Pre-emptive apology for any heads exploding, this is a work in progress, so any input towards game balance and the like is appreciated.

I noticed the RAW state that you can only have a single bridge… for those of us who've spent time in an actual Naval capacity, I couldn't help but wonder why, considering things like modern aircraft carriers would have the equivalent of both a command bridge and a flight bridge… cruisers, would have a command bridge, a much smaller flight bridge since they carry only one or two helos, and, in the RAW, a ship master's bridge (though under a different name.) Soooo, I "fixed" it by adding the Ops Center. I tried balancing out the increased bonuses by making the various sub-components both rare and expensive, and making it to where all subcomponents share the same damage state, as it acts as a single component otherwise.

And again: I'm just now starting to beta-test these ideas, so if anyone has comments or suggestions, I welcome them.

So, my plans along these lines (Sans flavor text, some of which has already been written and can be supplied on request):


R = Raider, F = Frigates, LC= Light Cruiser, C = Cruiser, GC = Grand Cruiser, T = Transports


name - component class - requirements (Power/Space/SP)


Replace

Combat Bridge (Tech use for repair +10) - Essential Component - T,R,F (1/1/0), LC, C (2/2/0)

with:

"Damage Control Central (Tech use for repair +10) - Supplimental component - T,R,F (1/1/0), LC, C (1/2/0), if a fire suppression system is present, permanently increase morale by 2, as this component symbolizes an organized effort to bring everyone back home alive.


Replace

Armored Bridge (On damage, roll 1d10, remains unharmed on 4+) - Essential Component - R, F (2/2/0), LC, C (3/2/0)

with

"Armored" The ship's bridge or operation's floor is reinforced with additional armor. If damaged, roll 1d10, remains unharmed on 4+) - Upgrade - (0/1/1) -- may be taken twice (covers both the bridge and the ops floor)

Add:

Loadmaster's Office - Supplimental component
In charge maintaining the center of gravity for the ship, the loadmaster handles cargo placement and proper use of the ship's voids.

T (2/1/0) - +5 maneuverability, +20 AP for trade objectives.
R,F (1/1/0) - +3 maneuverability, +10 AP for trade objectives.
LC, C (1/1/0) - +2 maneuverability, +10 AP for trade objectives.

*NOTE: I have not decided how aquisition for the Ops floor will work. Given that the idea is that it is supposed to be modular, I'm thinking you can aquire the individual equipment separately, but must have a yard period to install any of it, where the time needed is equal to the final SP of the Ops Floor, not just the components being installed. This would represent changes in layout and equipment.

Operations Floor - Supplimental component - (*/*/*+1 SP) (*=Determined by subcomponents installed)
Operations floor bonuses do not stack with bonuses from ship's bridge. Only the larger of the two apply.
If the Operations floor becomes damaged, unpowered, or exposed to the vacuum of space, all subcomponents share that damage state.
Redundant cogitation capability is eliminated as additional subcomponents are installed, -1 power at 2,4, and 5 subcomponents.
Overlapping personnel are eliminated as additional subcomponents are installed, -1 space at 3,4,5 subcomponents.
Ops floor subcomponents are not subject to craftsmanship rules. Only one subcomponent from each category may be installed.
Requires at least a Crack crew to operate.

Bonus steps: 1->3->5->7->10->13->15


(CIC)
Combat Information Center - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (1/1/1) - Rare
Primary: +3 BS
Secondary: Attacks made with (select one) torpedos, ballistic macrocannons (ie. energy based systems do not benefit), or missiles have the primary bonus increased by one step.

Combat Information Center (Advanced) - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (1/2/1) - Extremely Rare
Primary: +7 BS
Secondary: Attacks made with (select two) torpedos, ballistic macrocannons (ie. energy based systems do not benefit), or missiles have the primary bonus increased by one step.

(Flight Ops)
Flight Operations Center - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/2/1) - Very Rare
Tests to ready new squadrons auto-pass.
Primary: Command tests w/attack craft +3
Secondary: When using (pick one) fighters, bombers, assault craft, increase primary bonus by one step.

Flight Operations Center (Advanced) - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/2/1) - Near Unique
Tests to ready new squadrons auto-pass. Trade objectives involving ground to orbit operations gain 25 AP.
Primary: Command tests w/attack craft +5
Secondary: When using (pick two) fighters, bombers, assault craft, increase primary bonus by one step.

(TOC)
Tactical Operations Center - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (1/1/1) - Rare
All ground forces in communication count as having a multicompass. Ground units attached do not suffer the effects of 'surprised' while advancing.
Primary: When engaging in orbital strikes, BS vs ground targets +3
Secondary: When employing (choose one), infantry/armor, artillery, or air power, increase their base power by 1. This represents superior, timely intelligence acting as a force multiplier.

Tactical Operations Center (Advanced) - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/1/1) - Extremely Rare
All ground forces in communication count as having a multicompass. Ground units attached do not suffer the effects of 'surprised' while advancing.
Primary: When engaging in orbital strikes, BS vs ground targets +7
Secondary: When employing (choose two), infantry/armor, artillery, or air power, increase their base power by 1. This represents superior, timely intelligence acting as a force multiplier.

(ComOp)
Steps pri:system/+15, cluster/+25, subsector/+50 Steps sec: PF +1, +2, etc. Aquisition +5, +10.

Commerce Operations - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (1/1/1) - Rare
Primary: Capable of tracking and storing supply/demand data and commodity prices in the current system - +15 AP to trade objectives
Secondary: (Choose one) When engaging in endeavours with a trade, add +1 profit factor, all aquisitions for ship components within the current system have their penalty reduced by one half step (rare, normally -10 becomes -5), all aquisitions for non-ship equipment within the current system have their modifier increase by 5 (rare, normally -10 becomes -5)

Commerce Operations (Advanced) - Supplimental component - Ops floor subcomponent (1/1/2) - Extremely Rare
Primary: Capable of tracking and storing supply/demand data and commodity prices in the current cluster - +25 AP to trade objectives (GM Discretion, may add an additional +1 profit factor to all endeavors)
Secondary: (Choose two) All aquisitions for vehicles within the current system have their modifier increase by 5 (rare, normally -10 becomes -5), all aquisitions for ship components within the current system have their penalty reduced by one half step (rare, normally -10 becomes -5), all aquisitions for non-vehicle equipment within the current system have their modifier increase by 5 (rare, normally -10 becomes -5)

(ADP)
Ships Cogitation - Supplimental Component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/1/1) - Extremely Rare
Primary: Increase all non-ADP primary bonuses from the Ops Floor by one step.
Secondary: Select one non-ADP subcomponent, increase the number of choices for it's secondary characteristic by one.

Ships Cogitation (Advanced) - Supplimental Component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/1/2) - Unique
Primary: Increase all non-ADP primary from the Ops floor by one step.
Secondary: Select two non-ADP subcomponents, increase the number of choices for it's secondary characteristic by one.

Ships Cogitation (Archeotech) - Supplimental Component - Ops floor subcomponent (2/1/A) - Archeotech
Primary: Increase all non-ADP primary from the Ops floor by two steps, all secondary bonuses by one step.
Secondary: All non-ADP subcomponents increase the number of choices for their secondary characteristic by one.








Search and Rescue (Extended action) - Reduce crew/morale loss from depressurisation by 1, min 1; from hull breaches by 10%.

Take her as a prize, boys (Extended action) - Boarding action with intent to seize the ship. Treat as mass-combat per BFK rules (Pg. 121). Two units involved, defending crew and boarding party. Set unit strengths appropriately -- e.g. defending ship starts with 100k crew but has only 10 crew population points left. This equates to 10,000 living crewman, or 1000 unit strength. Set morale by ship's morale score. Calculate and apply any penalties for the defenders (ie. convert crew %age to actual numbers, set apropriately as defending crew unit strength), defending crew gains +5 BS and 1 unit armor, representing home field advantage. If surrender is not an option, defenders gain +20 on morale checks. So long as the boarders push the attack, the defending unit counts as in-contact and cannot disengage.

*Additional rules for unit types will follow, until then, using basic infantry may or may not work. GM discretion is advised.*

Forget your promises of progress and understanding, I would assume that there's only one bridge because that's how it's laid out in Mechanicus STCs and that's how the Priests of Mars roll. Ships have a crew in the tens of thousands because there is an obscene amount of manual labour that takes place on a vessel, and I imagine that most of the mid-decks are heavily populated by the essential crew quarters and people milling about. Factor in the problem with communications technology, the heavily regimented military atmosphere and the general inflexibility of Imperiall Design and that's why I imagine there's the one, easy-to-decapitate bridge.

This isn't to say I don't like your ideas, I love them. I think the idea of upgrading a Component with certain steps is nice, and I think the idea of a modular command deck for combat operations would be a really interesting thing to manage, but the idea of modularity starts to lean towards what the Tau would try. This is the sort of the thing that I can see a Rogue Trader doing because it makes sense and vastly improves his ship, but then people in the Imperium start to view him with arched eyebrows for messing with the Mechanicus designs.

Interestingly in Battlefleet Koronus one of the built-in supplemental components of the Hades Class Heavy Cruiser (Page 109) is a Secondary Command bridge which appears to allow two bridges installed on that vessel. ALSO interesting is that it has a Bizarre Geometries trait that drives its crew insane and towards Chaos, so that might be another reason why there's only the one bridge. Who can say?

Erathia said:

*nod* The problem with relying on the trope of "STCs or the highway" is that it doesn't always work that way. It has been frustrating to me as a DM, as a person who's read a lot of fluff, because sometimes I get the impression that the STC or the Highway bit gets used a lot as a crutch because the author doesn't want to get bogged in details or some such… especially when you consider that, in the fluff, you have magos/archmagos things that would make most folks on this board break out the pitchforks and torches while screaming 'Tech heresy!" at the top of their lungs.


To be give detail as to the circumstances surrounding the creation and modifications above… I'd say to be more clear, but … well, you'll understand by the time you get to the end:

1. This campaign has been going on now for the better part of 4 years real time, and campaign time has spanned the better part of about 40 years.

2. The campaign started off as a Dark Heresy campaign, and through their trevails, eventually one party member became an inquisitor and another obtained a Warrant of Trade through a most unusual manner: The Warrant in question was sealed in a multiple-psy-locked stasis tube which the party recovered from the trophy room of a rogue Inquisitor. The Warrant contained very specific instructions as to its nature, the authorities invested in the Rogue Trader and at what cost. Short version: Lots of authority, very specific directive. Play nice with Imperial authorities, obey and enforce the law, but overall: find a lost fleet of Astartes from the M29-M30 timeframe. Failure means the warrant becomes null and void. The Inquisition has the final say as to if you've failed or if you've malingered to the point where the revocation clause is enacted.

3. The party's inquisitor was stripped of his rosette while under investigation due to political infighting resulting from the fallout of their final confrontation with said rogue Inquisitor. They had made enough friends that there was no concensus on executing him or the party, despite the rogue Inqusitor's influence…

4. During the events surrounding #3, the party came to make the aquaintence of a Tech Priest known to them at the time as Magos Steve, who always acted not very tech-priest-like. Their initial introduction to the man was that he was associated with the Mechanicus's office of the Inspector General… I'm sure there's a more W40k-y name for it, but that's what I went with. They used his elevated priviledges to accomplish a few smaller tasks before he introduced a second NPC to them, Edward Allen Turing. His introduction: "I've heard that you have run into an intractible tech problem. Let me introduce you to my favorite Tech Heretek, Turing." This produced no small amount of consternation amongst the Mechanicus players, who eventually got Steve to explain why he was palling around with Turing. They also may have gotten a few not-quite-correct impressions as to Steve's function in the greater mechanicus hierarchy and believed he was within his station to retain the services of this man.

5. It was later explained that Turing's identity did not exist as far as the Mechanicus was concerned. Less questions that way. Turing is not a Heretek like the Dark Mechanicus is, no chaos-y warpy stuff; he simply does not acknowledge the presence of the machine spirit, yet has a way with technology that stumps most tech priests. He was due to be executed for heresy before Steve's organization took possession of him. It was determined that Turing, if properly watched and isolated from society, could still serve the Omnissiah.

6. One of the theories advanced by Steve that forestalled Turing's execution was that Turing had been blessed by the Omnissiah's grace, that his level of understanding and interaction with the machine spirit was so instinctual that he was wholly unaware of said interaction. Turing generally scoffs at this idea, but he nevertheless accomplishes tasks that would daunt a team of Magos in unexpectedly short timeframes. He is also a bit of a scoundrel when it comes to alcohol, women, and bank accounts. Having very limited access to the first two, one may wish to watch their thrones closely around Turing despite his penchant for returning stolen funds and keeping the profits from them once he's done. He does, after all, have an odd sense of honor.

7. Turing and Steve make an odd pair, as Steve is essentially Turing's minder. Between the two, they have set up isolated labs, first on a mostly derelict space station, later on the Rogue Trader's ship, where the two engage in a variety of tech research.
7a. Steve is later revealed to be one of the Lords Dragon.
7b. Steve eventually convincing the Rogue Trader to consign her ship with the Mechanicus, more specifically him. He is aware of a number of technological advances that may be of use, but need testing. Outside the lab.

8. Eventually, the party located the lost Astartes fleet, which resulted in their arrest by the Holy Ordos for Heresy, High Treason, consorting with the Witch, and a few other minor offenses like murder of Imperial officers (ie. the renegade Inquisitor's friends made a push to bring back the old charges), and Grand Theft Voidship. They were thrown in stasis and taken to Terra for trial by the High Lords.

9. Using a similar system to the interrogation found in Only War Last Testament, they stood trial for their crimes and after 30 years were determined to be loyal servants of the empire complying with the commands given to them by the Emperor himself (See "Who Signed this Warrant, anyway?")

10. Somewhere in the mix, they may have saved a young psyker NPC who later became touched by the Emperor. She didn't hang around the party for too long, as having a Saint in the mix would have been too OP, even for me.

11. Re: 8 and 9… the lost Astartes fleet belonged to the Thousand Sons. It failed to report to Prospero as ordered by both the Emperor and Magnus after the Council of Nikea but before the Sons turned to Chaos. The recovered Thousand Sons, what few were left, were tried by the Grey Knights and found to be free of taint.

12. Summarizing some details here, but once the party was cleared, it was still going to be some time before they returned to the Calixis sector. Astropathic messages move much faster. Steve and Turing take possession of the Rogue Trader's holdings and attempt to get them in order before the party returns from Terra. This may or may not involve dry-docking her ship and performing *extensive* modifications to it as part of the contract she signed a long time prior with the Lords Dragon.

So, any non-standard tech introduced in this game has been made with the blessing of someone a few steps short of the Fabricator General with the aid of what may or may not be, essentially, a tech saint.

Not waving that around like a magic "Anything I do is auto-approved/okay" wand, but putting it out there so the additional context may slightly alter the boundaries of what folks may or may not consider acceptable.

NEW HULL DOSSIER

Evinco class Dreadnought
Dimensions: 6.1 KM long ~0.9KM at fins.
Mass: ~34 Megatons
Crew: 80,000 crew – 1000 flight crew

The first Evinco class dreadnought was overhauled in secret from a Dictator class cruiser. Extensive modifications included keel reinforcement to support the extension of the aft hull sections by a kilometer. Maneuvering concerns from the shift in center of gravity were offset by inclusions of various void spaces and expansions to the superstructure, dorsal, and keel decks. The prototype, Imperatoris Ignis , suffered from several drawbacks as she was far more cramped and sluggish than desired. As a result, the Evinco class was considered only a partial success and nearly shelved. Despite the validation of the core concepts behind the design, overall she was deemed far too expensive for mass production. The rediscovery of several long-lost alloying technologies and materials lead to a multitude of design changes that took advantage of the new material, after which the project was considered successful, if still prohibitively expensive.

Despite the effectiveness of the final design, information concerning the class was kept close-hold for a number of years by its designers over concerns that a number of technologies integral to her design bordered on tech heresy. It is unknown what deals were made to make this design acceptable to the Mechanicus. Early hulls were made available only to the Imperial Navy and Mechanicus fleets exclusively.

///CLASSIFIED: ULTRAVIOLET//OMNISSIAH/ZETA///
//ACCESS OF THIS INFORMATION CONSTITUTES CONSENT TO ADDITIONAL MONITORING AT ALL TIMES//
//UNAUTHORIZED PARTIES WILL BE PURGED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE//

//ROUTED TO: STEPHOS VENELLE

//FROM: MALCOM VOLCANIS

The following data was acquired by ELINT Unit 42BE-3AE8-932D-6A69 and sent to the Oculus for analysis and action. Seeing as it concerns us, do you have any input?

//MALCOLM VOLCANIS, MASTER OF WHISPERS

---MESSAGE AS FOLLOWS---

: **CLASSIFIED: VERMILLION**
***INFORMATION IMPOUNDED UNDER SEAL OF THE INQUISITION***
**/ENCRYPTION/OMEGA/OMEGA/PHI/SIGMA/**
Grand Inquisitor Het,

Even with the fortuitous placement of an agent into the Draco cabal, little information on this design was available prior to its introduction to the galaxy at large. Our analysts tell us with a high degree of confidence that the design work took place at a previously unknown top secret Draco development facility with extensive Mechanicus involvement. We believe that our agent, while skilled, was unable to discover much information due to the extensive security protocols in use at the facility. Despite the insistence of several Lords Inquisitor, we have elected to keep the agent in place for the time being. While not necessarily the best source of intelligence, he has proven very useful in other ways.

We cannot say with any level of certainty if this cabal represents a threat to the Imperium

//Lord Inquisitor Angelis Baer//

::BEGIN REPLY::
///CLASSIFIED: ULTRAVIOLET//OMNISSIAH/ZETA///
//ACCESS OF THIS INFORMATION CONSTITUTES CONSENT TO ADDITIONAL MONITORING AT ALL TIMES//
//UNAUTHORIZED PARTIES WILL BE PURGED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE //

//ROUTED TO: MALCOM VOLCANIS

//FROM: STEPHOS VENELLE

No further action is necessary. By the Omnissiah’s grace, the Inquisition remains blessedly ignorant. We must maintain vigilance. Failure is not an option. Premature discovery means death.

Stephos Venelle
Archmagos Militant
Lord Dragon

(Prototype)
Speed: 4 Maneuverability: +5
Detection: +15 Hull Integrity: 75
Armor: 20 Turret Rating: 3
Space: 68 SP: 80

(Production)
Speed: 5 Maneuverability: +5
Detection: +18 Hull Integrity: 80
Armor: 23 Turret Rating: 3
Space: 75 SP: 85

Weapon Capacity: Prow 1, Port 2, Starboard 2, Keel 1 (of these slots, 1 port, 1 starboard, 1 prow, and 1 keel slot pre-equipped with Components)

Dreadnought – This ship can use “cruisers only” components and may fit Battlecruiser or Grand Cruiser plasma drives and void shields. Designer note: later in our campaign, the Draco cabal produced a Dreadnought only plasma drive. Thought was given to making them able to fit “Battleship” weapons; however, with the complete dearth of battleship stats/rules/etc, I have no way of telling how much of a Bad Idea™ that might be. However, it would fit in the design philosophy that they could, given that the dreadnought was conceived to start bridging the gap between the ships the Imperium can’t make (Battleships/Grand Cruisers) and those they can. GM discretion is advised. Stats for the dreadnought plasma drive will be available on request.

Missile Boat (Draco-Pattern Missile Battery), Omnissiah's Aid

Carrier Vessel – The Evinco comes pre-equipped with two Draco Pattern Launch Bays that take up a Port and Starboard weapon capacity slot. These are built into the design, and nearly impossible to remove. The hull’s space has already been reduced to account for this, however when the ship is constructed it must be able to provide two power to each. (Note: The draco landing bay is essentially a Lathe-Pattern Landing bay, but requires 1 power and 2 space more per component in exchange for an additional strength point. SP rating 2, availability considered Unique.)

Inherent Warship – The Evinco class dreadnought comes pre-equipped with one Draco-pattern Nova Cannon component, occupying its prow weapon slot. This component may not be removed. The hull’s space has already been reduced to account for this; however, when the ship is constructed it must be able to provide six power to the nova cannon.

Guided Missile Boat – The Evinco class dreadnought comes pre-equipped with one Draco-pattern missile battery, occupying its keel weapon slot. Due to the extensive linkages of the autoloader tying it to internal missile magazines, this component may not be removed. The hull’s space has already been reduced to account for this; however, when the ship is constructed it must be able to provide four power to the missile battery.

Omnissiah’s Aid – Due to extensive use of autoloading systems, the number of crewmen needed to man the Evinco is greatly reduced. Reduce the size of the crew quarters component by one. GM’s discretion as to if this affects replenishing crew.

Designer’s note: I understand not everyone will be happy with the Draco-pattern equipment attached to this hull; one could replace it with their equivalents, adjusting size/power requirements as you go. In which case, the stats and traits for the Draco components are supplied below so you can make the appropriate adjustments:

Draco-Pattern Missile Battery

Hulls: LC, C, D
Power/Space/SP: 4/1/2 STR:5 Damage: 1d10+1 Crit:5 Range: 7
Availability: Unique
Autoloader; Integrated Defense

Autoloader – This component normally fires every other turn. After firing, the explorer’s crew may make a tech-use (-10) test. On success, the weapon system counts as reloaded at the end of their turn. This component upgrade reduces the space set aside for gun crews (living space, etc) and trades it for machine power. Trade up to two space for matching power. Available only for ballistic weaponry such as missile batteries, nova cannons and macro cannons.

The results of failing the tech-use test vary by result: 1-2 DoF, no effect, weapon is not reloaded and fires as it would if it did not have an autoloader; 3 DoF – Jammed, crew must spend one turn clearing the jam before attempting to reload again; 4 DoF – Badly jammed, crew must spend two turns clearing the jam before attempting to reload again; 5 DoF = Component becomes damaged and must be repaired before use; 6 DoF = Ordinance being loaded detonates. Inflicts half normal damage ignoring armor and shields. Rolling a ten for damage on the first roll result in fratricide, dealing an additional hit following the same rule. Each incident of fratricide reduces the number needed for additional explosions by one.

E.g. Explorer Timmy decides to rush the reload on his missile battery, and flubs the tech use check by six degrees of failure. He rolls damage, rolling a ten, dealing five damage to his ship. However, since he rolled a ten, the shock of the initial explosion sets off another warhead in the feed system. He rolls damage, praying to the Omnissiah, and rolls an 8. He is thankful, for at that point, a 9 would have set off another explosion, with an 8 setting off yet another on the roll after that. By the Omnissiah’s grace, he has avoided certain doom. Praise be to the Omnissiah.

Integrated defense – At the beginning of the explorer’s turn, they can choose to repurpose part of the strength of the missile battery by slaving it to the defense grid. Due to limitations of the design, they may repurpose none, two, or all of the missile battery’s strength points.

Repurposed:

Zero – Component acts as normal.

Two – Component acts as normal, but with a strength level of 3. A single additional attack may be made by this component against any attack craft or torpedoes that stray within range, BS -10. This additional attack may be made once every turn, as the launcher firing is staggered to ensure they are not all offline for reloading at once. If successful, the attack takes one torpedo or squadron of attack craft out of action.
All – Component may not engage in normal offensive operations. A single attack may be made against any attack craft or torpedoes that stray within range, BS +0. This additional attack may be made once every turn, as the launcher firing is staggered to ensure they are not all offline for reloading at once. If successful, the attack takes one torpedo or squadron of attack craft out of action, 2+ degrees of success increases this to two. While operating in this mode, the turret rating of the ship is increased by two.

Draco-Pattern Nova Cannon

Hulls: C
Power/Space/SP: 6/4/6 STR:* Damage: 2d5+4 Crit:* Range: 6-38
Availability: Unique
Autoloader

Functionally identical to the Mars-pattern Nova cannon, save slightly longer range and the addition of an autoloader.

Draco-Pattern Landing Bay

Hulls: C
Power/Space/SP: 2/7/2 STR:3 Damage: N/A Crit: N/A Range: N/A
Availability: Unique