Those gears in that picture! Are useless they cant move at all in that position!

>>17321728
.. fuck.
WHY ARE THEY LIKE THAT

because it looks cool to those too dumb to know that. It certainly doesn't look cool to me.

>>17321739
Here is a good mechanic, A
Here is another good mechanic B which meshes with mechanic A
Hey, here is a third one that meshes with both of them!

GUYS
the gears are a metaphor for how this thread is going

I'm sorry OP, but that picture is so infuriating; i have to go punch a wall for a few minutes.

The Setting:
Without going into much detail, the setting is essentially a proxy of 16th-17th century Europe. Most of the events so far have taken in a place called the Isles of Gwyll, an expy of the British Isles in our real world. So, essentially the early parts of the Age of Sail.

The Company:
We resolved that his character acquired company control from his father through inheritance. His father having just passed away, the son must now run this small but efficient shipping organization. Now, the player himself is a guy who enjoys economics, so I set out to do some research on shipping companies. I know the ownership of all the parts that make a shipping company what it is is something that really only came into its own in the later parts of the 19th century, but let's assume that the PC's grandfather was a man who was ahead of his time.

So, the first question to ask is... What defines a shipping company?

And then there are all these other questions too: What is the act of shipping itself in terms of the business world? Once that is defined, how does it operate? Who works inside the organization? Who works outside it? For it? Against it?

And many more beyond that, but I wanted to keep things simple... So here's what I came up with.

>>17321728
>>17321739
>>17321743
>>17321747
only reason I clicked reply is because I was going to point that out. that really [nospoilersontg]grinds my gears[/whyevenbotherwithanendspoiler]

A buddy of mine is working on a zombie survival pen+paper. He wants the game to function as a single session, with a high mortality rate.

I suggested to him that the players, after being killed, become zombies, and flip their character sheet over, having all their previous stats (augmented for zombie purposes of course), and become allied with the DM in order to kill the rest of the players.

That's my extensive history of mechanic-designing, really. I'm trying to get my own Sci-fi system off Traveller going, since there's a lot of unnecessary parts in Traveller, but I haven't done any actual crunching, so it doesn't really count.

>>17321747
IT MAY MESH BUT IT WONT FUCKING WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

>>17321760
that's not really "on the fly" like op is talking about, but i really like that idea nonetheless.

if your friend makes a pdf/word doc of his rules feel free to post them here, i'm genuinely interested

>>17321760
This sounds like a fun board game, I'd have your bud take a look at the ZOMBIES!!! board game and All Flesh Must Be Eaten for some inpiration.

>>17321764
But what if you want to see which of the three will break first? It could do that!

>>17321764
THAT'S THE JOKE

>>17321760
>I suggested to him that the players, after being killed, become zombies, and flip their character sheet over, having all their previous stats (augmented for zombie purposes of course), and become allied with the DM in order to kill the rest of the players.

That's not a RPG, that's a boardgame. Though pretty nifty starting idea for a boardgame (though you need a limite dlocation that the characters probably need to defend or get out from).

>>17321776
>ZOMBIES!!! board game

To bad it's a shitty one. Beter take a look at Last Night on Earth and Mall of Horror.

There's the "this is a house and in this random generated house (location) there's a stoory/mystery that need to be solved and a monster (or more) that will spawn" games that's also worth taking a look at.

First, what is the act of shipping? Without getting into too much detail (all the macroeconomics that I studied on the subject specifically, which can get mind boggling at times), it is the act of moving stuff from one place to another, presumably to where it is needed.

In that answer, I have all I need to create some basic mechanics for the PC of my game to play with that don't effectively waste the time of the other players.

How does it work? Well, now that we know what shipping is, how does a shipping company go about doing what it does? I managed to boil down the holdings of a shipping company to two physical properties:

1. Warehouses (for storage)

2. Transportation (for shipping)

OP, I care about your shipping company.

Did he have to worry about taxation? If so, how did you deal with it? Was it a flat fee, a percentage of income, a duty based on where and how much he shipped, or some combination thereof?

Did he have employee issues?

How was the rest of the party involved in Parrot Shipping Co.?

Was it a limited liability corporation, or was he effectively the assets of the company and vice versa?

I had a vague idea for a game. Tell me if this seems like a good system.

The game is primarily played with Tarot Cards. Each player (and the GM) draw 7 cards from the deck when the game stars. This becomes each players "hand" which represents how they may bend or twist fate for their characters.

Overcoming obstacles is typically done depending on what cards you have in your hand.

Swords means you can attempt to solve a problem through violence.
Wands means you can attempt to solve a problem through cunning or creativity.
Chalices means you can attempt to solve a problem through diplomacy or subterfuge.
Pentacles means you can attempt to solve a problem via resources or possessions your character has.
Major Arcana essentially means a plot twist or a change of events occurs that is typically favourable.

Whenever the player wants to do something, he/she plays a card face down, and so does the GM. To resolve, both cards are flipped up and revealed. If the PC's card is of higher value, then the card's effect is played out, and any vague meaning therein can also be worked into the plot somehow. Typically this is favourable for the PC and the GM is allowed to draw a card from the deck.

If the GM's card is higher? Then two things happen. 1: both cards are sent under the deck (and thrown back into the void of fate) and the PC draws a card on the top. 2: The GM's card is assumed to "corrupt" the PC's card, causing it to become inverted, and have the PC's attempt fail or end tragically for him.

>>17321884
Major Arcana cards are always assumed to beat Lesser Arcana cards (and in such a case the Major Arcana's inverted meaning takes prominence) and when determining which cards beat which it typically goes in the order of the Fool's Journey, with two major exceptions.

The Tower ALWAYS means tragedy for whoever it's invoked against, and always corrupts/inverses an opposing card. If it's invoked against a PC? Bad shit's about to happen to him. If it's invoked against an NPC? Well you get the point.

The World Card INSTANTLY makes whatever applicable fate it's used against suddenly much more epic in scope. A simple break-in results in them kidnapping a princess who is destined to save the world. A slaying of the nobleman means war is about to escalate that will render the world asunder.

Suffice to say. Playing the World card, and the response card is the Tower? Ends in basically the Apocalypse.

bump

>>17321874

General Answer: I am still trying to work out the specifics of the shipping company's mechanics so we haven't had time to see this all working within the game world. Specific questions though:

>Did he have to worry about taxation? If so, how did you deal with it? Was it a flat fee, a percentage of income, a duty based on where and how much he shipped, or some combination thereof?

Yes, I plan to factor taxation within the weekly/monthly financial report for the company. The taxation is part percentage of income, part linked to the wider events of the goings on of the game world (if there's a war on, you can bet the government will levy some more taxes against businesses to fuel their armies, for example).

Certain countries levy tarifs and duties on incoming and outgoing shipments, so he does have to contend with that.

>Did he have employee issues?

See General Answer at the top, but believe me, I plan for him to have some happening every now and then.

And of course, there's always theft.

>How was the rest of the party involved in Parrot Shipping Co.?

The other two players are employees within the company, one is his body guard, the other is a spiritual character who works for the more... supernatural elements of the company. I can cover that later if you're interested.

>Was it a limited liability corporation, or was he effectively the assets of the company and vice versa?

To keep things simple, I have ruled that the character is de facto executive manager of the company. He owns and operates it, period. Therefore, if the company starts to fail, he'll start seeing that happen and it will be directly tied to his activities.

I'll be talking a bit more about the Warehouses themselves in my next post.

ITT: The best DM.

Motherfucker learned an analyzed the mechanics of a shipping company so one of his players could turn a simple trait into a full-fledged game experience he'd enjoy.

AND he tweaked it to be simple enough that the other players wouldn't get bored while he managed the details.

>>17321961
I ask about Limited Liability Corporations because a) they came about in the 19th century and b) prior to that, a debt against the company was a debt against the owners, no matter how large or small a portion they owned.

In other words, if the company fails to deliver on a contract, the player is responsible for the cost. [If this doesn't read "Plot Hook" in your mind, I may be too subtle.]

Also, as far as resources go, I'd assume the company either owns, leases, or sublets a warehouse in each place they deliver to. Beyond that, they should have at least a small shipping office in those places. What kind of transportation would they have? From the name, I'd assume international business and you described the world as Age of Sail. So, I'd assume the company uses mostly nautical sailing ships, possibly with some wagons for transportation as well.

Would/have the players used the shipping company as free transportation?

Lastly, how significant of a business is this? Is it British East India Company sized, or much more modest (a small shipping company, perhaps?) Does it require a political writ of operation?

I'm sorry for pumping you for information, but I'm getting ideas from you too.

On second thought, before I talk about the warehouses and transportation elements, I should talk about how I quantified the value of these properties so the player knows how much money they are worth within the game world.

This is where I came up with the points buy system for the Parrot Shipping co.

I told the player who owns the company that he has 10 points to spend on the assets of his company. I will determine the value of each of the elements of those assets by a points value.

But, he asked me, how much value is a single point within the economy of our game world?

The economy within the world looks something like this:

50 copper coins = 1 silver coin
100 silver coins = 1 Gold coin
100 gold coins = ??? (at this level you have entered GDP of a small nation, the players are likely never to see what this is)

For the points buy system, 1 point represents something like 2 or 3 Gold coins spent for the upgrade. Now, what do these options look like? Let me show you:

Warehouses
Basic warehouse (cement foundation, wooden construction, 500 ft square of storage space, second floor, Basic security) [2 pts]

Storage
+500 square ft space [1 pt]

Structure reinforcement
Lvl 1: Wood [Free]
Lvl 2: Clay Brick [3pts]

Security
Basic [Free]: Untrained Watchmen [Mook+Watchman Career: D8] {P. 310}
Lvl 1 [1pts]: Trained Watchmen [Mook+Watchman Career: D10] {P. 310}
Lvl 2 [3pts]: Inexperienced Guards [Minion+Watchman Career: [d10]
Lvl 3 [4pts]: Experienced Guards [Minion+Watchman Career: [d12]

Staff
Basic [Free]: Overseer, Secretary, Stock keeper, Layman
Improved [2pts]: Overseer, Secretary [x2], Stock keeper, Layman (x3)

>>17322075

>I ask about Limited Liability Corporations because a) they came about in the 19th century and b) prior to that, a debt against the company was a debt against the owners, no matter how large or small a portion they owned.

>In other words, if the company fails to deliver on a contract, the player is responsible for the cost. [If this doesn't read "Plot Hook" in your mind, I may be too subtle.]

Correct. I thought the same thing along those lines when the player asked if he could start with the Wealth trait. I said fine, but that thing which is giving you that wealth? Is something that I could use against you much later, so he's been warned.

> Also, as far as resources go, I'd assume the company either owns, leases, or sublets a warehouse in each place they deliver to. Beyond that, they should have at least a small shipping office in those places. What kind of transportation would they have? From the name, I'd assume international business and you described the world as Age of Sail. So, I'd assume the company uses mostly nautical sailing ships, possibly with some wagons for transportation as well.

The warehouse is used to store stuff for three kinds of clients, I'll go into more detail later but the three kinds of people his company deals with are:

Producers (they create raw materials)
Manufacturers (they refine raw materials into refined materials. They can also produce finished products from raw materials and refined materials (either the materials on their own, or combined with other materials)
Retailers (these take finished products and sell them on the market, they ONLY BUY FINISHED PRODUCTS, so depending on what you sell them, their revenue returned to your company can be limited, but on the bright side, you only have to worry about receiving, storing and shipping one kind of material; finished products.

>>17322075

>Would/have the players used the shipping company as free transportation?

Yes, with limitations; the transportation owners might not take too kindly to having their routes shifted to give a free ride to people who clearly can afford their own transportation.

> Lastly, how significant of a business is this? Is it British East India Company sized, or much more modest (a small shipping company, perhaps?) Does it require a political writ of operation?

It is small compared to the other shipping companies operating in the setting I've created. It's a world where a lot of trade happens by sea, so there's a lot of commerce around the act of just moving material goods from one place to another. Business politics can sometimes occur; the player character has actually already stepped on a few toes of some competitors in his market region...

By political writ, I assume you mean some kind of letter of warrant from the government in power of the home country where the PC's company is based? Yes, the Parrot Shipping Co has one, but I have not written it down, nor has the PC owning the company ever actually seen it.

The problem, presently (for the PCs) is that the country with which this writ was signed with is currently in a state of upheaval. Its reigning King got executed by guillotine, his son escaped, and now the only thing keeping the country from descending into total anarchy is the fact that the High General of the King's armies has initiated the Civil Protection Act, placing the country under martial law. His new title is now Lord Proctor.

>I'm sorry for pumping you for information, but I'm getting ideas from you too.

Keep asking. Your curiosity fuels my creativity.

>>17322279
>The problem, presently (for the PCs) is that the country with which this writ was signed with is currently in a state of upheaval. Its reigning King got executed by guillotine, his son escaped, and now the only thing keeping the country from descending into total anarchy is the fact that the High General of the King's armies has initiated the Civil Protection Act, placing the country under martial law. His new title is now Lord Proctor.

I lol'd.

This is glorious.

>>17322135
For the specifics, I'd assume a second floor is more office space than storage space? Would there be a basement for storage of things like wine and cheese, that like cooler environments, or is that something that could be added with the additional 500ft?

Aside from that, it looks like a good system. I'm assuming the dice amounts under the security section are for skill/trait/proficiency, as I don't know what system you are using. How much manpower does the player have, as far as those levels of security go? I only ask because if things get bad, the party may try using the guards for their own purposes.

I'd say a 500sqft. warehouse wouldn't need too much in the way of manpower. Maybe 3-6 guards, depending on the level of security, working on shifts? That's just my guess, though. As far as staff goes, I think the numbers for laymen look a little low. I'd suggest increasing them, but that may be because it sounds like your warehouse wouldn't have much in the way of assistance or tools beyond muscle power.

>>17322385

>This is glorious.

I am glad you like.

>For the specifics, I'd assume a second floor is more office space than storage space? Would there be a basement for storage of things like wine and cheese, that like cooler environments, or is that something that could be added with the additional 500ft?

I have not gone into that level of detail; assume a cellar is there for things you store in the cellar. My next post is actually dedicated to the functions of the warehouse as far as game mechanics go.

>Aside from that, it looks like a good system. I'm assuming the dice amounts under the security section are for skill/trait/proficiency, as I don't know what system you are using. How much manpower does the player have, as far as those levels of security go? I only ask because if things get bad, the party may try using the guards for their own purposes.

Again, I don't want to make things too specific for fear of stifling player creativity and making running this a headache for me, the GM. The Dice is linked to NPC skill proficiencies and attributes, yes.

>I'd say a 500sqft. warehouse wouldn't need too much in the way of manpower. Maybe 3-6 guards, depending on the level of security, working on shifts? That's just my guess, though. As far as staff goes, I think the numbers for laymen look a little low. I'd suggest increasing them, but that may be because it sounds like your warehouse wouldn't have much in the way of assistance or tools beyond muscle power.

There are two shifts, night and day. There's an upgrade for an increased night watch, but assume the same numbers of guards for night and day watches.

As for staff, laymen are pretty much just muscle; if one of them shows promise they might get other responsibilities (with associated pay increase), but they're the hands. A small 500 ft warehouse doesn't produce much paperwork, but that paperwork goes to headquarters.

What you see there in that list for Staff, I should point out, represent ONLY the staff at THAT warehouse. The Parrot Shipping Co has a headquarters with its own staff, all of whom have their own wages.

Now. Onto describing WAREHOUSE FUNCTION.

>RE: Gears
Maybe they're in the off position at the moment. They move when they actually need to do work.

>This is a thread about mechanics that, as GMs, we create out of thin air to fill a need that was not there before, but due to player shenanigans, must now be met. I'd like to start.

WAREHOUSES: HOW THEY WORK
Warehouses provide a FLAT unchanging Income. This is because they are land holdings whose inventories are tied to producers, manufacturers, and retailers that the Parrot Shipping Co does business with. With the exception of Major World Events, or Theft, the money made from Warehouses tend not to change.

The Income generated by a warehouse is determined by two factors, the value of its Contents and its Clients

CLIENTS:
A basic warehouse may contain 2 kinds of inventory, selected from the following list

Raw materials
You may Buy or Sell Raw Materials

Refined Materials
Some things need to be processed before they can be turned into finished products. That said, you can sell or buy Refined Materials before they are turned into Finished Products.

Finished Products.
You may only Sell Finished Products, and only to a Retailer

- An upgraded warehouse may contain 4 kinds of inventory drawn from the above list

There are three kinds of organizations you can sell to / buy from

Producers
-These kinds of organizations create Raw Materials

Manufacturers
-These kinds of organizations create Refined Materials from Raw Materials
-They create Finished Products from Refined and Raw Materials
-Refined Materials can be sold to other Manufacturers for further refinement
Retailers
-These take Finished Products and sell them

bump.

I demand more!

I'll be right back everyone. Christmas dinner and presents.

I hope everyone has a good Christmas, and a happy new year.

I'll be back in an hour or two.

>>17322484
My argument for more manpower was that all the force would come from the muscle of the laymen. In that regard, I'd think any kind of multi-shelf operation would need more than one guy hauling things.

Additionally, the number of guards were expected for 3 shifts, not two. The numbers you are looking at seem low enough that the players wouldn't use them to plug manpower shortages.

My insistence on a map and other structural formalities is really just caution. I'm used to players doing unexpected things with resources. To that end, please have a sample map of a warehouse that is 20ft. x 25ft.

The levels are arranged from left to right going bottom to top (so leftmost is basement). Upper office area is unfurnished, and assumed to overlook or abut the left-most shelving. The basement is accessible through a hatch with a fixed wooden ladder. A staircase allows access to the upper offices.

Feel free to have your players modify this.

>>17323408
>My argument for more manpower was that all the force would come from the muscle of the laymen. In that regard, I'd think any kind of multi-shelf operation would need more than one guy hauling things.

You are correct, but when you're storing stuff for long periods of time, you don't need many hands to be working on deck at all times, just enough to make some minor adjustments to how the inventory is arranged, as well as a second (or third) pair of eyes for checking your inventory every two weeks.

I assumed the company can hire on some temporary laymen to prepare and then move the goods and materials to whatever means of transport you plan to use to ship the inventory. I'll go over transportation options soon but we're still doing gifts.

I have to reiterate though, I'm trying not to make this too complicated for my sake. If I get too caught up in the micromanagement of a single warehouse, I have to spend that much time for the other elements of the company. As far as the 'Staff' element is concerned, it's just an arbitrary way of representing how well managed the facility is so that the Executive Manager (the PC) does not have to worry about it.

>>17323408
>Additionally, the number of guards were expected for 3 shifts, not two. The numbers you are looking at seem low enough that the players wouldn't use them to plug manpower shortages.

Three shifts? Day, evening, and night watch, you mean? Had not thought of it like that. Practical though.

>My insistence on a map and other structural formalities is really just caution. I'm used to players doing unexpected things with resources. To that end, please have a sample map of a warehouse that is 20ft. x 25ft.

>The levels are arranged from left to right going bottom to top (so leftmost is basement). Upper office area is unfurnished, and assumed to overlook or abut the left-most shelving. The basement is accessible through a hatch with a fixed wooden ladder. A staircase allows access to the upper offices.

>Feel free to have your players modify this.

What did you use to create this map? I would like to have a copy for my own purposes. Thank you so much!

>>17323463
I'm sorry, I did it in MS Paint.

Also, I had not considered temporary workers, and that is a good point. Just bear in mind that the more turnover in product (ie. the less the stuff sits in the warehouse), the more likely the foreman is to want more permanent workers. Conversely, the more stable the inventory, the more likely it is that staff reductions are desired. Don't worry about this too much, just bear in mind it's something to use against the party at an inconvenient moment.

Traditional shift work uses 8 hour shifts, a morning, evening, and graveyard shift (8-4, 4-12, 12-8 is common, or 9-5 for morning). Since this is before worker's rights reforms, a 12 hour shift is reasonable, and would save on manpower expenses.

Your warehousing system seems to do a lot as far as property is concerned. How much involvement into the workings of the business to you foresee? If most of the party's operations are centered around the business, then I can see needing mechanics for what raw/finished goods are on hand, especially if they have to go out and make trade agreements and deal with purchasing agents and whatnot. Otherwise, I'd say deal with all those concerns in the abstract (the player makes n wealth this time, such and such problems occur, the following things are discovered, move on), make a list of random mundane items, and if asked what is in the warehouse or bag or crate or barrel, roll for it randomly.

Yes, that would mean the player can have a warehouse full of pickles. I see nothing wrong with that.

>>17323575

>Also, I had not considered temporary workers, and that is a good point. Just bear in mind that the more turnover in product (ie. the less the stuff sits in the warehouse), the more likely the foreman is to want more permanent workers. Conversely, the more stable the inventory, the more likely it is that staff reductions are desired. Don't worry about this too much, just bear in mind it's something to use against the party at an inconvenient moment.

I will keep all that in mind. Thank you for the feedback!

>Traditional shift work uses 8 hour shifts, a morning, evening, and graveyard shift (8-4, 4-12, 12-8 is common, or 9-5 for morning). Since this is before worker's rights reforms, a 12 hour shift is reasonable, and would save on manpower expenses.

Thank you also for telling me about that. It'll give me more of an idea to know what's going on for narrative purposes even if the player character doesn't need to worry about this extra stuff.

>Yes, that would mean the player can have a warehouse full of pickles. I see nothing wrong with that.

That's hilarious. I agree completely with that.

>>17323575

>Your warehousing system seems to do a lot as far as property is concerned. How much involvement into the workings of the business to you foresee?

Depends on my players. How much do they want to get involved with the business itself? It's really just supposed to be there for the one PC who is using it to justify the ludicrous wealth he walks around with.

I have other plot hooks to throw at them, one of them focusing on supernatural elements unrelated to the company. Another which is essentially getting them involved in the setting's version of the Barbary wars.

I also plan to throw the setting's expy of Western Europe into complete warfare as I reenact the Austro-Hungarian wars that consumed east and western europe, granting the Parrot Shipping Co. an opportunity to dabble in war economies.

>If most of the party's operations are centered around the business, then I can see needing mechanics for what raw/finished goods are on hand, especially if they have to go out and make trade agreements and deal with purchasing agents and whatnot.

They will have to. Not all their contracts last forever, so they'll loose business partners and gain new ones. Whether the new ones are good or bad is completely up to them.

>Otherwise, I'd say deal with all those concerns in the abstract (the player makes n wealth this time, such and such problems occur, the following things are discovered, move on),
That's how I was planning to do it but last time I ran a session, something got stolen from one of the two warehouses the PC owns. He's taken that as a personal slight.

Not to mention his company's executive Accountant and Financial Advisor got kidnapped, so the PC now has to spend at least four hours every other day doing paper work or he loses money.

>Otherwise, I'd say deal with all those concerns in the abstract (the player makes n wealth this time, such and such problems occur, the following things are discovered, move on), make a list of random mundane items, and if asked what is in the warehouse or bag or crate or barrel, roll for it randomly.

I like this. I think I'll use that, it'll make things easier for me in the long run.

Part 1: >>17322636
Kinds of inventory:

When I describe 'kinds' I think I should change the language to reflect the following:

A warehouse can contain 2 units of Content (Unit here being an arbitrary value for how much you can cram of a specific material or good in a 500 to 1000 square foot space. Assume 2 units per 500 feet square)

These can be units of whatever combination of Raw Material, Refined Material or Finished product the Shipper desires.

Warehouses with the Space upgrade can contain 4 units of Content - this increases by another 2 units per 500 square foot upgrade, however with more space taken, there are higher property taxes associated with the greater land owned by the proprietor.

Monetary value of the units of content are set by the TRADE CONTRACT which is agreed upon by shipper and business partner.

TRADE CONTRACTs will be described later.

Next up, transportation.

With storage more or less described, it is nice and all if you have somewhere to put your stuff, but you must be able to move it around. That's where Transportation comes in.

But because this is a tabletop game and because owning a convoy of beast drawn carriages and trailers is not cool, Transportation options at this time are limited to something that is cool and relevant to a primarily maritime setting.

Ships. Picture goddamn related. Ship characteristics and upgrades are as follows:
-Basic ship (Basic Crew, Basic Capabilities) [3pts]

-Captain[Not Free]
+Basic Captain[1pt] [Captain stats+Character customization]
+Experienced Captain [3pts] [As above, but everything is upgraded]
-Crew
+Inexperienced Crew [Free] [Mook+Sailor Career; d8]
+Experienced Crew [1pts] [Mook+Sailor Career: d10]
+Drilled Crew [3pts] [Minion+Sailor Career: d10]
-Capabilities [Free]
Improved Capabilities [3pts]
Renting the services of a ship instead of owning one: 1 point
(It is ridiculously expensive to own a ship, hence why the option to rent is here)

>>17323794
>I also plan to throw the setting's expy of Western Europe into complete warfare as I reenact the Austro-Hungarian wars that consumed east and western europe, granting the Parrot Shipping Co. an opportunity to dabble in war economies.
mfw

Also, bear in mind that insurance companies were extensive during the age of sail. That is where Lloyd's of London got it's start. So, if there is a problem with a shipment, if the players don't want to deal with it, you could just have an insurance agent handle the problem, or something of that nature.

Really, I'd think that recovering the accountant should be a priority. I wouldn't give the players too much more on their plates until either they get him back or they hire a suitable replacement (for the interim, at least). Beyond that and dealing with the theft, operating the business should be fairly transparent for the players, depending on how much else you have for them to do.

What kind of game are you running? It is sounding like it's pic related, but if you are doing something else, is the business getting in the way? What kind of operating mechanics do you have (aside from the accounting paperwork)? Since the player only has the two warehouses, did he spend the rest on transportation? If so, what are the mechanics for that?

Also, how are the players going about making those replacement contacts? Parties and soirees all around?

Ships can provide one of three types of income:
FLAT
The ship just acts like a mobile warehouse. Using a pre arranged TRADE CONTRACT, cargo is shipped between two or more ports in a cycle, generating INCOME. One ship may carry 3 kinds of Contents. This does not change even if the Capacities are upgraded.

However, a ship operating on a FLAT basis is very limited with where it can go and the kind of money it can make. It is limited to operating under a single TRADE CONTRACT because giving one ship multiple Contracts can result in forcing the Captain of the ship, and the Parrot Shipping Co Executive Manager to juggle cargoes bound to multiple locations. A FLAT ship operates best if it is set to a simple routine between two ports, or if it is set to dock at multiple ports, then it can only do that in a single flowing circuit. Anything more complicated will result in materials reaching their destination late.

VARIABLE
The ship is allowed to roam freely within a predefined area of the world [Determined by the Head Administrator], the Captain of the ship buying, selling, and trading as he desires. With this kind of behaviour, there is a possibility to make a much larger sum of INCOME than the FLAT behaviour would yield, but there is also a chance to lose money. VARIABLE is a gamble, determined by random factors generated by the GM behind the scenes. Naturally, the capacity for the ship’s captain to generate any kind of income from the VARIABLE behaviour is tied to his capabilities as a trader. In other words: Captains who have an idea of how to be a good merchant will do better with the VARIABLE behaviour than FLAT or COMBAT!

COMBAT
The Head Administrator allows his ship to be utilized in a military fashion by selling its services as a Mercenary to either the Crown of Kendwick or a Foreign Nation. The dangers of war on the sea carries the promise of great profit, and loss. Using the ship in this capacity may result in losing it.

Ship Rental:
If the Head Administrator does not own a ship, but wishes to engage in an oversea Trading Contract, he may rent the services of a Ship for transportation of goods. In this case, the ship is treated as utilizing the FLAT behaviour with the following exceptions:
1. The cost of renting a ship comes with 1 Content Space free for use by the Administrator. If you wish to LOAD more than 1 kind of Content onto a rented ship, you must negotiate with that ship’s Captain to rent other Spaces for more cargo.
2. Certain Captains will not accept certain kinds of cargoes.
3. You do not determine any of the rented vessel’s behaviour beyond loading and unloading your cargo at the reception and drop off point.
4. There are basic service fees attached to renting a ship’s services, but on the whole, renting a ship
5. Trade undertaken in this manner may take longer than an Owned Ship. The Captains of rented merchant vessels have other things to do!

>>17323949
Your questions may be answered over the next few posts.

Prices for storage and transportation of various products and materials are set between the SHIPPING COMPANY and its CLIENT; the result of that agreement is a TRADE CONTRACT.

There are 2 kinds of TRADE CONTRACT
CONVEYOR CONTRACT
1. The shipper agrees to be the intermediary between two organizations who agree to use the shipper for their exchange. The only thing the shipping company is responsible for is to ensure the cargo is collected from its ORIGIN and sent to its DESTINATION. This can be a one off ad hoc agreement (it happens once) or a circuit contract (wherein it happens more than once).
1b. The two organizations, aforementioned, are responsible for paying for the costs of storage and shipping of the material goods. They are not responsible for wages the shipping company staff associated with the operation.
1c. The shipping company, aforementioned, holds the agreed partners, aforementioned, liable for any damage to the physical holdings (staff notwithstanding) resulting from this TRADE CONTRACT.

COMMERCIAL CONTRACT
2. The Shipper agrees to acquire materials or goods from one organization, but is responsible for selling those goods and materials to a secondary organization of the shipper's choosing. This can be a single time ad hoc agreement, or a circuit contract.
2b. The origin organization, aforementioned, is responsible only for payment of shipping prior to acquisition (defined here as before the goods are placed in storage owned by Shipper).
2c. The Shipper is responsible for all aspects of costs relating to the storage and shipping of the material goods (including staff wages) post-acquisition of goods.
2d. The Shipper is liable for all damage to the goods, staff, and physical holdings after acquisition.

LIABILITY: THE SECURITY POLICY
3. Should the shipping company, aforementioned, feel that additional protection is necessary to the operations and assets involved in this agreement, an insurance company may be asked to provide additional liability in the form of a SECURITY POLICY for all assets associated with this transaction.
3a. The shipping company, aforementioned, is responsible for the payment of all services rendered by the insurance company, for the duration with which the TRADE CONTRACT is in effect.
3b. The business partner(s) with which the original TRADE CONTRACT was signed are not held responsible for the costs of the SECURITY POLICY.
3b. The shipping company, aforementioned, is bound to pay any interests associated with the SECURITY POLICY signed for the to-be insured assets.

>>17321760
I'm making a zombie game. The aim is not to survive, but to 'Unburden' youself
When creating your character everyone has a Burden, which is some trauma or unfinished business that they carry with them into the zombie apocalypse EG never spoke to your parents for 10 years, never told X person how you felt, were a loser with no job, killed a pregant women in a car accident, whatever.
Victory is in actualization, not survival

So, how does all this work as far as the PC who I made all this for is concerned? Well, it's pretty simple for him really. He has two things to worry about. The Biweekly Financial Report he has to look at and file (this will be important when its time to audit the books once every three months), and his administration roll. We'll talk about the Administration roll first since that's easier than the Biweekly Financial Report.

At the end of every week of in-game narrative time, his character makes an Administration roll. The difficulty against which this roll is made depends on various factors known primarily by the GM; but by and large this is pretty much a roll versus the paperwork piling up in the Head Administrator's office. Letters that to be read and signed off on, tax information that needs to be filed, inventory lists that need to be checked and indexed.

High success on this roll can lead to the reveal of a possible plot hook for a side quest (the ship's captain sent a letter saying he heard of a potential new business partner in the continental interior; an unknown crate was discovered in one of the warehouses, it is unmarked and unclaimed, should it be opened?; one of our business partners started charging more for their iron ore, why is that? we aren't receiving lumber from the lumberers in the northern regions, what's going on there?, etc).

Next, the Bi-weekly Financial Report

>>17323998
The rent of one space is the same as one of the two spaces that can be stored in a 500sqft. warehouse?

Huh.

The security contract seems a little biased against the shipper, but that may just be me.

So, what did the player put his points into?

It's a pretty nice mechanic, with lots of bells and whistles, but I'm concerned that the detail in the background may be a burden when using it.

I do like the Administration roll, though. Do you have trouble introducing side quests, and do you find they detract (by making the company too central)? I imagine the latter wouldn't be as much of a problem, as the party is fairly well integrated into the company. Still, as far as taking the mechanic myself, it might need to be modified a bit when the party is less enmeshed into the company.

I do like the Administration roll, though, and am definitely stealing that, along with appropriate modifiers.

Income:
Treesnap Lumber COMMERCIAL CIRCUIT CONTRACT
+d4 Points Bi-weekly Income (Buy then sell to whoever is interested; income generated randomly due to people haggling on prices and market demand; Head Administrator may adjust prices artificially, end results tied to quality of staff in the warehouse selling product)
Anvilwerks CONVEYOR CIRCUIT CONTRACT
+d6+2 points Bi-weekly (Anvilwerks is business partners with mines and smelters all across the country of Kendwick, by using the Parrot Shipping Co as their sole shipper and distributor for all three elements (raw, refined, and finished goods) of producing Weapons[Melee], a +1 bonus is granted to the company for income. A further +1 is granted because it is somewhat of a government contract, with final profits skimmed off the sale of the weapons to the National Army.
The income can also be effected by the administration roll.

Expenditures:

HEADQUARTERS
HQ Staff wages: -2
HQ Maintenance: -2
Miscellaneous Expenditures: -1 (adjustable)
WAREHOUSE 1
Warehouse 1 Staff & wages -1
Maintenance: -1
WAREHOUSE 2
Warehouse 2 Staff wages -2
Warehouse 2 Maintenance -2 (Paid by Anvilwerks)
Lumber Transport costs -1 (Paid by Treesnap)
Ore, Iron and Weapons[Melee] Transport costs: -4 (Paid by Anvilwerks)
Total: -9

Balance: Unknown because I haven't rolled randomly yet.

>>17324727

>The rent of one space is the same as one of the two spaces that can be stored in a 500sqft. warehouse?
A warehouse doesn't move. A Ship does. Shipping costs factor into this and you might be asking the captain to go off their established rout to deliver your cargo.

>The security contract seems a little biased against the shipper, but that may just be me.
No, it's not just you. I'm jaded against Insurance companies in general, so my own bias may be shining through here. That doesn't mean that is the only security policy. There are certainly nicer insurance companies out there, but you have to look for them.

>So, what did the player put his points into?
He has one decent warehouse and one basic ship with a basic captain, but decent crew. I don't remember the specifics. I haven't factored the ship in the Financial Report yet because we need to nail down what we're using it for.

>It's a pretty nice mechanic, with lots of bells and whistles, but I'm concerned that the detail in the background may be a burden when using it.
I'll try to keep the burden on my own shoulders. The nature of how the company is supposed to operate (when they get their Financial Advisor back) is that it can run pretty smoothly without direct management of the PC who owns it. The only reason he would be directly involved in anything outside the weekly Administration role is when shit like the Financial Advisor happens. There's a whole world I built for them to explore, the company is just a way to make it easier for them to move around since one PC can foot the bill for transportation of the whole party!

>ITT: OP DM creates half of Spice and Wolf, the RPG

>I do like the Administration roll, though. Do you have trouble introducing side quests, and do you find they detract (by making the company too central)?
If it does, my players haven't suggested as much. I do not have trouble introducing side quests because the other two players - the ones attached to the PC who owns to company - have plenty of things they can get up to, alone, or together as a group.

>I imagine the latter wouldn't be as much of a problem, as the party is fairly well integrated into the company. Still, as far as taking the mechanic myself, it might need to be modified a bit when the party is less enmeshed into the company.
I would like to see what you do to modify it.

>I do like the Administration roll, though, and am definitely stealing that, along with appropriate modifiers.

Haha, you're not actually stealing it from me. Administration is an actual skill in the system I'm using.

Which reminds me. ADMINISTRATION ROLL: ITS USES

Uses:

IN THE EVENT THAT THE FINANCIAL REPORT REVEALS THAT THE COMPANY IS OPERATING AT A DEFICIT IN ITS TOTAL BALANCE, SOME FANCY PAPERWORK CAN BE USED TO LOOK FOR TAX EXEMPTIONS AS WELL AS OTHER PAPERWORK RELATED SHENANIGANS (Taxes are assumed to be factored into the points system used above)

THIS REPRESENTS THE COMPANY HEAD ADMINISTRATOR FLYING INTO A RAGE FILLED FURY, SHOUTING: "WAIT WAIT WAIT, TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR THIS. AND THIS. AND THIS. TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR EVERYTHING!"

Other uses:
At the end of every week, the successes with the administrative roll may actually grant bonuses to the randomly generator income from the TRADE CONTRACTs. The bonus is usually a +1 to each contract due to good management, but it may be higher if critical successes are rolled.

Other uses are forth coming as I figure out what else the Administration roll can be used for.

>>17324839
We haven't even started talking arbitrage here. I'd say this is a quarter at the most.

>>17324874
OK, then, I'll use a proximate skill. I have no idea what, but I'll think of something.

>>17324838
>The rent of one space is the same as one of the two spaces that can be stored in a 500sqft. warehouse?
I meant, are they the same unit? So, if you rent a ship to transport one unit of cargo from one warehouse to another, the first warehouse is holding one unit fewer, and the second warehouse will be holding one unit more, right? [The units are measuring the same amount, in other words]

>>17324791
So, where do the values for expenditures come from?

>>17324839
Ha! Wouldn't be a stretch.

So, that's... pretty much what the Shipping company looks like on paper, right now.

...Would it be rude of me to archive this? I created the thread but I understand there's some unspoken rule about people archiving their own threads.

>>17324958
>We haven't even started talking arbitrage here. I'd say this is a quarter at the most.
Oh god no, no no no.

>OK, then, I'll use a proximate skill. I have no idea what, but I'll think of something.
Administration is fine, alternatively, bureaucracy or management. Don't fix what isn't broken, right?
>The rent of one space is the same as one of the two spaces that can be stored in a 500sqft. warehouse?
>I meant, are they the same unit? So, if you rent a ship to transport one unit of cargo from one warehouse to another, the first warehouse is holding one unit fewer, and the second warehouse will be holding one unit more, right? [The units are measuring the same amount, in other words]
Depends on the contract. If you don't own the warehouse that the cargo is destined to, you don't worry about the costs associated with that, just the shipping. It is assumed you are shipping from one of your own warehouses to a destination, so expenses (unless it has been agreed on that the warehouse expenses are paid by the contractor) are your responsibility.

>So, where do the values for expenditures come from?
Oh boy, that's a small question with a long answer. The short end of it is that I try to come up with fair values in my head so I don't make things frustrating for the PC running the company.

If you want me to get into the nitty gritty though, I could do that...

Would you like to know more?

>>17324946
If the successes with the Administration roll can grant bonuses to contracts, wouldn't it follow that failures would cause penalties, loss of income, or worse?

>>17325010
That was something I was looking at altering in a major sense if I were to take the system, so not really. I would have made it based on the size of the site, the manpower at the site, and maybe a +1 if the site had a lot of wear and tear for maintenance.

>>17325085
If the successes with the Administration roll can grant bonuses to contracts, wouldn't it follow that failures would cause penalties, loss of income, or worse?

Yes.

But that hasn't happened yet.

Er. That is supposed to be a quote in the form of greentext, sorry.