Does each and every fighter in a squadron have to make it's own hyperspace calculations (via Astrogation), or can one member make the calculations and share them so the whole unit travels together? Likewise, can capital ship squadrons do the same?

I'm wondering this mainly because my group may have multiple starships but only one character with any real skill in Astrogation. I know that there are workarounds (astrogation droid brain attachment, astromech droids, etc.), but I'm also wondering if it's possible for a unit of similar ships to share a plotted course made by one member of the group.

I would have one PC/astromech make the calculations and transmit them to the others in the group. That's what I've always imagined the Rebel Fleet to do when they all make those mass jumps.

I would have one PC/astromech make the calculations and transmit them to the others in the group. That's what I've always imagined the Rebel Fleet to do when they all make those mass jumps.

Agreed, but it might take longer or have a higher difficulty to account for the offsets for all the other ships, depending on how many there are. You don't want them all arriving in exactly the same spot...

I would have one PC/astromech make the calculations and transmit them to the others in the group. That's what I've always imagined the Rebel Fleet to do when they all make those mass jumps.

Agreed, but it might take longer or have a higher difficulty to account for the offsets for all the other ships, depending on how many there are. You don't want them all arriving in exactly the same spot...

I always saw hyperspace calculations as "go this direction this far, then drop back into realspace", so as long as they don't start in the same physical space they won't end up in the same physical space. We know that hyperspace jumps are straight-line, which is why you have to take multiple jumps, and stellar hazards make travel more difficult, since you have to go around them.

With that being said, I see no reason that one person can't calculate the jump and share the calculations with the rest of the group. But since space is constantly moving, those calculations won't be good after a few minutes, so you can't calculate your jump, share the calculations, and use them the next day or anything like that.

My assumption is that the rough data is the same and shared by the flagship to all other hyper capable ships.

But every ship is unique and its individual mass/shape/configuration will affect their jump. So I the ship makes a roll to determine how accurate they were. Did they break out in formation? Out of formation? Misjump?

It is a much easier roll than a regular calculation since they had were given most of the calculations. But the chance of screwing up is still there.

Ships are able to fly in formation in Hyperspace in Rebels, even docking there. I think it is possible for one to make the calculations and the others to follow.

Some sources have even stated that it was 'common' practice for pilots to download coordinates for routinely-used hyperspace routes before leaving port prior to take-off, for a nominal fee, so there's evidence that coordinates don't need to be calculated ad hoc for each vessel.

This specific instance probably doesn't come up much since the the characters in many games don't spend a lot of time on well-traveled space lanes, but it demonstrates that it's reasonable to share coordinates between craft. At least under some authors' interpretations.

So, some "fluffier" thoughts on the matter:

The rebels would make use of hit and run attacks on targets. To maximize their efficacy, improve coordination, and limit the amount of warning a target would have before their attack, the Alliance would want their ships to be in tight a formation as possible when they come out of hyperspace. Having all the ships calculate the jumps on their own could screw up that coordination and surprise, so it would make sense for all the ships to use the same coordinates.

It's also worth mentioning that transmitting coordinates for a jump may not be a great idea, since you don't know who's listening. Obviously, this can be done securely, but codes can be broken. If you're not talking, though, no one can over-hear you if you take my meaning. Coordinates would probably be distributed during a briefing, instead of being transmitted after launch, to avoid the risk of eavesdropping.

I'd upgrade the check for the one making the Astrogation roll, then when a Despair is rolled the Admiral of your fleet gets to say "It's a trap"

I think it would be reasonable that after an Astrogation check that the lead pilot can make a Leadership check to give everyone else a bonus to their roll.

I would allow a single roll to be made for multiple ships (like LethalDose says though, it's the same deal as personal use - you can't just save the. for when you want). However, I would increase the difficulty based on number or silhouette of the accompanying ships. That way you can't just have one astromech coordinating an entire rebel fleet. Not sure if I would handle it as difficulty upgrades, increased base dice, or setback dice. Hmmm, probably not setback dice.

Alternately, I would allow each ship in the fleet a big bonus for having the base calculations pre-done for them (except the flagship that was doing this, obviously). That way it becomes more like what we see in the canon media but you still get the possibility of a 'lost ship' and each ship still needs the basic systems to jump.

Probably the first one. I just dislike the idea of one R2 handling the entire rebel fleet that attacked the Death Star II. I like it being at least a little bit of a coordination effort by the different captains.

I run it pretty much as follows:

1. A single ship/astrogator can make the calculations and transmit them to the other ships within comm range. However, if there are enemies nearby they can attempt to intercept the signal, thereby learning the exact coordinates the ships are heading for. Someone, like a slicer, could encrypt the coordinates before transmitting making it very hard for anyone to decrypt them (and also giving the group's slicer something to do with his fairly specialized talents).

2. Ships with a slave link attachment can simply link together, one guy does the calculations and they all jump. The slave link can't be accessed by outside forces, so the transmission is secure.

3. If the two options aren't available or are deemed too risky, it's every astrogator for himself.

I see several people talking about the communications being intercepted, but dont they have directional/tight-beam comms (possibly laser-based) that would be practically impossible to intercept unless you were in the direct path of the signal?

I see several people talking about the communications being intercepted, but dont they have directional/tight-beam comms (possibly laser-based) that would be practically impossible to intercept unless you were in the direct path of the signal?

Yes, that's possible, but not transmitting is more secure than transmitting over a secure channel, which is why I said:

If you're not talking, though, no one can over-hear you if you take my meaning.

Secure transmissions are less secure than physical distribution by the simple matter of there being fewer links in the chain.

Besides, it's Star Wars, there very well could be method to eavesdrop on laser transmissions, or anything else we could compare it to in our frame of reference. It's pointless arguing the point or correcting each other about it.

Well my primary reason for having the PC's roll is nothing to do with whether Star Wars tech could support it or not.

It is a narrative story-telling system. As Han said "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it." Sure, the flagship could pass on the calculations and everyone just hits the mark. But where is the fun in that?

If the PC's are on their own, I do the astrogation check as normal.

If the PC's are part of a squadron/fleet, they still have to make an astrogation check that is easier and failure isn't as harsh. But will be dramatic and help drive the story.

If it's good enough for rogue squadron, it's good enough for me. In the rogue squadron series they actually touch on this, they have various squadron members calculate the different legs of the trip and then they distribute them between the fighters just prior to jumping.

In a rpg game (as opposed to a novel). I would ask myself "Is there something happening that would make sense for them to each have to make an astrogation check?" Such as "Is this a difficult, exploratory jump into unknown space?"

Also, just because someone transmits the coordinates, that doesn't necessarily mean they are automatically punched into the navicomputer. Sure it would be an easier check, but somebody has to do the leg work of actually inputting the data.

If it's good enough for rogue squadron, it's good enough for me. In the rogue squadron series they actually touch on this, they have various squadron members calculate the different legs of the trip and then they distribute them between the fighters just prior to jumping.

In a rpg game (as opposed to a novel). I would ask myself "Is there something happening that would make sense for them to each have to make an astrogation check?" Such as "Is this a difficult, exploratory jump into unknown space?"

Also, just because someone transmits the coordinates, that doesn't necessarily mean they are automatically punched into the navicomputer. Sure it would be an easier check, but somebody has to do the leg work of actually inputting the data.

Everyone's table is different, and different GMs may handle things differently. As a counter-point to the latter two points above, I would ask "Is the something happening that would warrant an astrogation check."

Transcribing pre-calculated coordinates into a nav-computer wouldn't pass that criteria for me, for two reasons. First, I wouldn't think it'd be difficult enough to worry about a check, and the core books explicitly state not everything needs a check. Second, the results of the dice roll wouldn't have much in the way of interpretation. You aren't going to reduce the transit time in this case, because the squadron needs to stay coordinated. It wouldn't even make sense to change where you come out because you're not actually plotting the course, just punching it in. In fact the only reason to do this would be to check for despairs, and that would require upgrading the check... the conditions where it would matter just seem to get out of hand quickly.

As the GM, if I needed their ship to go off course from the rest of the fleet, then I'd handle that narratively. If I wanted them to hang with fleet, making this check just gets in the way.

Just some other considerations.

It only matters when there isn't any time, and in those cases you can't wait for the lead ship to compute and transmit the calculations. You need to jump NOW.

It only matters when there isn't any time, and in those cases you can't wait for the lead ship to compute and transmit the calculations. You need to jump NOW.

Presumably it takes the lead ship the same amount of time as it takes you, so the only question is how long it takes to transmit. Hopefully it's not done at dial up speeds. Of course, if the lead ship has an astrogator with Galaxy Mapper, it might make up for the time difference (assuming the following ships' astrogators do not have Galaxy Mapper).

It only matters when there isn't any time, and in those cases you can't wait for the lead ship to compute and transmit the calculations. You need to jump NOW.

Presumably it takes the lead ship the same amount of time as it takes you, so the only question is how long it takes to transmit. Hopefully it's not done at dial up speeds. Of course, if the lead ship has an astrogator with Galaxy Mapper, it might make up for the time difference (assuming the following ships' astrogators do not have Galaxy Mapper).

For me it's more a case of drama/action over technical truth.

Also, the first thing that happens in Star Wars battles is transmissions are jammed (when dramatically appropriate).

And so you hope that the guy doing the Astrogation check is also a deft hand at Computers and now you've given that PC something to do for TWO rounds! While everyone else is busy dogfighting and such, the computer nerd is calculating jumps for the whole fleet and then breaking through the transmission jamming.

It only matters when there isn't any time, and in those cases you can't wait for the lead ship to compute and transmit the calculations. You need to jump NOW.

Presumably it takes the lead ship the same amount of time as it takes you, so the only question is how long it takes to transmit.

Maybe it doesn't take the same amount of time. I would handle calculating the hyperspace jump for an entire fleet to be more difficult than for a single ship. If you see the calculation as just plotting a series of velocities then maybe. But I see it as something much more complicated than that involving your own mass as part of the calculations. Can an X-Wing use exactly the same formula as a Corvette? They have different mass, different engine powers, different hyperdrives. I don't say it MUST be this way, but I think you can easily justify it that way and to me having one person be able to make the same single roll for dozens of mismatched ships in a fleet is too easy. Players should have to do something, not just wait for an astromech on the flagship to handle everyone. Matter of taste but supportable by fluff.