Sins of the Empire — Ship Combat, Scale, and Size Modifiers
Problem: In raw d20, a lightsaber can hurt a Super Star Destroyer if you roll well, and a Super Star Destroyer's turbolaser can snipe a Jedi on a speeder bike. Star Wars doesn't work that way. This doc codeifies scale so each tier fights its own tier, and punishes cross-scale attacks in both directions. Inside each Scale, size still matters — an Jawa is harder to hit than a Wookiee, even though both are Personal.
1. Six Scales (0-5)
| Scale | Tag | Examples | Standard Size | Typical Toughness | Typical Damage | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 Personal | P | Human, droid, Jawa, Wookiee | Small to Large (1-3m) | 0–8 (armor) | 2–8 (blaster 4-6, lightsaber 8-9) | Fighting / Shooting |
| 1 Ground Vehicle | V | Speeder bike, landspeeder, airspeeder, swoop | Huge (3-10m) | 8–10 | 6–10 (light cannon 6, heavy repeating 8) | Drive / Pilot (Repulsor) |
| 2 Heavy Ground / Walker | W | AT-ST (9m), AT-AT (22m), Juggernaut (26m), AAT | Huge to Gargantuan (9-30m) | 11–15 | 10–14 | Drive (Walker) / Gunner |
| 3 Starfighter | S | TIE/ln, X-wing (12m), Y-wing, Lambda (20m), YT-1300 (35m), Firespray (21m) | Huge to Gargantuan (12-40m) | 9–13 + Shields 8-11 | 8–13 (laser 8, ion 8, concussion 10, proton torp 12) | Pilot |
| 4 Capital | C | CR90 (150m), Raider (150m), Arquitens (325m), Nebulon-B (300m), Victory (900m), ISD (1600m) | Colossal to Awesome (100m-2km) | 13–18 + Shields 11-15 | 13–18 (turbolaser 13, heavy 14-15) | Pilot (Capital) |
| 5 Titan | T | Executor (19km), Death Star (160km), station | Awesome+ (10km+) | 20–25 + Shields 15-20 | 18–25 (superlaser 25) | — not player |
2. Size Inside Scale — Standard Size Chart
Scale does NOT erase size differences inside the scale. A Wookiee and an Jawa are both P, but they don't have the same modifiers vs a tank. Same for AT-ST (9m) vs AT-AT (22m) — both W, but AT-AT is easier to hit.
| Size | Length / Height | Examples | Defense | Stealth | Speed | Handling* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 0.5–1.2m | Jawa, Gozzo, mouse droid | +2 Dodge, +2 Parry, -2 Intim | +4 | 5m | +2 |
| Medium | 1.2–2.3m | Human, Twi'lek, Rodian, Bothan, droid | +0 — baseline | +0 | 7m | +0 |
| Large | 2.3–4m | Wookiee (tall), Trandoshan, 2.1m battle droid | -1 Dodge, -1 Parry, +1 Intim | -2 | 7m | -1 |
| Huge | 4–20m | Speeder bike, landspeeder, AT-ST (9m), X-wing (12m), TIE (8m) | Vehicle/ship Defense penalty included in Handling | -4 to -8 | Vehicle | -2 |
| Gargantuan | 20–80m | AT-AT (22m), YT-1300 (35m), Lambda (20m), AT-TE | Handled via Handling | -12 | Vehicle | -4 to -6 |
| Colossal | 80–500m | CR90 (150m), Raider (150m), Arquitens (325m), Nebulon-B (300m) | Handled via Handling | — | Capital | -8 to -10 |
| Awesome | 500m+ | Victory (900m), ISD (1600m), Executor (19km) | Handled via Handling | — | Capital | -12 to -20 |
*Handling is the Defense penalty for vehicles/ships and already includes size. Small creatures get +2 Handling to dodge. For play: Don't recompute. Use statblock. But remember Jawa's +2 Dodge is real when the AT-ST shoots him.
Quick example — same Scale, different Size:
- Jawa (Small) vs Human (Medium): +2 Defense harder to hit, +4 Stealth, -2 Intimidate, 5m move
- Wookiee (Large) vs Human: -1 Defense easier to hit, -2 Stealth, +1 Intimidate, carries more
- AT-ST (Huge, 9m) vs AT-AT (Gargantuan, 22m): both W, but AT-AT is -4 Handling worse = easier to hit
3. Cross-Scale Rules — Scale + Size Stack
3a. Shooting UP (small → big)
- To-Hit: +0 from Scale — you already get the defender's size penalty (big target is easy to hit). Defender's Handling/Defense already includes its -2/-4/-6.
- Damage: -5 Damage per Scale step up. If Damage after penalty ≤0, no roll — narration only unless Heavy.
Heavy weapons list (ignore 1 Scale step up): - Personal: Rocket launcher, thermal detonator, heavy repeating blaster, missile tube - Vehicle: Concussion missile, proton torpedo - Starfighter: Proton torpedo, heavy concussion = Heavy vs Capital - Capital: Heavy turbolaser = Heavy vs Titan
3b. Shooting DOWN (big → small) — THIS IS WHERE EWOK ≠ WOOKIEE SHINES
- To-Hit: -5 per Scale step down. Add additional -5 if target performed Evasive Maneuvers.
- Damage: +5 Damage per Scale step down.
Then add Size Dodge modifiers. Small targets already have +2 Dodge. Large targets have -1 Dodge.
Total to-hit vs Personal from a W-Scale walker:
- Walker W (2) vs P (0) = 2 steps down = -10 scale to-hit, +10 damage.
- vs Human : Defense 14 (base 10 + AGI 2 + Dodge 2) . Walker Gunnery +4 -10 = -6 vs Defense 14 = need 20 = 5% hit. If hit: Damage 10+10=20 vs Toughness 5 = DC 35 = almost always Dying.
- vs Wookiee (Large) : Dodge -1 vs Human. Defense 13. Walker -6 vs 13 = need 19 = 10% hit. Wookiee is 5% easier to hit than Human — correct, he's big.
- vs Jawa (Small) : Dodge +2 vs Human. Defense 16. Walker -6 vs 16 = need 22 = impossible without crit/Aim. Jawa is 10% harder to hit than Human, 15% harder than Wookiee.
Point-Defense list (ignore 1 step down for to-hit only): - Capital Point-Defense Laser Cannons, ISD 60x Point-Defense turrets, AT-ST side guns, starfighter defensive turrets
3c. Quick Table
| Attacker Scale | vs P | vs V | vs W | vs S | vs C | vs T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P (blaster, saber) | Normal (but Jawa +2 Def vs Wookiee -1 Def still applies) | -5 dmg / need Heavy | -10 / need Heavy | No dmg | No | No |
| V | +5 dmg / -5 to hit plus defender size Dodge | Normal | -5 dmg | No* | No | No |
| W | +10 dmg / -10 to hit (Jawa -12 total, Wookiee -9) | +5 dmg / -5 | Normal | -5 dmg / -5 | No | No |
| S | +15 dmg / -15 (Jawa -17, Wookiee -14) | +10/-10 | +5/-5 | Normal | -5 dmg (use torp Heavy) | -10 / need Heavy |
| C | Impossible -20 (Jawa -22, Wookiee -19) | -15 | -10 | -5 (-0 PD) | Normal | -5 dmg |
4. Species Size (apply to sheet)
- Small (Jawa, Gozzo): +2 Dodge, +2 Parry, +4 Stealth, -2 Intimidation, Speed 5m. Existing ability mods stay — this stacks.
- Medium (Human, etc): 0 — no change.
- Large (Wookiee, Trandoshan): -1 Dodge, -1 Parry, -2 Stealth, +1 Intimidation plus carry bonus. If you don't want penalty, use Powerful Build variant: counts as Large for carry/Intim, no Dodge penalty.
5. Shields, Handling, and Fatigue
- Shields give +Shield Rank to Toughness vs first hits. Each Injury = Shields -1. Fail by 5+ = Shields -1 extra.
- Recharge: Move, DC15 Tech or DC18 Pilot to regain 1/rnd if not hit this round.
- Ion: Will vs Fort (ship Fort = frame). Fail = Shields offline 1r/deg, then Handling -2.
- Handling is Size penalty. Evasive Defense = d20 + Pilot + Handling. Min 1. Pilot Talents halve the penalty.
6. Tanks and Walkers — Stats Template
AT-ST - Walker (W) - Handling -2, TOU 11
Size Huge (9m). Weapons: Chin Heavy Blaster Dmg 10, Side Light Dmg 8
Cross-Scale: W vs P = +10 dmg / -10 to hit plus -2 more vs Jawa, +1 easier vs Wookiee
AT-AT - Heavy Walker (W) - Handling -6, TOU 15
Size Gargantuan (22m). Cable Vulnerability: Tow cable = Pilot vs Walker Pilot+Handling.
7. Quick Reference (print on GM screen)
SCALE: P(0) < V(1) < W(2) < S(3) < C(4) < T(5)
UP (small->big): -5 Damage per Scale step. If ≤0, no effect. To-hit uses target's Size — big = easy.
DOWN (big->small): -5 To-Hit per Scale step, +5 Damage per Scale step. If -10+, save ammo.
Small +2 Dodge, Large -1 Dodge already matters: Jawa -12 total vs AT-ST, Wookiee -9.
Heavy ignores 1 UP. Point-Defense ignores 1 DOWN (to-hit only).
STANDARD SIZES:
Small (Jawa): +2 Dodge/Parry, +4 Stealth, -2 Intim, Speed 5m
Medium (Human): +0
Large (Wookiee): -1 Dodge/Parry, -2 Stealth, +1 Intim
Huge (Speeder/AT-ST/X-wing): Handling -2
Gargantuan (AT-AT/YT-1300): Handling -4 to -6
Colossal (CR90): Handling -8 to -10
Awesome (ISD): Handling -12+
See also: Scale — P to T for full cross-scale modifiers, Ships & Vehicles for buyable statblocks. No outside book needed.