When Jim Krohn and his team included Unique Ships in the Space Empires: Close Encounters expansion, they opened the door to a cardboard shipwright’s dream workshop. You can build these unique ships pretty much any way you want within certain boundaries. There are a ton of possible configurations to keep you busy: you can build a C5-3 x 3 ship with a shield projector and heavy warheads, and you will do so because it’s just plain cool. That is, if you aren’t bothered by the 26 CP price tag and the fact that you need Ship Tech 7 in order to build it.

The game rules do note in section 19.1 that these ships are not cost effective compared to the standard models. While this is true, it’s also true that these unique ships can do some pretty cool things that other ships can’t. And besides, I have used the cheapest ship you can build with these (E1-0 x1, costing just 4 CP) to replace scouts as a more dispensable exploration vessel. If you do something like that, you can still change the design mid-game (for a small fee) and make something more useful in the later game, which is a handy option to have even though you probably don’t want to make use of it too often in one game.

If all of this isn’t enough though, creative minds will quickly realize that the doorway of this shipwright’s shop is wide enough to allow you to bring in your own lists of special abilities for these unique ships. Obviously you cannot make them too powerful or the game will become all about Unique Ships and nothing else—but then again, there’s actually nothing wrong with that if you and your gaming partners find it fun! The Space Empires game system actively encourages tinkering and house rules.

Below you will find some of my own ideas for additional special abilities to get you started. Use them as is, or as inspiration for your own ideas—just be warned that they have not been tested for balance. If your group determines any ability or combination (whether mine or one you make up) is too powerful, you can adjust the cost on the fly. Or (better yet?) declare the technology “experimental” and each time you try to use it, roll a die: 1-6 and it succeeds, 7-10 and there is a catastrophic failure that causes the ship to explode.

The stars are the limit!

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