Er sorry if I opened a can of worms guys, I wasnt around when the biggie
discussion was on (Sorry I missed it) .
I agree with by Cynthia's and Steves comments on free traders, ie they cant
live for 12 CR a year on a pension etc .
BUT The character generation tables (I beleive anyway), are for making up
TRAVELLER CHARACTERS . NPCS, or the average joe blow are another matter
entirerly . I mean look at the character merchant whose gained a free trader
.. Why has he not got lots of money, becuse instead of filing his money in
the bank, he has put it in a starship . The pensions in the character
generation are not superannuation (Well I dont think they are), they really
are not big enough to support a person on (They never were meant to be) .
Mr NPC captain doesnt burn around in a starship cause he has retired on
his superannuation (some enormous amount proberly) and is content to live
of it . The reason why traveller characters dont get large amounts like
this is becuase then they have no reason to adventure .
If you look at the payments side of it .
Agreed 5.575% (Ithink) is small, but look in the encyclopedia under
starship purchase it says
Standard Terms involve the payment of 1/240th of the cash price each month
for 480 months, roughly 153,000 Cr a month for a type A free trader
(Sorry about the 175,000 yesterday but that was based on a far trader) .
There is none of this paying of interest only, you must pay the set 1/240
a month (for 480 months) .
That is still alot of money in anyones terms .
Yes they are burning around on assets worth 6 to 60 million credits agreed,
but that person has sunk his entire merchant career into getting that
and most of his cash as well . I mean they are not really going to say
"Ive been smegging around for the last 30 years in this tincan, I'll think
I'll sell it tomorrow and live a life of luxery" .
Sorry about the images of "Battered Free Traders" but I was just showing
contrast .
You have to remember corporations have more power than indivdiuals, it stands
to reason . The tax rebates I meant were things such as using company
accountants to get tax incentives, that sort of thing . A company can put
preassure on a contractee to give it to them and so forth . Thats why
in effect the megacorps are an empire unto their own within the imperium .
The frontier places (such as the spinward marches) are ideal for the free
trader . Companies have their established markets, the frontier is a land
of opputunity . The majority of people playing traveller have their
campaigns set on the frontier . The frontier is were the most fluctuations
in markets and tech and cultures occur . A free trader can make a mint in
an atmosphere like that . The original game was set on this frontier, and
based its adventures around the "frontier' image . Consequently why the
small free traders are more prolific there .
I think that the more stable and older areas of the imperium would have its
markets nearly completely sown up by the corps, but the frontiers are just
too much of a headache for em, consequently the free traders step in . Also
as the companies dominate the trade, the FT's go elsewhere, naturally the
frontier is the place to head for .
Mind you if you think the traveller character table was for your average
person, well I guess thats a whole lot of gunk . But I tend to believe that
the whole point of the tables was to create characters with roleplaying and
adventure potential . Consequently thats why the tables give em the chance
to get starships, and dont give heaps of cash .
Edmund and well .......... Michael