Just like the smuggler, the blockade runner's most important piece of equipment is their ship. But there are important differences between a regular smuggling ship and a blockade running ship. Most have to do with firepower, protection and speed, but there are other things to think about too.

 

 

Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire Without even knowing it, Metallica coined the perfect motto for blockade runners and their ship. The first weapon a smart blockade runner has against his enemy (the blockade) is speed. With speed, one can hopefully outrun a situation before it progresses rapidly into an incident. Blowing through the ranks with guns blazing is pretty nifty, but hurtling through a line of Imperial ships before they can barely register you on their scans is much more preferred. After all, what would you rather spend? Money on fuel, or eternity in jail? Here's some engines which are sure to tickle your fancy and fit the bill.

Trasst HighThrust This engine is designed to fit smaller vessels and is primarily used for starships that are involved in racing. Though sublight racing is a (mostly) legal pursuit (no pun intended), the Trasst certainly has other applications. With modifications to fit a typical size of freighter, plus installation and labor, expect this one to put you back by about 630,000 credits. Sound like too much? So does life in a penal colony, doesn't it? The Trasst's weight is about 26 tons and is prepped to give you a total sublight output of 6D+2. Pretty good for a start...

Billeon 500 High Output Drive Billeon is another engine manufacturer that for some reason or another makes a high performance engine that fits freighter-class ships. This puppy features an advanced nitrogen induction system that offers exceptional cooling capacity. This cooler-running engine means higher power output, thus increased speed. Most of the time, no modification is required to drop this into a freighter, but there's still the cost of installation. The engine itself costs 900,000 credits and produces a sublight speed of 7D. With tweaking (as per rules found on page 30 of the Tramp Freighters Guide), one can pump this up more. It's very expensive, but when the going gets tough, the tough takes out a loan...

Hyperdrives never hurt anyone either (when they work), and for a fast entry and exit, nothing beats a good investment in the right engine. Often times the difference between being caught and not is how far you are from the scene when the man figures out what went down. Try these on for size, but shop around.

Mylon HyperHellion Most people who purchase these do so on the sly, as they are not produced any more because of some pesky law about having a hyperdrive this fast. The good side? It replaces your backup hyperdrive and gives you a x1/2 hyperdrive rating, fast as you can get. The down side? It costs 34,000 credits and has been known to melt if used for long, sustained trips. Unfortunately, nobody really knows for sure what long exactly means in this case...

V'Karr Series .5 This is another drive you can only find at the local dive. These are very hard to find, but are worth it. General going rate for one is about 40,000 credits, but that doesn't include installation. What makes them worth it? Well, besides the fact that they also produce a x1/2 rating, unlike the HyperHellion, they actually stay solid under sustained use. Have fun finding parts for this one, though. You might find yourself knee-deep in owed favors by the time you get even just a tune-up on it...

 

 

When you got your speed down to a science, it's time to look at the second most important part of your ship. This would be protection. There are many products on the market that create increased shielding and armor for your ship, some good and some bad. None really stand out, though. Your best bet is to not take on really big jobs until you have a hull rating of at least 4D and shields of at least 3D. You can get by with 2D, but I wouldn't suggest it. You don't want to be floating in space after a battle while an ISD is reeling you in and all you are thinking is "If I had that extra dice, I..."

The same goes for weapons, in terms of amount. There is no such thing as overkill here. Basically, be willing to sacrifice a lot of cargo space to get it going on in terms of armament and protection. Turbolasers are good. Forget ion cannons of any sort; they are a total waste of money and space in these terms. You want "one shot one kill" ability here, or the next best thing.

Consult Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters for information on tweaking your ship, namely Chapter 8. Another good resource is Chapter 3 of Platt's Smugglers Guide. In this chapter, don't pay much attention to the discussions on documentation, seeing as you will be extremely wanted by the Empire upon completion of your first run (so why bother, right?). Oh, and don't goof around with sensor decoys to avoid this. Doing so is playing with fire when you are a blockade runner. Remember, in and out as fast as possible. Also, there is a large variety of websites which offer homebrew weapons, and some searching would do you well. A notable place for weapons is at the Servais Sector, where you will find (under Technology) a section by a company called M & G, which cater to starship weaponry and have fine offerings.

For finding ships to use, there are a great deal of resources available. On the web, the first recommendation I'd make is over at Smilin' Drex Furlow's Stockyard. This site has terrific pictures and info on both stock and modified ships, and the author is always adding stuff and takes requests. Also, you can visit Tevor's Contacts for more ship info, and the author will take requests and consult with you about ship stats. There are other websites out there with great resources in terms of ships, and if you have one of those sites, let me know and I'll include you in the list. Otherwise, in terms of books there's Stock Ships and Pirates & Privateers, both books full of ships that are useful. Also, it's recommended that you check out Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts, because I've found that scout ships fit blockade running very well. The Adventure Journals have many ships in them that would be good choices, and Fantastic Technology has a few gadgets that would possibly complement your style. I basically don't recommend any specific ships because I want you to pick one that is right for you without any advice from others. It is said elsewhere, but I remind you here that unlike smuggling, the bigger the ship you have the bigger the target you are. Imperials don't shoot randomly at ships - they shoot at attacking vessels, which is all you're going to be doing. Choose wisely and carefully.

Here's some tips on picking a ship that will do the job well:

Speed, Shields, Hull and Hyperdrive Don't worry too much about these if they are stock ships because you will need to upgrade whatever you get anyway. For a discussion on modifying hyperdrives to escape the gravity well projectors of an Interdictor Cruiser, click here.

Cargo You're going to lose a lot of this in the modification process, so a minimum amount to start with is recommended at about 100 tons. A great amount to start with is about 150 tons; this way when you finish your modifications, you still can haul a lot. But don't worry about it too much because people that hire blockade runners would rather have a little reach the destination than lose a lot. In short, they will look for how well your ship will deliver, not how much. If you prefer to have a lot of space, or the job demands it, you can add on cargo pods. For a fantastic write-up on strap-on cargo pods by Sebastian Sylk, click here.

Floorplans Highly recommended as this can expedite gaming and make the process of customizing your ship a lot more fun. If you find one in a book, take it down to a copy shop and see what you can do with it in terms of pasting out stock areas and drawing in your own modifications and quirks. Not only is it fun, but impress the hell out of me and send me a copy of it by scanning it into a file (this can be done at your copy shop) and attaching it to an e-mail. I'll post it here.

Maneuverability Depending on your piloting skill, this needs to be kind of high. Don't worry if you don't have a lot of maneuverability but a high pilot skill. This is the best scenario, because maneuverability dice can be taken away from you by battle damage while your piloting dice cannot.

Sensors This is something that will depend on how you do your blockade running. Some prefer to strip them out almost entirely, saving space, weight and money. Others pump the best sensors into their ship and lurk behind a nearby moon, monitoring their target and waiting for their best moment to run. You should think about this BEFORE you are in the situation, not during. It's probably best to start with them, then as you go, dump them if you don't use them.

Consumables It's recommended that you not only find a ship with high consumables capability, but boost it even further yourself. Why? Because a die-hard tactic is to hide in a region of untravelled space, floating for very extended periods of time (sometimes weeks or even months) after you've made a run. This way, nobody will find you and figure you long gone from the general area. In case you have to do this in an emergency, it's smart to give yourself the capability. If you become the Sector Fleet's pet for a month, you really have little alternative other than finding a hole and crawling in it.

Passenger Space This is a good time to indicate to you NOT to blockade run passengers under ANY circumstances. Blockade runners are VERY wanted people, and the Empire is all too deft at offering those of you who are greedy LARGE sums of money to transport an undercover Sector Ranger to an impounded world. The only way to get caught easier is to land yourself in the hangar of an ISD and say "Spank me, I've been very naughty." Convert your passenger space to other uses; this is a good place to increase your consumables rating.

Escape Pods For some bizarre reason, pretty much no ship explains itself in terms of this capacity, and it doesn't even have a place in ship stats. Talk to your GM about escape pods on the ship you choose (if the ship's description doesn't already include these). Some people keep them for obvious reasons. I've known others to take them out to avoid the temptation of escaping, claiming they'd rather die than be caught or abandoned forever. It's also not uncommon to stuff them full of detonite and fire them off at a capital ship (at best a stunning event, at worst a spectacular diversion). Think about it.

Maintenance and Repair Considerations Do you have a very good skill in starship repair, or does somebody else on board? Is there a shadow starship mechanic that knows how to work on your ship very well? Does that mechanic have recommendations as to what ships are good and which aren't? Are parts hard to find for your ship? Are the parts expensive? How often do you have to tune the engine? What about the reliability of the ship you have chosen? Are there certain systems that can't be worked on while in transit or in space? Ask yourself these questions now before they rule your characters life. And remember that you will only be able to land at shadowports since you will be illegal, which restricts your choices by the parts and labor that is available there. I've seen many a character hanging on to the side of their ship in space, banging the hell out of the hull with a hydrospanner and yelling very embarrassing obscenities because they didn't cover these areas before they became important.

Did you catch the write-up on strap-on cargo pods located here?

Blockade Running Ships - Examples

"Contingency" by Scott Murphy

"Phoenix" by Chris Curtis

"Crimson Dawn" by jpearson

"The Infiltrator" by George J and Tanya

A Gallofree Smuggler (including tactics) by Ron Copeland

"The Slip Stream" by Ryan Matheny

"The Union Jack" by Wyzzard

If you have other tips that you think would go well here, let me know and I just might include them. Many thanks to those who submitted ships to the guide. For now, the SWSRC is not accepting any more submissions, but may start accepting more later.

 

 

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