CharGens with more than one ship
- Thread starter Shonner
- Start date
Doesn't Mongoose award "ship shares" instead of ships? Player characters can pile their shares so they get one ship with less debt instead of several unpaid ones.
If they can get several ships, I would put up with them having a small fleet, at least in a trade or merc campaign. Just note that ships are completely separated during jump - you might want to crew all but one of them with NPCs.
Going further with the idea of NPC crews, you may think of it as the characters having a privately founded shipping company with all excess ships running its tasks. This would be in the background, essentially boiling down to PCs getting a bit of annual profit and an occasional trouble to solve for their retainers.
Or alternatively, just allow them to have a bigger ship, though it's not as easy to come up with a story explanation for that.
If they can get several ships, I would put up with them having a small fleet, at least in a trade or merc campaign. Just note that ships are completely separated during jump - you might want to crew all but one of them with NPCs.
Going further with the idea of NPC crews, you may think of it as the characters having a privately founded shipping company with all excess ships running its tasks. This would be in the background, essentially boiling down to PCs getting a bit of annual profit and an occasional trouble to solve for their retainers.
Or alternatively, just allow them to have a bigger ship, though it's not as easy to come up with a story explanation for that.
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steventirey1985
SOC-12
Yes. In the core rulebook, only the Scout career gets an actual ship (a scout ship). The Navy career does get something, but its only a ships boat. Everything else is just ship shares. (Though some get bonus shares if applying them towards a specific type of ship, like a noble getting a yacht, or a merchant getting a free trader.)
I don't let them. IMO a ship is simply too powerful a tool to be anything but a plot device. I'm certainly not going to let a pair of dice dictate whether I'm running a campaign with or without a ship. If the campaign is based on a premise that involves the PCs having control of a ship, I give them one; if it's based on a premise that does not involve the PCs having control of a ship, I don't give them one.
Since my house rules involves a point buy system for character creation, the issue doesn't come up at all, but if I was using a set of rules that involved mustering out benefits, I'd simply have the players reroll any ship results.
Hans
That gives me an idea. If I was using rules with mustering out tables for running a campaign where a ship would not be appropriate for the PCs, I might give the PCs ownership shares in a ship they DIDN'T operate. A source of income and a plot generator when the ship gets into various forms of trouble and needs to be helped out. If the PCs rolled up multiple ships they could instead get shares in a small fledgeling line that owned those ships.
It wouldn't be shares worth millions of credit, though.
Hans
CosmicGamer
SOC-14 1K
Agreed. I generally feed off of the characters wishes and something like this would be known before chargen and campaign outline so that I don't "railroad" them and take away a ship they are excited about rolling up.
Please don't think I'm implying that you don't do the same. Just want to make sure others that might take this tact for the first time pre plan.
But if using standard chargen,
and the type of ship doesn't matter
and a scout ship is rolled more than once
A) if the characters want a different ship, the rules state that a scout ship roll can be used as 1d6 ship shares instead.
B) they want a scout ship
B1) Typically a scout ship still belongs to the scouts and it can be called back. An additional roll gives a chance that the ship is "off the books", liquidated, no longer has any connection with the scout service. Such ships are usually yi da tuo da bian and the first chapter of the campaign becomes the PC's fixing up the ship. Hey, if this is what the players choose to do, I'm going to let them have their fun.
B2) additional rolls are rerolled
B3) (added now to my own personal possible outcomes thanks to fine comments people have made) gain 1d6 shares of "stock" in another ship.
As Hans explains, work it into the plot in any way you like. Here are a few ideas off the top of my head. They're not very good ideas, perhaps, but you have to brainstorm before you redact. I detect a "space junk" theme to my ideas. Ah well.
The second ship is...
1. Shares in a "cooperative" fledgling line.
2. The title to a wreck, or a near wreck, or "always in the shop".
3. It's yours -- wherever it is. If you can find it.
4. It's a space hulk. Literally. At best, it could be an orbital station.
5. Pristine and luxurious, except it failed its shakedown jump flight. Good luck, and don't use the jump drive unless you have to.
6. One of a kind. Requires maintenance every 3 months, which can only be done on <world X>, due to its oddly designed custom parts.
The second ship is...
1. Shares in a "cooperative" fledgling line.
2. The title to a wreck, or a near wreck, or "always in the shop".
3. It's yours -- wherever it is. If you can find it.
4. It's a space hulk. Literally. At best, it could be an orbital station.
5. Pristine and luxurious, except it failed its shakedown jump flight. Good luck, and don't use the jump drive unless you have to.
6. One of a kind. Requires maintenance every 3 months, which can only be done on <world X>, due to its oddly designed custom parts.
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