What have your characters smuggled?

[Spinward Scout]

Sometime a Trader just needs the money and some Traders like the excitement. What have your characters smuggled in your games?

Was it FireStones across the Imperial Border?

Anolas off of Pysadi?

A young couple trying to start a new life together?

An Imperial meson gun into Vargr hands?

And did they get caught?

 

[savage]

smuggling

probably the most serious: anti-matter

 

[oldgamergeek]

Smuggled medication to a planet in the middle of a pandemic. The players got away with the act but the company that would not sell the medication to a cold war enemy hunted them down and for months and tried to assassinate them.

 

[Limburger59]

My PCs never smuggled, my characters tending to be Lawful. (To borrow from D&D's alignments.) But then, there are some planetary governments that don't appreciate items that are legal in most of the Imperium.

Last adventure I ran as a GM involved smuggling. I had a PC (my 20-yr old son) try to run guns to the rebels on Zephyr (Trin's Veil 0708, in the Spinward Marches). It was TL5 rifles going to a TL3 Red Zoned world. He had told the other PC's that it was a cargo of medical supplies. Once there he stuck around too long waiting for payment and the officials showed up. He elected to fight, the remainder of the PCs - not liking being lied to about what was in those crates marked medicine - lifted off, and the last they saw was my son's character swinging his empty ACR around like a club as the troops closed in with muskets and bayonets. (Imagine the end of Disney's Davy Crockett as the Mexican army swarmed over the walls of the Alamo.)

 

[Easterner9504]

Smug

Smuggling Imp spy data past Zho's. And a spy too.

Have some aphrodisiacs aboard that have dubious legality and a desire to sell them as food to jaded, decadent nobles looking for new thrills.

 

[Dragoner]

Hmmm, it is almost easier to say what they haven't smuggled.

Slaves - nope.


and that's about it?

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I'm shocked! Shocked, I say, at the implication that my characters have ever been involved in any sort of illegal activity! Why, I never...!

Here's your money. Oh, thank you.

I'm shocked I tell you!

 

[Timerover51]

My PCs never smuggled, my characters tending to be Lawful. (To borrow from D&D's alignments.) But then, there are some planetary governments that don't appreciate items that are legal in most of the Imperium.

Last adventure I ran as a GM involved smuggling. I had a PC (my 20-yr old son) try to run guns to the rebels on Zephyr (Trin's Veil 0708, in the Spinward Marches). It was TL5 rifles going to a TL3 Red Zoned world. He had told the other PC's that it was a cargo of medical supplies. Once there he stuck around too long waiting for payment and the officials showed up. He elected to fight, the remainder of the PCs - not liking being lied to about what was in those crates marked medicine - lifted off, and the last they saw was my son's character swinging his empty ACR around like a club as the troops closed in with muskets and bayonets. (Imagine the end of Disney's Davy Crockett as the Mexican army swarmed over the walls of the Alamo.)

Hmm, not sure that I could have done that, having buried one son in real life. Generally, I discourage smuggling, except under very exceptional situations.

 

[rancke]

My PCs never smuggled, my characters tending to be Lawful. (To borrow from D&D's alignments.) But then, there are some planetary governments that don't appreciate items that are legal in most of the Imperium.

Last adventure I ran as a GM involved smuggling. I had a PC (my 20-yr old son) try to run guns to the rebels on Zephyr (Trin's Veil 0708, in the Spinward Marches). It was TL5 rifles going to a TL3 Red Zoned world. He had told the other PC's that it was a cargo of medical supplies

In a game I ran a passenger asked the PC crew to deliver him and some crates to a spot away from the starport. Medical supplies from a humanitarian organization called Medics Where They're Needed. Quite legitimate, actually, just valuable enough to be at risk during transport from the starport to the end destination (Also expensive to bribe local officials to leave alone).

The campaign ended before it got that far, but the NEXT shipment, months later, would have been weapons disguised as medical supplies...


Hans

 

[DangerousThing]

Hmm, not sure that I could have done that, having buried one son in real life. Generally, I discourage smuggling, except under very exceptional situations.

This was his son's characters not his character's son, presumedly. As it was the group's decision was probably based on pragmatism. They could have all gone down fighting the legitimate authorities making them accomplices to a major crime or they could cut loose a suicidal idiot that was doing his best to get them all killed.

 

[Timerover51]

This was his son's characters not his character's son, presumedly. As it was the group's decision was probably based on pragmatism. They could have all gone down fighting the legitimate authorities making them accomplices to a major crime or they could cut loose a suicidal idiot that was doing his best to get them all killed.

I suspect that I would find it hard to separate my son from his character. That is just me however.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I suspect that I would find it hard to separate my son from his character. That is just me however.

Very understandable.
(Perhaps his son learned a valuable lesson that day, though - without RL pain to accompany it.)

 

[selunatic2397]

My father was a marine...I never leave a pc behind.

This has gotten some characters killed with the fallen pc...

Others have had a fascinating adventure on an imperial prison planet...

Two or three will never have to buy a drink when his friends are present...

And one has a statue of him in a small colony worlds town square.

I regret none of my decisions.

 

[Enoki]

The big three are antiquities / art, drugs, and guns... Pretty much just like today and two hundred years ago...

Of course, not in any particular order.

 

[Limburger59]

I'm so sorry timerover51 to read about your son.

I've been blessed that three of my kids have enjoyed playing all kinds of games. In the case of the adventure, the fact that my son's PC misled other party members - including two siblings - as to the contents of the crates added fuel to the fireworks.

Based on rancke's post we should be extra suspicious of anything labeled "medical supplies" in a Traveller game.

 

[Timerover51]

I'm so sorry timerover51 to read about your son.

Thank you, Limburger.

I've been blessed that three of my kids have enjoyed playing all kinds of games. In the case of the adventure, the fact that my son's PC misled other party members - including two siblings - as to the contents of the crates added fuel to the fireworks.

Based on rancke's post we should be extra suspicious of anything labeled "medical supplies" in a Traveller game.

Hmm, I would agree with that.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Others have had a fascinating adventure on an imperial prison planet...

They say a real friend will bail you out in the morning.

A great friend will be beside you, saying, "Wow! That was some ride, huh?"
:rofl:

 

[leo knight]

I can only think of two scenarios. One was a self contained high tech print shop. I think this might have been in the Patrons book, or maybe the want ads in Expedition to Zhodane. I had a lower tech religious dictatorship hellhole planet that a patron wanted to smuggle this gadget to, in order to spread propaganda. The players noticed its memory banks were also loaded with ⌧...:devil:

The other was from a world I named Guaguin, after the impressionist painter. It had a tainted atmosphere. I decided the taint was perfume from a night blooming flower called hoya. The fragrance had narcotic and even hallucinogenic properties. A scout base tried to keep away smugglers, but was understaffed. Some of the scouts, and the local government, were in on the smuggling operation. I recall at least one double cross, and a merry ship battle as the scouts pursued the fleeing PCs ship to the jump point.

 

[aramis]

I've had players smuggle zilan wines, Psaydian wildlife, people, each other, even a starship.

One campaign, they smuggled a group of survivalists out of the Concordat... completely unwittingly. (They were aboard as crew.)