Starship Design System

A collection of rules allowing for fast and generic spaceship design and play.

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Needle System

A needle system is a short-range weapons array capable of tightly-focused, accurate fire. It can knock-out individual systems on a target vessel while causing minimal structural damage.

Targeting a system on an enemy ship requires one FireCon, which can’t be used to fire other non-needle systems this turn. It CAN however be used to fire other needles at the SAME target system this turn.

Symbols: Filled circle with a long line pointing forward.

Range and Rolling To Hit

The maximum range is 12″. Designate a single system on the target ship and roll one D6 per needle firing.

On a score of… Result
6 Target system knocked-out and one damage point applied to HULL
5 One damage point applied to HULL
1-4 No effect

A system knocked-out by needle fire cannot be repaired by damage control. As with threshold checks, a normal space drive must be knocked-out or damaged TWICE in order to completely disable it.

Needle systems are unaffected by screens and armor.

Multi-arc Needle System (experimental)

At extra mass and cost a needle system can be fitted to fire through up to 180 degrees of arc.

Filled circle with three long lines pointing 10, 12, and 2 o'clock.

Heavy Needle System (experimental)

Filled circle with two long lines pointing forward.

Design Procedure

Class Bearing Mass Cost
Standard      
  60° (1 arc) 2 6 points
  120° (2 arcs) 3 9 points
  180° (3 arcs) 4 12 points
Heavy Needle      
  60° (1 arc) 5 15 points
  120° (2 arcs) 8 24 points
  180° (3 arcs) 11 33 points

Obsolete Version

An older version of the needle system was less effective.

At a range of 9″, nominate one system and roll one D6:

On a score of… Result
6 Target system knocked-out
1-5 No effect

Lore

Although it is a separate system on the ship diagram, needle systems can represent the ship’s main battery being used in a more accurate mode to “call shots” as in “target engines only”.

Extended Needle Beams

Ship Design Navigation Table
Basic Design Faster Than Light Drive • Fighter Group • Main Battery • Normal Space Drive • Point Defense System • Screen Generator •
Advanced Design Drone System • Needle System • Submunitions • Torpedo System
Experimental Design Advanced Battery • Advanced Drive • Advanced Fire Control • Advanced FTL • Megabattery • Railgun System •