CT Only: Am I forever doomed to play Merchents?

[Sir Brad]

wile at a session for an other game I decided to pump out some characters for a posible LBB1-3 & Sup 4 game, not knowing what I wanted to play I rolled Draft to pick the service I was going to try for, seven out of Ten came back Merchent, two Other and one Marine, one of the Others and the Marine failed to enlist, and ended up drafted in to the Merchants.

over 30 years playing Trav across all editions and around 70% of my characters have bean Merchants and near 90% of my successful ones have bean Merchants.

I think the universe is trying to tell me somthing?

a few samples

787998-?
Merchant, Terms 5, Rank 3
Pilot -3, Navigation -2, Vacc-Suit -2, J-o-T -1 Streetwise -1, Air/Raft -0, Computer -0
Small Blade -1, 0-g Weapons -0
20,000cr, Blade, Snub Revolver

797BA9-?
Merchant, Terms 3, Rank 3
Vacc-Suit -2, Admin -1, Medical -1, Seward -1, Air/Raft -0, Computer -0
Large Blade -1, 0-g Weapons -1
55,000cr, Accelerator Rifle

8C9C85-B
Merchant, Terms 1, Rank 1
Computer -1, Electronics -1, Engineering -0, Mechanical -0, Vacc-Suit -0, Wheeled Vehicle -0
Small Blade -1
Telepathy-6, Clairvoyance -3, Telekinesis -5, Special Electroknesis -8, Special: Technopathy -6
40,000cr, Blade

596854-?
Other, Terms 2
J-o-T -1, Forgery -1, Streetwise -1, Air/Raft -0, Computer -0, Vacc-Suit -0
Brawling -1
11,000cr

7A8D74-?
Merchent, Terms 1, Rank 1
Bribery -1, Forgery -1, Streetwise -1, Computer -0, Wheeled Vehicle -0, Vacc-Suit -0
40,000cr

9AA98B-?
Merchent, Terms 1, Rank 1
Air/Raft -0, Computer -0, Vacc-Suit -0
Brawling -2, Small Blade -1
1000cr, Blade

 

[AsenRG]

Is it a hint at a career choice, one wonders?

 

[whartung]

Sounds like you need different dice.

 

[robject]

Sounds like you need different dice.

+1

Looks like Sir Brad is destined to play merchants.



In my games, players who already know what they want to be, typically get to be that, because that's what makes them happy.

On the other hand, when a player wants to be surprised, I'll let them submit to the draft.

 

[pendragonman]

Merchants are ok. Someone has to pay for the ammunition. :smirk:

I almost always ended up with Marines, so about 2 decades ago I just went with where Fate is sending me anyway. So now when I have the choice I just go with Marines because that is where the draft will put me anyway.

 

[flykiller]

within each branch is a lot of room for special tasking. "merchant" might include q-boat, colony support, new-market-development, corporate warfare, and covert ops.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Depending on which version of chargen or Traveller you use...

Play an 18 year old greenhorn
Select a 2nd career
Play a drifter (enrollment is automatic).
Never enroll in a career. Always choose the Draft
Use a point-buy system.
Be an Agent with a cover career
Be a Secret SolSec agent

 

[Sir Brad]

thing is I was changing dice between characters, and got lots of other numbers when not rolling for Service, the "5's" only realy kept coming up when rolling for service.

should post the other four characters to prove my point, and give folks more merchents for when they have run through that section of 1001 characters.

 

[Sir Brad]

and the rest of them

9CC886
Merchant Terms 1 Rank 0
Bribery -1, Engineering -1
1000cr

89AAB7
Merchant Terms 7 Rank 4
Admin -1, Air/Raft -1, Medical -1, Streetwise -1, Seward -1
Gunnery -1, Large Blade -1, 0g Weapons -1
100,000cr, Cutlass, Snub Revolver, 2X Low Passage

797B87
Merchant Terms 6 Rank 3
JoT -1, Navigation -2, Pilot -1,Seward -1, Streetwise -1, Vacc-Suit -1
Large Blade -1, 0g Weapons -2
120,000cr, Cutlass, Snub Revolver, Low Passage

A89BB7
Merchant Terms 5 Rank 4
Computer -1, Electronics -1, Engineering -1, Mechanical -1, Medical -1, Navigation -2, Pilot -1, Vacc-Suit -1
100,000, Cutlass, Snub Revolver