Pallets and Packaging

Note: Multiple packaging methods may be used on the same items, but they do not stack; only the best reduction is used.

• Boxing Up : Using Plasti-board boxes and foam available on any civilized world, items are stacked for shipping.
  • Encumbrance of a box is calculated by adding together the encumbrance of all contained items, dividing by ten, then rounding up to the nearest whole number.
  • Boxed items gain a blue die to resistance rolls against becoming damaged.
  • Boxing items costs 25 credits per point of encumbrance of the box.
  • An additional blue die for resistance by doubling the price of the box, or two for tripling.
  • All boxes have a cumbersome rating equal to their encumbrance.
• Pallets : Pallets are specifically designed to be carried by load lifters, and to be easy to secure in cargo holds.
  • Each pallet may contain between 50 and 100 encumbrance of items.
  • Items under 5 encumbrance must be boxed first. (See above)
  • Each pallet is 5 encumbrance and cumbersome 10. It cannot be lifted by less than 2 size 1 individuals.
  • Pallets may only be used in cargo sections of cargo vehicles.
  • Creating a pallet costs 50 credits.
• Small Shipping Containers : These containers are 6x2.5x2.5 meters and designed to be used with large machinery and stacked in massive bulk freighter holds.
  • A shipping container may hold up to 500 encumbrance of items.
  • Each shipping container is encumbrance 25. It cannot be lifted by less than 2 binary load lifters. (or equivalent)
  • Extremely cumbersome : each vessel may only hold a fixed number of these containers, even if it has cargo room left.
  • Shipping containers are vehicle scale, and have an armor value of 1, and 3 hull points.
  • Shipping containers cost 1,000 credits each.

As boxes have come up a few times, I thought I'd post the house rules we're looking at/using in our game. Obviously, this comes with the usual caveat of only being a guideline, and that the GM should make sure they're being used to help the narrative and prevent any abuses. It may also be worth re-iterating that any kind of boxed item is extremely difficult to get "ready" and so is essentially unavailable for use.

Anyway, They haven't been extensively tested or anything, but they seem to work fairly well. Any thoughts are welcome.

Pallets and Packaging

Note: Multiple packaging methods may be used on the same items, but they do not stack; only the best reduction is used.

• Boxing Up : Using Plasti-board boxes and foam available on any civilized world, items are stacked for shipping.
  • Encumbrance of a box is calculated by adding together the encumbrance of all contained items, dividing by ten, then rounding up to the nearest whole number.
  • Boxed items gain a blue die to resistance rolls against becoming damaged.
  • Boxing items costs 25 credits per point of encumbrance of the box.
  • An additional blue die for resistance by doubling the price of the box, or two for tripling.
  • All boxes have a cumbersome rating equal to their encumbrance.
• Pallets : Pallets are specifically designed to be carried by load lifters, and to be easy to secure in cargo holds.
  • Each pallet may contain between 50 and 100 encumbrance of items.
  • Items under 5 encumbrance must be boxed first. (See above)
  • Each pallet is 5 encumbrance and cumbersome 10. It cannot be lifted by less than 2 size 1 individuals.
  • Pallets may only be used in cargo sections of cargo vehicles.
  • Creating a pallet costs 50 credits.
• Small Shipping Containers : These containers are 6x2.5x2.5 meters and designed to be used with large machinery and stacked in massive bulk freighter holds.
  • A shipping container may hold up to 500 encumbrance of items.
  • Each shipping container is encumbrance 25. It cannot be lifted by less than 2 binary load lifters. (or equivalent)
  • Extremely cumbersome : each vessel may only hold a fixed number of these containers, even if it has cargo room left.
  • Shipping containers are vehicle scale, and have an armor value of 1, and 3 hull points.
  • Shipping containers cost 1,000 credits each.

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As boxes have come up a few times, I thought I'd post the house rules we're looking at/using in our game. Obviously, this comes with the usual caveat of only being a guideline, and that the GM should make sure they're being used to help the narrative and prevent any abuses. It may also be worth re-iterating that any kind of boxed item is extremely difficult to get "ready" and so is essentially unavailable for use.

Anyway, They haven't been extensively tested or anything, but they seem to work fairly well. Any thoughts are welcome.

You might consider allowing small items of under 5 encumberance to be 'strapped down' to a pallet with the understanding that if the pallet itself isn't strapped/buckled/bolted/ratcheted/force moved down it can slide around and damage to contents can occur. I've seen seats buckled to a pallet before as well for 'passengers' RL. Not the mostest comfortable way to ride.

Haha, prison cage on a pallet.

As an initial impression, I think your compression ratios are much higher than they should be. However, I do like the graduated nature of the containers.

Any ideas to make them have a hover capability for an extra cost?

Thanks,

Yeah, I was a little worried about that, but the next easy step down (1/5 for boxes, 1/10 for pallets/containers) seemed to little. To give an example, a fully loaded pallet would carry, say, 100 flashlights glowrods in what is about a two cubic meters. That's about 20,000 cubic centimeters per glowrod, or room for a 15cm by 15cm by 80cm box. So it's a bit generous, but not that far off for something packaged well. (or a slightly larger pallet than 1x1x2)

I like 5 encumberance for the pallet and 25 for the container: That would allow for 33 to fit in a YT-1300. Which, making a rough estimate of Trax's ship from the beginner game, should fit roughly in the ~40 square meters of cargo decking visible. For a Wayfarer it's 170 pallets, and it's got more than 2,100 sq meters of cargo decking in the pod.

Also, good idea Domingo. The grav-belt is 500, and it should be more than that given the higher weight. Maybe 1000 per pallet?

Also, good idea Domingo. The grav-belt is 500, and it should be more than that given the higher weight. Maybe 1000 per pallet?

Sounds good. I wouldn't make them too expensive if you consider that Imperials in Star Wars Rebels use them to haul fruit rations.

I think a hovering crate could be pushed by a single person, treating their maneuvers to move them as 'difficult ground' that cannot be overcome by any talent affecting movement, such as Swift. That would let the PCs push the contraband and shoot for those dramatic getaways.

In Rebels, we’re not seeing the plasti-board boxes, but I do like your solution here. So, I would put the one cubic meter repulsorlift crates seen in Rebels as halfway between the plasti-board boxes and pallets. You also need to be able to link them electromagnetically to each other, so one person could pull or push a number of them at the same time, although longer chains would get more and more cumbersome.

But overall, I really like the solution you’ve got here. Thanks!

Unfortunately I haven't seen any Rebels , so that wasn't in my mind when I wrote these up. However, that being said, I'd kinda consider those boxes as half (50 enc.) pallets. Could even replace the pallet, which we don't really see in Star Wars. (that I can recall) That's enough space for a dozen Blaster Rifles (or ten with extra reloads) and would be about a meter cubed. I added customisable boxes because I wanted to build something that was a little more generalized.