Colony Ships


Advice


So, I'm thinking of trying to create a ship that is suitable as a colony ship. However, I can't find any that would fit the 50/500 rule; even a dreadnought with 20x guest quarters can't get to more than 120 without the crew staying there, too.

Is there anything that might fix this situation?

Dark Archive

Dont use guest qaurters use cargobays. Make some little dorm style bedrooms for non crew. You can shove a whole lot of people in that way. And if there is a riot you can just open the cargo bay doors.


Cargo bays can hold 25 tons. Assuming with children that it would be 250 lbs to 2 people, that's ... 200 people per bay (upper bound). A Heavy Freighter might be able to do that, or Bulk. Thanks!


Create new ship type as a house rule to fit what you need.
MDC


Another way to visualize this is a cargo ton is 40 cubic feet (in Earth wet navy definitions.) Figure out how many stacked bunks would fit into that. Make your people squeezed and miserable, nothing interesting comes from happy people!!


Ship your colonists in stasis, as cargo. Crew is awake the whole time, has quarters and a HAC and a gym...but 25 tons of people is a lot of people.


And, colonists in stasis don't need life support. Unless the stasis is achieved through magic, the stasis pods also take up space/mass. Let's say, 1,000 pounds core machinery, plus 500 pounds per pod. The weight of the being in stasis doesn't count, as we're dealing with volume as well as mass. So, for a 25 ton Expansion Bay ( 50, 000 pounds ) we can have 98 stasis pods. Ten expansion bays would carry 980 colonists, and One Hundred will carry 9,800. The GM will have to decide how many colonists make a viable colony. GURPS has 10,000 colonists for a basic colony, so a colony ship with 102 stasis bays will be suitable.


define

mean like the ship on walle?
axiom city ship?

well.. umm dont think the rules ever planned for this...

thus I agree with mark carlson 255

create a new ship.

or do it with stasis pods.

though the axiom has one up on the stasis idea,

you have the whole ship full of about 2k of people, you also have habitat space and food stuff, along with swimming pool, observation decks, running track and people to talk and reproduce with

stasis ship? with 250 stasis pods, you will still need supplies to go with it, both when you get there for the colonists and some for the ship's crew. switch crew in and out of slumber with alt crew every 5 years or fully automated or with androids as crew.

either way....


I believe you misunderstood me. The colonists don't need life support while in stasis. A colony ship would still carry startup supplies. And living crew members still need life support. As far as non-drift colony ships are concerned, full automation would be the way to go. But only if the system hasn't been visited before, which would represent poor planning on the part of any organization. Even "First-In Scouts" would carry at least one Drift Beacon. Even without a Drift Beacon present, travel between Star Systems take anywhere from 5 to 30 days (Starfinder Rule Book, Starships Section, "Travel to Deep Space (5d6 Days)" ).


EC Gamer Guy wrote:
Another way to visualize this is a cargo ton is 40 cubic feet (in Earth wet navy definitions.)

About 30 standard navy racks per cargo hold. But this does not include any storage for personal goods, restrooms or dining facilities.

I'm not convinced that you even need a colony ship in the starfinder setting. Given how common star ship are and relative short travel times (vs years in many settings) you could easily start a colony using ships holding 30-60 people each. A pre Drift drive Generation Ship would be interesting as an encounter though.

Is this for player use or GM. If player you are screwed because any ship that would be effective for mass colonization would have a huge number of expansion bays and the players would abuse the hell out of it. For GM use you can do whatever works for the game.

If you number crunch the cargo bay, shuttle bay and hangar descriptions you could infer that a larger ship can hold more on the same expansion bay.
If the number of expansion based was based on ship size rather than play balance you would have a lot more as well. Using the Transport (medium) as a base you would have 5 expansion bays x 8^(sizes greater than medium) so a huge ship would have 5 x 8 x 8 bays. Use half of those for people at 6/ bay and you have about 1000 colonists.Another option would be to scale berthing with size, Doubling per size category over medium would make a gargantuan ship hold 96 per expansion bay (poor quality). If you combined both methods your 7+ mile long ship could be transporting 500k people and a pre fab city. A ship that size may even be designed to break up into a dozen landing units that form the core of a city.


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I wanted to say, that I don't think "colony ships" really have much purpose in Starfinder.

With scout vessel capable of carrying a drift beacon it takes at most a month to reach a completely unknown location. 1 month. If you send scouts to that location and drop a drift beacon or two that gets reduced.

You don't have colony ships so much as a big cargo ship to drop off supplies and then have some small ships bring people in. Ships are going to have like a week transit time once drift beacons are placed at a location.


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Claxon wrote:

I wanted to say, that I don't think "colony ships" really have much purpose in Starfinder.

With scout vessel capable of carrying a drift beacon it takes at most a month to reach a completely unknown location. 1 month. If you send scouts to that location and drop a drift beacon or two that gets reduced.

You don't have colony ships so much as a big cargo ship to drop off supplies and then have some small ships bring people in. Ships are going to have like a week transit time once drift beacons are placed at a location.

I agree for the most part, however, there are cultures out there without drift access, so they might still have colony ships around. Alternatively, there might be old pre-drift colony ships still in transit (like how it went down for the kasathas).


Claxon wrote:

I wanted to say, that I don't think "colony ships" really have much purpose in Starfinder.

With scout vessel capable of carrying a drift beacon it takes at most a month to reach a completely unknown location. 1 month. If you send scouts to that location and drop a drift beacon or two that gets reduced.

You don't have colony ships so much as a big cargo ship to drop off supplies and then have some small ships bring people in. Ships are going to have like a week transit time once drift beacons are placed at a location.

Even with a week transit time, it seems a bit silly not to be able to transport more than 100 or so people at a time. If you can have big cargo ships, why no big transports?

Preventing player abuse, of course, but it seems like there might be a better way.


Colony ship

Tier 4

Large heavy freighter

Speed 6; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Hyperspace 1; AC 16; TL 15

HP 140; DT —; CT 28

Shields light 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)

Attack (Forward) heavy laser cannon (4d8)

Attack (Port) heavy laser cannon (4d8)

Attack (Starboard) heavy laser cannon (4d8)

Power Core Arcus Ultra (150 PCU); Hyperspace Engine Signal Basic; Systems basic computer, budget short-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 4 armor, mk 3 defenses; Expansion Bays stasis bays (4), cargo holds (4)

Modifiers +1 Piloting; Complement 10

Crew

Captain Bluff +15 (4 ranks), Computers +10 (4 ranks), Diplomacy +15 (4 ranks), Engineering +10 (4 ranks), gunnery +10, Piloting +11 (4 ranks)

Engineers (3) Engineering +10 (4 ranks)

Gunners (3) gunnery +10

Pilot Piloting +16 (4 ranks)

Science Officers (2) Computers +10 (4 ranks)

Special: Carries 392 Colonists in Stasis


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Repeat after me: the rules are designed to cover adventurers and the stuff adventurers do. Just because they don't provide a way for PCs to build their own ship as a colony ship, doesn't mean such don't exist or are impossible in the setting.


I agree. I guess what's needed now is a GM's supplement, much like what Ultimate Campaign did for Pathfinder.


The_Defiant wrote:
Claxon wrote:

I wanted to say, that I don't think "colony ships" really have much purpose in Starfinder.

With scout vessel capable of carrying a drift beacon it takes at most a month to reach a completely unknown location. 1 month. If you send scouts to that location and drop a drift beacon or two that gets reduced.

You don't have colony ships so much as a big cargo ship to drop off supplies and then have some small ships bring people in. Ships are going to have like a week transit time once drift beacons are placed at a location.

I agree for the most part, however, there are cultures out there without drift access, so they might still have colony ships around. Alternatively, there might be old pre-drift colony ships still in transit (like how it went down for the kasathas).

Yeah, but they would be a minority compared to everyone else. Any pact worlds members are going to have access to it. And ostensibly Starfinder is set up with players being characters from the pact worlds. Even some non-Pact Worlds civilizations presumably have it, such as the Swarm. If the swarm didn't originally have, it seems like they would engineer one after encountering and capturing a vessel with one.

Anyways, my point is that it seems likely any space fairing race that comes into contact with someone with Drift Drive technology would probably try really hard to acquire it.

You are however correct that there are probably some pre-drift drive colony ships out there cruising through space.


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Claxon wrote:
The_Defiant wrote:
Claxon wrote:

I wanted to say, that I don't think "colony ships" really have much purpose in Starfinder.

With scout vessel capable of carrying a drift beacon it takes at most a month to reach a completely unknown location. 1 month. If you send scouts to that location and drop a drift beacon or two that gets reduced.

You don't have colony ships so much as a big cargo ship to drop off supplies and then have some small ships bring people in. Ships are going to have like a week transit time once drift beacons are placed at a location.

I agree for the most part, however, there are cultures out there without drift access, so they might still have colony ships around. Alternatively, there might be old pre-drift colony ships still in transit (like how it went down for the kasathas).

Yeah, but they would be a minority compared to everyone else. Any pact worlds members are going to have access to it. And ostensibly Starfinder is set up with players being characters from the pact worlds. Even some non-Pact Worlds civilizations presumably have it, such as the Swarm. If the swarm didn't originally have, it seems like they would engineer one after encountering and capturing a vessel with one.

Anyways, my point is that it seems likely any space fairing race that comes into contact with someone with Drift Drive technology would probably try really hard to acquire it.

You are however correct that there are probably some pre-drift drive colony ships out there cruising through space.

I've always loved the old "generation ship reaches it's destination after struggle and disaster only to find someone invented FTL after they left and there's a thriving colony there already" trope.


I have been reading the Peacekeeper series by Tanya Huff recently. They have what they called 'anchors', sounds like a Lt Freighter.

A large ship would have these ins shuttle bays, and they made one way trips to the surface. The building materials for the colony were taken out and the 3 bays were available for use. Maybe medical, science, and tech. The engine runs the power for settlement and if there was trouble, the colony runs back to the armored, shielded location.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I would guess that a colony ship is beyond the scope of the current rules. Certainly the current rules could not be used to construct the Idari, for example.


I like the Generation Ship concept in the book "Slow Train to Arcturus".

The ship was composed of multiple self contained habitats, each with a different destination. As the ship approached a destination it would split off a module and the would head off to the next drop off point.


I am just going to throw this out there,
Note: I do not remember all of the nomenclature that SF uses so I am just going to wing it.
Colony ship
Maneuverability: Worse/much worse then normal in every case
Computer: Requirement higher than norm but dedicated to passenger stuff and cannot be used for other purposes.
Cargo Bays:3 (maybe 4)
Fixed Equipment: XXXXX Sleep Pod's or YYYYY Enviro Eqip'ed Quarters, Note do to construction the Sleep Pod bays and Quarters are too integrated into the ships design to be significantly altered for other uses, if a crew wants to do so you can get at most 2 extra bays with a lot of extra space.
Weapons: reduced number vs others of its size but still some present to protect itself vs minor (very minor) threats.
Basic Ideology: Trade off fixed things such as possible weapons/maneuverability/cargo/etc and cargo bays for other things that are fixed, transport pod's or quarters (and have a penalty if they are changed so they cannot be abused and in fact are worse if tried).

I fully agree that the rules focus on Drift Vehicles and their uses. I also agree that I do not remember much said about those civ's that do not have drift drives and how they get around. I also agree it is a core book with limited space for often a lot of material.
I would have preferred 2 books and I understand the problems Paizo would have if they did so and its impact on Org Play, but 1 PC book and 1 book that deals with all types vehicles. Both could/would be in the 500-700 page range IMHO as the topics require a page space to be described.

MDC


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Metaphysician wrote:
Repeat after me: the rules are designed to cover adventurers and the stuff adventurers do. Just because they don't provide a way for PCs to build their own ship as a colony ship, doesn't mean such don't exist or are impossible in the setting.

If I was going to make my own s@$+ up, I wouldn't have spent so much of my money on all of these books.


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Are you planning on making the players fight a colony ship? If not, why exactly would you need mechanical build rules for it? You don't need mechanical build rules to make a space station, or a factory, or a planet. These are created as environments in which gameplay happens.


Wow, this got a lot more attention than I thought it would.

I'm not exactly planning anything yet so much as I'm trying to figure out the limits so I can plan more intelligently.

As for fighting the colony ship: well, pirates exist, and said ship may want to hire some guards. Just a general idea I haven't actually planned out yet.

(Unfortunately, stasis beds are only mentioned once ever that I can find, so if I need this, I think the cargo holds packed with people would be a refugee ship and I might need to come up with something else for colony ships).

Scarab Sages

I'd just like to point out that in Starfinder there is only one 'known' Colony ship, the Idari. It is three miles long and two miles wide. Doing some guestimation and back-of-the envelope math, it probably houses around 1.5 million Kasatha (that is assuming a cylinder 3 miles long, 1 mile in radius, and the population density of Mumbai.)

That is way bigger than another ship presented in starfinder to date. Even a dreadnought can't compare by a longshot. The truth of the matters that starfinder just doesn't do colony ships. Only one species (that we know of) has made one, and that was a last-ditch effort to save their species.

To make a colony ship, the best I can say is 'look to the Idari'


If there were never colony ships, then how did we get colonies?

I think the Idari is a GENERATIONAL Colony ship, no drift drive. But I'm not looking at the books, so I could be wrong.

I think in general, colony ships are not something the developers expected PCs to be involved with. I would expect them to be much in space combat beyond "Hog to the slaughter."

If you need a design: give it a colossal hull, C4 thrusters, drift 1 engines and maybe 2 turret point weapons.

VampByDay wrote:

I'd just like to point out that in Starfinder there is only one 'known' Colony ship, the Idari. It is three miles long and two miles wide. Doing some guestimation and back-of-the envelope math, it probably houses around 1.5 million Kasatha (that is assuming a cylinder 3 miles long, 1 mile in radius, and the population density of Mumbai.)

That is way bigger than another ship presented in starfinder to date. Even a dreadnought can't compare by a longshot. The truth of the matters that starfinder just doesn't do colony ships. Only one species (that we know of) has made one, and that was a last-ditch effort to save their species.

To make a colony ship, the best I can say is 'look to the Idari'


Looking at the scales, Colossal minimum size is actually almost 3 miles right there. Which means only the Vesk have a mainline ship comparable in size.

Acquisitives

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
james014Aura wrote:
Looking at the scales, Colossal minimum size is actually almost 3 miles right there. Which means only the Vesk have a mainline ship comparable in size.

yeah... something is weird about the crew numbers and the sizes of the ships. oh well.

Scarab Sages

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EC Gamer Guy wrote:
If there were never colony ships, then how did we get colonies?

Many smaller ships taking multiple trips?

Assuming a Colony stages from Absolom station, it would take 5d6 days (average 17) to get ANYWHERE in the galaxy, and just 1d6 days to get back, and that's assuming a tier 1 drift engine. With that kind of speed, there would be no need for massive colony ships. The first ship would need, at most, enough supplies to last 42 days before a ship could turn around, spend a week resupplying at Absolom station, and head back.

It would be way easier and more economically efficient to contract out a few bulk freighters and passenger ships to take what you need where you need, instead of build a massive, and expensive, colony ship that only makes the journey once.

Sovereign Court

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Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I imagine the initial trip would leave half a dozen people behind with a bunch of raw materials and tools, then come back a month later with a larger establishing population to occupy the newly built structures. A few more round trips and you've got a colony.

A transport or explorer class ship could establish a thriving new colony over the course of a year.


if one were to make a colony ship to start on the planet persia sigma 8 in the DR Duran duran system, a colony ship could be made to land on the planet and be the main stronghold of the colony, which would mean it would never be able to take off again as its thrusters would only be able to slow the ship's decent and keep airborne enough so that it would not land in water.
escort ships and a few freighters would also need to accompany said ship as military and security for said colony would either need to be on board said colony ship or in freighters.( colony would carry fighters so..)

not a player base of ops unless they start as security for the colony for either fighter pilot and or ground base.

intrigue in the ship and exploration of new planet.

makes for a good AP ID suppose , but not a norm


Since a colony ship is purely a story element, I wouldn't really bother with the stats or try to fit it into the rules.
I think you don't plan that your players run a space combat against/with this type of ships, so the stats didn't really matters.

If you plan that the players have to escort such a ship and defend it, I would use a desriptive approach and simply describe the damage based on the actions and success of the players. Maybe make some guidelines so you don't have to wing everything at the table (e.g. in round 5 a bomber makes a run for the colony ships drift engine, he needs 5 rounds to lock on and fire, if the player didn't manage to get him down before, he will hit at the colony ships drift engine and the ship can't move for x days).


Steelfiredragon wrote:

if one were to make a colony ship to start on the planet persia sigma 8 in the DR Duran duran system, a colony ship could be made to land on the planet and be the main stronghold of the colony, which would mean it would never be able to take off again as its thrusters would only be able to slow the ship's decent and keep airborne enough so that it would not land in water.

escort ships and a few freighters would also need to accompany said ship as military and security for said colony would either need to be on board said colony ship or in freighters.( colony would carry fighters so..)

not a player base of ops unless they start as security for the colony for either fighter pilot and or ground base.

intrigue in the ship and exploration of new planet.

makes for a good AP ID suppose , but not a norm

The problem with the duran duran system is everyone is always real hungry there. hungry like wolfs...

otherwise its an ordinary world, except for all the wild boys running around.


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Un-Bear-able Puns wrote:
Steelfiredragon wrote:

if one were to make a colony ship to start on the planet persia sigma 8 in the DR Duran duran system, a colony ship could be made to land on the planet and be the main stronghold of the colony, which would mean it would never be able to take off again as its thrusters would only be able to slow the ship's decent and keep airborne enough so that it would not land in water.

escort ships and a few freighters would also need to accompany said ship as military and security for said colony would either need to be on board said colony ship or in freighters.( colony would carry fighters so..)

not a player base of ops unless they start as security for the colony for either fighter pilot and or ground base.

intrigue in the ship and exploration of new planet.

makes for a good AP ID suppose , but not a norm

The problem with the duran duran system is everyone is always real hungry there. hungry like wolfs...

otherwise its an ordinary world, except for all the wild boys running around.

hahahahaha, that is planet alpha peria triomega.

the one I mentioned has the posatronic ray and crazy ladies running around along with cannibalistic dolls that favor women thigh meat,,

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