Need ideas for a ship auction.

[Galaga]

I recently started GMing a game of Traveller for a couple of players. To make a long story short, we decided to have them acquire their ship in-session rather than start with it. Unfortunately, I'm a newbie GM and I also suck at beginnings (this post is a great example) and its been rough going so far. Basically what I need are ideas on how to make a ship auction interesting, cause I can't come up with anything.

Thanks to free TAS tickets they started the game getting off a ship at an old mining colony turned local shipping lane hub with the intent to purchase a ship there. After a bit of wandering around they learned there are no ship dealers at the colony (C class starport) but the local scout base (actually the subsector scout HQ) would be holding an auction for some decommissioned scout ships as well as auctioning a few ships on the behalf of private interests.

I've only got a fragment of idea of what to do with the auction, namely that I want them to buy a specific ship (they actually already decided on the ship they want OOC, just got to get it to them IC) and that this ship is also desired by some other party (who exactly? I dunno) for some unknown reason. I've seeded a slight lead into this by having them have a tussle with some thugs who slugged an old belter they befriended for him simply bumping into them as they were both leaving a bar. Though the thugs got away, one lost his jacket which contained a note bearing a cryptic set of alphanumerics (L12 F-TS).

That note stands for Lot 12, Florian Type Scout, one of the ships that will be at the auction (And the one that the PCs are supposed to get). However beyond this I have no idea what to do to make the auction itself interesting as auctions tend to be boring AFAIK.

Unfortunately I've had a busy time lately with various crap in my life and haven't had much time to mull over the game. So I'm posting this in the hope of getting some quips to maybe get my imagination going. This whole incident hasn't been very good on my ego/confidence as a GM. We haven't played the last two weeks due to problems on the game day, so I'm kinda worried the whole thing might go kaput if I don't do a decent job.


Sorry for the rambling post. :?

 

[BP]

Have the Patron of the thugs (a noble dandy sort) outbid the players...

Then he has his thugs ambush the party outside the auction house and requests a bit of a sit down...

Where he offers to forfeit his bid (and pay the penalty) and allow the players the ship they wanted at a good price, under the condition that they crew his new ship on a little errand he needs done - as obviously his hired help ain't up to the task of even keeping their jackets much less their wits under pressure. He knows a winning bunch of blokes when he sees 'em. And who knows maybe this relationship can grow into bigger things...

As to the errand - well maybe he has some things he has to get offworld in a hurry without a whole lot of official questions (slave robots? - or maybe himself). And maybe he has managed to piss off some of the locals with a bit more clout than himself (perhaps the wife of a noble who he needs to get offplanet)...

 

[Dave Chase]

Or have the players win the ship even though they are outbided by the other.

See the company that is holding the auction decides that they don't like the other group and what they have done in the past. So, they make sure that the players get the ship.

Now that patron/thug group has an additional reason to be harrasing the players. Not their fault, just caught in the middle.

That would give you time to figure out the reason why the thug group wants the ship so badly.

BTW, the BP's idea is good too.

Dave Chase

 

[Stainless]

Someone has something valuable and highly illegal hidden on the ship. They want it and try to bid for it. But once it get's beyond their means, they let the players win the bidding, and will come to collect their item later. Unfortunately, that collection will be by force....

The players win the bidding but unfortunately immediately afterwards they are arrested for recieving stolen goods. The ensuing heavy-handed legal activities could lead to a lot of alternatives...

 

[Emperor Herdan]

Someone has something valuable and highly illegal hidden on the ship. They want it and try to bid for it. But once it get's beyond their means, they let the players win the bidding, and will come to collect their item later. Unfortunately, that collection will be by force....

The players win the bidding but unfortunately immediately afterwards they are arrested for recieving stolen goods. The ensuing heavy-handed legal activities could lead to a lot of alternatives...

Or a twist...
Ministry of Justice officials are suspicious of the Noble, and while they have agents in the auction, they let the PC's and the Noble bid all the way up to the Noble winning...

Then MOJ cause the auction house to question how the noble can pay (eg MOJ causes a temporary Cease/Hold order on the Nobles accounts.). As the Noble gets angry etc, the bid goes to the second highest bidders whos credit _is_ good... The PC's...

Now the PC's have the ship, the Noble wants whatever is in the ship, and the MOJ is tagging after both....


Take care

E. Herdan

 

[Stainless]

Good one EH. Then of course the Noble and the MOJ arrange for their agents to be part of the crew. While in hyperspace, the Noble's man (A) starts searching while the MOJ agent (B) starts snooping. Does A discover B and murder him? Does A discover B and then try to convince the players that B is a terrorist/etc. and get them to space him? Does A discover B and then try to get the players on his side with a promise of a cut on the contraban (provided they can find it). Does B discover A and ask the players to help corner him? Does B discover A, kill him and then try to convince the players of his legal credentials? Does A discover a security bot that somehow runs amok? etc.

 

[MrUkpyr]

Have the PCs being outbid by Patron A - then have a 3rd party (Patron B) offer to partner with the PCs if they will do a couple of favors for him for each ship share that he ends up having to donate, to a maximum of X favors per year for the next Y number of years.

X and Y to be negotiated beforehand.

After the favors are completed the party owns the ship outright.

Have this 3rd party be powerful enough that he can get a short hold on the auction in order to chat with the players.


THEN have the person that is outbidding them threaten them if they agree to anything that Patron B wants.

 

[Madarin Dude]

Interesting auctions? The most interesting one from film is in the movie North by Northwest where thugs are put on all the exits and the hapless character needs to find a way to get out he causes a disturbance and the police get called and he makes his getaway with them. Classic scene.

A variation on that have a rival faction bid with them and post guards at the doors trying to stop them from leaving with the ship. It is up to the players to find a solution.