Starship Comm Systems

The ability to communicate with other ships and bases is vital to starships. The more advanced a ship’s communications capabilities, the better informed its crew is, and the better they can coordinate with other ships in the same fleet.

To build a communication system from scratch, a character must succeed at a Craft (electrical) check (DC 30) after investing a number of hours equal to the ship’s Hit Dice. A character without an electrical tool kit takes a –4 penalty on the skill check. The character must also make a Wealth check against the system’s purchase DC.

Installing a comm system requires a successful Craft (mechanical) check (DC 30) and a successful Craft (electrical) check (DC 30) after investing 30 hours. A character without a mechanical or electrical tool kit takes a –4 penalty on the appropriate skill check.

The following section describes various ship-to-ship comm. systems.

Purchase DC: The cost of the comm system.

Internal Comm Systems

Internal comm systems, though as vital as ship-to-ship communications, are not covered in depth here. Obviously, the larger a ship’s crew complement, the greater its need for internal communications. The crew must stay in contact to do their jobs properly. Smaller ships can often get by with headsets jacked into the ship’s network, or short-range two-way radios, or even just shouting to each other from nearby crew stations. Larger ships require a more sophisticated system.

A standard internal communication system allows twoway audio communication from any comm station to any other comm station on the same ship. An internal comm system has a purchase DC based on the ship’s type: ultralight 13, light 16, mediumweight 19, heavy 22, superheavy 25. Increase the purchase DC by +2 if the comm stations include video screen displays as well.