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It's good to get your legal terms right.
Salvage was originally a concept applied to shipping, and it has a long and complex history. The basic idea is that mariners should come to the assistance of other mariners in distress, and assist in saving not only lives (as a first priority) but also, if possible, vessels and cargo. To encourage this a convention arose that if salvage of the vessel and/or cargo was successful (in full or in part), then the salvor was entitled to a reward equal to part of the value of the saved ship and cargo.
Knowing how this works in the real world means you can incorporate salvage into a game scenario. A salvage operation is an inherently risky procedure, so there are opportunities for adventure right there. Doubly so if there are hostile forces trying to either beat the heroes to the reward, or to stop them from saving the vessel at all (think evil undersea creatures...).
But also, knowing how salvage law works in our world, you can tweak it to make the situation different in a game world. It might also apply to spaceships, or to wrecks where there is no immediate danger, but you could haul the vessel or its cargo back to the original owner. Or maybe there is a stronger obligation to help a vessel in distress, and refusing to help save its cargo is a crime. Or on the other hand maybe there is no agreed incentive for people to help vessels in distress, and you have to broadcast a reward offer to encourage people to come to your assistance.
Changing how a law works in a campaign world can provide interesting roleplaying opportunities that feel otherworldly and fantastic compared to our own familiarity with real world law.
Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)
Teedo looks like a frog faced dude that's been stuffed into a crusty suit. And is also a jerk it seems. It'd be understandable if BB-8 looked like R2 here and looked like a broken down droid, but BB-8 looks to be in pretty good shape here so he wouldn't have been salvaged, unless there was jawa party ambush that left him behind.
I'm a little surprised Teedo is just letting Rey run up and slice BB-8 out. If they bothered to net a droid and drag it back, I'd think they would demand payment of some kind. On the other hand, that would definitely be slave trading then, and given the number of tick marks in Rey's abode, she might well known enough to get Teedo kicked out if he raises any issues with the rescue. Maybe the GM is just trying to knead the party back together as quick as he can, and this seemed like a reasonable way to do it.
So if BB-8 didn't get a pizza cutter, what would he have put the points into besides storage compartments and enhanced mobility? Shock probe? Built-in repair tools? Pie-loting bonuses? Supreme hacking?
Commentary by Keybounce (who has not seen the movie)
We are reminded again that in this universe, droids are people too.
Interesting that Teedo does not challenge Rey, and other than a small amount of words, does not stop her from cutting the net. In fact, he brings the droid by her home - he wanted her to take this droid. Which...
Ok, I'm having a serious problem coming up with even a half-way decent reason why this salvage person would bring a droid to someone's house, and then not even complain or stop them from freeing the droid, and letting it go. Maybe this was brought to Rey as a gift? Was this originally a "Oh, my love, take this offering!" scene?
That would actually make sense. I don't see how that would fit the pattern / Episodes II and V. Well, actually, Episode II was supposed to be a love story, so... maybe?
The reference to a pizza cutter reminds me of a comic someone made, with Lego bricks, showing the assembly of R2-D2, and somehow after putting everything else in, not having room for a voice synthesizer box. After all, R2 (played by Pete right here) had these things, would have had a pizza cutter or something, and clearly was the superior robot.
Transcript
Rey: Teedo!! Let him go!
Teedo: He’s my salvage.
Rey: Salvage applies to inanimate objects, not droids.
Kylo Ren: Yeah, that’s slavery.
Rey: I cut the net with my knife.
BB-8: Thanks.
Rey: Buy a pizza cutter with those points next time.
BB-8: I wouldn’t do something that cheesy.