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Player > Starships > Manufacturers > Vanguard Craftworks
Starfinder Starship Operations Manual p.77
Exquisite Makers
Manufacturing Centers: New Thespera, Perdure
Specialties: Luxury long-range transport vessels
Famous Models: Comet, Exsanguinator, Sanctum
When it comes to opulence and extravagance, Vanguard
Craftworks provides posh space travel that rivals even Opulos
(page 73). However, the price of the company’s fully customizable
and technologically loaded ships keeps many from buying them.
The Azlanti Star Empire also requires permits for the purchase
of the company’s largest, most iconic, or combat-capable vessels,
occasionally distributing them to especially distinguished nobles
and scions. This restriction has created a high demand in the
black market for rare Craftworks models.
The cost of Vanguard vessels is largely due to the empire’s
staunch protection of its unique technology, but also represents the
high-quality materials used and the wide array of personalization
options available. A purchase from Vanguard begins with a
personal consultation with a company representative who is
equally skilled at interpreting the client’s needs and selling
expensive upgrades. Craftworks’ primary competition is the
Imperial Foundry, against whom it has positioned itself as a
higher-end alternative with the same technical capabilities.
Although Vanguard Craftworks began as a relatively unknown
startup, the sudden backing of Arioch-Oyadae (a tech firm owned
by an alliance of Azlanti nobles) exponentially amplified the
company’s capabilities and vaulted it to a place among major
starship manufacturers overnight. Its partnership with the Star
Empire allows it to innovate using Azlanti technology and ensures
a reliable market with many wealthy patrons. The sheer wealth
put forward by Arioch-Oyadae to get the venture off the ground
has made Vanguard Craftworks a very rich debtor. This sudden
and apparently one-sided backing suggests Arioch-Oyadae may
hope to receive more than mere money from its investment.
Whispers among the starship manufacturing industry suggest
Arioch-Oyadae pressured Craftworks to produce combat-oriented
ships like the Vanguard Exsanguinator (page 107).
The original masterminds behind the artistry and mechanics
of Vanguard Craftworks are a non-Azlanti mechanic and
architect, information that current Vanguard executives hide to
avoid judgment from their benefactors. While executives, sales
staff, and other public facing positions keep up the facade of
an extravagant and purely Azlanti brand, Craftworks actually
benefits from highly-skilled workers of many species and
backgrounds. Although these employees are belittled by their
proud Azlanti bosses, they are not regarded as servants and
work behind the veil of Vanguard Craftworks’ sleek branding.
Vanguard executives would view the release of this information
as a scandal.
Manufacturer Perk: Most Vanguard Craftworks vessels have customizable decor and exterior aesthetics. Luxurious crew quarters are considered standard on Vanguard ships and cost only 3 BP.
Name | Tier | Type | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Vanguard Voidsweeper | 2 | Medium explorer | AT01 p.0 |
Vanguard Comet | 3 | Small shuttle | AT01 p.50 |
Vanguard Parapet | 3 | Medium transport | AT02 p.0 |
Vanguard Regnant | 5 | Small light freighter | AT03 p.0 |
Vanguard Sanctum | 8 | Large heavy freighter | AT01 p.51 |
Vanguard Exsanguinator | 12 | Huge cruiser | SOM p.107 |
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