Space Travel

Space travel is a highly regulated process, designed to ensure the safe and efficient movement of ships between controlled space around and between colonies.

The Security Trade Guild is responsible for licensing, inspecting, and certifying all spacecraft. Navigation data, collected and maintained since the initial Argos expeditions, provides reliable routes for interstellar and intra-stellar travel.

Ships of all sizes are equipped with advanced engines and AI-controlled systems to manage navigation and operations. Travel times between locations vary depending on the ship’s class and engine rating, allowing for different speeds across the star system.

SPACE TIME

Space Time is a unit of measurement for distance that relies on light seconds, light minutes, and light hours, all based on the atomic second rather than any planetary cycles. By using the atomic clock, which measures time according to the stable vibrations of cesium atoms, Space Time provides a universally applicable and precise standard for measuring vast distances in space. This approach ensures that all colonies, regardless of their planet’s rotation or orbital period, use a consistent and universally understood system for interstellar distances, making it ideal for communication and travel across the cosmos.

Ship Speed

Travel times between locations are measured in light years, light hours, or light minutes, depending on the distance involved. The time required for travel depends on both the class of ship (small, medium, or large), and the ship’s engine rating, which ranges from D4 to D12. Engine speeds are measured in c, which is the percentage of the speed of light.

Table: Ship Speeds by Dice Engine Rating (c)

	D4	D6	D8	D10	D12
Small Ship	0.02	0.05	0.08	0.10	0.15
Medium Ship	0.015	0.04	0.06	0.08	0.12
Large Ship	0.01	0.03	0.05	0.06	0.10

SHIP SPEED AND RANGE

Although larger ships are equipped with more powerful engines, their size makes them slower compared to smaller, more nimble vessels for short flights. Depending on the length of the journey, the total distance a vessel can travel will depend on the amount of fuel it can carry. Larger vessels can carry more fuel and thus have a longer range.

Table: Ship Speeds and Travel Time to 1 Light Hour (in hours)

	D4	D6	D8	D10	D12
Small Ship	50	20	13	10	7
Medium Ship	67	25	17	13	8
Large Ship	100	33	20	17	10

Table: Ship Speeds and Travel Time to 1 Light Minute (in minutes)

	D4	D6	D8	D10	D12
Small Ship	50	20	13	10	7
Medium Ship	67	25	17	13	8
Large Ship	100	33	20	17	10

Random Transit Factor

The distance required to navigate between two bodies in space is constantly changing due to movement of objects along their orbital paths, as well as gravitational effects exerted on the spacecraft during transit, and other considerations. Transit times are also impacted by the acceleration and deceleration of the spacecraft during flight.

Accurately determining the navigation details and calculating realistic travel distances and durations would be challenging and tedious. To simulate the variability in transit factors, the game uses a random table that can be used to simulate the variability in real transit distance and time.

The base distance is determined by the game host based on the average distance between two points in space. Once the base time is determined, the game host can roll a D100 to calculate the random transit factor.

EXAMPLE

The average distance between Akvega and the Sakejo colonies is approximately 136 light hours. Use the following random table to select a random transit factor.

D100	RELAY FACTOR
01-10	-30%
11-25	-20%
26-40	-10%
41-60	0%
61-75	+10%
76-90	+20%
91-100	+30%

Calculate the randomized transit time.

BASE TRANSIT TIME: 136 light hours

CHANCE ROLL: A roll of 85 determines a transit factor of +20%.

RANDOMIZED TRANSIT TIME: 136 x 1.2 = 163.2 light hours

Now the host can use the ships actual speed (determined by their size and engine rating) to calculate the travel duration. For example, traveling in a small shuttle with engines rated at a D6, the spaceship would take 20 hours to travel 1 light hour. To calculate the full trip duration, multiply the ship's speed by the randomized transit time.

Ship Speed x Randomized Transit Time = 20 x 163.2 = 3264 light hours