I haven’t gotten quite as far along in finishing up the Records Vault writeup as I’d like so the final version will have to wait a week. However, I did get the details on the robots found in the facility all written up so I’m presenting them here. Feel free to use them in your games
PGC S-037 Security Robot
The S-037 is a fairly typical security robot designed around
a humanoid body. It is capable of going
anywhere one of the Frontier races can go.
It has a built-in sonic stunner and can carry and use any standard
weapon. It can respond to voice commands
from authorized personnel and is capable of independent action within its
mission and functions.
The S-037 is designed to be a failsafe security system and
will continue to function even when other security systems have been
disabled. While these robots have a
computer link to share information with the facility’s computer, they cannot be
deactivated via the computer’s robot management program if present.
Level: 4 Body Type: standard, two arms Movement: legs, 90 m/turn (max) STA: 100 Attack: 70 IM: 7 Programs: Security Lock, Restrain, Attack/Defense, Computer Link Equipment: Inertia Screen, power backpack, laser rifle, built-in sonic stunner, 4 tangler grenades Cost: 13,950 cr.
The laser rifle and inertia screen are powered by the power
backpack while the sonic stunner is powered by the robots internal Type 1
parabattery. It uses the sonic stunner
and tangler grenades by default but will switch to its laser rifle if seriously
threatened or commanded to by an authorized person.
PGC M-022 Maintenance Robot
The M-022 is designed to do basic technical maintenance on
buildings and equipment as well as janitorial duties. Designed around a standard body with wheeled
movement, the M-022 is a relatively small, boxy robot with two long manipulator
arms and a sensor cluster in its “head” which is mounted on a flexible “neck”.
It can perform basic maintenance and assist a technician
with their repair skills (granting a +10%) bonus on buildings and
vehicles. In addition, it is programmed
for janitorial work to assist in keeping its assigned facility clean. The M-022 can respond to simple voice command
from authorized personnel but is typically controlled via the facility’s main
computer.
This small robot is designed to retrieve and transport data
cubes within a computer facility. It is
built around a standard body with wheeled movement and two long (2m)
manipulator arms. In addition, the upper
portion of its body can be raised on an internal hydraulic lift to allow it to
reach high locations in the storage vaults, extending its height up to 3
meters. Built into the top of the
robot’s body is a “cradle” that allows it to carry up to four large data cubes
in addition to carrying cubes in its hands.
The G-092 is really a mobile extension of the of the
facility’s main computer and is only controlled via the computer’s robot
management program. It does not respond
to voice commands and has no way of communicating other that via the computer.
Level: 2 Body Type: standard, two long arms Movement: wheeled, 60m/turn (max) STA: 100 Attack: 50 IM: 5 Programs: Security Lock, Self Defense, Computer Link Equipment: none Cost: 7500 cr.
While I had planned on presenting this all at once, I’ve decided to make this a two-parter (or maybe more). Mainly because it turned out to be a bit bigger than I was anticipating.
I used this location in my on-line game. For the game, all of my notes consisted of these three maps, and five paragraphs of notes including a partial stat block for the security robots. Just writing up the room descriptions has ballooned to around 7 pages without the maps. And I still need to write up all the stats for the robots and NPCs. I always forget how much additional work is required to take something from your notes and transform it into something usable by others.
So this will take a bit longer than I had planned but in the end you’ll have a fun little location your characters can raid if desired. In may game this was set on Laco but you could have another of these records vaults anywhere you want in your campaign.
For this part, I’ll be presenting the maps and room descriptions. The other details will come in later posts.
Pan Galactic Records Vault on Laco
Nestled in the mountains to the northeast of Point Glass,
the Pan Galactic Corporation has a records archive dug deep into the mountain
to protect backups of all the data gathered by the company on Laco. The vault houses hundreds of thousands of
data cubes containing copies of data collected over the past 80 years of the
company’s presence on the planet.
Content ranges from details on the Glass Pyramids, to data on local
flora and fauna, to records from archaeology sites, and even detailed weather
and climate data.
While parts of the data can be had at various locations
around the planet, the only place where every bit is stored together is at the
records vault and at PGC headquarters on Gran Quivera. Because of this, PGC does allow a limited
number of researchers access to the unclassified data in the archives.
Exterior Compound
The main entrance to the vault is a structure built into a sheer cliff face in the side of the mountain. Surrounding this main building is a high (5m) wall topped by six guard towers. Entrance through the wall is by a large gatehouse structure. Inside the wall is the main building, a garage, and a power plant. A schematic of the external compound can be seen in the map below.
1 – Gatehouse, wall, and guard towers – The gatehouse is a large enclosed structure with doors on each end. It is easily large enough to accommodate an explorer or hover or ground transport. Inside the gate house are several security cameras as well as a computer-controlled laser rifle, sonic stunner, and grenade launcher filled with doze and tangler grenades (10 each). The weapons are connected to the complex’s power plant and have unlimited ammunition.
To enter, the outer doors open, the vehicle enters the gatehouse, and then the outer door closes. The driver is queried for passcodes for entrance via a terminal on a movable arm that adjusts for the height of the vehicle. Once supplied, the inner door opens allowing the vehicle to proceed.
If no proper codes are presented, security personnel in the main building are alerted. If no threat is detected, the outer doors will re-open allowing the vehicle to exit. If, on the other hand, the vehicle or occupants are deemed a threat, the outer doors do not re-open and the security personnel can use the weapons in the receiving area to disable the vehicle and incapacitate the occupants.
The outer wall of the compound is constructed of reinforced plastisteel and stands 5 meters tall and is a meter thick. It is built into the mountain and completely surrounds the vault complex.
The guard towers stand an additional 5 meters over the wall and have access ladders on the inside of the wall. Each tower contains a heavy laser operated by a level 4 security robot (see stats below). The heavy laser is powered by the compound’s power plant but also has a100 SEU powerpack as backup and can fire both inside and outside the compound.
The robots will respond to any threat against the compound and attempt to disable any vehicle deemed to be a threat that is attempting to leave the compound or escape from the gatehouse. The robots are nominally controlled by the compound’s main computer but all PGC staff can override the computer commands.
For combat purposes, the walls, doors, and towers are
considered to have 300 structure points.
2 – Garage– The garage is a single large building with two double doors on each end. Any vehicle that can make it through the gatehouse can easily fit inside. In addition to parking space, there is also a small work area with tools for field repairs and a small desk.
Whenever a vehicle is admitted into the gatehouse, the compound’s technician and robotics expert comes out to the garage to greet the arrivals and get their vehicle situated into a parking area and hooked up to recharge its parabatteries.
There are typically at least 3 vehicles here at all time: two aircars and a ground car, all bearing the Pan Galactic Corporation’s corporate logo. In addition, there could be up to five other private vehicles if researchers are visiting the facility.
3 – Power plant – This is the complex’s power source. It is a small generator situated over a natural geothermal vent. The location of this vent was a major factor in selecting this location for the vault. It is a Type III generator capable of supplying up to 2000 SEU/hour,more than enough to power the complex. In addition, there are solar arrays on the roof that supply an additional 250 SEU/hour during the daylight hours.
The doors closest to the gatehouse provide maintenance access to the generator itself. The other doors also provide maintenance access but are also the entrance to a small control room allowing the technician to monitor the status of the generator.
4 – Main vault building – This is the main vault complex. There are windows on the side of the building on either side of the door. The building is about 4 meters tall and built into the side of the mountain. It extends dozens of meters into the mountain and then descends hundreds of meters into the bedrock of the area. It is described in detail in the next section.
Main Level
This is the main level of the records vault where most of the staff and all visitors spend their time. Every room on this level, including the hallways, have at least one security camera and an intercom panel. Locations of the security cameras will be given in the room descriptions. Unless otherwise stated, the intercom panel is located right inside the door.
1 – Main Entrance – This is the main reception area for the vault. The room is well lit and relatively spacious. It is divided by a desk (1a)behind which sits one of the vaults two security guards. To the left and right are double doors that lead further back into the complex. These doors have level 3 security locks that key to the ID badges of the PGC staff. There is another door behind the security desk.
When visitors arrive, the security guard calls back to one of the archivists who then come out and take the visitors back to the Research Room (area 7).
1a – Security Desk – This is the work location for one of the two security guards on duty. The desk is a about 1.2m in height and the guard sits on a raised chair behind it and has a computer terminal to work on.
Access to this area is via a door into the breakroom (area 2). This door also has a level 3security lock. The only way to get directly between the main entrance and the area behind the desk is to climb over the desk, there are no openings.
2 – Breakroom/Kitchenette– This is the main communal area for the complex. It contains several tables and chairs as well as a refrigerator & freezer, oven and range, sink, microwaves, storage cupboards, and several vending machines. There is a security camera mounted in the lower right corner of the room (closest to area 8).
3 – Office –This office contains the desks for the two office staff and the computer &robotics technician. The half of the room farthest from the door is separated by a wall and door into a private office for the vault’s administrator. The other two desks are in the main area. The door to this room is a level 2 security lock and the door to the administrator’s office has a level 3 lock.
Each desk has a computer terminal with access to all the information in the systems main computer. The bypass security skill cannot be performed on these terminals.
There is a security camera mounted over the door to the storage room (area 3a) and an intercom panel right inside the entrance.
3a – Storage –This storage room contains a variety of office supplies and small electronics and computer parts.
4 – Office –This office contains four desks in an open plan. The desks are for the security officer not manning the front desk (area 1a), and three of the site’s research librarians and archivists.
Each desk contains a terminal that connects to the vault’s main computer. Like the terminals in the other office (area 3), these terminals have full access to the computer’s systems. In addition, the security officer’s desk has a second monitor that contains feeds from all the various security cameras around the complex.
4a – Storage –This storage room has a level 4 lock that keys only to the two security officers’ and the site administrators badges plus their fingerprint. Inside is a small weapons locker containing
6 doze grenades
6 tangler grenades
2 laser rifles
10 power clips
2 sonic stunners
2 electrostunners
2 power beltpacks
5 – Restrooms– This room contains three restroom stalls that cater to the anatomy of the various Frontier races. In the outer room are several sinks and paper towel dispensers. There is a camera in the outer area to the right just in side the door that can see the sinks but not into the restrooms proper.
6 – Robot Storage/Workroom – This area is the robotics storage and maintenance room. Along the wall are recharging and storage bays for eight robots. Typically, six of the bays are occupied by four maintenance robots and two data retrieval robots. Occasionally, the other two bays may be occupied by security robots. The center of the room is a workspace for repairing and maintaining the site’s robots. There is the equivalent of a robotcom kit scattered throughout the room.
The door to his room has a level 2 lock that is keyed to the badges of the site administrator, the security officers, and the technician. It will also open automatically for any of the site’s robots entering and exiting. The security camera in this room is mounted in the corner opposite the door above the robot recharging bays.
7 – Research Room – This room has six desks with computer terminals along the walls. Each terminal provides access to the computer limited by the passcode provided. This is where visitors to the vault spend their time working on their research. The entrance to this room from the hall is not locked. The security camera is located in the upper right corner of the room.
8 – Computer Room – This room houses the vaults main computer as well as a number of data cube ports allowing more data to be connected as needed. The computer itself is arrange around the outer walls of the room and there are a dozen pedestals in the center of the room that can have data cubes set into them. There are two terminals to allow direct access to the computer in this room.
The door to this room has a level 4 security lock that only opens for the site administrator and the computer technician. It will also open for either of the two data retrieval robots when they are bringing data cubes from the vault to be placed on the various pedestals in the room for the researchers to access. The room contains two security cameras: one in the corner near the door and the second in the opposite corner.
9 – Hallway –This is the main hallway of the vault that connects the various rooms. It has two security cameras located in the corners near the Robot Storage/Workroom (area 6) and the Computer Room (area 8)that can see everywhere in the hall.
10 – Security Lock – This room functions as an airlock to secure access to the vault. Both doors contain level 3security locks that key to any of the site’s staff. The doors will also open for any of the site’s robots. Only one door may be open at any time and must be closed to open the other door. This is a mechanical design and not electronic and cannot be bypassed. Each door takes two rounds to open.
11 – Hallway –This long hallway extends from the Security Lock to the elevator that descends to the data vault proper. It has a pair of armed security cameras as shown on the map. Each camera has a sonic stunner connected to the vault’s power grid and cannot run out of ammunition unless the power is shut off. Additionally, there is a security robot sitting in the center of the hallway that will attack any non PGC staff that enter this restricted area.
12 – Elevator – This large elevator connects the upper main level to the lower vault. It takes two minutes to traverse the 200 meters between the two levels.
13 – Stairwell– This is a long flight of stairs that runs parallel to the elevator shaft connecting the upper and lower levels allowing for access and escape from the vault level in the case of a power loss or malfunction of the elevator. It’s not so bad going down but coming up is a bit of a climb.
Deep Vault
This is where the records are actually stored. This level is located 200 meters below the main level and is dug into the mountain’s bedrock.
1 – Elevator– This is the elevator access on the lower vault level.
2 – Stairwell– This area is the bottom of the long stairwell from the upper level.
3 – Hallway –This large hallway connects all the offices and data vaults on this level with the elevator and stairwell. There are a number of security cameras armed with sonic stunners placed throughout this hallway to cover all the various locations. Like the ones in the hallway on the main level (area 11), they are connected to the vault’s power grid and controlled by the main computer.
In addition to the security camera turrets, there are three security robots that rove about the hallway patrolling the area. These robots will attack anyone who is not a member of the PGC staff immediately attempting to incapacitate them.
4 – Office –This office contains a desk with a computer terminal. In addition, there are four data cube port pedestals along the wall near the door. A security camera is mounted right above the door. These offices are used by the PGC researchers working with the data. They have direct access to the data in the vaults and do not have to wait for the robots to retrieve the data cubes. They are also used when working on sensitive PGC classified information so that the data does not leave the vault area. This office is currently being used by one of the vault staff.
5 – Office –This office is identical to area 4 although rotated 90 degrees. It is currently in use by one of the PGC staff.
6 – Office –This office is a mirror image of area 5 and is currently unoccupied.
7 – Restrooms– Similar to the restrooms on the main level, this area is for use by the researchers working down in the vault.
8 – Data Vault 1 – The data vault room, unlike the rest of the complex, has 4m high ceilings instead of the standard 3m height. Most of the room is taken up by a compact shelving unit to maximize the storage space. All the shelves in this room move on a series of tracks on the floor and access is only available to one set of shelves at a time. A control pad on the side of each shelf allows for access, causing all the shelves to move to open up a walkway where needed. It takes 30 seconds for the shelves to move once activated. They can also be moved by the main computer
On any given shelf there are rows of filing boxes that are coded and labeled. The labels contain both a barcode, an alphanumeric code, and a short description. In each box are the data cubes containing the data specified by the barcode. A box will typically have from one to five data cubes inside.
There are four security cameras in each room, one in each corner. They cannot see down into the open passageway between the shelves but can see everything in the area on either side of the shelves. The doors to this room are protected with a level 2 lock that keys to any of the site’s staff and will also open for any of the site’s robots as well.
This vault is used to store all data related to the flora and fauna of Laco.
9 – Data Vault 2 –This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1 and holds all data related to the geology and climate of Laco as well as any astronomical data related to the Dixon’s Star system.
10 – Data Vault 3 –This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1 and holds all the socio-political data about Laco, such as information on the culture and other corporations, and all PGC corporate data.
11 – Data Vault 4 – This vault is identical in construction to Data Vault 1. This data holds all the collected information on the Techrachs and related sites that have been collected on the planet. The data on the Glass Pyramid activation will be stored in this vault.
12 – Security Robot Storage – This room is a storage and recharging station for the security robots in use around the complex. There are ten charging stations here. There are six security robots in the charging stations that can be activated by the main computer if a threat is detected. The door to this room is locked with a level3 security lock that is accessible only by the site administrator, the security officers, and the roboticist. The door will open automatically for any of the security robots.
Closing Thoughts
If you’d like a PDF version of this location, you can download the file linked below. I’ll post updated versions of this as I add to it in later posts.
I had hoped to get the records vault up this week but I’ll do that next week. In the mean time, here are the first three weeks of the Detailed Frontier Timeline as posted by the @StarFrontiers account on Twitter.
Dates are in the YY.DDD format with the digits before the decimal being the year since the founding of the UPF and the numbers after the decimal being the day of that year. There are 400 standard days in a year so the current events presented are coming at the close of of FY59.
FY
Event
59.042
First Volturnus expedition leaves Pale
59.346
Second Voltrunus expedition leaves Pale for Zebulon system.
59.347
Jack Legrange murdered on Kraatar.
Rioting breaks out in Gozzorf City. (Fulborn-McKoy prize in bio-engineering)
59.348
Broadcast
claiming responsibility for the Lagrange murder by the Vrusk Protection Force
is released.
59.349
Vist’Lat, the employer of Legrange’s assassins,
fires and forcibly evicts all Human workers from corporate offices and
housing.
59.350
Medical
Services Organization issues an alert that Ixiol, a new drug previously
confined to Inner Reach, has begun appearing in other systems in the
Frontier. Users develop a deep yellow
tinge to their skin or carapace.
59.351
* Strike Force Nova arrives in the Prenglar system for its annual maintenance and refit. UPFS Admiral Clinton moves immediately into drydock for maintenance. It will be tied up for 26 days.
* Vist’Lat expelled from the Commercial Council on Kraatar – “The council feels that much of the recent unrest can be attributed to VL’s policies. Its latest move to sack its human workers and evict them from their homes in untenable. The council cannot condone or accept this behavior.”
59.352
Funeral
announced for Jack Legrange to occur in 6 days (59.358)
59.353
Vist’Lat shuts down all spaceport operations
effectively cutting Kraatar off from the rest of the Frontier.
59.354
Contact
lost with second Volturnus expedition.
Suspected pirate activity in the Zebulon system. Pale government officials begin investigation
into possible leak of jump data.
59.355
Rumors leak about a secret Spacefleet starship
research and training center in an “unexplored” system within the
Frontier.
59.356
* Attack by KLC troops on monorail headed to Quazzt’s Depression where Legrange’s funeral is to be held. Train crashes. Rescue teams dispatched
* Legrange’s funeral moved forward and held today. Body is cremated, not a common practice on Kraatar
59.357
Survivors of train crash arrive in Quazzt.
59.358
WarTech
unveils its new line of “Ke” laser weapons to be available in the
new year.
59.359
Missile launched from Kraatar’s moon,
Setarz. It self-destructs en
route.
59.360
Information
released by the Kraatar government reveals that the missile contained a bio-weapon
designed to kill all vrusk on the planet.
Also revealed is that Jack Legrange is still alive and orchestrated
the unrest on Kraatar and faked his death.
Unfortunately, the team that was able to stop the missile and gather
the information were not able to capture Legrange and he is currently at
large.
59.361
Based on information obtained from Artemis Base,
Ral’Ik’Ka security forces stop a planned uprising by the KLC on the surface
of Kraatar. The planet returns to an
uneasy peace.
59.362
Astronomers
on Histran (Scree Fron system), release news of the discovery of a previously
unknown brown dwarf approximately 100ly from the Frontier. Its motion
indicates that it had a close encounter with a K4 star some 175 years ago. Initial news of the discovery is quickly
suppressed by the Family of One.
59.363
Sathar cybernuk creature (Frontier Explorer #6)
discovered on Pale with cyber implant. It was thought that the nuks were
confined to New Pale. The cyber
implant seems to be of recent construction and not a relic from the war.
59.364
Pan
Galactic unveils a new “Thunder” line of hoverbikes with nods to
early PGC models. Old-time bike enthusiasts praise the antique styling
coupled with modern safety features but others complain that the bikes live
up to their name and are too loud.
59.365
TransTravel’s newest luxury starliner, the TTSS
Destiny, emerges from the starship construction center at Gran Quivera. It
will begin a “Grand Tour of the Frontier” starting with a run to
Truane’s Star in a few days.
59.366
New
breed of quickdeath discovered on Pale. Descended from creatures released
during the Great Sathar War, this new variant is smaller but travels in packs
unlike the solitary or pair hunters of the original strain.
59.367
With both Strike Force Nova and Task Force
Prenglar in the Prenglar system, Spacefleet begins a series of training
exercises to last until the UPFS Admiral Clinton completes its refit.
The events presented will either be specific events I have in the timeline, events from my various campaigns happening during this time, or fluff pieces to provide some background and color to the Frontier on days when no significant events are happening. This first bit of material only involves events happening in the Frontier. As the timeline progresses, there will also be events happening in sathar controlled space. I’m still debating where to put those into the published tweets and include them in these posts.
In addition to posting the timeline as a table here on the blog, I’ll also be providing it as a PDF that can be downloaded. In future posts, the body of the post will only present the new material since the last post. The file, however, will always be the cumulative timeline starting from the beginning. Here’s the first installment of that:
The TSS Enternity is a small HS 4 Luxury Yacht originally registered in the Timeon system. Sporting a pair of class A atomic engines, it is quick and maneuverable, Built with an armored hull, it is also fairly resilient to damage as well. I has a laser battery and reflective hull for defense, relying more on its speed than its weaponry to get out of trouble.
The ship is designed to carry a crew of four for operations and six passengers in luxury where ever it may go. It has a 1 CU hold (often used for storing vehicles) and is aerodynamically streamlined and fully capable of planetary landings.
The full stats for this ship are:
Hull Size: 4 HP: 29 ADF: 3 (fully loaded) 4 (unloaded) MR: 3 (fully loaded) 4 (unloaded) DCR: 34 Engines: 2 Class A Atomic Engines Fuel Capacity: 3 full loads per engine Accommodations: 4 Journey Class, 6 First Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 4 beings, 200 days, deluxe system – 6 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 4 beings, 200 days, deluxe system – 6 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio with a master and 1 secondary control screen, Subspace Radio , Intercom (2 master control panels, 20 standard panels, 10 speaker panels), Radar – Type I, Energy Sensors – Type I, Skin Senors, Camera system Computer Level: 4 FP: 116 Computer Programs: Atomic Drives 4, Life Support 2, Backup Life Support 2, Alarm 2, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 2, Astrogation 4, Laser Battery 1, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 3, Skin Sensors 1, Maintenance 2, Cameras 1 Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, small lifeboat Other Equipment: deluxe astrogation system , complete backup computer and life support system Weapons: LB Defenses: RH Control Spaces: 4 Cargo Capacity: 1 cargo unit (300 cubic meters) Volume: 3721 cubic meters (total), 2857 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 2990 tons Loaded Mass: 3290 tons Crew Size: 4 (nominal) ADF per Fuel Load: 3800 (loaded), 4181(unloaded) Cost: new: 1,885,837 cr. (unfueled)
Originally owned by a wealthy business man on Timeon, the original owner has tired of this old ship and is selling it to help pay for his new one.
The ship is currently missing:
small launch
small lifeboat
all life support supplies
backup computer
The price of the ship in its current state is 1,267,586 cr.
The MV-043 is a small, HS 5 mining ship designed to work independently on both small and large worlds. Streamlined for planetary landings, the ship carries and orbital processing lab that allows it to process any resources found and bring them back to civilization in its 20 cargo unit hold.
The ship has 10 mining robots and a digger shuttle for mining operations and its support system can support up to 12 beings for 200 days. It carries two laser batteries for self defense. It’s ship’s vehicles include a small lifeboat and launch and a workpod.
CDC built a number of these vessels in its early days and continued to manufacture them at a low level as it opened new worlds. The ships often doubled as exploration scouts – seeking out new worlds and collecting their resources.
The full ship stats are:
Hull Size: 5 HP: 24 ADF: 1 (loaded), 3 (empty) MR: 1 (loaded), 3 (empty) DCR: 38 Engines: 2 Class A Atomic Engines Fuel Capacity: 3 full loads per engine Accommodations: 12 Journey Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 12 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 12 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio with a master and 2 secondary control screens, Subspace Radio , Intercom (2 master control panels, 20 standard panels, 10 speaker panels), Radar – Type I, Energy Sensors – Type I, Skin Senors, Camera system Computer Level: 4 FP: 138 Computer Programs: Atomic Drives 4, Life Support 1, Backup Life Support 1, Alarm 2, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 2, Astrogation 4, Laser Battery 1, Laser Battery 1, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 2, Skin Sensors 1, Maintenance 2, Cameras 1, Robot Management 4, Cargo Arm 2, Orbital Processing Control Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, small lifeboat, workpod, digger shuttle Other Equipment: cargo arm, orbital processing center, 10 mining robots, complete backup computer and life support system Weapons: LB (x2) Defenses: RH Control Spaces: 8 Cargo Capacity: 20 cargo units (3000 cubic meters) Volume: 7313 cubic meters (total), 2343 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 3848 tons Loaded Mass: 9848 tons Crew Size: 8 (nominal) ADF per Fuel Load: 1269 (loaded), 3248 (unloaded) Cost: new: 2,478,412 r. (unfueled)
The ship currently available has been in service for 19 years and is currently missing the following items:
all vehicles including the digger shuttle
the mining robots
all life support supplies
the backup computer
In its current state, the ship is selling for 1,292,284 cr.
The LL-037 is a small (100 passenger) space liner typically operated in more remote systems that don’t have enough traffic to warrant a larger ship.
With a crew of 30, the ship can accommodate the needs of its passengers for the duration of the interstellar journey. While the liner sports 10 First Class cabins, it is primarily focused on basic Journey class passengers of which it can carry 90. There are also 100 storage class berths for those that which to take that route.
Sporting two Class B Atomic engines, the ship has a maximum ADF of 2, allowing it to run a little faster than its typical 1g of acceleration if it needs to. It also sports a single laser battery as a deterrent.
The full ship stats are:
Hull Size: 8 HP: 39 ADF: 2 MR: 2 DCR: 52 Engines: 2 Class B Atomic Engines Fuel Capacity: 6 full loads per engine Accommodations: 10 First Class, 120 Journey Class, 100 Storage Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 120 beings, 200 days, deluxe system – 10 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 35 beings, 200 days, deluxe system – 10 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio with a master and two secondary control screens, Subspace Radio , Intercom (3 master control panels, 40 standard panels, 100 speaker panels), Radar – Type I, Camera system, 120 portholes Computer Level: 4 FP: 157 Computer Programs: Atomic Drives 5, Life Support 2, Backup Life Support 2, Alarm 2, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 2, Astrogation 4, Laser Battery 1, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 2, Maintenance 2, Cameras 1, Robot Management 4 Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, 2 large launches, 2 small lifeboats, 5 large lifeboats, 5 escape pods, 1 workpod Other Equipment: complete backup computer and life support system Weapons: LB Defenses: RH Control Spaces: 8 Cargo Capacity: 5 cargo units (1500 cubic meters) – this is beyond the required storage for the berths Volume: 31266 cubic meters (total), 24413 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 17380 tons Loaded Mass: 18880 tons Crew Size: 30(nominal) ADF per Fuel Load: 2118 Cost: new: 8,113,345 cr. (unfueled)
The ship currently on the market is 21 years old and missing the following items:
All of the ship vehicles
all Life support supplies
the backup computer
furniture and equipment from the passenger cabins (cost is half regular price to refurbish)
The cost of the ship in it’s current condition is 4,247,313 cr. With a minimal crew of 6, the DCR is only 46 and in it’s currently stripped state, the ship has a current ADF of nearly 4 (3.89).
The FF-02 was an early model frigate designed and built shortly after the Great Sathar War as the newly formed UPF worked to build up it’s Spacefleet to defend against another sathar incursion that never happened. A mainstay of the early fleet, a large number of these ships were build in the early days of the UPF.
Many have been lost over the years to skirmishes with pirates over the intervening decades with a few even showing up in pirate fleets, having been captured or salvaged. Those remaining in service within Spacefleet are getting up in years and are being decommissioned in favor of newer, updated models. Some have gone to planetary militias, and other to the escort fleets of the larger mega-corps. A few, fully stripped of military hardware, have gone to private buyers as well.
PGC FF-02 Military Frigate
The frigate is the smallest and fastest (ADF 4) of the capital ships in Spacefleet. Packing nearly the same punch as the slightly larger destroyers, these ships were quicker to build and their added maneuverability gave them a desirable advantage.
The frigate sports a laser cannon, laser battery, and rocket battery and torpedo launchers. It has a standard reflective hull, masking screen launcher, and small interceptor missile cluster for defense.
The PGC FF-02 was built with older armored hull technology that provided extra hull strength at the cost of increased mass. Newer models are being built with newer military spec hulls that provide even more hull strength and less weight, increasing maneuverability.
The full ship specs are:
Hull Size: 5 HP: 39 ADF: 4 MR: 4 DCR: 70 Engines: 2 Class B Atomic Engines Fuel Capacity: 6 full loads per engine Accommodations: 35 Journey Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 35 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 35 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio with a master and five secondary control screens, Subspace Radio , Intercom (4 master control panels, 100 standard panels, 20 speaker panels), Radar – Type I, Energy Sensors – Type I, Skin Senors, Camera system, White Noise Broadcaster Computer Level: 4 FP: 176 Computer Programs: Atomic Drives 5, Life Support 1, Backup Life Support 1, Alarm 2, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 2, Astrogation 4, Laser Cannon 1, Laser Battery 1, Rocket Battery 2, Torpedo 3, ICM 3, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 5, Skin Sensors 1, Maintenance 2, Cameras 1, Robot Management 4 Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, large launch, 2 large lifeboats, 10 escape pods, 2 workpods Other Equipment: complete backup computer and life support system Weapons: LC, LB, RB(x4), T(x2) Defenses: RH, MS (x2), ICM (x4) Control Spaces: 16 Cargo Capacity: 2 cargo units (300 cubic meters) Volume: 9320 cubic meters (total), 7063 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 9196 tons Loaded Mass: 9796 tons Crew Size: 25 (nominal) ADF per Fuel Load: 4083 Cost: new: 5,810,168 cr. (unfueled)
The ship currently available is one of the early editions, produced just a few years after the Great Sathar War and is 53 years old. It has been stripped of all military grade hardware and a lot of other parts. Currently it is missing the following components:
Laser Cannon
Rocket Battery Salvos
Torpedo Launcher and salvos
Masking screen salvos
ICM salvos
Energy sensors
the backup computer
all life support supplies
the 14 robots giving the boosted DCR
White Noise Broadcaster
all of the ship’s vehicles
all 10 escape pods
This stripped down hull is available for 1,762,663 credits.
With the missing damage control robots and a minimal crew of 6, the ship is rated at a DCR of 37 instead of 70. Additionally, in it stripped down state, the hull has a current ADF of 5+. The final ADF will depend on the systems the buyer adds back in.
Here’s the next ship that the PCs will have the option to buy: a small tramp freighter. It’s not super fast or maneuverable but fairly cheap to operate.
TV-04R Small Freighter
The TV-04R is a small early-model freighter from TransTravel. While not sleek or glamorous, it is a completely functional vessel. In the early days of of TransTravel’s history, they had nearly 100 of these vessels plying the spaceways. Mostly replaced by larger, more efficient vessels, most TV-04R freighters are at least a decade old and have been sold off to independent traders.
The ship is lightly armed with two laser batteries and can carry up to 50 cargo units (7500 tons) of material. Designed for a typical crew size of 6, it has an additional 6 berths that can be rented out at Journey class rates to those seeking passage on its route.
The TV-04R is not a speed demon but has two reliable Class B Ion engines to provide steady, worry-free operation. It is also not aerodynamic by any stretch of the imagination and its ion engines preclude it from landing on any planet with an atmosphere.
The full ship specs are:
Hull Size: 5 HP: 27 ADF: 1 (5 if no cargo) MR: 1 (5 if no cargo) DCR: 37 Engines: 2 Class B Ion Engines Fuel Capacity: 10000 fuel units per engine Accommodations: 12 Journey Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 12 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 12 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio (with a master and 3 secondary control screens), Subspace Radio, Intercom (2 master control panels, 30 standard panels, 15 speaker panels), Radar – Type I, Skin Senors, Camera system Computer Level: 4 FP: 102 Computer Programs: Ion Drives 4, Life Support 2, Alarm 2, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 2, Astrogation 4, Laser Battery 1, Laser Battery 1, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 3, Skin Sensors 1, Maintenance 2, Cargo Arm 2, Cameras 1 Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, small lifeboat Other Equipment: 2 cargo arms, complete backup computer Weapons: LB (x2) Defenses: RH Control Spaces: 8 Cargo Capacity: 50 cargo units (7500 cubic meters, 15000 tons) Volume: 10339 cubic meters (total), 2271 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 3766 tons Loaded Mass: 18766 tons ADF per Fuel Unit: 1 (5 if no cargo) Crew Size: 8 Cost: new: 2,127,851 cr. (unfueled)
The ADF of 1 is the value when the ship’s cargo hold is fully loaded. Completely empty the ship can actually achieve and ADF of 5. Every 12.5 cargo units (3750 tons) of material transported reduce the ADF by 1 from the maximum of 5.
The ship available to the PCs is 14 years old and currently lacking the following items from the above description:
small launch
small lifeboat
both laser batteries
all life support supplies
In addition, the atomic fuel pellets for the ship’s two engines each need to be replaced (32,000 cr. each). Fuel for the ships ion engines is 17 cr per fuel unit.
Given the age of the ship and the lack of equipment, the ship is available for 1,580,552 cr.
I was going to post another ship next but realized that I should probably talk a little bit about the way I redesigned the engines in my new starship construction system. Otherwise, some of the bits of information about the ships won’t make sense. I’ve published some of this on-line before but I don’t remember exactly where so I’m repeating it here for completeness. Here is the section on engines from the starship construction system document.
Engines
Now that we know the mass of our ship, it’s finally time to
determine its propulsion. Each type and size of engine is rated to have a
specific thrust and fuel capacity. Your ship’s hull size determines the maximum
number of engines it can support. You don’t have to have to fill all your
engine slots if that number of engines is not needed to achieve the performance
you desire. And regardless of hull size
and engine type, the maximum acceleration of any ship is 6g.
Hull Size
Max Engines
1
1
2-4
2
5-8
4
9-12
6
12+
8
(Note: I didn’t even follow my own rules when I created the PGC C-10 Fast Courier as I gave it 4 engines at HS 4. This is something I’m still thinking about/working on.)
Engine thrust is given as an arbitrary thrust rating that has been scaled to work with the mass of the ship as given in tons. To determine the maximum acceleration of your ship, add up the thrust ratings of all your engines and divide that by the total mass of your ship in tons. The resulting number is the maximum acceleration of your ship in multiples of one standard gravity (10 m/s/s). Round all fractions down to the nearest tenth of a g.
Chemical Engines
These engines use a high efficiency chemical fuel that burns
and is expelled out the engine nozzle to provide thrust. These engines are relatively cheap and easy
to produce. While very powerful, because
of the large volume of fuel needed, these engines have limited capability in regards
to how long the engines can operate on a single fuel load. These engines are typically used for
ground-to-space shuttles and system ships.
Ion Engines
Ion engines work by ionizing hydrogen and accelerating the
resulting protons and electrons to high velocity and expelling them out the
back of the engine to provide thrust. Each
engine contains a small nuclear reactor to provide the power needed to ionize
the hydrogen and accelerate the particles to the relativistic speeds needed to
generate thrust. This reactor uses the
same atomic fuel pellet as an atomic engine but only needs to be replaced once
every 10 years. The initial fuel pellet
is included in the cost of the engine.
While not as powerful as chemical or atomic engines, Ion
engine fuel is relatively cheap and if a ship is properly equipped, can be
harvested from any gas giant for free.
Because of the nature of the engine, ships with ion engines
cannot land on or take off from planets.
Atomic Engines
An Atomic engine is a supercharged version of the chemical engine and uses the same fuel. The engine works by generating a quantum field that temporarily increases the momentum of particles by a factor of hundreds. These temporarily super-massive particles are ejected out of the back of the engine to generate thrust for the ship. Because each particle is effectively much more massive, less fuel is needed to achieve the same thrust and instead of a single fuel load lasting for only few minutes of thrust, it can last for days and allow the ship to accelerate to Void jump speeds.
However, generating this field requires a huge amount of
energy (which is transferred to the particles) during operation. To provide this power, each engine contains
its own nuclear reactor, similar in design to the reactor in the ion engine. However, the large power requirement of the
atomic engine means that it consumes one atomic fuel pellet after only 10,000
minutes of full thrust operations (about 8.5 days) instead of the 10 year life
span for the atomic fuel pellet in an ion engine.
In addition, atomic engines require an overhaul every few jumps, again depending on the size of the engines. This overhaul is necessary to make sure that the quantum field generators are properly aligned and positioned to only affect the fuel and not the body of the engine itself. The number of trips that a ship can go between overhauls depends on the size of the engine and is given in the table with the fuel costs below.
Engine Costs
The following table gives the cost and thrust values for
each of the different types and sizes of engines. Determine the number, size, and type of
engines your ship will use and then record the engines chosen for your ship.
Class A
Class B
Class C
Engine Type
Thrust
Cost
Thrust
Cost
Thrust
Cost
Chemical
6,250
50,000
20,000
175,000
80,000
770,000
Ion
3,000
100,000
10,000
400,000
40,000
2,000,000
Atomic
6,250
250,000
20,000
1,100,000
80,000
6,000,000
Fuel
Next you need to provide fuel for your engines and determine
how much acceleration each fuel load will provide for your ship. Each engine uses different types of fuel and
has different storage capabilities and requirements.
Chemical Engines
Each fuel load allows a chemical engine to operate at
maximum thrust for 60 minutes. This is
typically enough to allow the ship to make one round trip between the ground
and orbit or limited acceleration and maneuvering in space. Each engine can only hold a single fuel load
and must be refueled after each load is expended. The cost of a fuel load depends on the size
of the engine and is given in the following table.
Engine Class
Cost of a fuel load
Class A
300 cr
Class B
1000 cr
Class C
4200 cr
Ion engines
Although not as powerful as chemical or atomic engines,
these engines are reliable and can hold more fuel. While they can technically run off any
material, the fuel of choice is hydrogen.
Using any other fuel source decreases the thrust provided by the engines
by a factor of two. Each engine can hold
10,000 fuel units and each unit provides 10 minutes of operation at maximum
thrust (A fully fueled ion engine can operate continuously for over 80 days
without refueling). A fuel unit costs 5,
17, or 70 cr per unit for Class A, B, or C engines respectively.
Once every 10 years, the atomic fuel pellet in the ion
engine’s reactor needs to be replaced, the cost for this fuel pellet is the
same as that for a similarly sized atomic engine.
Atomic engines
Like the other engines, Atomic engines store all their fuel
internally. The fuel for these engines
consists of two parts. The first is a
load of fuel like the chemical rockets, the second consists an atomic fuel
pellet (typically uranium) to power the reactor. The amount of fuel that can be
stored depends on the size of the engine and is given in the table below.
Each atomic fuel pellet and load of chemical fuel provides
enough fuel for 10,000 minutes (about 8.3 days) of operation at maximum
thrust. The cost of a fuel pellet
depends on the size of the engine, given in the table below. The cost of the chemical fuel is identical to
that of the chemical engines of the same size.
Consult the table below to determine the number of fuel
loads & pellets held and time between each overhaul for each engine size.
Engine Class
Trips between overhauls
Maximum Fuel Loads & Pellets loaded
Cost per pellet (cr)
Class A
1
3
10,000
Class B
3
6
32,000
Class C
10
12
125,000
Compute total acceleration per fuel load
Acceleration is measured in ADF. One ADF is defined as 10 minutes of acceleration at 1g. (For you Star Frontiers grognards out there, I’ve redefined the boardgame hex scale to 3600 km so that 1 ADF does equal 1g acceleration for 10 minutes, and 1 g is defined as 10 m/s/s not 9.8.)
If you want to keep it simple, you can simply assume the
following:
a load of fuel in a chemical rocket provides
just enough thrust to make one round trip between the ground and orbit around a
planet or can provide a total of 8 ADF in space.
Ion engines use one fuel unit per engine per ADF
and a total of 1000 fuel units per engine for a single interstellar jump
Atomic engines use one chemical fuel load and
one atomic fuel pellet for a single interstellar jump or the same fuel provides
enough thrust for a total of 1000 ADF if operating solely in-system.
If you want to be a bit more exact and track the exact fuel
usage you can do the following to compute the total number of ADF that a load
of fuel will provide for your ship. This
will depend on the type of engine you have.
It requires more bookkeeping but actually results in less fuel being
needed in the long run, sometimes significantly if the ship has a high maximum
ADF.
Chemical Engines – Take the maximum acceleration you calculated for the ship earlier and multiply it by 6. This is the total number of ADF your ship gets from using one load of fuel in each engine.
Ion Engines – The maximum acceleration calculated above is the number of ADF provided by expending a single ion fuel unit in each engine.
Atomic Engines – Take the maximum acceleration calculated earlier and multiply by 1000. This is the total ADF provided by using one unit of chemical fuel and one atomic fuel pellet in each of your engines.
Round all fractions down.
Assume that that small difference is used up in minor station keeping
and maneuvering
Examples
Chemical Engine
Fully loaded a Digger Shuttle (HS 2) has one Class A
chemical engine and a maximum acceleration of 4.7g. Since it has chemical engines, the total ADF
provided by the single load of fuel in its engine is 4.7 x 6 = 28.2 or 28
ADF.
Ion Engine
A small (HS 7) freighter is equipped with four Class B ion
engines. Fully loaded, its maximum
acceleration is 1.1g. Thus by using up
one fuel unit in each of its four engines, it has 1.1 ADF available. If each engine carries it’s maximum fuel load
(10,000 units each), the total ADF available to the ship is 11,000 ADF. Since each interstellar jump typically takes
1000 ADF to complete, the ship can make 11 trips without refueling if it needed
to.
Atomic Engine
The newly designed Swift class assault scout has a total
mass of 2470.83 tons and two Class A atomic engines for a total thrust of
12500. This gives a maximum acceleration
of 5.059g which rounds to 5.0. The total
ADF available to the assault scout from one load of fuel in each engine is
therefore 5×1000 = 5000 ADF. After
expending this much thrust, the assault scout will have used two loads of
chemical fuel and two atomic fuel pellets, one in each engine.
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m in the process of setting up a play-by-post game and the players want to be a group of adventurers with a ship that knock about the Frontier doing odd jobs and generally getting into and out of trouble. As part of that I want to give them a few choices of ships that they could start with. So for the next few posts, starting with this one, I’ll be presenting the ships I’m designing for the adventure.
While these are specifically designed for Star Frontiers, they could easily be adapted to other systems. Each of these ships is being designed with some new starship construction rules that I’ve been working on. The rules are designed to be a drop in replacement for the existing Knight Hawks construction rules but more flexible and a bit more grounded in physics.
In these posts, I’ll just be presenting just the stats for the ships and a brief description. I’ll probably go back and create detailed deck plans for them at some point starting with whichever ship the PCs decide on buying with their starting fund. I might even do a 3D model.
So with that introduction, lets get to the first ship.
PGC C-10 Fast Courier
The C-10 Fast Courier is a small, hull sized 4 vessel that is aerodynamically streamlined and capable of planetary landings. Designed to be a fast transport ship, it can carry cargo, passengers, or both and evade most pursuit. Lightly armed with two laser batteries, it also carries four ICM salvos and a pair of decoys to help it evade pursuers.
The full ship specs are:
Hull Size: 4 HP: 21 ADF: 4 MR: 4 DCR: 35 Engines: 4 Class A Atomic Engines Fuel Capacity: 3 full loads per engine Accommodations: 2 First Class, 10 Journey Class Life Support: – Primary: standard system – 10 beings, 200 days, deluxe – 2 beings, 200 days – Backup: standard system – 10 beings, 200 days, deluxe – 2 beings, 200 days Communication & Detection Equipment: Videocom radio (x2, each with a master and two secondary control screens), Subspace Radio (x2), Intercom (3 master control panels, 30 standard panels, 15 speaker panels), Radar – Type II, Energy Sensors – Type I, Skin Senors, Camera system Computer Level: 4 FP: 164 Computer Programs: Atomic Drives 4, Life Support 2, Alarm 4, Computer Lockout 4, Damage Control 4, Astrogation 4, Laser Battery 1, Laser Battery 1, ICM 3, Communication 2, Information Storage 2, Installation Security 3, Robot Management 4, Skin Sensors 1, Maintenance 2, Cargo Arm 2, Cameras 1 Ship’s Vehicles: small launch, small lifeboat, 2 escape pods Other Equipment: cargo arm, complete backup computer Weapons: LB (x2) Defenses: RH, ICM (x4), Decoy (x2) Control Spaces: 10 Cargo Capacity: 10 cargo units (1500 cubic meters) Volume: 4955 cubic meters (total), 2764 cubic meters (inhabited) Unloaded Mass: 2728 tons Loaded Mass: 5728 tons Crew Size: 8 ADF per Fuel Load: 4364 Cost: new: 2,548,731 cr. (unfueled)
The specified ADF of 4 is for the ship fully loaded. Unloaded, the ship would actually be capable of and ADF of 9 but is limited to a maximum of 6 due to the limits of the PCs’ physiology. It can achieve this higher ADF of 6 as long as it is carrying 1400 tons (4.7 cargo units) or less of cargo.
The ship available to the PCs is 26 years old and currently lacking the following items from the above description:
small launch
small escape pod
one laser battery
all life support supplies
both decoys
all ICM missiles
Given the age of the ship and the lack of equipment, the ship is available for 1,597,460 cr.
