SETTING RULESA CHAPTER FOR star trek no sound is heard

by /u/pocket-contents

Special thanks to my players: Captain Angel, Dr. Slash, Lt. Bosh, and Ensign Darius.

I don't own the rights to any of the images, brands, or licenses contained or referenced in this module, and this project is not intended to be created, maintained, or distributed for profit. I'll

write a better legal blurb later, but sufficed to say CBS and Paramount own Star Trek in its entirety, and I am just a fan doing a fan thing.

Star Trek: No Sound is Heard 'Setting Rules' chapter, version 2View the rest of the campaign book at pocketcontents.wordpress.com

Permission is granted to print this chapter for personal use, and to distribute electronically.

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no

representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

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setting rulesSTARSHIP COMBAT

Although Star Trek isn’t known for its nonstop action, ship-to-ship combat is still a central part of the setting. Here, you'll find a few mechanics to expand on ship battles in a Star Trek campaign.

Long RangeStarships spot each other using their sensors at

enormous distances, often light years apart. Anything beyond weapons range is considered "long range."

If one ship wants to catch another, the commanders of both vessels make an opposed Knowledge (Starship Operations) roll. Each roll represents 2 hours of pursuit as both captains try to squeeze every advantage out of their ships and crews. Pursuit continues like this until either the pursuing ship scores a raise and brings the fleeing ship into combat range, or the fleeing ship scores a raise and successfully flees beyond sensor range.

A bridge officer may support her captain’s Knowledge (Starship Operations) roll with one of Piloting, Stealth (for the fleeing vessel), Tracking (for the pursuing vessel), Knowledge (Astronomy), or Knowledge (Engineering).

Combat RangeIf two (or more) ships enter combat range to trade

fire, the standard Chase rules apply. Each round of combat is about one minute long.

ShieldsStar Trek shields are tricky to represent in Savage

Worlds. Here's how they work in this campaign:• The Armor of a listed ship represents its

shields. I use the two terms interchangeably.• Toughness is listed as Base + Armor = Total;

e.g., 8+22=30. This is done for readability. • The base Toughness of a ship is very low

compared to its shields. This fits Star Trek, where shields do most of the defence work.

• Shields can be 'whittled down' in combat. See the new Critical Hits table, below.

• Shields can be switched on and off with an action. Cloaking devices, transporters, and certain other effects require shields to be off.

Beaming Through ShieldsShields block transportation, but transport

becomes possible when shields are badly depleted. If a ship's shields are reduced by half or more of their maximum for any reason, characters may beam through with a Knowledge (Starship Operations) roll at –2. Knocking out an enemy's Shield Modulators, as well as using certain edges, also allows characters to beam through shields.

To board an enemy vessel, a ship must have Advantage, and be at Medium or Short range.

Fleeing CombatIf one ship wishes to flee from combat and the

other intends to pursue, the GM should declare how long the chase will last before the the ship gets away (usually 3-5 rounds). If the fleeing ship is still intact, it successfully moves to long range (see above).

Moving Around the ShipIt may be necessary to know how quickly a

character can move from, say, the Bridge to Engineering. With working turbolifts, a character can move from any department to any other department by taking no other actions for one round (1 minute).

Without turbolifts, players are forced to crawl through Jeffries tubes. This takes a number of rounds equal to one quarter the ship’s Size (e.g., 3 rounds for a Large starship).

Really Heavy WeaponsStar Trek's heavy weapons aren't 'heavy' the sense

that a modern tank-mounted cannon is considered 'heavy'; they're heavy in the sense that a fully-powered phaser can punch through a planet's crust. If a character is ever hit directly by a starship's weapons, assume he is killed instantly.

Starship DamageIf an attacker's damage roll meets the victim’s

Toughness (including shields), all senior officers must make an Agility roll or become Shaken. Each raise on the damage roll also inflicts a wound and a critical hit. For every wound a starship has, all ship-based actions (Piloting, Shooting, Knowledge skills using sensors or databanks, etc.) suffer a penalty of –1.

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Shields Are Failing! (6-8)The attack impacts the shields and drains their power, reducing them by –8 and making the ship easier to damage again next time. This effect can 'stack'. Note: this is the most likely Critical Hit event on the table.

Subsystem is Knocked Out! (5 & 9)Roll an additional 1d6:1.Main computers. Knowledge databanks cannot be consulted. If the ship has the ‘Artificial Intelligence’

mod, it’s disabled. Other computer-based actions may not be possible (GM’s discretion).2. Inertial Dampeners. Everyone onboard must roll Agility at –2 or be Shaken as they’re flung around

the ship. From now on, each time the ship's Toughness is met by damage, the Agility roll is at –2.3.Turbolifts. Characters cannot move freely around the ship.4.Communications. Characters cannot hail ships or send distress signals; all comms are down.5.Shield Modulators. Shield frequencies are normally ‘modulated’ randomly through a wide range of

wavelengths. Without the modulators, transport becomes possible through the ship’s shields.6.Transporters. Characters cannot use the transporters.

Crew Casualties! (4 & 10)Consoles explode, crew are flung over railings. A number of casualties are suffered, dependant on the size of the ship: 1 crew member for a Small ship, 1d6 for Medium, 2d6 for Large, 3d6 for Huge, 4d6 for Giant, and 5d6 for Gargantuan or larger. Each Wild Card must roll Agility or be hit as well. If hit, reroll original damage and subtract current Shields from the total.

Weapons Are Down! (3 & 11)One weapon system at random is disabled. Linked systems count as one.

Disaster! (2 & 12)Roll an additional 1d6:1-3: Warpcore Containment Breach. Plasma begins spilling into Main Engineering as the antimatter

intermix chamber prepares to go boom. The crew has 1d4 rounds to prevent the disaster with Repair at –4 (plus any wound penalties). Characters may instead run to the escape pods or shuttles by taking no other action for one round. If the warp core does explode, any ships at Short range take 20d12 damage, Medium range takes 10d12 damage, Long range takes no damage. Characters can also attempt to eject the core with a Knowledge (Starship Operations) roll, modified by wound penalties as usual—with a success, the core is ejected and explodes in space, leaving the ship adrift with minimal power (assume the ship maneuvered to Long Range before the core exploded).

4-6: Life Support Failure. Until this critical hit can be repaired, every character aboard must make a Vigor roll each round or suffer a level of Fatigue (can incapacitate). The penalty to Vigor increases by –2 each round (0, –2, –4...). If characters cannot fix Life Support during combat, they may have to don spacesuits or abandon the ship.

Critical Hit Efffects

CompartmentalizationLarger starships are ‘compartmentalized’ using

emergency forcefields and bulkheads, and can only take a limited number of wounds from any one attack. See the Sci Fi Companion’s chapter on Starships for details.

Starship Critical HitsWhen a ship takes a wound, the victim must also

roll on the Critical Hits Table. The critical hit effect is applied immediately. Be sure to track wounds and critical hits. Some, like Life Support Failure, have ongoing effects.

Critical hits must be repaired independently. This means it takes two Repair actions to heal each wound: one for the critical hit, one for the wound.

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Critical Hits Table

Wrecked ShipsIf the ship is Wrecked, the victim rolls one final d6:1-2: Meltdown! The warpcore is melting down

and can't be repaired. Treat as 'Warpcore Containment Breach', and assume half the non-player crew members get to escape pods in time.

3-6: Main power outage! All systems fail simultaneously. The ship will drift lifelessly in space until repaired or recovered. Repairing the Wrecked status takes a roll at –6 and 1d4 days, after which it still has 3 wounds and any critical hits.

Target Subsystems (Optional)Whoever is aiming the weapons can choose to

target specific systems on the opponent’s ship, similar to performing ‘called shots’ in personal combat. This lets the gunner control which critical hit effect happens. The penalty to Shooting depends on which system the attacker is aiming for: more important systems tend to be better-protected. To do so...

1. Declare the system you’re trying to hit.2. Apply the Shooting penalty listed.3. If your attack hits and causes a wound, the

victim does not roll on the Critical Hit Table; instead, the ship suffers the desired effect.

If one system is hit multiple times, decide if the effect can reasonably 'stack'. If not, treat subsequent hits as ‘Shields Are Failing!’ by default.

Examples 1: Captain Angel is worried about the Jem'hadar attack ship's heavy phaser weapon. Ensign Darius, manning the ship's weapons, declares a called shot to the enemy's heavy phaser. He rolls Shooting at –2 (plus any other modifiers), and hits! Unfortunately, his attack is not strong enough to cause a wound, so there is no effect.

Example 2: Ensign Darius declares an attack on the enemy’s crew, and causes two wounds and two critical

hits. There are plenty of enemy crew, so both critical hits will cause 'Crew Casualties!', described above. On the next round, Ensign Darius targets the enemy's Shield Modulators subsystem, and once again causes two critical hits. The first critical hit knocks out the Shield Modulators, but since that system can’t be “more knocked out,” the second critical hit instead causes the 'Shields are Failing!' effect by default. With the enemy crew cut to pieces and the Shield Modulators down, Ensign Darius tells his captain that the enemy vessel is ready to be boarded.

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Reroute Power (Optional)During a battle, power may be shunted between

systems to gain a temporary situational advantage. Half the power is lost during this process, so be careful. To reroute power…

1. Roll Knowledge (Starship Operations). A failure aborts the process and the action is wasted.

2. Decide on the system you’re draining and the system you’re energizing. See ‘Reroute Power Table’, below.

3. The drained system will suffer a penalty equal to one 'full-step’, while the energized system will gain a bonus equal to one ‘half-step’. In other words, the penalty is twice as big as the bonus. This is because half the power is lost enroute.

A single system can only be drained or energized by a maximum of one Full-Step. Shields are the only exception; they can be completely depleted, or energized to any level.

Remember to keep track of these drained and energized systems! The effects last until combat is over and systems can be reset to normal power.

Example 1: Our heroes are in a fight against a Klingon raider. The raider’s shields are hard to penetrate (high Toughness), so Science Officer Slash decides her gunner needs extra firepower. She rolls Knowledge (Starship Operations), scores a success, and chooses to drain the Shields and energize the Weapon Power. Because half the power is lost enroute, it will cost –8 Shields (a 'full step') to grant the phasers +2 damage (a 'half step').

Example 2: Our heroes are being pursued by three

Klingon raiders. They’re wildly outmatched, and their only hope is to flee. Captain Angel is worried about those Klingon disruptors, so she orders Science Officer Slash to pump up the shields. Slash rolls Knowledge (Starship Operations) and scores a success. Since they aren’t trying to fight, Slash decides to reroute power from the Targeting Computers to the Shields. It costs –2 Targeting (a 'full-step') to gain +4 Shields (a 'half-step'). On the next

round, she rolls again and reroutes power from Weapon Power to the Impulse Engines. Phaser damage is reduced by –4 (a 'full step'), while Piloting gains a bonus of +1 (a 'half-step').

Having rerouted two systems, the Shields are now at +4, and the ship’s helmsman gains +1 to Piloting. Captain Angel is more confident about their odds of escaping in one piece.

Example 3: The ship has suffered multiple wounds, and won't be able to flee from combat. Ensign Darius knows the only way to survive is to take out the Klingon's torpedo launcher (see 'Target Subsystems', above), but he's not sure he can make the shot. In an act of desperation, he rolls Knowledge (Starship Operations) to reroute power from Life Support, putting the crew's lives at great risk and gaining +1 to his Shooting roll. Hopefully, it will be enough...

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System Affects… Half Step Full Step

Targeting Computers

Shooting rolls Plus or minus 1 Plus or minus 2

Impulse Engines Piloting rolls Plus or minus 1 Plus or minus 2

Weapon Power Damage output of energy weapons

Plus or minus 2 Plus or minus 4

Shields Current shield power (Armor) Plus or minus 4 Plus or minus 8

Life Support Draining life support shuts it down completes, and offers one Full Step worth of energy. Beginning next round, everyone on board must roll Vigor or gain a level of Fatigue (can Incapacitate). The penalty to Vigor increases by -2 each rouond (0, -2, -4…) as the air grows thin and cold. Reenergizing life support requires a Full Step worth of energy, and restores it immediately. Characters recover 1 Fatigue level per round.

Reroute Power Table

STARSHIP REPAIRSCharacters may attempt to repair wounds and/or

critical hits on their ship, using a Repair check penalized by the ship's current wounds. For each success and raise, one wound or critical hit is repaired.

As with the Healing skill, each character may only make one attempt to repair a ship. Any remaining wounds are beyond their ability (or perhaps they lack the necessary parts).

Repairing at a StarbaseAny starbase can repair a vessel's wounds and

critical hits. Federation outposts charge Starfleet Requisition Points ($) equal to 10% of the price of the ship's chassis per wound. Each wound or critical hit takes 1d4 days to repair.

Non-federation bases generally accept Gold-Pressed Latinum, effectively doubling the price of the repair. They may also accept favours or special information from a Starfleet "insider."

BOARDROOM MEETINGSYou know the scene. The heroes march into the

boardroom, sit down at the conference table, and start discussing their current situation. They review the facts and details they’ve learned so far, weigh the possibilities, and come up with a plan of action.

It’s easy to forget about them, but boardroom scenes are actually an important part of the ‘rhythm’ of a good Star Trek story. They catch everyone up on the problem, and provide some of the best opportunities to get to know the characters.

Use your ship’s boardroom to work out your plan, roleplay your different arguments for and against each course of action, and describe what your character will do once the meeting ends. The scene doesn’t have to last long, and it can lend the game some real focus.

The GM should give out a benny to each player for participating in a boardroom scene, especially for presenting a unique perspective or argument.

STARSHIP TRAVELSpace is big. Really, really big. Starfleet officers

don’t spend all their time in tense negotiations and phaser battles; most of their careers are spent overseeing day-to-day ship operations as they watch the stars crawl by outside the window.

You’ll notice starships are listed with a ‘Travel Speed’. This number indicates how many light years the ship can comfortably travel in one day, multiplied by 5. (1 Travel = 5 ly.) Most of the adventures in the GM’s portion of the book indicate distances between systems, given in light years.

Random EventsFor each day of travel, the GM will draw a card. If

it’s a face card, a random event will occur.Note: Random Encounter not yet made, so this bit

can be ignored.

Pushing the EnginesEach day, an officer may roll Knowledge

(Engineering) at –2 to increase travel speed.A success raises travel speed by 1. (The engines

cannot be pushed any further.)If the officer rolls 1 on the skill die (regardless of

the Wild Die), it acts as a success for the day. But at the end of the day, the ship suffers one wound and critical hit as the engine breaks down.

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