Ship Statistics

When you spend as much time with a piece of equipment as a crew does with their spaceship, you get to know her like you would a person - her good points, her moods, her flaws. After a while, it might come to seem that she is a person - another member of the crew.

Ships in Savage Serenity pretty well are characters in their own right, with their own Attributes, Skills, Edges, and Hindrances. The following breaks down what they mean in relation to a boat. Once you've got a handle on what it all means, you can try your hand at aerospace engineering and build one from scratch.

Concept
Before you get starting crunching numbers and piecing together Traits, you'll want to have an idea of just what kind of boat you're looking to make. Is she a small, four-man craft built for speed rather than comfort? A slow-moving cargo hauler? Retired military craft? Get a few ideas together before you dive it, and the whole process will go a lot smoother.

Ship Attributes
Ships have Attributes same as people, but they're a mite different. The physical Attributes (Agility, Strength, and Vigor) are the same, they have a different set of mental Attributes: Computer, Sensors, and Systems.

Agility
The Agility Attribute represents a ship's reaction speed and maneuverability. Agility - not Speed Class - determines movement in combat. An Agility of 0 is used for an orbiting base or space station that has only minimal attitude control thrusters.

Computer
Virtually all ships have some sort of autopilot - smart enough to follow simple course instructions and keep the ship from crashing during routine operations. The Computer Attribute represents the systems available in a ship's control, navigation, and guidance suite. A Computer of 0 indicates manual controls with no autonomous capability at all.

Sensors
The Sensors Attribute represents the range and resolution of a ship's sensors and communications equipment. Civilian vessels tend to skimp on electronics, installing only the bare minimum. Military vessels tend to the opposite extreme.

Strength
The Strength Attribute represents the size of a ship, her general tonnage, and the raw power of her engines. Strength is also the only Attribute that features a die type lower than d4, to represent the smallest of spacecraft.

Systems
The Systems Attribute represents the redundancy and safety margins built into a ship's design. This is the measurement of the ship's ability to operate despite damage, the ability to bypass malfunctioning systems and jury-rig temporary substitutes, and a measure of how far a ship can be pushed beyond her design limits.

Specifications
Specifications are the physical statistics of a ship's design: dimensions, tonnage, speed class, fuel and cargo capacity, and accommodations for crew and passengers.

Dimensions
These are the overall length, beam (width), and height of the ship given in feet. Ships that expect to enter and leave atmo cannot generally have a length more than 20 times their beam or height. Ships designed to function only in the black don't have to take gravity and aerodynamics into account, and thus don't worry about it.

Tonnage
The overall mass and volume of a ship is measured in tons. For those interested in specific numbers, you can determine "block volume" by multiplying the three dimensions in feet together (length x beam x height) and dividing the result by 100. Actual tonnage will be smaller, from one-half the number for a bulky ship to one-sixth for a truly sleek design. Otherwise determine the tonnage based on the ship's Strength Attribute.

Speed Class
Ships are rated for Speed Class, which is a measure of both how fast she travels on her pulse drives and how efficiently she burns on reaction drives. This does not determine maneuverability in combat, which is covered by Agility. Speed class is a number, normally between 1 and 10. Speed Class 1 is very slow, suitable for short-range scows and bulk cargo transports. At Speed Class 10 - suitable for fast couriers and racing yachts - a ship can reach anywhere in the central planets in a day, and most anywhere in the system in 25 days.

A boat has a cruising speed, which uses a normal amount of fuel and does not push the ship past its normal limits, and a top speed, often called "full burn", that is 2 points higher, but uses 50% more fuel and can stress the ship if run for long periods of time.

Fuel Capacity
A boat's fuel capacity is generally a measure of its size, and is a measure of hydrogen for the ship's fusion engine, measured in tons. Since hydrogen is light, the tanks required to store it are larger. Fuel capacity can be higher or lower depending on the design; just remember that the required storage volume is always 5 times the capacity. A fuel tank provides 600 hours of cruise endurance, give or take. Volume dedicated to fuel storage above what is required increases the length of time needed before refueling.

Crew Quarters
Crew members require living space. This ranges from dinky (8 tons per person) to plush (30 tons per person). This