Star Vessel Crew’s recruitment

After losses among the crew or disappointment to existing crew the captain may want to replenish or exchange his ranks.

Methods recruitment

  • Sign Up: Offer fair pay and promises of adventure to willing volunteers. Success depends on funds of the captain and the ship’s reputation. +3 to crew rate until next recruit.
  • Rally: By delivering a rousing speech to inspire and sway a crowd, turning potential recruits into eager volunteers. The captain’s charisma and oratory skills are key, painting a vision of glory, wealth, and destiny among the stars.
  • Draft: Recruitment from the amount of local population already selected by local governor as Imperial tithe. Many Imperial worlds are obligated to keep up the reserves constantly feeding Imperial war machine with flesh and blood.
  • Exchange: Organize a trade of specialized crew or resources with another vessel or habitat. Success depends on diplomatic rolls and the terms of the bargain.
  • Liberate: Launch a mission to rescue oppressed individuals, potentially gaining loyal crew members while risking conflict with their captors.
  • Impress: Send press gangs to conscript crew by force, usually done in full view or with acceptance of local governor.
  • Shanghai: Drug or kidnap covertly unsuspecting recruits in a suitable part of habitation, usually done to avoid the gaze of local or Imperial authority.
  • Enslave: Capture prisoners during a raid and press them into servitude, common method on feral and feudal worlds lacking Imperial chain of command.

Limits of Recruitment

Habitations have fixed population limits on recruitment, meaning only a portion of the inhabitants can be drawn into service at a time. The effectiveness of recruitment depends on the method used, with crew rate modifiers applied accordingly. When a new recruitment method is used, previous recruitment modifiers are replaced, preventing cumulative penalties.

  • Sign Up & Rally: Maximum 5% of the population without -5 Crew Rate penalty until next recruitment.
  • Draft: Maximum 10% of the population. Drafting beyond this, up to 50%, incurs a -5 crew rate penalty until the next recruit.
  • Exchange: Limited by interest and population size of the other vessel.
  • Liberate:
    • 10% of the liberated population provides a decent crew.
    • Recruiting from up to 50% of the liberated population incurs a -5 crew rate penalty until the next recruit.
    • A maximum of 50% of liberated individuals are suitable for crew work.
  • Impress:
    • A maximum of 10% of the population can be press-ganged without a -5 crew rate penalty until the next recruit.
    • -3 morale penalty, until the next recruit, to the crew when impressing new members.
  • Shanghai:
    • A maximum of 5% of the population can be shanghaied without a -5 crew rate penalty until the next recruit..
    • -5 morale penalty, until the next recruit, to the crew when shanghaiing new members.
  • Enslave:
    • 10% of the enslaved population provides a decent crew.
    • A maximum of 50% of enslaved people are suitable for crew work.
    • 50% of enslaved individuals incur a -5 crew rate penalty if forming a new cultural group.
    • -10 morale penalty, until the next recruit or permanent if forming a new cultural group, to the crew morale when enslaving new members.

Signing Up

Voluntary recruitment, where individuals join the star vessel’s crew willingly. They might be drawn by promises of wealth, adventure, stability, or a sense of duty.

  • Motivations for Signing Up:
    • Greed: A cut of the loot, salary, or trade profits.
    • Adventure: The allure of exploring uncharted territories or escaping a dull life.
    • Duty: Serving their homeland or a noble cause.
    • Reputation: Earning fame as a member of the crew.
    • Survival: Signing up willingly to avoid a worse fate (e.g., starvation, homelessness).
  • Mechanics:
    • Recruitment Rolls: Use social or fellowship checks (e.g., Command or Commerce) to convince NPCs to sign up. Modifiers could include:
      • Positive: Offering good pay, a fair contract, or protection.
      • Negative: Poor reputation, risky missions, or known casualties.
    • Quality of Recruits:
      • Higher-quality recruits (e.g., skilled specialists) require additional effort or higher rewards. +3 to Crew Rate until the next recruit

Rallying

A charismatic captain can inspire recruits through belief, not pay, using rousing speeches and shared ideals. This works best in war-torn worlds, religious communities, or with disillusioned populations seeking purpose.

  • Situations for Rallying:
    • Call to Glory: Inspiring warriors, mercenaries, or soldiers to fight for honor and renown.
    • Religious Conviction: Preaching to zealots, cultists, or Imperial faithful eager to serve a divine mission.
    • Desperate Populations: Appealing to those seeking escape from war, tyranny, or a hopeless existence.
  • Mechanics:
    • Rally Rolls: Based on Fellowship skills (Charm, Command, or Deception). Skill check modifiers depends on the captain’s reputation, speech quality, and the crowd’s state of mind.
  • Modifiers:
    • Positive: A legendary reputation, recent victories, or shared ideology.
    • Negative: Infamy, past failures, or a history of broken promises.
  • Morale Effects:
    • Rallied recruits often have higher morale and loyalty, as they joined willingly for a cause. +5 to Crew Morale until next recruit

Drafting

Mandatory service. It is usually less coercive than outright impressment but involves Imperial conscription into service. Drafting could be part of an official tithes or imposed by a local governor in times of need.

  • Situations for Drafting:
    • Legal Requirement: A government orders able-bodied individuals to serve.
    • Emergency Situations: A ship captain may draft individuals from a colony or habitat when they need to replace crew quickly.
    • Feudal Obligations: Nobles may “call upon their men” on their fief worlds to serve for.
  • Mechanics:
    • Draft Rolls: Based on authority or law checks (e.g., Command, Intimidation, or Commerce). Success depends on the situation and NPCs’ willingness to follow orders.
    • Morale Penalties:
      • Over drafted recruits often lack motivation, resulting in a lower morale score or crew rate penalties.

Exchange

A diplomatic or mutually beneficial trade of crew members, resources, or expertise between two vessels. This allows vessels to address crew gaps or distribute specialists to optimize their operations. Exchanges are often voluntary but can involve coercion or desperation in dire situations.

  • Situations for Exchange:
    • Skill Swap: Two vessels trade specialized crew members (e.g., gunners for engineers) to fill gaps in their respective crews.
    • Bounty Trade: One crew trades captured individuals, prisoners, or slaves in exchange for goods, information, or other crew members.
    • Diplomatic Gesture: Exchanges can be used to establish alliances or strengthen relationships between factions or captains.
  • Mechanics:
    • Negotiation Rolls: Use Persuasion, Diplomacy, or Barter skills to negotiate the terms of the exchange.
    • Reputation Effects:
      • Positive: Mutually beneficial exchanges can improve relations with other ships or factions.
      • Negative: If exchanges are perceived as unfair or involve enslaved individuals, new crew members are treated either Enslaved or Liberated depending on a captain’s choice.
    • Crew Loyalty: Exchanged crew members may feel displaced or reluctant to serve under a new captain, requiring additional efforts to boost morale.

Liberation

Liberation occurs when a captain frees individuals from servitude, enslavement, or coercion on another vessel or settlement. These liberated individuals may choose to join the liberating crew out of gratitude, necessity, force or desperation.

  • Situations for Liberation:
    • Slaves or Captives: Freeing prisoners or enslaved individuals aboard an enemy vessel.
    • Forced Service: Liberating draftees or impressed sailors who were coerced into joining a crew against their will. The pirate captains often rely on these individuals.
  • Mechanics:
    • Combat or Stealth Rolls: Liberation often requires raiding a ship or port, defeating the captors, or sneaking captives out without detection.
    • Morale Boost: Liberated crew members are often highly loyal and provide a morale bonus, especially if treated well.
    • Reputational Impact:
      • Positive: Liberation enhances the crew’s standing with certain factions or ideals (e.g., abolitionists, freedom fighters).
      • Negative: It may anger factions or captains who rely on enslaved or forced labor.
  • Potential Risks:
    • Cultural Conflict: Liberated individuals may have loyalties or customs that clash with the existing crew.
    • Traitors: Some liberated crew may secretly harbor loyalties to their former captors or factions.

Impressment

A forced recruitment, usually for military or naval purposes. It is essentially legalized kidnapping, where individuals are coerced into service, often under the threat of violence or execution.

  • Methods of Impressment:
    • Press Gangs: Teams sent into taverns, markets, or homes to seize able-bodied people.
    • Legal Loopholes: Officials declare certain individuals (e.g., criminals or debtors) eligible for impressment.
    • Desperation: Captains running out of time or options may resort to outright force.
  • Mechanics:
    • Impressment Checks: Use a combination of Strength (physical intimidation) and Social rolls (Intimidation, Deception).
    • Repercussions:
      • Lower Loyalty: Impressed crew members are more prone to mutiny.
      • Political Fallout: Excessive impressment could anger local authorities or populations.
    • Crew Quality: Impressed recruits are often untrained, requiring time and resources to become effective.

Shanghaiing

A covert form of forced recruitment, where individuals are tricked, drugged, or kidnapped into joining a ship’s crew often without presence or approval of local Imperial authorities.

  • Methods of Shanghaiing:
    • Drugging: Slipping substances into a victim’s drink, rendering them unconscious.
    • Trickery: Convincing someone they’ve signed up willingly through forged contracts or lies.
    • Ambush: Kidnapping targets outright, often in the dead of night.
  • Situations for Shanghaiing:
    • Desperate Crew Shortages: When a captain is unable to fill roles by other means.
    • Seedy Ports: Shanghaiing is most common in lawless areas or where authorities turn a blind eye.
    • Pirate Crews: Often use Shanghaiing as a standard recruitment method.
  • Mechanics:
    • Shanghaiing Attempts: Require Deception, Stealth, or Poisoning rolls to incapacitate targets without raising suspicion.
    • Repercussions:
      • Resentful Crew: Shanghaied recruits are likely to resist or betray their captors when the opportunity arises.
      • Port Reputation: Using Shanghaiing in a Imperial port could damage the party’s reputation and lead to legal trouble.
      • Crew Effectiveness: These recruits are often inexperienced and unreliable until properly trained or broken.

Enslavement

Involves capturing individuals and forcing them into service against their will. Unlike impressment or shanghaiing, slavery often happens outside of Imperial jurisdiction, with the enslaved humans viewed as free property rather than free people.

  • Situations for Enslavement:
    • Right of Terra: Human populations of non-Imperial worlds are often enslaved and made to serve aboard the Imperium’s ships.
    • Debt Slavery: Indebted individuals and serfs, often from agri and hive-worlds, are forced into servitude to repay what they owe.
  • Mechanics:
    • Capturing Slaves: Use Combat or Intimidation rolls to subdue individuals during raids or battles.
    • Repercussions:
      • Revolts: Enslaved crew members are prone to rebellion, especially if they outnumber loyal crew members.
      • Efficiency Penalty: Slaves are less motivated or educated and may have penalties to performance unless kept under strict control.
      • Breaking Spirits: Players may attempt to “break” enslaved recruits through cruelty, but this could have additional in-game consequences.

Cultural background modifiers

Depending on their home world, professional backgrounds and religious sect, the people drafted to Imperial star vessels bring different cultural influences. These modifiers affect the ship’s performance and provide various benefits.

Star Vessel Cultural Group Capacity

  • Raider: 1 cultural group
  • Frigate: 2 cultural groups
  • Light Cruiser: 3 cultural groups
  • Cruiser: 4 cultural groups
  • Heavy Cruiser: 5 cultural groups

List of Cultural Modifiers Based on Class of Home world

When people are recruited as crew to the star vessel the captain may choose one of the available benefits for a new cultural group established to the vessel. Some homeworlds give penalties to the crew

  • Agri-World: Menial, Operation, decreased risk of mutation
  • Atom-Forged World: Technical, Science, increased risk of mutation
  • Battlefleet World: Military, Operation, Medical, +5 to vessel’s Ballistic Skill (BS) checks
  • Space Marine Chapter World: Military, Technical, Science, +5 to crew rate, and GM-specific special bonuses, decreased risk of mutation
  • Daemonworld: Military, Clergy, +5 to warp resistance checks, -5 to morale, increased risk of mutation
  • Death World: Menial, Military
  • Frontier World: Operations, Menial, +5 to emergency repair checks
  • Feral World: Menial, decreased risk of mutation
  • Feudal World: Menial, Military, decreased risk of mutation
  • Forge World: Technical, Science, Operations, Military, +10 to Crew Rate skill checks requiring tech-use, increased risk of mutation
  • Garden World: Menial, Medical, Technical, decreased risk of mutation
  • High-Born: Military, Clergy, Technical, +5 to social interaction checks aboard the vessel
  • Hive World: Military, Menial, Operations, Administratiin, -1 to morale damage caused by attrition during long voyages, increased risk of mutation
  • Imperial World: Military, Science, Medical, Clergy, +1 to Crew Rate, decreased risk of mutation
  • Irradiated World: Science, Medical, increased risk of mutation
  • Mind-Cleansed: Menial, +5 to morale
  • Mining World: Menial, Technical, Operations
  • Penal Colony: -5 to morale
  • Quarantine World: -5 to morale, increased risk of mutation
  • Rad-Blasted World: Menial, Science, increased risk of mutation
  • Research Station: Technical, Science, Medical, +3 to vessel detection
  • Schola Progenium: +5 to Command checks for officers aboard the vessel, decreased risk of mutation
  • Shrine World: +3 to morale, Menial, Clergy, decreased risk of mutation
  • Void-Born: +5 to crew rate during zero-gravity operations
  • War World: Military, Medical, Operation
  • “Ship’s” culture: See below. Up to GM

Recruits professional background

  • Military: Low-ranking officers, troops, tacticians. +5 to crew rate when dealing with military matters
  • Technical: Engineers, mechanics, hololith specialists.+5 to crew rate when dealing with technical matters
  • Science: Biologists, astronomers, physicists, researchers.+5 to crew rate when dealing with scientific matters
  • Medical: Doctors, medics, cyber technicians.+5 to crew rate when dealing with medical matters
  • Operation: Logistics officers, security, .+5 to crew rate when dealing with operational matters
  • Menial: Manual laborers, food distribution staff, janitors.+5 to crew rate when dealing with menial matters
  • Clergy: Altar boys, lay-priests, monks, and doomsday prophets. +5 to crew rate when dealing with religious matters.
  • Administrative: Diplomats, bureaucrats, quartermasters

Religious Cults of the Calixis Sector and Koronus Expanse

  • Armormants: +5 to social skill checks for officers when dealing with the Ecclesiarchy.
  • Ayatani: [Add specific modifiers here if applicable]
  • Brethren of the Light: [Add specific modifiers here if applicable]
  • Calendites: [Add specific modifiers here if applicable]
  • Confederation of Light: Hatred (Armormants, Mutants, Pirates).
  • Drusians: Hatred (Xenos, Pirates).
  • Imperialist “Sol Invictus”: Hatred (Mutants, Witches, Xenos)
  • Lucid: [Add specific modifiers here if applicable]
  • Phanacian: Hatred (Heretics, Xenos).
  • Polarists: Hatred (Witches).
  • Red Redemption Cult: Hatred (Armormants, Heresy, Chaos, Daemons, Ecclesiarchy).
  • Resurrectionists: Hatred (Heresy, Witches)
  • Mendicantine Fraters: +5 to social interaction checks with the Imperial Navy, Void-Born, Charter Captains, and Rogue Traders for officers aboard the vessel.
  • Mormonites: Hatred (Mutants, Heresy, Armormants) On long voyages, the crew can slowly replenish as the cult procreates.
  • Sisters of the Void: +5 to social interaction checks with the Imperial Navy, Void-Born, Charter Captains, and Rogue Traders for officers aboard the vessel.
  • Vitrian Covenant: Military, Hatred (Xenos), +5 to crew rate and combat skill checks for officers when fighting with the orks.
  • Cult Mechanicus: Hatred (Hereteks, Xenos), +5 bonus to Crew Rate if archeotech or tech-use is involved.
  • Local variant of Imperial Cult: Up to GM

  • Hatred provides +5 bonus to crew rate when working against the target of hatred.

How Doctrinal Struggles Shape the Imperial Cult

Conflicts Between Sects:
Disagreements over dogma leads to schisms, power struggles, and doctrinal disputes. One sect’s monument to the Emperor may be another’s symbol of greed and corruption.

Divided by creed: If cultural groups onboard the star vessel do not share a common interpretation of the Imperial Creed, the friction caused by conflicting dogma incurs a -5 morale penalty for each distinct Imperial cult present on the vessel.

United by hate: If all cultural groups onboard share same hatred their religious differences are put aside as they find common ground from mutual despising and instead of penalty gain +5 righteous morale bonus. Hatred bonus against particular enemy to Crew Rate is doubled to +10 Crew Rate when working against that enemy.

Crew Ranks

  • Inadequate Crew Rate: 20
  • Inexperienced Crew Rate: 25
  • Imperial Standard Crew Rate: 30
  • Experienced Crew Rate: 35
  • Veteran Crew Rate: 40
  • Crack Crew Rate: 45
  • Elite Crew Rate: 50

Crew Rank Progression:

  • Crew ranks advance based on Crew Experience received from Command checks performed by officers and critical dice rolls abroad the star vessel.
  • For each advance in the crew rank it’s cost is “next crew rate”X10 in Crew Experience. Example: To raise the Standard Crew to Experienced Crew will cost 350 Crew Experience,
  • If the star vessel loses 80% of its crew or suffers a rebellion, the crew rank drops by one step.

Cultural Homogeneity

  • If the star vessel’s crew shares the same cultural modifier, that cultural modifier is doubled.
  • If the crew’s culture groups includes members from multiple Imperial cults, the vessel’s morale decreases by 5.

Cultural Continuity

If a star vessel loses half of its population, one of its cultural groups is lost. When the crew is replenished, a new cultural modifier is added.

If the star vessel loses 80% of its crew or suffers a rebellion only one cultural group remains at the star vessel.

Raider-class vessels: Do not lose their cultural modifier from crew loss. When the crew is replenished, the captain can choose whether the old or new cultural group becomes dominant.

If the star vessel loses all of it’s crew then all cultural groups are vanished and crew rank and cultural groups and modifiers are lost.

Cultural discrimination and purging

If star vessel has reached it’s maximum of cultural groups captain may discriminate against exchanging to new cultural groups as a new recruits are assimilated to prevailing cultural groups.

If cultural group maximum has free space for a new group it is formed if the vessel recruits equal or more amount of crew compared to existing crew from a one source.

A star vessel’s captain may come to the conclusion that it is necessary to remove a particular cultural group from the star vessel. There are three ways to achieve this: Exchanging, Mooring, or Purging.

Exchanging
If the authorities at a star port or similar location allow, the captain may choose to disembark a cultural group and recruit a new group from local Imperial populations. However, many planetary governors frown upon a star vessel abandoning thousands of ex-penal colonists in exchange for local trained militia or highly regarded scientists.

Mooring
The captain leaves behind the key figures of the particular cultural group at a port or planet, while the rest of the group is assimilated into the ways of an existing cultural group aboard the vessel. The star vessel suffers population damage as a result of the mooring.

Purging
The captain removes the key figures of the particular cultural group by force or other means, ensuring that the remaining members are assimilated into the ways of an existing cultural group aboard the vessel. Like mooring, the star vessel suffers population damage from the purge.

To multiply existing cultural groups, a newly recruited cultural group can be coerced into assimilating into the ways of an already established group. This requires either Mooring or Purge action from the captain. Purge serves as a visible example for remaining recruits, speeding up assimilation by publicly removing individuals important to the cohesion of the cultural group.

Xenos as part of the crew

Audacious rogue traders, rebellious pirate captains or radical inquisitors may include xenos species to the crew. -10 penalty to morale to any Imperial vessel for harboring xenos.

  • Aeldari: Military, Science, Medical, Hatred (Chaos, Drukhari, Necron, Orks),
  • Squats: Military, Technical, Manufacturing, Hatred (Chaos, Aeldari, Orks)
  • Tau: Military, Science, Operational, Medical Hatred (Tyranids)
  • Kroot Military, Exploration
  • Orks: Military, Invasion
  • Drukhari: Infiltration, Terror

Example vessel

Administration light cruiser

Homeworld Bonus