Blacklisted Spaceships?

[Hopeless]

Been on Facebook and been asked about this.
Apparently they managed to get shares in a Free Trader and rolled a 2 on the Spaceship Quirks on page 164 of the Traveller 2e(And page 136 in Traveller 1e Pocket Rulebook).
Its listed as the ship would be impounded in several systems with a -1DM to Broker checks so how would you explain that?

Been wondering if it could be explained as the ship's transponder was swapped with another ship so it registers as stolen or a pirate ship would this be a step too far?

How have you dealt with this if its turned up in your games so far?

 

[AndrewW]

It's a mistake, but takes time and effort to get it all sorted out. Perhaps the blacklisted ship has a transponder code that is close and happens to be the same type of ship and somewhere along the way there was a bit error that caused the transponder code to transpose a couple of numbers.

Local issue wasn't really the ship itself but the previous owners are wanted for something. So the players get to sort it all out with the local law enforcement. Which of course takes some time.

 

[Hopeless]

Oh!
Maybe the ship was repaired using parts from wrecked ships so when their transponder turns up and its registered as having been lost with the insurance paid out naturally the authorities are interested in discovering whether it was fraudulently claimed, been pirated or had been recovered but its sale wasn't registered properly?

There's quite a few possibilities there that I hadn't thought about!

 

[Tenacious-Techhunter]

The ship suffers from the legal equivalent of being declared “legally dead”; it’s been accidentally reported as “completely destroyed”, possibly as the result of a very harrowing Jump Space Entry, but, upon inspection, the transponder matches the “VIN number”, and other similar part numbers. Also comes with the distinction of being widely rumored to be and reported as a “ghost ship”.

Running “haunted ship” tours for a year should convince the authorities to sort things out pretty quickly, if only to not look like complete idiots so often, while making some good cash on the side.

 

[rust2]

How have you dealt with this if its turned up in your games so far?

The characters of one of my campaigns once had to deal with a nasty case of identity theft when some criminals camouflaged their ship as the ship of the characters and committed a series of frauds and thefts in different systems. Their usual trick was to accept some urgent cargo on planet A and to sell it with a profit on planet C instead of delivering it as promised to planet B. It took the characters some effort to hunt down the criminals and clear their ship's name, there was even an incident when a local patrol ship suddenly opened fire on the character's ship in the hope of disabling it and capturing the criminals ... :twisted:

 

[Condottiere]

That would be the Raza.

 

[JBRocky]

How have you dealt with this if its turned up in your games so far?

Had a game set in the Clement Sector and had it turn up, at a players requests no less. Made it so the ship was wanted by the Hub Federation so while the players did go there much there were a few times they did get to close for comfort.

 

[phavoc]

Been on Facebook and been asked about this.
Apparently they managed to get shares in a Free Trader and rolled a 2 on the Spaceship Quirks on page 164 of the Traveller 2e(And page 136 in Traveller 1e Pocket Rulebook).
Its listed as the ship would be impounded in several systems with a -1DM to Broker checks so how would you explain that?

Been wondering if it could be explained as the ship's transponder was swapped with another ship so it registers as stolen or a pirate ship would this be a step too far?

How have you dealt with this if its turned up in your games so far?

One way to address it would be through the ship's history. It wouldn't work if it was brand new, but if it's older, it could easily be explained away as the ship itself was identified as a raider, a smuggler, in support of terrorists, or all of the above! It's not covered in any rules, but you could simply state that all ships have a EM signature based on their drive and electronics (basically to change it would require to replace all of them), and this ship has the death sentence in 12 systems. Swapping out transponders would be too easy of a fix (or even jiggering with it). You need some sort of definitive fingerprint that can't be easily overcome as a plot device.

Whatever the reason would be, it couldn't be an Imperial issue, or else the ship couldn't go anywhere without being caught (assuming a 3I setting). But in a subsector with the right governments its entirely possible.

 

[Condottiere]

I've always said that starships should have their own character generation process, which would cover such history.

 

[Reynard]

We call that referee and player imagination. What, you though Lucas had charts and dice rolls for the Falcon?

 

[Tenacious-Techhunter]

A brand-new ship might be blacklisted because the life-support regulations that it genuinely conforms to supposedly don’t cover that model. So they get constantly pulled over and treated like Typhoid Mary because they are supposedly a health liability, and it won’t stop until some industry lobbyist pays off the right crooked Bwap.

 

[FreeTrav]

Its listed as the ship would be impounded in several systems with a -1DM to Broker checks so how would you explain that?

Idea lifted from the Liaden Universe: The owner of the ship - or the group that the PCs with the ship are contractors for - is banned from trading at those worlds, and is considered a criminal enterprise, because of a disagreement between the government of the group's (former) homeport as to whether some catastrophic response to an attack on the world's society was necessary or appropriate. The PCs are in debt to the group, but with sufficient funds could buy out of the contract.

 

[Tenacious-Techhunter]

You know, responses to this in terms of a used ship are easier, but for a new ship seem more difficult...

The Power Plant for this production year of ship is known for... exploding... dangerously. Your ship has been successfully recalled and had that unit replaced with a much more reliable model, but somehow, the paperwork hasn’t gone through, and well-intentioned but ill-informed Navy and Spaceport personnel will frequently cause you trouble as they attempt to fend off disaster in a panic.

 

[FreeTrav]

You know, responses to this in terms of a used ship are easier, but for a new ship seem more difficult...

The Power Plant for this production year of ship is known for... exploding... dangerously. Your ship has been successfully recalled and had that unit replaced with a much more reliable model, but somehow, the paperwork hasn’t gone through, and well-intentioned but ill-informed Navy and Spaceport personnel will frequently cause you trouble as they attempt to fend off disaster in a panic.

This can work nicely, if the ship is a new build of a not-necessarily-new design. If the design is fresh off the shelf, then either the powerplant in question wouldn't have been specced for it, or it would likely be too new for a recall to have gone out - or spread far enough. But the idea is a good one.

(Side note: my previous in this thread doesn't actually assume that the ship is used; what's important is that the group that the PCs are associated with/contractors for is where the problem lies - and any ship of any age that is associated with that group or a contractor thereto will be impounded. Just in case that wasn't clear.)

 

[Hopeless]

How would they react if the ship is apparently the only remaining version of that design left operational and registered, but the port authorities keep getting requests from a Corporation trying to claim ownership of that ship even though all the available evidence make it clear that cannot be the case?

Would that count as a version of this?

My idea is that the ship left Earth and was caught in a misjump that effectively shot it 60 years ahead in time as well as in distance so it took a full year to find its way back to the new boundaries of human explored space.
Its been fully repaired and been re-registered but during the time it was reported missing a rival illegally seized the deeds for the ship owner's business so when news of this ship's return reached the descendant of that rival, he immediately tried to claim the ship.

There's clear evidence they have no claim on the ship and its owner is clearly operating within the law as a Free Trader, but how far does corruption work into these kind of events?

 

[rust2]

Would that count as a version of this?

You are the referee, if you say so it does.

There's clear evidence they have no claim on the ship and its owner is clearly operating within the law as a Free Trader, but how far does corruption work into these kind of events?

It would probably depend on a court's willingness to accept the case, which could result in the ship's grounding in that court's jurisdiction until the court has come to a decision. The quality of the other party's lawyers could be a much greater danger than any kind of corruption.

 

[Nevermore26]

Hey guys! I had started that post on FB, really awesome to see it making its way here!

 

[Condottiere]

Salvage rules, if it's been abandoned.

Has to be rubberstamped by an admiralty court.

 

[Hopeless]

Salvage rules, if it's been abandoned.

Has to be rubberstamped by an admiralty court.

Needs to be both proved that it was salvaged and someone would have to confirm the legitimacy of the current owner though would that really need someone from Core Earth turning up in person or the local Marshal checking in person?

 

[rust2]

Needs to be both proved that it was salvaged and someone would have to confirm the legitimacy of the current owner though would that really need someone from Core Earth turning up in person or the local Marshal checking in person?

I think that each planet, perhaps even each major starport, will have an admiralty court / maritime court (or whatever it is called locally) where a judge or team of judges handles salvage rights cases. The owner of the salvaged ship would have to prove that the salvage was legitimate and the ship was truly abandoned. Boarding and taking a ship "parked" somewhere in the absence of the legitimate owner is not a salvage but a theft. The lawyers of the other party will therefore try to prove that the ship was unmanned but not abandoned when it was discovered, and the judge(s) will then have to come to a decision.