Right now, the only sure way to get a Black Market ID is through a hotel. But if that fails (due to sting operation) then all you can do is hope you find a random ID.
What are some other ways that the player should be able to get an ID? Here are some random ideas:
- Maybe if you make friends with Centauri Warlords in Eridani you can get a mission (or something) that leads to a Black Market contact.
- You encounter a stranded outlaw freighter and help them.
- After selling to the maintenance level on a Corporate Enclave, you get introduced to a Black Market contact. Or perhaps a Black Market member gets annoyed because you're selling on their turf and you have to kill them or do a deal or something.
What ideas do you have? I'm looking for something that meets the usual criteria:
- It requires some kind of skill or decision from the player.
- It fits into the scenario and the universe.
- It's fun for the player to do.
If you have some combat experience (eg are a gladiator, Korolov escort or militia/military member) you will be offered bounty hunts when you dock at a BM station, the first success will get you a BM ID. The tradeoff is that the targets of the bounty hunt are sometimes corporate, fellow pilgrims or traders, so you have to kill your target far off from any commonwealth/corp patrols or stations or you will get yourself a criminal record.
I like the reverse of the corporate command mission to terminate outlaw freighters taking cargo out of the system: make it out of the system/ to a predetermined contact prior to getting terminated by a motivated corporate security agent.
I like the 'sell to the Corporate Enclave' idea. If you sell enough illegals there or sell a big enough amount at one time there is a chance of being introduced to the Black Market.
Use rumors to give players an idea of what is required.
Or maybe docking at a non-Commonwealth station with a big amount of illegals in your cargo hold might give a chance of a BM agent offering you an ID. Maybe you have to pay for it? Or deliver/smuggle something to earn it?
Heck, docking at a Commonwealth station with a lot of illegals could randomly cause a corrupt customs agent to point you in the "right" direction. Something like "wow, you must be new to this business. Look, you wanna take these over to the Black Market Station in this system. Tell ya what, I'll give you an ID for 10k creds, or half your illegal goods. Your pick. Otherwise I'll have to impound the lot."
From discord:
Rework the Katami rescue mission with paths to a black market ID if you go along with the BM or otherwise force them to give up.
It could be a possibility from one of the early Benedict missions - ?Stormhound? I think could give the player a nudge toward a station where the player could do some kind of mission that involves having to smuggle goods past some kind of patrol at another station, say, some Centurion that was specially sent down to find some smuggler and is running some circuit the player has to avoid, or maybe chase down a rouge Molotok? That would give players a clear, but difficult, pathway.