I plan on running Escape from Mos Schuuta followed by LAotH, but not using the characters form the beginner box, but as a full blown start to a campaign of some sort.

Now I have two things I want to run past all you more experience gamers, first, I know my group, and I want to avoid them ‘going off their own way’ and avoiding helping the miners at Ryloth… the best way I can see this working is by having them crash land, which means they ideally need to loose their battle over Ryloth and require help fixing the ship… in return for helping the miners.

This brings up the stats of the Kryat Fang itself,

It has 1 Defense, while a stock has 2 (Fore and Aft) (I understand this might be done for simplicities sake in the beginner game, but im dispensing with this simplicity)

It is listed as having 2 turrets, so clearly has had one added from stock, using 1 hard point.

It also has Speed 4, which is 1 above the stock 3, and System Strain of 14 (1 below stock), suggesting a High Output Ion Drive (1 Hard point)

This reduces the HP allowance by 1 third, reducing the upgrade potential for my players, and id rather keep them poor by wanting to do this themselves.

Now I could easily drop the High Output drive and reduce the speed by 1, this isn’t a huge problem. But dropping the extra turret reduces the amount of things my players can do.

I will have at least 4 players, maybe 5, so between a Gunner, Pilot, Engineer, I don’t want to reduce the things the group can do too much by taking away the extra turret.

Should I do that anyway?

This got me thinking of what else might need doing to the Kryat Fang in character. So I have come up with this list of things that my players might want to look into:

The shield generator is damaged, (Hence the lower shield output), it needs maintenance and new parts.

The Hull armour is damaged and needs repair in places, (Possibly reduce the armour by 1 point?)

(Both above maybe form a previous fight)

The dejarik table is broken (A techie could probably fix that easily)

The freight elevator in the rear doesn’t work, possibly welded shut, or simply seized shut.

The Navi comp is badly out of date (its really only been used for local travel)

One of the turrets does not rotate at all, or fully, meaning is can only cover 2 or 3 arcs, instead of all 4 (I could use this to my advantage in the dog fight over ryloth, but could equally spoil someones fun)

What else could I add to this list? And how much should all these repairs cost?

Id like to think my players might adopt this ship, and really start turning it into their home, if I give them some renovations to do, even small things, it might make them more attached to it.

I know its cliché, but ive had 2 of my players (both die hard SW fans), say they wouldn’t mind if they were simply given a YT-1300. As for my other 2 players, on is less of a huge fan, so would probably be happy regardless, but the visuals from the films would certainly help him out abit.

I don’t want the ship a total wreck, but I do want it needing some love and care to make my players spend some of the cash they might accumulate, but so much they decide to scrap it, or so bad they decide taking the risk stealing another one is worth the risk, and not worth enough to pay for a new one.…. Poor players, are desperate players after all.

Thanks for the input

RD

Not to seem contrary, but if your players don't want to help the miners then why try and railroad them into being better people? It may work this time, but they will continue to play the way they desire throughout the chronicle. Why not simply discuss what the group, and you, want out of the story and come to a better consensus? It may save irritation and heartbreak later on.

That said, make the broken bit require a specific ore/metal that the miners would have to mine to help the players leave. Try not to be too specific. On a side note, I wouldn't gimp their ship too much for later.

Because my players have it in them to be good people, but one of them is very much "ill do what my character would do" so I want to give him a good reason to help the miners and not drag the game to places I cannot accommodate for on a whim.

He would happily go along wit things if he feels his character would do such a thing.. even i he is playing a die hard selfish git, and wouldnt otherwise.

As far as the state of the ship goes... its mostly just for flavour, and was wondering what others thought, or could add to the list of things they can fix. Not necessarily things they HAVE to pay for, but thinks that they can roll for, or fix themselves, to add abit of accomplishment to their actions regarding the ship itself.

The dejarik table is broken (A techie could probably fix that easily)

Or - the holotable is bookmarked to the last thing Trex was watching. . . .

Trandoshan sexytime videos (and the appropriate fear and/or revulsion check)

The hull is suffering from multiple stress fractures (the ship has one or more +10 crits against it)

One of the turrets seizes randomly (weapon locks on 3 threat requiring an action to unjam)

Thrusters need maintenance (one setback die to piloting checks until fixed)

Otherwise alist of non combat stuff is good. Cargo elevator stuck. Thrusters are emitting smoke and while not dangerous they catch hell from every port they stop at until they replace the faulty units. Beds were pullex for cargo/trophies so they have to hotbunk or draw straws for who gets the bed until they can be replaced. Auto cheff is set for tribal trandosian and while nourishing the food tastes absolutely nasty. Grav unit in the cargo bay is on the fritz so cargo floats up an inch or so the rattles back to the ground making sleeping or concentrating hard and prevents them from carrying delicate cargo.

Could just turn a couple of dark destiny points and say that their latest hyperspatial trip has shorted out a couple of systems and once they land discover that whilst its possible to replace the effected systems the odds of finding a new ship is well see that Imperial Garrison over there?

If you want to steal a new ship that's where you'll find most of them... the rest is located at a rumoured shadowport and you need to find someone to even discover if its anywhere nearby.

Of course the easiest method is locating a few of the more unfortunate crashes and salvage the parts they need from there.

If they infiltrate the Garrison, learn that none of the ships they could steal is as good as the Krayt Fang and more importantly they can be traced whilst the Fang once repaired can take off and escape without drawing too much attention unless your players decide to make things interesting for you...

The shadowport is well worth checking out but I'm wondering how your players will react when their new friends are very eager to accept their old ship as salvage.... if they're lucky the players get their stock YT-1300 Freighter and their former ship ends up in the hands of a new nemesis who'll vie with them on various adventures as they discover just how lucky they had been to have even owned the Fang...

Of course you relying on your players to recognise the advantages gained via the Krayt Fang, if they're determined to swap ships then you may as well let them... but not before running an adventure that highlights the benefits of keeping the Krayt Fang...

I would go ahead and put the limitations on the ship like you are talking about.

Since you are specifically worried about getting rid of the second torrent and not having enough for your players to do I would compensate by giving them a BTL-S3 y wing star fighter. This star fighter has a crew of two (pilot and gunner). This will allow all five of your PC to have something to do during a fight and will compensate for not having a ventral weapon on the ship. The star fighter will have to make sure and cover the main ship.

if they decide they would prefer to upgrade their YT-1300 they could sell the BTL-S3 (though I would make sure not to give them a very low price for it. The proceeds could be used for repairs and upgrades making it their ship. Either way it allows them a lot of opportunities to make the ship theirs.

There are things that characters aboard ship can do during a space fight beyond sitting in a turret or piloting. I wouldn't sorry about them being bored, just make sure to present opportunities for them to affect the ongoing conflict even if they're not shooting.

Also stock YT-1300s come with 2 turrets...

Also stock YT-1300s come with 2 turrets...

You are correct, I missed that in CRB, I was remembering the fluff from Wookieepedia that seems to state they only have a Dorsal turret as standard.

The statistics shown for the yt1300 have two weapons mounted but in the description it does say that it comes stock with only the dorsal weapon mounted

CRB PG 264 "in their factory configuration, a rarity among such versatile and easily modifiable ships, the YT-1300 is relatively well armored and is equipped with a small but powerful shield generator. it Mounts only one weapon, a medium laser cannon on the dorsal gun mount, but the ship features a number of built-in weapon hard points."

I had just looked this up because I too was surprised that it would come stock with only one weapon, but apparently it does.

OK, Here is what I plan on doing, to give my players plenty of scope for making the vessel 'their own', and hoping they don't immediately sell it:

Remove the High Output Ion Drive (Reduces the Speed by 1, Increase the SS by 1) (I want my players to have the option to do this themselves)

Reduce the Armour by 1 point, more fluff than anything else, but also gives the players something to spend alittle cash on to fix damaged armour plating.

Apply the Losing Power to Shields crit hit, this brings the Defence rating to 1 (as per the adventure), but something else my players can fix up.

Swapping one of the turrets for a Light Ion Cannon (Trex was a bounty hunter, he might want to disable sometimes) (It takes a couple of teeth away from my players, without totaly screwing them over)

The other turret is faulty, it jams on 3 Threat, and requires a maneuver to unjam (As suggested above)

Incidental bits:

The Dejarik table is faulty, it flickers, turns off randomly, doesnt register moves, and plots incorrect moves (Pure fluff)

The NaviComp is very out of date

The Thrusters are in dire need of maintenance, they smoke (as suggested above) and add a setback die to landing manuevers and extreme combat maneuvers (Cheap fix, not hugely important)

The rear cargo lift is seized, or welded shut (Easy to fix, inconsequential, but hey.. why not?)

Any suggestions?

The statistics shown for the yt1300 have two weapons mounted but in the description it does say that it comes stock with only the dorsal weapon mounted

CRB PG 264 "in their factory configuration, a rarity among such versatile and easily modifiable ships, the YT-1300 is relatively well armored and is equipped with a small but powerful shield generator. it Mounts only one weapon, a medium laser cannon on the dorsal gun mount, but the ship features a number of built-in weapon hard points."

I had just looked this up because I too was surprised that it would come stock with only one weapon, but apparently it does.

Honestly I consider the stat block the valid crunch for mechanical purposes of representing the ship (the paragraph is descriptive fluff but not mechanically binding), and the stat block says "two guns." And nothing is broken by giving it 2 guns, honestly.

The fluff is talking about "factory standard," which in part is not a safe assumption when it comes to the YT-1300 (especially secondhand ships like the Krayt Fang, and I doubt many play groups are ever going to buy a ship brand-spanking-new and completely factory-standard in one of these games). But at the same time the stat block presumes 2 guns on the ship; if you only have 1, the ship should have an additional open HP.

I have no issue with the number of guns, fluff or mechanical wise. I am perfectly happy to assume 2 turrets and 6 Hard points as standard. This isnt a rules query at all, its a flavour one for my party.

Incidental bits:

The Dejarik table is faulty, it flickers, turns off randomly, doesnt register moves, and plots incorrect moves (Pure fluff)

The NaviComp is very out of date

The Thrusters are in dire need of maintenance, they smoke (as suggested above) and add a setback die to landing manuevers and extreme combat maneuvers (Cheap fix, not hugely important)

The rear cargo lift is seized, or welded shut (Easy to fix, inconsequential, but hey.. why not?)

Any suggestions?

Definately add the Trandoshan sexytime videos.

Incidental bits:

The Dejarik table is faulty, it flickers, turns off randomly, doesnt register moves, and plots incorrect moves (Pure fluff)

The NaviComp is very out of date

The Thrusters are in dire need of maintenance, they smoke (as suggested above) and add a setback die to landing manuevers and extreme combat maneuvers (Cheap fix, not hugely important)

The rear cargo lift is seized, or welded shut (Easy to fix, inconsequential, but hey.. why not?)

Any suggestions?

Definately add the Trandoshan sexytime videos.

My group would want me to describe, in detail, what they were seeing..... and I dont even want to try and come up with that!

Definately add the Trandoshan sexytime videos.

My group would want me to describe, in detail, what they were seeing..... and I dont even want to try and come up with that!

It's not describing the seeing that would be the difficult part. The real trick is making the right sounds. That's where you really sell your skills as a GM.

Definately add the Trandoshan sexytime videos.

My group would want me to describe, in detail, what they were seeing..... and I dont even want to try and come up with that!

It's not describing the seeing that would be the difficult part. The real trick is making the right sounds. That's where you really sell your skills as a GM.

I am not sure I could even bring myself to vocalise the sounds require for a trandoshan adult entertainment holovid! My players already thing I have more than enough issues!

One other thing you could do is add a defense grid or a random patrol the ship encounters if you want to guarantee they crash on Ryloth. Perhaps the space battle gets the attention of a couple of tie fighters and they intercede equally shooting at both the bounty hunter and your players. You also don't have to make them 'crash' but simply do enough damage to them that they disengage from the fight and make a break for a landing place. Some fancy flying they evade the big bad. Ryloth has a bad environmental atmosphere and frequent sandstorms something the players can take advantage of but in doing so they do more strain and damage to their ship. Also with the TIE fighter option you can guarantee that the bounty hunter survives the encounter but is also left stuck on the planet too with serious damage.

In some regards the idea that the party would be a nice group and help those in need or not should have been addressed during the character creation. Will the party be kind and generous or not?

My players had helped the Miners, so I gave the players a base of operations that was provided by the miners, it may be nothing more than a cleared away landing site and some nearby fuel. I have also given the players work through B'uan B'ran (sp) and will allow Nym and others to provide assistance until the players or campaign needs to move away from Rylath.

I am also adding in NPC from the mining village, that may just become friends of the party or posible adventure hooks as well.

If the players are not helpful then that will move your campaign in a different direction. Without helping the village they will have a much harder time getting away from Teemo. Perhaps Teemo will send more bounty hunters their way, frame them or implicate them in a crime that has the Imperials based on Tantoonie want to talk to our party etc.

I think making the players do the right thing by railroading their choice is at the heart of it, not allowing them the oportunity to roleplay their characters. You may get to do this now and again, but done regularly will not end well.

I find that the trick to railroading my players is in providing them with options but making them realize that the option I want them to take is the best one. Give them the options of landing at the mining camp, the imperial garrison, or the wastes. Clearly the garrison will result in them being set upon by the authorities so they may chose the wastes. Well, they land out there and within minutes mynocks start sucking the power from the ship. When they go out to clear the mynocs off the gundarks attack. Now it's clear that the best bet is the mine, where they have a clean landing pad.

Sometimes it's tough to improvise but it better than simply saying "Your group decides to do X"

I'm not trying to railroad my players, but all this advice is always useful... I really don't mind if the players choose not to help the miners.. if they don't, well their ship won't get fixed, and they will be stuck on Ryloth (As the ship, as it is, wont be worth enough to buy a new ship) and Teemo will be sending thugs after them!

This has gotten abit of track, it was originally meant to be ideas of what little things could be wrong with the ship, so my players feel inclined to make the small, inexpensive repairs, and thus develop an attachment to the ship.

But keep it coming! Its all good!

i was wondering if you'd like to ask them to describe the Krayt Fang's interior, they may have the schematic of the freighter but what changes have they made since moving in?

With that Mandalorian Graffiti Artist likes to paint all over her quarters if that bit about her in Star Wars Rebels is accurate so what if you let them personalise the ship to give them an attachment to it that may well help your games?

Because my players have it in them to be good people, but one of them is very much "ill do what my character would do" ...

In my experience this kind of player, the ones that feel it's necessary to make this statement and the ones you feel it's necessary to mention at all, is usually the one that causes more headaches than their worth. Your mileage may vary.

@copperbell:

I have no issues with them doing this, cosmetic changes are all fine by me, even if they want to paint it pink!

@FuriousGreg:

The player in question is a long long long time Roleplayer, and has played and run many more games than I have. The issue came up on a Warhammer game (2nd Ed, Ashes of Middenheim). The group needed to go to the temple of sigmar to further the story, and the player in question was a follower of Ulric... he decided that rabble rousing was 'what his character would do' so piled in with the mob... when i tried to give him an 'escape' to get back with the group (or he would have been permanently separated), he stated he was leading the rabble through the back door to burn the place down (Game Broken).

He has a tendency to come up with a character, and then play it in character, to a fault... even if it breaks the game.

The player is a decent guy, but is has a very... big personality shall we say.

As to an earlier poster, who said I should find out what 'kind' of characters my group want to play (Mean and Dirty nerfherders, or generally do-gooders), his response was... I dont know, it depends on what character I come up with, and the mood he is in at the time.

I can't really exclude him from the group. I can only try and prepare for things he might outright INSIST on doing.

@FuriousGreg:

The player in question is a long long long time Roleplayer, and has played and run many more games than I have. The issue came up on a Warhammer game (2nd Ed, Ashes of Middenheim). The group needed to go to the temple of sigmar to further the story, and the player in question was a follower of Ulric... he decided that rabble rousing was 'what his character would do' so piled in with the mob... when i tried to give him an 'escape' to get back with the group (or he would have been permanently separated), he stated he was leading the rabble through the back door to burn the place down (Game Broken).

He has a tendency to come up with a character, and then play it in character, to a fault... even if it breaks the game.

The player is a decent guy, but is has a very... big personality shall we say.

As to an earlier poster, who said I should find out what 'kind' of characters my group want to play (Mean and Dirty nerfherders, or generally do-gooders), his response was... I dont know, it depends on what character I come up with, and the mood he is in at the time.

I can't really exclude him from the group. I can only try and prepare for things he might outright INSIST on doing.

I feel for you. It's the I'm not an A$$hole my character is syndrome but fail to understand or care that they made this completely imaginary character to be an A$$hole. They want you to run their game not be a part of the game they're in. They don't really what to be there, they just have nowhere else to go. Usually a real pain to play with.