What would a good minimum be to have on a capitol ship to be able to pilot it with a bare bones crew. I understand that the all of the weapons may not be able to fire, and/or launch fighters, or be able to defend itself against a bording action.
But what would be a good percentage of the crew to have as a minimum "to get the ship underway" and into hyperspace. My gut feeling is between 10 and 30% of the normal crew.
What are other people's thoughts
Some of the ships do have a minimum crew listing (CR90 in particular) and some can be found from other sources. This is one of those things that makes me wish there had been more control on, because there are so many wildly varying numbers across everything that there's no consistency.
But yes, 25% sounds like a good ballpark number.
Hmmmm….
Depends on the detail you want.
Most modern US Naval Units use four sections. The concept being that one section is enough to execute the mission, even if not able to do everything.
For instance, one section should be able to get underway and fight the ship. Though they would not have any extra personnel to account for casualties, damage control and extended operations.
The Port or Starboard Watch (each comprised of two sections, usually odd and even) can fight the ship for a more sustained time period.
The full crew would be expected to go the long haul. In intense operations they could go Port & Starboard, with each Watch (half the crew) working 12 on 12 off.
When sections are organized, each section is balanced so that the members assigned cover all the needed skills, training and knowledge.
At least that is the concept. Sometimes while it all looks good on paper, you simply do not have the right mix in the real world.
But to answer your question, a warship should at a minimum would have 25% of the crew onboard at all times unless in special circumstance, such as dry-dock.
With less than 25% the question is not how many, but instead it is how many of what kind? To maneuver the ship you will need some of the bridge crew (those involved in flying the ship) and mostly the “Black Gang” from engineering plus some from Deck to handle all the sundry tasks.
My guess from the capabilities of an Imperial Star Destroyer (mixed cruiser/carrier/assault ship) the majority of the crew numbers would be in supporting the Space Wing (Air Wing in a carrier) and Imperial Landing Force (Marine Landing Force) so the actual number of ship’s crew would be less than 30% of the number listed.
For a Victory Class Star Destroyer with a listed crew of 6107, probably less than 1000 are actually involved with the ship itself. If I was making things up, I’d say about 100-150 of them would be “Black Gang”. Break that into sections and you have 25-37ish needed to get underway in the engine room.
For a CR-90 things would depend on configuration. If it is supporting fighters the number of personnel increases significantly. The same if it is acting as an assault ship with Troops and Landers. But you could use the same general rules of thumb to figure out something that sounds right.
Which ship are you talking about exactly?
All in all though, exact numbers don’t really matter. It’s all about the story.
For 'skeleton' crew requirements, I'd suggest determining the systems absolutely necessary for what the party is trying to do. Then assign at least 1 crew member to each system for the skeleton crew. Examples of such systems could be piloting, engineering, sensors, astrogation, communications, flight operations, weapons systems, cargo handlling, security, etc.
I would say that most systems on most ships could be handled by at minimum one person in each system. However, such a small crew would likely be wholly unable to provide anything beyond the bare minimum functionality of that system.
Books have had small corvettes operated by a single individual for a short time. Tarkin's frigate was stolen by half a dozen men.
Books have had small corvettes operated by a single individual for a short time. Tarkin's frigate was stolen by half a dozen men.
This makes sense. A small group could do some very basic stuff for a short time, such as fire up the engines, move forward and make a jump into hyperspace. For extended operations, however, you'd need a full complement to keep abreast of everything that happens aboard a large, complex piece of machinery like a spaceship. And keep in mind that the full crew listing is probably meant to represent everyone aboard; only a third of those could be expected to be on duty at any given time, the other two shifts would be having time off.
If someone wanted to run a ship with a below-requirements crew, I'd just assign a number of setback dice (and possibly difficulty upgrades) to all the checks they make to represent how minor but important functions aren't being performed. The further below the crew requirements they are, the more setback dice.
Books have had small corvettes operated by a single individual for a short time. Tarkin's frigate was stolen by half a dozen men.
This makes sense. A small group could do some very basic stuff for a short time, such as fire up the engines, move forward and make a jump into hyperspace. For extended operations, however, you'd need a full complement to keep abreast of everything that happens aboard a large, complex piece of machinery like a spaceship. And keep in mind that the full crew listing is probably meant to represent everyone aboard; only a third of those could be expected to be on duty at any given time, the other two shifts would be having time off.
If someone wanted to run a ship with a below-requirements crew, I'd just assign a number of setback dice (and possibly difficulty upgrades) to all the checks they make to represent how minor but important functions aren't being performed. The further below the crew requirements they are, the more setback dice.
Yep,
But I was answering the OP.
Most of what the game lists as Capitol ships aren't actually capitol ships by definition. Ships filling the roles of Destroyers, Frigates and Corvettes were some of the smallest warships in a fleet, and in some periods they didn't even get names, but simple number designation instead. Modern technology has Destroyers and Frigates stepping up into the Cruiser role, but that is more driven by a lack of viable active threats.
The ADZ, CR90 and IR-3F are all listed as only needing 30, 30 and 20 crew at a minimum (I personally take the low number as the crew size of the ship itself without embarked fighter squadron or dropships and assault element). So yes, manning a ship that small would be fairly easy and can be done by a handful (player group size) for a short duration.
But a Capitol Ship (read Battleship, Fleet Carrier etc) such as a Victory Class, Dreadnought-Class, Vindicator Class, Imperial I-Class or Praetor II Class ships with crews in the thousands are another thing.
But in the end it is Space Opera. So what ever fits the Plot....
WEG listed skeleton crews for all of the capital ship deigns in their books. Even if you can't find the specific model you are looking for that way maybe you can find something of a similar crew size and role to guide you.
Some of the ships do have a minimum crew listing (CR90 in particular) and some can be found from other sources. This is one of those things that makes me wish there had been more control on, because there are so many wildly varying numbers across everything that there's no consistency.
But yes, 25% sounds like a good ballpark number.
Different ships would have different needs for the minimum crew depending on lots of factors. Size, mission, automation, etc... So, it isn't a simple formula for all ships.