Fuel

[boot]

One change that may need to be made to the game is fuel. An attempt was made in Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters (the 1E version only--fuel was removed from the 2E version of the supplement), but that track taken at that was what was perceived from the movies--that fuel wasn't much of an issue; that fuel amounted to high tech batteries; and the cost was not something that should be a big concern. In fact, in 2E, fuel is considered part of a ship's Consumables Rating (and that rating wasn't increased from the 1E versions).



The rules for fuel in the 1E GG6 really aren't that good, imo. They require too much bookkeeping for about zero gain. And, the fuel cost isn't something that a tramp freighter captain has to be worried about--it's not going to eat up his profits.



I think the 2E version has it spot on just considering fuel as part of a vessel's Consumables cost.









Now, with the new movies, fuel has become more prominent. It is the focus of a major story point in The Last Jedi. And, in Solo, Han and Kira try to escape from Corellia using refined hyperfuel as their bribe.



From the movie, Solo, that tube holds about 8 oz., I would say. I'm sure it's a metric number. But, what do we learn from that?



Three things:



1. Hyperfuel is considered very valuable. So, it is an issue for starship operators.



2. Small Quantity. That tube doesn't hold much. And, it is highly valuable. So, do ships require only a little amount of the stuff in order to operate?



3. An Imperial Credit seems to be worth much more than a US dollar or a UK pound. We see this with prices. Remember Han bargaining with Obiwan in A New Hope. Luke says that they could almost buy their own ship for the price Han asks for, and then Ben offers more--17,000 credits. In Solo, the refined hyperfuel is said to be worth 800 credits or more.

[boot]

FUEL

Here are the most popular types of fuel used in the Star Wars universe.



COAXIUM

Coaxium is a rare form of hypermatter that is essential for faster-than-light travel. Starships’ hyperdrive reaction chambers are coated with a thin layer of coaxium, which is energized to allow passage into hyperspace. Unrefined coaxium is mined on worlds such as Kessel, but is dangerous to transport. Highly volatile, it explodes if jostled or allowed to get too hot.

It sounds like the Star Wars equivalent of Nitroglycerin.



RHYDONIUM

Rhydonium is a fuel found on select worlds, notably Abafar. Highly combustible, it was used in large quantities as part of a Separatist plot during the Clone Wars that backfired on the droid army. Later, rebels Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren used rhydonium barrels on the abandoned Fort Anaxes asteroid to kill attacking fyrnocks.



HYPERMATTER

Hypermatter was an exotic form of fuel used in the hypermatter annihilators of starships and immense battle stations. Its unusual properties allowed vessels to produce the phenomenal amounts of energy necessary for their operations.




MALASTARIAN FUEL

Malastare was a leading provider of liquid fuel to the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. After the Republic, led by Jedi Master Mace Windu and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, helped eliminate the threat of a newly awakened Zillo Beast, Malastare signed a treaty to join the Republic and continue providing much-needed Malastarian fuel to keep their war machine running.



TIBANNA GAS

Tibanna was a gas used in hyperdrives and starship weaponry, and as a coolant around the gravito-active elements of repulsorlifts, which made it a valuable resource.

Tibanna was found at high pressure in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin. The metropolis of Cloud City, which floated high above the gaseous surface of Bespin, was a mining colony where tibanna was harvested and processed for export. The Mid Rim planet Kril'Dor was another source of tibanna.

Once processed, tibanna could be suspended into a block of frozen, super-strong carbonite and safely transported on a repulsor sled.

A rarer and purer form of tibanna gas was known as Interstellar gas, and was highly sought after by hyperspace scouts.





NOTE THAT THE D6 GAME did provide some information about fuel; it just didn't put the topic in the limelight. This was probably because fuel was never a big issue in the original trilogy.

First, if you look at the Consumables description for starships in the core rulebook, this rating includes ship expendables including fuel.

Second, in the Sourcebook, under the description of repulsorlift technology, is says...

These engines can be refitted to handle a wide variety of different fuel sources, making them usable throughout the galaxy. Fuel sources vary as much as vehicle types, depending largely upon local resources and technology. Solar power, hydrocarbons, fission, and fusion energy are the more common fuel sources available.

This tells us that various forms of fuel exist (and we can assume that fuel exists for other types of drives), but the SW player just dosen't worry about it as it is not a focus of the game (tracking fuel).

Third, there is an attempt (to various degrees of success--I think that they could have done better) to insert a fuel tracking system for starships in Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters. And, this was removed (wisely, imo) in the Second Edition version of that book.

Now, with the new trilogy of movies, we are seeing some of the types of fuel that was always assumed to be part of the universe (and game).

[Falconer]

My view is that it would be fun to keep track of fuel for a little while, early in a campaign or in other desperate straights (poor smugglers or desperate fugitives). I’d probably give the GG6 rules a shake. Again, I’d be happy to scrap them for the majority of the game, gladly accepting what you say about the price being negligible in the bigger scheme of things.

[boot]

I would like to track fuel too, but in an easy way. What interest me is the Astrogation roll. There's no real reason not to take the roll down to the 100% safety zone. If you've got a 4D Astrogation skill, then you add 11 hours to the trip so that the base 15+ roll needed becomes an impossible to fail 4+.

I don't want a lot of bookkeeping, but it would be interesting to me for it to cost the players something--something that eventually adds up--if they constantly take the safest route and add the time.

I'd probably go with the new canon fuels and, to keep it simple, just use the Consumables as-is for cost.  I would just need to make credits scarce so that paying the Consumables at each stop can become an issue of the crew has no income.



The Imperial Credit in Star Wars seems to be worth more than the equivalent US dollar, or even the UK pound.  Remember, Luke says that a person can almost buy their own ship for what Obiwan agrees to pay Han to get them off of Tattooine.  He wasn't talking MegaCredits.  

On the other hand, ships seems to be about the price of expensive cars in the real world.

When Han gets off of Corellia in Solo, that coaxium is worth 500 credits, and, from the movie, that seems to be a decent sum.

Stuff to think about.

[boot]

In reading GG1, I see that the take on fuel wasn't always like it was in the game when GG6 came out. First, fuel is not considered specifically but just another item included in the ship's Consumables rating, per the core rulebook.

In GG1 (second edition version--as the book was expanded for 2E, I think), there is a description of a typical Mos Eisley docking bay (docking bay 99), and it specifically mentions the hookups for liquid fuel (as part of ship's consumables). This fits perfectly with the new canon fuel types.

Then, GG6 focuses on batteries and energy recharge rates--with a bookkeeping system that WEG was correct in scrapping in 2E.

[Zulgyan]

Apr 15, 2019 23:15:47 GMT -6 Falconer said:

My view is that it would be fun to keep track of fuel for a little while, early in a campaign or in other desperate straights (poor smugglers or desperate fugitives). I’d probably give the GG6 rules a shake. Again, I’d be happy to scrap them for the majority of the game, gladly accepting what you say about the price being negligible in the bigger scheme of things.

This would be my approach too. Only use fuel rules if the matter is part of the main challenge of the adventure.

[boot]

I found something today. In the prologue to Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando thinks this, when considering how much it costs to run a starship (his new acquisition, the Falcon)...

...at the present rate, he'd have to drain the charge from his electric shaver into the ship's energy storage system, just to lift off the Core-forsaken planetoid."

You've got to think that when WEG was putting together the D6 game, there were few resources to draw upon. ADF's Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Daley's Han Solo trilogy, and Smith's Lando trilogy were the only novels.

Maybe...just maybe...this is where the idea came from for the GG6 batteries-as-fuel system that WEG created.







NOTE: The opposite case can be made that there are hoses seen connected to ships in the OT, and those are piping in...what? Fuel? Or, maybe air, or some other consumable.