Crew Actions

You can take one action (usually defined by your role) per round of starship combat. Certain actions require a minimum character level or number of ranks in a certain skill. NPC crew members are assumed to have a number of ranks in the appropriate skill equal to the starship’s tier. If a starship’s tier is less than 1, treat it as 1 for this purpose. Class features or items that grant bonuses to or allow rerolls of the relevant skills can be used in starship combat.

You can switch between roles (or assume a role if you don’t already have one), but this change must occur at the start of a round before the engineering phase. You can switch to the captain or pilot role only if that role would otherwise be vacant (or if the character in that role is unable to take actions).

As your combat expertise grows, you gain extra resolve that can help with high-level crew actions. At 8th level and again at 16th level, you gain 1 Resolve Point at the start of any starship combat encounter. These points can exceed your normal pool of RP; unspent points gained this way are lost at the end of the encounter. NPC starships have RP equal to their tier divided by 5, plus 3.

As a captain, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your character level, during any phase of combat.

As an engineer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Engineering skill. These actions can be taken only during the engineering phase. Unless otherwise noted, each action can be performed only once per round, no matter how many engineers are on a starship.

As a gunner, you can take any of the actions below, depending on your character level. These actions can be taken only during the gunnery phase. Though each of a starship’s weapons can be fired only once per round, multiple gunners can take actions to fire different weapons in a single round. Actions that allow you to fire starship weapons use the rules for attacking on page 320.

As a pilot, you can take the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Piloting skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.

As a science officer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Computers skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.

As a chief mate, you can take any of the following actions, some depending on your number of ranks in the Acrobatics or Athletics skill, whichever you favor. (Note that the Targeting Aid and Maximize Speed actions both require a minimum number of ranks in Acrobatics or Athletics to perform.) Each of these actions can be taken only during a particular phase, as noted in parentheses next to the action’s name. You must decide at the start of each round which phase you will act in, usually by deciding which other role you’re supporting that round. Unless otherwise noted, each action can be performed only once per round, no matter how many chief mates are on a starship.

As a magic officer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Mysticism skill. (Note that the Mystic Haze and Psychic Currents actions both require a minimum number of ranks in Mysticism to perform.) These actions can be taken only during the engineering phase. If your starship has an arcane laboratory, you gain a +2 bonus to Mysticism checks to perform any of these actions. Unless otherwise noted, each action can be performed only once per round, no matter how many magic officers are on a starship.

Open crew actions are generally less specialized tasks than a typical crew action, and they can be performed regardless of a character’s role. Many open crew actions do not require any specific skill or skill check to perform and can be undertaken by anyone with at least 1 rank in Computers, Engineering, Physical Science, or Piloting. Taking an open crew action counts as your action during a starship combat encounter.

Open crew actions occur at the beginning of the engineering phase, before any other actions occur. All open crew actions occur simultaneously and can be resolved in any order the GM sees fit. Each open crew action can be performed only once per round.

Minor crew actions are computer-aided actions that allow a starship limited functionality if it doesn’t have the necessary crew to fill all the roles (for instance, the lone crew member aboard a Tiny starship might always be the pilot but may need to fire one of the vessel’s weapons in an emergency). You can take one minor crew action per round regardless of your current role, but only if no other action was performed this round for the role associated with that minor crew action. A minor crew action can be performed only once per round and doesn’t count as your action.

Just as a gunner’s lucky shot can disable key enemy systems, the rest of the crew can also achieve heroic feats in the heat of battle. Whether it’s a captain’s demands striking just the right nerve, an engineer performing the perfect patch to keep a damaged ship together, or a pilot surpassing their starship’s design specs with an impossible maneuver, the following rules provide critical effects for any crew member who rolls a natural 20 during starship combat. More information on the chief mate, magic officer, and open crew actions can be found on page 146 of the Starfinder Character Operations Manual.