E.7 Ship Movement

A ship can take one move action on the pilot’s turn. Ships without a pilot do not move normally, though they may drift.

E.7.1 Ship Heading

A ship’s heading always points in one of the eight standard cardinal directions: north, northeast, east, and so on. Forward-moving ships can only move within a 90 degree cone centered on their heading. For example, a ship with a heading of north could travel northwest or northeast, but not west or east.

Turning

A ship can change its heading by turning. Each ship has a turning cost based on its size. That cost is the number of feet that a ship must spend out of its movement to turn by 45 degrees. A ship can pay its turning cost twice, allowing it to rotate more quickly while typically making little or no forward progress.

Reversing

A ship can travel in reverse, allowing it to move within a 90 degree cone centered around the opposite direction of its heading. This has two restrictions. First, the ship must not have used more than half its movement during its previous turn to travel forward. Second, the ship’s speed is halved while travelling in reverse.