Cargo Carriers of The Three Galaxies Organization Builder

[taalismn]

Okay, since the previous incarnation of these seems to have been deleted/devoured by a roving singularity(always a potential hazard with deep space travel. especially near the Core), I thought I'd repost.

Cargo Carriers of The Three Galaxies
“When can you deliver?”

“Okay...THAT isn’t what they put on the cargo manifest.”

“I love secret cargoes! I live for secret cargoes!”

The great civilizations of the Three Galaxies(or just about anywhere for that matter) rely on commerce, and the carriage of goods from one location to another is the bloodflow that keeps them alive. Where it’s commericially and economically viable, the interstellar trade flows, sometimes more vigorously than passenger traffic.
To many players, moving cargo will be an attractive way to make a living; either a steady source of income moving inanimate materials between episodes of being shot at, or big-score high-payoff assignments carrying vital or exotic goods. Carrying cargo may be mindbendingly tedious at times, but it beats having to deal with the problems associated with passengers. Furthermore, while not everybody has the resources(or desire) to go travelling amongst the stars in person, they will want to sell or buy things abroad, so there’s always work for the cargo carrier.
That means that the potential for great rewards or great suffering is immense; planetary economies may rise or soar, wars may break out, technological breakthroughs may occur, trade policies may change, and markets may explode or dry up.....and the merchantmen will be caught up in it all. In times of war, the merchant marine is VITAL to strong wartime economies, as well as the strategic movement of supplies...and an independent merchantman may find himself drafted into convoy duty, and/or become a sudden target of marauading privateers and commerce raiders. In peacetime, markets may change so dramatically that a load of cargo that was selling hotter than pure gold at the beginning of the week may arrive at its destination in time for the crew to discover that their sure-fire seller is now effectively worthless as anything other than sewer-liner.

Examples of Rifts/Phaseworld Cargo Haulers:

*TanzoLifeLIne---Courier service specializing in rapid transit of medical information, medicines, and genetic material.

*Cryo-Carriage ‘ICycle’ ADY---A carrier that handles cryogenically-preserved stasis loads of biologicals, including live sentients, animals, plants, and corpses.

*Kamaruu Mass-Lifters Inc.---KM-L is a big bulk carrier that deals in LARGE loads like entire pre-fab space stations, factory complexes, and fifty thousand-megatonne-plus cargo consignments. If it’s big and heavy, KM-L’s big lift-tugs can carry it away.

*V’rooomBrooom Waste-Away---Vrusk hazmat firm specializing in hauling away radioactive and toxic wastes for disposal.

*Driggan’s Secured Carriers---Dwarven armored transport company with a reputation for overkill when it comes to armed response. Some planets won’t even allow DSC to operate in their territories given the number of ‘incidents’ by trigger-happy DSC crews who thought they were being hijacked.

Note on Smuggling:
Any type of firm can be (deliberately or inadvertantly) involved in smuggling; from an undeclared parcel slipped in an employee’s back pocket, to a load of anti-matter cruise missile warheads hidden deep inside a tank of electrodynamic lubricating fluid. Whether by speed or by deception, the idea is not to be caught.

Setting up a Cargo Carrier is similar to that of a SpaceLIne, and so many of the features are the same. In general, though, wages for cargo handlers are less than those for spaceline employees, in part due to the perceived less stringent requirements for shoving cargo around.


Categories:
Size
Type
Sponsorship

A.Auxiliary Vehicles
B. Level of Technology
C. Uniforms
D. Equipment
E. Medical Equipment/Facilities
F. Communications:
G. Offship Contacts
H. Technical Support
I. Security
J.Weapons and Defensive Systems
K. Headquarters and Port Facilities
L. Living Conditions
M. Insurance
N. General Alignment of Personnel
O. Average Level of Experience
P. Criminal Activity
Q. Available Funds
R. Reputation
S. Salary
T. Special Features
U. Special Disadvantages

Size of Space Carrier

Depending on the scale of your game and disposition of your company, the size of your company could range from a one-ship startup firm serving two solar systems to a giant conglomeration with thousands of ships, serving entire galaxies and extra-galactic regions. On the other hand, you could just as easily have a small company with a large fleet of bare-plates starships crawling between dozens of star systems, or a massive corporation that has sunk all its resources into one equally massive carrier ship serving a handful of the most prosperous solar systems.

1. Tiny (‘Brown Dwarf’)---No more than a hundred personnel work here, and most people know each other, like one happy family. Resources are limited, so there’s bound to be lots of shaved corners and economizing, but the company may have an edge of some sort and a freedom to run its own affairs that larger companies don’t have.
Available Points: 75
2. Small Company(‘Lunar’)----Perhaps 200-300 people work for a company of this size. Likely to have 1-3 established ports of call/facilities
Available Points: 150
3. Fair-sized Company(‘Tri-Planetary’)----300-1,000 employees, with perhaps 4-5 ports of call and facilities. About average for the standard low-end spaceline.
Available Points: 250
4. Large Company(‘Solar’)---1,000-5,000 employees, and a dozen or more terminals
Available Points: 350
5. Cosmic----Larger than average, with up to a million employees and several well-established ports of call
Available Points: 450
6. Mega-Galactic----These companies are massive sprawls employing millions of employees across dozens, if not hundreds, of solar systems.
Available Points: 750

Types of Cargo Carrier

1. Courier----Courier services are the swift and darting thoroughbreds of cargo carriers. They are paid to carry small high-value cargoes to their destinations as quickly as possible. Often, no actual physical cargo is carried, but instead their ships carry encoded data that can’t be entrusted to a beamcast. Courier services favor small, souped-up, ultra-fast ships with more engine than anything else, and they rely on speed to avoid trouble...and trouble is what couriers attract a lot of....From parcels of gemstones to vital government communiques, courier cargoes are particularly attractive to pirates and brigands. Conversely, Courier firms are also the business models for many smuggler outfits.
Bonuses: +15 to Technology

2. Armored Delivery---While many cargo carriers in the Three Galaxies find it expedient to arm their ships for self-defense, the Armored Delivery services take it to an extreme. ADservices are the space-going extension of the armored car delivery services of terrestrial settings, carriers specializing in mid-to large-sized cargoes that are too large for a courier to move, and too valuable to leave to a bulk carrier. While ADservices do move some exotic materials, like high-value radioisotopes and Phamarang energy-crystals, they tend to do so in small, easily-managed quantities.
The distinguishing feature of ADservices is Security; their ships are heavily armed and armored, their crews combat trained and thoroughly screened for company loyalty(of course, inside jobs are always a danger), and cargoes are constantly tracked. Because of the value of their cargoes, Armored Delivery services are the preferred targets of pirates and privateers; a single successful raid can net a pirate millions of credits in booty, provided the pirates can get through the heavy defenses.
Bonuses: +10 to Security, +10 to Weapons and Defenses

3. Bulk Carrier---The musclemen of cargo carriers, bulk carriers may not move particularly fast, but they move in quantity. Bulk Carriers move the mundane, but less vital, stuff of galactic economies...from powdered ready-mix boro-silicate concrete to ulbabeet paste food additive, if there’s a market for the stuff in quantity, Bulk Carriers are moving it. Because of the sheer scale of their operations, bulk carriers tend to need special landing and docking facilities to accommodate their large ships and load and unload them quickly and efficiently; thus Bulk Carriers tend to invest a lot in planet-side facilities.
Bulk Carriers are attractive to pirates because they’re common and readily found targets, tend to be lightly armed, and the loot can be fairly easily disposed of on the market. On the other hand, a pirate preying on bulk shipping may have problems handling large amounts of cargo and selling it off quickly enough to make a profit.
Bonuses: +10 to Port Facilities

4. HazMat Transit---Hazardous Materials Transit carriers specialize in moving large amounts of materials that other carriers can’t, or won’t, dare touch, because of the dangers involved. Cargoes like industrial anti-matter, liquified flammacite gas, radioactive waste, corrosive chemicals, and infectious biological waste. HazMat Trans ships tend to be specialized, with protected holds and isolated crew compartments....few crew members want to be doing personal inspections of the cargoes. On the plus side, few pirates are willing to go after haz-mat cargos; those that do are either sadly mistaken, very desperate, or unusual biology, or looking for potential weaponry.
Bonuses: +10 to Auxiliary Vehicles(typically specialized inspection or cargo lighters)

Sponsorship
1. Private----Family owned or a publicly-traded company
Bonus Points: None

2. Unknown---Nobody knows who really who runs the company or their motives. Occasionally, ships are told to divert to specific ports to pick up special cargo, with no explanation, or ships may be fitted with special equipment they are told not to touch, or other strangeness.
Bonus Points: +10 points to Equipment, +10 points to Technology, +10 points to Uniforms, and +10 wherever you want

3. Organized Crime---The carrier may have once been legitimate, but it is now a front for organized crime, who uses it to launder money, transport fugitives, or conduct criminal activities under cover. Typicaly exercises tight control over the company, with particular attention given to keeping non-organization employees quiet and in-line about anything they see or may learn.
Bonus Points: +15 points to Criminal Activity, +5 to Offship Contacts, +5 to Security, and +10 to Weapons and Defenses

4. MegaCorporation---The carrier is a subsidiary arm of an established megacorporation spanning dozens of regions and companies. This means the company has the legal, material, and financial resources to cover the carrier, but it also expects the carrier to be profitable...If not, it will readily trade the carrier off for whatever it can sell it for.
Bonus Points: +15 points to Emergency Funds, +15 to Headquarters/Facilities

5. Government---The carrier is government-owned and subsidized. This means the adherence to security and safety regulations tends to be rather strict, schedules are kept, and the company has a financial buffer against bad times. The carrier also gets ships through government contracts, including specially built or military surplus craft. On the minus side, the spaceline tends to parrot the government’s policies, and act as an arm of them, meaning that flights may serve as spy missions, crews watched and interrogated, ‘alien’ or ‘unsuitable’ individuals turned away/refused service, the company’s funding may wax and wane with the government’s own, and the government’s enemies may specifically target facilities and vessels of the carrier(this is particularly true if the cargo carriers are subcontractors for supplying a government’s military).
Bonus Points: +10 points to Uniforms, +5 to Security, +10 to Offship Contacts, + 15 to Headquarters/Facilities


A. Auxiliary Vehicles--
This is the fleet of smaller vessels available to the company for intersystem and planetary travel and activity, both by company personnel and for moving cargo. This includes intersystem shuttles, surface crawlers, robots, and power armors. Hazmat Transit carriers often require specialized craft for moving dangerous cargoes, such as radiation-shielded shuttles and thermal-armored robots.
1. None---Only whatever the main ship(s) carry in the shuttlebays; typically only lifepods. Groundside, the company has to rely on employees’ personal vehicles.
Cost: 0 points
2. Light---The company has 1-3 light shuttlecraft or groundside vehicles for use
Cost: 5 points
3. Company Motorpool---The company has a modest fleet of work vehicles, mostly light servicing vehicles and transfer shuttles
Cost: 10 points
4. Specialty Vehicles---The company has, in addition to its regular service fleet, some specially-built vehicles for special purposes or environments, like specially shielded radiation-handler pods, or thermal-shielded tanker shuttles.
Cost: 20 points
5. Extensive Fleet---A veritable armada of vehicles for work, passenger transport, and SAR, ranging from planetary rovers to small FTL shuttles, is available for use. Some of the vehicles may also be military-grade or military surplus, with appropriate armor and armament.
Cost: 50 points

B. Level of Technology
This is a general indicator of how old the equipment of the company is. Depending on local conditions, older technology isn’t necessarily bad, but may require more maintenance and may not meet more modern standards of performance and safety. On the other hand, older technology may be easier and cheaper to repair, and in many systems, speed over economy isn’t always preferable.
1. Ancient---This stuff looks left over from the dawn of the space age, and the early days of FTL flight! Some of it may simply be pre-Warp intersystem ships retrofitted with an FTL drive! Drive performance is typically incredibly slow(0.5 or less- 2.5 light years per hour) and spare parts hard to come by.
Cost: 0 points
2. Old---Dated, but not ancient. The ships may be a bit slower than the latest models, and some parts hard to come by, but can still be competitive and profitable. For Phase World, these ships typically move at 3-4.5 light years per hour
Cost: 10 points
3. Modern---Average for the time, and fairly representative of most of what’s currently flying. Parts and servicing are readily available, and most ports will be able to deal with the technology. In Phase World, average speeds would be 3-5 light years per hour
Cost: 15 points
4. State of the Art----This is what’s just come out in the last two or three years, and is high performance....so new that few other carriers have the same gear, and spare parts and servicing still expensive until more businesses have the same gear in distribution. In Phaseworld, ships of this description can typically move at speeds of 5-6 light years per hour
Cost: 40 points
5. Super-Tech---Typically a prototype technology unique to the company. This technology represents a major jump in capabilities that will place the company light years ahead of the competition, and may revolutionize the industry. Things like wormhole generators, foldspace drives, extradimensional engines, and other exotic technologies. Expensive to service, instantly distinctive, but worth every penny of it. Of course, the downside is that the company may be targeted by industrial spies out to steal this new hardware and sabotage the company’s edge in it, but that’s business!
Cost: 60 points

C. Uniforms
How does the company look? Do they let their professionalism(or lack thereof) speak for itself, or do they dress to the nines to impress, from the highest company captain down to the lowliest landing gear well decontaminator?
1. None---Crew provides their own gear and clothing. Safety equipment is limited to whatever came with the ship when they acquired it.
Cost: 0 points
2. Basic Uniforms----The spaceline provides the crew with basic commerical-issue uniforms(like overalls) in basic colors, with the company’s insignia prominently displayed on a shoulder or back.
Cost: 5 points
3. Specialty Clothing---The company has its own range of customized clothing and uniforms, including light armor and light exoskeletons. Still recognizable as commercially-available types, but heavily marked with the company logo.
Cost: 10 points
4. Distinctive----The company is known to be snazzy dressers(even if their reputation sucks), with a large wardrobe of customized distinctive uniforms and gear for all occasions
Cost: 20 points
5. Unlimited Wardrobe----These guys have a massive budget alloted to wardrobe, and can get just about anything, from basic uniforms to formal wear, light utility suits to heavy duty radsuits, all with the distinctive cut and design of the company. This company is known as a real company cult of clothes horses!
Cost: 30 points

D. Equipment
How are these people equipped to handle emergencies?
1. None----Nil, zit. Aside from what tools the crew has to keep the ship running, they have little to spare for anything else. Count the lifeboats before you come aboard, because you may want to bring your own self-rescue gear.
Cost: 0 points
2.. Basic Equipment----The ships are equipped with the basic gear to meet safety standards, with enough safety gear for the crew(although conditions are likely to be cramped, and capacity depends on people getting to their assigned emergency stations on time).
Cost: 4 points
3.. Good Gear----Meets basic safety standards and then some. Equipment is reliable, and there are several sets of spares for backup. Employees will have a basic communications device, first aid kit, and an emergency spacesuit. Extra life-saving gear is available for up to 20-50% above the listed crew numbers.
Cost: 10 points
4.. Excellent Gear---The ships’ equipment is state of the art; durable, reliable, with plenty of spares and replacements available. All employees have a communications device and/or portable computer terminal, mini-tool kit, as well as a top-of-the-line personal spacesuit. Extra life-saving gear is available for up to twice the listed crew numbers.
Cost: 20 points

E. Medical Equipment/Facilities:
What sort of medical treatment can you expect if you have a problem far from port? This also gives a good indication of the carrier’s ability to spot alien diseases and treat them en route. From spotting a carrier of Simon’s Impotency Plague, to dealing with a Nebuloid crewmember’s cracked carapace, this is what the freight line has on hand to deal with the situation.
1. None---Better hope one of the crew members is a medical professional, or that the ship is hauling medical supplies as cargo, because you’re in trouble.
Cost: 0 points
2. Basic---Paramedic or RMK/IRMSS equivalency. Anything more serious, and the ship is going to have to divert or call for assistance to take care of it.
Cost: 4 points
3. Sickbay----The spaceline has paid for a fully-stocked sickbay aboard ship, with a doctor(typically level 1-5) and several dedicated nurses, or crewmembers trained as paramedics, with some training in the biology and disorders of the more common alien species of their region. The sickbay can take care of fairly serious ailments and problems, and can at least stabilize(or place in stasis) more serious ones until help arrives, or the ship arrives at more extensive facilities.
Cost: 10 points
4. Extensive---Equal to a good base-side hospital, and can treat just about any normal condition. The staff is larger, much more experienced, and is well-informed on most alien species and disorders in their region, and many outisde it.
Cost: 20 points
5. Excellent---Carrier boasts facilities that many planetary heathcare systems would love to call their own. The ship(s) could easily double as hospital ships in an emergency, the staff is experienced enough to spot the most subtle alien diseases and cope with the most persistant hypochondriacs, and the medical staff even has their own research facilities aboard. The staff also has extensive training in xenobiolology, and can treat members of other species with as much competency and compassionate care as their own species.
Cost: 40 points

F. Communications:
This is the means by which the freight line can keep track of their ship(s), inform them of changes of scheduling, denial of access to certain ports, news, and emergency information, and the exercise of control by the home office over its ships. Communications networks are also useful for tracking flight plans, and finding diabled ships and their lifeboats in event of crisis.
1. None---Company ships are on their own in flight, and are reliant on short range systems, or ‘mail drops’ at ports of call, to pick up orders and keep informed
Cost: 0 points
2. Basic---The company uses commercial communications services, like the FTL networks or paid couriers, to get word to its ships. Typically has to encrypt important messages for transmission.
Cost: 5 points
3. Secured Service---The company has several FTL stations of its own to communicate with major traffic hubs, and then uses commercial services and ‘maildrops’ to service fringe ports.
Cost: 15 points
4. Private Network----The Company maintains its own network of FTL stations and high speed couriers, capabe of intercepting ships in FTL flight, to keep the fleet on track and up to date. The company could also supplement its income acting as a commercial communications firm.
Cost: 20 points
5. Ship-Web---Besides having the benefits of a Private Network, all ships in the fleet are equipped with state of the art FTL communications equipment, allowing instantaneous communications between all parties. Has its own network of advanced rescue recievers and translocators, allowing them to conduct their own searches for missing vessels.
Cost: 50 points

G. Offship Contacts:
This is the freight line’s groundside contacts and crew---who it knows in the ports it calls on, to help their ships get clearance, buy fuel and supplies, book cargoes, and rely on to help clear them through the paperwork.
1. None---The company ships must negotiate directly with whatever local authorities it encounters when coming into port.
Cost: 0 points
2. Friend---The crew knows a local traffic controller(or two) or other groundside agent working for the local government/authority, who can help them out, or owes them some favors
Cost: 3 points
3. Portside Liaison---The company has a dedicated agent or small staff of workers in the port, in their pay, who takes care of the paperwork, negotiates with port authorities, keeps an eye on local conditions, and takes care of booking and legal affairs
Cost: 10 points
4. Large Staff---The company has a large dedicated team of agents and employees portside who do all of the above, handle planetside public relations, and have contacts with the local authorities. They are also likely to have the handle on some of the local authorities, in terms of bribes and political pull.
Cost: 30 points
5. Extensive---Not only does the company have an extremely large groundside staff on the payroll, but they have several portside or local government officials unofficially on the payroll, and have a strong lobby in the local government looking out for company interests.
Cost: 60 points

H. Technical Support:
This is what the company’s ships can expect in the way of service if something goes wrong with them. It also gives a good indication of how long a space line’s ships are likely to remain out of service when needing repairs(maintenance turn-around), which can be a major factor in the profitability of the company.
1. None----The ships’ engineers are wholly responsible for keeping the ships running
Cost: 0 points
2. Fair----The company has several servicing agreements with local companies for repairing the fleet, but extensive repairs may be beyond their capabilities, or take a prohibitive time to complete.
Cost: 4 points
3. Good----The company has a service/repair contract with a reputable company paid extra for speedy service, has its own small facility for ship repair, and has a stock of replacement parts and components(engines, computers, etc,) on hand.
Cost: 10 points
4. Excellent----The company has its own repair yard and staff of dedicated engineers. If necessary, it can fly out a salvage/repair crew to a disabled ship and repair it on-site. Quality of work is excellent, and turnaround is quick.
Cost: 20 points
5. Extensive----Effectively owns its own shipyards and R&D facilities to repair, build, and design new ships. Technicians are top of the profession and there are damn few things about the company’s ships they can’t fix. Furthermore, the companies that built the spaceline’s ships give them special discounts on parts and servicing.
Cost: 50 points

I. Security:
This is an indication of both portside and shipboard security; who it lets on and how it deals with them once aboard ship. It also gives a good indication of how much firepower the ships have aboard for dealing with boarders and portside trouble.
This is a particular concern for shippers; while passenger lines seek to control who and what gets ON their ships, shippers have to be equally, if not more so, concerned with what happens to cargoes before and after they leave a ship. Freight terminals and warehouses are even more attractive targets than ships to thieves; the location is known, the inventory’s there, the rewards are great, and in the hustle and bustle of a busy port, a few misdirected crates just might go unnoticed. So wise shippers will have a rentacop or a renta-army patroling their warehousing.
Another concern is, of course, contraband and terrorism....somebody trying to use the shipper to do their dirty work for them...Shipping concerns have to walk a fine line between respecting the privacy of a client and protecting themselves from people trying to ship dangerous cargoes on the cheap, smugglers, and terrorist ‘statements’.
1. None---The company totally trusts to port security(if any), and lets just about anyone aboard without any sort of baggage or security check. Cargoes go unscanned right into the holds.
Cost: 0 points
2. Light----Light security scan and frisk at the port. Has the equivalent of an air marshal aboard with light weapons hidden among the crew, and a rent-a-cop or two patrolling planetside facilities.
Cost: 5 points
3. Heavy---More thorough security scan and search at port, ships and facilities are fenced off and patroled, and has several security staff hidden among the crew.
Cost: 15 points
4. Ironclad----Thorough security check and scan at port, with a basic background check of passengers conducted. Shipboard security has at least one obvious uniformed officer with light weaponry, backed by a large number of plainclothes air marshalls. The ship has specially reinforced internal walls and doors, and code locks to prevent passengers from getting access to the rest of the ship.
Cost: 30 points
5, Paranoid--- Extensive scan for contraband, background check of passengers, and isolated groundside facilities for the ship routinely patroled by security staff. Ship’s security staff is larger, with access to lethal weaponry. At least one member of the security will be augmented(or a robot), and the ship has an internal surveillance system and heavily reinforced internal partitions.
Cost: 45 points
6. Impregnable----Prison ships are less secure than this company’s ships. Thorough electronic and physical scans, extensive background checks, and heavy port patrols before cargo is even loaded aboard the ship. Large(equal to 30% or more of the regular crew) security staff aboard ship with physical augmentation(bionics, psionics, superpowers, etc,), access to heavy weapons, armor, power armor, and riot gear. Ships have extensive concealed security systems and the crew are trained and equipped for combat. The security can also act as a strike/rescue force in event of problems in port.
Cost: 60 points

J. Weapons and Defensive Systems:
Sad to say, in these dangerous universes, even non-combatants may have to carry some form of protection...How willing is the company to bend its civilian transport posture in order to defend itself and its passengers?
1. None---The ships have NO weapons and minimal armor(bare plates), trusting to their noncombatant status and pilot skill to avoid trouble.
Cost: 0 points
2. Light----Ships carry one or two ‘pop guns’ for dealing with large space debris, and have minimal shields to ward off attacks.
Cost: 10 points
3, Concerned----The spaceline is worried enough to mount a few fair-sized weapons capable of repelling boarders. Shielding has been upgraded to 10-25% over the standard.
Cost: 20 points
4. Heavily Armed---Ships are armed and armored equivalent to an armored shuttle or average system patrol craft, with two or three heavy weapons, point defense weapons, light to medium armor, and military-grade shields. The ship may also rate an attached armed shuttle or fighter(if it has the facilities to hangar them).
Cost:40 points
5. Paranoid---The carrier’s ships mount dedicated warship-grade armor, shields, and guns, and can slaughter all but the most heavily armed and persistant bandits. Many will even carry fighters in their auxiliary ship bays, or travel with a fleet of ‘parasite’ military escorts. Some solar systems won’t even allow these privately-owned battlewagons NEAR their planets.
Cost: 60 points

K. Headquarters and Port Facilities:
This is the sort of facilities the company has besides its ships for cargo warehousing, layover, repairs, and administration.
1. None---The company is solely based on its ships, and must either rely on other companies’ facilities or ‘rough it’ from unprepared grounds.
Cost: 0 points
2. Basic---The company has a few basic office facilities dirtside and hangar/servicing facilities, but for extensive servicing, must rent space.
Cost: 10 points
3. Large---Has the equivalent of a small office building, and several adjacent hangars/slips , and its own terminal/cargo handling area.
Cost: 15 points
4. Extensive----Has a large office/administration complex, large complex of hangars. adjacent workshops, a large cargo/warehousing terminal, and a small hotel-complex for stopovers. and layovers.
Cost: 35 points
5. Massive---The company has established large enclaves akin to colonies, its own private spaceport(s), and shipyard facilities capable of servicing dozens of ships, and even building new ones.
Cost: 60 points

L. Living Conditions:
This reflects the degree to which the company is willing to go to make its crews comfortable. This covers living quarters, provision of entertainment, maintenance of life support systems, replacement parts for non-essentials(anything not directly linked to the running of the ship), and also reflects the sort of accommodations
1. Grueling---Barebones; the life support is barely working, quarters are cramped, the bedding hasn’t been changed since the first TGE-CCW war, there’s a funky smell coming from the air ducts, food is whatever the crew brought aboard at their last shoreleave, and entertainment consists of throwing things at the shipboard vermin. Tolerable only for short durations(1-8 days); anything more and crew performance and morale will suffer.
Cost: 0 points
2. Basic----Standard institutional quality meeting base industry standards, but not making any effort to rise above it. Food service is little better than warmed up military rations, there’s a common room for the crew to gather, a basic video-player and audio system for entertainment, and the crew shares cabins(and frequently ‘hotbunks’).
Cost: 2 points
3. Modest---Roughly equivalent to a college dormitory, with each crewmember getting their own bed, while food service is decent, if not spectacular(again, equivalent to a good college cafeteria).
Cost: 5 points
4. Good---Roughly equivalent to a good hotel room or private apartment, with good food provided and decent, regularly updated, entertainment.
Cost: 10 points
5. Luxurious---The company really cares about the welfare of its crew(s) and has gone to great lengths to provide them with comfortable quarters. Typically, each crewman will have his or her own cabin, well-outfitted, with access to a (or several) large commons/exercise areas. Entertainment includes high-quality holovision, a large library of (e-)books and games, snacks, and exercise gear . Food quality is restaurant-quality, with either top-quality automated food processors or a dedicated ship’s cook aboard. With these perks, crewmembers need not leave their ship when in port!
Cost: 20 points

M. Insurance
Although most clients will take out some sort of shipping insurance on their cargoes, the shipping company itself may(and is well-advised to) have its own insurance policies for its operations. This insurance provides liability coverage in the event a cargo consignment is lost or damaged while in their care. It also includes a degree of legal coverage, shielding the company and its personnel from unauthorized investigations, legal extortion, and fraudulent claims(note, however, that a CRIMINAL investigation will not be impeded by this sort of coverage). Insurance in some cases also includes payments to the company to cover damage to their vessels and loss of income/shipping costs from a lost shipment. The company will pay large annual fees for complete coverage, but in event of an accident or incident, clients will be paid off quickly, and the company will be able to resume operations. Lack of coverage means that an unfortunate accident may have repercussions well beyond the initial loss of property; the company may be tied up for years defending itself against lawsuits, and will DEFINITELY be forced to cover all related expenses out of pocket.
1. None---The company is wide-open to lawsuits and takes full financial responsibility for losses incurred.
Cost: 0 points
2. Limited---Cargoes are insured for 10-20% of their declared value
Cost: 5 points
3. Modest---Cargoes are insured for 50% of their declared value
Cost: 10 points
4. Full---Cargoes are insured for a full 100% of their value
Cost: 20 points

N. General Alignment of Personnel:
How thoroughly do you screen your employees?
1. Diabolical ----These guys are little more than pirates, who will do anything to destroy their competition and milk their clients for every iota of worth. These villains will gleefully steal cargoes, use any information they acquire to harass and blackmail people associated with the cargo, destroy shipments, and ship weapons, slaves, and other contraband under the worst conditions.
Cost: 0 points
2. Aberrant----Stick to the letter of their posted regulations, and will provide their stated service to the letter(or maybe even the spirit), but will always look out for their own self-interest first, or else are using the cargo carrier to advance other purposes, such as smuggling and fronting for criminal organizations.
Cost: 2 points
3. Miscreant----The carriers are little more than a bunch of thieves out to enrich themselves by helping themselves to choice cargoes(and writing off the losses as ‘accidents’)
Cost: 2 points
4. Anarchist-----The company is one big gamble, and the employees are likely between jobs, looking for a better one or a bigger score. Expect a high rate of looted baggage and petty thievery.
Cost: 4 points
5. Unprincipled -----The company is well-intentioned and well-behaved, but could be better. Likely to be some lapse in quality on the employee level, and the company overlooks some minor regulations or ‘forgets’ the occasional client complaint. Still, when push comes to shove, these people tend to stick by their mission.
Cost: 6 points
6. Scrupulous-----These folks hold themselves to a high standard of conduct within their organization, but aren’t above exercising their own muscle when it comes to dealing with problem employees(above and beyond the letter of the law), truly obnoxious clients, or with stodgy port authorities. This includes breaking into suspect cargoes and turning them over to the authorities(or destroying contraband themselves).
Cost: 8 points
7. Principled----The company holds itself to the highest standards of conduct with regard to both its own regulations and those of its ports of call. Investigation of complaints is prompt and thorough. These people will typically pay out big refunds in event of shippment loss or damage, and put customer satisfaction as their number one priority. “The Cargo Must Get Through!” is typical modus operandi of these folks.
Cost: 10 points

O. Average Level of Experience:
How competent are they?
1. Unskilled---How do these guys expect to survive? Barely enough brains to keep things running, and they have to keep looking at the manuals to figure out what to do next. Level 1 of experience and you get what you pay for.
Cost: 0 points
2. Novice---Hey, we just started this company! Most employees are levels 2-4, with a few more experienced hands to show them how to do things.
Cost: 5 points
3. Experienced---People who are competent, with enough experience under their belts that they can cope well with most any situation. Levels 5-10
Cost: 10 points
4. Highly Skilled---- “You’re in good hands, folks.” Most employees have seen extensive service and experience and know how to handle themselves. Hardly anything phazes these people; levels 10-13
Cost: 20 points
5. Extraordinarily Skilled---”Don’t worry. I learned to handle situations like this when I saved the Grand Fleet flagship at Goliath Rift!” The best of the best--levels 14-15
Cost: 30 points

P. Criminal Activity:(can purchase more than one)
Because not all spacelines follow the rules.
Aside from the usual low-key mix of scammers, grifters, and card-cheats who seem to creep aboard any vessel, there’s always a chance of some sort of more serious, organized, criminal activity going on, unless shipboard security is very tight, or the ‘line caters to very law-abiding people. Some forms of criminal activity may be conducted on the sly without the senior officers knowing, but at least one crewmember is in on the scheme, or being paid to look the other way. On the other hand, some cargo carriers are little than fronts for large-scale smuggling in everything from narcotics to slaves.
1. Theft---The spaceline ships act as bases for pirates and thieves. A higher than average portion of the crew/passengers are accomplished lockpicks, hackers, and safecrackers who kick back a portion of their booty to whoever is in charge of the operation. Ironically, most shippers are safe, as their cargo is considered small potatoes by the gang, but more valuable cargoes may be dipped into, or at least fingered for an incident of ‘piracy’(the pirates taking over the ship with ease, not harming the crew, then absconding with a specific cargo...profits split with the crew later), and local spaceports and their adjacent communities will have a higher than average theft rate when the cruise ship’s in port....
Cost: 10 points
2. Enforcers----The ship carries a team of high-powered(magic, psionic, or technological) thugs trained in high-profile mob enforcement, kidnapping, extortion, and assassination, using the spaceline as a base.
Cost: 20 points
3. Prostitution----These can be unwilling sex-slaves pressganged into service or unscrupulous sex-workers who torture, steal from, or later blackmail their clients. The ships are flying brothels, or else smuggle sex-slaves.
Cost: 5 points
4. Illegal Gambling----Ships are flying high-stakes palaces of chance, overseen by a staff of resident cardsharps, with the odds criminally rigged in favor of the house.
Cost: 8 points
5. Smuggling---The carriers sideline as smugglers, with secret compartments or drop-points for contraband or even fugitives. Smugglers are also more likely to have extensive star maps of exclusive or restricted systems.
Cost: 15 points
6. Body Chop-shop---The line’s ships are travelling illegal medical clinics specializing in such unsavory practices as illegal cybernetcs/bionics, organ harvesting, Juicer and Crazy conversion, medical experimentation, and/or reconstructive surgery designed to change a person’s identity.
Cost: 20 points
7. Forgery---The ships carry facilities or staff capable of forging false identifcation and authorization papers, or art work and money.
Cost: 10 points
8. Slavery----The ship carries involuntary passengers, and may serve as a ‘training’ facility for breaking slaves into their lot in life.
Cost: 15 points
9. Polluters---The line uses its ships to transport hazardous materials without proper licensing and dump them illegally on other worlds or in space where they think nobody’s looking.
Cost: 5 points

Q. Available Funds
This is how much money the company can extend to a ship for emergency purposes(bribing officials, bailing crew out of the drunk tank, emergency repairs, hiring more staff in a hurry, etc.,), or that the ship’s bursar might have for emergencies...
1. None---Nil, zilch, nada, pass the hat....
Cost: 0 points
2. Nickels and Dimes----20,000 to 25,000 credits
Cost: 5 points
3. Small Potatoes----100,000-200,000 credits
Cost:15 points
4. Large Loans----1-3 million credits
Cost: 25 points
5. Big Bucks---15 million credits
Cost: 45 points
6. MegaFund---2 billion credits
Cost: 60 points


R. Reputation:
Reputation is VITAL to a cargo carrier...Unless they’re just starting out, cargo companies have reputations tagged on them by clients, industry observers, and authorities....this helps determine how much attention they are likely to get, how much they are likely to spend to fix themselves(or their image) up, and how likely people are to invest in them and extend them assistance.
1. Infamous---This company has such a notoriously bad reputation that nobody will even touch the name, let alone the company. Employees known to work for the company are tarred with a black mark against them, and will find it that much more difficult to get hired by any self-respecting company.
Cost: 0 points
2. Struggling---The company has, through a declining reputation, or bad turn of fortunes, lost most of its steady customers, is losing most of its market, and is on the verge of being passed into the hands of its creditors.
Cost: 1 point
3. Poor---Company is known for shoddy practices and bad scheduling and is having problems keeping up. Unless something is done, it will most likely slip to Struggling status.
Cost: 5 points
4. Known---Company is known within a region, but hasn’t really distinguished itself in the business as anything other than serviceable.
Cost: 10 points
5. Well-Regarded---Company is on the up-and-up with good business reviews. People are more inclined to do business with the company.
Cost: 15 points
6. Established---Company is recognized as one of the major players in the field, with instant brand-name recognition among the public. Local governments and organizations are more likely to assist the company and even bail it out in times of trouble.
Cost: 25 points
7. Famous---This company is known as one of the leaders in the field. It is strong, innovative, it can boast thousands, if not millions(or maybe a handful of very important), of satisfied customers, a sparkling safety record, and prospective passengers will book flights months, or even years, in advance. Governments and communities court the favor of the company to secure their business, and many smaller companies will beg for service subcontracts to provide the company with food, souvenirs, and other goods and services affiliated with their name.
Cost: 50 points

S. Salary:
How much do workers for the carrier get paid on average?
1. Debtors----Employees depend wholly on shares in the profits of every journey and have to scrounge, barter, and take second or sideline jobs to make anything extra.
Cost: 0 points
2. Break-Even----Everything the employees make goes back into the company, and operating costs leave very little left over. Aside from shipboard eating, housing, and medical care, employees make a pittance of 3d6x10 credits a week
Cost: 2 points
3. Low Salary---- 300-900 credits a week, depending on position and rank
Cost: 5 points
4. Good Salary----400-2,000 credits a week, depending on position and rank, plus a severance package of 1d4x1,000 credits
Cost: 10 points
5. Excellent Salary and Benefits---Employees enjoy high wages(500-5,000 credits a week, depending on position and rank), comprehensive medical and benefits packages, and get generous retirement packages(40% of standard pay rate for the next 2d6 years)
Cost: 20 points
6. Outrageous!---Employees are paid like kings, even the lower echelon workers! 500-5,000 credits a week, depending on position and rank, plus 3d6x1,000 credit bonuses for special performance. Even after one trip, these folks are set! And then there are the massive retirement and health care packages...50-60% of standard pay for 10-20 years.
Cost: 40 points

T. Special Features:
These are special features that help further distinguish the company:
1. Exclusive Services Contract---The spaceline has a virtual monopoly to provide freight service to a planet. This contract is enforced by both the company and the local government, who may provide the company with free labor planetside, or discounts on services.
Cost: 20 points

2. Legal Immunity---The company is owed a BIG political favor, has bribed the right people, or has distinguished itself in such a way that it has acquired a limited legal immunity from the laws and policies of the local government. This could include tax-exempt status, waiving of safety and customs regulations, immunity from prosecution, or tariff-free imports. It may also include special exemption from attack by certain/specific pirate bands.
Cost: 10 points

3. Alien Multi-Species Services----The company’s ships and facilities can accommodate a variety of exotic alien species, in as much comfort as their normal clients, effectively increasing their potential customer market and reputation.
Cost: 10 points

4. Charitable Institution---The carrier does some great humanitarian service that can potentially net it some serious good press. Things like moving food and relief supplies for free, transporting emergency medical supplies, or volunteering their ships, crews, and facilities in times of crisis are all examples of this. These small sacrifices of time and company resources can gain the company some major good karma and positive media attention in the long run.
Cost: 2 points

5. Military Surplus---The company has special contacts that allow it to get ahold of military surplus hardware much easier. It may take more time and expense to make these ships and equipment suitable for civilian use, but they may be more durable, faster, or possess special qualities not found in contemporary civil designs.
Cost: 20 points

6. Expert Designer---The company has retained the services of a famous/distinguished designer/artist to give the company’s outfits, equipment, and ships a unique, distinctive, aesthetic look that sets it apart from all the rest.
Cost: 10 points

7. Political Favor---The company is owed ONE big political favor by a politiician. They keep it in reserve against a time of really desperate times when having a friend in a high place can mean the difference between solvency and bankruptcy.
Cost: 15 points

8. Shortcut---The company has a minor advantage in either a drive modification, navigational shortcut, or just plain luck, that allows them to shave 10-20% off the normal travel time to a destination.
Cost: 20 points.

9. Crackerjack Legal Team---Company retains the services of a top-notch legal team or firm to protect them in cases of litigation and other legal entanglements.
Cost: 20 points.

U. Special Disadvantages
These cost you nothing, but actually give you more points to play around with. On the other hand, you do pay for them with potential trouble.

1. Rival Company---Another company of the same size as you, competing for the same niche market as you. This is STIFF competition, with vicous price slashing and even some industrial espionage.
Bonus Points: +10

2. Rival Corporation---Another company competing for the same market as you, only they’re 2d4 times larger than you, with more resources, and likely fewer scruples.
Bonus Points: +25

3. Disgruntled Former Employee(s)----Former workers(Jimmy the Janitor) or administrators(Dolson, the former manager who almost ran the company into the ground) who left your service under a cloud and are still angry. They know many, if not all, of your secrets and means of operation, and will ACTIVELY do everything to get back at your company, from selling out to your competitors or suing you to tie you up in court, to sabotaging your equipment and framing you for bogus crimes.
Bonus Points: +5 for a former worker, +10 for a former administrator

4. Government Investigation----Somewhere along the line, you tripped a flag in some government office, or pissed off someone in a high place real bad. There’s a government out there that wants you investigated for some offense(real or contrived), and may impound your ships if you come into their territory, or demand your arrest. and extradition.
Bonus Points: +7 points for regional local gendarmes, +20 points for a local planetary government, +30 points for an entire race(Vulcans are boycotting you, Proximans want you for gun smuggling, or the Protoss have declared you heretics), +50 points for a major galactic power like the Romulan Star Empire, TGE, or Boskone.

5. Pirates----The regions you operate in are subject to heavy pirate or privateer activity, making your trips very uncertain.
Bonus Points: +20

6. Spacial Dangers---The regions the company operates in are prone to severe spacial disturbances, like warp storms, rogue black holes, cosmic string chains, etc., making space travel that much more hazardous.
Bonus Points: +20

Cargo Carrier Adventures:

Mysterious Cargo
Hook: The PCs get hired to transport a ‘special cargo’. The job pays well(VERY well, maybe even SUSPICIOUSLY well), as long as the PCs deliver the cargo, don’t ask questions, and don’t poke around the cargo containers while in flight. Especially don’t poke around the cargo containers.
Line: Of course you can see it coming; the trip starts out okay, but before long the PCs start noticing strange things centered around the cargo. Strange noises, glowing energy fields, or some sort of effect that is affecting the performance of the ship that is centered around what’s in the cargo hold...
Sinker: The cargo can be any of a number of dubious and dangerous things; smuggled alien life forms, an alien artifact, stolen Promethean technology, etc...all just waiting to go off in the PCs’ faces.

Hot Potato
Hook: The crew gets a regular cargo run hauling non-descript cargo in large locked containers. Nothing doing, right?
Line: Like the ‘Mysterious Cargo’ above, something leads to the crew discovering something in the payload that wasn’t declared on the manifest.
Sinker: While not as exotic as the previous scenario, the ‘Hot Potato’ is still something that the crew isn’t likely to like. Smuggled slaves, narcotics, weapons, and other contraband can make for a bad future if the ship is pulled over by authorities. The cargo can also be cause for trouble if it isn’t delivered, especially if the party that sent the cargo, and.or the intended recipients are organized crime, rogue government, or government black-ops.

Blockade Runner
Hook: Unlike the previous adventures, the PCs are openly hired to run contraband through a government blockade. This can mean running guns to the FWL, shipping humanitarian aide to a Golgan world being besieged by former client-states, or getting in and smuggling an Altess off a planet ahead of the locals looking for a valuable hostage to hold for ransom.
Line: It’s going to be dangerous, running the blockade, and if it goes wrong, the crew could be imprisoned or worse. But the money is good...REAL good.
Sinker: It’s an offer the PCs can’t refuse; the hiring party may be paying well, but they’ve got a stick to go with the carrot. If the PCs don’t do the job, they’ll face legal problems(real or trumped up), such as might result in their ship being confiscated, or the PCs jailed.

Leftovers
Hook: The crew just got a contract to deliver a large shipment of valuable goods and it looks to be a milkrun...
Line: ...Upon getting to the destination, the crew discovers the deal collapsed; the cargo has no buyer at the other end, the original shipping party either no longer exists or doesn’t want it back, or the market for the goods tanked(rendering it virtually valueless) sticking the crew with the problem of disposing the cargo.
Sinker: Depending on what the cargo is. disposal could be a problem. Toxic waste can’t just be dumped without special procedure and licenses, weapons might be considered contraband most places, and the cargo might have a shelf-life, meaning it’s only valuable for a diminishing window of time before being a haz-mat problem. Keeping a high-bulk cargo onboard means less room for other, paying, cargo, while offloading the stuff to a warehouse for storage means paying rental fees. Selling the cargo may involve going far afield to find buyers.

Charge on Delivery
Hook: The crew is charged to deliver a large and valuable payload to an important planet. The cargo MUST be delivered on time, and the crew is being WELL paid to see it through, regardless of what or who gets in the way. The senders even provide a handy security expert to protect the cargo and smooth things along the way.
Line: Naturally the trip runs into some trouble, including pirates, as expected. But when the ship is approached by forces claiming to be customs authorities or security from the planet the cargo is being delivered to, the ‘security liaison’ claims that they are pirates in disguise, and orders the cargo ship crew to evade them, and even fires on the pirates.
Sinker: At some point the crew’s gotta overcome their greed at the high-paying job abd question what it is they’re hauling. That’s when they figure out they’re actually on a suicide mission; their cargo is a giant bomb or bioweapon capable of sterilizing a planet, and the ‘security liaison’ is a brainwashed kamikaze or robot sent along to insure the weapon gets delivered. Besides avoiding the legitimate authorities who will destroy them if they suspect the ship is a threat, the crew must figure out a way of safely disposing of both their increasingly dangerous passenger and the weapon ticking away in their cargo bay.

The Big Guy Rides Up Front
Hook: It’s Big Secret Cargo time again, with the PCs picking up a high value cargo for big bucks, no questions asked. Take the cargo and transport it to the middle of nowhere and drop it off, then fly away to count your pay.
Line: After the umpteenth attempt by somebody else to grab the cargo, something should happen to prompt the crew to discover what it is that’s so freakin’ troublesome...only to discover their cargo is a sleeping Dominator in stasis!
Sinker: If the Dominator awakens, rather than attack the crew, he will uncharacteristically attempt to enlist their aid; he was captured by his enemies and was being held for some gruesome fate, but managed to escape(perhaps with the aid of others) and was attempting to use the PCs to smuggle him out to safety. Now that he’s awake, he offers to DOUBLE the original pay and hints that he may offer them other financial and technological incentives for getting him to safety. The Dominator has little, of any, of his standard equipment on him, so is fairly helpless(by Dominator standards), but he knows where he can get access to Dominator gear.
This should put the crew in a real quandry; Dominators are major boogiemen of the Three Galaxies and having one at their mercy can go either way. Is he an escaping galactic criminal likely being pursued by the authorities (including CosmoKnights?) or a victim fleeing vicious criminals(including Fallen Cosmoknights?) as he claims? Do they believe this being will honor his offers or does he intend to betray his put-upon saviors once he’s safe and powered-up again?

[gaby]

Very Good ideas.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Those are not "construction tables" those are story building tables.

The AUGG has the starship construction text.

[eliakon]

Those are not "construction tables" those are story building tables.

The AUGG has the starship construction text.

Ummm yes they are.
Sort of like the tables for building (constructing) a city, mercenary army, circus, black market, secret agency, or any of the other zillions of versions of this trope that palladium loves.
Since a cargo carrier is the proper term to describe a company that carries cargo the title is pretty accurate.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Those are not "construction tables" those are story building tables.

The AUGG has the starship construction text.

Ummm yes they are.
Sort of like the tables for building (constructing) a city, mercenary army, circus, black market, secret agency, or any of the other zillions of versions of this trope that palladium loves.
Since a cargo carrier is the proper term to describe a company that carries cargo the title is pretty accurate.

Yep, those other tables you mentioned are also Story Building Tables. And build organizations within their own specialization.

Yes, I had a knee jerk after reading only the title [the topic title can lend people to believe it will be about building ships, not organizations that runs a ship(s)] and then get a glimpse at the content......

As a Org. builder I have no objection to it. I would have them build the ship they would be running separately from this table via the AGG text.

[taalismn]

My apologies; it was not my intent to mislead by literal misinterpretation. I have retitled accordingly.

[ZINO]

VERY NICE LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jerell]

Yeah, I also like, and appreciate it.

[taalismn]

Yeah, I also like, and appreciate it.

Hey, business is business. The business of taking people's stuff, the business of taking peoples' stuff AWAY.