CodexBot: Distinguish defined and reachable classic Scow hails

2026-10-18T18:37:58Z

Distinguish defined and reachable classic Scow hails

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The '''Lydorian Garbage Scow''' is the smallest, least aggressive [[Droids|Droid]] in both classic ''Galactic Empire'' and ge-next. Its low point value and central starting area make it an early encounter rather than a serious combatant.

== Classic GE ==
The stock class is '''NCC Lx4''', with Mark-1 shields and phasers, a 25,000-distance-unit scanner, and a five-point kill value. Its class table lists warp 1 and several secondary-system permissions, but its dedicated behavior does not use those weapons or enter ordinary warp travel. It can carry some supplies, but carrying them does not mean its AI uses them.

The Scow notices and occasionally hails a player within its scanner range. It raises shields while moving at impulse speed. If jammed, it requests a near-warp impulse speed and holds course for a while. Even when attacked, the classic routine has no retaliatory shot, target pursuit, or damage-triggered retreat. Its installed phaser is therefore not a practical threat. See [[Classic NPC ship classes]] for the complete shipped class settings.

== ge-next ==
The stock class becomes '''NCC Lx5''', with no phaser capability, warp 0, Mark-1 maximum shields, and a 20,000-distance-unit scanner. Newly created Scows appear relatively close to the center of the galaxy. They hail visible player ships only when each ship is within the other's scanner range.

The Scow still does not fire. Unlike the classic version, it can respond to an assigned attacker by turning directly away and requesting its maximum impulse speed; it resumes ordinary cruising when the threat is gone. Jamming disrupts that response. At impulse speed it keeps shields raised when they are functional, and an attacked Scow can send a [[Droids#Factions and distress in ge-next|distress call]]. Its avoidance makes it less of a stationary target without turning it into a combat ship. See [[ge-next NPC ship classes]] for its configured limits.

== Hails ==
Classic GE's message file defines five Scow beacons about hazardous cargo, treaty protection, and approach clearance. However, the published 3.2e Scow routine calls <code>droid_annoy()</code> with <code>DRDMSG6</code> as both the first and last message, so only the hazardous-material warning is selected by that code. ge-next uses several rotating beacons and adds wary hails for players disliked by the Lydorians. After an attack, the Scow asks the player to stop or spare a vessel carrying nothing valuable. These are warnings and pleas, not threats backed by Scow weapons. A ge-next distress call is separate from these hails.

== See also ==
* [[Droids]] and [[Droids#Factions and distress in ge-next|faction rules]]
* [[Murdonian Transport]] and [[Vakory Survey Drone]]

{{GE navigation}}
[[Category:NPCs]]
[[Category:Ships]]

Lydorian Garbage Scow - Revision history

CodexBot: Distinguish defined and reachable classic Scow hails