Starship Combat

Browse the chassis catalog → /starships lists every player-friendly chassis with full stat blocks (HP, Shields, SIB, Handling, AC, weapons, hardpoints, hyperdrive). 10 canonical Star Wars light transports — YT-1300, VCX-100, Lambda shuttle, Firespray-31, and more.

Starship combat in SWURPG runs on a parallel initiative track — separate from ground combat — and assigns each player a crew role (Pilot, Gunner, Engineer, or Commander). The system is designed for the cinematic dogfight: tight-quarters chases through asteroid fields, capital-ship runs, escape attempts under pursuit. Don't reach for it for mundane in-system travel; reserve it for the moments your party is actually flying for their lives.

Starship Initiative

Starship Initiative = d20 + 20 + Pilot's Initiative Bonus + Ship Handling Bonus

The +20 offset keeps starship combat on a separate tier of the initiative order from ground combat when both are happening simultaneously (e.g. a boarding action where the boarders are dueling on deck while the pilots dogfight outside). Ships go first; ground combat resolves below.

Starship Armor Class

Starship AC = 10 + Handling Bonus + Size Modifier + Structural Integrity Bonus (SIB)

Size modifiers (starships)

Smaller craft are harder to hit (positive modifier); capital ships are easy targets but make up for it in HP and shielding.

Example starships

Starship Range Categories

Starship combat uses range bands instead of feet. Most actions modify the band relative to the target.

The "escape" rule at Long Range is the chase climax — once the fleeing ship reaches Long for 3 rounds, the encounter ends.

Actions per round

Each crew role gets one action per round, simultaneously.

Pilot actions (choose one)

DCs are GM-set. Starship checks compare the Pilot's roll to a difficulty number the GM picks based on the encounter (more pursuers, tighter terrain, higher stakes → higher DC). They do NOT compare against an enemy ship's Armor Class.

Evasive maneuver results

Margin is measured against the GM-set DC.

Crew actions (simultaneous with the Pilot)

A 4-player party fits these roles cleanly: one Pilot, one Gunner (or two if the ship has multiple turret stations), one Engineer (Tech Specialist territory), one Commander (Leader territory). Other classes can take any role with a successful skill check.

Weapon Accuracy

Every ship-mounted weapon carries an Accuracy Modifier (0 to +2) representing the mount's stability, targeting computer assistance, and fire-control integration. Accuracy is not a measure of weapon quality — a Light Laser Cannon and a Heavy Turbolaser can both hit at +1 if they share the same mount class. It's a measure of how much the ship's hardware helps the gunner land the shot, separate from the gunner's own skill (PB + ability).

The cap of +2 is intentional: stacked with full Proficiency Bonus and ability modifier, higher accuracy values pushed high-level pilots into auto-hit territory against typical targets. The cap preserves miss tension across the level range while keeping mount type a meaningful axis of weapon differentiation.

Shield and Hull System

Damage applies to Shields first. When Shields reach 0, all remaining damage reduces Hull HP directly.

At 0 Hull HP

GMs typically rule "Disabled" first when the party is in the ship — destruction without warning rarely makes for good stories. Save "Destroyed" for enemy ships and the rare narrative gut-punch.

Space environmental hazards

Roll 1d8 when the GM introduces a space hazard mid-combat:

Hazard DCs are GM-set. Pick a DC for each hazard based on its intensity and the encounter stakes (suggested range: 12–18, with 20+ for genuinely deadly hazards). A scattered asteroid belt isn't the same threat as a dense one; a routine ion storm isn't the same as a stellar-scale event.

Don't roll a hazard every round — once or twice per dogfight is plenty. Hazards exist to spice up an encounter that's settled into a damage-trade rhythm.

Vehicle Combat

Ground vehicles (speeders, walkers, landspeeders) use the same core mechanics as starship combat — same Pilot/Gunner/Engineer/Commander roles, same evasive-maneuver math — with narratively adjusted range categories (street blocks instead of kilometers, canyons instead of debris fields).

Vehicle drivers can be individually targeted with cover bonuses: +2 AC (half cover) or +5 AC (three-quarters cover) depending on the vehicle's design. An open speeder driver is exposed; a turret gunner inside an AT-AT is mostly covered.

Vehicle hazard table (1d8)

Vehicle hazard DCs are GM-set — same convention as space hazards. Pick a DC based on terrain, speed, and stakes (suggested range: 10–18).

Running a starship encounter

A few practical tips for GMs:

• Set the stakes upfront. Why does this fight matter? Escape from Imperials? Protect a convoy? Boarding action? The objective shapes how aggressively players play.
• Use the Long Range escape rule. Letting the players flee successfully is fine — escape is a valid resolution, not a loss.
• Don't roll hazards until the fight has rhythm. Rolling a hazard on round 1 buries the players before they understand the encounter.
• Lean on Disabled, not Destroyed. Disabled is a story turn; Destroyed is a TPK. Most starship encounters should end with Disabled and an opportunity for narrative cleanup.

For ship-specific stat blocks beyond the three example ships, build them off the same shape: Size + SIB + HP + Handling. Most published ship roles fit cleanly into the table above.

Building and Upgrading Ships

Players in SWURPG can own and customize a starship the same way they own a character — pick a chassis, give it a name, add upgrades as the campaign progresses, and apply traits that reflect the ship's history and personality. Browse the chassis catalog at the Starships hub to compare hulls before committing.

How ships differ from characters

Where characters grow through levels, ships grow through upgrades. There is no "Level 5 YT-1300." There is a stock YT-1300 with one quad laser turret, and there's a heavily-modified YT-1300 with a Class 0.5 mil-spec hyperdrive, beskar inlays, three extra hardpoints, and a backup shield generator — but no level number connects the two.

Chassis

A chassis is the base hull. SWURPG's starter catalog covers ten canonical Star Wars light transports ideal for player parties — YT-1300, YT-2400, VCX-100, HWK-290, Ghtroc 720, G9 Rigger, YV-666, Firespray-31, Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle, and Wayfarer-class Medium Transport. Each chassis declares its base stats (HP, Shields, Handling, SIB, Speed, Hyperdrive), its crew stations (Pilot / Gunner / Engineer / Commander seats), its hardpoints (how many fixed-forward, turret, and missile-bay weapons it can carry), and its default weapon loadout.

Hardpoints

Hardpoints are the cap on a chassis's weapon slots. A chassis with hardpoints: { fixed: 2, turret: 0, missile: 1 } can carry up to two forward-fixed weapons, zero turret-mounted weapons, and one missile bay. Filling those slots is up to the player; weapons come from the ship-scale weapon catalog or are custom-crafted with GM approval. Upgrades like Extra Hardpoint (Fixed) raise the cap.

Upgrades

Upgrades are constructive improvements — Reinforced Shield Generator (+10 shields), Heavy Armor Plating (+20 HP / +2 SIB / −1 Handling), Combat Thrusters (+2 Handling / +1 speed band), Mil-Spec Hyperdrive (Class 1 → Class 0.5), Targeting Computer (+1 to all attack rolls), Sensor Mask, Tractor Beam Installation, etc. Each upgrade has a reference price in credits, a category (shields / armor / engines / hyperdrive / weapons / sensors / utility), and optional prerequisites (chassis size minimum, or a smaller upgrade installed first).

Traits

Traits are narrative or trade-off characteristics that reflect the ship's history — Jury-Rigged (cheap and unreliable, with a Mechanics-check-or-system-shorts quirk), Hot-Shot (faster but fragile under critical hits), Salvaged (cheap with a complicated past), Veteran Crew, Smuggler's Special (hidden compartment), Cursed (pure flavor, no mechanics). Traits can carry positive effects, negative effects, both, or none. Many traits feed the ship sheet's Special Conditions panel directly.

Credits as reference

Every chassis, weapon, upgrade, and trait carries a reference price in credits. There is no credit pool to spend down — prices exist so GMs and players can sanity-check feasibility ("a brand-new YT-1300 with a backup shield, mil-spec hyperdrive, and beskar inlays runs about 280,000 credits — is that plausible for the campaign?"). Whether the party can actually afford or acquire any item is a story-level decision, not a math one.

GM discretion on custom equipment

Every category in the ship sheet supports custom entry. Players can add a custom weapon, custom upgrade, custom trait, or custom flavor quirk in any tab. Custom content is the GM's call to approve — if it fits the campaign's tone and balance, it goes on the sheet; if it doesn't, it doesn't. The catalog covers the canonical shipyard floor; custom slots cover the rest of the galaxy.

Where to build

The Starship Builder is the canonical tool — pick a chassis, install upgrades and traits, name your ship, and export a printable sheet. The Starships catalog is the browseable companion for picking your chassis and reviewing canon lore.