How to role play ship combat?


General Discussion


Looking for ideas. During ship combat, the roles of captain, engineer, gunner, pilot, and science officer come in to play. I'm wondering how these responsibilities look during the gaming session.

I'm sure some sessions will look like this. And I heard that ship combat may only be a small part of the game. But how do you keep ship combat tense, lively, and engaging, while still giving all players a chance to do something?

Disclaimer: Never played Skull and Shackles, nor have I played Bridge Crew.


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Hm. Watch Star Trek and The Expanse. Read Ender's Game or The Spinward Fringe series. Those should give you some ideas.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Give this video a look. It's a demo of some space combat, but not all roles are coming into play.

That said, there seems to be enough to do for everyone from the few pieces of info we have.

Engineer:
Engineer: Targets critical systems to aid the ship and direct the ship's power. Engineering appears to be the skill used by the engineer, based on the Starfinder space combat demo. Actions that engineers can take during the engineering phase are:
Divert (Engineering Phase): You can divert auxiliary power into one of your starship’s systems, giving it a boost. This requires a successful Engineering check (DC 20) and the results depend on where you decide to send this extra power. If you send it to the engines, your starship’s speed is increased by ? this round. If you send it to the science equipment, all science officers receive a +2 bonus to their crew actions this round. If you send it to the starship’s weapons, treat each damage die that rolls a 1 this round as having rolled a 2 instead. If you send it to the shields, restore an amount of Shield Points equal to 5% of the PCU rating of the starship’s power core, up to the shields’ maximum value. The restored shield points can be split up however you like among the four quadrants, but no quadrant can have more than one-quarter of the shield system’s total number of Shield Points.
Hold It Together (Engineering Phase): You can hold one system together by constantly patching and modifying it. By succeeding at an Engineering check (DC 25), you can select one system; that system is treated as if its critical damage is two steps less severe for the rest of the round (wrecked becomes glitching, and malfunctioning and glitching systems function as if undamaged). This check is not modified by any critical damage to the core.
Patch (Engineering Phase): You can patch a system to reduce the effects of a damage condition. The number of actions and DC of the Engineering check required to patch a system depend on how badly the system is damaged, as indicated on the table below. Multiple engineers can pool their actions in a single round to effect repairs more quickly, but each engineer much succeed at her Engineering check to contribute her action to the patch. The number of actions required can be reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1 action) by increasing the DC by 5. If you succeed at this check, the severity of damage is not changed, but it is treated as one step less severe for the remainder of the combat, until 1 hour has passed, or until the system takes critical damage again (which removes that patch and applies the new severity). This action can be taken more than once per round, and this check is not modified by any critical damage to the core.

Pilot:
Pilot: Flies the ship, manages “stunts". Pilots can perform basic pilot stunts, and “especially talented pilots” can attempt an “audacious gambit”, which causes the ship to fly in unintended ways. The pilot makes the initiative check to determine turn order. Getting a higher roll means that the players can go later in the round, which is more beneficial than going earlier. “Piloting” appears to be the skill used by the pilot, based on the Starfinder space combat demo. The actions a pilot can take are:
Fly (Helm Phase): You move your starship up to its speed and can take any turns allowed by its maneuverability.
Maneuver (Helm Phase): You move your starship up to its speed. In addition, you can attempt a Piloting check (DC 25) to reduce your starship’s distance between turns by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Stunt (Helm Phase, Push): You can attempt any one of the stunts described below. The DCs of the Piloting checks required and the results of success and failure are described in each stunt’s description.
Back Off: The starship moves up to half its speed in the direction of the aft edge without changing facing. It can’t take any turns during this movement. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC 20). On a failed check, your starship moves backward only 1 space. If you fail this check by 5 or more, your starship does not move at all and takes a -4 to Armor Class (AC) and Target Lock (TL) until the start of the next round.
Evade: ...bonus to its AC and TL until the start of the next round. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC 20). If you fail, the starship moves as normal. If you fail the check by 5 or more, the starship moves as normal, but takes a -2 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round.
Flip and Burn: The ship moves forward up to half its speed (without turning) and rotates to face the aft edge at the end of the movement. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC 25). If you fail this check, your starship moves forward half its speed but doesn’t rotate.
Flyby: The ship moves as normal but it can only move through one hex occupied by an enemy starship without provoking a free attack (as described above). During the following gunnery phase, you can select one arc of your starship’s weapons to fire at… vessel as if the vessel were in close range (an actual range of 1 hex),... arc of the enemy starship. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check ((DC = 20 + 2 x the tier of the enemy starship). If you fail this check, your starship still moves as described above, but you follow the normal rules for attacking (based on your starship’s final position and distance), and the movement provokes a free attack… that starship as normal.
The Other pilot stunts seem to be:
Barrel Roll: A basic pilot stunt. By spinning the ship on its axis, the pilot allows the ship's port guns and shields to function on the starboard side and vice versa for 1 round. Hope your artificial gravity is turned on!
Slide: A basic pilot stunt. The pilot moves the ship at an angle without changing the way it is facing, like a racecar drifting. This stunt is very useful for ships that aren't very maneuverable.
Turn in Place: A basic pilot stunt. Firing up maneuvering thrusters, the pilot alters the direction the ship is facing without moving it from its hex, possibly allowing a specific weapon to make an all-important shot.

I wouldn't worry too much right now.


Damanta wrote:
Getting a higher roll means that the players can go later in the round, which is more beneficial than going earlier.

Could you please expand on this? I'm intrigued.


Yeah, just about any Sci-Fi show will showcase some of these roles. or just boost morale by reciting the 13th warrior funeral mantra during every fight. that would work too.


Mashallah wrote:
Damanta wrote:
Getting a higher roll means that the players can go later in the round, which is more beneficial than going earlier.
Could you please expand on this? I'm intrigued.

i thought it had to do with moving last and then once everyone has moved you figure out what weapons you have in each arc and getting to take your shots simultaneousluy. Moving later lets you keep your strongest arcs aligned to their weakest.


Science Officer role is fun.

Captain: "scan the ship for life signs."
Science Officer: "I scan the ship for life signs."
GM: "you detect no life signs"
Science Officer: "I detect no life signs."


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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Fardragon wrote:

Science Officer role is fun.

Captain: "scan the ship for life signs."
Science Officer: "I scan the ship for life signs."
GM: "you detect no life signs"
Science Officer: "I detect no life signs."

"Computer, is there a replacement beryllium sphere on board?"


Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I'm​ assuming there's multiple options for science officer actions, based on the other roles. At least until I hear otherwise.

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