Is it bad if I...

By copperbell, in Star Wars: Age of Rebellion RPG

Rather like having Z-95 Headhunters as the standard fighters for the rebels in my game?

I can't help wondering how they could remotely have sufficient enough X-Wings given the impression that not only did the Rebels have limited resources but their means of constructing such fighters make it impractical to rely on them only.

Yes I know they mentioned the Y-Wing as their original main fighter craft but given the varied options available why didn't they make use of what fighters they could obtain?

After purchasing my copy of Beyond the Rim my reaction to the storyline as well as background subplots for the characters was to suddenly think...

In case you don't want to be spoiled don't read the below...

At the tail end of the clone wars a few treasury ships fleeing Imperial forces rely on the few remaining Separatist warships that have survived the now lost war.

A trio of such ships protect the treasury ship whose commander insures his ship's safety by including in his crew members close relatives of those in command of those warships knowing they would do anything they can to protect their kin he deliberately abandons them so he can evade capture and for all he knows they all died that day...

Unbeknown to him they all survived and separated to better thwart capture their crews tried to rebuild their lives but for some that wasn't an option, when those near the Wheel learn of the discovery of a hyperspace pod it galvanised them in ways that may well topple the Empire itself...

My question in addition to the one above which anyone who doesn't want spoilers to that adventure may as well restrict their answers to that opinion...

One or more former Separatist warships ends up in Rebel hands... do you think one of those would work as a mobile base if you thought your players would be up for such a game?

Apologies again I hope this makes sense.

Edited by copperbell

I've actually loved the ideas of using old ships from 1-3 in games set in 4-6. Of course some of them would still be around!

In my last Star Wars campaign, my players picked up a partially dismantled ARC-170. It was a money sink as they slowly added a shield generator, weapons, etc, and it worked nicely as a travel vehicle for their party of 3 plus an astromech.

Currently, I've got notes and sketches on a replacement for The Wheel from Beyond the Rim. It's one of those Federation droid control ships, but the original merchant version (less weapons). I've got a back story that fits in with Beyond the Rim. In the end, the command module (the sphere) was unattached and the ship's thrusters and hyperdrive exploded due to battle damage. It was left floating in deep space without the command module and much of the drive area splintered. But, one of the two arms still had life support and the reactor was still good. Fast forward 20 years and its a stop over for smugglers and others wishing to avoid Imperial entanglements. It's population includes immigrants plus survivors or descendants of the original ship crew (those that weren't droids). A cache of aging B1 battle droids is being used for ship security and menial tasks to keep it running. Makeshift shops line the huge open hangar of the arm that still has life support. The other arm has no gravity or air, but is used for cargo and very large ships to dock within.

I could imagine my scenario above being converted to a Rebel base very easily.

I don't know about "standard" fighter, but the z-95 could and should be one of many arrows in your quiver.

Well, the Y-Wing is pretty much the standard fighter of the Rebellion. The X-Wing is the fighter they build the most, but it is the Y-Wing they can obtain the most of. However, the Z-95 is a more clear analog of the X-Wing and would probably also be pretty easy to obtain.

The problem with the Z-95 is that, generally, They're non-hyperspace capable. Which means operating only where there's a base or a carrier.

This makes them pretty poor choices for rebels.

On the other hand, it stands to reason that adding a hyperdrive would be the main use of a Z-95's default two customization hardpoints.

On the other hand, it stands to reason that adding a hyperdrive would be the main use of a Z-95's default two customization hardpoints.

That option doesn't install a new one - just improves an existing one...

But, given that there's a backup at x16, no hyperdrive would have to be worse than a x16, so a single step improvement would be a x16 hyperdrive. Almost as bad.

The difference is " you can have plain ol' sublight or you can have faster-than-light AT ALL ."

In Choices of One, Luke flies a Z95 with a hyperdrive. Apparently it keeps up the Falcon just fine...

Yeah a lot of pre-Alliance resistance forces used hyperdrive modded Headhunters as did the Alliance until the X-Wing was introduced but even after the X-Wing some Z-95s remained in service. And the Z-95t was a variant specifically equipped with a x3 hyperdrive used by the Alliance. Of course the early Alliance also used R-41s, which aren't quite as old as the Z-95s but still elderly enough to be common on the black market, and I strongly suspect they will be included in either an Edge of the Empire Product, or Age of Rebellion one sooner or later.

And you shouldn't feel obligated to restrict your rebel characters to ships that have been shown in use by the rebellion in other sources IMO. There are tons of ship classes which it makes sense for the rebels to have access to that have yet to be shown in rebel hands in the films or EU, including the RPGs. In the WEG game my old group's various parties used as rebels or encountered rebels using several Class 1000 cruisers, and Bayonet class light cruisers plus a few Tapani Assault frigates, and even a few Uglies and Hornet interceptors. In my current group's Saga campaigns the same was true of the Corona armed Frigates and most of the hyperdrive equipped fighters commonly used by mercs or the underworld. And in our planned Corellian sector rebel campaign the PCs are going to start with a mix of Y-Wings and Lancets as their starting fighters along with a couple of Corellian freighters for transport missions.

Edited by RogueCorona

I'd say the Alliance would never have turned away anything they could use or scavenge for parts. Although I don't think to be successful the Alliance would have even tried to bother building up big numbers of ships.

I think like a great deal that has been brought up in the EU the Alliance brought many different factions together but didn't necessarily call the shots in them. I think what we saw at the Battle of Endor was the main traditional military hierarchy Rebel forces. The rest of the Alliance was probably a collection of groups, gangs, privateer ships, maybe even task forces, and even individuals, that the Alliance acted as an intel source and logistical enabler for. It would have been a good compartmentalized approach for security, as well as, keeping a logistical footprint smaller and harder to track for the Empire.

Like Mon Mothma said in the Endor briefing "Many Bothans died to bring us this information."

Yeah and we never actually saw the entire main Alliance fleet. The Return of the Jedi novelization specifically states that the Alliance Fleet stretches further than the eye can see. And the Essential Guide to Warfare states that the main Alliance fleet was the rough equivalent of 15 Imperial sector forces. What we actually saw in the movie wasn't even equivalent to one Imperial sector fleet. Plus the guide mentions a number of Alliance sector forces which had decent fleets of their own.

And as mentioned the Alliance used a number of Privateers. Exact numbers aren't clear but the main Alliance began using them shortly after Yavin and continued using them well into the New Republic ceasing shortly after Luke's Jedi academy was established while some of the Sector forces were using them even earlier.I'm hoping for a privateer focused book for the system once Age of Rebellion is out if not sooner.

Edited by RogueCorona

Outdated Carrier ship as a base of operations... Z-95s as the fighter of choice ( and by choice I mean all they got)... Hyperdrive sleds to allow for scouting and long range strike ops...sounds like a rebel group to me.

Why not also provide the players with a number of trainer variant z-95s to use as strike craft?

The Z-95 trainers don't have missiles IIRC which severely limit their use as strike craft..

The Z-95 trainers don't have missiles IIRC which severely limit their use as strike craft..

So it does, is slower too (still in the Speed 4 range, but maybe with lower handling?), still I suspect the players could find use for it.

Edited by Ghostofman

My understanding is that several Venator-class Star Destroyers found their way into the Rebel Fleet, as they were largely abandoned or sold off in favour of the Victory and Imperial-class ships. For the Rebels they're ideal, because they are primarily carriers, rather than straight-up gunships. I could see making use of one of these as a plot-device in a campaign... either salvaging a discovered one or capturing one that has been used for training fighter pilots.

Yeah the same was true of a lot of CIS warships. Especially the Trade Federation Battleships, many of which were converted back to their freighter form after the Clone Wars and sold off, with at least one being converted back into the warship form by the Alliance. There were probably a few Gladiator class Star Destroyers in the rebel fleet as well, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had salvaged or otherwise obtained a few Victorys or Victory-IIs.

Do you think the new canon will address the importance of carriers?

It feels strange looking back and wondering why I didn't question how these one man star fighters manage extended trips in hyperspace with what a week or month consumables and not once wondered how they took their bathroom breaks? :P

Is there any chance Fantasy Flight Games might release some deckplan maps of a couple of these ships?

Well okay any of the ships except the YT-1300 which i think was in the edge of the empire beginner box set! :D

I always assumed that rebel fighters make several short stops at hidden bases when flying around the galaxy without a carrier. Some of those 'bases' could of course be ships that more or less maintain static positions (or circuits) unless hostiles are detected would be reasonable. A frigate hiding on the outer reaches of an uninhabited system would be ideal.

On their own, a one week (5 day) trip isn't going to get them very far, especially if they have to make it back to a pick-up point too.

Do you think the new canon will address the importance of carriers?

It feels strange looking back and wondering why I didn't question how these one man star fighters manage extended trips in hyperspace with what a week or month consumables and not once wondered how they took their bathroom breaks? :P

Is there any chance Fantasy Flight Games might release some deckplan maps of a couple of these ships?

Well okay any of the ships except the YT-1300 which i think was in the edge of the empire beginner box set! :D

Well most capital warships can serve as a base for fighter, and the essential guide to warfare mentions how bulk freighters can be converted to carriers easily. There's also the Neutron Star class Bulk Cruiser carrier conversions used by the rebels which were statted in both D6 and Saga. And I've been told that the Neutron Star class was statted in the latest Edge of the Empire book. My copy hasn't arrived yet so I don't know if its the carrier version but even if its not converting it shouldn't be too hard. Plus there is supposed to be an all new Frigate size carrier in the book as well, and I would be shocked if none of those ever ended up in rebel hands.

Do you think the new canon will address the importance of carriers?

It feels strange looking back and wondering why I didn't question how these one man star fighters manage extended trips in hyperspace with what a week or month consumables and not once wondered how they took their bathroom breaks? :P

They just go man................ ;)

Do you think the new canon will address the importance of carriers?

It feels strange looking back and wondering why I didn't question how these one man star fighters manage extended trips in hyperspace with what a week or month consumables and not once wondered how they took their bathroom breaks? :P

They just go man................ ;)

They probably have piddle packs like RL fighter pilots do.

Lots of empty water bottles refilled with yellow water. At least that is what is done in extended non-stop military convoys. That kind of thing doesn't make it into modern military movies either. :) Too icky to show soldiers filling up containers since they aren't allowed to stop or even hanging their arse out vehicle windows or doors (true story) while the next vehicle in line gets a show.

Some things are best left unconsidered since the answer is something that could make it on Tosh.0.

I finally got my copy of Dangerous Covenants. I was wrong the Neutron Star class Bulk Cruiser shown in the book isn't the carrier version at all. Its the stock version which no one has ever given specifications for until now rather than the carrier conversion from WEG and SAGA.

However there is still the Starbolt class Assault Carrier which IMO would be perfect as a base for a small rebel fighter group. Given its age and the kinds of groups that purchased most of them the rebellion almost certainly has some in service. Its got room for two fighter squadrons, can also serve as a base for a decent ground assault force, and has enough firepower to take on other small or midsized capital ships.

I'll be showing it to the GMs in my group and I'm all but certain we'll run into some used by the Alliance or use one ourselves in an AOR Campaign down the road. In fact given that its made by CEC we might use it in our first AOR campaign since its going to be focused on the Corellian Resistance, and later the Corellian Sector Force.

I have had dreams for a dogfighting squad as well where every member was from the Corellia Sourcebook and is aptly named Corellian Squadron and is the most unruly group of pilots, getting yelled at by Ackbar for being late/hungover/insert offense here is a common theme but I never thought about having them use the older Z-95s though.