So I have a question for everyone

So we have been able to keep a forward momentum going financially with how we are handing money etc... I would like to have a forum talk about what you think our band of adventures should be doing. I am of the opinion that we have a couple of jobs in front of us and maybe we should liquidate assets at a certain point and form using new/refreshed character investment under the rules in Merchant Prince to structure the company with a clear direction (i.e. drug manufacturing, shipping, transport, combat etc..).  Let me know what thoughts you may have, I am interested and it would help in game play design from the Col's point of view.

Well, here's the thing; I joined a Traveller Mercenaries game. I suspect the new players did too, but maybe not. I feel like, if we're changing the tone or central objective of the game, then that's a completely different game, and it would probably be more appropriate to have different characters for that game. I know Charoux works well enough in a Mercenaries game; he would work a lot better in an investigative game, or better yet, a spycraft game. But if we're doing something substantially different than those things, I should probably roll up a different character. Captain Crow might have similar issues, or not. The whole artifact thing strikes me as better done in some sort of Traveller equivalent to Kerbal Space Program; without some nice research document somewhere giving you reasonable limits as to what the thing does, the correct response is cash-fueled engineering paranoia. And that is a substantially different company than Artemis. I'm inclined to say that the Colonel should look at the initial engineering report, and either found a separate and distinct company for that effort in an appropriate region of space, complete with bankruptcy protection, or just fork the damned thing over to the most appropriate government; be it the Darrian Confederation or the Imperium. The real challenge right now, GM-wise, is that we are so flush with cash and equipment that, outside of some legitimate war scenarios, we don't have any legitimate threats. Last game's encounter proved pretty well that we didn't even need all hands on deck for that combat; me and "Professor Farnsworth" did mostly nothing to contribute to our spectacular success, in spite of intentions otherwise. In addition to his spycraft tech that he mustered out with, Charoux has been equipping for stealth recon; a stealth Grav Cycle, camo armor, and a grav belt with auto-pilot in case the Grav Cycle gets blasted out of the sky while he's on it and he is knocked unconscious. The idea being, he scopes out the area for the team, finds himself a nice place to get sight lines on the target, and then triggers an orbital strike with a targeting laser when the time is right to do so. He's not really effective in general combat otherwise, but it's a good way to use him. But if we don't get to blast apart at least one concealed base, then all that IRL time looking up equipment stuff gets wasted. It would be a bit of a disappointment. Assuming for the moment that we continue with the campaign more-or-less as-is, the most likely solution here is either to have the company's resources mostly destroyed so we have to rebuild from scratch again, or, find some emotional reasons to join the war, since there isn't quite the cash available to convince us; or maybe we just need to find a better rep to convince those in charge that we should be paid better for risking our lives. I'm not saying I won't roll up a new character if we change the game; just that I've put a lot of work into character stuff that I'll never get to use outside of the full-blown-combat I was expecting. And that's a bit of a disappointment.

I'm pretty happy with the way we left things Wednesday night. As far as I can still contribute to some extent, and have a say in what we're doing, I'm good. I'll have a problem with anything that runs directly against my obligations to Rhyllanor or the Imperium but otherwise, as long as we're making money and I'm seeing the universe, I'm happy. Obviously, I'm built for combat of some kind or another, but I'm not bloodthirsty or foolhardy. As long as we've got a ship and we don't stop for too long I'm along for the trip. I'm no dirt-sider, though, so if you plan to settle down somewhere, I'd probably cash out and move along. (OOC: I'd be happy to make another character if you guys really wanted to go in some other direction, but so far, I'm happy.)

As a player, because I am slated to GM this game through the Fifth Frontier War, Gevaudan Cannagrrh is a spacer. &nbsp;He's from the Society of Equals, but not by choice. &nbsp;Also as a player, I have always been interested in how a character can make money via playing the trade game aspect of Traveller. &nbsp;This goes all the way back to the 1990s when I first picked up MegaTraveller. &nbsp; <a href="http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Society_of_Equals" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Society_of_Equals</a> He is best played in the Simulationist side of Mongoose Traveller in that he is best suited to space tasks and ship-born activities. &nbsp;It only takes ~20 million Credits to buy him out of the company. &nbsp;Thereupon he will take his Dame Sister back Coreward, where it is safer for her (even against her will), and return to the Society of Equals. &nbsp;After reading Merchant Prince , he has a few options to make at least three avenues of income work. &nbsp;As a character, Gev is not a combat hound. &nbsp;Nor is he a sneaky shadowrunner. &nbsp; He could be a Corsair, but somehow that doesn't fly with him and his beginnings as a Scout (Courier). &nbsp;I've been looking at Gev's next skills training. &nbsp;He has only a few levels of un-used skills left. &nbsp;With his Intelligence of 13 (D), and some training in Streetwise, Broker and Diplomat, he could be the next Letter of Marque Privateer for the Society of Equals behind our master face-man, Col. Robertson, by doing things through Intelligence rather than Social Standing. &nbsp;Gev's Charisma is 5 so he'll have to use his noggin' just like he does for everything else. &nbsp; Now on to the game from a GM point of view. The game has not had much of a threat because of the random generation of rolls as we Travelled. &nbsp;Now, I've written one, two maybe three missions that have high-threat and chance to knock ASS down a peg or three. &nbsp;However, the company has neatly side-stepped all of them. &nbsp;And each has had some form of incentive/reward that could have been valuable. &nbsp;In order to satisfy the needs of every player-character, I introduced an Ancients artifact into the game to allow the science-minded characters something to chew on and spend ASS money researching. &nbsp;I have at least one shadowrun in the mix for those Agents (Charoux and Sergei) if only we could keep our players immune to Real Life(TM). &nbsp;Just last Wednesday and a small stint Thursday, Col. Robertson managed two bad-ass rolls in doing what he does best - negotiating mission haggling through Mercenary. &nbsp; There has been potential for ground combat, confirmed starship combat, potential for exploration, potential for salvage ops, potential for wartime ops and potential for secret mission ops. &nbsp;Yet, the entirety of ASS in each case opted to play the safe game and minimize risk except where a developed Enemy forced its hand. &nbsp; This is not a critique. &nbsp;It is sound practice in keeping characters alive. &nbsp;But adventurer Travellers typically want more out of their travelling. Bob and I have considered plenty of options for routes to keep all players satisfied and interested to play the characters they developed through the character generation: Col. Robertson - noble, Imperium star marine (retired 4FW veteran), commanding officer, socio-political, face-man, haggler and negotiator Gevaudan - ethnic Vargr, spacer with a nosy sister Charoux - Darrian tech-hunting secret agent and forward observer Sergei - bruiser secret agent with enhanced cybernetics Capt. Crow - crack starship gunner from the Imperium Navy Gerald Rothschild - NPC, baron and elite engineer from the edge of the Great Rift Hane Meson - an enigma with ground-level versatility Prof. Zi-rimen - a Darrian, nobel peace prize-winning, theoretical and application scientist Panzor - assumed to be a Ursan-Uplift, a bear from another dimension, featuring combat skills and packing punitive puns NPCs: Dame Qithka Cannagrrh - nosy magazine reporter with a penchant for beating up her younger brother Witness - the Dame's magazine robot recording everything she does, says or encounters Uthka Varzeekh - a "fortune-teller" that foretold the opening moves of the 5FW Professor Isis - a Zhodani ex-pat Psion on the run from Imperial entanglements Dr. Lyireh Ros-Galyin Barek - a Darrian xenology specialist with a prototype healing serum needing further testing and potential patent Enemies: Captain Maarg - of the Imperial PsiCorps who is hunting down Isis and trying to cover his ass from his breach in secrecy and security on Wypoc Swordworlders Zhodani Consulate Vargr Kfourzeng&nbsp; Corsairs 40th Squadron Fleets (2) Neutrals: Dylan Severus - Han Solo of the Spinward Marches and points beyond Dean Shinzu Nagakawa - head of the Archaeology Dept. for the University of Regina on Boughene Hot & Spicy - a peace-touring rock band with Sylk corporate backing trying to bring Julian values to the Imperium-Vargr Extents Coreward border As a GM, I'd say I've done my homework in providing opportunities aplenty. I've kept the backdrop of Traveller News Service updated. &nbsp;I've standardized our rules set to Mongoose so the disbelief is minimized. &nbsp;I have worked with Bob's amazing skills in business administration and masterful use of a complex spreadsheet to show what the Artemis Security Services is doing, assets, tasks and profits earned. &nbsp;Our next step is to apply High Guard, Mercenary, Merchant Prince, Scoundrels and Cybernetics to the simpler Mongoose Traveller so that each character has a task they can enjoy and be helpful with. &nbsp;I have an entire module sitting on Mission 23 that is 95% ready that I personally wrote and forged utilizing Roll20. So this thread is about making the most of our game. &nbsp;And Jim has stated it is our game. &nbsp;He has done very well with the API code-work and the mechanics of point-and-roll in Roll20. Space is huge. &nbsp;The chances of high adventure are realistically low in Traveller's Simulationist system. &nbsp;Yet, each time I've actively injected some story or adventure opportunity, the characters have opted out and for safer routes. &nbsp;Survivalist-1. &nbsp;Adventurist-0. &nbsp;I am open to suggestion and critique in running the Fifth Frontier War. &nbsp;My character, Gev, is a religionist following an adventurism philosophy. &nbsp;He's certainly not holding ASS back from taking a few whacks on the nose. $0.02 from your current GM, the Pakkrat.

&lt;&lt;&lt;BUMP&gt;&gt;&gt; It looks like things are slowly winding down in the Fifth Frontier War. Duke Norris of Regina has firmly taken control of the defense of the Spinward Marches, Imperial warrant in hand, and the Outlands Coalition is falling apart. Already the main parts of the Vargr forces are destroyed or retreating under a white flag, and both the Zhodani and Sword Worlds factions have been dealt staggering blows. It ain't over yet, but the fat lady is warming up in the wings. I know Pakkrat is only Referee until the end of the war in 1110, and I've heard folks talking about the coming Rebellion, but nothing specific. I know that in the "Official" timeline (MegaTraveller), the Rebellion begins in 1116, but in the "Official Alternate" history (GURPS Traveller), the Rebellion was averted. Likewise, the Artemis Group has a fairly predetermined arc toward the conclusion of our main current storylines that should coincide pretty closely with the end of the war. Namely, the end of Maagh and returning the Dame to the Society of Equals. Then What? -Who's taking over as GM? -Are we planning on continuing as Artemis Group, more or less as Travellers, doing a bit of trading, a bit of mercenary work and rolling with whatever else comes our way, or considering going to a New Campaign? -Are we going to play out these interbellum years or jump forward to 1116 and the Rebellion (or non-Rebellion)? I actually own PDFs of most (if not all) the MegaTraveller stuff - though I haven't read any of it except the rules - and I'd be happy to hand that off to somebody else to GM, if one of you want to use it. For that matter, I'm also considering picking up the GURPS stuff too, just to kind of complete the "set.," and I'd be willing to spring for it if somebody wants to run that. Personally, I think I'd prefer that we go with the Rebellion, either as Artemis or as new characters - the Rebellion offers some different possibilities. I kind of like the idea of playing out the canon history, and there are the subsequent eras worth of material to play through. When I played as a kid, we used the rules and a bit of the setting, but none of the adventure, sourcebooks or other timeline.

I had a very large response and then accidentally deleted it. &nbsp; I want to be a player for pre-Rebellion, Rebellion, Hard Times as another Vargr character &nbsp;as soon as Gev hits his target bank account to muster. &nbsp;I would roll new ethnic Vargr, Imperium Vargr or Julian Vargr for those eras. &nbsp;Back in the 1990s I was looking at the Aslan but then was turned off by their gender separation of roles.

There are plenty of canon rebellion plot lines the are epic enough for Ares Inc. To satisfy my own curiosity I've been looking at a couple of these. From the Rebellion sourcebook I've been done some "back of the envelope" calculations on the Nail Mission: A jump 6 dash from the Spinward Marches though&nbsp;Corridor and into the&nbsp;Imperial core. As an interesting follow up there is the&nbsp;Arrival Vengeance &nbsp;grand&nbsp;tour as&nbsp;Norris tries to reunite the factions of the rebellion.&nbsp; Just a thought or two. Dave&nbsp;

Pakkrat, I hate it when I do that! I actually deleted my first draft of Jacob and had to start all over again. 40 years of personal computing, autosave options, and we still lose stuff by clicking the wrong thing. :::sigh::: I totally agree, Dave. There are a lot of cool looking resources for the Rebellion and thereafter (eg Hard Times). There are some for the alternate line too, but that would have to be kind of retro-fitted from GURPS, and there are fewer of them.

Wolfen, if you're looking at GURPS stuff, be sure to give "GURPS Traveller: Far Trader" a thorough read. It was written by an economist in the best possible way, fully fleshing out a genuinely plausible economy for the Traveller universe. As for where to go from here, I don't really have nearly as much experience with Traveller to offer an opinion.

That was the main reason I was looking at GURPS at all, TT ;)&nbsp; I agree, Far Trader looks cool.

In-vessel request of pathing into the Vargr Extents from the Pilot-Astrogator to include stops in the following worlds: Pandrin ( Gvurrdon 2240) &nbsp;NaVa - Gev wants to purchase "Vincent" and "Bob" robots that look like Vargr but are manufactured by the Human-based corporation, Walker Robotics. &nbsp;This is part of his plan to 'crew' his future starship, the Sixth Horizon. Triad ( Gvurrdon 2436) CsIm &nbsp;- Gev believes this is a safe world where Vargr and Humans live in relative peace. Ughz ( Gvurrdon 3034) VCKd - If this world is too far out of the way, Gev would like to at least make a transmission request in one of the other worlds of the Commonality of Kedzudh, in that he wants to put in an order requisition for starship systems and drives from Rrakhthall Shipyards on Ughz. &nbsp;It is part of his plan to draft designs himself for the Sixth Horizon &nbsp;variant-class Far Scout, a 200dT hull he is plagiarizing unapologetically. &nbsp; Gvutson ( Gvurrdon 3233) CsIm - This world has a Human presence, a worthy shipyard, the Government and Law to abide by Gevaudan's request for the base Far Scout hull he is drafting in his stateroom on the Ares. &nbsp; It is also a relatively safe port of call. Rorroksueknea ( Gvurrdon &nbsp;2628) NaVa - This world will, in his foreshadowing future, be the source world for Gevaudan's Vargrtarian slaving. &nbsp;It has no Government and no Law and is perfect for selling cargoes without taxes and has no Corsair bases. &nbsp;Again, if this world is too out of the pathway, it can be circumnavigated. GAELAETH &nbsp;( Gvurrdon &nbsp;2329) NaVa - This world is Amber yes, but only due to overpopulation thanks to an array of Ancients devices that enhanced fertility. &nbsp;Gev is familiar with the planet and so is his elder Sister-Dame as both passed this way on their journey to the Spinward Marches . &nbsp;This world also has a second-hand outlet of many items on Gev's list that can be had for cheaper than off-the-shelf and in Gvegh language no less. In his Rimward travels, Gevaudan took notes and logged his journey into the Imperium. &nbsp;The rest of the pathway to the Society of Equals is relatively straightforward, but the Ares &nbsp;Vargr are aware of or are familiar with the following worlds: MENORB (has a Temple to Runetha Saetedz), Dentus (Aslan present post-5FW), Pandrin (Walker Robotics), Kaets (danger: &nbsp;Corsair Base), Triad (Human-Vargr world), &nbsp; Zoe , Knall (a Barren ruins), Ngolutz , GAELAETH , THAGH , Llueng , Tagnaghoutsozaeng and the rest of the adjacent Society of Equals, (Gev has superficial Library Data on the Dzen Aeng Kho on his handcomputer from his travels as does the Dame). Gevaudan will state that the path he, his sister and Uthka made minimal contact with the 40th Squadron, the Commonality of Kedzudh and Corsair Bases and were able to bluff or buy their way through the Kfourzeng Corsair Band, (the largest in the entire Domain of Deneb and into Gvurrdon Sector). &nbsp;However this was before the Fifth Frontier War broke out. &nbsp;This was information he withheld from "Gentleman-Colonel Robertson" in hopes of not being turned away from Artemis Mercenary Corporation due to his ethnicity. &nbsp;On the other claw, the 5FW is almost over and the Glass Treaty is falling apart between the 40th, Kedzudh, Kfourzeng and the other contributing polities of Gvurrdon &nbsp;Sector. &nbsp;And yes, it's true. &nbsp;The Dzeng Aeng Kho did contribute a squadron or two of ships to the War, though Gev cannot confirm this as he was already Rimward of the initial wave by a few months. &nbsp;This is why he was arrested, twice, during the opening moves of the War and why his Sister-Dame was so insular in his interactions with Imperium citizens. Aside from current affairs and local history, the Ares Vargr can touch lightly on their stops on the above world if queried. &nbsp;Else, Library Data on other Vargr Extents worlds is a superficial and sketchy info-mining task.

Getting ahead of ourselves a bit here, aren't we? I can't imagine any reason why anybody wouldn't want to take Gev's suggestions about where to go in the Expanses, but we haven't even docked at Darrian yet. 8)

I have in my arsenal four letters that make this campaign work. They should be obvious by now. Want to know them? It's like a magician and his secrets to his tricks. These four letters abbreviate a magical incantation that is the source of all enjoyment of a campaign by players and their Referee. How a Referee uses these four letters can make or break a campaign. They can be used only sparingly but when they do, their power is felt in every corner of the campaign. They are: I In M My T Traveller U Universe Now, the Referee does not usually have to make use of this wondrous incantation. Nor should he. But when he does, IMTU is a powerful deterrent to lesser forces such as Disbelief, Metagaming, Player-vs-Player and other childish powers brought into a campaign from the nethers of the desire to Win. While Winning is great when it happens by the rules or the good-karmic throw of those critical, random number generators called dice; it is not the end-all, all-encompassing power. Telling a great story and having fun being part of and experiencing it - having a say in it - is made possible by those who play to enjoy. More is learned from playing hard and losing in the final stretch than in smiling for the camera as the laurels are laid on one's head or around one's shoulders, (in the case of horses). Who learns by Winning all the time? It is only through hardship and pain that the protagonist is prodded to greatness and overcomes adversity. A fair Referee does not have to give up the Old Testament to keep an interested group of players on the edge of their seats. But succeeding by the skin of the teeth, defying certain death or lingering decay of slow-death, is the hallmark of the cooperation between the Referee and the players. A player pushes their character to the limits of their capability, on the edge of survival. Else, the story is dull and those watching or taking part can become disinterested, a campaign killer. But when the Referee has the deck stacked, brings down the gods from Olympus, spells out certain doom in capital letters; and yet has the power to let players put their heads together to find that answer that will pull the lynchpin from under the situation or antagonists without having to use the magical incantation, all can enjoy the situation, scene, act or campaign. They can clap their hands when the credits roll, stand up and stretch, lay down the dice and congratulate each other, enjoy the spoils of their victory and hunger for the sequel. None are the wiser and a story has taken place. All, even the Referee, is in fulfillment. He knows in the back of his cranium that he did not have to use the magical incantation of IMTU , for no lesser incantations will do. Some are OTU, ATU, canon and published materials. These lesser formulae have inherent flaws: they are available to the players, especially the ones who are avid fans of the game or want any sort of edge they can pull from these arcane sources called the gaming bookcase, the fansite, the forum, the wiki. But none of these, as powerful and alluring as they seem, can stand to the power and authority of IMTU . This message is brought to you by the players for the enjoyment of RPGs. &nbsp;Some assembly required. &nbsp;Aspects of this message not for everyone. &nbsp;See your psychologist to learn if RPGs are right for you. &nbsp;Valid to all who can imagine under the same language. &nbsp;Void where prohibited.

In this vein, we may want to do what Bob mentions in the Original Post: once we finish with Wypoc, we do our standard payouts, then we liquidate our assets, pay off the current owners based on their respective shares. We then we equally share out 50% of whatever is left. The remaining 50% is the base value of our new company. Shares of the new company sell at 1% of that value, with at least 20% of shares reserved as operating capital. The remaining 80% of shares can initially limited per player (not character) to that 80% divided by the number of players.(currently 8). Once everybody has bought or passed on their allotted possible shares, we re-value the company. From then on, people can buy shares, up to a maximum of 30% of the company per player, based on the company's value as recalculated at the end of each meta session. Once (and if) people buy 80% of the company, people can only buy shares by purchasing them from other players. Depending on how much cash is available at that point, we either pay off the new ship, or pay it down as much as we can (leaving at least that 20% of the company's value for operating capital) and get a loan for the rest. I doubt we will need a mortgage, but if people cash out enough it might happen. It &nbsp;probably wouldn't take us long to pay it off if it did become necessary.&nbsp; If people want to retire characters and buy in with new characters when we liquidate the current company, I think we should allow them to do so, although their buying power may be limited without the money that the retiring characters take with them.

Pakkrat, I see how what you are saying applies in general, but I’m not clear on what case you are trying to make specifically in relation to present circumstances. Perhaps you could be more direct?

Once the new company is reiterated, shares bought and operating startup funds determined, company role agreed upon, the players need to come to an accord with the Referee on something. &nbsp;How many characters (1+) will each player be allowed to field? &nbsp;If more than one, then an agreement between the players and the Referee needs to be upheld. &nbsp;Fielding only one character per game session is a must to keep a Referee from input overload. &nbsp;A Referee can only handle so many active player characters at once. &nbsp;It is a good rule of thumb to only have one character on the field, be it battle, mercantile, court, social scene, etc. &nbsp;Having more than one character allows a player to experience different aspects of Traveller such as planet-side environs, scouting ops, mercenary ops, black ops, the market, high society and even portray an alien. &nbsp;This also covers the minimum crew requirements of a given starship above 500dT. &nbsp;As it is, the Ares is working on a third of its suggested crew requirement. &nbsp;It has been a miracle that all of our Encounters have happened during a significant ship action. Some players, myself included, would rather focus our portrayal energies on the development of a single character, to grant it all its myriad dimensions and personality. &nbsp;With the single character per scene caveat, the players must choose carefully which character, (and the skills that will be needed), for the task at hand. &nbsp;Playing with this houserule, will keep group-wide decisionmaking on an even keel. Just some musing, is all.

I agree with you in principle, Pakkrat, although I'd suggest that we agree that exceptions will be occasionally necessary. The example I'm thinking of is when we precipitated in Bowman. We needed all hands plus. Jacob had &nbsp;to be working as Chief Engineer, and with everybody else otherwise occupied, Sebastien had to do comms. Similar situations are likely to be arise in space battles and major ops. Even then I think we should each always have one main character, while the other is there to fulfill a supporting role. Again I'll give an example. When we do out thing at Wypoc, Crow will clearly be my main character, but we will again somebody doing comms and countermeasures, and we just don't have enough people without short-changing the other teams. As I'm currently the only player with two characters, I could well be biased, so feel free to disagree. As you say, however, we're going to need bodies on the new ship. If the players aren't running them, the Referee will have to do so.

If the company can afford these secondary characters on the payroll, I suggest that if they are also 'supporting' characters, that they have 2/3 the detailing and creative energies put into them. &nbsp;This will help the other players to acknowledge that the crew member is not the main character of that player. &nbsp;Also, let's try to avoid bringing in the support characters unless absolutely necessary so as to not flood the stage with characters. &nbsp;Part of the challenge of Traveller is dealing with not having the needed skill; hence the existence of the Jack-Of-Trades Skill. Also recognize that the more crew of the vessel, the greater chance that a player might lose a character due to Crew Hits, Radiation Hits, and other ship-scale casualties. &nbsp;Player be ware. &nbsp;Be careful how much investiture you put into your creativity. &nbsp;I've seen a myriad of reactions of players' loss of a character from Meh to downright bawling. &nbsp;But remember that I also have been a GM since age 12 too.

Been thinking about this for a while.&nbsp; The up side of playing more than one character is that you're rarely taking a back seat. Most characters usually take a side line in some scenarios. Political or trader characters may be avoiding combat while the military characters get a chance to shine. Or they may have their moment of glory in a courtroom or trading venture while the fighty types get to stand around and watch. So playing a couple of characters could reduce the amount of "i've got nothing to contribute" moments.&nbsp; I agree with Pakkrat though - &nbsp;flooding the place with characters could dilute the story.&nbsp; I strongly agree that the norm should be that one player play one character at a time. Wolfen is right when talking about " all hands on deck ". Considering the fact that the reason we're considering additional characters is mainly to fill places on a larger ship, it's bound to happen that more than one of our characters is going to be involved in the action at one time. But in those situations the involvement is more likely to be a matter of die rolls and mechanical decisions. When it comes to regular story and role play moments we really want to be limiting it to once character at a time if we can. That way we're cutting down on confusion.&nbsp; Another thought I had - which may be open to debate - is that "Travellers" are, or should be, rare individuals. Normal people, after finishing their careers, settle down. Travellers are different. The kind of person who makes space their home and embarks on a life of adventure is outside the norm. The starports probably aren't filled with highly experienced veterans looking for a job. Those vets usually enjoying the fruits of their labour. It's the younger folks still building up their resume who are still looking for work.&nbsp; With this in mind, I was thinking that the bulk of the ship's crew should be redshirts. I mean actual redshirts who can do their job but who are not seasoned vets who only fail if they roll snake eyes. These spear carrier NPCs don't really need names or to be rolled up like actual characters the story focuses on. On the Millennium Falcon you don't need spear carriers, but on the Death Star you do. A few of these redshits could be rolled up NPCs that Players have opportunities to play, but they don't have to be. We could get away with running the new ship with the current group of players and a bunch of spear carriers.&nbsp; That said, I actually love the idea of playing more than one character. Not because we need them. Just because I'd like to play another character.&nbsp;

I just thought of a stupid Idea, I might train in steward for my next skill. Yer i know its dumb to have a steward looking after passengers, but what can you do? That is after runt teaches me launchers 0.

Actually that's not stupid at all. If our show is going to be focusing on high end security and transport the steward would be getting heaps of play.&nbsp;

I’d like to point out a fairly necessary exception... if the next Captain of our ship is an NPC, they better be a full Captain, and not some sort of red-shirt equivalent. Because that’s just... scary dangerous.

Gevaudan might say to that: &nbsp;"Guessing this one's Orange HEV scary enough for one year in the chair, yes? &nbsp;Redshirt indeed."

Tenacious Techhunter said: I’d like to point out a fairly necessary exception... if the next Captain of our ship is an NPC, they better be a full Captain, and not some sort of red-shirt equivalent. Because that’s just... scary dangerous. Lol. Yeah.&nbsp; I guess the ideal would be that the PCs play the boss roles on board the ship or in the corporate boardroom. The gaps that need to be filled could be filled with named NPCs and/or redshirts.&nbsp;