[Retired] TrailHead Character Generator

Let's make a thing!

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While it might feel a little funny to us to give a name as the first thing, it does make some sense.

'First' is a strong word, though, and I would recommend doing the whole first part as a unit. So: Name; Background Skills; Where you Came From (working with the background skill choices). The name might be tied to the place you come from or what your pre-adventuring background was.

The above part is the bit where you have control, and can make choices, this defines who you were before you went out into the world.

I won't enforce 'name first' thought, if you want to save it for the end as is often more common these days. We can also shift the Background Skills around during the first Term if we find we messed up the choices and such (but this should be based on the choices not the dice, of course:).

You also don't need to ever use your given name... (except with your parents?)

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Do you want to make test character or get right to the real thing?

There is no problem taking the same or similar Careers as other may already have, and it can make for interesting connections and shared in-game goals.

I’d like to roll up a test character, but may decide to keep it.

It really is best to decide before rolling if you are keeping the character, else it can skirt a bit close to cheating, depending on why you choose to keep it. But then you can always dispose of a character (Traveller looks like it is still quite deadly) and make a new one if you really don't want to play them, so it is not much different rolling and choosing to keep one if we like it.

I did observe earlier that test characters can be sticky and hard to get rid of. :)

However, planning on not keeping them can result in thoughtless choices that we regret later, so be careful.

Okay rolling up characteristics.

Wow! That's bad. :)

Wow, just wow in those rolls. Four -1 DMs and two +0 DMs.

This is either going to be a crash test dummy character or a great RP opportunity.

I think I’ll assign my two 6 (+0) rolls to END and EDU and my 4 (-1) to SOC. The rest are all 5 (-1).

STR = 5 (-1)
DEX = 5 (-1)
END = 6 (+0)
INT = 5 (-1)
EDU = 6 (+0)
SOC = 4 (-1)

I know SOC isn’t a dump stat, just leaning in. There’s a chance those 5s could become 6s and get to +0 DM during my terms. Seems more likely to happen in the other characteristics.

A +0 EDU DM will give me three background skills at level 0.

I’ll take carouse, mechanic and vacc suit.

I picture this character grew up in space - on a space station or ship.

I will have to think about a name. I started a character sheet. I don’t remember how to connect it to our game, though, so you all can see it.

Can you point me in the right direction, vagueGM?

I meant to say I started filling out a character sheet. Thanks to you and TheGenerator.

You can submit the character on the Game Details page. I might not get to approving it for a while, but that does not prevent you from using it for most things baring posting as that character.

Still musing on names. I’ll come back to that.

In the meanwhile, I’m going to try to get into university.

I did not do well enough on my university entrance exams. My parents tried their best with homeschooling me, but…

Okay, let’s see if the Scouts will take me.

Don't you need EDU 6+ for admission? You got a 6, which is enough. You can go to University if you want.

Okay, I needed a 5 to qualify for the Scouts and rolled a 7, so I’m in! My first career!

I pick the Explorer assignment.

Basic training gives me the following service skills at level 0 (except the two skills I already have at 0 from my background skills):

Pilot (I choose spacecraft)
Survival
(Mechanic - already have it)
Astrogation
(Vacc suit - already have it)
Gun combat

My book shows EDU 7+ for entry to university. We are using Mongoose 2nd edition, yes?

No, we are using the Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022.

Oh, sorry, my mistake. Well, another reason for making a test character. I’m going to finish this term in Scouts to continue the exercise. Will pick up the 2022 update and use that going forward.

True. :)
You get them all at 0. If you know how to Pilot a thing you can sorta get by Piloting most things.
If you knew you were going into Scout Services (after Uni) and took redundant Mechanic and Vacc Suit by mistake, this would be the sort of thing I would allow you to change now. If already knowing those skills is what sent you to the Scouts, then not learning them from the Scouts is just tough luck, this is up to the player.

Survival check for Explorer END 7+

I survived so now for my term 1 event.

Event 10 =

"You spend a great deal of time on the fringes of Charted Space. Roll Survival 8+ or Pilot 8+. If you succeed, gain a contact in an alien race and one level in any skill of your choice. If you fail, roll on the Mishap Table but you are not ejected from this career."

This should be interesting. I have a 0 in both skills, I’ll go with Survival. It seems like the appropriate characteristic would be END, also +0. So a straight roll.

Okay, so I made an alien Contact!

Advancement check will be EDU 7+

It is irritating that the Character Creation minigame uses (and, more importantly, teaches) different rules to the actual game. You don't add a Characteristic to these rolls, they are literally exactly what they say, 'Roll Survival' means that is all you roll here.

I don't know why they went with this, but it does simplify the balance and prevent high Characteristic rolls from swamping the rest of the Creation process (I am not sure how I feel about those Characteristics not helping (or hindering) you more in these test, though, would be logical that they did, but 'balance'.)

Nice result though, you can tell us about the alien species (they don't have to be sophonts) whenever you are ready (or would if this was real and not just a dream:), and you can pick any Skill to set to 1 (or increase by 1, but taking something from -3 to plus +1 might be better than from +1 to +2).

Passed Advancement so now I’m rank 1 Scout, and receive Vacc suit 1.

Since I rolled a natural 12, I must continue in this career.

I have completed Term 1 and am now 22 years old.

I’m not worried about the redundancy of the background skills and by basic training. It fit my character concept to have those background skills.

Cool.

END is what I meant but EDU is what I typed. Sorry. Either way it was +0. And thanks for the rules clarification. I looked at the skill check rules and thought I had to add a characteristic. I did not realize there was an exception in character generation.

What? You typed the wrong thing wrong? What are you? Some sort of overachiever? :)
Sometimes. Sometimes you only add a Characteristic, and sometimes you only add a Skill, but I think those situations where you don't add both will be so few and far between that we can forget about it. Maybe there will be situations where no Characteristic makes any sense, but I don't see it happening often, and it will be clear when it does.

Things like Athletics are a problem, there are athletic situations where logic would say the Skill should apply, but not being 'trained' should not apply a -3 penalty to most of them (surely STR, DEX, and END already cover 'fitness'). Either we might just ignore it where it would be bad, but allow those with training the benefit (meaning a +0 is pointless?), or maybe we should set it to a default 0 so anyone getting increases will benefit from them? Maybe we can find a sweet-spot where specific training applies, and only use it then? It looks like a rules oversight. We will work something out.
It's a pain and causes confusion. But then I am not a fan of 'tutorial levels' that try to 'simplify the rules', in the longrun it makes it harder to learn, which should not be tutorials purpose.

I forgot about gaining a level in a skill for the event. Let me think about a story to describe the event and see what skill might apply.

Cool.

Did you do the Skill Table roll that you get for Advancement?

Hmm. No. I got Vacc Suit 1 from increasing my rank because of Advancement.

So I still need to roll for the Advancement success? And also pick a skill to increase one level due to the event. Seems to make sense to roll on the Explorer skill table. I'll do that first.

Okay, a 2 on the Explorer skill table is Pilot, and since this requires specialization, I move Pilot (Spacecraft) up to 1. All other Pilot skills remain at 0.

As for my event with the alien, we haven't settled on the details of our setting, so I won't name what kind of alien at this point (also, this is likely a test character). But the event reminded me of the Darmok episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the movie Enemy Mine. So I'm envisioning something like that, where my character and an alien had to work together to survive in a threatening environment. I choose to increase Survival from 0 to 1.

So, at this point, to summarize, my character grew up in space, was homeschooled by his parents. Tried to get into university and qualified to enter, but due to a paperwork mixup, did not enter, but instead joined the Scout service as an Explorer. Went through basic training and was promoted to Scout rank 1. Was sent on a dangerous mission on the edge of chartered space and made contact with an alien. Due to the sensitive nature of this mission, was required to re-enroll in the Scout service for another term. Is now 22 years old.

You mean the Skill Table roll you now did? Yes, I believe that is all you needed to do.
That is how it works, yes. If you did not have any Pilot, you would set Pilot (Spacecraft) to 1 and all the other Pilot Skills to 0.
Indeed. Though 'naming' them is less significant than establishing what sort of relationships we have with 'aliens'.
I don't know the ST reference but Enemy Mine was a great movie for its time. :)
Nice. Working 'events' together into a story is the appeal of this character creation system.

Do you want to roll your next Term now?

@TrailHead, any movement on your next Term?

Probably far too late. But in a YouTube video about character creation the player rolled 2 characteristics with 3d6, discarding the lowest die.

@vagueGM, Sorry last week was rough. Getting back to it now.

I did have Pilot at 0 already, from basic training, so I had 0 in all Pilot skills. Now that I gained a rank to 1, I had to specialize, according to the Specialities rule on p. 58, and I chose Pilot (Spacecraft).

Good to hear... um, not that it was rough, just that you are still with us. :)

Okay Term 2 - as mentioned above, my character must continue in the Scouts.

My stats are all low, so I’ll roll on Personal Development.

So add 1 to my STR, per the table. That moves my STR from a 5, which had a -1 mod DM up to a 6, which means a 0 DM!

Next up, term 2 survival roll! My target as an Explorer is END 7+ and my END has a +0 DM.

I did not pass my survival roll, so I roll on the Mishap table.

Mishap result - "You have no idea what happened to you - they found your ship drifting on the fringes of friendly space."

And because of the mishap, I’m ejected from the Scout service.

That’s the end of my term 2. I believe I get 2 mustering out benefits, one for completing term 1 and one for attaining Rank 1.

Thanks. Good to be back rolling some virtual dice. :-)

Okay, so mustering out from the Scouts.

The Scouts cash benefits are a great range, so I’ll do one cash and one regular benefit roll. My 1st of 3 lifetime cash rolls.

Cash benefit 1 = Cr20,000

Reg benefit 5 = Weapon

(Select any weapon with a limit of Cr3,000 and TL12.)

Sounds like a laser pistol to me. I have Gun Combat skill at 0, it costs Cr3,000 and has a TL of 11.

So that’s the end of my term 2. It didn’t go so well for my character. The Scout service made me renew my contract, didn’t give me a choice. I would have re-enrolled anyway, but that rubbed me the wrong way.

I can’t remember what happened to me at the end of my term. I was found adrift on the fringes of friendly space. Was I set up by the Scouts? Did they erase my memory? In any case they gave me Cr20,000 and let me keep my laser pistol. Was that to keep me quiet?

I’m now 26. Time to think of a new career to try to get into.

Hmm, for term 3, I’m considering either Army (Support) or Citizen (Worker) since my character has a background skill as a Mechanic at 0. Easier than most other careers for my character to qualify for and survive, given the low stats. The -1 DM for it being my second career will be enough of a challenge to overcome.

If I don’t make it, I’ll either submit to the draft or choose Drifter. I can see the Scavenger or Wanderer assignments under Drifter fitting this character.

Wow! Scouts do pay well, especially if you are going to roll low. That says something about them, doesn't it?
Feel free to custom make something that fits the paramaters.
GM scribbles notes... pay not attention, it does not mean anything. :)
All those options sound interesting.

@TrailHead: Are you keeping this character? If not, do you want to start the real one instead of going on to Term 3 in a test character? I don't mind doing more on the test one if you want.

If we don't keep this character, then the story about the Scout Services still happened to someone... or so the tale goes.

I wasn’t planning on keeping this character, especially after I rolled my characteristics. But I’ve gotten a bit attached to the emerging story. So, I think I will keep it, if that’s okay.

I wasn’t planning on keeping this character, especially after I rolled my characteristics. But I’ve gotten a bit attached to the emerging story. So, I think I will keep it, if that’s okay.

Okay - term 3. Let’s see if we can qualify for the Army.

END 5+

Okay - I aced my Army qualification exam. Oops I forgot the DM-1 for my previous career in Scouts, but 9-1 is still 8, well above the required 5.

Basic training - for pick one service skill at rank 0.

I pick Recon.

I also choose the Support assignment.

Survival roll - as Army Support also END 5+

Okay I survived, yay!

Event roll

Event 5 = You are given a special assignment or duty in your unit. Gain DM+1 to any one Benefit roll.

Sweet!

So next comes Advancement/Commission.

@vagueGM, what’s your reading of the commission rules? Specifically, when it says on p. 19, "You may only attempt to gain a commission in your first term unless your SOC is 9 or higher," does mean your first turn in your life or your first term in that career?

My character does not have SOC that high, can I try for commission since this is the first term in the Army?

Also, as I successfully qualified and survived, I am now a rank 0 enlisted Private, so I get Gun Combat 1, correct? I already have Gun Combat 0, so is this again a case of gaining a level only in a specialization, or Gun Combat 1 across the board?

Not a problem.
I did warn you that might happen. :)

You need a name if they are staying. I don't recall if they were given a name.
It must mean 'in that career'. Page 16 says, "Graduation allows a commission roll to be taken before the first term of a military career", which either explains the rule or makes it make very little sense.

From a fiction stand-point, it would not make such sense to only commission people with no experience.

So you are eligible. Roll for commission.

Since you keeping this character, the sheet needs to be made visible to the other players.

To allow the other players to see the character, you need to mark the grey 'note' icon that says Add to Library on your character list.

Red means others can see the sheet.

@vagueGM Character name chosen, Benny Adam (which is an homage to an Arabic expression meaning an Everyman, literally "Son of Adam.") With those stats, he’s just a regular, average guy.

Character sheet shared. (It kept flipping back to gray on me but I think it’s sticking at red now.)

Thanks for confirming my understanding of the commission rule. I will give it a go.

Okay trying for a commission. I need to roll SOC 8+. With a -1 DM for my low SOC standing.

Failure on commission. Benny remains an enlisted soldier.

Plus, having failed at gaining a commission, do I get an attempt at an enlisted advancement, or was this either commission or advancement? I’m good either way, just not clear from reading the rules.

Yes.

You can't get a Commission and Advance in the same term, but if you don't get a Commission you can try to Advance.

Sorry, missed this question.

Yes, as a Private you get Gun Combat 1.

You don't have to Survive, you start as a Private (unless Pre-Career Education allowed you to start as an Officer), so you get that right off.

Okay, got it. I took the Gun Combat 1 in the Energy specialty.

And yes, I went back to the rules and I see now as you say I can still roll for advancement after failing commission.

Advancement roll for Support is EDU 7+ And I have a zero DM for EDU.

Okay, no advancement, so Benny remains a Private and completes term 3 at age 30.

Will do at least one more term, returning to the Army.

Will try to do that tomorrow. I see The Generator and Airshark have gotten to their last terms.

No rush.

Okay term 4. Second term in the Army. No need to qualify.

Skill table roll - Support.

Support table roll 3 = Profession.

Hmmm. Belter profession might make sense from his background but that doesn’t make sense as a skill he’d have picked up in the Army. I was picturing him serving in the Army as a mechanic.

None of the other specialties listed in the core book seem to fit. Maybe Civil Engineer as the Army has engineers. But since my character didn’t go to university or a military academy, I don’t see him as an engineer. Certainly not at level 1.

In the Mongoose Traveller 2E Traveller Companion, there’s a further fleshing out of Profession that includes Worker/Metalworker and Worker/Armourer and I think either of those would fit. But I don’t know if we’re allowed to use Traveller Companion options.

Survival roll - END 5+

(DM +0)

Nice. Survived second term in the Army.

Event roll

Sweet, a roll of 7 on the Event table sends me to the Life Event table.

Life Event result was a 9.

Travel: You move to another world. You gain DM+2 to your next qualification roll.

Interesting. I wasn’t planning on taking another career. Even if I don’t, there’s some backstory there about moving to another world.

Advancement roll

For Army Support I need to roll EDU 7+. My EDU DM is +0.

Still a Private after 8 years in the Army. Maybe I will try another career after all.

So Benny is now 34 years old.

Ageing roll. DM -4 for the 4 terms.

Okay, a 1 = no effect. Whew!

Summary to date:

Background life on a space station, where he was homeschooled but picked up some basic mechanic skills and got used to wearing a Vacc suit. He was also social and partied with his friends (carouse skill).

Missed out on university due to a paperwork mixup, so signed up with the Scouts. Spent two terms as a Scout/Explorer. Made contact with an alien on the fringe of Charted Space in my first term. Near the end of my second term I was found in my ship, drifting on the fringes of friendly space, with no idea how I got there. Was it a setup? In any case I was discharged from the Scouts.

I found a home in the Army in a support role (mechanic). Worked hard for 8 years, gained skill in Recon and a Profession (TBD). Could not advance past Private, though. Even after doing well on a special assignment. Moved to a new world.

At age 34, still in good health, decided to leave the Army.

Time to muster out of the Army. Due to an event I have a DM+1 to one benefit roll.

I’m going to roll twice on Benefits, the first time with a DM+1

So the first roll of 6 is END +1 or cybernetic implant. An implant would be cool but doesn’t fit the story so far. So I’ll take the bump to END.

The second roll was 2, which is +1 to INT. Very nice as that moves it from a 5 to a 6, erasing the DM-1.

Since I got that sweet DM+2 to my next qualifying roll, might as well try for another career. The +2 bonus will zero out the -2 for my two prior careers.

Going for Citizen. Flat roll EDU 5+.

Made it into Citizen for term 5!

Basic training, I pick Streetwise. My previous event said I’d moved to a new world. The Worker assignment says "You are a blue collar worker on an industrial world." Streetwise makes sense.

Survival roll

Survival roll for Citizen - Worker is END 4+

Did not survive! To the Mishap table!

Wow 5 on the Mishap table is story gold!

"A revolution, attack or other unusual event throws your life into chaos, forcing you to leave the planet. Roll Streetwise 8+ If you succeed, increase any skill you have by one level."

It feels like I just got to this planet.LOL. I feel very lucky to have just picked up Streetwise!

Rolling Streetwise at level 0.

Missed it by that much!

So, this event is my inviting incident to become a Traveller.

Term 5 is my last term. No benefit. But I need to roll for Ageing at DM-5.

No Ageing effect! 38 years old and feeling healthy. No major injuries, no degradation of my stamina. That’s what good hard work will get you.

Need to figure out the details of my Profession skill and flesh out my events and mishaps a little more, especially the last one that pushed me to travelling.

Need to make connections.

Need to buy some equipment.

Treat them as examples. Make up whatever you think is interesting.
Then Mechanic makes perfect sense as a Profession. (page 70)
You didn't go to university as a Pre-Career Education, but you could still have done so on the GI Bill. I am not sure that fits your story so far, but if you want something that looks like it would need education, that means you got the education.
For this? The book only contains examples, so taking examples and inspiration from other books is fine.

I don't have that book, so I can not comment on anything more than just Example Profession ideas. If it is non-mechanical, use whatever you want.
Yeah, the system did not agree with you about not taking another, the system knew it would be short. :)

Even just getting the Qualification Bonus is a story ("I coulda been a ...").
Close one, though. :)
No worries. It could change the story, of course. But END is good.
Army has some really nice Benefits, and their Cash is not great. Good choice. :)
Indeed. I have been fretting that no one has rolled any of those. All these Terms and no accidents or medical expenses? Something is up with this crew. :)
Yes. What did you do?! Army vets come in and things go to hell!

Do they blame you? I think I blame you... but I can't find the paperwork. :)

Add your summary to the connections thread, and look for anything that looks interesting in Ronny's post.

Once we have all three characters in there at the top we can ask questions about specifics or about the mechanics of this part.

My character already has the Mechanic skill (page 69) so I don’t want to make things confusing by taking Profession (Mechanic). What would be the difference between the two skills?
The example of Worker/Armourer as a Profession in the Traveller Companion seems appropriate for a skill he’d have picked up in the Army. "Skill at maintaining armour and weapons, and making slight alterations to equipment." This seems to go along with being a mechanic while remaining distinct.

A Profession allows you to make money using the skill? (page 70)
Sounds good, could be useful to the crew too.