The rules don't seem to have anything listed for the hidden turret that's used by Han while they're escaping from Hoth. My players wanted to use it during our last session.

Since it's not listed in the default stats, I'm guessing it must be a mod. Anyone know what it is or how it would work?

My first thought was just to add another weapon, but that hidden laser seems to be specifically designed for anti-personnel. I would hope for something that's more accurate and ignores or mitigates the penalties for shooting from the ship at a character.

As an aside, can anyone point me to the rules for the difficulty of a starship shooting a person? Would it just use table 7-4 on page 235?

Maybe it's not even a mod. I mean it's so insignificant as to be useless in space combat.

You could always let them spend a destiny point to have it pop out and shoot some people. It's not a situation that's gonna come up all that often, so this seems more practical then making the PCs waste a Hard Point on it.

I'd call it a mod, ground defense system, and have it be a series of weapons to protect the ship grounded and powered down, a couple three LBRs, maybe a grenade launcher or two, etc.

I believe that that was a light repeating blaster i.e. - a personal scale weapon. Currently there are no rules covering such upgrades, I think we have to wait until the smuggler sourcebook.

Ad hoc I'd say that this would take a hardpoit, use gunnery (since it's mounted), can be used while the ship is parked (unlike normal starship weapons) and hiding it would have cost like smuggling compartments.

That hidden weapon was a personal scale weapon I'd say, and the HP would cover all of them in total imo. I don't need a supplement to use my imagination either.

I just noticed that the 74-Z on page 250 has a Light Repeating Blaster that operates at personal scale. I guess it would be the same thing on a starship. (So basically what some of you have said already)

Ad hoc I'd say that this would take a hardpoit, use gunnery (since it's mounted), can be used while the ship is parked (unlike normal starship weapons) and hiding it would have cost like smuggling compartments.

Can you point me to the rules that say that starships can't use their weapons while parked? I'd never noticed that before.

It's not in the rules, but we've always played like this. At least the ventral turrets cannot be used since they are 'folded' and I don't believe landing gear is high enough to accomodate an operating turret. And dorsal turret can only shoot at things at the sky...

Since most PC ships in our games had only ventral and dorsal turrets it somehow become a rule that you can't use the turrets while parked.

But now I think it could be done - a scene from a Bond film comes to mind where he was shooting from a plane still on a runway. And Bond (Brosnan Bonds at least) and Star Wars have a lot in common, I think.

The Han Solo Trilogy specifically talks about using the belly gun if they needed to on the Falcon and that there were interrupts to prevent the landing gear from being hit. That's a ship powered up imo though. The retractable auto fire blaster in ESB to me is a personal scale ground defense option that was self powered for ground defense.

We called it an E-Web, the PCs hooked it up to the underside of their YT-1300 and we rolled with it.

I'm torn on whether or not this should use up a hard point.

I would rule it an E-Web (heavy repeating blaster) with an automated guidance system (Han wasn't actively aiming the thing). The device would fire as if the ship had Agility 1 and 2 ranks of Gunnery.

Figure 6000 credits for the weapon + 3000 credits for the droid brain and mounting = 9000 credits to install.

I'm torn on whether or not this should use up a hard point.

I would rule it an E-Web (heavy repeating blaster) with an automated guidance system (Han wasn't actively aiming the thing). The device would fire as if the ship had Agility 1 and 2 ranks of Gunnery.

Figure 6000 credits for the weapon + 3000 credits for the droid brain and mounting = 9000 credits to install.

If I recall, the followup adventure to the AoR beginner box had an autoturret in it. It was a straight GGG attack roll. If you wanted to make this a Mod, I would start that as your base attachment, and allow for further modifications to upgrade that roll.

I would also take away a few encumbernace from the ship. if you want to make it a pop out just add a few thousand to the cost of the weapon. might take a few days and a daunting mechanics roll to install it

Just because there are no rules, does not mean you can fudge something reasonable

I think a mod would be necessary. I'm not for just saying your ship has randomn defenses by spending a destiny point. That's too much of a slippery slope for me. Light Repeating Blaster, but if you want it to be Heavy, why not. The weapon popping out of the Falcon does seem a lot lighter though then the E-Web being set up. I don't know if I would make it automated. While the scene in Star Wars suggests it COULD be automated, there is nothing to say Han hadn't just completed using it with some simple cockpit controls when the scene goes from the Stormtroopers being blasted, back to the cockpit. For game purposes, having a character use Gunnery would be lots more fun then a player rolling for the ship.

A ground defense system could take up a HP. It could be compromised of a couple LRBs or HBRs with maybe a grenade launcher as well. It could be set up to fire on auto mode like K pointed out from the AoR game, and given a default capability, and it could also be operated manually by a more skilled operator.

Just for adding a weapon that shoots at personal scale, I don't think I'd require a mod. I'm pictureing something that requires an operator and is just a gun welded into an emplacement, such as a pintle mounted machinegun on a jeep. Now, if you wanted it automated (such as controld by one of the ship's droid brains) and/or hidden then I'd require a mod. Might even require a usage of the Hidden Storage talent, depending on how mean I feel.

It's not just a gun, it could be a series of weapons, integrated sensors to allow it to automatically track, ID, select appropriate weapons, and engage targets when the ship is powered down. A little more than just tac welding a gun to a ship.

I certainly couldn't require a hardpoint taken up for an anti-personnel weapon that is useless in space or vehicle fights.

If it's not useless in space/vehicle fights, that's another story, but I don't think it should be. I'm very happy treating it as something you trigger with a Destiny Point as a Hail Mary, as was done in the movie.

If someone wants to charge me hard points for the light repeating blaster that does nothing more then mow down a few minions, I'm not gonna pay that tax. It's not worth a hard point.

If it's part of some automated defense system like 2P is talking about, then maybe. Going by what we see in the movie it's nothing more then a trick to buy time. That's something one can explicitly do with a destiny point expenditure, so I don't see it as a slippery slope.

How often do people have hanger bay fights anyway?

I think a mod would be necessary. I'm not for just saying your ship has randomn defenses by spending a destiny point. That's too much of a slippery slope for me. Light Repeating Blaster, but if you want it to be Heavy, why not. The weapon popping out of the Falcon does seem a lot lighter though then the E-Web being set up. I don't know if I would make it automated. While the scene in Star Wars suggests it COULD be automated, there is nothing to say Han hadn't just completed using it with some simple cockpit controls when the scene goes from the Stormtroopers being blasted, back to the cockpit. For game purposes, having a character use Gunnery would be lots more fun then a player rolling for the ship.

This is how we ended up running it. It is mounted under the ship, can be fired with a Gunnery check, and required a HP to attach. If they'd like for it to be hidden, a couple talents will make that happen. I suppose they could probably also come up with some amount of credits for parts and do a Mechanics check. With some of the newer tool options a clever PC might be able to rig up the weapon to fire remotely. I'd keep it a Gunnery check instead of Computers and maybe add a Setback, but no reason that it sshouldn't be possible.

I really don't care for the idea of just flipping a DP.

Without a CRB to verify I think the Destiny Point to produce an undocumented item had a rarity limit of maybe 4? At a minimum for a LRB you would have a rarity of 7 and it's a restricted item. Even if my recollection is wrong, it brings up some thorny questions. Is it now there forever or just for the one scene? Can the PC's use this tactic in other scenarios? Can a DP give me a Missile Tube, a Thermal Detonator, or a Disruptor Rifle? Does the DP become a backdoor to a lot of high end gear that might otherwise be very difficult/expensive to find?

I believe that that was a light repeating blaster i.e. - a personal scale weapon. Currently there are no rules covering such upgrades, I think we have to wait until the smuggler sourcebook.

Ad hoc I'd say that this would take a hardpoit, use gunnery (since it's mounted)

A weapon that is mounted still uses the skill normally assigned to the weapon. In this case, that mounted LRB would use Ranged (Heavy) just as it would if it were held.

I think a mod would be necessary. I'm not for just saying your ship has randomn defenses by spending a destiny point. That's too much of a slippery slope for me. Light Repeating Blaster, but if you want it to be Heavy, why not. The weapon popping out of the Falcon does seem a lot lighter though then the E-Web being set up. I don't know if I would make it automated. While the scene in Star Wars suggests it COULD be automated, there is nothing to say Han hadn't just completed using it with some simple cockpit controls when the scene goes from the Stormtroopers being blasted, back to the cockpit. For game purposes, having a character use Gunnery would be lots more fun then a player rolling for the ship.

This is how we ended up running it. It is mounted under the ship, can be fired with a Gunnery check, and required a HP to attach. If they'd like for it to be hidden, a couple talents will make that happen. I suppose they could probably also come up with some amount of credits for parts and do a Mechanics check. With some of the newer tool options a clever PC might be able to rig up the weapon to fire remotely. I'd keep it a Gunnery check instead of Computers and maybe add a Setback, but no reason that it sshouldn't be possible.

That's rubbish for a full HP. One HP is a quad laser cannon, or improved shields, or an ECM suite, or smuggling compartments. Not some piddly little gun that is irrelevant on the planetary scale, even if it kills stormies good.

Seriously, consider the fact that you are placing equal "space" value on a mounted HBR as you are a proton torpedo launcher or quad-laser turret.

If someone wants to charge me hard points for the light repeating blaster that does nothing more then mow down a few minions, I'm not gonna pay that tax. It's not worth a hard point.

If it's part of some automated defense system like 2P is talking about, then maybe. Going by what we see in the movie it's nothing more then a trick to buy time. That's something one can explicitly do with a destiny point expenditure, so I don't see it as a slippery slope.

How often do people have hanger bay fights anyway?

The belly gun on the Falcon was mowing down Stormtroopers who were about to use a heavy weapon (one that can damage a ship) before they had a chance to pound on the Falcon. I would say that was pretty valuable. Rather than a light repeating blaster, I think it is more like the Sorosuub VX "Sidewinder" Repeating Blaster; the auto-fire plus Pierce 1 & Vicious 1 make it very effective against ground targets. I would say it is not a very good space weapon. Although it could do a little damage if it hit a ship, it doesn't come equipped with the fancy tracking systems that space weapons come with.

As to how valuable it is, well if it stops the Imps from damaging your ship so badly that you can't take off then it is priceless.

How often does a hanger battle come up? It really depends on the DM; my groups have seen hanger battles 4 times in the last 6 months. Some of the battles were tough fights where some extra firepower would have come in really handy. That said I don't expect they will be seeing quite so many hanger battles in the next few months. Well, I don't plan on any sometimes the players have other ideas.

Would I buy one? Probably not, I would rely on the heavy weapon folk in the group to fend off the storm troopers long enough for the ship to get warmed up for take off. It made sense for the Falcon because Han, Chewbacca and friends only carried light weapons, not heavy auto rifles, grenades, etc. I still think it is cool, mind you, and does have some real value, it just isn't my preference, YMMV.

In the movie they mowed down an E-WEB, which can't hurt a freighter under these game mechanics. If it was supposed to be a threat to a vehicle the devs should have given the E-WEB more teeth.

How often do people have hanger bay fights anyway?

I don't know. How often to tavern fights break out in an old D&D session? Running back to the ship while being chased is actually a pretty common scenario of scif RPG's. At least in my experience.