Space Travel

PART ONE: THE BURN

Sub-Light Travel, Navigation & The Physics of Not Dying

“Throttle up. Strap in. And if you hear a rattle from Deck 3, that’s just the fuel couplings. Probably. Don’t go check. Definitely don’t go check.”
Chief Engineer Mara Voss

The Two Phases of Travel

All interstellar travel in GLOOM operates in two distinct phases. Phase 1 is the Burn: real-space travel under Newtonian physics, governed by fuel, thrust, and the terrifying fragility of the human body at high-G acceleration. Phase 2 is the Shift: the plunge into the Sub-Quantum Manifold, governed by madness, Lucidity, and the terrifying fragility of the human soul. This chapter covers Phase 1. If you survive it, congratulations, you’ve earned the privilege of Phase 2.

The Fusion Torch

The Charon’s primary sub-light propulsion is an Durand-Arakawa Fusion Torch. Superheated hydrogen plasma is expelled at tremendous velocity. The result is a continuous, throttleable thrust that can, if the Engineer is suicidal enough, push the ship past 3G sustained acceleration.
Fuel Cost: The Torch consumes 1 Fuel Unit per Scene of active burn (combat, pursuit, or orbital maneuvers). Drifting on momentum is free. The Charon carries 40 Fuel Units. When the gauge reads zero, you sit in a very expensive coffin.

G-Force & the Crew

The human body was designed for 1G. Anything above that is a negotiation between your skeleton and Sir Isaac Newton, and Newton is not known for compromise.

G-Force	Duration	Effect on Crew	Mechanical Effect
1G	Indefinite	Comfortable. Standard gravity.	No penalty.
2G	Hours	Heavy. Breathing labored. Movement sluggish.	All Physical rolls at Disadvantage.
3G+	Minutes	Brutal. Vision narrows. Bones creak. Unsecured crew are pinned.	All rolls at Disadvantage. VIGOR Save each round or take 1d4 damage.
5G+	Seconds	Emergency Burn. Unconsciousness. Internal bleeding. Unsecured objects become projectiles.	VIGOR Save (DC 15) or fall unconscious. Fail by 5+: take 2d6 damage.

Fuel Management

Fuel is life. The Engineer is the keeper of the gauge, and the gauge is a liar; it reads 10% optimistic on a good day, and the coupling sensors haven’t been calibrated since before the crew was born.

Action	Fuel Cost	Notes
Standard Burn (1 Scene)	1 Unit	Includes combat maneuvering.
High-G Burn (2G+)	2 Units / Scene	The Engineer can reduce to 1 with a successful PER check.
Emergency Burn (5G+)	3 Units (flat)	Non-negotiable. The reactor screams.
Shift Drive Priming	5 Units	Energy spike to punch the hole.
Drift / Coast	0 Units	Free, but you’re predictable. Easy target.

Navigation in Normal Space

The Pilot handles all sub-light navigation. On most ships computer-assisted and, on some, even AI-assisted. This includes plotting orbital trajectories, avoiding debris fields, docking at stations, and outrunning anything that wants to kill you. Which, on the Verge, is most things.

Most of the time there are no need for a skill check, but when a complication occurs (which it almost always does) the pilot must show their mettle.

Situation	DL	Failure
Open space transit	5	Minor drift. +1 hour.
Asteroid field / debris belt	10	1d6 Hull Damage.
Atmospheric entry (no landing pad)	15	Rough landing. 2d6 Hull Damage.
Emergency docking (damaged station / combat)	17	Collision. 3d6 Hull Damage. Crew takes 1d6.
Threading the Needle (Monolith blockade run)	20	You don’t thread it. You are boarded.