Acquiring a Ship

Many parties might see fit to merely obtain passage on a vessel as a part of their adventures, and there's nothing wrong with that. Others will want to obtain their own ships as fast as possible as it is a core component to their character. It is at the discretion of the GM to determine when a party should obtain their first starship using one of the following options.

Joining a Faction

Joining a large faction, such as the Galactic Republic or the Empire might merit the acquisition of a personal starship. Generally, the faction still owns the ship and allows the party to use it as long as they are in accordance with the faction's wishes. Refusing missions or violating the faction's rule may lead to disavowment, pursuit, and eventual repossession of the ship.

Shipjacking

The most nefarious (and frankly most enjoyable) way to acquire a starship is to steal one. Shipjacking is an old and extremely dangerous profession. Starport authorities (as well as the original owners) are constantly on the lookout for stolen ships, and if the heroes fail to adequately falsify documentation identifying themselves as the ship's owners, they can find themself in an uncomfortable position.

Purchasing

The most common method of acquiring a ship is by purchasing. The cost of a brand new "stock" starship can be found below, on the Starship Size Stock Cost table.

Starship Size Stock Cost

How the players afford the ship varies as well. They may be patient, earning the credits to make the purchase over time. Alternatively, they might seek a backer, or a loan through a financial institution.

Newly constructed starships come with a number of vacant modification slots, which can be filled with modifications, which are discussed in Chapter 4.

Financing

The party could seek a loan from a bank to purchase a starship. Generally, 20% of the starship's cost is required as a down payment, with monthly pay-ments equal to 2% of the cost for the following five years.

A Wealthy Sponsor

Alternatively, the party may work for a wealthy individual or group, such as an aristocrat. Convincing such an individual to finance you, however, can be quite the adventure in-and-of itself. Can the party prove that the relationship will be mutually beneficial?

Loan Sharks

As a more dangerous option, a loan shark or an afflu-ent gangster could finance a ship. Usually requiring less money up front, this loan has steeper loan pay-ments (~10% of the total cost each month for 3 years).

Building a Ship

Building a ship is generally cheaper than buying it, but takes time and necessitates use of a shipyard and a substantial workforce. If players elect to build a stock starship instead of purchasing one, it requires half the cost of the finished ship in facilities, raw materials, and labor. The minimum workforce size is shown below on the Starship Size Construction Workforce table. Ship construction also has a maximum practical workforce, beyond which no time gains are readily made.

Starship Size Construction Workforce

Because workers generally craft at a rate of 250cr/day, the base time it takes to build a ship is:

time (in days) = ("Starship Size Stock Cost") / (500 x "size of workforce")

For instance, to build a Small ship, with a workforce of 5, would take 20 days. To build a Huge ship, with a workforce of 1,000, however, would take 400 days [100,000,000 / (250 x 1,000)].

It is assumed each member of the workforce works 8 hours per day. A workforce more than double the min-imum workforce must work in shifts for further gains.

STOCK MODIFICATIONS

At construction, your ship comes with a number of stock modifications that you can choose from. These modifications must be Grade: 0 modifications. Although they come without cost, they do count against your maximum modification slots and your maximum suite systems.