Wages

[Go Dorito]

So, I have 2 new spacers on board a Deep Space Freighter. And I realize I have to give them contracts to sign, because they don't have a reason to run... yet... into deep space.

What are your opinions on wages for players?

My Ideas:

1) Deep Space is a tad more hazardous than inner core, but not enough to ask for combat pay.

2) if combat does ensue, a bonus might be provided on the basis that the combat was not instigated by the players.

3) I was going to compare current wages for freighter workers and the price of a good side arm and then translate that to credits in SW. Because those seem to be the two constants I have.

Modern:
Seaman = 31,590 (annual)(U.S. Dept. of Labor)
handgun: ~450.00 (Glock 9mm)

SW:
Spacer = 24,570 credits (annual)
Sporting blaster = 350 credits

[K21DUBIE]

Money is also a good motivation. Aswell as giving them promises of future employment. better yet give them a long term contract some kind of run that requires them to make once a month. That way if you ever hit a block and can't come up with any ideas you can fall back on there contract run

[Lor-Pbk]

annual wages is one way to look at it... if you are thinking about a career. But for the common spacer, i would think they would be paid per job... Say a set wage+room and Board for durration of the voyage.

Say 50 credits a day is good money when you have no overhead. I'm a stingy GM... But 50 credits a day for a 1 month voyage (50x30days= 1500 credits) in their pocket at the end... With all their normal expenses covered while on board thats really not bad.

Now .. A good captain might throw in Bonuses for hazard pay... Or portions of the "booty" if treasure is found during the voyage... But in the case of A situation where there is the iminent danger of pirates or space monsters... 50 credits might be low.. maybe 150 with bonuses....

Wages might also be different depending on what job a player might have in the crew. A navagator might be paid more than a cargo handler.. as their resposibilities and skill levels are different.

[ifurin]

if they are basically deckhands then their pay would be relatively low and they don't necessarily need contracts. just pay. and 50 creds a day isn't that bad of pay (if they are deckhands) load cargo, secure cargo, sit until docking and unload cargo. if thats their job.

[Lor-Pbk]

[ifurin]

please, cleaning and general maintanance doesn't count as work, it's boredom reducer.

[K21DUBIE]

Well wouldn't the ship reciever maybe bonuses for complteting a cargo run in a timely manner. You are going to find out what might motivate your PC's you should spend the time and find out what there characters goals are. What drives them? then use that to move the characters in the direction you want them to go.

[scott2978]

To keep prices in perspective and avoid having to look up the cost of everything, I always liken prices and wages in my game to US dollars in real life. A new ship costs what a new car costs, a freighter costs what an 18 wheeler costs, and a pocket comlink costs what a cellphone costs (and has similar features).

So, according to the US Department of Labor:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes533032.htm

a semi truck driver makes a mean annual salary of about $36,000.

That varies by type and size of truck, distance driven, cargo carried, what state they're based in, and some other factors. According to some websites, many long haul truckers get paid by the mile, not by the hour or by the job, with their milage rate varying by everything from type of cargo to seniority.

So, to compare to SW wages, I'd say 1500cr for a 1 week trip is a lot of money. That's $78,000/year in real life terms.

Of course, a show on the Discovery channel shows men working on a crab fishing boat in alaska making between 20 and 40 thousand dollars for a three week job. That's for highly skilled, backbreaking manual labor in very dangerous conditions collecting a very valuable resource all day long every day of the week for 3 weeks. Your milage may varry.

S

[darkclown789]

It would make more sense to give him a standard blaster pistol.... not some crappy hunting "sporting" pistol.

~Darkclown
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