Hey all,

I've just noticed that the VCX-100 freighter is listed at Silhouette 5. This is a little disappointing, as I was hoping to use it as a replacement option for the group's current Suwantek freighter - a craft they wanted to change because it, too, has Silhouette 5, which means that most flying maneuvers aren't available to them in space combat (making being a pilot somewhat... boring).

It seems odd to me that this starship would be a Silhouette 5 vessel when you see it pulling off so many "space combat maneuver" in the Rebels show. As it is, I'm faced with the dilemma of having to create a "smaller" version, or go with a different ship altogether.

Thoughts?

Aren't there some pilot talents that let you treat your ship as 1 silhouette smaller? You could also scour through the ship attachments.

If you really want an ace pilot to shine, find a way to give the group a snub fighter, like a Z-95, or X-wing, or even a stolen Imperial ship. With some ingenuity from a mechanically inclined PC, you could allow it to be docked to the VCX the way the shuttle in the show is.

I created stats for a TIE Advanced X1 that my players managed to steal. Didn't plan for it, but my players rolled triumphs when they took flight suits during an escape, so I had to figure something out. (They found a suit belonging to the Inquisitor that had been torturing them, so the flight crews in the hangar informed the PC wearing the unique suit that service had been complete on his starfighter)

HWK-2000 is the best super maneuverable speed demon freighter in the game.

Honestly my suggestion is if you want your players to use a VCX-100 and you don't like its Sil as GM it is within your power to just make it a SIL 4 craft.

There was a long thread about the craptastic stats of the VCX-100. Simple answer: There are currently no attachments, mods, or talents that allow if to maneuver like a Silhouette 4 craft. Sorry.

Its not the only ship that has been hit with the what were they thinking stats in the game.

I understand that you need to bend things a bit to make reality (or your fantastic facsimile thereof) fit into a ruleset, but I'm personally befuddled as to how you could consider a VCX-100, a Gozanti "cruiser," and a CR-90 all to be the same size. Yes, I realize that there's some breadth to the silhouette sizes, but at the same time I don't really get it. There's not really an upper limit to the silhouette size categories, so would it really have hurt to have added a few more categories between an X-Wing and a Victory -class SD?

If or when my group gets into starship combat, this is one of the things I plan to house rule.

The VCX is 43 m long and multi level compared with the yt1300 being 34m so given that its about 2-3 times thixker, so size wise its over 3.5 times the volume (roughly 1.3 times 1.3 times 2 or 3) of a yt1300.

In rebels you dont see it dogfighting, you see it as a gun platform (it was based an a B17 bomber), the millenium falcon it certainly isnt, and while its still not as big as a Corellian Corvette its about third as long and wider than the corvette when you see them side by side.

Silhouette 5 covers a pretty broad range of ship sizes/lengths. So while I'm not 100% convinced that the VCX-100 should be a Silhouette 5 ship, I can see the reasoning behind it, especially given it's overall size in contrast to the iconic example of a Silhouette 4 ship, the YT-1300.

Granted, we do see Hera do some fancy flying in her VCX-100, but that's probably more a factor of the talents she's got (at the very least, the full Pilot talent tree and maybe a healthy chunk of Driver too) than the inherent capabilities of the Ghost.

Watching episodes where Kanan is at the stick, you don't see the Ghost doing a whole lot of fancy moves, owing to the fact that it's Hera's skills as a pilot make the ship appear more nimble than it really is. And even when Hera is at the helm, we do see the Ghost take a fair number of shots, perhaps owing to its higher Hull Trauma Threshold which enables it to absorb damage as opposed to a YT-1300 or similar light freighter dodging the shots, much as Han did during the chase sequence in ESB.

In my now quite dated catalogue of fan-made stuff (see here ) I present an attachment allowing silhouette 5 vehicles to perform silhouette 4 stuff. It is a bit clunky, and expensive, and potentially risky, so some adjustment should be made - like requiring 2 despairs for really bad stuff rather than 1 despair, and perhaps decrease the repair cost... but yeah... it's a starting point at the very least.

Strip some wounds (some where less than 30), system strain (less than 20), encumbrance and consumables make the **** thing silhouette 4. Take a look at the citadel if its massively better remove more.

The VCX-100 is 43.9 x 34.2 x 14.5 m

A Ghozanti is 63.8 x 32 x 14.7

A Corellian Corvette is 150 x 48.6 x 32.6

A YT-2400 is 28.5 x 21 x 6.6

Honestly I think the VCX-100 is on the large side of SIL 4 with the YT-2400 being on the small side.

I also think the Ghozanti has to be taller then that.

Even with Hera at the helm you mever see it dogfighting which is why I think its appropriate, of course if you feel that strongly about it you can always just make it sil 4 in your own game.

If you see any other pilot at the stick, kanan for example (who probably is. No slouch of a pilot either), you see them drive straight.

Remember that Ghost will me modified significantly also but I, at least agree with the devs here.

Also can you call out anytime where the Ghost gains position on an enemy fighter, they usually use the rear cannon or the turret to take then out.

I was under the impression (at least my own reasoning) that they gave the VCX a sil 5 rating to be able to have the hanger bay. Can't have that with a sil 4 ship.

It doesn't need a hangar bay to externally mount a tiny ship.

The phantom is far from tiny, its bigger than a TIE fighter, at 11 m (not counting guns) long thats nearly three car lengths to give it some perspective.

It's still fighter-sized. The Citadel is Silhouette 4 and can accommodate two fighters in docking clamps. There's no reason a Silhouette 4 VCX-100 couldn't clamp one fighter/shuttle to it's tail.

It's still fighter-sized. The Citadel is Silhouette 4 and can accommodate two fighters in docking clamps. There's no reason a Silhouette 4 VCX-100 couldn't clamp one fighter/shuttle to it's tail.

Except the Phantom isn't an externally mounted ship, not in the way the TIEs attached to a Gozanti or ships attached to a Citadel cruiser are. The Phantom fully integrates into the body of the Ghost, to the point that if one didn't know better, they'd never assume the rear-mounted guns were capable of detaching and becoming their own vessel.

It's still fighter-sized. The Citadel is Silhouette 4 and can accommodate two fighters in docking clamps. There's no reason a Silhouette 4 VCX-100 couldn't clamp one fighter/shuttle to it's tail.

Except the Phantom isn't an externally mounted ship, not in the way the TIEs attached to a Gozanti or ships attached to a Citadel cruiser are. The Phantom fully integrates into the body of the Ghost, to the point that if one didn't know better, they'd never assume the rear-mounted guns were capable of detaching and becoming their own vessel.

I'll agree that it's not precisely the same, but I still think it's far closer to being a docking-clamp style connection than a hangar bay.

I think the VCX-100 is clearly a Silhouette 4 ship, and I treat it as such in my games.

This screen shot from Rebels is quite clear, I think..

https://i.stack.imgur.com/cnDIc.png

That image does nothing regarding determining if the ship is Sil4 or Sil5 given that the silhouette of a ship covers a wide range of lengths and sizes.

That image does nothing regarding determining if the ship is Sil4 or Sil5 given that the silhouette of a ship covers a wide range of lengths and sizes.

But surely, the VCX-100 is closer to a YT freighter than a CR90 in size, shape, maneuverability etc etc?

That image does nothing regarding determining if the ship is Sil4 or Sil5 given that the silhouette of a ship covers a wide range of lengths and sizes.

But surely, the VCX-100 is closer to a YT freighter than a CR90 in size, shape, maneuverability etc etc?

Well, comparing the stats for the VCX-100 and the CR90, the CR90 is a much more agile ship. It just doesn't seem right. The CR90 is listed as 126,68m long, and the VCX-100 is 43,9m long. I suspect this is an error, and that the VCX-100 is meant to be a larger Silhouette 4 ship, seeing the Handling is -3. It can be in a dogfight, but it will be sluggish compared to other light freighters. Which really described well how the Ghost appears in Rebels.

I disagree, the VCX-100 definitely fits more as a smaller Sil5 ship. It's not s " light" freighter by any means. It's much larger than a XT-1300, with more than double the the deck space and volume.

Also i would never define the CR90 as "much more agile". The Ghost does much more acrobatics when Hera's driving than any CR90 in all the films and tv episodes.