Archives of Nethys

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Starship Armor

Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 297
Armor protects a ship from direct-fire weapons (see Type on page 303), deflecting their energy and preventing damage to critical ship systems. It grants an armor bonus to a ship's AC. Armor's cost depends on the bonus it grants and the ship's size category (for the purpose of this calculation, Tiny = 1, Small = 2, Medium = 3, Large = 4, etc.). Armor is a passive system and does not require any PCU to remain functional. It provides protection primarily through mass, which can affect a ship's maneuverability (making it harder to turn) and make it easier for opponents using tracking weapons to lock on to the ship— these effects are listed in the Special column of the table below.

Ablative Armor

By layering inexpensive metal and composite plates over existing bulkheads, a ship can absorb initial damage to its hull before its essential components become vulnerable to attack or hostile environments. However, thicker plates are bulky and interfere with the maneuverability and handling of starships. Ablative armor grants a starship temporary Hull Points to each quadrant, usually distributed evenly. When a starship would take damage to its Hull Points, it first reduces its temporary Hull Points from ablative armor in that quadrant. Once a starship's temporary Hull Points in a quadrant are reduced to 0, any further damage to that quadrant not absorbed by shields is applied to the ship's Hull Points. The loss of temporary Hull Points does not count toward the starship's critical threshold, though for all other effects, any attack that reduces a starship's temporary Hull Points is treated as though it had dealt Hull Point damage to the target.

Click here for the full rules on Starship Armor.

NameBonus to ACTemp HPSpecialCost (in BP)
Mk 1 Armor+11 x size category
Mk 2 Armor+22 x size category
Mk 3 Armor+33 x size category
Mk 4 Armor+45 x size category
Mk 5 Armor+5-1 TL7 x size category
Mk 6 Armor+6-1 TL9 x size category
Mk 7 Armor+7-1 TL12 x size category
Mk 8 Armor+8-1 TL15 x size category
Mk 9 Armor+9-2 TL, +1 turn distance18 x size category
Mk 10 Armor+10-2 TL, +1 turn distance21 x size category
Mk 11 Armor+11-2 TL, +1 turn distance25 x size category
Mk 12 Armor+12-3 TL, +2 turn distance30 x size category
Mk 13 Armor+13-3 TL, +2 turn distance35 x size category
Mk 14 Armor+14-3 TL, +2 turn distance40 x size category
Mk 15 Armor+15-4 TL, +3 turn distance45 x size category
Energy-Absorbent Plating4 x size category
Basic ablative armor 82
Basic ablative armor 163
Basic ablative armor 244
Basic ablative armor 325
Basic ablative armor 406
Light ablative armor 52–1 TL 8
Light ablative armor 64–1 TL 10
Light ablative armor 76–1 TL 12
Light ablative armor 88–1 TL 13
Light ablative armor 100–1 TL 14
Medium ablative armor 120–2 TL, +1 turn distance 16
Medium ablative armor 140–2 TL, +1 turn distance 17
Medium ablative armor 160–2 TL, +1 turn distance 19
Medium ablative armor 180–2 TL, +1 turn distance 21
Medium ablative armor 200–2 TL, +1 turn distance 22
Heavy ablative armor 240–2 TL, +2 turn distance 24
Heavy ablative armor 280–2 TL, +2 turn distance 27
Heavy ablative armor 320–2 TL, +2 turn distance 29
Heavy ablative armor 360–2 TL, +2 turn distance 31
Heavy ablative armor 400–2 TL, +2 turn distance 34
Superior ablative armor 460–3 TL, +2 turn distance 38
Superior ablative armor 520–4 TL, +2 turn distance 45
Passive interposed defenses 10103
Passive interposed defenses 20205
Passive interposed defenses 323210
Active interposed defenses 505014
Active interposed defenses 10010022
Active interposed defenses 16016029