Am I missing something somewhere, or does the encumbrance stat on starships seem really low? I can't seem to find anything that contradicts the idea that the encumbrance stat on a ship is a measurement of the cargo it can haul, using the standard encumbrance rules. As it is, though, that would mean a ship like the Falcon can only haul a couple crates of blasters and it'd be all full up.

It feels like there SHOULD be a modifier somewhere (maybe similar to how some other stats 'scale' based on silhouette and general size), but I don't seem to see such a rule anyplace. Can anyone help me out here?

Am I missing something somewhere, or does the encumbrance stat on starships seem really low? I can't seem to find anything that contradicts the idea that the encumbrance stat on a ship is a measurement of the cargo it can haul, using the standard encumbrance rules. As it is, though, that would mean a ship like the Falcon can only haul a couple crates of blasters and it'd be all full up.

It feels like there SHOULD be a modifier somewhere (maybe similar to how some other stats 'scale' based on silhouette and general size), but I don't seem to see such a rule anyplace. Can anyone help me out here?

No, it can haul quite a few CRATES of blasters. What it can't haul is a bunch of loose blasters, heheh. In one of the podcasts the developers mentioned the idea of a crate being a lower encumbrance item able to hold more stuff. Like 5 Encumbrance for the crate for 50 worth of storage, but in putting something in the crate, it isn't readily accessible.

Yeah, I think the deal was something like crated items are (typically but not always) 1/2 the enc of loose items.

So a YT-1300 can carry 165 blaster pistols loose in the cargo bay sliding around on the floor, or 330 in nice solid crates with padding, handles, and corrosion resistant lining....

wouldn't the rule of 10 also go into this? you know, ships do 10 times damage than a regular person, those soak is 10 times more than a person in foot. so, couldn't that rule go into this as well? im sure a swoop, with an enc. of 2 is harder to weird than a blaster, and heavier.

I could be wrong,I'm really asking.

wouldn't the rule of 10 also go into this? you know, ships do 10 times damage than a regular person, those soak is 10 times more than a person in foot. so, couldn't that rule go into this as well? im sure a swoop, with an enc. of 2 is harder to weird than a blaster, and heavier.

I could be wrong,I'm really asking.

I think the "rule of 10" would be good until we get some specific rules on how to handle cargo shipping. Hopefully we'll get these rules in the Smuggler career book Fly Casual.

This comes up pretty often, in fact there was a big thread about it on the Age of Rebellion forum that is still going on.

The developers just answered a lot of questions about ship encumbrance on the most recent Order 66 podcast.

Encumbrance values in starships typically represent dedicated cargo space. A TIE Fighter doesn't have dedicated cargo space. An Action VI Transport is designed to haul stuff, so it's got a lot of dedicated cargo space. A Nebulon B Frigate is mostly a warship so it has very little dedicated cargo space.

Mainly, you just use the narrative to guide you and the GM just makes a call about how much stuff you can put in a ship.

No, it can haul quite a few CRATES of blasters. What it can't haul is a bunch of loose blasters, heheh. In one of the podcasts the developers mentioned the idea of a crate being a lower encumbrance item able to hold more stuff. Like 5 Encumbrance for the crate for 50 worth of storage, but in putting something in the crate, it isn't readily accessible.

So, there’s two parts to this equation:

1. How many objects can we get into the cargo hold, if we spread them thin and no more than one layer deep?

2. How well do the objects stack, so that we can easily get multiple layers of them into the cargo hold?

Blasters that are not crated or otherwise secured in any manner, do not fare well on #1. Nor do they fare well on #2. So, if you’re just going to casually throw them into a room, I can easily see where you might only be able to get fifty or so in there before you can’t even get the door open again.

But crates (and other types of boxes) score well on both points. And if you can be effective in how you arrange the blasters in some sort of hard container of a regular size, then you can easily get a lot more of them into the same space.

That’s where the 1:10 rule comes into play — putting smaller/irregular objects into regular-size containers that can be easily stacked and stowed.

Containerization literally revolutionized the cargo/shipping industry. We could take a cue from them.

Thanks for the input, folks. I think I'll go with the rule of 10 for now (it's what makes sense to me, since other things are ten-ified), and see how much it matters. Trying to put together a tramp freighter (with a side of smuggling ) game, and cargo capacity is nice to have SOME sort of idea for, instead of always just winging it. Clearly the ship can always hold just as much as the story needs, but it's ncie to be able to give some numbers, sometimes.

The Encumbrance capacity is only for the cargo hold. Personal storage is totally handwaved, especially for Silhouette 4+ ships, and it's assumed that characters can store all of their personal gear in lockers, drawers, and under the mattresses of their bunks.

The Encumbrance capacity is only for the cargo hold. Personal storage is totally handwaved, especially for Silhouette 4+ ships, and it's assumed that characters can store all of their personal gear in lockers, drawers, and under the mattresses of their bunks.

I think we were talking cargo hold. wait... am I right? that's what I figured.

Thanks for the input, folks. I think I'll go with the rule of 10 for now (it's what makes sense to me, since other things are ten-ified), and see how much it matters. Trying to put together a tramp freighter (with a side of smuggling ) game, and cargo capacity is nice to have SOME sort of idea for, instead of always just winging it. Clearly the ship can always hold just as much as the story needs, but it's ncie to be able to give some numbers, sometimes.

Rule of 10 should only apply to crated items. Lose items work normal. or that's how I would do it.

Rule of 10 should only apply to crated items. Lose items work normal. or that's how I would do it.

Correct. Loose items should not get the Rule of Ten applied.