Peet: Basic Training is all the skills on the 'Service Skills' D6 table at level 0 (i.e. for scout: Pilot; Survival, Mechanic, Astrogation, Comms and Gun Combat)
Oh, okay, that is kind of awesome, actually. Thanks!
So for one Advancement success you achieve Rank 1 and receive Vacc Suit 1. Two more gives you Pilot 1.
Sadly, I only made a total of two successful advancements.
BTW, I put all my pilot into Small Craft because it looked like the ship already had a general pilot. But if that is not the case I can move those points around; only one of them has to be in Small Craft. So I could have also gone 2 and 1 in either direction.
You need to list which table you are applying the Benefit Roll to, and to which roll you are applying the modifier with the roll, in most cases.
Sure... happy to do that. And I can reroll the whole bunch if you like. But I need to be able to see the tables! Any chance you could copy & paste the scout benefit tables? (Also I assume if a scout ship is on there that will get vetoed because we are on a ship already).
No need to reroll, it shouldn't be a big deal.
Ship Shares will translate into part ownership of the Navarro, against the interest owned by the independent LLC that holds the title.
Almost forgot an extra term means an extra event.
When dealing with an alien race, you have an opportunity to gather extra intelligence about them. Roll either Sensors 8+ or Deception 8+. If you succeed, gain an Ally in the Imperium and a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll. If you fail, roll on the Mishap table, but you are not ejected from this career.
I have sensors 0 so:
Success! But there won't be another advancement roll that I can apply that to as this is my last term, but I get an Ally.
But I need to be able to see the tables! Any chance you could copy & paste the scout benefit tables?
OK, I found a playtest version of the Mongoose Traveller main book.
This is the Scouts mustering out table according to that:
Mustering-Out Benefits:
Roll Cash Other Benefits
1 20,000 Ship Share
2 20,000 +1 Int
3 30,000 +1 Edu
4 30,000 Weapon
5 50,000 Weapon
6 50,000 Scout Ship
7 50,000 Scout Ship
IF the official version is the same, then ...
My rolls were 2, 6, 5, 4, 1. I also had a +1 to one roll.
I had planned to make only one roll on the cash table and the others on the other table, which is more interesting. Since a roll of 6 would give me a detached duty scout ship (which I assume is verboten in this campaign) why don't we put that one into cash and all the others into Other Benefits?
So that gives me:
* 50,000 credits
* +1 Int
* Weapon - Shotgun (it is legal most places)
* Weapon - Gun Combat 1 (Shotgun)
* Ship Share
How does that sound? And is this table the correct version?
There is an advancement roll for each term of service, even the final term.
The table matches the final published version for Scouts. The Scout Ship award would give you 1d6 Ship Shares since the scout ship is not applicable here.
Gosh darn it, I'm so skint.
There is an advancement roll for each term of service, even the final term.
Oh, I guess I did it out of order; already made the advancement roll and succeeded. So a +DM is moot then.
The table matches the final published version for Scouts. The Scout Ship award would give you 1d6 Ship Shares since the scout ship is not applicable here.
Is there an opportunity to buy more ship shares as the game goes on?
Overall I'm pretty happy with it as it is.
I suppose so. I don't think anyone else had a duplicate roll, but then maybe you really spent a lot of time in school at frat parties and tailgates.
Paying off the loan for the ship would be a desirable goal.
GM: any chance you can explain how that works, with ship shares and ship debt?
Ship shares are a reduction in the overall cost for the purchase of a starship from a bank, vendor, military organization or other similar source. The vessel is mortgaged and the crew must make monthly payments towards owning the ship's deed outright.
Each share is valued at 1% of the asking price. An older ship may receive an additional 10% off the price, as long as the majority of shareholders concur. Whether an older ship is more difficult to maintain or repair remains to be seen.
It will be up to the crew to decide any particular additional rights or rewards offered if a member has contributed more shares than another. Shares may not be sold for cash, though buying out a partner may be an option depending upon the group. In past games I have had teams work it out as first choice of spoils, better bunking and grub selections, first to get shore leave, etc. The decision is really up to you guys, unless you decide to have a DMNPC take on the role of Captain and arbitrarily make such determinations, which I would rather not offer but will if necessary.
Once the crew has determined the total percentage of reduction in the ship's price, the loan amount is set and the monthly payment debt is recorded. This is the amount the crew must earn each period to satisfy the debt and keep the ship from risk of seizure, foreclosure, or other undesirable situation.
Needing to pay for fuel, upkeep, and the mortgage is why many Navarro class traders carry risky cargos, unsavory passengers, and ply the more dangerous frontier trade lanes, to garner enough money to turn a profit and keep on travelling.
Are we collectively the owners of the ship? Or are we in the employ of the owner? I may have gotten mixed up but that was my original assumption. There was another campaign I was applying to that had that so perhaps I conflated the two campaigns.
OK, ninja'd - saw your response... so we are the owners.
I just found the ship share rules in the playtest.
I'm guessing the Navarro is in a similar price category as the Subsidized Merchant, so we need 15 shares to begin with?
When I saw the price of combat armor I figured maybe my character better keep the money so he could afford some. His physical stats are a little weak. But if it is good for us generally then maybe the ship shares are a better idea.
Edit: Actually the Navarro is a lot more expensive than the Type R. At MCr 240.465 it's a lot closer to the type C. So the monthly payments are 480,000 credits. Plus the upkeep costs.
Obviously with only 90 tons of cargo space and not much in the way of space for passengers we can't count on freight to pay our way and have to speculate. Even if that 90 tons is full and we are making a jump 2 every two weeks that still only pays 360,000.
I'm guessing the design of the Navarro is more along the line of the ship from the Leviathan module; a ship that could not make money hauling ordinary freight but is rugged and has resources that allow it to enter high-risk environments in the search for larger than normal profits.
The Navarro class ships are similar in design to a hybrid of the Type R Subsidized Merchant and Type EL Close Escort and yes she is designed to be able to go safely into some of the rougher areas of the fringes, while remaining upgradeable and customizable.
As the Navarro is a mass produced vessel, the beginning price is MCr 216.419 new. If you reduce this initial price with starting cash equivalent to 15% (10% drop for aged repo and 5% from crew shares) the price drops to MCr 183.956 used. This would result in a price of MCr 220.747 with financing included. At 40 years of payments, the monthly rate would be 459,890 credits per month. More crew shares would drop this further.
You can make about two jumps per month on a reasonable basis. Whether it is Jump 1 or 2 would make no difference to the transit times. You can make some money with paying and popsicle passengers and some lucky wheeling and dealing on the cargo between destinations, but alone it may become tight in meeting all of the ship's needs. Put this crew together with the promise of work.... This job goes south, there well may not be another. So here is us, on the raggedy edge. Don't push me, and I won't push you.
Another option would be to work as indentured crew for a shipping concern. You would be able to avoid the interest costs for the ship and would take only 80% of your crew salary, which would be applied towards the agreed upon purchase price. You could funnel what profits are made from any independent hauling towards this as well but there may be times when you are forced to haul particular people and cargos to destinations you may not have wished to travel. The real benefit to this is that you are not under the looming monthly debt payment, but this is at the cost of your autonomy and freedom.
Then of course there are also the credits to be made in salvage, freelance mercenary work, resale of seized vessels committing acts of piracy, and many other outside job opportunities available to enterprising ships and their crews, legal, extralegal, and otherwise. The options are all up to you guys how you want to proceed.
One other option worth mentioning at least, not sure if it's one you'd care to explore, is going the "Transporter" route. You would hire out your cargo bay and passenger quarters to high risk/high reward packages which fall outside the normal bounds of freight hauling and passage transit.
Many merry adventures and zany hijinks ensue...
I think you have just named the Ship's cat. :)
At 40 years of payments, the monthly rate would be 459,890 credits per month. More crew shares would drop this further.
Hmmm... that's a bit less but still an impressive amount.
I think we really need someone with a high SOC and Broker skill. A "merchant prince" type.
As far as passenger revenue goes...
MISCELLANEOUS
4 Double Staterooms
3 Single Staterooms
1 Sickbay with Autodoc
2 Luxury Lounge Spaces (Steward-2)
4 Low Berths
1 Emergency Low Berth ...
That's not a lot of space. If the crew takes up all the double staterooms then we have 3 singles and 2 luxury ones. So we will need someone with Steward skill to capitalize on those.
We also don't have enough low berths for everyone including passengers in case of an emergency. Maybe when we get the chance we should refit the ship for more low berths?
Oh, what the heck. Let's go for more ship shares and less cash. I'll put the 1 (with the +1 making it 2) for cash of 20,000 cr and then the 6 to benefits meaning 1d6 ship shares.
So that gives me:
* 20,000 credits
* +1 Int
* Weapon - Shotgun (it is legal most places)
* Weapon - Gun Combat 1 (Shotgun)
* 4 Ship Shares
I assume those of us without ship shares are basically hired hands then, taken on by the owners to fill out the crew positions? Darrian culture considers ship ownership by individuals to be one of the more bizarre and retarded ideas the Emperium has.
That's not a lot of space. If the crew takes up all the double staterooms then we have 3 singles and 2 luxury ones. So we will need someone with Steward skill to capitalize on those.
We also don't have enough low berths for everyone including passengers in case of an emergency. Maybe when we get the chance we should refit the ship for more low berths?
The crew would likely take up the double staterooms. The three single staterooms can be used for High or Middle passengers. The luxury spaces encompass the lounge and galley area so are not actually fitted to keep passengers. Think of this area more like the dining area on Serenity. A larger open area where you can lounge, spread out, and use the ship's entertainment vids. It functions as an equivalent to Steward 2, allowing you to haul passengers even if you do not have an actual Steward, though there will be the normal complaining of poor service if no one takes on the duty of being a steward.
The four low berths allow for frozen or chill passengers and can be used in an emergency for crew as needed. The emergency low berth carries up to four persons. The ship is only equipped to carry up to 8 in stasis, enough space for the crew sans Captain on ships which do not haul passengers. On such ships usually only the gunners and small craft pilot double up, the others have single quarters.
Most small craft are arranged to ferry passengers or cargo between a planet and the ship. The seating is removable to enlarge the cargo area. Some units can be fitted with another emergency low berth which would carry another four persons.
Of course it is acceptable if the party does not like the Navarro class they can choose a different ship and go with that, perhaps one with lower mortgage costs.
[dice=event reroll]2d6
Really? Guess I did a lot of partying in college...
[dice=medical event]2d6
1d6
Yeah, unusual event!
Mystery – You stumble across a great mystery which will be brought into play throughout the campaign. The referee must prepare the mystery, including laying out clues to present to you. You are required to solve the mystery yourself.If you don't want to deal with that, I can reroll it too.
Three Carouse skills. Hmm, Let's change two of them to either Streetwise 1, Persuasion 1, or Diplomacy 1. That much partying and you are bound to develop skills to keep the rock rolling.
And for the last bit...
The mystery of the missing keg. I can work that into the campaign. There was a pony keg here last night. With the tap. Who took it? I need to get my deposit back. Just kidding, but we can work with that if you want.
GM... The university and medical school are pre-career. Do they count against my 5 terms?
As they would take four years each I will allow two options. You can count them as real terms and move forward normally or you can decide to risk age penalties and add them to the five actual career terms, facing the higher penalty risk.
I assume those of us without ship shares are basically hired hands then, taken on by the owners to fill out the crew positions? Darrian culture considers ship ownership by individuals to be one of the more bizarre and retarded ideas the Emperium has.
I assume those of us without ship shares are basically hired hands then, taken on by the owners to fill out the crew positions? Darrian culture considers ship ownership by individuals to be one of the more bizarre and retarded ideas the Emperium has.
Your character can choose to be a hired hand if he wishes, and you can rally for that option to the rest of the players if desired, but I will leave it up to a consensus of players whether the campaign will attempt to buy the ship or work for others as employees.
It would just be out of character for a Darrien to seek to own part of a ship.
Perhaps there is a reason other than his Darrian heritage. Remnant effects of the artifact he once held, a secret mission from his Special Division days, or maybe just a rebellious spark instigated by the recent war have caused him to deviate from the norm.
You are only limited by your past if you chose to remain tethered to it.
Sorry I'm behind on creating character. RL has gotten in the way. I also keep going back and forth between Navy and Scouts to create a pilot. I think I'm leaning towards Scouts. Will try to get started soon.
Let's see if I can make some progress. After reviewing advancement requirement, I'm going Navy:Flight instead of Scout:Courier
Character Generation Checklist
Basic character generation uses the following steps:
1. Roll seven 2d6 for characteristics, drop the lowest pair and place as desired to determine characteristic modifiers.
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 5) = 7
Stat: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6
Str 6 / Dex 10 / End 6 / Int 7 / Edu 10 / Soc 5
2a. Choose a homeworld. Jewell
2b. Record your background skills from that homeworld. Streetwise / Trade
Education: Medic / Computer
3a. Choose a career and specialization within that career. Navy: Flight
3b. Record your basic training service skills at level 0. Choose any skill specialization if required.
Pilot-spacecraft/zero-g/gunner/mechanic/gun combat(energy pistol)
4a. Decide whether or not you wish to roll once on the Mishap Table to gain an extra roll on the Skills and Training Tables for your career.
4b. If rolled, record the results and add one Skill and Training Table roll for later.No thanks
5a. Determine the terms of Active Service by rolling three d6, drop the lowest die and average the remaining dice plus 1 to determine the total terms of active service received.
5b. Record this number for use in later sections.
3+4=7/2=3.5 round down to 3+1=4 terms
6a. Roll one set of 2d6 for each term of active service to determine career Events.
6b. Record the results for each Event. Do I pick now or later (ie, event 3)?
Your commanding officer takes an interest in your career. Either gain Tactics (naval) 1, or take a +4 DM to your next Advancement roll thanks to his aid. Tactics (naval) 1
Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table
Your vessel participates in a notable military engagement. Gain one of Sensors 1, Engineer (any) 1, Gunnery (any) 1 or Pilot (any) 1.
You foil an attempted crime on board, such as mutiny, sabotage, smuggling or conspiracy. Gain an Enemy, but also gain a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll in the Navy.
Travel: Travel: The character moves to another world. You gain a +2 DM to your next Qualification roll.
7a. Roll one set of 2d6 for each term of active service to determine career Advancement.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
7b. For each success, add one roll on the skills and training tables for this career. 4
7c. For each success, increase your Rank and record any bonus skills from the Ranks table. Petty Officer, 1st Class - Mechanic 1 / Vacc Suit 1 / +1 End
7d. Military characters (Army, Navy, Marines) may also roll once per term of Active Service to receive a commission. This roll is optional. Going to pass based on low Soc
7e. Rank level is reset upon receiving a commission, but the two Ranks are added to determine Benefit Roll Bonuses.
8a. For career skills the player needs to total up the number of terms served and any successful advancement rolls earned.
8b. Roll one d6 per Skill Roll earned and record each result.
8c. Apply each die rolled to one of the eligible Skills and Training tables for this career and record the results. No table may rolled upon more than the total number of Terms of Active Service achieved.
Pilot(spacecraft) +1
Vacc Suit +1
Zero-G +1
Gunner +1
Computers +1
Astrogation +1
Navigation +1
Gunner +1
9a. Character Age begins at age 18. For each term of Active Service achieved increase your age by 4 years. If your character is 34 or older, roll for possible Aging.
9b. Roll one 2d6 minus the total number of Active Terms of Service to determine any Aging Effects.
9c. Record the results. No Effect
10a. Total the number of Benefit rolls achieved. 6
10b. Determine the number of dice to be rolled on the Cash or Other Benefits Tables. There is a limit to no more than three rolls on the Cash table.
10c. Determine any roll modifiers achieved.
10d. Roll the selected number of d6 on the appropriate table and record the results.
1000
20000
Weapon = Laser Pistol
Weapon = Gun Combat (Laser Pistol) +1
TAS Membership
TAS Membership = 2 ship shares
11. Purchase starting equipment and determine available funds remaining.
12. Choosing a Campaign Skill Pack and allocating those skills will come after all characters are created.
Of course it is acceptable if the party does not like the Navarro class they can choose a different ship and go with that, perhaps one with lower mortgage costs.
The thing about the Navarro is that it basically forces the party to go on adventures to keep the ship afloat. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
OK where do we stand now party-wise?
I had originally thought there were a lot of applicants and that I would stake out the Small Craft Pilot position, but it looks like we don't have that many people. Instead of Pilot 3 (small craft) I could have had Pilot 1 (small craft) and Pilot 2 (spaceship).
Piloting is my only big ship skill but I also have Jack-o-T 3.
AGamer70 - Navy guy. Looks like you have Gunner-2. Having a decent gunner can be a big deal. Also Navigation 1, Pilot 1, Astrogation 1, and Medic - not sure what rating.
"Allrianne" - Scavenger/Salvage. Mechanic 2 and Sensors 2, but none of the main ship skills. Maybe she can get Engineer-1 or Navigation-1 out of the skill package?
thzero - Merchant. Broker 1 and Medic 1. Good personal combat skills. I don't see any ship skills there though.
drbuzzard - "Myro Palk" - Agent - Investigate 2 & Streetwise 2 but not much for ship skills, except Gunner 1 and Computer 1.
Fnord72 - medical researcher. Medic 3? Also Engineer 1.
MDT "Lodic" - Darrian telepath. Astrogation 1 and computers 2. Also some sciences.
If people can "double up" in crew positions, then Fnord72 could do both Medic and Engineer, and AGamer70 could do chief gunner and navigator. But if there are penalties for taking two roles then it would be better to spread things out. Allrianne and thzero could pick up the necessary skills from the skill package. So this is what I'm thinking:
CREW: 3 Minimum 8 Optimal
Peet "Varkha Gzegdoug" Pilot: Responsible for flying the ship
thzero? or MDT "Lodic"? Navigator: Responsible for navigation and computer operations
Allrianne? Engineer: Responsible for engine and drive maintenance
Fnord72 Medic/Steward(Optional): Responsible for crew and passenger maintenance
AGamer70 Chief Gunner(Optional): Responsible for gunnery
drbuzzard "Myro Palk" Gunner(Optional): Responsible for gunnery
(not filled) Gunner(Optional): Responsible for gunnery
(not filled) Small Craft Pilot(Optional): Responsible for all small craft operations
The only thing we are still missing is someone with steward skill. I don't see steward on any of the skill packages.
@GM Darkblade: what is the difference between navigation and astrogation skill?
Navigation=on Planet
Astogation=Space
Intended to be an Engineer-type, but rolls didn't work out.
Navigation=on Planet
Astogation=Space
Ah, so the navigator doesn't need navigation skill then? Well that makes MDT's "Lodic" the logical choice for navigator then unless someone else has a better combo then?
Intended to be an Engineer-type, but rolls didn't work out.
Well, with mechanic 2 you have a good start for a lot of stuff the engineer normally would work on. You could pick up Engineer 1 from the skill package.
Step 10: Benefits Rolls
rolls: 6 terms + 2 (for 4 rank) +1 (for cash only)
...
dice=6 Free Trader
thzero: I may be wrong but the free trader benefit probably gives you +1d6 ship shares instead.
So while we are on the subject, let's see where we stand on owning the ship:
Ship Shares
"Varkha Gzegdoug" - 4 shares
"Allrianne" - 3 shares
AGamer70 - 2 shares
Fnord72 - 10 shares
"Myro Palk" - 1 share
thzero - 4 shares possibly +1d6
"Lodic" - 0 - he doesn't believe in ship ownership.
So we have 24 shares, maybe more. That's not too bad.
OK, here's Varkha.
Time to talk about connections between characters.
Varkha's a former scout from the exploration division. Too undisciplined for the navy but eager to travel through space, he joined the Imperial Scout Service in the hopes of exploring new worlds.
Varkha's low status as a Vargr also led him to work with humans instead. Though Vargr have strong pack instincts, Varkha has grown used to the lack of a real "pack" and is comfortable working alone, though he does prefer small groups.
Varkha's philosophy has always been that extensive preparation is unnecessary; he has always managed to "wing it" somehow, and he tends to rush into things half-cocked. He craves excitement and must find ways to entertain himself when forced into long periods of inactivity.
As an explorer, Varkha could "get around" quite a bit so it's possible for him to have connections to most of the other characters, though Allrianne seems fairly likely as she was a salvage expert and therefore both she and Varkha were generally "looking around" as a part of their career. Some kind of arrangement to pass on information about derelict vessels for a cut of the salvage might have occurred.
If Fnord72's character conducted medical research with assistance from the Scout Service (xenobiology perhaps) then that might have brought he and Varkha into contact.