I was just wondering if anyone else's player conclusion when they found the Light of Terra wasn't "lets help this insane cyborg fly off into oblivion" but rather "if we can get the engines running why can't we just unplug the Captain and get our selves a Battleship"?

In a similar way has anyone gone so far as to stat up what a restored Light of Terra would look like?

thanks

Merric said:

There is actually a thread on this if you want to search for it, it has a lot of good discussion.

Here are some lines of thought:

1) The effects of owning a battleship on the story

You should be cautious on this note. Battleships are bigger that what the game was made for, and usually don't operate without a supporting fleet. They are massively powerful and none of the material is geared towards them. Plus you would immediately hit a "what do we do now" scenario. Do you really want to let them get the best thing available already? Letting players get to powerful too quickly negatively effects the fun of a campaign and forces you to rapidly escalate the story.

If you are inclined to allow them their own battleship it should NOT be easy. This is a HUGE advancement in powerful and they should probably have to work their buns off.

2) How will they pull it off?

The captain is wired directly into the ship. Unless they are REALLY careful and come up with an awesome plan I the captain should be able to activate the warp drive before they can do much to him, and once he has activated the warp drive countdown they probably shouldn't be able to shut it down. While I'm not extreme enough to suggest you make it impossible, don't twist the story to let them have it. If they can come up with some amazing plan and it actually works, cool. But the scenario provided makes that a difficult task, and you probably shouldn't bend over backwards to make it easier.

3) what happens if they do get it?

Ok, now that your players have grabbed it, what are the consequences of their actions? This part could easily be a long campaign in and of itself. The easiest option would be to "sell" or donate it to either group for massive gratitude and a hefty PF bonus. But what if they want to keep it for themselves?

First of all, the Adeptus Mechanus, Imperial Navy, and possibly the ecclesiarchy are going to flip out. There is very little change that they would be able to get salvage rights, or that the ad-mech would repair such a holy relic for them. Should the players somehow get them to open up to the idea they would likely have to exchange all kinds of favors and perform numerous deeds.

Secondly, battleships can take hundreds of years to build, and this one is a wreck. My players are trying to refit a light escort and they have to wait almost two years for it to be ready (due to the nature of warp travel and the length of many of their trips that translates into about 6 games). Something like an archeo-tech battleship? Decades.

Thirdly, how are they going to afford it? Building a Battleship takes dozens of systems working together. It should put a serious strain on their profit factor. Plus it is an ancient type full of archeotech. Where will they get the parts? There are likely numerous parts that are ancient and rare, and they will likely have to quest for them, following rumors into lost ruins, trading favors with heretical adeptus factions, and raiding lost colonies.

And where will the get the 100k+ crew and officers necessary to man the thing, and with the necessary expertise?

4) Ok, somehow they have actually managed to get the ship, hold the ship, and repair the ship. What now?

Battleships don't fly around by themselves, and for good reason. They require dozens to hundreds of support craft. Whats more, a lone battleship is exceedingly vulnerable to attack. 3 or 4 cruisers are not going to have a hard time ripping it apart.

Whats more, battleships are actually very inefficient for Rogue Traders. They require MASSIVE amounts of resources to maintain. They should regularly have to take checks against their profit factor to maintain the ship, and missing a test may entail LOSING a profit factor point. Such is the cost in maintaining such a massive behemoth of war. If their PF is not in the 100+ range they will likely be losing money faster than they make it. Battleships are simply ill-suited to the needs of most Rogue Traders.

5) Lets assume they accomplish all of that

Awesome. You have now avoided most of the issues in giving them a battleship. The game didn't escalate too fast, they had lots of interesting campaigns, and they really feel like they earned it. But make no mistake, it should be HARD. And if they make it, if your ok with that being the focus of your game for the next six months, than you have had an awesome campaign, and you sir, are an awesome GM.

Stat speculation:

You can find homebrew battleship rules all over online, just google it. Off the top of my head:

Battleships have slots for 3 batteries oUnless their PF is in the 100+ range they should regularly haven each side, as well as several lance slots at the prow. They can replace some of their batteries with fighter bays.

Battleships are 10-15k long, with 5-10+ void shields.

The Light of Terra is an archeotech battleship, perhaps pre-dating the imperium. Expect more Star Trek than 40k. Plasma batteries, transporters, automated gunnery, etc.

My players had the exact same reaction. The first five minutes after encountering the captain were a hushed discussion of how they could remove him from the throne and take control. Happily, they elected not to do this for the metagame assumption that I'd then proceed to throw chaos battleships at them. They're frighteningly psychic at times, I fear.

Well my players repaired it with the help of the AdMech and their facilities in the Lathes. All this in gratitude for the discovery of valuable STC. The AdMech literally shoved aside BFC in order to fulfill their request. Sadly however, my players forgot to ask for weapons and now they have a toothless warship. Word of this has spread and now everyone is seeking a piece of them. They have their own resources too, and are willing expend them all to protect their jewel.

If they survive, I plan on pointing them to the Jericho Reach as several Inquisitors approach them with offers too good to refuse.