Setup:

Plot wise the party is going to be ordered to go pick up a shipment of Long Duration or Emergency Rations (E-Rats).

They've established some contacts on an agriworld and there's sufficient side drama that each trip has been 'interesting'* and so the B plot continues.

So I have this evil GM notion. The players just picked up over $ 1,500,000 from a drug sale and their Rebel sponsor knows that they're flush with cash. Mind you the seed money from this transaction CAME from the Rebel Alliance so . . .good job?

So the plan is to have the PC's go and pick up 175 EC of E-Rats, which have a (current)** wholesale value of $ 25,000 each EC. So that's about $ 4,375,000 for a full lot. WAY more money than what the PC's have on hand.***

Here's the moral dilemma that I'm wrestling with. Do I give the PC's the needed capital that they need for this purchase? Or do I just send them with their current resources and add this as just another mission complication?

Just interested in your opinions my fellow GM's.

* "Interesting": to quote Wash from Firefly/Serenity "Oh, God! Oh God, we're all going to die!"

** Did I mention a B-plot? It's involved in a recent price increase.

*** Yes, the crew will be tasked with 'Buying Food.' Grocery shopping. It get's worse. This will be their THIRD grocery shopping mission to this planet. And in retrospect, these three missions will be among the most interesting that I've come up with. (Admittedly, it's the B-Plot that keeps this interesting).

Mission or quest complications are almost always great for roleplay, and it can be insanely entertaining to see what solutions a party will come up. Be hard but fair about it and you can't go wrong.

22 hours ago, Galakk Fyyar said:

Mission or quest complications are almost always great for roleplay, and it can be insanely entertaining to see what solutions a party will come up. Be hard but fair about it and you can't go wrong.

But it must be used parsimoniously otherwise the trick becomes quickly tiring for the players, since they will expect it to happen.

Too late!

The PC's have already been dispatched and with one contributing vote* the plucky heroes were dispatched without additional resources. So down the rabbit hole they descend . . .

Mind you the Rebellion is usually pretty good about gauging the required resources for a given job and providing the needed capital. This happens to be one rare exception.

* Obviously as the GM, I have total veto power