Use the blank Ship Design Sheet (SDS) for custom vessels. After naming the new ship type, decide on its Size Class (1-5). Table 1 indicates the Signature of the new ship type, as well as its Turn Die; both of these characteristics depend on Size Class. Next decide the technology level of the ship: Obsolete, Current or Advanced. The campaign rules included in the final downloadable rulebook include a method for progressing through the technology levels as the space war escalates. Table 5 below indicates the number of Systems boxes that defines a ship type, based on Size Class and Technology Level. Assign boxes among the three Systems on the SDS. The total number of boxes equals the number indicated on Table 5. Allocate a minimum of one System box to each system; limit the maximum number of boxes assigned to any individual system to five. Mark out the boxes not assigned to the ship's Systems, starting at the top of the SDS. Example: A player decides to make an Intercept Destroyer ship type (SDS below; another post describes how to sculpt it). The player's custom Size Class 3 ship type uses Current technology; thus, according to Table 5, the Intercept Destroyer has eight total Systems boxes. The player envisions the Intercept Destroyer as vessel built around a colossal laser and therefore assigns four boxes to Sub-Systems while giving Engines and Crew only two boxes each. The player marks out the appropriate unusable boxes for each System, beginning on the d12 row and moving down. As the SDS shows, an undamaged Intercept Destroyer rolls two six-sided dice and one ten-sided die for Energy Allocation. The player also records the new ship's Size Class and corresponding Signature at the appropriate spot on the SDS.
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| Example SDS |
Next, define the Ship Design Parameters for the new class of vessel. The blank SDS has a "(P)" and "(S)" placed over each card rank symbol. Write one of the three basic action types: "Attack", "Defend", or "Move" next to the "(P)" on the Diamond symbol; this is the ship's primary action type when a Diamond card is played. Write one of the other two basic action types next to the "(S)" on the Diamond symbol; this is the ship's secondary action type when a Diamond card is played. Repeat the process for the other three suits. Example: The player designed the Intercept Destroyer above as essentially a flying laser cannon. As such, the player decides to make "Attack" the primary action type on three of four card ranks! An Intercept Destroyer has a very good chance of allocating its best die to Attack actions, even if commanded by a very inexperienced captain. Of course, this makes the ship a kind of one-trick-pony. Ships featuring more varied design parameters prove more useful, but only in the hands of seasoned commanders.
Give the ship a heavy weapon or two featuring some evocative name. As of now, War In Space does not feature faction-specific weapons with special rules that might unbalance the game. Heavy weapons listed on the SDS therefore only provide "flavor". Feel free to make up your own special weapons however.
Finally, determine the firing arc modifiers of the new ship class. Write a bonus or penalty on each of the six sides of the hexagon on the SDS (omitting modifiers of 0 obviously). Neither the total of all six modifiers nor any individual firing arc bonus may exceed the ship's Size Class. Example: Since the Intercept Destroyer above carries the fearsome Ultra-Laser, the creating player assigns a +3 bonus to the forward firing arc, the maximum allowed for a Size Class 3 ship. The player also assigns a +1 attack bonus to the forward starboard and forward port arcs. The player finally assigns a -2 penalty to the aft arc ensuring the total of all modifiers equals 3, the maximum value.
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