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Old 02-12-2019, 07:10 AM   #1
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Many science fiction stories have spacecraft functioning as the homes of their characters rather than being transportation. What additonal cabin substitutes for habitats can you think of that would make a spacecraft a home rather than a vehicle? I will give a couple suggestions:

Gourmet Kitchen: A free fall adapted kitchen with the best cooking equipment that is capable of allowong one person to produce fresh gourmet meals for twenty people per meal period from preserved ingredients. Any crew member who receives gourmet meals for a month will receive a +1 morale bonus to their skills due to good morale.

Spice Garden: Spices allow people who operate in free fall to enjoy food because they can taste what they are eating. Every cabin worth of spice gardens provides the hydroponics systems required to grow sufficient spices for 20 people. If a spacecraft possesses sufficient spices to support its crew, its crew receives a +1 bonus to their skills due to good morale. Extra spices may be traded among spacers for the equivalent of $30 per person-month of spices or may provide a +1 reaction bonus when given as gifts to spacers.
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Old 02-12-2019, 07:32 AM   #2
ericthered
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Sofa Room(2): A room full of comfortable furniture and inexpensive home entertainment. Up to 10 people may comfortably use the room at a time, and up to 20 may be crammed into it.
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Old 02-12-2019, 06:43 PM   #3
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

For a ship with magical artificial gravity plates, put in a solarium with comfortable furniture, as above, but set in a blister made of transparent material that allows views "up" and to the sides.

In addition, it should have lots of pretty plants that grow large enough to create semi-secluded nooks. The plants should also smell nice.

For a more "hard science" setting that uses spin-gravity, go with a sunroom, instead. Have a solid deck, below, and bulkhead above, but one wall should be large windows.

Both should have heavy-duty doors that allow them to be sealed off from the rest of the ship, for radiation storms or loss of pressure integrity.

Alternatively, convert one of the hydroponics labs to such an area, only fully sealed and lit artificially.

Regardless of which you pick, include the thick plant-growth and comfortable furniture, and make sure the design has meandering aisles and no straight lines.
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Old 02-12-2019, 09:00 PM   #4
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

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Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Sofa Room(2): A room full of comfortable furniture and inexpensive home entertainment. Up to 10 people may comfortably use the room at a time, and up to 20 may be crammed into it.
A lot of rooms could simply be treated as "establishments" with different collections of stuff in them. A workshop could be a craft/hobby area instead of a workshop for fixing things.

If the ship uses water as fuel/ perhaps a few cabin equivalents could be poolside, but it can't be used until a certain amount of water fuel has been used.
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Old 02-12-2019, 10:05 PM   #5
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

I think that any cabin substitution should probably provide a minor bonus to the crew or enhance their capabilities.

Meditation Chamber: A dedicated room meant to facilitate contemplation, meditation, and relaxation. Characters gain a +1 on Fright Checks when they spend a minimum of one hour a day in a meditation chamber.

VR Training Room: A dedicated room capable of training up to 10 people through VR. Characters gain the same benefit of having a qualified teacher when self-training or intensive training when they have a qualified teacher.
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Old 02-12-2019, 10:57 PM   #6
Colonel Kane
 
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Well depending on the size of the starship and the type of tech you want in it, almost anything. I seem to remember seeing deck plans for on of the old Enterprises that had a recreation deck that pool tables, bowling alley, basketball court, among other physical recreation type stuff. Now something the size of say the Millennium Falcon, which had just a holo chess table, would not have a whole lot. Now the newer Next Gen Enterprise had a Holo deck, which would be all you might need, as it could generate anything thing you would need at the time. I hope that was helpful.
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Old 02-14-2019, 07:59 PM   #7
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

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Originally Posted by Colonel Kane View Post
Well depending on the size of the starship and the type of tech you want in it, almost anything. I seem to remember seeing deck plans for on of the old Enterprises that had a recreation deck that pool tables, bowling alley, basketball court, among other physical recreation type stuff. Now something the size of say the Millennium Falcon, which had just a holo chess table, would not have a whole lot. Now the newer Next Gen Enterprise had a Holo deck, which would be all you might need, as it could generate anything thing you would need at the time. I hope that was helpful.
That touches on something important, the answer to the OP question depends heavily on the background technology, that'll determine both what is possible, and what is practical/affordable.

The Millennium Falcon, for ex, makes a practical home in part because its tech is so advanced compared to most other SF settings. The MF is so fast that a trip from star tot star is usually measured in hours or days. So most of the time, you're only trapped aboard with minimal facilities for no more than that. It's not that hard to tolerate a spartan environment for a day or three and that's fine if you can go from Sol to Rigel in a day.

If it took the MF months to go from Earth to Alpha Centauri IV...that would be another matter.
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Old 02-12-2019, 11:10 PM   #8
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Head, Zero-G (1): This dedicated facility provides two spacious restrooms, with the needed water tanks and filters. It's less a matter of technology and more one of space dedicated to the task, including specialized plumbing and seals needed to ensure a comfortable and sanitary experience. One can even take a full shower in this room. Available at TL7 and up, but until TL9, it only provides one restroom instead.

Head, Gravity (1): An elaborate restroom facility providing an extravagant experience... provided that the ship has some form of artificial gravity. Each system provides two large restrooms suitable for impressing even the most decadent of passengers.

Expanded Airlock (1): Increases the number of airlocks on the vessel by one. The additional airlock has a spacious primary chamber and it also has an external area suited for storage or preparation. Alternatively, it can add 6 normal-sized airlocks.

Interstitial Space (1): Provides open, inhabitable space with twice the floorspace of a normal habitat, but half the vertical clearance. This can be as ordinary as a drop ceiling above an office space, or as odd -- even pointless -- as kilometers of cramped corridors hidden behind secret panels going nowhere, doing nothing. If a ship has at least one Interstitial Space for every 39 other cabin equivalents, the GM may reduce the crew required for the habitat modules. Additionally, posh passengers may appreciate having functional elements of the ship design hidden.

Gestation Chamber (1): For alien races that have a sessile reproductive phase, the Gestation chamber is a climate-controlled room for that purpose, often with extensive protection around it. The room is not very useful for active crew members -- except possibly as a place to relax -- but it does have sufficient backup power and air to maintain a safe habitat for five times as long, provided only the appropriate number of eggs, queens, or broodlings are there, determined by their SM and life support requirements.

Memorial (1): This somber room often has some kind of view to space. Its primary purpose, however, is to provide a place to remember and appreciate either perished crewmates and friends, or to acknowledge and reflect on some tragic event. Crew who have access to an appropriate memorial room may receive a bonus on willpower rolls related to grief. Some cultures, of course, may use alternate forms which less somber and more celebratory, though the function remains the same.

Ley Node (3): A large room with complicated magical dynamics allows the starship to function as a mobile node of a specific magical or psionic network. Practitioners of that field of esoteric study are able to tap into that node as normal. It is possible to strengthen the node by adding additional adjacent Ley Nodes. Especially colossal ships (generally, larger than 1km long,) may have more than one node installed.

Last edited by PTTG; 02-13-2019 at 01:30 AM.
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Old 02-12-2019, 11:10 PM   #9
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
I think that any cabin substitution should probably provide a minor bonus to the crew or enhance their capabilities.
I tend to disagree. The benefit of, say, a really good kitchen should probably be limited to a bonus to Cooking. If you feel good meals give a bonus due to morale (though I think +1 to all skills is far too generous), it should be tied to effective Cooking skill rather than equipment. After all, I'm pretty sure Emeril Lagasse could make better meals in a hotel efficiency kitchen than I could make in the finest restaurant kitchen in Paris.
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Old 02-13-2019, 12:50 PM   #10
ericthered
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Default Re: Spacecraft as homes [Spaceships]

Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanW View Post
I tend to disagree. The benefit of, say, a really good kitchen should probably be limited to a bonus to Cooking. If you feel good meals give a bonus due to morale (though I think +1 to all skills is far too generous), it should be tied to effective Cooking skill rather than equipment. After all, I'm pretty sure Emeril Lagasse could make better meals in a hotel efficiency kitchen than I could make in the finest restaurant kitchen in Paris.

Having morale modifiers imposed by living conditions is not a ridiculous thing to do. However, If you're going to use morale that way, you probably want to start by imposing a penalty for situations that don't meet expectations. You'll also want to outline a set of skill/situations that it applies in, and provide a way for strong willed characters to resist and overcome the situation.



Living in tight spaceship quarters is only one of many situations this would apply to.
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