Soliciting creative ideas for acquiring a spaceship after 2-3 sessions without buying (boring) or stealing (cliché) one. Also, "borrowing" (i.e. stealing after-the-fact) is probably right out. Looking for something at least morally neutral. Also, simply "finding" one that is un-owned seems terribly contrived.

Some form of gift? Maybe as an attempt to pass off a McGuffin.

Abandoned ships could be found on a hostile planet of some sort. Or sitting forgotten in a big old pile of junk somewhere. Getting it up and running would then be a part of the adventure and it helps to give the ship a bit more character as well as make it a bit easier to bond with the ship from the player side. Make it into something that is theirs.

Salvage

Inheritance

Winning it in a game of chance

Winning it in a sweepstakes or raffle

Bidding on it at auction (mostly like buying used)

New character joins group that already has a ship (and then, if NPC, might die...)

Rent one (and maybe fail to return it promptly)

Waking up on it with no idea how you got there.

being chased you see a ship invitingly open its doors for you. It is only after leaving the planet that party discovers that no one else is on board.

There is also the option of the characters being assigned to it by their superiors. This especialy works with military characters, or, if Prequel era or Old Republic Jedi.

"Jabba certainly can provide you with a ship, you just have to deliver this small package to his mother on Nal Hutta. I'm sure It goes without saying that you'll make yourself available at regular intervals for future trips should the need arise. Dear jabba does so love his mother after all. "

And there you have the beginning of a great story arc, a light plot leash that you can tug on at any time and the problem of transportation solved, all without being too contrived or pedestrian.

Also remember that just because the idea is boring or clichéd doesn't mean it doesn't work either. Sometimes simpler is better. If the players need a ship, get them a ship and get on with the fun parts of the story, unless getting the ship is the story . Then in that case any of the above examples work.

Good ideas. Sometimes one just needs a little outside help to smash the writer's block.

In the spirit of the system, I'll just bait the trap (as it were) and plan for 3-4 different routes the party can take and let them decide on the approach.

I think salvaging it has the most chance of the players endearing themselves to it.

The ship could be a Transformer in disguise...

My edge group found a crashed piece of junk badly in need of parts. They needed to patch holes, find a hyperdrive, replace an engine, clean up fire damage and reinforce the structure. The first few sessions are probably going to fill most of these holes from various sources.

Also keep in mind that most light freighters (and other non-military Sil 4 ships) are common and affordable. Buying a new ship is not all that much more expensive than buying a homestead or a shop in a town, and many people do it in Star Wars even if they have to take up Obligation to come up with the money.

In fact, just look at the Obligation chart. Almost every entry can give you a path to acquiring a ship.

I had a game start with the group under Imperial arrest along with some other criminals. They were being detained on a planet that was in more or less open revolt against the Empire. As they were being transported to the detention facility, explosions rocked the area and blaster fire ensued. With the Imperials either fighting the insurgents or dead, the group had a chance to escape. Three ships were sitting nearby, and since the PCs were all shackled to one another and time being of the essence, they had to make the choice of which ship to make their escape.

In another game, the group worked for an NPC captain who was murdered in the first session. They inherited the ship.

You should have someone mysterious person simply walk up and hand them the BOSS pad with their name listed as the owner(s) then simply walk away. Every now and then when they mention their ship roll some dice. Or simply describe the occasional uneasy feeling about the ship. Let the players imagination run wild and they'll feed you with a ton of ideas on what to do with the ship, and when one of their ideas turns out correct they'll be extra excited.

15 hours ago, whisperingskull said:

I had a game start with the group under Imperial arrest along with some other criminals. They were being detained on a planet that was in more or less open revolt against the Empire. As they were being transported to the detention facility, explosions rocked the area and blaster fire ensued. With the Imperials either fighting the insurgents or dead, the group had a chance to escape. Three ships were sitting nearby, and since the PCs were all shackled to one another and time being of the essence, they had to make the choice of which ship to make their escape.

This is almost exactly how I started my first campaign. Only the escape was from the Kessel spice mines.

7 hours ago, kaosoe said:

This is almost exactly how I started my first campaign. Only the escape was from the Kessel spice mines.

Nice! I cooked up an agriworld that was important to Coruscant.

An escape from the spice mines of Kessel is a fantastic idea. I may have to borrow that one.

Retiring captain.. he/she/it wishes to put up his space legs or tenticles.. he/she/it will lease out his ship against a bond (cash or their lives) rather than see her rust away or decay..

A good excuse for a new obligation and some interesting plot twists as the former owners enemies come hunting.. old debtors seek them out, or it was linked with the rebellion or jedi etc etc etc..

One that I think hasn't been covered yet is if a ship full of baddies arrives to ruin the PCs' day, then they're going to have a newly unmanned ship for the taking afterwards.

(You know, assuming they survive.)

I know you discounted buying as boring, but what if you make it... not boring?

Give the PC a really good deal on a nice used ship. A soon as the deal is done, the seller skips town, never to be seen again. After a while several different factions start gunning for the PCs and their new ship, and the PCs have no idea why.

Maybe the seller stole the ship from someone important and when caught sold out the PCs as accomplices to save his own skin.

Maybe something valuable is hidden aboard? Glitterstim in secret compartments? Valuable navdata in the ship's computer? Prototype technology installed?

Or maybe it's the seller everyone's looking for, and since the PCs are flying around in his precious ship, they must know whete to find him, right?

Or maybe this ship has been sold several times previously and the previous crews want it back?

For some reason, I've really been into legal wranglings in my games lately. Another way to make buying a ship not boring might be to say they bought the ship and have been making payments, but the dealership they got it from (or bank that did the loan) is now closed and the owner accused of being a Rebel sympathizer. Or the bank is located on a world that is now under Imperial martial law, with all its assets seized. Or the bank was on Alderaan pre-Death Star. The PCs now have to figure out how to get the title free and clear when there's no one to pay the remaining balance to.

When our GM did a campaign reboot we came across a cave network... which opened up into carved corridors with rooms etc and then we found the docking bay which had our previous PCs ship sitting there, unused for 5 years... we shouted and looked around but our original PCs never showed up,,, free ship!!!

On 10/29/2018 at 10:41 AM, SavageBob said:

For some reason, I've really been into legal wranglings in my games lately. Another way to make buying a ship not boring might be to say they bought the ship and have been making payments, but the dealership they got it from (or bank that did the loan) is now closed and the owner accused of being a Rebel sympathizer. Or the bank is located on a world that is now under Imperial martial law, with all its assets seized. Or the bank was on Alderaan pre-Death Star. The PCs now have to figure out how to get the title free and clear when there's no one to pay the remaining balance to.

Han ran afoul of Interstellar Collections Inc IIRC

3 hours ago, ExpandingUniverse said:

When our GM did a campaign reboot we came across a cave network... which opened up into carved corridors with rooms etc and then we found the docking bay which had our previous PCs ship sitting there, unused for 5 years... we shouted and looked around but our original PCs never showed up,,, free ship!!!

That suggests another way to acquire a ship: historical preservation! Maybe the person the PCs owe Obligation to is a history buff and had restored a KOTOR-era freighter to its former glory and now needs the PCs to keep it up/test it out/show it off/whatever. Think all those guys with their refurbished Model T Fords going to old-car meet-ups, only with starships!

30 minutes ago, SavageBob said:

That suggests another way to acquire a ship: historical preservation! Maybe the person the PCs owe Obligation to is a history buff and had restored a KOTOR-era freighter to its former glory and now needs the PCs to keep it up/test it out/show it off/whatever. Think all those guys with their refurbished Model T Fords going to old-car meet-ups, only with starships!

Considering how often PC starships get used for target practice, I weep at the idea of flying classics around. In the case of almost all standard SW campaigns, the PCs are trying to stay inconspicuous. Flying around a classic makes that very hard to plausibly pull off.