In Neptune's Realm - Chargen and Recruitment, Cyberpirates: create characters here! Options

[Minchandre]

The Morgan Cutlass is a patrol boat in the main sourcebook, Xahn. SR4A p. 349. Arsenal has several viable options, many of which are superior to the Cutlass in one degree or another. Speed is something that's very important for both pirates and privateers, so that certainly shouldn't be overlooked.

The Cutlass is, as far as I can find, the fastest boat in SR4a and Arsenal. It's also decently sized, carries a couple of weapons mounts, and has a "sophisticated sensor suite".

Unfortunately, it's hard to find the precise correspondence between vehicle Body and size, but the fluff suggests that the Body 12 options probably are too small.

Our options aside from the Cutlass, in the books, include a harbor patrol boat, and a pair of yachts.

Always remember that we can use Arsenal to modify the shit out of it.

[Ol' Scratch]

Fastest? It's Speed is 60 and Acceleration is 15/30. The Crest and Slyph in Arsenal are both significantly faster. The Slyph is even described as an anti-smuggler vessel, and you can afford two of them for the price of a single Cutlass. Then you have other alternatives like the GMC Beachcraft which is way faster and armored to the teeth. It would make an awesome attack vessel, and is used by pirates quite often, too.

There's really no reason to limit the group to just one vessel, either. In fact, I'd say that it's more of a liability than anything.

And you can modify all of these vehicles, too.

[Dumori]

I say we go for a biggish ship some faster support/pursuit ships. Then we do like pirates and hold a big ship and its crew hostage for big bucks.

[Minchandre]

Fastest? It's Speed is 60 and Acceleration is 15/30. The Crest and Slyph in Arsenal are both significantly faster. The Slyph is even described as an anti-smuggler vessel, and you can afford two of them for the price of a single Cutlass. Then you have other alternatives like the GMC Beachcraft which is way faster and armored to the teeth. It would make an awesome attack vessel, and is used by pirates quite often, too.

There's really no reason to limit the group to just one vessel, either. In fact, I'd say that it's more of a liability than anything.

And you can modify all of these vehicles, too.

I saw the Crest and Sylph as being too small for the group - but as said, it's hard to say. I think we'd need a GM ruling.

I would like to speak my piece for a single larger vessel though - as far as our employer is concerned, more vessels means more chance of us going rogue. It also makes a lot more sense from a logistic perspective.

This is annoying...if we were on land, we could just get the stepvan and have done with it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Penta]

The Sylph and the Crest both seem, to this GM, to lack something essential: The ability to live on them.

Michandre is right: From your employer's perspective, one vessel is a lot easier to explain to the appropriators than a whole fleet.

(Mind you, also, your vessel needs to not scream "pirate" or "smuggler". Covertness matters.)

[Faraday]

For speed and maneuverability, I would go with the Cutlass. However, the Classique looks a lot less intimidating and has a lot more space (body). It is, however, much slower and more expensive.

[Penta]

Thing I hate about vehicles in SR4: It is impossible to tell if you're supposed to be able to live aboard them, in some cases.

Sometimes it's obvious in one direction or another, but a lot of times it's fuzzy as hell, and the Cutlass is one of those cases.

Especially since 'patrol boat' can mean a lot of things, from "Not meant to leave the harbor" to "Open Ocean Cutter". The book gives no clue whatsoever what's intended.
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That said, that's a separate determination from how many people the damn thing can carry. For watercraft, the books say nothin', but Jason Hardy provided me the handy rule of thumb a few months back of 1 passenger per 2 body points.

It works well enough for most cases. Using this guideline, the Cutlass can hold 8 people given a body of 16. The Classique can hold 12.

I figure the classique, if you strip out the luxury appointments, even if down to High (or even more drastically down to Middle) can probably hold more people. The Cutlass, I'm not sure you can do the same thing.

[Xahn Borealis]

I'm still set on the Striker. If you go on that 1 passenger per 2 Body, then you can support 15. And you also get 30 mod slots. Is it likely we could ever obtain one of those, Penta? Through theft or maybe we earn the money and buy one? Plus it has the description which specifically states it's 'capable of independent action'.

(I should probably stop going on about it, it sounds like I'm obsessed or something.)

[Dumori]

Part of me says we get an amphibious zeppelin and live off that.

[Xahn Borealis]

Part of me says we get an amphibious zeppelin and live off that.

Fuck the amphibious. LIVE OFF THE ZEPPELIN.

[Dumori]

Yeah but launching attack ships and picking them up via a airborne craft is a problem. Thats right I'm thinking a carrier zeppelin.

[fazzamar]

Ohh a zeppelin would kick ass.

[Minchandre]

The Luftschiffbau Zeppelin LZ-2065, a heavy cargo airship, is only (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 800k (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

By the way, as far as zeppelins are concerned, Cherry (my character) is going to really, really want a GTS Tower drone. Are people behind using group funds for that, if we can afford it?

Anyway, Penta, because the rules seem to be kinda skimpy, how could you feel about a player-designed boat, with all attempts made to keep it reasonable?

[Xahn Borealis]

If we do that, should it be a Navy ship? I suggest the Celebrian Striker (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Dumori]

I think we should go for a decommissioned NAVY boat. Fast armored but un-armed even fits well IC well we where going to scrap this but here you go. I'm happy to RP upgrading/repairing it as well if we get a good sized decommissioned ship.
Twink it out so its faster and maybe add a way to launch and retive faster boarding craft and we are set.

[Minchandre]

Random question, because I've never played a character with a Sim module but no cybereyes before: if I have a Sim module, do I still need glasses to experience AR?

[Dumori]

By RAW nope.

[Penta]

....I really would squirm at statting up a whole ship. You might be able to pull it off, but the rules make it very hard to do and know you're coming out with something reasonable.

Keep in mind, any ship you do get is likely to be (Very) modified...from a *civilian* ship, which itself will probably be new-built. (How does the Navy get its hands on a newbuilt civvie ship legitimately while keeping cover? Hordes of ways!) Mil-stock ships, even demilitarized, would draw too much attention.

[Dumori]

Humm I forgot what class is used to counter smuggling now but thats a very normal ship/bar the warship grey paint job and bow HMG. But a demilitarized version of that with a few mods to make it look less intimidating perhapses. Also the question of ship bored armaments we have to ask with modern trade ships crews arming up. I don't see it being beyond the realm of possibility that some trade ships would be armed. However if thats so its a two way street.

[Xahn Borealis]

Maybe we should use the Similar Models rules in Arsenal?

[Dumori]

Maybe

[Dumori]

Part of me is thinking a Harland and Wolff Classique III (Yacht) with a method to dock a Colorado Craft Sylph and may be a Bolt or two. Though a Blohm & Voss Spitzenreiter could make a nice home base with modification as well being a fishing trawler. Though both these vessels are SLOW. Thus we will need assult craft to work effectively. If we get a removable weapon mount for the Sylph think like a Thundercloud Morgan a weapon mount used from standing near the rear ect that be affixed when needed and store below decks when we are masquerading as a yacht. Again for this to really work a large portion of our combat ready crew must be able to pilot water craft well. A Sylph can carry a crew of 4 including any gunner.

[Xahn Borealis]

I've already got a Sylph with a torpedo weapon mount, but I'm thinking of changing that. Any suggested mods?

[Xahn Borealis]

Does the Armoured Control option for Weapon Mounts include the single slot for manual control?

[Minchandre]

Part of me is thinking a Harland and Wolff Classique III (Yacht) with a method to dock a Colorado Craft Sylph and may be a Bolt or two. Though a Blohm & Voss Spitzenreiter could make a nice home base with modification as well being a fishing trawler. Though both these vessels are SLOW. Thus we will need assult craft to work effectively. If we get a removable weapon mount for the Sylph think like a Thundercloud Morgan a weapon mount used from standing near the rear ect that be affixed when needed and store below decks when we are masquerading as a yacht. Again for this to really work a large portion of our combat ready crew must be able to pilot water craft well. A Sylph can carry a crew of 4 including any gunner.

That's probably a good idea. I mean, don't modern pirates usually do it that way, with a single larger, slower boat and a number of outriders?

I think that the fishing boat is probably less conspicuous (and has extended range, as I recall), but I like the yacht for its bigness. We should uparmor it a little, though.

We get a free satlink, right? We should also probably purchase some sort of network node. If people don't want to spend group funds on this node, my character will definitely be buying her own, but she'll charge you all to use it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) .

What other mods do we want? My evaluation:

-Weapons mounts (like an assault cannon or whatever) might be a little too conspicuous on the mothership, though I bet we could probably hide some missile launchers pretty well.
-An extra fuel tank is nice if we have the room for it. 1000
-I'm going to mention armor again! Regular is Rating x 200. Concealed is Rating x1000
-A complete skinlink would be pretty cool. 5000
-Drone racks might be nice. Small landing = 5000, large landing = 20000
-My character will want ECM (Rating x 1000) and jammers (Area and directional cost rating x 500 each), but will be willing to pay out of pocket for those if she can afford them. Same with lock-on countermeasures (5000). Same with improved sensor array (1000). Same (probably) with a Retrans unit (4000).
-Engine customization might be nice, though I imagine it's pretty conspicuous ( Speed x Body x 5 or Accel x Body x 25)
-Missile Defense is, amazingly, not illegal. It's pretty pricey, though (10000)
-Ram Plate (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ork.gif) (Body x 250)
-I think searchlights are required. Plus they're pretty cheap (1200).
-How obvious are torpedo launchers to official inspection? I suspect very. (surprisingly affordable at 2000)
-I think a workshop would be nice. (10000. 50000 for a full desktop forge)
-Valkyrie module! Do we have a ship's surgeon? (also surprisingly inexpensive. 2000)
-Rigger cocoons? (1500 each for the basic model)