Gear in Void Drifters is practical, not miraculous. What you carry defines what you can do, and at a checkpoint it defines what trouble you invite. This chapter covers the personal weapons, armor, tools, and kit a crew actually uses: what you begin play with, what you can pick up cheaply, and what you save toward. Ship-scale weapons and systems live in Chapter Eleven. Full catalogs, firm prices, black-market listings, and services live in the Equipment Guide. This chapter gives you enough to outfit a crew and start flying.
Your Starting Loadout
Every starting character begins play with the gear listed in Chapter Three, Step 5:
- Personal clothing appropriate to background and species
- A personal communicator (short and medium range, standard encryption)
- Emergency rations for three days
- A profession kit matching your career (see Profession Kits below)
- Starting credits set by background: 900 credits for most characters (see Chapter Three: Character Creation)
That is a competent professional's baseline, not a full armory. A starting crew can do their job; they are not equipped for every job. Part of early play is turning "we can't do that" into "we can," one purchase or salvage find at a time.
Starting Credits
Your starting credits are set by background in Chapter Three: Character Creation. Most characters begin with 900 credits; Coreworlder and Corporate begin with 1,800, and Frontier-Born and Pilgrim with 400. Prices in this chapter are given in credits (cr) at a major independent station; your GM adjusts them by port.
How to Read a Gear Entry
Two tags describe where an item sits in the world.
Availability is about legality and where the item is sold. It matches the Exodus NDS equipment tags.
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Common | Widely sold to ordinary spacers. No permit needed. |
| Restricted | Legal with the right permit; questions asked without one. |
| Military | Intended for armed forces or licensed security. Illegal for civilians in most powers. |
| Rare | Hard to find, expensive, or regionally limited. |
Cost band places an item against what a crew earns. The ranges are baseline prices at a major independent station; core worlds run lower and fringe ports higher. Use it to gauge what a crew can afford now versus later.
| Band | Range | In wages | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Under 100cr | A day or three of rated work | Affordable at character creation. |
| Modest | 100 to 1,000cr | Up to a month | A job or two of pay. |
| Serious | 1,000 to 10,000cr | A job's pay | Save toward it, or take the right score. |
| Aspirational | 10,000cr and up | A season, a score, or a loan | A major purchase, a big payday, or a lucky salvage. |
Weapon profiles list Damage (dealt on a hit, before extra Successes; each net Success beyond the first adds 1), Range (the bands where the weapon is effective), Crit (net Boons that must be spent to inflict a Critical Injury), and Qualities (special rules; see Chapter Fourteen and the Core Rules). Armor profiles list Resistance (added to your Resistance) and Defense (added to Melee or Ranged Defense, capped at 3 from all sources).
Personal Weapons
Melee
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Crit | Qualities | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improvised (wrench, pry bar) | 4 | Engaged | 5 | Inaccurate 1 | Common | Starter |
| Utility knife | 3 | Engaged | 4 | Pierce 1 | Common | Starter |
| Stun baton | 4 | Engaged | 5 | Stun 2 | Restricted | Modest |
| Vibro-blade | 5 | Engaged | 3 | Pierce 2 | Restricted | Serious |
| Boarding axe | 6 | Engaged | 3 | Vicious 1 | Military | Serious |
Unarmed attacks use Might + Unarmed and deal Damage equal to Might, Crit 5, Range Engaged. No weapon required.
Ranged: Sidearms
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Crit | Qualities | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holdout pistol | 4 | Short | 5 | Limited Ammo, Concealable | Common | Starter |
| Service pistol | 5 | Short, Medium | 4 | — | Common | Starter |
| Heavy pistol | 6 | Short, Medium | 3 | — | Restricted | Modest |
| Laser pistol | 5 | Short, Medium | 4 | Pierce 1, Overheat | Restricted | Serious |
Ranged: Long Arms
| Weapon | Damage | Range | Crit | Qualities | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbine | 6 | Medium | 3 | — | Restricted | Modest |
| Combat shotgun | 7 | Engaged, Short | 3 | Blast 3, Limited Ammo | Restricted | Modest |
| Marksman rifle | 7 | Long | 3 | Accurate 1, Slow-Firing 1 | Military | Serious |
| Plasma carbine | 7 | Medium | 2 | Burn 2, Overheat, Limited Ammo | Military | Aspirational |
Thrown and Charges
| Item | Damage | Range | Crit | Qualities | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frag grenade | 8 | Short | 3 | Blast 4, Limited Ammo | Military | Modest |
| Flash/stun grenade | — | Short | — | Stun 3, applies Disoriented, Limited Ammo | Restricted | Modest |
| EMP charge | — | Short | — | Disables electronics and drones; no effect on the unaugmented body, Limited Ammo | Military | Serious |
Weapons at the Border
Carrying is a political act. A service pistol clears most freeports without comment; a plasma carbine or a boarding axe does not. Restricted and Military weapons found without a permit are a fine at an Antaean port, a hold at an Irnan checkpoint, and a longer conversation at a Jaziri inspection. Match your loadout to your route, not just your fight.
Armor
Personal armor mostly raises Resistance (damage reduction). A few pieces also add Defense against ranged fire. Bulky armor is conspicuous and tiring; sealed armor holds pressure in vacuum.
| Armor | Resistance | Defense | Qualities | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armored clothing | +1 | — | Concealable | Common | Starter |
| Ballistic vest | +2 | — | — | Common | Modest |
| Tactical armor | +3 | Ranged +1 | Bulky | Restricted | Serious |
| Combat hardsuit | +4 | Ranged +1 | Bulky, Sealed | Military | Aspirational |
| EVA pressure suit | +1 | — | Sealed (vacuum-rated), Bulky | Common | Modest |
| Reinforced EVA suit | +2 | — | Sealed, vacuum-rated | Military | Serious |
A pressure suit is not optional gear on a ship. Every crew keeps enough vacuum-rated suits for everyone aboard. Species with non-standard body plans (Ssarathi, Dhoran, Felina) need fitted suits; see Chapter Five and Chapter Ten.
Tools and Field Kit
Profession Kits
Your career comes with one profession kit at creation. A kit is what lets you do your job at full capability: without the right kit, related checks add Bane Dice for improvised tools, or may not be possible at all.
| Kit | Covers | Career Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering kit | Craft repairs, diagnostics, spare components | Engineer, Pilot |
| Medical kit | Stabilization, field treatment, diagnosis | Medic |
| Electronics kit | Interfacing, sensors, bypass, countermeasures | Operator, Gunner |
| Infiltration kit | Lockpicks, security bypass, restraints | Scout, Criminal-trained |
| Nav kit | Charts, corridor references, plotting aids | Pilot, any Astrogator |
General Equipment
| Item | Use | Availability | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal communicator | Short and medium range, standard encryption (starting gear) | Common | Starter |
| Datapad | Records, references, basic computing | Common | Starter |
| Multi-tool | Field repairs and improvisation; removes some improvised-tool Banes | Common | Starter |
| Portable scanner | Reads life signs, materials, and power signatures | Common | Modest |
| Medkit (consumable) | Field stabilization supplies; a few uses before resupply | Common | Modest |
| Combat stims (single-use) | A short burst of capability at a later cost; see Stimulant Use, Chapter Eight | Restricted | Modest |
| Rebreather | Extends survival in bad atmosphere or brief vacuum | Common | Modest |
| Cutting torch | Slow entry through hatches and bulkheads | Common | Modest |
| Bypass kit | Electronic and mechanical lock defeat (pairs with the Infiltration kit) | Restricted | Serious |
| Grapple line and harness | Vertical movement, EVA tethering, boarding | Common | Modest |
| Mag boots | Traction in microgravity (see Chapter Ten) | Common | Modest |
| Gravity harness | Treat gravity as one band lower for physical checks (see Chapter Ten) | Restricted | Serious |
| Restraints | Detaining prisoners and passengers who need detaining | Common | Starter |
| Glow-rods and lamps | Light where the power has failed | Common | Starter |
| Ration packs | Field food; species-appropriate packs cost more | Common | Starter |
What to Buy First, What to Pine For
A new crew's early credits go to the unglamorous essentials: enough pressure suits for everyone, a scanner, a medkit, spare rations, and one good sidearm per person who will carry one. The aspirational gear, the plasma carbine, the combat hardsuit, the reinforced EVA suit, is what the crew talks about buying after the next big score, and what a generous patron or a lucky salvage haul might put in their hands early.