Financing Other Then Starships

[kilemall]

There are big ticket items in CT that are short of a starship, but past the initial starting character finances.

One popular item is the Cr70000 4 year Skill-2 sabbatical.

Another is basic equipment such as weapons, armor, survival gear and/or transportation.

Still another that is not part of the official rules but certainly should be dealt with is medical care, particularly after a near-death accident/animal attack/combat.

My thought is, use the starship scale for big ticket items and a 36-month truncated payment scheme for small ticket items.

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Small ticket would be delineated by anything that costs less then 'proven annual income', which would be the yearly rate for the job the character has if any plus annual pension if any plus cash deposited in the institution.

Any money deposited would accrue interest, I suggest 10% per year, and is not accessible until the loan is paid off, as it is effectively a bond against the loan itself.

The loan payment for small ticket items would be the financed amount divided by 24 payable for 36 months.

So Cr10000 of gear would be Cr417 per month for 36 months.

A KCr70 loan for the sabbatical would be under starship terms (unless the character has enough money to deposit or salary to secure the loan). That would be CR292 for 40 years.

A secured small ticket loan, with a full deposit of money to cover the principle, is always available and approved.

Most large ticket items won't be on secured terms, the person will typically just pay and avoid financing.

Otherwise, unsecured loan approval must be applied for. Each application costs Cr50 in fees.

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Applying for loans can only be done once a year, each failure adds +1 to the target to roll for until 12 months + a month for each failure elapses.

The basic roll for loan approval is 2d6 SOC or below. Admin or Bribery skill may be applied, with a monetary cost and law level check for success associated with bribing.

Service Rank for Merchant, Army, Navy, Flyers, Sailors or Marine rank can be added to the SOC target for relevant ship/vehicle types.

Scouts, Scientists, Hunters and Belters can use terms as rank for this function for their ship types.

A reasonable business plan still has to be presented to justify the loan.

At the end of a loan with no missed payments and the debt paid, a 1d6 roll at or higher then current SOC will net a SOC+1.

Failing to pay off the debt, which is considered late on payments by 1d6 months, will provoke repossession action, deposited money is forfeit along with a 2d6 roll against SOC-at or lower then the charstat results in SOC-1.

Resolution of unintentional late payment situations are at the discretion of the referee.

 

[kilemall]

Alternative financing schemes are available.

The subsidized form of starship loan is available for the KCr70 sabbatical. That would involve signing up for a service to pay off the loan

So an 8-year 'term'- 4 for the skill acquisition, 4 for the mandatory service.

The character could roll for a second career, basic roll to enlist -terms aged.

The skill is chosen by the player, but must be in the skill tables of the service enlisted to.

This would be a good option for the 'too young' character and give them some control over their chargen.


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There is also the underworld option of loan sharks and blood debts.

Loan approval rollis are 2d6 SOC or above, with Streetwise as a modifier lowering the SOC required.

Terms are short ticket finance divided by 12 and 36 months, long term 120 divided by 480.

Loans default on the first month late, with repossession and more dire consequences then normal.

Subsidized ships financed through the underworld will be forced into smuggling and other shady activities, with no escape clause short of capture/jailing or death.

Criminal subsidized sabbaticals cover such 'services' as Other, Pirates and Rogues, and would otherwise be like other second careers.

 

[kilemall]

Another way to do sabbatical-like skill acquisition is the Instruction mechanic from LBB4+.

Intended to cover cadre type Merc force building situations, Instruction could be used for generic needs as well.

To reiterate, Instruction is a six-week intense training or six month partial duty process. The Instructor can only teach to -1 of both the Instruction and imparted skill level. Success is 9+, with Intel 8+ getting +1 DM and INT 10+ getting +2 DM, Instruction level above 2 gets +1 DM per additional level, and -1 DM per student over 6.

Obviously doing say 2 sessions to get to Skill-2 is preferable to 4 years.

The key to game balance and no bloat is to make Instruction costly, troublesome and difficult to achieve.

Note in generating a typical LBB4+ character how difficult it is just to get an Instruction-2/Skill-2 instructor that can teach to Skill-1. Instruction-3/Skill-3 to get to Skill-2 is rarer still.


The prices should reflect this rarity.

For a skill-0 Adult Ed sort of class, Cr1000, roll 2d6 world TL and below, and should be regularly available for legal ones. Roll 2d6 Law Level or higher for any shady skills, no weapon skill training available where the weapon is illegal. Average

For skill-1, Cr20000 deposited up front, plus living costs for the six month option. Availability is a roll 2d6 world population or less, LL/weapon-shady skill check, class start 1d6 weeks away. Average student count is 1d6+2.

For skill-2, Cr40000 deposited up front, plus living costs for the six-month option. Availability is roll 2d6 Law Lever or higher, LL/weapon-shady skill check, class start 2d6 months away. Average student count is 2d6-2.

Failure to achieve the skill means having to pay for another round of training. So loss of time AND fees can make this a more expensive option and possibly as long as a sabbatical. Risk/reward.

For skill-3, the costs should be at least six figures in credits, and the prospective student must come highly recommended.

For skill-4+ even millions of credits would not likely buy a master sensei- more like a quest or an in to get such a rare and valuable instructor to deign to teach the student.

 

[whartung]

Credit cards.

If you have something with actual collateral (i.e. a home, or a starship), you can get a line of credit against it and use that instead of a credit card.

If society thinks your 4 years Skill-2 sabbatical is a net social win, then unsecured, perhaps partially subsidized "Sabbatical Loans" should be available.

 

[kilemall]

Credit cards.

If you have something with actual collateral (i.e. a home, or a starship), you can get a line of credit against it and use that instead of a credit card.

If society thinks your 4 years Skill-2 sabbatical is a net social win, then unsecured, perhaps partially subsidized "Sabbatical Loans" should be available.

Hmm, I wouldn't imagine a second lien on a ship that isn't paid off would go over well with the initial loaner or the second loan approval. A free and clear ship would be different.

I covered the subsidized loan above, basically society gets a term of service out of the character. Kind of a quick and dirty college degree/OCS system for 18 year olds OR characters booted out of service 'too young'.

Otherwise the KCr70 is available unsecured under this proposal, they just have to apply successfully, it's not automatic or a cheaper rate like a secured one is.

 

[Ulsyus]

At the end of a loan with no missed payments and the debt paid, a 1d6 roll at or higher then current SOC will net a SOC+1.

Isn't that a bit generous? Couldn't you just apply a +1DM to future loan applications for the same vale & lower independent of SOC?

 

[kilemall]

Isn't that a bit generous? Couldn't you just apply a +1DM to future loan applications for the same vale & lower independent of SOC?

Not at all- when you are that low on the totem pole, any sign of respectability sets you apart from your peers.

Secondly, consider the life of a SOC 2-3 especially with well-paying job retention and how many are going to be able to string together 36 months of ontime payment.

One might say earning crew pay would make achieving this a snap, but consider the complicated troublesome life of a Traveller.

Then, the painful drop, possibly below SOC-2. A serious blow.

Third, diminishing chances at the reward at SOC-5+, so a series of successful loans over a decade might get one into the lower middle class, but not any further.

The high-SOC default pain plus this makes for a bigger middle class curve.

Fourth, gameplay. At a certain point it's not SpaceSim, it's game where extra effort can garner you a win.

If a player is really trying to up that SOC score, their activity can be greatly driven by making that payment, as much a motivator as the classic 'make the mortgage' for free traders.