[BasicT5] Basic Chargen

[robject]

Here's how I do chargen when generating "throwaway" or "lite" characters, which are nevertheless acceptably canonical for Traveller5:

(0) generate UPP
(1) skip homeworld determination and homeworld skill(s)
(2) skip initial education
(3) skip service branch selection
(4) turn all medals into generic "Medal" (or "MCUF") -- no need to flip to p.109.

In this way, you end up with one page for chargen -- the career page -- plus the skills chapter for reference of course.

Example: Thag the Barbarian

Generate UPP: 8A7484
Skip homeworld stuff: ok.
Skip pre-career education: ok.
Determine career: Being a barbarian, he's going to go for Soldier. He flips to page 90 for the career process, and keeps a thumb in page 142 for skills.

To enlist, he has to roll Str or less. He rolls a 4, and is in.

He starts out as an Enlisted Soldier, rank S1, and receives a Fighting knowledge. Thag chooses Blades. He likes blades.

Skip service branch selection: ok.
Risk & Reward:
Thag chooses Dex for his first characteristic for risk, and rolls Risk=9: he successfully doesn't get injured. He then rolls Reward=6; a medal. Probably taken from the slain body of a particularly nasty enemy.

Promotion is C2. Thank goodness the Soldier career rewards the quick! He rolls a 3 and is promoted to (Enlisted) S2.

Officer Promotion is Soc + Medals -- not likely. He rolls a 10. Better luck next time.

Continue is 7, he rolls an 8. Well, that's okay.

Thag is eligible for five skills: four for completing one term, and one for his promotion to Corporal. He rolls all five times on the Combat table: 1, 1, 5, 4, and 2, i.e. Fighter, Fighter, Gunner, Stealth, and Vacc Suit.

For his second receipt of Fighter, he chooses Unarmed.
For his third receipt of Fighter, he finally gets a level in Fighter.
For Gunner, he chooses Turrets.
Stealth is Stealth, and Vacc Suit is Vacc Suit.

Skillset. His final skill set is:

Fighting-1 (Blades-1, Unarmed-1)
Gunner-0 (Turrets-1)
Stealth-1
Vacc Suit-1

Mustering Out. Thag is eligible for one mustering out benefit. He rolls a 1 on the money table, receiving one Low Passage.

Thag also receives a weapon befitting his Blade skill. Of course, this is an ancestral sword, crafted at a high tech level, light as a feather, cuts enemies like butter, and filigreed with the strong lines of his homeworld's glyphs.

 

[Hesperos]

I was going to ask about your basic T5 rules, and here's chargen. Thanks!

Specifically, I was going to ask how people have simplified T5 to recapture the CT experience. As a new player coming from Mongoose then back to Classic, the dice pool is pretty alien (no pun intended) to me. I like some of what T5 has to offer (life event suggestions, advanced book 6 star system generation) but am thinking about taking what I like and pulling it back to CT. Before doing so, I'd be interested in reading what others have done to bring CT current, so to speak.

 

[Baltech Budapest]

Cheers Rob

This is how I intend to do it with my kids.

 

[pendragonman]

Easy enough to get homeworld skills. Use the grid for Spinward planets and apply a different name.

And exactly what would college education for a barbarian look like? Did he attend Idaho University on a football scholarship or something?

 

[robject]

Specifically, I was going to ask how people have simplified T5 to recapture the CT experience.

A few hours after I posted, I figured that all I'd have to do is limit skill receipts to one per term and it might work fine with Classic Traveller. Limit skill receipts to two per term and it might work fine with Mongoose Traveller.

 

[Zutroi]

Easy enough to get homeworld skills. Use the grid for Spinward planets and apply a different name.

And exactly what would college education for a barbarian look like? Did he attend Idaho University on a football scholarship or something?

Those would be "Vandals", not barbarians...

 

[pendragonman]

Those would be "Vandals", not barbarians...

To a Roman, one barbarian is as good as another.

 

[robject]

Example #2

Example #2 - Kaliiside the Merchant

(0) generate UPP
(1) skip homeworld determination and homeworld skill(s)
(2) skip initial education
(3) skip service branch selection
(4) turn all medals into generic "Medal" (or "MCUF") -- no need to flip to p.109.

0. UPP = 99B68B. Wow, knighted.
1. OK.
2. OK.

Page 88 in the book.

This young knightess (?) goes forth to become a world-class merchant. Balking at the officer's test (roll Int? Iffy!), she elects to start as a Temp (automatic!).

Risk and Reward. Kalliside chooses End (11) this term: 2D<=11; Kalliside rolls a 7 for Risk, and a 7 for Reward. She gets one Ship Share as a Reward. Yeah! (Of course, Daddy could probably buy her a ship, but she wants to EARN one herself).

Promotion is a plain-jane 9, but with a Mod+2 if Int 6+, for which she just qualifies. 2D<=9+2. She rolls a 4, and becomes an able Spacehand (R1).

Officer Promotion is (Terms x 2), with a Mod+3 if Int 8+, for which she does NOT qualify. (Terms x 2) is a 2... but it's worth trying.

She rolls a 7. Better luck next time!

To continue, roll Str(9) or less on 2D. She rolls a 9, and just manages to miss a wave of layoffs.

She gets 4 term skills, plus 1 skill for her promotion. She decides to focus on Space Travel, making 4 rolls there, plus 1 roll on the Personal Development table. She rolls a 3 (Medic), 2 (Pilot; she picks Spacecraft ACS), 3 (Medic again), 4 (Sensors). On the P.D. table she rolls a 1 (Str+1). Her UPP is A9B68B.

For her second term, she chooses Strength(10) for Risk and Reward. She rolls an 8 for Risk and a 10 for Reward; both successes. She gains 2 more ship shares, for a total of 3 shares.

Rating Promotion is 9 with a Mod+2: 2D<11. She rolls a 7 and is promoted to R1 (Steward Apprentice).

Officer Promotion is (Terms x 2): 2D < 4. Kaliiside rolls a 5. Nice try.

Continuation is 10 or less; she rolls a 9, and is good.

Skill eligibility, as before, is 4 term skills plus 1 skill for her promotion. She spends three of them on the Space Travel table. She rolls a 4 (Sensors), 5 (Steward), and 1 (Astrogator). She spends her remaining 2 skills on the Trade table. She rolls a 5 (Steward), and a 1 (Broker).

For her third term, Kaliiside chooses Dexterity(9) for Risk and Reward. She rolls a 5 and a 9 -- both successes. She now has 6 ship shares total.

Rating Promotion goes as usual, rolling an 8. She is now a Drive Helper (R2).

Officer Promotion is (Terms x 3): 2D < 6. She rolls a 5 and becomes a Fourth Officer (M1), gaining an automatic level in Steward skill.

Continuation is 10 or less; she rolls an 11, and is mustered out.

Kaliiside is eligible for 4 term skills, 1 rating promotion skill receipt, and 1 officer promotion skill receipt. She pours four rolls into Space Travel, one into Trade, and one into Business. The Space Travel rolls produce 5 (Steward), 2 (Pilot; she again chooses Spacecraft ACS), 1 (Astrogator), 2 (Pilot). The Trade roll produces 1 (Broker). The Business roll produces a 6 (Comms).

Kaliiside gets 3 mustering out benefits for her 3 terms. She decides to roll once on the Money table (DM+1 for officer rank), and rolls a 2+1=3: a Middle Passage. She rolls twice on the Benefits table (DM+1 for officer rank), and rolls a 1+1=2, a Wafer Jack, and a 6+1=7, another Ship Share.


Kaliiside (A9B68B) is 30 years old, a retired Merchant Fourth Officer, with a Middle Passage, a Wafer Jack, and 7 ship shares.

Astrogator-2
Broker-2
Comms-1
Medic-2
Pilot-1 (Spacecraft ACS-2)
Sensors-2
Steward-4

 

[TWTP]

At the moment, I'm inclined to use the CT book 4/MT Character Gen system (and clones) but adding in the life skills, home world, life events, and other add on's from T5.
Oh and the new Education stuff from T5.

But the actual Character Gen from T5 as is, even with errata, is going to require that I reprint the needed tables and pages into one smaller "book" just so I can have the tables etc I need close at hand. That is the nice bit about having a searchable electronic version.

By the way, When is that players handbook going to get started/Beta-ed/Printed?

 

[robject]

[...] the actual Character Gen from T5 as is, even with errata, is going to require that I reprint the needed tables and pages into one smaller "book" just so I can have the tables etc I need close at hand. That is the nice bit about having a searchable electronic version.

By the way, When is that players handbook going to get started/Beta-ed/Printed?

I have no data on it. And even if I did, Don would kick me in the shins and scream "NO DATES!!!!"

I find that dropping some of the extras around chargen reduces my needs to the career gen pages (pp84-94, omitting Craftsman and Functionary) and page 142 (the skill list).

Although, homeworld skills sure are helpful.

 

[robject]

Sharik the Scout (p.87)

UPP = A75588

To begin, Sharik needs to roll a 6 or less. Since I want her to be a Scout, I'm just going to say we rolled a 2.

Term 1.

For Risk and Reward, Sharik is going to bite the bullet and roll on End, which is a disturbingly low 5. On Risk, she rolls an 8, sustaining 3 points of damage to End. She rolls a 3 on 1D for recovery, regaining all her lost points. For Reward, she rolls a 3, and so she makes a Discovery, to be decided upon later with the referee.

Sharik is eligible for 8 skills. She rolls twice on the Personal Development table, for a 3 and a 5: End+1 and Edu+1. Her UPP is now A76598. She rolls four times on the Exploration table, for 5, 1, 2, and 3: Vacc suit, Survey, Survival, and Hostile Environment. She rolls two times on the Courier table, for 3 and 3: two levels in Computer.

To continue, she must roll a 5 or less. She rolls a 5.

Term 2.

This time, Sharik chooses Strength (10) for Risk and Reward. She rolls an 11 on Risk, but one point of damage is never permanent. She rolls a 5 on Reward, making another Discovery.

Again Sharik rolls for 8 skills: twice on Personal Development (2 and 4: Dex+1 and Int+1), two times on Courier (1 and 5: Comms and Gunner[Turrets]), and four times on Contact (6, 4, 3, 6: Streetwise, Teacher, Fighting[Beams], Streetwise). Her UPP is now A86698.

To continue, she must roll a 5 or less. She rolls a 5, again.

Term 3.

Sharik chooses Dexterity(6) for Risk and Reward. She rolls a 12 on Risk (ouch!!!), but gets lucky and rolls 1D for 6 points of healing. She rolls a 4 on Reward, so ends up with another Discovery.

For her 8 skills, she rolls four times on Courier, two times on Contact, and two times on Vocation. Her Courier rolls are 6, 4, 5, and 1: Starship Skill (she chooses Pilot[ACS] of course), JOT, Gunner[Turrets again], and Comms. Her Contact rolls are 2, and 3: Sensors, and Fighting[Blades]. Her Vocation rolls are 5 and 4: Engineer[Power Plant], and Starship Skill (she chooses Astrogator).

To continue, she must roll a 5 or less. She rolls a 7, and is out.

Mustering Out. Sharik can roll 3 times on the mustering out tables. She selects all three rolls on the benefits table (using her 3 terms as a DM), and rolls a 4, 3, and 6 -- modified to 7, 6, and 9: one Ship Share, Int+1, and Soc+1.

An automatic benefit is one weapon of her choice based on her skillset -- she chooses a Laser Rifle.


Sharik, age 30 (Scout-3) A86799. 3 Discoveries, 1 Ship Share, Laser Rifle

Astrogator-1
Comms-2
Computer-2
Engineer-0 (Power Plant-1)
Fighting-0 (Beams-1, Blades-1)
Gunner-0 (Turrets-2)
Hostile Environment-1
JOT-1
Pilot-0 (ACS-1)
Sensors-1
Streetwise-2
Survey-1
Survival-1
Teacher-1
Vacc Suit-1

 

[SanDragon]

I thought taking Courier under Scout meant no risk/reward?

And could not roll on Exploration skills table?

Or possibly, Contact skills table?

Conversely, taking Exploration meant no Courier skills...?

 

[robject]

Lan the Scribbler

I'll add in homeworld skills now (p.82).

Scholar (p.84)

UPP 898A89 (wow, that's nice)

Homeworld: Earth. Skills: Trader, Streetwise

To begin, Lan must throw under EDU (8). It's a 6; he's in. Since he has EDU 8, he's automatically got the rank of Scholar 1, "Lecturer". Since I shunned education, he doesn't have his major specified, so I have to pick one now from the bottom of page 100. I'll pick Broker as a major -- and I'll pick Bureaucrat as a minor.

This means he starts his career with Broker-4 and Bureaucrat-2.

Term 1 Risk and Reward this time around is on INT (10). He rolls a 5 (ok), and rolls a 4 on reward. He publishes.

The Promotion throw is INT (10), +1 for his publication. He rolls a 3; promotion comes easy, and Lan is now an Instructor of Brokering.

The Continuation throw is EDU (8), +1 for his publication. He rolls a 5, no sweat.

Lan is eligible for 4 term skills, 1 promotion skill, and +2 on his Major (Broker). He rolls twice on World Travel (1 and 1 = Seafarer-2), and three times on Conflict (4, 3, 4 = Stealth twice, and Flyer - he chooses Grav).

Term 2 Risk and Reward is on DEX (9). He rolls a 7 (ok), then a 10 -- and fails to publish.

The Promotion throw is INT (10), +1 for his publication. He rolls a 10, and squeaks by. He is now an Assistant Professor of Brokering.

The Continuation throw is EDU (8), +1 for his publication. He rolls a 4, no sweat.

Lan is eligible for 4 term skills, 1 promotion skill, and +2 on his Major (Broker). He rolls twice on General (2 and 3 = Survival, Hostile Environment), twice on Conflict (5, 4 = Gunner (he chooses Turrets) and Stealth), and once on World Travel (6 = Vacc Suit).

Term 3 Risk and Reward is STR (8). He rolls a 3 (ok), then an 8 (barely ok), resulting in a second publication.

The Promotion throw is INT (10), +2 for his two publications. He rolls a 10, no problem. He is now an Associate Professor of Brokering.

The Continuation throw is EDU (8), +2 for his two publications. He rolls a 12 and is out.

Lan is eligible for 4 term skills, 1 promotion skill, and +2 on his Major (Broker). He rolls twice on General (1 and 3 = Survey, Hostile Environment), twice on Conflict (1 and 1 = Fighting - he chooses Beams and Blades), and once on World Travel (4 = Flyer, he chooses Grav).

Lan is eligible for three mustering out rolls, DM+ his scholar rank (+4). He picks one roll on the cash table (6+4=10 = Cr 50,000) and two rolls on the Benefits table (2+4=6 = END+1; 1+4=5 = DEX+1).

Lan 8A9A89 Cr50,000 Scholar-4, 2 publications

Broker-10
Bureaucrat-2
Fighting-0 (Beams-1, Blades-1)
Flyer-0 (Grav-2)
Gunner-0 (Turrets-1)
Hostile Environment-2
Seafarer-2
Stealth-3
Streetwise-1
Survey-1
Survival-1
Trader-1
Vacc Suit-1

 

[Dagrill]

I thought taking Courier under Scout meant no risk/reward?...?

Hi,

I find it hard to believe that in the OTU no pirate has ever attacked an X-Boat, or an X-Boat has never mis-jumped, or otherwise found itself in peril.

Still I suppose it is relatively safe, although personally I think assignment to a Tigress is probably the best chance of ensuring survival (& promotion if you butter up the CO).

Kind Regards

David