Space Stations – Part 2

Jester and I are back with some more details for creating space stations in your Star Trek Adventures campaign! Last time you got everything you need to create a station but here are a few more resources specifically designed for space stations. The following Mission Profiles are particular for starbases and the Talents at the end supplement the normal Talents with some options that are great for stations.

Mission Profile

As with a starship, a space station’s Mission Profile describes what type of tasks the crew is expected to handle. This provides bonuses to different Departments (the different staff members assigned to the station) and Talents for the station.

Command

These stations are the administrative and bureaucratic centers of the Federation (as well as other governments) and serve as both the military and the diplomatic centers away from the capital planet. For the most part Federation command starbases are planetary facilities to accommodate the large staff and diplomatic needs. In places where there isn’t a viable planet or a neutral choice, however, the local command starbase will be a space station.

Departments

Command	03	Security	02	Science	01
Conn	02	Engineering	02	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Sickbay
• Advanced Sensor Suite
• Advanced Subspace Array (new)
• Command Ship
• Diplomatic Suites

Scientific

Constructed near interesting astronomical sites or planets, scientific stations have a clear mandate to find out as much as they can about the phenomenon they neighbor. They also serve as a center for scientific research so other projects in the same sector might utilize lab space in the science station for research unrelated to the station’s main objective. Occasionally, if a science station’s mission objective is completely finished and no further research is deemed necessary, the station can be dismantled and towed at warp to the next site of interest.

Departments

Command	01	Security	01	Science	03
Conn	02	Engineering	02	Medicine	03

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Research Facilities
• Emergency Medical Hologram
• High Resolution Sensors
• Modular Laboratories
• Redundant Systems

Service

Space stations with a service objective are the more subtle part of a government’s authority: they don’t threaten but instead connect. They are centers of trade or communications relays, even vacation destinations for nearby systems. While the military might of Starfleet might be a deterrent to hostile behavior, there are far more service stations operated by Starfleet than strategic stations and they are considered just as important to the stability of the Federation.

Departments

Command	02	Security	02	Science	01
Conn	03	Engineering	02	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Sickbay
• Extensive Shuttlebays
• Improved Power Systems
• Improved Traffic Systems (new)
• Secondary Reactors

Strategic

The station is positioned to provide strategic support to allied vessels in the area, resupplying starships patrolling the area and acting as a forward operating base for fleet maneuvers. Often, these stations are located in areas with hostile forces (such as the volume around Orion space during the 23rd century) or they are part of a distributed defense network throughout a species’ space.

Departments

Command	03	Security	03	Science	01
Conn	02	Engineering	01	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Ablative Armor
• Advanced Shields
• Command Ship
• Fast Targeting Systems
• Rapid-Fire Torpedo Launcher

Supply

The primary mission of this space station is to support and refit starships in the area. It typically has a large engineering staff to work on ships and increase the number of ships that can be worked on at the same time. They also supply stores of important resources such as dilithium and computer components to starships and may serve as distribution centers for nearby star systems, making them occasional centers for trade negotiation.

Departments

Command	01	Security	01	Science	03
Conn	02	Engineering	03	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Research Facilities
• Advanced Sickbay
• Extensive Shuttlebays
• Improved Power Systems
• Improved Traffic Systems (new)

Deep Space

The most well-known type of space station in the Federation, the deep space stations are on the very borders of Federation space with a wide mandate to deal with any and all issues that arise. Most of Starfleet’s deep space stations are located along the borders of Romulan and Klingon space, but the deep space station gaining the most attention in 2371 is Deep Space Nine next to the newly-discovered Bajoran wormhole. Because they are remote as well as strategic, deep space stations tend to cover a variety of roles at the same time and might be command centers if a crisis breaks out in the region.

Departments

Command	02	Security	02	Science	02
Conn	02	Engineering	02	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Subspace Array (new)
• Command Ship
• Emergency Medical Hologram
• Improved Damage Control
• Rugged Design

Commerce

Trade is primary purpose  of this space station. Commerce stations attract merchants, salvagers, and traders all hoping to sell their wares, and customers looking to buy. Most commerce stations also have engineers able to repair and upgrade vessels, or even sell starships to those can afford them. Few commerce stations are run by Starfleet, but many operate in Federation space, exchanging goods for replicator credits or comparable goods.

Departments

Command	02	Security	02	Science	02
Conn	01	Engineering	03	Medicine	02

Talents

Select one of the following Talents:

• Advanced Subspace Array (new)
• Advanced Sickbay
• Extensive Shuttlebays
• Improved Power Systems
• Improved Traffic Systems (new)

Putting It All Together

Once the station’s frame, mission profile, and refits have been completed, check the following items to complete the space station.

• Traits: Just like a starship, a space station has on Trait as standard – Federation Space Station. It can add others as well if the Players wish, including the Renowned and Long-Serving Traits found on page 253 of Star Trek Adventures and the ones discussed under Commissioning Date above.
• Systems: A space station’s Systems are determined by frame, modified by refits. No System can have a score above 12 as a result of refits.
• Departments: The station’s frame and mission profile determine the value of its Departments.
• Talents: Space stations can have a maximum number of Talents equal to its Scale, which means space stations will tend to have many more Talents that starships. At this point, the Players should select an additional Talent, then the GM picks a Talent, and then the Players, repeating until a number of Talents equal to the station’s Scale have been selected.
• Scale: A space station’s Scale is determined by the station’s frame.
• Resistance: A station’s Resistance is equal to its Scale, though Talents may modify it further.
• Shields: The Shields value of a space station is equal to its Structure plus its Security, modified by Talents if applicable.
• Power: The normal Power capacity for a space station is equal to its Reactor, modified by Talents.
• Crew Support: A space station’s Crew Support is equal to its Scale, modified by the Supervisor Talent if taken by Player Characters just like starships. Note that prominent civilian residents of the space station count as supporting characters as well as Starfleet crew.
• Weapons: Like starships, space stations have weapons determined by their frame. Energy weapons inflict damage equal to the station’s Scale plus Security and torpedos deal damage as described on page 255 of Star Trek Adventures.

New Ship Talents for Space Stations

The following Talents are intended for space stations and don’t apply as well to starships.

Advanced Subspace Array

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station is equipped with subspace antennae and relay servers to act as a go-between for allied ships in the area. When the space station makes a Communications roll to assist a crew member and Momentum is spent to add a d20, one die may be re-rolled.

Commercial District

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station has retail shops or a marketplace, allowing quick and easy access to non-standard equipment. Once per mission, you can reduce the Opportunity Cost of an item by 2, or the cost of two items by 1. Items acquired through this talent cannot have an Escalation Cost greater than 1.

Expanded Civilian Quarters

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station’s Crew Support increases by 2. However, at least two support characters in each mission must be civilians and not Starfleet officers or personnel.

Improved Traffic Systems

Prerequisite: Command 2+, Conn 2+; Space Station or GM’s Permission

The space station is equipped with a powerful navigation system to deal with all the traffic constantly arriving and leaving. Whenever someone attempts a Task to move or maneuver a starship in the same system as the station, if the Difficulty would be increased because of obstacles or hazards they can reduce the Difficulty by 1 (to a minimum of the Task’s normal Difficulty).

Large Cargo Bays

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station can store substantial quantities of cargo, making it easy to find random objects. When creating an Advantage through having a particular object or material, the Momentum cost to creature an Advantage is reduced by 1. In addition, when the station suffers a Breach to its Structure, a character can spend one Momentum (Immediate) to have the Breach instead target the cargo bay. This negates out the Breach, but this talent can’t be used again for the rest of the mission.

Manufacturing Stations

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station is equipped with large scale replicators and construction equipment for the manufacturing of starships. These can also be used to repair damage to the station. When attempting a Task to repair a Damaged or Disabled system, one d20 can be rerolled.

Multi-Emitter Tractor Beams

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The station is capable of locking onto a target with multiple tractor beams at once. When you succeed the Tractor Beam Task (see Star Trek Adventures Core Rulebook page 223) you can spend Momentum to increase the strength of the tractor beam by +1, plus an additional +1 for each Momentum spent (Repeatable), to a maximum of the station’s Scale minus 1.

Orbital Position

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

Stations like Earth Spacedock or Deep Space Nine are in positions that necessarily focus their crew’s attention on a particular planet (Earth and Bajor, respectively). Your station is in a similar situation where its crew and systems are optimized to operate when trained on that world. Any Task where the station assists a crew member with its Sensors (including the Transporters Task) or Communications (including the all of the Communications Tasks listed on pages 223-224 of Star Trek Adventures) have a permanent Advantage when used for targets on that planet or in near orbit.

Redundant Personnel

Prerequisite: Space Station or GM’s Permission

The additional officers available in a space station allows crew to always be prepared for unexpected situation and for contingencies in place should the unexpected occur. When a character uses the Ready Task, in place of a Task a Supporting Character on the station can trigger the readied Task. The Supporting Character can do this even if uncontrolled.