Space Combat

=Introduction= Space combat in Galaxy At War is designed to be simple and easy. It works much like ground combat (save that it is truly three-dimensional).

Ships in space combat are divided into two classes—starfighters and capital ships. Starfighter is a catch-all term for any small-scale spacecraft that takes up only one space on the battle map.

Starfighters use a simple system to determine their attack rolls and AC.

Attack Rolls: 1d20 + Pilot’s Base Attack Bonus + Pilot Skill Bonus

No matter what the pilot’s base attack bonus is, he only ever gets one attack per round in a starfighter.

Starfighter AC: Base AC + 1/2 Character Level (Rounded Down) + Pilot Skill Bonus.

=Actions In Space Combat= Movement: On every round, all starfighters must move at least one space forward on the hex grid. They are allowed to change directions by a degree of one hex on any movement, but can only change directions by one hex each action by default.

A starfighter that wishes to avoid being hit should move at least 3 spaces on the grid. Otherwise, for each movement taken below 3, the starfighter is slowing down and becoming easier to hit, taking a cumulative –2 penalty to AC until the beginning of its next turn.

A starfighter can move up to its double listed movement, but cannot attack in the same round that it moves over its listed movement.

Attacking: You can attack an enemy that is within ten hexes of your own space while in a starfighter. This target also to be within your firing arc, however, which is a cone that is ten hexes long and five hexes wide at its end, beginning at the front of your starfighter.

=Starfighters= http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3151/starfighters1sg2.gif

Hit Points: The amount of damage the starfighter’s hull can take before the craft is destroyed.

Shields: Shields are a protective energy field around the fighter. When a ship is being damaged, the damage is subtracted from its shield total before hit points. Until the shields are completely gone, the ship suffers no actual structural damage.

Base AC: The base armor class of the starfighter is a reflection of its maneuverability.

Blaster Damage: The amount of damage that the starfighter’s blaster cannons inflict on a successful hit. Starfighters have an attack range of ten hexes, but are only able to fire at a target that is within their firing arc. Blasters do half damage to capital ships.

Movement: The starfighter’s base movement.

Hyperdrive: This indicates whether or not the ship has an in-built hyperdrive engine. With a hyperdrive engine, a ship can travel across the galaxy in a matter of hours, days, or weeks, where it would take other ships years, centuries, or millennia. Activating a hyperdrive requires that a ship not attack or move faster than its standard speed, and the activation process takes four rounds. On the first round, the hyperdrive is booted on, and on the next three rounds, the navigational computer calculates the route that needs to be taken (so that the ship doesn’t collide with a star, black hole, planet, or other celestial body during its journey). After that, the ship enters hyperspace.

Special Abilities

Bombs: Bombs are heavy explosives capable of seriously damaging even capital ships. They can be fired on any capital ship that is the bomber is adjacent to or overlapping, automatically striking for 1d10 damage. This damage ignores a capital ship’s damage reduction. Bombs cannot be used on other starfighters. A bomb attack is considered to be the fighter’s attack for that round. Bombers are equipped with eight bombs.

Missiles: Missiles are long-ranged weapons used to pick off enemy fighters at a distance and damage vulnerable capital ships. Starfighters with the missile ability are equipped with six such missiles. A missile has a range of twenty hexes, and uses homing technology to zero in on the intended target, providing a +4 bonus to hit. If the attack is successful, the missiles strike on the attacking fighter’s next turn, inflicting 2d6 damage. If the intended target moves out of range of the missiles before then, the attack fails. A missile attack is considered to be the fighter’s attack for that round.

Transport: Most starfighters have only one pilot, and perhaps an astrodroid. The personal transport is significantly larger than other “starfighters,” however, and usually possesses no weaponry. Instead, the fighter can carry as many as twelve people to a destination, pilot and co-pilot included.

Damage Reduction
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 20,000

The hull on the ship is strengthened, giving it DR 1/- (this doesn’t count against damage to the shields). However, this improvement weighs the ship down, decreasing its movement by 1. If this results in the ship having a Movement of 2 or less, it takes a permanent penalty to AC. This can only be undone by restoring the ship’s movement back to 3 with the Tweaked Engine modification.

Greater Shields
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 40

Prerequisite: Improved Shields

Cost: 20,000

The ship’s shields increase by 5.

Heavy Blasters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 35

Prerequisite: Optimized Blasters

Cost: 30,000

Damage from the ship’s blasters is increased by +1.

Hidden Compartment
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 25

Cost: 15,000

A hidden compartment is built into the ship, wherein the pilot can make a Hide check, opposed by an opponent’s Search check (the Pilot can also hide items in the compartment). In a personal transport, up to eight people can be hidden.

Improved Hyperdrive
Check: Craft (Engineering) DC 40

Cost: 50,000

The ship’s hyperdrive takes one less round to calculate trajectories and take off into hyperspace.

Improved Shields
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 20,000

The ship’s shields increase by 5.

Install Astromech Compartment
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 15

Cost: 15,000

This upgrade allows you to equip the starfighter with an astromech.

Install Blasters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 35

Cost: 50,000

This installs a blaster turret into a personal transport, lowering its movement by 1. The turret inflicts 1d6 damage. If this results in the ship having a Movement of 2 or less, it takes a permanent penalty to AC. This can only be undone by restoring the ship’s movement back to 3 with the Tweaked Engine modification.

Install Shields
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 35

Cost: 50,000

This equips a ship with a shield array, which generates 5 shield points and lowers the ship’s movement by 1.

Optimized Blasters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 30,000

Damage from the ship’s blasters is increased by +1.

Recharging Shields
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 60,000

This modification causes the ship’s shields to regenerate at the rate of 1 lost point per round. If the ship’s shields are reduced to 0, they do not regenerate for the rest of the battle.

Tweaked Engine
Check: Craft (Engineering) DC 40

Cost: 60,000

This modification increases the ship’s movement by 1.

Repairing Damaged Starfighters
Starfighters that take hit point damage will need repair. These repairs typically cost 1,000 credits per point of damage to be restored, requiring characters repairing them to spend at least a total of eight hours a day working on the ship (multiple characters can split the time).

Characters can also hire servicemen to repair their ships for them, but this usually costs 3,000 credits per day. However, many service stations have various employees working 24 hours a day, meaning that repair time could be cut by as much as a third.

All characters working to repair a ship must have at least 1 rank in Craft (Ships) or Craft (Engineering).

=Capital Ships= http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2473/capitalshipskb4.gif

Capital ships are vessels containing hundreds, if not thousands, of crew members and troops, as well as a supply of starfighters. They are used to spearhead space battles, as well as engage in planetary bombardments.

Capital ships have no AC, as they are too enormous to be maneuverable. Instead, they rely on their powerful shields and thick hulls to protect them from damage.

Most capital ships have an arsenal of turrets to attack both enemy fighters and other large ships. Because of their bulky size and stationary position on the battlefield, the ship turrets are ill-suited for attacking fighters. They use the following formula to generate attack rolls:

Capital Ship Attack Rolls: Base Attack Bonus of Gunner + Dex + 4.

Statistically, capital ship turrets hit some skilled fighter pilots as little as 5% of the time, meaning that the ship’s own fighters must be used to protect it from abuse by fighters capable of launching missiles and torpedoes. Importantly, however, turrets have a range of fifteen hexes, and capital ships are not considered to have a firing arc. They may use all of their attacks per round on any ship that approaches within fifteen hexes on the grid.

Hit Points: The amount of damage the ship’s hull can take before the vessel is destroyed. Capital ships take half damage from starfighter blasters.

Damage Reduction: The amount damage rolls are reduced by before the capital ship takes hit point damage.

Shields: Shields are a protective energy field around the capital ship. When a ship is being damaged, the damage is subtracted from its shield total before hit points. Until the shields are completely gone, the ship suffers no actual structural damage. Capital ships take half damage from starfighter blasters. Shields do not benefit from the ship's damage reduction.

Shield Regeneration: The shields on capital ships are so strong that their generators can slowly recover power when the energy field is stressed by attacks. This is the amount of shield points that the ship regains per round. If the capital ship’s shields are reduced to zero, they do not regenerate for the rest of the battle.

Blaster Damage: The amount of damage that the ship’s turrets inflict on a successful hit. A ship’s turrets have a range of 15 hexes and have no firing arc, meaning that they can attack any ship within range.

Attacks Per Round: Unlike starfighters, capital ships get multiple attacks per round. This lists how many.

Size: This is the amount of hexes that the capital ship takes up on the battlefield.

Movement: The ship’s movement rate. A capital ship can adjust its direction in space at the rate of one hex every two rounds.

Repairing Damaged Capital Ships
Capital ships that take hit point damage will need repair. These repairs require a large, industrial-level shipyard with at least 100 workers, and such repairs typically cost 30,000 credits per point of damage to be restored. These expenses are usually handled by the military that owns the ship, however.

=Vehicles= http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/50/vehiclesmp7.gif

Aerial Vehicles

Aerial Transport: This flying transport is used to deposit troops either directly into landing zones, or into combat zones by air drop. It typically carries twelve soldiers as passengers.

Gunship: The gunship acts as aerial support in a war zone, spraying enemy infantry forces with fire from above and protecting transports. Troops can fire out of the sides of the gunship, in addition to its turrets. They receive 50% cover while doing so.

Hover Vehicles

Hover vehicles are ground vehicles that perpetually lift off the ground by about five feet, allowing them to move over almost any terrain, even shallow water. They are frequently used in battle due to their effective mix of mobility and firepower.

Hover Transport: Used when moving troops by air is too dangerous or impossible, the hover transport moves groups of up to twenty soldiers into combat zones.

Large Hovercraft: This heavy assault vehicle features both a heavy cannon and two mini-turrets.

Small Hovercraft: Although it is faster than the large hovercraft, this lighter version of the concept is less popular due to decreased firepower.

Super Tank: This gigantic assault vehicle doesn’t use hover technology, but moves instead by hydraulic legs or tank tread. While it is significantly less mobile than any hovercraft, the super tank trades in this deficit for an unbelievably powerful cannon. The vehicle is typically used to hammer entrenched positions or defend important bases.

Optimized Turrets
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 25,000

This upgrade gives a +1 damage bonus to all of the vehicle’s secondary attacks.

Re-Enforced Armor
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 30,000

This upgrade increases the vehicle’s hit points by 5, but decreases its movement speed by 30. Super tanks cannot be upgraded in this way.

Super Thrusters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 40

Cost: 20,000

This increases the movement speed of a hovercraft by 30.

Repairing Damaged Vehicles
Vehicles that take hit point damage will need repair. These repairs typically cost 500 credits per point of damage to be restored, requiring characters repairing them to spend at least a total of eight hours a day working on the vehicle (multiple characters can split the time).

Characters can also hire servicemen to repair their ships for them, but this usually costs 1,500 credits per day. However, many service stations have various employees working 24 hours a day, meaning that repair time could be cut by as much as a third.

All characters working to repair a vehicle must have at least 1 rank in Craft (Ships) or Craft (Engineering).

=Speeders= http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/5405/speederskx1.gif

Speeders operate much like starfighters, except that they are exclusively for planetary use. They are also much more vulnerable to damage than starfighters.

Movement: On every round, all speeders must move at least 60 feet on the battlefield. If they move more slowly, they suffer a –8 penalty to AC.

They are allowed to change directions by a degree of one hex on any movement, but can only change directions by one hex each action by default.

A speeder can move up to double its listed movement, but the pilot takes a –4 penalty on Reflex saves to dodge obstacles when doing so, and cannot move faster than the listed movement and attack in the same round. Also, for every 60 feet of speed above the normal movement rate, the speeder gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a –1 circumstance penalty to attack rolls.

Attacking: Speeders attack only once per round. However, attack speeders have aft gunners, so they can fire at almost any sighted target.

Attacking With A Speeder: 1d20 + Base Attack Bonus + Dexterity Bonus.

AC In A Speeder: Base AC + Pilot Skill (no Dex bonus).

Improved Engine
Check: Craft (Engineering) DC 35

Cost: 10,000

This increases the speeder’s speed by 30.

Increased Durability
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 30

Cost: 15,000

This increases the speeder’s hit points by 10 but lowers its movement speed by 60.

Install Blasters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 35

Cost: 15,000

This installs a set of blasters on a speeder, which inflict 3d8 damage.

Optimized Blasters
Check: Craft (Ships) DC 35

Cost: 10,000

The speeder’s blasters inflict +1 damage.

Repairing Damaged Speeders
Speeders that take hit point damage will need repair. These repairs typically cost 250 credits per point of damage to be restored, requiring characters repairing them to spend at least a total of eight hours a day working on the speeder (multiple characters can split the time).

Characters can also hire servicemen to repair their ships for them, but this usually costs 750 credits per day. However, many service stations have various employees working 24 hours a day, meaning that repair time could be cut by as much as a third.

All characters working to repair a speeder must have at least 1 rank in Craft (Ships) or Craft (Engineering).

=Starfighters In Planetary Combat= http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/6008/planetfightersil4.gif

The stats for starfighters given above are used exclusively for large-scale space battles. These statistics are used in combat against infantry and other vehicles.

Starfighters in planetary combat use the same rules as speeders. Starfighters cannot enter hyperspace while within a planet’s atmosphere.

Bombs: A bomber can drop a massive bomb onto the battlefield. Everyone within thirty feet of the impact point must make a Reflex save (DC 20) or suffer 4d10 points of damage. The game master can make exceptions for characters that have heavy cover in the event of such a blast.

Missiles: Missiles are heavy damage weapons that use homing technology to zero in on the intended target (a vehicle or building), providing a +4 bonus to hit. If the attack is successful, the missiles strike on the attacking fighter’s next turn, inflicting 8d6 damage (Reflex DC 20 for half damage). If the intended target moves out of range of the missiles before then, the attack fails. A missile attack is considered to be the fighter’s attack for that round.