The Difficulties of a Trader

By Lordbiscuit, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

Recently the option for knight level alt characters have been introduced to my group in order to introduce a little variety to the heavily combat orientated party in this EOtE and AOR campiagn . As such; I have created a Trandosian Entreprenur with a second spec in Agitator (AOR) to build on a imposing talker theme, with threes in everything aside from agility and either int or pressence (and focus on ranks). It's a hard build since I've built such a broad, rough diamond of a character that brings the preditory nature of the trandoisan into the trading rings, but it will be certainly rewarding when I get into the role and sink exp!

The issue is that though I am roleplaying a trader with underworld connections, I am at a slight loss on what to actually trade; the easiest thing and most obivous to do, considering that I want to theme this guy on a hard talking citizen of the underworld would be to trade a tonage of sugar spice and everything nice but as I'm affliated with the rebel allience (We are a squad banding in the rebel allience for safety) the question of heavy dealing would probably be frowned upon if I was to used it extensively.

Yet the option of other legal goods is also frowned again since due to my parties reputation in it's lack of subtly. Thus it's hard to actually pose as a legitmate trader for any extended period of time, something I am hoping to change drastically with a partnership between several alt characters. My characters eventural aim is to buy a crusier to setup as his own casino, a moble black market shadowport so that he can forfill a oath to some old friends from the past to do just that. I need to actually hammer out a backstory so I am flexable, I just need to sit down and have more time to plan it out properly (I spoke to my DM, and he's fine with this being an eventural personal objective)

Has anyone else ever played an Entreprenur themed class? If so ,what have you traded or done with it? What is the most incredable feat you have seen preformed with the power of money?

There are lots of things you could sell: weapons, illegal racing swoops, droids with "hidden" auxiliary programming, rare and exotic animals, or anything that smacks of contraband. You could specialize in finding places the Empire has embargoed something (doesn't have to be illicit - it could be salt) and run the blockade. You could sell services, acting as a middle-man for mercenaries, outlaw techs, and slicers. If your goal is to eventually run a casino, you could try to set up a roving Sabacc tournament that caters to a different clientele than standard, boring casinos.

I wouldn't think of the Entrepreneur as an "I sell this" kind of Trandoshan. I'd be more of a "how can I turn every situation, all the time, no matter how insane into some kind of profit".

Info is another thing that can be sold:

New equipment plans

New Drug formulas

Locations of people

Dirt on high powered NPC's

Shipment times and destinations/origins

Like information, another "product" you can sell that isn't necessarily physical is entertainment.

Your Trandoshan could manage of a troupe of performers or team of athletes that travel to different worlds, putting on shows for crowds. Or you could manage something smaller and more selective, like private dancers, although that does run the risk of making your character sound like a pimp. Then again, that might be something that interests you.

And the other thing is, if you're responsible for moving groups of people (actors or athletes), that's a great cover for a Rebel cell to infiltrate different planets.

Our group does a lot of smuggling and trading. One of the PC's is an entrepreneur and the player is constantly looking for an edge and a way to make a profit from anything. He's really good at it.

We have traded lumber to worlds with poor natural resources, medical supplies, weapons, information, personal services (pc's can always do this), and other things I am sure I am forgetting. We have transported people, as mentioned above.

Remember, anything can be illegal depending on where it is traded and how you ship it. Someone above mentioned salt, which you can get anywhere, well, anywhere except Cona, where it is an illegal drug and highly addictive to the native species. Typically legal high end luxury goods usually have high end taxes to go with them, but an enterprising smuggler could save herself a pile of credits if she shipped them in illegally. There aren't rules to reflect this is the main book, but if I was your GM, I would give you a percentage of bonus credits for "creative shipping". You are taking a higher risk, after all.

You could also sell the astrogation information on your ship's navicomputer if you have been to hard to get to or dangerous locations or you could start a reputation as a fence for stolen goods or as a money launderer (Better Call Saul?).

The difficult thing might be finding the opportunities. You are going to have to talk to a lot of NPC's and resist the normal PC urge to blast the slimier ones. Usually. It takes a lot more initiative on the part of the player to rp this type of character versus a combat character; the latter is often reactive, while a business-oriented pc will often be creating his opportunities.

My smuggler character judiciously use light side points to create new contacts as we land on new planets. I'll flip one, make up an interesting NPC that the gm can role-play, and say that she is an old friend/business contact from way back. It really helps and helps create the illusion that my character has been around a long time and has been to all the corners of the galaxy.