1001 Nights variant: the ship as a character

Game rules - homebrew

Checking on the Coriolis Discord, I read that the publishers are OK with players recreating tables, figures and data from the RPG source material where the only purpose is the facilitation of playing their game and I hereby promise this is my only intent with this article. Here I've taken the Year Zero Engine to modify the Coriolis rules for my own games - Doctor Weather

I've found that though the ship gets created with the care of a player character it doesn't really come into play anywhere near as much. Plus, the economics of it can make it a turn off for some players who don't want to play a game of accountancy. To make the ship more of an NPC that the players enjoy interacting with but one with stats rather than a balance sheet I'm going to take inspiration from Mutant: Year Zero's ark rules.

Class of ship and maximum capability

All ships begin with the 'functional' level outfit and capability and can be improved from there based on limits from the ship class.

SHIP CLASS	MAXIMUM OUTFIT
I	'Functional' outfit and features are the maximum Only 2 areas can be improved with features, often defining the purpose of the craft (as a fighter, shuttle, etc.)
II	Can reach 'improved' level in outfit and features Only 2 areas can reach 'improved' level though, the rest remaining at 'functional' (though they can buy 'functional' features still)
III	Can reach 'superior' level in outfit and features A maximum of 2 areas can reach 'superior' level and a single third area can be raised to 'improved', the rest remaining at 'functional' Features can be purchased up to the level of the outfit in all cases
IV	Can reach 'superior' level in outfit and features Can support multiple 'superior' areas of the same type - bonuses don't stack but does allow the ship to work on more than one project at once The ship can have 7 total areas: 5 are the initial one of each area; the remaining 2 can be of any type If you upgrade an area's outfit and feature maximum then all areas of that type are upgraded to the same new maximum Of the five types of area, a maximum of 3 can reach 'superior' level and the remainder can reach 'improved'
V	Can reach 'superior' level across all its areas, irrespective of how many of each type there are - if you have the money you can make everything awesome Can support multiple 'superior' modules - bonuses don't stack but does allow the ship to work on more than one project at once The ship can have 9 total areas: 5 are the initial one of each area; the remaining 4 can be of any type

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Command

These operations are the perview of the captain, potentially requiring use of Empathy skills for negioations and trade.

	FUNCTIONAL	IMPROVED	SUPERIOR
OUTFIT	Bridge Cargo hold	Cabins - coffin and standard Command unit Shrine	Cabins - suite Chapel
CAPABILITY	Ship is operational	Command unit As 'gear' rules Shrine Counts as a chapel but only for 3 pre-defined Icons	Chapel Normal rules
FEATURES ....that can be purchased as extras	External cargo Smuggler's stash Ship system Traveller's blessing +1 to portal jumps Ship's intelligence		Arboretum

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Defence and security

	FUNCTIONAL	IMPROVED	SUPERIOR
OUTFIT	Small weapons module - choose 2: Countermeasures Autocannon Accelerator cannon Nestera Mangler Torpedo	Improved weapons module - choose 2: Anything from the small module list Heavy accelerator Ion cannon Ion torpedo Plasma torpedo Mine	Superior weapons module - choose 3: Anything from the improved module list Meson cannon Thermal cannon Antimatter torpedo Nuclear torpedo Antimatter mine Nuclear mine Ion missile
CAPABILITY	Ship can defend itself and/or attack	Weapons and combat rules unchanged	Weapons and combat rules unchanged
FEATURES ....that can be purchased as extras	Advanced countermeasures Advanced targeting Advanced torpedos Advanced weapon system	Ablative armour	Heavy armour

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Engineering

Everything here is run by the ship's engineer and mostly makes use of the technology skill.

	FUNCTIONAL	IMPROVED	SUPERIOR
OUTFIT	Reactor Graviton projector	Workshop	Service station Remote functions
CAPABILITY	Ship is spaceworthy	Workshop Can repair (P) and (O) tech equipment +1 to Technology for equipment repairs made in the workshop	Service station Can repair (O) tech ship modules +1 to Technology for ship repairs Workshop bonus increases to +2 Remote functions Can send holo-comms and/or drones to assist on remote repairs
FEATURES ....that can be purchased as extras	Atmospheric entry ED fields Reactor burst Repair drone Can repair EP and critical damage but not HP Robust hull Supercharged reactor	Advanced workshop Can repair (A) tech equipment Bonus dice are d8	Advanced service station Can repair (A) tech modules Bonus dice are d8

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Operations

These modules are run by the ship's pilot. Whereas the pilot might need to take direction from sensors or engineering to decide what to mine or salvage, the actual operation of the equipment will be done through the pilot skill.

	FUNCTIONAL	IMPROVED	SUPERIOR
OUTFIT	Bridge	Docking station Escape pods	Operational module - choose 1: Extra cargo hold Hangar Mining station Salvage station
CAPABILITY	Ship can be piloted	Docking station Normal rules Escape pods Normal rules	Operational modules Normal rules
FEATURES ....that can be purchased as extras	Ejector Precise thrusters Tuned accelerator Turbo projector	Antimatter rockets	Savage unit

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Sensors and science

Combining these functions means it must be possible to run everything from the science skill. Logically, the sensors part alone could still be run from data djinn though, especially on ships that have no appreciable science function.

	FUNCTIONAL	IMPROVED	SUPERIOR
OUTFIT	Bridge	Stasis	Science module - choose 1: Medlab Science lab
CAPABILITY	Ship is operational	Stasis Normal rules	Medlab Normal rules Science lab Can analyse items of any tech level +2 to Science Can send holo-comms and/or drones to assist on remote analyses
FEATURES ....that can be purchased as extras	Library database Sensitive sensors Stealth technology Super sensors	Data meme Data pulse Research computer	Advanced science lab Bonus dice are d8 Trauma lab

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Main: 1001 Nights variant overview

Contents

• Class of ship and maximum capability
• Command
• Defence and security
• Engineering
• Operations
• Sensors and science

Related

• 1001 Nights variant overview
• 1001 Nights variant: character stories
• 1001 Nights variant: character backgrounds
• 1001 Nights variant: skills
• 1001 Nights variant: combat
• 1001 Nights variant: birr and resources
• 1001 Nights variant: re-rolls
• Analysis: '1001 Nights' system variant
• GM style: Darkness Points
• GM style: Narrative games and rolling dice
• House rules summary