Shuttles and other small craft—also known as auxiliary craft—are commonly found aboard starships and starbases, as well as on a range of other facilities. The terms apply to any small vessel which can function independently of a starship for a short time, and which are employed in circumstances which would be unsuitable for a full-size starship.
Use of shuttles to move personnel and cargo short distances (between ships) is less common with the use of transporters, but it's always valuable to have a few auxiliary craft on board in case of emergencies or unusual situations.
Small Craft consist of the following elements:
TRAITS: All Small Craft have the trait Small Craft in addition to any others.
SYSTEMS: Small Craft have the same set of systems as a starship, though their scores tend to be somewhat lower as befits their smaller size and more limited capabilities. Unarmed Small Craft have a Weapons system of 0.
DEPARTMENTS: Small Craft have the same set of departments as a starship, but their scores are never higher than 2, and are often 0, due to limited facilities and a complete lack of support personnel. The only department a Small Craft will always have will be Conn, which will always be at least 1.
TALENTS: Small Craft do not normally have talents. Some advanced, unique, or customizable Small Craft, such as a Runabout, or the U.S.S Voyager’s Delta Flyer, may have one or two talents as befits their more advanced capabilities.
SCALE: Small Craft are normally Scale 1 or Scale 2. Starships that do not have the Extensive Shuttlebays talent may carry Scale 1 small craft only.
RESISTANCE: Small Craft have 0 Resistance, unless granted any bonuses from talents.
SHIELDS: Small Craft have shields calculated as normal; add together Scale, Structure, and Security.
POWER: Small Craft have much smaller power plants than full-size starships and can only use the Reroute Power action to enable actions which require power.
CREW SUPPORT: Small Craft do not have Crew Support.
MAXIMUM CAPACITY: Small Craft can only carry a finite number of characters, as noted in each entry.
POSITIONS: Small Craft have two positions: Pilot (covering Helm and Navigation), and Operations (Operations and Sensors, plus Tactical if the craft has weapons). Small Craft operated by a single operator combine these into a single position.
In addition to the above, when small craft are attacked by any full-size starship (any vessel which lacks the Small Craft trait), the Difficulty of the Attack increases by 1.
A vessel with the Small Craft trait may always land on a planetary surface, the deck of a ship, or any other solid surface, without needing the Landing Gear special rule. They are small and lightweight enough for routine takeoff and landing, unlike full-size starships.
Shuttle Variants
Most polities produce dozens of types of shuttles— materials fabricators and tool replicators make customization easy, and even in heavily regimented and controlled organizations such as militaries, there’s value in a ship carrying different varieties of shuttle to serve different jobs.
As a result, the small craft described here are baselines, representing a common standard of each type of vessel. Specific details can be adjusted to fit specific needs by discussing them with your gamemaster. Most differences can be accounted for by adding or removing a trait, such as adding a No Passenger Space trait to a shuttle fitted for hauling cargo only.
Shuttlepod
Small Craft
A tiny craft, designed to move small numbers of personnel or small quantities of cargo over short distances. They are unarmed, not fitted with a transporter, and not capable of travelling at warp.
TRAITS: Shuttlepod, Sublight, Small Craft, Unarmed
CREW COMPLEMENT: 1 or 2, plus 2 passengers
SCALE: 1
SHIELDS (4):
Systems
COMMS 03
COMPUTERS 02
ENGINES 03
SENSORS 03
STRUCTURE 03
WEAPONS –
Departments
COMMAND –
CONN 01
ENGINEERING 01
SECURITY –
MEDICINE –
SCIENCE 01
Weapons
None
Talent
RUGGED DESIGN: See page 225
Shuttlecraft
Small Craft
A small vessel, designed to move groups of personnel or modest quantities of cargo over intrasystem and short interstellar distances. They are often fitted with a small phaser bank, and they can travel at low warp, or match the cruising speed of starships only for short periods.
TRAITS: Shuttlecraft, Short-Range, Small Craft, Unarmed
CREW COMPLEMENT: 1 or 2, plus up to 6 passengers depending on shuttle type
SCALE: 1
SHIELDS (6):
Systems
COMMS 05
COMPUTERS 05
ENGINES 05
SENSORS 04
STRUCTURE 05
WEAPONS –
Departments
COMMAND –
CONN 01
ENGINEERING 01
SECURITY –
MEDICINE –
SCIENCE 01
Weapons
None. Shuttlecraft may be armed with a Phaser Bank (Energy, Medium, Damage 2, Versatile 2), which removes the Unarmed trait. Arming a shuttlecraft has an escalation cost 1.
Talent
RUGGED DESIGN: See page 225.
Special Rule
TRANSPORTER: Some shuttlecraft are fitted with a escape transporter. Taking this option has opportunity cost 1.
Runabout
Small Craft
These larger auxiliary craft—such as the Danube-class runabouts used by Starfleet—are technically small starships, and are used for independent operations from larger starships and starbases. Runabouts are capable of a sustained warp speed (usually around warp 5), contain a small transporter pad and replicator.
TRAITS: Light Starship, Small Craft
CREW COMPLEMENT: 1 to 4
SCALE: 2
SHIELDS (10):
Systems
COMMS 09
COMPUTERS 08
ENGINES 07
SENSORS 07
STRUCTURE 07
WEAPONS 07
Departments
COMMAND –
CONN 02
ENGINEERING 01
SECURITY 01
MEDICINE –
SCIENCE –
Weapons
PHASER BANKS: Energy, Medium, Damage 4, Versatile 2
MICRO-TORPEDOES: Torpedo, Long, Damage 3, High Yield
Talent
RUGGED DESIGN: See page 225.
Special Rules
CUSTOMIZABLE MODULES: The runabout may be fitted with one of the following modules for additional functionality. Taking any of these options has an opportunity cost 1, but these options can only be taken when preparing the runabout from a starbase, surface facility, or a starship with Extensive Shuttlebays.
CARGO TRANSPORT: The runabout’s aft module has been configured to carry bulk cargo.
COMBAT MISSION: Add 1 to damage of the runabout’s weapons, and add 2 to the ship’s maximum Shields. This has an escalation cost 1.
LONG DURATION MISSION: The runabout’s aft module has been configured to serve as a rest area and sleeping quarters for up to four personnel.
PASSENGER TRANSPORT: The runabout may carry up to 10 passengers, or up to 40 in an emergency, for a maximum of 2 hours.
SENSOR MODULE: Add 1 to the runabout’s Computers and Sensors, and add the HighResolution Sensors talent.
Captain's Yacht
Small Craft
A specialty small craft often attached to diplomatic vessels, the captain’s yacht was a large shuttlecraft designed to aid commanding officers during diplomatic missions.
TRAITS: Specialized Shuttle, Small Craft, Luxurious
CREW COMPLEMENT: 1 to 2, plus up to 10 passengers
SCALE: 2
SHIELDS (9):
Systems
COMMS 09
COMPUTERS 08
ENGINES 08
SENSORS 07
STRUCTURE 07
WEAPONS 07
Departments
COMMAND 02
CONN 01
ENGINEERING 01
SECURITY –
MEDICINE –
SCIENCE –
Weapons
Phaser Banks: Energy, Medium, Damage 4, Versatile 2
Micro-torpedoes: Torpedo, Long, Damage 3, High Yield
Talent
DIPLOMATIC SUITES: See page 221.
Attack Fighter
Small Craft
At various times, different civilizations have attempted to make widespread use of small craft in combat, with armed shuttles and high-agility attack fighters developed for this purpose. The Federation has, on several occasions, developed attack fighters to supplement a fleet stretched thin during wartime, with varying degrees of success. Their small size means that their armaments draw most of the available power, and they are very rarely capable of traveling at warp. Even 24th century versions can only sustain low warp speeds for under an hour.
TRAITS: Attack Fighter, Small Craft, Agile
CREW COMPLEMENT: 1 or 2
SCALE: 1
SHIELDS (8):
Systems
COMMS 05
COMPUTERS 05
ENGINES 07
SENSORS 06
STRUCTURE 05
WEAPONS 07
Departments
COMMAND –
CONN 01
ENGINEERING –
SECURITY 02
MEDICINE –
SCIENCE –
Weapons
Phaser Cannons: Energy, Close, Damage 4, Versatile 2
Micro-torpedoes: Torpedo, Long, Damage 3, High Yield
Talent
IMPROVED IMPULSE DRIVE: See page 223.