The "Ghtroc 720 Light Freighter" (this is one of the 3 starting craft for players) looks ridiculous. Discuss.

 For fans of Japanese monster movies, it looks like Gamera. Not sure if that makes it better or worse.

 S'alright.

Can't say it is my favourite design of all time, but you can't always fly a YT1300. And it has a long and proud history in Star Wars roleplaying.

Fact, people that don't like sea turtle shaped space ships also hate puppies, cookies and freedom.

Callidon said:

Yes. This is true. I saw it in the rainbow. A hidden message.

ROFL…

Ah… the Ghtroc 720.  The "flying space turtle" of cargo ships.  It's always looked silly.  But it has a storied history.

Immensly popular in the outer-rim (in deference to the competing YT-1300), probably because Ghtroc was based in the outer-rim.  Luke Skywalker used a heavily modified one of these in his campaign against Thrawn.

But you can thank West End Games for the creation of the flying space turtle, and it's crazy design.

I, for one, love it.  In my last Saga Campaign (AltU), the party heavily modified one, called The Impasse, and it was a pocket battleship by the time they were done with it.  All that cargo space was converted into emplacement points - and it was owned by a REDICULOUSLY rich noble, who poured all her money into it.  I had it stolen haflway through the campaign, only for the party to recover it again.  I thought she was going to cry.  She did "squee". 

Don't be hatin' on the Space Turtle

Seriously, it's always been one of my favorite ship designs since it first showed up in the WEG days.  Stat-wise it's been on par with the YT-1300 (if a little better in some aspects, namely more passengers, cargo capacity, and built-in shields), and offered a wonderful alternative for groups and GMs that were a bit tired of their group's smuggler trying to recreate the Falcon.  The official floor plan leaves something to be desired, but luckily there are plenty of fan-made alternatives to choose from.

Personally, I think it's off-beat design is half of the ship's charm, and I was a tad disappointed when the Sunday group I game with opted to go with the YT-1300 instead of the Ghtroc 720.

Donovan Morningfire said:

Maybe you can talk the Friday group into going with one.

The Ghtroc freighter series may not have all the flash, glitz and classic body lines of the YT series freighters.  But for the aspiring interstellar captain on the outer rim?  You simply cannot beat Ghtroc Industries' warranty and support.  They have certified parts dealers in every sector of inhabited space, affiliation with some of the galaxy's finest engineers, and lending options available from every banking world on the Corellian Run.

In recent years the Empire has cracked down on CE's highly modifiable YT series ships and their myriad of modular options to help curb the growing concerns of smuggling and civilian armament. Thus getting parts has become a bureaucratic nightmare.  This crackdown has benefited black market ventures and shipjackers who offer a wide variety of parts and equipment for those in the know, or ship owners with more money than sense.  When it comes to issues of recall, retrofit and waranty repair Corellian Engineering's stance has classically been to leverage the onus of problem resolution onto the backs of working freighter captains, whilst pandering to wealthy fleet shipping concerns.

The choice is clear. 

Ghtroc Industries, Your Stars are our Destination!

Callidon said:

"So, Captain Sparrow, how did you escape from our carefully planned ambush in the asteroid field?"

"Sea turtles, mate."

Callidon said:

*stands and applauds slowly*

When you play with "Disc World" fans, and the vessel was called "A'tuin", its very fun all the cross jockes

 Yep, one of WEG's more unfortunate choices.  Still, it's been adopted heavily in the Expanded Universe… which really, WEG started.

Hopefully, plans will be in the core book.

we call ours The Super Turtle.

I cringed when I first saw this with a deckplan when I picked up my SW Adventure Journal from a mailbox decades ago. First, the completely not subtle turtle look. Why? I completely understand an artist using a turtle as an inspiration, but don't make it so damn obvious! This is Star Wars, not Anime.

Less obviously, I had a problem with the components when looking at the deckplan. What the shell (pun intended) suggested for the innards looks to have been made up afterwards to justify the appearance. The thrusters are up towards the front and at a 45-degree angle (not facing directly facing rearward or at the back of the ship). The escape pods at the rear (I first thought they were the thrusters) also seems to be just a justification for the rear feet of the turtle.

Should someone, in homage, design a new snub fighter that looks like a giant shark? That would be so uber kool.

Ghtroc 1138 Void Shark Snubfighter:

(That of course is not a dorsal fin, but a DeusEx Class 5 Hyperdrive)

The Venture Star from Avatar has its engines angled off axis so the exhaust plumes don't melt or irradiate the payload being pulled along behind the drive section. 

And that is as close  to proper science fiction as movies tend to get.

--

Was the design of the Millennium Falcon not based on a hamburger with a bite out of it?

And I thought Tintin's Shark minisub was the coolest thing in the world when I was a kid:-