Hey is there somewhere that the current Banshee is outlined -- I remember the previous pilot saying that it has a Sensor Array but I do not see that in the basic description of the Banshee
Also the Banshee has seemed to have changed from a Lancer Class Pursuit Craft to a Baudo Class Star Yacht. Now it seems to be to be more appropriate to be a Baudo Class Star Yacht but just trying to ascertain where that change took place.
From what I have been able to piece together thus far the ship does not necessarily belong to Ardan as I initially thought -- is that true?
That's correct, the Banshee was just handed to us by the GM. I don't know why he decided to use the Baudo-class star yacht, but Ardan made himself quite at home. (I am pretty sure Ardan has corrected someone at least once about not being the actual owner. A starting noble has no way to have the kind of wealth necessary to enter the game with such a ship.)
The Banshee should have basic sensors (Perception +5).
It also has the upgrades that we did to it not too long ago, I believe?
If you would rather retcon this, of course, I have no objections. We'd have to figure out the customizations and redo it, in such a case.
That reminds me, forgot to get my CHA-CHING! wealth for going up a level. +30k cr.
Thanks Ardan but if I recall -- the previous pilot stated that the Banshee had an improved sensor array giving it a +10 to its perception but I could be wrong on that or perhaps the previous pilot was wrong on that.
Would you care to take responsibility for Ardan's ship, that technically belongs to his family but he is being allowed to use it (aka my version of a retcon) and it is what it is supposed to be -- a modified luxury yacht?
Here is a standard Baudo-Class Star Yacht that you can base your Banshee off of. I would be okay with it having an improved sensor array for free along with the other augmentations that you have already paid for.
Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Starships of the Galaxy
The Baudo-Class Star Yacht is a favorite vessel of the galaxy's wealthy. It is especially popular among the younger set of spoiled rich kids who fancy themselves as rakes and bravos. It is a good-looking ship, with smooth, organic lines that are more reminiscent of a deep sea creature than a high-tech pleasure craft.
The manufacturer of the Baudo Yacht is a small shipyard owned by a reclusive and eccentric Aqualish named Mendel Baudo. His company produces every ship he makes on a custom-order basis, implementing each customer's requirements to produce a yacht that is both functional and opulent. The basic capabilities and external appearance of each vessel remain the same, but the internal amenities can differ vastly from ship to ship.
Baudo is a difficult being to find, and he accepts contracts only from people who are referred to him by his prior customers. He takes his time in the construction of each yacht, and he has been known to spend an entire standard year on a ship in an effort to get things precisely right. It is rumored that he keeps a couple of completed ships on hand for less discerning buyers, but he almost always insists on creating each ship to order.
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Capabilities
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As far as star yachts go, the Baudo is a standard example of conspicuous consumption. No single Baudo is identical with any other one; each is built according to the requirements and specifications of its buyer. The differences rarely affect the performance of the vessel; rather, they embellish the ship's luxury and appeal in ways that only the original owners will appreciate. One Baudo might have the internal bulkheads lined in polished hardwood and precious metals, while another might include a full bar complete with rare spirits from every system in the Core Worlds.
Though relatively fast given its size, the Baudo is more attuned to a slow and steady pace. It doesn't accelerate particularly quick at sublight speeds, and it features only a Class 2 Hyperdrive. Despite these deficiencies, Baudos are simple to operate, and even amateur Pilots find the controls easy to use. It's weapon and defense systems include only a single Laser Cannon and modest Starship Shields.
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Baudo-Class Star Yacht Statistics (CL 6)
Colossal Space Transport
Initiative: -3; Senses: Perception +5
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Defenses
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Reflex Defense: 13 (Flat-Footed: 11), Fortitude Defense: 22; +11 Armor
Hit Points: 60; Damage Reduction: 15; Shield Rating: 15; Damage Threshold: 72
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Offense
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Speed: Fly 12 Squares (Character Scale)
Fly 5 Squares (Starship Scale); (Maximum Velocity 1,200 km/h)
Ranged: Light Laser Cannon +2 (See Below)
Fighting Space: 12x12 Squares (Character Scale), 1 Square (Starship Scale); Total Cover
Base Attack Bonus: +0; Grapple: +32
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Abilities
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Strength: 34, Dexterity: 14, Constitution: -, Intelligence: 14
Skills: Initiative -3, Mechanics +5, Perception +5, Pilot -3, Use Computer +5
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Ship Statistics
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Crew: 1 (Normal Crew Quality); Passengers: 8
Cargo: 35 Tons; Consumables: 1 Month; Carried Craft: None
Hyperdrive: Class 2 (Backup Class 7), Navicomputer
Availability: Licensed; Cost: 400,000 (250,000 Used)
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Weapon Systems
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Light Laser Cannon (Pilot)
Attack Bonus: +2, Damage: 2d10x2
Okay I am looking over a few things -- while I will probably go with the Baudo-Class Star Yacht I think I might augment it slightly -- not nearly as much as the Banshee was augmented but improve it some.
However, I will focus on what has already been established per se versus what has not been established.
Now anything you all can put forth to help with this to make things easier for me would be nice.
But seeing as the ship is currently grounded and the adventure does not require her it does not have to be done asap.
Also if you would like to give her a slightly different name that is fine as well -- especially since the Banshee is a canon ship and yours is not.
Looking at the Guidelines the standard Baudo-Class Star Yacht comes with 2 Unused Emplacement Points before we get into having to do things to allow for more stuff, such as the upgrades you performed on the ship.
Further I will most likely be using these 2 Emplacement Points to upgrade the standard ship to be closer to the specs of the Banshee.
If the ship had a +10 Perception instead of +5, it most likely had a sensor enhancement package, which takes up one enhancement slot.
We had discussed upgrading to add combat engines and a proton torpedo launcher. Each of those would take one slot, though, so if the ship already has enhanced sensors, it won't have room for both. Of the two I would recommend the combat engines so that it can at least engage in starfighter combat.
IIRC the Banshee is the ship you can use and was written up in the 1st part of the adventure path. I think that lots of these ships might have been published before the spaceship book was published because I think that the books were being released at the same time that the AP was coming out.
Okay Quen Pah are you saying is that all I need to do is take the Banshee as written and subtract the crew so that we have the basic format?
However I will note that the Banshee moves considerably slower than a normal Baudo Class Star Yacht which as a Starship Speed of 5 while the Banshee has a Starship Speed of 1 that is 4 additional Emplacement Slots along with its normal additional 2 unused Emplacement Slots.
Now I was working on a version the the Banshee based on the standard Baudo Class Star Yacht and moving in the direction of the Banshee thus allowing the captain/crew to make the adjustments to the ship as things go forward.
Still I am aware there are elements of unique designs that are not per the guidelines even feasible due to the fact they take into account special skills beyond the norm which the guidelines seem to limit itself below (aka it only uses the norm skills in its calculations and adjustments).
IIRC we took out crew and used the PCS instead.
We had no crew on the ship, it was filled in by PC's.
As for the banshee, I think we discussed what mods we needed when we were looking at rescuing the kid.
I know that 2 modifications were made - an upgrade to shields and an upgrade to weapons.
The shield upgrade just replaced the shield generator with a stronger one that had the same size, so no emplacement points were used for that. The combat engines took one emplacement point, and the proton torpedo launcher took one.
If the ship already had enhanced sensors, then either we needed to not do one of the other upgrades, or it needed to be done by a master technician who has the talents that allow you to add enhancements without using emplacement points.
Oh wow well thanks for that -- I knew about the Shield upgrade but those others I was not aware of.
However the upgrade to the Light Laser Cannons is not in your list??
Keep in mind that the Banshee, being that it was already upgraded, most likely did not have any extra Emplacement Points. So adding anything that requires an extra Emplacement Point would require that master technician which between the previous pilot, Prox, and ArTee there is a chance that you had that available during that upgrade.
I will try to figure out what the Banshee looks like mechanics wise so I can figure out what upgrades/downgrades it currently has and what upgrades and such could be used.
However this does not need to stop the current adventure as the Banshee is out of play right now giving us plenty of time to resolve all this prior to getting back to your starship
The medium laser cannon was another case of "This replaces an existing item and doesn't take more emplacement points," so it's just turning money into a better gun without having to figure out space.
Our initial chat about our upgrades was here.
I still think the combat thrusters are a good upgrade, in case we need to dogfight against TIE fighters. (Is anyone left in the group a really good pilot?)
We can make do without the proton torpedo launcher if we can't find the emplacement points (due to one being used on enhanced sensors, for instance). If we retcon that out, I should get my money back. :D
Doing more upgrades to the ship would take a master technician. The usual way to do this is:
1. The Starship Designer feat. You have to go deep into starship mechanics to get this, and then spend a bunch of time and money on customizing your ship, but you can in theory get 3 extra emplacement points added to the ship from this.
2. Add on an extra modification by overloading the system; you can add a modification even when you are out of emplacement points, but that modification is very subject to damage and gets knocked out easily. (This is like the custom systems on the Falcon, which were fragile and always getting knocked out.) I've included the relevant rules text here.
I am not the best pilot, only a +10 overall.
But as I am generally a passenger on the Banshee, the main debate on the ship for me is moot.
I understand why it is going though, but for me its moot.
I never delved into these rules so I know zero about them. Phineas runs sensors on the ship but he's no Pilot.
First thanks for that link that saved me a lot of time searching.
Both Prox and ArTee are pretty good pilots and they will remain with the crew and be played as NPCs or PCs when the original GM takes the reigns.
Well Phineas can still run sensor as ArTee can go to engineering to cover that should it be needed, when Phineas is operating as co-pilot
Next it is not a debate on the ship it is just me fully understanding what the starship was and what the starship is.
Now is anyone else interested in perhaps getting a Huge Ugly Starfighter that we can put in and launch from the cargo bay?
Now as for going from a Light Laser Cannon to a Medium Laser Cannon is that cheaper than going from a Light Laser Cannon to a Double Light Laser Cannon as they both do the same amount of damage? Either is fine with me btw just was not sure if you had been aware of the Double Cannons?
That being said if you lose 5 tons of Cargo Space you can get an extra Emplacement Point in case you wanted to make a Medium Cannon Double or if you wanted to add something else. I say that because you do not seem to be using the 35 Tons of Cargo Space for much of anything at this time but do not know what you might want for the future.
Lastly again all of this talk about the starship should not slow the roleplaying down as it is not dependent on what is currently going on or will be going on for the near future. So feel free to add something to Gameplay so we can keep things moving forward
Okay so the original Banshee appears to have some modifications.
First the luxury aspect was removed making it a typcial starship's harsh spartan interior so more a working cargo vessel rather than a traveling home or an upper-scale hotel. Of course with that downgrade, which would have used 1 of the 2 Extra Emplacement Points given to a Baudo-Class Star Yacht however the Banshee came other upgrades.
Standard Systems
... Hyperdrive: Class 2 (Backup Class 7), Navicomputer
... Light Laser Cannon (Pilot)
... Standard Escape Pod (required)
... Cargo: 35 Tons; Consumables: 1 Month
... Speed: Fly 12 CS / 5 SS Max-V 1,200 km/h
... Shield Rating: 15
Upgraded Systems
... Combat Thrusters (EP 1)
... Sensor Enhancement Package (EP 1)
... Light Laser Cannon Quad (Gunner) (EP 2)
... Light Laser Cannon Quad (Gunner) (EP 2)
Total 6 EP
This means it has 4 more EPs than it can normally house which might equate to why its a CL 8 rather than the normal CL 6 or that might have been due to the original Pilot and Co-Pilot as they do not denote how to figure out the CL of a starship and its crew.
That being the case I am going to say that the previous Quad Cannon installations had the following Custom Modification. They were installed such that they are mostly exterior in nature (aka they can be specifically targeted) and thus only use up 1 EP each. Further the starship has a Custom Modification that added 2 extra Emplacement Points. These would have been significant and costly Custom Modifications and a single system may only have a maximum of 3 Custom Modifications per system. Thus the 2 Quad Cannons each have 1 Custom Modification and the Emplacement Points have had 2 Custom Modifications.
Therefore with that information outlined you would not have needed to add the Combat Thrusters and as such I have these potential upgrades and their costs. Oh and per the guidelines one only gets 1/4 the listed value of any system they remove from a Starship to replace with a new system.
Shields 15 to Shields 25
EP: 0 Cost: 12,500c
Light Laser Cannon (Pilot) 3d10x2 to
Medium Laser Cannon (Pilot) 4d10x2
EP: 0 Cost: 3,625c
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Possible Upgrade if it is affordable
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Light Laser Cannon (Pilot) 3d10x2 to
Medium Laser Cannon Double (Pilot) 5d10x2
EP: 0 Cost: 11,625c
As we sort out the ship backstage, I think the thing we need to decide is:
* Does the Banshee (or whatever we call it) remain a Baudo-class star yacht, or should it be something else?
* Did it come with some enhancements (like improved sensors) already installed? If so, what did it already have?
* Does this impact my request to add modifications to it? If so, in what way?
Once we answer all of those, we should have the ship in a good position.
Please read my previous post I think we cross-posted as I did answer your second and third question already.
As for you first question the GM stated that it is the Baudo-Class Star Yacht Banshee -- or at least a copy of it -- which as I have denoted did come with some upgrades and a couple of significant custom modifications.
As for the name of the starship that is completely up to its owner (Ardan Kwinn) as he could have renamed it whatever he wanted to when his father gave him the ship to use. I say this as I do not think that would change anything about the starship mechanically speaking. Still your starship's normal transponder code is not that same as the canon Banshee which I am assuming still exists.
So is the Kwinn family (or just Ardan's father) working with Senator Organa perhaps?
I think we cross-posted, as I didn't see your post at the time that I was writing mine.
Ardan and some part of his family are associated with the nascent attempt to create a rebellion, though my understanding of the timetable is that the formal Rebel Alliance hasn't been created yet.