rocketship empires 1936 the gunslinger betty
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Rocketship Empires 1936™
Player Starship
The Gunslinger BettyStarship Feature Book No. 1
by
Edward M Kann
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Rocketship Empires 1936
The Gunslinger Betty
B-25B Mitchel Assault
By Edward M Kann
Featured Artist: Mike Doscher
CreditsX-41HistoryandOverviewCrewPositionsNoseCompartment K3-LCamera
Nav.Computer EmergencyO2 ArmoredGreenHouse .50Cal.HellionNavigatorDutiesCockpit Autopilot EngineerControls EjectionSeats
HullPatchKitEngineerDutiesCaptain/PilotDutiesCutawaySchematicCargoHoldandQuarters CargoCapacityRadarCompartment RemoteBarbette CXAMSensor
RadioUnitWrightCyclone-PrimaryDrivesPrattandWhitney-SecondaryDrivesBallTurretTailGunnerPositionLandingGearStarshipRecord
pilot and
operationalmanual
North American Spacecraft Co.
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WelcomeaboardTheGunslingerBetty,the
toughestlittletransportthissideofthecorridors.
Sheshouldmakeaswellbaseofoperationsforyou
andyourpartnersforwhateverbusinessventures
youhave inmind. Fromexploration andsurvey
worktomercenarydutyandevenblockaderun-
ning.There’spreciouslittleshecan’ttacklewith
therightcrewandtherightCaptainatthehelm.
This book is more than a quick overviewofasinglestarship.Inalmostanysciencefictionnovelorfilmthestarshipfigureslargelyintheun-foldingdrama.StarshipsinsciencefictionoccupyaspotasvitalasanycharacteronscreenandyeteventhebestshipsareprovidedwiththemerestofcursoryoverviewsinmostRPGsourcebooks.
Thisstarshipfeatureserieshasbeenpro-ducedasatoolformakingthisstarshipthemostimmersiveexperiencepossible for youandyourplayers.Significanteffortshavebeeninvestedintothisresourcebooksoitwillprovidegamedirectorswith dozensofplot hooks,adventure ideasandtonsoflittledetailswrittentoenrichtheirgame.
Mydreaminwritingthisbookformyowngroup of playerswas a ship operationsmanualwhich practically dripped rocket fuel and oozed
engineoil.
Systemless
RocketshipEmpires isasystemlesscam-paign setting. You will need the rules for yourfavoritegamesystem touse thisbook,althoughwhenever possible we try to facilitate its usethroughsimplechartsandplentyofdetail.
IrecommendthatyoupickupacopyoftheRocketshipEmpires1936:corecampaignbooktofurtherfacilitateyouruseofthismaterial.
Credits
Manythanksgotothepilotandcrewof“OldGlory”,oneofthelastoperationalMitchelsflyingintheworld.Itwasmypleasureandprivilegetovisitthisamazingaircraftandspendmostofanafter-
noonaskingquestionsofherownersandtakingphotographstouseastechnicalreferences.
Artist Credits
MikeDoscherFeatureArtist
ChadDuLacBettyNoseArtwork(Cover)
AdditionalArtwork:JonnyLedfordandEd-wardKann
Author Credits
EdwardM.KannAuthorandCreator
Photography
ManythankstotheUnitedStatesAirForceandNavalarchivewherephotographsandpostersproducedbytheUSgovernmentduringtheWWIIeraweremaintainedonpublicrecord.Allphoto-graphsandpostercontentusedinthisdocumenwerecreatedbytheUnitedStatesgovernmentfo
officialpurposesandremainapartofthepublicdomain.
Legal
Allpersons,corporationsandgovernmentsmentionedinthisvolumearepartoftheRocket-shipEmpiresuniverseandarecompletelyfiction-al.RocketshipEmpires1936isnotaffiliatedwithanygamesystemorgamecompany.
Weenthusiasticallysupporttheproductsoseveralcompanies.WeadvocateforthesalesofqualityRPGproductsandthegrowthoftheindustryasawhole.
AtStoryArtwefirmlybelievethatwearenoincompetitionwith anyonebut ourselves inoudesiretoproduceexcellentbooksforourfavoritesettings.
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The X-41
In 1934 the United States Rocket Forcessubmitted a request to a variety of U.S. manu-facturingfirmstoconstructanewFastTransportclassvesselwhichcouldoperatesuccessfullyinawidevarietyofroles,fromfastattackbombertomilitarytransport,toreconnaissancevessel.
InFebruaryofthatyearTheNorthAmericanSpaceCorporationmettherequestwithadesignforaprototypestarshipwhichtheydesignatedasspecialprojectX-41.
TheX-41wasthebrainchildofNASCsci-entistReginaldHollywood, a brilliant and some-timeseccentricyoungengineercreditedforthreeofthelastfivesuccessfulNASCprototypefighter/bomberdesignssincehisjoiningthecompany’sR&Dteamin1929.Onlythirtyyearsoldin1935,ProfessorHollywoodwascountedasoneoftheyoungestscientistsworkinginAmericanastroga-tionasaleaddesigner.
Followingsuccessfulflighttrialsduringthesummerof1934,ProfessorHollywoodvanished.HisdisappearanceremainsamysteryandNASCcontinuestoexpendresourcesinanattempttolo-catehim. Rumors aboundregardingthenatureofHollywood’s disappearance. Themostpopu-larstorycirculatingisthatHollywoodbecameob-sessedwithayoungstarletnamedRitaAngelesbutwentintoseclusionaftertheromanceturned
sour.TherearealsorumorsthatHollywoodleftEarthinoneofhisprototypestarfightersandflewofftowhoknowswhere.Somebelievehewaspicked upby theReich and now labors some-whereinasecretReichlab,othersbelieveheisstill out thereexploring the far reaches beyondtheedgeofcolonizedspace.
NorthAmericanSpaceCorporationcontin-uestoofferasubstantialrewardforinformationleadingtohiswhereaboutsandhissafereturntoEarth.
Plot Point
TheverynightthatDr.Hollywoodvanished
thisverystarshipwassittingpartiallyassembled
ontheNASCassemblyfloor,afewfeetoutsideofHollywood’soffice.
Overthecourseoftheship’shistorycertain
mysteriousindividualshavemadeattemptstogain
access to theshipandsearch it as though they
expectedsomethingofvaluetobehiddeninside
her.
Whatvitalpieceofinformationortechnolo
gymightbesealedinsideoftheBetty’sbulkheads
awaitingdiscovery?Whatmightbethetruthbe-hindDr.Hollywood’smysteriousdisappearance?
Theexactdetailsofthisplotpointrestinthe
handsoftheGameDirector.
A Ship is Born
ThestarshipthatwouldbeknownasB-25B21-NCUSRFs/n44-30018NorthAmericancon-
structionnumber108-33923andlaterbedubbedtheGunslingerBetty rolled off of theNASC assemblylinesinDetroitonOctober31st,1934.
ThefirstUSRocketForcescontractcalledforfiftyofthenewX-41s,whichreceivedtheofficialfleetdesignationastheB-25Mitchel.OutofthefirstfiftyB-25MitchelstwentywereearmarkedtofulfilladesperateneedintheUnitedStatesTer-ritorialMarshalsService.TheMarshalsrequired
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newfastmilitarytransportstohandlerisingborderconflictsbetweentheFederalTerritoriesandCon-federationPrivateers. TheBetty’sfirstdutywasintendedtobethatofaFederalprivateerandcom-merceraider.
The grim reality of the Great Depression
putthebrakesonplacingherintoservice.Forfivemonths the entire productionorder sat in hang-ers or neglected on the airfield associated withtheNASCassemblyplantinFlint,Michigan.Ulti-matelytheFederalgovernmentwasforcedtocuttheiroriginalordersignificantlyandonlytenofthevesselsearmarkedforFederalservicewerepur-chased.TheremainderlanguishedinhangersforanotherthreemonthsbeforeNASCwasforcedtoauctionthemtoprivatebuyersinordertorecoversomeportionoftheirinvestmentinthedesign.
All branches of the USmilitary, includingthe Rocket Forces have faced major spendingcuts in1934and 1935. Americanship buildershavesoughttosurvivetheeconomichardtimesbymodifyingtheirdesignsforcivilianproductionas much as possible. Sales of starships whilenowherenearboomingcontinuetomoveforwardsufficientlytokeepmostof thecurrentnamesinAmericanstarshipproduction inbusiness, albeit
with reduced factory personnelandshorter pro-ductionruns.
Out of the forty Mitchels sold at auctionnearly half were purchasedby foreign concernssuchas theKingdomofHollandandBritishStarEmpire.Theremainderweresoldtoprivatebuy-ers,amixtureofexplorers,adventurers,mercenar-iesandthosewhocouldbenefitfromasufficientlyfastandheavilyarmedtransport.
B-25 Mitchel Starship - Overview
TheB-25Mitchelwasconstructedwitha(atthetime)newhybridenginedesignwhichsepa-rates the primary impulse star drive andgravitydrivesystemfromthetacticaldrive.TwoWrightCycloneHybridClassCdrivesaremountedclosetothefuselagewhileapairofstrippeddownPrattandWhitneyTypeBdrivescontainingonlyastar-
ship impulsedriveprovideadditional thrust fromthetail.Thetwinenginesmountedunderthewingsaredesignatedasthestarship’sprimaryengineswhilethetwoenginespositionedonthestarship’stail are designated as the starship’s secondaryengines.TheB25serieswasoriginallybuiltwiththePrattandWhitneyTypeBdrivesastheirsole
primary engines but speed performance duringcombattrialsprovedtobedisappointing.Withanallotmentoftheenginesonhand,NorthAmericanSpacecraftmadethedecisiontostriptheenginesandtestthemasboosters.
The Pratt and Whitney drives on the taireduceweightanddragtothespacecraft,provid-ingaboosttospeedwithoutthesameincreaseinweightforinstallingfour“TypeC”drivesinavessethissize.ToolateitwasdiscoveredthatthePrattandWhitneydrivesdevelopedissuesinretainingheat,mountedastheyaredirectlyinthebackdraftofthelargerengines.Heatissueswiththesecondaryenginesiscoveredindetailonpage40.
TheBetty’squadengine,highwingandtri-cyclelandinggearconfigurationmakesforacrispand clean, aerodynamic configurationduring atmosphericflight.
Crew Positions and Weapons
ThestarshippilotandengineerareseatedintandeminalonggreenhousestylecockpitsimilartothatseenonearlierMartinB-10spacecraft.ThenavigatorisseatedinafullyglazednosewhichallowsforexcellentforwardanddownobservationThisforwardobservationpositionprovidesanex-cellentlocationformountingtheship’scamerade-signedforplanetarysurveyandcartographyworkandmilitaryreconnaissance.
Thewideangleofviewinthenoseispar-ticularly important since navigation is limited tosimpledirectionalguidanceprovidedbythemar-tian navigation computer. The martian systemwillhelpashipreachadestinationsafelybutthesystemhasnocomputerizedlibraryorencyclope-diatoprovidedetaileddataaboutdestinationsys-tems.InsteadthestarshipCaptainandNaviga
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tormustrelyonacollectionofgeneralmapsandtraveljournals stored attheNavigator’sstation.IntheRocketshipEmpires1936universe,naviga-torsmustrelyonmapsandphysicallandmarksonanewplanettofindtheirwaytothestarportor
colonythatistheirfinaldestinationandnewspa-pers, radio broadcasts, printed journals andoldfashionedrumorstoresearchanyspecificdetailsaboutadestinationcolonyorplanetarysystem. The navigator is provided with a singleBrowning.50Cal.mountedinaflexiblehardpointin thenose. Four fixed forward firing Browning.30’shavebeeninstalledinmountsoneithersideofthehullfacingforwardandareoperatedbythepilot.Apowereddorsalturretisintendedforusebythevessel’ssensor/radiooperatorwhohascontrolsforthisremotecontrolbarbetteathissta-tion.Afifthcrewman,usuallyanengineerormedi-calofficercanbeassignedtohandlethetwin50slocated in the tail turret whilea dedicated turretgunnerhandlestheventralturretofthestarship.
TheB-25canfunctionsafelyduringpeacetimewithacrewofeight.Aminimumoffourcriti-calstationsmustbemannedtwentyfourhoursa
solardayandtoprovidethiscoverageduringlongspacevoyagesatwoshiftortwoteamcrewisre-quired.Duringcombatfivecrewmemberscanfillallofthenecessarycombatstationswhiletheremainingthreeprovideadditionaldamagecontrolandmedicalsupport.
Eachgun inTheB-25hasbeendesignedtocarry500roundsofspeciallydesignedhybridammunition. Thehybridammunitionfor the .50Cal.islesslikelytojamcomparedtostandard.50Calammunitionusedinhumanweaponrybutisexpensiveandcanbedifficulttofindfarfromma- jorspacestationsandsupplydepots.
Ammo Purchase Price
Purchase price for a 500 round belt of.M2000Hellionammunitionis$100.00.Advancedammoisexpensive,useitwisely.
The gun’s load-out of 500 rounds of am-munitiongreatlyimprovestheB-25’sammoloadcomparedtoearlierstarshipsofthesameclass.This includes such starships as theMartinB-10andNorthAmericanSpaceCo.’sownB-47.
The500roundbeltallowsfortwentybursts
ofweaponsfirefromeachweaponsuppliedwithsuchanammobelt,twicetheusualammocapac-ityforolderships.
Inapinch,theBetty’s.50noseweaponcanbeloadedwithnon-hybridammunitionalthoughitwillnotfireinspaceandwilltendtojam.Thenon-hybridmunitionswillalsoinflictvehicleclassdamageandnotstarshipclassdamage.Jamsoccuronanaturalrollofa1ora2ratherthananaturalone.(Ifcriticalmissresultsandrulesareusedin
yourgamesystemofchoice.)
WhenloadedwiththeproperhybridammotheBetty’sgunswillnotjamonasinglenaturalrollofa1.Arollofa1mustbeaccomplishedtwiceinarowforoneoftheBetty’sgunstojamwhenusingtheproperM2000Hellionammo.
Thefirstproductionrunof theX-41( the
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B-25A)featuredapairofPrattandWhitneyHybridClassBengineswhosetacticalperformancewassomewhatdisappointing,cominginataspeedofonly2,000feetpercombatround.Theseengineswerereplaced(almostimmediatelyintheB-25Bmodel)withWrightCycloneswhoseimprovedper-formanceandtuningboostedthespeedoftheB-
25Btoatacticalspeedof2,500feetpercombatround.
TheBettywasoneoftheveryfirstB-25B’sto roll offof theassembly line. Thefirst opera-tional group to fly the new spacecraft was the17thBombardmentGroup.The17thisbasedatChorusFieldinthePearlstarsystemandcurrent-lyperformssystemdefensepatrolsinthatsector.The17thfinallyreceived20oftheB-25BAssaultsfittedwiththenew,topsecret,NordenBombsightinOctoberof1935. NASChasseizedontheB-25BasthenextshiningstarinFastTransportclassspacecraftandhaspushedintoproduction some250additionalB-25B’sforbroadsaleontheinternationalmarket.ThesemodifiedB-25B’slacksomeofthemilitaryrefinements installed inMitchels supplied to theFederal government. Most notably the “civilian”versionsof these vessels are supplied with the
majorityof theirstandardweapons strippedandabsentthetopsecretNordenBombsight.
PlansarealreadyonthedrawingboardforimprovementsinaB-25Cmodelforthewinterof1936.SmallshipmentsofthenewbombershavebeenpromisedtothebesiegedKingdomofSpain,TheKingdomofHollandandtheFrenchRepublicdespite loud protests in the LeagueofNations.Ashortlistofexclusiveprivatebuyershavealsomadeordersforthenewspacecraft.
ThechancesofrunningintoaB-25Bduringtheearlypartof1936isslim.AtpresentonlythirtyB-25B’sareinthehandsofprivateoperators,oneofthesebeingTheBetty.ThisraritymakesTheGunslinger Bettya sure head turner atanystarportandinparticularatforeignportsofcall.ThenewownersofTheBettywillneedtotakethisintoaccountandinsurethatcuriousorgreedyindividu-
alsdonotattempttomakeoffwiththeirvaluablenewstarship.
Captain’s Walkthrough
Astarshipcaptainmustknoweverynutand
bolt,everywire, fuse,vacuum tubeandglowingmartianglyphonboardhisorhership.
Thiswalkthroughwillprovideyouwithallsignifi-cantoperationaldetailsofTheBettyso thatyouandyourcrewwillbefamiliarwithherfromtoptobottomandstemtostern.
TheCaptain’swalkthroughbeginswiththenavigator’s compartment located in the nose othe starshipandmoves fromcrewcompartmen
tocrewcompartmentthroughtheshipandendinginthetailgunner’sposition.Schematicsofeverypositionareprovidedtoyouasareference.
UnlikehersistervesselstheBettycomesintothehandsoftheplayerswithherweaponryintact.ShedoesnotpossessthetopsecretNordonbombsightasshehasbeenfittedoutasare-conandsurveyvessel.Herheavyarmamentandsturdinessincombatmakehertheperfectvesseforanactiveadventuringpartywithamoremilitarymindset.
Nose Compartment
Ourwalk-throughwillbegininthenoseotheBettyandmovethroughtheshiptoendinthetailgunner’sturret. Wewillreviewalmosteverysystemonboardinsideandout,howthesesystemsfunctioningametermsandwhatlifeislikeonboardforhernewcaptainandcrew.
Civilian Modifications
Under the direction of the U.S. RockeForcestheprimarycomponentsofthetopsecretNordenBombsight have been replacedwith theexpensiveandtoprateK-3Lcamerasystem.
TheK-3Lisdesignedperformphotographic
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surveysand create photographicmapsofunex-ploredplanetaryregions.TheK-3LCamerawasconstructedundercontractbyTitanOpticsfortheUnitedStatesGeologicalServicein1931.Itwasdesignedasaplanetarysurveycamera but hasbeenmadenightcapableinthehopesofservingasanewreconnaissancecamerafortheUnited
StatesRocketForces.
Onlytheoriginalbombsightmount,brack-et,bomber’sseatandopticalglassremaininthenosecompartment.
The K-3L Camera
The optics on theK-3Lcamera allow thenavigator to zoom in clearly on ground targets.
Theviewfinderenablestheoperatortoobtainex-cellentclarityonbuildingsandterrainataltitudesofupto5,000feetdependingonatmosphericcon-ditionsandvisibility.
Thecameraloadsfromtheoperator’ssidewithablackmetalboxoffilm.
Eachfilmcartridgeprovidestwentyexpo-suresbeforereloadingbecomesnecessary.Theusedfilmcan remain safely enclosed in its car-
tridgeuntiltheNavigatorfindsthetimetodevelopitusinghisdarkroomequipment.
TheNavigator’sworkareaisequippedwithablacklightandthelargelockerdoortotheleftofthenavigator’splottingtablecontainsthechemi-calsandequipmentnecessaryfordevelopingfilminto photographs for study and sale. The darkroomcabinetcontainsfivecartridgesoffilmforatotalofsix,ifyoucounttheonealreadyloadedandreadyinthecamera.
Thenavigator’scompartmentisfilledwithasimpledarkolivecurtainwhichcanbesnappedintopositiontocompletelycovertheglassofthenavigator’sgreenhouse. The curtainandblacklight provides the navigator with the dark roomnecessaryfordevelopinghisphotographs.Duringflightoperationsthenavigatorcantakeadvantageofhiscurtaintodimhiscompartmentwhenheor
shedesiresalittlewellearnedshuteye.Thecur-tainislargeandwaterproof.Itcanberemovedfromthecompartmenttobeusedasanadditionamakeshiftcoverforatentorwaterprooftarpwhennecessary.
Planetary Surveys
Aplanetarysurveyismostvaluableif it isconductedona planetary body that ishabitable
andwhichhasnotbeensurveyedpreviously.Acompleteplanetarysurveyincludesbothairborneworkcomprisedofsomefortytofiftyphotographsoftheregionandatleastoneaccuratetopographicmap.Anaccuratetopographicmapnecessitatesthat the survey party landand hikemost of themajorgeographicfeaturesonfootusingstandard1930’s humansurveyingequipment. Few teamsshoulder the major expense of hybrid planetary
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surveyequipment.Martiantechnologyhasbeenadapted for use by a human planetary surveyteambuttheequipmenthasanequivalentvalueintradetomostdecentstarships.Ninetynineoutofonehundredsurveyteamswalkeveryfootoftheregionofthesurvey,carryingheavysurveyingequipmentandmakingmeasurementsandtaking
both geological and horticultural samples whichwillbenotedontheteam’ssurveymaps.
Standard survey practices require twelvesetsofgeologicalcoresamplescollectedatdiffer-entpointsaroundthesurveyarea.Eachsetshouldcontainatleasteightcoresamplesforstudy.
Coresamplesrequiretheuseofamotor-izeddrillcapableoftakingacoresampledowntoadepthofapproximatelyonehundredfeet.
TheBettydoesnotcurrentlyhavethenec-essarydrillingtoolstogathergeologicalcoresam-ples.Itremainstheonlycriticalpieceofequip-mentthatthevessellacksforconductingofficial/LeagueofNationsapprovedplanetarysurveymis-sions. TruthbetoldpreviousownershaveusedtheBettyforotherpurposes,primarilyasanarmedtransportforvaluablegoodsandblockaderunner.TheBettyhasearnedsomethingofareputation
foritselfincertainquartersasasmugglervessel.Thenewownersmayormaynotbeadvisedofthissituation.
Florasamplesmustbecollectedattwelvedifferentlocations.Astandardsurveycontainsatleastfiftydifferentexamplesofnativeflora,cata-loguedandpreservedforstudy.
Afinishedplanetarysurveyhasaconsider-ablemonetaryvalue.Starshipcrewsmakeareg-
ularlivingexploringnewlydiscoveredplanets.Asinglesurveymayearnateamfrom$2,000.00upto$10,000.00(ahugesumby1936standards)de-pendingonthesurveyqualityandwhatisfound.A singlesurvey covers an area of one hundredsquarekilometerssomany,surveysmaybecon-ductedonasingleplanetarybodybeforethepo-tential for survey money is exhausted. Privatebuyers(corporationsandprivateindividuals)are
essentiallyinterestedinwhatcanbefoundinunexploredorun-surveystarsystemsoffofthemajortradelanesorbeyondtheedgeofexploredspaceSurveyinganalreadyoccupiedplanet,eveninalocationnotpreviouslyexplored,bringsinconsid-erablylessrevenue.Earningsfromsuchprojectsaregenerallyhalved.
Planetary Surveys and Colonial Claims
Sincetheexpansionofthenationalizedcorridors,resistancetoLeaguechartersonthefloooftheLeagueofNationshaswaned.TodaystasystemssomewhatremovedfromthemajortraderoutesbutstillwithinLeaguecontrolledspacemayturnatidyprofittothosewillingtoexplorethem.
Amemberstateof theLeagueofNationsmayclaimterritoryonanewlyexploredplanetarybodyforwhichmemberstatehasobtaineddocumentedsurveyinformation.ThesurveymustbesubmittedandapprovedbytheLeagueofNationscouncilonEarth.Todayplanetarysurveyreportsare routinelyauctioned tothehighestbidder. InsomecasestheawardoftheLeaguechartergoestoaprivateorcorporatesponsorshipratherthantoagovernment.
Member states are forbidden to placeclaims on, to explore, or travel to star systemsthathavebeenexpresslydeclaredtobeMartianrestrictedzones.TheHegemonyclaimsthatMartianrestrictedzoneshavebeenestablishedforthesafetyofhumanity,andshouldnotbetamperedwith.
Navigator’s Computer
The Gunslinger Betty is equipped with aNaz’oktSeptnavigationcomputer.Thecomputerisbuiltintothesurfaceofthenavigator’splottingdesk.AlighttablefeatureandafoldupscreenallowtheNavigatortoworkwiththesystemwhichhas itsmain components protected insideofanarmoredboxboltedwithinthedeckbeneath theNavigator’s feet. The brains of the navigationcomputer can only be reached by unbolting anaccesshatchmarked “WARNINGSecurity Area
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DoNotOpen”setintothedeckoftheNavigator’sworkspace. Thebio-mechanoidcomponentsofthenavigationsystemarehighlysensitiveandthesystemcaneasilybedamagedbytheclumsyef-fortsofahumanoperatorwithoutclearknowledgeofwhattheyaredoing.
A charactermust possess the skill Xeno-TechorMartianInsighttopossesstheknowledgetoworkdirectlywith thisaliencomputersystem.Rememberthatcomputerprogrammingskillsareextremelylimitedevenamidstengineersandsci-ence team members in the human community.Conceptsofcomputersystemhackingarealmostcompletelynon-existentinthehumancommunityof1936.
Shouldthesystemrequireanupdatetoitsdatabase of routes and star systems the entirecasecanbeunboltedandcarriedinits(heavyandshielded)suitcase toanappropriateshopwithintheMartiandistrictofamajorcolonyorstarport.
TousethesystemthenavigatorreferencesalargehardcopybinderdistributedbytheInterna-tionalAstrogator’sAssociationonasemiannualbasis. Thismanualcontainsflightpathinforma-tionlistedalphabeticallyforallexploredstarsys-
tems and also for approximately 300 additionalstarsystemsincludedinwhatthemartiansrefertoasthe“Hegemonysphereofinfluence”.EachIAAentryendswitha seriesofMartiansymbols thatmustbeenteredinsequenceintotheNavigator’scomputer.Thesemarkingscalibratethecomputertoplota safe course from the starship’s currentpositiontotheintendedplanetordestination.
Updates to the manual should be pur-chasedeverysixmonthstoinsurethattheship’s
computerisusingthemostup-to-dateinformationavailable.
Thecostforanupdatetothemanualrunsbetween$75.00and$150.00USandanupdatenecessitatesthattheentireunitbeleftwithaMar-tiantechononeofthemajorcolonyworlds.Run-ningafullupdateintothesystemusuallyrequiresafulleighthourstayfortheunitattheshop.
Thenavigatorplotsacoursebyinputtingaseriesofdefinedglyphsintothefaceofthenavi-gationcomputerandthenlockingthecourseinbypressingaseriesofkeyboardcommandsequences. Thiscourse isfed intothepilot’s instrumenpanelwhereapairofgaugessimilartoanaircrafthorizonindicatorshowthepilotwhetherthestar
shipisoncourseornot.Autopilotsystemsareextremelylimitedonboardhumanstarshipsandmuchof thepiloting fromoriginto destination isconductedbypilotsorco-pilotswithhandsonthecontrolsofthevessel.
The navigation system automatically ad- justscourseplots for themovementofplanetarybodiesandcontainsarecordofbillionsofpotentialnavigationhazards,asteroids,comets,anddebrisThenavigationcomputerisveryreliableandcanbedependedupontosetasafecourseforapilofrompointAtopointBsolongasthenavigatorfollowstheinstructionsprovided.Plottingacourserequires the navigator to investat least10min-utesworkingwiththecomputerandthenavigationmanual. The navigatormustmakea basicskilrolltoinputacourseforawellknownsystemandgreaterdifficultyforplottingacoursetosystemsthathavenotbeenfullysurveyedbefore.
Failureindicatesthatthestarshipfollowsacoursethatisnotexactlytrue.Thenavigatorcanspotaproblematiccoursebymakingabasicnavigation skill roll onceeveryeighthours. Varyingfromcourseisnotusuallyaseriousproblembutitmaycausethepilottoeventuallyinputacoursecorrectionandburnupseveralhoursworthoffuebeyondthatnormallyrequired.
Unexploredsystemsmayonlyhavebasicplanetary locations inputted. Planetary informa-
tion fromancientHegemonyrecordsmaybe in-complete and many features such as asteroidbelts,cometsandsmallplanetsormoonsmaynoberecordedatall.TheNavigator’sflightbookhasinstructionsforhowtorecordtheseitemsintothenavigationcomputerfordownloadwhentheyre-turntoanestablishedcolonyworld.TheMartianspayaflatrewardof$1,000USforsignificantup-datesofdataintosystemswherethatinformation
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waspreviouslymissing.
Astarsystemsurveythatisfairlycompleteplusatopnotchsurveyofapreviouslyunexploredhabitableplanetcanearnasurveyteammorethanseveralthousanddollarsfromaninterestedparty.
Emergency Oxygen Reserve
Beneaththenavigator’sdesk isanemer-gencyoxygenreservetank.Thispieceofhybridtechnology contains a charge of oxygen that isnormallysufficient for one hour. Thescrubbersenclosedinaremovablemoduleontheinterioroftheemergencytankcan(however)refreshthecar-bondioxideproducedbyauserintofreshoxygenformany,hours.Withfreshscrubbersthisunitcan
provideitsuserwithseventytwohoursoflifesup-portwhenpluggeddirectlyintoaspacesuit.Intheeventthatalifesupportsuitisnotavailabletheunitcanbeopenedupandallowedtorecycletheatmosphereenclosedinthenavigator’scompart-mentsolongasthecompartmentremainssealed.Thisoption reduces theeffectivenessof theunittosixtyhoursofemergencylifesupportbutallowsthenavigatortoworkwithoutbeingencumberedbytheirspacesuit.
Replacingthescrubbersiseasysolongasafreshunitisavailable.Freshscrubbersfortheseunitsarefairlycommonandinterchangeablebe-tweenhybridmodels.Areplacementchargetypi-cally hasapurchase price of $10.00US at anywellsuppliedspaceport.
Theoxygentankcanbeunboltedusingatool fastened underneath the navigator’s chair.Thereservetankcanthenbecarriedorstrappedtothebackofthenavigatorwhileheworksinhisspacesuit.
Intercom
Onthecabinettotheleftofthenavigator’sworkstationisanintercomthatcanbeusedasahandheldorpluggeddirectlyintothehelmetofthenavigator’sspacesuit.Theintercomallowsdirectcommunicationwiththecockpit,sensoroperator’s
positionsandallturretgunnerpositions.Thein-tercominthenavigatorssectionoperateseitherasanopencircuit toalllocationsatonceorcanbetoggledtospeakpersontopersonwiththecock-pit.TheBetty’sintercomisonaclosedhardlinecircuitandcannotbejammedbyexternalcom-municationsjammingdevices.Usingtheintercom
doesnotviolateorderstomaintain“radiosilence”asthesoundcannotbedetectedoutsideofthespacecraft.
Navigator’s Parachute
A backpack is stowed just to the left oftheemergencyoxygenreservebeneaththenav-igator’sdesk. It contains the navigator’s escapeparachute. TheBettyisequippedwithstandard
human-gear parachutes at the navigator, radaoperator,cockpitandallgunnerlocations.Thesechutesareputonbypersonnelduringaircombaorflakinatmosphere.Shouldthecrewmanneedto bail out these U.S. manufactured chuteswilopencorrectlyinthevastmajorityofcases.Fail-uretosuccessfullyactivateachuteortobethrownoutofthecraftwithoutone,indicatesthattheactorwilllikelyplummettotheirdoom.Suchisthelifeofanaviatorin1936.
Armored Green House
Thenavigator’ssectionhasbeenfittedwithagreenhouseconstructedfromahybridmaterialintroducedtotheHumansbytheMartiansin1920.Thematerialiscalledglass-steel,anditreplacestheglassinstalledinallspacecraft.
Theglass-steelinstalledinthenoseoftheBettyisseveralgenerationsimprovedoverprevi
oustypes.Thenavigatorisprotectedbya90mmarmoredwindscreencapableofwithstandingpoinblankroundsfrommostsmallarmsandevenre-sistingthefirepowerofmany lightvehicleweap-ons.Thebracingofthegreenhouseprovidesadditionalstrengthandthenavigatorisprotectedbyabonustotheirresistancetodamageshouldthenosepositionbehitwithacritical.
Statsforthecrewposition’sprotectionisin-
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dicatedbelow:
90mmGlass/SteelMEDIUM(++)8mmArmorPlatingLIGHT(-)
Thesetwolayersofprotectionstackwhendeterminingthetotalprotectionaffordedthenavi-
gator versus a direct hit to his or her compart-ment.
Emergency Pressure Door
A large yellow button is set into the floorofthenavigationareaprotectedbyametalkickplatethatcanbenudgedorkickedopenbyabootandthebuttonstomped.Thebuttonactivatestheemergencypressuredoorforthenavigator.The
pressuredoorsealsthenoseofffromtherestoftheshipincaseoftheshiptakesinternaldamage.Thenavigator’sdoorcanbeover-riddenbytheco-pilot’spositionwhereamastercontrolforallpres-suredoorsonthestarshipislocated.
ApressurealarmontheBettyimmediatelysoundswhentheshipexperiencesahullbreachofanysize.Thisalarmismeanttoalertcrewmem-berstoactivatetheirkickplatesandsealtheircrewcompartmentsfromdecompression.Averylarge
breachmightbesufficienttodecompresstheen-tirevesselfasterthanthecrewcansealtheircom-partments.Forthisreasonmostshipsbuttonupindividualcompartmentspriortoenteringcombatorriskyareassuchasasteroidfields.
.50 Caliber Hellion
The nose mounted .50 Cal. has a benchseatforthenavigatortooccupywhenusingthe
weapon. Thenavigator’s .50Cal. is linked intotheship’sCXAMSensorSystem.Agreenmono-chrome screen mounted between the weapon’sgripsprovidesafuzzyimageofenemytargetsouttoarangeof100kilometers.BeyondthatrangeandouttoadistanceofoneAUthesystemshowstargetsasglowingblipswithcorrespondingcodesandnumberswhichidentifyeachtargetandreflectrelativerangetothestarship.
Thehybrid.50CalM-2hasamaximumef-fectiverangeof5,000ft.andismoreorlessamod-erateweaponnotsuitedforcombatwithamilitaryvesselinthecapitalshiprange.
ShouldtheCXAMtargetinglinkfail(intheeventofacriticalhitthattakesoutthesensors)the
gunnermustdependonvisualtargeting.Rangeandtargetingaregreatlyimpactedwhenagunneisforcedtorelyonmereeyeballing.Duringcom-batmostvesselsrundarkandtheyareextremelydifficulttomakeoutintheblacknessofspaceun-less they are firing their weapons or employingcertaintypesofenergyshield. The .50 Cal has a flexible mount but re-mainsaforwardarcweaponincapableoffiringintothestarboard,portorreararcsofthespacecraftThenavigatorpositionisadecentsecondarygunnerpositionforcoveringtheshipduringlandingsorwhileon thegroundas thegreenhousepro-videsawideangleofobservation.Thebellytur-retisperhapsthemosteffectivegunfordefendingtheshiponthegroundwithitsthreehundredandsixtydegreemotorizedtraverse.Thelittleballturrethasalimiteddegreeofvisibilitytotherearandmightbenefitfromaspotterinthenosetocallouttargets.
Theforward.50CalontheBettyretainsitsfullloadof500roundsofM2000HellionammoAnammocratecontainsanadditional500roundsandislocatedinalockedpositionintheundersideoftheshelftotheimmediateleftofthenavigator’sdesktop.Asecondammocanpositionisemptybutcouldreceiveanadditionalloadof500rounds.Itisstoredinapopupcontaineratthenavigator’sfeetwhenseatedattheweapon.
TheM2000ammoisinstalledonabeltsystemthathasbeenimprovedagreatdealoverear-lier feeds. Unlike otherbelt fedweaponswhichrequireanentirecombatactiontoreload,the.50CaliberM2000Hellionrequiresonlyahalfactiontolockandloadiftheammoisreadyandplacednearthegunner.
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Navigator Skills
Belowisalistofskillsthatarecentraltothedutiesofastarshipnavigator.Everystarshipnavigatorshouldpossessatleastsomeskillintheseimportantareas.
NavigationForwardObserver(VisionorPerceptionBonuses)AlertnessPlanetarySurveyCartographyPhotographyKnowledgeSkill:Technical-HumanGearKnowledgeSkill:Technical-HybridGearKnowledgeSkill:Astrogation(PlanetsandStar
Systems)RepairStarshipGunnery
OtherskillswhichmightbehandyforaNavigatorincludemedicalskills,firearms,brawling,driveandanytech.orientedskillsortraining.
Preflight
Duringastarship’spreflighttheNavigator
isresponsibleforcheckingtoinsurethatallofhisflight books are available, that his navigationalcomputerappearstobeworking,thathis.50cali-berislockeddownandinasecurepositionfortake-off and thateverythingin thenosecompartmentissecuredsafelypriortolaunch.Priortotake-offthe Navigator shouldcheck all planetary surveysupplies,filmstoresanddevelopingsuppliesandcheckthecameratoinsurethatitisworkingandthattheopticsaresecured.
System Test
Acommonpracticeamongnavigatorsistolayinatestcoursetoanearbymoon,asteroid,planet,orbitalbase,etc..toinsurethattheship’snavigationsystemisworkingcorrectly.Bettertorunthroughatestonthewayoutthensuddenlyre-alizewhenyouarriveinthenextsystemthatyoursystemismalfunctioning.
Even thebestsystemshaveachanceobreakingdown.Considerrollingacumulativeonepercentchanceofthenavigationsystembeginningtoslipup.Oncethesystembeginstobreakdownitwillbecomesteadilyworseeachtimeacourseplotislaidin.
Spottingtheproblemwithadiagnostictesrequiresthenavigatortomakearepairorelectron-icsroll.Spottingasystemproblemrunningatestcoursemakesfindingtheproblemeasierandpro-videsabonustothenavigator’sdiagnostictest.
Laying in a course Layinginacoursevariesindifficultydepend-
ingonthenavigator’sgoal.LayinginthegenericcourserightoutofthemartianreferencemanualsinsuresthatthevesselwillfollowthemosttraveledspacelanesfrompointAtopointB.Anypiratesorenemyshipswillhave thesespace laneswelscouted.InLeaguespaceandwellpatrolledstasystemstravelingtheknownspacelanesisnotaseriousconcern.Partneringwithafriendlyshipotwoonthewayoutcanhelpreducethechanceoftroubleforthosewithsomeconcernfortheirsecu-
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rity.
Layinginasecondarycourseisalittletricky.Asecondarycourserunsparalleltoanestablishedroutebutplacestheship’strajectoryseveralthou-sandkilometersoutsideoftheestablishedspacelane.Stepthedifficultyforthiscourseupanotch.
Finally the navigator can “take the scenicroute”. Takingthe scenic route implies that thenavigatorlaysinacoursetoadifferentdestina-tion,adeadmoon,anasteroidbeltorsomeotherfeatureandmakesanapproachtothefinaldesti-nationfromanunexpectedandunuseddirectionoftravel.Thenavigatormustinsurethattheshiphassufficientfueltomaketheroundabouttrip,mustestimatethetimeinflightandrelaythatinforma-tiontotheCaptain.Thenavigatormustworkoutacoursethatmaybelistedonlyinfragmentsandclues.
Failure
Failureatanavigationrollusuallyresultsinthelossofanhourorperhapsafewhoursoftraveltimeandthelossofsomefuel.Acriticalfailuremightbringavesseltoadestinationinthegeneraldirectionoftheirtravelbuttoanunexpectedloca-
tion.Unexpectedlocationsmightincludeaminorplanetormoonthepartydidnotoriginallyintendtovisitbutwhichorbitssomewhereintheirgeneraldirectionoftravel,arogueasteroidorevensomehazarddependingontheDirector.
Plot Point
Failing a navigation roll while attemptingtoplotarouteofftheusualspacelanescanbea fun opportunity for a side adventure. Maybethecharactersencounteraderelictspacecraftorabandonedspacestationinapartofspacenoonewouldotherwisetravelexceptonaccident.
Maybe the ship slips into a natural wormholeandwarpstoanunexpecteddestinationstarsystem.Maybetheshipdiscoversarogueaster-oidwithanancientalienruinonitssurfaceoradepositofvaluablelookingcrystals.Perhapsthe
characters stumble upon a secret black markespacestationoperatedby theQin ShadowEmpire.
Primary Route
Basicnavigationskillroll.
Secondary RouteBumpthedifficultyupanotch.
Scenic Route
Twentyminutestolayinthecourse.Bumpthedif-ficultyupacoupleofnotchesoverthebaseroll.
Star Dive
Thestardiveisthecrucial, jawclenching
momentwhenastarshipfiresitsthrusterstowardsaflamingsuninordertodiveintothestar’sgravitywelltoactivatetheship’sgravitydrive.
Layinginthecorrecttrajectorytokeepthevesselonisinthehandsofthenavigator.Thank-fully thesetrajectoriesare alreadyplotted foral-mosteverystarsystemthecharacterswilltravelinwhileoperatinginsidethebordersoftheHege-mony.
Flying the ship and keeping it locked oncourseduringthestardiverestsinthehandsothepilotandco-pilot/engineer.Astardiveisnotanautomatedaction.Theship’spilotmustmain-tainfirmhandsoncontrolovertheship’ssticktokeepittravelingalongthecorrecttrajectory.
Goodjumpsbeginwithsoundnavigationacomputations.Feedingthecourseintothenaviga-tionalcomputerandlockingitintotheinstrumentpanel in the cockpit requires tenminutesandasuccessfulskillroll.Ifthenavigatorisnotpressedfortimetheymayalwaystakeadditionaltimetoinsurethatthecoordinatestheyinputarecorrect.
Acriticalfailurewillresultinthewrongjumppointbeingfiledintothepilot’sinstruments.Theywillflythevesselintothewrongtrajectoryandtheshipwilljumptooneoftheotherstarsystemsclos-esttotheircurrentlocation.Ifonlyonestarsystem
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isavailableasanoptionthevesselwillultimatelyreachitsintendeddestinationbutatacostofanadditionaldayorsoinjumpspace.
Plot Point
Criticalfailureofajumpmightindicatethat
thevesselhasslippedinto“darkspace”wherethecrewwillexperienceadirectencounterwithwhat-everevillurksbetweenthestars.
AnambitiousDirectormayplotoutamod-uleorencounterindarkspaceandholdthisinafolderspecificallyforatimewhentheactorsexpe-rienceafailurewhenenteringjump.
Freezer Time - Navigator Duties
Whiletheshipisinjumpspacethenaviga-torisresponsibleforkeepingtheiceundercontrolinthenosecompartment.Freezingtemperaturesonboardcantakecondensationfromthecrew’sbreathe and slowly layer the ship’s instrumentsandequipmentinice.Eachcrewmanisrespon-sibletokeeptheirparticularpartoftheshipfunc-tional.
Outsideofthatresponsibilitythenavigator
playsagameofwaitandseeorperhapsspendssome time in prayer or catching up on work orreadingastheshiphurtlesthroughthevastblackbetweenthestars.
System Transit
Oncethecourseislaidinandtheshipisintransitthroughastarsystemthenavigatoristhevessel’sforwardobserver.Thenavigatorcanuse
thesensorlinkinthe.50cal.tosweeptheareainfrontoftheshipforanythingthattheship’ssensoroperatormayhavemissed.
Meteors,debris,suspiciousshipsarehope-fullyspottedlongbeforetheycomecloseenoughtocausetheshipanyrealproblems.Outsideofactingasaforwardobserverduringtransittimesthenavigatorisfreetoworkonotherprojects,de-velopfilmfromthelastsurveymission,workon
maps,updatetheirpersonalflightlog,takeninven-toryofship’ssupplies,whateverneedsdoing.
Combat
During combat the navigator’s place is athe.50caliberweaponmountedinthenosecom-partment.
The Cockpit
The cockpit contains the duty stations oftheship’spilotandtheship’sengineerorco-pilot.ThepilotistypicallytheCaptainoftheshipaswelbutthisisnotalwaysthecase.Starshipsareexpensivevehiclesandthereareplentyofexampleswhere the ship’s ownerand“Captain” hashiredaprofessionalpilottoflytheirshipfromplacetoplace. Inadditiontotheusualgaugesandinstru-mentsanadditionalhorizonstyleinstrumentindi-cateswhethertheshipisoncourseduringspace
flight. Course information from the navigator’scomputerislockedintothepilot’sinstrumentsbythenavigatorfromtheirstationinthenose.
Autopilot Systems
AutopilotsystemsintheBettyarelimitedtothemostprimitivesortsofflybywireequipment.In fact devices like autopilots are altogether un-usualonboardstarshipsflownbyhumanpilots
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Inmostcasesapilotmustremainatthehelmoftheshipthroughoutstarsystemtravel.Onlyafterenteringjumpdoesthevesselcontinueforwardonanintendedcoursewithoutinputbythepilot. Infacttravel through jumpspacehasbeen likenedtoridingtherailsofasteamengine.Onceashipsetsoutinjumpspacethecourse,destinationand
arrivaltimearelocked.Evenifthepilotwantedtochangecourseenginemaneuverswouldbeuse-less.Apilotcouldcutouttheprimarydrivesalto-getherandthevesselwouldstillarriveatitsfinaldestinationafterenteringjump.
Simple A-3 autopilots are available in amodest number of commercial starships. Themilitary’sC-1autopilotisstillinprototypeandwillprobablynotbeavailableuntil1937.Atbestau-topilotsintheRocketshipEmpiresCampaignSet-tingwillallowashiptoflystraightandleveloref-fectminorchangesincourseduringflightduringsystem transit. Even thebestautopilots containnocomponentsthatallowashiptododgeenemyattacks.Pilotsandco-pilotsinTheBettymustflyhertheoldfashionedway,sleepinginshiftsanddrinkingalotofblackcoffeeduringthelong,coldflightsthroughthedarkheartofspace.
Controls
The pilot controls one of two control col-umns(sticks)inthecockpit.Theco-pilotoren-gineer’sstickisremovedinthetechnicaldrawingonthefollowingpagesothenosecompanionwayaccesscanbeseen.
Theengineerisresponsibleformonitoringa number of panels and gaugesmeasuring theoperationofdifferentvitalsystemsthroughoutthestarship.Meanwhilethepilotisresponsibleforfly-ing.Thiscanbeafairlystraightforwardtaskoutin deepspacewhen days of stick time can blurtogether.Pilotingbecomesmorechallengingandinterestingduringtakeoffandlandings,duringat-mosphericflight,duringanysortofstarshipcom-batandmostespeciallyduringthestardiveimme-diatelyprecedingastarshipjump.
Engineers Controls
Theengineer/co-pilothasaccesstoawidevari-
etyofsimpletoggleswitchesthatcanturnon/offmostofthesystemsonboardshipremotelyfromthecockpit.
Should a breaker blow, themain breakeboxforthestarshipisinstalledimmediatelytotherightandjustbehindtheengineer’susualseatposition.Reachingdownandslappingtheseatad- justment bar can allow theengineer to push hisorherseatfarenoughbacktoaccessthispaneleasilyandalsomoveoutofthewayofthenaviga
torwhomightwantroomwhenmakingtheirwayupoutofthenosegangway.
A specialized fire extinguisher that func-tionssafelyzero-gravityiscloseathandandtheengineer’stoolsetisstowedinahandycompartment immediatelyunder their feet in the floor othecockpit.
Engineer Toggle Controls
TheEngineerhasimmediateon/offcontrooverthefollowingship’ssystems.
Lights
CockpitInteriorLampSingleSwitch-AllinteriorshiplightsRedLamp-CockpitRedLamps-ShipInterior
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Navigator’sInteriorLampAllExteriorRunningLightsNoseFogLights
Heaters
WingandFlightSurfaceDe-Icers
CockpitWindscreenDe-IcersAllcrewspaceelectricheaterson/off
PoweredMotorsandEquipment
LandingGearDorsalTurretMotorVentralTurretMotorCargoLiftPoweron/off NavigationComputeron/off(restart)PoweredAirlockDoorson/off EmergencyPressureHatcheson/off FireControlSystemon/off StarboardEnginesMasterPoweron/off PortEnginesMasterPoweron/off SecondaryEnginesMasterPoweron/off StarboardFuelPumpson/off PortFuelPumpson/off FuelProcessingEquipmenton/off MasterPowerCut-OffSwitchon/off*
*MasterPowerCut-Offkillspowertoeverysystemintheship.Systemsoftenrequireindividualre-startswhichmaytakeuptoanhourtoperform.
Emergency Life Support
Thepilotandco-pilotseatseachcarryanemergency life support tank in a mount on thebackoftheirflightseat. Theseemergencytanksareidenticaltotheonefoundinthenavigator’scompartment.Theycanprovide72hoursoflifesupporttoasubjectthatissuitedupinaspacesuitandcanalsobecrackedopenandadjustedtoprovideatmospheresufficientforthesealedcockpitareaforsixtyhourseach.
Ejection Seats
Attherequestofthemarshal’sservicethe
cockpitwasupgradedwithapairofhybridejectionseats.Controlsonthefarleftandrightsideofthecockpitallowthepilotandco-pilottoactivateeachejectionseatindependently.Achargeoverheadblowsopenaroofhatchwhenthechairsarede-ployed.Eachchaircontainsitsownparachute.
Thesystemisdesignedtorefusetodeployunlessboth occupants are seated in their flightseat and secured in their space suits, with thechair’semergencylifesupporthookedin.
Withtheoccupantssafelyinspacesuitstheejectionsystemcanejectthepilotandengineeclearoftheshipintospaceorclearoftheshipinatmosphere. The undersideofeach flight chaihasaparachute installedthat isdesigned tode-ployduringatmosphericbailouts.
Weapons Locker
Ahatchinthefloorbehindthepilot’schaiprovidesaccesstosomeofthewiringandship’ssystems contained in the hullof the ship belowdecks.Containedbeneaththishatchisalockinggunsafethatcontainsacacheofweaponsforthepilot,co-pilotandnavigator.
The cockpit weapons locker contains twoColt 1911 autoloader pistols and a ThompsonSMG1928navalmodel.Eachweaponisstoredwith rounds loaded and two additional clips foeachweapon.
Hull Patch Kit
A hull patch kit is located in a lunch boxsizedkitwhichcanbequickly removed frombe-
neath the engineer’s seat. The patch containsapalm sizedadhesive gunandfoldedpressurepatchesthatcansealasmallhullbreachquickly.
Theadhesiveinthegunisformidableandcanonlyberemovedwithasolventcarriedintheship’smechanic’stoolkitstowedinthecargocom-partment.Theadhesivebondsinsecondssoanoperatormustbecarefulnottogluethemselvestothepatch,tothehullortotheadhesivegunduring
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theprocess.
The patch kit in the cockpit contains sixpatcheswhichcansealabreachinthehulluptothesizeofaquarter.
BreachSize RepairDifficulty
PinHole SimpleSmall(Penny) ModerateMedium(Quarter) DifficultLarge(SilverDollar) VeryDifficultCatastrophic(Baseball+) ForgetIt*
*Catastrophichullbreachescanonlyberepairedafteralloftheatmospherehasventedandsome-oneinaspacesuitworksforseveralhoursatleasttocloseupthehole.
Areplacementkitforthepatcheshasapurchasepriceof$50.00US.Anewhullpatchkithasapurchasepriceof$100.00USandcanbefoundatanystarport.
Engineer’s Duties Belowisalistoffundamentalskillsthatev-ery ship’sengineer shouldbe familiarwith toatleastsomedegree.
StarshipPilotingCraft:ElectronicCraft:MechanicalCraft:WeaponsmithCraft:EngineeringKnowledgeSkill:Technology-HumanGearKnowledgeSkill:Technology-HybridGearRepairForwardObserverSpaceSuit-EVA
Inadditionaship’sengineermaywant topossessskillsinvariousvehicles,mechanic,elec-trical,chemical,firearmsorbrawling.Theship’sengineermaywishtodoubleupontheplanetarysurveyskillsothattheengineerandnavigatorcantaketheleadwhenthecrewisfacedwithsurveyandexplorationmissions.Awidevarietyofsci-enceteamskillssuitanEngineerwell.
Preflight
The ship’s engineer is busy during star-shippreflight.Theymustinsurethattheshipisproperlyfueledandthatallfueltanksarecoveredandsecuredafterfueling.Theymustcheckallofthehydraulicsystemsonboardtheshipandrun
throughatestofeverysingleswitchandsystemtheyhavecontroloverfromthecockpit.
Priortotake-offtheengineerisresponsiblefordoingafinalwalkaroundtheship,checkingtheintegrityofthelandinggearandtiresandlookingforanypotentialproblemsintheship’sstructure.Starshipsarecomplexvehiclesandhavemanysystemsandmovingparts.Theship’sengineerisfacedwithaconstantchallengeinkeepingupwith
thewearandrepairofthesesystems.
Everytimetheshipisused,evenforshorhops,thereisacumulativechance(definedonthefacingpage)thatasystemwillbegintoexpe-riencemechanical, electrical or other problemsThiscumulativechancedoesnotgoawaythemomentonesystemexperiencesafailure.Theper-centagecontinuestoriseuntiltheshipundergoesaperiodoffocusedrepairandrefitknownasthe“starshipoverhaul”.
Replacementandrepairofship’ssystemsistimeconsumingandexpensive.Thankfullyshipsystemsdonotfalloffthemomenttheybegintoshowsignsofwear.
Plot Point
Whyalltheemphasisonshipwearandteaandengineering?Whatsciencefictionshowhaveyouwatchedwherethemaintenanceandupkeepofthestarshipdidnotfigurelargelyinsomeshapeorformoverthecourseofthefilm?
WhenplayersunderstandthattheshiphasacumulativerateofweartheywillbemoreinterestedinearningthemoneynecessaryforupkeepShippilotsandcrewswillbefacedwithdecisionsaboutputtingtheshipintospacedockforatherepairofasystemorforgingforwardwiththeadven-
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turewithoneoranothersysteminaquestionablestate.
Somegamesystemsalreadymakeallow-ancesforthiselementinasciencefictionsettingandinthatcasegowiththenativegamemechanictothesystemyouhavechosentoplay.Eitherway
thisoptionalapproachisalsoavailable.
Starship Wear and Tear Table
OnthetablebelowIhavedevisedastarshipwearandteartable.AnytimetheDirectorrollsasystemproblemduringpre-flighttheyshouldrolltodeterminewhichsystemfacesapotentialproblemandincreasetheseverityonthechartbyonelevel.
Duringtheengineer’swalkaroundtheshiptheymayortheymaynotspotthepotentialproblemTheengineerfacesaskillchecktonoticeprob-lemsastheyraiseinseverity.Equipmentin“thegreen”isDifficulttonoticewhileanproblemwithapieceofhardwarebecomeseasierandeasiertonotice (rollsbecomeeasier) themoreadvanced
theproblembecomes.
Whenapieceofequipmentisintheredonlyanearsightedandsomewhatdistractedengineerwouldmisstheproblem.(Oronethatignoreddo-ingtheirregularchecksoftheship.)
ApieceofequipmentthatbecomesFUBARnolongerfunctions.Thatisprettydifficulttomiss
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Starship Wear and Tear Table
Roll Skill Equipment Green Yellow Red FUBAR RepairDif-ficulty
1 Engineering PortMain Difficult
2 StarboardMain Difficult
3SecondaryEngines
Difficult
4 Weaponsmith .30cal. Easy
5 .50cal. Easy
6 BallTurret Moderate
7 AmmoFeed Moderate
8 Electrical RadioUnit Moderate
9 Sensors Difficult
10 CockpitControls Moderate
11 Lights Easy
12 BarbetteRemote V.Difficult
13 Mechanical LandingGear Moderate
14 PressureHatch Easy
15 WingDe-Icers Easy16 BallTurretMotor Easy
17 WingHydraulics Moderate
18 TailHydraulics Moderate
19MartianSystems
LifeSupport XenoTech
20 Navigation XenoTech
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foranyonewhoattemptstousetheequipment.
Equipment repairs are cheaper the ear-liertheproblemiscaught.Aniteminthegreenmightberesetcompletelywithasuccessfulrepaircheck.Anitemintheyellowmightbesetbackonesteptogreen.Iusuallyallowanengineertopush
backtheadvanceofwearonestepforonepieceofequipment.Afterthat theequipmentwillcon-tinuetoprogressasaproblemwhenitisrolledonthechartuntiliteithergoesFUBARortheentireshipgoesintooverhaulandalloftheequipmentisresettostartinglevels.
Starshipmanufacturing can have amajorimpactontheseverityofequipmentproblemswithaparticulartypeofstarship.Amanufacturewithapoor rating inengineswill automaticallybeginthewearandteartablewithoneslotnotchedoffagainst them(in thegreen). Manufacturers thatconstructcomponentsorsystemswith“wretched”qualityratingsfaceanautomatictwostrikestart-ingpointforthesystemsthatreceivethewretchedqualityrating(startintheyellow).
To repair or not to repair...
Engineerscanusuallyrepairaship’ssys-
temonestepaslongastheyhavethetools,thetime,andtheproblemisinthehumanorhybridcomponents.
Performinganoverhauldoesnotresetthecumulative chanceof the erosion of ship’s sys-tems.Thusashipcanaccumulateaten,twenty,forty,eightypercentchanceofasystemadvanc-inginwearandtearovertimeeachtimetheshipgoesintotheair.
Table Key
Green Status
Theequipmentisintopshape.Unlessitisdamagedincombatorthroughsomeaccidentitwillnotmalfunctionduringflight.
Yellow Status
The equipment is showing signs of wearReplacementpartsforwornpartsmayvarywide-lydependingontheequipmentinquestion.WeleavethespecificdetailsofthemalfunctioninthecapableofhandsoftheGM.
Ifleftdamagedthesystemwillcontinuetofunctionandhasa05%chanceofsufferingamalfunctionduringflight.
Red Status
The equipment is showing signs of seri-ouswearandtheengineermayhavehadprob-lemswithitalreadytosomedegree.Repaircosts
increase.Ifleftdamagedthesystemhasa10%chanceofsufferingamalfunctionduringflight.
FUBAR
TheequipmentisFUBAR.Itisbrokenandnoamountofrepairisgoingtofixit.TimetobuyanewoneCaptain.
Repair Difficulty
ThisisameasureofthedifficultyforrepairingapieceofequipmentonceithasreachedYEL-LOWstatus.Asdamageprogressesthedifficultyformakingtherepairshouldrise.Keepinmindthatrepairingabrokenpieceofequipmentishard-erthantearingtheunitoutandreplacingitwithanewone.Astraightreplacementofaunitshouldhaveamoderatedifficultyinmostcases.
Ship Status Report
Theship’sengineercansubmitastatusre-portimmediatelypriortoembarkingonavoyageoruponarrivalthestarshipCaptain.
It takes 5minutes to properly check onebroadclassofequipmentontheship(allelectricasystemsforexample)andaroundthirtyminutestoperformaproperinspectionoftheentireship.
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Thewearandtearchartcanbecopiedandturnedintoatrackingformformonitoringthecur-rentstatusoftheship.Onecopyshouldbemain-tainedbytheEngineerandtheothercopywiththeactual system information should bemaintainedconfidentiallybythegameDirector.
Malfunctions
At theGM’soptiontheymaymakeasys-temmalfunctioncheck.Irecommendthatthesearemadeeveronceinawhileduringshipopera-tions(aboutonceajump)orwheneverthevesselisplacedunderconsiderablestrain.
Rollforanyequipmentthatisintheyelloworred.Thechanceforapieceofequipmenttomalfunc-
tionislistedonpage19underthetablekey.Ifamalfunction occurs roll again on the oppositetable.
FUBAR TableRoll Result
1-5Ayellowwarninglightcomesonin
thecockpit,nothingmore.
6-8
Ayellowwarninglightcomesonin
thecockpitand1d20minuteslaterthesystembeginstomakearattleorbangingnoisefromaloosepartbutotherwisenothingelsehappens
9-10Nowarninglightcomeson.Thesys-temsimplybeginstoshortormakenoisebutnothingelsehappens
11-12
Ayellowwarninglightcomesonfol-lowedbyaredidiotlightapproximate-lytenminuteslater.Yetthesystemhangsinthereanddoesnotfail.
13-14
Ayellowlightcomesonandthenaredidiotlight.Thesystemwillbegintostutter,workingforafewmomentsandthensputteringoff.Itneedsre-
pairtofunction.
15
Ayellowlightcomeson.Twentyminuteslateraredlight
comeson.Tenminuteslaterthesystemimme-diatelyceasesworkingandmustbe
repaired
16 Ayellowlightcomesonthesystemsputtersandthendies.Itmustberepaired.
17ThesystemgoesupinsmokewithnowarningandisimmediatelyFUBAR
18
Ayellowlightcomeson,thenaredlight.1d6minuteslatertheentire
systemshorts,jamsorbreaksdownandmustberepaired.
19Thenexttimethesystemisturnedon,itdoesn’tturnonandmustbe
repaired.
20Thenexttimethesystemisturnedonitdoesn’tturnonandisFUBAR
Jury Rigging
Juryrigginginvolvescobblingadevicebackintoworkingconditiontemporarilyusingwhateverhappenstobeonhand.Aship’sengineermayfindthattheyareforcedtojuryrigaship’svitalsystemthathasbeendamagedduringcombatoknockedoutbecauseofasystemmalfunction.
JuryriggingwillNOTrepairadevicethatisFUBAR.Noamountofcursing,kicking,throwingmoneyatthedevice,prayernoranythingelsewillgetaFUBARdevicebackonline.
Juryriggingadevicerequires10minutesx 1d6 to complete. The time involved includesscrounging aroundthe ship for parts, duct tapebubblegumorwhateverelseisnecessarytocob-blethedevicebacktogether.
Ifanyportionof thedevice isexposedtospaceor constructed onto theouter hullof thevesselthereisachancetheengineerwillneedtoputonaspacesuitandgooutsidetheshiptoper
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formtherepair.
Space walks are possible in jump spacebutthecostishigh.Suitsdonotprovidesufficientprotectionfromradiationtoallowatechniciantosurvivetheexperienceandsettingfootoutsideofastarshipduringjumptravel,whilenotresultingin
immediatedeathisaguaranteeddeathsentencefromradiationsickness.
Juryriggingrequiresarepairroll.Theengi-neerortechnicianmayreceivehelpfromanothercharacterormaymakeacomplimentaryskillrollbeforebeginningworkiftheyhaveasuitableskillthatspecificallyappliestotheproblemathand.
StatusofDevice RepairDifficulty
BattleDamage-Minor EasyBattleDamage-Serious ModerateBattleDamage-Catastrophic DifficultMalfunctionfromYellowStatus ModerateMalfunctionfromRedStatus DifficultFUBAR Impossible
Jury Rigging - Duration
A jury riggeddevicewillnot remain func-
tioningforever.Every1d8hoursthatthesystemis juryriggedthesystemmustmakeasystemcheckorbreakdown.
Anytimetheshipishitwithanattack,suf-fers a collision orperforms radicalmaneuveringperformasystemchecktoseeiftherepairsholdtogether.Asystemcheckcanbeassimpleasas-signingapercentilechanceoffailure.Thechanceisuptothedirector.
Themanufacturingqualityofasystemcanprovideabonusorpenaltytothedurationthatjuryriggingonthesystemwilllast.Addorsubtracttheappropriate system quality modifier listed belowbasedonthemanufacturingmodifierofthestar-shipinquestion.
ManufacturingQuality Modifier
Excellent +2HoursGood +1HourAverage +1HoursPoor -1Hour
Wretched -2Hours
Scavenging
Pullingpartsoffofahulkinajunkheapofloating abandoned in space is called scavenging.ScavengingforpartscansaveashipCaptaina considerable amount ofmoney in operationacosts.Thebighitchofcourse,iswhetherthepartswillbecompatiblewithwhatisonboardtheCap
tain’sship.
Attackingashipsoyoucanblast it tobitsinordertoscavengeitforpartsiscalledpiracy,incaseyouwereunclearonthatsmalldetail.
Hybrid Systems - Martian Components
At the core of every hybrid system aremartian bio-mechanoiddeviceswhichmake the
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devicework.Thesedevicesaredesignedtobemodular so damaged pieces can be easily re-moved and replaced. The core components toanyhybridsystemhavea75%percentchanceofbeingcompatiblefromsystemtosystemnomatterwhomanufacturedthestarshiporthefinalpieceofequipment.
Hybrid Systems - Human Components
Componentsbuiltbythesamehumanman-ufacturingconcernforthesamedevicewillhavea95%chanceofbeingcompatibleevenbetweendifferentmodelsofships.Componentsfromdif-ferent manufacturers but from the same nationwillhavea40%chanceofbeingcompatibleandcomponents from different manufacturers from
differentnationswillhavea10%chanceofbeingcompatible.Theseguidelinesalsoapplytopurelyhuman devices such as automobiles, bi-planes,toastersandwalkie-talkies.
Ship Overhauls
Overhaulingashipistimeconsumingandexpensive.Ashipmustbeataspaceportororbitalstationinabirthorhangerbeforeashipoverhaulcanbegin.Shipscannotbeoverhauledintransit
orwhilefloatinginspaceawayfrommajorrepairfacilities.
Thetimerequiredandcostofanoverhaulvariesdependingonthesizeandclassoftheship.ThetablebelowwillprovidedetailsforGM.
ShipClass/Size Time Repair
Starfighters 24HoursMedium
FastTransports 48HoursMediumAtmo-Capable 72HoursDifficultLightClass 1WeekDifficultMediumClass 2WeeksV.DifficultHeavyClass 1MonthV.Difficult
Time requirements listed here are for ateamofthreetechnicians.Additionaltechnicianswillshavefivehoursoffthetimerequiredforeachadditionaltech.Addingtechs.thatarenotplayer
characterswilladdtothecost.
Captain’s Duties
BelowisalistoffundamentalskillsthateveryCaptain/Pilotshouldbefamiliarwithtoatleas
somedegree.
StarshipPilotingCraft:ElectronicCraft:MechanicalKnowledgeSkill:Technology-HumanGearKnowledgeSkill:Technology-HybridGearRepairStarshipGunnery
Inadditionaship’spilotmaywanttopos-
sessskillsinvariousvehicles,tradeskills,firearmsorbrawlingandhavesomesocialskillstoassistingettingtheshipandcrewpastredtapeoren-tanglementsimposedbygreedymerchantsorbu-reaucrats.Theship’spilotmayalsowishtohaveskillsinspacesuit-EVAandzerogravityfighting
Piloting Littlehasbeenintroducedinmanysci-firpgs
regardingthelittledetailsofdaytodayshipopera-tion.TheemphasisinmanybooksisoncombatIwouldliketoputforwardthatsomeofthemostgrippingsequencesinsciencefictionfilmshavetodowithmaneuveringintightspaces,takingofforlandingindangerousweatherorfiercestorms,ig-noringwarningsfromanenemycontroltowerbe-foretakingofffromtherunwayanyway.
MuchofthishasbeenglossedoverinpreviousworksbutIwouldliketoincludethemhereNotbecauseeverydirectorwillwanttousetheseideas in every scenario but so game director’shavethesematerialstoaddtotheirtoolboxforbringingnon-combatactionsaboardastarshiptolife.
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Preflight
Whentheshipisinport it isthecaptain’sresponsibility todeal with the port authority, se-cureabirthfortheship,payforanyfeesandsetthegroundrulesfortheshoreleaveofthecrew.
Priortotakeoffthecaptainworkswiththeengineertorunthroughtheship’spreflightchecklist.Hetestsallofthecontrolsurfaces,runstheenginesandfuelpumpsthroughatest,personallyteststhefuellevelsmanuallytoinsurethatfalsereadingsongaugesdon’tplacehiminspacewith
ahalfaloadoffuelandcontactstheradiotowertogetinlinefortake-off.
Allofthisactivitymeansthatthepilotisverybusyduringpreflightandwillnotwanttobeboth-eredwithproblemsthattherestofthecrewshouldsortoutforthemselves.Atleastuntiltheshipissafelyunderway.
Taking Off
Pilotswillfacetwodifferentscenarioswhenembarking.Inthefirstandmostcommonscenariothepilotwillbetakingofffromaplanetarysurface.Inthesecondthepilotwillbelaunchingintospaceoutofaconfineddockingplatformatanorbitalordeepspacestation.
Atmospheric Take Off
While taking off is safer and easier thanlandingitstillholdsitsownrisksandchallengesFirstandforemostthepilotmustdecidewhethertheyarewaitinginlineforclearanceoriftheyareignoringthetowerandtakingoffanyway.
If thepilot is takingoffwith theblessingsofthetowertheywillhaveaclearflightpathoffoftheirrunwayouttoadistanceoftwentytofiftykilometers as longas theydon’t deviate from astraightclimb.
Ifthepilotdecidestoignorethetowerandtakeoffimmediatelytheyfacethedangerofapos-siblecollisionwithaninboundspacecraft.
Roll on the table below for results. If aninboundspacecraftisencounteredthepilotmusmakeapilotingrolltoavoidacollision.
Spaceport/ColonySize Inbound
VerySmall/Outpost 01%Small 03%Medium 05%Large 08%
Enormous 10% It isuptotheGMtodefinewherethestaportorcolonyfallsintherangeslistedabove.
When taking off from remote locations(away from runways and spaceports) and aftetake-off from standard spaceports the pilot wilwanttoclimbtheirshiptoasafealtitudeforflight.Asafealtitudeisconsideredonewherethepilothastimetorecoverthestarshipintheeventofanenginefailureorotherproblem.
Safe Operational Altitudes
Agoodoperationalflight altitudetoreachis3,000feet.Below3,000feetanddownto1,000feetthepilotsuffersanegativemodifiertotheirpilotingrolltopulloutofaspinorstallshouldtheshipencounterproblems.Starshipsandstarfight-ersoperatingbelow1,000feetsuffera-2penalty
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andshipsoperatingbelow500feetsuffera-4pen-alty.
Weatherconditions,turbulenceandvisibil-ityareallchallengesthatapilotfaceswhenflyinginatmosphere.
Making a safe take-off encompasses thetime fromwhen thewheels leave theground towhentheshipiscruisingatitsoperationalaltitude.Theops.altitudeissetbythepilot.
The pilot faces risks of heavy turbulence,radicaldropsinaltitudeandlossofcontrolwhen-everheisflying.Therisksduringtake-offareout-linedbelow.
Piloting Table Key Theresultsrunningacrossthetopofthepilotingtablereflectthepilot’ssuccessorfailureattheirpilotingroll..Flightisadynamic,every-thingishappening“rightnow”and“whatareyoudoingaboutit,rightnow”sortofactivitysopilots
maynottakeextratimetogainabonustotheirskillroll.
Table results:
Smooth
Yourflyingisassmoothasglass.Notevenabumpallthewayfromthegroundtoyouroperationalaltitude.
Light Turbulence
A few minor bumps here and there bunothingtoworryabout.CrewmemberswalkingthroughthecraftmayneedtomakeanchecktokeepontheirfeetiftheytrytomovearoundduringLightTurbulence.
Bumpy
Okthingsarealittlerocky.Crewmembersandpassengerswithathingaboutflying(fearof
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Piloting Roll vs. Weather Conditions
Weather VeryBad Failure Success Good Excellent
CalmandClear
Bumpy LightTurbulence
Smooth Smooth Smooth
WindyandClear
HeavyTurbulence
BumpyLight
TurbulenceSmooth Smooth
Foggy OffCourse BumpyLight
TurbulenceSmooth Smooth
PeaSoup Lost OffCourseLight
TurbulenceSmooth Smooth
Rain BumpyLight
Turbulence Smooth Smooth Smooth
StormForcedtoLand
HeavyTurbulence
BumpyLight
TurbulenceSmooth
SnowForcedtoLand
LostLight
TurbulenceSmooth Smooth
Tornado Crash CrashForcedtoLand
HeavyTurbulence
Bumpy
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Totheleftisafullcutawayschemat-icoftheGunslingerBettyproduced
aslargeaswecouldmakeitforthissourcebook.
Thisschematicfeaturesapartialcutawayviewofoneoftheprimaryenginesandwinginternalstructureshowingthelocationsoffueltanks,hydraulicsandflaps.
WhatIhopetoconveythroughMikeDoscher’sincredibleimagehereisthatlifeaboardmoststarshipsintheFastTransportclassisrathercramped.
WhiletheBettydoespossessalimitednumberof“creaturecom-forts”comparedtotraversingastarsysteminastarfighterorsnubfightersheisstillfairlysmall.
Thetricyclestylelandinggearfea-turedontheBettyisthemostcom-montypeoflandinggearproducedonstarshipsofthisclass.Thevastmajorityofthesestarshipsrelyonatleastsomesortofrudimentaryland-ingfield,evenadirtfieldorroadwillsufficeinapinch.
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flying)willstarttogetworried.Crewmembersandpassengers attempting tomovearoundthe shipwillfaceacheckanytimetheyattempttomovearoundtokeepontheirfeet.Lightobjectsunse-curedaboutthecraftmayjostleandfall.
Heavy Turbulence
Theshipispitchingandyawinglikeashiponthehighsea.Pilotandcrewmemberswilllikelywanttokeepthemselvesstrappedintotheirseats.Unsecuredcargoincrewareasorthecargoholdmaybecomedislodged.Crewmemberswhoat-tempt to move around face amore challengingrollanytimetheyattempttomovetokeepontheirfeet.
Failingtherollforcesthepassengerorcrewmembertotakeapointofdamagefromfallingorbeingbatteredaround.(There’sthatlightdamageclassforyou.)
Off Course
Poorvisibilityhasyouoffcourse.Evenus-ingyourinstrumentsyouarealittleconfusedandflyinginthewrongdirection.Rollaspotrolleveryfiveminutestofindyourwaybackoncourse,or
climbupoutofthefog,rainorbadweather.Inverypoorconditionsyoumaybeforcedtoriseoutofatmocompletelyandstage yourselfin orbituntilconditionsclear.
Lost
You are lost. Not only do you not knowwhichdirectionyouareheadedyouarenotsurewhetheryourareclimbingordescending.Make
animmediatepilotingrollandifyoufailbadlyyoumaywind upcrashing theship intoahill,build-ing,mountain,radiotowerorsomeothertallob-stacle.Ifyousucceedyoumayclimboutofthebadweatherorfog.
Forced to Land
Youareforcedtolandtheshipimmediate-ly.Ifyoujusttookofforwerelandingthenyouare
luckyandmayimmediatelyreturntolandatyoupointoforigin.Otherwiseyoumustmakearolltospotanopenfieldorothersuitablelocationwhereyoumightbeabletosetdownyourcraft.Ifyoufaitospotafieldorothersuitablespotyoumaybeinforaveryunpleasantcrash.
Crash
Flyinginsevereweatherhasitsrisks.Youaregoingdown.Whetherawindsheerhastornoffoneofyourwingsortail,astrokeoflightninghasjustblownoffoneofyourenginesandmostofyourwingoryouhavesetherintoaflatspin,youaredonefor.Noamountoffancytricksisgoingtorecoveryourbirdnow.Choosewhetheryouaregoingtogivetheordertobailoutandhittheeject
buttonorwhetheryouaregoingtorideherdownintothedirt.You’velostcontroloftheshipandthereisnorecoveringher.Goodlucktoyoumate,shewasagoodshipandgodsaveyouandyourvaliantcrew.
Atmospheric Flight
During atmospheric flight make a roll onthepilotingtableonceevery1d4hours.Starshipsmustusetacticalflightanytimetheyareflyingin
theatmosphere.Attemptingtousesystemdriveswhileflyinginanatmosphereisabadidea.Itwillresultinanimmediateandmassivebuildupoffric-tion,heatandstructuralstresswhichwillteartheshipintoteeny,tinypiecesandscattertheremainsovermany,miles.
Allstarshipshaveafailsafesystemthatin-suresthatthesystemdrivecannotengageanytimeanatmosphereisdetectedaroundthegravity
drive.
Flying into and out of confined spaces
Soyouwanttopilotyourstarshipintotheicecavernsofthatasteroidandweaveyourwaythroughthetunnelsinordertoshakethosesnubfighters.Wellflyboy,suchthingsarepossiblebutshouldnotbeattemptedbyrookiepilotsorthosewithweakhearts.
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Therealtricktoflyinginandoutofconfinedspaces is your starship speed. Of course youmustbeflyingattacticalspeedsinordertohaveanyrealmaneuverabilityinthefirstplace.
Flyingintoadockingbayatextremelylow
speedsissafeandjustaboutanyrookiepilotcanpullitoff.Spiralingbetweengianticeshardsatyourmaximumcombatspeedisanotherthingal-together.
Asusualwe’vecreatedasimpletableforDirectorstoreferencesotheyhavesomesimpletoolsonhandfordealingwiththesespecialcasesituations.
StarshipSpeed PilotingDC500ft.percombatround NoRoll1000ft.percombatround EasyasPie2000ft.percombatround Easy4000ftpercombatround Moderate6000ftpercombatround Difficult8000ftpercombatround VeryDifficult10,000ftpercombatround Ridiculous12,000ftpercombatround GodlikeBeyond15,000ftround ImpossibleEvenwithseriousaugmentationsitisimpossible
foranyspecies,human,oralientoflyinconfinedspaces at speeds greater than 15,000 feet percombatround(assumingthecombatroundis10seconds long) without taking an enormous dirtnap.
The System Drive
Thenavigatorwillinputcourseinformationintotheircomputerwhichwillinturnlocktheinfor-mationintoyourinstruments. Inspace itisyourresponsibilitytokeeptheshipflyingoncourse.
Engagingtheimpulsedrivetakesaboutafullminuteoncethedrivehascooleddownandisreadytogo.Whenashipleavessystemtraveltoengagetacticalspeedsthegravitydriverequiresanhourofsystemrecoverytimebeforeitisreadytore-engagethesystemdrive.
Course changes when flying at impulsespeedsareverygradual.Evenifyouthrowthestickhard to the side your coursewill alteronlyslightlyoveralongperiodoftimeandoveravasdistanceofspace. Dramaticmaneuversare impossiblewhentravelingwiththesystemdriveen-gaged.Carefulcourseplots,planningandhop
ping backdown to tacticalspeeds tomakeanymajorcoursechangesisvital.
When flying at system speeds your onlyrealconcernasthepilotishowandwhenyouwanttopunchoutofsystemspeedsanddropbackintotacticalformaneuvering.
Tactical Drive
A starship’s tactical drive allows the star-shiptomaneuver,dogfight,dockwithaspacestation,enterorbitorlandonaplanet’ssurface.
Whenapilotengagesthetactical drive iimmediatelycutsouttheship’simpulsedrivesys-tematarangeof5,000to10,000kilometersfromtheirintendeddestination.
Keepinmindthattheshipishurtlingalongat1,700kilometerspersecond.Atadistanceof
5,000kilometersthestarshipisliterallysecondsawayfromblazingpastordrivingrightintotheiintendeddestination.
Allnavigationcomputershaveanautomat-edcutoutfortheship’ssystemdrivesystemsothe shipwill safely leavesystemspeeds10,000kilometers from its intended destination. Somehotshotpilotswilldeactivatethissystemandattempt to cut out thedrivemanuallysothey canperformahotburn intotheirdestination.Hotburnmaneuversareusuallyperformedbysmugglers,pilotswhowishtoeliminateasmuchtacticaldrivetimeaspossible toavoid interceptionormilitarypilotsattempting toachieve thegreatestlevelofsurpriseduringanattack.
Hot Burn
Performing a hot burn requires the pilo
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makeadifficultpilotingroll.Failureonthisrollin-dicatesthatthepilothaspunchedoutearlyorlate.Rolltwodifferentcoloredd10.Onedieisposi-tiveresultandtheotherisnegative.Comparethedifferencebetweenthetworollsandthatishowmanysecondsthepilotpunchedoutearlyorlate.Iftherollsareequalthepilothaspunchedouton
timebutmorethroughsheerluckthanskill.
MercifulGM’sthatweare,alatepunchoutmerely indicates that the pilot has missed theirdestinationanddoesnotrequirethatthepilotrolltoavoidburyingthenoseoftheirstarshipintothesideofthespacestationtheywereintenttohotburnnear.
Example:
StarfighterPilotValerieperformsahotburninherHurricaneStarfighter.Thetargetdistanceshewantstopunchoutatis1,000kilometers.Atthatdistanceandflyingatherstarfighter’stoptac-ticalspeedofMach2,shewillbeuponhertargetinjustunder24minutes.Ifshepunchesoutasec-ondlateorearlyshewillstillbeingoodshapeatthatdistance.
UnfortunatelyValerieblowsherroll,punchingout
perfectlyisadifficultmaneuverafterall.Sherolls1d10forearlyand1d10forlatetimesandrollsafiveforherearlytimeandatwoforherlatetime.The differencebetween the two rollsplacesherpunchingoutthreesecondsearly.
Valerie’s actual distance punching out is1,700kilometersX3+1,000kilometers(hertargetdistance)or6,100kilometersoutfromhertarget.
AttopspeedValerie’sstarfighterwill take
welloverthreeandahalfhours toreachhertar-get.
Jump Space Travel
Star Diving
Martiangravitydrivetechnologyreliesuponthepresenceofamassivegravitybody,suchasa
star,orinsomecasesasupergasgiantorgasgianttoslingshotastarshipintoanalternatespace-timestateknownasjumpspace.
Theship’snavigationalcomputerwillplotacourseforthepilottofollowthatprovidesthecor-recttrajectoryforthestarshiptofollowduringthe
stardive.Acountdownallowstheco-pilotorengi-neertoactivatethestarship’sgravitydrivesystemattheoptimummomenttoeffectajump.
Duringastardivethepilotlowersaseriesofarmoredblastplatesthatcoverthegreenhousenoseandalloftheexposedglass-steelsurfacesofthevesselsocrewarenotexposedtothedirecglareofthestar.
Blastcoveringsareloweredapproximately24hourspriortothestarshipmakingjumpwhilethestarshipremainsreasonablydistantfromthestar.Flyingastarshipblind,usingtheinstrumentstoguideyouwhilethestarshipexperiencesrisinginternal temperatures despite the best efforts otheship’slifesupportsystemcanbeabithairrais-ing.Allpilotsflytheirshipbyinstrumentthrough-outastardive.
During a star dive Starships have been
known(rarely)tohavetheirgravitydrivefail.Thisoccasionaldisaster results in stories ofdoomedshipswithaileddrivesflamingoutintotheheartoastar.Thankfullytheseoccurrencesarerarebuswapping stories about the FlyingDutchman oBoydRukkerman’sdoomedLuckyGamblerhelpsto pass the time, particularly when rookie crewmemberscomeaboard.
Performing a star dive in the GunslingeBettyrequiresthepilottomakeaneasypiloting
maneuver.Afailureindicatesthatthestarshipisslippingoffcourseandalthoughthejumpwillgothroughthestarshipmayappearalmostanywhereinthetargetstarsystemratherthanattheusualre-entrypointapproximatelyonequarterAUfromthetargetstar.Roll1d10forthenumberofAU’sdistantthere-entryoccursfromthetargetstar.
Acriticalfailureindicatesathreatofajump
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systemfailure.Theengineermustmakeamoder-atestarshipengineeringrollamidstagreatclamorofalarmsandsystemwarningstomanuallyacti-vatethejumpdrive.Otherwisethejumpdrivefailstoactivateandthepilotmusttheneffectanemer-gencymaneuvertoabortthestardive.
Theemergencymaneuvertoabortthestardiveiscalledanescapemaneuver.Thepilothasoneandonlyonechancetomakethismoderateroll. At thispoint the vessel ishurtling into theheartofthestar.Surfacesinsidetheshiparebe-comingmorethanwarmtothetouch.Theedgesaroundthearmoredplatesloweredovertheship’sviewportsarebeginningtoglow.
Failuretomaketheescaperoll leavesthepilotwithonlyonelastoption.Theymust activatethe ship’s gravity drive and hope to be thrownclearofthestarandintojumpspace.TheresultsofthisattemptareleftsolelyuptothegameDirec-tor.Eitherthestarshipburnsupinthefieryheartofthestarorthestarshipentersjumpspaceandemergesinanysystemwithin2d10lightyears.
Alternatively a Director can opt to havethevesselappearinadistantpartofunexploredspacewithjustenoughinformationintheirnaviga-
tionbookstoplotacoursefromsystemtosystembacktowardshomebutnootherinformationwhat-soever.Theplayersmayencounterallmannerofadventuresduringtheirattempttobringtheirshipbacktocolonizedspace.
Cargo Hold and Crew Staterooms
ThisSpartancentralchamberonTheBettyservesasbothhomeandcargohold.Thecar-
goholdandcrewstateroomsareaareseparatedbythecockpitcompartmentemergencypressuredoorononeendandtheradarroompressuredooron theother end. Both of thesedoorsarekeptsecuredduringroutinespaceoperations.
Eachcrewstateroomhasfourhammockswithonlytwostrungintopositionatthesametime.The extra hammocks are rolled up and stowedagainstoneofthebulkheadssocrewmatesdonot
needtosharehammocksbutcanrearrangethingsdependinguponwhoison-dutyduringaflightandwhoisoff.
Accommodations are available for eighcrewsoTheBettycancarryanadditionalscien-tist,medicalofficer,engineerorevenapassenge
alongwithitssevenpersoncrewcompliment.Aleasttwocrewmenareondutyevenwhentheshipison the ground (usually standingwatch) whentheothercrewmenrest.ShouldthecrewevergearealbreakandfindthatTheBettycouldbese-curedinahangerfacilitytheymightenjoytheeve-ningofftheshipcompletely.Avoidmakingitim-possiblefortheentirecrew(orleastalltheplayercharacters)toleavetheshiptobeinvolvedinanadventure.Hangersshouldbeavailablewithsuf-ficientsecuritytokeeptheshipsafeinmostportsWheresecurityisquestionableitcanbebribedorpurchasedtoinsurethattheshipisnottamperedwith.Nobodywantstoshowuptoagameandspendtheentireadventuresittingintheshipwhileeveryoneelsegoesofftoexplorethealienruinsorthepiratebunker.
Realshoreleaveisahighpointforanystar-shipcrew.Crewmateswantabreak. Every crewman has their own full sized
locker for stowing personal itemsand a secondtemperaturecontrolledminilockeroverheadwhereperishablescanbestoredbetweenflights.Anadditionallockerforeachcrewmanislocatedintheradioroom.Thisbringsthetotalpersonallockerspacetotwolargeandtwosmalllockersforeverycrewmanonboardtheship.
Emergency Oxygen Tanks
Apairofemergencyoxygentanksidenticatothosefound intherestoftheshipare locatedunder the deck ineach crewstateroom. Thesecannotberemovedoropenedeasilybyunboltinganaccesspanelintheflooroftheship.Acrewmaninaspacesuitcanrestinahammockwhileplugging in to the emergency oxygen supply storedhere.
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Smuggling
One smugglers trick is stowing illegal orcontrabandgoodsinsideofthedrum-likehousingoftheemergencyoxygentanksstowedbeneaththefloorplatesofthestarship.Asmugglercangainseveralgallonsofhiddenstoragebygutting
twooftheemergencyoxygencontainersandcon-vertingthemoverforthisuse.
Inflatable Life Raft
A standard United States Navy inflatablerubberliferaftisstowedinanoverheadcompart-menthere.Theraftislargeenoughtoaccommo-datesixcrewmenandincludestwooars,acom-passandsmallsurvivalkit.
Elevenlifepreservesarelocatedonboard,oneundereachchairinthecockpit,oneunderthenavigator’schair,oneundertheradar/radiooperator’schair,oneineachturretandfourmorestowed in various marked locations around thecargobay.
The Crane and Lift
Thecraneispowerfulenoughtoliftupto20
tonsofequipment.
Cargo Capacity and Trim
Thecargoholdhasapostedmaximumca-pacityof25tons.TheBettybeginshandlingalittleheavyinthestickstartingaround15tons.
Startingat15tonsandforevery5tonsofadditionalcargoTheBettyloses500feetoftacti-
calmovementandsuffersa–1toinitiativebonusincombat.
Flying over the cargo limit
ItispossibletoflyTheBettyoverherpost-edloadlimitbutshebecomesextremelylubberlyandslow.Foreverytonoverherpostedmaximumcargoweightaddapenaltytoallpilotingmaneu-
versincludingtake-offandlandings.
Example:
TheBettyispackedwithmachinecompo-nentsthatcanbepackedtightlybutwhichcomprise some significant weight. The total cargo
weightcomesto30tons.30tonsexceedsthe15tonlimitbeforeimpactingflightperformanceby15tons.Everyfivetonsbeyond15reducesthetacticalspeedofTheBettyby500feetsoTheBettyisreducedtoamaximumtacticalspeedof1,500feetpercombatround.Thisisevenwithburningboththe primary and secondaryengines at full burnToavoidanengineburnoutinthesecondaryen-ginesthepilotwilloperateTheBettyataspeedo1,000feetpercombatroundunlessanemergencyoccurs.
Exceedingthe25tonmaximumcargolimiby5tonsstacksa–5pilotingskillpenalty.Everypilotingmaneuverincludingtake-off,landing,stardiveandcombatmaneuveringthepilotfacesa–5penaltyforoperatingthevesseloveritsmaximumcargocapacity.
The Radar Compartment
Ship’s Head
Beyondthecargohold’spressuredoor istheship’shead.Thetoiletcanbemodifiedtobeused in zero gravity should artificial gravity failThe ship’s artificial gravity generator allows theheadtobeusedintheusualmannerduringnor-malflightoperations.
Theship’scentrallifesupportunitandpri
marygyroscopearebothlocatedintheradarcom-partment.Theradar/radioman’sseatisdesignedtoslidebackandforthbetweenallofthecontrolsfortheship’ssensorsandthemainpanelforthelifesupportsystem.
Recycling Unit
Asimplebutextremelyvaluablehybridpieceoftechnologyisenclosedinthedeckbelowthe
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ship’shead.Thisrecyclingbio-mechanoiddevicenotonlyeliminateswasteproducts,itshuntstheproductsthroughaseriesoffiltersthatallowsthewatertobereused.Wasteproductsareshuntedintotheengine’sfuelprocessorswhichcanbreakdownanycarbonbasedmaterialintofuelfortheengines. The fuel producedby recycling ship’s
wasteisnegligibleandisonlymentionedherebe-causewasteproductsareburnedupratherthanstoredforremovallater.
TheBettycontainsasinkwithamedicinecabinetthatissharedbytheentirecrew.Captainandcrewmustusethesinktowashupthebestthattheycanduringflightops.TheBettydoesnotcontaintheluxuryofashowerstallwhichistypicalforFastTransportclassvessels.
Barbette Magazine
and Barbette Controls
ThedorsalturretofTheBettyisaremotecontrolleddual.50calibergunturret.Acamerasystemandradargunneryscreenattheradarop-erator’sstationallowstheoperatortoactasthegunnerforthisremoteturretduringcombat.Fourmagazinesof500roundsofthe.50caliberM2000Hellion ammunition are stored inammo feeders
overhead.ThisallowstheBarbettetofire2,000roundsor80individualauto-fireattacksbeforere-loading.Thedorsalbarbetteisbyfartheweaponsystemwiththelargestammunitionload-out.Theweaponhasa360degreearcoffireallowingtheguntoassistthetailgunnerincoveringtherearoftheship.Thedorsalgunsarenotabletocoverattacksfrombelowthevessel.
Crew Lockers
Immediatelybeyondtheship’sheadaretwobanksof lockers thatflank the passage into theradaropsworkstation. Ametalmeshoverheadstowspersonal itemsand allows crewmemberstohookhangersforholdingflightsuitsorperson-alclothing itemswhiletheydress.Apairoffolddownseatsprovidesasmallmeasureofcomfortwhileusingthisareatochange.
Thelockersaresetupwithsufficientlockespacetoprovidesixcrewmemberswithonethreefoottallbyonefootwidebytwofeetdeep,mediumlockerandasmallertwofeettall,onefootwideandtwofootdeeplockerspace.
The smaller security locker is equipped
withafairlyadvancedlockingsystemkeyedtothecrewmemberspersonalidentificationcardorplas-tickeycard.Personalidentificationcardsarecon-structedfromathicklayerofBakelite.Thesecu-ritylockercanbesealedandtemperaturecontrolsallowitemsstoredtheretobecooled.Thesmallockerwillnotactually freezeitemsstowedherebutitcanbesetuptofunctionasasmallpersonacooler for beers,suppliesorpersonal itemsthaareofaperishablenature.
The cockpit contains an override toggleswitch which will automatically unlock all of thesmallersecuritylockerssimultaneously.
Medical Locker
Themedical lockerisafullsizedcontain-erthatisfivefeettall,onefootwideandtwofeetdeep.Theequipmentintheship’smedicallockerprovidesatrainedmedicorphysicianwithabonus
ontreatingwoundsandmostcommoninfectionsorailments.
TheBetty’smedicalequipmentiscurrentlyall“HumanGear”andcontainsnospecializedhy-bridequipmentforautohealingwounds,burnsoautodiagnosingillnesses.Bandages,splints,painmedicationandalimitedsupplyofantibioticsisthecurrentlimitofthemedicalbay.
Itisuptothecharacterstoinvesttime,en-ergyandresourcesintoexpandingthemedicalca-pacityonboardtheBettyiftheyfeelthedesiretodoso.
The CXAM Sensor System
TheCXAMsensorsysteminstalled in theBettynolongerholdsthetopspotformilitarymod-el sensors used by North American Space Co
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ThecurrentcuttingedgesensorinstalledbyNorthAmericanSpaceCo.istheType–11.
TheCXAMhoweverisawelltestedandde-pendablesensorsystemthatcanbefoundinmostmilitaryspacecraftofthisclassproducedbyNASCpriorto1933.
The CXAM has an impressive maximumrangeof1AU.Clearresolutionsanddetailssuf-ficient for identifying objects can beobtained atrangesof1,000kilometersorlessdependingonthesize,shapeandmassofthetarget.
TheCXAMdrawspowerfromtheenginesduring routine operation but is equipped with aback-upbatterysecuredintheunit’sinterior.Thiscanprovideadditionalpowerfortheunitforuptotwentyfourhoursofcontinueduse.
The CXAM provides the operator with nobonusinspottingandidentifyinghybridtargets.Itcanidentifyhumantechnologytargets(incomingaircraftinatmosphericflight)withasmallbonus(+2). TheCXAM faces a penalty (-2) when at-temptingtoidentifyanddetectspacecraftthataremadewithpurelyMartianoradvancedAlientech-nologies.
The CXAM emits sensor patterns thataredifficulttodetectbyearliermodels.Sensorsconstructedpriorto1931faceapenaltywhenat-temptingtodetectthesystemwhileinoperation.ThenewestType-11sensorandequivalentRa-darDetectionunitshaveabonusfordetectingtheolderCXAMsystemwhileitisinoperation.ThenewermodelsofSensorDetectorsbeinginstalledbytheReichintheirlatestshipsalsohavethisbo-nus(+2)todetecttheCXAMsystemwhenitisin
operation.
Hybrid Radio Unit
TheRadarOps.Stationincludesthebasestationforthestarship’shybridradiosystem.ThegutsoftheradioissecuredtotheupperrighttopoftheCXAMSensor.Theradioiswireddirectlytothecockpitfordirectcommunicationswiththepilot
orco-pilot.TheRadarOpsofficerdoublesasacommunicationsoperatorandcanmakefinetuningadjustmentstotheradioinanattempttoreachdistantvesselsorbreakthroughanenemyradio jammer.
Martian Tech. Components
TheCXAMasahybridunitcontainsinternaMartiancomponentsthatallowtheunittofunctioninafashionsimilartoastandardpieceofhumanradarequipment.
Humancrewmemberswithbasicmechanical skillshave sufficient training towork onandmake repairs tomost of the sensorsystem,bumustswapouttheMartiancomponentswithnew
replacements.
TheMartiancomponentsintheCXAMarefairlytypicalforhybridequipment,inthattheyaredesignedtobemodularandcanberemovedbyahumantechnicianwithlittlefuss.Humantechni-ciansmay not repair the bio-mechanoidMartiancomponentswithouttheXenoScienceskill.
CXAM - Screens
TheCXAMfeaturestwoscreens.Thelargecircularscreenistheprimarysensordisplay.Thedisplay functions in the same fashion as typicahumanradarsystems,onlywithamuchimprovedrangeandcapabilityforidentifyingtargets.
TheCXAMhasasmallerviewscreenwheretheoperatorcanattempttoanalyzethesensorsonenemyshipsoperatingintheregionandattempttoadjustthecarryfrequencyoftheCXAMsothat
itismoredifficulttodetectbypossiblefoes.
Passive Sensor Detectors
TheCXAMalsoincludesalimitedpassivesensordetectioncapability.Thisallowstheopera-tortotunedowntheactivesensorsonboardtheshiporevenshutthemdowncompletelyandscanpassivelyfortheoutboundsignalsofenemyshipsoperatinginthearea.
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Thetworeddialsonthetopleftofthesys-temindicatethedetectionofactivesensorsinthearea.The top indicatorcandetectthepresenceofapurelyMartiancarrierwavethelowerdialcandetectthesignatureofastarshipasitjumpsintooroutofastarsystem.
ThepassivecapabilitiesoftheCXAMareprimitiveatbest.Theydonotfunctioneffectivelywhenthesensorisoperatinginactivemode.AnyattemptsbytheoperatortousetheCXAMinitspassivecapacityfacesattheminimumaDifficultskillattempt.
ThereddialonthebottomoftheCXAMin-dicatesthepresenceofastandardhybridsensorinoperation.TheCXAMhassufficientcapabilitiestodetectactivesensorsatarangeofupto.10AU.
Humanradarsystemsareeasiertodetect.TheCXAMcandetectahumangearradarsysteminoperationatarangeof.10AUwithabonus(+4)todetectandidentifythetarget.
Sensor Masking and Sensor Burn
The Radar Operator can sacrifice a pointfromtheirchancetodetectatargetobjectinordertomaketheirownsystemmoredifficulttodetect.
TheRadarOperatormaysacrificeuptofivepoints at a singletime inorder tomasktheop-erationoftheirsensorsystembutwillfacegreaterand greater difficulties in using the system suc-cessfully.
Converselytheoperatormaygaina+1bo-nus to theirsensorscans byburning some bat-terypowertoboosttheirsignal.Uptoa+3canbegainedbutenemyunitsgaina+2todetectthesystem for every +1 the operator gives himselfduringthesensorburn.Everyfullcombatroundthesensorsareoperatedinthisartificiallyboostedfashiontheoperatordrainsafullhourofbatterytimeoutofthesensor’sreservebatterysupply.
The Wright Cyclone
Class C - Gravity Drive
TheWrightCycloneGravityDrivepartiallydismantledandillustratedonpage31isamod-ulardesignthatallowseasyaccesstoalloftheengine’smajorcomponents.
Manyoftheitspartsaremadefrommartianmaterialswhichhavebeenformedintostructuresthatmirrorfamiliarhumantechnology.Mostmechanicsfeelcomfortableworkingwiththetechnologyintheseengineswiththeexceptionofthecorecomponentswhichare far too sophisticated andalien toapproachwithout very specialized train-ing.
The upper structure of the engine is theengine’s jump drive super charger. The supechargerisnecessaryfortheFah’ZolGravityDriveenginenacellebelowtomakethetransitionfrommaximumsystemspeedstojumpspace.
The stripped Pratt and Whitney Type-Bdrivesmountedonthetailhavetheirsuperchar-gersandrelatedcomponentsremoved.Theremovalofthesuperchargersandsomeoftherelat-edinternalcomponentsgreatlyreducestheweight
oftheseengines,althoughnowtheyfunctiononlyasimpulsedrives.
Engineers at North American Space Cohaveinstalledanenginecowlingwhichallowsthepilot to vent heat from eachof the four enginesmore effectively during atmospheric flight. ThisfeaturewasaddedlateinproductionaftercombattrialsdemonstratedheatproblemsinthePrattandWhitneyengineswhenoperatingatfullcapacity.The introduction of the modified enginecowlingwasanattempttosolvethisdesignflawbutithasmetwithonlymoderatesuccess.
Manypilotsrunthismodelofstarship’ssecondaryenginesathalfthrottletotakeameasureof thework loadoffof theprimaryengines dur-ingflightbutotherwiseavoidpushingtheengineshardduetoconcernsaboutoverheatingorover-taxingthem.
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Pratt and Whitney Engines and Heat
If theBetty iscaught inasituationwherehersecondaryenginesmustbepushed(thestar-shipismadetotravelatmaximumtacticalspeedforfivecombatroundsconsecutively)theengineermustmakeamoderateengineering roll tokeep
the secondaryengines from overheating. Eachadditionalcombatroundthattheenginesmaintainfulltacticalspeedtheengineerfacesanincreaseddifficultytothetargetroll.
Iftheengineerfailsintheirrollthenoneoftheengines (roll randomly)will begin tored lineandsmoke.Ifspeedisnotreducedfromfullin1d4combatroundsthentheenginewillburnoutandfail.
Aburnedoutenginewillresult intheBet-ty losingmovementoff ofhermaximum tacticalspeed.Continuedpushingoftheremainingsec-ondary may result in the second engine failing.ThankfullyintheBettythisdoesnotresultinthestarshipsufferinganyotherhardshipthanalossofspeedbutthismayproduceaserioushazardforavesselattemptinganescapefromprolongedcombat.
The Ball Turret
Theballturretgunnergainsentrytothispo-sitionthroughahatchthatcanbesecuredwithitsownatmospheretightseal.Theturretspinsusinganelectrictraversemotoroperatedbythegunnerfrom their seat inside theball. Agyroscope in-stallednexttotheturret’soxygentankworkswiththecontrolsandmotortoswingthegunandturretintopositioninresponsetothegunner’scontrols.
Thebellyturretreliesontheradaroperatororoneoftheothergunnerstosecurethemintotheirposition.Theturretdoormustbeboltedintopositionbyfasteningaseriesoflockingboltsthatcanonlybelatchedorunlatchedfromwithinthespacecraft.Theinteriorhatchfromtheshipintotheballturretmustbelockedinthe“closed”posi-tionbeforethegunswillcomeonlineorthemo-torwilltraversetheturret.Thisisasafetyfeature
which protects both the gunner when climbingdown into theball fromaccidently traversing theturretandnearbyshipsorstructuresfromanaccidentaldischargeoftheweaponswhilethegunnerisclimbinginandoutofthisextremelytightspot.
A gunner fitted with a parachute requires
onefullcombatroundtosqueezedownintotheturretandintoposition.Asecondcombatroundisrequiredtosecurethelockingboltsintoplacesothattheballturretbecomesactive.Agunnerwithoutachutecandropdownintotheturretwithmorespeed(halfacombatround)butthehatchstillrequiresthesameamountoftimetosecure.
Communications within the belly turret ismaintained through the ship’s intercom systemThegunnerdoesnothavecontrolovertheirinter-comotherthantotoggleitonoroff.
Theschematicshowsoneoftheturret’s.50caliberHellionsremovedfromitsbracket.Whenthegunisinstalledintheturretthefeedcoveronthetopofthegun,receiverandfrizzenarelocatedinsideoftheturret.Thegunnerhasfullaccesstotheguntodropanewmagazineintoitforreload-ing.Theballturretisnotlargeenoughtocontainmorethanonereserve500roundbelt.Thegun-
nermustcalltoanothercrewmanduringcombathavetheirturrethatchunboltedandhavethenewbeltpassedintotheturrettoreloadshouldtheyrunout.Thiseventisunlikely.ItisfarmorelikelythattheBettywillbedestroyedifacombatlastssolongthatthebellygunrunscompletelyoutofbothitsstandardandreservebelt.
Reloading in the ball turret is such acrampedandslowprocess(3FullCombatRoundswith help!) that most experienced gunners wil
conservetheirammunitionandavoidrunningtheigunsdryearlyinacombat.
Asecondaryaccesshatchislocatedintheundersideoftheballturret.Thisescapehatchisconstructedasthebackoftheseatthatholdsthegunner curled into position. An emergency re-leasebuttonprotectedbyametalplateislocatedoverthegunnershead.Smackingtheplatetothe
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sidearmstheemergencyrelease.Punchingtheredemergencyreleasebuttoncyclesalightfromgreen to yellow to blinking red to releasing theemergencyhatch.
Theemergencyhatchisdesignedtoallowtheball turretgunnerto topplebackwardsoutof
thegunsothey canbail out if thespacecraft isgoingdowninaplanetaryatmosphere.Theballturretissosmallthatgunnerscomplainthattheycanbarelyfitinsideofthedevicewiththeirpara-chute.Withoutaparachutetheemergencyhatchmaysavethegunnerfromburningaliveinashipgoingdownbutwillcertainlynotsavetheirlife.
Tail Gunner’s Position:
ThetailgunpositionintheBettyisaccessedbythelastemergencypressurehatchintheship.Thetailgunneroperatestwolinked20mmS9can-nons.ThecannonsreplacetheB-25A’srear.30calibergunsandsignificantlyimprovescoverfortherearofthespacecraft.
ThetailpositionfeaturesarangeindicatorthatislinkedwiththeCXAMsensorsystem.Thisspecialrangeindicatoremitsasoundpulseintotheheadsetofthetailgunnerwhenapotentialtar-
getmovesintothereararcoffire.Thegunnermayeitherclearthistargetorallowittoremaindesignatedasanenemytargetwiththeflipofathumbtoggle.
Therisingandfallingtoneinthegunner’sheadsetprovidesasecondarycluewhichcoupledwith the range indicator’s digital readout helpsidentifytheoptimumfiringrangefortheexplosiveroundsfiredbythecannons.
ThetailturretisequippedwithtwostackedmagazinesfortheS9s.Thisprovidestheweaponwitha1,000roundammunitioncapacityprior torequiringreloadingoruptotwentypullsofthetrig-ger.
Reloadingthe20mmcannonsistimecon-sumingandfranklyimpossibletoperformduringflightwithoutperformingaspacewalk.Toreload
the20’sanengineerorgunnermustaccessthefeedbeltandfeedcoversfromtheexterior,under-sideofthecraft.
The20mmcannonsare loadedwith highexplosiveroundsthatarefusedtoexplodeeitheuponimpactorautomaticallyatarangeof3,000
feetbehindthespacecraft.
Proximityattacksthatmisstheintendedthetargetbyamerepointortwoonthetohitrollstiinflicthalfdamagefromtheround’sproximityex-plosion.
Tail Gunner Armor
Thetailgunnerisprotectedbyballisticplate
armorinstalledin the tailand thestrengthof thetailturret’sglasssteel.
A small electric cooling fan helps keeptheaircirculatingthroughthetailandkeepsthecramped compartment a little more comfortableforthetailgunnerduringatmosphericflightoperations.Amodestelectricheaterhelpskeepthetaigunnerwarmerduringjumpoperationsalthoughthe tail gunposition andother turrets are rarelymannedduringjumpspacetravel.Asfarasany
oneisawarestarshipsdonotencounteronean-otherinjumpspaceandnothing“natural”livesorgrowsinjumpspacetobeathreattoavesseltrav-elingthere,atleastnotviaanoutsideattackonthecraft.
Turrets and the tail gunner position aresomeofthefirstlocationstobecomequitecoldMany B-25B commanders seal off these areasduringjumpdrivetravelandconcentrateship’slifesupportresourcesintothecentralandvitalcom-partmentsoftheship.
Other Features
Landing Gear TheBetty’stricyclelandinggearrequiresaleastamodest,primitivelandingfieldtobepre-paredforasafelanding.Landingthestarshipin
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an openfield risks damage to the landing geartiresortothestrutsthemselves.
TheBettyhasaruggedundercarriagethatcanwithstandafairamountofabuseontake-offand landing but she is far from being a verticaltake-offandlandingcraft.
PilotsofTheGunslingerBettymusttake-offandlandthestarshiptheoldfashionway
Belly Landings
TheBettyiscapableofeffectingabellyland-ingon thegroundorinwater. TheBettywillnotremainonthesurfaceofabodyofwaterforlongfollowingabellylanding. Thecrewmustevacu-
atetheship,makinguseoftheship’sescapeboatandvestswithinfivecombatroundsoflandingonwaterbeforeTheBettybeginstosink.TheBettycanremainwatertightbelowthewater’ssurfaceforalongtimesolongasherhullremainsintact.ChancesarequitegoodthatwhateverdamagedtheBettysufficientlytoforceawaterlandinghasviolatedtheintegrityofherhullandthatmuchofherwillfillwithwater.
Starship Record: The Gunslinger Betty
B-25BMitchelAssaultHeavyFastTransportClass
Cockpit 03SlotsNoseHardpoint 04SlotsDorsalHardpoint 05SlotsVentralHardpoint 04SlotsLeftWing 05SlotsRightWing 05Slots
Fuselage 13SlotsTailHardpoint 07Slots
EquipmentandLocations
Cockpit 1Slot FireControlSystem 1Slot EmergencyPressureDoor System 8mmArmoredPlate 30mmArmoredWindscreen
(GlassSteel) 1Slot DualSeatEjectionNose 1SlotNavigator’sLabwith Darkroom 1Slot 90mmArmoredWindscreen (GlassSteel) 8mmArmoredPlate
2Slots.50CalHellionDorsal 4Slots2x.50CalHellioninremote controlbarbette 1Slot AdditionalAmmoSupplyVentral 4Slots2x.40CalHellioninBelly TurretLeftWing 4SlotsWrightCycloneEngine 1Slot 1,000LitersFuelRightWing 4SlotsWrightCycloneEngine 1Slot1,000LitersFuelFuselage 1Slot MediumAirframe 3SlotsCXAMSensorSystem 1SlotHybridRadioSystem 2SlotsCrewQuarters 1SlotRadar/RadioLab 2Slots25Tons 1Slot1,000LitersFuelTail 4Slots2x20mmS9Cannons 1SlotExpandedAmmoMagazine 1SlotsStrippedPrattandWhitney 1SlotsStrippedPrattandWhitney
Tonnage 150TonsTacticalSpeed SingleEngineModerate(+) TwinEnginesFast(-) AllEngines Fast(+)*Fuel 3,000Liters
*Remember engine burn out rolls are requiredwhenallfourenginesarefiringatfullpower.WhenallfourenginesarefiringtheBettyisconsideredto
be“runninghot”makingheraneasiertargettode-tectwithenemysensors.
Introducing the “Heavy” class vessel
TheBetty isanexampleofaHeavyFasTransport. Heavy Fast Transports possess be-tween 40 and 60 available slots which may bepushedand pulled into different locationswhendesigningspecificstarshipmodels.
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Any heavyclass ofvessel will tendtobebumpeduponefulltonnagelevelonthevehiclesizechartsrelatedtoenginesandengineperfor-mance.ThustheBettywhichwouldhavenormallybeenspec’doutasavesselaround50tonsjumpsupintothe101-500Toncategory.
Heavy atmo-capable transports likewisebegintenslotshigherincapacitythantheirstan-dardatmo-capablecousins.Heavyatmo-capablevessels are still limited to the upwards tonnagerangeinsizebuttendtobemoreheavilyarmored,armedanddurablethantheirlightercounterparts.
Thanks to our Readers
Manythanksforpickingupthisfirsteditionofourseriesspotlightingstarshipsdesignedspe-cificallyasprimaryvesselsforplayercharacters.IhopeyouenjoyedreadingthroughthesepagesasmuchasIenjoyedwritingthemforyou.
AveryspecialthankyougoesouttoMikeDoscher whose creative genius with the penbroughttolifemostoftheillustrationsfoundwithinthisvolume.Mike,thanks!Icould-not-havepro-ducedthisbookwithoutyou.
Please visit our web site and forums fre-quentlyatwww.rocketshipempires.com.Wehaveat least twomore books planned for release inFebruaryof2008andmanyotherexcitingREproj-ectsonthehorizoninthesecondquarterof2008.Whynotdropbyandmakeyourrecommendationsforhowwecanimprove,whatstarshipsyouwouldliketoseemodeledinfuturebooksorsharewithusnewsfromyourpersonalRocketshipEmpirescampaign.
Iwouldlovetohearfromyou.
ThisisEdward...signingoff.
Rocketship Empires 1936
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7/30/2019 Rocketship Empires 1936 the Gunslinger Betty
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Coming Soon!
In fury triumphant February
Starship Collection No. 1 February
The Madrid Run Adventure March
Starship Feature book No. 2 March
For King and Country April
The Kingdom of Holland April
Starship Collection No. 2 May
Roma Region Book May
CominginFebruary2008
WeareproudtopresentourfirstregionbookinFebruaryof2008.
“InFuryTriumphant”cov-ersthestarsystemspresentwithinthebordersofSpain’snationalizedcorridor.
Thisbookpresentsdozensofplothooksandadventureideas,starsystemmaps,en-countermapsandthedetailsoftheunfoldingcivilwarin
Spain.
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