Questions from Last Night's Game

[dmccoy1693]

I'm working from memory so I may have forgotten some (so any of my players on here feel free to chime in).

Money: My players have a slightly modified Free Trader. We've calculated that their monthly payment (exactly according to the book) is somewhere around Cr 250,000. So working for a patron paying 2,000-4,000 just isn't going to pay the bills. I've uped the amounts to around 20,000 and thrown in benefits like free repairs to the ship if it gets damaged on a job, but that (obviously) still isn't enough. They're about to go Merc just to pay for the ship. Has other people encountered this? How have you dealt with it?

Ok, I'm officially blanking on everything else. I'll add them later if I remember (and my players please feel free to add others I forgot).

 

[pasuuli]

Cr 250,000 per month is a steep bill.

If you're playing a game where counting money is important, you can make them go through the hoops of buying and selling cargo, booking passengers, carrying mail, finding a subsidy or a contract, etc.

If you're playing a game where counting money is not as important as having an adventure, then you can be a bit more lax and just tell them what they can be doing in the background to meet costs.

"You're running cargo and passengers along route XYZ, and just breaking even."

"You just started a lucrative 6-month contract with the government of Evil Megacorporation #4, running slaves and drugs between their main Production Facility and the Slum World ghettos."

"You're running mail between worlds X and Y, and also are on retainer by His Nobleness Lord Booboo as one of his personal couriers."

etc...

 

[Paladin]

Check the section on Trade.

"Freight shipments pay Cr. 1,000 per ton for shipping a ton for one parsec, +200 Cr. per additional parsec. "

That should help significantly, provided they find jobs consistently. Beyond that, they can dabble in their own speculative trade to fill the gaps in the cargo beyond the contracts gained and they can always scrounge a few passangers to help pay for the fuel costs.

They might get by with two jumps a month, but are likely going to have to push for 3-4 jumps in the beginning until they build up enough cash flow.

Don't be afraid to push them on their money. Desperation leads to good plot lines. If they get stuck going to a loan shark/crimeboss for a "loan" it can get really interesting in a hurry.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Cr 250,000 per month is a steep bill.

Yea, but so isthe cost of a ship. Total of 17 ship shares (including a slightly older ship and 2 free ship shares per person), divide the whole thing by 240 to do a 40 year loan (as per the book).

Check the section on Trade.

"Freight shipments pay Cr. 1,000 per ton for shipping a ton for one parsec, +200 Cr. per additional parsec. "

That should help significantly, provided they find jobs consistently. Beyond that, they can dabble in their own speculative trade to fill the gaps in the cargo beyond the contracts gained and they can always scrounge a few passangers to help pay for the fuel costs.

They might get by with two jumps a month, but are likely going to have to push for 3-4 jumps in the beginning until they build up enough cash flow.

I just did a little math and I have not been giving my gamers all that they could be getting. Freight has been the majority of their income thus far, but I've been having it ship to far a distance. They can do a jump 2 and I've been giving them stuff that would require them to go 3-4 parsecs. I'll fix that so that they take stuff that they can deliver in a single jump. That'll greatly help.

Don't be afraid to push them on their money. Desperation leads to good plot lines. If they get stuck going to a loan shark/crimeboss for a "loan" it can get really interesting in a hurry.

:twisted: Good idea, noted for future reference.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Speaking of crime bosses, one thing that I've been doing that I don't think my players are aware of is that crime bosses (in the real world) always have a front operation. I've been using that same principle in my game. Like one planet they just left, they decided to not talk to the guy (hiver) running the local "salvage service". That's his front operation. Perfectly legit. They got it mixed up with a pilot offering them work hunting down pirates. Also I offered them work with professional pirate hunters because that would be big money.

Basickly they're playing it safe, and not earning enough money at it. Maybe them going merc is a good thing in that they'll start taking risks.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Just remembered another question

Sandcaster, does it remove 1d6 from the pool of dice being rolled or does the defender roll 1d6 and that amount is reduced from the total damage being done?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Either way gives you the same result, in principle.

Personally, I would let the defender roll 1d6 so that they are part of the action.

 

[Shiloh]

Either way gives you the same result, in principle.

Personally, I would let the defender roll 1d6 so that they are part of the action.

Having the defender roll might allow the inclusion of their effect level if they rolled that when firing off the sand in the first place, which might be fair.

 

[Paladin]

Either way gives you the same result, in principle.

Personally, I would let the defender roll 1d6 so that they are part of the action.

ditto.

 

[Kilgs]

If you look at some of the CT adventures, you'll see that the pay is very high for a week's work. Often in the range of several hundred thousand with all expenses (fuel, ammo etc) paid by the patron.

Seemed really high to me until you figure that players can do math too and realize that getting shot at for $50K or trading safely for $50-100K isn't really a tough call.

Another trick that the CT adventures used was simply "repairs". In one of the missions, the players ship suffers from a breakdown from the "gravitic alignment module" and requires repairs in excess of $750K. Just because there are tables to cover repairs you don't need to be tied to them. If a spaceship is anything like my car, it's in the shop 3-5 times a year for strange parts that are only exceeded in strangeness by their cost.

 

[Bygoneyrs]

Dale,

My advise would have a Bank of ("You make up a name") approach the group and offer to buy the groups moragage/loan on their ship. In return the crew would pay say "5,000cr" per month on their loan for say 30 yrs to pay off the loan, AND also work for the Bank doing special jobs. Now each of these jobs would come with a bonus paid to the crew as well. Mostly these odd jobs would take them all over the place and get them involved into all sorts of matters, but mostly they would be able to also do other odd jobs at the same time. It would only add to the many plots you get them involved too. At any time a Bank official could show up and say "Hi there I have a JOB for you guys"!!!

Penn