Planet

Starship Construction

This section lists technology that is used in starship construction.

Jump Drive

Kindred Ship

In the Empire of the Thirteen universe, all FTL-capable ships include a Jump drive; that's the only known form of an FTL engine.

A Jump drive must have the following rules:

  • Terran engines cannot exceed 250 times the speed of light.
  • Terran engines must buy the limitation "maximum distance (in light years) cannot exceed 1/2 of the INT of the ship's computer [-1/2]"
  • Imperial engines must buy the limitation "maximum distance (in light years) cannot exceed the INT of the ship's computer [-1/4]"
  • All FTL travel must be linked to Extra-Dimensional Travel
  • Extra-Dimensional Travel must buy the limitation "activation roll required in a gravity field [-1/2]".
  • Extra-Dimensional Travel must buy the Charges limitation.

Standard Terran Jump7 Drive

CostPowersEND
22Standard Terran Jump7 Drive:0

Extra-Dimensional Travel to Jump Space (20), 2 charges [-1 1/2], Linked to Faster-than-Light travel [-1/2], activation roll required in a gravity field [-1/2].

Faster-than-Light Travel, 128 times the speed of light. (24), maximum distance (in light years) limited to 1/2 of the INT of the ship's computer [-1/2].

Description: The standard Jump drive configuration involves a liminalium grid on the outside of a starship. This grid is charged by a high-energy fusion plant, which opens a liminal field through which the ship travels into Jump space (Extra-dimensional Movement). It is extremely difficult to raise a liminal field in a gravity well. Within 100 diameters of a planet, an 11- roll is required, while an 8- roll is required within 10 planetary diameters.

Most Jump-capable ships find it impractical to carry enough hydrogen fuel for more than 1 successful jump (one charge in to Jump space, and one charge out). Recharging the Jump drive requires picking up a large quantity of hydrogen gas, either directly from a star port, from a gas giant or from a body of water.

Travel through Jump Space is extremely complicated. The ship's computer is required to perform extremely complicated mathematical equations to calculate the ship's position. These equations become exponentially more complicated the longer a ship is in Jump space; as a result, the maximum range of a Jump is limited by the computing capacity of the ship's navigational computer.

Standard Terran Jump8 Drive

CostPowersEND
23Standard Terran Jump8 Drive:0

Extra-Dimensional Travel to Jump Space (20), 2 charges [-1 1/2], Linked to Faster-than-Light travel [-1/2], activation roll required in a gravity field [-1/2].

Faster-than-Light Travel, 250 times the speed of light. (26), maximum distance limited to 1/2 of the INT of the ship's computer [-1/2].

Description: Same as the Jump7 drive.

Standard Imperial Jump8 Drive

CostPowersEND
27Standard Imperial Jump8 Drive:0

Extra-Dimensional Travel to Jump Space (20), 2 charges [-1 1/2], Linked to Faster-than-Light travel [-1/2], activation roll required in a gravity field [-1/2].

Faster-than-Light Travel, 250 times the speed of light. (26), maximum distance limited to the INT of the ship's computer [-1/4].

Description: Similar to the Terran Jump8 drive.

Computers

Most starships will have more than one computer.

Universal Products' Basic Computer

ValueCharCostNotes
8INT-2Can run 2 programs
10DEX0
1SPD-10Phases: 12
CostSkillsRoll
Autopilot Skills
3Combat Piloting11-
2KS: Flight Protocols11-
3Navigation10-
3Sensor Operation10-
Entertainment Skills
1KS: Popular Movies8-
1KS: Popular Music8-
1KS: Video Games8-
Languages
1English
CostPrograms
1Pilot Starship from point A to point B (A and B must be on the navigational maps)
1Show entertainment

Description: The basic computer is an extremely low-end computer for use in short-range shuttles and work vessels, or as a low-cost back-up computer.


Copyright © 1999 by B.C. Holmes. Last updated May 1st, 1999.
Champions, Star Hero, Hero System and Hero Games are registered trademarks of Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Back to the Empire main page.