[geoschmo]

(So, they are what? empaths?) That opens a lot of possibilities. So you could buy ships (at a high price) with racial tech that you don't have. What a nice surprise for your opponent!

Yep, and you could contract with the TF to build racial facilities on you planets. Temporal vacation facilities, organic gestation vats, psychic training facilities. Since these are all things that you cannot accquire the tech for unless you have that racial trait, they would provide a steady flow of trade bait for the TF.

Of course players can do that without the TF, but there isn't always an empire with that tech handy, and you may not be on good terms with them of course. A player might hesitate to provide these items to another that might turn on them later. But the TF would not have such political considerations, only whether or not it was a good deal.

I don't know what you would call the TF. Empaths is as good as any. Since for the most part they wouldn't be researching but accuiring technology through other means, you could just say they were master traders.

Geoschmo

[ June 11, 2002, 18:23: Message edited by: geoschmo ]