Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, or if it's supposed to be obvious, but, how would a customs agent go about stopping your ship if you were traveling through hyperspace? I would like to make a routine stop part of my group's next encounter. Thanks in advance for the help.

Just to clarify, I'm only hazy on the physical act of stopping a ship, I feel I can handle what happens in the actual encounter just fine.

They wouldn't stop you mid way through hyperspace. Unless it was an imperial interdiction picket. As I understand it along hyperspace lanes you have to come out of hyperspace at various intervals do a little in systems traveling to get around that pesky star or planet and then make another jump to another point along the route. For instance you can't jump from tatooine to corellia along the corellian run in a single jump it will be a series of jumps.

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, or if it's supposed to be obvious, but, how would a customs agent go about stopping your ship if you were traveling through hyperspace? I would like to make a routine stop part of my group's next encounter. Thanks in advance for the help.

Just to clarify, I'm only hazy on the physical act of stopping a ship, I feel I can handle what happens in the actual encounter just fine.

Two approaches to "stopping" a ship on a route:

First, if the Imperials/Pirates/Rebels/Fancy-Pants is aware of a target going along a certain route, they can use an Interdictor Cruiser to cut them off. Those without such cruisers can use anything with a mass shadow, like a large asteroid, to force them out of hyperspace.

Second, not every trip is a one-and-done event. Many trips, even along trade routes, have multiple stops to recalculate jumps for the next "leg." You have planets, nebulae, and other hazards along each route. Considering that celestial bodies tend to move, the hazards move, so nothing is ever truly a straight shot.

Customs Officials (or even Navy vessels) tend to be waiting at stops to ensure that everyone is safe. . .and that the smugglers aren't doing what they do best.

These types of stops are more common when you're going "off the beaten path." The less traveled the route, the more often you'll probably have to stop and recalculate your next path. Pirates and the like really love hitting more of the "common stops" of these paths, as they know the nearest Imperial is lightyears away.

Or are they. . .

Edit: Blast, Tanarri beat me to it!

That makes perfect sense. I guess my next questions would then be, how often should a group come out of hyperspace and at what intervals? How often should a ship have to refuel? Let's just assume they're using a major trade route.

That makes perfect sense. I guess my next questions would then be, how often should a group come out of hyperspace and at what intervals? How often should a ship have to refuel?

The intervals are really going to be up to you. It is the movement of the Universe that causes the need for these stops, after all. . .

As for refueling, that's another thing that's up for debate with this system. Some just tie it to the docking fees and hand-waive it. Others make it a number of jumps, systems, or even just a length of time (i.e. tied to consumables).

Thanks for the quick responses, we'll actually be playing in a few hours and just wanted to make sure I had everything cleared up.

Edit: Blast, Tanarri beat me to it!

I like your description better

Just to note, most customs stops don't happen in open space, there's no point.

They typically happen at the planet/station where the goods are being delivered. How this works varies from planet to planet, some might stop you in orbit, or even outside the system (Kuat for example doesn't even really allow any ships to enter the system) some planets like Byblos will stop you upon landing, and some planets like Tatooine will stop you if they feel like it at that particular moment (on the bright side smuggling is very low on Tatooine, though the "Starport Tax" feel like a robbery ).

The thing to understand is that each planet has different laws and tariffs on what can and can't be imported, and a customs stop is to sort that out. So if I get stopped with a load of salt on Coruscant I'll just pay the usual import taxes and be on my way. If I get stopped on Arcona with a load of salt, I'm going to prison for a very very long time.

Just to note, most customs stops don't happen in open space, there's no point.

Unless the customs agents are looking to bag haulers who are trying to slip past all quiet like. Kind of how you can have mobile weigh stations on the back roads off the interstate to catch truckers who overweight and are hauling around the fixed weigh stations.

Just to note, most customs stops don't happen in open space, there's no point.

Yes and no. Desslok beat me to it for the biggest part and analogy, but it also depends on what's being smuggled.

Stopping the smuggling bacta and/or "camping" at a particularly "popular" location are valid things for Imperial Customs, especially if they're working with the Navy to stop Rebels from acquiring resources.

They typically happen at the planet/station where the goods are being delivered. How this works varies from planet to planet, some might stop you in orbit, or even outside the system (Kuat for example doesn't even really allow any ships to enter the system) some planets like Byblos will stop you upon landing, and some planets like Tatooine will stop you if they feel like it at that particular moment (on the bright side smuggling is very low on Tatooine, though the "Starport Tax" feel like a robbery ).

The thing to understand is that each planet has different laws and tariffs on what can and can't be imported, and a customs stop is to sort that out. So if I get stopped with a load of salt on Coruscant I'll just pay the usual import taxes and be on my way. If I get stopped on Arcona with a load of salt, I'm going to prison for a very very long time.

This is also very, VERY valid, and comes up in the Platt's guides if you want some further reading on the subject.

Some of this is semantics. There is a difference between smuggling in regards to a customs check and smuggling in regards to blockade running. If customs is involved I would think you are talking more of a streetwise, skulduggery, deception situation occurring in port. I don't think random stops in space are a customs operation and would be more of a straight military operation such as using Interdictor vessels at jump choke points in the examples provided.

I don't think random stops in space are a customs operation and would be more of a straight military operation such as using Interdictor vessels at jump choke points in the examples provided.

Not entirely true. Imperial Customs had their own ships patrolling spacelines and would check in at certain times to ensure that things were as they should be.

Also note that in canon, Han comments that he even gets "boarded from time to time." While one of the novels has him being chased near Kessel, who's to say that customs ships aren't out there more often, especially since they are there to not only stop smuggling, but to deter pirates?