Kanka is built by just the two of us. Support our quest and enjoy an ad-free experience — for less than the cost of a fancy coffee. Subscribe now.

  1. Notes

8. Starships

Rules
The Rules

Ship Types

  • Starfighter - A single-person starship, made for dogfighting.
  • Transport - A personnel shuttle, made for carrying personnel.
  • Freighter - Ships primarily made for transport, but usually outfitted with some weapons, as well.
  • Corvette - Small for a warship, huge in comparison to starfighters, freighters, and transports. 

Ship Stats

A starship has the following properties:

  • Name
  • Type
  • Ship Usage Die
  • Shield Usage Die
  • DEX Modifier - When piloting a ship, you apply the modifier as -modifier to Pilot rolls. When trying to hit a ship, the modifier makes the ship harder to hit with a +modifier to your roll.
  • Gunner seats
  • Total occupants. If a ship has space for 10 occupants and 3 gunner seats, there is 1 pilot + 1 operator + 3 gunners = 5 active roles and 5 passengers.

Starship Combat

Combat starts with Initiative, using the Pilot's DEX score.

Just like normal combat, Initiative is re-rolled every turn. During starship combat, it's assumed that all parties are maneuvering wildly, trying to get a bead on their opponents. Therefore, movement is generally not taking into consideration. 

Piloting A Starfighter

A Starfighter is flown by a single pilot.

  1. The Pilot rolls initiative.
  2. On their turn, they can
    1. Perform an operator action or perform repairs
    2. Followed by either a Pilot or Gunner action

Ships With Multiple Roles

A larger Starship can have a maximum of one Pilot, one Operator, and one Commander. Gunner positions are limited by the ship's size.

All crew (including passengers) can perform the role of Mechanic.

A turn will generally look like this:

  1. Pilot rolls Initiative.
  2. On the ship's turn, the following order is recommended:
    1. The Commander gives an order, possibly providing Advantage
    2. The Operator makes repairs or boosts a system
    3. The Pilot flies the ship
    4. The Gunner open fire

Ship Hit Die & Shields

A starship has a Ship Usage Die to represent its condition. The Ship Usage Die is rolled whenever the ship takes damage or is hit by a ranged attack.

The Ship Usage Die is not automatically restored to the ship's maximum when at home base; this requires repairs.

Some ships also come with deflector shields. These use a Shield Usage Die. When a ship is hit, you don't use the Ship Usage Die as long as the Shield Usage Die isn't depleted. A Shield Usage Die resets to its maximum when a fight is over.

When The Ship Usage Die Runs Out

When the Ship Usage Die runs out, the ship is Critically Damaged.

Roll a d6. Whenever it takes damage whilst being Critically Damaged, roll a d6 again, adding the number of times it has taken damage to the roll (1d6, 1d6+1, 1d6+2 etc.)

The ship remains Critically Damaged until a Mechanic can complete repairs, granting 1d4 on the Ship Usage Die.

  • 1-2 | Power offline. All systems drop offline. The Pilot can make a INT (Tech) Test to kick the ship back to life.
  • 2-5 |  Shaken and stirred. Everyone onboard takes 1d4 damage. 
  • 5-6 |  Major Hull breach. The ship is venting air and losing inertial stability. All Tests are at Disadvantage until the breach is sealed. Performing repairs fixes the breach.
  • 7-8 |  System-wide Failure. You are adrift in space with no life support or power. The ship is beyond repair. 
  • 9 | Core Breach. You have 1d4 turns to get off the ship before it explodes. 
  • 10 | Obliterated. The ship has been torn apart and everything is exploding all at once. Probably no survivors.