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Mneme CE Chapter 6 Off World Travel

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Chapter 6: Off-World Travel

Characters in science fiction don't live in a single village on a single planet all their lives. Instead, their stories often take them out of a planet-bound existence and out into the stars. Adventurers in Cepheus Engine games are no different. They will travel to different worlds, seeking out new, exciting and hopefully profitable activities to pursue. Therefore, it is important to develop an understanding of off-world travel. Off-world travel can take one of two different forms, interplanetary travel through normal space and interstellar travel through Jump space. This chapter explores both facets.

Interplanetary Travel

All ship operations, including interstellar flights, involve some sublight maneuvering. Ships making short interplanetary flights usually accelerate halfway there, then reverse thrust and decelerate the rest of the way. The Common Travel Times by Acceleration table offers rounded values for common travel times.

For Referees desiring more accuracy in their numbers, use the formula:

T=2 × √(D/A)

where T is time in seconds, D is distance in meters, and A is acceleration in m/sec²

Common Travel Times by Acceleration
Distance (km) 1-G 2-G 3-G 4-G 5-G 6-G Example
1,000 10m, 32s 7m, 27s 6m, 5s 5m, 16s 4m, 43s 4m, 18s Jump pt., planetoid
10,000 33m, 20s 23m, 34s 19m, 15s 16m, 40s 14m, 54s 13m, 36s Typical surface to orbit
100,000 1h, 45m 1h, 15m 1h, 1m 52m, 42s 47m, 8s 43m, 2s
160,000 2h, 13m 1h, 34m 1h, 17m 1h, 7m 59m, 38s 54m, 26s Jump pt., UWP size 1
320,000 3h, 9m 2h, 13m 1h, 49m 1h, 34m 1h, 24m 1h, 17m Jump pt., UWP size 2
480,000 3h, 51m 2h, 43m 2h, 13m 1h, 55m 1h, 43m 1h, 34m Jump pt., UWP size 3
640,000 4h, 27m 3h, 9m 2h, 34m 2h, 13m 1h, 59m 1h, 49m Jump pt., UWP size 4
800,000 4h, 58m 3h, 31m 2h, 52m 2h, 29m 2h, 13m 2h, 2m Jump pt., UWP size 5
960,000 5h, 27m 3h, 51m 3h, 9m 2h, 43m 2h, 26m 2h, 13m Jump pt., UWP size 6
1,000,000 5h, 33m 3h, 56m 3h, 12m 2h, 47m 2h, 29m 2h, 16m
1,120,000 5h, 53m 4h, 9m 3h, 24m 2h, 56m 2h, 38m 2h, 24m Jump pt., UWP size 7
1,280,000 6h, 17m 4h, 27m 3h, 38m 3h, 9m 2h, 49m 2h, 34m Jump pt., UWP size 8
1,440,000 6h, 40m 4h, 43m 3h, 51m 3h, 20m 2h, 59m 2h, 43m Jump pt., UWP size 9
1,600,000 7h, 2m 4h, 58m 4h, 3m 3h, 31m 3h, 9m 2h, 52m Jump pt., UWP size A
5,000,000 12h, 25m 8h, 47m 7h, 10m 6h, 13m 5h, 33m 5h, 4m Jump pt., small gg
10,000,000 17h, 34m 12h, 25m 10h, 9m 8h, 47m 7h, 51m 7h, 10m Jump pt., large gg
45,000,000 1d, 13h 1d, 2h 21h, 31m 18h, 38m 16h, 40m 15h, 13m Close neighbor
100,000,000 2d, 8h 1d, 15h 1d, 8h 1d, 4h 1d, 1h 22h, 41m
255,000,000 3d, 17h 2d, 15h 2d, 3h 1d, 20h 1d, 16h 1d, 12h Far neighbor
600,000,000 5d, 16h 4d, 0h 3d, 7h 2d, 20h 2d, 13h 2d, 8h Close gas giant
900,000,000 6d, 23h 4d, 22h 4d, 0h 3d, 11h 3d, 3h 2d, 20h Far gas giant
1,000,000,000 7d, 8h 5d, 4h 4d, 5h 3d, 16h 3d, 7h 3d, 0h

Interstellar Travel

Interstellar flights require the use of Jump drive. Jump is also often used for long-distance flights within a solar system, where the real-space transit time would be greater than the 1-week Jump time. A ship can only safely Jump when it is more than one hundred diameters distant from any object. Gravity can cause a Jump bubble to collapse prematurely, bringing a ship back into normal space early. To enter Jump, a vessel needs a properly aligned hull Jump grid, a suitable set of course vectors (called a Jump Plot), and a working and properly fueled Jump drive.

The Jump grid allows the Jump field to properly form around the ship and protect it from Jump space. A damaged or misaligned grid can cause a ship to misjump, or to suffer Jump Intrusions while in Jump space. In the worst-case scenario, a ship with a damaged drive or a distorted grid may be destroyed at entry or breakout.

A Jump Plot is also required. A Jump Plot can be created by a navigator using the ship's computer. In addition, all Class-D and better starports can provide pre-calculated jump plots for any populated worlds within jump range for Cr1,000 per jump number. Each jump course tape provides the jump plot necessary to perform a jump from one specific world to a specific destination, and become increasingly less reliable as they get older.

Creating a Jump Plot is an Easy (+4) Education-based Navigation skill check taking 1D6 kiloseconds, modified by the Jump distance (thus, a Jump–4 gives a –4 DM to the check). If the check is failed, then the navigator must plot the Jump again, or the starship suffers a misjump. A Jump cannot be made until the navigation calculations are complete. Jump Plots can be created in advance, but quickly become out of date.

When the ship is ready to Jump, the engineer must properly divert power to the Jump drive. Firing the Jump drive is an Average (+0) Education-based Engineer check taking 10–60 seconds. The Effect of this check aids the Jump Success roll.

All normal Jumps take roughly one week (148+6D6 hours), and are subject to random variations in the point of emergence. The older a plot is, the more variance there is in the actual Jump performance. Thus course tapes tend to err on the side of caution, and give emergence points a long way out from the destination world.

A Jump carries the vessel a number of parsecs equal to the Jump number. Jumps of less than one parsec (less than three light years, or one hex) are possible, and count as Jump–1 for the purposes of navigation and fuel expenditure.

Jump Success Roll

Roll 2D6 and add the following DMs. If the result is 0 or less, the ship misjumps. If the result is 8+ the Jump is accurate. Any other result is an inaccurate Jump. If a Jump was made using a bad Jump Plot, the ship automatically misjumps.

+ the Effect of the divert power Engineer check
Add the Effect of the engineer's power diversion check
–1 per month that the Jump Plot is out of date
Penalty for using older Jump course tapes
–2 per Jump drive hit
Each hit to the Jump drive reduces the roll
–2 for using Unrefined fuel
Using unrefined fuel imposes a penalty
–8 if still within the hundred-diameter limit
Critical penalty for attempting Jump too close to a gravity well

Jump Failures and Misjumps

When a starship suffers an inaccurate Jump, the vessel emerges from Jump in the wrong part of the target star system, requiring 1D6 days travel through normal space. When a starship misjumps, the ship ends up 1D6×1D6 parsecs in a random direction.

In both cases, the emergence is extremely hard. The vessel takes the equivalent of a critical hit from the discordant transition. In addition, everyone aboard the vessel suffers severe headaches, nausea and even nosebleeds for several hours before and after the ship emerges from Jump space.

Starship Operations

Standard procedures exist to govern how a starship goes about its business and handles emergency situations. Under normal circumstances, a ship will not deviate from these procedures. A captain whose vessel ignores standard operating procedure will usually have to explain himself to a patrol vessel or the local port authority.

Ship's Passage

A ship must provide sufficient accommodation for its crew; normally this means one stateroom per two crewmembers (this is termed double-occupancy). Any remaining stateroom space may be used to carry passengers. Passengers cannot share accommodation with crew, with the exception of working passage. Normally, one passenger per small stateroom and two per large stateroom room can be carried.

Passenger travel can be classified into five overarching categories – high, middle, low, working and stowaway.

High Passage

Cost
Cr10,000 per jump (Cr16,000 double occupancy)
Baggage Allowance
Up to 1,000 kg
Steward Requirement
Each level of Steward skill (including level 0) allows the steward to effectively look after two high passage passengers

The best method of travel is called high passage, which involves first class accommodations and cuisine. High passengers have the services of the ship's steward, entertainment and complete attention to their comfort.

Middle Passage

Cost
Cr8,000 per jump (Cr13,000 double occupancy)
Baggage Allowance
100 kg
Risk
Middle passengers may be 'bumped' by late arriving high passengers; ticket returned but no other compensation
Steward Requirement
Each level of Steward skill allows the steward to care for five middle passengers

In order for starships to fill their staterooms with passengers, middle passage is offered on a standby basis, in the event that not enough high passages are sold. While middle passengers occupy staterooms normally similar to those occupied by high passengers, they do not receive the service or entertainment accorded the higher paying passengers.

Low Passage

Cost
Cr1,000 per jump
Baggage Allowance
10 kg (built into cryoberth)
Risk
Easy (+4) Endurance check required upon revival; failure means death
Medic Assistance
An Education-based Routine (+2) Medicine skill check can assist the passenger

Transportation while in cold sleep (suspended animation) is possible at relatively low cost to the passenger. The passenger is placed in a low passage berth before the ship takes off, and travels the entire journey in a state of suspended animation. He does not age, and requires very little life support. Unfortunately, the low passage system involves some intrinsic dangers to the passenger, and he runs some risk of not surviving the voyage.

Working Passage

Baggage Allowance
1,000 kg
Duration Limit
May not continue for more than three jumps, or the individual is considered hired for standard salary
Requirement
Individual must have expertise in the position hired for

A starship captain with a crew shortage may hire an individual to fill the vacant position, paying not money but passage in return.

Stowaway

Risk
Imprisonment or heavy fines if caught
Deportation
If caught at destination, stowaways may be deported at ship owner's expense

A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vessel in order to travel without paying and without being detected.

Standard Operating Procedures

Most commercial starships follow a simple schedule, spending one week in Jump space and one week in normal space, taking care of business. Once a ship emerges from Jump space, it travels to the destination world, where passengers disembark, old cargo is unloaded and new cargo replaces it, the crew performs routine ship maintenance and refueling, new passengers come aboard the vessel, and then the starship travels to a Jump point in preparation for entering Jump space and traveling to the ship's next destination.

Non-commercial starships typically follow a similar schedule. Without the obligations of passengers or cargo, however, these vessels can choose to travel much faster. The week in-system can be reduced to simply refueling by the quickest means possible and then making the next Jump.

When a vessel first emerges from Jump space, the first course of action is to scan normal space for potential dangers. Once the commander determines that the vessel is safe, the navigator then determines the ship's location in normal Space and plots a course to the ship's destination in-system.

The commander may want to skim a local gas giant for free fuel. If so, the pilot achieves orbit and skims the "surface" of the gas giant for fuel. Scooping a gas giant for fuel takes 1D6 hours per 40 tons of fuel. When the fuel tanks are full, the pilot can then take the ship back out to a Jump point to leave for the next system, or travel to another destination in-system, such as a local world.

If the commander wishes to visit a local world, such as the mainworld, the pilot follows a course laid out by the navigator to the destination. After arriving at the world, the pilot achieves orbit and then proceeds to either the orbital starport or surface starport. Once docked at the starport, the vessel unloads any high passengers, followed by mail, middle passengers, cargo and finally low passengers. The ship refuels, if needed, and renews its life support. If the ship's owner or captain is interested in speculative trading, they then sell off speculative cargo and buy new cargo to replace it, if they find any good deals.

Starship Expenses

The primary expenses for a starship are the ship's mortgage or debts, crew salaries, fuel, life support, port fees and routine maintenance.

Mortgage or Debts

If the crew is paying off debts on their spacecraft, then these debts must be paid each month. The standard terms for a ship mortgage are paying 1/240th of the cash price each month for 480 months (40 years). In effect, interest and bank financing cost a simple 120% of the final cost of the ship, and the total financed price equals 220% of the cash purchase price. Ship shares are treated as reducing the cash price of the ship, and so reduce the monthly cash payments.

Crew Salaries

All starships and space vessels need a crew of some kind. Small craft like shuttles normally just have a pilot (and usually a copilot). Larger ships, and especially those using Jump drive to travel between the stars, need a larger crew.

Crew Salaries
Position Monthly Salary
Ship's Master Varies
Ship's Purser Varies or Cr3,000
Pilot Cr6,000
Navigator Cr5,000
Engineer Cr4,000
Steward Cr3,000
Medic Cr2,000
Gunner Cr1,000
Other Crewmember Cr1,000
Pilot
Cr6,000 per month – A qualified Pilot to maneuver the ship.
Navigator
Cr5,000 per month – Someone to create Jump Plots and navigate the ship. On small ships, this job is often doubled up with the Pilot's duties.
Engineer
Cr4,000 per month – Someone to maintain the ship and operate the drives. Larger ships may need several engineers and technicians to back them up.
Master
Cr6,000 per month (or highest qualified position) – A vessel's Master, or Captain, is responsible for the vessel and the safety of everyone aboard.
Medic
Cr2,000 per month – Ships that carry passengers must have a qualified medic. All vessels should have some form of medical assistance available.
Purser
Cr3,000 per month (or profit share) – Commercial ships often employ someone to look after the accounts and supplies.
Gunner
Cr1,000 per month – Armed ships must employ gunners to operate the weapons.
Assistant Engineers and Technicians
Cr1,000 per month – Technically adept people can assist the Engineer.
Cargo Handlers, Deck Hands and Security
Cr1,000 per month – Personnel to carry out various ship duties.
Stewards
Cr3,000 per month – Professional stewards ensure passengers enjoy their trip.

Fuel

Refined Fuel
Cr500 per ton (delivered at starport) – Available at Class A or B starports. Add Cr100 per ton if ferried to ship.
Unrefined Fuel
Cr100 per ton (delivered at starport) – Available at Class A, B, or C starports. Add Cr100 per ton if ferried to ship.
Water
Free – On worlds with hydrographic rating 1+, ships may pump fuel from open water or ice.
Gas Giants
Free – Streamlined ships with fuel scoops may skim gas giants. Takes 1D6 hours per 40 tons of fuel.

Life Support

Each stateroom on a ship costs Cr2,000 per month, occupied or not. This cost covers supplies for the life support system as well as food and water, although meals at this level will be rather spartan. Each low passage berth costs Cr100 per month.

A spacecraft with power can sustain life support for one person per stateroom for one month comfortably, and for six months at a stretch (number of staterooms × 5,000 person/hours). Without power, this drops to two weeks at most.

Life support supplies can be purchased in bulk:

Standard Life Support Supplies
Cr54,000 per ton – Provides 20 passengers or crew with life support for one month
Luxury Life Support Supplies
Cr72,000 per ton – Same coverage as standard supplies

Port Fees

It typically costs Cr100 to berth for 6 days in a starport, and Cr100 a day thereafter.

Routine Maintenance

A ship needs maintenance, which costs 0.1% (1/1000th) of the total cost of the ship per year and requires a shipyard. Maintenance should be carried out each month.

System Degradation
Roll Number of Hits
1–3 1
4–5 2
6 3

If maintenance is skipped or skimped on, roll 2D6 each month, with a +DM equal to the number of months skipped. On an 8+, the ship takes damage to a random system. Repair supplies cost Cr10,000/ton.

Starship Revenue

Starships generate revenue by carrying passengers, cargo, mail and charters. Goods taken on in orbit are delivered when placed in orbit around the destination. Goods taken on a planetary surface are considered to be delivered when off-loaded on the surface of the destination world.

Available Freight and Passengers
Starport Class Freight (tons) High Passengers Mid Passengers Low Passengers
A 3D6×10 3D6 3D6 3D6×3
B 3D6×5 2D6 3D6 3D6×3
C 3D6×2 1D6-1 2D6 3D6
D 3D6 0 1D6-1 2D6
E 1D6 0 1d3-1 1D6-1
X No Freight 0 0 0

Bulk Cargo

Ships will commonly pay their way by transporting cargo in bulk. This is on a flat-fee basis per ton of cargo. A ship's accounts are credited with Cr1,000 per ton of cargo, upon delivery. For any given destination world, roll on the Available Freight and Passengers table to find out how many tons of freight are available. A ship may choose to remain in port and see if new cargoes present themselves; roll again every 3 days.

Passengers

For any given destination world, roll on the Available Freight and Passengers table to find out how many passengers are available. A ship may choose to remain in port and see if new passengers present themselves; roll again every 3 days. The number of passengers must be determined at the same time as cargo.

Mail and Incidentals

Merchant ships may receive mail delivery contracts, usually as an adjunct to their established routes.

Requirements
Five tons of ship cargo capacity must be committed to postal duty, ship must be armed, gunner must be part of crew
Payment
Cr25,000 per trip (Cr5,000 per ton of postal cargo area)
Mail Tonnage
Roll 1D6-1 for actual tons of mail carried (does not affect payment)
Private Messages
Cr20 to Cr120 honorarium for private message delivery

Charters

Non-starship Charter
Cr1 per ton per hour, twelve-hour minimum
Starship Charter
Cr900 per ton of cargo hold + Cr9,000 per high passage berth + Cr900 per low passage berth (2-week blocks, owner pays all overhead)

Speculative Trading

A trader with cargo space available and free capital with which to speculate may seek out suitable goods to buy and sell. A complete Trade and Commerce system is presented in Chapter 7: Trade and Commerce.

Miscellaneous Topics

The following topics relate to aspects of starship operations that might impact an adventurer's experience over the course of a Cepheus Engine adventure or campaign.

Airlocks

A ship has at least one airlock per 100 tons. The average airlock is large enough for three people in vacc suits to pass through at the same time. An airlock takes ten seconds to cycle. Under normal circumstances, airlocks are locked down from the bridge and require a Very Difficult (–4) Engineer (electronics) check to override. An unlocked airlock can be triggered from outside.

Ships with cargo space have cargo hatches, allowing up to 10% of their cargo to be transferred at any time.

Distress Signals

A distress signal indicates that a person or group of people, vessel, small craft, or other vehicle is threatened by grave and imminent danger and requests immediate assistance. The use of distress signals under other circumstances is against most system and interstellar laws; in fact, most jurisdictions have large penalties for false, unwarranted or prank distress signals.

Penalty for False Distress
Fines may exceed Cr1,000,000 and/or prison time

Most interstellar and interplanetary governments mandate that the commander or master of any vessel that detects a distress signal is legally obligated to either respond and offer assistance or contact the authorities to report the signal.

Docking

Two spacecraft may dock if they are close together and neither ship attempts to resist the docking maneuver. Many airlock designs across charted space are compatible; for incompatible airlocks, ships extend flexible plastic docking tubes that adapt to the target airlock.

Docking Procedure
Routine (+2) Pilot task taking 1–6 minutes
Drifting/Unpowered Ship
Difficulty rises to Difficult (–2)

Boarding

Hostile boarding actions are safest when the enemy ship is crippled, in which case it is a standard docking procedure. If the enemy ship is still moving, then the prospective boarders must match the target's velocity and dock with it (a Difficult (–2) Pilot task), or else just land on the hull and either make their way to an airlock or cut through from outside.

Landing

Any ship with a standard or streamlined hull may land on the surface. Unstreamlined ships suffer a –2 DM to any Pilot checks made in atmosphere while a ship with a Distributed hull suffers a –4 DM to any Pilot checks, and is likely to take severe structural damage if it lands.

Starport Landing
Routine (+2) task taking 10–60 seconds
Wild Landing
Average (+0) to Very Difficult (–4) depending on local conditions

Non-distributed ships can also land on bodies of water without sinking. Failing a landing roll means that the ship has landed improperly or even crashed.

Ship Security

The primary goal of a starship's or vessel's security measures is to protect the safety of the ship and crew. Ship security exists on multiple levels: physical security and cybersecurity.

Physical Security Systems

Restricted Access Security
Type TL Means of Access Override Skill External Door Internal Door
Biometrics 8 DNA test, palm print, retinal scan, voiceprint Electronics Formidable (-6) Very Difficult (-4)
Electronic Lock 7 Keycard or combination Electronics Very Difficult (-4) Difficult (-2)
Intelligent 9 Granted by ship's computer Electronics Formidable (-6) Very Difficult (-4)
Mechanical Lock 4 Key or combination Mechanics Difficult (-2) Average (+0)

Physical barriers such as airlocks act as the outermost layer of security. The ship's computer can open or close any non-mechanical lock remotely, as well as report on a door's status.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Tasks
Task Typical Difficulty
Access ship records Average (+0)
Grant crew authorization to someone Difficult (-2)
Override key systems Formidable (-6)
Override security systems Defined by Security software package, typically Very Difficult (-4)

The security of a ship's computer is only as good as the Security software that's been installed. All starships come with Security/0 installed, but a wise ship's owner will invest in more advanced security programs. Most vessels run Security/2 programs, at a minimum.

Security Measures

Security measures on board a starship activate when an intrusion or emergency has been detected:

Internal Alarms
Alert crew and show location on computer displays
Artificial Gravity Control
Can reduce gravity to zero or increase up to 3G
Tranq Gas
Forces Endurance check each round with –1 DM per previous check; failure means unconsciousness
Venting Atmosphere
Characters must make Strength check to hang on and begin suffocating

Planetary Travel on Other Worlds

On-planet, and in civilized areas, regular services may be available for a few credits, allowing characters to ride to their destination aboard anything from a rickshaw to a maglev bullet train. Costs are fairly negligible for such travel. Assume a basic cost of 1D6×5 Credits per day of travel.

Characters and the Law

In each of the situations listed in the Potential Law Enforcement Encounters table, roll 2D6 and add the listed modifiers. If the total is lower than the planet's Law Level, the characters are investigated or challenged by agents of planetary law enforcement.

Potential Law Enforcement Encounters
Situation DM Response
First approach to a planet +0 Check
Offworlders wandering the streets of a city (once per day) +0 Check
Offworlders acting suspiciously –1 Check
Bar fight –1 Combat
Shots fired –2 Combat
Breaking and entering –2 Investigate
Firefight involving armored characters and military weapons –4 Combat
Murder and carnage –4 Investigate
Check
Characters' travel documents and identities are checked
Investigate
A detective or bureaucrat probes deeper into the characters' backgrounds; ship may be searched
Combat
Police show up ready for a fight with proportional response

Arrests and Sentencing

Characters arrested for a crime will face punishment, determined by rolling 2D6+DMs on the Sentencing table.

Sentencing Modifiers by Crime
Crime DM
Assault Law Level –5
Destruction of Property Law Level –3
False Identity Law Level –2
Manslaughter Law Level –1
Murder Law Level +0

A character with the Advocate skill may attempt to reduce the severity of sentencing by making a check. If successful, reduce the Sentencing DM by the Effect of the check.

Sentencing
Result Sentence
0 or less Dismissed or trivial punishment
1–2 Fine of 1D6×1,000 Credits
3–4 Fine of 2D6×5,000 Credits
5–6 Exile or a fine of 2D6×10,000 Credits
7–8 Imprisonment for 1D6 months or exile or fine of 2D6×20,000 Credits
9–10 Imprisonment for 1D6 years or exile
11–12 Imprisonment for 2D6 years or exile
13–14 Life imprisonment
15+ Death

A result of Exile means that the character must leave the planet immediately and never return. Fines for smuggling goods are per ton of goods seized.