In the event that a GM suddenly finds himself with a larger group of players than he originally expected, I could easily see a case where the party is about to go into starship combat and he has more players than he does possible positions for them to fill.
So what would you do in such a case?
Then the "Maximum Crew" entry is meaningless? That is the number that I potentially saw as limiting the crew size.
But I suppose that the new crew could come with some of the build points for the next level to add a laser cannon or two, since I am fairly sure that we will not begin play with every weapon mount in use.
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Honestly just give them a larger ship, or at least one large enough to house a hanger bay so that other players can fly racers/interceptors/fighters.
If they're building their own ship, point out "max crew" sections.
For something like the Shuttle, which has a "max crew" of 4, if you were running a party of 5 I don't see why you can't then fill all role. Starship entries showing shuttles or other low-crew ships having all roles but captain - does captain really need their own console to yell at people?
Ultimately, I'd settle with handing out additional, far weaker ships for players not in the main crew to dogfight with. You can then build encounters accordingly.
Handing out a bigger ship works well at the start of a campaign -- but I was thinking more of what to do when the party size increases unexpectedly between sessions. At that point, they already have a ship, and we have used up enough time creating or leveling up characters and thus I want to get them into the action with no further delay.
I guess I was mostly looking for ideas for what the extra people can do on a ship not designed to have that many crew. I suppose I could have the new players operate allied fighter craft that show up to help out the PCs if I have already set up the session to start with a space battle.
Then the "Maximum Crew" entry is meaningless? That is the number that I potentially saw as limiting the crew size.
These are guidelines. I've played roleplaying games for a while and usually the GM fudges things to what they want to tell. Unless you are playing a strict community play around with things.
These are guidelines. I've played roleplaying games for a while and usually the GM fudges things to what they want to tell. Unless you are playing a strict community play around with things.Then the "Maximum Crew" entry is meaningless? That is the number that I potentially saw as limiting the crew size.
The GM could also say you don't fly ships, but instead giant space whales, with a completely different system for building and advancement that they homebrewed.
The entire book is guidelines. This is asking for advice on those guidelines based on information given as per RAW.
Then the "Maximum Crew" entry is meaningless? That is the number that I potentially saw as limiting the crew size.
But I suppose that the new crew could come with some of the build points for the next level to add a laser cannon or two, since I am fairly sure that we will not begin play with every weapon mount in use.
Maximum crew is not the number of people that can take actions during combat, it's the maximum number of people that can be aboard the ship.
Maximum crew is not the number of people that can take actions during combat, it's the maximum number of people that can be aboard the ship.Then the "Maximum Crew" entry is meaningless? That is the number that I potentially saw as limiting the crew size.
But I suppose that the new crew could come with some of the build points for the next level to add a laser cannon or two, since I am fairly sure that we will not begin play with every weapon mount in use.
Getting extra crew on the ship isn't a problem -- you can always convert expansion bays to guest quarters and house crew above the maximum there.
The open question is whether you can have "passengers" fill crew roles in addition to a full crew of maximum size. If the maximum crew size is simply the maximum number of people that you can accommodate for free in crew quarters, then the problem is solved.
The complement specifically states it's the number of crew aboard. Complement usually excludes guests and civilians.