Support United Paizo Workers! Click here for more details!
Rules > Starship > Squadron Combat
Starfinder Starship Operations Manual p.54
Rather than unite as the bridge crew of a single vessel, starfarers may elect to field multiple starships in pitched battle. Such squadrons lack the firepower of a larger starship, yet they allow for greater independence, complex teamwork, and unparalleled strategy. This section presents additional rules and options for squadrons in starship combat. These squadron rules are intended primarily for PC use, though NPC-operated starships can also use the new actions, stunts, and upgrades that appear in this section.
Squadron combat is an alternative to the PCs all crewing a single, larger starship. Each PC (or small set of PCs) designs their own starship of a lower tier; these ships’ combined power should be comparable to that of a single starship. With some exceptions, squadron design and combat work the same as normal starship design and combat (Core Rulebook 290–305, 316–327).
Use these guidelines to design a squadron. Except where noted, building squadron
ships is identical to building a single starship.
Conceptualize:
Start by deciding how many starships are in the party’s squadron and who is
most likely to operate them. Usually, the number of starships shouldn’t exceed
the number of PCs, though the PCs could recruit NPC pilots to expand their squadron.
Determine Squadron Tier and Assign Starship Tiers: The squadron’s
tier is equal to the PCs’ average party level (APL), which is determined by
totaling the PCs’ levels and dividing by the number of PCs. The number of starships
and the squadron’s tier determine the individual starships’ tiers, per Table
2–12.
NUMBER OF STARSHIPS | STARSHIP TIER |
---|---|
2 | APL – 1 |
3 | APL – 2 |
4 | APL – 3 |
5 | APL – 4 |
6 | APL – 5 |
Build Starships: The PCs design their squadron starships
following the design rules on pages 293–305 of the Core Rulebook. Because of
the minimum crew requirements for larger starships, squadron starships are almost
always Medium or smaller. A Tiny squadron starship always has capacity for an
escape pod expansion bay, even though the starship would otherwise lack expansion
bay space.
The GM may elect to build one, some, or all of the starships in
advance if the campaign requires that PCs operate standard-issue ships or premade
vessels (such as in a military campaign with standardized starships).
Design the HQ (Optional): Many squadrons consist of starships
too small or claustrophobic for long-term use. Instead, these starships regularly
dock within a larger flagship that serves as the team’s headquarters (HQ). The
HQ is primarily a utility vessel built with the heavy freighter or carrier base
frame. The HQ’s effective tier equals the squadron tier, and it gains only 25%
the number of starship Build Points normally granted to a starship of its tier.
However, the cost of its base frame and any hanger bay or shuttle bay expansion
bays is only 10% the normal cost (minimum 1 each). The HQ must be outfitted
with enough hanger bays or expansion bays to accommodate the entire squadron.
The HQ can combine three shuttle bays to accommodate a single Medium starship.
In addition, the HQ’s minimum crew is reduced to four, and it loses all weapon
mounts except a single turret with a mount for a light weapon.
An HQ is a
good fit for a squadron piloted by independent adventurers, giving them a place
to retire between encounters and interact face-to-face. It increases the squadron’s
number of Build Points available by accommodating some of the expansion bay
facilities (like a medical bay or tech lab) that the smaller starships might
otherwise have installed. However, it’s also an added complication. If an HQ
isn’t a good fit for your group or campaign, it’s entirely possible to do without
one. Alternatively, in a game where the PCs are part of a larger organization
like a military or commercial expedition, there could be a much larger ship
nearby that serves as their HQ but is run by NPCs.
Details:
After performing the earlier steps, the PCs should devise unifying details for
the squadron, such as a visual design common to the starships or a squadron
name.
Bullets, missles and plasma fly fast and free when starship squadrons
engage. Due to their smaller size and crew, squadron starships often have
lesser defenses than a single vessel, meaning one or more of the PCs’ starships
might be disabled or even destroyed during combat. PCs aboard disabled starships
typically take no damage, and so long as their comrades are victorious,
the PCs and their disabled starships can be recovered and repaired (Core
Rulebook 321–322).
Destroyed Starships: If a starship
is destroyed, each crew member takes 1d20 damage per tier of the enemy that
destroyed the starship or CR of the hazard (e.g. 4d20 damage for a tier
4 starship). If the effect has no tier or CR, default to the squadron tier.
Any crew reduced to 0 HP as a result can use Resolve Points to stabilize
(Core Rulebook 250–251), and these survivors can be recovered after the
battle. Additional damage to the destroyed starship damages the crew again,
as above.
Depending on the campaign, a destroyed starship might be replaced
free of charge—though the PCs might earn less XP from the encounter. A destroyed
starship might instead have to be replaced through a quest or by capturing
an enemy vessel (which the player should redesign to fit the squadron’s
tier). As a last resort, consider letting a PC replace their starship upon
gaining a level and expending a number of credits equal to the typical wealth
granted by an encounter of their new level (see Table 11–4 on page 391 of
the Core Rulebook).
Individual starships in squadron combat function in much the same way as
in standard starship combat, though with their small crews, they’re far more
reliant on minor actions like glide and snap shot (Core Rulebook 326). The small
crews also encourage regularly swapping between roles based on an individual
starship’s needs.
Squadron combat introduces additional options for starship
captains, more pilot stunts, and starship upgrades that emphasize teamwork.
At the start of each round during a starship combat, each character declares
which role they assume for their starship. The roles and their respective actions
function exactly as they would on a standard starship, except each starship
in the fleet can have a character in each starship role. The exception to this
rule is the captain role—only one character throughout the squadron can assume
the captain role, as this character counts not only as the captain of their
starship, but of the entire squadron (see below). Because starships in a squadron
have a limited crew size, it’s virtually impossible for every role on every
starship to be occupied simultaneously, though each starship in the squadron
can purchase a virtual intelligence system (page 34) to secure an additional
crew member and starship actions.
Squad Captain: Thanks
to the coordinated maneuvers of and close communication between squadron starships,
a squadron can have only a single captain at a time, referred to as the squad
captain. A squad captain can affect any of their squadron’s crew with captain
actions, such as using encourage to assist another starship’s pilot.
Instead
of having their own starship, a squad captain can opt to remain in the HQ during
combat, taking their captain actions to coordinate the rest of the squad’s actions
from afar. However, due to the HQ’s relative distance from most encounters,
this limits the squad captain’s ability to take other roles during combat. On
the other hand, a PC who enjoys being a full-time squad captain doesn’t necessarily
need their own starship—and having a smaller squadron increases the tier of
each other starship.
In addition to the stunts on pages 319–320 of the Core Rulebook, squadron pilots can attempt the following three stunts when performing the stunt action.
Choose an allied starship. Your starship moves up to its speed and can turn as normal. If your starship occupies a hex that is adjacent to the chosen starship at the end of the helm phase, that allied starship gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its AC and TL until the start of the next round. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the chosen starship’s tier). On a failed check, your starship moves as normal. If you fail the check by 5 or more, your starship moves as normal but interferes with the chosen starship’s movement; that starship takes a –2 penalty to its AC and TL until the start of the next round.
Choose an enemy starship. Your starship moves up to its speed and can turn as normal. If your starship ends the helm phase within 5 hexes of the chosen starship, the next attack against the chosen starship, made during that round and originating from an arc not occupied by your ship, gains a +2 bonus to its gunnery check. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the enemy starship’s tier). If you fail this check, your starship moves as normal but does not grant the bonus to the gunnery check.
Choose one active tracking projectile that is moving toward (but has not yet reached) its target. Your starship moves up to its speed and can turn as normal. If it moves through a hex occupied by the projectile, the starship attempts to interfere with the projectile’s tracking system, causing it to veer off course and take a –4 penalty to its next gunnery check to continue moving toward its target. To perform this stunt, you must succeed at a Piloting check (DC = 5 + the tracking weapon’s speed + 1-1/2 × the attacking starship’s tier) with a circumstance bonus to your check equal to the bonus to TL granted by your starship’s defensive countermeasures. If you succeed by 5 or more, you cause the projectile to detonate harmlessly, destroying it. If you fail, your starship moves as normal but does not penalize the tracking weapon’s gunnery check. If you fail the check by 5 or more, the tracking projectile immediately attacks you instead; it makes a new gunnery check against your starship’s TL, dealing damage if it succeeds and veering off course to explode harmlessly if it fails.
The minor crew actions below are well-suited to squadron combat.
You fire at an opponent to apply pressure and create an opening for one of
your allies. If you succeed at a gunnery check (DC = 10 + the enemy pilot’s
ranks in Piloting), your next ally who fires a starship weapon at that foe before
the end of the round rolls their gunnery check twice and uses the better result.
If the target starship has no one acting in the pilot role and didn’t take the
glide minor crew action during its last turn, the DC for this gunnery check
is 10.
At 6th level, you can spend 1 Resolve Point before attempting a harrying
shot. If your gunnery check exceeds the target’s AC (for direct fire weapons)
or TL (for tracking weapons) by 4 or more, you also hit and deal damage to the
target with the weapon.
With swift, physical encouragement, you can force a failing system to ignore its recent damage. If you succeed at an Engineering check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × your starship’s tier), you can select one system; that system is treated as if its critical damage condition were one step less severe for the rest of the round (wrecked becomes malfunctioning, malfunctioning becomes glitching, and a glitching system functions as if it had taken no critical damage). This check isn’t modified by penalties from critical damage to the power core; however, you can’t affect a particular system with the swift kick action more than once per combat.
The following new systems function only if the PCs spend the BP to acquire the systems for two or more of squadron ships, per Table 2–13 on page 57.
An auto-flight module leverages a squadron’s data link (see below) to keep
multiple starships in formation with minimal effort, with subordinate starships
mimicking the maneuvers of a primary pilot. Each participating squadron starship
must have its own auto-flight module and a data link system. Whenever two or
more squadron starships with auto-flight modules begin a round adjacent to at
least one other participating starship and facing the same direction, they are
considered to be in formation, and one of the starships is designated the primary
starship (the others are referred to as secondary starships).
When starships
would attempt Piloting checks to determine the order in which starships move
during the helm phase, starships in formation can choose to have the primary
pilot attempt a Piloting check with a cumulative –2 penalty for each participating
secondary starship; each starship in the formation uses that result to determine
the order in which they move. When the primary pilot takes an action to move
(such as fly or stunt), they can temporarily reduce their maneuverability and
speed to match the worst maneuverability and speed of ships in the formation.
If they do so, each secondary starship can use the glide minor crew action to
mirror the primary starship’s exact movement and turns, including any special
movement as a result of the primary starship’s successful stunts. However, secondary
starships don’t also perform any stunts that apply to a specific enemy starship,
such as flyby. Secondary starships gain only half the normal bonus to AC and
TL when mirroring the evade stunt.
An auto-flight module’s cost depends on
the starship’s size. For the purpose of this calculation, Tiny = 1, Small =
2, etc.
A data link enables the rapid exchange of data between squadron ships. When
two or more starships in the same squadron have this system and are within 20
hexes of each other, those starships’ computers automatically sync. Any starship
in this network can calculate its sensors’ distance to a target using the distance
of the starship in the network closest to the target.
In addition, if a crew
member aboard a starship in the network successfully takes the scan action against
an enemy vessel, all vessels in the network automatically receive the information.
Any crew member that takes the target system or lock on science officer actions
can choose to apply the action’s effects to a networked starship’s attacks,
rather than its own. A science officer can also apply the effects of these actions
to one or more additional starships by increasing the DC of the Computers check
by 2 per additional starship (e.g. increase the DC by 6 to grant the bonus to
four starships in the network).
A focus-fire algorithm coordinates a squadron’s attacks, helping the ships
amplify their weapons’ destructive potential. A starship can purchase and install
this system only if it also has a data link.
At the start of the gunnery
phase, the squadron designates one squadron starship as the primary attacker
(any other starships with focus-fire algorithms are secondary starships), as
well as an enemy starship as the target. If the primary gunner hits the selected
target with a starship weapon that round, they grant the first secondary gunner
who hits the same target before the end of the round a bonus to damage equal
to the minimum damage of the primary gunner’s weapon (e.g. a primary gunner
who hits with a particle beam and deals 8d6 damage grants a secondary gunner
a +8 bonus to damage).
A unification matrix enables several (component) starships with this matrix
to combine into a larger, more powerful (composite) starship. Starships with
a unification matrix can combine and split apart only once each per combat and
typically begin combat in either their component or composite forms.
Design
the composite starship, whose tier equals that of a squadron starship plus 1
for each additional component ship. If at least two of the largest component
starships are the same size, the composite ship must be one size category larger
than those ships. Otherwise, the composite starship is the same size as the
largest component starship or one size category larger, as desired.
During
the engineering phase, if all of the component starships are adjacent to at
least one other component starship and no more than 2 hexes away from each other,
a crew member on each starship can expend a minor crew action, causing the starships
to fuse and form the composite starship. Remove the component starships from
the encounter. Place the composite starship in any one hex that a component
starship previously occupied, facing in any direction. Add together the total
Hull Point damage each of the component starships has taken, and apply that
damage to the composite starship (applying critical damage as appropriate).
If this would reduce its Hull Points to 0, the transformation automatically
fails, returning the component starships to their original positions. Likewise,
if some of the component starships don’t participate in the fusion, the process
automatically fails.
Add together the component starship’s Shield Points
and distribute these evenly among its four quadrants, up to the starship’s maximum
SP value. The officers of the component starships can immediately reassign their
roles aboard the composite starship. Finally, if any of the component starships
had ongoing effects (such as the effects of taunt) or incoming tracking weapon
attacks, those effects and attacks redirect and apply to the composite starship
and its crew. Then proceed with the engineering phase, including the actions
of the composite starship’s engineer.
At the beginning of the engineering
phase, the composite starship’s engineer can use their crew action to decouple
the vessel, breaking it into the component starships. One of these appears in
the composite starship’s hex, and the other component starships appear in adjacent
unoccupied hexes, with each starship facing the same direction as the composite
starship. Apply any HP damage that the composite starship has taken evenly to
the component starships (with a minimum of 1 HP remaining per starship) and
split the composite starship’s Shield Points evenly between them. If the composite
starship is reduced to 0 Hull Points, it automatically splits into component
starships at the end of the current phase; if the composite starship would be
destroyed, split the total damage evenly between the component starships, ignoring
the HP minimum above.
SYSTEM | BP COST |
---|---|
Auto-flight module | 3 × size category |
Data link | 2 |
Focus-fire algorithm | 3 |
Unification matrix | 10% of composite starship’s total BP |
Website owned by Mark von Drake. All content on this website owned by Paizo Inc. Privacy policy can be found here.
Contact: markvondrake@thehiddentruth.info