Future Perfect - Starship Combat
Starship combat uses many of the same systems as physical combat, with the addition of starship roles, which characters fill on board the vessel.
Starship Roles
Starship combat is divided into four roles: Command, Helm, Tactical and Engineering. Each role has specific duties during a combat round. Multiple characters can act within most roles (command is always a single character).
Command
The role of command is to ensure effective utilization of starship resources to achieve tactical goals. At the beginning of each combat round, the commander makes an Initiative test using their Tactics skill. The commander may bid APs for initiative, as well as for any of the other three starship roles.
Helm
The helmsman is responsible for movement of the vessel. During the combat round the helmsman makes a piloting test that will determine the base defense value of the vessel. They may also spend APs to perform special maneuvers to provide bonuses to tactical.
Tactical
The tactical officer is responsible for weapons and defensive systems. The officer can fire any number of weapons during a round provided the necessary AP costs are paid.
Engineering
The engineer has many options available during starship combat. They may attempt to augment a single system, repair a system or provide power for use on a future turn.
Starship Record Sheet
Like a character, a starship has a record sheet to track all of its attributes and any damage if suffers. Starships suffer two types of damage: core and ephemeral. Core damage cannot be repaired during combat, it is actual physical, structural or other damage that cannot be mitigated without extensive repairs. Ephemeral damage can be repaired during combat.
Starship APs and Power
Each starship has a given number of APs that it can spend each round. Every action that a starship can perform has an AP cost. This cost must be paid from the ship's AP pool, from the APs allocated to the appropriate system. Up to 1 point of the cost of any action may be paid from the ship's power pool instead.
Procedure
Starship combat is divided into four steps: Initiative, Movement and Maneuver, Offense and Auxiliary.
Initiative
The combat round begins with the Initiative determination step. Each captain secretly bids APs toward Initiative and then draws a card to resolve an Initiative test using their Tactics skill. Ships are then placed in Phases as described in physical combat. Ties are broken based on APs bid, then ship Speed value, then helmsman Acuity. Ties that persist are broken by an opposed card draw, using the impulse value.
After the initiative order is determined the captains allocate APs to each of the roles. Any amount from zero up to the total available APs can be allocated to a role, but the total of all allocated APs cannot exceed the available APs.
Movement and Maneuver
Starship combat is meant to be played on a simplified tactical map that tracks in relative range bands. This map is a 4x4 grid. Range is counted in orthogonal distance (not diagonal), so the maximum range value between two vessels on the map is 6.
The Movement phase begins with the vessel at the bottom of the initiative stack (the lowest initiative value) and proceeds up to the top. Each ship in succession pays the APs for any movement or maneuver and performs the necessary adjustments to their tracking record then moves on the tactical map. As with distance calculation, movement may only be made orthogonally.
AP Costs
The following options are available to the helmsman of a starship during combat. They may perform any number (including the same action multiple times) as long as the given AP costs are paid.
Move 1 range band 2 AP
Move 2 range bands 3 AP
Jump to warp speed* 6 AP
Evasive maneuvers 1 AP
*A jump to warp speed takes place during the auxiliary step, rather than during movement and maneuver. If the ship's engines are disabled before then, the action fails.
Map Correction
If during movement a vessel wishes to move off the edge of the map, and the other vessel(s) are not on the opposite edge, all vessels can be shifted in the appropriate direction to preserve relative distance and allow the movement to proceed. If the other vessel(s) are already on the opposite edge, then it is not possible to increase the distance in that direction.
Starship Defense
After the helmsman spends their allocated APs the next step is to perform the starship defense test. The TN for the test is 5. Evasive maneuvers reduces the TN for the starship defense test by 1, minimum 2. Starship defense is a complex test, with each multiple of the size value of the ship adding 1 to the base defense.
Offense
During the offense step each starship fires their weapons. Offense begins at the top of the initiative stack and moves down. Effects are applied immediately, so if a shot from one ship damages a system on another, that damaged system may not be used later in the round.
AP Costs
The following options are available to the tactical officer of a starship during combat. The officer may fire any number of weapons, but each weapon system may only be fired once. Likewise, shield modulation may only be performed once per shield.
Fire primary weapon system 1 AP
Fire secondary weapon system 2 AP
Careful shot +1 AP
Target a specific system 4 AP
Modulate shield 2 AP
Modulating Shields
Shield modulation reallocates power to areas where the tactical officer expects enemy weapons to hit. If successful, the tactical officer can spend 1 point of power to cancel one wound as it is dealt up to the number of successes plus bumps on their modulation test. The TN for the test is based on the shield value of the vessel.
Auxiliary
The auxiliary phase is where the engineer performs their magic. The engineer may attempt to increase power, repair a system or augment a system. The engineer may perform any number of actions provided the appropriate APs are paid.
AP Costs
The following options are available to the engineer during a starship combat.
Restore power 2 AP
Repair system 4 AP
Augment system 4 AP
Restore Power
Each ship generates an amount of power each turn based on it's power rating. By using the restore power action, the engineer can increase the amount of power that is available for use. The TN for restore power is 5. For each success and bump one power is added to the ship's power bank.
Repair System
The engineer can repair ephemeral damage to any system. The TN is 3 + (2 x damage level). Success reduces the damage by one level.
Augment System
The engineer can augment any system, including engineering. The TN is 5. For each success and bump 1 AP is provided for use next round for that given system.
