Outstanding Post..... Black Hole of quality....

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 10:20 AM, Jeffrey Schwartz
<xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
>>What sort of adventures would, in fact, 'appeal' to a merchant mindset?
>
>
> 1) The X system has 2 habitable (or at least marginally so) planets. The
> system capital is in orbit 4. Orbit 3 is populated, and under Interdiction.
> Not IN or IISS interdiction, but system gov't interdiction. There's a plague
> outbreak there, and they want it quarantined.
>  Except...
> X-III is the spot where the local dictator sends all the folks he doesn't
> want cluttering his world up. It's a massive work camp/death camp.
> The Patron knows the real score, and got the hell out of the system as soon
> as he could.
> He has relatives, however, who weren't so lucky.
> He wants a 5dton care package delivered to a village on  III, and is willing
> to pay through the nose to make it happen.
> By the way, X-III's reason for work camps are certain jewels which are
> highly prized 5 parsecs away.
> Players options are:
> a) Sneak in, deliver the package, sneak out, get paid $
> b) Sneak in, deliver the package, rescue Grandma,sneak out, get paid $$
> c) Come brazenly in, take over the village, slay the guards, drop 25 dtons
> of care package, arms and ammo, rescue Grandma and take the entire months
> load of jewels, and score $$$$$
>
> 2) The players find out that the IISS will be dropping interdiction on a
> planet in 2 months, allowing ships to visit there. They have found this out
> ahead of the pack (source in the Scouts passing word to a buddy). They can
> get in first and score the best deals... provided the _other_ merchant who
> heard about this isn't going to shoot them, and that the locals don't get
> over-antsy and shoot them. Oh ,and the locals aren't real thrilled about the
> whole thing either. (Think the Perry Expedition to Japan)
>
> 3) The Admin office of a Merc company contacts the players. The employers
> have gone broke and missed payment, activating the reparation clause. The
> company would like the players to take on the soldiers, gear, etc. ...
> they're willing to pay a bonus, in that the LZ is not completely cold.
> (Think helicopters out of Saigon) There is expectation that the players will
> be _fighting_, since the mercs falling back will protect the ship, but
> things may get exciting, and thus the bonus
>
> 4) The Gluteus brothers, Big Gluteus and Little Gluteus, want some Imperial
> Crown Cola for the summer solstice party in 10 weeks. It's 8 weeks travel to
> get there and back. Imperial Crown Cola is not allowed on the planet
> Maximus, since it's thirst destroying properties are so much more powerful
> than the domestic drinks and thus the local bottlers got a huge tarriff
> applied. They'll need to smuggle it in at the end of the trip, as well as
> through Mormonous where the caffeine level makes it contraband. Further, the
> Gluteus Bros enemy Shariev Boofort Righteous will follow the player's ship,
> "In High Speed Pursuit" with the intent to hinder them.   (Think "Smokey and
> the Bandit")
>
> 5) The players are contacted by the Right Honorable Sir Newton, who is
> establishing a multi-disciplinary college on his TL-7 fief-world. He asks
> them to convey the books, computers, visual aids, tools, etc needed, but
> further to spend 3 months acting as instructors for his "In System Trade"
> class, teaching Ship's Boat, Vacc Suit, etc. He wants to build up orbital
> industry and jump start his new fief in a big way. He's willing to pay
> normal salary plus the ship's mortgage, PLUS he has a qualified set of
> engineering instructors who are willing to do the ship's annual overhaul as
> a class project. (This is potentially something like "Gravity" ...)
>
> 6)  A gent by the nickname of "Speed" wants to charter the ship for the
> grav-racing circuit. This is a tour of 11 planets, with a big race on each
> one. The ship will carry his vehicle, his crew, and various supplies, tools,
> etc. Some modifications will be made to the cargo area to make it a shop for
> the vehicle to be fixed up and modified between races. Checking the news
> nets, though, the players discover that it's traditional for various teams
> to attempt to hinder the other players, by damaging, sabotaging, or delaying
> with paperwork or dirty tricks the transport or the vehicle, so there is
> some danger here...which explains the high pay being offered.
>
> 7) The Biogeo expedition to Amazon has been out of contact for far too long.
> A news reporter wants to charter the ship to visit the world, and attempt to
> find them The planet is TL2, jungle, and has an odd atmo which makes radio,
> maser and laser comms work poorly. The reporter has the prior messages which
> were sent out , and he has a mapped of Dr. Biogeo's planned route, but needs
> transport. (Biogeo... as in Living Stone... as in "Dr. Livingston, I
> presume?")
>
> 8) Ultracorp's new TS-5000 is finally ready to go to market. Well, nearly.
> It needs to be seen at the big trade show 4 parsecs away. All the players
> need to do is pick up the TS-5000, the PR guys, and the engineer assigned to
> make sure it works at the trade show... and make sure none of the newsies
> get pictures of the thing before the unvieling. What's a TS-5000? It's the
> much anticipated replacement to the TS-4000... and rumor has it that it's
> software upgradable to a TS-5500.
>
> 9) While taking on fuel on a TL3 pit stop, the players are approached by a
> guy that looks like Conan the Barbarian. He wants to talk to them about Vac
> Suits. He's just come off a gig as a caravan guard, bringing pearls across
> the continent, but he's seen where the pearl oyster beds are, and watched
> the pearl divers. He has this idea that if he had a vac suit, he could just
> walk across the bottom and clean up. His knowledge of vac suits, however, is
> limited to the very bad sitcom he saw on a starport waiting room TV while
> the caravan was unloading it's goods... On explanation that it takes
> training to use one,he offers to guide the players back to the pearl beds,
> in exchange for a piece of the pie.
>
>
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Evyn