Smuggling and Piracy for Star Wars D6

Empire Ascendant

The following guidelines, rules, and values give a decent shake-down on running a legitimate tramp freighter in the Star Wars D6 game. Lucky for you, they also show you how to be a criminal, smuggling stuff or pirating it...but you're only as good as the friends you make, the enemies you kill, and the illicit goods you can track down.

Relevant Organizations

Imperial Space Ministry

• Imperial Spacefaring Regulations protocols updated yearly, available for 25 cr when updating flight certification.
• Astrogation update available at most capitals; requires captain's accredited license and ship's operating license; available for 150 cr.

Bureau of Ships and Services (BoSS)

• Ship's Operating License - 1,000 cr and background check.
• Captain's Accredited License - 300 cr plus background check and 10 years of space background; 200 cr will waive the flight time check.
• Arms Load-Out Permit - 250 cr.

Laws and Infractions

Forging Documentation in the BoSS database

• Decent service is 6,000 to 10,000 cr, but not-so-good might be 3,000 to 5,000.

Infractions

Class One Infractions - arrest, impounding of the vessel, 5-30 years of prison, loss of certification and possible execution

• Conspiring to overthrow the Empire
• Possession of a cloaking device
• Attacking another vessel
• Aggression against Imperial personnel

Class Two Infractions - arrest, impounding, fine of up to 10,000 cr, 5-30 years in prison, possible loss of flight certification

• Shipment of high energy weapons without a permit
• Mounting of high energy weapons on a vessel without a permit
• Possession, purchase or transport of restricted or illegal goods
• Purchase or transport of stolen goods

Class Three Infractions - arrest, impounding, fine between 250 and 5,000 cr, up to 2 years prison, possible loss of flight certification

• Attempted bribery
• Transportation of restricted goods without a permit

Class Four Infractions - fine 1,000-5,000 cr (or as low as 175 cr) and up to 1 month in prison

• Purchase or transport of narcotics without permit
• Purchase or transport of any goods requiring a permit or fee w/o required protocol
• Purchase or use of a vessel while lacking ship's operating license and/or captain's accredited license
• Possession, purchase, or transport of unrestricted items in quantity w/o proper taxation

Class Five Infractions - fine as low as 100 or high as 5,000, but typically 500-1,000 cr

• Violation of local import and export laws
• Lack of proper emergency equipment for any vessel
• Deviating from a starport's traffic patterns - 50 to 200 cr

Mundane Costs of Running a Ship

• Docking fees (standard+ spaceports) - 50 cr/day. Busier spaceports might be up to 150 cr/day.
• Standard maintenance includes life support replenishment (food, water, lubricating fluids, coolant), oxygen, waste removal, decontamination, and landing stress tests - Base fee is 10-35 credits (usually the lower end), but the end price uses this formula:
  • Restocking Fee = (Base Fee) x (total Crew and Passenger capacity) x (number of days worth of Consumables to be renewed)
• After 20+ jumps, you likely need a full Maintenance Overhaul (GM rolls 2D while at port, on a 2 you need it) - 1,000 cr standard, more for heavily modified ships (up to 5,000 cr).
• Repairs cost anywhere from 5% - 25% of the ship's original retail cost, per main system (Maneuverability, Speed, Shields), usually averaging 10% and dependent on the level of damage the ship is currently at.
• Drives / Hyperdrives can cost anywhere from 15% - 35% of the ship's original retail, usually on the higher end.

Starship Quirks

• Landing gear doesn't retract.
• Powering up weapons drains energy from shields, or vice versa (having full D in one means having -1D in the other).
• One exterior maintenance port belches smoke when in atmosphere.
• Interior lights go out when shields power up.
• All interior hatches seal when guns are operational.
• Only one entry hatch will open at a time.
• Atmosphere control system stuck on "cool" or "hot."
• Mysterious squeak from beneath the deckplates of the bunk cabin.
• Comm system plagued with static.
• Cockpit chair padding is always lumpy.
• Opening an interior hatch temporarily activates the hull breach alarm.
• Forward strobe lamps are always on when the engines are engaged.
• Maintenance labels and interior markings are in a strange, rarely used alien alphabet.
• Insignificant red light on command console keeps blinking.
• Loose deck plate trips anyone running through the corridor.

Freight and Smuggling

Contacts

For every die in Streetwise, select one contact. Normally, this only applies to well-traveled characters like a Smuggler captain, but theoretically anyone can use it. Simply alter the list of contacts to be more in-line with your character's Template (i.e. Jedi will know Republic Senators and other Jedi, while Ewoks will know...well, other Ewoks).

Types of Contacts

• Data Forger
• Docking Bay Owner
• Fence
• Friendly Spacer
• Fugitive Medic
• Infochants (information brokers)
• Locals - Restaurant owner, Minor bureaucrat, Speeder salesman, Maintenance Droid, Grandmother, Store clerk, Lonely beggar, Colonist, Transport driver, Mechanic, Curious kid, Farmer
• Mercenary Captain
• Outlaw Tech
• Pirate Officer
• Privateer or Salvage Operator
• Starport Official
• ...or any Template type or NPC you could think of, cleared by the GM, of course!

Drop-Point Delivery

Finding a Customer

Roll Knowledge/Streetwise to determine how good/profitable the run is:

• Failure: No run.
• Very Easy: Long run, not much cargo, marginally profitable.
• Easy: Long run, large cargo, barely profitable.
• Moderate: Moderate run, large cargo, fairly profitable.
• Difficult: Moderate run, full cargo, good profit.
• Very Difficult: Short run, full cargo, high profit.

Standard Fees

5-10 cr per ton, per day, based on a x2 Hypderdrive (standard for freighters).

• Will include 1 day to load cargo and get out-system, plus 1 day to get in-system and off-load the cargo.

A delivery of small cargo with a quick turnaround, or hiring the entire vessel if you aren't filling up on cargo, is usually 300-600 credits/day.

Payments are typically done at 50% up front with a voucher for the other half (listing any bonuses and penalties) upon delivery.

Bonuses and Penalties

• Penalties for slow delivery always apply.
• Penalties for condition always apply, as well.
• If you are a repeat freighter for the customer, you probably have to accept a slightly lower fee to make up for the consistency of the work, usually about 5-10% below standard, but with a much greater likelihood of bonuses for quick or even just on-time delivery.
• Bonuses for quick deliveries can be negotiated.
• A regular contract may allow you to get breaks on ship-repair and upgrade fees (usually no more than 5 or 10%).
• Shippers may demand that the freighter take out insurance on the cargo, usually 1-10% of the cargo's value, depending on...:
  • freighter's reputation
  • risk of the trip
  • fragility of the cargo
  • etc.

Note that, in the absence of legit insurance companies, there's always loan sharks or posting your ship as collateral.

The Black Market

Legality Rating

• F (Fee) items usually require a fee, special permit, or something else to acquire/own, usually ranging from 5-50% of the item's cost (average 10%).
• R (Restricted) require a specialized license and law enforcement involvement in the purchase, usually a background check, and fees up to 100% or more of the item's cost.
• X (Illegal) violate the law in nearly every case, with possession being a heavy crime, and on-the-spot execution being well within legal purview.

Mechanics

The base asking price for any F, R, or X items is the listed price plus modifiers from Bargain rolls between the dealer and the buyer (which may not be the freighter!). The freighter is going to get something in-between the listed price and the final price.

It takes a Knowledge/Streetwise roll just to get in touch with a dealer, and then negotiations begin. They can be ended by either party at any time, but doing so without coming to agreement means that the next Streetwise roll is done at one higher difficulty level (Very Easy > Easy > Moderate > etc.).

Loan Sharks

Rates

The typical rate is 300% return over 30 months, at 10% per month.

• Someone considered bad risk may pay as much as 900% in interest.
• Typically, there is no rate reduction for early repayment, though that could happen in especially good circumstances.

Late Payments

1. If you miss one payment, you owe it next month, plus a penalty of an additional month's payment.
2. The second missed payment usually comes with a visit, and maybe a broken finger or some threats.
3. Missing three or more payments is surely very, very bad. Paying a hefty chunk when brought in for reckoning might give you a +1D bonus on any Con or Bargain rolls, but otherwise, you're in deep doo-doo.

Pirates and Privateers

• Pirate: Someone who raids ships, abducts goods and potentially people (slavers are often considered worse than pirates, though), and illegally salvages derelict ships or goods for profit.
• Privateer: A pirate with a legal charter to commit the above acts, and only occasionally with somewhat more moral culpability.

Strategic Metals and Minerals

• Durelium - 100-200 cr per kilo
• Gold - 10-15 cr per gram
• Hyperbarides - varies, price controlled by Imperial regulation, generally 2,200 cr per kilo
• Hollinium - 750 cr / gram
• Maranium - 300 cr / gram
• Vintrium - 500 cr / gram
• Ilinium - 250 cr / gram
• Frasium - 1,000 cr / gram
• Mythra - 12-18 cr / gram
• Platinum - 15-20 cr / gram
• Quadrillum - 50-75 cr / kilo
• Silver - 150-200 cr / kilo
• Hfredium - 110 cr / kilo

Gemstones

CSC = Coruscant Standard Carat

• Bothan Glitterstones - 500-5,000 cr / CSC
• Chrystopaz - 5-2,000 cr / CSC
• Corusca stones - 10,000-1 million cr / CSC
• Crystalline vertices - 2,000-20,000 cr / CSC
• Diamonds - 1,000-3,000 cr / CSC
• Emeralds - 5-25,000 cr / CSC
• Gacerite - 100-1,000 cr / CSC
• Gallinorean rainbow gem - 20,000-50k cr / CSC
• Garnib crystals - 1,000-10,000 cr / gram
• Jasse hearts - 1,000-5,000 cr / CSC
• Jorallan opals - 2,000-20,000 cr / CSC
• Kuggerags - 250-15,000 cr / CSC
• Lalmy'ashian perals - 500-20,000 cr / pearl
• Nova crystals - 5,000-30k cr / CSC
• Prismatic crystals - 500-5k cr / CSC
• Quella gems - 1,500-25k cr / CSC
• Rubies - 50-20k cr / CSC
• Sapphires - 25-15k cr / CSC
• Sasho gems - 500-10k cr / CSC

Reward Bounties for Imperials and Corporate Officials

• Trooper/deckman - 100 cr
• Sergeant/chief - 200 cr
• Ensign/lieutenant - 300 cr
• Command rank officers - 500 cr
• Flag rank officers - 1,000 cr
• Sector rank officials - 5,000 cr