The RTSU is at version 1-36 and just added, among some of the new 'Lure of the Expanse' Components, The Mimic Engine , Podded Barracks and Cargo and Colonist Quarters (as well as a 'on the fly' Barracks Conversion to Colonist Quarters).

Now that the Utility has a CUSTOM tab where all the non-canon components and features can be added I want to ask for your non-canon (player-made) component ideas so I can add them to the Utility. If you want to get your component in please post its description and relevant information in this thread.

Three of the entries will be chosen for the contest. You may enter as many times as you want. Though I will unltimately be the arbiter of which components are chosen feedback from the community will sway me so be sure to include a link to any threads where you originally posted your component ideas. Attribution (credit to you) will be included in all future versions of the utility if your component(s) are chosen. Components that do not win can be re-entered in later contests. Only three are chosen so that they can be quickly added to the utility, not because there aren't a lot of good ideas

Three weeks from now the contest will conclude. I hope that, with enough participation, I can do this once a month.

Thank you and may the best scoundrel win!

Original RTSU Thread

1st Component Contest Thread

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Drop Pod Bays by Alasseo
Manufactorium by Quicksilver (Archeotech)
Fission Genarium by Konrad von Richtmark
Kass Immaterium Navigation Cogitator or Kass INC by Jenk (Xenotech)
Apothecarium by Konrad von Richtmark

CONGRATS! and thank you for contributing your ideas to the RTSU

RTSU v 1-39 will be published ~ Monday the 6th of June

It seems that when adding the rethro-thrusters that they deduct to much power, at least when using the Cruiser class.

But it is a great tool

Thanks for that catch. I'll check the formulas. Probably forgot to add a routine to zero out the standard retros when the custom hull slot was being used.

Planetary Drop Bays

The ship is fitted with the cradles and launch mechanisms for a formation of pods, allowing it to transport men and materiel to a planet's surface with the maximum amount of epic.
Most famously used by the Astartes, Planetary Drop Bays are something of a favourite tactic whenever ground-to-orbit defences are too strong for a shuttle assault, as the fleeting "meteors" of descending pods are far harder to track and destroy with ground fire or intercept with small craft. This same factor also makes them popular with smugglers and assassins, especially when recovery is either not urgent, or not a factor.
It is even possible, though difficult and dangerous, to use them as boarding craft against a station or starship.
A ship fitted with Planetary Drop Bays gains an extra 50 achievement points when working towards a Military objective or Criminal Objective

Cost: Space: 2, Power: 1, Sp$: 1

I like your idea Alasseo. Perhaps these pods could give a negative to turret shots (perhaps around -20) but also incur a -20 on piloting.

I was wondering if it would be possible to make a custom weapon option somewhat akin to the custom ship option in the generator.

Here is my submission, I might write up a few more later:

Kass Immaterium Navigation System:

The Kass are an ancient space faring race keeping never closer than the fringe of Imperial space. Physically the Kass appear akin to the Eldar with the exception of distinct snake like features creating an effect like the Naga from old earth. Despite the physical similarities the Kass despise the Eldar and will avoid them seemingly at all costs. The rare encounters between Man and Kass have been almost entirely fruitless as the two species are utterly unable to communicate to one another. Psychic abilities are lacking within the Kass species with the notable exception of telepathic communication among themselves being a universal trait.

Due to the lack of psychers the Kass have been forced to use other means to transverse the stars in their impressively sized mother ships (though grand, the Krass mother ships are not near the scale of the Eldar craftworld). Utilizing alien technology beyond the understanding of Man the Kass have developed guidance chambers which allow a user to view a safe and somewhat understandable analog of the seething warp. There are a rare number of occurrences where humans have salvage Kass Immaterium Navigation Systems and freed themselves from the requirement of Navigators. The Navigator families do not take kindly to being mitigated however, and will often seek the destruction of a vessel which has bypassed them as a requirement for safe and long warp jumps.

Power = 1, Space = 1, Sp= 2
Follow the normal rules for warp travel with the following exceptions: None Navigator characters are able to Navigate warp travel. The Navigation Stellar skill must be used in place of all Navigation Warp checks. All checks for warp travel suffer an additional -10.

Possibly. I was mostly thinking of using it to allow Explorers to commence Boarding actions from further away, but at the risk of having their pods destroyed by turret fire. And, of course, having no way back should it all go horribly ploin-shaped.

I have to admit, my major reasoning in suggesting the component at all was I just read through Lure, and figured it might make a better deployment option than those discussed in there (with the added problem that pods can't take off again), although I have to admit to being a fan of orbit drops without shuttles ( Starship Troopers MI, In Fury Born , the IMC and Imperial Cadre, ODST "Helljumpers" from HALO , plus Emperor-alone knows how many others).

I'll also note that every single usage I suggested (apart from possibly the smugglers) is attested to in 40k canon: Eversor (and occasionally Vindicare) assassins are deployed to their target worlds via 1-man pods, the Astartes are famous for their drop-assaults (so much so that they used to have a special mission designed around it, and now have Drop Pods as transport options in the codex), and the HDMS Lord Solar Macharius gets boarded by pods from a Styx-class heavy cruiser in Execution Hour (surprisingly, not an example of the Dreadclaw assault pods favoured by the Traitor Legions, which were specifically designed to be used as boarding craft as well as, if not instead of, orbit-to-ground insertions).

Drop pods are for planetary landings - boarding torpedos are for boarding! Maybe they could be un upgrade for torpedos.

Drop pods are a great idea.

As are Boarding torpedoes.

The Kass (or Krass?) navigation system sounds liek fun...especially if we find out the Kass have been vivisecting human navigators to manufacture their nav systems

I don't know if it has been suggested previously or not, but something like a tow-hook would be interesting. If a ship could be turned into the tug-boat of the immaterium it could offer some interesting play - especially if things went wrong. The component would need to be able to keep the other ship attached with some sort of stability and it would also need some way to extend the gellar field around the attached ship.

Towing another ship would make non-warp travel MUCH slower, depending on the relative size of the two ships. Both the speed and handling should be reduced, perhaps by a step per megaton of the towed ship? Also the item should have the same power requirements as the standard gellar field. I would say that this is an externally contained component; however, I'm sure that the surrounding area would need to be reinforced quite a bit to keep the hull from rending the first time the ships got near a gravity source or kicked on the plasma drives. What do you think, 2 space?

Giaus Novus Khan said:

Oh, hell yeah!

I simply included the boarding option because I knew (from canon, as mentioned above) that it was possible, if stupid, and not at all what they were designed for*. Besides, if we're honest, we know that a group of players, without access to boarding torps, is going to try to use them like this anyway , so we may as well acknowledge the fact up front with rules.

That said: A ship with Drop Bays may use them for boarding at a distance of up to 5 VUs, providing they make a +0 Maneuver check first. Because Drop Bays are mounted on the underside of a ship, any vessel without a Keel mount cannot fire at the target of its' Boarding Action in the same Strategic turn.
A ship being Boarded by Planetary Drop Pods may make a Hard (-20) BS test to shoot down the incoming pods. Every success, or degree of success provides a +10 modifier to the Command test. The base Crew Population for the Boarding side is deemed to be equal to 1/2 the unmodified Command skill of the Explorer leading the Boarding Action. Obviously, should the defending side win, it cannot inflict Hull Integrity damage.

*Dreadclaw assault pods notwithstanding, but those are Heresy-era relics, and all known examples are in the hands of the Traitor Legions.

Onboard Magnifactorium

Rarely found outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleets, the Onboard Magnifactorium follows an ancient template for a compact and reconfigurable fabrication center. While not able to operate at the tremendous capacities that dedicated magnifactoriums can achieve, this system can be quickly configured to produce the overseeing Adept has designs for. This can prove invaluable for maintaining equipment in the field, and it’s not unheard of for Mechanicus ships to be all but completely rebuilt with components constructed on board.

Space 4, Power 4, Sp +1 (Archeotech)

Something from Nothing : Ship repair parts can be stored in raw form, allowing for more to be carried. Any ship in a fleet with a Magnifactorium may be repaired twice without a space dock. In addition, if they are at anchor above a mineral-rich location, they may repair any number of times, with a one week increase in time for each repair after the second.
The Parts You Need : All maintenance acquisition checks for Imperial-designed equipment gain a +10 bonus.

LATHE PATTERN NUCLEAR REACTOR (1 space, 1 SP)

More power! Generates an additional 5 points of power.

VEHICLE DEPOT (2 power, 4 space, 2 SP)

Drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword! This component is the vehicle-equivalent of the Barracks, housing Leman Russ tanks, Chimera APCs with mechanized infantry, Basilisk self-propelled artillery vehicles, and all the logistical support needed to wage war on a planet. It gives 150 additional achievement points towards a military objective, but only if a Barracks is also present giving its bonus (due to the need for combined arms). Also, unlike the Barracks, this component gives no bonus to boarding combat.

VOID HOSPITAL (1 space, 1 power, 1 SP)

Every ship has a sickbay, but this one has a larger facility capable of giving good-quality treatment to a large number of people at once. All losses of crew population are reduced by 1, to a minimum of one point lost. Morale losses from casualties are correspondingly reduced. Finally, a character making the Triage extended action gains a +10 modifier to the test.

Konrad von Richtmark said:

Wow, I just finish moaning about not having enough power in your thread, come here, and find a whole new generator component. You be psychics. Bobh, you have to include the supplemental genny, it's the only way my Tyrant class will see space!

I liek the idea of extra reactors that can blow up too. Great component.

Will get right on adding the winning components in version 1-39 this weekend. Winners will be announced on Sunday.

Alasseo said:

And the winners are:

Drop Pod Bays by Alasseo

The ship is fitted with the cradles and launch mechanisms for a formation of pods, allowing it to transport men and materiel to a planet's surface with the maximum amount of epic. Most famously used by the Astartes, Drop Pod Bays are something of a favourite tactic whenever ground-to-orbit defences are too strong for a shuttle assault, as the fleeting "meteors" of descending pods are far harder to track and destroy with ground fire or intercept with small craft. This same factor also makes them popular with smugglers and assassins, especially when recovery is either not urgent, or not a factor.

It is even possible, though difficult and dangerous, to use them as boarding craft against a station or starship. A ship with Drop Bays may use them for boarding at a distance of up to 5 VUs, providing they make a +0 Maneuver check first. Because Drop Bays are mounted on the underside of a ship, any vessel without a Keel mount cannot fire at the target of its' Boarding Action in the same Strategic turn.

A ship being Boarded by Drop Pods may make a Hard (-20) BS test to shoot down the incoming pods. Every success, or degree of success provides a +10 modifier to the Command test. The base Crew Population for the Boarding side is deemed to be equal to 1/2 the unmodified Command skill of the Explorer leading the Boarding Action. Obviously, should the defending side win, it cannot inflict Hull Integrity damage.

A ship fitted with Drop Pod Bays gains an extra 50 achievement points when working towards a Military objective or Criminal Objective.

Power: 1, Space: 2, Sp$: 1

-

Manufactorium by Quicksilver (Archeotech)

Rarely found outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleets, the Manufactorium follows an ancient template for a compact and reconfigurable fabrication center. While not able to operate at the tremendous capacities that dedicated Manufactoriums can achieve, this system can be quickly configured to produce items the overseeing Adept has designs for (GM's can treat a schematic/template as an item one step rarer than the finished product, rare becomes very rare). This can prove invaluable for maintaining equipment in the field, and it’s not unheard of for Mechanicus ships to be all but completely rebuilt with components constructed on board.

Something from Nothing: Ship repair parts can be stored in raw form, allowing for more to be carried. Any ship in a fleet with a Manufactorium may be repaired twice without a space dock. In addition, if they are at anchor above a mineral-rich location, they may repair any number of times, with a one week increase in time for each repair after the second.

The Parts You Need: All maintenance acquisition checks for Imperial-designed equipment gain a +10 bonus.

Power 4, Space 4, Sp$ +1

-

Fission Genarium by Konrad von Richtmark

Add a Lathe Pattern Fission Genarium to your vessel for: More power! Generates an additional 5 points of power. These components also make it possible to survive in a vessel with damaged Engenariums by powering Life Sustainers and some components needed for survival. Note that this component is volatile if damaged in combat: It will explode for 1d5 hull integrity damage and bathe the interior of the vessel in hard radiation until repaired, doubling casualties sustained by the explosion of the genarium.

Power: +5, Space: 1, Sp$: 1

-

Kass Immaterium Navigation Cogitator or Kass INC by Jenk (Xenotech)

The Kass are an ancient space faring race keeping never closer than the fringe of Imperial space. Physically the Kass appear akin to the Eldar with the exception of distinct snake like features creating an effect like the Naga from old earth. Despite the physical similarities the Kass despise the Eldar and will avoid them seemingly at all costs. The rare encounters between Man and Kass have been almost entirely fruitless as the two species are utterly unable to communicate to one another. Psychic abilities are lacking within the Kass species with the notable exception of telepathic communication among themselves being a universal trait.

Due to a lack of psykers the Kass have been forced to use other means to transverse the stars in their impressively sized mother ships (though grand, the Krass mother ships are not near the scale of the Eldar craftworld). Utilizing alien technology beyond the understanding of Man the Kass have developed guidance chambers which allow a user to view a safe and somewhat understandable analog of the seething warp. There are a rare number of occurrences where humans have salvage Kass Immaterium Navigation Systems and freed themselves from the requirement of Navigators.

The Navigator families do not take kindly to being mitigated by heretical Xenos technology, and will often seek the destruction of a vessel which has bypassed them as a requirement for safe and long warp jumps. Follow the normal rules for warp travel with the following exceptions: Non-Navigator characters are able to Navigate the ship for warp travel. The Navigation Stellar skill must be used in place of all Navigation Warp checks. All checks for warp travel suffer an additional -10.

Power = 1, Space = 1, Sp= 2

-

Apothecarium by Konrad von Richtmark

Every ship has a Medicae Facility. An Apothecarium is a larger facility capable of giving good-quality treatment to a large number of people at once. All losses of crew population are reduced by 1, to a minimum of one point lost. Morale losses from casualties are correspondingly reduced. Finally, a character making the Triage extended action gains a +10 modifier to the test. None of these bonuses apply if the Apothecarium is damaged or unpowered.

Power = 1, Space = 1, Sp= 1

All excellent ideas. I chose five this time because I had the time and there were so many great ideas presented. If you weren't picked refine your idea more and re-enter it in the Third Contest, starting soon.

I changed minor things, names and some spelling among other things, to make it sound more 40kish. I hope this meets with your approval. RTSU v1-39 is done and will be out shortly, I need more sleep so i'm off to bed..