Rule of Thumb

CREW (SHIPS COMPLEMENT) VS PASSENGER CAPACITY

So, I have not seen anywhere in the core rule book where the ship’s crew complement or Passenger capacity are defined in any way whatsoever. We are left to make assumptions about what they mean. So, here are my assumptions about what they mean.

Rule of Thumb: Crew (Ships Complement) are assumed to have a place to sleep and are ‘permanent’ occupants of the vessel. Crew quarters may be somewhat lavish depending on the nature of the vessel or they may be shared quarters with little more than a bed for low ranking military crewmen. Crew do NOT count against Passenger capacity.

Rule of Thumb: The minimum Crew required to operate a vehicle is usually smaller (no fewer than 1) than the number listed in the ship’s Crew/Ship’s Complement entry. Even starfighters that have an additional gunner or two such as the ARC-170 could be flown by just a single individual pilot if necessary. For larger ships this number can be dramatically different but represents only a skeleton crew that operates the ship at its minimum capacity.

Rule of Thumb: Passenger capacity represents the number of non-crew individuals who can be comfortably (relatively) put up for an extended period of time. I like to think of Passenger capacity as being the number of extra Beds available on the ship, but the facilities could be anything from an extra bed to a lavish state room depending on the nature of the vessel.

On Ships that are small, Such as a land speeder or Starfighter, Passenger Capacity is more accurately represented as simply an extra Seat or compartment to carry an individual rather than a place with a bed, but the same general functionality of the rules apply (with GM discretion).

What do these rules of thumb mean?

A YT-1300 has a Ships Complement of one pilot and one co-pilot/engineer (a crew of 2) as well as a Passenger capacity of 6. This rule of thumb means that a YT-1300 can fly around with 8 people on it without much issue. After 8 though, its standing room only for anyone else who climbs on board.

Another nice benefit of using these rules of thumb regarding crew and passenger capacity is that you can essentially treat any unused crew capacity as passenger capacity or vice versa. The two terms become virtually interchangeable, however I usually think that a crew quarters would be much less lavish than a passenger cabin on most ships.