Starships

## Terms

* **Armor Class**: Starship Armor Class works very much the same as character AC, and defines the threshold for an attack to pierce the ship's Hull and do damage to the modules or crew. Starship AC increases with Hull grade. This is different from Shield Points (SP) which are a function of the shield generator module.
* **Bay**: A bay, or internal compartment, is a type of module within the confines of the ship. Bays house machinery, gear, and vehicles, and can also be used as rooms or cargo holds of a starship.
* **Berth**: The minimum crew required to operate the starship and the maximum life support capacity of the starship. Can be increased with modules.
* **Build Points**: When designing a custom starship frame, the size of the frame is determined by the number of Build Points (BP) used for internal compartments and bays. A tiny module costs 1 BP, small costs 2 BP, medium costs 4 BP, large costs 8 BP, and a huge costs 16 BP. This is important to keep in mind when modifying any prebuilt frames.

* **Energy Output**: The maximum energy produced by the Fusion Drive. Divided between starship propulsion and modules. Must be greater than Energy Signature to avoid module malfunction.

* **Energy Signature**: The dynamic total combined amount of energy used by all active modules (including Thrust from Fusion Drive) on the starship. This is how starships detect one another and can be reduced by deactivting modules.
* **Firing Arc**: Mounted modules on the outside of a starship can be located in four spots - bow (front), stern (back), port (left), and starboard (right). These locations define a 180 degree semicircle within which the mounted module can be aimed and fired.
* **Frame**: The foundational chasis of a starship, defining how many Mounts or Bays a starship is capable of supporting.
* **Fuel Range**: The maximum traversable distance based on current Fusion Fuel levels. Increases with fuel tank size and reduced mass.
* **Fusion Drive**: The Sterling Fusion Drive is the latest development in sublight propulsion, generating massive amounts of thrust and control at high efficiency rates, as well as redirecting power and thrust to Thrusters when needed and electrical power for starship modules. The Fusion Drive runs on a Deuterium-Helium-3 mixture (colloquially Fusion Fuel).
* **Fusion Fuel**: A Deuterium-Helium-3 mixture used to power Fusion Drives. Can be found on planetary and orbital spaceports. Capacity is determined by fuel tank size (tons).
* **Mass**: The combined mass of the starship and all physical modules. Increased mass has a negative effect on Sublight Speed and Warp Range.
* **Maneuverability**: A value (1-5) representing how many tiles a starship must move before turning or taking evasive maneuvers. Dependent on frame size, can be increased with higher grade Fusion Drives.
* **Module**: Different components which can be added to a starship; come in a variety of sizes (1-5) and grades (E-A). Modules can refer to Mounts or Internal Compartments (Bays).
* **Mount**: A dedicated area on the exterior of a starship's frame, meant for holding weapons or utility devices. The size of a mount limits the size of a module which it can hold, and the size and number of mounts are determined by a starship's frame.
* **Sensors**: The starship sensor suite is used to detect physical objects and electromagnetic signals up to the Sensor Range.
* **Shield Points**: Shield Points are the measure of your starship's shield strength and can be increased with shield generator size and grade. It is possible to have more than one shield generator on larger ships, in which case the Shield Points stack.
* **Sensor Range**: The maximum distance a starship can detect physical objects via Radar and Lidar, or the minimum detectable Energy Signature.
* **Sublight Speed**: The maximum speed at which the starship travel can through a system in tiles. One tile = 100x100m. Dependent on Fusion Drive size and grade, negatively effected by increased mass.
* **Systems:** Operating a starship is handled via Proficiency checks. Various tasks around a starship will involve a Space Vehicles check, and more specific tasks will involve a specific Systems check such as patching a hull or firing weapons.
* **Thrusters**: Hydrazine powered thrusters used to navigate planetary atmospheres or assist with docking and maneuverability. Fuel use is neglible.
* **Tritium Fuel**: Tritium fuel cores are used to power Warp Drives. Can be found on planetary and orbital spaceports. Destroyed upon use.
* **Warp Drive**: The Lentz-Zaytsev Quantum Soliton Warp Drive (colloquially Warp Drive) is Humanity's realization of faster-than-light travel. The energy consumption isues of the Lentz drive (initially theorized in 2021) were mitigated in 2184 when Human scientists successfully generated planetary amounts of energy through quantum explosions in the Zaytsev reactor. The Warp Drive utilizes Tritium fuel cores to generate a single quantum explosion, forming a spacetime soliton which can be relocated to a neaby gravity well at faster than light speeds, since the soliton moves along geodesics. Warp Drives are only capable of one jump before needing new fuel cores, and can only target the gravity wells of stars.
* **Warp Range**: The maximum distance (in Ly) capable of being reached by the starship. Dependant on Warp Drive size and grade, negatively effected by increased Mass, and Energy Output.

## Frames

The frame is the foundation of a starship. It defines its shape, base maneuverability, dry mass, internal compartment capacity, and mount capacity. A variety of frames are mass manufactured around the galaxy, ranging in sizes of Tiny (10 x 10m) to Huge (1250 x 1250 ft), but custom frames can be ordered with enough time and money.

### Prebuilt Frames

Since the widespread adoption of the Fusion and Warp Drives marked Humanity's entry into interstellar travel, a number of corporations began the manufacture of starship frames and modules for personal, commercial, and military use. These frames are commonly found for sale at spaceports. Unless otherwise stated, all frames sized Small and above support an equally sized Fuel Tank, Fusion Drive, Sensor Suite, Warp Drive and Life Support System.

#### Tiny

* Size: 20x20m
* Dry Mass: 16T
* Base Maneuverability: 2

 Strike Craft
 Coupe
 Drone
- Does not support a Life Support module

SkiffStrike CraftCoupeDrone
#### Small

* Size: 50x50m
* Dry Mass: 48T
* Base Maneuverability: 3

2x Tiny
2x Tiny (Port/Starboard)
 Survey Ship
1x Tiny

HaulerCorvetteCourierSurvey Ship
#### Medium

* Size: 100x100m
* Dry Mass: 96T
* Base Maneuverability: 3

BargeFrigatePicket ShipYachtTransport
#### Large

* Size: 200x200m
* Dry Mass: 256T
* Base Maneuverability: 4

1x Small
2x Small
2x Medium (Port/Starboard)
1x Medium
2x Small
2x Tiny (Bow/Stern)
 Liner
3x Small

FreighterDestroyerCarrierLiner
#### Huge

* Size: 300x300m
* Dry Mass: 640T
* Base Maneuverability: 5

3x Medium
2x Small
6x Tiny (Port/Starboard/Stern)
1x Medium
4x Small
2x Large (Bow)
2x Tiny (Port/Starboard)

Capitol ShipBattleship
### Custom Frames

Starship frames can be custom built by a skilled shipbuilder, for patience and a price. Once a custom frame is designed, it does not have to be custom made again, and can be subsequently purchased as a prebuilt frame for a reasonable price. Custom frames are limited in size according to the size and amount of supported, also known as Build Points, according to the table below.

 Small
 Medium
 Large
 Huge

Additionally, prebuilt frames can be modified by a skilled shipbuilder to add, remove, or modify internal compartments and mounts. Doing so will also generate a new prebuilt frame which can be subsequently purchased for a reasonable price. The monetary and time cost for retrofitting different compartments and mounts are shown in the table below.

 Small
 Medium
 Large
 Huge