Free Traders and their Pilots

[BlindGuy]

So I'm starting up a solo Trav campaign using, essentially, the Traveling Alone rules from here. I rolled up a corporate type whom I figured had been in his planet side job long enough, and was ready for some excitement. I'm using Regina as a convenient, high tech starting point.

He has pilot skil, so for the first open section of that chart I let him find a free trader which was in need of a pilot. I'm now working on fleshing out the rest of the crew a bit, and got to wondering why a free trader might need one, that is, aside from the obvious—need a pilot to fly.
The impression I get is that most PC FT's are operated by their owner aboard, who also takes on a crew position. Maybe he isn't around for some reason? Maybe there isn't one?

It's also possible I don't need a reason, per se, and can just figure that out in play. But I'd love some thoughts. This is my most promising solo Trav campaign so far, frankly, and that isn't saying much.

 

[Mako]

Reasons for the Crew

Well, as you pointed out, you may or may not need a crew.

I guess it depends upon your point of view, and needs/desires.

Having a co-pilot certainly makes things a bit easier and safer, I suspect, in space, since you can't stay awake all the time. Letting the autopilot control things while you're sleeping/resting, and/or stopping to do that has its downsides too, e.g. could be dangerous in congested space, makes you vulnerable to pirates/criminals, it might fail at a critical moment, slows things down considerably - time is money (especially for an expensive vessel like a free trader), etc.

Perhaps your pilot just wants companionship too, or needs help loading/unloading cargo, negotiating deals, defending the ship, etc., etc. He/she can't possibly be a jack of all trades, and droids have their limitations, I suspect. Having a few extra characters around could also make your story/stories a bit more interesting.

Plus, if you get in a dicey situation, it's good to have friends/acquaintances around too.

Of course, you could always end up getting untrustworthy crew members as well, who'd just as soon space you as tell you the time of day.

Hope that doesn't keep your pilot up at night. ;-)

Thanks for sharing the link to the solo gaming page. I shall have a look at that, since I'm considering doing something similar.

 

[BlindGuy]

I'm glad the link was helpful. I can't take any credit for it, but really appreciate the work the original author put into it.

As for my original question, you raise some good points. I'm not quite sure what kind of story I want to tell, and therein lies a dilemma, I expect. I've seen some solo campaigns focus on a single protagonist, and others go more the Firefly route. I certainly have plenty of grist for the mill, but figuring out how to put it all together when I'm just entertaining myself is a bit daunting.

 

[Spartan159]

So I'm starting up a solo Trav campaign using, essentially, the Traveling Alone rules from here. I rolled up a corporate type whom I figured had been in his planet side job long enough, and was ready for some excitement. I'm using Regina as a convenient, high tech starting point.

He has pilot skil, so for the first open section of that chart I let him find a free trader which was in need of a pilot. I'm now working on fleshing out the rest of the crew a bit, and got to wondering why a free trader might need one, that is, aside from the obvious—need a pilot to fly.
The impression I get is that most PC FT's are operated by their owner aboard, who also takes on a crew position. Maybe he isn't around for some reason? Maybe there isn't one?

It's also possible I don't need a reason, per se, and can just figure that out in play. But I'd love some thoughts. This is my most promising solo Trav campaign so far, frankly, and that isn't saying much.

I've been looking to do a solo campaign using that same set of guidelines, probably with a illegitimate child of MT and T5 with bits scavenged from everywhere else. I rolled a complete crew with connections from prior services for the March Harrier so I hope there are no bad apples in the bunch *grin*

 

[Timerover51]

From Starter Traveller comes the crewing requirements for a Free Trader.

The free trader requires a crew of four: pilot, engineer, medic, and steward.

Possible reasons for wanting or needing a pilot.

1. The owner is much happier working the engine room, and has a higher skill level there. Rather than hiring an engineer over whose shoulder he will be looking, he hires a pilot.

2. The current owner has inherited the fully paid-off ship from her father, and wishes to run it as a business. However, while having considerable knowledge of brokering and cargo from assisting her father, she is not a pilot and does not wish to take to time to become one. She will be owner onboard, and handling all of the trading, but needs a full crew.

3. The Free Trader belongs to rulers of Hefry, and is of vital importance to maintaining their control of the planet's population, being used when in system to recover and bring to the planet quantities of water ice and carbon-containing asteroid ore for maintenance of the planet's life-support systems, along with being the prime means of Hefry to export its high-grade nickel-iron ore, copper, and silver. The previous pilot and crew left in a contract dispute, and the rulers need to hire a crew quickly.

4. The ship has been acquired by one of the ruling oligarchs of Alell, who wishes to establish a wildlife preserve and small exotic foods production operation on Whanga, the colony of Alell. To maintain her privacy, oligarch wishes to use her own ship, but needs a crew to operate it for her.

5. The Free Trader is under contract to one of the smaller states of Knorbes for the delivery of high-quality wines and spices to Ruie in exchange for agricultural machinery manufactured specifically for the animal-powered conditions of Knorbes. The cost of the extra jump through the Forboldn system is paid for by the government on Knorbes. The previous pilot's behavior while on Knorbes had been sufficiently outrageous so as to get him banned from the planet. The government is interested in hiring what it hopes will be a more stable and reliable person to pilot the ship.

Edit Note: I did not bother to check the Traveller Map or Wiki as to the status of Whanga.

 

[BlindGuy]

Those all seem like viable reasons. I was also thinking over dinner that perhaps they actually need a pilot for the air/raft they retrofitted. He also has requisite skill for that. Of course, he didn't specify starship pilot in his search

 

[Condottiere]

Could be a trainee pilot who needs flight time, only needs to be kept fed and oxygenated.

 

[salochin999]

1. Owner left the merchant service as Captain of a much larger ship with a large crew including pilots and so is out of the habit.

2. Owner was more of a broker type in the merchant service. His skills are more planet based trading skills: broker, admin, carousing, bribery, liaison etc.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

You might want to take a look at Star Trader from Zozer Games, it is a solo merchant campaign sourcebook for Mongoose Traveller but is compatable with Classic Traveller and just about any other version come to think of it, link below.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118337/Star-Trader?term=star+trader

 

[McPerth]

He has pilot skil, so for the first open section of that chart I let him find a free trader which was in need of a pilot. I'm now working on fleshing out the rest of the crew a bit, and got to wondering why a free trader might need one, that is, aside from the obvious—need a pilot to fly.
The impression I get is that most PC FT's are operated by their owner aboard, who also takes on a crew position. Maybe he isn't around for some reason? Maybe there isn't one?

It's also possible I don't need a reason, per se, and can just figure that out in play. But I'd love some thoughts. This is my most promising solo Trav campaign so far, frankly, and that isn't saying much.

2. Owner was more of a broker type in the merchant service. His skills are more planet based trading skills: broker, admin, carousing, bribery, liaison etc.

I agree with salochin as this could be the most likely reason.

Assuming you're using CT, though, see that if you're using LBB1 CharGen, that's not posible, as to achieve a trader in mustering out you must be a captain (R5), and when earning the Rank of First Officer (R4) you gain Pilot as skill.

But if you use advanced CharGen (as per LBB7), you can create a merchant that has been in some branches where pilot skill is not easily available (Sales, Pursuer, Administration or Engineering) that is transfered to Deck after a full tern as O4 (see Transfers Between Departments in LBB7 page 28), reaching the Rank of O5 afterwards (needed to be able to obtain a free trader at mustering out)...

See too that, if using LBB7 this character must come from a subsector line (or having been transfered to free trader when already O4), as in other lines he can hot obtain a free trader (in a Megacorportaion, he'll obtain +1 Soc, in a sector line TAS, in fledging line a Fat Trader and in an Interface line a Far Trader; and if transfered to Free trader before O4 he'll need Pilot to promote).

If this is the situation, the owner of the ship, while likely being able to fill a ship's position, it may well not to be able to be the Pilot, and it may either be just mustered out (and still filling the crew) or have lost the former Pilot (either injuried, retired, fired or whatever it was the cause).

 

[BlindGuy]

For the curious, I actually rolled my "PC" up using MGT. I like different things about both systems, and so have been switching back and forth as the mood strikes

I have Star Trader as well. I mean to give that a proper try sometime, but for now I suppose I can use the relationship table to flesh out my crew.
I think part of what I find daunting is the prevalence of high law level worlds—Regina is level 9, for instance, and if I took MGT literally that would mean travellers themselves were curtailed. I think I'll just have to remember to treat those levels as flavor in some cases—in Regina's case I imagine it's possible to get things nominally illegal as long as one fills out every form in triplicate.

 

[McPerth]

In fact, in MgT rules things are even easier to explain: in MgT the average crew includes 3 pilots, while the minimal crew requires only one.

While I guess many a tramp trader runs in less than average crew, I also believe many run with more than minimal crew, and having a second pilot might be quite usual a thing.

 

[samuelvss]

You might look up the Crimson Folly http://www.freelancetraveller.com/magazine/2012-1112/index.html

It was designed as a start, but you would then need to recruit a few others with some skills and capital.

 

[BlindGuy]

Intriguing

Thanks for that link. I'm impressed with the wealth of Trav material available online in various forms. I'll definitely consider that as a possibility.