replace damaged sails, though deployment or stowage of the sails takes only 1 minute.
In combat, any weapon hit against a sail-driven starship destroys the deployed photon sails and prevents the ship from moving until the sails are replaced. The sail-ship continues on its last course and retains its former speed until the sails are replaced. Accordingly, most sail-ships carry a secondary propulsion system (such as thrusters or an ion engine) for emergency maneuvering and sailing against the sun. Photon sails are completely useless in atmosphere—in fact, they’re instantly destroyed by atmospheric entry—making a secondary propulsion system a virtual necessity for most sail-ships.
Minimum Ship Size: Gargantuan
Tactical Speed Bonus: None
Purchase DC: 10 + one-quarter the base purchase DC of the starship (per set of photon sails).
[h=6]INDUCTION ENGINE (PL 7)[/h] Hands-down the best engine available at this or any previous Progress Level, the induction engine uses artificial gravity to provide incredible thrust and maneuverability. The induction engine requires no fuel and produces no exhaust; it’s ideal for atmospheric, orbital, or deep-space work.
Minimum Ship Size: Huge
Tactical Speed Bonus: +1,000 feet (+2 squares).
Purchase DC: 15 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]PARTICLE IMPULSE ENGINE (PL 7)[/h] The particle impulse engine is the next evolutionary step of the PL 6 ion engine. It uses magnetic fields to produce a constant stream of high-energy particles, as well as to provide vectored thrust. The major advancement of the particle impulse drive over the ion drive is that the particle impulse engine uses a negligible amount of fuel, which it also manufactures. The drive’s reaction is so efficient that the tiny amounts of matter present in interplanetary or interstellar space can be collected through weak magnetic fields and converted into a thrust medium. Better still, the particle impulse engine is capable of atmospheric entry. It causes some damage to any surface close to its exhaust ports, but nowhere near as much damage as PL 6 engines do.
Minimum Ship Size: Gargantuan
Tactical Speed Bonus: +1,000 feet (+2 squares)
Purchase DC: 10 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]GRAVITIC REDIRECTOR (PL 8)[/h] A refinement of the induction engine, the gravitic redirector creates a gravitic singularity—essentially, a sub-microscopic black hole—in the vicinity of the ship, producing a constant pull on the ship. By changing the location of the singularity relative to the ship, the pilot can change the direction of the ship’s travel. The gravitic redirector is more powerful and more efficient than the induction engine, and at the height of the technology’s heyday, virtually foolproof. A gravitic redirector does not operate within a planetary atmosphere, and most ships fitted with this kind of engine also have secondary thrusters or rely on shuttlecraft.
Minimum Ship Size: Colossal
Tactical Speed Bonus: +1,500 feet (+3 squares)
Purchase DC: 10 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]INERTIAL FLUX ENGINE (PL 8)[/h] By precisely controlling the quantum energy level of every atom on the ship simultaneously, the inertial flux engine assumes the inertial states necessary to produce motion in any direction. In effect, by operating the controls, the pilot chooses from instant to instant what vector the ship’s atoms will next possess, and the inertial flux engine alters them simultaneously—along with everything else aboard, including the crew and passengers. An inertial flux engine does not operate within a planetary atmosphere, and most ships fitted with this kind of engine also have secondary thrusters or rely on shuttlecraft.
Minimum Ship Size: Gargantuan
Tactical Speed Bonus: +1,500 feet (+3 squares).
Purchase DC: 15 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
[h=6]SPATIAL COMPRESSOR (PL 9)[/h] The most advanced engine available, the spatial compressor surrounds the ship in a field that “folds” or “wrinkles” the fabric of space in the direction the pilot wishes to travel. This results in a continuous series of micro-jumps in which the ship flickers into and out of reality, teleporting thousands of times every second.
Since the ship has no intrinsic velocity (it’s stationary while it teleports), the spatial compressor can instantaneously stop or change direction and thrust vector without any maneuvering whatsoever.
However, the engine still needs to build up cyclic speed to increase the frequency of its microjumps, so it accelerates normally. The spatial compressor requires a lot of power, but no fuel. It is safe for atmospheric flight.
Minimum Ship Size: Colossal
Tactical Speed Bonus: +2,000 feet (+4 squares)
Purchase DC: 10 + one-half the base purchase DC of the starship
