Chapter 38 — Jobs & Salvage
Work is what keeps a crew flying — the note comes due whether or not anyone's hired them (Chapter 28), so someone always has to find the next job. This chapter generates that work: who's offering it, what it is, the catch that makes it a story, and what the crew walks away with. It closes with a salvage generator for the lost-ark wrecks that are the frontier's richest and deadliest payday.
A patron is the source of a job, not a relationship: this chapter generates the work, while the relationship side of every patron, ally, and rival lives in Contacts (Chapter 35). Many patrons become Contacts, and a warm Contact is often a patron in their own right; a corporation can be a patron too (Chapter 34), and a faction hires constantly to advance its agenda (Chapter 34). Roll a patron fresh when you need one, or hang the job on a power the crew already knows.
Index§
- Building a job
- Who's hiring (D66)
- The job (D66)
- The catch (D66)
- The payoff (D66)
- Salvage & derelicts
Building a job§
Roll D66 for each piece in order and read them together:
- Who's hiring — the patron and how they come to the crew.
- The job — what they're actually asking.
- The catch — the thing that isn't as stated. Always roll this. A job without a catch is a milk run; the catch is where the adventure lives.
- The payoff — what's on offer, in coin and otherwise.
The catch need not surface at the meeting — the best ones don't. Plant it, let the crew commit, and let it bloom on arrival, where distance means they can't simply turn around (Chapter 27). Many jobs also pair naturally with a rumor (Chapter 33): the rumor is what the crew hears, the patron is who turns it into a contract.
Who's hiring (D66)§
| D66 | The patron |
|---|---|
| 11 | A corporate fixer with a problem off the books (Chapter 34) |
| 12 | A faction agent advancing an agenda you can't see (Chapter 34) |
| 13 | A ship's captain who can't do this one in the open |
| 14 | A desperate homesteader spending their last credits |
| 15 | A crime boss who frames it as a favor you can't refuse |
| 16 | A planetary official who needs it kept far from the record |
| 21 | A merchant-prince's harried aide, authorized to overpay |
| 22 | A Sleeper just woken, with old wealth and no allies (Chapter 30) |
| 23 | A scientist whose grant won't cover what they really want done |
| 24 | A church or creed acting through a soft-spoken envoy |
| 25 | A union steward hiring outside help, quietly |
| 26 | A bereaved family seeking what the authorities won't pursue |
| 31 | A Contact of a crew member, calling in the relationship (Chapter 35) |
| 32 | A rival crew offering to partner — for now |
| 33 | A bank or creditor offering to wipe a debt for one job (Chapter 28) |
| 34 | A garrison officer moonlighting their own command |
| 35 | A broker who never names the real client |
| 36 | A Companion-rights organizer with a network and a need (Chapter 31) |
| 41 | A spymaster who tests the crew with a small job first |
| 42 | A dying magnate settling unfinished business |
| 43 | A frontier doctor who needs something only smugglers can get |
| 44 | A salvage outfit short a crew for one run (see Salvage, below) |
| 45 | A diplomat needing deniable hands during a negotiation |
| 46 | A station authority with a problem it can't be seen to have |
| 51 | A cult or movement that believes the crew is part of a prophecy |
| 52 | An old enemy offering work as a peace overture — or a trap (Chapter 35) |
| 53 | A child or heir acting without the family's knowledge |
| 54 | A retired operator pulled back in, needing backup they trust |
| 55 | A media outfit paying for proof of a story (Chapter 34) |
| 56 | A whistleblower who needs protection more than pay |
| 61 | An AI or automated estate executing a long-dead instruction (Chapter 34) |
| 62 | A pirate or smuggler lord with a job too clean for their own people |
| 63 | A government in exile, paying in promises and old currency |
| 64 | A patron who won't meet in person — only through intermediaries |
| 65 | No patron at all — the crew finds the job themselves and must find a buyer |
| 66 | A patron who is secretly the campaign's central antagonist |
The job (D66)§
| D66 | The work |
|---|---|
| 11 | Carry cargo, no questions, to a fixed deadline |
| 12 | Carry a passenger who must not be noticed |
| 13 | Deliver a message no channel can be trusted with (Chapter 27) |
| 14 | Escort a ship, convoy, or person through dangerous space |
| 15 | Retrieve an object from somewhere it shouldn't be |
| 16 | Retrieve a person — willing, unwilling, or unsure |
| 21 | Find someone who doesn't want to be found |
| 22 | Find out what happened — to a ship, a colony, a person |
| 23 | Survey a world, derelict, or system and report back (Chapter 37) |
| 24 | Salvage a wreck before a rival reaches it (see below) |
| 25 | Sabotage a rival's operation without leaving a trace |
| 26 | Steal something, and make it look like something else |
| 31 | Protect a place, person, or shipment from a coming threat |
| 32 | Negotiate or broker a deal the patron can't be seen at |
| 33 | Smuggle goods or people past an inspection or blockade |
| 34 | Repossess property from someone who won't give it up (Chapter 28) |
| 35 | Settle a debt — collect it, or make it disappear |
| 36 | Plant evidence, or recover evidence already planted |
| 41 | Break someone out — of a cell, a contract, a world |
| 42 | Hunt and bring in a fugitive with a price on them |
| 43 | Wake, move, or hide a Sleeper and their claim (Chapter 30) |
| 44 | Free, smuggle, or protect bonded Companions (Chapter 31) |
| 45 | Repair or restart something critical and failing (Chapter 13) |
| 46 | Map a route, move a beacon, or chart a hidden jump |
| 51 | Infiltrate an organization and report from inside (Chapter 34) |
| 52 | Guard a negotiation, festival, or summit from sabotage |
| 53 | Recover stolen cargo and the thief, if convenient |
| 54 | Verify a rumor before the patron acts on it (Chapter 33) |
| 55 | Destroy something — a record, a weapon, a witness |
| 56 | Deliver aid to a place the powers would rather let die |
| 61 | Test a prototype, drug, or drive, with all the risk that implies |
| 62 | Stand as muscle, decoy, or witness for a deal gone tense |
| 63 | Recover a body, and whatever it was carrying |
| 64 | Win a contest, race, or fight that the patron is betting on |
| 65 | Do nothing — be seen somewhere, as an alibi for someone else |
| 66 | The job is a cover for a second job the patron hasn't named |
The catch (D66)§
What's wrong with it. Roll every time.
| D66 | The catch |
|---|---|
| 11 | The pay is real but the patron can't afford it — they'll come up short |
| 12 | The patron is lying about what the job actually is |
| 13 | The cargo, target, or person is not what the crew was told |
| 14 | Someone else was hired to do the opposite |
| 15 | The job is illegal in a way the patron didn't mention |
| 16 | The deadline is impossible as stated |
| 21 | A rival crew is already on it, one jump ahead (Chapter 35) |
| 22 | The target is protected by a faction the patron underestimated (Chapter 34) |
| 23 | The patron means to betray the crew on completion |
| 24 | A crew member has a personal tie to the target they don't yet know |
| 25 | Succeeding will make a powerful enemy the crew can't see coming |
| 26 | The "object" is a person; the "person" is a thing |
| 31 | The job is a test, and failing it has consequences |
| 32 | The patron is being watched, so now the crew is too |
| 33 | The intel is stale — the situation changed in transit (Chapter 27) |
| 34 | A third party will pay more to see the job fail |
| 35 | Completing it triggers something the patron didn't foresee |
| 36 | The patron is a front for someone the crew would never work for |
| 41 | There's a witness the patron wants removed, and didn't say |
| 42 | The cargo is dangerous — alive, unstable, or cursed by reputation (Chapter 13) |
| 43 | The job violates a crew member's prior loyalty or Contact (Chapter 35) |
| 44 | The destination is under quarantine, blockade, or siege |
| 45 | The patron will deny the crew the moment it goes wrong |
| 46 | Someone the crew owes is on the other side of this |
| 51 | The real client is the crew's enemy, laundered through the patron |
| 52 | The reward is hot — spending it marks them |
| 53 | The job is bait to lure the crew somewhere |
| 54 | Half the pay is up front because no one survives the second half |
| 55 | The target wants to be taken, for reasons of their own |
| 56 | The patron will be dead before the crew can collect |
| 61 | Local law is waiting at the other end, tipped off |
| 62 | The job is right, but the patron's cause is monstrous |
| 63 | A clock is running that the patron didn't mention (Chapter 34) |
| 64 | The crew is the fall guys for a crime not yet committed |
| 65 | Doing the job well is exactly what the enemy wants |
| 66 | There are two catches — roll twice more |
The payoff (D66)§
What's on the table. Mix coin with the rest; the best rewards are threads, not just credits. Scale the actual sum to your campaign's economy (Chapter 28) — "good money" means a job's worth a few months of the note, "a fortune" means it could clear the mortgage.
| D66 | The reward |
|---|---|
| 11 | Standard pay, fair for the risk, paid clean |
| 12 | Good money, but only on delivery |
| 13 | A fortune — enough to change the crew's situation |
| 14 | Less coin than hoped, plus a favor owed by the patron |
| 15 | A debt cleared instead of cash (Chapter 28) |
| 16 | Cargo, salvage, or trade goods in lieu of credits (Chapter 28) |
| 21 | A piece of gear worth more than the fee (Chapter 24) |
| 22 | A high-provenance item with a history (Chapter 24) |
| 23 | A ship upgrade, repair, or refit (Chapter 26) |
| 24 | A new Contact — an introduction that opens doors (Chapter 35) |
| 25 | Standing raised with a faction (Chapter 34) |
| 26 | Information — a secret, a chart, a name worth more than money |
| 31 | Safe passage, docking rights, or a port made friendly |
| 32 | Protection from an enemy, for as long as the patron lasts |
| 33 | A claim, deed, or stake in something (Chapter 30) |
| 34 | Medical care — a Maimed or Broken node cleared (Chapter 10) |
| 35 | A Boon's worth of training or access (Chapter 9) |
| 36 | A future favor, redeemable when the crew needs it most |
| 41 | Pay, plus an enemy made (the catch's price) |
| 42 | The patron's loyalty — a Contact warmed toward Ally (Chapter 35) |
| 43 | A cut of something ongoing — a percentage, not a payment |
| 44 | Forgiveness of a crime, charge, or bounty |
| 45 | A name cleared, or a reputation built |
| 46 | A ship, small craft, or vehicle (Chapter 25) |
| 51 | Half now, half never — the patron can't pay the rest |
| 52 | Payment in a currency that's only good somewhere specific |
| 53 | The gratitude of a community, worth more than the coin |
| 54 | A dangerous secret the crew now has to keep |
| 55 | More work — a better job, if this one goes well |
| 56 | A trap dressed as a reward (see the catch) |
| 61 | Salvage rights to a wreck (see below) |
| 62 | A rescued person who joins the crew, or owes them their life |
| 63 | Leverage over the patron themselves |
| 64 | An heirloom, trinket, or token with a story attached (Chapter 24) |
| 65 | Nothing but their lives — and the knowledge of who set them up |
| 66 | The reward the crew didn't know to ask for — define it together |
Salvage & derelicts§
The Shore is littered with the dead: freighters that didn't make jump, stations gone dark, and above all the arks — ballistic and FTL alike — that carried humanity across and didn't all arrive whole (Chapter 29). Salvage is the frontier circuit's signature payday (Chapter 33), and its signature way to die. A wreck is a place, an adventure, and a temptation at once.
Roll D66 for what the wreck is, D66 for what's aboard, and D66 for what's wrong with it. The first sets the stakes, the second the reward, the third the reason it's still out here for the taking.
What the wreck is (D66)§
| D66 | The hulk |
|---|---|
| 11 | A small free trader, recently dead, still warm |
| 12 | A bulk freighter, cargo holds sealed and intact |
| 13 | A ballistic Sleeper ark, centuries in the dark (Chapter 30) |
| 14 | An FTL ark from the Ejection waves (Chapter 29) |
| 15 | A warship or armed escort, weapons possibly live |
| 16 | A research vessel, logs and samples aboard |
| 21 | A luxury liner, opulent and looted-looking |
| 22 | A mining rig or refinery ship, full of raw metal |
| 23 | A station fragment, torn loose and drifting |
| 24 | A courier, fast and small, carrying one thing that mattered |
| 25 | A colony seedship, vaults of genestock aboard (Chapter 34) |
| 26 | A drive-test prototype, experimental and unstable |
| 31 | A pirate hull, holds full of other people's cargo |
| 32 | A medical or revival ship, cryo-pods still humming |
| 33 | A Vanguard-era relic, thousands of years old (Chapter 29) |
| 34 | A fleet tender or supply hauler, stocked for a war |
| 35 | A scuttled hull — someone sank this one deliberately |
| 36 | A ghost ship, intact, crew simply gone |
| 41 | A debris field — many small wrecks, one good find among them |
| 42 | A habitat module, a whole community's worth of belongings |
| 43 | A jump-beacon platform, its navigation core intact (Chapter 27) |
| 44 | A smuggler's hull with hidden compartments |
| 45 | A corporate survey ship, charts of unmapped systems aboard |
| 46 | A derelict locked in another ship's grapples, both dead |
| 51 | A generation-hauler, lived in for decades before it died |
| 52 | A weapons transport, ordnance in the racks |
| 53 | A bank or vault ship, assets sealed in the core (Chapter 28) |
| 54 | A diplomatic vessel, secrets in the safe |
| 55 | A salvage ship that came to strip this same field and didn't leave |
| 56 | An ark fragment — only a section survived, sealed and pressurized |
| 61 | A famous lost ship the whole sector has a story about |
| 62 | A hull that doesn't match any registry |
| 63 | A vessel mid-jump-failure, frozen in a wrong configuration |
| 64 | A tomb ship, deliberately filled with the dead and sent off |
| 65 | A hull broadcasting an automated distress call, still |
| 66 | A wreck that isn't as dead as it looks |
What's aboard (D66)§
The find. Heavier rewards skew toward higher provenance (Chapter 24); weigh against what's wrong, below.
| D66 | The haul |
|---|---|
| 11 | Standard cargo — sellable, unremarkable, bulky |
| 12 | Fuel and supplies, worth more out here than anywhere |
| 13 | Reclaimable alloys and ship parts (Chapter 26) |
| 14 | Working gear and equipment, modern and intact (Chapter 24) |
| 15 | A weapons cache, sidearms to ship-guns (Chapter 24) |
| 16 | Medical stock — drugs, kit, cryo-supplies |
| 21 | A high-provenance item with a traceable history (Chapter 24) |
| 22 | Personal effects — trinkets, letters, a life's worth (Chapter 24) |
| 23 | Data — charts, logs, secrets worth more than the hull |
| 24 | Genestock or seedbank vaults, living and rare (Chapter 34) |
| 25 | Credits, bearer-currency, or hard valuables in a safe |
| 26 | A working drive core or jump calculator (Chapter 27) |
| 31 | Cryo-pods with living Sleepers still inside (Chapter 30) |
| 32 | A prototype or one-of-a-kind piece of technology |
| 33 | An art cache, heritage goods, or museum-grade relics |
| 34 | Industrial machinery — a refinery, a fabricator, a borer |
| 35 | A small craft or vehicle, still flyable (Chapter 25) |
| 36 | Contraband — valuable, illegal, and traceable |
| 41 | The whole hull itself, salvageable if it can be moved |
| 42 | A vault that won't open without a key the crew must find |
| 43 | Records that incriminate someone powerful (Chapter 34) |
| 44 | A person hiding aboard — survivor, stowaway, or worse |
| 45 | A beacon, key, or chart to an even bigger find |
| 46 | Bonded Companions in stasis, legally "cargo" (Chapter 31) |
| 51 | A body that someone will pay to recover — or to hide |
| 52 | Live ordnance worth a fortune and a death sentence |
| 53 | An AI core still running, with its own agenda (Chapter 34) |
| 54 | A debt-ledger naming half the sector's borrowers (Chapter 28) |
| 55 | An old-world artifact from Earth itself (Chapter 29) |
| 56 | Nothing of value — already stripped — but evidence of who did it |
| 61 | The cargo is valuable and someone is coming for it |
| 62 | A claim or deed sealed in the captain's safe (Chapter 30) |
| 63 | A weapon too dangerous to sell and too valuable to destroy |
| 64 | Two finds, one of them a trap — roll twice |
| 65 | The find is a person who shouldn't still be alive |
| 66 | What's aboard is worth a war — and a war may follow it home |
What's wrong (D66)§
Why it's still here, and what salvaging it costs. This is the salvage version of the catch (above) — roll every time.
| D66 | The danger |
|---|---|
| 11 | Hull breach — vacuum, drift, and no easy footing (Chapter 13) |
| 12 | Failing life support; what air's left is going fast |
| 13 | Radiation leak from a cracked core (Chapter 13) |
| 14 | The reactor is unstable and on a timer |
| 15 | Structural collapse — the wreck is coming apart as they work |
| 16 | Fire, or something that will catch the moment air returns |
| 21 | Automated defenses still online and hostile (Chapter 40) |
| 22 | A predator or vermin nested in the dark (Chapter 40) |
| 23 | Survivors — desperate, armed, and territorial |
| 24 | Pirates or scavengers already aboard |
| 25 | A rival salvage crew arriving now (Chapter 35) |
| 26 | The wreck is claimed; taking anything is theft (Chapter 34) |
| 31 | A faction is watching and wants the find for itself (Chapter 34) |
| 32 | Contamination — disease, toxin, or worse, sealed until now (Chapter 13) |
| 33 | The cargo is the danger — alive, unstable, or sentient |
| 34 | The distress call is bait; the wreck is a trap |
| 35 | The drive is in a failed-jump state and may discharge |
| 36 | The dead didn't all die — cryo-pods are failing one by one |
| 41 | The wreck is mined, or rigged to scuttle if boarded |
| 42 | Sensor ghosts and a layout that doesn't match the schematics |
| 43 | The find can't be moved without the right gear they don't have |
| 44 | Whatever killed the crew is still capable of it |
| 45 | A time limit — the orbit is decaying into something (Chapter 37) |
| 46 | An AI that considers the crew intruders (Chapter 34) |
| 51 | The wreck drifts in a hazard — belt, storm, gravity well |
| 52 | Taking the find means abandoning survivors to choose |
| 53 | The previous salvage crew is here too, and they didn't make it |
| 54 | The hull is legally a grave, and disturbing it is a crime |
| 55 | The find is booby-trapped by whoever hid it |
| 56 | A beacon will alert its owners the moment the crew breaks the seal |
| 61 | Another wreck nearby holds whatever killed this one |
| 62 | The crew's own ship is now in the same danger that killed it |
| 63 | Someone aboard the crew's ship wants this find for themselves |
| 64 | The wreck is haunted by reputation — no one local will help, after |
| 65 | The danger follows them home (Chapter 27) |
| 66 | All of it. This is a death trap, and the reward knows it — roll twice |