General Does there need to be a deep, dark reason not to steal in the Imperium...

[Spinward Scout]

I mean, you borrow a book from a Library on Regina. Yes, a book. Dusty and smells of tree mold. Then you forget about it in your bag before you jump away.

Several months later you are at Deneb. Are there any Bounties on your head for being weeks overdue or do they just write it off?

The same with a ship's mortgage. If you are far, far away from the bank where you took the mortgage, how is the bank coming after you?

What's really stopping your average Traveller from flipping the bird and taking off into the wild black yonder?

 

[Spinward Flow]

The same with a ship's mortgage. If you are far, far away from the bank where you took the mortgage, how is the bank coming after you?

LBB2.81, p5-6:

Skipping: Most starships are purchased on credit, and the monthly payments required against the multi-million credit debt are staggering. The owner or captain may decide to steal the ship himself instead of remaining under that load. Passengers have no way themselves of determining if a specific ship is in such a status. Throw 12+ to determine that a commercial ship is of this type. Ships which have skipped are subject to repossession attempts if detected by the authorities. Such attempts may range from the formal service of papers through legal injunctions to armed boarding parties. On each world landing, throw 12+ to avoid a repossession attempt; apply a DM of +1 per 5 parsecs distance from the ship's home planet, to a maximum of +9. If the ship has called on the same world twice within the last two months, apply a DM of -2.

Like with so many other types of fraud/theft ... it's possible to "stay ahead" of the Repo Man/Bot for a while ... but it's hard to avoid them FOREVER, in perpetuity.

If you're 45+ parsecs distant from the world the bank loan was taken out on ... you just need to roll 3+ on 2D in order to avoid the Repo Team(s). Just make sure you aren't visiting anywhere more than once per 8 weeks though.

 

[Condottiere]

Dead tree copy?

Likely you have to pay a deposit, or print on demand.

 

[Badenov]

LBB2.81, p5-6:


Like with so many other types of fraud/theft ... it's possible to "stay ahead" of the Repo Man/Bot for a while ... but it's hard to avoid them FOREVER, in perpetuity.

If you're 45+ parsecs distant from the world the bank loan was taken out on ... you just need to roll 3+ on 2D in order to avoid the Repo Team(s). Just make sure you aren't visiting anywhere more than once per 8 weeks though.

As far as mortgages go, how does a traveller pay off your loan each month? Do banks have offices on -every- dead-end world? Can you pay some imperial official, and he makes a notation that goes in the mail that goes between all worlds that a payment has been made to such and such bank on such and such planet? Or can you only make payments on the planet where you took the loan?

 

[whartung]

Do banks have offices on -every- dead-end world?

If there's an Imperial starport, there's a bank of somekind that will handle that transaction, since that's what the Imperium is all about.

Make your payment, KEEP YOUR RECEIPT, and the system, will settle in due time.

And remember, if you're wanted, you can only stay ahead of the broadcast for so long. Information moves at the speed of travel, but the information never stops, never rests, and it outbound of a new system, before you've even docked your ship. Someone, somewhere will know about you, and be waiting.

 

[kilemall]

Ships are expensive and take time, but credits flow at the speed of xmail.

Once a bank has determined that a ship is not answering hails for payment and explanation, the repo tickets will be issued.

For an extra twist, perhaps subsector navies or even small colonial patrol craft can be awarded such repo tickets as a form of prize money.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Dead tree copy?

Likely you have to pay a deposit, or print on demand.

Inter-library loan sharks.

 

[Condottiere]

In terms of the public library context, you'll be getting electronic copies.

Odds are, by then, you can get a pretty good dead tree copy, or whatever material is used, on demand, as the author and publisher would have intended, if somewhat pricey.

It's possible that the electronic copy self deletes, after a certain period.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

The same with a ship's mortgage. If you are far, far away from the bank where you took the mortgage, how is the bank coming after you?

What's really stopping your average Traveller from flipping the bird and taking off into the wild black yonder?

The deep, dark reason is called police, bailiffs, and bounty hunters...

Cheap mortgages exist for ships, hence the banks expect to get their money back, hence ships do not disappear very often.

Think of it as inter-state law enforcement: If you owe Cr10 for a book, no-one will bother; if you owe MCr10, someone will come after you. And when you come to a high law system, they will arrest you on principle.


See CT JTAS#16, "Giving the Bank a Fighting Chance, by Jolly R. Blackburn", p24.

 

[bookwyrm]

As far as mortgages go, how does a traveller pay off your loan each month? Do banks have offices on -every- dead-end world? Can you pay some imperial official, and he makes a notation that goes in the mail that goes between all worlds that a payment has been made to such and such bank on such and such planet? Or can you only make payments on the planet where you took the loan?

This is something I've thought of, and it still drives me crazy.

If a year goes by with no payments, you are considered skipped.

Must stay within the subsector until the ship is payed off. Or stay within 6-8 parsecs of the planet with the loan. There might be variations of this based on whether you are in a big polity like the Imperium or a small polity/unaligned planet.