Salvetti Mattia

-BEYOND FLIGHT-
A spaceship combat supplement for FATE CORETM
 BEYOND FLIGHT
-

A spaceship combat supplement for FATE CORETM

by Salvetti Mattia

2022

This work is based on Fate Core System and Fate Accelerated Edition
(found at http://www.faterpg.com/), products of Evil Hat Productions, LLC,
developed, authored, and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy
Keller, Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred
Hicks, and Rob Donoghue, and licensed for our use under the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)

Fate™ is a trademark of Evil Hat Productions, LLC. The Powered by Fate

logo is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with permission.

The Fate Core font is © Evil Hat Productions, LLC and is used with
permission. The Four Actions icons were designed by Jeremy Keller.
Contents:
1: The Basics
1.1: Introduction
1.2: The Bronze Rule
1.3: Skills, Aspects and Stunts
1.4: Shields and Firewalls
1.5: Consequences and Hull Failure
1.6: NPCs & Pcs on a Ship
2: Roles on a Spaceship
2.1: Overview: the roles
2.2: The Captain
2.3: The Engineer
2.4: The Gunner
2.5: The Pilot
2.6: The Scientist
3: Spaceship Skills and Stunts
3.1: Skills in general
3.2: Cargo (resources)
3.3: Crew (provoke)
3.4: Engines (Drive)
3.5: Factory (Crafts)
3.6: Hardware
3.7: Mass (Drive)
3.8: Sensors (Notice)
3.9: Stealth (Stealth)
3.10: Systems (lore)
3.11: U.I.
3.12: Weapons (Shoot)
4: Example Ships
4.1: The Sloop (Tier 2)
4.2: The Doberman (Tier 3)
4.3: The Vandal (Tier 3)
4.4: The Constantine (Tier 4)
4.5: The Dutchman (Tier 4)
4.6: The Supremacy (Tier 5)
4.7: Simplified enemy ships
5: Step by step combat
6: More Stunts
7: Rules cheat sheet
1 - The Basics 1.2 – The Bronze Rule

In order to fully appreciate and

1.1 – Introduction
make use of this document, the
“Soaring through the vast cosmic
reader should first be familiar with
infinity, a speck of dust reflects for
the FATE CORE system, first and
an instant the blinding light of the
foremost with one of its most
Nova Nox double star system
important rules: the Bronze Rule.
before darting behind Elcor III, a
massive supergiant whose shadow
This rule of thumb states that
could swallow an entire fleet. Its
anything in FATE can be portrayed
pursuers are nearby, latched onto
mechanically as a character, with
the ship’s transponder signal.
its own set of skills, aspects and
stunts. This will be the basis of this
The frigate tailing the small
supplement. These rules are also
smuggler vessel, the S.S.
based on a number of additional
Supremacy, is surprisingly fast for
assumptions regarding both
its bulk, aided by a cold fusion
gameplay and the way your setting
engine that could run for centuries
works, so keep in mind that:
even after the ship’s eventual
crash.
 The rules assume a medium
to low plausibility for what
The pilot of the Cormorano has
regard the laws of physics,
little choice but to shut the engine
ballistics and biology.
off and go dark. Perhaps the ship’s
 The normal rules for ground
new Stealth module will come in
handy in a situation like this. conflicts apply to ship combat
Perhaps it was really legit, (zones, initiative, stress,
corporate tech. For now, the only consequences…)
thing the captain can do is pray.”  The players are assumed to
travel on the same ship and
own only that one ship.
We’ve all been enthralled by the  The players are assumed to
vastness of space, eager to set foot take on an active role in both
on its metaphorical shores like our the creation and piloting of
ancestors did with earth’s oceans. the ship, instead of leaving
With this FATE supplement, you everything in the hands of
may get to live at least part of that non-player characters.
ancient fantasy, weaving tales of
war and strife among the stars.

1
1.3 – Skills, Aspects and Stunts It’s suggested to let players start
with a tier 2 or 3 ship, meaning a
Like all characters, ships possess ship whose highest skill is either 2
skills, aspects and stunts, but they or 3, depending on the party’s
have no fate points and can’t gain wealth and fame.
them. The characters will be
responsible for the expenditure of 1.4 – Shields and Firewalls
fate points instead.
Ships can absorb stress in two
Each ship has at minimum two ways: physical stress is absorbed
aspects and one stunt. The ship’s through the Shields stress track,
first aspect is its core aspect and it while “security” stress is absorbed
defines the most important, visible through the Firewall stress track.
or otherwise remarkable feature of The latter includes hacking
the ship, be it a special weapon or a attempts, EMP pulses and other
legend surrounding its name. similar electronic sources of
danger.
Additional aspects and stunts
become available depending on the Both tracks start out with two
ship’s skills, more specifically the available boxes (1 and 2). Additional
hardware skill, which will be stress boxes can become available
discussed later. by increasing the Mass skill
(shields) and the Systems skill
Ships follow a skill pyramid (firewall), detailed later in this
identical to that of a character, with document.
the exception that a ship’s highest
skill usually ranges from 1 to 5. Ship 1.5 – Consequences and Hull Failure
sizes can vary, from small personal
pods (with a +1 to its highest and Ships can suffer consequences like
only skill) to massive high-tech a character would. These range
frigates, whose highest skill stands from a minor hull breach to a
at +4 or more. This distinction lets malfunctioning weapon array, to the
us split ships into different tiers, extremes of a total ship
which represent their overall decompression. Ship consequences
effectiveness. behave identically to character
consequences, reducing incoming
In general, the GM determines when stress by 2, 4 or 6. Ships can be
and if the players can get their repaired through the Resources
hands on a more powerful ship, or skill while the ship is docked, or the
upgrade their vessel to its next tier. Crafts skill.

2
If a ships takes stress that it can’t 1.6 – NPCs and PCs on a ship
absorb, it’s defeated. Depending on
how (and the intentions of the The role of player characters (PCs)
victor), the ship and its crew can and non-player characters (NPCs)
face dire consequences. on a ship is radically different. Only
player characters can be eligible
A ship defeated and thus boarded for a crew role (such as captain,
by a Crew attack (explained in gunner or scientist). PCs also take
chapter 3) is left almost intact. If responsibility for most skill checks
the ship belongs to your players, regarding the ship.
you may decide to switch scene
from space combat to a more Keep in mind the following, since it
classic guns-blazing conflict aboard constitutes the core of these rules:
the boarded ship.
Ships cannot act on their own –
A ship defeated by a Guns attack PCs must spend their action to use
suffers considerable damage and one of the skills available to the
undergoes rapid decompression, ship. When they do so, they use the
which often damages or kills the lowest among the ship’s skill rating
crew. If your player’s ship faces this and their own skill rating.
fate, consider switching from space
combat to a contest, in which the For instance, if a character has a
characters must find and put on Shoot skill of +3 and the ship has a
their spacesuits as fast as possible Weapons skill of +2, the +2 will be
as the oxygen level quickly used, since it’s lower. Skills that
plummets. must be used paired together will
be written as “Ship/Character” from
A ship defeated by a Systems attack now on (for example Engines/Drive
has been hacked and is now a brick or Factory/Craft).
floating in space. The ship suffers
little to no real damage, but it Exceptions arise when the U.I. (user
becomes unresponsive. This is interface) skill is taken into
usually followed by a coup-de- account, but those will be explained
grace dealt with either Guns or in the relevant section of this
Crew, in which case refer to the document. Finally, if a stunt grants
above two scenarios. a bonus to a skill, the bonus is
added to the final roll, not to the
ship’s skill value.

3
2 – Roles on a Spaceship 2.2 – The Captain (one per ship)

A captain has responsibility for

2.1 – Overview: the roles
most tactical decisions during a
What ship would It be without a
skirmish and, most importantly,
captain? What self-respecting crew
they must inspire their crew to
doesn’t have a gunner? Roles are
perform at the peak of their
an easy way to visualize how the
abilities.
chain of command aboard a ship
operates. Roles can be used as
Actions: The captain spends most of
reminders of the actions available
their actions by creating an
to each character on the ship.
advantage, both by inspiring their
own crew members. The captain
Each character may cover only one
has the unique advantage of using
role at a time, with roles being
their own skills directly, instead of
determined at the start of a voyage
using those of the ship.
or at the beginning of an encounter
(at the GM’s discretion). It’s
Board: The Captain can make
suggested to always have a pilot, a
Crew/Provoke checks to attack with
gunner and a captain.
the ship’s Crew, but it can do so
only on ships within the same zone.
As an action, any character may
They also roll to defend against
forgo their role and/or take on a
boarding attempts.
vacant role, whether or not they are
in a conflict. In a way, roles act as if
Overrule: the captain tempt an ally
they were “zones” within a ship’s
with a Fate point to choose how
chain of command.
they will act on their next round,
provided the GM approves. They
The available roles are:
can’t force others to spend Fate
points.
 Captain
 Engineer(s)
 Gunner(s)
 Pilot
 Scientist(s)

4
2.3 – The Engineer (any number) 2.4 – The Gunner (any number)

An engineer is tasked with keeping Gunners are responsible for

the shields up and running and manning the ship’s weapon
repairing any consequence that systems. Each gunner can only fire
pops up during a fight. Almost all one weapon at a time, but they can
engineering actions require a choose which weapon they have
Factory/Craft roll. control over on a turn by turn basis
during a conflict.
Actions: Engineers can always
create an advantage by adding Actions: most of the times, gunners
positive aspects to the ship’s use the attack action, but nothing
engines, guns, defenses, systems stops them from creating an
etc... advantage by shooting asteroids to
shower enemies with debris, or
Repair: The Engineer can patch up providing cover fire for other ships.
Consequences affecting the ship. If Some stunts allow gunners to
a consequence is patched up, it intercept incoming missiles, thus
remains there, but it can’t be defending the ship. Attacking is a
invoked and loses any free Weapons/Shoot skill check.
invocations it had before. Again, this
requires a Factory/Craft roll. Since space combat follows the
same rules for ground conflicts, the
Restore Shields: The engineer can rules regarding zones still apply.
make a Crafts check to attempt to It’s assumed that all ship-mounted
restore the ship’s shields. If they do, weapons can attack up to one zone
clear a Shields stress box of value away, though aspects and stunts
equal to or less than the result of can modify this.
the engineer’s Factory/Craft roll.

5
2.5 – The Pilot (one per ship) 2.6 – The Scientist (any number)

A good pilot is vital for any ship and, Scientists are responsible for the
in general, should be the character ship’s instruments and electronic
with the highest Drive skill. Pilots devices. Scientists collect data,
are one with the ship: they decide if protect the ship’s systems and
and where it moves, they dodge scramble the enemy’s signals with
incoming attacks and perform malware.
daring maneuvers.
Hack: Scientists can attack the
Actions: More often than not, pilots electronic systems of nearby ships
will use their action to move the in an attempt to inflict electronic
ship from one zone to another or damage (absorbed by the Firewall).
perform some kind of maneuver, They can attempt to sabotage
which as always translates into enemy ships this way by creating
creating aspects such as evasive or detrimental aspects. This is a
hidden in a gas cloud. This is often Systems/Lore check.
an Engines/Drive check or a
Stealth/Stealth check. Detect: The scientist can attempt to
detect the presence of nearby
Defense: Pilots are often tasked hidden ships through the Sensors
with dodging incoming fire, meaning skill, or they may use it to identify
the safety of the ship lays on their which weapons or stunts a ship is
shoulders. This is an Engines/Drive mounting. This is a Sensors/Notice
check. Defending against ramming check.
attempts is a Mass/Drive check.
Defend: Scientists must always be
Ram: The pilot can ram the ship vigilant in order to defend against
against another as an action. This is incoming hacks, a Systems/Lore
an attack that uses the ship’s Mass check. Similarly, scientists can
skill against the target’s Mass or defend the ship against incoming
Engines. Ramming other ships is a gunfire by making a Sensors/Notice
foolish move without an appropriate skill check, in place of the more
stunt: on a hit, in fact, the ramming common Engines/Drive check made
ship takes just as much stress as by the pilot.
the defendant! This is a Mass/Drive
check.

6
3 – Skills and Stunts 3.2 – Cargo (resources)

The cargo skill indicates how

3.1 – Skills and stunts In general
spacious, safe and comfortable the
ship’s cargo unit is, and how easy it
Like a character, a ship is defined
is to smuggle or trade goods.
by its skills, a numerical rating on
how well it can perform.
Overcome: Cargo can be
The table below condenses the used to pass a planetary
skills available to a ship and shows blockade, hide smuggled
clearly how they are paired with goods (contested by Notice)
character skills. As a reminder, you or tow a massive asteroid.
always use the lowest among the Create advantage: Cargo
two paired skills. can create aspects that
represent gadgets, vehicles
The skill list includes: and other “stuff” that was
stowed away somewhere on
Ship Character the ship.
Cargo Resources x x
Attack: Cargo isn’t used for
Crew Provoke x x x x
attacks.
Engines Drive x x x
Factory Crafts x x Defend: Cargo isn’t used to
Hardware - defend.
Mass Drive x x x
Sensors Notice x x x
Cargo Stunts:
Stealth Stealth x x
Systems Lore x x x x
Hidden Compartments: +2 bonus to
U.I. - Cargo checks to hide and transport
Weapons Shoot x x x x
illegal goods.

The related characters skills are a Carrier: The ship can carry other
suggestion based on the default ships within itself. The sum of their
skill list available in the FATE CORE Mass must be less than its Cargo.
manual, so feel free to change them Ships with zero Mass count as
to their counterpart in your own having ½ mass for the purpose of
setting. this stunt.

Note: a ship’s Cargo and Crew skills

must always be lower or equal to
its Mass skill!

7
3.3 – Crew (provoke)

The Crew skill indicates how varied,

competent and ferocious the crew
of the ship is, while also being a
measure of their loyalty.

Overcome: Crew can be

used to occupy a spaceport
o another hostile location,
or manually mine an
asteroid.
Create advantage: The ship’s
crew can spread rumors
and intimidate others while
at a station or spaceport,
indirectly helping the group.
Attack: Crew can be used to
attack a ship in the same
zone via boarding party. If a
ship is defeated with Crew,
it can be captured almost
intact, unlike one blown out
of the sky with Weapons.
Defend: Crew is used to
defend against Crew
attempts to board the ship.

Crew Stunts:

Drop Pods: You can use Crew to

attack an enemy ship up to two
zones away.

Overwhelm with numbers: +2 bonus

to Crew attacks against ships with a
lower Mass than yours.

8
3.4 – Engines (drive) 3.5 – Factory (crafts)

Engines represents both how fast The Factory skill indicates the
and how easy to handle the ship is. production capabilities of the ship
It not only acts as a defensive tool and how easily it can fashion items
against attack, but it determines and process raw materials. Ships
initiative (the turn order) at the that focus on scavenging should
start of a conflict. prioritize Factory. Engineers use
Factory to repair the ship too.
Overcome: Engines can be
used to reach another Overcome: Disassemble a
system as fast as possible, scavenged ship into its
dodge asteroids or escape components, remove a
the pull of a black hole. stunt from a captured ship
Determines initiative. to substitute one of yours.
Create advantage: Engines Repair damage to the ship.
can create aspects relative Create advantage: The ship’s
to the ship’s position, such engineer can use Factory to
as hidden by a nebula or overload or empower other
always on your tail. ship systems.
Attack: Engines isn’t used to Attack: Factory is not
attack. normally used for attacks.
Defend: Engines is the ship’s Defend: Factory is not
main defense against normally used for defense.
incoming gunfire. It’s also
used to defend against Factory Stunts:
ramming attempts (see the
Mass skill) Attack Drones: You can use Factory
to attack instead of Weapons, by
Engines Stunts: launching automatic drones. You
gain a -1 to this attack for each
Small and slippery: +2 to Engines consequence your ship is suffering.
to dodge incoming fire from ships
with higher mass than yours. Quick recover: +2 bonus to Factory
checks to restore shields.
Warp Drive: Once per scene you can
teleport the ship 3 zones as an
action. You must spend a Fate point
to do so again.

9
3.6 – Hardware 3.7 – Mass (drive)

Hardware is one of two skills The Mass skill determines how big
(alongside U.I.) that does nothing on and bulky the ship is, with larger
its own, instead granting the ship ships naturally being able to sustain
various benefits. more damage. Mass can be used to
ram other ships as part of a special
Depending on how many points of pilot maneuver.
Hardware the ship has, it gains
more and more aspects and stunts. Mass determines the ship’s Shield
stress boxes based on its value:
Points Benefit 0 – stress boxes 1 and 2
0 Base (2 aspects and stunt) 1/2 – stress boxes 1, 2 and 3
1 One additional aspect 3/4 – stress boxes 1,2,3 and 4
2 One additional stunt … and so on.
3 One additional aspect
4 One additional stunt Overcome: Mass can be
5 One additional aspect used to simply plow through
obstacles and asteroids.
These aspects often represent a
Create advantage: Mass isn’t
ship’s level of technology, how up to
used to create aspects.
date its systems are, weird gizmos
and gadgets etc…, but nothing stops Attack: Mass/Drive can be
you from giving your ship the used to ram other ships.
frightening title of the unsinkable The attacker however takes
ghost of Riegel. the same amount of stress
it has just dealt.
Hardware Stunts: Defend: The defended of a
ram attempt can defend
Polymorphic Matrix: once per scene with Mass/Drive or
you can copy a stunt belonging to a Engines/Drive.
ship you can see until the end of the
scene.
Mass Stunts:
Energy cells: Choose two ship
Ramming Apparatus: You take no
aspects. You can invoke each one
damage from your own ramming
for free once per session.
attempts.

Gravity Sling: you can use Mass

instead of Engines to move quickly
within a star system.

10
3.8 – Sensors (notice) 3.9 – Stealth (stealth)

The Sensors skill determines how Stealth is pretty self-explanatory: it

much information the ship can represents a ship’s ability to hide
gather from its environment. It can and remain unnoticed in the
also be used to detect stealthy vastness of space. It’s usually
ships or analyze planets and other contested by a Sensor/Notice roll.
nearby celestial bodies. The pilot makes Stealth rolls.

Overcome: pass though an

Overcome: Gather enemy fleet unnoticed, or
information regarding a land in a spaceport without
nearby planet and its the authorities noticing.
environment, scan its Create advantage: Find an
surface for ruins, or detect advantageous potion from
a hidden enemy. which to strike, or hide from
Create advantage: Pinpoint a view completely.
weak point, reveal a ship’s Attack: Stealth isn’t often
Aspects and Stunts. used to attack.
Attack: Sensors is not used
Defend: Stealth isn’t often
for attacks.
used to defend.
Defend: Sensors can be
used to defend against Stealth Stunts:
incoming gunfire, much like
Engines. Sneak Attack: If you have an aspect
that represents you being hidden,
Sensors Stunts: you can use Stealth/Shoot to make
attacks instead of Weapons/Shoot.
Quick scan: When you face a ship in
conflict, you automatically know Insignificant: +2 bonus to Stealth to
one of its stunts and aspects. hide from ships with a higher mass
than your own.
Automated Sensors: once per round
you can make a Sensors/Notice
check for free, but only to find
hidden ships within 1 zone.

11
3.10 – Systems (Lore) 3.11 – User Interface

Systems represents a ship’s User Interface, or UI, is a special

computers, electronic devices and skill that has no direct use, but
safety equipment. improves the effectiveness of all
other skills.
Systems determines the ship’s
Firewall stress boxes based on its Before in this document it was
value: made clear how, during a skill
0 – stress boxes 1 and 2 check, only the lowest among the
1/2 – stress boxes 1, 2 and 3 character skill and the ship’s skill is
3/4 – stress boxes 1,2,3 and 4 used. That is not entirely true.
… and so on.
Before rolling a skill check that
Overcome: gain information involves both a character skill and
about another ship, spy its a ship skill, add the U.I. rating of the
crew or connect to a ship to the lowest skill. Then pick
station’s computer system. the lowest among the two results.
Create advantage: cause a
For instance, a gunner has a Shoot
ship’s systems to glitch,
skill of 4 and the ship has a
disabling their weapons or
Weapons skill of 1 and a U.I. skill of
weakening their shield
2. If we add the U.I. to the lowest of
generators.
the two (2+1) we get 3. The lowest
Attack: Systems can be among 3 and 4 is 3, so the skill
used to hack another ship, check will be made at a +3.
dealing Firewall stress.
Defend: Systems protects A high U.I. is paramount when the
against hacking attempts. skills of the crew and those of the
ship have very different ratings.
Systems Stunts:
User Interface Stunts:
Shield Jammer: you can use
Bio-coded ship: -2 to U.I. for any
Systems to deal Shield stress to a
unauthorized personnel who
ship instead of Firewall stress.
attempts to use a ship skill.
Hardened subroutines: You gain a
Heightened Security: +2 to U.I. when
+2 bonus to Systems checks to
used alongside the Crew or
defend from System attacks.
Systems skills.

12
3.12 – Weapons (Shoot)

Weapons represents the ship’s

firepower. You don’t have to keep
track of each and every individual
weapon – just assume you have
enough weapons to house all your
Gunners.

Overcome: destroy an
asteroid barring the way, or
carve open an energy
barrier that’s enveloping the
ship.
Create advantage: target an
enemy’s weapons, engines
or shield generators to
create negative aspects on
them.
Attack: the main purpose of
Weapons is, of course, to
deal Shields stress through
attacks.
Defend: Weapons is rarely
used to defend.

Weapons Stunts:

Tactical nuke: once per scene you

can attack with a +2 bonus.

Incendiary rounds: You gain one

additional free invocation from
consequences you inflict, once per
enemy ship.

13
4 – Example Ships 4.2 – The Doberman (Tier 3)

Aspects:
In this chapter you’ll find a number
of ships that exemplify how to use
Terror of the Crab Nebula
these rules and build your own.
Long range missile battery

Skills:
4.1 – The Sloop (Tier 2)
+3: Weapons
+2: Mass, Crew
Aspects:
+1: U.I., Stealth, Engines
A smuggler’s dream
Small and compact
Stunts:
Skills:
Breaching ammo: When you create
a consequence with Weapons, you
+2: U.I
gain an additional free invocation of
+1: Engines, Stealth
that consequence. You can only use
this invocation while attacking with
Stunts:
Crew.
Chamaleon: Once per scene the
ship can disappear, gaining the
Shields: 1, 2, 3
invisible aspect with one free
Firewall: 1, 2
invocation.
3 consequence slots
Shields: 1, 2
Firewall: 1, 2
Tips: Tier 3 ships are a good
compromise for a party who is still
3 consequence slots
gaining familiarity with the system.
They have few skills, but still twice
Tips: low tier ships benefit more
as many as a tier 2 ship, and allow
from a high U.I. score since they
for more in-depth customization.
have very low skill ratings. Ideally,
The Doberman is an assault vessel:
the Sloop should be piloted by a
It can accommodate one (or more)
pilot with a Drive and Stealth skill of
gunner with a Shoot of 4, making it
3. Low-tier ships are very limed in
a threat even for larger ships. Its
both effectiveness and
stunt allows its crew to quickly and
customization – consider using
efficiently board and claim captured
them as temporary vessels in your
vessels.
game, or allow the party to quickly
upgrade their tier.

14
4.3 – The Vandal (Tier 3) 4.4 – The Constantine (Tier 4)

Aspects: Aspects:
Hive of scum and villany Ghost of the astral sea
The Astral Council demands tithe There is no good we can’t provide
Advanced processing machinery Overclocked engines

Skills: Skills:
+3: Mass +4: Stealth
+2: Cargo, Hardware +3: U.I., Systems
+1: U.I., Factory, Engines +2:, Mass, Engines, Hardware
+1: Cargo, Crew, sensors, weapons
Stunts:
Devour: The Pilot of the Vandal can Stunts:
attempt a Cargo/Drive check to Slip-space engine: At the start of
“swallow” another ship within the the ship’s turn, the pilot can access
Vandal’s hull. That ship’s Mass must slip-space, making the ship
be equal to or lower than the intangible and translucent. The ship
Vandal’s cargo. The Vandal can returns to real-space at the start of
attack Devoured ships using Cargo its next turn and can’t spend two
instead of Weapons. consecutive turns in slip-space.
While there, it’s Intangible and it
Disassemble: the Vandal gains a +2 can’t interact with real-space.
bonus to attacks made with Cargo
on a swallowed ship. Sneak attack: The Constantine can
use Stealth instead of Weapons to
Shields: 1, 2, 3, 4 attack on the turn it exits slip-
Firewall: 1, 2 space.

3 consequence slots Shields: 1, 2, 3

Firewall: 1, 2, 3, 4
Tips: Tier 3 ships also allow for
some more freedom if the party 3 consequence slots
wants to pilot something very
weird. The Vandal is a cosmic Tips: Tier 4 ships are highly
predator, capable of swallowing customizable and should be the
and disassembling ships – a tactic “sweet spot” for any space-faring
that may seem ineffective, but it campaign, allowing for a variety of
sure is fun. creative builds. The Constantine is
one of such ships.

15
4.5 – The Dutchman (Tier 4) 4.6 – The Supremacy (Tier 5)

Aspects: Aspects:
The Soaring University The moving mountain
High-tech analyzers That is no moon!
Nexus of scholars There Is no escape from justice

Skills: Skills:
+4: Sensors +5: Mass
+3: Systems, Factory +4: Cargo, Crew
+2:, Mass, Cargo, hardware +3: Weapons, Factory
+1: U.I., Crew, Engines, Stealth +2:, U.I, Engines, Sensors, Systems
+1: Stealth, Hardware, [-], [-], [-]
Stunts:
Orbital pulse: the crew can spend 1 Stunts:
Fate point to find a specific location Bastion: The Supremacy defends
on a planet’s surface immediately. from Weapons attacks with
Mass/Drive instead of Engines or
Interdiction field: Attacks against Sensors.
the ship are made with a -2 for as
long as the Dutchman hasn’t Shields: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
attacked yet in this scene. Firewall: 1, 2, 3

Shields: 1, 2, 3 3 consequence slots

Firewall: 1, 2, 3, 4
Tips: Note how there aren’t enough
3 consequence slots skills to fill a tier-5 pyramid. In this
case, simply leave part of the
Tips: The Dutchman is a pacific lowest bracket empty. That being
exploration vessel which houses said, the Supremacy is a flying
hundreds of scholars and scientists castle, a soaring city which houses
who roam the universe in search of thousands and carries an entire
rare lifeforms. Its unique defenses self-sufficient nation within its iron
render it almost impenetrable, belly. Its massive cargo allows it to
especially since it can use its crush and mine asteroids, storing
Systems as a powerful deterrent millions of tons of precious
for ships who get into hacking materials which are then forged in
range. Its high Sensors rating allow its factories.
it to effortlessly dodge incoming
attacks.

16
4.7 – Simplified enemy ships Actions: These ships can only move
once per round and take a single
Often as a GM you want to engage action, oftentimes Attack. Their
your players with a quick crew is purely theoretical, meaning
encounter, but you have no time to they just use the ship’s skills
prepare it carefully. Use these rules without any modification.
to account for enemy ships in a
skirmish – you’ll be able to flesh Example: Red Dawn Hawk
them out later if needed; or you can
use them like this for as long as you Aspect: High precision beams
like!
Stunt: if defeated, the pilot is safely
Aspects: think about a single aspect ejected in a tier 1 vessel with no
to describe the ship in its entirety. If weapons and Engines 1, which
anything else comes to mind later, automatically travels to the nearest
add it freely to the description. station.

Skills: Simplified ships only have 4 Weapons: +3

skills: Weapons, Engines, Mass, Engines: +2
Systems. Assign points to these Systems: +1
skills as you see fit, though I Mass: +0
suggest doing so in descending
order (3, 2, 1 and zero) to give the Stress boxes: 1 and 2
ship both a weak point and a strong
asset. Increase or decrease all
these numbers if you need a
stronger or weaker opponent.

Stunts: If you can figure out a single

stunt to give the ship, do so. If you
can’t, just improve its two lowest
skills by 1.

Stress: Give the ship a number of

Stress boxes based on whichever is
higher among Mass and Systems.
There is no distinction between
shields and firewalls.

17
5 – Step by step combat The Engineer is very good, with a
Crafts of 3, but the Doberman has
no Factory skill (+0). Adding the U.I.
In this chapter you’ll find a detailed
value to the lowest (0 +1 = 1) we find
combat exchange between the
out that the engineer will have to
Doberman, one of the ships we’ve
make due with a +1 to their checks.
seen before, and a pair of Red
Dawn Hawks, a pair of simplified
The Pilot has a Drive of 3, but the
ships. The Doberman belongs to the
Doberman just has a +1 to its
party.
engines. Since the U.I. is +1, the pilot
will have to use a skill rating of +2.
Assume that this combat takes
place within a crowded asteroid
Initiative is determined with an
belt nearby some massive iron-rich
Engines/Drive roll made by the
asteroids. Combat zones function
pilots of all involved vessels.
identically to a normal conflict, with
the GM determining the size and
The Doberman rolls a [+][+][+][-] +2,
relative position of zones and ships
for a grand total of 4.
being able to move from one zone
Both Hawks act together and roll a
to an adjacent one as a Pilot action.
[+][0][0][-] +2, for a total of 2.
The Doberman goes first.
Preamble: It’s often useful to
compute the “real” value of a ship’s
Round 1: the Pilot of the Doberman
skills before starting combat. In this
flies closer to the Hawk squadron,
case the Doberman is manned by 4
attempting to get them within 1 zone
characters: two decide to be
and thus in range of the ship’s
Gunners, while the other two are a
weapons. Since the ship doesn’t
Pilot and an Engineer.
need repairs, the Engineer diverts
power to the weapons. The GM
The Gunners have a Shoot skill of 4
determines this to be a difficulty 2
and 3 respectively. Since the
task and the Engineer rolls at a [+]
Doberman has a U.I of 1 and a
[+][0][-] +1, for a total of 2, meeting
Weapons of 3, the first character
the difficulty. The weapons receive
will be able to use his training in
the temporary bonus Overloaded
full (3 + 1 = 4, which is the same for
for this round only, with a free
the character), while the second
invocation. The two Doberman
character will have to shoot with a
gunners fire their weapons on a
bonus of 3 (since their skill is
single Hawk, rolling the following:
identical to that of the ship, the U.I.
[+][0][+][-] +4 = 5
isn’t added since there is no “lower”
[+][-][-][-] +3 = 1
value).

18
The first gunner wants to deal a incredibly lucky roll. The players
decisive hit, so he invokes the groan in frustration. Good.
overloaded aspect for free and then
spends a Fate point to invoke the The pilot of the Doberman rolls
Doberman’s long range missile Engines to dodge: [+][+][-][-] +2 = 2.
battery aspect, for a total of +9. Not satisfied, they spend a Fate
point to argue that, since the
The hawk rolls for Engines to Doberman is the ghost of the Crab
defend, [+][+][+][0] +2 = 5. Good roll, Nebula, the Hawk’s gunner should
but not enough – since it has no 4 be soiling his pants at the though of
points stress boxes to absorb the facing such sinister ship. The GM
damage, it’s blown out of the sky. finds this hilarious and allows the
pilot to add a +2 to their Engines
Seeing this, the second gunner asks roll, for a total of 4.
the GM if they can make their attack
against the second enemy. Since The Doberman must now absorb 3
the GM is generous and these are points of Stress. Luckily, it’s a bulky
just mooks anyway, he allows it. ship and possesses a 3 point
The second Hawk, however, Shields stress box, which the
defends with a [+][+][0][-] +2 = 3, players promptly mark.
dodging the incoming missile.
Round 2: The pilot of the Doberman
It’s now the surviving Hawk’s turn. decides to play with the Hawk,
The ship flies away from the darting behind a massive asteroid
Doberman and, since it has high and disappearing from view. They
precision beams and aspects are make a Stealth check to create the
always true, the GM determines Hidden by an asteroid aspect. The
that it can strike the Doberman pilot has a stealth of +0, however,
from out of its range. The Hawk is a while the ship has a +1. Thanks to
simplified ship, so it has one the U.I. rating of the ship, the roll is
movement and one attack, which it made at +1, contested by the Hawks
takes immediately. Sensor rating. Since simplified
ships have no Sensor rating, the GM
The Hawk is a delicate ship with determines the difficulty to be 2.
strong weapons, but the GM is The pilot rolls [+][+][0][0] +1 = 3 and
unlucky: [0][-][-][-] +3 = 0. The GM succeeds.
decides to use one of the
opponent’s Fate points to re-roll the The Gunners are understandably
attack – after all, these beams pissed – they can’t see their target
should be high precision. The new anymore. The engineer points out
roll is [+][+][+][+] +3 = 7, an that the Doberman mounts a long

19
range missile battery which
logically would be able to fire
around an asteroid. This allows
both gunners to shoot:
[+][+][-][-] +4 = 4
[+][0][0][-] +3 = 3
contested by the Hawk’s Engines:
[+][-][0][+] +2 = 3
[0][0][0][-] +2 = 1

The hawk can survive both hits,

since it takes 1 and 2 stress
respectively and it possesses a
couple of free stress boxes
available. That being said, one of the
gunner invokes the Hidden by an
asteroid aspect that the Pilot just
created to get a +2 bonus to attack,
which is more than enough to carve
a hole through the unsuspecting
Hawk.

The Engineer of the Doberman acts

last, attempting to re-balance the
shields. He rolls a [0][+][+][-] +1 = 2,
against a difficulty of 3, failing to
refresh the 3 point Shield stress
box. The GM points out that the
scene is over and stress boxes will
be emptied even if the engineer
doesn’t repair them.

The party rejoices for another

victory, as the legend of the
Doberman spreads, through the
system, but unbeknownst to them
the pilots of the Hawks survived
aboard their emergency pods. They
have gathered precious intel about
the Doberman and how its Factory
skill is lacking...

20
6 – More Stunts Holo-clone: By spending a Fate
point, any crew member can project
a holographic clone of the ship (no
This chapter contains a number of
action required). The clone can’t
stunts that you can pick for your
deal damage, though it appears to
custom ships. Feel free to
attack alongside the real vessel and
customize their effects to suit your
it is indistinguishable from the
needs, and to provide this list to
latter. The hologram can be
your players – coming up with
dispelled by any attack of 2 or
interesting stunts can be fun, but
more. No more than one hologram
for some it’s confusing and boring.
can exist at once.
Ablative Armor: The ship’s
consequences reduce stress taken
Hostile Takeover: As an action, the
Scientist can attempt an attack
by 5 points each, instead of 2, 4 and
against an enemy ship. On a
6. They are all considered Moderate.
success, instead of inflicting stress,
the Scientist can force that ship to
Advanced command console: any
attack an ally with a Weapons/Lore
crew member can switch role once
skill check. This attack has a +2
per turn without using an action.
bonus the first time it is used each
scene.
Artificial Intelligence: some ship
subroutines are run by an AI.
Choose one ship skill: instead of
Interception grid: You can use
Systems in place of Engines or
using the lowest among the
Sensors to dodge incoming attacks.
character and the ship’s chosen
skill, you use the highest of the two
values. Ignore U.I. for this skill.
Med-bay: Lore checks to treat
wounds aboard the ship gain a +2
bonus.
Asteroid Cracker: The ship mounts
an asteroid cracker, gaining an
aspect with the same name.
Mine-field deployer: Once per
scene, as a gunner action, the ship
Invoking the aspect as part of an
can fill a zone with mines. Ships
attack by spending a Fate point
passing through the zone must
allows the ship to destroy small
make a difficulty 2 Sensors/Notice
celestial bodies.
check, taking stress equal to the
degree of failure of the check. On a
Orbital teleporter: Any crew
failed check they are also trapped
member may drop from the ship as
in the field and can’t move out
an action if there is a planet in the
without attempting the check again.
same zone, landing safely.

21
Moon Cracker (requires Asteroid These changes revert if the ship
Cracker): The ship mounts a Moon leaves. In the span of days, plants
cracker, gaining an aspect with the begin to grow around the base of
same name. Invoking the aspect as the ship, if left there.
part of an attack by spending two
Fate points allows the ship to Tractor Beam: Once per scene the
destroy celestial bodies the size of ship’s Scientist can make a
moons. Doing so is often illegal, System/Lore attack against the
even in uninhabited systems. Mass of another ship within 1 zone.
On a success, the target gains the
More gadgets: The ship gains two gravity-locked aspect, which locks
additional Aspects. the target into the same zone as the
attacker. The degree of success of
Multi-spectral sensors: Aspects the attack is subtracted from the
which represent poor visibility or target’s Engines score until the
being hidden cannot be invoked aspect is removed.
against the ship.
Transformation Matrix: The ship has
Paradox engine: The ship’s Engines two forms and it can transform
skill is now paired with the pilot’s from one into the other. Pick two
Lore skill instead of Drive. If you ship skills. At the start of the ship’s
roll three or four [ - ] with Engines, turn the Pilot can transform the
you may reroll the dice. ship and swap the values of the
chosen skills.
Planet Cracker (requires Moon
Craker): The ship mounts a Planet Reinforced hull: The ship’s hull has
cracker, gaining an aspect with the been hardened. The attacker doesn’t
same name. Invoking the aspect as get any free invocation for
part of an attack by spending three consequences taken by the ship.
Fate point allows the ship to
destroy celestial bodies the size of Submersible: the ship can perfectly
planets. Doing so is considered function and move underwater. In
pure madness by most societies. case of hull failure, floaters bring
the ship rapidly to the surface.
Terraformer: The ship can anchor
itself to any planet or asteroid, Superior target lock: Each time a
enveloping part of it in a gunner scores a hit, they gain a +1
stabilization field. For up to three bonus to their next attack. These
zones away from the ship, gravity bonuses do not stack.
becomes 9.81 m/s2 and breathable
air at 1 atmosphere is present.

22
7 – Rules Cheat Sheet Roles
Each character can pick a role at
the start of a conflict and switch
Basics
role to a free one as an action. All
A ship has a skill pyramid, two
roles can create an advantage, and
aspects, one stunt and three
each gets special actions:
consequences. It has no Fate points
and no actions, since PCs act Captain: Can Tempt and ally with a
through the ship. The ship’s Fate point to force obedience.
Hardware skill determines if it has Attacks and defends with Crew.
any additional stunts or aspects. Engineer: Can repair Shields and
lessen consequences.
Skills
Gunner: Attacks with Weapons.
Ships have the following skills:
Pilot: Decides if and where the ship
Ship Character moves, rolls to defend with Engines.
Cargo Resources x x Can ram other ships with Mass
Crew Provoke x x x x (deals same damage to attacker).
Engines Drive x x x Scientist: Can hack other ships and
Factory Crafts x x roll to defend against hacking
Hardware - (systems) or attacks (sensors).
Mass Drive x x x
Sensors Notice x x x Simplified Ships
Stealth Stealth x x Assign a ship one aspect, one stunt
Systems Lore x x x x and assign values to four skills
U.I. - only: Mass, Engines, Systems and
Weapons Shoot x x x x Weapons. Assign stress boxes
based on Mass and Systems.
When a character acts through the Simplified ships take one action and
ship, they add the U.I of the ship to one movement per turn and usually
the lowest score among their own have no consequences. The value of
skill and the ship’s. Then, they use their highest skills is equal to their
the lowest among the two results. tier, the others are usually placed in
a descending ladder.
Usually, attacks are made with
Weapons, Mass, Crew and Systems, Losing a conflict
while defense rolls are made with In case of defeat, the ship can either
Engines or Sensors. be captured (if defeated by Crew),
destroyed (if defeated by guns) or
Mass determines the ship’s Shield deactivated (if defeated by
stress track, Systems determines systems).
the Firewall track.

23