|
|
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.
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.
|
|
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:
Blockade Running Ships - Examples "The Infiltrator" by George J and Tanya A Gallofree Smuggler (including tactics) by Ron Copeland "The Slip Stream" by Ryan Matheny 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. |
|
|
|