I plan on creating bulletin boards for some star ports, where the PCs can enlist for some cargo jobs. But how high should the reward be for such jobs? Let's say a few crates with food to an outer rim world, or a crate with blaster pistols for a mid rim imperial outpost?

You need the Fly Casual book, it has everything you need for that kind of thing.

I know this is an answer to a question you didnt ask, but you might find these threads useful:

* Random Cargo Generator

* Random Job Generator

5 hours ago, whafrog said:

You need the Fly Casual book, it has everything you need for that kind of thing.

Mh, not really. At least at first glance I didn't find anything about cargo runs. There is an something about smuggling, but I'm talking about normal, legal cargo runs. Hauling 10 crates of apples from a to b, for example.

You need to glance again, p.71 and 72 in Fly Casual are exactly what you are looking for.

6 minutes ago, 2P51 said:

You need to glance again, p.71 and 72 in Fly Casual are exactly what you are looking for.

Ah, so for normal "not smuggling" cargo hauls it's the column "unrestricted" in 3-1? Ok, then I have to calculate different, now I calculate based on the size of the cargo container and modify based on a value I attached to the goods..
Example: A medium crate full with data pads would bring a base price of 15 cr for a crate full of data pads, times 2 for the size of the container (medium crate, encumbrance 10), times 2.5 for the transport route (Core world to an Outer Rim world), would be a profit of 75 credits per crate. If the job is illegal (maybe a job for a rebel cell) the same crates would bring 187 credits.

I will try to calculate it based on the book, see what profit values that will bring..

In short, the reward is money.

As I understand, there are two ways to ship cargo. On Charter or on Adventure.

WE are most familiar with Charter cargo. This is where you have a stack of boxes or pallets that need to be shipped from point A to point B and you will be paid a modest fee to get the cargo there. The chart on pg 73 of Fly Casual can be used, but I think it a bit unrealistic. So let me taint the narrative a bit.

Charter cargo is going to be more dependent on the distance traveled. Payouts for chartered cargo will be relatively low, earning a couple hundred credits for a single haul. But as the required distance for travel increases, the pay should increase a bit.

And some of these cargoes will need to be delivered in a timely fashion, so there may be a delivery bonus for an on time delivery. Some cargo may not be available unless your ship can beat the HC 2 standard.

If you are shipping chartered cargo you will NEVER be paid a "percentage" of the value of the cargo. The profits for shipping Charter cargo is more a reflection of covering the direct costs of transportation.

Adventure is where things get interesting. (And this is the historical definition for the word Adventure!)!

Adventure is where your crew purchases a cargo and then ships it to another location in the hopes that you can sell the cargo for more than you purchased it.

An example. You find yourself on Corellia and decide to pick up spare parts and starship components for CEC vehicles. A wholesaler has a lot available which masses 100 EC and costs you $50,000.

Now if you take this haul to Duros (Next door), you may find that the whole lot is worth $35,000 because they ship in this stuff by lot at a discounted rate. (Doh)!

However, if you get this cargo to Tatooine, you may find a junk dealer willing to buy the lot for $60,000, because business has been pretty good and the recent demand has been decent.

Or say hauling this stuff to Coruscant, but you arrive just as the newsies announce that there is a strong correlation to the rebellion and Corellia. The Empire has established a boycott on CEC products and any such cargo will be confiscated! ($0). However, if you can smuggle the cargo to the black market, you should be able to find someone willing to pay $100,000 (easy).

So that's how Adventure works (in a nutshell).

Lets not forget PAX and Supercargo.

PAX are obviously people who charter a ride on a ship. They have someplace to go, but won't have anything larger than standard luggage to haul. Minimum rate for PAX is maybe as low as $50 to $100 for a short haul, but could quickly climb based on how far they need to go. And of course, if they want "No questions asked" and would prefer to avoid "Imperial entanglements" the prices can soar.

Supercargo (SC) are people who accompany a chartered cargo haul. The fare for SC will be included with the cargo haul.

As a GM, cargo can take some effort and most of it will seem wasted. BUT, if the PC's are headed to a system and have an interest in making a little money on their visit, figure out what cargo is likely to be there and available for shipment.

Each world is likely to have chief exports, and most of that is shipped via bulk freighters, but there may be an opportunity to pick up a small shipment of that chief resource. You also need to figure out who would want this stuff (destination).

Usually most worlds will have 2 - 3 small charters available that are appropriate for the PC's ship. (You may even present two appropriate charters, but they need to go in opposite directions).

And yeah, some planets are going to be dead end points. Point in case, Orto is a GREAT destination for luxury goods and finished products. YOU WILL MAKE A PROFIT! However, due to the exclusionary trade agreements and cargo hazmat (Hazardous Materials designation) Orto exports NOTHING! You might pick up a PAX charter or two.

Remember that cargo is a non sexy mcguffin. In and of itself, shipping cargo is pointless (for the game), but the shipping of cargo can be made interesting depending on obstacles and complications involved in the journey.

Yes, that's why I based my reward calculation not so much on the items that are shipped, or more the other way.. I the items have a base reward that gets multiplied by a multiplier based on the cargo container they are shipped in (the cargo itselt should not be that interesting, the cago space it takes up however should), then multiplied by a multiplier based on the distance traveled (not accounting outer rim to the other side of the galaxy outer rim however..) and finally by another multiplier when the job is illegal (aka smuggling). In that case I count in another multiplier based on the presence of imperial troops on the destination planet. In any case there will be another multiplier if the destination planet is under blockade. And I also want to count in a modifier, if there are hyperspace routes between the two planets.

If you find this too much to calculate, i won't do this manually. It's for a generator. Don't know of how much use it would be for you, because it's in german, but here's the link..
https://rpg-duelmen.de/stuff/swgenerator/swgenerator.php?freightjob_core

Don't look too closely at the rewards, they have to be tweaked a bit. That's why I asked, what amount of credits would be "realistic".

And I agree.. these are just basic job offers, the interesting part will come, when it comes to pirates attacking, hyperspace jumps failing, cargo being not the cargo that was on the list, imperial customs, and so on..

I don't speak (or more importantly, 'read') German, but it sounds like your assumptions are sound for your campaign.

I would check the old book "Tramp Freighter" from the D6 edition, wich you can find easily as it is free now.

Any chance you could update/build that generator to English for those who dont speak German?

I can try

46 minutes ago, MasterZelgadis said:

I can try

Do or do not. There is no 'try'!

Ok, I think it works. Now I have to translate everything..