So i have read the rules on the subject of hyperspace jumping and the rules on space combat. to give a little background: my players are doing a mission right now trying to locate one of the players family they got a distress signal in an asteroid field that a passing imperial destroyer also investigated.

During a short dog fight through the asteroid field the party plotted the jump to hyperspace and upon exiting they jumped. this happens on a frequent basis and I'm curious to see if there is a rule on a scenario like this or if not what some other GM's are doing to mitigate the frequency that this occurs at. any ideas or knowledge would be much appreciated.

What is wrong with it happening? I would be adding plenty of setback dice for the rushed calculation, the constantly changing entry vectors, etc..., but jumping clear of a fight is pretty normal for SW if you're good enough. Even just jumping across the system to give yourself more time to make a proper calculation works.

I'm also wondering, what exactly is the problem with this happening?

I suppose it depends on what your goals are for the encounter, and what the purpose of the encounter is. If it's simply an ambush or a chance encounter with a hostile force, then your PCs are doing the smart thing by running away as soon as they can.

If the problem is that they're escaping and you don't want them to escape (like if the story would be better served by them being captured), there are ways of tracking them via their hyperspace trajectory, so you could always bring that into the story.

And there are ways to shutdown hyperdrives... Like Interdictor cruisers and their gravity well projectors.

it's not "wrong" for say. It just happens every space combat (unless they out number the imperials). I'm trying to make the campaign a little more versatile, but every space mission I try to interject they just shoot it down by jumping to hyperspace. I have thought about the star destroyer route but every time they get a sniff of destroyer they flee for the farthest reaches of space. it's actually gotten so bad I'm thinking about cutting space mission entirely.

So, in other words, they do the right thing that any Rebel or Fringer who's doing something illegal does when the big guns show up and they RUN!!! Even Han Solo booked it out of their when confronted in such a manner.

Stop using the Star Destroyers. Place some restrictions on them so that jumping out costs them something they can't afford to lose, like time. Maybe they need to beat the Imperials to somewhere in the system, so jumping away would let the Imperials just win. GG for the mission and now more bad stuff happens. Like their cell gets compromised because an informant gets captured.

Of course they're running away from Star Destroyers! A Star Destroyer could swat a small freighter like an annoying fly. It's packed with weapons and sports 72 TIE fighters on top of that. It's the Star Wars equivalent of having your D&D/Pathfinder party of 5-8 level characters confronted with a greater dragon.

If you want to include more space combat in your campaign you need to set it up differently. One way is to make it a plot point that the PCs actually win the fight; another is to give them an objective to defend from attack. Don't try to come up with contrived ways of forcing them to stay and fight - make it so staying and fighting is the objective rather than an optional extra.

1) Scale back - As others have said a Star Destroyer is scary. BUT part of the reason they carry an entire TIE wing is to extend their reach. So coming across 4-6 TIEs without seeing a Star Destroyer RIGHT THERE isn't that weird. The Star Destroyer can be somewhere else nearby, but in Space Scales "nearby" can be on the opposite side of a planet.

Likewise there's a lot of other ships in the fleet. An Assassin class corvette, or customs corvette, would be far less imposing then a triangle of doom.

2) Make it an unavoidable obstacle - set up the encounter so that jumping away equals failure. Fighting your way past a blockade isn't avoidable. You go in, or you quit and go home.

3) GLOBES OF HOLDING! - It's kinda a jerk move, but if the Imps have reason to keep a hips in a location, they'll likely send an Interdictor Cruiser. Grav well projectors = no body going anywhere.

Stardestroyers are very bad news, the only real reason you should hang around is that you have a stardestroyer yourself, a lot of fighters with protons or some kind of 'cunning plan' to take it out. Even the 72 TIE's it can poop out is more than enough to deal with the majority of smaller threats.

As for jumping, if they've got clear space in front of them while being chased, then it'll be a fairly difficult skill test to bug out. If they're being shot at, don't be afraid to ramp up the difficulty even further. Don't forget, a lot of the later destroyers can also triangulate a jump location to at least roughly figure out 'where' they are going, a few of them have also got high speed hyperdrives as well, so they might be able to overtake them to the destination and most importantly; ALL of them have military grade communications so a simple holonet call to the destination might see a reserve or defence element alerted and on the lookout for rogues if the destroyer can't leave station.

How do they handle personal-scale encounters? Do they run away from those, too?

It could just be that they're skittish, or not really sure of their capabilities. Give them a few TIEs to deal with, and then slowly escalate from there.

How do they handle personal-scale encounters? Do they run away from those, too?

It could just be that they're skittish, or not really sure of their capabilities. Give them a few TIEs to deal with, and then slowly escalate from there.

I would run if the encounter had a Rancor or Krayt dragon in it, the personal combat equivalent-ish to a Star Destroyer.

I would say that if they do not like space combat, don't run those encounters. Not everybody likes space combat. No use setting up for the combat if they are just going to avoid it. You can hand wave all the space stuff.

Now if they like the challenge of avoiding the combat, then you should set up encounters with the thought of giving them different challenges to avoid the combat. There would be nothing wrong with setting up challenges with the intent of the players to escape the fight.

As others have mentioned, the space encounters may be more difficult that the players like. Your best bet is to ask them why they avoid the space combats and adjust accordingly.

it's not "wrong" for say. It just happens every space combat (unless they out number the imperials). I'm trying to make the campaign a little more versatile, but every space mission I try to interject they just shoot it down by jumping to hyperspace. I have thought about the star destroyer route but every time they get a sniff of destroyer they flee for the farthest reaches of space. it's actually gotten so bad I'm thinking about cutting space mission entirely.

Then they need a reason to stay. I see no purpose to getting into a fight that gains you nothing. Now if they need to rescue someone, destroy a target, that sort of thing, then all is well and you've got what you want. But it sounds as though you're expecting combat to be the point of something in and of itself: "I've statted up some ships and they will fight them". But why would they? This isn't some MMO where you gain points for killing things.

If you want them to stay, they need a reason to.

What kinds of Imperial forces are they running from? In the example given of a Star Destroyer in an asteroid field running was their only reasonable option IMO unless you're party is in sil 7 or 8 ship of their own.

Don't forget that the Star Destroyer can detect them, target them, and fire upon them from ranges that are well beyond that of most PC ships.

thanks for the great posts guys. I think my main problem is I have been GMing a lot and forgot to think of the encounters in the players terms. To MKX they seem to have channeled your spirit, they took out one of the star destroyers by using their shuttles hyperdrive as a makeshift "bomb".

I think back to the bumper sticker in Spaceballs: We brake for no-one.

Why would the Star Destroyer even slow down for a PC Ship? Would they not just launch a few Tie Fighters and investigate? Are your PC's that important?

Agree with the above. What sort of space missions are you doing? If it's 'reach and interact with maguffin X' such that they've got to run the gauntlet of defending fighters, you should actually see them do something.

Whether it's refugees whos shuttle's hyperdrive is shot, a holocom relay that they need to tap, or an imperial ambush where an interdictor is hiding in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant, there are plenty of ways to make the players actually trade red and green lasers with the Imperials.... The key, as said, is finding something worth fighting for and waving it under their noses.

This does raise a point which has been bugging me.

One of the pilot or scout career talents allows players to plot hyperspace jumps in half the time alongside other benefits (Don't CRB with me so can't elaborate). I know it's not vital and I kind of placated one of my players by saying narratively he would plot a course twice as quickly as someone without said talent. That said he didn't seem impressed by this and is far from enthusiastic about sinking points in to this as he doesn't see how this detail benefits him. I've had any successful astrogation check take effect next round where the ship jumps away as it seemed consistant with films and games but because of this talent detail it made me doubt this as he does seem to have a point.

Similar thing applies to the outdoorsman talent too. Been meaning to try to come up with a solution which isn't too crunchy but life got in the way. How has everyone else been applying this stuff in game?

well they did torture a moffs daughter early on in the campaign . Doesn't help her dad works in the intelligence division.

This does raise a point which has been bugging me.

One of the pilot or scout career talents allows players to plot hyperspace jumps in half the time alongside other benefits (Don't CRB with me so can't elaborate). I know it's not vital and I kind of placated one of my players by saying narratively he would plot a course twice as quickly as someone without said talent. That said he didn't seem impressed by this and is far from enthusiastic about sinking points in to this as he doesn't see how this detail benefits him. I've had any successful astrogation check take effect next round where the ship jumps away as it seemed consistant with films and games but because of this talent detail it made me doubt this as he does seem to have a point.

Similar thing applies to the outdoorsman talent too. Been meaning to try to come up with a solution which isn't too crunchy but life got in the way. How has everyone else been applying this stuff in game?

Remeber how long it took Han to set the Nav Coords. in A New Hope. Have a Nav check take Six turns in the middle of an overwhelming space battle and suddenly being able to do it in three instead is a great boon.

Last session I had my group bounce back into system after a mission in thier new ship. When they got there they were immidiately met by two teams of Ties ordering them to land at the space port for inspection. (Something about a stolen Sector Police Firespray and some altered Transponder codes, apparently someone had really caused a ruckus and the Imperials had responded to sort the whole thing out. Really it was profiling because they were stopping everyone in system flying a Firespray with Police markings)

Anyways, the guys had Six rounds to destroy the ties and/or jump out of there before the Star Destroyer waiting on the other side of the planet could complete orbit and persue. They did it in five. Astrogation made the calculation only take two turns instead of the six I had set. It took them the Five turns to evade/destroy the Ties and get to a jump point.

This does raise a point which has been bugging me.

One of the pilot or scout career talents allows players to plot hyperspace jumps in half the time alongside other benefits (Don't CRB with me so can't elaborate). I know it's not vital and I kind of placated one of my players by saying narratively he would plot a course twice as quickly as someone without said talent. That said he didn't seem impressed by this and is far from enthusiastic about sinking points in to this as he doesn't see how this detail benefits him. I've had any successful astrogation check take effect next round where the ship jumps away as it seemed consistant with films and games but because of this talent detail it made me doubt this as he does seem to have a point.

Similar thing applies to the outdoorsman talent too. Been meaning to try to come up with a solution which isn't too crunchy but life got in the way. How has everyone else been applying this stuff in game?

Remeber how long it took Han to set the Nav Coords. in A New Hope. Have a Nav check take Six turns in the middle of an overwhelming space battle and suddenly being able to do it in three instead is a great boon.

Last session I had my group bounce back into system after a mission in thier new ship. When they got there they were immidiately met by two teams of Ties ordering them to land at the space port for inspection. (Something about a stolen Sector Police Firespray and some altered Transponder codes, apparently someone had really caused a ruckus and the Imperials had responded to sort the whole thing out. Really it was profiling because they were stopping everyone in system flying a Firespray with Police markings)

Anyways, the guys had Six rounds to destroy the ties and/or jump out of there before the Star Destroyer waiting on the other side of the planet could complete orbit and persue. They did it in five. Astrogation made the calculation only take two turns instead of the six I had set. It took them the Five turns to evade/destroy the Ties and get to a jump point.

ok, that leads me to another question on astrogation and hyperspace jumps. My players tend to think in 3 dimensions when they jump to hyper space; what do you consider a safe distance is so that they can successfully jump to hyperspace?

I say no ships in the way. In the Beginner Box Game you can jump as soon as you get the part installed whether combat is over or not, so I say if you have a clear run, go. The Ghost jumped right before being engulfed in a fire ball. I think the key is getting the coordinates right before jumping, and not having any obstacles between you and the jump point.

I say no ships in the way. In the Beginner Box Game you can jump as soon as you get the part installed whether combat is over or not, so I say if you have a clear run, go. The Ghost jumped right before being engulfed in a fire ball. I think the key is getting the coordinates right before jumping, and not having any obstacles between you and the jump point.

ok that means that no matter the combat they could potentially jump at any time as long as they reorient the ship?

I say no ships in the way. In the Beginner Box Game you can jump as soon as you get the part installed whether combat is over or not, so I say if you have a clear run, go. The Ghost jumped right before being engulfed in a fire ball. I think the key is getting the coordinates right before jumping, and not having any obstacles between you and the jump point.

ok that means that no matter the combat they could potentially jump at any time as long as they reorient the ship?

Yes. So, don't have ships or a planet in your path and out you go as you transition from normal space to hyperspace.