Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Starships of the Galaxy
See also: Hazards, SotG Starship Combat
Another key element of good Starship Combat encounters is creating combat areas that are interesting. Certainly, encounters involving two groups of ships engaging one another in open space can be fun, but adding a certain element of environmental challenge to the encounter makes it that much more memorable. For example, The Millennium Falcon's daring escape from the forces of the Empire is made far more interesting by the fact that it flees through an asteroid belt wrought with peril, and Obi-Wan's dogfight with Jango Fett in Slave I is made more exciting by the hazards found in the ring of Geonosis. Just as in Character Combat, adding terrain features to space battles creates more lively combat sequences that require creativity and tactical thinking on the parts of the heroes.
The presence of environmental obstacles also creates a more dynamic battlefield, adding another dimension to the placement and movement of Starships. Terrain challenges in Starship Combat necessitate movement and encourage players to be more creative in their actions. The following terrain hazards can be part of any Starship Combat sequence.
Asteroids, Debris, or Other Objects[]
Space is a lot less empty than one might think, and a square that contains asteroids, debris, or other objects is difficult to move through and can potentially damage a Starship. It requires 2 squares of movement to enter a square that contains an Object Hazard. Additionally, any Vehicle passing through asteroids or debris must succeed on a Pilot check or take Collision damage, as given in the table below. Finally, a square that contains asteroids or debris provides Cover against any attacks passing through or into the square.
| OBJECT HAZARD | PILOT CHECK DC | COLLISION DAMAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Sparse Objects | 15 | 4d6+20 |
| Moderate Objects | 25 | 6d6+30 |
| Dense Objects | 35 | 8d6+40 |
Vehicle Traffic[]
Vehicle Traffic functions the same way as any other Object Hazard, but such squares of traffic are usually arranged in straight lines with a single designated direction of movement. Generally, these squares are Sparse if you move with traffic, Moderate if you move through traffic, and Dense if you move against traffic. In addition, if you move with the flow of traffic at the same Speed (usually no more than 2 squares per round), you gain a +10 circumstance bonus on your Pilot check to Avoid Collision.
Unless a particular Vehicle in a line of traffic is significant for some reason, it is generally not necessary to use normal Vehicle Combat statistics to represent their movement of the effects of a Collision.
Damaging Environment[]
Though most Starship Combat takes place in a Vacuum, some battles might take place in thick dust clouds, the upper atmosphere or a corrosive gas giant, electromagnetically charged nebulae, or even in close proximity to a star- and any of these features can damage a Vehicle. If a Vehicle is in a Damaging Environment square at any point during the Pilot's turn, the Hazard makes an attack roll using the modifier given in the table below. If the attack equals or exceeds the target's Fortitude Defense, the Vehicle takes full damage. If the attack roll fails, the Vehicle takes half damage. Specific guidelines for different environments are described below.
| ENVIRONMENT INTESNSITY | ATTACK BONUS | DAMAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Light | +15 | 2d10x2 |
| Moderate | +30 | 4d10x2 |
| Heavy | +45 | 6d10x2 |
Corrosive Gases[]
Occasionally encountered in planetary atmospheres and some nebulae, Corrosive Gases can also be the result of a massive industrial accident (such as a fuel tanker spilling antimatter, hypermatter, or large amounts of radioactive fuel in orbit). Corrosive Gases ignore the target's Shield Rating (but not Damage Reduction) when dealing damage. Corrosive Gases might also provide Poor Visibility (see Visibility, below).
Dust Clouds[]
Usually encountered as a part of an Asteroid Field (see above) or as a part of a planetary ring system, Light and Moderate Dust Clouds provide Poor Visibility while Heavy Dust Clouds provide Very Poor Visibility (see Visibility, below). Dust Clouds deal no damage if a Vehicle doesn't move, but they deal +1 die of damage for every square of movement during the Pilot's turn.
Ionic Discharges[]
Some nebulae (and a few planetary atmospheres) produce nearly continuous discharges of highly ionized particles, dealing Ion Damage to all Vehicles within affected squares.
Radiation[]
In close proximity to a star or other source of intense electromagnetic radiation, a Vehicle can take substantial damage. Generally, these Hazards will extend to all squares on the battle grid, but you might designate some squares as being in the shadow of a planet or moon, thus avoiding the effects of Radiation.
Enclosed Terrain[]
The Star Wars universe is full of examples of Starship Combat that take place within Enclosed Terrain, such as the trench run on The Death Star. Any time a Vehicle is in a square that is adjacent to Enclosed Terrain, that Vehicle runs the risk of a catastrophic Collision. If a Pilot in such a square fails a Pilot check by 5 or more, that Pilot's ship has a Collision with the wall, taking damage as though colliding with a Colossal (Station) object; unlike most Collisions at Starship Scale, the Vehicle still takes half damage even after a successful Pilot check to Avoid Collision. Additionally, some Enclosed Terrain squares have protrusions or other hazardous elements, increasing the DC of all Pilot checks made in adjacent squares by 5.
Periodic Damage[]
Some Hazards in combat produce periodic effects that happen intermittently. These Hazards typically affect only certain squares and generally do not take effect in every round. For example, a nebula charged with static might produce a burst of electricity along a certain path every 1d4+1 rounds, or an automated cargo hauler might pass through the middle of the battle grid every other round on a regular delivery schedule.
When a Periodic Damage Hazard is present on a battlefield, it affects only certain squares and automatically damages any target within 1 square of those squares. Periodic Damage Hazards always occur on an Initiative Count of 10. Since such Hazards can vary widely depending in form and effect, the following guidelines should provide Gamemasters with a general idea of how much damage the Hazard should do, and how often.
| PERIODIC DAMAGE HAZARD | FREQUENCY | DAMAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Rare and Light | Every 1d4+1 Rounds | 3d10x2 |
| Often and Light | Every Other Round | 3d10x2 |
| Frequent and Light | Every Round | 3d10x2 |
| Rare and Moderate | Every 1d4+1 Rounds | 6d10x2 |
| Often and Moderate | Every Other Round | 6d10x2 |
| Frequent and Moderate | Every Round | 6d10x2 |
| Rare and Severe | Every 1d4+1 Rounds | 3d10x5 |
| Often and Severe | Every Other Round | 3d10x5 |
| Frequent and Severe | Every Round | 3d10x5 |
Visibility[]
Clouds, Fog, Vapor, Storms, and Nebulae can all obscure the Visibility of any targets inside, creating natural hiding places for pirates or Starfighters wishing to spring an ambush. In conditions of Poor Visibility, all nonadjacent targets have Concealment. In Very Poor Visibility, adjacent targets have Concealment and nonadjacent targets have Total Concealment. Specific guidelines for different environments are described below.
Clouds, Fog, or Vapor[]
Ordinary Clouds, Fog, or Vapor normally provides Poor Visibility, but very thick clouds (such as just before a major storm or in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption) might provide Very Poor Visibility. Volcanic eruptions might also be treated as Corrosive Gases (see Damaging Environment, above).
Nebulae[]
Gaseous Nebulae usually provide Poor Visibility, but the thicker gases of a very young Nebulae might provide Very Poor Visibility. In addition, some Nebulae might be treated as Corrosive Gases or posses Ionic Discharges (see Damaging Environment, above).
Storms[]
Ordinary Storms (heavy rain, snowfall, dust storms, and so forth) provide Poor Visibility and impose a -2 penalty on Pilot checks. Severe Storms (tropical storms, hurricanes, blizzards, and the like) provide Very Poor Visibility and impose a -5 penalty on Pilot checks.