Hi,
In answer to the query about costs of basic items in Traveller (i.e. food,
accomodation, etc.) I definitely advocate the pound/dollar to credit
algorithm. If you set a credit value at about 50 UK pence or 1 UK pound per
credit (in the US: 50 cents or a dollar) then you have a very easy
conversion rate that both yourself and the players can use.
It means you don't have to get out a calculator (either to convert from
dollars to pounds, or from our currency to credits) and thus the players
can instinctively get a feel for whether a planet seems expensive (or if
they're being ripped off).
I see no point in making up a big list of items with prices. This _is_
required for a game like Dungeons and Dragons where the relationship between
cash and items is not so clear to player or referee. But in Traveller, you
ought to be able to make do with a direct 1:1 conversion of local (UK/US)
currency to credits. To add spice, either consult the trade tables in the
MT Players (or TNE equivalent) or just roll 2D for a price variation:
Roll Price Adjustment
2 -50%
3 -40%
4 -30%
5 -20%
6 -10%
7 0
8 +10%
9 +20%
10 +40%
11 +60%
12 +80%
13+ +100%
For the player who's buying, ADD any reaction adjustment by the seller (if
he doesn't like the character, add between 2 and 4 points to the roll; if
he is enchanted by the player, deduct a couple of points); then DEDUCT any
appropriate player skill (bribery, liaison, carousing, possible admin, legal,
broker, etc.).
Note that just like the real world, the table is biased towards getting as
much money as possible out of the characters. The seller will never drop
his price below 50% unless he's selling you something which doesn't work and
isn't even worth its value in scrap - he's no fool (unless he has a
particularly low Intelligence, in which case... well that's up to you!)
Andy Lilly
Commander, PITS Team (Political Intelligence Team, Scout)
"We are never out-gunned..."
Nothing I say or do here in anyway reflects the views of my very kind,
understanding and generally wonderful employers