If you have a starship in Traveller, and want to make money, there are really only a limited number of options. If you want to stay on the bright side of the law, it really boils down to charter, passenger service, and cargo.

Charter is when you lease your ship to someone else. They take all the risk, but pay you a set fee for the use of your ship. Canonically, the payment is set at 80% of the maximum your ship could make during that same period. This means, as a ship owner, you get a steady income, but nothing spectacular. As long as the ship can pay for itself (ie. not a Free Trader with payments to meet), then this may be acceptable. My personal opinion is that if you want to be working for someone else, then go enlist with an established shipping line and at least get some decent benefits.

Passenger and Cargo service is the other option. Straight by the book, it seems rather simple. Put down on a planet, pick up passengers and cargo, then leave. However, beyond the dry die rolls, there are ample opportunities for gaming in the aspect of Traveller.

Basically it breaks down to this:
1. Arrive insystem.
2. Negotiate for docking space.
3. Offload Passengers and Freight.
4. Find a buyer for Cargo.
5. Determine next Port of Call.
6. Begin attracting Passengers.
7. Contact Brokers for Freight and Cargo.
8. Clear customs and depart.

This represents the normal flow of business, not necessarily the actual order the transactions may be carried out.

Arrive Insystem

A bright new system. Perhaps you have never been here before. It should not be a total unknown - if nothing else the passengers will have been talking your ear off about it for the past week. They didn't just wander onto the ship and plunk down a significant amount of credit on a whim. At worst, they are going to be superficially familiar with the planet. It is good advice for both players and GMs to remember to use those passengers. If nothing else, they may be able to put the PCs onto a source of information.

Determine if there are any encounters. Outbound trading ships are also a good source of information about the world, and they give a sense of traffic that may or may not be appropriate. Inbound ships may be a source of information too, they will have the freshest news regarding their point of departure available in system! (and will want news from your ship as well...) Besides, if every space encounter is hostile, how will you ever catch the PCs by surprise?!

Also, the PCs should allow for the possibility of a ship's inspection, including a boarding and search. IMTU, the Imperium imposes a 2 TL barrier on general interplanetary trading, this is to protect lo-tech planetary populations being enticed into spending all their money on high-tech items that the local economy cannot support. In theory, a waiver is required from the local nobility in order to import over-tech items. This is enforced by units of the Imperial Navy and, supposedly, the local System Defense forces. In reality, much of this trade is ignored, as long as the proper inspectors are....ahhhh...satisfied. It should be noted that the fees associated with the waivers represent cash flow for the local nobles, and if too much of the trade bypasses them, they may request a crackdown by the Imperial Navy.

Prior to offloading passengers, cargo and freight, assuming that the ship was not physically boarded by Imperial customs inspectors, the ship's purser will need to forward the ship's manifest to the starport. Unless the ship actually sets down on the planet outside the starport, there is no reason that planetary officials should need to search the ship, or for the crew to fear enforcement of the planets Law Level because of items left on board the ship. But, it must be noted, many of the auxilliary fields used by the starport do not enjoy the same protections as the primary starport. Should a ship's crew give sufficient cause to the planetary law enforcement officials, they could be in for a rude surprise. Balancing this is the planets need for off-world trade, and the need for off-worlders to feel at ease when landing and trading on the planet.

Negotiate for a berth and docking space

What type of port is it? How busy? The rules are very vague in this area, which is good. Basically, docking fees are supposed to cost cr100 for the first week, then cr100 per day after that. I have altered that to be cr100 per 1000 dTons, to reflect the impact of larger ships and the services they need.

However, there are certain things that must be determined. For instance, are we looking at putting in at the downport (on planet), the highport (does it exist?) or a parking orbit. Parking Orbits are great security, but adds a level of difficulty in embarking and disembarking passengers - not to mention loading cargo. Berthing at the highport is generally expensive due to the limited facilities, but the facilities are at hand and there are no worries about planetary territoriality. Berthing at the downport makes for the greatest ease of movement for passengers, cargo and crew - but there can be problems with planetary territoriality at the smaller spaceports (never at the primary starport), and security on the planet is generally the poorest.

For Class E and D starports, your cr 100 pays for a groundside berth at the starport for the duration of your stay. It should be noted, however, that conditions are primitive and security may be represented by a painted line on the tarmac.

For Class C starports, your cr 100 purchases a reserved parking orbit, and an additional cr 10 per day will buy you a berth at the highport, if it exists, or one of the downports (assuming more than one). To berth at the primary downport, it will be an additional cr50 per day.

For Class B and A ports, your cr 100 buys you a parking orbit for the duration of your stay. An additional (Pop Code * 10) credits per day will buy you a berth at one of the highports or downports, or for (Pop Code * 50) credits per day, you can berth at the primary highport (assuming more than one) or the primary downport.

Parking Orbits are serviced by Gigs or Slow boats for incidental personnel and cargo transfers. These are not 'on call', but make regular trips from the starport out to the various ships in orbit. Each ship in orbit is, additionally, allowed two cargo transfers and two passenger transfers (disembarcation and embarcation) using a reservation system. Additionally, most highports provide 'service transport' for ship's crews to and from the planet surface, on a space available basis. While this may not be the most convienent (or comfortable) method of transport, it does have the advantage of being...free.

As a rule of thumb, if the starport is a Class A then there is a highport. If the Starport is a Class B and the Population in 7+, then there is a highport. If the Starport is Class C, Population 7+ and TL is 9+, then there is a highport.

Additionally, dock space for cargo and freight transfers will be reserved for your ship. If you are berthed at the highport or one of the downports, the docking space is generally adjacent to your berthing area and shares the same security as the access to your ship. If you are in a parking orbit, your dock space may range from space in a secure warehouse to a marked area on the tarmac. This is considered to be short term storage, and is re-allocated upon departure of your ship from the system, or expiration of your docking fees. Additional security is always available on a contract basis (i.e. how much do you want to pay today?) When considering the Intrusion task for breaking into the docking area, this is the rule of thumb I use - on Class A starports, it is a Staggering task, on class B starports it is a Formidible task, on Class C starports it is a Difficult task, on Class D and E starports, it is a Average Task.

Offload passengers and freight

Generally, passengers will be offloaded first. If you are berthed at the highport or downport, this is a relatively easy process. The Captain stands by the airlock, thanking each as they depart. Occaisionally, the steward may be called upon to help move luggage to the dock, and rarely crew may be called upon to assist in the removal of the more...determined.

For ships in Parking orbits, the process becomes a little more complex. If your ship does not carry auxilliary craft, you may call upon the starport to provide transportation, basic services of this type is provided as part of your docking fees. However, large ships may outstrip the ability of smaller starports to provide these services quickly.

High passengers are offloaded first, with their luggage. The ship's steward or supercargo will see to the transfer of luggage from the starship to the dock of the starport, at which time the responsibility to the passengers is deemed to have ended. Once the high passengers have been disembarked, the process is repeated for Mid-passengers. It should be noted that the ship is entitled to two (2) reservations with the passenger shuttle. If more than one ship-to-port run is needed, this is included to fully disembark/embark the ship. However, if for some reason the ship requires additional reservations, then these must be contracted, and paid for, separately.

Low passengers are generally decanted after the High and Mid passengers have disembarked.

Freight, IMTU is defined as any item that you are being paid to transport from one point to another. You, the shipper, are paid in advance and face no risk if the freight is not salable on the destination world.

Cargo, on the other hand, is defined as anything that you, the shipper, pays for and owns during the shipping process. You are responsible for it's sale on the destination world, and will suffer the loss or enjoy the profit from that sale.

The cargo hold is offloaded once the passengers have been seen to. If the ship has enough crew to see to both, it may occurr concurrently to passenger disembarkation. At class A, B and C starports, cargo loading and unloading is part of the service supplied by the starport. At class D and E starports, this is a service that will be performed by the ship's crew, or contracted locally.

Generally, the agent who contracted with the ship to have the freight transported will have a factor available on the destination world that will make arrangements for removal of the freight from the dock area. Once the freight has been moved to the dock area, the ship retains only nominal responsibility for it. As long as reasonable measures are taken to ensure the the freight is not tampered with, and that it is released to only authorized reciepients, no further measures are required. If the freight has not been picked up by the end of the port call, then responsiblity for the freight is transferred to the starport, which will bill the reciepient on delivery.

Find a buyer for Cargo

This is both easier and more difficult than it appears. The easy way is to march into the 'port business office and get the name of a broker. He will arrange for the sale, and deduct his commission from the proceeds. If there is a highport, you do not even have to go to the planet to get rid of the cargo.

However, if you are looking to find a buyer for the cargo yourself, and save the brokerage fee, someone is going to have to go onto the planet and find a buyer. To find a buyer: Streetwise, Difficult 1 day. Subtract one level of difficulty if the PC/NPC is familiar with the world (either from this world, or having lived on it for more than 30 days.) DM's: + Carousing.

Once a buyer has been located, either via broker or through PC intervention, run the process as per Trade and Commerce in the book.

Determine next Port of Call

If the you are a serious trader, you probably already have an iternary worked out. However, if you are not, it is time to start thinking about the next port. While it is possible to determine the port based on what can be found in terms of cargo and passengers, it is more difficult to arrange for passengers, and impossible to arrange for freight, without a flight plan filed with the starport.

Your Flight Plan is usually fairly simple, only publishing your ship's name, destination, date and time of departure. This is published on the reader boards in the starport, and on repeaters at various brokerage houses that contract for that information.

Begin attracting Passengers

Once you have published your proposed destination, you may be contacted by travel agents with passengers desiring to travel in your direction. Determine the number by using the tables in the Trade and Commerce chapter of the book.

It should be noted that using the standard method of locating passengers does *not* require that your ship be berthed at a port,

However, if for whatever reason, you choose not to publish this information, you will have to get into contact with passengers via alternative methods. I allow for several different methods. To locate passengers: Formidable, Streetwise, 8 hours. DMs +Carousing (to get the Carousing skill, you must spend cr10* [the intended Soc you want to impress] * Carousing Skill.) This represents someone out on the streets trying to locate such people who would like to depart the world. All located by this method will be Mid-Passage unless an extrordinary success is rolled, in which case you have located someone who is willing to negotiate "large sums" of credit for transport offworld. The other method would be: Difficult, Admin, 8 hours. DMs: +Computer - this represents locating those individuals who are looking for Low passage unless an extraordinary success is rolled, in which case you have located someone who is willing to pay for Mid-Passage.

Each roll represents the effort of locating and booking passage for *1* passenger. But at least you don't have to publish your flight plan!

Contact Brokers for Freight and Cargo

Freight: Again, once you publish the fact that you are proceeding to such and such a destination, you may be approached by brokers looking to move freight. All that is really necessary is for there to be a designated crewmember with the authority to contract (i.e. the Purser).

Cargo: There are two options for acquiring Cargoes - the first is to contact a Broker directly and to find out what is available. This allows for quick purchases of goods, but reduces the profit margin by the Broker's percentage. The second is for the crew to find and arrange their own cargo - and this requires that they leave the security of the Starport, and hit the world itself. To locate a Cargo: Difficult, Streetwise or Broker, 3 days. + DMs: Carousing

Clear customs and depart.

The final step in the process. IMTU, the Imperial Nobility authorizes all intraworld commerce, and this is the point where the final thumbprint gets applied. Normally, a noble will be involved in most major transactions, and will have smoothed the way long before now. For the small merchant, unless the cargo is truely of an unusual nature, there is no reason for the Knight, Baronet, or Baron to get personally involved.

For the most part, the only reason this step becomes a major issue is when, for whatever reason, close examination is unwelcome. To 'smooth' the inspection: Difficult, Bribery, Uncertain. And, of course, to get the proper manifests and certifications (such as an end-use certificate for weaponry, medical certification for drugs, etc...) to present to the next system. To forge manifests and certifications: Difficult, Forgery, 3 hours. DMs, +Admin, +/- TL difference between this and the destination world.