KLOANE WAR KNIGHTS - C.4 P.1

CHAPTER 4: SPACE

Space travel and complications in space are an exceptionally important part of KWN. Due in part to the scale of the setting (an entire fictional galaxy of unmeasured dimensions) and other setting-specific rules (like abstract credit checks replacing standard monetary calculations) several adjustments need to be made to the standard X-Plorers rules.

Buying a Ship

Purchasing a ship and hiring a crew can be exceptionally difficult for players that don’t have wealthy (i.e. high born) characters in their group. Once per game session, a party can choose to “pool their resources” for a single, large purpose; the PC with the best credit check adjustment makes the roll with a +2 bonus. If successful, ALL characters suffer a -2 penalty to further credit checks for the remainder of the game session.

Transportation and Travel Time

The KWN setting takes place in the Galactic Republic, a huge galaxy with millions of solar systems, many of which are inhabited by sentient species capable of space travel and blaster technology. Rather than track the actual distances and map out where systems and species are in relation to each other, the important thing for both Referees and players to track is the actual destinations: the action that takes place during a voyage or at the end point of a trip are much more meaningful than the “reality” of light years and galactic quadrants.

Within a system, travel between planets is relatively inexpensive (credit code B for standard passage of a single individual, depending on the local economy and availability of such transports). For passage on any interstellar ship, the credit code should be considered a C, regardless of actual distance, for a single passenger with normal traveling gear. This code may be increased in the travel destination is a particularly sought after tourist attraction, or a quarantined or restricted military zone, and increased further if the passenger wishes to travel in luxurious accommodation or with excess baggage (including personal vehicles for use at the destination location).

Likewise, the travel code can be reduced for traveling “no frills.” Cheap accommodation in interstellar flight (bunking together in common rooms, bringing your own food, etc.) is usually enough to reduce the credit code one step (to credit code B on ordinary journeys). Traveling “steerage” can reduce the code TWO steps, but is not recommended: generally, this involves being frozen in a suspended animation and shipped in the cargo hold of the vessel. Player characters are generally immune to the mishaps that might prove fatal during the “thawing out” process, but often there are side effects (roll a PHY saving throw or suffer a -2 penalty to all die rolls for D20 hours following arrival).

Most of the actual “travel time” that occurs comes within “real space” upon arrival in a planetary system; the ship is required to slow down for planetary bodies and other “space traffic.” The actual time spent covering multiple light years in a “jump” is a measure of luck, adjusted for the ship’s navigation system and the pilot’s ability. Having an actual “jump route” programmed for routine trips between well-known locations also cuts down on the travel time in comparison to backwater and “mystery” routes.

TRIP IS…	TIME IS…
Intrasystem or planetary “hop”	D6 hours
Interstellar trip, well-known*	D8 days, including time spent in “real space”
Interstellar trip, uncommon	D20 days

*Both departure system and destination should be regularly and frequently traveled.

If the characters have booked passage aboard a NPC vessel, the time should be rolled randomly as noted to determine the overall skill of the crew (“pleasure cruises” where the voyage itself is the “vacation” may artificially extend this time by tooling around real space to the delight of its passengers). If the PCs are the ones crewing the ship, skill rolls may be made for both Computer and Piloting: success on one cuts travel time in half, while success on both cuts travel time to one-quarter.

Ships that have had their navigation computers hacked or destroyed cannot make interstellar jumps except with the use of a psychic talent (reflex pilot). Ships that have their engines sabotaged or damaged may be limited to specific and/or well-known destinations (determined by the Referee), assuming their ship can travel at all.

Ship Classes

There are eight different ship classes in the KWN setting, with slightly different attributes than those listed in the X-Plorers rulebook:

SHIP CLASS	TYPE	HULL POINTS	WEAPON DAMAGE	AC	XP VALUE	CREDIT CODE
1	Fighter	5	1D6	10*	15	D
2	Small Ship	10	1D6	10*	60	D
3	Corvette	20	1D8	11	400	E
4	Frigate	40	1D8	11	1700	F
5	Destroyer	80	2D6	12	5300	**
6	Cruiser	120	2D6	12	8600	**
7	Battleship	240	2D8	13	19,100	**
8	Dreadnought	360	2D8	13	29,300	**

*Pilot may add AGI adjustment to Armor Class of ship

**No single individual has the wealth to purchase or construct such a vessel; it requires the resources of a mega-corporation or planetary government(s) to do so

Ship class indicates the size, complexity, and armaments of a ship. Class 1 and 2 ships are small enough that a pilot’s AGI adjustment can be added to the ship’s Armor Class (just like a character’s personal Armor Class) to represent their maneuverability. Class 3 ships and greater are considered capital ships and are too large for such deft manipulations, except as allowed in the standard combat rules.

[****EDIT: Due to the space constraints of blogger, the entire table above is not visible. The final column, CREDIT CODE should read: D, D, E, F, **, **, **, **. Only ship classes 1-4 are normally available for purchase as personal vehicles****]

[to be continued]

[Kloane War Knights is copyright 2013 by Jonathan Becker and Running Beagle Games. The X-Plorers rpg is copyright 2009, Dave Bezio & Grey Area Games. The X-Plorers trademark is used under the X-Plorers Trademark License]