At the starport, you discover...

[Mythmere]

Has anyone seen or heard of a table for generating events that might happen to players at a starport?

I can think of customs checks, quarantines, mistaken identity, pickpocket attempts, and con games.

I can even think of several of the subheadings that would fall under these headings.

What else might be out there (hopefully someone has already done this and I don't have to recreate the wheel)

 

[Mythmere]

I found this Eaglestone University Starports, which is an excellent resource generally, but is a little lighter than the kind of table I was envisioning. Anyone else know of one?

 

[TKalbfus]

Starport encounters
roll 1d20
1: Terrorist attack (attempted hostage taking)
2: Wild animal breaks out of its cage and rampages
3: Bomb goes off
4: Illegal alien makes a run for it.
5: Celebrity makes appearance, mobbed by fans
6: Criminal escorted in cuffs by corrections officer.
7: Bum badgers player characters for a credit
8: Overly persistant shoe shine boy follows PCs around.
9: Thief attampts to steal PCs luggage
10: Thief attempts to pick PCs wallet.
11: Prostitute attempts to solicit business.
12: Starship thief follows PCs around hoping to gain access to their starship and steal it.
13: Drug dealer attempts to sell drugs to PCs
14: Undercover cop attempts to sell drugs to PCs
15: Undercover cop poses as prostitute attempting to solicit business.
16: Gangsters attempt to rub somebody out.
17: Out of work performer follows the PCs around and sings awfully until PCs give him a credit or otherwise discourage him.
18: A really ugly looking alien makes an appearance, stirs up a panic
19: Blackout.
20: Quarantine, no one allowed to leave starport.

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

Cute list Tom,

But you forgot:

Critical Success:
An intelligence agent solicits you to undertake a Really Important Mission.

 

[Mythmere]

Tom, thanks! My creativity needed that jolt. I'm sending you some stars (looks like you got in a scrap with someone!)

If everyone keeps going, we could change the "Kalbfus Occurence Profile for Starports" into a d100 roll instead of a d20. So here are my additions:

21. Players are detained for customs search (normal)
22. Person tries to plant contraband on players for later recovery.
23. Cab driver is front man for robbery ambush
24. Pro-democracy speaker is hauled away by marines.
25. Secessionists announce that they have planted a bomb in the starport.
26. Cargo loading robot undergoes malfunction (or sabotage) and becomes an immediate threat to bystanders.

 

[Zutroi]

27. Members of the Church of Resurgent Anthropomorphic Philosophies solicit donations
28. CRAP member attempts to get party member to help him escape from the sect.
29. Paperwork Snafu - Break out you copy of Megatraveller and play "Exit Visa"
30. You are being followed by a shady character in dark clothes muttering into a comm unit.
31. You're not really being followed, he's just another traveller.
32. You ARE being followed, but by someone who has mistaken you for a notorious criminal/an ex-spouse/the guy who swindled his brother Stuupiid out of 100kCr.

 

[Ran Targas]

Tom/Myth, these are awesome! May I add (in no particular order):

33. Starship on final approach (or lifting off) has catastrophic drive failure and plows into starport
34. Local terrorists fire on starship in pattern
35. Bump into someone a player knows from home (family, neighbor, schoolmate, hometown hero, etc.)
36. Caught up in a herd of bickering tourists returning from group vacation
37. Alien rights protest!
38. Cargo handler strike!
39. Official delegation arrives/departs, starport shut down until cleared
40. Asylum seeker tries to push through Customs
41. Religous zealot looking for handout/convert
42. Hot flight attendant eyes a player
43. Kiosk robbed by shoplifters
44. Lost/kidnapped child

 

[Zutroi]

Originally posted by Ganidiirsi O'Flynn:
Cute list Tom,

But you forgot:

Critical Success:
An intelligence agent solicits you to undertake a Really Important Mission.

I guess we can make that 45)

Tom, definitely a d100 idea

46) from a cheesy novel I once read. You can't get your baggage thru security and the guards are getting antsy! (somone has slipped a lead-foil cut-out of a gun into your briefcase)

 

[Ranger]

Well, for the unofficial side there is always Startown Liberty from Gamelords. Out of print, but was available from a couple of places (including TravellerRPG.com). As to encounters with official side, I always used those as my GM's perogative.

 

[vegascat]

Here are a few more to make life interesting.

46. Find a lottery ticket
47. Find a wnning lottery ticket
48. Find out winning lottery ticket is a forgery
49. Winning lottery ticket was for yesterdays lottery, now expired
50. Winning lottery ticket is for being an organ donator (Sliders)
51. Mistaken for a celeberty
52. Mistaken for a criminal by another criminal, or a cop
53. Mistaken for a politician by a reporter
54. Mistaken for a ⌧ star by a: fan, reporter, moral activist, agent
55. Mistaken for a terrorist by a: terrorist, police, lynch mob, security guard, reporter
56. Mistaken for a religious figure by a: cultist, deprogramer, true believer, rival cultist
57. Mistaken for a noble
58. Mistaken for a filthy rich industrialist
59. Mistaken for an escaped felon
60. Mistaken for a famous explorer
61. Mistaken for a famous war hero (The Majestic)

50 was inspired by a Sliders episode.
61 was inspired by the movie,The Majestic.

 

[Liam Devlin]

well, a challenge! Good idea..
At the starport you discover..
62. The Starport Subsector/Sector Bank has just been robbed,and they SPA security think you are them!
63. The Starport Bank's Insurer's visit your ship, on chargess of barratry (skipped payments!)*
64. You're ship is hijacked by a group of offworld mercenaries whose mission "has gone south".
65. The luggage robot Union is on strike/ down for repairs/ sabotaged by strikers, and PC's must unload by hand/ somehow..
66. The Live Cargo livestock the PC's have to sell has been made contraband (while they were in Jump) due to rare virus, and PC's must keep them fed until they can turn around and sell elsewhere.
67. PC(s) are mistaken for a delinquent child support Spouse by Lawyer with cops in tow..
68. As above, but PC(s) never knew they had become a parent..
69. A passenger dead in the offworld waiting room fresher, assassinated, and pockets rifled..
70. As above, but somone sees you and accuses you of deed..
71. As above but its the killer who sets you up..
72. Passenger found in lounge dead from overdose, but has no ticket...
73. Lowberthed passenger from PC's ship accuses Players of kidnapping him/her..
74. As above, But the passenger is a con artist trying to bilk some hush money out of the Pc's.
75. As above#73, but passenger was kidnapped, and slipped away from his/her mid passage captors..
76. The missing luggage from your last trip here has been found! Oddly enough the clothes are gone, and 250Kcr in small bills is stuffed in it!
77. As above, but former passenger robbed/ embezzled the $$ and ditched it when the heat from searches rose, and has come back to claim it!
78. a dead man in one of your cargo containers from your last stop..

 

[Jame]

"At the starport, you"

discover PLOT HOLES!

Or:
79. Get set up as a terrorist by the terrorists
80. Get set up as above by local official, who are either corrupt or working with the terrorists.

 

[sandman]

81- Get mistaken for Officials by Terrorists

 

[TKalbfus]

82: One of the player characters is a dead ringer for the local planetary ruler of whom there is an assasination plot. An official approaches the PC and tries to convince him to make the switch until the assasin is captured.

 

[Kentares]

Cant... resist... myself...

83) You´re approached by an old man, a boy and two droids to give them a ride to some well known planet.

 

[trader jim]

.....Or, on a modified roll of 2,780....you capture Trader Jim!!!!....HA, NEVER Happen Guys!!!

 

[sandman]

Originally posted by trader jim:
.....Or, on a modified roll of 2,780....you capture Trader Jim!!!!....HA, NEVER Happen Guys!!!

Even if Cofee Juice gives us a bonus of 2760?

 

[Jame]

See Trader Jim. Truly understand terror. Run fast and far.

84. Get mistaken for the popular local dictator. Be swamped by marriage proposals and/or autograph requests.

85. Get mistaken for popular holovid/holomovie star. Same as #84.

 

[Whipsnade]

Mythmere,

If you'd like to add to your list, check out the TML Archives listed at the CotI homepage. There was a thread there earlier this month you may very useful. You needn't be a member of the TML to read the Archives either.

Look at June 2003 under 'Subject' and you'll find a large thread titled '49 Complications'. You may even find a few complications that look oddly familiar. I guess some of these folks suggesting 'incidents' to you think *exactly* like those TML posters did two weeks ago!

Have fun!


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Mythmere]

Look at June 2003 under 'Subject' and you'll find a large thread titled '49 Complications'.

Thanks for the hookup to the TML!

86. The power coupling connecting the players' ship to the starport is faulty and goes down periodically. The first time it goes down should cause panic, and when the port officials finally send someone to fix it, he does it wrong. Possibly the players see that what he is doing will damage the ship, but he insists, they have to restrain him, the starport officials and security get involved...