Tag: Vehicles

Wiki Week Update: Politics, Engines of War, and Bonus Beasties

I had a friend, Jose, offer to upload wiki entries. It still required some fine tuning on my part, but the most time consuming aspect of the task is the formatting of everything. I’ve considered writing a script/code to convert a libre office document to a wikidot article. The only tools I can find are to media wiki (alas, if only I had chosen that as my primary format), but it might be possible to write code to convert media wiki to wikidot or vice versa.

In any case, he did most of the work, and asked for additional content, so we got some extra material this week. Here’s what we got:

Alliance Vehicles

Imperial Vehicles

The Two Senates

Stygian Clade

Continue reading “Wiki Week Update: Politics, Engines of War, and Bonus Beasties”

Wiki Week for September: The Yacht Update

So the winner, by a squeaker, was economic ships, and so I’ve been up to my eyeballs in ships this week, and I think I’m done for awhile. I have two still unpublished, the Serenade-Class Tramp Freighter (I bet you can guess what inspired that), and a Lithian freighter (a translation of the Prosperity), but I’ve had it with ships for a little bit, so they’ll have to wait.

The Arrow-Class LASH Freighter

The Arrow-Class LASH Freighter

A direct translation of the Ricardo-Class LASH Freighter from GURPS Spaceships 2, this was such a neat concept I wanted to include it. The idea is you have a ship that goes through FTL but then doesn’t (or hardly) moves through real space, and lets automated shuttles do the real space transportation and receives the next batch and then jumps. I allowed the Arrow to move, but only slowly, and I think it has more utility than I might have expected, as it can transport other ships at higher speeds as well. A neat idea! I put it under the Syntech umbrella (as they love neat ideas that may not be practical, and automation). The price per ton is higher than the Aldeberan, but still comes in under $500 per ton, which makes it surprisingly affordable, more so than I expected. For the name, I went hunting for alternate economists to name it (I usually name the translations in a way that it’s pretty easy to track back to what it was originally), and I found one named Kenneth Arrow. Perhaps not the best name for an economic, rather than military, ship, but it felt fun and cheeky to do.

The Frontiersman-Class Frontier Freighter

The Frontiersman-Class Frontier Freighter

In all of my discussion of freighters, I often suggest they would do poorly in space filled with pirates. Okay, well, what sort of freighter would you send to a place full of pirates? GURPS Spacehips 2 would send the Regulus, so I translated it. In this case, I made some minor changes to the armament to better fit the Psi-Wars mechanics, assigned it to Startrodder (they do a lot of your pioneer stuff) and gave it heavy armor rather than a force screen (more to do with how old Startrodder stuff tends to be old). I tend to imagine it in places like the Phoenix cluster, though it might be on the edges of the Glorian Rim too. The Regulus is named after “Large, Bright Stars” but so is the Aldeberan, so I shifted to pioneer themes.

This one is less practical; it clocks in at around $1500 per ton. That gun is expensive! This means it’ll struggle to justify things like livestock and, in practice, it’s “just” a very large tramp freighter. But life on the rim is hard, I guess.

Shuttles

The Delta-Class Shuttle was inspired by the Alpha-Class shuttle in GURPS Spaceships 2, but with some modifications and stripped down somewhat and adapted to Psi-Wars mechanics. Specifically, it flies like a plane, though it has some contragravity assistance. The Ranger was entirely new, and inspired by the “Phantom” from Star Wars Rebels. I had noticed that the Regulus had a shuttle bay, and that made sense: farms aren’t going to have massive cargo processing facilities, so the shuttle carts the grain up and down, but there may be pirates, so they’d have weapons and armor, then you get something that looks like the Phantom.

One eagle-eyed reader noted they had the same price while the Ranger was better. Actually, the Ranger is closer to $1.6 mil and the Delta is about 1.45 mil, so there’s a difference, but I imagine most people are fine with rounding, especially since Westerly tech tends to get a -10% discount (Startrodder and Redjack have “more bang for your buck” than other corporations). The Ranger also has bigger wings that take up more room and requires a longer take-off than the Delta, and this matters, but they tend to fall below the radar of most gamers, so I’m fine with the Ranger being a better shuttle than the Delta for adventurers, but I don’t expect players are going to shop much around for what shuttle they’re going to get. I don’t imagine players are going to care much at all about any of these economic ships, honestly. I could be wrong, though.

The Turbo came late, as I was working on the Yachts and it occurred to me that rich people wouldn’t want a generic Delta or a stinky Ranger. They’d want something cool, and I remembered the racing ship from the Expanse. I could imagine someone with plenty of money paying top dollar for a shuttle with fighter engines on it, and so the Turbo was born! Frankly, the Drifter is better if you want to maximize your speed, but the Turbo can carry your sportscar and a couple of attractive you want to impress with your spoilers and red paintjob, while the Drifter is just stripped down speed.

The Yacht Update

After the discussion of slow travel speeds, it occured to me that people buying yachts are doing so because they’re willing to pay top dollar for the fastest travel times. So, I’ve upgraded 4 yachts, the Prestige-Pattern Shuttle, the Ronin-Pattern Battle Yacht and the High Roller. The only real change in all three was a rating 3 hyperdrive, which sometimes raised costs (Well, it always raised costs, but sometimes I had arbitrarily rounded up, and the cost was sometimes too small to notice) or required additional mass.

Wait, that was 3. What was the fourth? Oh, of course, the ever popular Nomad. I did more than just upgrade the speed of it, because obviously it needs to be able to be the fastest ship in the galaxy, so yes, you can get Rating 4 on it. But I also did a more thorough and careful examination of the modules and carefully audited each one; this resulted in some changes, but everything should be clear now.

The Taj-Mahal Xanadu

The Xanadu-Class Luxury Yacht

The Taj-Mahal class yacht from Spaceships 2 is one of my favorites. I used it all the way back in iteration 3, and I believe it showed up in some of my “playtests.” I had forgotten about the Taj Mahal Black. That might be an interesting option to build out later. Anyway, it was an old friend I wanted to bring back as a surprise culmination to this wiki-week. I needed a corporation to attach it to, and it doesn’t feel quite like an ARC or Syntech ship, and it’s too nice for Stellar Dynamics (which are tediously boring and generic), so I conjured up Grand Federal LLC, a corporation that worked primarily for the upper classes of the old Galactic Federation, a sort of non-Maradonian ARC that was subsumed into/destroy by the Imperial Combine, giving these ships a little bit of a sense of the nostalgia I feel for them given their early inclusions in the Psi-Wars canon.

Is That It?

Hardly, but it’s all I have for now. As I said, I also have a Lithian freighter based on the Prosperity, the Serenade-Class Tramp Frighter, and a few more yacht ideas. A cut down, Syntech corporate executive “private jet” yacht would be nice, and I feel like the Empire needs an elite, high speed corvette for jetting around troubleshooters, auditors and imperial knights more than ever, but I’ve been up to my eyeballs in spreadsheets for the past couple of weeks and I’ve fallen behind in other things so I’m going to stop here.

Happy wiki week!

Wiki Week Updates for August

Summer vacation is over, at last, so I’m finally getting my life back to some extent. I did post some wikiweek updates, but not quite as much as I hoped. Here’s some highlights!

Continue reading “Wiki Week Updates for August”

Ultra-Tech Quickie: Dynamic Sports Cycle

Another off-hand comment led to another discussion and I thought I’d post it here, as I’m sure someone will want a link back to it at some point, as it seems rather popular.  So, first, the bike and then the discussion.

TL 10 Dynamic Sportscycle

HP 22
Hand/SR +4/3
HT 11
Move: 20/100
LWt 0.3
Load 0.2
SM 0
Occ 1+1
DR 6
Range 300
Cost: $20k
Locations E2W
This TL 10 Sportscycle uses rechargeable power-cells to get a 3 hour endurance and top speed.  It uses dynamic wheel technology for superior grip and it adjusts its aerodynamics to improve handling at high speeds.  It can fold into an SM -1 box, 200 lbs in weight.  Additionally, it has programmable camouflage (allowing it to change color and pattern on command), an inertial compass, a rugged small computer, a small ladar, a small radio, and a small biometric lock.

The Design

Someone lamented the lack of a “Smart cycle” and pointed out the only Ultra-Tech motorcyle we got was the grav-bike, which was useless for a “hard science” campaign.  However, I’ve been having an increasing suspicion that most of the vehicles in Ultra-Tech weren’t designed by a “secret sauce” design system that the SJGames freelancers have been hiding from us.  Instead, I think Pulver had a underlying ideas and principles and applied them.  For example, the Dynamic Car looks like a normal TL 7 Sedan but with energy cells in place of fuel tanks, superior handling, superior materials for the body and a bigger price tag.  So, in essence, all I did was take the sportscycle from GURPS Basic and applied the same proportional changes that Pulver had made to the sedan, and then fudged some things to make it look nice and even.  I suspect that was the intent of why Pulver made the changes he did to obvious vehicles that we already had, so it was easy to reverse engineer what he did.
If you find yourself stuck and you don’t want to mess with a complex vehicle design system, I think it’s important to grasp that most of the vehicles in GURPS weren’t made with a complex vehicle design system anyway.  Just take an existing vehicle and apply some appropriate changes to get the thing you want.  The only real benefit of using a complex design system is if you want to design something for which there is no real-world parallel you can easily find.  For example, if you want to know what it takes to get an orion pulse drive to near C speeds for interstellar travel, you’ll need something like GURPS Spaceships to work that out, unless you’re happy noodling around with real, honest-to-god rocket equations.

Patreon Preview: Trader Guildfleets

Quite some time ago (December 2019, I think), I created a poll for working out the technological infrastructure of the Poll-designed alien race, the Traders.  I’ve been busy with other things, but I managed to get a total of 5 ship designs out for the Traders:

  • General Technological Considerations
  • Their Interceptor
  • Their Blockade Runner/Smuggler Corvette
  • Their Defensive Frigate
  • Their “Battleships”
  • And, of course, their Arks.
This is an incomplete document and I offer it as a preview to my Companions ($5+) patrons.  Don’t worry, Fellow Travelers, when it’s done, it’ll be available to you too, I promise.  It’s just messy as of yet, and I wanted to get some feedback before I make it available to you.

Vehicular Upgrades

Ranathim Mechanic
by Dan Smith

I wrote the post on vehicular extra effort so I could write this post.

I’ve been struggling for a long time as to how to handle people kitting out their rides.  Several people have pointed out that Han Solo flew a “modded” YT-1300 light freighter, and even if we set aside Star Wars, the whole point of series like the Fast and the Furious is to brag about how cool your vehicle is.  Technologically minded characters will want to roll back their sleeves and upgrade or modify their vehicle somehow, and fighter Aces and Smugglers will want to brag about how their signature ship is “the fastest in the Galaxy.”

The problem here, though, is that GURPS Vehicles is awfully complicated.  For example, if you swap out one engine for another that’s twice as powerful in output, that doesn’t mean your vehicle is twice as fast as it was.  What if the engine is heavier? And even if it isn’t, aerodynamics (or hyperspatial hyperdynamics) will have something to say about it, as you get diminishing returns.  Thus, we need to break out the spread sheets every time we mod a vehicle.  In a sense, the genius of GURPS Spaceships was to waive all that complexity away by creating a very modular system.  In GURPS Spaceship, you really can just swap out one engine for another! But we’ve discarded that system, as it creates some other issues.

So, I built Redjack vehicles to tackle this problem. If you want a modular vehicle, you don’t get a Valiant or a Javelin, you get a Wildcat.  In creating them, I did several quick variations, streamlined some elements, and then gave you the modules you could load.  But that gives you a modular vehicle.  That lets you swap out one blaster cannon for another, or slot in some accessory, like a hyperdrive, cloaking system or force screen. What if all you want to do is tune up your vehicle?  What if you just want it to be faster or tougher?

GURPS Action has a variant of this: they let you downgrade your vehicle for -10% price for some random problem, typically a -1 to something on your stat line.  Why can’t we just do the reverse?  This doesn’t represent do something like getting a fundamentally different engine, but doing some minor tinkering and gadgeteering, like tweaking the engine to be a bit more efficient, or rewiring the power system to be more resilient, or adding a turbo.  They’re meant to be simple statline manipulations or a few minor tweaks to customize your experience, as an optional rule.

What follows is intended for Psi-Wars, but should work in any game with some modifications.

Upgrading Your Vehicle

All upgrades increase the price of your vehicle by 20%.  If you purchase your vehicle as signature gear, then each upgrade is a +10% enhancement to your signature gear.  A gadgeteer may attempt to modify the vehicle directly; all modifications are Average complexity inventions, but the total price of the parts is 20% of the vehicle, rather than the standard cost of an Average complexity invention.

Characters with Gizmos may use one up to ret-con a temporary modification to their vehicle.  After the scene in which the the Gizmo assists the vehicle, the upgrade “breaks down” and the vehicle returns to its normal functionality.  Vehicular Gizmos are a -20% limitation, costing 4/level rather than 5/level.

The GM may wish to limit the number of upgrades a PC can take; a suggested value is 2.  An optional perk related to this:

  • Chopper: In games that don’t normally allow vehicular Upgrades, the PC may have a vehicle with up to two upgrades; in games that do allow it, Chopper increases the number of upgrades allowed by two per level.

The Upgrades

Unless otherwise stated, each upgrade can be taken only once.
  • Advanced Hyperspatial Drive: If the vehicle has a hyperdrive, increase the Hyperspatial Drive rating by +1. This is a Complex complexity invention and the GM may choose to limit its availability outside of signature vehicles.
  • Chassis Reinforcement:  +10% ST and +10% DR.
  • Cutting Edge ECM: Improve ECM value by -1, add +2 to all ECM contests, and +1 to dodge attempts against missiles.  This counts as a TL 12 ECM system and may counter cutting edge sensors.  This is a Complex complexity invention and the GM may choose to limit its availability outside of signature vehicles.
  • Cutting Edge Sensors: Increase the Acc bonus granted by a targeting computer by +1, and add +2 to all Sensor rolls.  This is a TL 12 sensor system, and cannot be jammed by a TL 11 ECM system!  This a Complex complexity invention and the GM may choose to limit its availability outside of signature vehicles..
  • Distortion Chassis:   Improve the vehicle’s ECM rating by -1, and apply a -6 to all attempts to scan the interior of your vehicle, unless your vehicle already has a distortion mesh, in which case improve its penalty to -8.
  • Emergency Response Systems: If your vehicle is combustible (c), flammable (f) or explosive (x), it no longer is.
  • Fine Tuned Controls:  +1 Handling.
  • Fine Tuned Engine: +20% top speed.
  • Fuel Efficiency:  +20% range.
  • Hardened Systems: Resist +3 vs Surge effects (including EM disruptors, EMP warheads, and the psychic Surge ability).
  • Overcharged Force Screen:  +20% Force Screen DR.
  • Redundant Power Systems: Gain 3 Emergency Power Reserves; this can be taken up to three times (the third grants +4, rather than +3 emergency power reserves).
  • Ruggedized Systems: +1 HT.
  • Supercharged Engine: You may double the vehicle’s Move for 3 minutes; during this time, any control roll of 14 or higher counts as a control failure. This may be taken twice; the second time, the vehicle may double its speed for up to 5 minutes and any control roll of 16 or higher counts as a control failure.

Emergency Power Allocation

While working on Trader Tech for my Patrons, I began to ponder the nature of “Cobbletech” and what possible bonuses I could use to represent it.  While researching and poking around, I came across the old idea of “Energy Reserve for Vehicles to allow Extra Effort.”  It’s an intriguing idea, but how do you handle extra-effort for a vehicle?

Then it hit me: we already had such a system in place in GURPS Spaceships.  I always liked the Engineering actions that GURPS Spaceships allows, especially since it gave Psi-Wars tech-bots a reason to hang out in your Starhawk.  With the shift to Vehicles though, and discarding of Power Points, this no longer served a purpose.  But what if we could bring it back in the form of Extra Effort?  Not all vehicles would have spare energy reserves, so for most vehicles it would be moot, but for some, it might be an option.  I propose the following rules:

Emergency Power Allocation

Some vehicles have Emergency Power Reserves, which can act as Energy Reserves for the purposes of “Vehicular Extra Effort.” These represent more robust power-transfer systems, distributed energy capacitors and spare energy banks. Vehicles without Emergency Power Reserves can still “redline” and reduce their HT by one to gain the benefits of “Vehicular Extra Effort” (see “Machines and Fatigue,” page B16); this represents overcharging certain systems, blowing out energy transfer systems, etc.  Allocating Emergency Power Reserves requires a Passenger Action, a roll against an appropriate skill and a single point of the  vehicle’s Emergency Power Reserve (or one level of HT).

  • All Power to the Engines:  Skills:  Electrician or Mechanic (Appropriate vehicular specialization). For a single Action Vehicular Combat turn, double the Move of the vehicle; as a simplified calculation, apply a +2 to its chase rolls.  This doubles fuel consumption for the turn (if that matters), and apply a cumulative -4 to the skill roll for this form of vehicular extra effort for each additional attempt to double your Move.  Critical failure on this roll disables your engines.
  •  Emergency Evasive Maneuvers: Skills: Electrician or Mechanic (Appropriate vehicular specialization). Success grants a the vehicle a +2 to a single vehicular dodge; this //always// counts as a High-G dodge.
  • Emergency Firepower: Skills: Electrician or Armoury (Vehicular Weapons). Success grants a single weapon +1 damage per die or +2 damage per die by the weapons Malf is reduced to 14.  A critical failure on your skill roll for this form of vehicular extra effort disables your weapons.
  • Emergency Screen Recharge: Skills: Electrician or Armoury (Force Screen). Rather than wait until your next turn to restore your force screen to full DR, do so immediately.  This usually works best when a force screen is under a particularly intense barrage of lighter attacks.
  •  Emergency System Purge: Skills: Electrician or Mechanic (Appropriate vehicular specialization). This allows a vehicle to ignore the effects of a failed HT roll due to a Surge attack, a roll to see if the vehicle remains operational, or a roll to see if a system was disabled, for the duration of one turn.  The GM may choose to limit the effects of this an emergency systems purge to temporarily restore the functions of the energy system or systems that draw power, such as weapons, force screens and some engines. This has no effect on Destroyed systems, nor can it prevent a ship’s destruction.
  •  Emergency Weapon Recharge: Skills: Electrician or Armoury (Vehicular Weapons). Success restores half of all shots to a single weapon.

Vehicular Updates

Redjack Fighters would gain the option of an emergency power reserve as an option slot
Valiants would simply gain 3 energy reserve points.
Valkyries would gain a psychotronic power module which allows the user to supply the energy directly from his own fatigue (likely with an exchange rate, probably 5 fatigue for 1 vehicular energy reserve), and replaces the roll with a Will roll.

Patreon Poll: Trader Tech 2

Continuing from the poll earlier this week, I have a new set of polls for Trader Tech.  These cover the elements of their military technology that lie outside of the individual.  This includes:

This poll is open to all Patreons of the Companion ($5+) tier.  As usual, please leave a comment as to how you see their doctrine working or what nuance you’d like to add.  I definitely take comments into account.
I know I’ve not yet released the more detailed robot rules, but hopefully you’ll have a sense of what you can do with robots and how they might serve the Traders militarily.  You guys seem very interested in giving the Traders robots, so I hope that particular poll will be useful to you even without worked examples of robots from other cultures.

Redjack Nomad-Class Light Modular Corvette

ST/HP: 250

Hand/SR: +1/5*

HT: 13

Move:8/300(+13)*

LWt.:95

Load:25

SM: +7

Occ.:5ASV†

DR:150/75‡

Range:500,000, 7jumps (Rating 2)*

Cost:$50M

Loc.: g2t3rL

Stall:0

Total Chase Roll:+14*

*The Nomad’s engine, including its hyperdrive, are modular. The listed values are the most common values.

†The Nomad has an entirely modular hold which can contain passenger accommodations, increasing the number of people accommodated by the craft.

‡Nanocomposite Polymer; double DR vs plasma attacks. Has a Force Screen that provides 500 ablative, hardened DR. Additionally, the Nomad has modular armor that can further alter its armor profile.

Notes

Unmodified Redjack Corvette Electronics:

  • Ultrascanner Open Mount: 150-mile search range, 15-mile scan range; low probability intercept (detectable at 225 miles); 360° rotation.
  • Night Vision Sensors: +9 nightvision, ×8 magnification (up to +3 to aimed attacks, if the vehicle aims for three turns).
  • Targeting Computers: +5 to Gunnery projects provided a sensor lock is gained.
  • Distortion Jammer: -4 ECM rating.
  • Tactical ECM: +1 to dodge missiles.
  • Large FTL Communication Array: 30-parsec range.
  • Large Holographic Radio: 10,000 mile range (orbital); “palm sized” holographic console.
  • Security and Safety: Simple Locks;
  • Accommodations: 2 cabins; total possible accommodations for 4.
  • Hyperdrive: Rating 2, with sufficient fuel for 7 jumps.
  • Ruggedized Hyperium Reactor: 30 days endurance.

The Nomad has a single “control” section with computerized controls and seats for a pilot and co-pilot. The engine section contains a robotic control station where a robot can directly plug in. A modular “electronics lab” sits adjacent to the control section; it’s exact composition depends on what modules have been installed.

Weapon Modules

The Nomad has two modular weapon turrets with full rotation. These weapons must be paid for separate from the vehicle

The B00-M Heavy Plasma Cannon Module: Sometimes called the “double-aught,” the B00-M Cannon is themost commonly used main weapon module for a Wildcat, and popular with nomads that expect to fight other corvettes. This heavy fighter cannon exchanges rate of fire and reliability for devastating firepower. The B00-M can only fire once every three seconds, and risks overheating after firing more than three shots without waiting 10+ seconds between shots, and needs a full minute to cool down. In Action Vehicular Combat, the B00-M can technically fire once per turn, as an optional rule, the GM can require the pilot to wait one turn between turns to fire it, our to make a Gunnery (Beams)-4 roll to vent heat and cycle the charge faster. It can also aim at a spot nearits target, gaining a +4 to hit, but sacrificing the armor modifier. $650k

The MIN-3R Artillery Laser CannonModule:This weapon is identical to the “mining” laser mounted on the Razer. It is typically used by ships that seek to mine asteroids, but sometimes is used by pirates who wish to carve through the armor of slower, less well-defended corvettes. $700k

The SP74-TRHeavy Plasma Gatling Module:Popular with Nomad crewspilots who expect face fighters (and generally the default choice for Nomads), this gatling plasma cannon lays down a serious barrage of plasma shots more than powerful enough to kill other fighters. It can also aim at a spot nearits target, gaining a +4 to hit, but sacrificing the armor modifier; most users ot the weapon will simply lay down a barrage of fire, like a focused flak cannon, near their target and hope the saturation fire will hit their target. $1,000k

The NUK-3 Disposable Torpedo Bay:Rarely used by Nomads, some pirates, rebels or renegades will load a NUK-3 to help defeat larger capital ships. They usually only use one such weapon and keep their other turret clear for fighting off other fighters and/or corvettes. $100k

Weapon
Dmg
Acc
Range
Ewt
RoF
Shots
ST
Bulk
Rcl
Notes
NOV-4 Heavy Plasma Cannon Module
6dx30(2) burn ex
6
4 mi/12 mi
4000
1/3
15/2F
M
-10
3
[1]
MIN-3R Mining Laser Module
5d×15(10) cut inc
12
500/3 mi
4000
1
25/5E
M
-10
1

SP74-TR Heavy Plasma Gatling
6dx15(2) burn ex
6
3mi/
8mi
4000
8
88/
3F
M
-10
3

Isomeric Torpedo Bay
6d×500 cr ex
3
300/
10 mi
2500
1
3
150M
-15
1

Engine Modules

The Nomad has room for multiple possible configurations of its engines and its hyperdrive. It takes 6 hours to change an engine module, or 12 hours if no tools are available.
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Redjack “Cross-Country” Ion Thruster Engine Module

45,000 lbs; $3.6M (if purchased separately)

This is the standard engine module for a Nomad; it requires no statline change. It trades engine and hyperdrive space for additional fuel for the hyperdrive, allowing it to take more jumps. It also includes additional access space, making the engineer more comfortable, but not enough to improve HT.

This requires no change to the statline.

Redjack “Crosswind” Hyperdrive Engine Module

60,000 lbs; $5M

This module includes the standard ion thrusters of the Cross-Country module, but sacrifices the additional space for a much larger hyperdrive. This improves the hyperdrive rating to 3 and reduces the fuel to 5 shunts.

Redjack “Stormrider” Plasma Thruster Engine Module

60,000 lbs; $5M

This engine module sheds the additional fuel and fills up the engine room with heavier, more powerful plasma thrusters. This greatly expand out the engine profile of the ship and give its engines a violent, red blast when they fire. While active, the plasma thrusters increase the Move of the Nomad to 12/400 (+13) and improve the handling/SR to +2/5 (for a total chase roll of +15). The plasma thrusters consume 24 hours of fuel for every hour active.

Redjack “Horizon” Next-Gen Engine Module

60,000 lbs; $13M

This staggeringly expensive module combines hyperium thrusters with a cutting-edge, state of the art hyperdrive. This results in a shockingly fast ship with an excellent hyperdrive rating. Reduce the hyperspace fuel to 5 shunts, and improve the hyperdrive rating to 3. Furthermore, with the Plasma Thursters active, increase Move to 12/400 (+13) and improve the handling to +2/5 (for a total Chase roll of +15); the plasma thrusters consume 24 hours of fuel for every hour active. Finally, reduce HT by 1 and add the x tag (explosive).

These can be cobbled together using Syntech Next-Gen plasma thrusters and hyperdrives; the results tend to be safer, but one must acquire the parts first! This requires a Mechanic (Starship) roll at -8 (or +0 with Quick Gadgeteer). Such a hypothetical module does not penalize HT or add the x tag.

Electronics Module

Next to the control compartment and beneath the main dish array, the nomad has a modular electronics laboratory which can be slotted for different dish arrays as well as different computers, depending on the intended purpose of the Nomad. By default, this is cabin-sized “server room” with an access point for a robot into the microframe of the Nomad. When a module is installed, it replaces the electronics of the ship, including the main dish, with a new room and new electronics.

Redjack “Doodlebug” Electronics Module

1000 lbs; $200,000

The original design for the Nomad called for a prospector ship. The Nomad was to jump into a new system and check out the local asteroids to see if any had promising ore or material. This module includes an advanced microframe with excellent prospecting software and a geology lab, allowing analysis of samples. Add +1 to Prospecting and Geology.

Redjack “Charter” Electronics Module

1000 lbs; $200,000

Nomads often see use as scouts or explorers on the edges of civilized space. The Charter module includes an advanced microframe within a “starchart” office that provides a constant synthesis on local reports of hyperstorms and the changing location of stars in relations to one another. Add +1 to Navigation (Hyperspace) and Cartography.

Redjack “Blackout” Electronics Module

1000 lbs; $250,000

Designed to allow the nomad to accept a combat-support role, this module upgrades the electronics package of the Nomad to add a 20-mile “Medium” Area Scrambler, granting all allies in its area a -5 ECM rating, and a 20-mile, “Medium” Distortion Scrambler that can disrupt communications in the area. Additionally, the room has contains an advanced microframe with excellent tactical software and a holoprojector with a real-time map of the area. This grants +1 to Tactics (Space) and Electronics Operations (EW).

ARC “Icon” Electronics Module

1250 lbs; $5M

Designed as a joint project between ARC and Redjack, this module is popular with diplomats, merchants and missionaries alike. This electronics package greatly increases the size of the main dish and includes a “Very Large” 300-parsec FTL communication device, as well as a mini-studio with soundproofing, stage-dressing, up-to-date holocameras and a larger holoprojector that allows the occupant to communicate with another at full scale. Add +1 to Propaganda and Electronics Operations (Media).

Blackline Project’s “Anarchy” Electronics Module

1000 lbs; $5M

Urban legends swirl around Nomad’s equipped with top-of-the-line microframes with black-market hacking and decryption programs as well as comm-spoofing technology. If such a module existed, it would add +2 to Computer Hacking-related skills, as well as Electronics Operations (Comms) rolls to avoid being eavesdropped upon or for spoofing other signals, and allows for real-time decryption of signals.

Cargo Modules

The expansive cargo bay (most of the Nomad interior) can be redesigned to match the owners specifications. They may have up to 3 cargo modules.

Basic Nomad Cargo Module

500lbs; $30,000

The standard cargo module for a Nomad, this cargo bay can carry up to 45,000 lbs of cargo. It also contains floor and/or wall-panels (the designs vary per module) that can hide up to 5000 lbs in cargo, serving as basic Smugglingtools. Additionally, these smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

Basic Nomad Bunk Module

3000lbs; $100,000

A typical bulk passenger module, this contains bunks and additional life-support for up to 10 people. These accommodations tend to be uncomfortable and earn little in the way of frieght, but some Nomad pilots, especially those that handle refugees make use of them. These also contain standard Smugglingcompartments (see Basic Nomad Cargo Module for more) hidden beneath various bunks or on the wall panels. These smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

Basic Nomad Prison Module

3000lbs; $100,000

This module contains ten, tightly packed cells with force ward prison doors and neuronic shackles to keep prisoners in line. This module is popular among bounty hunters or slave traffickers in the Umbral Rim. These also contain standard Smugglingcompartments (see Basic Nomad Cargo Module for more) hidden beneath various bunks or on the wall panels. These smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

Standard Nomad Accommodations Module

3000lbs; $150,000

The standard in passenger accommodation, and also popular among nomads with larger crews, this contains two full cabins and life-support for up to 4 additional people. These also contain standard Smugglingcompartments (see Basic Nomad Cargo Module for more) hidden beneath various bunks or on the wall panels. These smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

Custom Nomad Luxury Cabin Module

3000lbs; $250,000

This module contains a luxurious cabin fit for one to two people, with sumptuous furnishings and a spacious interior. Additionally, this module contains advanced, well-hidden smuggling compartments which can hide up to 5000 lbs of cargo, allow a Smugglingroll at +1, and provide the normal -6 penalty to detect the compartments with sensors or to scan their interiors. These smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

Custom Nomad Temple Module

3000lbs; $250,000

Some Redjack customers are deeply religious. Redjack has several “temple” variations, with the Akashic Mysteries, Shepherdist and Divine Masks as standards, and with generic, open spaces that can easily be customized by the owner to honor their particular religious affiliation. These generally provide sufficient tools for Religious Ritual rolls, and the Akashic model comes with a sensory deprivation chamber. If used as a meeting room, it can house up to 10 people. Additionally, this module contains advanced, well-hidden smuggling compartments which can hide up to 5000 lbs of cargo, allow a Smugglingroll at +1, and provide the normal -6 penalty to detect the compartments with sensors or to scan their interiors. These smuggling compartments contain distortion mesh, which apply a -6 to any rolls to detect them or to scan their contents.

ArmorModules

The Nomad has a fairly simple, if unattractive and unstreamlined exterior that has attachment points and struts capable of accepting additional reinforcement that improves its armor, handling or stealth charactersistics. As an optional rule, called shots for armor chinks automaticallybypass Armor Modules in addition to halving the DR of the Nomad, and disabling the Nomads’s armor destroys the Armor Module. It takes one hour to change out a Nomad’s armor module, or two hours without the appropriate tools.

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Redjack “Mustang” Armor Module

6000 lbs; $10M

One of the trickier armor modules to install, this substantially reshapes the craft with additional hyperdynamic control elements, giving it a sleeker, more aggressive design. It improves Handling to +2/4, unless combined with plasma thruster modules (either the “Stormrider” or “Horizon” module), then it improves Move to 11/500 (+14) and handling to +3/4.

Redjack “Pocket Ace” Armor Module

12,000lbs; $2.5M

Nomad pilots often prefer a certain level of discretion. The “Pocket Ace” module applies of stealthed carbide composite. This increases the DR of the Nomad to 300/150 DR and applies a further -4 ECM penalty. In addition, the armor contains a layer of distortion mesh, which applies a -6 to any attempts to scan the interior of the vehicle and determine what lay inside.

Redjack “Brutus” Armor Module

15,000lbs; $1.5M

Nomad pilots pile on Brutus armor when they expect to come under serious attack and don’t mind hauling the extra weight. Brutus armor notably bulks up the silhouette of the ship, and the extra layers of nanocomposite polymer with added EMA increases DR to 450/200 and triples DR vs shaped charges and plasma attacks.

ARC “Rake” Armor Module

6,000lbs; $4M

Another collaboration between ARC and Redjack, ARC can manufacture a special, diamondoid shell which, in addition to greatly improving its survivability, also gives it stylish lines suitable for a wandering nobleman. This grants +1 reaction modifiers and improves DR to 300/150 (but halve DR vs crushing attacks).

Sample Nomad Loadouts:

The Redjack “Prospector” Loadout: These are so common that some people refer to a “Nomad” as a “Prospector.” These tend to be kitted out for long trips into the lonely belts at the edges of the galaxy, far from civilization for days of scanning asteroids for useful ore. These ships can mine on their own, but often join a larger fleet of Wranglers and Wildcats.

Statline Changes and Notes: $47M, +1 to Prospecting and Geology rolls.

  • SP74-TR Heavy Plasma Gatling Module
  • MIN-3R Artillery Laser Cannon Module
  • Redjack “Cross-Country” Ion Thruster Engine Module

  • Redjack “Doodlebug” Electronics Module
  • 3 Basic Nomad Cargo Modules

  • No Armor Module

The Redjack “Anthem” Loadout: Redjack customers interested in Nomads that aren’t miners are often “tramp traders,” looking to wander a part of the galaxy and make quick trades between systems not usually connected by big liners. These “Anthems” tend to get unfairly tagged as smugglers just because the Nomad is surprisingly good at smuggling!

Statline Changes and Notes: $52M; +4 ASV occupancy; Hyperspace Rating 3 (5 jumps); +1 to Navigation (Hyperspace) and Cartography.

  • 2 SP74-TR Heavy Plasma Gatling Modules
  • Redjack “Crosswind” Hyperdrive Engine Module

  • Redjack “Charter” Electronics Module
  • 2 Basic Nomad Cargo Modules

  • Standard Nomad Accommodations Module

  • No Armor Module

The ARC “Rapscallion” Loadout: Aristocrats with pinched pockets sometimes choose to retrofit a basic Nomad as a personal shuttle. Their considerable endurance makes them very popular for long trips, and its extreme FTL allow the noble to remain in touch while looking fantastic.

Statline Changes and Notes:$56M; +4 ASV occupancy;DR 300/150 (Halved vs Crushing); +1 to Propaganda and Electronics Operations (Media).

  • 2 SP74-TR Heavy Plasma Gatling Modules
  • Redjack “Cross-Country” Ion Thruster Engine Module

  • ARC “Icon” Electronics Module
  • 2 Custom Nomad Luxury Cabin Module

  • 1 Custom Nomad Temple Module

  • ARC “Rake” Armor Module

The Redjack “Solo” Loadout: With all the possible loadouts available for the Nomad, sometimes Nomad pilots sit up and notice interesting vessels, and the “Solo” was one such vessel. The pilot, a smuggler in the Rogue Stars near Sirocco, had turned his Nomad into a racer capable of keeping up with heavy fighters, and with an unparalleled capacity to navigate the stranger stars of the galactic fringe.

Statline Changes and Notes:$68M; +3/4 Hand/SR; Move: 11/500; +4 ASV occupancy;Hyperspace Rating 3 (5 jumps); +1 to Navigation (Hyperspace) and Cartography.

  • 2 SP74-TR Heavy Plasma Gatling Modules
  • Redjack “Horizon” Next-Gen Engine Module

  • Redjack “Charter” Electronics Module
  • 2 Basic Nomad Cargo Module

  • Standard Nomad Accommodations Module

  • Redjack “Mustang” Armor Module

Look and Feel

The Nomad is one of Redjack’s most purchased vehicles, and a common sight across the Galaxy, though not everyone realizes they’re looking at the same ship, given the triumph of Redjack modularity that it represents. The silhouette of the ship is dominated by its array of engines, which spread out in an arc behind the rest of the craft. The center has its “cargo” section, which has a generous cargo ramp that often looks out of place when leading to a set of halls and galleys if mostly accommodations have been installed. Finally, the ship narrows to its control area, which is inevitably a riot of exposed cables and structure unless the pilot is meticulous about the installation of their electronics modules. This area contains the pilot and co-pilot station, and the electronics control room/lab, sometimes called “the server room,” especially if it has an upgraded computer.

The interior of the ship varies a great deal based on the modules installed. Especially sparse Nomads feel excessively roomy, with overly spacious engine rooms, an essentially empty electronics lab, and a cavernous hold. If fully installed, the ship can feel crushingly claustraphobic, with an overwrought engine room that often makes for a tight fit, a busy set of accommodations each with their own mini galley and bathroom set, and a control area overflowing with electronics. As a result, the final layout and look of the ship depends a great deal on the personality of its pilot and crew, and each ship tends to be highly individualized with imaginative paint-jobs and custom modules.

Given their flexibility, Nomads can see a variety of uses. In war, they tend to act as scouts, spies and saboteurs, creeping up on ships with their stealth or racing away when detected. In the meantime, they use their top-of-the-line electronics to scope out the enemy, uncover mine fields and determine where the best attack point for a settlement might be. They can fight, but tend to be outmatched by larger Redjack vehicles, or even Redjack fighters, which are dedicated to war. Outside of war, the Nomad uses its watchfulness and its endurance to explore the edges of the galaxy and avoid an excessive amount of official attenion.

The Redjack Razer-Class Mining Engine

ST/HP: 80

Hand/SR: +0/3

HT: 12

Move:3/35(+5)

LWt.:4.4

Load: 0.1

SM: +3

Occ.:1SV

DR:150

Range:400

Cost:$1,400,000

Loc.:Cg

Notes

Redjack Engineering Vehicle Electronics:

  • Medium Ultra-Scanner: 30-mile scan, 3-mile imaging/bioscan; 120° (forward);
  • Navigation: Inertial Compass (+3 to Navigation); fixed homing navigation system (+5 to navigate to a specific signal).
  • Medium Holographic Radio: 1,000 mile range (orbital); “palm sized” holographic console.
  • Rechargeable F-Cell: 5.6 hours of energy.
  • Life Support: 1 Day; with vaccsuit interface.
  • Security & Safety: Simple Locks;

The Razer has room for a single driver.

Armaments

The Razer has a single, 2-ton mining laser, forward facing and non-stabilized. Against immobile targets, if the Razer can focus all of its firepower for multiple consecutive seconds, treat the damage as corrosive. The mining laser has the exact same mass and volume as heavy Redjack weapon modules, but it is not itself modular. Characters who wish to swap it out for a different weapon may do so, but treat this as rebuilding the vehicle (it will typically take days and require several Mechanicand Armoury (Vehicular Weapons)rolls, though Quick Gadgeteers can do so in a fraction of the time).

Weapon
Dmg
Acc
Range
Ewt
RoF
Shots
ST
Bulk
Rcl
MIN-3R Mining Laser
5d×15(10) cut inc
12
500/3 mi
4000
1
25/5E
M
-10
1

Look and Feel

While Redjack might wink and nudge when it calls a vehicle an “engineering” or “civilian” vehicle, this is untrue in the case of the Razer. The Razer is just a mining laser attached to a set of caterpillar tracks with a driver compartment on the back. The driver compartment has computerized controls, but little else; it has an ultrascanner and navigational system to orient itself while tunneling, and a comm system to maintain communication with the central base. As a mining laser, it will carve through about 1 yard of stone to create a whole large enough for itself every 5 seconds.

Even so, Razers see use in battle. A Razer is not an exceptionally fast or well-defended vehicle, but it makes for an excellent siege weapon agaisnt stubborn bunkers. If the Razer can get to within a few hundred yards and stabilize itself, it can carve through armored walls in seconds. Pirates sometimes deploy these via Grappler ships, dropping them right next to an especially stubborn defense structure, and then use it to carve an opening for its assault forces.