CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: Classic Traveller (5 of 6)
THE GAME: Traveller (1977)
Book 4 - Mercenary (1978)
For this next character, we’re going to use the generation system in Book 4 - Mercenary. This book was a treasure trove for me when I read it for the first time. I was new to roleplaying, and new to Traveller, but working with the little black books and The Traveller Book. I wasn’t prepared for the sheer density of awesome in Book 4. This is sort of a recurring theme with older RPG books, though. Think about the D&D Basic and Expert books, a full RPG in what, 128 pages? Books from the 70s and early 80s were much less art-dense, and much more content-dense. The 52-page Book 4 contains expanded character generation, a system for quick mass-combat resolution, and a system for mercenary tickets. An entire new kind of campaign in a digest-sized booklet. Brilliant.
There will be some differences using this character generation - it’s far more detailed. The characters tend to have more skills than those created with Book 1, or Supplement 4. There’s a die rolling cycle for each year of each term, rather than once per 4-year term. The system also pays attention to distinct enlisted ranks, with promotion possible even when not commissioned. Let’s roll up a Mercenary character and check out the differences.
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: 8B86AB.
Holy crap. That’s a great set of characteristics. Intelligence is a point below average, but every other characteristic is above average. This individual is fit, fast, well-educated and from a noble family. If we weren’t going to specifically make a character from Book 4, this character would be a great candidate for Noble from Citizens of the Imperium, or the Imperial Navy. This character’s going to be Sir Karũgũ Mũthũngũ. Fantasy Name Generator tells me this is a Kikuyu name, from Kenya. That makes three African ethnic groups present on Regina in our game, and I would totally make a background point of that in the campaign. Much like my grandmother’s family can trace their immigration to Texas back to a specific ship, these families would be able to point to a specific colony ship or diaspora event. Maybe artifacts from these ships are sought-after heirlooms, complicated by the ships largely having been disassembled upon arrival to be used to create the initial colony… But that’s plot, we’re creating a character.
Step 2: Career
Book 4 requires a character enter the Army or the Marines normally, then replaces the meat of the process with the more complex system contained within the book. Since we already have one Army character, we’ll see if Sir Karũgũ makes it into the Marines. Normal enlistment throw is 9+, modified by a +2 for a Strength of 8. So we need to roll 7+ on the dice. 11. Done easily.
Steps 3 and 4: Terms of Service
Our hero attends Basic Training and picks up a Level 1 Gun Combat skill. He chooses the new skill from Book 4, Combat Rifleman, which applies to several weapons likely to be used by the Imperial Marines. He must choose an arm of the Marines, either Marine Infantry or Support. He chooses Marine Infantry, and rolls for Advanced Training. Regina, the homeworld we’re using for all our characters, is a Tech Level 12 world, so Sir Karũgũ adds +1 to the roll. 2+1=3. Heavy Weapons. He chooses Plasma Gun, Man Portable (PGMP-12) as his Heavy Weapon. He has now completed the first year of his four-year term. For subsequent years, we’ll roll to find a general assignment, specific assignment, and then the outcome of that year’s assignment.
Year 2, he is assigned to a unit participating in a counter-insurgency operation. 5+ needed for survival, 10. Survived. 9+ to be decorated, 11. He is awarded a Meritorious Conduct Under Fire (MCUF) for his actions. Promotion on 9+, 7. He remains a Private, even with a +1 bonus from his stellar Education. He must roll 8+ to pick up a skill, 8. He gets a skill, and decides to roll on the Marine Life table. 3, +1 STR. He goes on to his third year.
Year 3, he is once again assigned to a Marine unit. The mission this year is Ship’s Troops. Survival on 4+, 6. Decoration 12+, 7. A slow year. Promotion on 6+, 7. He makes Lance Corporal. Skill 6+, 8. He picks up a skill, and rolls on the Shipboard table and learns Vacc Suit.
Final year of his first term, he’s again assigned to a line unit, which is then sent on a police action. Survival on 5+, 11. Decoration on 8+, 12! Since this is more than 3 over the roll needed, he is awarded a Medal for Conspicuous Gallantry (MCG). Promotion on 8+, rolls a 7, but gets a +1 from Education, so he gets his Corporal’s chevrons. Skill on 7+, 6. No skill this year. Corporal Mũthũngũ seeks re-enlistment, needs a 6+, rolls a 9.
Term 2, Year 1. Special Assignment. Commando School. Roll 5+ to receive up to eight skills. He only gets 2, Recon and Instruction. He is given the option to transfer to the Commando arm of service, and takes it.
Year 2. Special Assignment again. 5- Recruiting, but he can add +1 due to Education, and chooses to do so to change this assignment to Officer Candidate School. He rolls one Command skill, one Staff skill, and one MOS skill. Vehicle- he chooses Grav Vehicle. Instruction. Gun Combat - he chooses Combat Rifleman. He is commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant.
Year 3. Special Assignment again! Military Attache/Aide. He is promoted to First Lieutenant and his Social goes up +1!
Year 4. He rolls a 5, which would be Staff, but can apply a -1 if “Bucking for Command.” So, he is commanding a Marine Commando unit, which is assigned to Internal Security. Survival on 4+, 10. No promotion is possible for two reasons- one, the Promotion roll is in parenthesis, which means only enlisted personnel may be promoted on this type of mission. Second, officers may only be promoted once per term, and he has already received a promotion this term. There is no chance for decoration on this mission, and no chance for skills. Still, this was a pretty eventful term, and The Lieutenant chooses to re-up. 7. He’s in for Term 3.
Term 3, Year 1. Wow. Special Assignment. Commando School refresher course. Successfully learned Wilderness Survival and Recon.
Year 2. Another Special Assignment. Staff College. He learns Combat Engineering and Computer.
Year 3. A command assignment, on a counter-insurgency mission. Survival 5+, 10. Decoration 9+, 9. Another MCUF. Promotion 9+, 9. He makes Captain! Skills 8+, 10. He picks up a skill, chooses the Command Skills table, and rolls 2, Gun Combat. Another level of Combat Rifleman.
Year 4. Command assignment, another counter-insurgency. Ooooh. Survival 5+… snake-eyes. Welp. It finally happened. We lost a character in character creation.
Step 5: Muster Out/Retire
No mustering out for a character who was Killed In Action. For a character with such awesome progression, a great set of skills, a high Social- lots of story fodder here. And yet it is not to be. Now, let’s be real, most GMs today would probably fudge this a bit. Even modern Traveller, at least the Mongoose 2nd Edition, considers failing a Survival check an injury which usually ejects you from your career. As a Classic Traveller GM, I’d probably let the player keep this character, but have them immediately mustered out on a medical, and probably lose a permanent point in one of the physical characteristics.
