[GeneralSturnn]

Alright so I'm curious, for a mercenary platoon, just how customizable are Starships?

I've been told Ships are customizable based on user's tastes provided they are not in any way Warp or Xeno influenced.

I have also been told they are purely STC ships nothing more, nothing less, no customization unless you want to find an Ork Mek or wayward shipwright.

 

[hailene]

From what we've seen in the Rogue Trader rulebooks, the parts within a ship are pretty variable. Someships come with parts that can not be removed (like the Dominator class cruiser and its additional flight decks), but a lot of other parts can be swapped out (life support, engines, weapon arrays, additional armor, ect.)

Certain vessels ARE STC. We know that Astartes strike cruisers and battle barges tend to be STCs.

Many others are not. Just like many things in WH40K, it mostly depends on the precise situation.

 

[Vaz]

Depends on what level of Starship you're asking for.

Mercenaries are unlikely to have access to many craft that you know of or mentioned in 40K literature, which deal with huge intersystem level transit and combat.

An escort class vessel has hundreds, if not thousands of hands working, for example - even if there are only a hundred or so people who are directly involved with the combat of some kind (counter boarding operations, flight crew, command staff, marines/landing forces, etc).

 

[GeneralSturnn]

Our party was looking to acquire a small ship that was void capable.

had anywhere between 2-4 Autocannon's mounted on it
enough crew space for 8 people


that's about it, very basics to keep a mercenary party able to fly in system, obviously would need to hitch a ride with a Rogue Trader or someone if we want to leave system.

I was just thinking non-military would be able to have their ships more varied, but most "official" Imperial ships are STC with a modification here and there depending on what was available in resources and time.




the kind of ship I was imagining was like thunderhawk size, maybe a little larger(which I'm almost sure there are plenty of vessels as such)

 

[MidnightSun]

Deltrian, a Dark Mechanicus Tech-Priest in the Night Lords trilogy, has a personal and likely modified craft called Epsilon K-41 Sigma Sigma A:2, which is a very small craft which has a ridiculous number of weapon turrets and is fully warp-capable. I think it's described as a little larger than a Thunderhawk.

 

[GeneralSturnn]

and could anyone possible give a guess on how much it would cost for Mercenaries to obtain?

 

[Vaz]

t50259u5290539530tu3r0tu3476u349u2509u6o23yu309u handwavium credits.

Seriously.

 

[GeneralSturnn]

Guess I'll just guesstimate it then, based on other universe's lore.

 

[hailene]

What Vaz was getting at...

There's no real universal currency in the Imperium of Man. And due to the vagaries of the Warp (both for travel and communication), market prices are hardly universal. Something disgustingly common in one portion of the Imperium might be all but unheard of in another. Not only is currency not stable, but the items themselves are also mercurial in price.

In short, no idea. There's simply not enough lore out there to determine it.

 

[GeneralSturnn]

Tis why i said, I'll base it off of other universe's Lore(I want a Thunderhawk sized ship, so, closest thing would be a YT-2400 or something from Star Wars)


at least I know I'm right in customization.

 

[GabrialSagan]

Starships are not mass produced like Lasguns. Each one is a unique vessel crafted from the ground up. Many take centuries to construct and require thousands of tech priests and countless laborers to build. While it can be said that they fall into general classifications in regards to their size and capacity, no two starships are exactly alike.

Also, while Warp influence is strictly prohibited, the warrant of trade allows some rogue traders to incorporate xenos technology and artifacts into their ships (see FFG's Rogue Trader)

 

[GabrialSagan]

There's no real universal currency in the Imperium of Man.

FFG's Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader refers to Imperial Thrones as the currency of the Imperium. Though you are correct that the Imperium's market is highly unstable with some things be incredibly rare on one world while being in abundance on another. It is mentioned that on Praetoria clean air is a precious commodity while I imagine their trash heaps are filled with wondrous tech that is all but unheard of on most feral worlds.