Diaspora/Gravity assist
From UTRPG
Diaspora/Gravity assist
Gravity Assist is a custom Diaspora stunt that allows a pilot to use a system's gravity wells for a velocity boost, saving fuel and/or time.
- Velocity boost
- If there is a strong enough gravity well between your ship and its destination (almost always) you may roll Navigation against a difficulty equal to the v-shift rating of the ship. A successful result means that the ship's effective v-shift increases by 1 for the duration of the trip, while only using as much r-mass as it would by going at its normal velocity. This is like an overburn without the extra r-mass consumption or heat considerations. This use of the stunt does not cost a Fate Point.
- Slingshot effect
- By spending a fate point, this may be made potentially more effective: Instead of adding one to the ship's v-shift on a successful result, you add the number of shifts rolled (positive or negative). Thus on a positive result you have managed to take advantage of the gravity well to provide the ship with a gravity assist, and on a negative result, the attempt was botched and the trip takes longer than it should have.
- If the resultant v-shift is 0 or less, you have made a critical mistake and may be in danger of flying into a planet or slingshotting out of the system. The exact results are up to the table, but it might decide for example that a navigation roll on the time track is required to get the ship back under control (like when slipping into a system) with a base duration of one day plus the number of negative shifts rolled. For example, if you try to use a gravity assist with a ship that has a v-shift rating of 3, and rolls a -2, the result is +1. This fails by two shifts, so you must now make a Navigation roll on the time track, with a base duration of a week, to get the ship under control.
- Either use of the stunt may be combined with an overburn to gain even more speed. This increases v-shift by an additional point, and incurs the usual consequences of an overburn. The modified overburn v-shift is used for the difficulty of the Navigation roll.
