Exatmo Vehicle Combat

On an astronomical scale, the distances between space vehicles are minuscule. For players and their personas, these distances are enormous. Battling space vehicles could be tens of kilometres apart. Only when ramming and boarding do space vehicles come close to each other.

The speeds are entirely unrealistic. Space vehicles use their exatmo drives to maneuver during combat. Exatmo drives move at up to 0.9 the speed of light. Space vehicles must be travelling at almost the same speed to engage.

No lifeforms can balance all that is needed to engage in combat. The combat happens at tremendous speeds. The combat happens at tremendous distances. The process requires many simultaneous calculations. The ship’s computer is not just a calculator. The computer integrates with every aspect of the ship.

Only the ship’s computer can manage the connectivity and calculations required for combat. Players and personas are mainly uninvolved in exatmo vehicle combat. The computers determine the attack sequences, movement and tactics of combat. The players get to roll dice, but the computer is deciding the combat course.

A turn in exatmo vehicle combat is very different from a combat unit in the tactical combat system. Space combat turns are longer and more structured than the free-wheeling 2-second tactical combat unit. A combat turn lasts one minute and involves a stepwise execution of attacks and defences. During a turn, the combatant vessels are wildly jockeying for position at half the speed of light. The ship computers are firing missiles, dumping mines, calculating ECM, and aiming artillery. Most often, the personas will be idle as the players make attack rolls and decisions. However, it is also possible for personas to use every unit of the turn doing other stuff.

Players do not make a lot of decisions during exatmo vehicle combat. The cycle of attack, defend and counter-attack is built into the turn. There are initiative rolls, attack rolls, defence rolls, and damage rolls to be made each turn. The process continues until a vessel escapes or achieves victory conditions.

The victory conditions of space vehicle combat are unique to the vessel itself. The victory conditions of persona tactical combat are simple. One of the combatants is unconscious, dead, or escapes. The goal of space vehicle combat is to gain control of the target ship, not destroy it.

There are four main victory conditions in space vehicle combat. They all involve the inability of the defeated ship to function. A space vehicle battle can be lost by: running out of fuel, a severely damaged gravity system, destruction of the exatmo drive, or loss of bridge control.

The victory conditions indicate when the space battle is over. A space battle rarely destroys a space vehicle. Likely the ship’s crew and cargo will be intact.

Spaceship One (SS One) has the attacks ECM, Ramming, and Artillery. Spaceship Two (SS Two) has the attacks Ramming, Artillery and Grenades.

When ECM is being used to assist its own ship’s attacks, it will attempt to deceive the target by creating inaccurate or false data for the target ship. ECM does this by making single attacks appear as multiple attacks, altering the apparent course of incoming attacks, or confusing the estimated arrival time of an attack. All such falsified data will increase the chance of success of a ship’s attack.

ECM-assisted attack rolls receive a bonus of +150 attack per computer level. Percent attacks receive a bonus of +3% of success per computer level. A space vehicle with a level 2 computer making an attack roll attack (missiles) assisted by ECM would get +300 on the attack roll. A level 2 computer gives a bonus of +6% for success with percent attacks (ramming) when being assisted by ECM.

ECM control manipulates a target ship’s onboard systems. The chance of successfully controlling another ship’s systems is 8% per level of the attacking spacecraft’s computer. If an ECM Control Attack should fail, that particular control attack cannot be re-attempted during the combat session. However, a different ECM Control Attacks are still possible. If an attempt to reduce drive effectiveness fails, the ECM Control Attack can attack the ship’s gravity in the next turn. The pilot can choose to use control attacks until something clicks.

If control ECM is successful, the targeted component’s capacity decreases. An ECM unit cannot do anything else while controlling the target ship’s components. This effect will last until the target ship breaks the ECM, the target ship uses its special drives, or the attacking ship ceases the attack.

The referee will often need to improvise the effect of an ECM control attack. When improvising, the ref should remember that a successful ECM attack will not destroy a ship. An ECM control attack reduces a particular ship component’s effectiveness and increases the ship’s vulnerability to other attacks.

An attacking vessel only has so many opportunities to ram a target. The target ship’s pilot and computer make avoidance maneuvers using the exatmo drives. Eventually, the target vessel will become immune to the ramming attacks.

If the number of ramming attempts is positive, the attacker gets that many ram attempts. An attacking vessel cannot have more than four ramming attacks per battle. If the number of ram attempts is two, the attacker can make two ram attempts during the battle. If the number of ram attempts is six, the attack can make four ram attempts during the battle.

If the number of ramming attempts is zero or less, the attacker only gets one ram attack during the battle. This solitary ram attack suffers a penalty equal to the value of the negative number. If the number is -3, the attacker gets one ram attempt with a -3 penalty.

Each time an attacker has a failed ram, the target gets a chance to ram in return. The target space vehicle gets one ram attempt per failure. If an attacker fails three ramming attempts, the target ship gets three ram attempts. The target vessel gets a chance to ram even if it has no further ram attempts left.

The ramming vessel’s success depends on the attacker’s computer level and pilot level.

The players must decide whether they are smashing and running or lashing onto the rammed vessel. Smashing is as it sounds. The attacker smashes the target ship and backs off like a demo derby near light speed. Lashing involves attaching to the target ship and boarding through the breached hull.

Ramming damages both the ramming and rammed vessels. Hull breach success is automatic and takes 0-3 (1d4-1) combat turns. The Damage Location Roll also indicates where the attacking ship will breach the hull. For example, if the damage location is the target ship’s drives, the boarding party will enter the vessel at the drives.

Artillery requires a successful attack roll to inflict damage. The player must win an attack roll against the target spaceship’s armour rating. The attacker must make a kilodie roll higher than her target’s armour rating. The target ship’s armour rating, including hull strength and ECM, may prove impenetrable to many artillery attacks.

The attacking ship’s computer level adjusts the artillery’s attack roll. A gunnery program will fire the artillery automatically, with a bonus of +50 per level of ship’s computer. If a skilled gunner persona is firing the artillery, there is a bonus of +100 per level of ship’s computer. The organic firing bonus is due to the unpredictability of an organic life form firing a weapon.

If two ships are trying to board each other, they will be automatically successful. Since the goal of both ships is to connect airlocks. ECM will recognize that both ships want to connect, and it will happen automatically. If either the attacker or target vessel wants to direct the mutual boarding to a specific airlock, they must win a boarding roll.

The number of boarding attempts equals the number of ramming attempts, and the same calculations apply.

Boarding is more delicate and intricate than ramming. The success of boarding depends on the computer level and pilot skill of the attacking vessel.

If the player wins the boarding roll, the two vessels attach via airlocks. Once connected to the target ship, there are a few options. The attacking vessel can stay docked, and the boarding party can work on opening the airlock. Usually, a boarded ship will be resigned to its fate and open the airlock to avoid damage.

Combat fuel consumption is the only requirement to remain attached. Once a ship has been boarded, it cannot forcefully detach from its attacker. The only recourse that the target ship has is to continue maneuvering at combat fuel consumption and hope that the boarding ship runs out of fuel. If the boarding ship can no longer maintain combat maneuvers, the target ship can break away from boarding.

If the target is unwelcoming, the airlock may require breaching. Airlock breaching is left for the referee to run with her players. Mechanics and spies are more proficient at airlock opening than dumb old mercenaries.

Mini-missiles are rocket-propelled space grenades. A ship can launch three mini-missiles per level of computer at one once. The attacker can use ECM to assist the mini-missile attacks. Each individual mini-missile requires an attack roll to damage the target.

Mini-missiles cannot cross into an atmosphere from space but work perfectly well if launched inatmo. When used inatmo, the mini-missiles attack like regular grenades as an area of effect weapon.

Space vehicles can outrun mini-missiles. If a target’s drive is more than two levels higher than the attacking vessel, they can outrun mini-missiles. If an attacker is boarding or ramming a slower vessel, they cannot outrun a mini-missiles attack.

Mini-mines are grenades dumped in the path of starships hoping that they will explode for damage. Grenades can be dumped in the path of a ship’s orbit, dumped in the course of a pursuing ship, or jettisoned against the hull of a boarding or ramming ship. Mini-mines are inactive mini-missiles, they do not chase targets, and a ship can only dump them. The mini-mines are useful because ECM does not affect them. Mini-mines also move too slow to be affected by shields. Essentially mini-mines cannot be avoided unless they are visually detected. The ability to detect the tiny camouflaged mini-mines requires a bizarre AWE (kilodie) roll. A space vehicle can dump mini mines at a rate of 5 mines per unit per computer level. Mini-mines, like mini-missiles, cannot survive the rigours of entry into an atmosphere but can be used to bomb targets once inatmo.

A bomb missile is also called a naval missile. Missiles can target any detectable space vehicle. The attacker can control one missile per level of ship’s computer. No vessel can outrun a missile. An attack roll is still required to damage the target. Unlike a mini-missile, a target cannot dodge a bomb missile.

Even though a missile will eventually catch up with its target, there is some time before impact. The time to impact is a wonderful sciency fiction plot device. If the attacking vessel has a higher drive level than the target ship, the missile arrives in that turn. If the target space vehicle’s exatmo drive level is higher than the attacker, there is a "calc" for that.

Missiles cannot function inatmo. A target vessel may escape a missile by hiding inatmo or by jumping with the special drives.

A bomb mine is also called a naval mine. A ship may dump one mine per level of ship’s computer per unit. The mines have no drive components and are discarded into the flight paths of target starships. Mines can attack orbiting, pursuing, boarding, ramming, or unaware targets.

This mine delivery method has some advantages over its missile counterpart. First, the mines are virtually undetectable. Defensive ECM does not work against them. Detecting a min in space is an improbable (d100) awareness attribute roll. Mines are hardy enough to be deployed in the atmosphere or in orbit to be used as fierce surface attack weapons.

Most often, defensive ECM will be used to make the ship harder to attack. ECM creates false images of velocity, trajectory, rotation, size, etc. All of this electronic tom-foolery results in a +200 bonus to the ship’s armour rating per computer level.

Defensive ECM is essential when the ship is under attack from control ECM. Defensive ECM can identify whether a ship’s component is malfunctioning or whether it is malfunctioning due to control ECM. Defensive ECM will use the ship’s computer to re-route communications channels and alter security, to defend against control ECM attacks.

For example, if a control ECM attack had reduced the effectiveness of the ship’s drives, defensive ECM could be used to break this control. Successfully breaking this control restores the drives to their previous level. The chance of success is 15% per computer level.

Defensive ECM can be used to hide the ship electromagnetically. ECM will make the ship blend in with the background or appear some anomaly other than a spaceship. This aspect of ECM will not hide the ship from a visual inspection, but it will deceive another ship’s sensors.

Damaged ECM drops its effectiveness by the percentage indicated on the Extent of Damage table. For example, ECM at 50% efficiency can only offer +100 per computer level to the ship’s armour rating.

A ship can attempt to thwart one attack per level of computer per turn. A ship will have 100 disposable charges for every 50 tonnes of space vessel.

A space vehicle may not have the damage location rolled. The damage location may have never existed on the space vehicle. For example, a space vehicle may not have a special drive damage location.

There are several approaches to missing damage locations. The player can simply roll again to find a different damage location. The referee can move the damage location within the general damage location. For example, a hit on the special drives becomes a hit on the exatmo drives.

In the case of a previously destroyed location, the attack falls on useless space junk. A system is destroyed when its function is <1%.

Damage adjustment is an optional rule that increases the severity of damage by hit points of damage. Each hit point of damage increases the extent of damage by one percent. An attack inflicting 30 HPS of damage adds 30 to the extent of damage roll. If a player rolls 55 on the extent of damage table and inflicts 30 hit points of damage, the final roll is 85. The 30 hit points increased the extent of damage from minor to major. When using this damage adjuster, space weapons become way more destructive. The players may prefer to adjust the damage adjustment to one percent per 5 hit points of damage. Your space milage may vary.

Each time a system is damaged, its performance decreases. The damage descriptors offer another way to describe net damage. A system with minor damage is more than 90% functional. A disabled system is less than 10% functional.

The hull cannot take damage until the ship’s Armour (Hull AR) has been disabled. The armour ratings of hulls are very high. The average armour rating of a space vehicle’s hull is 1100.

The armour rating of the hull decreases as it takes damage. If a mini-mine explodes against the hull and delivers 75 HPS of damage, the hull armour rating decreases by 75. The hull armour rating can absorb massive amounts of damage, protecting the systems below.

Reducing the armour rating to 420 disables the armour rating of the hull. Disabling the armour rating allows damage to pass directly to the hull or the contents below it. The Hull AR cannot drop below 420.

Hull only becomes a damage location once the Hull armour rating is exhausted. The hull begins to fail like any other system on the space vehicle. The hull is disabled once the level of function drops below 10%. The hull is destroyed once the level of function drops below 1%.

When the hull has been disabled or destroyed, further hull damage applies to another ship system. If a player rolls a disabled hull as her damage location, she must roll again to determine which system is affected. For example, she could hit the exatmo drives through the compromised hull.

A disabled hull (<10%) represents a manageable escape of its inatmo contents. A destroyed hull (<1%) represents an unmanageable escape of its inatmo contents. Both of these hull compromises allow for usual evacuation procedures for the area. Instantaneous destruction (<1% in one attack) represents explosive decompression. Explosive decompression is lethal to personas and equipment in the damaged location.

The ship can partition off a damaged location using its automated bulkheads. Naval architecture does not recommend open-concept space vehicles. The personas can repair a disabled hull during combat. Life support and gravity systems will replenish repaired hull locations. Repairing a hull section does not restore its armour rating. The personas cannot repair a destroyed hull during combat.

Reduce the drive level of the in atmosphere drive by the percentage indicated. This system is disabled when its level of function is less than 10%. A ship with a disabled inatmo drive cannot maneuver in the atmosphere of a planet. The pilot may beach the ship planetside or remain in orbit until repaired.

A damaged exatmo drive will have its drive level reduced by the percentage indicated. Exatmo drives are disabled when their function is <10%. The exatmo drives are the ship’s combat drives. Without exatmo drives, it cannot maintain combat spin. When disabled, the ship drops out of combat and starts floating towards the nearest star. Disabling the exatmo drives is a victory condition.

Exatmo drives power defence shields, active defences, and boarding evasion. Damage to the exatmo drives also impairs these ancillary functions. Exatmo drives are not affected by exposure exatmo. However, personas running the drives can be.

Reduce the drive level of the special drive by the percentage indicated. A disabled special drive keeps the space vehicle from making any long voyages. Special drives are so delicate they resemble a life form. Exatmo is very unhealthy for a special drive.

The space vehicle’s total fuel storage is damaged. Fuel storage damage indicates a loss of actual fuel The global fuel loss is non-denominational as all drives access the same fuel type. If the Fuel Amount is damaged, reduced by 40%, all drives have less fuel to burn. Inatmo, exatmo and special drives become choked for fuel. Decreasing fuel amount indicates fuel is lost to space or destroyed. Personas cannot repair fuel amounts lost.

A ship with ten months of fuel takes major damage (40%), reducing the fuel amount to six months. The special drive can now only make six jumps. Most importantly, the amount of fuel available for combat maneuvers decreases. Combat maneuvers burn fuel at the rate of one week per turn of space vehicle combat. So the space vehicle can now only fuel 24 turns of space combat before dropping out. Running out of fuel for combat is a victory condition.

Consumption damage impairs the system that divides fuel between the drives. The fuel is intact, the drives are intact, and the fuel system is intact. All fuel systems drop by the extent of damage, but no fuel is lost. Unless destroyed in combat, the consumption system is repairable.

The ship’s robots cease to function or follow the computer’s commands. The computer loses control of robots by the percentage indicated. The ship’s control over the robot is damaged. The robot is not damaged at all. Robots will perform gunnery skills, or veterinary care, at a reduced skill level. Mechanics can try and get the robots functioning through priority commands or robot overrides.

If robot control is disabled or destroyed, the robots stop functioning altogether. It would be more fun the robots acquired free will with their newfound freedom. Robot self-awareness could range from irritating behaviours to a well-deserved robot mutiny.

While the computer level remains intact, its software loses function. Ship software has both hardware and software components representing a tight integration with the ship.

The decrease in function is not only programming data but essential peripherals and sensors as well. Software damage does not affect the computer level or ECM. Only the extra software packages are damaged. For example, crew replacement software damage may remove the ship’s galley and cook. The software packages can be reduced in effectiveness or simply disabled. Players should be able to choose which software packages are lost. They may wish to preserve astrogation or gunnery over the entertainment system.

Before damaging life support, the outer layers of the onion must be disabled or destroyed. The outermost layer of the onion is the ship’s shields. If the ship does not have shields, the outermost layer of the onion is the hull armour rating. The hull armour rating must fail before the hull can be damaged. The hull must fail before gravity control can be damaged. Gravity control must fail before life support can be damaged.

Life support keeps the personas comfy and alive within the spaceship. Life support does not appear on the damage location table. Life support is the most critical defence on a space vehicle. Attacks cannot damage life support without first peeling back the life support onion. A space vehicle must lose its shields, hull armour, hull and gravity before attacks can damage life support. Attacks must destroy gravity control before life support is vulnerable. Life support suffers damage the same as any other system once the onion is disabled.

Gravity control maintains life-saving, plot convenient gravity throughout the space vehicle. Gravity cannot be damaged before the ship’s hull is disabled. Until the hull is disabled, the damage location of gravity control moves to the highest level of the life support onion.

The effectiveness of gravity control drops by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage roll. Ineffective gravity control can lead to inconvenient ZOG, space sickness, and difficulty performing tasks. If gravity control drops to less than 30%, the ship cannot safely make combat maneuvers. Losing gravity is a victory condition.

The hull armour rating represents the hardening of the space ship’s hull to prevent combat damage. Hull armour rating is part of the life support onion, and unless the space vehicle has shields, hull armour is the outermost layer. Until the shields are disabled, the damage location of hull armour moves to the ship’s shields.

Armour Rating is an amalgam of many factors. Structurally it includes hull strength, combat hardening, and combat alterations. Tactically is includes the ship’s computer, ECM and drives.

Defensive ECM becomes reduced by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage. ECM is a bit more resilient than other space vehicle systems. Damaged defensive ECM can still function fully as attack ECM. If the space vessel has two ECM systems, the attack ECM can replace the damaged defensive ECM, and the defence ECM can replace the damaged attack ECM.

Shields are the technomagical standard that indicates the health of a space vehicle. The shields' effectiveness drops by the percentage indicated on the extent of damage roll. Shields are immune to damage bonuses on the Extent of Damage Table. If a shield could absorb 400 HPS damage and has sustained major damage (60%), it would only be able to absorb 240 HPS per attack until repaired. The shield is disabled at <10% of capacity, and attacks on the shield move to the Hull AR.

Gun damage represents damage to the airlock defence guns. The gun’s range and damage drop by the extent of damage indicated. So an airlock gun that sustained major damage (40% damage) would have its range reduced by 60%, and each damage roll reduced by 60%. A gun with a range of 100 hexes would now have a range of 60 hexes. Every damage roll would be multiplied by 0.6. A disabled gun stops working.

Active defences can look after themselves. The active defence will get one chance to stop an attack from damaging the active defence system. This active self-defence is an automatic counterattack regardless of recent activity. Depleted active defences cannot defend themselves. The active defence has its effectiveness reduced by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage.

Attack ECM effectiveness drops by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage.

Ramming success drops by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage. The physical plant, sensors, and machinery of ramming become damaged.

Calculating this reduction in ramming effectiveness is a pain in the butt. The player must make a successful pilot roll for a successful ramming attack. Does one reduce the player’s die roll by the extent of damage? Does one increase the value that the player needs to beat? Since ramming is such a blunt instrument, this referee prefers to ignore the graduated drop. Ramming is either working or disabled.

If the Ramming system is disabled, this space vehicle may no longer ram. A space vehicle with disabled ramming capacity may still use the Boarding attack.

The artillery drops its range, and HPS damage by the extent of damage indicated. Major damage drops the artillery to 60% of its previous effectiveness. The artillery’s range decreases from 500 to 300 hexes. The artillery’s area of effect decreases from 20 to 12 hexes. Every damage roll would be multiplied by 0.6. Disabled artillery stops working.

Instantaneously destroyed (reduced to <1% in one attack), artillery may explode inside the space vehicle. Whether the artillery battery explodes in the ship or not should be decided by plot and sphincter dice. An artillery explosion inside the ship delivers one location damage roll to the ship.

Boarding success drops by the percentage indicated by the extent of damage. The physical plant, sensors, and machinery of ramming become damaged.

Calculating the reduction in boarding effectiveness is a pain in the butt. The player must make a successful pilot roll for a successful boarding attack. Does one reduce the player’s die roll by the extent of damage? Does one increase the target roll that the player needs to beat? Often it is easier just to accept boarding is either operational or disabled.

If the Boarding system is disabled, this space vehicle may no longer board. A space vehicle with a disabled boarding capacity may still use the Ramming attack.

The number of grenade attacks drops by the amount indicated by the extent of damage. This reduction in function impacts both mini-missiles and mini-mines. The damage impairs the guidance systems and connectivity to the ship’s computer.

The extent of damage decreases the number of mini-missiles and mini-mines deployable per turn. For example, a grenade system reduced to 60% could only drop six mini-mines instead of 10.

Instantaneously destroyed (reduced to <1% in one attack), grenades may explode inside the space vehicle. Whether the grenade system explodes in the ship or not should be decided by plot and sphincter dice. A grenade detonation inside the ship delivers one location damage roll to the ship.

The number of bomb attacks drops by the amount indicated by the extent of damage. This reduction in function impacts both naval missiles and naval mines. The damage impairs the guidance systems and connectivity to the ship’s computer.

The extent of damage decreases the number of missiles and mines deployable per turn. For example, a bomb system reduced to 60% could only drop six mines instead of 10.

Instantaneously destroyed (reduced to <1% in one attack), bomb systems may explode inside the space vehicle. Whether the bomb system explodes in the ship or not should be decided by plot and sphincter dice. A bomb detonation inside the ship delivers two location damage rolls to the vessel.

The bomb delivery system is hardened for combat and is difficult to destroy. There are no damage bonuses awarded on the Extent of Damage Table for the bomb delivery system.

The naval artillery drops its range, and HPS damage by the extent of damage indicated. Major damage drops naval artillery to 60% of its previous effectiveness. The artillery’s range decreases from 15000 to 9000 hexes. The artillery’s area of effect decreases from 200 to 120 hexes. Every damage roll would be multiplied by 0.6. Disabled artillery stops working.

Instantaneously destroyed naval artillery may explode inside the space vehicle. Accidental detonation depends on the plot and Sphincter Dice. Detonated naval artillery will inflict three damage rolls on itself.

The naval artillery system is hardened for combat and is difficult to destroy. There are no damage bonuses awarded on the Extent of Damage Table for naval artillery.

Crew can help the ship’s computer and combat systems improve the chances of success. A mechanic with artillery skill two is assisting a level three computer. This vocation/computer team makes artillery attacks like a level 5 computer.

If the space vehicle is flush with crew members, the computer can work with a research team to pile up bonuses. Before a mechanic, a mercenary and a spie must form a research team before assisting the computer. Research teams are located somewhere in this book.

There is enough time during combat turns to accomplish ship repairs. The goal of ship repairs is to return percentage points of efficiency and restore functionality. Ship repairs are entirely under the purvey of the mechanic vocation. The personas can form research teams depending on which system they are repairing.

These are not maintenance repairs. These are bubble gum and duct tape repairs to get through combat. Most of these repairs will fall apart once combat ends.

For example, a mechanic attempts to repair the special drive by ten percentage points. This repair would be a 10 DD maneuver for the mechanic. If she is successful, the special drive will move from 8% effectiveness (disabled) to 18% effectiveness. This repairs the special drive moves from disabled to critically damaged. While still critically damaged, the expedition special jumps to safety.

The mechanic could also repair an airlock from only opening 40% to opening 60%. To repair this 20% deficiency would be a 20DD maneuver. The repair allows the expedition’s combot to join in on the boarding attack.