Freelance Traveller

Patronage

by Frank Mikes

This article originally appeared in Issue #000 of the downloadable PDF magazine.

Patron Profile

Branit Shugulii is a well known reporter for the TAS, famous throughout the sector for his interviews and in-depth exposés of issues of concern.

Planetary governments have been forced to change because of some of his articles and he is now seeking passage on the PCs vessel.

Shugulii is of normal height with very dark skin. His hair is a close cropped afro and in regard to facial hair, he has a neatly trimmed beard, moustache combination. No grey has touched his hair yet but he must be nearly 45 and while there are a few crows-feet and laugh lines around his face he still appears handsome. While developing a bit of a paunch, Branit's clothes are tailored to hide this. He favours practical casual/business suits which are both fashionable and expensive. He wears no jewelry.

Mission Requirements

PCs must have their own ship available with a high passage cabin to transport Branit Shugulii to a nearby system, usually one jump away. Shugulii will pay the PCs up front and provide any specific information before jump.

Possible directions for this adventure:

1. Shugulii will secretly write a review of how well/poorly he was treated during the trip as part of a series of reviews on transport in the sector. A few things should be asked of the players concerning how he is treated, such as food, cabin cleaning, recreation, etc. The GM then determines what Shugulii writes and this will reflect a modifier to rolls for gaining prospective passengers for the next year.
2. As 1, except Shugulii informs the PCs about the review and then demands luxurious treatment and/or his some/all of his money back in return for a favourable review. Again, it is up the GM to work out what the result of this review will be to passenger numbers.
3. Shugulii is on the run from almost rabid fans who demand autographs, photos, holos, interviews, etc and wants to sneak away from the system. Several of these fans hear about it and desperately seek passage on the player's ship, knowledge of Shugulli's destination and souveniers.
4. Shugulii is on the run from agents of one of the governments that fell due to articles he wrote and they are seeking revenge. The will also try to seek passage and torture/kill him during the journey. As an alternative, Shugulii himself may not be aware that he has been targeted.
5. As 4 except that Shugulii is an impostor that looks very much like Shugulii and is hoping to draw out the attackers. This could be the work of the Ministry of Justice or a private group that Shugulii has hired.
6. Shugulii is an impostor who is a conman who has run up a great deal of credit on the world he is currently on and now wishes to escape this debt, he is likely to try 2 as a scam on the PCs now that he is on their ship.