So I know that this is going to get some varied answers, but all other things being equal what is your initial starship of choice when starting out a new crew? Are you the sort to go for the iconic Fat Trader, the cost effective Free Trader, the versatile Corsair, or does some other ship catch your eye?
Favourite starting ship?
- Thread starter FuelDrop
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Reynard
Cosmic Mongoose
If I'm the referee, I go with what ship the players earn and choose. Obviously, if I'm a player, I prefer a scout for its versatility and cost effectiveness but in the past several times I've played, I went with what the other players or the referee decide since I never personally seemed to get a ship benefit.
I suppose it depends on what the focus of the game is. Scout ships are pretty great for getting around and doing stuff, but less good if you want to do speculative trading.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
The majority of the Traveller games I have refed and played over the past four decades have not had the PCs as the crew of a ship. There is a reason for the rules concerning working passage, private charter and various levels of ticket.
The lab ship would be my ship of choice...
The lab ship would be my ship of choice...
shammond42
Banded Mongoose
As a fan of Deepnight Revelation, I'll say an Amara class cruiser... In a more traditional campaign, I too am partial to the Marava.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Pretty much depends on the flavour of the campaign.
One difference between Traveller and a computer game is that you can far more easily customize your starship.
One difference between Traveller and a computer game is that you can far more easily customize your starship.
I think the most interesting ship to have if I was a player would be a Lab Ship. Lots of versatility there. But I find that most players who want a ship are thinking something like Firefly's Serenity, in which case I'm all about the Empress Marava far trader. The ship that gives the players the most ability to do "regular" and "ship based" adventures is probably the scout/courier. It's not so expensive (especially via detached duty) that they can't park it somewhere to do some other kind of things for a while without going bankrupt and its jump 2 helpful for travel.
I do find that not having a ship at all is a good way to start a campaign. Sometimes the players drive to get a ship, sometimes they are fine without one.
I do find that not having a ship at all is a good way to start a campaign. Sometimes the players drive to get a ship, sometimes they are fine without one.
Far Trader. Assuming the "full game," ship mortgage to speculative trading to adventuring of different kinds that's my first pick. J2 gives it better legs than the free trader for taking missions or picking your own goals like chasing salvage, without the bigger hold of the Fat Trader tying you to the trading game even more.
Scout is very tempting if someone rolls one for many of the same reasons as the Far Trader, but with the limited cargo space I'd never take on a mortgage for one. It limits salvage as much as it rules out cargo lots.
Or if you spot me no or a low mortgage, it opens up. Mercenary Cruiser would be fun to play with. Then you're hiring NPCs to man it fully, and then you're committed to mercs or pirates, but that's okay too.
Scout is very tempting if someone rolls one for many of the same reasons as the Far Trader, but with the limited cargo space I'd never take on a mortgage for one. It limits salvage as much as it rules out cargo lots.
Or if you spot me no or a low mortgage, it opens up. Mercenary Cruiser would be fun to play with. Then you're hiring NPCs to man it fully, and then you're committed to mercs or pirates, but that's okay too.
Arkathan
Emperor Mongoose
One of my players got the quarter of a lab ship in benefits. I gave him the option of having the 400 ton lab ship or trading that in on a 100 ton lab ship, that was either completely paid off or nearly so... can't remember which.
Sjonauka Class Research Vessel. They had a lot of fun with it, until they managed to find the other player's missing merchant and sold both for a down payment on a 300 ton mercenary ship several months into the campaign.
Ship linked here
Sjonauka Class Research Vessel. They had a lot of fun with it, until they managed to find the other player's missing merchant and sold both for a down payment on a 300 ton mercenary ship several months into the campaign.
Ship linked here
JustEastOfTheEdge
Cosmic Mongoose
If you have an Aslan scout ,the J-4 Ihateisho they can get is mad good. Of course, it throws up all kinds of problems when they start flying around Imperium territory....
paltrysum
Emperor Mongoose
Interesting idea: running a naval campaign on a small scale. The adventures imply that a capital ship is required, but why not start small and move upward.
Must admit, I am getting quite enamoured with the Safari Ship as a starter...
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Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The Scoutship is free, but likely requires a couple of favours in return.
