Extended voyage and repairs of a star vessel

A voyage through the void is more than a mere journey—it is a battle against attrition, isolation, and the merciless stare of Immaterium. A vessel, no matter how mighty, is only as strong as its crew, and the relentless passage of time wears away at both body and spirit.

Population Attrition: The Cost of Survival

Amidst the endless stars, resource shortages, illness, and exhaustion claim lives long before battle does. Combat, accidents, and misfortune further erode a vessel’s strength. Without careful management, crew numbers dwindle, and with them, the ship’s ability to function. A Rogue Trader must constantly seek resupply, recruitment, or unconventional solutions, lest their ship slowly drift toward its demise.

Morale Attrition: The Weight of Isolation

The void is vast, cold, and uncaring. A crew severed from the light of the Emperor, deprived of civilization and faith, grows disillusioned, restless, and desperate. The Immaterium whispers, feeding paranoia and despair, and without intervention, the will to fight, to obey, and to survive may crumble entirely. Keeping morale intact is as critical as maintaining the ship’s hull—both determine whether the voyage ends in glory or ruin.

Mutation Rate: The Risk of the Warp

The Immaterium does not merely surround the ship—it seeps into it. The longer a crew spends exposed to its touch, the more Warp-tainted phenomena they experience. Whether from radiation leaks, xenos contamination, or the raw influence of Chaos, mutations may take root among the crew. While some captains turn a blind eye to minor aberrations, others see mutation as a death sentence, enforcing harsh purity laws to safeguard their vessel’s soul.

Resource Scarcity: The Unyielding Countdown

A starship is a self-contained world, yet even the largest supply holds are finite. Food, water, air, and raw materials are all subject to slow depletion. Some vessels may have the means to stretch their provisions, producing additional rations or recycling resources, but doing so comes at a cost—hunger, sickness, and dissent. A captain must plan carefully, for the moment supplies run out, starvation, desperation, and rebellion soon follow.

The Extended Voyage: When Time Becomes the Enemy

Every vessel has a limit, a threshold at which the journey is no longer sustainable. When that threshold is breached, the Extended Voyage begins—a slow but inevitable collapse. For every month beyond the safety of resupply, the ship suffers:

  • Crew unrest, exhaustion, and loss of morale.
  • Degradation of vital ship systems.
  • Increased risk of warp phenomena, xenos threats, and mechanical failures.

Some captains embrace risk, gambling that they will find salvation before their ship falls apart. Others prepare extensively, seeking out ways to delay the onset of disaster. In the end, every choice matters, and only the cunning, the ruthless, and the lucky will endure.

Amount of supplies

A starship typically carries at least six months’ worth of food and supplies in its storage lockers. Some vessels may squeeze in or produce an additional month’s worth of provisions if they have suitable components. While these supplies can be rationed to last longer, doing so comes at a cost to the crew. As rations dwindle, fresh water grows scarce, and even the very air becomes thick and stale, sickness spreads easily, and tempers flare among the crew.

Voyage Counter

  • Supplies aboard last for six months.
  • Certain components may extend this duration.
  • After resupplying the ship using the methods described below, the counter is either reset to zero or partially reduced, depending on available resources and the GM’s discretion.

Extended Voyage Counter

  • When the vessel exceeds its maximum limit on the Voyage Counter, it begins to suffer from Extended Voyage penalties.
  • Generally, an Extended Voyage starts after six months of travel.
  • For each month beyond the six-month limit, the ship loses 2 Morale and suffers one misfortune, such as those listed below.

Extended Voyage Consequences

The consequences of long journeys vary, and the GM is encouraged to create hardships appropriate to the situation. Some examples include:

Hull Decay and Micrometeorite Damage

  • The ship’s outer hull erodes due to long-term exposure to cosmic radiation and dust.
  • A Tech-Use Test is required to assess and reinforce weak points.
  • Failure: The ship suffers 1d5 Hull Integrity damage, and an external breach could result in depressurization.

Space Weevils Infestation

  • Tiny, resilient void-borne pests have infiltrated the ship’s food stores, consuming and contaminating vital provisions.
  • A Survival or Medicae Test is required to detect and contain the infestation.
  • Failure: The weevils destroy 1d2 months’ worth of food supplies, reducing the Voyage Counters and accelerating the onset of starvation.
  • If left unchecked, the infestation spreads, affecting additional storage damage every month.

Crew Riots

  • Frustration, exhaustion, and poor conditions lead to riots or brawls among crew factions.
  • A Command or Intimidate Test must be made to restore order.
  • Failure: The ship loses 1d10 Morale and 1d5 Crew Population as violence spreads before it’s extinguished.

Shipboard Sickness

  • Stale air and water promote the rapid spread of disease.
  • A successful Medicae Test (difficulty at the GM’s discretion) can contain the sickness.
  • Failure results in 1d5 damage to Crew Population and Morale as the disease runs its course.

Scurvy

  • Poor nutrition due to quality of Imperial rations weakens the crew.
  • There is little that can be done without access to proper nutrients.
  • The weakest members of the crew succumb, causing 1d5 damage to Crew Population.

Madness

  • Prolonged isolation and the stress of traveling in Immaterium take a psychological toll.
  • A successful Command Test (difficulty at the GM’s discretion) can contain the madness.
  • The ship loses 1d5 Morale as paranoia and hysteria spread among the crew.

Parasite Infestation

  • A parasitic organism or stowaway xenos species begins spreading among the weakened crew.
  • A Survival or Medicae Test must be made to contain the outbreak.
  • Failure: The ship loses 1d5 Crew Population per week until exterminated.

Mutagenic Miasma

  • A toxic contamination seeps through the ship, caused by faulty plasma drives, chemical leaks, or prolonged exposure to the Immaterium. The miasma spreads through the ventilation systems, subtly altering those exposed to it.
  • A hard (-10) Tech-Use or Creed Test is required to purge the contamination and prevent further mutation.
  • Failure: The ship’s Mutation Rate increases by 1d3, as the crew begins exhibiting disturbing physical and mental abnormalities.
  • If left unchecked, the contamination persists for 1d3 months, potentially increasing permanent genetic damage or attracting unwanted Warp phenomena.

Weary Machine Spirit

  • Extended voyages strain a starship’s systems, sometimes pushing them to the breaking point.
  • Without access to a full shipyard, most repairs are temporary at best.
  • The GM selects a Component on the ship. For each additional month without visiting a shipyard or civilized planet for maintenance, a character must make a Tech-Use Test.
  • Failure damages the Component, and each successive test becomes progressively harder.

Starvation

  • One of the greatest fears aboard a starship is running out of food.
  • Starvation is unlikely unless a ship has been on voyage for over a year or has suffered significant losses to its food stores.
  • If starvation begins, the ship loses 1 Crew Population and 2 Morale per day until it finds a habitable planet or another means of resupply.

Mitigation Strategies

  • Rationing
    • At the beginning of the voyage, rationing doubles the duration of available supplies, but the ship’s morale suffers a -10 penalty due to the crew’s hunger.
  • Prioritizing Essential Personnel
    • After the vessel reaches the six-month limit and begins an extended voyage, supplies should be prioritized for essential personnel. This prioritization imposes a -15 morale penalty but provides a +10 bonus to Command tests performed on the ship during the extended voyage.
  • Salvaging and Resource-Harvesting
    • Conduct salvage or resource-harvesting operations when possible. These opportunities depend on encounters during the voyage and are subject to the GM’s discretion.
  • Speeches and Imperial Ceremonies
    • The captain’s speeches and Imperial ceremonies can provide temporary morale relief during long voyages. This can be performed once per game session, at the GM’s discretion.
  • Purging the Discontent
    • Eliminating dissenters removes one point of morale damage caused by the extended voyage but results in an equivalent loss of population instead of morale.
  • Trading and looting
    • Trading with or looting other Imperial ships, and in rare cases, dealing with or robbing xenos vessels, can provide additional supplies. Upon acquiring new supplies, the voyage counter is reset.
    • The number of additional months gained depends on the resources of the source and the GM’s discretion.

Birthrate & Crew Replacement

Standard Birthrate:

  • Star vessels are not designed for raising families, meaning most of the lost crew member cannot naturally be replaced.
  • Newborns are rare and star vessels require external recruitment to sustain the crew over long voyages.

Exception: The Mormonites

  • The Only Imperial Cult That Can Reproduce Over 1:1 Ratio.
  • Mormonite Sect members have a doctrine of reproductive expansion, allowing them to slowly repopulate a ship over generations.
  • Over extended voyages, a vessel with a Mormonite cultural group present may replenish lost crew numbers, potentially altering the ship’s cultural and religious landscape.

Mitigation Strategies for Crew Loss caused by long voyage:

  • Regular Recruitment at Imperial Ports: The primary method of sustaining crew levels.
  • Adoption of Enslaved/Rescued Populations beyond Imperial authority: If possible to the captain.
  • Cryogenic Preservation of Reserve Crew: If the ship has advanced cryogenic or stasis technology, crew members may be thawed to replace lost personnel and .

Mutation Rate

Sources of Mutation:

  • Warp Exposure: The longer a crew spends in the Immaterium, the greater the risk of mutation or psychic taint.
  • Xenos Contamination: Interaction with non-human species or bioforms could introduce genetic instability.
  • Radiation & Hazardous Conditions: Extended exposure to high-radiation zones, ship-core leaks, or experimental technology may alter genetic structures.

Types of Mutations:

  • Cosmetic Mutations: Discolored skin, glowing eyes, minor deformities (low threat).
  • Functional Mutations: Increased or decreased physical or cognitive abilities (moderate threat).
  • Warp-Touched: Psychic instability, daemon influence, or extreme deformity (high threat).

Mitigation Strategies

Genetic Purity Screening: Regular medical examinations are conducted to detect and isolate mutations before they spread.

  • Medicae Skill Check (-30)
  • Failure: Lose 1 Crew Population for every 3 Degrees of Failure (DoF)
  • Success: Decrease Mutation Rate by 1 for each Degree of Success (DoS)

Execution of the Tainted: If a mutation is deemed too severe or heretical, extreme measures may be required to purge corruption.

  • Imperial Creed Check
  • Failure: Lose 1 Crew Population + 1 additional Crew Population per Degree of Failure (DoF)
  • Success: Decrease Mutation Rate by 2 for each Degree of Success (DoS)

Mutiny and Rebellion

The GM should feel free to expand on this concept, introducing elements such as mutinous lower-deck conspiracies or treacherous mid-rank officers plotting to seize control of the ship.

Crew members confined within iron bulkheads, deprived of sunlight and fresh air for months or years, may turn against their leaders. The Morale loss suffered during an Extended Voyage represents this growing unrest.

Mutiny Triggers

During an Extended Voyage, if Morale drops below any of the following thresholds:

  • 40 + Mutation Rate
  • 10 + Mutation Rate
  • 0 + Mutation rate
    • The ship’s crew rises up like a single, enraged organism, killing anybody in authority they can catch.
    • Unless every single crewmember is put to the sword, they will take control of the ship and elect new officers from amongst their ranks

the Captain must make a Command Test.

  • On failure, a portion of the crew rebels, and a mutiny begins.

Resolving the Mutiny

To represent the mutiny, the GM should select one NPC crewmember to lead the rebellion (or create basic stats for a generic crew member).

The mutiny can be fought or suppressed through opposed Command, Charm, or Intimidation Tests, chosen by the players.

  • One character (not necessarily the captain) is chosen to lead the suppression of the mutiny and must perform the selected opposed Skill Test.

Using Intimidation

If the characters choose Intimidation, they are threatening extreme measures, such as:

  • Opening crew quarters into space
  • Executing ringleaders
  • Taking hostages
  • Demonstrating the severe consequences of rebellion

Success: If the players win the opposed Skill Test, the ship suffers:

  • 1 Crew Population damage
  • 1d10 Morale damage (the crew fears and mistrusts their ruthless commanders)
  • The mutiny ends

Failure: If the mutineers win the test, another opposed Skill Test is required.

  • If the mutineers win again, the cycle continues.
  • If the mutineers win by three or more degrees of success, the mutiny succeeds—the characters lose control of the ship and must flee quickly or risk execution by their former crew.

Using Command

If the characters choose Command, they are:

  • Leading armsmen to suppress riots
  • Posting guards at critical locations
  • Engaging mutineers in direct combat

Success: If the players win the opposed Skill Test, the ship suffers:

  • 1d5 Crew Population damage
  • 1d5 Morale damage
  • The mutiny ends

Using Charm

If the characters choose Charm, they are attempting to diplomatically resolve the situation, by:

  • Meeting with ringleaders
  • Addressing the crew’s demands
  • Negotiating terms to restore order

Success: If the players win the opposed Skill Test, the ship suffers:

  • 1d10 Morale damage (the crew views the commanders as weak)
  • The mutiny ends

    Resupplying the Ship

    To resupply, the starship must locate an inhabited planet or a space station—preferably a world with a reasonably advanced level of civilization. Once a suitable world or void station has been located, the crew can pay to have their starship resupplied.

    • Loading time in primitive habitations: It takes one week of loading to gather the supplies acquired if available. Up to GM.
    • Loading time in advanced habitations: It takes one day of loading for each month of supplies acquired.

    Regaining Morale

    The crew requires time to recover and replenish their morale. The morale regained depends on the environment:

    • Xenos Worlds or Death Worlds: +5 morale per week spent.
    • Habitable Worlds, Feral Worlds, Feudal Worlds, and Void Stations (larger than the ship): +3 morale per day spent.
    • Advanced Imperial Habitations: +6 morale per day spent.
    • Shrine Worlds: +10 morale per day spent.

    Spending Gelt to Expedite Morale Recovery

    • The captain or other officer may burn 1 point of Influence to cover expenses (compensating for damages to local drinking dens and brothels). Morale is fully restored in just one week.

    Extended Repairs

    To survive in the deep void, starships must be largely self-sufficient. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of repairs and maintenance. Any true void-faring vessel carries reserves of fuel, storage holds filled with additional supplies, and spare ship components—ranging from delicate cogitator circuitry to massive adamantine plates for sealing hull breaches. While these reserves are rarely enough to fully repair a starship (especially after a particularly devastating engagement), they are sufficient to allow the crew to patch up the most critical damage.

    Performing Extended Repairs

    To conduct extended repairs, a starship must locate a suitable anchorage, such as high orbit around a gas giant in a deserted star system or nestled against a large asteroid to avoid detection. The crew will then spend several weeks on repairs, with the duration determined beforehand by the ship’s captain.

    • For each week of repairs, the crew member directing them must make a Tech-Use Test, tracking degrees of success and degrees of failure.
    • If the degrees of failure exceed the degrees of success by the end of the repair period, the repairs fail.
    • If the degrees of success outnumber the degrees of failure, the repairs succeed, and the ship regains 1d5 points of Hull Integrity (though never exceeding its maximum).
    • A successful repair attempt also restores all damaged, depressurized, and unpowered Components to full working order. Destroyed Components must be repurchased and replaced separately.

    Thorough Repairs at a Station or Planet

    For more thorough repairs, the starship must find an inhabited planet or space station—preferably one with a reasonably advanced level of civilization (cavemen or feudal peasants will be of little assistance in repairing a starship). Once a suitable dock or orbit has been found, the crew can pay to have the ship repaired.

    • If any Hull Integrity is restored, then all damaged, depressurized, and unpowered Components are also repaired.
    • For every full five points of Hull Integrity restored, the Explorers must make an Acquisition Test at a –10 penalty (accounting for the rarity and quantity of materials).
    • These Acquisition Tests are made sequentially—if one is failed, the Explorers have temporarily exhausted their available funds. They must either wait 1d5 weeks for more resources to become available or seek repairs elsewhere (preferably at a location offering better prices).
    • Any Acquisition Tests made to repair Hull Integrity do not count against the number of Acquisitions an Explorer may make in a game session.

    Time Required for Repairs

    New Components (whether upgrades or replacements for destroyed ones) must be purchased separately and require 1d5 additional days per Component to install.

    For each point of Hull Integrity restored, the ship must spend one day being repaired. If Space Dock Pier component is available hen repair speed is 2 hull integrity for 1 day.