Repo man/bounty hunter

[jasper]

My players want to repo ships. What would be a good reward for them if they actually get their hands on one and return it to proper authorities.
% of total cost, % of outstanding cost, % of number of skipped payments etc.

Also they want to do bounty hunter work. What would be a good reward if they capture the villians?

 

[Spiderfish]

Money

 

[far-trader]

Well, how realistic vs good game do you want to play it?

Part One - Repo Men:

In Reality:

Repo Men (aka Skip Tracers) generally make a fair living but nothing spectacular, and only after an apprenticeship. Its a volume business, the more repo's you can complete the better your income.

You're not likely to be given a "golden repo" unless you are yourself a very well known agent and you are working in an environment where such an item comes up. Most really high price items will not have to resort to repossession, taking other routes to fix the credit.

Now, that goes contrary to the canon on Starship loan defaults and skips and the implied network of Skip Tracers so...

In Gaming:

I'd suggest a few small repo assignments on behalf of some mega-corp bank that holds loans on everything from starships to scooters and start the PC's small. First give them a few assignments all on one planet and all for small items. A ground vehicle or two, maybe a mobile home to start. And then a bigger vehicle (maybe a grav or small craft) to wrap up the apprenticeship. They should be losing money, i.e. earning far less than basic living expenses for 2 people, on the first few and maybe breaking even on the last one. If there are more than 2 in your group then they are making even less.

Don't forget that maybe the owners will notice and get involved in the attempt with sob stories of "we sent the payment last week" and such which are almost always lies but may be effective on the PC's. Only rarely will the defaulter respond with violence.

So how much is fair? Probably no more than 10% of the monthly payment on the vehicle, and that's for the whole deal, to be divided between the repo crew, after expenses. Less reputable repo outfits may add other "fees" such as storage and transport (if the "owner" makes good on the outstanding payments) and personal property storage (items found in the recovered property). These fees of course are charged to the "owner" not the lender and its up to the repo firm to actually collect on them Such fees will usually be in the same 10% of the monthly payment for the storage, per month, and some flat rate on the transport (Cr50) and personal property fees (Cr25 per month).

Now once the PC's have proven themselves capable (if they do in fact) then they may be given a Starship skip to trace. That should keep them busy for some time (months) and net them a good profit at the end of it* but nothing before then. No expense account and no retainer, not until they have a few good recoveries to prove their value.

* IF they keep their expenses down. If on the other hand they are trying to make their own payments on a ship at the same time by trading and such they won't have much "free" time for tracking leads and someone else will be given the assignment.

Also, Starship repos are going to be a bit dicier. First the ship is often armed, as are the crews, and said crews are usually a little more prone to violence, especially since they may be facing prison time for the "theft". But that gets into the bounty hunter side of it...

Part Two - Bounty Hunters:

Here's a website that should provide some insight:

Bail Bond Enforcement

 

[jappel]

For skip tracing (aka starship repo), my gut reaction is that they should get some small fraction of the loan's original value (say 0.1-0.5%) as that is what the lending agency stands to lose. Bonuses for going up against known baddies - people with a history of violence - might be in order.

Bounty hunting could run the gamut. Lots of scum out there who are relatively easy to chase down but have low-value bounties all the way up to the Sector's Most Wanted, who probably are armed and dangerous with friends of the same persuasion.

If you like to make your player's lives interesting, think about who is offering the bounty, and that they might offer alternative rewards phrased in such a way only the discerning will realize doesn't mean cash - say, a few hundred hectares of insect-ridden swampland... "Our local government values this at Cr 1000/hectare, though off-worlders might assess it differently..."

John

 

[DaveChase]

Nay, you are being to cheap on the original value % bounty/repo.

You should give them 10-25% of the original loan. Of course you have to charge the collectors rent space for housing, fuel cost, fees for license(s) to be a hunter in that system(s), damages, insurance, taxes, food, and I know that I am missing about 30 more items. By the time that you are done they (the repos/bounty hunters) will owe you money

Dave

Go watch RepoMan, it will help. It will leave them wondering when they see a glowing 64 Chevy Malibu passing them by in normal space.

 

[far-trader]

Originally posted by jappel:
For skip tracing (aka starship repo), my gut reaction is that they should get some small fraction of the loan's original value (say 0.1-0.5%) as that is what the lending agency stands to lose.

Well actually the lender only stands to lose the current value of the loan and that will depend on the current value of the ship and the percentage of the loan already paid out. So that would be a better value to use if assessing it as a percentage. My own value of 10% of the monthly payments is based on some reality comparisons.

I feel that makes a better system for the mega-corp bank that fronted the loan since the value is low enough that the skip tracer has incentive to do the job quick (and thus the bank gets the property back sooner), while still being high enough to encourage some comeptition between skip tracers (which also speeds the recovery). The skip tracer makes the bucks through volume, the more the quicker the better. I suppose you could put a system in place where the value goes up depending on how many payments are missed/defaulted.

I see no reason at all for the lender to offer incentives for more dangerous repos. That's part of the job, you decide if you want to take the assignment or not. Of course the more dangerous ones may mean less competition (better chance you get it first) and probably a longer default period to tie in with the increased reward system above (since there are fewer people on the case and some of them may fail spectacularly).

 

[Straybow]

Don't forget that maybe the owners will notice and get involved in the attempt with sob stories of "we sent the payment last week" and such which are almost always lies but may be effective on the PC's. Only rarely will the defaulter respond with violence.

Years ago I was looking through a car lot of repos and found one with three .22-.25 calibre bulletholes. One penetrated the right rear roof support, and lined up with where a driver's head would be (if foolish enough to be sitting upright).

 

[Shadowdancer]

There is a small GURPS Traveller supplement on Bounty Hunters/Repo Men I recommend you get if you can locate a copy. It has plenty of details on both professions in the Traveller universe.

 

[Spiderfish]

Debt collection. Ah nothing sweeter!

 

[jasper]

What would you charge for a set of computer lock picks which allow you to break ship anti hijack software etc?

 

[Shadowdancer]

I wouldn't allow a set of computer lock picks, but a computer program that could be used to bypass the anti-hijack. That, or a computer skill high enough to rewrite the program to allow you to bypass it.

 

[eiladayn]

In my misspent youth I was a repo-man for a loan company for a VERY short time and it is really the worst job in the world, but sometimes very funny. I once repo'd a stereo during a party. I also repo'd a truck that had been hit by a train, bent at a 45 degree angle--a tough drive back to the office. I also repo'd a car from a guy who, once he realized we were coming after it, letr his pigs live in it for a day or two before we got there. Not fun, nor is there enough money to make me ever do that sort of thing again, but if your not shy, you can make a good living--if you ain't skeered!

Pappy

 

[Spiderfish]

American Repo man like a baliff right?

If you are in debt they come value your stuff take it and auction it off to pay that debt (and baliff fees).

 

[jasper]

No a repo man is a honest car thief. If you are behind in your payments to the loaner, he can take your car and deliver it where the company as. Some will use tow trucks to take the car. However, they do have to clean out your car and tell you where you can reclaim your stuff and who has your car now. Now various states have various

 

[Spiderfish]

So they only recover what you bought not other stuff which is needed to settle your debts.

Because here if you dont pay fines you can end up having the baliffs round to confiscate your property to pay off the people you owe.

 

[savage]

Starships would be slightly different than autos.

If a company puts out a contract for a repo, several companies might exist to fullfill the contract. It might not be awarded to a specific organization.

Also, starports would be oriented towards stopping and grabbing ships that could provide a finders fee.
Hey, if someone swipped a boeing 747 there wouldn't be too many airports asking for their merchant business.

Savage

 

[far-trader]

I'm not sure the 747 analogy holds up too well Savage. The general idea yes, but not the specifics, at least imtu which I think is more or less the model in general.

What I mean is the Starports (well, in the Imperium at least) are the domain of the Imperium. So there'd be no finder's fee to collect, at least if we model it after most Terran defense/law enforcement agencies. The ship would be seized and I imagine the crew held for questioning and possible trial.


It would be similar to a stolen U.S. 747 attempting to land at a major U.S. airport. The plane would be seized and probably returned to the rightful owner once processed. If the 747 in question flew out of U.S. jurisdiction (outside Imperial space in Traveller) then its a little different. You might be able to bribe the authorities, or maybe they just wouldn't care.

The real difference in the analogy of course is trying to refuel a stolen 747 is a lot harder than topping up the tanks of a Free-Trader.

So most skipped ships are going to be operating outside the border of the Imperium and avoiding allied systems. The hunters will therefore be looking in those places if they want to have a chance of catching them.

If a skipped ship strays into Imperial space and runs across a Naval patrol they'll be detained, forcibly if need be. So any freelance agents won't have much luck there.

So yes I agree, Imperial starports would seize stolen Imperial registered ships, and probably those of allied systems, but it would be out of duty not for any reward. They may or may not treat outside registered ships with the same level of diligence for any number of reasons (diplomatic immunity or incomplete information come to mind as possible reasons for not seizing alien ships). Though they may be treated to an extended and enforced "hospitality" berthing while the bonifides are checked

Or maybe that's just my view

 

[Beck's]

Well, is each and every starport operated by the Imperium? There are usually several starports in a system, or even per planet (assuming of course it is big enough and has a certain population / is balkanized). If the message of the ship being stolen has not yet reached the planet, there's no problem anyway. Remember that there's nothing that delivers messages faster than the X-boats can jump.

And doesn't an Imperial License allow the holder of the license to detain suspects? (particularly inside Imperial installations?)

 

[jasper]

Originally posted by Spiderfish:
So they only recover what you bought not other stuff which is needed to settle your debts.

Because here if you dont pay fines you can end up having the baliffs round to confiscate your property to pay off the people you owe.

Yes they take your car. And box up your beer, books, and gaming stuff for you to pick up. Now if you owe fines (parking tickets speeding tickets) it depends on your state. How if you owe back taxes the IRS will lock you out of your own home if necessary. And depending on lots stuff they could sell off most of your stuff but are limited. Ex your professional books could not be sold off but your gaming books could.

 

[Spiderfish]

Yes no one takes the "tools of your trade" and all. Chasing down a "stolen" free trader could make an interesting adventure.

And what about courier ships? As I recall X Boats are usually J4 but a dedicated courier is usually J6.