In "Escape from Mos Schuuta", the Krayt Fang is docked and immobilized by docking clamps and you must deal with Starport Control to get the clamps opened so the ship can leave.

Is this pretty normal behavior in starports? Did Han have to communicate with Starport Control to blast his way out of Mos Eisley?

Is this something PCs should expect to have to take into consideration if they need to leave a planet in a hurry?

What do y'all think?

I think it's more likely if you're docked with a space station. There certainly didn't seem to be any "clamps" in Mos Eisley, Echo Base, Cloud City...

As with many things "it depends" and "what works best for the plot?"

In my group's game we would be stuck in docking clamps until we paid all the docking fees.

In my group's game we would be stuck in docking clamps until we paid all the docking fees.

That's part of what I'm thinking about

The players' group will be landing in a city which is pretty mercenary, in terms of docking fees and customs and the like.

Just trying to figure for many possible outcomes to that scenario

That was a narrative way to keep us poor enough to take that Black Sun job.

I like to imagine that docking clamps is a hold over from a time when they would use a physical device to lock down a ship, but in actuality, they use tractor beams. That or a 'clamp' droid. Depends how far into futurama you want to go.

I also think that Han is the type to bribe someone to keep his ship from being locked doen, but mos eisley doesn't seem like the type of place to really care.

Given that everyone seems to leave their ships wide open when they leave them, I would like to think docking clamps are some modest form of security some starports may offer.

Given that everyone seems to leave their ships wide open when they leave them, I would like to think docking clamps are some modest form of security some starports may offer.

Heh, I've also wondered about this.

I always figured there was some kind of security code on starships, but when Luke and Talon Karrde found the Millennium Falcon in the Thrawn Trilogy, Karrde was able to just hop inside and start her up!

I've always figured docking clamps are only used in those times where for one reason or another spaceport control does not want that ship to leave. Either they owe money, or it's been discovered that there's an arrest warrant out for the owner, or a similar situation. Of course in a corrupt society there's probably less legitimate reasons as well.

Different planets might also have different policies. On a very lawful, security conscious world, it might be a matter of course. On a more chaotic frontier world, they probably don't care (unles you owe them money.)

Split Light, that makes a lot of sense. Like, if you arrive and you pay your docking fees/custom fees/etc and everything is on the up-and-up then perhaps you're free to just hop in and take off at your leisure.

But if there are irregularities with your customs, or you requisition fuel and haven't paid for it, or there are daily docking costs that you owe, then perhaps they clamp your ship and you've got to settle up before you can leave.

I do a similar thing for our games. It is almost a guarantee that the closer you get to the Core the more often docking bays are locked down with tractor beams. I also fine the players at their destination if they have not filed a flight plan with starport control and got the proper clearances to land/depart. Of course, most customs officials can be bribed away in the corrupt Empire, so there is that.

It should be handled narratively but I'm sure docking facilities have some sort of star ship boot system for delinquent payments, criminal/civil impounds for a variety of reasons, repossessions, etc.

In Star's End when the Falcon is being impounded the port authorities are placing some sort of lock on the blast entry door, so one would presume there is some sort of way to hold a ship in a bay.

Y'know... you could keep a freighter stuck in a docking bay on planet by simply closing a retracting durasteel ceiling over the docking bay.

Also I recall reading some long-lost Star Wars geekdom about shields.

I can't provide a source or date, you'll just have to take my word for it. But I do recall reading something somewhere about particle shields and ray shields.

As I understand it, ray shields keep out energy rays (like blaster bolts), and particle shields stop solid matter (like space ships and atmosphere).

So if that's accurate, you can just charge a particle shield over the top of a freigter in a docking bay also to keep it stuck.

I don't think most particle shields are that strong, they're usually used to prevent micrometer impacts that could breach a ship's hull. Preventing a ship from getting out of a shield, you need a shield with strength akin to that protecting the Second Death Star.

Or maybe the red kind where Darth Maul had to wait for the shields to drop before he could re-engage Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

Those block lightsabers, as illustrated where Darth Maul smacked it, and lightsabers have some trouble breeching a ship's hull.

I submit if an energy field can block a person or a lightsaber, it can probably keep a freighter stuck.

I assumed the clamps were just a way to force us into the control room encounter where we aired out some skills and rules

In my mind (and my game) there are probably few standardized technologies for this; a low-tech world might just have some beefy electromagnets or even a mechanical system. A higher tech world surely would have enough power to generate a forcefield. Many places might not have any sort of technology for controlling ships and rely strictly on humanoids to enforce the rules.