Low Soc character?

[Leitz]

SOC 3 is pretty easy to explain most of the time. Remember, a lot of people are still poor. You have a 38 year old homeless person with great social skills in a highly limited niche. If the war is over and trying to be forgotten he won't fit in well at all. Since he started at a 3 then he's from some marginalized group and never really learned the skills to raise himself up. Just because you were in for 20 years doesn't automatically change who you are; you have to want to change.

Perhaps he doesn't want to change? Spinward Melungeons, body time for credits trade, drifters and grifters, swamp rats and belter boys. It really depends on what you want to do with him; does he want to overcome for himself or to use his advanced stats and capabilities to raise the status of his birth social group?

 

[Condottiere]

Social standing is give and take.

You don't do anything extraordinary to lower it and people give you your perceived due.

 

[Leitz]

Social standing is give and take.

You don't do anything extraordinary to lower it and people give you your perceived due.

Disagree. Jail time would lower it today, and you can work the perceptions to riase or lower. Long term raises would require a lot of active work on perceptions or actual change in status that is recognized socially; income, position, fame, etc.

 

[atpollard]

Reality can be more tricky.

What is the SOC of Jay-Z?

Former Street Hussler.
Married to Beyonce.
$520 million net worth.
Still stabs the competition.

 

[Alduin]

SOC 3 is pretty easy to explain most of the time. Remember, a lot of people are still poor. You have a 38 year old homeless person with great social skills in a highly limited niche. If the war is over and trying to be forgotten he won't fit in well at all. Since he started at a 3 then he's from some marginalized group and never really learned the skills to raise himself up. Just because you were in for 20 years doesn't automatically change who you are; you have to want to change.

Perhaps he doesn't want to change? Spinward Melungeons, body time for credits trade, drifters and grifters, swamp rats and belter boys. It really depends on what you want to do with him; does he want to overcome for himself or to use his advanced stats and capabilities to raise the status of his birth social group?

Poor doesn't work either because since he spent 5 terms in an army branch, he gets a yearly 10,000 retirement fund. Per central supply catalogue (mongoose) that can fund a "high" lifestyle suitable for soc 8.

My gm and I decided that it was nothing my character did, rather his parents were convicted of some galaxy wide crime during his term in the navy. We are still deciding what exactly that is in his universe.

 

[The Pakkrat]

I find that if the character is a Vargr and uses Charisma as C6, there is a mutable extra dimension to character progression and development. While not truly applicable to this thread of Low Social Standing, the Charisma stat allows for upward and downward changes at a higher frequency.

The added challenge and enjoyment of seeing a character's self-esteem, their dress for improving self-image, and interactions using their Charisma is more rewarding than the almost static trait of Social Standing. Added to skill training, the "Level-Up" of Traveller, one can enjoy the clawing one's way up from Cha 3 to eventually become Alpha of an adventuring group of Travellers, Prospectors, Scouts, a naval ship, a Pack of Vargr, or whatever the scope of your game is set.

There is also the story behind the risk of having too much Charisma and over-inflated ego that then pits the expectations of a high-Cha character's followers, subordinates, etc. upon their leader. Then the goal is not to gain as much Charisma as one can as it can lead to conquest, jihad, despotism and other risks of high-Cha. This double-edged sword becomes a balancing act in which the Charisma character must play the middle ground, not too low as to lose their credibility, but not too high as to become the next messiah of the small-unit of followers.

The saving grace of Charisma is that it is a small-unit attribute. It will only allow its use in interactions that are generally limited to one's Pack, family, crew or other localized unit. The other grace of Charisma is that one can plummet easily if one rests on one's laurels and does nothing to maintain such loyalty in the group.

For the Traveller player, Charisma can be the fluctuating attribute that adds a spectrum of here-and-now status and the chaos of self-image versus how others see the character. Vargr players are the kind that enjoy the variable and applicable attribute of Charisma versus the near-crystallized attribute of Social Standing.

Via satellite, this is the Pakkrat for Net-7 News. Tomorrow's news today!

 

[flykiller]

Reality can be more tricky.

What is the SOC of Jay-Z?

Former Street Hussler.
Married to Beyonce.
$520 million net worth.
Still stabs the competition.

nothing tricky about it at all. in terms of civilization, 1. "criminal." in street terms, 12. "he da man!"

 

[Aldan Romar]

We had an Ex-Imperial Marines Sergeant Major with a SOC of 2.

We explained this by building up a character that is concentrating on the basics - living a simple disciplined life, following a rigid regime of workouts, duty, sleep. Sleeping on a cot in engineering, drinking water, and eating protein bars. His only 'hobby' were small and 'not so small' arms.

 

[Leitz]

We had an Ex-Imperial Marines Sergeant Major with a SOC of 2.

We explained this by building up a character that is concentrating on the basics - living a simple disciplined life, following a rigid regime of workouts, duty, sleep. Sleeping on a cot in engineering, drinking water, and eating protein bars. His only 'hobby' were small and 'not so small' arms.

This sounds pretty cool! I'd add hydroponics for vegetable matter; maybe he took leave at communes to learn to live a simple life mentally, as well. Weave mat sandals, throw plasma around.

 

[Barrel]

That was my first idea. The character was "enhanced" in some manner, it's fairly obvious to everyone, and it's "socially odious".

My next idea was that the character is an "idiot savant" of sorts. They're a "born" pilot with incredible innate gunnery skills and minimal "life" skills/experience. They were identified early in life, shunted into very specific 24/7 vocational training, and lived a "life" with very narrow horizons during their time in service.

In other words, Ender Wiggin.

Or Sheldon Cooper!

 

[nobby-w]

So I went through character creation on mgt and have stats of

8F9DF3

5 term Full Navy character with awesome pilot/gunnery skills. No negative life events.

What could be a good explaination of SOC 3?

How about one of:

• Scholarship boy from way out on the frontier or off the streets. Did well for himself, but still has a really broad accent that makes him sound like a hillbilly or a petty criminal. He's tolerated during war time but in peacetime he's 'not one of us.'
• Fall from grace - accused of a crime (maybe a war crime) he didn't commit (or maybe did) and is a social pariah because he's recognised as the guy who did xyz ...
• Born of a minor race who will always be viewed as inferior by most imperial citizens. Good at his job but looked down on.
• Ex-convict with really obvious prison or mob tattoos. Maybe drafted into the navy as an option to going into a long sentence.
• Obviously autistic/aspergers mannerisms that make him come across as a bit weird to most people. 'He's a damn good pilot, but not command material'. Once you're at a certain level of seniority it's up or out.
• Knocked up the Admiral's daughter ...

 

[Ulsyus]

SOC 3 is pretty easy to explain most of the time. Remember, a lot of people are still poor. You have a 38 year old homeless person with great social skills in a highly limited niche. If the war is over and trying to be forgotten he won't fit in well at all. Since he started at a 3 then he's from some marginalized group and never really learned the skills to raise himself up. Just because you were in for 20 years doesn't automatically change who you are; you have to want to change.

I second this. Just because a serviceman/woman spends time in uniform, how they behave in the services doesn't necessarily dictate how they are when they change skins. A competent and skilled Able Spacer who knows how to behave around SNCOs and officers may still revert to their uberbogan self when they're out of uniform and off base and ship.

 

[kilemall]

I second this. Just because a serviceman/woman spends time in uniform, how they behave in the services doesn't necessarily dictate how they are when they change skins. A competent and skilled Able Spacer who knows how to behave around SNCOs and officers may still revert to their uberbogan self when they're out of uniform and off base and ship.

That's why I have the concept of the professional SOC while 'on the job' being 8- so the lowlifes act according to a reasonable standard and the high socials 'act down' to their 'lessers'.

Only way I can see a service or org using all the talent they need.

 

[Timerover51]

So I went through character creation on mgt and have stats of

8F9DF3

5 term Full Navy character with awesome pilot/gunnery skills. No negative life events.

What could be a good explaination of SOC 3?

Discharge under other than Honorable circumstances. He/She/It avoided a court-martial and prison time because of their record.

 

[epicenter00]

* The character has elaborate and somewhat ominous tattoos, perhaps over the entire body but especially on his/her face. In the society he/she comes from, such tattoos are normal, marking something relevant to the culture; for the same reason the character is not prone to remove them. While Imperial culture is supposed to be understanding of such things, there's a wide gulf between what is tolerated and what will prejudice people against you at some level - to "mainstream" Imperial society, the character looks like some sort of low-life gangster or a primitive.

* A variation of the above. The character's homeworld has a local religion that believes in reincarnation. The character had the unfortunate circumstance of being born into the "reprobate" class. Such persons, through the divination of priests, are marked with the crime they supposedly committed in a past life and are currently paying penance for. For instance, a completely innocent man or woman might be marked "Rapist" or "Molestor" on their forehead in a tattoo. Imperial law doesn't recognize a crime committed in another life so the character was free to join the Imperial military where the character's talents and drive took them far. Nevertheless, they have a label on them which marks them to strangers; the character never had this unfair mark removed as despite all of the prejudice, they are still a faithful practitioner of their religion and believes they actually did do something wrong in a past life and tries to live an exemplary life in this one to atone for it; they left their homeworld because prejudice prevented the character (in his or her opinion) from demonstrating a prosperous, honorable life to show they had reformed, not that they see anything wrong with the religious sentence itself.

* The character has some "hick" accent/drawl, something that just makes the character sound like the worst stereotype of an ignorant bumpkin. The character may have tried for a while to mask it but has been unsuccessful or the character may simply not care. Regardless, it predisposes people to have certain (negative) view on the character.

* The character is a lineal descent of some infamous person with a relatively unique name that predisposes people to want to avoid them. For instance, they're a close relation of Zid Rachele (assuming Rachele isn't a common name). While they might change their last name, a quick information search will rapidly bring up the fact they're a Rachele. Again, this isn't supposed to prejudice people towards you, but it does.

* In their youth, the character acquired some sort of gross infamy on a world. The exact nature of this infamy varies. For instance, they might have been part of a unit of Marines who gunned down several hundred civilians in a market. Due to some mitigating circumstances (the unit commander was the offspring of a highly-placed noble, the crowd had earlier lynched a Marine so the Imperial authorities consider it fair, etc.) the character was never punished for it, and never will be provided they never return to the world. Unfortunately in some supreme misstep of youth, they were filmed saying something extremely unapologetic ("yeah, I'm proud of what I did and I'd do again!"). Due to media exposure of the event and the world's influence in the Imperium, where the world has made it clear that anyone doing business with this character will lose any business contacts on that world, businesses are not inclined to do business with the character and perhaps individuals of conscience will not knowingly associate with the character. The character may or may not feel they are mitigating circumstances to what happened (this may be real or a lie so oft-told the real events have been overwritten by the more pleasant lie in the character's mind) and similarly the character may or may not feel remorse for what they did ("yeah, I feel wretched about having done that...but if I go back there, they'll slowly torture me to death then drag my body through the streets, I'm not going to fit that sentence.")

 

[JimCook]

ran "aground"

A quick way to end a naval carrier was to run your craft "aground". I can see the future equivalent of a ship hitting an asteroid. doesn't matter if you were not on duty at the time, the CO, XO, officer of the deck, Navigator, and other watch standers are history. even if not court martial-ed, their careers are over.

I can image that lowering a social standing significantly. Especially if people are killed and the ship lost.

 

[aramis]

A quick way to end a naval carrier was to run your craft "aground". I can see the future equivalent of a ship hitting an asteroid. doesn't matter if you were not on duty at the time, the CO, XO, officer of the deck, Navigator, and other watch standers are history. even if not court martial-ed, their careers are over.

I can image that lowering a social standing significantly. Especially if people are killed and the ship lost.

Only if it becomes public knowledge.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Inevitably, it seems, the secret details of a "Less Than Honorable" discharge or loss of commission will become common knowledge IRL, especially if there are any enlisted survivors who bear a grudge against their former captain or NCO.



"Hey, you look familiar . . . weren't you on the Pueblo back in '68?"

(. . . and that's when the fight started . . .)

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

SOC 3 is pretty easy to explain most of the time . . .

Roll 1D:

1 - Person has a form of high-functioning autism formerly known as Aspergers' Syndrome. He or she is intelligent (INT 8+) and/or well educated (EDU 8+), but just can't perceive the non-verbal social cues that are necessary for smooth interpersonal relationships.

2 - Person was accused of a particularly heinous crime, arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced in a very public trial before the frame-up was discovered. Even though officially exonerated, he or she still carries the stigma of the crime due to the extensive adverse publicity.

3 - Person is a publically-registered psionic (PSP 2; Sense, Shield, and Life Detection only). While no one has been able to pin any criminal behavior on him or her, the generally hostile attitude toward psionics results in the person being both actively shunned and passively avoided; that is, until someone gets lost, can't find their car keys, et cetera.

4 - Person is a "cyborg", with a prosthetic that is difficult to conceal. This is especially difficult for a person living after an attack by a variant of Virus - others fear that he or she may "go berserker" at any time, or summon a cyborg army from space. In any case, the person is perceived as "less than human" by the general populace.

5 - Person is a refugee; specifically, a former citizen of the losing side in a local war who has come to this world illegally, seeking only a new beginning in a free society. The person's accent, appearance, customs, et cetera, set him or her apart from the citizens of the local culture.

6 - Person is a publically-disgraced former public servant, whose crimes were serious enough for dismissal from office, but not serious enough for more than supervised probation and an ankle bracelet. Many people blame this person for their lost their savings and pensions, although the person was not directly involved and did not profit. In other words, the person was "thrown under the bus" to protect the reputations of someone higher up.

Enjoy!

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

. . . you can work the perceptions to raise or lower. Long term raises would require a lot of active work on perceptions or actual change in status that is recognized socially; income, position, fame, etc.

How does that saying go? Something like, "It takes a thousand 'attaboys' to erase a single screw-up, and only one screwup to erase a thousand 'attaboys'."