Just curious as to how other people have designed the discriptions for their various ships' bridges (or librariums, barracks, etc.).

This is the general idea for the bridge on the Hand of Eris, the ship the PCs (I'm taking a shot at GMing) will most likely be getting when they complete their first endeavour. It's equipped with a Bridge of Antiquity, besides being a Reliquary of Mars and Ancient and Wise, and the ship is a leftover relic from the RT's dynasty's days of immense wealth and power. Not only did that seem like it would be cool to write a discription for, it's the climatic setting for the end of the endeavour, and thus had to be done anyway.

I looked at some of the illustrations of the archtypes and officers in the RT book and everywhere I could think of online, and noticed they were all kind of incredibly over the top in dress, so I ran with it. Alot of herbal meditation went into this, and I tried to leave things sort of vague as far as actual decorations so that the PCs can embelish in their own minds whatever they want.

I mostly just thought Old (as in STC and Real-life) Gothic, decorated by a 41st century version of a noble Age of Sail Lord Admiral crossed with a guy who owns two hummers and a Mercedes.

Bridge Layout

The first thing you notice as you step through the massive, gold inlaid doors leading into the bridge is the almost numbing plainness of it’s towering armoured walls. The second thing is usually a realization that the walls are merely unadorned walls, leftovers from the ship’s centuries in the military, and they only look plain compared to the rest of the sights confronting you. The stairs you stand on are covered by a thick rug that appears to cover most of the metal of the main floor. Looking at the rising walkways around you, you notice even the railings are almost works of art in their own right.

Bridge is nearly four stories tall, with the entrance being a giant, incredibly ornate staircase leading to a slightly sunken control pit. This is where most of the ship’s “brain” is located, the void farers who operate the weapon controls, helm, and other key systems. Extending from the sides around the stairs are curving walkways, leading to a raised platform containing a hololithic projection tank and operations center. Rising slightly from the rear of this platform lies the Captain‘s Throne, a masterfully built construction, inlaid with the rarest of metals, and posted on a revolving platform, giving the Ship‘s Master a full view of his realm. The operations center contains basic auxiliary control stations for most primary functions (firing control, helm), along with full ship status and data displays, based on reports passed through ancient cognation devices operated by scores of tech-priest and servitors.

Slung below the platform is a small vestibule, accessible from a steep stair descending into the platform. Here, a ranking follower of the Machine God can interface with the ship, and it’s mighty cognation drives. These richly emblazoned machines rise to nearly the full four story height of the bridge, and are accessible via spiralling staircases or lifts located at the sides of the main stairs.

An observation platform, rails hung with smouldering incense to ward off the daemons of the warp, ramps off of the second level of the cognators’ walkway, extending high above the bridge, near the top of the massive viewport. The viewport rises three stories, raised slightly off the ground, and wraps slightly across the front of the bridge. From it, nearly 180 degrees in front of the vessel are visible. It is wreathed in gold finery, and is usually kept covered with it’s thick adamantium blast shield while in combat and the warp.

Leading through the control pit, the staircase becomes narrower, and passes down to a door constructed of a crystalline stone, long since made extinct in it’s natural form on a Solar planet’s moon, framed in gold-sheathed metals and nearly unbreakable. Beyond this lies the Navigator’s stations, and few are permitted into this sanctum.

That's my bridge! I'm curious to see what other people have dreamed up.

NOT MY WORK. The GM Montresor running our game here wrote it up, all credit to him: http://kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=88

"Combat Bridge

The bridge of the Invictus Aeterna still retains the purpose and functionality of its days of service to the Imperial Navy, although the helm has been slightly refitted to please the tastes of past Rogue Traders. The bridge sits at the central part of the frigate, at the highest point of elevation of the command section.

Laid out in a half circular pattern, the forward part of the bridge is hemmed by vaulted glass, standing almost three-storeys high. At the furthest point from the front, the lord-captain’s throne sits upon a raised iron platform, intricately laid out in a gothic style, flanked by two wide half-spiral staircases leading to the floor of the bridge. Two parallel pits for the deck-servitors are sunken into the floor of the bridge. The servitors work with tireless devotion, ensuring the systems function at all hours. Tech priests silently patrol these pits, ensuring the machine spirit is appeased.

Below the lord-captain’s deck rests the Navigator’s Well, accessed only through a passage which leads directly to the navigator’s quarters. From here, the ship’s resident navigators plot the Invictus’s journey and, when necessary, guide the vessel through the tumults of the Immaterium. Bearings are given directly to the helmsman who, at the forward part of the bridge, steers the frigate by an ornate wheel.

The remainder of the ship’s systems are controlled by the senior officers and their subordinates. A bank of communications controls are accessed via ladders, and are built into the starboard walls. Here the comms officers sit at their chairs and monitor the ship’s auger arrays. The port wall has a similar bank of systems, fronted by a narrow gantry, and used for the purposes of controlling the ship’s power systems. At a slightly lower level before the edge of vaulted-glass, is the gunner’s array. A dozen bridge staff here controls the Invictus’s weapons, and are directed in action by the Gunnery Officer. Above this level, lined up facing the forward glass, numerous control banks are manned by the crew, regulating various systems throughout the vessel.

The bridge is accessed via the door to the Navigator’s Well, as well as the main entrance, located below the lord-captain’s deck. At all times, a staff of roughly a fifty officers crew the bridge, while a dozen armsmen stand as security. In times of battle, bridge staff is likely to be doubled."

The Thors Redemption, previously the Emperors Ascendency (while under the command of the Temple Tendency heretical group), formerly the Scourge of Fools (while under pirate command), formerly the Hammer of the Warp (under serving in the Imperial Navy) has a ship masters bridge. Here is the description i first gave my players

The bridge is a large open hall in two parts. The lower part has a floor 6 feet lower than the higher part. This area is filled with consoles, view screens and bustling activity. Each station typically has 2 crew and 1 officer. Most have an emplaced servitors or two. Each officer is responsible for his particular section. The different sections are Helm, Starboard Gunnery Decks, Port Gunnery Decks, Engines, Warp Engines, Small Craft Control, Augur arrays (this section is particularly large with 5 crew, 1 officer and 5 servitors), Environmental Control, Void Shields, Gellar Fields. In a small open faced chapel to one side sit 4 techpriests who monitor the ships health and liaise with their fellow techpriests throughout the ship.

The upper section has a large holotank for tactical situations, another that displays large scale navigation data (such as the route between star systems, potentially up to the size of the sector) and several large viewscreens hanging from the ceiling that can display a variety of data, from individual crew stations to exterior views. Central to the upper section is the command throne. This huge chair has ports for MIU interfaces and its systems allow a captain to commandeer any ships system that can be controlled from the bridge. It is also well armoured and in the event of an emergency can be sealed and ejected from the ship as a lifeboat. The throne requires a command sceptre before it will activate. This is always held by the watch officer and the captain carries a more elaborate version. The captains command sceptre also opens any locked door on the ship and has a built in power generator (counts as a power maul in combat). Stations near the captains throne allow senior officers to commandeer other bridge stations and allow access to smaller versions of the captains view screens.

Near the rear of the bridge is a small open elevator disc that can take a single person up into the ceiling where a small corridor allows access to the navigators suite. Here there is space for three navigators to work. There is a central circular room with a huge mass of interface equipment attached to a central pillar. Sealed navigator couches extend out from this pillar and thick bunches of cables snake into the heads of the couches. The couches themselves are made of Adamantium and are dressed in velvet and silk with thick cushioning and a variety of viewscreens on the armoured canopies. Small rooms off this central chamber hold a chapel and a toilet.

Since then we've played quite a few sessions and the description has been widened. The Bridge is panelled in dark polished wood. The metal surfaces are highly polished but dark. Crew communication is very strict. Lower ranked crewmen such as ensigns man the stations, they confer only with their servitors, crew working in the relevant section of the ship (hanger bays for instance) or their station officer. The station officer talks only to the junior officers manning the station, the first officer or the captain. They are allowed to answer questions from the other senior dynasty members (arch militant/seneschal/etc) or to volunteer information in a crisis but otherwise decorum recommends speach only through the chain of command. All crew on the bridge dress impeccably in military-esque uniforms (as the dynasty has no official uniform for ships crew).

Bridge of the "Lord Macharian's Revenge" , a Sword-class Frigate in the employ of House Fortinbras

The perspective is from the outside of the ship looking in through the bridge's upper forward viewing glass panes.

Fortinbras said:

hmm... Neon Genesis : Evangelion?

Looks more like the Alliance bridges from Legend of Galactic Heroes to me.

Alasseo said:

*googles* Nope, looks like I was right

http://www.evacommentary.org/images_production/command-room_mod.jpg

Drhoz said:

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course - high tech environment run by a sadistic megalomaniac with religious delusions? Sounds like an Imperial ship to me...

The Emperor's Partisan has a Bridge of Antiquity, as she is a Conquest-class Star Galleon.

When you step off the main tram that goes along the length of the command deck, you pass by a security detail of House Guardsmen who check you out for authorization. This long, wide hall is draped with red felt tapestries that chronicle the ship's long lineage dating back to the Horus Heresy, and is lavishly arrayed with luxurious furniture for waiting personages eager to have an audience with the Lord-Captain or other bridge personnel. This feature dates back to when the Partisan was planet-bound for more than six hundred years before her current Lord-Captain and his band of Explorers were able to wrest it from its confines and bring her back to the stars, back when the Bridge and the palace served as a seat of power on Footfall.

You walk up a few flights of stairs to the a massive black-marble stairway, which has the command bridge crew stationed along either side in mezzanines going up six stories to the top promenade, and they see out over the ship through a huge seven story viewport that seems to be made of one arching slab of transparisteel, which is sheltered by a gigantic shutter that closes like a giant clamshell to protect the bridge from damage and from the Warp. Priests sway incense about the bridge as they climb up and down the long stairway, while servitors and voidsmen quietly do their work going over every facet of the ship. Armed House Guards and armsmen clad in crimson uniforms stand ready along each end of the mezzanines with las-rifles to repel any invader. Cheribum and servo-skulls flutter about the whole expanse.

At the top is the Promenade, which has stations for the top-level crews, centered on the Helm, which is a large golden pair of wheels where two voidsmen direct the ship upon the Lord-Captain's will. Behind that is another stage, where none but the Lord-Captain and his retinue may venture without their express permission, guarded by shields and House Guards. At the back is the Lord-Captain's Throne, made of adamantium and gilded in gold and platinum, where the Lord-Captain's Baton is ensconced to unlock the ship's systems for its master. Above it on the gilded wall, draped on either side by the Dynasty's House Crests, is a large hand-print, seemingly imprinted into the adamantium itself, and this is regarded as a Holy Relic; it is said that the God-Emperor Himself placed his hand there when he christened the ship. This serves as a reminder to all who command the Partisan where their duty truly lies.

Along either side of the Promenade are large golden doors that lead straight to the Lord-Captain's Palace, where the captain and his immediate family members reside (currently very few). Also, these halls lead directly to a tram that services the Palace itself and the Navigator and Astropath's Observation Towers behind the Palace. They also deliver people to the Temple Shrine to the God-Emperor.

It's just a layout rather than visual image, but here it goes:

This is one of those "little" things (my RT ideas usually involve cruisers ) that I have had trouble doing, and wish I could more, in my head, and in words, describe. I can't even, usually, envision how big this one module of the kilometers-big ship would be. With the Exalted Wyrm , Aedan Qel-Drake's Tyrant cruiser (Ship Master's Bridge), I like to imagine something a little bit like the regular pictures in the book, with a little more military bent, but with a lot of wood paneling. It's sort of strangely inspired from Tenchi Muyo, where the Juraian ships are filled with trees, but I don't think that the Imperium would have them in parts of their ships, so the wood paneling/accents work, as Qel-Drake is very much adult-program Tenchi in space, with my weird anime twist on him. For the Hammerfall , being a Dictator carrier, and a fleet command ship, I imagine many more screens, in order to coordinate all the information from fighters, and relevant other ships in the fleet, even though Korvallus rarely leads fleets in his capacity as a Rogue Trader; it's a carry over from the ship's, and his, prior occupation. The old man isn't one for opulence, so I don't imagine gold inlays, and monogrammed jewels all over this bridge. The Artemis Resplendent , bearing a Bridge of Antiquity, I imagine covered with precious metal inlays, perhaps a more spacious configuration, and numerous extra mcguffins that, maybe, one or two of the Tech-Priests actually remember what they do.

Maybe some of the stuff I read here will further my idea of the "crowded pit?", or spacious computer terminal, many Imperial vessels typically sport. Then I might be able to do a better job of describing them, if only for my stories.