High Passage, or not

[welsh]

One thing driving passage pricing, perhaps the most obvious, is demand. Travelling to backwaters is going to be cheap, and getting off some war-ravaged rock is going to be pricey.

 

[Condottiere]

Then I'd subdivide and sublet the High Passage cabins.

 

[Straybow]

The more you actually think and do math regarding passage and freight, the more broken it appears. If you're going to play Trav and not a homebrew redone from the ground up, don't try to make it "work." It's millennia in the future, and there are some things that don't translate to us poor, primitive mudhuggers.

 

[Timerover51]

The more you actually think and do math regarding passage and freight, the more broken it appears. If you're going to play Trav and not a homebrew redone from the ground up, don't try to make it "work." It's millennia in the future, and there are some things that don't translate to us poor, primitive mudhuggers.

You still have to pay the cost and upkeep on a ship.

 

[welsh]

The more you actually think and do math regarding passage and freight, the more broken it appears. If you're going to play Trav and not a homebrew redone from the ground up, don't try to make it "work."

Unless the players want to run a merchant ship, it doesn't matter if it works in terms of dollars and cents (or credits). The economics can be equally broken.

My aim isn't to fix starship economics. It's to create a real gameplay difference between first class and mid passage, to reflect that class-conscious Imperium in which social standing counts.

 

[kilemall]

Unless the players want to run a merchant ship, it doesn't matter if it works in terms of dollars and cents (or credits). The economics can be equally broken.

My aim isn't to fix starship economics. It's to create a real gameplay difference between first class and mid passage, to reflect that class-conscious Imperium in which social standing counts.

Well then that's different.

Make a SOC roll and apply depending on situation.

If rolling to buy a High Passage ticket, roll SOC or below to buy one. If you fail, you can't because all HP available are booked or you are unsuitable and have to buy a Mid or Lo Passage.

Roll again for a Mid Passage, same roll. Failure means Lo Passage only.

Then roll a SOC check-

• for Mid or Lo Passage use, roll below SOC and you incur a SOC-1 hit.
• for High Passage, roll 2d6, if you roll at or below the number of trips at High Passage in a row, roll against SOC- if you roll above your SOC you gain SOC +1. You cannot gain peerage in this manner.

The latter is effectively social climbing on the travelling party circuit, paying to see and be seen.

This is where Admin, Bribery, Persuasion, Liaison, Carousing come into their own as a SOC-conscious character may be desperately trying to secure a way off-planet, but it has to be the RIGHT ticket- or maybe they use the above plus Deception to fly incognito and avoid the SOC penalty.

Do all the skullduggery up front and apply the DMs to the roll. If HP is failed to be bought, the character cannot try again for a week. They may have to wait and deal with the consequences of being onworld, sneak out as not themselves, or risk SOC hits.

This is the sort of thing a class conscious society would do- people would rather DIE then be seen in a second class conveyance with the 'wrong' people and lose status. And lower classes end up in Lo Passage with it's inherent risks.

TAS is an exception, the High Passages are automatic and you are essentially vouched for even if your SOC is low due to your service to Travellers, but this indulgence also does not allow for interstellar social cliimbing.


That help with your intended effect?

 

[welsh]

That help with your intended effect?

All good stuff.

 

[Selandia]

T5 make a lot more sense (if any is needed) by making it about space and class-styled life support. It does also have steerage class beside LP.

I always understood the tables in CT as intended for a quick roll for your free trader, freeing you from the micro-economic of passenger carriage. If players are involving, then I suppose the whole issue is about the ref gaming their PC life.

have fun

Selandia

 

[Blue Ghost]

Doesn't Merchant Prince have some advanced passage and freight rules? I can't remember.

 

[Selandia]

Two professionals in Subsector 268:

- Is it the first time you star travel?
- No, made a round trip to Harriet’s homeworld for our honeymoon.
- How was it?
- Outbound, we booked middle, 9 days on food tablets and recycled water three times a day. Inbound, we upgraded to high. 9 days on microwaveable frozen dinners three times a day. This time, I booked on a luxury Liner.
- You expect fresh food?
- No, I know that we will have microwaveable frozen dinners three times a day. The difference is: on a luxury liner, the microwave works.

have fun
Selandia

 

[welsh]

Ah, the luxury.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Two professionals in Subsector 268:

- Is it the first time you star travel?
- No, made a round trip to Harriet’s homeworld for our honeymoon.
- How was it?
- Outbound, we booked middle, 9 days on food tablets and recycled water three times a day. Inbound, we upgraded to high. 9 days on microwaveable frozen dinners three times a day. This time, I booked on a luxury Liner.
- You expect fresh food?
- No, I know that we will have microwaveable frozen dinners three times a day. The difference is: on a luxury liner, the microwave works.

have fun
Selandia

Contemporary cruise ships serve full course meals. Charter yachts have personal chefs for patrons, and not a staff nor team of short order cooks as per cruise liners.

American Airlines, last I flew them, was big on Chicken Kiev; a breast of chicken with rice and some kind of buttery sauce and chives. Certainly not a full course meal, but it's perhaps a cut above a Swanson's Hungry Man (yes, I used to eat those as a kid).

 

[Condottiere]

True luxury is having an onboard chef:

not Chef Boyardee:

 

[Selandia]

contemporary cruise ship are indeed at least High Passage, what downgrades it enough to justifies the 2,000 cr difference? Ill go for food tablet and water.

Actually, contemporary Cruise ships, with spa, casino, theater, entertainers and swimming pool are probably luxury spaceships. The luxury charter Yatch are on Terra as in Traveller beyond the peones concerned by LP, MP, HP, trade tables.

Of course my sector 268 is a bit austere (more of a Dumarest universe) an even HP is no pleasure cruise.

have fun

Selandia

 

[Blue Ghost]

To me, the following video exemplifies high-passage;

https://youtu.be/7tS07VdoQCE?t=51

I picture middle passage as maybe a cut or two above TV dinners. This isn't NASA with a full course Thanksgiving dinner in toothpaste tubes for 0-g. This is the far future. There's got to be luxury accommodations and food aplenty for those wiling to shell out the cash.

 

[khadaji2002]

I agree that high passage is going to involve real food and a real chef on most ships. Now, the 'luxury' stateroom the PCs put in their Free Trader? Maybe not so much, though if they have a crew member with Steward skill, that becomes more likely. The person purchasing the high passage ticket is going to have expectations and standards.

PCs being PCs. they may decide to skimp on the service to make more from that one trip. If they do....well, word gets around pretty quickly when someone able to afford high passage feels they've been ripped off.

 

[Selandia]

HP travel on a free trader is likely (imtu) to involve the same standard as current passenger passage on cargo ship (yes that is still possible). You eat with the officers, have a comfortable "Owner's cabin" and have none of the luxury and entertainnement of cruise ship. If you play a large liner, using T5 rules where you may charge according to space and life style, you may have economy of scale that allows multiple, theme lounge or special purpose local and make economical sense.

We leave in a universe where air travel offer speedy and relatively "cheap" passage. Travelling by sea is usually (not always) for leisure. Re Tristan DaCuna, Lower St-Lawrence & Nfld out-ports, Northen Norway.... Of course that's not tooth paste food travel, but that is not "Wonder of the Sea" standards, I believe it is real life closer to CT HP

Traveller is not Nasa XXIst century, sure. Within the margin allowed, I play it IMTU like 1900 North Atlantic; YTU is of course at your pleasure.

Still the point remain: what will in YTU justify the 2000cr less

Have fun

Selandia

 

[Sstefan]

....

Of course my sector 268 is a bit austere (more of a Dumarest universe) an even HP is no pleasure cruise...

I was reading Dumarest recently and my thought to the difference between High and Mid is.... not on the same trip, or at bare minimum in different parts of the ship

Mid = A week of wasted time eating reasonably fair food and "enjoying" you fellow passengers in the micro-lounge for that entire week.

High = a rather lavish meal just after jump entry (fresh food or catered from point of departure); the rest of the week on "slow" sipping "basic", returning to normal time right around break-out; another lavish meal just before disembarking. Net effect is eat good, spend the "evening" chatting with the rest of the passengers, a decent night's rest, and a decent meal before you leave = one "overnight" and you're there...

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Privacy.

For my ATU High Passage gets you a private cabin whereas Middle Passage means sharing the room. Also better food and steward to look after your needs.

 

[Selandia]

I was reading Dumarest recently and my thought to the difference between High and Mid is....
...
Mid = A week of wasted time eating reasonably fair food and "enjoying" you fellow passengers in the micro-lounge for that entire week.

High = a rather lavish meal just after jump entry (fresh food or catered from point of departure); the rest of the week on "slow" sipping "basic", returning to normal time right around break-out; another lavish meal just before disembarking. Net effect is eat good, spend the "evening" chatting with the rest of the passengers, a decent night's rest, and a decent meal before you leave = one "overnight" and you're there...

outstanding summary. Right on my point: if you need to go on "slow" that is because it is not a pleasure trip. "reasonnably fair food" is approx microwavable frozen diner. IMTU there is no "slow" therefore the "reasonably good food is the frozen for the HP while the middle have the "basic" drink.

have fun