Hi guys,

while playing and GMing a few rounds of EotE, I found it relatively hard to judge what monetary rewards make for a stable PC income. Say a job pays 6,000 credits. In a group of 5 characters with expenses of 1,000 credits, that means everyone gets 1,000. Blue Milk for everyone! But wait! There was that pesky encounter with the squadron of TIEs that inflicted 8 points of hull trauma on the group's ship. To get that repaired, the PCs have to shell out 4,000 credits, reducing their profit to 200 each. That's a factor 5 difference, based on probably about 3 good rolls on the part of the TIEs.

On the other hand side, a mechanic can repair between 1 and about 5 hull points for each combat (1 standard Damage Control, 3 Solid Repair, 1 for two extra successes). Assuming two heavy space battles in an adventure, this can make a difference of 5000 credits. Compare that to an Entrepeneur with fully-built Sound Investments who gains a whopping 500 credits per session...

Am I overlooking something? Right now it seems to me as if the most sensible thing would be to have the PCs become best buddies with some shipwrights who proceed to handle repairs at cost, say 200 credits per point, just to reign in the extreme randomness.

Perhaps find reasons for their pay to be offered as "remuneration of incurred costs as well as $5000 credits" that way the repairs don't matter and are essentially hand waved. If the incurred costs are excessive then it sets up a nice little social tension between employer and PC's.

I remember the very first D&D adventure I ever ran, when I was about 13. One of the more experienced players was pretty keen to negotiate extra pay for every Hit Point of damage they took. Interestingly, nobody has tried anything similar since then.

I think Richardbuxton has the right of it. Any group of profit-minded mercenaries should have a standard contract and fee rate. I especially like the mental image of a crew of cutthroat pirates meeting a potential employer. Bristling with blasters and vibroblades, the assortment of Gamorreans, Weequay and Trandoshans tower over their new business partner. Then a tiny Drall squeezes between them, straightens his bow tie and adjusts his glasses. "As you can see, Sir, the crew of the Gutstabber will be more than suitable for your needs. Our standard fee covers the full crew and use of the ship, assuming moderate use of fuel and daily expenses. Quite modest, as you can see. Should we encounter, er... opposition, there is an Extenuating Hazard Fee. Also take note of the Repair Costs Incurred Clause, and the Death and Dismemberment Clause. Please note, Sir, that failure to remit these extra fees will cause you to become intimately familiar with said Death and Dismemberment Clause. I'll need you to initial here, here and here, and sign here."

"What the hell kind of pirates are you?!"

"Oh, I'm not a pirate," says the Drall, clicking his pen and handing it to the employer, "I'm a paralegal."

It's not randomness, it's risk.

If the players own thier own ship and need upkeep, then they (and the GM) need to include that.

The job pays 10,000 that's 2,000 for each of you.

Oh? You sure about that? Because I see a wing of TIEs protecting that base. That means laser cannons and hull damage, and hull damage ain't frelling cheap my friend. You want us to run it, it's 20,000 or we walk.

The characters take the risk when they take the job. That's why they need to find out in advance as much as possible before they commit. It's also a movie staple to see someone hire some mercs for a job that turns out much harder than anticipated and when the mercs get back with the mcguffin they demand more money because of the risk. Especially when they think that the client know about the details and didn't divulge them.

They can either pad the budget with funds to repair the ship or add a seperate repair deal. "We'll go in there and get it for you for the 6k plus all repairs to our ship." Or the client saying I'll pay you 6K credits and cover your repair costs up to a point.

Another interesting offer could be "2k each and I'll have my guy patch your ship up when you get back"

This introduces another possible complication of poor workmanship for tracking devices!

Our group invested heavily in a business that includes ship repair and salvage, so we get the parts at cost and free access to facilities. So long as we do the work ourselves we get it for 200 credits a point.

4 hours ago, Ghostofman said:

hull damage ain't frelling cheap my friend. You want us to run it, it's 20,000 or we walk.

HEY THAT'S FARSCAPE LINGO! Great show.

Alternatively this is the thing that should be covered up front; you and the crime lord agreed to something and you took more damage then your pay covered. Who's fault is it? The boss is perfectly within his rights to shrug off the repair cost accusation with:

"Shud hav' bin more careful then, scrub."

Then this opens up other plot avenues. Do the party attempt to turn on the boss? Do they attempt to sell the thing off to someone else? Do they tick off the underworld? This world isn't fair and the boss isn't necessarily obliged to cover any repair costs. "Your ship, your salary" he grumbles, waving forward his intimidating body guards. Wealth can come easy, but it's important to have those droughts too, to either tempt the players into taking an assignment over their head or smartly investing the huger windfalls.

I have all hull repairs cost credits for parts. The cost of these parts is 50% of what you pay for to have it repaired (the other half is labor, which a PC Mechanic can supply), and stores of "parts" can be bought ahead of time and stored aboard the ship (GM's discretion, a fighter can't really carry much in the way of parts, but a light freighter can carry quite a few). The Rarity of parts is equal to the Rarity of the starship (and they are Restricted if the startship in question is REstricted). IOW, when that Mechanic fixes 5 HT, he also marks 5 "parts" off of the ship's stores (if he has less parts than his roll would repair, he's limited by the store of "parts"). Making repairs can be performed once per 12 hours (the rule I use use for "once per encounter" abilities when outside of structured time).

Generally, any guy/gal with a car needs to have a reliable garage, that he knows he gets a good deal there when his car breaks

I guess we should point out that there are lots of different answers to this question. What you need to ask yourself though is "is vehicle maintenance an important element of this campaign story?" Sometimes that management of resources is very important, and I think HappyDaze's solution is great. Other campaigns have other elements that are far more important and the repair cost of a vehicle just gets in the way.

8 hours ago, Ghostofman said:

It's not randomness, it's risk.

If the players own thier own ship and need upkeep, then they (and the GM) need to include that.

The job pays 10,000 that's 2,000 for each of you.

Oh? You sure about that? Because I see a wing of TIEs protecting that base. That means laser cannons and hull damage, and hull damage ain't frelling cheap my friend. You want us to run it, it's 20,000 or we walk.

The problem with that risk is that it can pay off so much more than basically anything else in the game. Compare that to personal combat: Whether you take a hit or not and have to apply a stimpack makes a difference of 25 credits. That's... a set of brass knuckles or a handheld comlink (now that I think about it, that should either be an awesome set of knuckles or a crappy comlink...). Taking a few hits more or less in space combat (or in the "worst" case even evading combat outright) is pretty much off the scale compared to that.

I think I might go for the friendly neighbourhood discount mechanics. Compared to HappyDaze's version of taking parts on board, it has another benefit: There's just one shipyard offering that deal to the PCs, so they get to decide whether they make use of the expensive local guys that cut into their profits or try and make it home in a damaged ship.

I usually don't worry about an exact 1 hull = 500 ratio. I just use it as a general reference, and then make the number up. I don't want us spending to much time worrying about repairs in our game, so I try to keep it fast and loose. I know what I'm paying them, so I'll customize repair prices to fit.

I've also had characters making a deal ask for ship repair as part of the contract if they know the mission is potentially dangerous. I'm usually fine with that, though the cash reward will be less. You can either have 10000 credits, or 7500 credits and repairs are covered. If you blow up the ship though, you're out of luck.

12 hours ago, Cifer said:

The problem with that risk is that it can pay off so much more than basically anything else in the game. Compare that to personal combat: Whether you take a hit or not and have to apply a stimpack makes a difference of 25 credits. That's... a set of brass knuckles or a handheld comlink (now that I think about it, that should either be an awesome set of knuckles or a crappy comlink...). Taking a few hits more or less in space combat (or in the "worst" case even evading combat outright) is pretty much off the scale compared to that.

That's just like in real life. Do something dangerous where your clothes or whatnot might get damaged and you are risking maybe 5 to 10k based on what sort of special stuff that you have. Throw in a vehicle for that transport and any damages to that vehicle are going to be costly. The biggest difference is that in the real life most risky jobs involving vehicles usually involve disposable vehicles or, cinematicaly, a driver (pilot) that is so good the vehicle survives. Players are fanatically attached to their characters gear, so as long as they are they are going to have to pay to keep it up.

It's part of the risk. Job not paying enough to risk your transport? Steal one. If one isn't available demand compensation levels to cover potential damage or get a repair clause in your agreement if you feel your client is trustworthy enough to come through. If you don't get those things then you are taking the gamble that you can get through this job ahead. Risk vs Reward.

On 12/07/2017 at 7:54 AM, GroggyGolem said:

HEY THAT'S FARSCAPE LINGO! Great show.

Fine. FINE! I'll go rewatch Farscape start to finsh. Are you happy now?