CyborgPrime
Cosmic Mongoose
Introduction
Starship Malfunctions is meant as a system-agnostic product, able to supplement any sci-fi RPG or story that includes space travel using starships. Streamline your games by adding quick details like those contained in this 72-card deck.
How to Read the Cards
Each card contains information that could be useful in your game. All the information contained on the card can be used, ignored, or altered. Please use the cards as a guideline for what could be possible in your game. The GM is free to alter the results or effects contained on the cards, as suits the game or play style.
Each card contains the following information, from top to bottom:
Card Name
Ship Damage Location
Importance of the Damaged System
System that is Damaged
Subsystem that is Damaged
Malfunction Details
Repair Cost
Suggested Effects
How to Use the Cards
There are many ways to use these cards to enhance your sci-fi gaming experience:
* Speed up Combat- If a gunner scores a hit, draw a card and apply the effects on the card. For more detailed combat, suppose Ship B is above and behind Ship A (dorsal, aft) and scores a hit on Ship A. Draw 5 cards from the deck and apply any with the location of Dorsal, Aft. Ship A is in front and below Ship B (ventral, forward) and returns fire. The gunner scores a hit on Ship B. Draw 5 cards and apply any with location of Ventral, Forward. As an alternate method, apply any cards that list either location instead of just both.
* Pre-purchase Inspection- People usually don’t sell a perfectly working ship. Any time your players purchase a used ship, roll 1d6+4 and deal out that many cards. This represents the malfunctioning systems present on the ship at the time of purchase.
* Derelict Ship- A ship’s crew and captain don’t just get up and leave a perfectly-running ship. Abandoned ships often suffer catastrophic damage. Any time your players want to salvage a derelict ship, roll 2d6+8 and deal that many cards. This represents the extensive damage that may have lead to the crew abandoning ship.
* Neglect- Sometimes the ship’s owner cannot keep up on maintenance costs and the ship falls into disrepair. Draw a card for every two weeks that passes without catching up on the outstanding maintenance costs. This represents additional systems that break down from continued neglect.
* Hard Landing- Ships don’t always land in a controlled manner, with a feather-like touch. Sometimes, ships need to “come in hot” and end up clipping trees or hilltops during their descent to the landing zone. Sometimes, ships come to a skidding halt, rather than a nimble touchdown. In the event of a hard landing, draw 3, 5, 7, or 9 cards, depending on the severity of the hard landing, as determined by the GM.
* Flying Through a Hazard (Asteroid Field, Nebula, or Anomaly)- Starship pilots often find themselves taking risks, such as escaping pursuit through an asteroid field, hiding in a nebula, or experiencing the effects of an unknown space anomaly. Draw a card for every failed Pilot skill check when flying through an asteroid field. When hiding in a nebula or interacting with an anomaly, draw a card for every two hours the ship is interacting with the nebula or anomaly.
These are just a few examples of some of the applications for this card deck. Use your imagination to come up with more. Use these cards any time damage occurs to the ship, for whatever reason.
Repairing Malfunctioning Systems
Damaged systems can be repaired by the ship’s crew. Characters make skill checks in Mechanics, Electronics, or Computers (determined by the type of damage and the GM’s discretion). If the character succeeds, the repairs will be complete in the amount of time equal to 3x the Repair Cost. For instance, if the Repair Cost is 5 KCr, the repair will take 3 x 5 = 15 minutes to repair. If the Repair Cost is 20 KCr, the repair will take 3 x 20 = 60 minutes to repair.
Want More?
>Get Starship Malfunctions: Deck 1 here<
Special Thanks
Brandie Succardi
Jay Turley
Ethan Burdeau
Gabrielle Angel Lilly
Brett Lindsey
Starship Malfunctions: Deck 1 ©2018 Frank Succardi, CyborgPrime Publishing