Any thoughts on the T5 trade system?
Trade and Commerce
- Thread starter Spartan159
- Start date
It's clearly descended from Merchant Prince, which seems to work better for space traffic in general than CT Book 3. However, I liked the "roulette" feel of CT Book 3, but I am outnumbered.
Of course, there may be a way to get the Book 3 feel out of T5's Trade chapter. One way is to take the Random Trade Goods tables and apply a base value to major classifications.
Of course, there may be a way to get the Book 3 feel out of T5's Trade chapter. One way is to take the Random Trade Goods tables and apply a base value to major classifications.
I'm with you robject! So if we're in a minority, you've at least got company. Why would the base price of one displacement ton of lanthanum be the same as one displacement ton of waste?
One possibility might simply be to give each of the 14 Trade Good Types a different base price, and then the random roll for "more detail on trade goods" would be part of determining base price.
The other way would be to adapt Don McKinney's MegaTraveller Trade Variant to T5 - after all the MT version was a direct lift from Merchant Prince and so the adaption could equally apply here.
One possibility might simply be to give each of the 14 Trade Good Types a different base price, and then the random roll for "more detail on trade goods" would be part of determining base price.
The other way would be to adapt Don McKinney's MegaTraveller Trade Variant to T5 - after all the MT version was a direct lift from Merchant Prince and so the adaption could equally apply here.
The biggest problem with Bk7:MP was the flat pricing. I got about 80% of the entries linked to per-Td prices before I gave up. (about 60% was just filling in from CT & T20.)
I'm actually half way done with that, but got distracted by other things.
Huzzah! That is all.
I have gone over Don's variant (Nice stuff!) and the thought occurred to me, could a merchant charge more for hazardous freight? (You want me to transport 200 tons of Nitroglycerin for only Cr 1,000 per ton? Yeah right, door's to the left)
This is an open debate question, not where is it in the rules of x edition. For that matter I have seen somewhere (most likely non-canon) premium rates for amber zones (danger) and red zones (illegal), the former could be a standard, the latter would be to me more of a negotiated roleplay...
This is an open debate question, not where is it in the rules of x edition. For that matter I have seen somewhere (most likely non-canon) premium rates for amber zones (danger) and red zones (illegal), the former could be a standard, the latter would be to me more of a negotiated roleplay...
I seem to remember a JTAS article opening up the possibility of hazardous cargoes to make life more "interesting" for the players. This was more along the lines of placing obstacles in the way rather than charging more. It could work in with your idea, though: bad experience, maybe a bad experience that happened to another free trader that made the news, players up the price for transporting such-and-such, vendor complains that all crews have been saying that, etc. Could be a good hook for a story.
Challenge No. 26 page 17 had the article "Cargo: A Merchant Prince Variant", it did not change values of cargo but identified them and listed possible hazards. Interestingly enough I just came across a short adventure in Challenge No. 30 page 21 called "The Warehouse" in which the players are hired to deliver supplies to miners at the standard rate and return with a shipment of ore at a premium rate of 1,500 per ton.
I used some of that article(*), plus the original CT tables, when I created my Trade Tables.
Look on my website (see .sig) under:
--> Tavonni Repair Bays
----> House Rules
------> Trade Tables
(*)actually, now that I've re-read my "Acknowledgements & Copyright", I realise I used a fair bit more...
Look on my website (see .sig) under:
--> Tavonni Repair Bays
----> House Rules
------> Trade Tables
(*)actually, now that I've re-read my "Acknowledgements & Copyright", I realise I used a fair bit more...
You should have a look at the tables in Interstellar Wars. They're the CT tables, but revised. There may be some ideas that you could use.
Hans
Ok, let's run with that a bit and see what we get. Book 3 by category:
Lower-tech processed local materials: 11-16, KCr 1-20 (radioactives: MCr1)
Metals: 21-26 (Cr500 - KCr10; Silver KCr70; Alloys KCr200)
Processed local materials: 31-36, 41 (Cr300 - Cr10,000; Pharma KCr100; Gems MCr1)
Manufactured: 42-46 (KCr10 - KCr30)
Machines: 51-56 (KCr30 - MCr10)
Parts: 61-66 (KCr70 - KCr400)
Most likely to be local, based on purchase trade code:
Ag: Textiles, Liquor, Wood, Grain, Meat, Spices, Fruit
Na: Crystals, Petrochem, Pharma, Vacc Suits
Ni: Textiles, Radioactives, Petrochem, Gems
In: Polymers, All manufactured/machines/parts, Vacc Suits
Ri: Polymers, Metals, All manufactured/machines/parts
Po: Gems
Base price ranges by trade code:
Ag: Cr300 - Cr10,000, median Cr1,500
Na: Cr10,000 - Cr400,000, median avg Cr60,000
Ni: Cr3,000 - Cr1,000,000, median Cr500,000
In: Cr10,000 - Cr10,000,000, median Cr100,000
Ri: Cr500 - Cr10,000,000, median Cr70,000
This is all slapdash back of the napkin price per ton. Multiply row number by value shown (Pages 486-489).
Imbalances Cr 100
Red Tape Cr 500
Scrap Cr 500
Raws Cr 1,000
Consumables Cr 5,000
Novelties Cr 8,000
Samples Cr 30,000
Rares Cr 50,000
Pharma Cr 80,000
Manufactureds Cr 100,000
Entertainments Cr 200,000
Uniques Cr 400,000
Valuata Cr 500,000
Data Cr 2,000,000
So for example, on a Desert world, Archaeologicals (Samples, entry #1) have a base price of Cr 30,000 per ton, and Ephemerals (entry #5) have a base price of Cr 150,000 per ton.
Cool. Thanks for that tip, Hans!
