Narrative Starship Combat

Below is a summary of narrative starship combat.

• The combat takes place over a series of rounds, during which the PCs attempt to destroy or disable one or more enemy starships.
• Each round, the GM chooses a tactic for the enemy forces, which might affect the actions the PCs take on their turn.
• Each PC crew member takes an action related to their role on board the vessel, which might prompt them to attempt a skill check. The enemy forces take a number of hits based on the number of skill checks the PCs succeed at.
• The combat ends when the enemy forces take a certain number of hits or when the PCs’ starship takes a certain number of hits. (A GM might rule that a narrative starship combat ends due to other criteria, such as the enemy forces surrendering or the passage of a specific number of rounds.)

Like standard starship combat and tactical combat, narrative starship combat requires stats for the enemies the PCs face as well as stats for the vessel (or vessels) that the PCs control. However, the stat blocks for this system are more streamlined and contain only a few pieces of key information.

Name: This is the name of the ship or threat.

Tier: This is the tier of the ship or threat. Tiers in narrative starship combat work the same way as in standard starship combat for the purposes of determining the difficulty of the encounter and awarding XP. See page 326 of the Core Rulebook for more information.

Average DC and Hard DC: These two statistics represent the Difficulty Classes of skill checks attempted against the ship. The Average DC is usually equal to 10 + 1-1/2 × the ship’s tier, and the Hard DC is usually equal to 15 + 1-1/2 × the ship’s tier. Note that you can set these DCs for enemy ships according to the alternative system on page 184.

HP: This is the number of hits a starship can take before it’s taken out of the fight. Most starships have 5 HP.

Threshold: This is the number of skill checks that the PCs must succeed at to deal a hit; this statistic appears only on NPC starship stat blocks.

Skill Bonus: This statistic, which appears only on NPC starship stat blocks, is used when an NPC starship attempts a skill check.

Skill Modifiers: Some starships grant bonuses and penalties to certain skills as determined by their systems. These modifiers don’t affect an NPC’s skill check, so this line usually appears on PC starship stat blocks. Special Abilities: This section of the stat block details any special abilities a starship might have. They’re usually only the purview of NPC starships, but that doesn’t mean a PC’s starship can’t do something unique as well!

In narrative starship combat, as with standard starship combat, each PC should know which role they’re performing before combat begins (starship roles can be found in the Core Rulebook and Character Operations Manual). In addition, the GM describes the foes (though they need not go into specifics about the stat blocks) and area in which the combat takes place to the players. The GM should also inform the players of any special rules or victory or loss conditions added to this particular combat.

At the beginning of each round of narrative starship combat, each character can switch to a different starship role (or assume a role if they didn’t already have one). A character can switch to the captain or pilot role if that role would otherwise be vacant (or if the character currently in that role is unable to take actions).

Once every PC declares what starship role they’re performing, the GM chooses a tactic for each enemy ship. Then, each PC chooses and performs a starship role action in any order. The GM tallies the number of successful actions, comparing the result to the threshold of one of the enemy forces; each time that number meets or exceeds that threshold, that starship takes a hit. Any starship that takes a number of hits equal to its HP is out of the combat. If both sides of the fight remain (and no special victory or loss conditions have been met), the next round begins. Any skill check successes carry over into the next round.

Tactics are listed starting below, and crew role actions are described starting on page 179.

After the GM has chosen the enemy’s tactic for the round, the PCs can each perform an action related to their current role. Many actions require the PC to attempt a skill check. Some successful actions contribute to the number of skill checks needed to damage an enemy ship, while others alter the combat in other ways. These actions are listed below, sorted by role. An action that any PC can perform regardless of role is listed first.

When a PC attempts a skill check, they can choose any skill they like and describe how that skill relates to the action they want to perform. If they select a skill that’s listed as one of the action’s preferred skills, the DC for the check is the Average DC for their ship or the enemy ship, depending on the action. If they select any other skill, the DC is the Hard DC. A PC can’t take 10 or 20 on any skill check during narrative starship combat. Each round, a player must select a different skill than they used the previous round.

The PCs can take their actions in any order they wish. Some crew actions can provide extra benefits if the player spends 1 Resolve Point after they succeed at the skill check.

The basics of stat blocks for a PC starship look much the same as those for an NPC starship. The Average and Hard DCs are calculated the same way, assuming that the PCs have a starship of a tier equal to their Average Party Level. A PC ship should generally have 5 HP, regardless of its actual size, and it doesn’t require a threshold. The PCs, of course, use their own skill bonuses for the actions they will attempt. Depending on the starship tier, the vessel might also have one or two special abilities (see below).

In this way, the players don’t need to use the system for building their own starships that is presented in the Core Rulebook. However, some players might want a similar sense of advancement for their ship as they level up their characters. Presented below are some upgrades that the PCs can add to their ship, either by purchasing them and having them installed at a friendly spaceport or by finding them as treasure during their adventures. The PCs can choose one upgrade when their starship reaches tier 3 and every 3 tiers after that.