[SWSE] How do you deal with exp in starship battles?

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

That would seem to be a simple solution and, on the face of things at least, a balanced one...

However, I wonder if, say, a level 8 scoundrel in an x-wing is really twice as good as a level 4 scoundrel in one.

Also, what would you do in the case of a PC using a ship which is significantly higher in CL than the NPC's ship, so much so that its effective CL would be 0 or lower? I guess it sort of makes sense in that it shouldn't be much of a challenge for a star destroyer to pwn an x-wing...

Is a level 8 scoundrel on the ground 2 times as good as level 4 scoundrel on the ground?

Most the time in D20 Systems, you should only count the difference in levels, not the relative value. A Level 10 character is to a 5th level character what a 15th level character is to a 10th level character. (probably something between 4-6 times as strong, in my experience, and judging from the usual assumptions about balanced encounters)

That's also why I wrote my guidelines as described above.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Well, a group of CL 1 PCs would be in significant danger inside a starship; it is unlikely they would have the feats and abilities to be truly effective in combat, and even an Average TIE fighter pilot can outgun them. If a 1st level character got inside a cockpit and shot down several TIEs, well, I guess they can be level 2 now. It's self-correcting in that sense.

That said, there are some quirks of the system... unique characters who are part of the adventure are worth XP, incidental crew are not.... what about unique crew, then?

I think that's one of the major differences between this edition of the game and previous one - it is quite easy to have group that is competent within a starship without expending other vital roles. Basically, you just need one Pilot and a Gunner and all other characters will probably be able to contribute fine. I think it's very likely that you find someone with the Pilot skill and someone that uses heavy weapons or has trained for Vehicle Combat. Most groups will automatically want someone capable of piloting a starship anyway, just like every D&D group wants a Healer or someone that can disarm traps and open locks...

 

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

It seems to me that there's one huge problem with starships... Off the top of my head, an X-Wing is something like a CL 11 or 12! Am I really supposed to give a first level player several thousand exp for shooting down an X-Wing in a dogfight, especially when they're piloting a more powerful ship?

Speaking unofficially,

For my own games, I figure the CL of the heroes' ship, just as I would if it were an npc ship. Since each ship has its own CL, that's just a matter of deciding on the PC's effective crew quality. As each crew quality gives its attack bonus and base skill checks, that's easy enough.

So, an example.

4 1st-level characters, one of whom is trained in Pilot, are flying an ARC-170 (one of the PCs is an astromech droid). The base CL of an ARC-170 is 12, assuming a expert crew. However, an expert crew has a +5 attack bonus and +8 check modifier. My PCs have an average of a +2 attack bonus (a 14 Dex is fairly common) and a +7 check modifier (Pilot is higher because someone is trained, but not everyone is trained in the skills they'll be using). I'll call that about a "skilled" crew, which is 1 CL below expert, so I consider the PCs in the ARC-170 to have a CL of 11. (If their attack bonuses and useful skills were lower, I would decide they counted as "normal" crew).

Now when they take on a typical Y-Wing, I consider the PCs to be CL 11 vs its CL 10, and figure exp accordingly.

Owen K.C. Stephens
d20 Triggerman

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