Looking at making a privateer campaign for my group. Ill be using classes from both books as it makes sense being fringers from both groups. I prefer to have a minimum of crew NPCs aside from their Rebel liaison to make sure they behave and honor their Letter of Marque. Liaison would also be a plot device to keep the campaign moving if PCs cant figure out something to do.

The campaign will be both ground and space based, with plenty of swashbuckling, saving the girl, being the glory boys, and dealing with bounty hunters. Gradually they will be drawn into a deeper darker plotline as the campaign progresses with its own villains and such.

Trying to figure out a good ship to start them in. I guess maybe an upgunned YT freighter wouldn't be too out of line. They wont be taking on star destroyers or even frigates(if they are smart).

What other changes during character creation should I make? These guys wont be directly in the ranks of the Rebellion. I always have found that to be far too confining as an RPG where each session just seems like an assigned mission.

Sounds great, but it feels more like straight-up EoE. Will you even bother with Duty, or just go with some Alliance-orientated Obligation?

There are other ways to play AoR though - our team is more like Shepard and the Normandy in Mass Effect - deciding their own missions rather than being assigned them.

I like the Wayfinder as a starting transport, since it has room for storing a couple of starfighters if and when they should become available. The stats for it are in the core rulebook, and there's also a good deck plan for it on Wookieepedia.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wayfarer-class_Medium_Transport

-Nate

Premodded corvette. Do it....doooo iiiiiiiiitttttttt.

I am currently running game like this on rpol.net my inspiration and sources I used are from the old west end game Star Wars roleplaying games. Go to d6holocron.com and look for supplements. There you will find pirate and privateers and the far orbit project. Pirate and privateers is a source book essentially for being space pirates, giving you tactics, loot ideas other great information. The far orbit is a privateer campaign where the players serve aboard a nebulon b frigate that defected from the empire and now strikes back as a privateer sponsored by the rebel alliance. Hopefully you will find these sources useful for you.

Trying to figure out a good ship to start them in. I guess maybe an upgunned YT freighter wouldn't be too out of line. They wont be taking on star destroyers or even frigates(if they are smart).

PB 950 is nice little gunboat, with the Ion Cannons it make for a decent Privateer vessel.

Trying to figure out a good ship to start them in. I guess maybe an upgunned YT freighter wouldn't be too out of line. They wont be taking on star destroyers or even frigates(if they are smart).

PB 950 is nice little gunboat, with the Ion Cannons it make for a decent Privateer vessel.

I agree though you might want to consider either moving/modding the quadlaser so it covers all firing arcs or addig some more anti-fighter lasers to cover the forward arc.

The Consular class would also be a very good choice if you want to hit larger prey though I would mod the turbolaser firing arcs ASAP and add in some antifighter weapons when you get the chance.

Great info, Ill look that d6holocron site up when I get to a non-filtered internet connection. (yes I can get on here but not there, go figure.)

I'm in Sylar's mentioned game - and while it's so far been a ton of fun, there's a lot of people to coordinate. If your group were simply one of the parties on the Nebulon B frigate it could work just fine; trying to run the entire ship in a combat would be a nightmare without a lot of play time and players.

Actually, Republic liaison might be an interesting character concept--direct your Duty that way, and take the Diplomat/Ambassador spec. It's a good reason for a face character.

Definately not planning on letting them get a ship as big as a Nebulon B. A relatively useless liason, I was actually thinking a tough personality protocol droid or mousy intell guy. Someone completely useless as a combat character who acts as a handler passing on information and making sure they are doing what they are supposed to do, be it raiding minor Imperial or going after some gambler who happened upon an old artifact.

Consulor vessel and the Wayfinder seem like good starting points for a ship, especially if one player really wants to be a fighter pilot.

I am currently running game like this on rpol.net my inspiration and sources I used are from the old west end game Star Wars roleplaying games. Go to d6holocron.com and look for supplements. There you will find pirate and privateers and the far orbit project. Pirate and privateers is a source book essentially for being space pirates, giving you tactics, loot ideas other great information. The far orbit is a privateer campaign where the players serve aboard a nebulon b frigate that defected from the empire and now strikes back as a privateer sponsored by the rebel alliance. Hopefully you will find these sources useful for you.

HOLY HOLOCRON! You weren't kidding about the Pirates and Privateers book. It's a gold mine! Pure gold. From the depths of my love of Star Wars, THANK YOU Sylar. This solves a huge problem I've been having: My players character's know a lot about piracy from their backstory--but they themselves don't have a clue. Nor do I.

I'm not a fan of E-copies of things, and I looked into the actual book on Ebay. I'm not prepared to pay the necessary price, so I'm just going to print it out at a printing store.

Darthsylar, you're my hero.

Don't forget to check out the Far Orbit Project (where PC's are privateers on a Nebulon B), and Darkstryder Campaign (where they operate off of a Corellian Corvette).

I would love to do privateers myself. And everyone has made great suggestions. But there is a lot to add when you have a small captital ship. You can do all tje pirate tropes with such ease bit it is difficult for a GM to keep track of the NPC cast. My craft of choice would be the corellian gunship.

IMO the DP20 Corellian Gunship really is a lousy choice for a Privateer ship unless its part of a Privateer fleet. The gunship lacks room for a boarding party, doesn't have much cargo space for loot, and lacks Ion weapons to disable target vessels without destroying them.

If crew size is an issue both the CR90 and CR92A have about the same crews size as the DP20 or smaller, have plenty of room to carry boarding parties, have much larger cargo bays, and can be easily modified to carry Ion Cannons allowing them to disable target vessels without risking destroying the ship or blowing big holes in the cargo bay or vital systems if you intend to take the ship with you.

I sincerely wish you luck on this. I tried it with one of my groups and they turned into a bunch of murder hobos.

I would love to do privateers myself. And everyone has made great suggestions. But there is a lot to add when you have a small captital ship. You can do all tje pirate tropes with such ease bit it is difficult for a GM to keep track of the NPC cast. My craft of choice would be the corellian gunship.

Military Salary

I'm looking to set my crew up with a Marauder Corvette, which holds anywhere from 55ish crew to 200+.

In order for my heroes to reasonably run this size of crew and maintain such a large ship, I'm going to charge something like 50,000 credits per session.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Charging per session isn't realistic because a session could be several months or just a few hours of in game time. And I had qualms about that myself. However, it's ease to track makes it appealing, and the fact that sometimes they may not be "charged" for an in-game month is balanced out by the fact that sometimes they may be "charged" twice in a matter of a couple of in-game hourse.

That option works well in a military campaign where the heroes are truly legitimate leaders and their staff would reasonably be on staff. Another option I like (particularly for Pirate campaigns) is the idea of shares.

Pirates Want a Share of the Treasure

Shares works after you determine who gets what portion of the loot per heist/job/raid. That Pirate sourcebook that was mentioned above suggests that normal deck hands usually get one share, boarding parties get two shares, officers (first and second mates, etc.) get 3-4 shares and captains typically get 5 shares. And the ship or fleet itself would usually get 10-100+ shares depending on how large the ship or fleet is for maintenance and upgrades. I'm going to illustrate this the best I can with a simple example:

Your heroes are the leadership on a pirate crew: A captain and three mates. Under them, they have 50 deck hands and two boarding specialists. The captain will receive 5 shares, the three mates will receive three (making it 9 shares) the boarding party will each receive two (making it 4) and the deck hands receive 50 total. The fleet also receives 10 shares. Overall, you're looking at any booty being split up into 78 shares.

Now, you raid a ship and get loot worth 100,000 credits (not too unbelievable for a 60 man pirate fleet). Now each share is ~1280 credits (Loot: 100,000 credits divided by # of shares:78). It's easy, then, to do the math to figure out how much everyone is paid. The captain would get 6000+ credits (1280 X 5), the fleet would get 12,800 (1280 X 10), and your average deckhand would just get the one share of 1280.

An add on concept I like to this is a minimum going to the ships' coffers for maintenance: If you don't generate at least 10,000 credits per session (or month or week or whatever) for the ship or fleet, problems will arise.

You don't HAVE to do this-- You could just say "You need these repairs. Time to refuel the fleet. That costs this much. How much do you have?"

GM Gold Mine

No matter which option you go with, the idea of having a larger crew always attached to the heroes is a gold mine for GM plot hooks. Maybe there's a mutiny amongst the pirates when a big job goes south, maybe old enemies of your best snubfighter pilots have tracked them to you. Maybe there's a traitor in your midst passing secrets to your enemies. Endless.

Hope this helps.

I found this thread while do research on our own Privateering campaign.

So I though I would add a resource which I think you can have a lot of fun with on a campaign like this: the so-called "Code of Conduct", that every Pirate ship should have...

CODE OF CONDUCT

It is common practice that all members of a pirate ship must agree to a "Code of Conduct" before they are allowed to join the crew. This is known as "Making your Mark". In this example, the Code of Conduct Consists of a number of "Articles", a set of "Gambling Bylaws" and an "Offence Register".

ARTICLES

These articles are derived and adapted from an actual pirates code! (http://mentalfloss.com/article/58900/11-rules-actual-pirate-code). They give more power to the captain and his/her officers, which may be normal on a Privateering ship, but less common on a Pirate ship where the Captain is usually elected by the crew.

1. SOME ARE ELECTED, OTHERS ARE APPOINTED
The crew shall elect a Quartermaster, a First Mate and a Boatswain from among their ranks. The Captain shall appoint a Commander. Together with the Quartermaster these 3 form the Executive. The Executive shall appoint a Chief Engineer and a Master Gunner and select those that may call themselves Mates.

2. BE SMART: DON’T STEAL FROM PIRATES
Every man shall receive fairly, in turn, his proper share of a prize. But if anyone shall defraud the company or rob another to the value of even one credit, they shall be marooned.

3. BEWARE: SLOPPINESS CAN COST LIVES
Each man shall keep his weapons, his equipment, his cabin, his workspace, his person, clean and in order. Duties must be performed diligently and in the assigned times.

4. PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: PROTECT OTHERS
It is every man's duty to others to protect his identify. No audible, visual or physical trace of a man's presence may be made known during a raid, disclosed to a captive, or remain after a raid. The identify of fellows and the company should be treated as one's own, anything else is treason. This article remains in place, and applies, even after leaving the company.

5. NEVER BRING YOUR DATE HOME
No man or woman shall be allowed amongst them. If any man shall be found seducing one of the latter sex and carrying her to space, he and partner will be confined to the hole.

6. STAND BY YOUR HEARTIES
He that shall desert the ship or his post in the time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.

7. LEAVE NONE BEHIND
If a retreat is ordered, or any man shall suffer injury during a conflict, all must be done to retrieve and bring him to safety, whether dead or alive.

8. SETTLE DISPUTES PLANETSIDE
None shall strike another onboard the ship. Every man's quarrel shall be ended planetside by dual, with mutually agreed upon weapons, under the supervision of the Quartermaster. He that draws first blood shall be declared the victor. By leave of the Quartermaster, unarmed combat may be carried out while underway.

9. A LIMB FOR A LIMB
Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in the service shall receive a part equal in proficiency. For lesser afflictions, a man may request proportionate monetary compensation.

10. REMEMBER: RANK HAS ITS PRIVILEGES
A man is to show respect for his superiors and obey orders as far as they are his duty. Of the spoils of a prize, the Captain shall receive 10 shares, and the Commander and the Quartermaster shall each receive 5 shares, all other Officers 4 shares, Mates 3 shares and Swabbies 2 shares each.

11. DO NOT DAMAGE THE GOODS
We capture, we do not not kill or destroy. Of a prize, neither vessel nor occupants shall be fatally damaged, as this is the equivalent of stealing from the company.

12. GIVE THE BAND A BREAK
The musicians shall have rest on the 7th day, by right, on all other days, by favor only.

GAMBLING BYLAWS

Gambling was typically band from Pirate ships in real life because it almost always lead to blood. But, for the sake of the game, it is much more fun to allow it .

So, under these bylaws, gambling is permitted onboard, but disregarding the rules will land you in the Brig. The basic idea of the laws is to prevent disputes and to ensure that no-one is ruined by gambling.

1. CASH ONLY: Only cash wagers are allowed, gambling on credit or with equipment is not permitted
2. ESCROW RULE: All wagers must be paid up-front, and held in escrow by the First Mate (or someone that he designates)
3. TABLE MANNERS: No-one may loose more than they bring to the table, which must be declared up-front
4. ALL-IN: "All-in" covers all other bets on the table
5. RETIREMENT: He who looses "all-in" must retire, and may not place a bet for the rest of the day
6. LEAVING THE TABLE: You are allowed to leave the table at any time, forcing someone to stay is a Severity 3 Offence
7. NO CHEATING: Cheating is dishonourable (!) and a Severity 2 Offence, the fine is double or more of the wager (none of which goes to the offended party)
8. REPEAT OFFENDERS: Repeated cheating is considered the same as defrauding (Severity 5 Offence)
9. NULLIFY RULE: Any violation of the Gambling Bylaws will nullify a wager for all parties
10. GOING OVERBOARD: These rules for gambling do not apply when on leave from the ship, but being hunted for debt affects the company and is a Severity 5 Offence

OFFENCE REGISTER

So that all pirates know what the can and cannot do, Offences are classified on a scale of 1 to 6, called the Offence Severity level. This is the Offence Register. Because Pirates are a simple folk, each Offence has a corresponding consequence of the same level.

Order is largely imposed by the representatives of the crew. The Quartermaster and his officers are responsible for the enforcement of the articles and bylaws. Serious crimes may call for a trial where the Quartermaster stands as judge with a jury of crew members (selected at random). Trial in absentia is possible.

The seriousness of assaulting captives is common to Privateering ships, but not Pirate ships.

OFFENSES:

Severity 1:
Disorderliness - Cabin and/or workarea disorderly
Sloppiness - Neglected personal hygiene, personal equipment in bad condition
Impunctuality - Not appearing on time for duties
Smoking, drinking or eating in restricted areas
Disrespect for a superior
Severity 2:
Cheating at gambling
Drunkenness on duty
Equipment or droid abuse
Repeated Severity 1 Offences
Severity 3:
Disregarding Gambling Bylaws
Assaulting a fellow Pirate or captive
Drug Abuse
Disobeying orders of a superior
Repeated Severity 2 Offences
Severity 4:
Abusing a fellow Pirate or captive
Cowardice
Stowing away: hiding someone or something onboard
Repeated Severity 3 Offences
Severity 5:
Mutiny
Stealing, defrauding or repeated cheating at gambling
Deserting station, post or fellows during battle
Treacherous / cowardly (back-stabbing) assault
Repeated Severity 4 Offences
Severity 6:
Treason
Murder
Revealing the identity of man or company

CONSEQUENCES:

Severity 1: HARD LABOUR
Things like scrubbing floors and cleaning refreshers until they shine like a Main Sequence Star is considered Hard Labour, but it often depends on what needs to be done at the time. For this reason, people willing to do hard labor are always welcome!

Severity 2: TAXATION
To be "Taxed" means to pay a fine. It is mostly applied to offences that result in an artificial imbalance in the distribution of funds. Taxes are collected by the Quartermaster and usually go towards upkeep, supplies and other expenses.

Severity 3: THE BRIG
The brig is the name of the onboard prison. Offences that lead to this type of incarceration are usually those that make it necessary to separate the offender from his fellow crew-mates, or from regular life onboard ship, for a while. This can be a valuable time of self examination and recovery.

Severity 4: THE HOLE
The hole, is solitary confinement, usually in a cramped and dark facility. This measure provides sufficient time alone for an otherwise treasured crew member to contemplate the error of his ways!

Severity 5: PROMOTION
To be "Promoted" means to be marooned on a planet. The name comes from the phrase: "to be promoted to governor of a planet". Not nearly as grand as it sounds, because your new planet may be the last one you will see. Sometimes, however, promotion is simply due to the inability of a crew member to learn from repeated experience. In this case, the planet is selected according to the degree of annoyance felt by the rest of the crew!

Severity 6: SPACING
To be "Spaced" means to be put out of the airlock without the appropriate apparel (also known as "walking the airlock"). This leads to the death of almost every known species, so just lay off the Severity 6 offences!

On 9/18/2014 at 0:08 PM, Aerilyn84 said:

HOLY HOLOCRON! You weren't kidding about the Pirates and Privateers book. It's a gold mine! Pure gold. From the depths of my love of Star Wars, THANK YOU Sylar. This solves a huge problem I've been having: My players character's know a lot about piracy from their backstory--but they themselves don't have a clue. Nor do I.

I'm not a fan of E-copies of things, and I looked into the actual book on Ebay. I'm not prepared to pay the necessary price, so I'm just going to print it out at a printing store.

Darthsylar, you're my hero.

This is the only thing I still have left from the d6 days