RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to Rogue Trader: Savage Worlds

06:19, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Space Combat.

Posted by GMFor group 0
GM
GM, 7 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 22:36
  • msg #1

Space Combat

Ship Toughness:

The Toughness and damage values of starships are low. However, these vessels operate on a scale where even a lascannon or tank cannon would not do any meaningful damage. Conversely, even the toughest character would be instantly disintegrated, along with everything in the surrounding area, were they unlucky enough to be hit by a macrocannon shell . The lower numbers are a measure to avoid rolling scores of dice and having Toughness values of 100+. Simply assume that nothing smaller than the main guns on a Titan can directly damage a starship.


Scale:

Space combat takes place in Void Units (VU's), each equal to 1" on the tabletop. Ships only occupy a relatively tiny point within that space--if their exact location is important, they are considered to be on the dot in the centre. Ships that move into or through each other do not collide except if that is the intent (see "Ramming Speed")

Each Strategic Round covers about half an hour. Each ship acts once per Strategic Round, with the PC's going first and then the enemies going in any order. During each round, the PC's each take one action each (multiple actions are not possible). The options for actions are listen below.

Any action that happens within a Strategic Round can be “zoomed in on”, if the players and GM agree. Generally, this is best done when the action itself is narratively important, such as leading a boarding team to recover prisoners or an artifact from the belly of an enemy raider, venturing into a depressurised component to repair it, or trying to bluff the enemy commander over the vox. Such episodes can be handled with other subsystems such as Chase, Dramatic Tasks, Social Encounters or Quick Tasks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:45, Tue 23 Nov 2021.
GM
GM, 8 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 22:46
  • msg #2

Space Combat

Free Actions:

These actions can happen before, after or between the actions of PC's.

Ships can move between half and their maximum Speed and perform one turn at any point. Turn distance is 90 degrees for raiders, frigates and light transports, and 45 degrees for light cruisers, cruisers and heavy transports.

Torpedoes move, and attack any ship they come into contact with.

Attack Craft move and attack any eligible targets they come into contact with (see below).

The officers of a ship can make one action each, in any order they choose.

Disruptive actions impose a -2 penalty on the rolls of any other actions that round, and no more than one Disruptive action can be performed per round.


Attack Actions:

Fire Weapons (Shooting): The ship shoots at a single target with any number of eligible Lance / Battery weapons. This can be done multiple times, but no weapon can fire more than once.

Hit & Run (Pilot): The character leads a commando team in a small craft, to board and sabotage an enemy ship before fleeing. Make a Pilot check. On a success, roll on the Hit & Run damage table, adding +1 to the roll for each raise. On a failure, the character is forced to return to their ship. On a critical failure, the attack craft is crippled or destroyed.

Launch Attack Craft (None): Up to 2 Squadrons of attack craft per launch bay on the ship are readied and launched. The character may choose to personally lead any squadron.

Command Attack Craft (Battle): Any rolls made by friendly NPC attack craft within this Strategic Round will use the Battle skill of the PC.

Fire Torpedoes (None): At the end of movement, the ship will fire a salvo of torpedoes with a strength determined by the component launching them.

Load Torpedoes (no roll): The torpedo tubes of the ship are all reloaded.


Command Actions:

Brace For Impact (Pilot, Disruptive): Until the start of the ship’s next Strategic Round, they ignore the first Wound lost, and the first point of Crew and Morale damage they suffer.

Lock On (Computer): Grant +2 to attacks against a single target within this Strategic Round.

Repel Boarders (Battle): Deduct 2 (or 4 with a raise) from the damage results of any Hit and Run attacks made against the ship in the next round. Add +2 to the opposed Battle check of any boarding actions within the next round.

Boarding Action (opposed Piloting & Battle, Disruptive): Make an opposed Piloting check to draw close enough to the enemy ship, then refer to the system below if successful.


Piloting Actions:

The Maneuvere modifier of a ship applies to all these rolls.

Burn Retros (Pilot, Disruptive): The minimum Speed of the ship becomes 0.

Disengage (Pilot, Disruptive): The ship attempts to break off from combat. This roll is opposed by a Computer check from each major enemy or group of enemies within 10", with the Detection modifier. If successful, they leave the combat.

Come To New Heading (Pilot, Disruptive): Can make one additional turn this round before movement.

Enter Warp (Pilot, Disruptive): This also requires a Repair check from another character in the same round, to bring the warp engines online. If successful, the ship will enter warp at the end of their next Strategic Turn, and cannot attack until then. If the ship is rammed, crippled or subject to a boarding action, this is cancelled.

Full Speed Ahead (Pilot, Disruptive): Cannot turn. Increase Speed by 1 + 1 per raise, to a maximum of 3 (Raiders, Frigates), 2 (Light Cruisers, Light Transports) or 1 (Heavy Transports, Cruisers)

Escape Boarders (opposed Piloting, Disruptive): If successful, the ship can perform an immediate turn and then move half its speed. Any ongoing Boarding Actions being made by or against the ship immediately end.

Ramming Speed (opposed Piloting, Disruptive): If the opposed Piloting roll is won by the attacker, and the attacker's ship contacts the ship they are aiming for, they perform a Ram. The checks each gain +2 for a raider or frigate, or take a -2 penalty for a cruiser or heavy transport.


Social Actions:

Rally (Persuasion or Intimidate): Reduce Morale damage taken in the last Strategic Round by 1 for a success and 2 for a raise, to a minimum of 1.

Hail The Enemy (Persuasion or Intimidate): Interact with the crew of an enemy ship, allowing for a Test of Wills, etc.

Motivate (Special): The character takes any action other than Psychic and Navigator actions, using the Crew Rating of the ship as their die roll.

Support (Persuasion or Intimidate): The character makes a Persuasion or Intimidate check to galvanise the crew, Supporting another action on the ship as normal.


Support Actions:

Active Augury (Computer): Learn the remaining Wounds & Crew of another ship within 10”, and identify one random component per success or raise.

Damage Control (Repair): On a success, repair one Critical Damage result that can be repaired.

Triage (Heal): Reduce Crew damage taken in the last Strategic Round by 1 for a success and 2 for a raise, to a minimum of 1.


Astropath Actions:

Arson (Psi -2, requires any Pyrokinesis power): If passed, an enemy ship within 6" suffers a Fire critical hit.

Chill The Flames (Psi, requires any Voidfrost power): If passed, repair one Fire critical damage result on the ship.

Quell Unease (Psi, requires Relief or Empathy): If passed, restore 1 point of Morale that has been lost since the Astropath’s last action.

Telekinetic Seal (Psi, requires Deflection or Barrier): If passed, repair one Depressurised critical damage result on the ship.

Traitor’s Hand (Psi -2, requires Puppet or Confusion): Opposed vs Spirit of an enemy ship within 6”. If successful, one weapon on that ship that has not already fired in this Strategic Round shoots at a target of the Astropath’s choice.


Navigator Actions:

Foresight (Warpcraft): If the check succeeds, the Navigator gains one additional Benny, which they can spend to reroll any dice roll in this Strategic Round, even one made by another character or an enemy.

Occultate (Warpcraft): If passed, attempts to detect the ship or attack it with a Psi or Warpcraft ability take a -2 penalty for one Strategic Round.

Smooth Sailing (Warpcraft): If passed, the ship gains +1 Speed for the remainder of this Strategic Round.

Tactical Awareness (Warpcraft): If passed, the ship gains +1 Handling for the remainder of this Strategic Round.

Vision of the Void (Warpcraft): If passed, as Active Augury.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Thu 20 Jan 2022.
GM
GM, 9 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 22:58
  • msg #3

Attacking

Attack Modifiers:

Raiders: +2 to hit Light Cruisers, Cruisers or all Transports.
Frigates: +2 to hit Cruisers and Heavy Transports.
Light Cruisers: -2 to hit Raiders
Cruisers: -2 to hit Raiders, Frigates and Light Transports

Attack Modifiers:
Target is ahead, facing towards or away: +0
Target is ahead or behind, facing across: -2
Target is alongside, facing the same way: +2
Target is alongside, facing the opposite way: -2

Attacking Attack Craft or Torpedoes is at -2 for Raiders and Frigates, and -4 for all other ships. A hit will destroy a salvo or squadron.

A raise on the attack roll does not add an additional damage die.


Defence:

Shields each absorb 1 hit per Tactical Round from Lances, Batteries and Broadsides.

With Battery and Broadside weapons, a raise on the attack roll counts as two hits. If a Broadside weapon gets two or more raises on the attack, it counts as three hits.

A damage rolls that exceeds the Toughness of the ship inflicts one Wound. A raise inflicts one Wound and causes a critical hit as well.

When a ship is reduced to 0 Wounds, it is crippled. Speed is halved (rounding up), all weapons deal 1 die less damage and all checks to use shipboard systems take a -2 penalty. If a ship is reduced to negative Wounds equal to half its starting value (rounding up), then it is destroyed; roll on the Catastrophic Damage table.


Torpedoes:

If a ship launches torpedoes then at the end of its movement, a Torpedo marker is placed in front of it, and moves forward 6”. At the start of the launching ship’s subsequent turns, it moves forward another 6”. If a Torpedo marker moves within 2” of a ship (or if a ship moves within 2” of them), the character who launched them makes an attack roll (this is not optional, and does not count as an action for them) with no modifiers for size, dealing two hits on a success and one for each raise, up to the number of torpedoes remaining in the salvo. Any torpedoes left over, or ones that do not hit, continue to move forward. Torpedoes deal 2d6+4 damage each, and ignore shields.


Nova Cannon:

Choose a point between 10 and 60” from the ship in the front firing arc, then roll Shooting.
Raise: On target.
Success: Scatters d3”
Failure: Scatters d3+3”
Critical Failure: Does not detonate
Something directly hit by a Nova Cannon takes 4d8 damage. Anything within 3” of that spot takes 3d8 damage. Any Torpedoes or Attack Craft in that radius are destroyed (player-piloted ones can make a Piloting check to avoid the blast).


Attack Craft:

Once launched a Squadron of attack craft act as a single entity. If a PC is commanding a Squadron, it uses their Piloting skill rating for any rolls. If a PC is using the Direct Attack Craft action, it uses their Battle skill rating for any rolls. If neither, then it uses their crew die, with no Wild Die.

Fighters: Speed 8
Bombers: Speed 6
Assault Boats: Speed 6

Depleted: When Depleted, Attack Craft must return to a friendly carrier to rearm and refuel. They can move at their normal speed, but cannot fight unless engaged by the enemy. If they would move onto a friendly carrier with space in at least one hangar, they are removed from the map. A hangar cannot launch and land Attack Craft in the same turn.

Interception: When within 1” of Bombers, Assault Boats or a Starship, the Fighters can protect them if attacked by Torpedoes or Attack Craft. The Fighters make a Piloting check and if successful, they engage the attacker and the original target is unaffected. After using Interception successfully, the Fighters are Depleted.

When Attack Craft encounter something else, check what happens:

Fighters vs Fighters: Make opposed Piloting or Battle checks, at -2 if the Squadron is Depleted. If either Squadron loses it is destroyed, then any survivors are Depleted.

Fighters vs Torpedoes, Bombers, or Assault Boats: The fighters shoot down or drive off their enemies, and are Depleted.

Fighters vs Spaceships: The fighters cannot damage the ship. Neither is affected.

Bombers / Assault Boats / Torpedoes vs Bombers / Assault Boats / Torpedoes: The slow-moving craft lumber around each other, and are unaffected.

Bombers vs Spaceships: The commander of the Squadron makes a Piloting or Battle check. For each success and raise, one hit is inflicted on the enemy starship, dealing 2d6+1 damage and ignoring shields. The Squadron is Depleted.

Assault Boats vs Spaceships: The commander of the Squadron makes a Piloting or Battle check. For each success and raise, the Squadron makes one Hit and Run attack on the enemy starship (see above). The Squadron is Depleted.


Hit & Run Attacks:

For each successful Hit & Run attack, roll a d6, then choose that result or one lower.
0 or fewer: Attack fails.
1: 1 Crew damage.
2: 1 Ship damage.
3: Critical Hit (Depressurised)
4: Critical Hit (Damaged)
5: 1 Crew & Ship damage.
6: Critical Hit (Fire)
7+: Bridge Hit


Boarding Actions:

The leaders of the attacking and defending ships each make Battle checks. Each side inflicts 1 Crew and 1 Morale damage to their opponent for a success and for each raise. If a raise is scored, the attacker (and only the attacker) can forgo the extra damage and instead roll on the Critical Hits table for the ship being boarded. While a Boarding Action is ongoing, the ships move forward at half the speed of the slower ship, staying within 1” of each other and they cannot take any other Piloting actions other than Escape Boarding.


Ramming:

If a Ram hits, then the ships each take a hit that ignores shields. Each ship deals 1d6 damage per starting Wound it has to the other, +1d6 for the attacker and -1d6 for the defender.
(example: A Sword frigate rams an Iconoclast raider--the Iconoclast takes 5d6, the Sword takes 2d6)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:21, Tue 23 Nov 2021.
GM
GM, 10 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 22:59
  • msg #4

Damage

Critical Hits (2d6)

2: Bridge Hit. Everyone on the bridge must make an Evasion check at -2 or take 3d6 damage. -2 to all rolls for the ship until the damage is repaired.
3: Engines Damaged. Halve speed (round up) until the damage is repaired.
4: Thrusters Damaged. -3 Manoeuvre until the damage is repaired.
5: Fire. The ship loses 1 Crew and Morale. This repeats at the end of each of its turns until the fire is repaired (extinguished). Alternatively, the character can vent the burning area into space rather than attempting repair, removing the fire at the cost of 1 Crew. If destroyed while on fire, the ship suffers the Burning Hulk catastrophic damage result.
6: Depressurisation. Lose 1 Crew. A Weapon or Secondary Component chosen by the attacker (that they know of) is unusable until the damage is repaired.
7: No additional effect.
8: Component Damaged. A Weapon or Secondary Component chosen by the attacker (that they know of) cannot be used until the damage is repaired. -2 to repair.
9: Shields Overload. The Shields rating of the ship becomes 0 until the damage is repaired.
10: Power Loss. -2 to all rolls for the ship until the damage is repaired.
11: Hull Breach. Additional 1 damage, lose 1 Crew and Morale.
12: Bulkhead Collapse. Additional d3 damage, lose the same amount of Crew and Morale.


Catastrophic Damage (2d6)

1-6: Drifting Hulk. The ship is wrecked and almost all the crew are dead, but it remains largely intact, and will drift forward at half maximum speed each Tactical Round. Such hulks make good targets for salvage or reclamation.
7-9: Burning Hulk. As above, but fires rage on board, which will eventually gutter for lack of oxygen or trigger a chain reaction. Roll on the Catastrophic Damage table at the end of each Tactical Round, once per round until you roll a result other than Burning Hulk.
10-11: Plasma Drive Explosion. The ship tears itself apart in a fireball as the plasma fuel detonates. All ships within d3” take 3d6 damage.
12: Warp Drive Implosion. The warp drive overloads and creates a rift between real space and the Warp. The ship is utterly destroyed, all ships within 3” take 3d6 damage, and the helmsman must make a -2 Piloting check or the ship is sucked into the Warp. A Warp Rift may remain afterwards for 1d3 turns.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Wed 27 Oct 2021.
GM
GM, 11 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 23:03
  • msg #5

Damage

Celestial Phenomena:

Asteroid / Ice Field: -1 to target a voidship in an Asteroid Field, and -2 to use sensors against it. The ship suffers -1 Shields (minimum 0). An Attack Craft squadron that moves through an Asteroid Field must make a Piloting check or become Depleted, or destroyed on a Critical Failure.

Comet / Giant Asteroid: A ship that passes within 1” of the comet must make a Piloting check. On a failure, remove the Comet, and the ship takes 2d10 damage, ignoring shields. Each round, the Comet moves 4” towards a direction randomly determined at the start of the engagement.

Dust Cloud / Gas or Particle Cloud: -1 to target a voidship in these areas, and -2 to use sensors against it.

Flare Zone: Roll a d6 at the end of each turn. On a 6, a solar flare erupts. All ships suffer -1 Shields in the next round (minimum 0), and ships that do not have Shields take 3d6 damage.

Heavy Radiation: Checks to use sensors take a -4 penalty and Shooting checks from spacecraft take -2.

Planets: When within 1” (Small Planet), 2” (Large Planet) or 4” (Giant Planet) of a planet, the ship may make an additional turn to face towards the planet, without needing to use an action. A Large Planet or Giant Planet may have a ring of gas or asteroids around it, or may have one or more Small Planets in orbit around it.

Solar Flare: Roll a d6 at the end of each round, or for every hour. On a 6, ships in the area suffer -1 Shields (minimum 0) and ships without shields take 2d6 damage.

Warp Rift: -2 to target a voidship in these areas, and -4 to use sensors against it. A ship that enters or ends it turns in a Warp Rift must make a -2 Piloting check or the ship is sucked into the Warp. A ship that enters the Warp is removed from the map. Each round, a character on board must make a Repair check each round to raise the Gellar Field or suffer 1 Crew and Morale damage, +1 damage for each additional round the field has been down.


Stellar Environments:

Inner System: Small Planet, Gas Cloud (solar flare remnant), Solar Flare, Heavy Radiation

Habitable Zone: Small Planet, Large Planet which may have 1 Small Planet (moon) nearby.

Outer Rim:
Large Planet, Giant Planet + 1d4 Small Planets (moons), Asteroid Field, Comet / Giant Asteroid

Deep Space: Warp Rift, Gas Cloud, Asteroid Field, Comet / Giant Asteroid
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:03, Wed 27 Oct 2021.
GM
GM, 12 posts
Wed 27 Oct 2021
at 23:03
  • msg #6

NPC Ships

NPC Ships:

Ships piloted by major antagonists use full ship rules. Assume each major NPC on board has one action, and then enough crew actions (using a d6 to a d10, depending on training) so that the total actions equals the number of player characters. These ships gain two bonuses, which can be +1 to a chosen ship stat and / or +2 to a skill of their captain, to represent the effect of modules and customisation.

For the ships of minor antagonists, use the following rules:

--They can move, shoot at one target and take one additional action.
--Their actions all use d6, and do not have a Wild Die.
--They are crippled (and will probably try to disengage) at 0 Wounds, and destroyed (Drifting Hulk) at -1 Wounds.
--They can only perform the following actions: Fire Weapons, Fire / Load Torpedoes, Boarding Action, Disengage, Full Speed Ahead, Escape Boarders, Ramming Speed.
--They do not track Crew or Morale. If they would lose Crew or Morale for reasons other than taking damage, they take 1 Wound for every 2 points of Crew and / or Morale damage, rounding up.
--They do not track Critical Damage. Whenever they would take Critical Damage, roll 2d6.
1-5: No extra effect.
6-11: Take +1 Wound
12: Ship explodes and is destroyed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:38, Wed 10 Nov 2021.
Sign In