On 3 December 2016 at 15:15, Richard Aiken <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 2:15 PM, Ethan McKinney <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
Just assume that Mongoose screwed everything up and you either have to go back to the LBB systems, or make up something of your own.

For years, I fiddled with various trading systems, trying to find one that would reliably let the PCs make *just* enough profit to balance regular expenses, such that any *unplanned* expense would drive them to take on grey/black market work. But nothing ever really worked right.

That's kind of what I was after and what I thought the rules aimed to give you until I actually started doing this 'for real'.

Although two things help a little with the PCs getting rich too quick:

- first we started using MgT1 rules so they've only got 13 cabins all told (as per CT as well) rather than the MgT2 version with 19 (!) staterooms on the Subsidised Merchant.

- second, following the adventure chapter In Search of Longer Legs, they've installed the demountable tanks so they've lost 50 tons of the 205-ton cargo space. (The crew did it while the Captain's player wasn't at the session so it will be interesting to see how he reacts when the reality of what they did to 'his' ship really sinks in!)

(and third, I'm toying with the idea of making them pay stevedores in each port. And they'll want paying per *lot* that they move so there will be an incentive to think about reducing the numbers of actual cargo movements) (but this won't amount to a lot of money unfortunately)

Then after changing over to playing Savage Worlds [https://www.peginc.com/product-category/savage-worlds/], I discovered the space pulp rules created by their third party publisher Triple Ace Games [http://tripleacegames.com/Downloads/DaringTalesSpaceLanes/TAG31024A.pdf], which includes the following setting rule:

"TRADING RULES

There aren't any. Although the heroes own a freighter, these adventures are about action, not haggling. Unless the plot demands otherwise, the adventurers have just enough money from off-screen trading endeavors to replenish [sic] stores, repair their ship, and purchase small items like communicators and rope they may lose during the exploit. Any extra money should be earned through adventure."

Hah! I like this. And actually, it's what we've been doing. We've played four sessions so far in exactly that way. All my newbie players were quite happy with that as they didn't really know any better. (And it meant I could just say "Right, you've arrived at Pysadi" rather than wait for them to arrive or to force the issue.) So each 'chapter' as an almost stand alone adventure which is what I'm used to from conventions.

But the one old-timer in the group has murmured about wanting to actually play out the trading. Not in detail necessarily, but just so they have some choices about where they go and why. And wanting to finally learn the rules and play with them, I wasn't agin the idea.

So I think we'll do a bit of both with me presenting options, letting them make some quick choices on what they want to carry and see how we go. Maybe with any exorbitant profits going into some holding fund or something if they start "abusing" being rich or turning down Patrons...

I've tried to stick to this in all my games since, although on occasion it's been challenging. The usual problem is either one or both of the following:

1) Usage Creep: Various members of the crew (especially engineers and medical personnel) tend to want to repurpose passenger areas and slices of cargo hold to non-commercial uses, which means I have to stand firm and keep reminding them, "Sorry, but you can't do that. Those areas are in use most of the time, which is why you aren't running in the red."

Hah! As I've been working out the details these last few days, I've been doing just the opposite. I've decreed that the engineer has at least 2 tons of 'spare parts' kicking around the cargo bay (and will invite the other PCs to have their memento collections/libraries/whatever as well); will have their new working passage hire - a carpenter - turn up at the dock with half a ton of tools, wood and workbench; and was delighted to remember the High passengers take up to another 9 tons of space (plus one more ton usually for all the Mid and Low passenger luggage as well). And knowing the Captain he's probably planning on fitting a seduction jacuzzi in one corner...

I could also encourage them to quit double bunking as crew (there are 8 already since they have two gunners on top of the standard 5 and have taken on Gvoudzon back at Aramis - and they've just picked up two working passage crew at Pysadi - which fills the five crew cabins at double occupancy. One apiece would only leave 3 passenger cabins which would nicely reduce the profits.

(Although it might come to a fight over who would get the cabin that ever since the start of the adventure has had some awful plumbing noises and problems which the Engineer just not been able to get to the bottom of.)

2) Extra Off-Screen Income: One or more players will generally try to make a bit of off-screen profit by carrying "small packages" (e.g. smuggling cargo) in return for cash money at the destination. But after the first couple of times that the local organization guys explain the facts of life (e.g. if one tries to cut out the middleman - THEM - then one risks having valuable bits of one's person cut OFF) they generally get with the program, which I explain as: "That sort of thing is fine, guys. But trying it counts as an *adventure*. And we all know that adventures don't go smooth."

Yes, anything outside of the 'standard' tables (which includes d66: Exotic in any case for just this purpose), I would expect to play out properly. My lot haven't really thought about smuggling yet. I suspect because they're new (and the old-timer is too straight-laced!)

At least doing this has somewhat put me off the idea of doing a bog-standard trading adventure at TravCon [1]. Back to my more exotic ideas...

[1] ISTR Dom having us doing trading last year but used a different game system (Uncharted Worlds) and the trading was simply (IIRC) "you have a unit of cargo" or two units or whatever. Abstracted and simplified but felt like you were doing something.