12-29-2020, 02:00 PM
(12-29-2020, 08:02 AM)Melville Wrote: This is where Melville uses his mind reading while the Captain is speaking, trying to gauge any motive or hidden agenda of Captain Threadvine, he decides that at least on the surface Threadvine is being honest.[OOC: Other than mild boredom at reviewing information that he has reviewed hundreds of times before, you do not get a feeling that he is trying to screw anyone over or lying, and that he sees the terms that he is covering as fair to everyone involved. You get the feeling that he seems to consider himself fair-minded and that he does have a drive to be liked by people he ships with. You can tell that on the topic of assigning or revoking shares he does not consider it a tool of punishment or control, but rather a tool to reward those willing to take greater risks for the expedition and to prevent crewmembers from being lazy or destructive. There is also an underlying hope that the expedition will turn up enough Junta rarities that everyone on the crew will be rich afterwards so a few coins more or less for individuals will wind up not really mattering. You can give me a History check to recognize the term "Junta" in this context.
Insight (advantage) [1d20+3] = 3+3 = 6; [1d20+3] = 7+3 = 10; Investigation [1d20+5] = 15+5 = 20
Melville begins to pore over the documents, looking for any hidden parts of the contract that might be unfair or even beggar his comrades and him. Aside from the obvious inequities of Threadvine and Ashheart seemingly being able to assign or deny extra shares on a whim,. He looked deeper into the document to see if such things were more clearly defined, assuming that Threadvine had merely been giving the broad strokes rather than the finer details.
While he does so, he decides to clarify the details of portage fees.
"I have no cargo as yet, but I wanted to make sure that it was understood that I do not intend to let my accumulated wealth idle. I would put it to work to build more wealth. How would portage be assessed? Space and tonnage required? Comparative safety or danger of said cargo? Value of the cargo? "
On that investigation check, you pour through the two of three pages of terms and find nothing that is an obviously planned 'gotcha' clause to allow the Captain to seize the entire value of the loot or anything like that, although it is apparent that with their capability to adjust the final number of shares given that some kind of game of share devaluation could be setup fairly easily. Based on your mind-reading however, Threadvine is not planning on trying to pull anything like that. It seems like the terms of the contract are written with an eye towards preventing any one crewman brought on from screwing over the others, with final adjucation falling to Captain Threadvine. There is nothing in here that Melville or Bazz hasn't seen in similar crew contracts elsewhere. Compared to some of the contracts that Melville has seen, this one is actually pretty clearly worded and simple enough that even your common sailor or lunk-headed fighter would be able to make out the major points. Glancing through it all, you quickly realize that the stack of papers is actually three copies of the same contract, likely to facilitate the multiple filings that Threadvine mentioned earlier.]
Threadvine looks thoughtful as he considers your question, running a hand through his hair. As he does so you all get a much clearer look at the ugly scar where his left ear was apparently crudely bitten or torn off. "Yes, in addition to the raw tonnage and space the cargo requires, the risk to the ship and crew would also need to be considered. Remember that any cargo space you are allowed for mercantile pursuits is space that can't be used for findings and general loot that will be split with the crew so some compensation to balance that is in order. We are also headed into unknown space, so there is no guarantee of viable trading ports along the way, that's why so many of the terms have resolution on return to Bral as the point of origin and best market for findings available. Phlogiston travel is also going to be required so goods that cannot be transported safely through the Flow would of course be blocked. As I said, I don't think I ever had a crewman make a similar request, so we are in uncharted waters here and I'm trying to find the path that is most fair to both you and the rest of the crew, including your companions here. It should also be clear that if the three of you elect to sign on, that will hit the general composition and count of crew that I was looking for, so we will be looking to ship out as soon as possible, likely as early as tomorrow, once the contracts have been filed with the Dockmaster and we finish provisioning sorting and loading. So if you don't already have your potential cargo ready to be loaded, allowing time for you to pull something together is another consideration."
