Ships and Crews

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For a crew, a ship is a home, a livelihood, a debt, and often the only thing standing between them and hard vacuum. A crew that owns its ship chooses its own work; a crew that does not works for whoever owns the ship.

This chapter gives you the language to understand ships: what they are, how they are described, who builds them, what a crew does aboard one, how a ship's condition is tracked, and how crews come to fly one at all. The ship-combat procedure and the actions available at each station are in Chapter Fourteen. Full technical rules (hull construction, modules, weapon systems, repairs, and the complete combat rules) are in the Vehicles Manual.

What a Ship Is

A ship in Void Drifters is described by three things: its class, its builder, and its model.

Class is the plain-language role and size category. Fighters, shuttles, scouts, couriers, cutters, corvettes, frigates, cruisers, carriers: these are classes. When someone says "they sent a cutter," that tells you the ship's job and rough size. Class comes first because it is how most people talk about ships.

Builder is the company or cooperative that manufactured the hull. Crown Meridian, Openframe, Viridian, Kharos, Safa: these are builders. Each has a recognizable design language. A spacer who knows ships can identify the builder from the silhouette before the registry transponder responds.

Model is the builder's specific structural family. The CM-440 is Crown Meridian's standard armored cutter platform. The Model 20 is Openframe's modular freighter platform. The VN-33C1 is Viridian's scout and courier platform. Each builder writes its designations its own way, so the name itself tells you who built the hull. Scale is a separate stat: read it from the ship's profile, not from the name.

In ordinary speech, you combine them: "a patrol cutter, CM-440." That tells you the ship's job, who built it, and what structural family it belongs to. A variant (customs cutter, armed courier, bounty ship) is a fitting recorded on the Vehicle Sheet, not part of the ship's name.

Ship Scale

Scale is a ship's physical size category. It sets the envelope a hull is designed within: how many Module Slots and Weapon Hardpoints it can carry, the largest weapon mount it can take, and how it fights ships of other sizes. Scale does not replace class; a shuttle and a patrol boat can both be Scale 4 while doing very different jobs.

Player crews almost always fly Scale 3 or Scale 4 hulls. Three of the five common starting hulls (Model 20, KR-41, CM-440) are Scale 4. The other two, the VN-33C1 courier and the Safa S3 pursuit craft, are built compact at Scale 3. The table gives the usual Scale for each class; a Model may sit one Scale from it when ships of that class are commonly built at that size, as these two are. A Scale 4 hull is a working crew's ship; Scale 5 is the largest most private owners ever hold title to.

Reading a Ship

A ship's profile lists:

• Scale: physical size category (above).
• Speed: how fast the ship moves in maneuvering situations. Higher is faster.
• Cruise: how fast the ship crosses a system between the seam arc and dock, rated 1 to 5. Higher is faster. See Chapter Ten.
• Handling: adds Boon Dice (if positive) or Bane Dice (if negative) to Pilot checks, and to Gunnery checks with fixed weapons.
• Armor: subtracted from incoming Hull Damage.
• Deflection: listed as Fore / Aft; adds Bane Dice to every attack against the ship from that facing.
• Hull Points: structural integrity. Hull Damage counts up; when it reaches Hull Points, the ship is destroyed.
• System Points: operational capacity. System Damage counts up; when it reaches System Points, the ship is out of control.
• Crew: minimum crew and normal crew.
• Cargo: secured hold space in Cargo Units. One Cargo Unit holds about one tonne of ordinary packaged freight.
• Module Slots: optional installations the ship can carry beyond its core systems.
• Weapon Hardpoints: weapon-mounting capacity, counted in hardpoint points: a Light mount uses 1, a Standard mount 2, a Heavy mount 3, and a Capital mount 4.
• AI Support: the ship's AI Core tier. Tiers, Active Channels, and Directive Packages are in Chapter Ten.
• Power Capacity, Heat Dissipation, and Heat Threshold: the ship's power and thermal limits. See Ship Health below.

Full stat blocks, module rules, and weapon rules are in the Vehicles Manual.

The Five Shipwrights

Five major builders dominate commercial and naval shipbuilding across known space. Understanding them tells you something about every ship you encounter, board, try to repair, and depend on.

Crown Meridian Shipworks

Known for: Durable, standardized, armored hulls with excellent damage control and security systems.

Primary alignment: Irnan Directorate.

Crown Meridian began as a government-chartered naval yard and expanded into commercial shipping, patrol vessels, and colonial transports. Their ships are built for people who expect inspections, maintenance records, and decades of service.

A Crown Meridian ship looks like what it is: an armored brick. Dense wedge profiles, recessed bridges, broad armored prows, labeled access panels, and clean dorsal lines. Weapons and sensors sit behind protective housings. Capital ships resemble layered fortresses built along a long armored keel. Even civilian Crown Meridian hulls have a faint federal character.

Interiors are functional and standardized. Corridors are straight. Emergency markings are obvious. Maintenance manuals are accurate. The ship may not be comfortable, but the air recyclers are easy to reach and the repair documentation is correct.

Signature systems: Hull integrity, armor, damage control, power distribution, defensive control, internal security.

Weak systems: Signature management, atmospheric handling, flexible cargo conversion, luxury accommodations.

Parts: Excellent availability in Directorate and League ports. Common service documentation. Firmware locks create complications for unauthorized modifications.

Spacer saying: "Crown ships keep flying long after the crew gives up."

Antaean Openframe Consortium

Known for: Modular, commercially successful hulls that crews can reshape around their work.

Primary alignment: Antaean League.

Openframe dominates commercial hull construction across the League. Their ships are built around modular spines, interchangeable bays, standardized cargo clamps, detachable pods, and licensed interfaces. They are common because they are useful. They are also common because lenders understand them, ports can service them, and corporations can repossess them efficiently.

A small Openframe ship is built around a visible structural spine with detachable cargo pods, external clamps, fold-out utility arms, and replaceable engine modules. Their silhouettes often look asymmetrical because the hull changes as modules are added and removed. Capital ships resemble mobile station complexes: long central trusses, modular habitation rings, cargo racks, docking branches. A capital Openframe vessel may look substantially different between voyages.

Interiors are practical and commercial. Different sections may come from different construction years. Everything has a serial number. Many features require active licenses.

Signature systems: Cargo handling, mission modules, communications, support craft, workshop systems.

Weak systems: Armor, direct combat durability, high-output fire control, thermal control under extreme load.

Parts: Excellent availability almost everywhere. License audits create risk if modules do not match the manifest.

Spacer saying: "Openframe sells the ship twice: once in steel and once in licenses."

Viridian Lattice Yards

Known for: Refined, expensive, AI-integrated hulls with superior navigation, medical, and life-support systems.

Primary alignment: Shoiyan Concord.

Viridian builds the most refined civilian and scientific vessels in known space. Their ships are famous for advanced AI integration, medical support, environmental stability, sensor performance, and continuity-stack handling. Their construction relies on dense system integration that makes ships elegant and efficient, and also difficult to repair with improvised parts.

Small Viridian craft use smooth curved hulls, flattened manta-like profiles, curved radiator forms, and pearl ceramic plating. Their silhouettes suggest flowing motion even while docked. Capital ships use layered petal-like hull sections around a protected central core.

Interiors are quiet, seamless, and carefully controlled. Lighting adjusts automatically. Life support compensates for species differences. The ship AI is present everywhere without being intrusive, until something breaks and the repair needs a certified tool that few independent crews carry.

Signature systems: AI Core, navigation, sensors, life support, medical bay, stack vaults, science labs.

Weak systems: Field repair, improvised upgrades, heavy armor, crude weapon integration.

Parts: Excellent in Concord space, limited elsewhere. Authorized service is restricted to certified yards. Black-market specialists charge heavily.

Spacer saying: "A Viridian ship knows what is wrong before you do. It may not explain itself."

Kharos Forge Cooperative

Known for: Rugged, repairable, frontier-capable hulls that survive neglect and improvised maintenance.

Primary alignment: Funtari Confederacy.

Kharos is less a single corporation than a network of clan yards, foundries, licensed workshops, and family-owned manufacturers operating under shared standards. Their ships are built for hard places: poor roads, bad ports, scarce parts, unreliable fuel, untrained crews, and repairs performed with whatever is available.

Small Kharos craft use exposed trusses, oversized engines, visible coolant lines, thick landing gear, bolt-on armor, and external tool racks. Their silhouettes are muscular and blunt. Capital hulls resemble moving industrial yards: clustered cylindrical hulls, buried engine tunnels, reinforced collars, broad structural ribs, cranes, and visible repair gantries.

Interiors are cramped, practical, and full of exposed access routes. Panels are removable. Cabling is visible. Crew members know which bulkhead to kick when the ventilation fan starts rattling. The ship may not be comfortable. It can usually be fixed.

Signature systems: Sublight engines, maneuvering thrusters, damage control, workshops, salvage systems, towing systems.

Weak systems: Signature management, luxury accommodations, refined AI integration, thermal quieting.

Parts: Excellent in frontier regions. Informal service is widespread. Gray-market support is exceptional.

Spacer saying: "A Kharos ship breaks every week and never stops flying."

Safa Celestial Arsenal

Known for: Fast, disciplined, heavily licensed hulls with superior reactor output, fire control, and security systems.

Primary alignment: Jaziri Caliphate.

Safa is the most tightly controlled major builder in known space. Their ships are famous for efficient reactors, precise fire control, powerful security architecture, and capable automation. Even civilian Safa ships retain military assumptions. The company holds that a ship is an instrument built for one purpose, and its ships resist being turned to another.

Small Safa craft use narrow spear-like hulls, deep ventral keels, swept engine housings, matte plating, and severe bilateral symmetry. Sensor and weapon apertures remain concealed until needed. Capital vessels use tall axial symmetry, central reactor spines, ribbed side structures, and carefully ordered weapon geometry. The silhouette appears deliberate and austere.

Interiors are clean, controlled, and formal. Access is compartmentalized. Security systems assume discipline. Unauthorized modifications trigger warnings quickly.

Signature systems: Reactor output, fire control, electronic warfare, security, point defense, cyberdefense.

Weak systems: Cargo flexibility, civilian comfort, open interfaces, improvised modification.

Parts: Good through licensed channels, poor elsewhere. Gray-market modifications are dangerous and expensive. Authority scrutiny is high for any restricted or altered system.

Spacer saying: "A Safa ship does exactly what it was built to do. Pray you need the same thing."

Common Starting Models

Most first ships are used: older hulls with previous owners and histories that may or may not be documented. The five models below are the most common starting ships in Void Drifters. Their stat lines follow the descriptions.

Light Freighter: Model 20

The Model 20 is one of the most common small commercial ships in known space. Its narrow structural spine supports detachable cargo pods, external clamps, utility arms, and replaceable engine sections. No two Model 20s remain identical for long.

What it feels like: Practical and adaptable. The Model 20 has four open Module Slots from the factory, so crews shape it around their work rather than working around it. It carries little armor (Armor 1) but 120 Cargo Units, the most of any starting hull, and its working fusion drive (Cruise 2) makes a Standard approach in about two days. With the right module package it can do almost any commercial job.

Common uses: Tramp freighter, smuggling ship, passenger hauler, courier, salvage vessel, mobile workshop, colony supply run.

Crew: Minimum two, normal four. A pilot and an engineer at minimum; a small crew doubles up on gunnery and sensors.

Model Trait, Openframe Interfaces: Installing or removing a legal commercial module at a proper yard takes half the normal time. When installing a salvaged or incompatible module, remove 1 Bane Die caused by awkward access or mounting geometry.

The honest version: A used Model 20 has character. Previous owners leave traces: modified module bays, non-standard fittings, cargo spaces with hidden compartments the current owner may or may not know about. The AI Support is Basic Automation, which gives no AI assistance on checks. In a fight, the crew is working with three Light weapon mounts and Armor 1. The Model 20 can be made dangerous with the right modifications; out of the factory, its best answer to a fight is to leave.

Frontier Workhorse: KR-41

The KR-41 is a rugged frontier workhorse with oversized engines, reinforced landing gear, visible coolant lines, and a configurable cargo frame. It is one of the most common ships beyond heavily regulated core systems.

What it feels like: Tough and dependable. The KR-41 is louder, heavier, and less refined than a Model 20, but it has better armor (Armor 2), more Hull Points, nearly the same cargo capacity, the same Cruise 2 drive, and four months of consumables. It suits crews who expect to work far from proper yards.

Common uses: Frontier freighter, salvage tug, mining tender, colony hauler, armed transport, blockade runner, mobile repair ship.

Crew: Minimum three, normal six. A pilot, an engineer, and at least one crew member covering operations, cargo, or security.

Model Trait, Field-Service Access: Remove 1 Bane Die from Craft checks to repair or patch the KR-41 when that Bane Die comes from improvised tools, awkward access, or inadequate facilities.

The honest version: A used KR-41 has even more character than a used Model 20, and most of it is loud. The AI Support is Basic Automation. Handling −1 adds a Bane Die to every Pilot check, which makes precision flying harder than on lighter hulls.

Patrol Cutter: CM-440

The CM-440 is a compact armored cutter used by patrol services, bounty crews, customs contractors, corporate security forces, and armed couriers. Its silhouette is a dense wedge with a broad armored prow, recessed bridge, and two protected engine channels.

What it feels like: Serious and purposeful. The CM-440 is the most combat-capable starting ship: Armor 3, Hull Points 22, five hardpoint points (three Light mounts and one Standard), and Cruise 3. Cargo is limited to 20 Cargo Units, so it serves poorly as a freighter.

Common uses: Patrol cutter, escort, bounty vessel, armed courier, corporate security ship, marshal transport, convoy escort.

Crew: Minimum three, normal six. Pilot, gunner, and engineer are the core functions. The factory package includes an Internal Security Suite, an Armory, and a Barracks Module.

Model Trait, Reinforced Compartments: Once per encounter, when the CM-440 would suffer System Damage from a Critical Hit, collision, or cascade failure, reduce that System Damage by 1.

The honest version: A CM-440 is hard to explain at checkpoints not run by the Irnan Directorate. The ship announces its purpose, and a crew trying to pass unnoticed is flying the wrong hull. It has only one open Module Slot, so customization is constrained. Its AI Support is a Professional Directive AI (Chapter Ten): two Active Channels and four Directive Packages.

Scout Courier: VN-33C1

The VN-33C1 is a fast, graceful small craft with a narrow central body, sweeping radiator structures, and highly integrated AI. It serves as a courier, medical response vessel, survey craft, and executive transport.

What it feels like: Quick, intelligent, and fragile. The VN-33C1 has Speed 5, Cruise 3, and Handling +2, the most maneuverable starting hull. Its Advanced Directive AI (Chapter Ten) supports three Active Channels, and the factory package includes a Medical Bay, an Extended Navigation Suite, and a Counter-Surveillance Suite. What it lacks is cargo space (10 Cargo Units), Weapon Hardpoints (2), and hull durability (Hull Points 12).

Common uses: Medical response ship, executive courier, survey craft, intelligence transport, diplomatic shuttle, high-end private vessel.

Crew: Minimum two, normal four. The VN-33C1 is designed for a small crew.

Model Trait, Predictive Navigation: Add 1 Boon Die to checks made to locate a Slipstream seam, calculate an offset exit, or navigate a poorly charted corridor.

The honest version: Hull Points 12 and Armor 1 mean this ship cannot take a sustained fight. It is built to be fast and to be gone before trouble starts.

Fast Pursuit Craft: Safa S3

The Safa S3 is a narrow, high-output small hull built around powerful propulsion, strong fire control, and disciplined mission specialization. Its silhouette is a spear-like body with a deep ventral keel and swept engine housings, its weapon and sensor apertures concealed until needed.

What it feels like: Fast and pointed. The Safa S3 has Speed 5, Cruise 3, and Handling +1, second only to the VN-33C1 in maneuverability, and unlike the VN-33C1 it can fight: Armor 2 and five hardpoint points (three Light mounts and one Standard). Its Safa reactor and fire control run hot and hit hard.

Common uses: Pursuit ship, fast courier, interdiction escort, rapid response, questionable-security work.

Crew: Minimum two, normal four. Pilot and gunner are the core functions; the reactor and fire control reward a dedicated engineer.

Model Trait, Pursuit Frame: Add 1 Boon Die to Pilot checks made to close distance, prevent an enemy from opening distance, or maintain pursuit through hazardous terrain.

The honest version: One open Module Slot and 10 Cargo Units make the Safa S3 a specialist with almost no freight capacity. It is also a Safa hull: unauthorized modifications attract authority attention, and a civilian crew flying a military-lineage pursuit ship outside Jaziri space invites questions about where they got it. Hull Points 14 is respectable for its size but will not outlast a CM-440 in a straight exchange of fire. Its AI Support is a Professional Directive AI (Chapter Ten): two Active Channels and four Directive Packages.

Starting Hull Stat Lines

All five hulls include a Slipstream Drive and landing systems. All are built for sustained atmospheric flight except the CM-440, which is rated Limited. Deflection is 0 / 0 (Fore / Aft) on all five. The numbers are those of the full stat blocks in the Vehicles Manual, Chapter Sixteen; hardpoints are given in points, with the mounts in brackets.

New prices are factory-new at a builder-authorized yard in the builder's home market. A high-hours hull (deferred maintenance, tired systems, incomplete records) costs 0.35 of the new price; a serviceable used hull costs 0.55. The Vehicles Manual, Chapter Twelve, has the full price list, market modifiers, and condition rules.

Crew Stations

A ship has systems, and every system needs someone responsible for it. Ship combat and other ship emergencies run through six stations, plus the captain's role. On a large vessel each station is a dedicated position, or a whole department. On a small ship with three or four people, everyone covers more than one. The station names below are the ones the Vehicles Manual and Chapter Fourteen use; the actions each station can take in a fight are listed in Chapter Fourteen.

A character does not need an official title to work a station. They need the relevant skill and the willingness to be responsible when things go wrong.

Helm

The pilot flies the ship. In normal travel, that means managing course, approach vectors, and docking. Under pressure, it means evasive maneuvers, pursuit, intercept approaches, and atmospheric entry. The ship's Handling adds Boon or Bane Dice to every Pilot check, and a directive AI with a Flight Operations package can assist.

Skill: Pilot.

Careers that fit: Pilot. The Shipborn background also lists Pilot.

Critical moments: Chases, atmospheric flight, offset Slipstream exits, docking under fire.

Gunnery

The gunner operates ship weapons: acquiring targets, managing firing solutions, coordinating with the pilot for arcs, and running point defense against incoming missiles. On a small ship, the station may be a single turret control set into the crew space. A directive AI with a Fire Control package can assist.

Skill: Gunnery.

Careers that fit: Gunner.

Critical moments: Ship combat, point defense, coordinating fire with the pilot's maneuvers.

Engineering

The engineer keeps the ship running: the reactor, Heat, power distribution, and repairs under pressure. In a fight, the engineer decides what gets shut down when Power Load and Heat run past what the ship can sustain. The engineer is also the person most likely to know what a salvaged component is actually doing.

Skill: Craft; Science for system assessment.

Careers that fit: Engineer. The Pilot career and the Shipborn background also list Craft.

Critical moments: Damage control during combat, emergency repairs, Heat management, power allocation, mixed-builder system conflicts.

Sensors and Comms

The sensor operator runs detection, target identification, electronic warfare, and communications. In a fight, that means scanning the enemy, locking targets for the gunner, jamming, and countering jams. Out of a fight, it means relay traffic, route data, and spotting pursuit early.

Skill: Electronics.

Careers that fit: Operator. The Gunner and Engineer careers also list Electronics.

Critical moments: Detecting threats early, keeping communications up under jamming, electronic warfare, scanning ships and environments.

Astrogation

The astrogator handles Slipstream: plotting corridor entries, revising courses, planning offset exits, and calculating an escape route while the fight is still going. An astrogator cannot fight off a boarding party, but can get the ship to a seam where no boarding party can follow. A directive AI with a Navigation package can assist.

Skill: Astrogation.

Careers that fit: Pilot, Operator. The Academic background also lists Astrogation.

Critical moments: Fading or frontier seams, offset exits, emergency exits, planning a route around patrols.

Medical and Support

The medic keeps the people who fight the ship able to do it: stabilizing whoever goes down, bracing the crew for impact, and coordinating help to a struggling station. Between jobs, the medic handles recovery, Critical Injury treatment, and the long-term cost of living in an environment not built for anyone's health.

Skill: Medicine.

Careers that fit: Medic. The Academic background also lists Medicine.

Critical moments: Treating combat injuries, environmental exposure, recovery during long transit legs.

The Captain

The captain's role sits outside the six stations, and any character can hold it. A captain makes decisions, manages the crew, handles negotiations, takes responsibility for what the ship does, and coordinates Story Point spending in ship encounters. In a fight, a captain can give orders such as Direct Focus as a Maneuver without leaving their own station (Chapter Fourteen).

Not every crew has a formal captain. Many small ships run on consensus or partnership, which works until pressure exposes a disagreement.

Skills: Leadership, Negotiation, Intimidation.

Careers that fit: Face. The Military background also lists Leadership.

Critical moments: Tense negotiations, crew morale under stress, deciding whether to run or fight.

Doubling Up

A crew of two or three cannot staff every station at once. A common split for a small Model 20 crew: the pilot takes Helm and, between fights, Sensors and Comms; the engineer takes Engineering and cargo operations; whoever is free takes Gunnery when trouble starts.

Doubling up has costs. You act at one declared station per round, and switching stations costs your Action for that round. When the crew is short, you may also act at one second station that no one else holds, taking one Action there at 1 Bane Die; nobody covers more than two stations. An empty station takes no actions, and some functions fall back to automation at a penalty (Vehicles Manual, Chapter Fourteen). Who covers what under pressure is a real decision for the crew.

Ship Health

Four numbers describe a ship's operational condition: Hull Points, System Points, Heat, and Power Capacity. The engineer watches all four.

Hull Points

Hull Points are structural integrity. Weapons fire, collisions, breaching charges, and environmental hazards inflict Hull Damage, which counts up from 0. Armor reduces incoming Hull Damage.

When Hull Damage reaches the ship's Hull Points, the ship is destroyed: its frame fails and it breaks up at the end of the next round. That round is the crew's chance to reach the escape pods, a docked craft, or an airlock. The wreck can be stripped for parts but never repaired. A crew may abandon ship at any time, not only when it is destroyed.

System Points

System Points are operational capacity. System Damage counts up separately from Hull Damage and is applied to System Points or to a named system. Armor does not reduce it, except that Armor halves System Damage from Ion weapons. As System Damage builds, systems brown out, emergency shutoffs trigger, and weapons, navigation, or life support may go offline. When System Damage reaches the ship's System Points, the ship is out of control: it drifts, its weapons, screens, and drive go offline, and only Emergency Repair and personal actions aboard are possible until repairs bring it back under control. Any hit on a ship that is out of control is a Critical Hit, and an out-of-control ship can be boarded or taken as a prize. This is how most crews capture a ship rather than destroy it.

A ship can be structurally intact and operationally crippled, or physically battered and still fully functional. Combat pressures both tracks.

Heat

Heat is accumulated thermal stress from weapons fire, engine overdrive, pushed reactors, defensive screens, and failed integrations. At the end of every combat round, a ship removes Heat equal to its Heat Dissipation. When Heat equals or exceeds the ship's Heat Threshold, these effects apply, and they stack as Heat climbs:

Power Capacity

A ship's reactor has a Power Capacity. High-output systems draw Power Load while active; routine operations are already counted in the baseline. Power matters when the crew wants to fire energy weapons, boost screens, push the engines, and run active sensors at the same time.

When active Power Load exceeds Power Capacity, the engineer must respond at once: shut down a system, accept 1 System Damage to power distribution, convert the overload into 2 Heat, or attempt an Average Craft check to hold the overload for one round.

Full Heat, Power, and combat rules are in the Vehicles Manual.

Mixed-Builder Ships

Most ships that players crew are accumulated machines: hulls carrying components from several builders, installed across years of ownership.

A Model 20 hull might be running a Kharos sublight engine installed after the original failed, a Crown Meridian damage control system salvaged from a wreck, an older Viridian navigation suite acquired through slightly unclear paperwork, and an unlicensed Safa reactor component that someone installed three owners ago and nobody has wanted to discuss since. Most ships look like this after a few years of real use.

Why Ships Mix Builders

Ships mix builders because the original system broke and the available replacement was not from the same manufacturer. Because the crew wanted a better navigation suite and the best option was from a different builder. Because they salvaged a useful component from a wreck and the math made more sense than finding an identical factory replacement.

The builder relationships determine how complicated the mixing gets. Crown Meridian and Openframe maintain active compatibility agreements; installing Crown Meridian components in an Openframe hull is relatively straightforward. Crown Meridian and Safa use competing standards with incompatible firmware; that installation is harder and more likely to leave lasting complications.

What Mixing Costs

Compatibility problems show up as persistent complications rather than immediate failures. Installing a component from another builder adds Bane Dice to the installation check: more for Open, Rival, and Forbidden pairings than for Partners. A ship with three or more core systems installed at Adapted, Forced, or Forbidden status (Open, Rival, or Forbidden pairings) adds 1 Bane Die to any Craft check that involves two of them at once. Salvaged firmware may log errors or create AI conflicts. A Signature system keeps its builder's benefit in its own builder's hull or in a Partner's hull, and loses it anywhere else. The Vehicles Manual has the integration table (Chapter Five) and the installation rules and failure modes (Chapter Ten).

A mixed ship is not automatically inferior. It trades easy maintenance for customization. A crew might deliberately combine a Kharos engine for frontier repairability, a Viridian navigation suite for Slipstream work, Crown Meridian damage control for survivability, and an Openframe cargo system for flexibility. The result can suit the crew's work better than any single-builder ship.

Integrated Architecture

A ship whose hull and at least 10 of its 12 core systems come from one builder, with no Forced or Forbidden integrations and its service standards intact, has Integrated Architecture. It gains reduced maintenance and repair complications, an extra benefit for that builder's Signature systems, and lower costs at authorized yards.

The patchwork approach gives flexibility and lets crews optimize for specific needs. It gives up the smoothness of a single-builder system and creates ongoing maintenance work.

Builder Compatibility Summary

Getting a Ship

Does the Crew Have a Ship?

Whether the crew starts with a ship is the GM's decision, made for the campaign before play begins. Characters do not buy one at character creation, alone or by pooling their money: starting credits (Chapter Three) cover personal gear such as a flight suit, a sidearm, and a week of modest lodging, and nothing on the ship. The common arrangements are:

• The crew works someone else's ship. The characters are hired crew aboard a ship they do not own, for a few sessions or for the whole campaign. The owner sets the work.
• The GM supplies a ship. The crew begins with a ship and the terms that came with it: a mortgage, a lease, a work bond, an inherited debt, or a title nobody should look at closely. The GM sets the hull, its condition, and what is still owed.
• The ship comes later. The crew earns, wins, salvages, or inherits one in play.

The ownership models and the worked example below describe what a crew owes once a ship is theirs.

What a Starting Ship Looks Like

A typical starting ship has a history. It has been somewhere, belonged to someone, been modified for purposes the current owner may not fully understand, and reached the crew through a chain of transactions, defaults, inheritances, and questionable decisions. It is older, structurally sound where it matters, and complicated in ways that create stories.

Some things a starting ship might have:

• A debt. The ship is usually worth more than everything else the crew owns combined. A mortgaged ship gives the crew a reason to take jobs, a reason to avoid certain authorities, and a constant pressure that makes comfortable choices more expensive.
• A component that works perfectly until the ship is under stress. The Kharos engine that runs well in normal space but overheats in combat. The Viridian navigation suite that finds seams no one else can find but needs four hours of recalibration after an offset exit. The Crown Meridian damage control system that refuses non-standard repairs without a supervisor override code nobody has.
• Something off the record. One hidden compartment customs has not found. One modification missing from the ship registry. One system whose previous owner said it was certified, with no documentation to prove it.

Recommended Starting Hulls

The Model 20 is the strongest all-purpose default. It has the most open Module Slots of any starting hull, enough cargo for commercial work, and few enough Weapon Hardpoints that it does not become a warship by accident.

The KR-41 is the best alternative for a rougher, frontier-focused game. It is less elegant and has fewer open slots, but it survives situations that would strand a Model 20.

The Starting Ship as a Character

A ship matters to the crew when the crew has invested in it: named it, learned its quirks, taken work to pay for it, and argued about its maintenance. Give the ship a past and one complication before the first session, and a ship lost in session three becomes a campaign event rather than a line on the sheet.

Worked Example: Financing a Model 20

A high-hours Model 20 costs 122,500cr (350,000cr new, at 0.35 for High Hours condition).

On a standard mortgage from a faction bank:

The outstanding balance at any point is the financed amount × months remaining ÷ 120. Twenty-two months in, the crew owes 110,250 × 98 ÷ 120 = 90,037cr.

On a lease, the same hull costs a deposit of one month's payment, 3,675cr (3.0 percent of 122,500cr), then 3,675cr every month, and the crew never owns it.

Missing payments. A payment is missed when it is thirty days late. After one missed payment, the lender sends notice and adds a 5 percent late fee. After two, the ship's transponder is flagged in the lender's home power and the rate steps up. After three, a repo agent is assigned and the lender posts the ship on the public relay bounty boards. For the crew twenty-two months into the mortgage above, that bounty is 10 percent of the outstanding balance: about 9,004cr, which any licensed hunter in the Verge can claim by bringing the ship in.