Creating Ships in the Pre-TOS ERA
Okay, to be 100% honest, I have no idea what I am doing. I have always loved the beginning of the Federation time period. So here is my first attempt to adapt some Spacedock rules and charts for constructing ships for this period. This is just my humble try at adapting some things to Steve Long's incredible work. Some of my material is based on the FASA supplement on the Romulan War (Chris Stansbury has adjusted my work to fit the information developed in the Starfleet Museum section of ex-astris-scientia . In other parts, I have just tried to guess at what might be appropriate. In general, I have assumed that the ships of this time are at least three times as primitive as current vessels. I most certainly invite criticism (be gentle) and any changes that might make it easier for all of us to create ships from the mid -2100's. Like many of us, I am also patiently awaiting Steve's TOS SRM! I will be placing a few Federation and Romulan ships up in a few days.
The way this works:
-Just follow Spacedock as usual, but refer to these special details when they are applicable.
I would suggest using the lowest number of SU's for each size.
It might be even better to try and use ¾ of the minimum SU’s for each size.
Resistance of 1 for shuttlecraft - Resistance of 2 for starships.
Structural Integrity Fields
Type SU Cost Protection
Type I 6 + Size 10 / 20
Type II 8 + Size 20 / 30
Type III 10 + Size 30 / 50
Nacelle Table
Type SU Cost Speeds
Type I 10 1.0 / 1.5 / 2.0
Type II 15 1.0 / 2.5 / 3.0
Type III 20 1.5 / 3.0 / 3.5
Type IV 25 2.0 / 3.0 / 3.5
Type V 30 2.5 / 3.0 / 3.5
Plasma Injector System
Type SU Cost Duration at Max Warp
Type I 2 4 Hours
Type II 4 6 Hours
Type III 6 8 Hours
Chemical Impulse Drives (for very small, sub-light craft)
These drives make them the fastest things at sub-light. However, their duration at such speeds is very limited. Such craft powered by chemical impulse drives would need to be stationed where they could receive constant maintenance and refueling.
Type SU Cost Maximum Speed
Type I 5 .45c
Type II 10 .65c
Type III 15 .75c
Fuel for Chemical Impulse Drives
Duration at Maximum Speed SU Cost
2 hours 10
4 hours 15
6 hours 20
Fusion Impulse Drives (For use on starships)
Type SU Cost Maximum Speed Power
Type I 5 .10c / .20c 6
Type II 10 .10c. / .20c 12
Type III 15 .25c / .35c 8
Type IV 20 .25c / .35c 16
Type V 25 .30c / .35c 12
Type VI 30 .30c / .35c 20
Warp Drive Systems
Type SU Cost Power Generated
Type I 20 10-99
Type II 30 100-149
Type III 40 150-199
Emergency Power System
Type SU Cost Power Generated
Type I 5 5 power / round
Type II 10 10 power / round
Type III 15 15 power / round
Type IV 20 20 power / round
Long-Range Sensors
Type SU Cost
Type I (1) High Resolution: 1 light year .25/.26-.50/.51-.75/.76-1.0
Low Resolution: 4 light years 1/1.1-2/2.1-3.0/3.1-4.0
Type II (2) High Resolution: 2 light years .5/.6-1.0/1.1-1.5/1.6-2.0
Low Resolution: 6 light years 1/1.1-2.5/2.6-4.0/4.1-6.0
Type III(3) High Resolution: 3 light years .5/.6.1.0/1.1-2.0/2.1-3.0
Low Resolution: 8 light years 1/1.1-2.5/2.6-5.0/5.1-8.0
Beam Weapons
*I am pretty sure that Scotty "charged" up phaser banks in TOS.
In STTMP, it was announced that the phasers take power directly from the warp drive now (when they went into the wormhole). I don't know how to account for this in the Spacedock supplement. I have used the first three lasers from Spacedock, but I have reduced their range.
Lasers (Particle Beams)
-All are only capable of: 1 Shot Per Round
Standard Firing Mode.
Type SU Cost Damage Range
Type I 2 20 5/10,000/30,000/100,000
Type II 4 40 5/10,000/30,000/100,000
Type III 6 60 5/10,000/30,000/100,000
Type I Accuracy 0 6/7/9/12
Type II Accuracy 2 5/6/8/11
Type III Accuracy 3 4/5/7/10
Disruptors
-All are only capable of 2 Shots Per Round
Standard Firing Mode Only.
Type SU Cost Damage Range
Type I 2 20 3/7,000/20,000/70,000
Type II 4 40 3/7,000/20,000/70,000
Type III 6 60 3/7,000/20,000/70,000
Type I Accuracy 0 6/7/9/12
Type II Accuracy 2 5/6/8/11
Type III Accuracy 3 4/5/7/10
Missile Weapons
-Apparently, fans are not exactly of one mind whether the Federation has some sort of Photon Torpedoes during this time period. So, I have put together a chart for a primitive type of Torpedo Launcher and another for rockets / missiles.
Rockets / missiles should be faster than the fusion impulse drives that starships use. However, their accuracy is less than that of Photon Torpedoes. As a compensation, rockets / missiles can often pack a much greater wallop.
Type of Launch Tube Spread SU Cost Power Cost
Small Missiles 3 5 1 power / rocket fired
Medium Missiles 2 5 3 power / rocket fired
Large Missiles 1 15 6 power / rocket fired
Special rules for Large Missiles
Large Missiles can also be magnetically attached to the hull of some ships. Thus, many ships will not have large missile launchers. It takes three rounds for a missile so attached to a vessel to really get going. Therefore, it is most vulnerable during these three rounds. A large missile can be considered a size 1 ship with a resistance of 1. If the firing ship receives sufficient damage while the missile is in flight, the weapons officer must make a challenging roll to keep it on target.
SU Cost Damage Accuracy
Small Missiles 12 rockets / 1 SU 10 6/7/9/12
5/15,000/35,000/50,000
Medium Missiles 4 rockets / 1 SU 35 5/6/8/11
10/30,000/70,000/100,000
Large Missiles 1 rocket / 10 SU 80 4/5/7/10
15/60,000/140,000/200,000
Primitive Photon Torpedo Launcher
SU Cost: 5
Power: 5 Power / Torpedo Fired
Range: 10/20,000/60,000/200,000
Accuracy: 5/6/8/11
*Primitive photon torpedoes can travel up to warp 1.0 for duration of their range.
Deflector Shields
The assumption here is that they are a very new technology and not very efficient. Let's say that in this primitive era "shields are shields" - no need for details on shield grids. Why don't we also say that Standard Federation shields recharge in 60 seconds (12 rounds)? There are no backup deflector shields. Because they are a new technology, I think they should cost a substantial amount of SU in this period.
Type: Type 1
Protection: 10-100
SU Cost 1 x Size (+1 SU for every 10 points of protection above 10) Threshold: . 33 of maximum Shield Protection (round up)
Single Use Warp Engines (& Nacelles)
For ships that use single-use warp engines/drives (like the Romulans and Andorians of that time period), two things need to be done. First, these ships do not “purchase standard nacelles, warp drive, or a Plasma Injector System. Single use warp nacelles/drives do not provide power to the ship – only warp speed. These ships do need additional hull modifications to accommodate a “disposable” warp nacelle. Secondly, they must choose the type of single use warp drive.
Single-Use
Warp Drive/Nacelle
Type Outer Hull SU’s Warp Speed
I 4 x Size 1.0 / 3.0
II 6 x Size 1.0 / 5.0
III 8 x Size 1.0 / 7.0
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