Jump Lanes
Jump lanes are routes through hyperspace that are navigable. To chart a route through hyperspace, a ship must carry Science Instruments. The route that is charted is based on the generation of instruments carried.
Science Inst Gen Route Time Mult
First 3x
Second 2x
Third 1x
Fourth 1/2x
Fifth 1/4x
The relative distance calculation is (Distance between stars) x Route Mult / FTL Generation. So two stars that are 10 LY distant, with a route charted with third Generation instruments have an effective distance of 10LY. With second generation FTL engines the effective distance becomes 5LY. Uncharted routes have an automatic 10x multiple and carry a 10% chance that something occurs to the travelling ship.
d10 Event
1-2 Ship lost.
3-4 Ship off course 1d10x10 degrees.
5-6 Ship off course 1d10-5LY from planned emergence point.
7-8 Ship off course 1d10x5 degrees.
9-0 Ship off course 1d0-8LY from planned emergence point.
Wormholes
Wormholes are rifts in N-Space. Travel through a wormhole requires FTL engines to protect the ship from the stresses of hyperspace. Wormholes are rated in Capacity, Visibility, and Approaches.
Wormhole Class Capacity Visibility Approaches
Class A 300 tons/hour 5% 1d2
Class B 500 tons/hour 10% 1d5-1
Class C 800 tons/hour 15% 1d10-4
Class D 1,500 tons/hour 20% 1d10-2
Class E 3,000 tons/hour 25% 1d10
Class F 10,000 tons/hour 30% 1d10+2
Class G 20,000 tons/hour 35% 1d10+5
Capacity determines how much tonnage may be shipped through the wormhole per hour. Any tonnage in excess of this collapses the wormhole for a number of hours determined by the following formula. (Excess tonnage / 10)^2. For example, a 500 ton ship transits a Class A wormhole. The wormhole is collapsed, and no further ships may transit for the next 400 hours (16 days, 16 hours). Outgoing traffic does not affect incoming transits.
Visibility is the chance that passive sensors will detect a wormhole. Scientific instruments triple this number.
Approaches determines how many systems a wormhole may lead to. Calculating an approach requires 1 day + 1 day per existing approach. This is divided by the generation of science instruments.
Wormholes are usually located on the periphery of the system. Roll 1d10x10 + 100 AU. Wormholes have a 20000km event horizon. No permanent structures may be placed within 2 hexes of a wormhole. This event horizon exists on both ends of a wormhole.