*minor spoilers* = ship names+classes and what mission they are from

So my group have been pretty lucky with the missions they have been presented, they were able to acquire the YV-666 "The Vagrant" from the "trouble brewing" mission (currently missing as a player who will not be returning has "Borrowed" it) and they were able to take a modified YT-2400 "Nightflyer" from the "beyond the rim" mission as well as the imperials skywatcher class scout ship "the deep dark", the Nightflyer having its modifications moved to the players ship of the same class and currently being rented out to the rebellion and the deep dark being given to the rebellion.

My concern is currently as the players are only a few missions in and they intend on selling the seemingly growing fleet of ships they have gotten for a large payout after which the group will be able to buy anything they want too quickly instead of earning it. while i know their characters would be able to do this I see this kind of like cheating like in a computer game, sure you can buy the best stuff but then alot of the challenge and sense of accomplishment is gone.

Am i right to worry about this? and if so any ideas on what i can do to lessen the damage done if they did decide to sell a ship?

current ship status

PCs first ship "Centry Raven" = taken the upgrades from the Nightflyer so its better then stock now =P (a price for transfering mods was payed)

The Vagrant = Lost after large investment in repairs. I was thinking on making a hard mission for them to earn it back but id think I would need some stats for the ship which are nowhere to be found

The Nightflyer = Rented to the rebellion for if i remember correctly 200 credits a week (thankfully not sold yet but could be sold later)

The Deep Dark = Donated to the rebellion (PCs didnt want to be flying around a imperial ship drawing attention to themselves)

Now my group is rotating GMs for different missions so I wont be GM for 1 or 2 missions more so I hope nothing happens on this front till then

Well, the first thing to remember is that unlike a computer game, possessing something in a PnP RPG doesn't mean it's easy to sell. Depending on where you are and the ship history, getting a fair price for the ship might be next to impossible and be a campaign in an of itself. That said, you shouldn't be too harsh on the players; having acquired these ships means they DID earn them. They should be able to get a fair bit. I'll give my opinion on each ship.

- Century Raven: I see what you did there. And hard to say because you didn't say what kind of ship it was or where (in universe, I know it was their starting resource) they got it from, so it's hard to say how much they could sell it for.

- The Vagrant: No idea what it would costs, though you can use other freighters as a guideline. Depending on how much you like the departing player, you could have the player character find him/her having sold the ship for 2x the cost of repairs. Then the players can decide how badly they want to shake down their old comrade, and be on their merry.

- Nightflyer: If they're not selling to the Rebellion, it's not gonna sell. No one likes Imperial entanglements, and having a ship with ties to the Rebellion is a surefire way to get them. And since the Rebellion is notoriously short on credits... What I'd probably do is have the guy they're dealing with in the Rebellion come back and say "Hey, we really like this ship, we'll buy it for 1/3 market price." At that point the players can Negotiate (and risk aggravating the Alliance a bit), they can say they want to use the ship in the future and it isn't for sale, or let it go for that price.

- Deep Dark: Already gone, no need to worry about them selling it.

Overall, I see no reason to panic. Just keep in mind that they won't necessarily get the listed price in the book for what they sell and it's all good.

Currently, the only income they're getting out of those ships is 200 credits/week. That's hardly game-breaking; it's not even game-changing.

The PCs as "acquisition specialists", on the other hand, could easily form a plot arc. Lots of people and groups would find a team like that useful.

If it's easy to gain ships, it's easy to lose them too. Don't go out of your way to spare their ship(s) from destruction since they have multiples and seem to easily be able to get more.

1 hour ago, Garran said:

The PCs as "acquisition specialists", on the other hand, could easily form a plot arc. Lots of people and groups would find a team like that useful.

OTOH, the people they’re taking the ships from might become powerful enemies, and put huge bounties on their heads, etc….

There is a very real danger in become high-end “repo men”, because you might get “repoed” yourself.

I think this is the best way to handle it, either with high end goodies comes high end baddies, and they learn to se their sights lower till they develop their characters more to meet the challenge or they have to continually use some of that money they bring in to buy off bounty hunters or in bribes to stay alive. I also wouldn't be afraid of putting them in serious fire fights and taking loses so that even though they may get big rewards they'll also take big loses.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of these ships are stolen. So when it comes to selling them the crew are unlikely to have all of the legal documentation. So, they either sell to criminals at a low price or keep the "fleet" and risk being picked up by the empire for having stolen goods. This adds some interesting story possibilities and should certainly increase the group obligation.

My players steal ships all the time, but also have habit of loosing them in crashes or down to deadly ship combat, so it all evens out in the end.

My suggestion on players getting fat and sassy on flipping ships? Don't worry about it.

GMing 101: Either say "yes" or make the players roll dice.

The same type of roll used to find items to purchase can be used to find a buyer for an item. The difficulty threshold should be based on where in the galaxy the PCs are selling. Be fair but don't be a pushover either; if they ask where the best place to sell is, just tell them to roll dice.

As the GM, you can also add setback dice if the item is stolen. The players should definitely be earning Criminal or some other sort of Obligation. Stealing stuff angers people and their ships may have been the property of Black Sun or a Hutt cartel. Negotiation tests using the buyer's Negotiation skill as the difficulty should be used to determine final selling price. Selling for the rulebook listed price shouldn't be an option unless the player lands a pair of Triumphs.

There's a certain threshold in the game where the amount of credits you have in the bank doesn't affect the overall story. The PCs aren't going to be able to find and purchase every item for every contingency and be able to carry them around. Sure they can pay off something like a Debt Obligation but, unless the entire party took that Obligation, it isn't going to solve every problem.

Obligations and rewards are the stick and the carrot of this game and it's important that a GM know when to use both. It's also important for players to understand that always getting the best stuff doesn't make for a fun game. The story doesn't move forward if there are no problems or conflicts.

Narrative games are an ongoing conversation that don't end until the campaign wraps. Every major success should add a narrative wrinkle that you can play with. Han found passengers with enough money to pay off Jabba the Hutt and look where that got him...