GSC2 - Interspacial Drives
Back to GSC2 main

    There are many methods of faster than light travel throughout science fiction literature.  GSC was made to be setting non-specific, so you are welcome to create any system of interstellar travel you like.  However, this one is offered as a simple system, and will probably be included in the Xenocide setting.

Background

    There are many alternative universes known to exist, but only a few of them are accessible to matter from this universe.  Most universes have different laws governing them, some of which are very hostile to our kind of matter.  It has been theorized that the Big Bang happens over and over again, each time spewing forth a new set of sub atomic particles, which coalesce into different particle types and different laws of nature for that universe.  Some people believe that these universes occupy the space as ours, but at different "reality levels" which are mostly unable to interact with each other.

    Only 2 of the alternate universes are commonly used for interstellar travel - these are known as Void Space and Charged Space (with our universe being called Real Space).  Void Space appears as a completely lightless, energyless, featureless dimension. However, matter is present there; it is simply such a foreign type of matter that our matter and energy cannot in any way interact with Void matter.  Occasionally a signal between ships will be reduced or absorbed completely by void matter, and very rarely ships will be destroyed and reduced to their component atoms.  It is believed these are the equivalent of Void singularities, but to this point no one has been able to design an instrument capable of detecting the true cause of these abnormalities.

    The practical aspect of Void Space is that it corresponds almost perfectly to our space in geography, and our light can travel almost one million times faster there.  This allows for near instantaneous communications through void space relays, and ships may ignore normal relativity considerations when traveling there.  Most ships are easily able to travel tens of light years in a normal hour.  Most planets put beacons near their planetâs location in void space, so navigation is easily achieved in void space.  However, it is not the best universe for military applications, as anyone looking the right direction with a powerful enough sensor can see anything.

    Charged Space is a much more hostile and dangerous universe.  There, nearly all matter exists in ionic or plasma form, and this matter is capable of interacting weakly with ours.  While some coalescence of matter is possible in charged space, no true galaxies, stars or planets have been found there, as the electrical forces tend to tear apart or repulse, and gravity does not exist to overcome it.  Charged Space is filled with glaring nebulae, massive ion jets, charged magnetic streams, and a host of natural methods of destroying a ship.

    For the most part though, charged space is not particularly dense, and is generally safe to move through.  Ships can move several light years an hour through Charged Space, and some features for navigation are present.  However, matter in charged space is always in flux, so constant map updates are required to maintain a ships heading in Charged Space.  Itâs big advantage is that it is very difficult to see more than a thousand light years in any direction in charged space, so it is possible to travel unseen, whereas anyone can see anything in Void Space.

    Almost any ship is capable of transporting itself into either of these universes, using the power of its main drives.  Only the smallest of fighters are incapable of generating the power in the required space needed to shift themselves into and out of Void or Charged Space.

    The other known universes have all proven either too dangerous to enter or impossible to navigate through.  Many tragic instances of interspacial exploration are known and several other spectacular disasters are suspected of being caused by transporting matter between incompatible universes.

Interspacial Crossovers Out of Battle

    Any ship of size 1 or larger whose drives are less than half damaged can attempt to leave the battlespace by using their Interspacial Drives.  A ship must declare when it moves that it is powering up itâs interspacial drives - the ship may otherwise make all of its normal actions and be affected normally for the remainder of the turn.  At the beginning of the next turn, it must then be removed from play - once the process is started, it must be completed. If a shipâs drives are damaged to ½ half or below during the turn it is powering up, it will fail cross over at the beginning of the next turn, and must remain in Real Space. Also, a ship that begins the turn in the area of a Null Field Generator will also be unable to crossover.

    Whoever controls the ship may declare when the ship crosses over that it will be coming back to the battle on a later turn.  The ship must write down how many turns it will be out of the battle, which is kept secret from all opponents.  On that turn, the ship must reappear on the battlefield, exactly as if it had crossed over into the battle (see below).

Crossing Over into Battle (Reinforcements and Reserves)

    Most battle scenarios will allow ships to wait in another space for several turns before entering the battlefield.  One example would be to keep a number of vulnerable troop transports out of the battle for several turns while the fighting ships clear out opposition, or planning to bring reserve forces into the battle behind where you think the enemy will be later.

    However, it does require planning - there is no way to determine where anything in Real Space is from within Void Space or Charged Space.  Ships must have their general crossover locations identified at the start of the battle.  To do this, divide the battlespace into quadrants or 2'X2' numbered sections.  Each ship starting the battle in alternate space must write down which turn it will appear on and within which segment of the field it will appear.  When that turn comes, the ship must be placed within the correct area, with any facing allowed.  The ship is placed within the normal framework of movement - when that ship would be activated by cards or number, the ship is placed.

    The ship will likely deviate from its desired point of crossing, however.  Roll 2d10, and subtract 10 - that is the distance the ship will be moved forward from its desired point of crossing.  If the number is negative, it will be moved backwards from its desired point of crossing.

    A ship crossing into battle cannot move further, fire any weapons or activate any systems on the turn it crosses - it may utilize MDSâs, though.  There is a -2 penalty to hit ships which have crossed over that turn, and normal modifiers for movement are ignored for that turn.  It may not conduct nor recieve boarding actions.

    A ship may not cross over into another ship - you cannot ram during crossover.  You also cannot materialize into an asteroid or planet, though you may be hit by an asteroid on the next turn. Real Space matter interfers with ships crossing back into Real Space, so it is impossible to cross into an atmosphere or nebulae, though it is general possible to leave Real Space from those locations.

    A scenario should state what percentage of forces should be allowed to be in alternate space at the beginning of the battle, but in general, at least half of the fleet, in terms of VP, should be on the table at the start of the game.