Legitimate trade flows through RiftGates monitored by Chronologist-certified customs stations, Celestial Accord patrols, and Commission tax collectors. For those willing to operate outside the law—or simply unwilling to pay the tariffs—the Ebon Syndicate maintains an invisible infrastructure of shadow routes, coded drop coordinates, and bribed officials.
Standard Smuggling Consultation is the Syndicate's first offering to new clients: a brief, encrypted data packet transmitted via dead-drop infostream bursts or whispered over drinks in a back-room cantina. The consultation typically includes:
Safe Approach Vectors — Rift-Space entry and exit coordinates that avoid known Accord sensor grids and Chronologist Guild monitoring stations.
Customs Windows — Schedules showing when specific ports rotate understaffed shifts or have Syndicate-bribed inspectors on duty.
Drop Point Coordinates — Locations of abandoned stations, uncharted asteroid fields, or "neutral" refueling rocks where cargo can be transferred without official scrutiny.
Hazard Warnings — Basic alerts about recent pirate activity, Rift storms, or law enforcement crackdowns that might threaten the route.
The information is current but disposable—good for one run, maybe two if you're lucky. The Syndicate doesn't waste premium intelligence on clients who haven't proven their loyalty.
Standard Smuggling Consultation is an Ignored/Neutral-tier Ebon Syndicate boon that provides player characters with intelligence on safe smuggling routes and drop points throughout the Starfall Galaxy. This boon costs 2 Favor and grants access to Syndicate-curated information about Rift-Space navigation hazards, Accord patrol patterns, customs inspection schedules, and discreet cargo transfer locations. Unlike higher-tier smuggling boons, this consultation provides basic, one-time intelligence suitable for simple contraband runs or avoiding routine law enforcement—not ongoing access to premium trade lanes or protection from major threats.
Standard Smuggling Consultation Boon
Faction: Ebon Syndicate
Reputation Tier: Ignored (-4 to 14 Favor)
Cost: 2 Favor
Frequency: Once per mission or smuggling run
Effects
Route Intelligence Check:
Before attempting a smuggling run or covert journey, the PC can spend downtime (typically 1-4 hours) consulting with a Syndicate broker via secure infostream or in-person meeting.
The PC makes a Society, Piloting, or Underworld Lore check (DC 15 + mission level) to interpret and apply the intelligence effectively.
Critical Success: The route is exceptionally safe—gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Piloting checks to navigate Rift-Space hazards and Stealth/Deception checks to avoid inspection during this run. The GM may rule that routine inspections are automatically avoided.
Success: Gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Piloting and Stealth/Deception checks related to the smuggling run. You know the safest times and places to avoid trouble.
Failure: The intelligence is vague or partially outdated—no mechanical benefit, but no harm done.
Critical Failure: The intelligence is compromised or was a setup—the GM may introduce a complication (an ambush, an inspection, or rival smugglers aware of the route).
Single-Use Intelligence:
Each consultation provides intel for one specific route or mission. Reusing the same route without fresh intelligence increases risk (GM may impose penalties or increase the likelihood of inspections).
The boon can be purchased multiple times for different runs, provided the PC has sufficient Favor.
Scope Limitations:
This boon provides basic route intelligence only—it does not grant:
Physical protection or escort
Access to Syndicate-controlled trade lanes
Immunity from inspection if caught
Intelligence on high-security targets or military blockades
Standard Smuggling Consultation is usually purchased through a fixer, broker, or mid-level Syndicate enforcer in any port with significant criminal presence. The exchange is deliberately low-profile: a coded message sent to a burner account, a face-to-face meeting in a crowded market, or a data chip left under a bar stool.
The consultation itself is brisk and transactional:
"You want to move twenty crates of unlicensed bio-augments from Tanagoes Death Wish to the Vaelen Wraith Sector? Here's what you need: Exit the Rift at coordinates 47.2.89, not the main gate—there's a blind spot in the sensor array for six hours after local dawn. Transfer cargo at Refueling Rock Sigma-Nine; the dock master's name is Korven, tell him 'Maw sends its regards.' Avoid the third inspection checkpoint entirely—they've got a new AI customs drone, and it's not bribed yet. Questions? No? Good. Don't get caught, and don't come back asking for a refund if you do."
Once the intel is delivered, the PCs are on their own. Success depends on their skill, their ship, and whether they follow instructions.
Non-Combat Applications
While primarily designed for smuggling runs, Standard Smuggling Consultation has broader utility:
Refugee Evacuation: PCs helping civilians flee war zones or oppressive regimes can use smuggling routes to avoid military blockades.
Covert Infiltration: Arriving at a planet via unmonitored coordinates allows spies, saboteurs, or rescuers to bypass official entry protocols.
Avoiding Pursuit: Characters on the run from bounty hunters, Accord enforcers, or rival factions can use Syndicate routes to disappear into the Frontier.
Economic Survival: Legitimate traders facing ruinous tariffs or supply shortages may reluctantly turn to smuggling routes to keep their business afloat, slowly becoming entangled in Syndicate debt.
Societal Impact
On a systemic level, Standard Smuggling Consultation is how the Ebon Syndicate undermines galactic governance without ever firing a shot. Every successful smuggling run represents lost tax revenue for the Commission, weakened customs enforcement for the Accord, and eroded legitimacy for legal trade networks.
Port authorities know smuggling happens but lack the resources to monitor every approach vector. Chronologist Guilds prioritize temporal stability over customs enforcement. Corrupt officials take bribes because their honest wages barely cover cost-of-living in expensive Inner Sphere stations. The Syndicate exploits all of these cracks, and Standard Smuggling Consultation is the tool that turns desperate captains into repeat customers.
Over time, entire economies shift: legitimate shipping companies can't compete with smugglers' prices, ports become dependent on under-the-table trade, and the Syndicate's shadow economy grows larger than official markets. What starts as a simple consultation becomes the first step in a much deeper dependency.
Adventure Hooks
"The Double-Blind" — The Syndicate sells the same route intelligence to the PCs and to a rival crew. Both arrive at the same drop point simultaneously, forcing a tense standoff or negotiation. Was it a mistake, or is the Syndicate testing who's more ruthless?
"The Compromised Route" — The intelligence provided is accurate, but the Syndicate has secretly tipped off Accord enforcers to ambush smugglers on this route. The PCs must decide whether to abort, fight their way through, or discover who set them up and why.
"The Refugee Crisis" — A colony facing famine begs the PCs to smuggle medical supplies past a corporate blockade. The Syndicate offers intelligence... for a price. Do the PCs pay Syndicate rates to save lives, find another way, or negotiate terms that don't leave them indebted?
"The Data Breach" — Someone has leaked Syndicate route intelligence to the Accord, causing mass arrests across multiple ports. The Syndicate suspects the PCs—or wants to use them to find the real leak. Clearing their name means diving deep into underworld politics and discovering who would dare betray the Black Ledger.
Standard Smuggling Consultation is the Ebon Syndicate's gateway service—cheap, effective, and deliberately addictive. It offers just enough help to make the next illegal run seem safe, just risky enough to remind you that you need the Syndicate's expertise, and just transactional enough to leave you wondering when the real bill will come due.
In the Starfall Galaxy, survival often means working in the grey—and the Syndicate is always ready to show you the way through the dark.
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