Build:Cloaking Devices
8.18 Cloaking Devices
Cost: (3 x Class) + Size
Power Requirement: 40 Power per class per round of use
Available: 2212
Cloaking devices, a type of “stealth” technology, emit an energy field which bends light and other energy phenomena around a cloaked ship, rendering it invisible to both the naked eye and most sensors. However, while they’re powerful weapons, cloaks are not without their drawbacks. They require enormous amounts of power—so much that a ship cannot use many other systems, including shields, transporters, active sensors, and weapons systems, while a cloak is on. The ship can, however, use its communication devices or passive sensor systems, and doing so will not reveal its location to other ships. Cloaking devices work in atmospheres, but may be effectively useless due to the presence of atmospheric particulates and the like.
Star Fleet dislikes cloaks, which it considers contrary to its mission as an exploratory organization, and does not use them. In fact, under the terms of the Treaty of Algeron, Federation ships are forbidden to use them. However, exceptions are occasionally made (most notably the USS Defiant).
In game terms, cloaks work by imposing a substantial negative modifier on all Tests made to perceive the cloaked ship or object (including Intellect Tests and Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Tests). See below for base Difficulties using sensors. Sometimes, despite the modifiers imposed by a cloak, a ship manages to succeed with a Test anyway; this indicates it detected some anomaly or “sensor blip” which may provide a clue that there’s a cloaked ship nearby. The accompanying table indicates the SU cost and effect of various types of cloak. Typically a ship’s cloak should have a rating equal to or greater than its Size.
A cloaking device costs 40 Power per class per round it’s in use. For example, using a Class 8 cloak costs (40 x 8) or 320 Power per round.
A cloaking device has a small internal battery with enough power to operate it to cloak itself (and itself alone) for about five rounds. This power cannot be drained to use with other systems.
Only Romulan and Klingon ships have access to cloaking technology during the 23rd century (though Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise did steal a Romulan cloaking device in 2268 so the Federation could study it and find ways to counteract it). In the 23rd century, the Klingons have access to cloaks of classes 1-6; the Romulans have cloaks from classes 1-7 (they develop class 8 in 2298).
Additionally, TOS-era cloaks fail to hide two important phenomena. First, they emit surges of neutron radiation while in use. Ships very close to the cloaked vessel —within 10 kilometers— can detect the surge with a Moderate (6) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test (though they may not always comprehend the surge’s significance). Second, they cannot cover the ionic gases a ship emits while traveling at impulse speeds. Another ship can detect the gases with a Moderate (8) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, and if it does so program a torpedo to home in on those gases (giving it a +4 Test Result bonus to hit the cloaked vessel).
Cloaks of the 23rd century generate a slight amount of interference for their ship’s sensors. All Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Tests made using the equipment on a cloaked ship while the cloak is active suffer a -1 Test Result penalty.
TOS-era ships may not take cloak-like systems, such as masking circuitry.
Per the normal Spacedock rules, cloaked ships may not fire weapons while cloaked. However, in 2292, the Klingon House of Chang developed a prototype cloaking device that allowed a ship to fire while cloaked. Firing a weapon reveals the part of the ship containing that weapon for a split-second, allowing an alert enemy to counterattack. In game terms, the counterattacker has to be prepared to make an attack and succeed with a Challenging (11) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test to detect the revealed part of the cloaked ship in time.
After the USS Enterprise-A and USS Excelsior destroyed Chang’s prototype, further experimentation showed that the improved cloak contained many major flaws. They included the cloak causing beam weapons to malfunction and explode, and torpedoes to detonate prematurely while still in the launcher. Additionally, the cloak frequently disengaged for no apparent reason, in the process jamming the ship’s shields and leaving it completely vulnerable to counterattack. By 2297, in light of these problems and the current peace initiative with the Federation, the Klingon Empire abandoned attempts to develop the improved cloak altogether.
By 2379, the Romulans had a working cloak that could effectively operate both at high warp speeds and allow the cloaked ship to fire torpedoes. The Reman ship Scimitar, well equipped with 27 photon torpedo launchers, is able to launch the weapons without revealing any portion of its superstructure; instead, the torpedo immediately becomes visable as it departs the cloak's influence.
(Romulan: With their preference for stealth and subterfuge, it seems only natural the Romulans would invent the cloaking device so early in their history. Even before they had fully-functional warp drives, they had cloaking devices, and they made good use of them to spy on the Federation and other enemies [debatable; this may be cut upon further determination of Romulan's receipt of warp drives]. Today, every Romulan military vessel comes equipped with a powerful cloaking device. Many Romulan civilian ships have them as well, though not always legally.
(Generally speaking, Romulans don’t use other forms of hiding ships, such as interferometric dispersion. They seem to prefer to rely on their tried and trusted cloaks for reasons unclear to the Federation. Though they have fought long and hard with enemies such as Star Fleet, using their technical expertise to counteract various methods developed for penetrating cloaks, they have no doubt they will eventually triumph over those who wish to dispel their treasured veil of secrecy.)
Table
| Cloaking Class |
SU | Effect | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 3 + Size | +1 Difficulty to detect | 2212 |
| Class 2 | 6 + Size | +2 Difficulty to detect | 2254 |
| Class 3 | 9 + Size | +3 Difficulty to detect | 2267 |
| Class 4 | 12 + Size | +4 Difficulty to detect | 2274 |
| Class 5 | 15 + Size | +5 Difficulty to detect | 2281 |
| Class 6 | 18 + Size | +6 Difficulty to detect | 2298 |
| Class 7 | 21 + Size | +7 Difficulty to detect | 2305 |
| Class 8 | 24 + Size | +8 Difficulty to detect | 2320 |
| Class 9 | 27 + Size | +9 Difficulty to detect | 2335 |
| Class 10 | 30 + Size | +10 Difficulty to detect | 2350 |
| Class 11 | 33 + Size | +11 Difficulty to detect | 2379 |