Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse

Tag: gaming

  • You Got Battletech in my Traveller!

    You Got Battletech in my Traveller!

    No, you got Traveller in my Battletech!

    Two of my favorite games over my long gaming career are Traveller and Battletech. I’ve been playing both for over 40 years. Since I’ve recently moved to a new city, on a new coast of the US, and The 50th Anniversarry of Traveller is right-around-the corner. I’m starting a new campaign. With Battletech enjoying a renaissance, I’ve been throwing a healthy amount of Big Stompy Robots in my Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future.

    The setting for this campaign leans more toward the Third Imperium than the Inner Sphere. Specifically my favorite era in Traveller’s Third Imperium, the Hard Times. I talked a bit about this back in June. The elevator pitch is, the Hard Times are a relatively brief period in the Third Imperium that takes place at the end of the Rebellion War. Technology and society are skidding towards a second Long Night in the Shattered Imperium of Megatraveller.

    How These Lego Bricks Fit Together

    Battletech’s setting features giant, piloted robot war machines called Battlemechs. They run between 20 and 100 metric tons and are powered by big fusion engines. They’re a lot more on the “space-fantasy” side of science fiction, but there’s a heavy layer of gritty over them. Sort of like Star Trek, there’s a whole glossary of technobabble that sounds enough like engineering and “science!”

    In Traveller terms, Battlemechs become practical around Tech Level (TL) 10. Fusion Power is practical here, which makes powering these war machines possible. The Inner Sphere setting ranges from a rough TL 10 or 11 in the classic Battletech era (between 3025 to 3062) to TL 12 at the height of the Star League (2750). The Clans were around the high end of TL12 and entering TL 13 so far as their engineering went, though the cluster of worlds from where they were exiled didn’t have the resources to fully exploit that level of development. Battlemechs as a practical war vehicle phases out by the time a civilization reaches TL 14, which is where fusion technology reaches it’s technological limits and more exotic power sources become commonplace.

    The average Tech Level of the Third Imperium during the Megatraveller Setting (Imperial Year 1116) was TL 12 with the maximum TL at 15 (and a couple of places like the Darrian Confederation boasting TL 16). The Hard Times sourcebook for Megatraveller goes into detail about how the average Tech Level of the Third Imperium slides backwards. Which is a great parallel to the decline experienced by the Inner Sphere through their many Succession Wars.

    Hey, Why Not Just Use the Battletech RPG Books?

    There’s nothing wrong with Mechwarrior 1st edition, 2nd edition and Catalyst Games’ A Time of War, and Destiny games. I’ve run and played them (except Destiny) over the years, but my preference and love stays with Traveller. I’ve internalized the system a lot deeper than I have the Battletech systems (which is saying a lot, because I’ve internalized Battletech down to my frakkin’ bones!) For me, it’s the life-path character generation system in Traveller. I also talk about it in more detail in this essay, long story short, Traveller Character Generation tells a story through the dice better than using a point-buy system or laying templates over one another. Rolling up a Traveller almost always has a surprise in the character that makes it exciting to play on Session 1.

    I also think in Traveller. The terminology comes more naturally to me, as we’ll explore shortly. As mentioned above, I have a good feel for where Battletech fits in the Traveller Universe, and it takes more work to fit Traveller in the Battletech universe. Advice to the new GMs out there, don’t be afraid to lean on what you know, running role-playing-games can be hard, no need to make it harder on yourself.

    Some Broad Strokes

    I’ll be using Traveller for character generation, setting info, personal combat and most space combat. I’ll be breaking out the hex-maps and Battletech Minis for vehicular combat. Both systems are 2d6 based, and the systems are pretty compatible. There are some fuzzy conflicts when dealing with Traveller small space ship combat vs Battletech’s Aerospace system, but I don’t think they’re insurmountable. Also, the Hard Times campaign isn’t about dogfights at the edge of atmosphere in a gravity well. The backdrop of War is context for the adventure.

    Most of the time, the Traveller skill system is used rules-as-written. However, when on the Battletech or Aerospace battlemap, the system will switch over to Battletech: Total War with the following modification:

    • Base Battletech Piloting is calculated using the character’s skill in Traveller Drive (Battlemech)
    • Base Battletech Gunnery is calculated using the character’s skill in Traveller Heavy Weapons (Battlemech)
    • Base Aerospace Piloting is calculated using the character’s skill in Traveller Pilot (Aerospace)
    • Base Aerospace Gunnery is calculated using the character’s skill in Traveller Gunnery (Aerospace)
      • Battletech and Aerospace Piloting skill starts at 5. This is equal to Traveller Skill at Level 0 (without any Characteristic bonuses)
      • Battletech and Aerospace Gunnery skill starts at 4. This is equal to Traveller Skill at Level 0 (without any Characteristic Bonuses)
    • For every Traveller Skill level gained, the corresponding Battletech/ Aerospace skill goes down by 1.
      • Example: A character with Traveller Skill Drive (Battlemech) 2, when moving over to the Battletech combat map, will have a Battletech Piloting skill at 3. (Base Battletech skill 5 – Traveller skill level 2 = 3.
    • This can also be reversed when adapting the NPCs in a Battletech scenario to Traveller.
      • Mechwarrior Mungo Bogsbane has Battletech Piloting 4 and Gunnery 2. His Traveller skills are Drive (Battlemech) 1 and Heavy Weapons (Battlemech) 2.
    • The Traveller Skill Jack of All Trades deserves special mention. Skill Levels in Jack of All Trades offset the penalties for trying skills without having at least Level 0 in the relevant skill. The full rules can be found in the Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022 from Mongoose Publishing. Normally, characters need to have at least Skill Level 0 in the appropriate skill to operate a Battlemech, Aerospace vehicle or the weapon systems of either. These are too complex for someone who doesn’t have training to do anything more than flip switches, click buttons and yank levers in futility as the machine does nothing (best case scenario) or crashes in a catastrophic explosion (at worst..)
      Jack of All Trades allows a character to attempt an unskilled roll at a reduced penalty. Jack of All Trades 0 allows for the roll at a -3 penalty, with each skill level in Jack of All Trades reducing that penalty by 1. Until Jack of All Trades reaches Level 3, at which point the roll is at no penalty.
      When applied to Battletech’s Battlemech and Aerospace skills, These penalties are added to the base skill level. A character with Jack of All Trades 0 can roll Piloting at (5+3)= 8 and Gunnery at (4+3)= 7. Jack of All Trades 2 can roll Piloting at (5+1)= 6 and Gunnery at (4+1)= 5.

    Gearing up for the Cockpit

    The most critical piece of equipment for a Battlemech or Aerospace Pilot is their Neural Impulse Helmet AKA “Neurohelmet”. Neuohelmets provide direct neural links to the vehicle’s computer and sensors and are what makes Battlemechs and Aerospace craft more responsive than more conventional vehicles (even at high tech levels). Indeed, the Neurohelmet makes piloting Battlemechs and Aerospace craft possible in the first place. There are so many systems and subsystems that demand constant attention that no one person, or even a small crew of people could manage it all, but a Neurohelmet allows for a single pilot to control the vehicles full functionality.

    A Neurohelmet is a TL 10 device that masses around 6 kg and costs 10 kilocredits (KCr, 10,000 credits). It is a huge, bulky, ugly, and fixes the wearer’s face straight forward. There is a window roughly the size of the wearer’s face installed that displays visual readout data into the user’s field of vision. Inside there are multiple contact leads which use the user’s own brain to move and drive the battlemech as an extension of their body. The helmet rests on the user’s shoulders, protecting the users relatively fragile neck from injury, but restricting any head movement.

    The Neurohelmet’s bulk looks like it could deflect a direct hit from an Advanced Combat Rifle round. That is if the bullet wouldn’t damage all the internal electronics connected to the user’s brain. The Neurohelmet is not armor. Not even when deactivated. Its bulk comes from the complex hardware that creates the technological miracle which allows a human to control a titan.

    At TL 11, the Neurohelmet becomes safer and smaller. It’s no longer a rat’s nest of cabling connected to a six kilo dome. It’s half the mass that it was at TL 10, while direct connection through ports from helmet to cockpit are still necessary, a lot of the connections are wireless.. There remains safety bracing that protects the neck, but the user is able to turn their head and enjoy a restricted range of motion.

    AT TL 12, the Neurohelmet is half the size of the TL 11 helmet. It still fully covers the head, but does not require bracing to protect the neck. There is still neck protection, but not to compensate for having six extra kilos on your head. Direct connections to the cockpit have been reduced to one, two or three, depending on the model of the helmet. The user has a full range of head motion.

    Cybernetic Neural Impulse Cranial Implants (“NICIs”) are also TL 12 devices, and are cybernetic augments. The NICI at TL12 replaces portions of the pilot’s skull and cannot be removed. There is a jack-port installed to make a direct connection into the cockpit. Not counting surgery, the NICI costs 500 KCr. Using a NICI to pilot a Battlemech or an Aerospace vehicle gives the Pilot a +1 Dice Modifier (DM) bonus to Drive (Battlemech) and Pilot (Aerospace) checks. If using Battletech rules for tactical vehicle combat, add the +1 bonus to the roll (not the target number).

    The Cooling Vest is TL 10, costs 500 Cr and allows a Battlemech Pilot to survive the blazing heat in the cockpit of a Battlemech. It’s little more than cooling tubes wrapped around the pilot’s torso which circulate advanced cryogenic compounds and keeps the vital organs from cooking in the pilot’s body.

    Aerospace pilots wear an Improved Vacc Suit with enhanced temperature regulation since they often find themselves operating in the Vacuum of space or extremely thin atmosphere.
    At TL 11, the Cooling Vest is replaced with a specialized Hostile Environment Suit. The cost is much higher (22 KCr) but the HEV Suit provides protection similar to the Vacc Suit which permits the Battlemech Pilot a lot more combat endurance and focus when away from supplies.

    Some down-on-their-luck pilots try to make do with makeshift cooling vests that use cold-packs in place of circulated coolant. Cold-packs are, in essence frozen blocks of water ice or similar freezable material. The cost is almost negligible. Less than 20 Cr and the Tech Level to put one together is around 4. The pilot only needs a means to freeze and insulate the packs. However, fighting in a cold-pack vest only allows for ten-to-fifteen minutes of operation before any benefits are spent and heat exhaustion leading to stroke sets in.

    Character Creation and Development

    At it’s most basic, any skill result of Drive (cascade or any ground), Heavy Weapons (cascade or vehicles), Pilot (cascade or Small Craft), or Gunnery (cascade, Turret or Fixed) can be focused to Battlemechs or Aerospace as the player desires.

    However, should the GM desire a focused assignments for Battlemechs and Aerospace pilots, here are a couple of guidelines

    • Army – Mechwarrior (*must be a commissioned officer)
      • Survival: END 7+
      • Advancement: INT 6+
      • Assignment Skill List
        • 1: Drive (Battlemech)
        • 2: Heavy Weapons (Battlemech)
        • 3: Mechanic
        • 4: Electronics (Sensors)
        • 5: Heavy Weapons (Man-Portable)
        • 6: Recon
      • Rank Skills and Bonuses
        • Rank 1 (Lieutenant): Drive (Battlemech), Heavy Weapons (Battlemech) 0
        • Rank 2 (Captain): Leadership
        • Rank 3 (Major): Tactics (Military)
        • Rank 4 (Lt. Colonel): Admin 1
        • Rank 5 (Colonel): Broker 1
        • Rank 6 (General): SOC 10 or SOC +1 (whichever is higher)
    • Marines – Mechwarrior (*must be a commissioned officer)
      • Survival: END 7+
      • Advancement: INT 5+
      • Assignment Skill List
        • 1: Drive (Battlemech)
        • 2: Pilot (Aerospace)
        • 3: Heavy Weapons (Battlemech)
        • 4: Gunnery (Aerospace)
        • 5: Vacc Suit
        • 6: Gun Combat
      • Rank Skills and Bonuses
        • Rank 1 (Lieutenant): Drive (Battlemech), Heavy Weapons (Battlemech) 0 or Rank 2 Skills
        • Rank 2 (Captain): Pilot (Aerospace), Gunnery (Aerospace) 0 or Rank 1 Skills
        • Rank 3 (Force Commander): Tactics (Military or Naval) 1
        • Rank 4 (Lt. Colonel): Leadership 1
        • Rank 5 (Colonel): Jack-of-all-Trades 1
        • Rank 6 (General): Broker or Admin 1
    • Navy – Aerospace Pilot (*must be a commissioned officer)
      • Survival: DEX 7+
      • Advancement: EDU 5+
      • Assignment Skill List
        • 1: Pilot (Aerospace)
        • 2: Gunner (Aerospace)
        • 3: Vacc Suit
        • 4: Astrogation
        • 5: Mechanic
        • 6: Electronics (Sensors)
      • Rank Skills and Bonuses
        • Rank 1 (Ensign): Pilot (Aerospace), Gunnery (Aerospace) 0
        • Rank 2 (Sublieutenant): Astrogation 0
        • Rank 3 (Lieutenant): Tactics (Naval) 1
        • Rank 4 (Commander): Leadership 1
        • Rank 5 (Captain): Admin 1
        • Rank 6 (Admiral): SOC 10 or SOC +1 (whichever is higher)
    • Noble – Mechwarrior
      • Survival: INT 7+
      • Advancement: SOC 8+
      • Assignment Skill List
        • 1: Drive (Battlemech) or Pilot (Aerospace)
        • 2: Heavy Weapons (Battlemech) or Pilot (Aerospace)
        • 3: Vacc Suit
        • 4: Tactics (Military or Naval)
        • 5: Leadership
        • 6: Gambler
      • Rank Skills and Bonuses
        • Rank 1 (Ensign): Drive (Battlemech), Heavy Weapon (Battlemech) 0 or Pilot (Aerospace), Gunnery (Aerospace) 0
        • Rank 2 (Lieutenant): Leadership 1
        • Rank 3 (Force Commander): Advocate 1
        • Rank 4 (Lt. Colonel): Diplomat 1
        • Rank 5 (Colonel) +1 SOC
        • Rank 6 (General) +1 SOC

    When Mustering Out, vehicle or ship share benefits can be taken as a muster bonus of +1 DM when rolling on the following chart (used to provide a character with a personal Battlemech). Roll 2D + SOC + Muster Bonus

    • 4-: Dispossessed (no Battlemech or Aerospace vessel)
    • 5 – 7: Light class (20 to 35 tons)
    • 8 – 9: Medium Class (40 to 55 tons)
    • 10 – 11: Heavy Class (60 to 75 tons)
    • 12+: Assault Class (80 to 100 tons)

    The Battlemech Campaign Skills Package is designed for a Traveller campaign featuring Battlemechs and Aerospace fighters, similar to the Battletech Universe, Robotech Series’, Gundam Series’, Heavy Gear Universe, Mekton Universe and similar settings.

    Drive (Battlemech) 1, Electronics 1, Engineering 1, Gunnery (Aerospace) 1 Heavy Weapons (Battlemech) 1, Mechanics 1, Pilot (Aerospace) 1, Tactics 1

    Character Development

    After each adventure, Each character may roll EDU 8+. If successful, the player can either advance one of their character’s skills by 1 level, or they can adopt a new skill at level 0. When advancing skills this way, remember no character can have more total skill levels than three times their combined INT and EDU.

    Maintaining a Battlemech or Aerospace Craft

    Outside of repairs and rearming, Battlemechs and Aerospace craft require regular maintenance. Similar to space and star ship maintenance, once per year the Battlemech or Aerospace craft needs to be overhauled at a cost equal to 0.1% of the new cost of the vehicle. Divide by 12 to calculate a monthly maintenance cost.

    Example: A WHM-6R Warhammer Battlemech costs 6,070,984 Credits new. The yearly overhaul cost is 6,070,984 x 0.1% = 6,071 Credits. The monthly cost is 6,071 / 12 = 506 Credits.

    A SL-17 Shilone Aerospace fighter costs 3,399,045 Credits new, the yearly overhaul cost is 3,399,045 . 0.1% = 3,399 Credits. The monthly cost is 3,399/ 12 = 283 Credts

    Like a ship, skipping monthly maintenance risks a malfunction. For every monthly maintenance skipped, roll 2D + the number of months missed. On an 8+, the vehicle suffers a malfunction in the form of a critical hit, determined in the same manner as if the critical was suffered in battle. Using the Battletech chart, roll a location off of the Front/ Rear Critical table and apply a critical to the affected location.

    Battlemechs in the Rebellion War and the Hard Times

    Battlemechs and Aerospace craft are used by all the major factions in the Rebellion War. There are also countless Mercenary Outfits that use these war machines selling their services to the highest bidder. As implied by the Noble profession assignment above. Several Noble families possess ancestral Battlemechs and Aerospace craft.

    When compared to the state-of-the-art TL 15 weaponry that was deployed in the first years of the War, Battlemechs and Aerospace craft were outclassed. A company of TL 15 Battle Dress equipped infantry, TL 15 Grav Armor or a squadron of TL 15 armed space fighters are far more efficient and effective than an equivalent formation of TL 12 Battlemechs and Aerospace craft. However, as the war escalated between 1119 3i (3rd Imperium) and 1121 3i attrition forced all factions to press second and third line vehicles and equipment to the front. Battlemechs and Aerospace craft were re-deployed to replenish the attrition of years of war.

    When the War turned Black in 1122, Battlemechs and Aerospace craft became the instruments of scorched world strategies. Battlemechs as walkers were well suited to urban fighting, and the Aerospace fighters and bombers were very effective at everything from close-air support, escorting dropships, and orbital theaters. In a pinch they could be pressed into space combat. Hybrid Battlemech/ Aerospace vehicles, known by a variety of names, Veritech Fighters, Land-Air Mechs, Variable Aspect Mobile Suits and Hybrid Aeromechs, among others.

    Before the Rebellion War, Battlemechs and Aerospace fighters held a measure of prestige in the Noble Houses of the Moot. Nobles would use them to settle duels while showing off their wealth and means, in a similar way the aristocracy have used antiquated weapons and skills to settle disagreements while flexing on the less affluent. During the Rebellion War, Nobles wanting to cater to the imperial sensibilities of Lucan, Margaret, or the Ziru Sirca were eager to raise Household companies like ancient Lords calling their Banners. As the war dragged on, these same Noble houses were employed to share their tactical and technical knowledge in designing, and fielding Battlemechs and Aerospace fighters.

    In the Hard Times, the owners and employers of Battlemechs are in an excellent position to take over systems and pocket empires as Technologically Elevated Dictators. By 1125 3i, the major governments had retreated into core zones. leaving the Wilds open for pocket empires to develop. By 1130 3i, Virus has been released and was devastating the Imperium for the next seventy years.

  • A Fist Full of C-Bills

    A Fist Full of C-Bills

    ..and A Pocket-full of Credits

    Science Fiction money takes many forms. From primitive cultures trading precious baubles to vast financial networks that process electronic and digital transactions through subspace and hyperspace communications. For adventurers with bills to pay, the way they access their money can be a challenge as they jump from one star system to the next. This article relates to some ideas posted in O God, Thy Sea is so Great and Money Makes the World Go ‘Round.

    Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

    In our real world, budgets and finance can get detailed. Most of us have had the experience of scraping every corner and couch cushion for loose change to go down to the corner store with. Some of the reasons we play role-playing games is to take a break from worrying about if we can afford that extra box of mac-and-cheese or not.

    The “small stuff” can all be abstracted into lifestyle. In Traveller, lifestyle is related to the Social Standing characteristic (at least in the Third Imperium setting). Adventurers with a low lifestyle, sleep in a fleabag flat and eat kibble from a grey box labeled “food”, those with a high lifestyle, stay in luxury apartments and eat fresh, or exotic meals. Don’t dwell too much on the details though, lifestyle is a player choice for their adventurers, there might be a regular cost, or not. Keep the action focused on the adventure and not the downtime.

    Sometimes, the Small Stuff is the Adventure

    This is different from looking over character sheets and noticing if a character has enough centi-credits to live well during the adventure. These are adventures where the characters have lost access to their normal resources. The bank fails, they’re robbed, a new government won’t accept their money (the classic “we don’t accept Federation Credits, only Gold Pressed Latinum”). The objective on these adventures is to survive without money until they recover their means to rejoin the markets.

    Speaking of Gold Pressed Latinum

    In the main cultures of most sci-fi settings, currency is electronic. (Think cryptocurrency, but hyper-efficient). In cultures where technology is advanced enough to manage an interstellar society, this form of currency is practical and mostly efficient. It also reduces incidents of fraud, the possibility of devaluation because some explorer discovers a colossal source of precious metal, or a technology like the Star Trek replicator is developed. Data as currency is extremely efficient to use. Anyone who has made a purchase with a card over the internet has experienced this convenience.

    While efficient and convenient, even at highly technically advanced cultures, there remains a need for a more physical currency. In Star Trek, that’s “Gold Pressed Latinum” which is made from a unreplicatable, rare, element suspended in gold. Other settings use similar things, though in places like the Inner Sphere, or the 3rd Imperium, that sort of hard currency is tied to the electronic economy and minted by the governmental authority.

    Hard currency has another benefit. Cold, hard, cash is difficult to trace. Especially over interstellar distances. Tracing technology can be defeated, and unlike bills, or proxy currency, as any Ferengi can tell you “Latinum is Latinum everywhere in the galaxy”. For crews and companies that don’t want to leave a trail of money behind them as they operate, sometimes across hostile borders, having a valuable, difficult to track currency is a must.

    From an adventuring perspective, hard currency gives a fun æsthetic for heist or treasure-seeking adventures. Think about the old World War 2 Movie “Kelly’s Heroes”, that would work so well in the Battletech Universe. A group of mercs learning about a cache of hard currency, like a bank in occupied territory and taking an “unauthorized expedition” to grab the vault before it gets moved somewhere “safe”. Most of the ideas presented in, Money Makes the World Go Round, can be applied, especially with regards to what happens after your holds are filled with pallets of currency.

    Battlemechs, Tanks, Space Fighters, and Starships

    Big ticket items are common in Science Fiction settings. What would Star Wars be without the Millenium Falcon? Hammer’s Slamers without Grav Tanks? Gundam without Mobile Suits? In most settings, the characters belong to organizations that assign them to their war machines or ships. Maintenance for these big ticket items is covered by the organization.

    But in settings where the characters are the crew of a Free Trader, or the pilots of a mercenary company of Battlemechs, these costs are a foundation of the campaign. We see this in Firefly, “Find a crew, find a job, keep flying”. Star Wars Episode IV also shows this off. Han Solo is charging 10,000 to take Ben and Luke to Alderran. He’s in debt to Jabba who is threatening his ship. Point being, everything involved with these big ticket items are expensive. From purchasing them to maintaining them to repairing or improving them. Costs run into the millions of credits, and they’re recurring. Ships need fuel, weapons eat ammunition, crew need food, water and air on long space journeys.

    When designing adventures, the Game Master needs to take the costs into account when they’re adding rewards. The adventurers need to make enough money to cover their expenses while turning a profit. This pushes this style of campaign into a higher scale of economy. While a group of scoundrels may well be able to retire from adventuring and “go legit” if they score a million C-bills, in a campaign that revolves around a company of Big Stompy Robots, that same million C-bills might cover two or three months of maintenance. For the owners of a starship a single Megacredit will run out quick, fast, and in a hurry.

    Filling Contracts

    Especially in Mercenary campaigns, contracts are common. These are great for Game Masters and Players Alike. Contracts outline what the adventure is expected to be. Where to go. What to do, and how much the compensation is going to be at the end. Longer term contracts can also include covering maintenance, repair, and fuel, relieving the players from that accounting for a time.

    Contracts are not only applicable to the mercenary campaign. Worlds can contract free traders to deliver mail to them, or maintain trade with nearby systems, free traders can serve as a temporary solution to these systems until they build their own fleets and infrastructures. Still, it’s an opportunity for characters to go places, do things, and have adventures.

    Many settings have an independent authority to mediate contracts and enforce their terms. The Mercenary Review Board in Battletech, merchant guilds, megacorporate syndicates, Imperial ministries, serve these roles as arbiter, and holds payment in escrow until the terms of a contract are fulfilled. But some science-fiction settings do not. Crews need to negotiate guarantees and protections for themselves, as do the parties they are contracting with. For a GM, this can lead to double-crosses, backstabs and other creative ways to introduce twists in an adventure that threatens to become boring.

    Outrunning Your Mortgage

    Especially in settings like Traveller, where interstellar communications travel at the speeds of the fastest courier as described in O God, Thy Sea is so Great. A group of adventurers can skip their bank note on their big ticket item. Jumping out to the fringe of “civilized” space and joining the pirates and nomads and homesteaders out past the perimeter. Or, in a setting where wars rage between empires, hiding from their lien-holder in one empire by escaping into it’s rival.

    This is in essence, stealing the things that are mortgaged. Considering star ships, battlemechs, tanks and space fighters are really really expensive the finances won’t just write off the loss. After all, the characters just ran off with tens of millions of C-Bills (or Megacredits) of their money. Collection agents, Repo men, Skip-tracers and Bounty Hunters will follow the ship, and the characters everywhere they go. Running them down, even out on the periphery to drag them and their ship back to face consequences.

    Characters can run, they can even run fast, but they’ll never run far enough to ever be comfortable not looking over their shoulder. Even Han Solo ended up in carbonite, hanging as a trophy in Jabba the Hutt’s palace.