TEXT: EN World EN5IDER| To The Stars
  An  agile ranger effortlessly weaves through zero-gravity, tracking her robot quarry 
  through an asteroid field. A burly fighter grits his teeth, his view obscured by his space 
  helmet’s visor as he tries to line up the perfect shot with his laser rifle. A lunar wizard casts her 
  nanofiber cloak aside; she needs her arms free to repel the advances of a deadly necro-borg. 
  Starships and lasers and space, oh my! 
  Here is a collection of simple new rules and hacks that will help you get the most sci-fi action 
  out of your fifth edition game. 
  By Kiel Chenier
  To the Stars: 
  Science Fiction for Fifth Edition
  
  EN World EN5IDER | To The Stars
  New Backgrounds: 
  Engineer and Spacer
  While most of the fifth-edition backgrounds 
  transition easily to a sci-fi setting, these two new 
  ones describe characters unique to science fiction. 
  Engineer
  Engineers are masters of all things technological. 
  Their job is all about getting their hands dirty, 
  whether it’s in a hangar bay or on a Martian 
  battlefield. Some engineers prefer the quiet intensity 
  of cracking an elven computer virus, while others 
  would rather repair a starship’s warp drive in the 
  middle of a space battle. 
  Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Sleight of Hand
  Languages: Computer Code
  Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ tools
  Equipment: Thieves’ tools, a certification of 
  engineering skills OR a well-worn spanner 
  (1d4 bludgeoning damage if used as a weapon) 
  handed down from a mentor, a large tool belt, an 
  engineering uniform, a small collection of engine 
  schematics, and 6 gp.
  Suggested Characteristics: While engineers spend a 
  number of years learning their trade in colleges or 
  academies, they are happiest when they’re applying 
  their skills in the field. An engineer’s life is often 
  grimy and dirty, but it’s a life they’re well-suited to. 
  Feature: Technical Knack
  You intuitively know how machines and mechanical 
  systems work. When faced with a computer, a ship, 
  a hostile robot, or a similar mechanical challenge, 
  you can gain some kind of insight into how it works 
  and operates. The GM must give you one useful 
  piece of information about the challenge that you 
  can use to your advantage. This Knack can only 
  be used once per interaction with that specific 
  challenge. 
  Spacer
  A spacer is a person who grew up in space and 
  zero-gravity, able to live and work in it in ways 
  no terrestrial person could. Spacers are frequently 
  raised on starships, and understand 
  the value of being part of a crew. They 
  are also often physically different 
  from others even of the same race. 
  Growing up in zero-gravity, exposed 
  to faster-than-light engines and cosmic 
  radiation, often causes spacers to 
  physically mature quicker than others 
  of their race, as well as grow up tall 
  and lean, with pale, almost blue skin. 
  Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, 
  Survival
  Languages: One of your choice
  Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (space)
  Equipment: A personalized space suit 
  with 2 hours of oxygen, a keepsake 
  from your birth ship, a set of common 
  clothes, a zero-g sleeping hammock, 
  and 10gp
  Suggested Characteristics: Spacers 
  are often strange to people born 
  on planets. They can be incredibly 
  patient, and relish the challenges of 
  life with enthusiasm and an almost 
  childlike sense of wonder.
  Feature: Zero-G Training
  You have no difficulty navigating 
  through an absence of gravity. Your 
  speed while moving through zero-g is 
  increased by 10 feet. 
  Variant Feature: High Spatial 
  Awareness Score
  If you are using the additional 
  ability score ‘Spatial Awareness,’ 
  detailed later in this article, you 
  may choose to change your SPA 
  score of 15, regardless of what your 
  original score was. This represents 
  the Spacer’s ability to move through 
  zero gravity with ease.
  
  EN World EN5IDER| To The Stars
  Shields of the 
  Future
  Energy shielding is a hallmark of 
  space operas and science fantasy. 
  “Shields up!” is just as iconic a phrase 
  as “Roll initiative!” And while Armor 
  Class is a fine way to measure physical 
  armor, it lacks a certain mechanical 
  complexity that energy shields seem 
  to demand. Here are some quick and 
  easy additions and alternatives.
  Energy Shield Emitter: This pocket 
  sized contraption attaches to a belt 
  or spacesuit, creating a thin barrier 
  of subatomic particles that react to 
  energy weapons or similarly fast and 
  extreme forces. The shield protects its 
  wearer when under fire, but does not 
  impede movement or precise work, 
  making it the perfect defense for 
  wizards and rogues. You can activate 
  an energy shield emitter as a bonus 
  action. When active, an energy shield 
  grants you the following benefits:
  ○
  AC increases by 1.
  ○
  Resistance to all damage from
  the next four ranged weapon and
  spell attacks. Each resisted attack
  is represented by a ‘charge’. The
  energy shield emitter regains 1
  charge per day, up to a total of 4.
  ○ When hit with a spell attack of 3rd
  level or lower, you can sacrifice the
  energy shield emitter as a reaction.
  The spell is instantly countered, as
  counterspell, leaving you unharmed,
  but destroying the shield beyond
  repair.
  ○
  Average Terrestrial Cost: 200gp
  Ablative Armor: Normal armor can 
  withstand the blows of arrows and 
  short swords, but would melt away 
  or disintegrate when shot with energy 
  weapons. That’s where ablative armor 
  comes in: a reinforced carbon shell 
  that’s covered in layers of resistant 
  polymers that are designed to absorb 
  the impact of energy weapons and 
  shear away. This armor is ideal for front line 
  combatants like fighters and paladins.
  ○ Armor with the ablative property provides AC
  like normal armor, but also acts as a second
  layer of hit points, called armor points, taking the
  damage from attacks instead of the PC wearing
  it. You can choose whether an attack damages
  your armor points or your hit points.
  ○
  Ablative armor is only available as medium or
  heavy armor. Medium ablative armor (hide,
  scale mail) grants 30 armor points, and heavy
  ablative armor (chainmail, plate) grants 40
  armor points.
  ○
  Suits of ablative armor can regain 1d6 armor
  points during a short rest, and 1d10+5 armor
  points during a long rest.
  ○
  When its armor points are reduced to zero, the
  ablative armor is destroyed, leaving the wearer
  unarmored.
  ○
  Average Terrestrial Cost: The ablative property
  adds 100gp to the cost of a suit of armor.
  New Ability Score: 
  Spatial Awareness
  One of the bigger challenges of sci-fi games is 
  handling zero gravity. Tactical combat can get 
  busy and complicated enough without factoring in 
  something like 3D positioning, but hand waving 
  zero-g away leaves out one of the more novel 
  experiences of playing a game in space. How can it 
  be handled in a fun and crunchy mechanical way 
  that isn’t too complicated or hard to describe at the 
  table? 
  The Spatial Awareness (SPA) score is a combination 
  ability score and spendable resource that allows 
  movement and action in zero gravity. The higher 
  your SPA score, the more proficient you are at 
  finding your center of gravity in a weightless 
  environment, and then using it to keep yourself 
  balanced while moving. This also includes 
  intuitively knowing how to manipulate the personal 
  thrusters or jets on a space suit. Ordinarily, trying 
  to accomplish things in low or zero gravity without 
  being properly braced against something is difficult. 
  All rolls made in zero-g without using your SPA 
  score are made at disadvantage.
  Here’s how the Spatial Awareness score breaks 
  down:
  
  EN World EN5IDER | To The Stars
  At character creation, the SPA score is rolled with 
  all the other ability scores (however ability scores 
  are rolled or determined in your game). It has a 
  modifier just like the other scores too. However, it 
  is written on a character sheet as a resource, like hit 
  points. A SPA score of 14 is written down like so: 
  “score 14/14, modifier +3”.
  When a Spatial Awareness check or save is called 
  for by the GM, you add your modifier to rolls. 
  When you spend SPA points from your score, your 
  modifier is not reduced. 
  Being in zero-g requires spending SPA points from 
  your score. These points return to maximum at 
  the end of a long rest, you can regain 1d4 of them 
  during a short rest (but only once per day).
  Here are some example SPA point costs of actions 
  in zero gravity. You spend SPA points as part of the 
  Move or Action you spend them on.
  ○
  Moving up to your speed through zero-g = 2
  points.
  ○
  Attacking in zero-g = 2 points.
  ○
  Casting a spell while not braced = 2 points + a
  number of points equal to the level of the spell
  casted.
  ○
  Floating above/below a target, granting
  advantage on your next attack roll against that
  target = 5 points.
  ○
  Completing mundane tasks = 1 point.
  ○
  Completing average tasks = 2 points.
  ○
  Completing difficult tasks = 4-6 points.
  Ammo Solution: 
  The Thermal Clip
  Weapons like laser guns, blasters, and energy 
  swords are one of the biggest draws of playing in 
  a science fiction games. They’re pure imaginative 
  awesomeness. Being able to disintegrate your 
  enemies in a hail of laser fire is a very specific joy; 
  one that doesn’t require the expertise of one specific 
  class or race. Anyone can, and should, be able to 
  pick up a ray gun and pull the trigger. 
  That said, sci-fi weapons have the drawback of 
  being based on existing guns (pistols, revolvers, 
  rifles, etc), which are reliant on ammunition. The 
  closer something is to modern times, the more we 
  expect it to be realistic. It’s common to eschew the 
  tracking of ammunition in a fantasy game setting, 
  (it gets boring really fast), and it’s 
  tempting to do so as well with sci-fi 
  guns. Why bother?
  It’s partially to balance energy 
  weapons’ massive destructive 
  potential, but also because doing so 
  adds an extra layer of tension to the 
  game. “Do we have enough ammo 
  to take out this huge, tentacled space 
  monster?” “If we run out, we’ll be back 
  to using magic and swords, I guess”. 
  Tracking sci-fi ammo keeps those 
  fantastical weapons feeling special; 
  their incredible power and versatility 
  is now balanced by a sense of scarcity 
  and resource management. Energy 
  ammo is as precious a resource as 
  +1 arrows in a typical fantasy game.
  Finding ammo in the wild and looting
  it from foes now provides the same
  thrill as finding treasure! But, how to
  keep something like that simple and
  easy to use?
  That’s where the thermal clip comes 
  in. A thermal clip is a universal form 
  of ammunition that works with 
  any energy weapon. Each one is 
  represented in play by a d6 (the classic 
  d6s with dots instead of numbers 
  work best). You track how many 
  thermal clips your character has with 
  actual, physical d6s. Whenever a 
  group of enemies is defeated, the GM 
  rolls a d6 to determine how many 
  thermal clips they have left over for 
  the party to claim. 
  Each weapon consumes thermal clips 
  at a different rate. A laser pistol gets 
  six shots out of a clip, while a laser 
  revolver gets three, and a rocket 
  launcher gets one. These shots are 
  physically counted with the dice, 
  turning the d6 in use to the number of 
  shots left over in the thermal clip. 
  Here are some energy weapon 
  examples, and how they use thermal 
  clips. Like other ranged weapons, 
  attack rolls made with energy 
  
  EN World EN5IDER| To The Stars
  weapons are modified by your 
  Dexterity modifier and Proficiency 
  Bonus (it is assumed all sci-fi 
  characters are proficient with such 
  weapons):
  ●
  Thermal Clip: 10gp each.
  ●
  Laser Pistol: 50gp, 30/200 ft, 1d6
  radiant damage, uses 1 dot per
  shot.
  ● Hand Cannon: 100gp, 60/400 ft,
  2d10 radiant damage, uses 2 dots
  per shot. Reloading a clip takes an
  action.
  ● Laser Rifle: 75gp, 150/600 ft, 1d12
  radiant damage, uses 1 dot per
  shot. Reloading a clip takes an
  action.
  ●
  Plasma Shotgun: 200gp, 25/60 ft,
  6d6 necrotic damage, uses 3 dots
  per shot. Reloading takes an action.
  ●
  Rocket Launcher: 500gp or more,
  200/800 ft, causes a high level spell
  effect (typically fireball), uses 6
  dots per shot. Reloading takes 1d4
  rounds.
  ●
  Disintegrator Ray: 1500gp or more,
  200/800ft, causes a high level spell
  effect (typically disintegrate), uses
  6 dots per shot. Reloading takes 1
  minute.
  And that’s just the beginning. There 
  are numerous little tweaks you can 
  make to the fifth edition rules to 
  accommodate a sci-fi setting. This 
  article is just the tip of the iceberg...
  floating in space, among many others, 
  forming the rings of Saturn.
  Author - Kiel Chenier
  Editor - James Haeck 
  Artists -Indi Martian
  Layout - Justin Buell
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 024 - To the Stars - Science Fiction for Fifth Edition.pdf