Spaceship DR and damage

[Stormcrow]

The exact DR will depend heavily on the purpose, size, shape, and tech level of the ship. The armor systems in Spaceships go from TL0 ice armor (DR 10 for a SM+8 ship) all the way to TL12 exotic laminate armor (DR 7000 for an unstreamlined SM+15 ship).

If you're using just the Basic Set, and you're making up your own spaceships, then you can eyeball it. Compare the DR to the strength of the weapons available and ask yourself how what strength hit your ship should be able to sustain without taking damage.

There are no standard spaceships in GURPS, so you're free to make both weapons and armor as strong or weak as you like.

The average Audie Murphy-Class Patrol Ship from Tales of the Solar Patrol has 250 HP, DR 100, its atomic guns do 10d×5(4) burn damage. That's an average of 10 × 3.5 × 5 = 175 points of damage per hit. With an armor divisor of 4, that means that 150 points will get through the armor of a similarly equipped ship per hit. Two average hits on the body (−50 HP left) will leave the ship in serious danger of being disabled (roll HT each turn of stress). (I think I got all that right.) And then there's the Nega-Barrier.