Forum

Just got the full bundle (core book, atlas, cards etc.) Such a beautiful piece of work.

Question: What sort of fee do passengers pay to travel on the ships? I assume that it is based on status and what sort of accommodation they are in. My current group are pilgrims travelling between the holy sites; for some reason they decided to gain a ship during their travels. At the moment; they are looking to take passage on a transport ship and are looking for a baseline price (so that they can start haggling!)

I just need some idea of prices to give me a start.

Hiya
As a starting point for fees I started with the cost of a basic portal jump: 5000 to 10000 birr or 1D6+4x1000 (p139).
Add the cost of service and maintenance, which should be done after each trip: from 1/500 to 1/2000 of ship value (p 155).
I'd then take that total number, rounded out to what sounds nice, then divide by the number of stasis chambers available for passengers, not including crew/staff/soldier compliments - just the actual passengers, then round that number again to look good.
From there, you could decide to add more to cover other ship services, depending on the type of ship being used. A cruise liner might have people wandering about different modules between jumps, each with their own staff catering to the crew and passengers, etc.
Playing with some pre-generated ships and adjusting the number of stasis modules on board (increasing the number of passengers available) I get prices ranging from 20 or 30 birr for a luxury liner style up to 2500 birr per passenger on smaller freighter types, assuming a top portal price of 10000 and the highest service rate of 1/500 and no extra features.

Oh wow! That's interesting. In fact; it's a total inversion of what is the norm for most SF Games.
Travel on a liner is relatively cheap; because there's lots of passengers.
Travel on a Tramper costs more because of the Portal fees.

Plot-Wise
Liners can be traced; passenger lists are easily accessible.
Trampers can hide under the radar; but it costs.

BUT
Lest not forget; portal travel always has risks!

Yup
And of course, you could always increase your prices to a higher number depending on the services provided. That luxury liner could run a couple thousand birr per passenger if other modules are dedicated to entertaining guests, and that freighter pilot could be filling seats on a return trip and take 50/person just because the space is available. Basically, you could adjust the price based on the flow of currency, or in the interest of plot movement (free tickets, or a clue!, to wherever you need them to go, allowing the players to save a couple birr). Another opportunity to direct wandering adventurers