I've been running a group for several years now, and the time has come where they are searching for "the perfect ship" to kick off one last big adventure arc. They started with the Wayfarer, and the party is rather fond of that big ol' bird. To that end, they aren't interested in getting into a ship that is built solely for speed/combat, but also don't want to end up in another slow, lightly armed freighter either. I've been digging through all of the books I own with my girlfriend (who is the captain), and we just can't find something we *really* like. The problem is that so many of the ships feel very same-y. Light freighters can have some solid guns and handle well, while providing 150-175 encumbrance worth of storage. Medium freighters tend to be in the 800 encumbrance range, with a wide variety of armaments (silhouette 5 seems to span a HUGE range of ship sizes...).

What they really want is something somewhere in between. Respectable weaponry, speed, handling, etc. with a encumbrance value of somewhere in the 400 range. Having not found anything like that, we're currently looking at the YZ-775. That still feels a little bit large, and its speed/handling reflect that.

All that being said, anyone have any ideas for the perfect compromise? I don't really care what it costs, though if it's illegal it could be a problem. I suppose I could just make something up, but I'm surprised they don't have anything that fits in that middle ground.

How does this one look? http://swrpg.viluppo.net/transportation/starships/3352/

5 hardpoints to iron out anything that rubs you the wrong way and has the cargo space you need

Seems to me something like the Ghost would be a good compromise, being Sil5 but rivalling the Falcon for handling. Just give it a new name and picture and nobody will know.

The Ghtroc 720 doesn't get enough loving. It's a solid ship that has everything, except speed, that a crew might want or need. Attachements can cover additional stats that it might need.

55 minutes ago, whafrog said:

something like the Ghost

Funny you should mention the Ghost in a thread referencing Goldilocks. My PCs just acquired the Ghost, and one of the players described it as their "third bowl of porridge" following their Loronar Skyblind (roomy and with a cloaking device but too slow and clunky) and their souped-up YT-1300 (much better performance but cramped and no inherent stealth).

Have you considered giving the shipbuilding rules from Fully Operational a go? It’s difficult to make ships better than the some of those already provided, but if the players build it from the ground up and are successful, it will be exactly what they want... maybe.

1 hour ago, OriginalDomingo said:

Have you considered giving the shipbuilding rules from Fully Operational a go? It’s difficult to make ships better than the some of those already provided, but if the players build it from the ground up and are successful, it will be exactly what they want... maybe.

I tried this exercise to see if I could build a ship that would work for this situation, but without a lot of guaranteed advantages and triumphs, there just aren't enough hardpoints

Yeah, higher encumbrance is not something the shipbuilding rules handles well.

7 hours ago, IronNerd said:

I've been running a group for several years now, and the time has come where they are searching for "the perfect ship" to kick off one last big adventure arc. They started with the Wayfarer, and the party is rather fond of that big ol' bird. To that end, they aren't interested in getting into a ship that is built solely for speed/combat, but also don't want to end up in another slow, lightly armed freighter either. I've been digging through all of the books I own with my girlfriend (who is the captain), and we just can't find something we *really* like. The problem is that so many of the ships feel very same-y. Light freighters can have some solid guns and handle well, while providing 150-175 encumbrance worth of storage. Medium freighters tend to be in the 800 encumbrance range, with a wide variety of armaments (silhouette 5 seems to span a HUGE range of ship sizes...).

What they really want is something somewhere in between. Respectable weaponry, speed, handling, etc. with a encumbrance value of somewhere in the 400 range. Having not found anything like that, we're currently looking at the YZ-775. That still feels a little bit large, and its speed/handling reflect that.

All that being said, anyone have any ideas for the perfect compromise? I don't really care what it costs, though if it's illegal it could be a problem. I suppose I could just make something up, but I'm surprised they don't have anything that fits in that middle ground.

IF you don't mind "unofficial" stats for ships from the lore, and previous editions of the game that haven't gotten the FFG treatment yet, might I suggest the YZ-900 . It's the sister ship to the YZ-775, and can be found here.

10 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

IF you don't mind "unofficial" stats for ships from the lore, and previous editions of the game that haven't gotten the FFG treatment yet, might I suggest the YZ-900 . It's the sister ship to the YZ-775, and can be found here.

That ship is honestly about perfect. I think if I went that way I'd massage the stats just a touch to bring it slightly more in line with the YZ-775. It's effectively what they're looking for though... sacrifice about half their current cargo for significantly more combat ability.

13 minutes ago, IronNerd said:

That ship is honestly about perfect. I think if I went that way I'd massage the stats just a touch to bring it slightly more in line with the YZ-775. It's effectively what they're looking for though... sacrifice about half their current cargo for significantly more combat ability.

The original D20 stats for the YZ-900 had a cargo capacity of 500 tons. The YZ-775 had a cargo capacity of 400. The YZ-900 is already heavily armed, and the armament listed is the actual weapons payload it has in the lore as seen in its Wookiepedia page here . The ship was designed for combat. My signature character pilots a heavily modified YZ-900 converted into a mobile Jedi training facility.

6 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Wookiepedia

*Wookieepedia

18 hours ago, Darth Revenant said:

The Ghtroc 720  doesn't get enough loving. It's a solid ship that has everything, except speed, that a crew might want or need. Attachements can cover additional stats that it might need.

Having just googled this (for memory purposes) it looks like the ship has an observation deck/bubble topside... chuck that out and install some quad cannons

Take a look at the YZ-900

I'm a big fan of the VCX-350.

It's just about perfect for a Sil 4 ship.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/VCX-350_light_freighter

I don't think that there are official stats out there, but here's the next best thing:

LibrariaNPC’s Starship Yard: Freighters

VCX-350 Light Freighter
Era: New Republic
Hull type: Freighter
Ship Class: VCX-350 Light Freighter

Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation

Hyperdrive: Class 1 (Backup Class 11)

Navcomp: Equipped
Sensor Range: Short
Ship's Complement: Pilot and Co-Pilot; Gunner (Optional)
Encumbrance Capacity: 412 (250 tons)
Passenger Capacity: 8
Consumables: 6 months
Cost/Rarity: 300,000 credits (175,000 used)/6-8 (rarity variable based on demand, which is normally
high)
Customization Hard Points: 5
Silhouette: 4
Speed: 4
Handling: 0 Defense: 2/1 Armor: 4
Hull Threshold: 27
System Threshold: 19
Weapons:

Ventral and dorsal mounted medium laser cannons (Fire Arc Forward-facing Turret; Damage 6; Critical
3; Range
[Close])

I'm a fan of the Darvro-Class Light Freighter.

http://swrpg.viluppo.net/transportation/starships/2292/

Rule number one of GMing. Fudge it a little bit when necessary.

Seriously though. Find a ship that is close to what you want and change a couple of the stats on it. Call it a custom sub model of whatever the base ship is and fly away happy.

My players have two ships that they have "acquired;" A YT-2400 & a VCX-100 (aka "Ghost").

I did rule that the VCX-100 is actually a Sil 4 ship in my campaign, but otherwise, I'm running it as is.

And the Players seem to favor the VCX-100 over the Duce 'n Four. <shrug> I'd have to think it over a bit more as to why.

Right now their Duce'n Four is a better gun ship, but the -100 is a bit more versatile outside of combat?

I'm not sure how much it will help, but since Bishop69 referenced it, here's a link to my Freighter Creation Thread . I haven't done anything with EotE or related games for a while (last time I touched the game system was when I playtested the Terrinoth book, actually), so I am not as useful with this as I used to be.

I started that project for the same reason you are asking for input: I had a crew of scoundrels that wanted something more than a basic YT, and I wanted my spacelanes to have more character than was available. That thread was the end result, and has nearly two years of work and conversation in it. Enjoy!