September 22, 2022

Travelling the Lanes with Osman Celik, Log 04

A lack of events eventually leads to an interesting connecting-the-dots experience for Osman.

Allenby B557455-B, 004-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [3, 6] = 9. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [3]. None.
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: 2 None.

So, they wanted the briefcase with the actual sample but Osman effectively got them similar information another way. Are they satisfied? seems like a reaction throw. Gonna toss in a +1 DM for Osman’s attempt what he found them wasn’t useless by any means.

2d6+1: [5, 4]+1 = 10. Responsive.

“So you got creative, Mr. Celik. Well done.” says Devika as she pages through Osman’s files on her computer. “Yes, I think everything is in order here. I’ll instruct our patron to transfer the funds to your account.”

-Cr20 meals
Osman +Cr10000 (5095->15095)

Allenby B557455-B, 005-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [2, 6] = 8. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [4]. None.
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: 1 None.

-Cr50 meals, museum ticket

Osman spends the day at the Old Gaepri art museum.

Allenby B557455-B, 006-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [2, 6] = 7. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [6]. Yes.
    • 2d6-2: [3, 4]-2 = 5 Major
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: [3] None.

Kina figured one of these legal rolls would pop it would be the hotel connecting Osman to the beatings of two employees but perhaps Dame Havva’s connections have hushed up any investigation. I imagine this planet is rather corrupt.

-Cr120, taxis, food.

Osman, curious, heads down to the starport to do a little commodities trading. There’s a strong storm blowing through the settlements of Old & New Gaepri today. The taxis are busy and it takes Osman a while to find one. He tips the overworked drivers well.

First of all, Osman doesn’t have the capital to do this type of investment but I wanted to remember how this worked in the original rules.

The 1977 rules appear to assume a player-run starship for trading, though there are references to chartering ships for travel. Other Traveller games I’ve read/played assume the PCs might buy & sell cargo but without their own ship. Zozer’s SOLO goes into some detail about this so I will sprinkle in a few details from those rules if necessary.

The Broker section in the 1977 rules is oddly written. It says there are four types of brokers but then does not clearly explain what this means. The Traveller Book clears this up by having a table of DM +1 through DM +4 Brokers (and their fees); It is not that there are 4 “types” but that there is one type of Broker and there are 4 different levels of expertise. Perhaps this was clear to others but I thought the presentation was clumsy. Types could’ve referred different classes of cargo or different types of brokers that handle different segments of the transaction. As usual I’ve overthought things.

  • What? (1d610)-10 + 1d6: (210)-10+[3] = 13 Liquor
  • How many? 1d65: [3]5 = 15 Tons
  • How much? (Admin-1) 2d6-1: [2, 6]-1 = 7 100%
  • Cr10000 per ton. 150,000 for the lot. Can be purchased in partial lots but with a 1% additional processing fee

Osman finds a seller who strikes up a conversation, eager to move some crates of liquor. He does some quick math in his head and realizes he doesn’t have the means to pull this deal off. He heads back home somewhat discouraged but with a better understanding of the economics of speculative trading.

Allenby B557455-B, 007-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [5, 5] = 10. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [5]. Yes.
    • 2d6-2: [3, 5]-2 = 6 Moderate
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: 1 None.

-Cr60, food.

Light rain keeps Osman close to home today, he decides to do some shopping to avoid having to eat out so much.

Allenby B557455-B, 008-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Weekly patron roll (5+), 1d6: [4]. None.
  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [1, 6] = 7. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: 2. None.
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: [3] None.

Osman calls Devika on the secure phone.

“The client was very happy with your work, Mr. Celik. We will keep a low profile for a few days but I’ll be in touch again soon.”

Allenby B557455-B, 009-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [5, 5] = 10. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [3]. None.
    • 2d6-2: [3, 5]-2 = 6 Moderate
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: [4] None.

Not a ton happening, I think we’ll turn to the Travelling Alone sequence and see what happens.

    1. Upkeep: Nothing relevant. Next (4)
    1. Sell Equipment/Misc. Next (5)
    • Throw 9+ to find buyer for Low Passage - 2d6: [5, 5] = 10
      • +Cr900
    1. Event: (1d610) + 1d6: ([5]10)+[6] = 56. Gear/Ship issue.
    • -Cr40 Boots.
    1. Options. Self-improvement progress towards Electronics-0.
    1. Buy/Sell Equipment. None needed.
    1. End

For a moment Osman thinks a pair of local cops are tailing him but they turn and wonder off in another direction. Osman heads over to the Old Gaepri market where he finds someone interested in buying a spare Low Passage ticket he earned in the Navy. He finds a desperate buyer and sells it for Cr900.

The last two rain storms have taken a toll on Osman’s footwear so he buys a new pair of boots at an outdoor recreational store.

From there he heads to the local library. His encounter with the electronic lock has stuck with him and he realizes he needs to start learning more about electronics.

Traveller has these self-improvement rules based around picking up Level-2 in a skill after 4 years of study. That still feels pretty spot on to me. There’s very little guidance for “okay, but what about level-0?” I can tell you my at-the-time eleven year old wanted to learn basic electronics and programming. They bought maybe $60 USD of kit, read a guide, and watched some YouTube videos. In about 30 days they had taught themselves wiring, circuits, reading sensor data, controllers, motors, etc. Hard for someone in the late 1970s to anticipate how quickly one could bring themselves up to level-0 in many skill areas with the Internet.

Allenby B557455-B, 010-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [6, 1] = 7. None.

  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [4]. None.

  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: [6]. Yes.

    • (1d610) + 1d6: ([5]10)+2 = 52, 7 Traders with a Vehicle.
    • Reaction 2d6: [6, 1] = 7 Non-committal.

  • Self-improvement progress towards Electronics-0.

  • Cr100 Taxis, drinks

After a morning session of library studying, Osman heads to the TAS lounge. He strikes up a conversation with a group of traders who need to move cargo from the starport to Old Gaepri. They trade pleasantries with Osman but they aren’t looking for help and don’t offer any actionable leads. In fact whatever they are doing on Allenby they seem to be keeping to themselves about. Osman makes a mental note.

Allenby B557455-B, 011-3466

Daily rolls:

  • Daily Legal Encounter (5-), 2d6: [1, 5] = 6. None.
  • Daily Weather Encounter (5+), 1d6: [4]. None.
  • Daily Person Encounter (5+) 1d6: [6]. Yes.
    • (1d610) + 1d6: ([5]10)+[5] = 55, Noble with retinue (6)
    • Noble’s title 1d6+10: [5] 1) duke, 2) duchess 1d2: 2 duchess
    • From Allenby (yes) or elsewhere (no)? 2d6: [5, 4] = 9 Yes.
    • 2d6: [4, 2] = 6 Unreceptive.

Osman decides to try out a cantina near the art district. The Duchess Valencia Carderas is there with group and Osman tries to integrate himself into their conversations but they ignore him.

Osman wonders if the Carderas family are involved in whatever the traders were delivering to Old Gaepri yesterday.

We’ll give Osman a shot on a 5+ to pick up a rumor, 1d6: [5] Yes!

What industry are they in? I’ll use my custom corporation generator I wrote once upon a time… I think it includes some random table concepts from a Stars Without Number supplement… Suns of Gold?

  • Carderas Assets
  • Industry: Liquor
  • Reputation & Rumors: Lost money to an smuggler who evaded arrest

Listening in on their conversations he picks up on few details. They are in town delivering shipments of a brand new liquor to local restaurants. They seem to have lost a shipment of these liquors. Osman thinks back to the trader he ran into earlier in the week and then the tight lipped traders. He decides tomorrow he’ll head back to the starport and ask a few questions. Tracking down the smuggler could make a friend of the Duchess and Osman could clearly use a few more friends.

Random rolls for the win!

GM Notes

The downside of random events is nothing prompts your brain to act and so your character(s) have to be proactive. Possibly I should’ve thrown Osman to the wolves and let something happen sooner but I’m happy with how this ended up.

I may need to follow Andy Slack’s lead and roll-up events across the week and then weave them back into a story. I believe that’s how he handle time and events during his solitaire Traveller game.