Arming your Scout Type S Ship

[dragonladytoo]

What are peoples opinions on how to equip/arm your newly acquired Type S Scout ship.

Many a scout player acquires these as part of their mustering out. They are obviously not heavy lifters and cannot compete with Free Traders or Pirate ships for shipping of cargo,

Most Scouts never get enough credits on mustering out, possibly getting a max of 150,000 credits on a lucky roll. This isn't enough credits to purchase armaments right off the bat.

How as players and GMs have you dealt with this issue? Bank Loans? What is the collateral? The ship doesn't generally belong to the player, its on loan from IISS.

Thanks for you inputs.
Robyn

 

[BP]

A scout ship's primary purpose is to get you from point A to point B via space!

A scout ship is not really a combatant. Nor is it likely to be a pirate target, so armament is really not neccessary (except maybe to threaten civilians ).

If they absolutely must have a weapon - a single mount and missile rack might be within budget. Its about MCr 1 new, but High Guard has rules (pg 52) about discounts for older tech and second-hand outdated tech (Single/Missle are TL 7/6) - where outdated is +3 TL so on a TL 11 world they might pickup the turret and missile rack for Cr 95,000 from a scrapyard (add a ton of spare parts for Cr 10,000 and some skill).

But really, just equip it with enough food and fuel - and a mission!

 

[Mithras]

Hey, that's what adventures are for! Need MCr1 to pay for weaponry? I know this guy who needs a job doing on the edge of the system, no questions asked ... should get you a little way to your monetary target.

 

[Golan2072]

Hey, that's what adventures are for! Need MCr1 to pay for weaponry? I know this guy who needs a job doing on the edge of the system, no questions asked ... should get you a little way to your monetary target.

Alternatively, the Scout Service might give the retiring scout a second-hand weapon or two if he or she would complete 'just one more job' for the Service before fully retiring into Detached Duty.

 

[alex_greene]

Ref, just give them the weapons. No questions asked. Worry about the provenance later.

 

[CosmicGamer]

If the GM/PC's need the weapons as part of the plot, then I'd just say this scout ship happens to already have the weapons on it. If scout ships have a mount, it seams plausible that some would have weapons. Once a scout, always a scout though, so don't be surprised when you always get reactivated for those dangerous missions.

If the players 'need' the the weapons I'd make them work for it. I say players, because I'd let them come up with the method their characters pursue. Borrow, beg, steal, or good old fashioned work.

 

[Treebore]

Personally I think it is fooloish to not have a Scout ship armed. They are not eqivelant to our US Coast Guard where they are staying it "safe" waters, they are going out into the unknown, or known to be risky, areas all the time, plus they are a military ship, so they are armed by default, IMO. Plus I also assume they are becoming "Detached" with a ship they frequently used during their career as well, so they are getting put out to pasture with an old, higher maintenance cost ship, so that the powers that be have a reliable "Detached" fleet of Heavy Fighters (its how I really classify Scout ships) that can do a variety of missions for their old bosses if the crap ever hits the fan for their system or systems.

Granted, they do not have huge cargo spaces, but if they get a standard in system jobs hauling small cargo at about 2,000 cred per ton, and can do 8 to 12 such hauls a month so 24 to 36,000 creds per month, they make a lot of cred for their needs (10,000 cred per month).

If they can get permission to gut out their ship to maximize their capacity to carry cargo (IE like the miner version) and can do similar numbers of trips they can make 552,000 to 828,000 cred per month.

So determine if they find such a short cargo route they can fill, determine how many trips they get per month, and then say after "X" months of doing the boring cargo work they can buy the weapons systems, and are allowed to due to their 40 years of exemplary and loyal service to "X", or let them just have the weaponry to begin with.

Yeah, they gain money fast, but you know what they do with it? Buy bigger ships to make even more money. Those bigger ships tend to go into areas where it is dangerous, there is pirating, etc... so things can happen where they lose some of that money paying for repairs, etc...

Or they game can be about simulating "Spaceships and Cargo", the game, and see how many years and decades it take them to become a fully owned multi billion credit space cargo company before they die.

 

[Baron_Vulk_Morden]

I agree with CosmicGamer, if the plot calls for it (and few adventures do not require armaments in my personal experience) the GM could (should) say that the Scout ship the player was assigned was already armed.

Personally, I prefer a triple-turret armed with three pulse lasers, or two pulse lasers and one sandcaster, but your mileage may vary.

Armor, on the other hand, I usually leave up to in-play endeavors.

 

[BP]

Well, if money's no object I'd go with a triple turret loaded with a Particle Beam, Miissile Rack and Sandcaster with a cherry on top!

That one-two-three provides: range, power, anti-anti-laser (missiles ) and defense (including against boarders).

 

[Jame Rowe]

I've always wondered why noone ever made a 200-ton version of the Type-S, and called it an expanded courier.

If the GM/PC's need the weapons as part of the plot, then I'd just say this scout ship happens to already have the weapons on it. If scout ships have a mount, it seams plausible that some would have weapons. Once a scout, always a scout though, so don't be surprised when you always get reactivated for those dangerous missions.

If the players 'need' the the weapons I'd make them work for it. I say players, because I'd let them come up with the method their characters pursue. Borrow, beg, steal, or good old fashioned work.

This is my opinion, too. Besides, wouldn't most non-Seeker scouts be armed for self defense?

 

[Treebore]

I've always wondered why noone ever made a 200-ton version of the Type-S, and called it an expanded courier.

If the GM/PC's need the weapons as part of the plot, then I'd just say this scout ship happens to already have the weapons on it. If scout ships have a mount, it seams plausible that some would have weapons. Once a scout, always a scout though, so don't be surprised when you always get reactivated for those dangerous missions.

If the players 'need' the the weapons I'd make them work for it. I say players, because I'd let them come up with the method their characters pursue. Borrow, beg, steal, or good old fashioned work.

This is my opinion, too. Besides, wouldn't most non-Seeker scouts be armed for self defense?

Actually, I think this was done, as a magazine article. Or maybe one of the many adventures? Not sure where, but I am pretty sure it was done for either Classic or MegaTraveller.

 

[Baron_Vulk_Morden]

Well, if money's no object I'd go with a triple turret loaded with a Particle Beam, Miissile Rack and Sandcaster with a cherry on top!

That one-two-three provides: range, power, anti-anti-laser (missiles ) and defense (including against boarders).

Like I said, YMMV, although to me missiles (and beam lasers) seemed a little too retro Star Trek.

 

[iainjcoleman]

I would rule that, if a character rolls the Scout Ship benefit more than once, each subsequent roll provides a budget equivalent to 1D6 ship shares to be used in upgrading. This could easily provide some decent armament.

Otherwise, they'll have to find a friendly local arms dealer who can do them a good price - only, there's this little job he needs sorted out first...

 

[phavoc]

One way to do it would be to provide them with armaments as a "favor" from the Scout service. That way the players would be beholden to someone in the Scout service who could then use them for missions from time to time. Missions that sometimes need to stay "off the books" sort of thing.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I've always wondered why noone ever made a 200-ton version of the Type-S, and called it an expanded courier.

Actually, I think this was done, as a magazine article. Or maybe one of the many adventures? Not sure where, but I am pretty sure it was done for either Classic or MegaTraveller.

Do you remember where, and how official it was? I'd love to have it so I can (try to) convince my GM to let me have one.

 

[Travellingdave]

I've always allowed basic armament to be included on a detached Scout, especially in a border sector. Sending the players out in an unarmed ship in the Spinward Marches seems to require that they play it too safe and avoid real adventure. I usually give them a laser and a missile launcher to defend themselves with. Given that almost all space combat results in some very expensive damage to both combatants, my players rarely seek it out.

 

[Treebore]

I've always wondered why noone ever made a 200-ton version of the Type-S, and called it an expanded courier.

Actually, I think this was done, as a magazine article. Or maybe one of the many adventures? Not sure where, but I am pretty sure it was done for either Classic or MegaTraveller.

Do you remember where, and how official it was? I'd love to have it so I can (try to) convince my GM to let me have one.

I have that CD with all the magazines on it, so I can search through there and see.

 

[Jame Rowe]

Actually, I think this was done, as a magazine article. Or maybe one of the many adventures? Not sure where, but I am pretty sure it was done for either Classic or MegaTraveller.

Do you remember where, and how official it was? I'd love to have it so I can (try to) convince my GM to let me have one.

I have that CD with all the magazines on it, so I can search through there and see.

Okay, thank you.

 

[ScottyG]

Surely armed or not is a campaign decision for the dm initially? If the gaming style is heavily action biased and favours a setting where interstellar piracy is viable or even commonplace, or perhaps there is a high incidence of conflict (war zone perhaps) then serious consideration may be appropriate to giving the initial group some armament.

Really its all about the tone of the game a given GM wants to provide and the players prefer?

 

[rust]

Really its all about the tone of the game a given GM wants to provide and the players prefer?

I think so.

In my frontier setting civilian ships are almost never armed, mainly be-
cause most colonial authorities would never allow foreigners with power-
ful weaponry to come anywhere near their world's vital installations and
settlements. A single missile hit could breach the hull of a domed habitat
on a hostile planet, or destroy a colony's only major power plant - a risk
the people of my setting are not willing to take.