Rogue career broken?
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AnotherDilbert
SOC-14 1K
Shadow Shack
SOC-12
Isn't that what the criminal life is all about? You either get pinched or amass a slew of (illegitimate) wealth.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Hardly. There is the petty thief and burglar who just scrapes by with stealing to support his drug habit, the inner city gang members who go out in a blaze of bullets, ditto for the Mafioso types. Then there are the certain city aldermen who supplement their income by taking bribes, but cannot appear too wealthy without attracting unwanted legal attention. Al Capone was convicted for tax evasion, not bootlegging.
Some criminals might get rich, but the vast majority do not. A fair number tend to die young. Check out Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, Jack McGurn, Hymie Weiss, and Dion O'Banion among others.
I guess the career path focuses on the less than one percent that cashes in?
More exciting than multiple jail terms?
Of course, T5 missed a chance to go "old school" by having most Rogues harken back to the glory days and die in chargen when the deal goes bad and the competitor makes an offer you can't refuse.
More exciting than multiple jail terms?
Of course, T5 missed a chance to go "old school" by having most Rogues harken back to the glory days and die in chargen when the deal goes bad and the competitor makes an offer you can't refuse.
Wanted Man
In my Traveller5.10: The Holoi Hajj, I have Manny, a Darrian Rogue and ex-Attorney who swindled megacredits and made off with 19 Ship Shares before going underground at adventure start.
Overpowered? Maybe. But since Manny did not serve any prison time, I must assume he is still wanted by the law, his Wanted Posters and bounty set pretty high and as far wide as his Fame rating.
The law wants Manny. The Ship Share owners want back their Ship Shares. The megacredits for shady lawyer-ese he used to steal all that loot is wanted back. His fellow Rogues want to know where Manny skipped off to. Why didn't he come knock back a few in their remote Corsair Base? Manny was a smart Darrian. He knew he was a wanted Darrian. Today, he becomes a Traveller to always stay a jump ahead of The Man.
Is Rogue OP? Maybe. But Manny will always be looking over his shoulder, sleeping with one eye open and testing his meals for sedatives. This should erode the CS Sanity of any Rogue over time.
Food for thought, this is the Pakkrat.
In my Traveller5.10: The Holoi Hajj, I have Manny, a Darrian Rogue and ex-Attorney who swindled megacredits and made off with 19 Ship Shares before going underground at adventure start.
Overpowered? Maybe. But since Manny did not serve any prison time, I must assume he is still wanted by the law, his Wanted Posters and bounty set pretty high and as far wide as his Fame rating.
The law wants Manny. The Ship Share owners want back their Ship Shares. The megacredits for shady lawyer-ese he used to steal all that loot is wanted back. His fellow Rogues want to know where Manny skipped off to. Why didn't he come knock back a few in their remote Corsair Base? Manny was a smart Darrian. He knew he was a wanted Darrian. Today, he becomes a Traveller to always stay a jump ahead of The Man.
Is Rogue OP? Maybe. But Manny will always be looking over his shoulder, sleeping with one eye open and testing his meals for sedatives. This should erode the CS Sanity of any Rogue over time.
Food for thought, this is the Pakkrat.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Could be an option for lower classes, castes, outcasts, untouchables and Chief Executive Officers.
That's from where the Yakuza recruits from.
That's from where the Yakuza recruits from.
Damnit, now I might have to reevaluate my views on Vargr...grumble, grumble, lawn...
Now, sure Manny has a new face and ID not cheap, seriously check the Equipment section for the Task of Altering Imperial IDs. Not Easy Difficulty, let's just leave it at that. So, now Manny's out some dosh and Shares and still has the same DNA...yep, that matters and of course is a separate service, sir which of course we offer at our most premium levels, can I interest you in a our brochure?
Another couple Ship Shares and MCrs lighter but with some new altered DNA our Manny can now maybe feel a bit less paranoid. And all totes lore friendly and immersive like.
Yeah, the Career is way broken, which the Powers That Be are well aware of since I made that point back when I did Greg's Cirque de Sirkas Characters, and I think in Beta. They're broken to a point but the point is even the Stainless Steel Rat I do believe ends up being used by one the Secret Services at one point. And let's be honest, if he's not careful adventuring Manny's gonna attract attention and then the questions about his past, and his wealth and then it's off to the races.
Love this idea quite a bit. Well, done.
This, my fellow Referees is how you deal with a PC with lots of shady wealth. Because face it, Manny here is a bleeding space elf in Charted Space so there's that bit, kinda sticks out if he's not in Darrian space. So, gonna need a new face and papers and well we all know those services aren't cheap. Pretty sure there's a few media about how that can be all sorts of complicated and expensive in favors and cash. I mean if you want the top end black clinics that erase the data after the work is done and not say hold on to it for leverage and maybe a reward later. That's a couple of Ship Shares and a MegaCredit or two out the window.
Now, sure Manny has a new face and ID not cheap, seriously check the Equipment section for the Task of Altering Imperial IDs. Not Easy Difficulty, let's just leave it at that. So, now Manny's out some dosh and Shares and still has the same DNA...yep, that matters and of course is a separate service, sir which of course we offer at our most premium levels, can I interest you in a our brochure?
Another couple Ship Shares and MCrs lighter but with some new altered DNA our Manny can now maybe feel a bit less paranoid. And all totes lore friendly and immersive like.
Yeah, the Career is way broken, which the Powers That Be are well aware of since I made that point back when I did Greg's Cirque de Sirkas Characters, and I think in Beta. They're broken to a point but the point is even the Stainless Steel Rat I do believe ends up being used by one the Secret Services at one point. And let's be honest, if he's not careful adventuring Manny's gonna attract attention and then the questions about his past, and his wealth and then it's off to the races.
Love this idea quite a bit. Well, done.
Sebastion Russ
SOC-8
Dealing With Rogues
I had a different approach to dealing with the OBSCENE amounts of wealth generated by rogues. I usually let my players know that there will be in-game consequences for selecting that career and leave it at that. I have both a homebrew setting and a solid group of roleplayers, so I have never had an issue enforcing consequences.
My favorite situation thus far involved a character who did three terms as rogue, got arrested twice, and managed to roll 0 years in prison each time (flux can be beautiful and frustrating). My intergalactic setting has a 'three strikes' rule: three convictions and your citizenship is stripped. The player was made aware of this at creation.
You can probably guess what happened next. PCs being PCs, they got themselves arrested and convicted of Grand Theft, and the former rogue ended up being made an example of. They stripped his citizenship, confiscated his wealth (not the party's ship, as the resident Noble had enough influence to keep that from happening), and was sentenced to life.
the former rogue, also the captain of the vessel, was released from prison only after accepting a lifetime service agreement to the aforementioned noble and having a blast collar installed. The resulting power dynamic made for some excellent story beats further down the road, especially when they figured out how to remove the collar.
I want to reiterate that I trusted my players with the above situation. I do NOT recommend you give one of your players a 'blow up the other character' button unless they are seasoned and trustworthy. If you cannot trust them, use an NPC or an AI 'watchdog' instead, and/or use a non-lethal device. My setting is extra gritty when compared to the Imperium.
I had a different approach to dealing with the OBSCENE amounts of wealth generated by rogues. I usually let my players know that there will be in-game consequences for selecting that career and leave it at that. I have both a homebrew setting and a solid group of roleplayers, so I have never had an issue enforcing consequences.
My favorite situation thus far involved a character who did three terms as rogue, got arrested twice, and managed to roll 0 years in prison each time (flux can be beautiful and frustrating). My intergalactic setting has a 'three strikes' rule: three convictions and your citizenship is stripped. The player was made aware of this at creation.
You can probably guess what happened next. PCs being PCs, they got themselves arrested and convicted of Grand Theft, and the former rogue ended up being made an example of. They stripped his citizenship, confiscated his wealth (not the party's ship, as the resident Noble had enough influence to keep that from happening), and was sentenced to life.
the former rogue, also the captain of the vessel, was released from prison only after accepting a lifetime service agreement to the aforementioned noble and having a blast collar installed. The resulting power dynamic made for some excellent story beats further down the road, especially when they figured out how to remove the collar.
I want to reiterate that I trusted my players with the above situation. I do NOT recommend you give one of your players a 'blow up the other character' button unless they are seasoned and trustworthy. If you cannot trust them, use an NPC or an AI 'watchdog' instead, and/or use a non-lethal device. My setting is extra gritty when compared to the Imperium.
Shadow Shack
SOC-12
Good heroes are defined by good villains. Nothing sucks more in a story than when the bad guy is a complete doofus.
