Star Fleet Warlord Rules (Updated) - Play By E-Mail

4.11 Crews
Starships are not automated, but have crews which pilot them through space. Crews are normally recruited from
the race of the ship they serve on, and respond to training and other inducements. They can gain experience over time, or
can be weakened by the effects of terrain such as radiation zones and cold stars, or by certain monsters.
Crew levels range from zero (worst) to 9 (best). A basic crew level is expressed numerically as a 3, which is
average (no bonuses or penalties). Ships have this level when first purchased, except for Federation vessels (which begin
with 4 due to superior morale) and Frax ships (which have a 5 thanks to their computer-aided crews).
Each crew level above 3 provides a 10% bonus to battle effectiveness (i.e., to the ship's basic AF and DF stats,
but not SF or hit points). This same bonus is applied to the EPs gained by any prospecting performed by the ship. (Crew
levels 1 and 2 provide a penalty in combat and prospecting, using the same formula in reverse.) Crew levels can also
improve (or penalize) other actions such as raiding and long-range bombardment, and can provide special abilities and
immunities, as will be listed momentarily.
Crew levels can be lost through encounters with radiation zones or certain monsters. On your orders sheet, the
current level of a ship's crew will be listed, followed by its maximum level (if different) after a slash. For example, the note
"Crew: 1/7" indicates a ship with a current level of 1 but a maximum level of 7. The REPR (repair) order will restore such a
ship to its default level of 3, or you can use a hospital ship's CURE ability to bring the crew back to its previous maximum
level (7, in this example). These orders are described in Chapter Six.
Although Federation ships have a crew level of 4 to begin with, this is not their default level. If reduced below 4, a REPR
order will only restore them to the default level of 3. You must use a CURE order to get them back to 4.
The best way to improve crew is to send ships into battle. After any fight in which at least some defenses are
present, surviving ships on the attacking side may have their crews improved by 1 level. The chance of improvement is
33%, unless the battle is against fortifications only (no ships), in which case the chance is reduced to 25%. Getting from
crew level 8 to level 9 is more difficult, however. The chance of reaching this level through combat is only 10% regardless
of the type of battle the ship is involved in.
Some of the penalties of lower crew levels and the special abilities of higher crew levels are shown on the chart in
the next column.
Level Bonuses/Penalties
0 Speed is reduced to zero, so the ship cannot be issued any orders at all! (Use a hospital ship's CURE order to
rescue the ship from this state, as the ship itself will be unable to use REPR or any other orders.) If forced to
defend against an attack, the ship's defense factor is reduced by 50% (not 30%).
1 Cannot use any of the following orders: SCAN, SWPx, BOMB, RADx, NUKE, RESTore, DECY, DECC, or
COLLect (see Chapter Six).
5 Immune to AF, DC and MS terrains as well as damage (but not crew draining) from DS. Scouts can count ships
when using SCAN SHIPS and report the presence of cloaked ships when using SCAN CLOAK.
6 Adds 1 to any minesweeping effects (if a minesweeper).
7 Immune to WS, IS and OM terrains (but cannot issue SWPx unless already a minesweeper). Damage from MM
reduced by half. Can use the REPR order to repair itself. Can cloak in any terrain (if cloak-capable). Can
change to the Z or K mission (if a generic ship). Can use an MRS shuttle even if not a cruiser or larger ship.
Scouts can report the quantity of cloaked ships in the sector when using SCAN CLOAK.
8 Immune to VP, HZ, MO and SZ terrains. Can change to the N mission (if a non-Orion generic ship).
9 Immune to NO, SN, and all speed-draining terrains. Can change to the F mission (if a generic ship). Can use
the CURE, SRVY and ASSAY orders. Adds 2 to any minesweeping effects (if a minesweeper) in addition to the
similar bonus gained for crew-6. Treated as an integration ship for all purposes. Scouts can detect the owner of
ships when using SCAN SHIPS and the hexes containing cloaked ships when using SCAN CLOAK.
All bonuses are cumulative, so a ship at crew-7 has all the abilities listed for crew-5 and crew-6 in addition to
those provided at level 7. Note that crews 2 through 4 have no special bonuses or penalties other than the standard
effects on combat and prospecting.
Many of these things may not be familiar to you at this time, but you can use this section as a point of reference
when your ships first achieve these crew levels. Other abilities of crews may be discovered as the game progresses.
4.12 Ship Variations
Some (but not all) ships are equipped with variations which give them powers above and beyond their ability to
fight. These are indicated by letters in a column of the STAR FLEET WARLORD Ship List. It is the abilities of these
variants that make most ship classes worth purchasing!
When a ship has a letter in the Variant column, check the chart below to see what ability (or abilities) it possesses.
With the exception of the Generic variant, these abilities are fixed and unchanging. ("Generic" ships, designated with the
Revised 30 June 2010 Page 22