I am starting up a PbP campaign where the players are all freelancers/bounty hunters contracted by a Grand Moff to hunt down Jedi and rebel scum. To keep things simple and streamlined, I want the Grand Moff to give them a ship as part of their contract, something that would serve as an incognito vessel for some deniable Imperial assets.

Any suggestions?

I would say a Citadel Freighter (260 of EotE CRB) or a YT-2400 Freighter would work

I'm a big proponent of the Loranor E-9 explorer .

Although it really is an Imperial ship, I can't wait for an excuse to give my players and VT-49 Decimator . It's got poor handling, but it can wreck you and take a beating.

If there's few enough players (3), Firespray is classic, particularly if they're hunters and so don't need cargo room. I'm still a fan of the HWK-290, as it lets you comfortably put 4(ish) people in what is statistically a starfighter. Of course, if you don't have anyone playing an Ace, that's not quite worth the loss in durability.

P.S. where's your game, I'd love to check it out.

Firespray or Citadel is my vote.

Citadel has that classy look. The empire might not give a rusted bucket of bolts. They value a clean aesthetic. Firespray does work, if the party size is small enough.

How big is the group?

I like the Skywatcher, but the 4R3 is an absolute beast.

If you have a larger group with more than one pilot the Citadel is ideal. I really like the fact it can carry a couple of fighters (Cloakshape fighters would probably work).

I've always liked the idea of running an Imperial game where the players are given a VT-49 Decimator. It's supposed to be an "evil Millennium Falcon ." It's in Fly Casual , page 55.

I've always liked the idea of running an Imperial game where the players are given a VT-49 Decimator. It's supposed to be an "evil Millennium Falcon ." It's in Fly Casual , page 55.

Plus it looks bad ass.

Yeah, I've always wanted to use one in a game.

The VT-49 is something I wanted to like, but it has several shortcomings that keep me from thinking of it as an Evil Millennium Falcon or even a good assault ship. The cargo capacity is too low for use as a transport, the passenger capacity isn't high enough to carry troops for a raid, the sensors are poor for a recon ship, the handling is terrible for any use, and the consumables are insufficient for extended deployments. For these reasons, I strongly prefer the Skywatcher over the Decimator.

After some thought i'm going to suggest the Skipray

They are something the empire is is likely to have in a abundance, that they would normally scrap while modernizing to TIE and TIE carriers

After some thought i'm going to suggest the Skipray

They are something the empire is is likely to have in a abundance, that they would normally scrap while modernizing to TIE and TIE carriers

The Skipray is a modern vehicle despite being a pre-Clone Wars design, similar in capabilities to a B-Wing. The turnoff for the Imperial Navy is that it is hyperspace capable which runs counter to Navy Doctrine concerning small ships.

As for gameplay, I think it is a perfect choice for a vehicle being given to the players by the Imperials. It has no berthing space unless you sleep on the floor or in your chair and it only carries one month of consumables (fuel, rations, spare parts). Thus a perfect way to keep the players dependent on the Empire for cheap resources..

I gave my Players the Sentinel-class landing craft. It's similar to the Lambda, except more likely to be found as legitimate surplus or salvage. It's well armored and well armed. A good choice for mercenary Players, as it fits their character archetype.

4R3 vs Citadel, is close. Similar weapons, same shields, speed, handling, and hyperdrive. Almost the same passenger count. But having a medium tractor beam, more armor, more consumables, a small required crew and cheaper, I have to say that the advantage goes to the Citadel.

Two proton torpedo launchers are way better than one concussion missile launcher. The tractor beam is nice, but so is the boarding tube that comes standard on the 4R3.

And remember all the cool extras that will be included, free of charge, in whatever ship they get. A tracking device, so the Moff can stay informed about where his hired hands are going. Sleeper software in the ship's computers that record everything the players do, so the Moff will know if they betray him or go against his interests. And the explosive device, for when he no longer has a need of their services.

You don't rise to Moff status without being a conniving, treacherous, underhanded bastard.