I would do one of two things. One allow them to tow it to black market salvage yard and give them 10% of the value in BPs to upgrade their ship in the future or Two allow them to tow it to a neutral facility and tell them its going to take quite a while to repair the damage / very expensive. They could trade there current ship in for the cost of repairs and allow them to swap ships when its level appropriate for them to do so.
Keeping in mind the original owners of said ship (or the organization) they belong to might not take it to kindly to them absconding with said ship and thus let let the chips / side adventure fall where it may.
Time is your friend in this case. Escape pods have distress beacons. Who knows if they sent out a msg before escaping? Whose coming looking? how close to the next ship that might want to salvage this ship as well?
Ya that is a bit of a conundrum. There is definitely no conversion for selling starships for credits. Though like Torbyne mentioned there are rules for repairing a starship with UPB's and a lot of time.
Couple solutions I could see is:
- Allowing the players to keep the ship and pay docking fees so now they can use the right ship for the right job
- Create some sort of salvage claim like Vexies mentioned. Have maybe set "finders fee" (i would scale it to the expected reward level for the party at each level and what tier their ship would be at the same level)
-- Quick Example: A lvl 1 party has APL of 1. Their Starship tier is 1. If they fight and 'salvage' a tier 1/2 ship the could get either the CR1 or CR1/2 expected wealth gains for the encount (table 11.4 in gamemaster section of core rules) which could be 460 or 230 credits respectively. The scale would really be up to you.
- Story it so they wrecked it beyond anyones desire to purchase it (its shot full of holes with all the mains systems critically damaged) (do they have the ability to even tow it?) (removing the computers / internal components requires specialized equipment to do without wrecking the component) <- last one stolen from a starfinder society quest
- Assume the Players are laying salvage claim and thats how they are getting their BP's to level up the ship as they themselves level. (those BP's have to come from somewhere right?)
I could probably brainstorm other ways but since Credits and BP's are two entirely different scales it really is how you can explain it to your group. Seems like you handled it pretty well.
|
Another option would be to let them salvage it, but talk to the players out of game about it so they only ever take one out at a time (likely they can't effectively crew two ships anyway). Let them keep it and upgrade it to match their tier. It would still take time and maybe charge them a chunk of money they can't afford, but with the option to do a job for the mechanics repairing it to cover the cost. Then let them have 2 ships, outfitted for different types of missions, and choose which they take.
My idea would be to let them have the ship, but remind them how much it would cost to repair to usable condition, and if they keep it, it would not auto level with them. My players hate spending money, so the first part alone would deter them.
Talk to your players so they know that in SF salvaging ships is one way to roleplay them moving up to a tier appropriate ship as their PCs progress. It isn't a way to increase PC wealth except for loot tied to the encounter's normal reward. Period. Getting sponsors, earning favors, or other story-specific methods are other ways to advance one's ship. Each method has its own RP costs/strings/repercussions, but they ultimately have no effect on WBL or BP's, though one could argue the makeup of such ships might vary by source.
Don't mislead the players into thinking it's a fluke they couldn't salvage this time or worse that salvaging has unduly rewarded them. Then they won't stop scrounging, and perhaps they'll feel you're screwing them over when you have to tweak the stories & situations to "stop" them. Just lay it out on the table: Salvaging enemy ships only has story consequences, not mechanical benefits.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
A starship isn't like an ocean going ship, you can't always just get up alongside it and loot it. Its venting atmosphere, thruster control systems are damaged, some bits of it are just straight up exploding and all of these things are going to make it difficult to salvage. It's trajectory is going to be erratic, its going to take some serious piloting mojo to come alongside and maintain a safe distance long enough to get the goods, much less repair damaged systems or hull breaches to the point where it isn't flailing around wildly and dangerously. It may be completely impossible without the correct equipment (tractor beams or some sort of high power clamp/arms). Moving between two such ships would be insanely dangerous, even if they are clamped together the damaged vessel is going to be moving the whole mess around and any "pedestrian" caught between them is likely to get pulped.
Basically unless you heavily invest into salvage equipment salvaging the ship itself is tantamount to suicide, it makes much more sense from a time, money, and staying-in-one-piece point of view to scoop up the most valuable bits that are blown off during combat. Maybe after a particularly good shot on a ship component you can comment about how a module just went flying off, maybe have the players make a piloting or engineering check to mark the trajectory for later pickup.
That being said, if the players invest into salvage equipment you should let them have the ship. Just be sure to make a salvage ship only good at salvaging.
On top of this you could have a salvage service that the players could call in for their 10% finder's fee if they (understandably) don't feel like risking their lives and ship attempting the extremely dangerous actions involved in salvaging damaged ships.
A starship isn't like an ocean going ship, you can't always just get up alongside it and loot it. Its venting atmosphere, thruster control systems are damaged, some bits of it are just straight up exploding and all of these things are going to make it difficult to salvage. It's trajectory is going to be erratic, its going to take some serious piloting mojo to come alongside and maintain a safe distance long enough to get the goods, much less repair damaged systems or hull points to the point where it isn't flailing around wildly and dangerously. It may be completely impossible without the correct equipment (tractor beams or some sort of high power clamp/arms). Moving between two such ships would be insanely dangerous, even if they are clamped together the damaged vessel is going to be moving the whole mess around and any "pedestrian" caught between them is likely to get pulped.
Basically unless you heavily invest into salvage equipment salvaging the ship itself is tantamount to suicide, it makes much more sense from a time, money, and staying-in-one-piece point of view to scoop up the most valuable bits that are blown off during combat. Maybe after a particularly good shot on a ship component you can comment about how a module just went flying off, maybe have the players make a piloting or engineering check to mark the trajectory for later pickup.
No, it would be exceptionally easy. You can use a gravity gun on any ship of your size or smaller, assuming you showed up in a Medium or larger ship, or even a gravity cannon, if you showed up in a Huge or larger. For a less scifi approach, you'll need to spend actual money, since we don't have BP rules for this, but all you need is a good sniper rifle, a grappler, and some cabling; using your thrusters to "keep up" with even a ship venting atmo should be really easy, since the thrusters in this setting are definitely not simply compressed air - meaning you should be able to substantially out-thrust the atmo, letting you correct your course after it moves and simply catch up.
Assuming this is happening outside of combat, so we don't have to answer the question of how wide a hex is, an L8 projectile sniper rifle can shoot accurately out to 250 feet with a Grappler on a tow cable; there's no plausible way the PC will miss (you'll need to invent and assign a KAC, but remember, starship AC is *not* PC combat AC, so don't just copy it over, and it should be very small - starships have way more hardness than they do AC, vs an infantry gun). You'll want 9350 credits for the sniper rifle, 700 for at least one Grappler, and 130 credits for the cable line (the extra 5 feet are for securing it to your own ship). Once the line is secure, and/or any other lines you want, you can tug the thing anywhere you like - as just discussed, there's no way your thrusters won't win the fight against vented atmo, and it should be trivial to program the ship's computer to automatically scoot back whenever the tugged ship randomly approaches the tugger, if you're too lazy to use a self-aware pilot.
I have no doubt that powered and directed thrusters could out-thrust venting or explosive force, its the randomness of the course changes that is the issue. Also the fact that you can catch up to a ship still doesn't mean you can cross between them safely to salvage it.
As to the Gravity Gun/Cannon, not one of the sample starships has one equipped. This seems to point towards it not being a particularly common piece of equipment for Interceptors, Fighters, Transports, Battleships, Racers, Freighters, Carriers, Shuttles, Explorers, Cruisers, Destroyers, or Dreadnoughts. I wouldn't mind the PC's building it into their own custom ship, or upgrading into it, but you wouldn't be able to buy a pre-built ship with that equipment (by default, obviously you're the GM and can do whatever). This also means its not going to be available at every dock, or that it would need to be shipped or whatever.
The main point of this line of reasoning is to provide an in-universe rationale for the players not being able to grab every ship they come across and build themselves a fleet instead of just saying "because i said so" or "it breaks the game".
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Before you make all those losing ships explosive, recognize that's what you're doing. The game itself doesn't suggest this. Those ships are disabled, not destroyed (unless the PCs kept pummeling them). They even have surviving crew unless they've escaped somehow. Adding a chain reaction of severe events certainly fits the genre and seems to patch over the salvaging issue, unless the players/PCs see this stage as another challenge to overcome, maybe even an intentional part of the story!
They might spend a lot of resources and player time trying to work out solutions, which then need ad hoc reasons to fail. Lame.
And then what happens if the PCs' or ally's ship gets disabled without said explosiveness or the players simply read the rules and realize you've been destroying their treasure and hamstringing their efforts?
Just play it straight. Respect the players to respect the game.
"Salvaging enemy ships only has story consequences, not mechanical benefits. The game balance is built around that. Everybody okay with that or do I have to get all wonky trying to thwart your salvage efforts?"
I mostly agree with Castilliano on this one, but I think there might be room for a compromise.
Say the PCs are flying a tier 5 (135 BP) ship and your players just came up with a great idea for salvaging some gear. Maybe it's a daring heist in a weapon research facility or a complicated sync maneuver to strip an abandoned ship that's currently tumbling through an asteroid field.
Rather than inventing BS reasons why that won't work or just saying "no, you can't do that", try presenting them with a skill challenge -
and if they succeed, give them an advance on the BP for the next tier. Give them +10 BP as a reward, but be clear that when they next level, they will only gain 10 BP (putting them at 155, the correct number for Tier 6) rather than 20. Have any such rewards cap out at whatever the difference is between their current tier ship and the next tier ship.
The starship balance system is (mostly) intact, but the players are rewarded for being proactive and taking responsibility for improving their starship. They also get the joy of being slightly ahead of the power curve, which can be pretty satisfying in its own right.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Personally, I think the "looting" of starships is a perfectly valid excuse for the "automagic" Build Points they get as they level.
It's either...
You get "some parts" that you can either use or trade in for upgrades to your ship at a later date.
Or...
The ship you salvage was actually owned/registered to Corporation Blah and as a reward for returning their property, they've offered to upgrade your ship at a later date.
That sort of thing happening during starship combat is the only way I can seem to explain the BP system that's internally consistent anyway.
I mostly agree with Castilliano on this one, but I think there might be room for a compromise.
Say the PCs are flying a tier 5 (135 BP) ship and your players just came up with a great idea for salvaging some gear. Maybe it's a daring heist in a weapon research facility or a complicated sync maneuver to strip an abandoned ship that's currently tumbling through an asteroid field.
Rather than inventing BS reasons why that won't work or just saying "no, you can't do that", try presenting them with a skill challenge -
and if they succeed, give them an advance on the BP for the next tier. Give them +10 BP as a reward, but be clear that when they next level, they will only gain 10 BP (putting them at 155, the correct number for Tier 6) rather than 20. Have any such rewards cap out at whatever the difference is between their current tier ship and the next tier ship.The starship balance system is (mostly) intact, but the players are rewarded for being proactive and taking responsibility for improving their starship. They also get the joy of being slightly ahead of the power curve, which can be pretty satisfying in its own right.
I agree with this a lot - speaking as a player, I know I'd prefer to earn my BP than to just be handed it.