How would you build a "stealth" starship?

[Charles Marshall]

While I'm making ships for In Thrust We Trust, a recurring question appears again in my mind: How do you build a "stealth" ship in Starfinder? How high a Mark would the defenses have to be? Would you need special systems to foil ship sensors? Any help would be appreciated.

[Peg'giz]

There are two modules so far which allow some sort of stealth.
In AotS book 2 there is a Biocamouflage System, which allows your ship to look like a natural object (e.g. an asteroid) and provide a -4 malus on scan checks.
Then there is the Ghost Drive Expansion Bay, which allows your ship to become insubstantial for a short time.
Beside these two there is the Quantum Defender, which has sort of Stealth abilities, making the ship flickering in reality so attacks have to be rerolled.

Basically if I would build a stealth ship I would go the Normandy route, high Electronic countermeasures and speed.

[VampByDay]

A high Electronic countermeasures (affecting TL) also increases the likelihood that people can’t scan or get a lock on. So someone would know you are out there, but not WHAT you are. That could be considered a form of stealth.

[Metaphysician]

Basically, to truly be a stealth ship ( ie, a ship that avoids or escapes encounters by not being detectable ) requires rules that don't *really* exist yet. At least, unless they released some fairly majors expansions to how ships and ship combat work in one of the APs.

If I were to wing avoiding combat? I'd make it a Science Officer check with the Computers skill, primarily; they handle the ECM and sensors, so they are the ones who are most aptly skilled for figuring out how to subtly spoof or avoid someone else's sensors. The pilot can help by "flying casual", and perhaps other roles via locking down emissions or whatnot. I'd probably be pretty harsh with the required circumstances, though. If you are fairly distant from an indifferently watchful enemy while in a thick asteroid field, sure. If you are in open space within a single Long range increment from an enemy ship specifically looking for you? Not going to happen, all else being equal.

[Corsair17]

Submarines face similar problems today. When trying to hide they do not use active search systems, they just listen. If they are actively hunting a sub, they use the active sonar. Active sonar will detect a sub but also gives away your location as well.