Detailed Prior History Example

[DrSkull]

I've worked up this example of Prior History working form the rules as written, I hope it helps:

The Odyssey of Machinegun Frank

STEP 1) Create a first level character.
He is a human, mercenary, from a Hi-tech, Non-industrial planet.
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 12, Edu 10, Soc 10
As a first level, human, mercenary with Int 12, he has these skills:
Driving +4, Intimidate +4, Spot +4, T/Mechanical +4
(The homeworld skills and his list of feats aren’t important for Prior history, except that he did NOT take Connections/Underworld)
He is ready to go at age 18.

STEP 2) University
a) Getting in: Frank makes an INT check with a DC of 12 (22 minus his EDU score). He rolls a d20, gets a 12, +1 for his INT bonus so 13, he gets in.
b) Graduating: He then rolls another DC12 to see if he graduates, this time he rolls 8+1= 9 so he flunks out.
c) Results: he gets 1500 exp. Points and so is now 2nd level, and now is age 20.
d) Choices: since he is second level he must decide which class he leveled up in.
PERMITTED:
Mercenary: already a member of this class
Professional: has multiclass entry requirement Driving +4 or T/Mech +4.
Traveller: there are no requirements to multiclass into Traveller
FORBIDDEN:
Army, Navy, Marines and Scouts are forbidden since he is not in the Service Career.
Merchants: he is not working on a starship so can’t multiclass in
Belters/Barbarians: no one may multiclass into these classes.
Rogue: he does not have Connections/underworld, so can’t multiclass in
Academic: his Edu is too low
Noble: his SOC is too low

Since Frank is a street-fighting man, he decides to level up in Mercenary and leaves the university as Mercenary level 2

STEP 3: First Term
ENLISTMENT: he can enter Army, Navy, Marine, Scout prior history because they are Service classes for which he meets the requirements, or he can enter the Mercenary career because he has 1 level in the Mercenary character class. Frank joins the Army.
CAREER: He undergoes basic training and gets 1000xp. He then gets a garrison assignment, survives, gets 4000xp more, and gets promoted to Corporal for an additional 1000xp. He adds the 1500xp he previously had to the 6000xp he got for this term, giving him a total of 7500xp, making him a 4th level character. He fails his re-enlistment roll and musters out with a low passage.
LEVEL CHOICES: He has gone from 2nd to 4th level. He may rise in either Mercenary, Professional or Traveller (for the same reasons as above) or he may take his levels in Army, since he is now in the Army Prior History Career. Since this is his one chance to do so, Frank chooses Army levels and comes out as a Mercenary-2/ Army-2. He is 24 years old.

STEP 4: Second Term
ENLISTMENT CHOICES: he can enter Navy, Marine, Scout prior history because they are Service classes for which he meets the requirements, or he can enter the Mercenary career because he has 1 level in the Mercenary character class. He just left the Army so can’t go back. He decides to go for the Mercenary career.
CAREER: he gets a Security assignment, a commission, promotion and an ESXP bonus, for a whopping 9000xp this term. He once again fails re-enlistment, but because he is O2 rank, he gets 2 muster out rolls: an SMG and 10,000cr.
LEVEL CHOICES: he will become a 6th level character and has the choice of leveling up in Mercenary, Traveller, or Professional (see step 2 for reasons). He picks 1 level of Mercenary and 1 level of Traveller (looking to the future). He leaves the Mercenary company as an ex-First Lieutenant, Mercenary-3, Army-2, Traveller-1, age 28.

STEP 5: Third Term
ENLISTMENT CHOICES: he may enter Navy, Marine or Scout Services, or the Traveller service, since now he has a level in the class. He might also return to the Army, since a term has passed since he left the service.
CAREER He decides to enter the Traveller service. He gets a job as a corporate troubleshooter (i.e. company goon) and gets bonus xp, for a total of 6000xp this term. This brings his total to 22,500xp. He is age 32 and his player decides to muster him out before he faces the Age Effects at age 35. He gets one muster out roll and gets a “vehicle”, and picks up a jeep.
LEVEL CHOICES: he has made 7th level. He may choose from Mercenary, Traveller or Professional, although he was in the Traveller service, busting heads is his game so he takes his final level in Mercenary.

FINAL RUN RESUME:
“Machinegun” Frank Urlock. Human, Age 35
Mercenary level-4, Army level-2, Traveller level-1
2 years at the university of Saramid (failed course in General Arts and Sciences),
1 term in the Imperial Army, final rank corporal,
1 term in Traytor’s Raiders mercenary company, final rank First Lieutenant
1 term in Ling Standard Products Security Department
Possessions: Submachinegun, Jeep, Low Passage, 10,000 credits.

 

[Ellros]

Nice example Doc. Many thanks.

 

[Reginald]

DrSkull,

Now THAT is a well-written piece. You should put this up on the COTI web site before this post is left in the obsolete thread pile.

Just don't forget the final character stat block at the end of the article. It appears to be missing. In fact, you should have a character stat block to reflect the end of each term.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I don't have my book here at work, but I'm pretty sure that under the requirements for a Mercenary, you have to have been in one of the service classes first. So you can't begin play as a Merc. You have to go into the Army, Marines or Navy first, then after you muster out, you can multiclass into Merc.

You might want to redo your example, if this is the case. I'm pretty sure I read that in the book. I was considering taking some levels in Merc for a character I was creating, but couldn't because he had never been in any of the service classes.

 

[Ellros]

You can start as a Merc, but you cannot multiclass into it from another class unless you have been in Army, Navy, Marines. It's part of the multiclass requirement.

 

[DrSkull]

Ellros is right. There is a difference between the requirements to start out in a class (the Initial Requirements) and to multiclass into that class later (the Multiclass requirements).

So you can begin as a Mercenary as your first level even if you haven't been in the Services. But once First level is past, you must then have served a term in Army, Navy, Marines or Scouts if you want to multiclass into Mercenary.

Likewise, if you want to be a Rogue, joining is easy as your first level class, but if you want to take a level in Rogue later, as a multiclass, you must have taken the Connections/Underworld Feat.

 

[ElliottWJames]

Thank you for the post David. I've been reading back through the discussion board - only joined on Sunday - and find that the prior history and university causes all kinds of problem. Indeed if I have a criticsm of the T20 handbook is the lack of examples. I presume the authors assume that you're really familiar with the d20 system.

Elliott

 

[Shadowdancer]

Yeah, my bad (and my faulty memory). I looked at the book again this morning when I got home. You can start as a Merc.

 

[Reginald]

What if I started off as a Noble class as my starting 1st-level character. (Met the requirements.)

I go to the university (enrolled, completed both Associate and Bachelor's Degree Programs, and graduated) then accepted into OTC and completed that program during the College Term. My character gains 4000 XP, and is now a 3rd-level Noble.

I begin my first service term in the Navy. After completing this term (patrol duty assignment, survived, promoted, no decoration, no XP bonus), I gained 5000 XP. That pushes my total XP to 9000. I have now gained two character levels.

Since I have just served a term in the Navy, can I now multiclass to the Navy Service Class and become a Nbl-2/Nvy-2?

In fact, is this the proper way to go about this, calculating your character advancement between terms during Prior History?

 

[Ellros]

That is correct Reginald. you can split those 2 new levels up as you wish. Both in Navy, or however.

 

[DrSkull]

Originally posted by Reginald:

Since I have just served a term in the Navy, can I now multiclass to the Navy Service Class and become a Nbl-2/Nvy-2?

In fact, is this the proper way to go about this, calculating your character advancement between terms during Prior History?

That's the quick and easy way to do it. YOu can do it a little more detailed if you wish. For example, you start the term as Noble-2, and know you are going to end as character level 5, you can take it one step at a time, take your 3rd character level as Navy-1, pick up your third level character feat as Connections/Underworld, which makes you eligible for Rogue class, and take levels 4 and 5 as Rogue: you'd be Noble-2, Navy-1, Rogue-2.

 

[Scarlett]

Having gotten rid of all of my Traveller stuff several years ago, I was pleased to rediscover software for creating characters (a friend had shown me them awhile back). Although I enjoyed occasionally spending a few hours with a friend and working up detailed characters (many of which died during generation or were relegated to npc status for his files) while drinking a few beers, now time is more of a premium and being able to whip out a character in about 5 minutes and maybe spend 30 minutes or so elaborating on some of his earlier experiences is a valuable asset to me.

Some characters I've created over the last two or three days

Notice I also linked to "AB"s wonderful traveller site that features maps, deckplans and history. There's also links to the community.

I'd love to see more online groups that meet via chat and share uploaded maps and deckplans. I'm not adverse to tabletop rpg (I spent many an enjoyable hour socializing with friends that way) but now I'm more or less stuck in the boonies with nobody to play with.

Forgive me ... wasn't trying to hijack the thread. Just sharing my version of character generation and playing limitations.

Shoot for the stars ....

addendum ... ARGH! ... this was a T20 thread! My bad. Sorry.

 

[Reginald]

Originally posted by DrSkull:

That's the quick and easy way to do it. YOu can do it a little more detailed if you wish. For example, you start the term as Noble-2, and know you are going to end as character level 5, you can take it one step at a time, take your 3rd character level as Navy-1, pick up your third level character feat as Connections/Underworld, which makes you eligible for Rogue class, and take levels 4 and 5 as Rogue: you'd be Noble-2, Navy-1, Rogue-2.

Wait a minute, I can advance the rogue or noble class while I'm serving a term in the Navy?

Gee, how do I rationalize that? (GM wants me to write my PC's background history.)

Okay, let's say, after serving my first term in the Navy, I'm now a Nbl-2/Navy-1/Rog-1 [started hanging with the "wrong" crowd; acquired Connections (Underworld) feat].

I then re-enlisted for a second term in the Navy. Unfortunately, I have been involved in a border incident on the frontline that eruped into a full-scale battle. I barely survived but earned a Purple Heart. During the year-long battle I have been involved in a handful of missions that were scrupulous at the time. Due to my success, I was promoted to Lieutenant (O2) and awarded an MCG medal. I also picked up 1000 XP bonus. The result: I have gained 7000 XP, for a total of 18,000 XP.

I'm now a Nbl-2/Navy-2/Rog-2.

P.S. DrSkull, due to my poor creative writing skill, I give you permission to use what material I have posted to write a new Detailed Prior History Example. Sorry, the name and origin of this character are withheld.

 

[Shadowdancer]

You can justify/rationalize the Rogue levels while serving a term in the Navy several ways.

Maybe you started running with the wrong crowd -- got involved in dealing drugs or selling naval equipment on the black market.

Maybe it was part of you Naval assignment -- intelligence branch, or even a resourceful supply clerk.

Maybe you just made some contacts while hanging out in some seedy bars. You didn't ever do anything illegal, but you know people who do, and so you can act as a go-between. Someone in the Navy wants/needs something illegal, you can introduce them to the right people, what business they do is their own business.

Maybe you got set up by some people, and they blackmailed you into helping them with some illegal activities. Or the activities might not be illegal, just frowned upon by the Navy, the Imperium and/or the general public.

Maybe you took a legitimate "moonlighting" job that involves dealing with some shady characters in some seedy places -- a bounty hunter, a skip tracer, a private detective, or doing some detective work for a law firm, a bondsman, a bank or a finance company.

 

[themink]

Or that guy in engineering that pushes the cadets arround for their lunch money. He is a rogue also.

Or the naval pilot who spends more time near a roulette wheel than his fighter.

Or the Supply clerk who built the roulette wheel

Or the regular friday night game of poker, where "newbies" are invited to join in and often lose their uniform.

It's all good (fairly) clean fun

 

[DrSkull]

I'm just bumping this because in my own ego mania I think it is useful for new players to see

 

[William]

Originally posted by DrSkull:
I'm just bumping this because in my own ego mania I think it is useful for new players to see

Yes it is. Someone up thread suggested you write it up for an article for Hunter and I agree. Very useful stuff.

William

 

[Low-G Vagabond]

DrSkull,

Thank you for directing me to this thread, it answered some of my questions. I still have one point I need some clarification on. In your example, it states, "STEP 3: First Term
ENLISTMENT: he can enter Army, Navy, Marine, Scout prior history because they are Service classes for which he meets the requirements..."

My question is, specifically how does he now meet the requirements to join one of the services?
Is it because he has a prior core class...or does it have to do with another factor?

tmondragon

 

[Reginald]

Step 3 needed to be clarified, as the DrSkull's character do not have a level in a service class.

What he meant is that the character can attempt to enlist into any one of the services. Should he enlisted, survived, be awarded or not in that service, upon completing the service's first term, he can then use the XP from that term to multiclass into the selected service class.

Using the example, Frank completed the first term in the Army. He gained 6000 XP. He then level up his character and decided to take a level (or in this case, two levels) in the Army service class.

 

[DrSkull]

Originally posted by tmondragon:
DrSkull,

Thank you for directing me to this thread, it answered some of my questions. I still have one point I need some clarification on. In your example, it states, "STEP 3: First Term
ENLISTMENT: he can enter Army, Navy, Marine, Scout prior history because they are Service classes for which he meets the requirements..."

My question is, specifically how does he now meet the requirements to join one of the services?
Is it because he has a prior core class...or does it have to do with another factor?

tmondragon

I left this a little vague on purpose, since the rules aren't exactly clear.

Since there is no enlistment roll mentioned anywhere, I was assuming (and this is just my assumption) that as long as you have the "intial requirement" for a service class, and are less than 34 years old, you can enlist in that service automatically.
So: Army: Str 10+, Dex 8+, world has ground force
Marine: Str 10+ , Dex 10+, Int 8+, world has spaceforce
Navy: Int 12+. Dex 12+, world has spaceforce
Scout: Int 10+. Dex 10+, world has spaceforce

Otherwise, the only bar to automatic enlistment in a service career is the 34 year old max age.