COST MODIFIERS
It costs more to build an FTL drive that can move a capital-class ship than one for a scout or a runabout. Bigger vehicles are simply costlier to improve or modify. Thus, each size of vehicle has a cost modifier, which is applied to the baes cost of systems added to vehicles of that size. For example, regenerating shields have a base cost of 5,000 credits. When added to a Colossal ship, this price is multiplied by the ship’s cost modifier of x5, for a final cost of 25,000 credits. If added to a Colossal (cruiser) starship, the modifier is x500, for a final cost of 2,500,000 credits.
| Vehicle Size | Cost Modifier |
|---|---|
| Colossal (station) | X5000 |
| Colossal (cruiser) | X500 |
| Colossal (frigate) | X50 |
| Colossal | X5 |
| Gargantuan | X2 |
| Huge | X1 |
| Large or Smaller | X0.5 |
EMPLACEMENT POINTS
You must meet certain size, bracing, and power requirements before adding a system to a vehicle. Often, it simply isn’t practical to add numerous new systems to an existing starship. Emplacement points represent the numerous factors that combine to limit how many systems a single vehicle can have.
Each modification or new system has a rating in emplacement points to represent the effort required to add that feature to an existing vehicle. The more emplacement points a modification requires, the greater its demand in terms of room, bracing, power, and integration with other systems.
If you lack the emplacement points to support a system, you can still install it; however, more time and credits are needed to add the subsystems that enable your new systems to function. For every emplacement point you lack for a system, add 2 days to base installation time, 5 to the Mechanics check DC to install it, and 20% to the system cost. Additionally, any vehicles that have modifications installed in this manner are automatically considered “used” (see Notes), and any systems added without sufficient emplacement points are damaged beyond repair if the vehicle is disabled. This represents the harder work of finding ways to route power to your system, squeeze through already jammed conduits, and overcome the limitations of your overstuffed vehicle. Additionally, GMs should feel free to rule that some modifications cannot be installed without sufficient emplacement points, such as passenger conversions when no cargo space is available.
GAINING EMPLACEMENT POINTS
A vehicle can gain additional emplacement points in one of three ways. Existing systems can be removed, making their emplacement points available for new systems. Thus, if a combat pilot decides he needs a quad gatling more than he needs maneuvering jets, he can remove the jets and gain the emplacement points to install a quad gatling. Removing systems in this way takes half as long as installing them would take and involves no associated cost. In fact, the old system can normally be sold for 1/4 of its original value (assuming it’s in good working condition and you can find a buyer).
Alternatively, a starship can give up cargo capacity to gain more emplacement points (this is how the first four Praetor-class Torpedo Cruisers the Terran Alliance created came into being). The freed space makes it much easier to reroute power lines, add small power generators, and securely lock new systems to the ship’s superstructure. It takes a number of tons of cargo capacity equal to a vehicle’s cost modifier for size to equal 1 emplacement point. For example, to gain an additional 4 emplacement points for a Colossal (frigate) vessel, you must sacrifice 200 tons of cargo capacity.
Finally, a starship of Colossal or larger size can gain emplacement points by removing escape pods, gaining 1 emplacement point per 10% of the escape pods removed. However, doing this is illegal on anything other than a military starship, and it only takes a DC 10 Perception check to notice. Failure to have enough escape pods on a vessel is grounds to have the vessel impounded and the captain and owner issued a hefty fine, and possible the revocation of their licenses.
UNUSED EMPLACEMENT POINTS
Most off-the-rack vehicles have some unused capacity, though fighters usually do not, allowing some modifications to be made more easily. A standard, unmodified vehicle design generally has 1 unspent emplacement point. In some cases, this capacity is later used for a “standard” upgrade. For example, an unmodified Hermes-class Courier has 1 unspent emplacement point, but it is standard practice for TAPS teams to use this to install a standard luxury upgrade to turn their vessel into more of a mobile home, since they spend so much time aboard the courier.
Some vehicles are renowned for being easily modified. In part, this is the result of extra attachment points, power outlets, access hatches, and unused carrying capacity left over after the ship’s core systems are installed. Such ships have even more unused emplacement points, allowing multiple systems to be added without removing anything or dealing with additional expenses. For example, the four-deck variant of the Janus-class (the Hecate-class) comes with 5 unused emplacement points.
NONSTANDARD MODIFICATIONS
Rare or nonstandard system modifications (including those deemed by the GM to be ill-suited for installation on a given vehicle) require substantially more effort to install, doubling the number of emplacement points required and multiplying the cost by 5. A modification is nonstandard if the vehicle does not have any similar system in its stock version. For example, adding a Proximan-made Flux Space drive to an Terran vessel would be nonstandard, but adding a Higgs drive to a Terran Corvette would not. The GM is the final arbiter of what systems are sufficiently dissimilar to qualify as nonstandard, and particularly unusual combinations may be forbidden altogether (no putting Higgs Drives on fighters, or worse, groundcars).
INSTALLATION
Installing a new system, or modifying an old one, is normally a matter of work force, time, and a Mechanics check. This assumes the vehicle in which you are installing the system is otherwise fully functional, the system to be installed is freely available, and you have the tools and space needed. Remember that making Mechanics checks aboard a starship that has moved down the condition track incurs the normal penalties associated with that spot on the track. Under less optimal conditions, the time, money, and Mechanics check DC required could be increased by as much as 100%, and the GM may decide that modifications are impossible in these circumstances.
INSTALLATION WORK FORCE
The bigger a vehicle, the more people it takes to make modifications. For vehicles of Gargantuan size or smaller, a single person can do everything necessary (though it’s often much easier with help). For Colossal ships, the minimum work force is larger: Colossal, 5; Colossal (Frigate), 10; Colossal (Cruiser), 20; and Colossal (Station), 50. The minimum work force can make a modification or add a new system in the normal installation time (see below). It isn’t practical for a smaller work force to make changes to such big ships, regardless of how much time the workers have. If your work force is bigger than your minimum, the installation can go faster, but the maximum work force that can be used on any given installation is 10 x the minimum work force for the ship’s size.
INSTALLATION TIME
The base time needed to add a modification or system is calculated as follows:
Time (in days) = (emplacement points) x (vehicle’s cost modifier) / (number of workers)
In many cases, a new system can be added to a starfighter with just a single day of work. This is possible because many systems are modular, allowing different engines, weapons, and computer systems to be easily removed and new ones slotted in. Even something like reinforced bulkheads represents a predesigned kit of clamps and brackets that bolt on to existing hull plating. Still, some installations take large amounts of time unless a huge work force can be brought to the project.
INSTALLATION CHECKS
Proper installation requires a mechanics check at the end of the installation time. The base DC for such a check is 21, +1 for each emplacement point a system or modification uses. If the check fails by less than 10, the installation is a partial failure. You must spend half as much time and money to try again, and gain a +5 bonus on your next Mechanics check to install the system or modification. A check that fails by 10 ore more is a total failure – all the time and money spent is wasted, and you must start over from the beginning.
VEHICLE SYTEMS
A vehicle’s systems can be upgraded, replaced, and modified many times throughout the vehicle’s operational lifetime. A vehicle systems falls into one of four categories: movement, defense, offense, or accessories. Each system has a number of factors that affect its cost and availability, detailed in the table that accompanies each section.
Emplacement Points: This value is the number of emplacement points required to install the system in a vehicle without incurring an additional cost or time delay.
Availability: Some vehicle accessories have limited availability or are strictly regulated (see Restricted Items under Equipment). A system that is normally available without restriction is categorized as common.
Size Restriction: Some systems can be placed only in vehicles of a certain size. Systems are normally limited to ships of a given size or larger, and some systems can function only in smaller ships.
Cost: Sometimes a vehicle accessory has a flat cost. Often the cost is determined by multiplying a base number by the vehicle’s cost factor, which is determined by its size. If a cost is given as “base,” you must multiply it by the cost modifier for the vehicle’s size. If the cost is just given as a number of credits, the cost is the same no matter what size vehicle you add the system to.