Sorry if this seems like a silly question but after reading the rulebook twice I can't see that this is covered.
It is assumed that a patron gives a ship to the party and as they level they get to spend BP to enhance the ship, right? What happens if you have a character, say a pilot, who wants their own fighter? Would only that character get to spend BP on it or would you allow the party to spend on it splitting the points across both ships as they see fit?
It's not covered because it's up to you. It depends on the campaign. The party can get their ship from anywhere you feel is appropriate (patron, stole, bought, built, etc). They can then spend BP as they level.
The party owning more than one ship is not covered. I think I would insist that the second ship comes out of the same BP fund, but really that's up to you. If the GM wants them to have two ships, each with full BP then make it so.
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It mentions the PCs having multiple ships on page 326, so you can do it. It seems to have the ships have tiers depending on how much BP you spend on each.
I must have missed that. Thanks. I'll take another look.
Oh wow, I'd missed that too. Oops. Thanks, Milo v3!
It mentions the PCs having multiple ships on page 326, so you can do it. It seems to have the ships have tiers depending on how much BP you spend on each.
It actually makes no mention of the PCs using build points to put their fleet together -- it just gives the formula for figuring out the effective tier of multiple ships of different tiers.
It mentions the PCs having multiple ships on page 326, so you can do it. It seems to have the ships have tiers depending on how much BP you spend on each.It actually makes no mention of the PCs using build points to put their fleet together -- it just gives the formula for figuring out the effective tier of multiple ships of different tiers.
What it says is this:
If the PCs have more than one starship, use the highest-tier ship’s
tier as a base and add 1 to this value for each additional starship
within at least 2 tiers of that starship. If none are within 2 tiers,
add up the tiers of all the additional starships and add 1 to the base
value if the total is equals or exceeds the base starship’s tier. Use
this modified value when determining the encounter’s difficulty.
It is a simple enough matter to figure it out. Divvying BP among multiple hulls severely weakens the PCs starships. Enemy encounters will feature greater raw BP-weight than the PCs will have in all likelihood.
APL 5 example of applying the tier-based system to PCs:
- 1 tier-5 starship
- 2 tier-4 starships (highest tier of 4 +1 for 1 added tier 4 ship)
- 3 tier-3 starships (tier 3 +2 tier 3 starships)
- 4 tier-1 starships (losing an APL in the process)
- 1 tier-2 and 3 tier-1 starships (keeping even with APL)
- 4 tier-5 starships counts the PCs' starships as an APL of 8 (5 +3 for the additional 3 tier-5 ships) for encounter purposes.
However, divesting too far bites you in the keister when the group's several starships are spread across too wide a tier range. If the group individually has (APL-2) tier starships, then the worst-case scenario for a group of 4 is that they count as (APL+1) for ship encounters.
Such as a 20th level group:
- 4 tier-17 starships counts as APL 20 (17 +3 for the three additional tier 17 ships)
- 2 tier-19 ships count as APL 20.
From what I can tell it is extremely dangerous for most classes to operate the highest-tier range (15+) of ships at a tier equal to APL. They're better off in terms of the skill DCs having lower-tier ships or upgraded lower-tier ships.
It mentions the PCs having multiple ships on page 326, so you can do it. It seems to have the ships have tiers depending on how much BP you spend on each.
Whoops missed that. Thanks
Also, there's another limitation: Multiple ships means the need for multiple crew members in the pilot, gunner, etc. roles; you have to actually be on the ship to fill a role during combat!
I think it would be interesting to have a squadron with maybe one larger command ship; AKA something like a Millennium Falcon and two or three X-Wings, all the pilots would act in the pilot phase, and the squad leader on the command vessel could give captain orders to any pilot over comm channels.
Also, there's another limitation: Multiple ships means the need for multiple crew members in the pilot, gunner, etc. roles; you have to actually be on the ship to fill a role during combat!
Depends on the ship. The Tiny ships are single single-crew or 2-crew viable hulls.
A major factor is found in the variable travel time through the Drift - it's per-ship, not per-fleet as far as I am aware, barring GM fiat/The Script dictating otherwise. Sure the mathematical averages work out well enough ... unless the group is in a hurry and needs to arrive together.
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I think it would be interesting to have a squadron with maybe one larger command ship; AKA something like a Millennium Falcon and two or three X-Wings, all the pilots would act in the pilot phase, and the squad leader on the command vessel could give captain orders to any pilot over comm channels.
You could easily do so as outlined above. Using the mentioned example for a 5th-level party (with sufficient crew available):
- Millennium Falcon, tier 2 transport
- 3 X-Wing Fighters, tier 1 fighter or other Tiny hull each
- Total of (2 +1 +1 +1) is 5, equal to the group's APL.
That's kinda weak sauce, so let's drop one of the x-wings:
- Millennium Falcon, tier 3 transport
- 2 X-Wing Fighters, tier 2 fighters
- (3 +1 +1) 5 total APL
Also, there's another limitation: Multiple ships means the need for multiple crew members in the pilot, gunner, etc. roles; you have to actually be on the ship to fill a role during combat!Depends on the ship. The Tiny ships are single single-crew or 2-crew viable hulls.
A major factor is found in the variable travel time through the Drift - it's per-ship, not per-fleet as far as I am aware, barring GM fiat/The Script dictating otherwise. Sure the mathematical averages work out well enough ... unless the group is in a hurry and needs to arrive together.
"Jumping the fleet" is a common sci-fi trope. I'm guessing we'll see a ship add-on item eventually, something like a "fleet beacon" or "jump coordinator" that plugs into a big ship during construction, and allows it to act as a flagship and synchronize the drift timing of a number of ally ships equal to it's tier, for example.
Also, there's another limitation: Multiple ships means the need for multiple crew members in the pilot, gunner, etc. roles; you have to actually be on the ship to fill a role during combat!
I was thinking of a party with one bigger ship and a pilot character in their own one man fighter.
"Jumping the fleet" is a common sci-fi trope. I'm guessing we'll see a ship add-on item eventually, something like a "fleet beacon" or "jump coordinator" that plugs into a big ship during construction, and allows it to act as a flagship and synchronize the drift timing of a number of ally ships equal to it's tier, for example.Also, there's another limitation: Multiple ships means the need for multiple crew members in the pilot, gunner, etc. roles; you have to actually be on the ship to fill a role during combat!Depends on the ship. The Tiny ships are single single-crew or 2-crew viable hulls.
A major factor is found in the variable travel time through the Drift - it's per-ship, not per-fleet as far as I am aware, barring GM fiat/The Script dictating otherwise. Sure the mathematical averages work out well enough ... unless the group is in a hurry and needs to arrive together.
I'd imagine it would be an add-on to the ships' computers, synchronizing the drift drives' software with each other for simultaneous entry. If they get separated in-Drift, oops...