Pyramid #3/71: Spaceships II

[Kromm]

A space voyage starts
Not at countdown or takeoff
But with bolts and welds

— Some engineer

Spaceships are cool. They let you zoom across distances so vast that you measure them in light-seconds or even light-years, at crazy speeds where one mistake means being lost forever or smashed to paste, through an environment that would otherwise kill you in a couple of minutes . . . if you're lucky. And that's just the realistic ones. The ones in science fiction leave the laws of physics in the dust, sweeping you off to distant stars or even galaxies in the blink of an eye. As often as not, that kind comes with amazing hardware, too – things like death rays and force shields and machines that can replicate any food you can imagine (and a few you can't).

It should come as no surprise, then, that Pyramid #3/30: Spaceships – like most sci-fi movies about space adventures – just got a sequel. That would be Pyramid #3/71: Spaceships II. The latest issue of Pyramid goes where no one has gone before, at least not for GURPS, and brings you this great stuff:

• In the future according to GURPS Reign of Steel, the AIs have taken over the world . . . so now they've decided to move on to other planets! David Pulver's Reign of Steel: Deep Space jumps forward two decades, to Orbital and Luna forging tentative alliances, and Tranquility making its big play. Stats for four new spaceships, a colony on Mars, and the new "Shipbrain" SAU give you everything needed to expand the fight for humanity across the solar system.
  
  
• Ah, the life of a smuggler! Whether you're a dashing rogue, a careful gentleman, or a corrupt official, you need to stay ahead of the authorities with your precious cargo to avoid the Smuggler's Blues. After reading these methods and motives, technological tricks from TL9 through TL12, and a step-by-step breakdown of a successful operation, you'll be ready to run that blockade and break for freedom!
  
  
• On the surface, sleeper ships and generation ships are a fairly straightforward concept. When you apply alien psychology and physiology, though, you get Strange Objects at Rest. An enigmatic bioship conceals plantlike aliens suspended in a subtly dangerous gas. A failed voyage is now a deadly nanomolecular minefield. A rogue gas giant is the only ship some species need. And what might be the greatest threat to the galaxy may be just a negligent afterthought.
  
  
• Whether you're operating a spaceship, a helicarrier, or a horse, your method of transportation is every bit as important as some silly weapons, right? That's why you need Vehicle Imbuements, which introduces 23 amazing ways to trick out your ride, if only temporarily. Let your stallion gallop on air, give your SUV a surprisingly spacious trunk, or empower your space cruiser to phase right through a planet rather than having to go around it.
  
  
• Want to own a ship but don't feel right playing a Multimillionaire PC? Consider another way to acquire The Captain's Boat – take it as a Patron! The concept may seem odd at first, but it makes a lot of sense: a ship, like a Patron, is really just a plot device for furthering the story. The easy-to-use table is complemented by optional rules tying into GURPS Supers and GURPS Social Engineering: Pulling Rank, enabling it to work in a wide range of campaigns.
  
  
• And the issue wouldn't be shiny without our usual features, including a Random Thought Table that explores style over substance and Odds and Ends that offer you a chance to really put things in perspective.

— PK & Kromm