Viridian Ship Catalog · Chapter 2
Reading a Viridian Entry
Every ship line in Chapters 5 to 9 opens with a plate, a description, notes on what each revision changed, and its common variants. One stat block follows for each revision, then the line's Revision Table. The stat block is the same one the Void Drifters Vehicles Manual prints, and the five Viridian hulls the Manual carries (the Serenity C1, the Mercy C1, the VN-33C1, the VN-53C1 and the VN-63C2) show the same numbers in both books. This chapter explains every part of the block. The Vehicles Manual, Chapter 16, Reading an Entry, keys the same block. The rules behind each number are in the Vehicles Manual: Chapter 3 lists every statistic, Chapter 8 covers weapons and Deflection, Chapter 10 covers modules, and Chapter 13 covers how a hull is built.
Annotated Example: VN-33C1
[1] VN-33C1 Fast Scout and Courier
| [3] Role | Price | Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
| Courier, medical response, survey | 415,000cr | Licensed |
| [4] Speed | Cruise | Handling | Sensors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | +2 | Extended |
| [5] Armor | Deflection F/A | Hull Points | System Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 / 0 | 12 | 15 |
| [6] Power | Heat Threshold | Heat Dissipation | Module Slots (open) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 9 | 2 | 5 (2) |
| [7] Crew | Passengers | Cargo Units | Consumables |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 / 4 | 4 | 10 | 3 months |
| Weapon | Range | Hull | Sys | Crit | Heat | Pwr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Laser CannonLight · Turret · Accurate 1, Linked 1 | Short–Medium | 3 | — | 3 | 2 | 1 |
[9] Rated Slipstream · Atmosphere · Landing
[10] AI Core Advanced Directive AI
[11] Mounts 2 Light · 2 points
[12] Modules Medical Bay, Extended Navigation Suite, Counter-Surveillance Suite · 2 open
[13] Builder Viridian signature benefits and weak drawbacks; Integrated Architecture (Chapter 4). Extended sensors detect to Extreme.
[14] Trait Predictive Navigation: Add 1 Boon Die to checks made to locate a Slipstream seam, calculate an offset exit, or navigate a poorly charted corridor. Quiet Shell: Signature Management checks aboard remove 1 Bane Die. The C2 and C3 trade this for structure and a heavier radiator.
| # | Part | The VN-33C1 shows | Read it as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Header band | VN-33C1, Fast Scout and Courier | Designation, then class |
| 2 | Identity line | Viridian Lattice Yards, VN-33 family; Scale 3 | Builder and line; the badge is the Scale |
| 3 | Market line | Role, 415,000cr, Licensed | What it is bought for, catalog price, paperwork |
| 4 | Flight strip | Speed 5, Cruise 3, Handling +2, Extended sensors | How it moves and sees |
| 5 | Hull strip | Armor 1, Deflection 0 / 0, Hull Points 12, System Points 15 | How it takes damage |
| 6 | Engineering strip | Power 7, Heat Threshold 9, Heat Dissipation 2, Module Slots 5 (2 open) | What it can run and fit |
| 7 | Complement strip | Crew 2 / 4, Passengers 4, Cargo Units 10, Consumables 3 months | Who and what it carries, and for how long |
| 8 | Weapons table | Typical Loadout (one row shown here) | The weapons most hulls carry, with their numbers |
| 9 | Rated | Slipstream, atmosphere, landing | Drive, atmospheric package, landing gear |
| 10 | AI Core | Advanced Directive AI | The AI Core grade |
| 11 | Mounts | 2 Light, 2 points | Weapon mounts and their hardpoint points |
| 12 | Modules | Three modules, 2 open | The factory package and the slots left |
| 13 | Builder | Viridian benefits; Extended sensors reach Extreme | Where the builder rules are, and the number they change |
| 14 | Trait | Predictive Navigation, and Quiet Shell | The line's own rules |
The Header Band and Identity Line
Designation (1). Viridian's number for the hull: a base platform, then the standard revision. VN-33C1 is the VN-33 platform in its first standard revision. The shuttles carry revisions on their Series names, as Serenity C1 and Mercy C1 (Revisions, below).
Class (1). What the hull does: executive shuttle, medical transport shuttle, scout and courier, diplomatic yacht, research tender, medical ship, luxury spaceliner, survey ship, science and medical frigate, continuity cruiser. Class follows Scale. Vehicles Manual, Chapter 4, lists the classes at each Scale.
Builder and family (2). Viridian Lattice Yards and the line the hull belongs to. A revision that captains still ask for by name is marked Classic here.
Scale badge (2). The hull's size class. Scale sets the hull's build budget and caps (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 13) and its effects in play (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Scale). Viridian builds from Scale 2 to Scale 7.
The Market Line
Role (3). The jobs most buyers fit the hull for. It is a summary of the line's Common Variants, not a rule.
Price (3). The catalog price in credits, factory new at a Viridian yard, with the factory package fitted and the typical loadout installed. Where a line's cabins or salon were fitted out at the yard, the fit-out is a fitting in the price and never changes the stat block (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 13, Pricing). Vehicles Manual, Chapter 12, adjusts the price for the market and for condition; Chapter 11 of this book gives used prices. Viridian sells no military hulls, so every Viridian block prints a Price and never a Prize Value.
Acquisition (3). The paperwork a legal buyer needs (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 12).
| Acquisition | Who may own the hull |
|---|---|
| Open | Anyone, through most shipyards and brokers |
| Licensed | A registered operator: a valid operator's licence or a corporate affiliation |
| Restricted | A buyer with government contractor clearance, military affiliation or verified security credentials |
| Military | Sovereign fleets only; in civilian hands it is stolen or a prize |
The Flight Strip
Speed (4). The number of range bands the ship moves with one Advance or Break Maneuver in combat (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 15, Speed).
Cruise (4). The in-system travel rating, from 1 to 5. It sets the length of a travel Interval in normal space (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 6). Cruise 3 needs a Licensed engine and Cruise 4 a Restricted one.
Handling (4). Positive Handling adds that many Boon Dice to Pilot checks and to attacks with Fixed Forward weapons; negative Handling adds that many Bane Dice . +0 adds nothing. Viridian buys Handling cheaply and is allowed one step above the Civilian cap.
Sensors (4). The sensor grade: Basic, Standard, Extended or Military (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 7). Viridian's Signature sensors reach one band farther than the grade, so a Viridian hull with Extended sensors detects to Extreme, and one with Standard sensors to Long.
The Hull Strip
Armor (5). Reduces the Hull Damage of each hit by its value, less the weapon's Pierce. It reduces System Damage only from weapons with the Ion tag, and then by half its value (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 8, Armor). No Viridian hull carries more than Armor 2.
Deflection F/A (5). Fore value, then aft value. Each attack against the ship from its Fore facing adds the fore value in Bane Dice , and each attack from its Aft facing adds the aft value. An attack from Port or Starboard adds the lower of the two. Deflection comes from the ship's Defensive Control system (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 8, Deflection). No Viridian hull is built with Deflection.
Hull Points (5). Hull Damage counts up from 0. When it reaches the Hull Points, the ship is destroyed: it breaks up at the end of the next round (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Destroyed).
System Points (5). System Damage counts up from 0. When it reaches the System Points, the ship is out of control: weapons, screens and drive go offline and the ship drifts until repairs bring System Damage below System Points (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Out of Control). Viridian buys System Points cheaply and is allowed one block above the Civilian cap.
The Engineering Strip
Power (6). Power Capacity: the most Power Load the reactor sustains at once. When Load exceeds Capacity, the engineer must act (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 6).
Heat Threshold (6). The Heat at which penalties begin (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 6).
Heat Dissipation (6). The Heat the ship removes at the end of each round. Scale and operator grade set it; a revision that bought a step prints one more than its line (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 13, Step Five).
Module Slots (open) (6). The hull's Module Slots, then in brackets the slots the factory package leaves open. A crew can fit a module in an open slot (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 10, Installing a Module).
The Complement Strip
Crew (7). Minimum crew, then standard crew (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Crew; Chapter 14, Crew Size). On the VN-33C1, 2 / 4 means:
- With 4 or more crew aboard, every station can be held.
- With 2 or 3, some stations stand empty each round, or crew cover two stations.
- With fewer than 2, every check aboard adds 1 Bane Die for each crew member short of 2, on top of the empty stations.
Crew quarters are sized for the standard crew and come with the hull (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Berths). Anyone else aboard takes a passenger berth.
Passengers (7). Berths beyond the standard crew. The standard crew plus the passengers is the ship's complement: the number of people it keeps alive indefinitely (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Complement and Life Support). A hull with built-in cabins says so in brackets, as the Serenity's "6 (luxury cabins)".
Cargo Units (7). Secured hold space. One Cargo Unit holds one tonne of ordinary packaged freight (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Cargo Units).
Consumables (7). How long the ship's supplies last for its standard crew. Passengers aboard shorten it (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 3, Consumables). The Serenity and Mercy are small craft and print Endurance in this cell instead.
The Weapons Table
Typical Loadout (8). The weapons most hulls of the revision carry. Under each weapon's name, in small type, are the size of mount it uses, its arc, and its tags. A crew may refit any mount (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 12, Hardpoints). No Viridian hull carries a weapon above Standard, and a Heavy weapon fitted by a crew adds the Crude Weapon Integration Bane Die and Heat (Chapter 4).
| Column | What it is |
|---|---|
| Range | The range bands the weapon reaches |
| Hull | Hull Damage of a hit with one Success; each further Success adds 1 |
| Sys | System Damage of a hit; a dash means none |
| Crit | The Boons that inflict a Critical Hit on a hit that dealt damage; a dash means it cannot |
| Heat | Heat the weapon adds each time it fires |
| Pwr | Power Load the weapon draws while firing or targeting |
The shuttles are unarmed and print Weapons: Unarmed. The loadouts for the hulls the Manual does not print are written for this book on the Manual's own pattern: Light mounts carry point defense and a Light laser, and nothing is larger than Standard. A number after a weapon's name, ×2 or ×3, is the number of identical weapons in that arc; identical weapons in one arc may fire together as a battery (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 15, One Weapon or One Battery per Action).
The Labelled Rows
Rated (9). Whether the ship has a Slipstream Drive; its atmospheric package (full, limited, or none; Vehicles Manual, Chapter 9); and whether it has landing gear.
AI Core (10). The grade of directive AI the hull carries (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 7). Viridian hulls carry Advanced Directive AI, the highest grade a civilian hull buys: 3 Active Channels and 6 Directive Packages, plus Viridian's extra channel. The shuttles fly on Basic Automation.
Mounts (11). The weapon mounts by size, then their total in hardpoint points: Light 1, Standard 2, Heavy 3, Capital 4. A mount takes one weapon of its own size or smaller (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 8, Hardpoints and Mounts).
Modules (12). The factory package, then the number of slots left open. A number in brackets after a module is the slots it fills; a module with no number fills one (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 10, Appendix: Module Catalog).
Hangar and Carried by. A carrier's Hangar row gives its bays and how many craft of which Scale they hold. A small craft's Carried by row names the Viridian hulls that carry it (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 10, Carried Craft).
Builder (13). Viridian's Signature benefits, Weak drawbacks and Integrated Architecture, set out in Chapter 4. The row also gives the one number they change: the range at which the sensors detect.
Trait (14). The line's own rule. Where a revision changes it, that revision's block prints the changed trait. A Classic prints the edge that makes it a Classic after the line's trait.
Grade
Every Viridian hull is Civilian grade, with one named exception: the VN-53 liner is Professional, because no Civilian Scale 5 hull carries the Power and Heat Threshold a liner needs. Grade sets a hull's caps on Armor, hardpoint points, Power and Heat Threshold, its Heat Dissipation, and its standard AI Core. Grade is the standard the hull was built to; Acquisition is the paperwork a buyer needs. A Civilian hull can be Licensed or Restricted (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 13, Operator Tier Is Not Acquisition).
Revisions
A revision is a standard-revision filing: Viridian files one when the institutional buyers who rely on a line (hospitals, institutes, charter lines, the Concord's own ministries) ask for a change and will pay for it. The new revision keeps its line's silhouette and role and changes the numbers.
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VN-33 | The platform. A bare platform number is a prototype |
| C1 | The first standard revision: the one that became the standard hull |
| C2, C3 | Later standard revisions, in order of filing |
A new platform takes a new base number. The shuttles are Series names with the same suffixes: Serenity C1 and C2, Mercy C1 and C2. In every platform in this book the first digit of the number is the hull's Scale, a Viridian habit and not a rule. Suffixes never skip and never repeat. A revision makes one main change and at most one smaller one. Most Viridian lines sit on the Civilian cap for Power, Heat Threshold or System Points, so later revisions mostly spend on Hull Points, Module Slots, Handling, a hardpoint point or Heat Dissipation. The VN-63C1 is a revision older than the published C2; each line's block states which suffix is the one printed in the Vehicles Manual.
Classic. An older revision that captains still ask for by name. Its revision notes say what it does better than its replacement. Viridian has two: the VN-33C1 and the VN-63C1.
The Revision Table
Each line ends with a Revision Table. Change is what the revision altered. Build points is what the hull spends of its Scale's budget under the hull design rules (Vehicles Manual, Chapter 13); the rest is unspent and pays for retrofits. Upgrade from previous is the cost of turning the previous revision into this one at a certified yard: double the build points and the credits in Chapter 4, Revision Upgrades.
Worked Example
A crew is looking at a VN-33C2.
- Find it. Chapter 5, the VN-33 line, the second block. It has 14 Hull Points, 15 System Points, 6 Module Slots with 3 open, and costs 437,000cr.
- Read the crew. Crew 2 / 4: two people can fly it, and four hold every station. With 4 passengers its complement is 8.
- Read the build. The Revision Table gives 139.0 of 180 build points, so the hull has 41 points unspent for retrofits.
- Read the upgrade. A VN-33C1 becomes a VN-33C2 for 14 retrofit points and 29,800cr. The C1 spends 132.0 points and has 48 unspent, so the upgrade fits.
- Read the marker. The VN-33C1 is a Classic. Couriers that live by not being seen keep it, because the C2 gave up the Quiet Shell for structure.
- Decide. Buy the C2 new, upgrade a C1 at a certified yard, or buy a serviceable used C2 at 0.55 of its price, 240,350cr (Chapter 11).