So, let's see what sort of scallywags we can scavenge to steer this ship through the starways. Seriously.
The number of crew members on the ship isn't fixed; it depends on the size of the ship, how much works needs to be done, and how concerned the ship's owner/captain is with safety. Okay, then. Smaller ships can get by with just one crew member per position, while larger ones may carry extras along for shift work.
We next get the bare minimum crew that is needed. Pilot gets the top billing; in really small ships, he might be the entire crew, handling the rest of the duties as needed. But if the ship is at least 200 tons in size, you need a navigator, as well.
The next part is a bit complicated, and requires some math. If the ship is under 100 tons, no engineer is required. That's the easy part. For bigger ships, the total mass displacement of the drives and the power plant is divided by 35; that's how many engineers you need. The chief engineer gets paid more than the others. So, a 600-ton ship with a Type-J Jump drive (50 tons), a Type-L Maneuvering drive (21 tons), and a Type-Q power plant (46 tons) will have a total drive/plant mass of 117 tons, which means the ship will need 3 1/3 engineers. Call it four, just to be safe. The rules don't specify how to round on this calculation, so let's just go with the four.
A steward is only necessary for taking care of high passengers. The ones paying more, I mean, not the ones using space ganja. The middle-class passengers can fend for themselves. The low-passage ones are probably going to die anyway. So, for every 8 or fewer high-passage staterooms, you need a steward to handle things. If you've got more than one, one of them is the chief steward and gets paid more, just like the chief engineer.
Medics are necessary for ships of at least 100 tons; if it's a passenger liner, then you need a medic for every 120 passengers, and you round up for this calculation. Finally, there's the gunner, one per turret on the ship. Gunners are the most optional crew member, but I'd bring one along just in case; you just know that 'space pirates' are going to be on the encounter list.
So, that's the basics. Sometimes, characters can perform double-duty if they have the skills for it, but they don't get expertise (DMs) for doing more than one job. They also get paid less per job, which still works out to more than the specialist gets. The GM can create new positions as well, such as a cutter pilot or communications officer.
Finally, for big ships (1000 tons or more), you get a captain, an XO, and at least three flunkies...I mean, administrative personnel. And really big ships should have at least 10 crew for every 1000 tons of starship you've got. That can add up in a hurry, although the biggest ship on the tables so far is 5000 tons, which is only 50 crew. That's not much, really.
So, what have we learned today? We've learned that once again, old-school rules leave a lot to the players and referees to figure out. You don't have to have three fully-staffed duty shifts on your ship, but what happens when the guy you've tapped as your navigator has been sitting at his station for twenty-four hours in a row? Do you trust his math? Or is his would-be replacement still trying to figure out how to use a slide rule? It's an interesting change from later game-design philosophy.
What do I mean by that? Well, back in my reckless youth I bought a lot of different games. One of them was TSR's sci-fi alternative to D&D, Alternity. And shortly after that line got canceled, there was an online supplement released for free, called Warships. Here's what that booklet, which came out in around 2001, had to say about crewing a starship:
Basic Crew
Deck
Deckhands: 1 deckhand per 40 hull points
Cargo Handlers: 1 cargo handler per autocargo system, or 1 cargo handler per bay and 2 per hold
Bosun’s Mates:1 boatswain mate per 5 deckhands or cargo handlers
Ship’s Bosun
Deck Officers: 1 per 3 bosun’s mates
First Lieutenant
Engineering
Drive Techs: 1 drive tech per 5 hull points for FTL drives.
Engine Tech: 1 engine tech per 10 hull points devoted to engines, plus 1 engine tech per engine.
Power Tech: 1 power tech per 10 hull points devoted to power plants, plus 1 power tech per power plant.
Support Tech: 1 support tech per life support system
Cold Tech: 1 cold tech per 2 life suspension units
Eco Tech: 1 eco tech per recycler unit or hydroponics bay
Petty Officers: 1 engine mate per 5 drive techs, power techs, engine techs, support techs, eco techs, or cold techs
Fuel King (if ship carries fuel)
Engineering Officers: 1 per 3 petty officers
Chief Engineer
That's just a small part of the sidebar devoted to 'Crew Requirements.' It takes up a whole page. You could staff the Enterprise (the 1701-D version) if you wanted to with this list. The math would get pretty interesting, too. But there's not much thought that goes into it, other than calculation. It takes a bit of the uniqueness away, too, since there's no suggestion that alien crews would be any different.
Anyway, that's my take on the old-school difference. Next time, we'll delve into more stuff about starships and how to build them. In the meantime, keep on gaming. And reading.
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