Starfleet Command

This set of streamlined starship combat rules is loosely derived from the Starship Tactical Combat Simulator, but is designed for purely role-playing and not as a strategic tabletop game system. The rules do not make use of any kind of game map or counters.

The purpose of these rules is to provide a fast-paced starship combat experience reminiscent of Star Trek, where all the characters have a part to play in the battle. The Starship Combat rules reference the optional combat and skill use rules described on the Starfleet General Orders page, notably the various Maneuver charts but the Critical rules apply to attacks with ship's weapons as much as they do personal scale combat.

Contents

• Starships
• Combat Phases
• Post-Combat Rules
• Special Equipment
• Maneuvers

Starships

The core statistics for a starship are based on the ship statistics as they are presented in the Starship Tactical Combat Simulator rules for the Star Trek RPG. Stats used with these rules are:

• Superstructure Points
• Shield Power (Max)
• Shield Point Ratio (referred to as Shield Efficiency Rating in these rules)
• Beam Weapons (Firing Arcs and Power Range)
• Missile Weapons (Firing Arcs and Damage)
• Crew Efficiency Rating

Combat Phases

Starship Combat takes place in Turns, which are split into Phases. The Phases of a Starship Combat Turn are:

1. Plan Actions
2. Initial Skill Checks
3. Initiative and Automatic Actions
4. Maneuvering
5. Resolve Fire and Damage Allocation
6. Repair and Repower

1. Plan Actions

The initial phase of the combat turn is used to plan out the ship's actions. The players should decide on:

• What maneuvers the ship will perform and which enemies will be targeted for the turn
• What initial skill checks will be made by the crew
• What the initial power allocation should be

2. Initial Skill Checks

The Skill Checks are designed to offer a wide variety of tasks to allow characters multiple options for how to participate in the starship combat.

Inspire Crew

If the planned actions are risky then the GM may call for a Leadership check from the Captain to negate any penalties to crew efficiency, or optionally to provide a bonus to any crew-based checks.

Extra Power

The Chief Engineer may attempt to coax an extra Power Unit (see Power Allocation under section 3 Initiative and Automatic Actions) from one of the ship's Power Systems. The difficulty depends on the system. Penalties from damage to the system are also applied to the check.

Power System	Skill Check	Difficulty
Main Reactor	Warp Drive Technology	Medium (0)
Impulse Reactors	Astronautics	Very Hard (-20)
Auxiliary Reactors	Astronautics	Extremely Hard (-30)
Emergency Batteries	Astronautics	Absurd (-70)

Weapons Lock

A successful weapons lock is needed to properly fire the ship's weapons against a target. If a weapons lock is not obtained then any attacks must be made by aiming manually, which imposes a -100 penalty to the attack. A Weapons Lock is an Easy (+20) check made with the average of the Weapons Officer's Starship Weaponry Operation and Starship Sensors, plus any bonus or penalty from exceptional or damaged sensors. A Weapons Lock check can be made to obtain locks against multiple targets, but each additional target after the first imposes a -10 penalty to the check.

Reinforce Shields

A single shield arc may be reinforced up to 25% over its current strength (round up) by transferring points from another shield arc. A successful Deflector Shield Operation check is needed and the points are subtracted from other shield arc(s) and added to the reinforced arc. Reinforcing shields reduces the Shield Efficiency Rating by 1 (to a minimum of 1). The exception to this is if an Extra Power Unit (obtained as above) is devoted to power the shields; in this case there is no penalty to the Shield Efficiency Rating.

At the end of the combat turn during the Repair and Repower phase, a Deflector Shield Operation check, with a penalty equal to the total amount of damage done to the reinforced shield during the turn, must be made or the Shield Generator for that shield arc suffers a Light Malfunction.

Sensor Scans

Sensor scans can be made to attempt to gain specific information about a target. Examples of information that a scan might reveal includes power sources, which weapons are charged, shield status, etc. The check might use the Starship Sensors skill rating on its own or it may be averaged with an appropriate Technical or Science skill, depending on the kind of information being sought.

Detect Cloaked Ships

Detecting cloaked ships is a special kind of sensor roll. See the section on Cloaking Devices later in these rules for more information.

Difficult Communications

This might be an attempt to break through natural or artificial interference to make contact with an ally, or it might be an effort to jam the enemy's communications. Difficult Communications checks use the Communications System Operation skill.

Damage Control

A Damage Control Procedures check will minimize damage from one incoming attack during the turn. On a successful check an attack of the player's choice will be reduced by 1 to 5 points (1D10 divided by 2, round up).

Medical

A successful General Medicine check from the Chief Medical Officer will restore 1 to 5% (1D10 divided by 2, round up) casualties.

Repairs

Repair checks are made during the Repair and Repower phase.

Miscellaneous

Characters who are not required to make one of the skill checks described previously or ones needed during a later phase may devote the whole turn to a particular action, such as analyzing sensor readings, attempting to decode an intercepted communication, or some other task. The appropriate skill check is made during this phase and the character is considered occupied for the turn and can perform no other skill checks. Any interruptions to the character during the turn, such as being shaken from a bridge hit (see Damage Allocation below) will negate the progress or results from the skill check. The results of the check will be known at the end of the turn, at the end of the Repair and Repower phase and before the start of the next turn.

3. Initiative and Automatic Actions

At the start of this phase any successful results from the Initial Skill Checks phase take effect, except for full turn efforts covered under the Miscellaneous checks.

1. Results from Sensor Scans are made known
2. Shields are reinforced
3. Weapon locks are made

Power Allocation

The Power Allocation decided on in the Plan Actions phase are made, plus any bonus Power Unit gained during Initial Skill checks.

In the Starship Tactical Combat Simulator rules every ship has a different amount of power to allocate based on its total Warp and Impulse engine capacity, and the power must be distributed between multiple systems precisely. These rules greatly simplify the power management and allocation. Here all fleet level starships have the same amount of available power (fleet level meaning warp powered spacecraft); and allocating that power to different ship systems has the same cost. The assumption is that all starships have power available appropriate to the types of systems the vessel is equipped with.

Each Power System on a starship produces a certain number of Power Units which must be allocated to certain systems.

Power System	Power Units
Main Reactor	4
Impulse Reactors	3
Auxiliary Reactors	2
Emergency Batteries	1

As the table shows, at the start of combat an undamaged starship will have 10 Power Units available. The Main Reactor is the matter-antimatter power system at the heart of warp powered vessels (or the singularity reactor for Romulan starships); the Impulse Reactors are the fusion power systems used for the vessel's sublight propulsion systems; Auxiliary Reactors are also fusion powered and serve to provide additional power for ship's systems; and the Emergency Batteries are just that, a power storage system intended to provide energy if the other systems are damaged or offline.

Power Units are divided between Shields, Weapons, and Maneuvers.

1. Shields: Allocating 2 Power Units raises all shields to their current maximum capacity. Allocating just 1 Power Unit to shields will raise the shields to 1/2 their capacity (round down).
2. Weapons: All of a starship's weapons can be armed by allocating 5 Power Units; 1/2 of the weapons (round down) can be armed by allocating 3 Power Units; 1/4 of the weapons (round down) can be armed by allocating 2 Power Units; or a single weapon can be armed by allocating 1 Power Unit to Weapons.
3. Maneuvers: the Power Unit cost for a maneuver depends on which maneuver is being attempted. See phase 4 – Maneuvers and the sample maneuvers at the end of these rules for the power cost of different maneuvers.

Initiative

Both Captains make a Starship Combat Strategy and Tactics check.

• If neither check exceeds 100 then maneuvers and fire occur simultaneously. If some declared actions are invalidated by executed maneuvers neither Captain may change actions to compensate.
• If one Captain's skill check exceeds 100 and the other does not then the winning Captain has Initiative. The Captain with Initiative is aware of his opponent's maneuver and may choose to not perform any maneuvers he declared and may instead take defensive action if desired. The winning Captain's weapons fire is resolved first, unless the Captain chooses otherwise.
• If both Captains' skill checks exceed 100 but the difference between the checks is 10 or less then the result is the same as if both checks failed to exceed 100 as described above. If the difference between the two is greater than 10 and less than 100 then the Captain with the higher result has Initiative as described above.
• If one Captain's skill check exceeds the other's by 100 or more then that Captain has complete Tactical Advantage over his opponent. The winning Captain has predicted his opponent's exact tactics and that character is made aware of all declared actions on the part of his opponent, including what Initial Skill Checks were made by the opposing crew. The winning Captain may then change any of his previously chosen actions – any planned Maneuvers can be changed, Power Allocation can be altered, and he and his crew can make all new Initial Skill Checks. These new skill checks replace any made during Phase 2 of the combat and the results of the new checks must be accepted.

4. Maneuvers

All declared Maneuvers are resolved in this phase. A set of example maneuvers are given at the end of these optional rules. These example Maneuvers are:

• Evasive
• Impulse Veer
• Sulu Maneuver
• Shadow Maneuver
• Kirk Defense Maneuver
• Photon Screen Defense
• April Maneuver
• Fire Blossom Maneuver
• Cochrane Deceleration Maneuver
• Picard Maneuver

Each Maneuver includes a description of the Maneuver, the Power Unit Cost to execute the Maneuver, and any special game effects that result from successfully performing the Maneuver.

The GM and players are encouraged to come up with their own new Maneuvers. For new Maneuvers use the examples as a guideline. In general:

• Power Cost:
  1. All Maneuvers have a minimum Power Cost of 1 Power Unit.
  2. Maneuvers requiring high speed or abrupt changed at Impulse speeds require a minimum Power Cost of 2 Power Units.
  3. Maneuvers requiring rapid or complex changes at Warp speeds have a minimum Power Cost of 3 Power Units.
• Most Maneuvers will require a successful Starship Helm Operations check, with the GM setting the difficulty based on the description of the Maneuver.
• Maneuvers requiring rapid Warp speed jumps or shifts in Warp speed will also require a Warp Drive Technology check.

For the game effects of a new Maneuver use the listed effects of the example Maneuvers as a guide. The GM is the final arbiter of a Maneuver's effect and should be careful not to allow a Maneuver to become too powerful.

Maneuvers and Initiative

Some Maneuvers may invalidate some or all of an opponent's declared actions and may even give a tactical advantage to a starship that lost the Initiative! In general, any time a Maneuver does not result in surprise the target may return fire. If the defending ship won the Initiative then it may return fire normally (after the attacker has resolved their attacks). If the defender lost the Initiative they may return fire but with a –25 Quick Shot penalty to the attack.

5. Resolve Fire and Damage Allocation

The starship with tactical advantage (Initiative) fires first. If neither ship has advantage then fire occurs simultaneously.

Range

Combat usually occurs at Short range, but the results of Maneuvers may place the opponents in closer or farther away ranges. Since there is no tabletop map component the GM is final arbiter of what range the combat is occurring at.

Firing Arcs

The firing arcs of weapons are the same as in the Starship Tactical Combat Simulator – Forward, Aft, Port, and Starboard. Typically an enemy vessel cannot be targeted with weapons from more than two adjacent firing arcs. A primary reason for performing certain maneuvers is to bring an enemy into range of as many weapons as possible, or to position one's own vessel so it minimizes the number of weapons an enemy can bring to bear on it. Since there is no tabletop map component the GM is final arbiter of what firing arcs a target vessel falls under.

Declare Targets

All targets will have generally been identified during the Plan Actions phase at the start of the turn.

• At this step the specific weapons to be fired are identified and declared.
• Some declared targets may no longer be viable due to Maneuvers performed in Phase 4, or failure to gain a Weapons Lock in Phase 3. Targets identified in Plan Actions can be dropped at this point due to these or other circumstances.
• New targets not previously identified in the Plan Actions phase can be declared here, but all attacks on them suffer a –25 penalty (Quick Shot).
• As previously stated, a vessel can fire on multiple targets in a round but all attacks suffer a cumulative –10 penalty per additional target after the first.

Starship To-Hit Modifiers

Range
Point-Blank	+15
Short	+0
Medium	–15
Long	–30
Extreme	–45
Called Shot	–10 to –25
Target stationary	+15
Multiple targets	–10 per additional target
Flanking	+15
Rear	+20
Surprise	+20
No Weapons Lock	–100
Quick Shot	–25

Determining Weapons Hits

In general a separate Starship Weaponry Operation check is made for each weapon fired, with the exception of banked weapons, multi-fire weapons, and weapons arrays (see below).

Banked Weapons, Multi-fire Weapons, and Weapons Arrays

Banked Weapons and Weapons Array fire is resolved with a single attack check. For determining shield penetration the weapons are treated as separate but the total damage from all the weapons in the bank/array is used to determine how many shield points are lost.

For photon torpedoes, disruptor, or other missile-type weaponry:

• Multiple photon torpedoes launched in sequence require only a single to-hit roll; on a success all of the torpedoes are considered to have hit, but the damage from each is resolved separately.
• Break multiple photon torpedo fired in a spread into groups of two (2) and roll a separate attack for each group.
• Multiple photon torpedo or disruptor (or other missile-type weaponry) spreads of four (4) or more used in a dispersion pattern reduce the Shield Efficiency Rating (SER) by one for the purpose of shield point loss.
• Banks of disruptors can be treated as a missile weapon and fired as a spread, or as a beam weapon and fired as banked weapons as described above.

Shields and Damage

Shield Penetration

• Any damage which exceeds the current strength of the shield hit is considered penetrating damage. If the attack was not a called shot on a particular location then roll a random hit location (see Damage Allocation below).

Shield Damage

• Divide the damage from the attack by the Shield Efficiency Rating (SER), rounding up. This is how many points of shield strength are lost from the attack.
• If the number of shield points lost in a single attack is greater than 10% of the maximum shield strength and no damage penetrated the shield but the attack roll result indicated a critical hit, then roll for a random system malfunction. The severity of the malfunction depends on the severity of the critical result.

Damage Allocation

If the attack was not a called shot on a particular location then roll a random hit location.

1D10 Roll	Location
1–5	Superstructure
6–7	Engine
8	Weapon (25% superstructure)
9	Sensor (25% superstructure)
10	Critical Area (25% superstructure)

If the attack resulted in a Critical Hit, the level of the Critical indicates the severity of Malfunction/Damage to any affected ship's systems.

Critical	Severity
A	Routine
B	Light
C	Moderate
D	Severe
E	Very Severe

If a system has already sustained a Malfunction/Damage and takes another hit, use the table below to determine the new severity level of the Malfunction/Damage.

Critical	Current Severity
	Routine	Light	Moderate	Severe	Very Severe	Extremely Severe
A	Routine	Light	Moderate	Severe	Very Severe	Extremely Severe
B	Light	Moderate	Severe	Very Severe	Extremely Severe	Destroyed
C	Moderate	Severe	Very Severe	Extremely Severe	Destroyed	Destroyed
D	Severe	Very Severe	Extremely Severe	Destroyed	Destroyed	Destroyed
E	Very Severe	Extremely Severe	Destroyed	Destroyed	Destroyed	Destroyed

Malfunction Severity Description

• Routine: system operates as normal but there is a 50% chance of developing a Moderate Malfunction each time the system is stressed.
• Light: the system operates at 75% capacity; skill checks with the system are at –10.
• Moderate: the system operates at 50% capacity; skill checks with the system are at –25.
• Severe: the system is inoperative.
• Very Severe: the system is inoperative.
• Extremely Severe: the system is non-operational until repaired or replaces. If Cost-in-Parts (CIP) of the Repair check is greater than 25% then the system cannot be repaired until the ship reaches a suitable Starbase or similar facility.
• Destroyed: the system has been completely destroyed and cannot be replaced until the ship reaches a suitable Starbase or similar facility.

Damage Location Effects

Superstructure Hits

• Penetrating damage is subtracted from Superstructure Points
• The level of a Critical Hit result is the severity of Malfunction/Damage to a random system (see Random System table below)
• Crew casualties are taken

Engine Hits

• Hit is applied to Warp Engines or Impulse Engines, whichever is appropriate to the attack (GM has final say)
• The level of a Critical Hit result is the severity of Malfunction/Damage to the Engine hit
• 25% of the penetrating damage (round down) is applied to Superstructure Points

Weapon Hits

• Hit is applied to a random weapon that has a firing arc that includes the arc of the shield that was struck in the attack
• The level of a Critical Hit result is the severity of Malfunction/Damage to the weapon
• 25% of the penetrating damage (round down) is applied to Superstructure Points

Sensors Hits

• The level of a Critical Hit result is the severity of Malfunction/Damage to the system
• 25% of the penetrating damage (round down) is applied to Superstructure Points

Critical Area

• Bridge or Engineering is hit, whichever is appropriate to the shield arc the attack struck (GM decision)
• 25% of the penetrating damage (round down) is applied to Superstructure Points
• Effects are specific to the location (Bridge or Engineering) – see below

Bridge Hits

There are two effects when the Critical Area struck is the Bridge: Bridge Personnel Shaken and Bridge Systems Affected.

Bridge Personnel Shaken

• Roll on the table below to determine how many of the bridge personnel are effected. Select those affected randomly
• Each affected character must make a successful DEX check or forfeit their next action

1D10 Roll	# of Personnel Affected
1–3	None
4–6	1
7–9	2
10	3

Bridge Systems Affected

• Roll on the first table to determine how many Bridge Systems are affected.
• For each affected system roll on the second table to determine which system/console it is.
• If the attack resulted in a Critical Hit, in addition to the severity of Malfunction/Damage that results there is also a possibility that there is a resulting explosion of the bridge console that will affect any characters near the console. Explosions have a blast radius of 1 meter per level (mark) of the explosion and are centered on the affected system/console. Resolve the attack from the explosion using the Grenade/Explosive Attack Table (Space Master Tech Book p. 70 / Cyberspace p. 196); critical results from the explosive attack are Impact criticals, with Heat criticals for the first blast radius or ground zero.
  • Routine, Light, or Moderate severity: no additional effect
  • Severe: Mark 1 Explosion
  • Very Severe: Mark 2 Explosion
  • Extremely Severe: Mark 3 Explosion
  • Destroyed: Mark 4 Explosion

Roll on the table below for the number of systems affected. Add +1 to the roll for every 5 full points of penetrating damage from the attack (so 1 to 4 points add nothing, 5 to 9 points add +1, 10 to 14 points add +2, etc.).

1D10 Roll	# of Systems Affected
1–3	None
4–6	1
7–8	2
9	3
10+	4

Roll on the table below to determine which system(s) were affected. The GM is free to substitute other systems into the table.

1D10 Roll	Affected System/Console
	Original Series Era	Next Generation Era
1	Communications	Operations
2	Science Station	Flight Control (Conn)
3	Shield Control	Science Station 1
4	Helm	Science Station 2
5	Navigation	Mission Operations
6	Weapon Control	Tactical
7	Engineering Station	Engineering Station
8	Main Viewer	Main Viewer
9	Turbolift	Turbolift
10	Captain's Chair	Captain's Chair

Engineering Hits

There are two effects when the Critical Area struck is Engineering: Chief Engineer Shaken and Power Systems Affected.

Chief Engineer Shaken

• As Bridge Personnel Shaken above, the Chief Engineer must make a successful DEX check or forfeit their next action. If the Chief Engineer is not in Engineering then this effect is ignored.

Power Systems Affected

• Roll for number of systems affected as for Bridge Systems Affected above.
• For each affected system roll on the Power System sub-table of the Random Systems table below.
• The Critical Result determines the severity of the Malfunction/Damage to the affected Power System. If the same system is rolled more than once then the Malfunction/Damage severity increases as described in Damage Allocation above.

Random Systems

When a Random System hit must be determined, use the table below. Empty slots are left for the GM to fill in with systems specific to the type of vessel.

1st Roll	Area	2nd Roll	System
1–2	Mechanical	1	Life Support (Auxiliary)
		2	Environmental Controls (Auxiliary)
		3–4	Shuttlebay/Docking Port
		5–6	Turbolifts
		7–8	Internal Lighting (Emergency)
		9	Power Coupling [Port/Starboard]
		10	Cargo Bay
3–5	Electrical	1	Helm Control (Auxiliary)
		2	Navigation Control (Auxiliary)
		3	Fire Control
		4	Shield Control
		5	Communications, internal
		6	Communications, external
		7–8	Sensors
		9	Scanners
		10	Transporters
6–7	Computer	1	Deflector Shield Control
		2–3	Sensor Analysis
		4	Computer-Aided Astrogation
		5–6	Memory Banks
		7	Navigational Deflector Control
		8	Diagnostics
		9	Main Computer Core (Auxiliary)
		10	[empty]
8–9	Power Systems	1	Impulse Control
		2	Warp Drive Control
		3	Main Reactor / Warp Core
		4	Impulse Reactors
		5–6	Power Distribution Grids (roll on Power Distribution Grid Subsystems below)
		7	Artificial Gravity
		8	Auxiliary Power
		9	Batteries
		10	Antimatter Containment
10	Weapons	1–2	Fire Control (Auxiliary)
		3	Tracking Control
		4	Weapon 1 [empty]
		5	Weapon 2 [empty]
		6	Weapon 3 [empty]
		7	Weapon 4 [empty]
		8	Weapon 5 [empty]
		9	Weapon 6 [empty]
		10	Weapon 7 [empty]

Any system with "(Auxiliary)" noted has a backup system which will take effect if the primary is disabled due to Malfunction/Damage. Subsequent hits to the system will affect the Auxiliary backup system.

Power Grid Subsystems

Roll	Power Distribution Grid	Effect
1–2	Shield Power Grid	Power cannot be allocated to shields
3–4	Weaponry Power Grid	Power cannot be allocated to weapons
5–6	Maneuver Power Grid	Power cannot be allocated to maneuvering
7	Shield and Weapon Power Grids	As above for both systems
8	Shield and Maneuver Power Grids	As above for both systems
9	Weapon and Maneuver Power Grids	As above for both systems
10	All Power Grids	No Power Allocation possible

Specific System Malfunction/Damage Effects

Life Support	Auxiliary Life Support can take over for four (4) hours before it gives up. Breathable air will be used up within 1D10+2 hours after all Life Support systems are offline.
Environmental	As with Life Support the auxiliary system will last for four (4) hours before failing. 1D10+2 hours after both systems are offline the ship's internal temperature will drop to below that which can sustain life.
Power Couplings	As long as one Power Coupling (port or starboard) is operational it can maintain the load of both for five (5) hours before being stricken with a Severe Malfunction (and ceasing operation).
Main Reactor	With a Light Malfunction the reactor only produces 3 Power Units instead of the usual 4. With a Moderate Malfunction it only produces 2 Power Units. A Severe or higher Malfunction means the Main Reactor produces no Power Units and Power Allocation must rely on Impulse, Auxiliary and Battery sources.
Impulse Reactor	With a Light Malfunction the reactor only produces 2 Power Units instead of the usual 3. With a Moderate Malfunction it only produces 1 Power Unit. A Severe or higher Malfunction means the Impulse Reactor produces no Power Units and Power Allocation must rely on the remaining sources.
Auxiliary Reactor	With a Moderate Malfunction the reactor only produces 1 Power Units instead of the usual 2. A Severe or higher Malfunction means the Auxiliary Reactor produces no Power Units and Power Allocation must rely on the remaining sources.
Batteries	A Light Malfunction means there is only a 75% chance the Batteries will supply their 1 Power Unit for Allocation (check each turn during Power Allocation). A Moderate Malfunction means the Batteries will only supply 1 Power Unit for allocation 50% of the time (check each turn during Power Allocation). A Severe or higher Malfunction means the Batteries produce no Power Units and Power Allocation must rely on the remaining sources.

Crew Casualties

Crew casualties are incurred any time there is Superstructure damage sustained. The table on page 37 of the Starship Tactical Combat Simulator shows the % of casualties incurred when the Superstructure is damaged in an attack.

Location Casualties (Optional)

The Crew Casualties rules are good for generic casualties represented as a percentage of the crew, but what about identifying individual player or non-player characters who might be injured in an attack? While the Bridge Hit rules allow for individual characters to be injured by exploding consoles, these rules describe how it can be determined if characters at other locations aboard the ship were injured if that location took damage during an attack.

First, each character at the location that sustained damage should make and END roll, modified by the severity of the hit as follows:

• Graze: +50
• Regular hit (no critical): +30
• A Critical: +20
• B Critical: +10
• C Critical: +0
• D Critical: –10
• E Critical: –20

The character can further modify the END check by making a LUC roll. Subtract 100 from the result of the LUC roll and add that to the END roll result (even if the modified LUC roll is below zero).

The final result of the END roll determines if the character sustains an injury from the attack.

END Roll Result	Injury
126+	Unhurt
101-125	Attack at +10
76-100	Attack at +25
51-75	Attack at +50
26-50	Attack at +75
25 or less	Attack at +100

Attacks are made using the Grenade/Explosive Attack Table (Space Master Tech Book p. 70 / Cyberspace p. 196); critical results from the explosive attack are Impact criticals, any secondary criticals are Shrapnel/Heat.

6. Repair and Repower

During the Repair and Repower phase, the following skill checks can be made to effect repairs before the start of the next combat turn. Checks can be made by command crew characters using the appropriate Skill Rating, or can be made based on the Crew Efficiency Rating if no member of the command crew is able to make the check.

System Repairs

Repairs to Malfunction/Damage to a ship's system are made using the Repair rules as described on the Starfleet General Orders page. The repair check will use the rating appropriate Technical skill or the Astronautics skill if no other skill applies. Two factors can impact System Repairs:

• Prioritizing: if repair attempts are being made against more than one damaged system then the repairs must be prioritized. The repair check with the highest priority is made with no penalty, but each system beyond the first suffers a cumulative –10 penalty to the repair check (so the second highest priority repair is at –10, the third highest is at –20, the fourth highest is at –30 and so on).
• Jury-Rigging: as can be seen on the Malfunction/Repair, some repairs can take minutes, hours or even days for higher severity damage. In the heat of battle time is of the essence and it getting a damaged system back online can make the difference between life and death. In these cases a Jury Rig repair can be attempted. A Jury-Rig repair check is made as if the severity of the damage was one level less. If successful then the system is repaired, but only temporarily. After a period of time equal to the time spent making the Jury-Rig Repair shifted up (rounds to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days) the repair will fail and the system will be damaged again, with a severity one level higher than the original damage! Jury-Rigging is a way to get a critical system back into a functional state in short order during the combat at the cost of making the damage worse in the long run.

Superstructure (Hull) Repairs

A successful Damage Control Procedures check will restore one point of Superstructure damage. An additional point is restored if the check result was 200+.

Shield Repairs

A successful Deflector Shield Operations check will restore a number of points equal to one half of the Shield Efficiency Rating of the ship's shields (round up). An additional point is restored if the check result was 200+. Points that are restored can all be applied to a single shield arc or spread across multiple arcs.

Crew Casualties

A successful General Medicine check will reduce the Crew Casualties percentage by one. An additional percentage point is recovered if the check result was 200+.

It is also during this phase that the ship's batteries are recharged in order to provide Power Units during the next turn (unless they were damaged or destroyed). Missile weapons systems such as photon torpedo launchers are reloaded during this phase.

Post-Combat Rules

Once the combat is finished the longer term results of the combat are determined.

Crew Losses

The Crew Casualties as determined during the Resolve Fire and Damage phase just represent a general reduction in crew capability due to injuries, incapacitation, or even death of a certain percentage of the vessel's crew. But how many of those casualties are actual fatalities, crew that must be replaced before the ship is back at 100% efficiency?

To determine what the Crew Loss is from an attack the GM will make a "survival check" for the crew. Start at a base rating of 50 and subtract the Crew Casualties %. This is the rating used for the check. The check can be further modified by the Chief Medical Officer, who makes a check against the average of General Medicine and Damage Control Procedures and subtracts 100 from the result. This is then added to the Crew Survival Check. If the check does not succeed (is not above 100) then the amount it failed by is a percentage of the Crew Casualties that was failed (so it is a percentage of a percentage).

Long-Term Repairs

Once combat is over then the engineering and damage control teams can put more effort into repairing any damage sustained.

Systems and Superstructure

Superstructure generally takes longer to repair than ship's systems. As long as the vessel has unrepaired superstructure damage then checks made using any ship's system will suffer a penalty.

< 75% Superstructure	system checks suffer a –10 penalty
< 50% Superstructure	system checks suffer an additional –10 penalty to all actions
< 25% Superstructure	system checks suffer an additional –10 penalty to all actions

Repairing Superstructure

To make long term repairs to Superstructure the Chief Engineer makes an Astronautics check each day. The result of the check divided by 30 (round down) is how much superstructure is repaired that day. If the vessel is at a Starbase then the check is made with a +20 bonus. Penalties to crew efficiency due to casualties also apply to the check.

Repairing Systems

Long term repair to systems is handled the same as during the Repair phase. In the case of Jury-Rigged repairs, if the time to fail has not elapsed then the failure can be prevented if a proper repair check can be completed before the time is up; or alternative the engineer can take the system offline completely before the failure to effect repairs. In that case the system is unavailable until the repair is complete.

Special Equipment

These are rules for special types of equipment that might be found aboard some starships.

Cloaking Devices

A favorite of the Romulans, and also used on some Klingon vessels, a Cloaking Device hides a vessel from detection. These rules cover the use of a cloaking device in combat.

Using a Cloaking Device

A Cloaking Device costs 4 Power Units to use; power is allocated to the Cloaking Device during the Initiative and Automatic Actions phase alongside other power allocation. Additionally no power can be allocated to a weapons system during a turn when power has been allocated to the cloaking device.

If the Cloaking Device was active the prior turn or prior to the start of the combat, then the cloak remains active as long as power is still allocated to it. If the Cloaking Device is being activated for the first time during the turn then it does not take effect until the Initiative and Automatic Actions phase. This means that opponents may still have acquired a weapons lock on the cloaking vessel for that turn; see Detecting a Cloaked vessel below for how to handle weapons lock against a cloaking vessel.

A Cloaking Device is deactivated by simply not allocating power to it at the start of a turn. The deactivation takes place during the Initiative and Automatic Actions phase, so the cloak is still considered active when any detection efforts are made by opponents during the Initial Skill Checks phase. As long as it is not detected, the de-cloaking vessel gains the Surprise bonus to any attacks it makes during the turn in which the Cloaking Device was deactivated.

Detecting a Cloaked Vessel

Detecting a cloaked vessel is a special kind of sensor check made during the Initial Skill Checks phase. The sensor operator attempting to detect a cloaked vessel selects a firing arc (forward, aft, port, or starboard) to scan for vessels and makes a Starship Sensors check, with a penalty of –100. A success indicates that the cloaked vessel, if one is present in the specified firing arc, has been detected; or will indicate that there are no cloaked vessels in that firing arc if that is the case. Weapons officers may fire on the vessel, however they must do so with the No Lock-On penalty. A partial success will indicate that a cloaked vessel might be in that firing arc but does not provide enough information to provide weapons officers with a target. If the cloaked vessel is de-cloaking and attacking in the same turn it is detected then it will lose the Surprise bonus to its attacks.

If a vessel has a weapons lock on a target that activates a Cloaking Device then a Starship Sensors check can be made as a reaction to the cloak activating. This is handled the same as above, except that the firing arc the cloaking vessel is in will be known. If no weapons lock had been made against the cloaking vessel then no check can be made as a reaction.

The cloaking vessel can attempt to make it harder for an enemy to detect it. As a counter to enemy vessel Starship Sensors checks made to detect the cloaked vessel, one of the vessel's crew can make a Cloaking Procedures check. Subtract 100 from the result of that check and apply it as an additional penalty to the Starship Sensors check made to try and detect the cloaked vessel.

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Maneuvers

These example maneuvers are based on starship tactics originally published in the Starfleet Officer Requirements, a fan-produced technical manual originally published in the mid-1980s (with the exception of the Picard Maneuver, which is based on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Battle").

Evasive

If a starship does not wish to leave the Engagement Zone – but does wish to avoid enemy fire – it must not alter course or speed. Evasive maneuvers usually involve "jogging" – minor randomized thrusting to port, zenith, starboard, or nadir; not enough to alter the starship's course, just enough to make the flight path a jagged line instead of an easily predictable (and trackable) smooth function. Evasive jogs are pre-loaded into the Helm Console – stored with the Course Preset Panel – where they can be called up and executed upon a Captain's order.

• Power Cost: 1; Impulse Engines must be functional
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation
• Effect: The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Vehicle Maneuver check at –40. The result is the percentage of the Officer's Starship Helm Operation skill rating that may be dedicated to Defense; round any fractions down. Any amount up to this calculated value is then divided between the attackers and acts as a penalty to the attack check. The total calculated value, however, is also applied as a penalty to any attacks made by the evading starship.

Impulse Veer

The usual evasive maneuver at sublight speeds is one or more sudden impulse turns – veering sharply to port, zenith, starboard, or nadir in order to avoid incoming enemy fire. Since all speeds are low, this will not remove the evading starship from the Engagement Zone.

• Power Cost: 2; Impulse Engines must be functional
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation
• Effect: The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Vehicle Maneuver check at –10 (Hard). If successful, the attacker suffers a –50 to all attacks and a new shield facing is presented to the attacker. However the defender also suffers a –50 to any attacks.

Sulu Maneuver

This maneuver calls for split-second timing, precise reflexes, and perfect operator/computer interaction. When the starship is fired upon, it shifts into Warp Drive, circles around its attacker, and then drops back into sublight – approaching the enemy vessel from a new and hopefully unexpected direction. All this must be accomplished before the enemy vessel can react. The only defense to the Sulu Maneuver is for the enemy vessel to realize the situation, and to escape via Warp Drive the instant that the starship does so, thus leaving the Engagement Zone.

• Power Cost: 3; Warp Drive must be functional
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Warp Drive Technology
• Effect: The Chief Engineer makes a Warp Drive Technology check (medium difficulty, +0) to initiate the Warp Jump. If the result is only a partial success then the ship takes 1 point of stress damage for every 10 points the check was missed by. On a failure the Warp Jump is not executed at all and the Maneuver fails. If the Engineer's check was a success or partial then the Helm Officer must make a Sheer Folly (–50) Hyperspace Maneuver check. If the Helm check is successful then all attacks by the starship are made at +35 (a +20 surprise bonus and +15 flank bonus), or just +20 (the surprise bonus only) if the Engineer's check was only a partial success. If the opposing vessel makes a successful Sheer Folly (–50) Starship Sensors check they may detect the vector of the incoming vessel and negate the attacker's surprise bonus; the flank bonus still applies (unless it was lost due to a partial success on the Warp Drive Technology check, in which case the attacker gains no attack bonus).

Shadow Maneuver

Another evasive maneuver modality requires the presence of a large third object (star, planet, or asteroid) behind which the fleeing starship can dart. The instant that the starship is screened from its attacker's sensors, it executes an emergency impulse pivot so that it exits the object's sensor shadow in a manner which takes the enemy vessel by surprise.

• Power Cost: 2; Impulse Engines must be functional
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation
• Effect: There must be a suitable object present with a large enough sensor shadow to conceal the ship. The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Vehicle Maneuver check at –20 (Very Hard). If successful, all attacks made that turn are made with a +20 surprise bonus. If the opposing vessel makes a successful Extremely Hard (–30) Starship Sensors check they may detect the vector of the incoming vessel and negate the attacker's surprise bonus, but all return fire attacks will have a No Lock-On penalty of –40.

Kirk Defense Maneuver

Used if a starship suffers extreme damage to one portion, so that the shields there are buckled or down, and that portion must be protected. The starship maneuvers in place so that, as the enemy vessel passes on an attack run, the crippled portion is always kept opposite from it – ensuring that enemy fire will hit only the strongest shields. Normally used only if a starship cannot evade or depart the Engagement Zone.

• Power Cost: 1
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Deflector Shield Operation
• Effect: This maneuver is typically used if the ship is unable to execute a full Evasive maneuver due to inoperative sublight engines. The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Vehicle Maneuver check and the Navigation Officer makes a Deflector Shield Operation check. If both checks are successful, all incoming attacks gain a +15 bonus (stationary) to hit but will strike the shield arc of the defender's choice.

Photon Screen Defense

A fairly desperate gambit, since it robs the starship of ordnance. Basically the starship fires a salvo of Photon Torpedoes (3 – 6) – at carefully calculated times, speeds, courses, and fuse durations – so that all detonate simultaneously between the starship and its opponent. The result and purpose is to – for a short time – overload the enemy's sensors, thus creating a temporary screen behind which the starship can execute some maneuver unseen, thereby taking the enemy unawares.

A second Photon Screen Defense – or Offense – is available only to starships possessing rear-firing Photon Torpedo tubes, and is used against a pursuing vessel, preparatory to an emergency impulse pivot and attack.

• Power Cost: 2
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Starship Weaponry Operation
• Effect: The Weapons Officer makes a Starship Weaponry Operation check (static maneuver) to time the detonation properly. The Helm Officer makes a maneuver check (difficulty depends on the attempted maneuver). Sensor checks may be made by both sides, difficulty is Sheer Folly with an additional 5 for each torpedo over 2 used. If successful the ship will be detectable and will lose any surprise bonus; but any lock-on will be lost.

April Maneuver

Used to escape a powerful pursuer, but only if the fleeing starship has better shield capability than the enemy. The starship plots and executes a course which is along a tangent to a nearby star – as close as shields will permit. All shield power is brought to bear between the starship and the star, exposing an attractively bare stern to the enemy. Should the enemy continue the chase, the starship waits until his pursuer's inferior shielding begins to weaken. Normally this would result in the enemy breaking off the chase and flying away from the star. However, the starship blocks off this escape route by locking tractor beams on the enemy, towing it to overload and destruction.

• Power Cost: 1; shields must be powered and tractor beams "armed"
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Starship Weaponry Operation, Deflector Shield Operation, Starship Sensors
• Effect: Damage due to proximity to a star is measured in increments of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.) depending on how close the vessels get. This is the strength of an attack which occurs at the end of each turn and attacks the shield arc facing the star. The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Maneuver check (Hard). If the check fails then the vessel is one "increment" closer to the star than intended for each 10 below the target the check was. A successful Starship Sensors check, with a penalty equal to the damage dealt by the star, is required to know when the enemy vessel's shields have failed. Then a successful "attack" made with the Tractor Beam (using the Deflector Shield Operation skill) must be made to snare the enemy vessel and hold them until the target is destroyed.

Fire Blossom Maneuver

A Klingon maneuver. Similar in scheme to the April Maneuver, except that at the closest approach to the star (not as close as the former) the fleeing starship jettisons one or more antimatter charges into the star's surface. The detonation of antimatter will result in a solar flare which – if timed correctly – will rise to engulf and destroy the pursuer.

• Power Cost: 1; shields must be powered
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Starship Weaponry Operation, Starship Combat Strategy and Tactics
• Effect: The Helm Officer makes an N-Space Maneuver check (Medium difficulty) to position the starship near the star; but not close enough to take damage (in increments as described in the April Maneuver above). If the check is failed the starship is closer to the star than intended, also as described above, and potentially taking damage as a result. The Captain makes a Starship Combat Strategy and Tactics check (Extremely Hard) to successfully time the flare to strike the target vessel. If this check fails then the damage from the flare is reduced by 50% for every 10 points the check failed by. The Weapons Officer must make a to-hit roll at –20 to hit the correct part of the star's surface to trigger the flare. The effect of a miss is the same as for a failed Tactics check, the damage will be reduced by 50% for every 10 points the attack misses by. A flare generated by both successful checks will deal 100 points of damage. The damage that penetrates the target's shields should be divided into 5 or 10 point groups (GM's choice), each applied to a random hit location.

Cochrane Deceleration Maneuver

Utilized by a starship being pursued at high Warp speeds.

1 – As the pursuer begins to close on the starship, the starship cuts all power to the Warp Drive – dumping itself down to sublight speed.

2 – The pursuer, caught unawares, is forced to overshoot. This presents the starship with three options:

3A – The starship can re-engage Warp Drive and begin chasing the enemy vessel.

3B – The starship can feed power back to the Warp Drive before it is dumped to sublight speed, and end up paralleling the enemy vessel – leaving said enemy wide open to a flank attack.

3C – The starship can drop below lightspeed, turn, and go back to Warp Drive – thus veering off at an acute angle and breaking off the engagement.

• Power Cost: 3
• Skill Checks Required: Starship Helm Operation, Warp Drive Technology
• Effect: This maneuver requires a successful Warp Drive Technology check to cut power to the Warp Drive followed by a successful Starship Helm Operation check to prevent the ship from taking stress damage. Further checks depend on which of the three variations of the maneuver are being attempted:
  1. Another Warp Drive Technology check and Starship Helm Operation check are required to restart the Warp Drive and avoid stress damage to the vessel as it resumes Warp Speed to begin pursuit.
  2. A Very Hard difficulty Warp Drive Technology check and a Medium difficulty Starship Helm Operation check to restart the Warp Drive and avoid stress damage to position the vessel correctly. If both checks succeed then all attacks are made with a +15 flanking bonus.
  3. A Medium difficulty Warp Drive Technology check and a Very Hard difficulty Hyperspace Maneuver Starship Helm Operation check to restart the Warp Drive and avoid stress damage. If successful then the vessel has escaped the engagement and the combat ends.

Picard Maneuver

This maneuver, as its name implies, is only available in a Next Generation era campaign. (This did not appear in the original Starfleet Officer Requirements document; the rules for the maneuver were created for use in the USS Excalibur campaign set in the Next Generation era.)

Like the Sulu Maneuver, this tactic involves precise helm control. When the starship is about to be fired upon, it shifts into Warp Drive. However, unlike the Sulu Maneuver, the starship only executes a micro-Warp jump. For an instant the ship appears to be in two places at once and the enemy vessel only has a weapons lock on the original position. The Warp jump is usually used to bring the starship into a position where it can fire at point-blank range. The only defense is for the enemy vessel to use sensors to attempt to detect the sudden compression of gasses at the point where the starship exits the Warp jump and use this to establish a new targeting matrix.

• Power Cost: 3
• Skill Checks Required: Astrogration, Starship Helm Operation, Warp Drive Technology
• Effect: The Navigator makes a Very Hard Astrogation check (static maneuver) to plot the course needed. A successful Warp Drive Technology check is needed to ready the Warp Drive for the maneuver. The Helm Officer then makes an Extremely Hard Hyperspace Maneuver check to execute the micro-Warp jump. If all checks are successful then attacks are made at +50 to-hit (Surprise, Flanking, and Point Blank bonuses); and the opponent's attacks will be directed at the wrong location (unless they make the successful sensor check).