Shuttlecraft and shields

[Capt.Hunter]

Hey Steve - can you give us any sneak previews on shuttle stats? My main reason for asking is that I'm uncertain how you're handling the question of shields. Obviously, most of the shuttles seen to date have limited warp capability and therefore a warp core for power. But what about shuttlepods? We know (I think from on screen and definitely from the previous LUG rules) that they have shields (weak as they might be), but where on Earth do they get the power for them? As you state in the SD rules, even a top-grade impulse engine doesn't put out that much power. At 1 Power/10 Protection/Round per shield, it would cost 20 Power/Round just to give a shuttlepod 50 points of protection per facing. Given that most Fed shuttles have speeds of 0.5c/0.75c, that means a Class 3A engine, which only generates 28 Power. Are the shields going to be this weak (even for a shuttle it seems a little low - not even enough to stop the phasers on another shuttle)? Or will the power scale for shuttles be handled differently (as with the old "hook up three Type 6 shuttles and equal the power output of the Enterprise" shenanigans)?

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"We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

"Mr.Kalor, give them a full spread of Quantum Torpedoes - let's see if they're right on that last point"
Captain Matt Hunter, USS Tempest NCC-81205.

[Steve Long]

Well, the shuttles I wrote up in SD are all warp shuttles -- none are impulse shuttles. Basically I just have one template, with varying categories of information (for example, under the dimensions, there's a list of dimensions for half a dozen or so warp-capable shuttles). By and large, one shuttle is pretty much just like another for game purposes for most systems; the template notes the differences where they exist.

The shuttles have pretty weak shields -- about 120 Protection, IIRC. Since they don't generate much Power with their weak warp cores, they can't have very strong shields. Of course, the Narrator can always boost the shields a bit to save the PCs if he wants to run one of those scenes where the characters' shuttle seems able to take three times as much damage as anyone else's shuttle.

Steve Long

[Capt.Hunter]

Ta Steve!

So the figures for shuttlepod shields at around the 50-mark weren't so far out then?

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"Captain? Is something wrong?"

"I just had the most terrible news. I have to attend the Annual Admirals' Dinner.
I've faced Borg, Romulans and battle-crazed Jem'Hadar, but nothing compares to this."

Captain Matt Hunter, USS Tempest

[calguard66]

One thing to consider is surface area... a shuttle's shields have a VERY small area to protect compared to a ship. The shields' surface area would be correspondingly small, so it would likely be more efficient.

I haven't examined Spacedock in detail... is there any consideration of ship size vs shield strength? It would seem to me that, all else being equal, a smaller ship would have a stronger shield for the same power as a larger one... the size would probably have to be signifigant (two size factor difference??) for the effect to be "noticable" in game play.

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"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees..."
Shania Twain

[Doug Burke]

The only problem with that assumption, cal, is that it assumes the shield generators are the same size for all ships.

Yes, shuttles may have a smaller area to cover, but they would also have proportionally smaller generators, which would provide less power. Thus, shield strength would probably average out to what's listed due to the vagaracies of component capability...

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Doug Burke

McCoy: "You're taking me to the promised land?"
Kirk: "That's what you get for missing staff meetings, Doctor."

[calguard66]

Originally posted by Doug Burke:
The only problem with that assumption, cal, is that it assumes the shield generators are the same size for all ships.

Well.. that's why I said "all else being equal". Obviously, Galaxy-class generators aren't going to fit into a shuttle pod (even as cargo). However, the size aspect does explain why shuttles and runabouts can have reasonable shields, even with their limited powerplants.

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"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees..."
Shania Twain

[SIR SIG]

Yes but as the Captain said there are clearly canon impulse only shuttle pods. Which happen to have small warp nacelle like protrusions
Maybe its an early romulan warp drive thing too!

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SIR SIG a Aussie TREK Narrator

[Steve Long]

There is some canon/quasi-canon evidence that a smaller shield bubble is, all other things being equal, stronger than a larger one -- that's why embedded nacelles work the way they do. However, with the exception of things like that, and perhaps the fact that shield components have Size-based costs, the Spacedock rules don't model "smaller is stronger" in any way. That's just a little bit too complicated for my blood.

Steve Long

[Steve Long]

Capt. Hunter, I'd say 50 shields for a shuttlepod probably isn't too bad, assuming a fairly large impulse engine or other way to power them. I imagine there are even some shuttlepods with no shields -- they're not really intended for dangerous situations, after all. At most they'd need shields for penetrating an atmosphere, but those wouldn't have to be too strong.

Steve Long