There have been a variety of approaches:<br /><br />1. Classic AD or default AD & KH: no space ships ie you or you employer pays for a ride.<br />This has been characterized as Beginning characters walk around doing stuff, mid level characters ride around in vehicles doing stuff, high level characters fly around ins space ships doing stuff. <br /><br />2. Start characters with high level AD skills and beginning KHs skills and give them a space ship at start. Draw back is that beginning KHs skills give the players virtual auto skill hits their AD skills which is at least a challenge for the referee.<br /><br />3. "Spacer Skills Revisited" From Star Frontiersman #? allowed for progressive quaulification of KHs skills and thus a near beginning character of the AD stripe could start out with KHs skills. AD was 2 levels of skills spread over 2 skills and this option is perhaps 4 levels of skills spread over 3 skills which is not much of an increase.<br /><br />4. Start as AD characters with grunt work jobs on a ship run by high level NPCs<br /><br />(if I've missed an option please do chime in)<br /><br />Each of the above has pros and cons and at least one of the options requires tinkering with the cannon rule system (not really a bad thing).<br /><br />I'm toying with a fifth option that could work with options 1, 3, and partly 4<br /><br />For myself I would use Spacer Skills Revisited article and allow for KHs skills in low level characters simply because its my opinion that that is more fun for the player. <br /><br />Characters are all low level possibly classic AD characters with 2 levels of skill spread over 2 skills.<br /><br />Ship has a high level NPC that is the engineer simply because it has to have it if there is an atomic drive. The ship also has a Level 6 robotic brain that handles piloting and astrogation. The mission and functions of the robot brain's programming need to be written out along with some notes on the AI's personality. Almost a take on Farscapes "pilot" for their ship. Weapons, if any, have to be controlled by the PCs. After some problems with robotically controlled ships a law was passed that the weapon systems on such ships cannot be under the control of the robotic brain. <br /><br />PCs are in charge and direct the operations of the ship. Note if the ship is powered by Ion drive there is no need for an actual engineer which might be preferable. or simply start one of the PCs with level 1 engineering skill under the above mentioned article.<br /><br />Ship is paid for by an entity that will have hired the PCs for missions that they have some discretion on. This entity could be a scout service, mega corp, educational institution etc. Part of the Robotic Brain's programming is that it looks out for the interest of the entity that paid for the ship just in case the Players decide to be really foolish with the ship.<br /><br />HS 5 ship and lander might be best for this.<br /><br />Benefits are:<br />1. no high level characters for the PCs to use as a crutch<br />2. PCs start low and still have plenty of room to grow and develop<br />3. no complaints of "I want a ship" <br />4. Game doesn't start out over powered and difficult to referee
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