Spaceships
===

Ships in the Expanse are created much like characters, in that a ship is defined by a set of abilities and equipped with a variety of technologies in order to do it's job.

Ships are defined by the following traits:

- Size (determines Hull Rating and Crew Requirements)
- Drive
- Sensors
- Weapons

# Size

The primary trait of a ship is its Size. It is one of eight categories listed below:


# Hull

A ship's Hull measures it's overall structural strength. Hull functions much like a character's Toughness, taking into account that larger ships are not necessarily made of stronger materials.

# Crew

Whether it carries passengers or cargo, the responsibility for getting a ship to its destination falls to its crew. The Ship Sizes table lists the minimum crew needed to run a ship at full efficiency, along with an estimate of a more regular crew complement for that size.

For each category the ship's crew drops, apply a -2 Modifier to tests involving control or oversight of the ship's systems.

One Reduction in Crew Size = -2 Modifier to Ship System Tests.

Most ships will also have a bridge or ops (operations) deck where the crew gathers to oversee its various functions. Each ops position has an acceleration couch with terminal screens and controls within easy reach, even while the ship is under acceleration.

# Drive

Any ship operating between planetary orbits is equipped with an Epstein Drive, powered by an on-board fusion reactor. An Epstein Drive plume is visible and detectable from a great distance, meaning a ship on the burn is fairly easy to track. The plume is also capable of severely damaging whatever sits in its path.

In order for hard-burn's or high-g manoeuvres to be performed, the crew is required to be seated in acceleration couches and pumped with 'the juice' to keep their bodies functioning. Regular breaks should be taken between high intensity burns.

## Thrusters

Ships are also equipped with manoeuvring thrusters for making adjustments in their orientation and heading. These thrusters are super-heated steam being utilized as propellant.

# Sensors

Ships use a variety of information gathering devices, including optical telescopes, radio reception, radar and ladar (laser-based range finding and scanning) to sweep nearby space. The ship's computer then assembles this information into usable formats fed to the crew. A ship's **Sensor Score** measures the effectiveness of this equipment on a range from -2 to 6.

A ship always has at least passive sensors running, plus a mix of radar and ladar scanning the nearby regions of space, software-defined radio packages running broad spectrum for communications traffic, and automated optical tracking systems. Passive sensors can be set to trigger alerts whenever they return a particular result, or detect pre-defined profiles.

# Weapons

While civilian ships are unarmed, military and security craft carry a variety of weapons, as do some pirates and similar illegal ships.

## Grapplers

Certain military ships and pirate vessels carry magnetic grapplers to attach to a target ship, pull in and board.

## Point Defense Cannons

Commonly referred to as PDCs, these rotary Gatling-style guns fire streams of Teflon-coated tungsten slugs. They are a defensive measure to shoot down incoming attacks or micro-meteors. At close range, distance of a few kilometres, they can also be used as an effective offensive weapon.

## Rail Guns

Ships with heavier weaponry usually begin with a magnetic rail gun, spinal-mounted along the length of the ship so firing stresses don't tear the ship apart.

## Torpedoes

The longest-range weapons are self-guided torpedoes, essentially a tiny Epstein Drive carrying an explosive warhead. They are tiny, un-manned crafts that accelerate very fast, few ships can outrun them, if any. PDCs primary function are to shoot down torpedoes before they reach the ship. Alternatively, electronic warfare can be used to confuse the laser-guided targeting systems.

# Qualities and Flaws

Much like a character's equipment, ship's can have many qualities and flaws. See the table below.


# Maintenance and Upkeep

The life of a ship-owner and operator is one focused on keeping the ship going, since a ship breakdown isn't like having trouble with a ground vehicle. There's no road-side assist.

Make use of your Interludes to maintain the ship and ensure any damaged or broken components are fixed up.