Commander: A ship’s commander makes decisions about tactics and issues orders to the crew. The commander can help another crewmember by taking an aid another action. The commander must be located on the starship’s command deck to do so.
Aiding another crewmember is a move action. A starship can only have one commander, and ships under Colossal size tend not to have a commander at all.
Pilot: The pilot of a starship controls its movement. Most starships have only one position from which the starship can be piloted. Piloting a starship is always at least a move action, which means that the pilot may be able to do something else with her attack action each round. On smaller ships such as fighters, the pilot also serves as the gunner. A starship can have only one pilot at a time.
Copilot: The copilot can help the pilot on Pilot checks by taking an aid another action. The copilot must be located somewhere on the ship from where he can see the starship’s surroundings and advise the pilot (usually the command deck or cockpit). Aiding the pilot is a move action, leaving the copilot with an attack action each round to do something else. A copilot may also serve as a gunner or sensor operator if he can access one of the starship’s weapon systems or the ship’s sensors from his station. A starship can have only one copilot at a time.
Gunner: A gunner controls one of the ship’s weapon systems, applying her ranged attack bonus and Dexterity modifier to the attack rolls. A ship with multiple weapon systems can have multiple gunners.
Sensor Operator: Although the copilot usually operates the sensors, some ships (particularly heavy and superheavy ships) have a dedicated crew position for a sensor operator. A sensor operator can take an aid another action either to help the pilot with Pilot checks, or to help a gunner with attack rolls. Either is a move action, leaving the sensor operator with an attack action each round to do something else. A starship can have as many sensor operators as it has different sensor systems (see Starship Sensors).
Engineer: A starship’s engineer keeps the ship in working order. If a system has failed for any reason, it is usually up to the engineer to get that system working again. An engineer can attempt a Repair check to fix minor problems as a full round action. A starship can have one engineer, plus one additional engineer each for the ship’s life support, sensors (and communications), and defensive systems.
Passenger: All other personnel aboard the starship are considered passengers for purposes of starship combat. Passengers have no specific role in the starship’s operation, but they help repel boarders or take other actions.
[h=5]BY HOOK OR BY CROOK[/h] Heroes who cannot afford to buy their own starship can always borrow, requisition, rent, or steal one as the need arises.
Borrowing a Starship: A character with the favor talent can attempt a favor check (DC 30) to borrow a starship from a friendly contact, assuming that the contact has a ship available. The contact must have an attitude of helpful, and improving a contact’s attitude requires a Diplomacy check. The GM sets the terms of the favor.
Requisitioning a Starship: A character working for an agency can requisition a starship as “equipment,” using the rules for requisitioning equipment.
Renting a Starship: The issue of starship rental won’t come up in campaigns where space traffic is limited to military vessels. However, in campaigns featuring commercial and privately owned starships, heroes can rent a starship for much less than it costs to buy one. Only ultralight or light starships with a restriction rating of licensed (+1) or restricted (+2) can be rented, and the heroes must have the appropriate license to operate the vessel. Renting a starship for a day requires a successful Wealth check against one-quarter of the starship’s purchase DC. Increase the purchase DC by 2 if the ship is equipped for interstellar travel or if a trained crew is provided as part of the rental agreement. Renters must cover any damages sustained by the ship during the rental period.
Stealing a Starship: Characters can steal a starship only after disabling its security locks (Disable Device DC 40, one check per lock), overcoming any hostile crewmembers aboard, and defeating the ship’s onboard computer security system (Computer Use DC 40). A ship’s computer security system can be accessed from any onboard computer terminal, although using a bridge terminal reduces the DC by 5. For more information on defeating computer security, see the Computer Use skill description.
