Carried Craft and CR (SW Saga)

[Mad Wizard]

How do a capital ship's carried starfighters affect its CR? Are they already accounted for in the CR or do you need to add them separately?

[Aresneo]

I would say they are factored in to the Challenge Level, but niether book mentions if they are.

[Lemur]

I would have to say no, they aren't factored in to CL. For one, Carried Craft is described as what is "usually" found on such a ship.

Second, look at the I-class Star Destroyer. It normally carries 72 TIE fighters of "any variety". Different TIE fighters have different CLs, which means that the craft of one Star Destroyer is not necessarily consistant with the craft of another in terms of challenge level. Furthermore, the Star Destroyer is CL 20, which grants 4,000 XP, while a single TIE fighter is CL 7, granting 1,400 XP. If you were to encounter 72 TIE fighters on their own, they would reward a much different amount of XP than a single Star Destroyer would if carried craft were factored into a larger ship's CL.

There's nothing in the RAW or errata that specifies either way on this, but it's reasonable to assume that carried craft are not factored into the CL of a ship, because the alternative makes no sense whatsoever.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Do you get xp from the stormtroopers? Unless the fighters join the battle, I see no reason to award xp for killing them, just like you wouldn't get xp for individual crewmen unless you boarded the ship and killed them manually.

[KillianHawkeye]

I agree. Carried craft is simply an indication of what types of other ships the GM could add to the battle. So if you destroy a Star Destroyer you get the exp for it's listed CR. If the Star Destroyer launches TIEs or any other craft it may or may not be carrying, you also get the exp for destroying those.

But only if they join the battle. (Unlaunched ships = 0 exp.)

[Mando Knight]

What makes the CL of starship encounters more interesting is that you should take the capabilities of the PC's ships into consideration, too. Rules for such are found on page 35 of the Starships of the Galaxy sourcebook, for those of you who have it.

Carried Craft are definitely not included in the CL of a starship... otherwise the Imperial Star Destroyers would be able to swarm TIEs at the heroes and obliterate their ship if they don't have enough starfighters. Remember: in a one-on-one fight, Imperial Star Destroyers can take on anything in the Rebel fleet, even if it's simply because of the Empire throwing out twice as many TIEs as the Rebels have A- or X-wings.

Furthermore, if that ISD has TIE Defenders, ugh! *shudders*
TIE defenders are the fastest starfighters in the book (8 move per round!), and have shields. They also have a base crew of expert, giving them a +15 Pilot modifier, higher than any starfighter except an Eta-2 Actis, and that's only because of its Ace pilots. (which also explains the higher attack bonus, even though the Actis has a lower INT). If you need a better example of what Defenders can do, get TIE Fighter or Empire at War: Forces of Corruption.