KK, got a bit of a problem here, need some people to chime in with ideas.

I'm running a cross system game, which isn't playing out too hard on the rules mechanics, they're built like that for the most part. My problem here is going from Dark Heresy scale to Rogue Trader scale on money. As the party breaks away from their rogue trader that's been leading them in the first few eppisodes and goes freelance with their own luckilly aquired ship.

I've got the plans for the breakup worked out. I even have five different routes they can take and a different ship and way of claiming one in each route. I don't have however any idea of how to get them able to UPKEEP a starship starting from scratch. Oh I have a *few* ideas here and there, but at best I can see pf 5 at their start.

Any ideas how to handle things like:

Sponsors

Selling wreckage

REALLY good quickstart endeavors

Such things would really be appreciated. If it helps I can point 4 of the 5 starting locations. Pavonis, Devlin, Damnos, Rynn's World.

they ask house krin for backing. thats how the house made it's fortune. they would loan down on their luck traders some money to get back on their feet then like any loan they get paid back + interest. option 2 would be they accually back the new traders and they get a cut of any profit factor. 1/5 sounds about right. unfortunally with this method you never get rid of the silent "and sometimes not so silent" partner. though that could lead to many plot hooks.

Well house Krin isn't going to be available in Ultima Segmentum, but I get the drift.

I'm working on ways to get these people up from 0 profit factor. The problem is getting their ship upkeep until they're rich enough to handle it. They have one family contact but the priest doesn't want to talk to his father, who runs the Venerson Compact of Armageddon, a chimera manufacturing company that monopolizes production of chimera and their variants on numerous worlds across Segmentum Solar, Tempestus and Ultima. It would be pretty easy to get them some cash if he ran to daddy but I don't think it's gonna happen.

Otherwise I'm wondering how I get some cash into their coffers quickly enough.

Maybe salvage of derelect ships? Mining? Trade runs? I'm not really up on this here. Where did that "selling a ship" thread go in case they get some usable but damaged raider hulls along the way.

Would anyone who's played the game for a while know of any business opportunities near the planets I've suggested?

how did they even aquire a ship while under a RT without him laying claim? could he possibly back the new ship for being so helpful, or by still being his underlings? does the crew now have its own warrant?

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=101&efcid=3&efidt=653453

Is the link to the game review and how that RT has been doing so far. Suffice to say he won't be around by the time the party gets their first ship. The fellow is a cuthroat beauraucrat who was foisted a warrant by his enemies when he almost became the sole power in an entire sector and he's still in the impotent rage period.

I do have a secret way to have the party hold onto a ship without that RT, but that would be a spoiler and given I keep telling them to check the forums I don't want to put anything that tips my hand here.

As for getting the ship it's mostly about them both surviving a great disaster, remeber Damnos, Devlin, Pavonis, Rynn's World are most of their choices, and having the only crew available that can run one of the escape ships(one with it's own crew killed by the disaster).

My concern however is how they'll be able to support a ship with such a low profit factor and I've been asking about quick profit factor builds.

another choice is go merc for a while. hire the ship out to the imperial navy. they pay upkeep and you take missions from them. anything from long ranged patrols into known pirate infested areas to bombarding a "suspected" chaos colony (read home to political rival full of innocents…. or is it?) anyway the I.N. is always short ships for all it's duties, upkeep+ a bit of profit is a small price to pay for a warship with a crew.

I figured if I was going to ask how they should make money, I really should *spoiler* at least the first four ships. Some of them have an obvious design direction. I am asking how to make money with one of these ships(it could be any one of them) fast enough to actually support the vessel when it comes time for upkeep tests.

Any ideas?

Check out the Past-Histories table in the new book. Number 10 is "Finances in Arrears" it basically means the ship was bought on borrowed funds (to include initial upkeep) and until they've paid back their patron he can levy demands on them.

While a useful plot hook most of the time I don't actually have anybody around for them to go into arrears TO. These ships come to them free and clear(well almost but a little wrangling and shooting never hurt anyone… that mattered) which is quite the two edged sword of a situation.

One they're got a ship, yay, they can make money, yay…

But two they've got a ship, yay, they have to PAY for upkeep… boooooo

Also I note that while everybody says just go get the money from someone, there are no mechanics for loans available in RAW. I imagine the worst part about it is that since profit factor is a measure of repulation and wealth if you're wealthy but up to your tippy toes in debt wouldn't that hurt your reputation… which would hurt your profit factor.

ARRRGGHH brain meltdown. Is anyone out there capable of giving me an answer that couldn't be taken from a relevant page number?

RT RAW is a means to an end my friend. Nothing is set in stone, or written in the stars, that can't be inferred from the RAW. The dynamics and complications involved with financial backers, merchant guilds, loan sharks, administrative grants, etc. would be a bane to anyone willing to commit it to RAW, IMO. Therefore, I believe the intent was left up to everyone's own creativity to try and implement these facets into their own games. How you precisely do that, well, that's for you to decide.

With that said, since you want some "RAW" advice, refer to page 129, EotA (Edge of the Abyss), under the ' Dark Cache' event in the ' Vaults of the Forgotten' module/campaign. It happens to describe a box containing only 12 crystal shards, xeno in origin, and when referencing it to profit factor on pg 132 EotA, it correlates to exactly 50 Achievement points. Just for 12 shards, you get 1/2 a Profit rating.

Other modules/campaigns can also be generalized in this way, published in courtesy of FFG and fans. Take the 'Into the Maw' module for example. Page 392, RT (Rogue Trader), it talks about the rewards of the " Righteous Path" artifacts and treasures, netting to a whopping +3 Profit. It doesn't explicitly state the exact quantity, but from reading the various rumors at the beginning of the module, it's pretty vast.

You can also reference ' Forsaken Bounty' for your salvaging of a ship idea (though the scale they use, IMO, is exceedingly too high). It talks about the rewards at the end of the module about salvaging the hulk of the " Emperor's Bounty" netting a(n) (outlandish) +10 Profit increase. Maybe with Salvaging Systems (pg 40 BFK) and a couple of Ship Stores (pg 37 BFK), the explorers could of easily netted this. But without the properly equipped ship, your profit outtake would of been drastically cut. Not to mention, just damaging a gun cutter in that segment supposedly would of cost the explores -1 to their profit…….

Other examples can also be referenced, but I do believe you get the gist. To be frank, you are going to have to use your imagination on this game dear sir. All the previous ideas other members mentioned are great IMHO. All any idea requires is some vision behind it to get it to work. Best of luck to you and your players, and may their endeavors always be fruitful (although they may not always be profitable

Woooo, hey thanx nameless I'm eating that stuff up and digging.

I think we got our wires crossed or I wasn't clear enough though. I was asking for something I COULDN'T have just looked up in the RAW, as most things before hand were just snippits from rulebooks.

Love the stuff though. You're right, a sudden jump of 10 pf from one ship when your ship isn't a specialized salvage vessel is a bit… much. How exactly do you get that amount of the light cruiser out of the debris field to make that much? I certainly don't know.

Of the ships I set forward I'm pretty sure if they get the Void Wanderer the solution will present itself, even if the party spends a long time off the ship because watching it sit there and mine all day probably wouldn't be the most attractive use of a rp meet.

The Higher Cause might work with Austin's idea.

Has anyone looked at the ships and seen anything that really jumps out at you as a way of making money with them?

SirRunOn said:

Your very welcome. My apologies though, I thought you wanted RAW advice. If all you wanted was just endeavor ideas for an up-becoming RT, then read along.

SirRunOn said:

Me personally, the ' Void Wanderer' is the best ship in the bunch. It's fast, has decent space, and great maneuverability. This is the ship I would not give the PC's for free. Secondly, IMO, Asteroid Mining Facilities are one of those things I have on NPC vessels. If you do give this ship to them, leave it on there, because then they will have to get their Profit Rating up to get rid of it later and replace that 10 space with other more diverse components.

SirRunOn said:

Ideas are now commencing, though these are contingent upon the PC's archetypes and ambitions.

1) Military Endeavor: PC's are commissioned to act as transport for a group of soldier/mercenaries for a small/large scale battle/war. These troops are not the PC's to command, only to transport to the mission. Unbeknownst to the PC's, the previous battles / current war is going badly, and upon arrival the PC's and their crew / ship are offered to be used as additional mercenaries to either a) conduct raid mission on select outposts to gather military intelligence documents / data b) conduct orbital bombardments on known enemy supply lines / fortifications, which will entail the PC's having to fly down to the planet and conduct reconnaissance c) scare tactics on enemy transport ships so reinforcements are late arriving or don't arrive at all d) a combination of the aforementioned options plus others deemed appropriate.

2) Trade Endeavor: PC's are hired to transport some much needed supplies (could be anything from food, water, fuel, weapons, etc) through a blockade of pirate / xeno / enemy faction ships to another orbital station / moon facility / planet outpost. No one else is willing to do it, because even though the pay is high, the risk is just as bad. They will definitely get attacked at least once (if not more) while conducting this operation, and possible boarded. Upon arrival at the station / moon / planet, a) enemy forces have captured it with the previous occupants being prisoners, and more than likely if the PC's rescue them, a hefty reward would be in the works b) Saboteurs are running rampant in the facility, and the PC's are requested to help deal with the situation, for a reward c) The facilities occupants have contracted a rare but curable virus, and the PC's are hired on a race against time to get the cure from another station and return through the blockade a third time (once to enter, leave, enter, but do they leave again??) d) a combination of the aforementioned options plus others deemed appropriate.

3) Exploration Endeavor: PC's are commissioned to explore a quadrant of space for the Adeptus Mechanicus, so a research / excavation / observation outpost can be constructed there. The area requested is really far away with frequent hazardous warp storms along the known paths. Pay is high, but is it worth it? Upon arrival in system they discover, a) a barren wasteland, but might discover a lost acheotech Adeptus Mechanicus probe. Recovery of this probe could net vast sums of profit, but unknown to them it has become infected with a computer virus which will cause all kinds of havoc on their ships systems and servitors (woo unto them if they have Murder Servitors aboard) b) a large underground feral colony of humans is living on a moon, which is ripe with gems and crystals worth vast sums of profit. If orbital bombardment is used, this collapses the tunnels, so only negotiation or wholesale slaughter can net what the PC's want c) on the edge of the system is discovered a few hundred asteroids with rare and exotic minerals, mixed with hundreds of thousands of other mundane asteroids. Do the PC's report this to the Adeptus Mechanicus, do they keep this secret to themselves, and are they going to attempt to mine these asteroids? Upon mining these asteroids, dozens of void creatures (that closely resemble baby Void Krakens) the size of small shuttle craft are discovered inhabiting them. Attacking the creatures only agitates them, which causes many more (maybe 50, maybe 100, maybe thousands ) to attack the PC's, their crew and the ship. Extermination of these creatures is needed before mining can commence again. d) An Adeptus Mechanicus / other Imperial organization or Dynasty's station / outpost is discovered orbiting a planet / on a moon. It has long ago been attacked by unknown forces, and the occupants bodies are still dead in the station. Is the enemy still lurking in the system??? e) a combination of the aforementioned options plus others deemed appropriate.

Hopefully these ideas were what you were looking for SirRunOn. Happy hunting.

Well my party went "the other way" and danced right into storylines from 90's BFG campain a different group and I ran a long long long time ago.

Nothing unusual, I just didn't think they'd pick traveling to a guy who won his planetary governership in a hand of tarot instead of some of the priests very rich and stable relatives.

Skip much of the outlying story(like those four transports) and make it much easier for me they did. Now I know everyone in the area they're in, cause I used to play them a decade and some ago.

Muah hah hah

Wait till they get a load of the disciples of the God Emperor in his aspect of Bob. Rich's old wonderful Bobites, who worshiped the emperor as a head of lettuce on his golden salad bar, and ate salads to honor him before battle, and salads with meaty bits to honor him after victory!