Actual rules for Morale and productivity are pending me caring enough for them to be anything more than GM fiat. You should be able to knock somthing up, though.
Each section can have any number of positive and negative qualities. The total quality must be strictly greater than zero. If you buy no additional qualities, the basic quality is 100.
Adding qualities works the 'dopey' way most RPGs do it - that is 100% + 10% + -25% = 85%
The cost of the section is then the cost, multipled by the quality (as a percentage).
You can always add qualities at a later date.
(* This section can be bought at multiple levels. The levels work as described. Each additional level also means you have to take the 'extra level' quality an appropriate number of times - costing +10% each time.)
Costs are, nominally, in $1000. (ie. cost of 200 => $200,000 )
You are strongly encouraged to buy at least one quality for each area.
Making new sections
Either trash and replace an existing section (no cost, but you lose the old section)
OR build it into the superstructure (nestling it between existing sections, burrowing into whatever space junk you're building into) (cost 500)
OR bolt it on the outside (like an extra floating module) (cost 200, but you can NEVER add the 'hidden' or 'secret' quality)
Sections that you can add
Basic docking ring. Cost 50.
A simple docking port that allows the (dis)embarkation of passengers and the (incredibly)slow transfer of cargo. The ship is kept entirely external to the station and there are no facilities for supplying power, atmosphere or refueling - all of that would have to be done separately.
A shuttle docking bay. Cost 100.
Large enough to house, refuel, load and unload cargo/passengers from shuttles, tugs (and raiders) up to size 2. You have to buy the shuttles seperately!
A large docking bay. Cost 200.
Large enough to house, refuel, load and unload cargo/passengers from freighters and capital ships up to size 5. You have to buy the ships seperately!
A refit bay. Cost 500*. (500, 600+10%, 700+20%, 800+30% etc.)
Large enough to house, refuel, load and unload cargo/passengers and perform repairs on the largest craft - up to size 10. Each additional level of size adds 100 to the base cost, as well as requiring the 'extra level' quality. Housing super-dreadnaughts is costly! You most certainly have to buy the ship seperately.
When buying docking bays, remember that you have to cater for visitors and future expansions of your fleet.
Protect the station with a region of superstructure and armour. Each additional level costs 50. Each level of this that is bought gives protection worth about HP25 DR1. (The levels can either be packing in more defences, or buying more expensive stuff.) Note that a station will almost never get to choose which facing is attacked - you'll want to protect every side.
Protect the station with an active magnetic-particle shield. Each additional level costs 50. Each level of this gives about HP30 of shielding, with a regeneration rate of 3. (The levels can either be adding more shield generators - the outside of a space station has plenty of room, or buying higher technology.) However an active shield can never even be disguised, let alone hidden, secret or stealthed. It only retains those qualities as long as you leave it turned off. Note that a space station is too large for a single shield to cover - shields only cover the side that they are fitted on.
Weapons bay. Cost 150.
A weapons cluster gives you fittings for: One super-heavy weapon, two heavy weapons and 4 'normal' weapons. There's room for almost unlimited ammunition - but the cluster can only fire at a single target. You have to buy the weapons separately, but you can often get bulk-discounts when they're attached to a single turret like this.
Alternately, a point-defense weapons cluster gives you fittings for up to 20 separate direct-fire weapons - unsuitable for destroying ships, but wonderful against missiles. (See 'point defence system' in the book, under 'special systems')
Converting from one type to the other is a fairly easy job.
Leisure. Cost 100.
You really really don't want to have morale problems on a space station. Really. An area set aside for various types of relaxation can be a godsend in the boring days between the seconds of terror that is life in space.
Shopping (Market or mall, resident owned or chain)
Bunks. Cost 100.
Your crew need somewhere to sleep, keep their stuff and generally live. Each bunk area has enough space for one work-areas worth of staff to live in, assuming two shifts are off at once. Not comfortable, but not too cramped. For more space, buy cabins, or more bunks.
Cabins. Cost 150.
Your crew want more privacy? Each cabin area has enough space for one work-areas worth of staff to live in, in singles, couples and occasional larger groups. Fairly comfortable. For more space, buy more bunks.
Storage. Cost 50.
A place to put stuff. With some support for handling the stuff, keeping it in oxygen and suplying power for the lights. Oh and at least a basic system to help you find the stuff again. Stores up to 50 units of cargo - if you want to store more, hollow out more cargo spaces. Every space station needs at least one of these. Every succesful pirate station needs lots more.
Power Station. Cost 100*. (100, 200+10%, 300+20%, 400+30% etc.)
Space stations don't need great wodges of engines - but they do still need a lot of power. Each additional level of power adds 100 to the base cost, as well as requiring the 'extra level' quality. Each level of power can supply the needs of up to ten sections of the base. Each additional 'level' of a section also requires power. Make sure you've got enough to spare for future upgrades. If you've got room, you can always use multiple power stations, rather than buying a huge high-tech one.
Example types of power station, and the fuels they use:
Chemical (Oxygen, Hydrogen, Hydrocarbon)
Passive (Solar power)
Fission (Uranium)
Fusion (Deuterium)
Anhialation (Anti-Matter)
Direct Conversion (Any matter)
Hyper-grid (Exotic materials)
Life Support. Cost 100*. (100, 200+10%, 300+20%, 400+30% etc.)
Space stations really really need something to generate lots of atmosphere for them. As well as recycling the water. And growing some foods and so forth. Each additional level of life-support adds 100 to the base cost, as well as requiring the 'extra level' quality. Each level of can supply the needs of up to ten sections of the base. Make sure you've got enough to spare. Really. If you lose life-support than you will all die. Painfully.
Work areas. Cost 100.
You need to do work, right? You need somewhere to do it, and you probably need special stuff to do it with. Whatever that work is, whatever you need - you get about 100 of it in a single section.
Example work areas:
Planning
Logistics
Mining
Marketing
Production
Training
Research and Development
Pirate Areas. Cost 200.
Yeah, you're not actually gonna do any of the stuff a space-station is supposed to, are you? Though not. It'll cost you, you need 'yo-ho-ho' proof doors, and supply cabinets of rum.
Intelligence
Politics
Command
Science
Repair
Ammunition
Combat Training
Sections you probably only want one of
Communications. Cost 200.
Not just the equipment to send and recieve various types of signals - but also the staff to deal with making sure mail gets to the right address and that no-one is trying to spam you. You can make do without one, for a while. But sooner or later your crew will want to send letters to their families and so on. If you can get ahold of one, a communications center lets you deal with an ftl hypernet node.
Computing center. Cost 200.
One of the few advantages you have - extremely good computer resources. A computer network means that people can do most types of work efficiently without needing an area set-aside for it. This can stand in for a work area (including planning, command, science, logistics, intelligence, politics) - as long as you have at least one section of the appropriate type.
Damage Control. Cost 100.
Anywhere except in space, this would be called the maintainence department. Heavy moving equipment, power tools - even mops and buckets. And somewhere to make the tea. All the things that the rough and ready guys need to keep your station running. Is automatically assumed to have most spare parts for whatever mad equipment you've decided to bolt onto the station this week.
Each additional level costs 50. Each level of ECM purchased reduces the effectiveness of enemy scanners by one. You can retain the stealth, hidden and secret qualities as long as you're only using half your maximum power. An enemy reduced to scanners zero by passive ECM (ie. their scanners at their current range are less than half your ECM level) does not know that you've done this to them - you can show them anything at all about your station. (Saying it's not there at all is likely to cause a collision, however) Otherwise they know they are being blocked (but that doesn't mean that they can do anything about it)
In deep space, accidents are often fatal - especially since help is so far away. You can't do much about the presence of hard radiation, near absolute zero temperatures or total vacuum - but you can move the help closer. Improvements to the infirmary represent higher quality equipment, more of the right drugs being on hand and the availability of higher technology. Each additional level costs 100. In game terms, the infirmary can restore one point of 'thug' per level.
Direct incoming traffic, detect incoming attacks and discover new prey (legitimate or otherwise) all from the relative safety of your command station. Each additional level costs 100. Each level of scanners purchased gives you an effective range of about 5 light seconds with your full power, and about the same again with one less power etc. You can retain the stealth, hidden and secret qualities as long as you're only using half your maximum power. Scanner value is equal to level (as per the main book). Only the best scanning station active at any time counts - you can't daisy-chain scanners.
Unique. Cost ???
You can put pretty much anything into a space-station. Anything at all. You can probably think up extra things that we've forgotten. When you do (and you should) the GM will cost them up. Here's a few example systems for you:
Alien FTL inderdiction device. Cost 300 (plus the device!). Messes up hyperspace. These devices are very rare - and they need as lot of support equipment (cooling, heating, more power than most planets). But they do let you prevent visitors getting near at more than the speed of light.
Brig. Cost 200. Having the ability to restrain undesirables, delay dodgy visitors and let hot-tempers cool down is very handy. And having the capability to do something other than space them is terribly important for morale. Incorporating the latest in 'drunk tank' technology, the brig is an essential add-on to any station. Especially when you might want to interrogate people later.
Defensive net control. Cost 500. Keeps layers of netting, containing mines, up around the station. These do a decent job of blocking missiles (as per point defence) and also stop anyone sneakily trying to use FTL attacks.
Escape pods. Cost 100*. Only useful if you're in orbit around a planet or something, but if you are, and you're doing dangerous things, then being able to escape could be good. Each extra level costs 50, and you can evacuate one crew unit per level. Automatically has the 'dangerous' quality, though you can buy it off.
FTL engines. Cost 750*. Why would anyone want a space station to have ftl capability? Perhaps to make a quick getaway, perhaps because they want to quote star-wars. Costing 750 (plus the extra lever quality) per FTL level (that is, 750 just buys you FTL1 - most starships do 10) these aren't cheap - but they seriously mess up an attackers day.
Hackers control center. Cost 500. Most of the time sits there and plays quake. Very occasionally steals a ship without a shot being fired. Pays for itself that way. Plus you can play quake.
Mass driver. Cost 200. A giant rock-thrower. Useful for sending heavy materials back to your employers. Could be pressed into defensive use, too.
Menagerie. Cost 200. Animals! For sale, relaxation, or just to show off your status. And they make a great tourist trap, too!
Robots. Cost 200. A section dedicated to storing, recharging, repairing and controlling robots. Enough robots to work a single other section continuously. Great for efficiency, not so great if someone steals the codes. Not good for your other workers morale either, unless you can find dirty enough jobs.
Qualities
You really really ought to buy at least one quality for every section that you have, just for flavour. The quality of a section starts at 100. You're not allowed to take it below zero (so if you are about to, buy some positive qualities too). After that, you use the quality as a percentage and apply it to the base-cost of a section.
Stealth. Quality +5 - can be bought multiple times.
Covered in rocks, heavy minerals - or equipped with ECM generators, this section has the effects of an ECM section of a level equal to the number of times this quality is bought. But it applies only to this section.
Extra levels Quality +10 - can be bought multiple times
Some sections can be bought in 'levels'. This usually means that the section has more, better, higher-tech equipment. The effects are described in the applicable sections. This is listed here only for completeness.
Disguised. Quality +25
The section might just, on a simple scan or inspection, pass as something else. Maybe your armour is buried under a natural layer of rock, your weaponry looks like scanners or your pirate planning work-area slides out of view and tables turn over to present the image of a perfectly normal apple cafe. It won't stand up to an in-depth scan or marines tearing up the floorboards, but it gives you a bit of stealth. Alternately, allows you to hide just the qualities of the section.
Hidden. Quality +25, requires 'disguised'
The section just can't be found. If a section that needs external access (weapons, docking ports) then that access is hidden behind other things that slide out of the way when you want to use it. (And isn't half as hidden while it's in use) If an internal section then you need to use secret doors and confusingly labelled passages to get to it. It'll probably stand up even to a squad of customs inspectors. Though high-powered scans will reveal that it exists, though not how to get to it.
A section which has been 'bolted on' to the station is a big compartment sticking out of the side in an ugly and obvious manner. Such a section cannot be hidden - although it could be disguised or stealthed if you want to reduce the chances of people realising what it's really for.
Secret. Quality +25, requires 'hidden'
Not only is it hidden, but no-one who works on the station knows how to get to it either. This means that it's safe from spies among your own staff. Of course, if you use it a lot it won't stay a secret for long.
Auto-Destruct Quality +25
This section is rigged with auto-destruct devices. If you get raided, you can make it go boom. Useful for mexican standoffs, scorched-earth retreats or denying illegal ongoings. Not so useful in the showers. This quality is automatically secret.
Robust. Quality +25
Everything that can be built out of solid granite and cast iron, is. Things are just plain harder to break - increasing reliability and making it easier to work in the section even after battle damage. (Same effect as 'heavy' or 'turret' in ship design.)
Defensive Quality +50
This section is fitted with plenty of weapons lockers, blast doors, gun turrets, scanners and laid out so that it is much easier to defend than normal.
Redundancy. Quality +50
This section has lots and lots of spare stuff. This means that the first time it is damaged or destroyed (whether by lack of regular maintainence or through combat) it stays intact.
Automated. Quality +50
This section has a huge amount of automated equipment. Which makes it very easy to do whatever it is you normally do there. Reduces the number of shifts needed in the section by two (or increases the level by one.)
High Class. Quality +100
(You can only buy ONE of High-Class and Spacious)
A high-class section is one that is a joy to work (or live) in. Everything that can be gold-plated, is. Everything looks stylish and is easy to use. Good for morale, great for impressing visitors. The only downside to a high-class section is that everything costs a lot moe to repair or replace when it breaks.
Spacious. Quality +100
(You can only buy ONE of High-Class and Spacious)
A spacious section is one where there's room to breath - a real rarity on a space station. This improves morale and makes it much easier to work on multiple things at the same time. You can work twice the number of shifts (or add one level of quality) in a spacious section as normal - though doing so removes the morale bonus.
Self-Contained. Quality +100
This section has its own life-support. Useful for reducing the strain on central support, wonderful if main support gets blown up or cut-off. And absolutely vital if you want a section with an alien atmosphere for some reason.
Self-Powered. Quality +150
This section has its own generators. Useful for reducing the strain on the main generators, wonderful if the main generators stop working again.
Negative Qualities
These are bad things. Some mildly annoying, some downright awful. But they do make things cheaper...
Quirky. Quality -25
Maybe it's alien, maybe it's just bloody-stupid design. Although this section works just fine - it does it in some strange and unexpected way that takes a fair bit of getting used to. New crew takes twice as long to train. But inspectors might not recognise it for what it really is, and invaders will have a hard time co-opting it. (It has the 'Disguised' quality, for free.)
Some sample quirks:
The section is aligned at ninety degrees to the rest of the station. Or within itself.
Colours set up differently (Red means ok? Argh! What the heck does a flashing blue light mean?)
No way to turn off the voice recognition.
Controlled through throwing balls at the wall.
Feedback via fart jokes and electric shocks.
All the manuals are in Russian. Unless the crew is Russian. Then they change to Zetan.
Isolated. Quality -50
This section is, whether by design or accident, a bloody long way away from the rest of the station. This has the advantage that if it blows up, nothing else goes with it. And the disadvantage that you can't move crew in-or-out during combat. And there's a morale problem associated with working there.
Outdated. Quality -50
Everything is fine. Top of the line equipment, from forty years ago. The section performs at half efficiency (or one level lower than usual) It does, however, automatically get the 'robust' quality. And has a risk of crew injury.
Cheap. Quality -75
To quote a famous astronaut: "Everything here was made by the lowest bidder." It's low quality, it breaks easily, it's sometimes dangerous and it's just plain annoying. Morale penalty and a risk of crew injury. On the plus side, it's cheap to get spare parts. (A 'cheap' section may not be robust, high-class or spacious)
Dangerous. Quality -75
Whether because of bad design, breaking down components or tempting short-cuts this section is just plain dangerous. High chance of crew injury and even death. There's no excuse for having a section this dangerous, unless it's the money you save. Or you like the aesthetics of giant glowing columns and suspended platforms over pits of lava and the main generator.
Overly massive. Quality -75
There's nothing really wrong with the section, except that whoever built it used about twice as much stuff as they really needed to. Why use a sheet of space-stressed aluminium, when a foot of bricks work? This section needs two sections of space. But it's cheap.
Should this also give a "robust" quality? - MoonShadow
Nah - but worth mentioning (as we just did) that they go well together. --Vitenka
Sample Stations
'No Subject'
The 'no subject' is a prefabricated trading way-station - largely the Krylon Nebula's equivalent of a motorway truck-stop. The owners couldn't be bothered to properly configure the software, and the name stuck.
In addition to the basic prefab, it has a repair facility and an extra habitation ring.
Docking ring: 4x Basic Docking Bay ( cost 50*4 = 200 ) 2x S2 Bay ( cost 100*2 = 200 ) Large Bay ( cost 200 ) Docking level power station (extra level, outdated) ( cost 200 q 40% = 80 ) Docking level life support ( cost 100 ) ( Additional, not in prefab ) S10 Repair Station - quirky ( cost 500 q 75 = 375, +200 for the bolt-on = 575 )
This is intended to be the basic chassis for the players' 'mining' (not piracy at all) station. Provided by the govnment, who will frequently remind you how much it cost to put together. Each player has an additional '500' to spend on customising it. (Some in their personal section, some in the central section.) It is intended that in order to buy anything really useful, the players will have to bung some negative qualitites onto the existing stuff. But they have a decent amount of room to expand before they start needing to hollow out more asteroid.
Mining Segment - AlexChurchill: (total cost over default: 325) numbers at the end are relative to the "default" cost S5 docking bay: Cheap ( 200 q 25% = 50 ): -150 S2 docking bay: Isolated ( 100 q 50% = 50 ): -50 Armour (bolt-on) ( 100 ) Bunks: Outdated, High-Class ( 100 q 150% = 150 ): +50 Work area (mining): Cheap, Robust ( 100 q 50% = 50 ): +50 (Level 8) Scanners: Automated, Massive, Isolated, Quirky ( 850 q 50% = 425 ): +425
Central Segment: (total cost over default = 175) (n+1) Power ( 100 + 500 *(n+1) = 600 + 600n ) (n+1) Life Support ( 100 + 500 *(n+1) = 600 + 600n ) Work Area (pirate command, hidden, stealth 4) ( 100 * 145% = 145 ) Cargo (hidden, stealth 4) ( 50 q 145% = 330 ) Leisure (jet racing and flungeball): Quirky ( 100 q 75% = 75) (75 paid by AlexChurchill) Computing: Redundant, Isolated ( 100 q 100% = 100) (100 paid by AlexChurchill) 4x empty
Toal cost: 5650 plus 5000 per player segment
All ready for the players to customise to their hearts desire.
Comments / Log
(Re: 'bolt module on the outside more cheaply' denying the 'disguised' quality.)
Just to let you know, this contradicts the description of hidden below --K
So it does - did expanding upon it fix that? --Vitenka
Pretty much, but I would suggest changing the first burrow into build: "OR build into the superstructure (nestling it between existing sections, burrowing into whatever space junk you're building into)" --K
Made 'ECM' worth buying (I hope). Added 'Infirmary', 'Brig', applied a bit of alphabetical sorting to the 'one only' sections. (Would cost sorting be better?)
TODO
Typo proof it.
Re-explain scanners / ECM. (The intent is that if you have double what you need, they can't detect you doing it. Scanner power dies by one per distance, which accord to the 'range' in the book - and I have arbitarily defined to be 5ls.)
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