CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: Classic Traveller (2 of 6)
THE GAME: Traveller (1977)
The Traveller Book (1982)
Photo by Wayne’s World of Books
The picture above is The Traveller Book, a tome I was gifted when I was in the sixth grade. My mom had mentioned to her coworkers that I was playin D&D, and they sent me a metric ton of gaming books - chiefly Traveller, and old Judge’s Guild products. While I had the Little Black Books, The Traveller Book (I had the softcover on the left) was all three of those books in a single letter-sized volume. I took it to school, I pored over it while watching Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and I spent countless hours rolling up characters and creating spaceships. Traveller handed players a set of tools, and stepped back to see what would be wrought. The Traveller Book is still one of my favorite single-volume RPGs, to this day.
Last time, we generated a Merchant 4th Officer, let’s see who arrives at the starport pub to join the party.
Traveller Character Generation
Generate Characteristics
Roll to enter Career
Terms of Service
Another term? Go to 3.
Muster Out/Retire
Step 1: Generate Characteristics
Throw 2D6 six times in order: A857AA.
At first glance, the physical attributes are reminiscent of our last character, above average Strength and Dex, with a relatively low Endurance. Intelligence is dead average, but this character has an excellent Education and Social Standing. Our randomly generated identity is a woman named Kaiah Thammavong.
Step 2: Career
Kaiah’s UPP of A857AA gives her bonuses if she attempts to join the Navy, Marines, Army, Scouts, or Merchants. We’ll see what a random roll yields- 4, Scouts. Kaiah needs 7+ to enter the Scouts, modified by +2 for her Strength of A, and +1 for her Intelligence of 7. So the dice must show a 4+, and a 3 is thrown! Kaiah must submit to the draft. 3- Kaiah is drafted into the Army!
Steps 3 and 4: Terms of Service
Since she was drafted, Kaiah needs not check for enlistment into the Army. Survival requires 5+, with a +2 for high Education. So, 3+ on the dice: 8. Easily survived. Re-enlistment requries an unmodified 7+: 8. Kaiah can stay in the Army if she so wishes. As a draftee, she cannot apply for a commission this term. Kaiah receives Rifle-1 for enlisting in the Army, and gets 2 skills for her first term. She decides to roll once on the Personal Development table, and once on the Service Skills table. 6, and 6. Kaiah learns Brawling, and Gun Combat. She must specify what kind of Gun Combat, so she takes an additional level in Rifle. Trooper Thammavong is now 22 years old, and chooses to re-enlist.
Survival roll is 10, once again easily made. Kaiah must roll 5+ to receive an officer’s commission: 7. She goes “Green to Gold” and is commissioned a Lieutenant. She may now test for promotion, needing a 6+, modified down to 5+ for her high Education. 8! Kaiah makes Captain her first tour as an officer. She checks for re-enlistment: 11! She can stay on in the Army if she so chooses. As an Army Lieutenant, she receives Submachinegun-1 as a bonus skill. She gets one skill for her 2nd Term, one for achieving commission, and one for being promoted. Three skills total. She chooses to put one roll on Personal Development, one on Service Skills, and one of the Advanced Education table that she can access due to her high Education. 5, 1, 3. +1 Education, ATV, and Tactics. She is shaping up to be a fine mechanized infantry officer, the kind that is well-respected by her troops because she is prior enlisted. She chooses to remain in the Army, and see what fortune her service continues to bring.
A 7 means continued survival, but with a 4 for promotion she remains a Captain. A 6 means the Army no longer requires her services after this term, so she will be mustered out of the service after completing her third term of service, at age 30. She gets one skill for this final term, and chooses Advanced Education (the upper table) once again. 5- Leader!
Step 5: Muster Out/Retire
Captain Thammavong has reached the end of her active service in the Army. She receives three benefits for her terms of service, plus one more for being a Rank-2 officer. She decides to go two rolls on the Cash table, and two on the Benefits table. 3 and 3, for a total of 20,000 credits in the bank. 1 and 2 on the Benefits table grants a Low Passage and a +1 Intellgence. A Low Passage is a ticket to travel aboard an interstellar vessel, but in a frozen state like the hypersleep pods in the Alien movies.
So, with a fair nest egg of hard cash and skills in Leader and Tactics, Captain Kaiah Thammavong might just find gainful employment in the mercenary trade.
