Spaceship Rules

**ADVANCED ASTROGATION**

If you play Stargrave, you probably think spaceships are cool. In fact, I have seen numerous people build model ships for their crew, even though there are no rules for using ships in a game. It's not surprising, really. When you are dealing with small crews travelling around the galaxy, a spaceship is essential. In many of the great books and movies from which Stargrave draws inspiration, a crew's ship is practically another character, with its own unique design, characteristics, and quirks. Not only that, but for the wanderers of the independent crews, their ship is their home and strategic headquarters. Without their ship, they aren't a crew.

This chapter significantly expands the rules for spaceships in a campaign and is designed to be used in conjunction with the space encounter rules presented in the next chapter (see here). In fact, there isn't a lot of point in using most of these rules if you aren't using those, and vice-versa.

**SPACESHIP SHEET**

You can find it here. This sheet works in conjunction with your Crew Sheet, except that you generally won't need any of the information on the sheet during a game; it is designed for use before and after games. Each section of the sheet is explained below.

**NAME AND CLASS**

At the top of the sheet, you'll find spaces for the ship's name and class. All ships should have a cool name like Warprider, Emerald Tiger, or Black Blade. You can, of course, name the ship whatever you want. In the same way, you can create any class you want for the ship, be it a Nova Chief, Tangolan Cruiser, or Viper X47. These entries have no direct effect on gameplay, but they go a long way in visualizing your crew and imagining their adventures. Also, there is a space for drawing your spaceship, should you feel so inclined.

**STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY**

Structural Integrity is a numerical value that represents how tough your ship is and how much damage it can sustain before it falls apart or explodes. All spaceships start with a Structural Integrity of 1,000, though this can be increased through upgrades or decreased through damage. See the 'Ship Damage' section for more details.

**CREW ASSIGNMENTS**

Every ship has six 'positions' that must be filled: Pilot, Ship Gunnery, Navigation, Engineer, Science, and Doctor. The player must assign one member of their crew each of these positions. Any figure may be assigned to any position, even if it doesn't seem to make sense. So, you could assign your medic soldier as the pilot, while your first mate serves as the doctor, though it might not be your best move. Each figure can only be assigned to fill one position, and all positions must be filled. In the unlikely event that the crew no longer has enough members to fill every position, they must fill all the slots they can, starting with pilot and working along the list.

Next to each crew assignment is a space for 'Skill Level'. The Skill Level for each position is equal to the Will stat of the figure filling that assignment, plus any specific bonuses that figure has for that skill, plus any bonuses the ship itself might grant due to upgrades. The minimum Skill Level for each assignment is -3, which is also the number that should be written if no one is filling that position.

Players will sometimes be called upon to make a Crew Assignment Roll such as a Pilot Roll or Engineering Roll. These are handled in the same way as Stat Rolls, including automatic successes and failures. The player simply rolls a die, adds the skill level for that specific assignment and compares it to the given Target Number (TN). If the roll equals or exceeds the Target Number, the roll is a success. These rolls are most commonly made during space encounters as seen in the next chapter (see here); though if players enjoy them, they could probably be worked into some scenarios as well.

**CAPTAINS AND FIRST MATES EXPERIENCE OPTIONS**

Captains and first mates generally make good options for assigning to crew positions because of their high Will stat. However, some players will want their captain to be 'the best' pilot, or gunner, or whatever. In such a case, players should consider using this optional rule in their campaign.

Whenever a captain or first mate gains a level, they may gain an Area of Knowledge as their improvement instead of the improvement listed on the Improvement Table in the main rulebook. In this case, just write Area of Knowledge: (X) in the notes for that character on the Crew Sheet. The player must pick which area of knowledge from the following options: Pilot, Ship Gunnery, Navigator, Science, Engineer, or Doctor. This will give the figure +2 on all related rolls when assigned to that crew position. So, a captain with Will +4 and Area of Knowledge: Navigation, would gain +6 to all Navigation Rolls when assigned to that position. A figure that already has a specific Area of Knowledge, may increase this to an Area of Expertise in the same way (so a figure must go up two levels to become an expert in a specific area). This gives the figure a +4 on all related rolls.

A figure may have multiple Areas of Knowledge or Expertise so long as they continue to use their improvements to obtain them. That said, as a figure can only be assigned to one crew position at a time, there isn't a huge benefit in this.

**UPGRADES**

This is where to list any upgrades that players have purchased or obtain for their ship.

**SYSTEM DAMAGE AND QUIRKS**

This is where to list any system damage or quirks that your ship has acquired during its travels. See the 'Ship Damage' section for more details (here).