Starship Technologies
Many of the mechanics of starships operation and combat I use in the 2320 setting are adapted from materials from the d20 modern/future engine so that material I will omit, however what follows are the items specific to 2320 space craft.
INTERNAL STRUCTURE UPGRADES
A ship may be built with a variety of materials giving it remarkably different characteristics. Older ships may also be refit with structural reinforcements to strengthen the ships internal structure. The weight of a ships internal structure is usually at 5% of the ships Operating Mass.
Advanced Polymers A wide variety of man made materials including carbon fiber and advanced fiberglass are used in the construction of starship frames and offer a high strength to weight ratio. Many older ships are refitted with an advanced polymers structural reinforcement. Cost: 400CR per ton.
Ferrous Alloys New super alloys composed of exotic metals such as cobalt and cadmium are used quite often in ship production. The metals are homogenously rolled in order to orient the ferrous strands and eliminate microscopic weaknesses across the expanse of the object surface, effectively eliminating the chance of catastrophic failure from inclusions and manufacturing defects Cost: 800CR per ton
Thermal Steel This new age alloy incorporates a ceramic mixture bonded into the fibrous matrix of high carbon steel at a molecular level, combining the excellent heat dissipation qualities of ceramics and the high tensile strength of modern steel. As a by-product of the manufacturing process, the aligned nature of the ceramic molecules into the steels molecular structure also reduces overall weight without sacrificing the metals tensile strength. Because of the special equipment needed to generate the level of heat required to make this material the price is rather high. Cost: 1000CR per ton.
Cast Resin Composite This material is composed of a several layers of powder composite which are added to a liquid resin hardening agent and then cast into the desired shape. The process of casting produces an item of exact uniform hardness, which reduces the stress on any one load bearing member. This uniformity better distributes the ships weight load across its entire surface. Cost: 1200CR per ton.
Diamond Weave Diamond weave is the common name for “Oriented Strand Carbon�. This substance is composed of oriented strands of carbon aligned into a basket-weave formation, maximizing the materials already high stress tolerances. Cost: 1600CR per ton.
Spun Filament This material utilized billions of miles of micro filament wire wound around a thin metal core to create the desired shape then laminated with a high strength resin to produce a finished product with high lateral strength characteristics. Cost: 2000CR per ton.
- Honeycomb Polyfill This option incorporated a honey-combed core to all load-bearing structures filled with dense polymer foam as a weight saving measure. Cost: +250CR per ton.
- High Stress Latitude This option adds reinforcement to the ships internal structure at key points to increase the overall lateral strength of the ships frame. Cost: +250CR per ton
- Stress Layer Management This option installs a system of shock absorbing braces into the internal structure of the ship. This system is computer controlled and allows the ships structure to flex or bend in areas where a possible hull breach would otherwise occur. Cost: +200CR per ton.
- Engineered Failure Zones This option incorporates bolts and panels predesigned to fail at a set pressure. When the ship takes a potentially catastrophic amount of damage these areas fail first, diverting the damage away from the ships vital systems and venting the explosive force into space. Cost: +150CR per ton.
ARMOR UPGRADES
Blown Resin Fiber Composite This armor type incorporates a mixture of composite fibers and a resin compound which is blown as a paste onto the hull of a starship. This type of armor is cheap to manufacture and install but lacks the uniformity of conventional plates. Cost: 150CR per ton
Alloy Composites Sheets of high tensile alloy armor are added to the ship, increasing its ability to absorb damage. Cost: 300CR per ton
Thermal Steel The same material often used in the internal structure of ship, the material can be rolled into plates and used as an effective armor. Cost: 360CR per ton
Advanced Polymers Many manmade polymers used in the construction of starships can also be used as armor plating Cost: 400CR per ton
High Tensile Ceramic This armor type makes use of common high strength ceramics for their heat and concussion resistance. Cost: 560CR per ton
Diamond Weave This armor incorporates oriented strands of carbon woven into a strong mesh Cost: 700CR per ton.
Ring Carbon Laminate This armor is composed of laminated layers of ring carbon, chains of carbon molecules arranged similar to benzene. These layers have an extremely high strength to weight ratio, which makes it perfect for damage resistance Cost: 1000CR per ton.
- Ablative Reactive Hydrogel This armor incorporates a layer of gel suspended between the layers of armor plate. When an incoming round penetrates the surface layer the gel vaporizes, defeating the kinetic energy of the incoming round. Cost: 120CR per ton of ship.
- Reflective Layering This option adds a highly reflective surface to the ships armor, reducing the damage of laser based attacks. Cost: 120CR per ton of ship.
- Balanced Resonance This option equalizes the density of the ships armor plating , allowing the damage of explosives to spread across a larger surface area. Cost: 320CR per ton of ship.
- Cast Plates The addition of plates of armor which have been cast to the ships contours allows the plates to be seamless, giving the plates a uniform hardness with no particular weak points. Cost: cost of armorx2.
SUBLIGHT ENGINE UPGRADES
Thrusters This type of engine vents waste products directly from the ships reactor core as a means of thrust. While not very fuel efficient for larger craft, this means of propulsion is common for small craft and fighters, who can achieve high speed and maneuverability with this propulsion system. Several types of thruster options are available for craft. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 400CR
- Repulsion thrusters uses a device to create a magnetic field which further accelerates the charged particles propelling the craft, allowing for higher speeds but requiring a greater power supply. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1000CR
- XL or extra light thrusters are created with weight and space saving materials to produce an efficient system with a lower operating mass. Cost: Original engine mass(tons) x 2000CR
- HE or high efficiency engines use an extensive system of dedicated computers to regulate fuel consumption to maximize fuel efficiency. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 800CR
Plasma Drive This type of engine uses a large chemical laser at the peak of a reflective cone. The laser is directed at the peak of the cone and streams down to laze ambient material which collects at the trough of the cone through a weak magnetic field, turning the material to plasma. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1000CR
- Multiple laser systems make use of several small laser to more efficiently laze the reaction mass. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1200CR
- XL or extra light engines are created with weight and space saving materials to produce an efficient system with a lower operating mass. Cost: Original engine mass(tons) x 2200CR
- Magnetic Inducers may be added to the drive to increase the output of the magnetic field used to attract ambient matter, increasing the reaction mass. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1000CR
Gauss Drive This engine type uses a magnetic field generator which creates a strong magnetic field localized to the rear of the vessel, while simultaneously magnetizing ambient particles in the same vicinity with an oppositely charged field, thus propelling the ship by means of polar repulsion. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 800CR
- Multiple Field Generators may be used in a gauss drive which increases the power of the polar repulsion by applying more energy to the magnetic fields. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1000CR
- HE field generators make use of dedicated computer systems to actively regulate power consumption and increase power efficiency. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 2000CR
- XL or extra light engines are created with weight and space saving materials to produce an efficient system with a lower operating mass. Cost: Original engine mass(tons) x 2000CR
Ion Drive This engine type uses waste gases expelled from the reactor (He, O) and charges them , creating ions. These ions are expelled by means of an electromagnetic field to propel the craft. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1200CR
- XL or extra light engines are created with weight and space saving materials to produce an efficient system with a lower operating mass. Cost: Original engine mass(tons) x 2400CR
- HE or high efficiency engines use an extensive system of dedicated computers to regulate fuel consumption to maximize fuel efficiency. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1200CR
- Particle Flash Beds may be added to the Ion Drive. These grates are placed in the stream of particle flow helping to maximize power efficiency by insuring the particles which pass over the grate are charged before passing out of the craft into space. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1600CR
Gravity Drive This engine uses artificial gravity devices to create a gravity field in the direction the ship needs to go, and the ship essentially “falls� towards the field, propelling the craft forward. Cost: Engine mass(tons) x 1800CR
- XL or extra light engines are created with weight and space saving materials to produce an efficient system with a lower operating mass. Cost: Original engine mass(tons) x 2600CR
POWERPLANT UPGRADES
PF Reactor All ships must be equipped with a reactor to power the ships electrical devices. Most space-going vessels use a variant of the P-F chemical fusion reactor. Many companies make variants of the P-F reactor in almost any size desired. Common models generally have the same basic output per ton. Ships typically come equipped with a reactor large enough to run all the ships systems plus 30 Cost: Reactor mass(tons) x 4500CR
- Magnetic inducer By means of a magnetic field generator, the reactor may increase its efficiency by lowering the amount of energy lost to thermodynamic design flaws Cost: Reactor mass(tons) x 2500CR
Batteries Most ships carry a number of battery banks as a means of emergency power. If a problem occurs with the reactor , the ship can run on the supplemental power stored in these batteries for a short time. Cost: 800CR per E point.
Photon Net These large sails are sometimes added to a ship as a means of securing emergency power. When not in combat , a ship may deploy its sails to capture photons from nearby stars. These photons are then converted into energy by the fabrics high efficiency solar cells. These sails must be extremely large and are extremely fragile, usually only a few microns thick. Any attacks against a Photon net will destroy it. Cost: 1000CR per ton of net
Fuel Tanks Fuel tanks are necessary to carry the reaction mass used in the ships reactor. This fuel is most often deuterium extracted from heavy water. Cost: 100CR per ton of capacity.
Fuel The largest commodity in the universe, deuterium makes up 30% of all goods sold in Sapient Space. Thousands of refineries and tankers have set up shop. Fuel is most commonly sold by the ton or portion of ton. Cost: 500CR per ton
FTL ENGINES UPGRADES
All faster than light craft built by humanity use some version of the Miguel Alcubierre Warp Drive , or MAW Drive. A ships Jump drive is called this because of the way the engine must regularly stop to realign so making short “jumps� of speed through space instead of a continuous flight to the target destination.
MAW Drive Type 4 These are the oldest model drives still in production today, and though they are relatively slow compared to todays newer devices, the decades since its introduction have judged it if not fast, at least an extremely dependable drive. Type 4 drives are still commonly found throughout sapient space, though rarely on newly commissioned vessels. Many private operators who are unable to afford a refit to a newer, faster drive guard them with their lives , as a working MAW drive at any speed is a gateway to the stars. WT:3 Cost: 200,000CR new
Kymer Version A6 Drive The Kymer A6 drives are basically upgraded type 4 MAW drives. At the beginning of its production the kymer drive was the state of the art in star drives. Even today the A6 enjoys the reputation for dependability of the type 4 series. WT:2 Cost: 260,000CR new
MAW Drive Type 5 The design of the type 5 was the first drive since the introduction of the type 4 that wasn’t simply an upgrade or modification of an older drive design. The Type 5 drive more than doubled the relative speed a vessel could make while also lengthening the distance the vessel could make in a single jump. This revolutionary new drive cut travel times and allowed the ships lucky enough to be equipped with them to undercut those who weren’t. WT:1 Cost: 450,000CR new
Shepard-Nokamora Type 5L Drive An upgrade over the original type 5 drive, the SN-5L is probably the most commonly used drive today. This workhorse has logged more flight time in its career than any other design. The reasons for its popularity are the increased performance statistics coupled with the reliability of older type 4 series of drives. Because of the widespread use of the SN-5L drive most people refer to them as MAW type 6 drives. WT:1 Cost: 700,000CR new
Westinghouse G4800A9 This drive is a further refinement of the SN-5L drive and is produced under license by scores of companies. The West G48 as it’s called in engineer circles has been around for about 20 years. The current A9 version is the pinnacle of design for the G4800 series. A number of problems in early versions have all been worked out to produce a reliable drive with reasonable times between refits, though those early problems earned the drive a bad reputation in many areas, the current build (depending of course on the licensee who produced it) is an exceptionally well designed device with few operational malfunctions. WT:1 Cost: 1,200,000CR new
SENSOR UPGRADES
Omni-Directional Infrared(ODIR) These sensors function by seeing in the infrared spectrum, seeing through an objects heat omission. IR sensors can see through smoke and fog. IR sensors are passive only. Ships equipped with this system are capable of detecting the following within their sensor range: Location and size of all ships, the temperature of a planets atmosphere, Size, type, and location of all life forms not aboard a ship or on a planet. Range Increment: 2000m Cost: 15000CR
Ambient Particle Spectrascope(APS) This system allows the sensor operator to detect particles in space and their source. An APS system can be used in active or passive modes. Ships equipped with this system are capable of detecting the following within their sensor range: Identify and ascertain the location and trajectories of all natural hazards in space, determine the chemical makeup of a planets atmosphere, determine the trajectory and engine type of ships, determine the type and size of any active weapons, powerplants, engines, drives, and shields Range Increment: 8000m Cost: 20000CR
Laser Seismic Microphone(LSM) This system uses a system of lasers to detect minute vibrations on a ships hull caused by noise inside a ship to determine the presence of equipment and living organisms onboard a ship. These systems may be used in active mode only. Ships equipped with this system are capable of detecting the following within their sensor range: Ascertain the number and location of any medium sized or larger creatures aboard a ship or object, detect any seismic activity on a planets surface, determine the size and type of any active equipment inside a ship or object. Range Increment: 8000m Cost: 10000CR
SHIELD UPGRADES
Most ships carry a cold plasma shield generator, and all ships capable of faster than light travel must possess a shield device to create the warp bubble in order for their drive to be activated. The density of the shield created is determined by the size of the shield device.
Ships of different sizes require a number of shield generators to create a continuous bubble. These shield generators act in concert to protect the ship from not only attacks but from the small particles which would otherwise erode away the ships hull. Because of the characteristics of the cold plasma shield, energy applied to the shield is equalized across its surface. If the shield fails at any one point, the entire field collapses, and must be reset
Shield Generator Cost: 2000CR per .1 ton
Note: mass can be added in the form of more shield emitters to increase the power economy of existing generators.
Missile Tubes Missile tubes are a highly valuable item in ship combat. Though they more expensive per round fired than other weapon types, they make it possible for a relative small vehicle with a limited power supply to deliver massive damage to a vessel many times its size.
MISSILES
Though more expensive, missiles offer a higher damage to weight ratio than any other weapon type, and the configurable nature of missiles make them a highly valued task specific weapon. A missile acts as the launch vehicle for a warhead. Warheads must be purchased separately. Unused missiles may be configured with any appropriate sized warhead the user possesses. The launch vehicle will have different options which may be bought with the missile at the time of purchase. These options cannot be changed after the missile is acquired.
Class1 Missiles WT: 2 tons each Range:10,000 m Cost: 5000CR
Class2 Missiles WT: 1 ton each Range:5,000 m Cost: 2000CR
Class3 Missiles WT: .5 tons each Range:2,000 m Cost: 800CR
Class4 Missiles WT: .25 tons each Range:1,000 m Cost: 500CR
Class5 Missiles WT: .1 tons each Range:500 m Cost: 200CR
-Guided Vehicle This option may be added to any missile. Guided missiles may add a computer targeting bonus to the attack of these missiles. Cost: +20%
- Radar Guided Vehicle This option may be added to any missile. RG missiles home in on a radar wave bounced off the target. Cost: +30%
- IR Guided Vehicle This option may be added to any missile. IR guided missiles have an internal IR sensor system and once a lock is achieved the weapon may be launched as an attack action and will proceed to the target unless destroyed or the targets heat pattern significantly changes. Cost: +25%
WARHEADS
The warhead is the heart of a missile system, and the key to their task specific effectiveness. Missiles may be equipped with a number of different warheads to increase their damage potential for different actions.
High Explosive(HE) These warheads are simple cone types filled with an amount of explosive, with a crush tip detonator. HE missiles are most effective against a ships bare hull or hardened position to do maximum structural damage. HE warheads inflict no radiation damage. Cost:2000CR
High Explosive Armor Piercing(HEAP) These warheads use a hollow space in the nose to tamp the force of the explosives on a very small area. The huge amount of energy directed into a small space vaporizes the surface of the target area sending a stream of molten material into the crafts interior. HEAP warheads inflict no radiation damage. Cost:3500CR
Soft Point Concussive(SPC) These warheads have a soft nose composed of memory plastic and zinc. Their do damage by impacting the ships hull and do not penetrate , but break pieces of the internal structure by concussive force and induce the pieces to spawl, causing internal damage to the ship structure and components. SPC warheads inflict no radiation damage. Cost:1500CR
Breaching Round These warheads use a hardened tungsten tip tapered to a needle point as a penetrator to focus energy onto a small surface area. After the hardened tip of the round has breached the surface of the hull, the main charge explodes, widening the breach. Breaching rounds are primarily used to create holes in a ships hull to be exploited as entry points for boarding parties or to evacuate the ships atmosphere so that a ship may be taken intact by only harming the crew. Breaching Round warheads inflict no radiation damage. Cost:2000CR
Cluster Round These warheads, generally referred to by the archaic name “GrapeShot�, consist of a package of small high explosive warheads. When the missile is launched it tracks to the target and an instant before impact releases a volley of small warheads onto the target maximizing the damage per round fired. Cluster Round warheads inflict no radiation damage. Cost:4000CR
Electro-Magnetic Pulse These warheads do practically no structural damage but instead generate a pulse of electro-magnetic radiation which shorts out a ships electronic systems. EMP rounds cause EMP radiation. Cost:6000CR
Nuclear Nuclear warheads use some fissionable material, usually P239 or enriched uranium to generate a nuclear explosion. Nuclear rounds are highly destructive and are highly illegal to own by non-military personnel in most every system in sapient space. The emissions of nuclear weapons are easily detectable by an APS sensor array, even when stored in the ships magazine. Targets struck with a nuclear weapon are afterwards and for the next several days highly irradiated in the area of the attack. Radiation shielding equipped on all ships will protect the occupants unless a hull breach occurs. The trouble comes when the occupants must exit the ship after a battle to affect repairs on the ship or when they must pressurize a docking tunnel , and be exposed to the outward hull. This isn’t a problem if the proper amount to radiation shielded clothing is worn. Cost:15000CR
RADAR Countermeasures(Chaff) These warheads, available only in size tiny, are fired in the close proximity of the ship during an attack by radar guided missiles. They explode and expel thousands of small reflective metallic strips, which confuse radar guided missiles into tracking the chaff instead of the target ship. Cost:300CR
4inch Plasma Countermeasure(Sunburst) These warheads when fired travel a short distance and explode into a super hot plasma, causing any active IR missile to track to it. Cost:400CR
Target Designator Round These warheads, upon impact, attach themselves to the enemy hull through a magnetic field and begin to transmit a signal. Cost:500CR
RAILGUNS
The theory of railgun systems is centuries old, and in the last 200 years the science of magnetic acceleration has been near perfected. The principle of a railgun is to propel a ferrous metallic projectile down a barrel by means of magnetic fields, the velocity of the projectile is proportionate to the amount of energy used to create the magnetic field. The railguns strong points are the fact that the weapon can be fired in a vacuum unlike percussion rounds which require oxygen to burn their powder charge, and the ease of manufacture of ammunition, which can be milled or cast from any ferrous material in 1 piece. A railguns rounds are completely inert and do damage by the effects of their velocity and mass. Railguns sizes are measured by the weight of their firing coils, called “mass drivers�. The larger the mass driver, the stronger the magnetic field the weapon can produce. The weight to damage curve for a railgun reaches the point of diminishing returns at around 10 tons when the amount of velocity produced is not substantial enough to create a larger mass driver. Thus 10 tons is the reasonable limit to the size of a railgun. Railguns cause no radiation damage to their target. Railguns are available in 3 basic calibers: Light, medium, and heavy. The caliber of the projectile coupled with the velocity produced by the magnetic field determines the amount of terminal energy produced by the round.
Light Railgun Base WT: .25 Range: 400m Cost: 4000CR per .25 tons
Medium Railgun Base WT: .5 Range: 800m Cost: 7000CR per .5 tons
Heavy Railgun Base WT: 1 Range: 1200m Cost: 18000CR per 1 ton
-Double Driver Coils This option can be added to any railgun. Railguns can be augmented by adding a second layer of driver coils which increases the strength of the magnetic field. Thus a double driver coil can do an equal amount of damage as a larger weapon, making this option a weight saving measure. Railguns equipped with a double driver coil may reduce their weight by ¼. Cost: +30% weapon cost
RAILGUN AMMUNITION
Railguns may fire a number of different types of ferrous metallic ammunition, which do various amounts of damage.
Nickel-Aluminum The standard round for a rail gun is a mixture of nickel and aluminum. This combination has good penetrating qualities while remaining light weight.
Rounds per ton: (L)50 (M)20 (H)5 cost per ton: 400CR
Depleted-Uranium This type of round uses a depleted uranium core, which is much denser than lead, as an armor piercing characteristic. The weight of the core lowers the round count per ton of ammo. Rounds per ton: (L)30 (M)10 (H)2 cost per ton: 1000CR
Tempered Tungsten Sabot These rounds encase a small diameter round in a plastic case which is discarded in flight. This allows the weapon to fire a smaller mass with the same force achieving greater velocities and thus greater impact energy. The body of these rounds is typically composed of hardened tungsten which prevents the round from deforming under the stress of velocity despite its lower firing mass. Rounds per ton: (L)60 (M)25 (H)8 cost per ton: 1200CR
BEAM WEAPONS
Beam weapons, including the many types of Lasers and Particle Accelerators, have a definite and secure role in naval combat. Though a man-portable beam weapon has never been produced because of the great amounts of energy required to make such a weapon combat effective, large crew served and ship mounted versions are the standard for offensive and defensive naval weapons. Beams weapons have the advantage of an unlimited amount of ammunition so long as the weapon has a viable power source but they usually do less damage, ton for ton, than projectile weapons.
Lasers Lasers use a compressed beam of coherent light to create heat in the target, vaporizing the targets surface. Lasers are available in three sizes light, medium and heavy. The base weight of the weapon determines its damage while additional masses of lensing surfaces and lasing material increase the operational power range of the weapon. Lasers also have the advantage of a broader weight to damage curve, so that the maximum effective weight of a laser is 12 tons while that of a railgun is 10. Lasers produce no radiation on their target.
Light Laser Base WT: .1 Range: 700m Cost: 3000CR per .1 tons
Medium Laser Base WT: .25 Range: 1200m Cost: 6500CR per .25 tons
Heavy Laser Base WT: .5 Range: 1600m Cost: 15000CR per .5 ton
Pulse Firing Switch This option may be added to any Laser weapon. A pulse firing switch is a device which modulated the weapons firing cycle allowing it to operate at a higher rate of fire. WT: +10% Cost: +20% weapon cost
Particle Accelerators These weapons fire charged particles, usually electrons or hydrogen nuclei. The advantage of these weapons is the massive damage the weapon can achieve, the disadvantage is the fact that the weapon requires waste products of the vehicles reactor to operate and so cannot be operated from batteries. Also these weapons required large masses of radiation shielding to protect the operator and leave a target irradiated. Targets attacked with a particle accelerator become highly irradiated in the area of attack. Particle accelerators are available only in one type and have a maximum effective mass of 8 tons
Particle Accelerator Base WT: 1 Range: 2000m Cost: 20000CR per ton