Pedrop Character Creation

Read through the Traveller Creation chapter starting on Page 8, take a look at any Careers that you think might be interesting to you, but there is plenty of time to look up and ask questions about specific Careers as they come up.

If anything does not make sense, ask as many questions as you need.

By coincidence all the excising players ended up with characters who had done exactly 5 Terms. None of us thought it fun to limit the number of Terms --preferring to push it as far as we felt safe to-- so don't feel any pressure to follow that pattern. However, if you do decide upfront that you want to also do exactly 5 Terms it is possible to look at Connections between the characters at each Career/Life Event step, but that can slow things down in PbP and it is simple enough to go back at the end and see who else was involved based on what they were doing at that time.

We can forget about and redefine the existing Connections that the existing players might have based on the new crew, we can start afresh.

---

While it might feel a little funny to us to give a name as the first thing --as the rules demand-- 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), and where you hope to end up. The name might be tied to the place you come from, your culture, 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.

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

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:), so don't stress about getting things exactly right the first time.

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

Do you want to make test character --to try our the system-- or get right to the real thing?
Be warned, characters can be sticky and hard to get rid of once you start making them. :)

Let's look at the connections in the same time my character will gradually go through his life. So maybe they will come naturally, or we will get back to them at the end of character creation. Ok? As you know the other characters I'm counting on insight from you on this subject - where are their paths could cross.

When I create RPG character I always start with the name, concept and art. Art will have to come after my career will come to life:) So his name will be: Rafael Lasaro. As you promoted - I have sent my "empty" character sheet already. It looks that you have accepted it. Thanks.

I will try to make my "final" character already. But will reserve the permission to discard it if I will really, really dislike him... after we will end his creation (something like mindless basher, without charisma and intelligence... ;) ). As I'm still not sure how much decision will be on my side or the dice.

Ok my general concept for Rafael is following. It is intentionally not to specific, as I presume we will create the world and see what will happen together.

Rafael was born on some planet that is located near the so called rim - not too close to the "main galaxies" (can you provide me with the name for this planet?). This planet has old traditions and noble houses fighting against each outer for the domination on the planet, but at the time Rafael was born it was more political and secret service fight then any real battles. But that doesn't change the thing that each of big families(like the one from which Raf comes) had long military traditions and every male member is taught the Way of the Sword (hand-to-hand combat), the Way of Thunder (laser gun combat), and the Way of the Lance (fighting inside mech-like armor) from the early years. As one is coming to 16 yo he is named a knight and starts his final training to get his own personalized Lancer(Mech). Mech technology is quite unique on this planet, not know on other planets and maybe even have some organic components in those mechs not only the mechanical ones. So - of course - piloting a lancer is a great honor and so on...:)

But... Raf liked all the training for self development and so on... He even loved to participate in training or tournament matches. For the rivalry and checking his progress. But never was so keen on actually hurting someone... for good or for bad. So to his parents surprise when he get to 18 yo he wanted to "postpone" his lancer training and go for medical university on some other planet, nearer the "human galaxy center". To actually heal people, not harm them. His father wasn't too happy about that - of course - but he liked his son's perseverance to chase his goal.

Ok... so far so good - quite standard story I think:) But here's the twist that I wonted to introduce from the beginning: to allow my character change to the Traveller career system... and make those mechs unavailable for him... for now... Maybe... after long enough game there will be an opportunity to find a way back to this concept for Rafael? What you think GM? .

After long farewells and Raf's departure from his home planet, he started medical studies. For few first semesters everything was normal. But then something really strange has happened. Whole Rafael's home planet was sealed up by the military forces of the imperium(we have some kind of military power or global want-to-be government in our world?) and all traces about it started to be erased by other forces like it never even existed. To this point: that for some, after few years after that event - claiming that this planet existed is a conspiracy theory. But Rafael knows the true, and his future career choices will reflect the thing that he will be trying to at least get to know what realy has happened.

Ok, thats all for my background and my character "WHERE DO I COME FROM?" thing. We are roughly at his 18 yo. What do you think about that? Is the place for such background in your setting?

Time to roll the stats. I wonder what will come up:)

Oh... my... he is a real weakling... not the strongest child of the noble family... I presume. Wasn't there a rule to give one stat a 14 or I have mixed this idea from other system? Will there be a way to make them bigger later in character creation process? Ok... for now I will go will go this way:
STR 4
DEX 5
END 6
INT 8
EDU 8
SOC 5

My BACKGROUND SKILLS:
Athletics 0 - training in fighting
Drive 0 - learning to drive mechs and other stuff,
Mechanic 0 - you have to know your own mech, right? It's a pitty that it is on some non-existing sealed planet... ;)

Noted on character sheet.

The trouble with that is, until we know how many Terms you are doing we can not align those 'times'. The end of your final Term is 'now', so the end of your previous Term is 4 years ago, and so on. Then end of your first Term might well be 32 years ago or just 12.

We have a record of each term that we can refer back to. It is easy enough to line them up afterwards, that's a benefit of PbP.
In these times of internet images that art can have a significant impact on the direction a character goes. I remember when we used to use words to paint that picture. /sigh :)
Yeah, and then we find that we just can not find any art that captures that one specific element that became integral to our description... so the final artwork ends up being from the left so we can't even see the massive scar that tore out their right eye and is their defining characteristic, or whatever. :)

Finding the right art can be the hardest part. :)
Cool.
While I would never force someone to play a character they really don't like --so there is always the option of discarding a character that does not work in all games-- this is intended to be your final character, you can make it work.
Yes, though we create the world based on your specifics.
I don't have any planets. We will make them as we need them. I can always roll up a random name, but you can also tell us about your home planet. If you want, we can work together and go through the World Creation procedure and make a Sector for them as well. Or we can leave this till we see or hear about them.
We also get to decide how much 'nobility' and such matter in the outside world. I am inclined to say a quasi-feudal system makes a lot of sense in a setting where we need lords to operate and manage the machinery of war and provide protection for those under their care.
Though maybe these titles are not valid outside your world if you don't meet the SOC req. If you want to run into problems with recognition we can bring that into the game as much as you want.
We get to decide how gendered our societies are. If some places place restrictions on women it could be interesting with our newest member Cat presenting as female.

Again, though it is up to us --the players-- if this is ever an issue we face. There is no mechanical effect for any gender we choose, it is purely a roleplay choice.
You might be getting ahead of yourself. :)
It is fine if the mechanics don't bear out your background. Even if you have to take these Skills in later Careers we can pretend you got them --or their basics-- as part of your background. If you don't get them we can work out something to keep them in the background if you want (it could be that this 'military as sport' training does not carry over to real world melee and guns any better than fox hunting readies earth nobility for being a knight).
We do have a very accomplished doctor (Lio). It is completely fine for you to double up, but you may end up playing second fiddle there if you focus on Medic. Some Medic Skill is always good, and who knows where the vicissitudes of Career will take you.
We shall see. You might not even get into University this Term.
Roll EDU 6+ For University Entry.
This means you roll `2d6+0` and need to get a 6 or higher.

---

Sure. We can make something like that. We might assume --at first-- that it is some 'power' local to your system out there on the rim. It can turn out to be a bigger thing as the story unfolds.
I worry slightly that this is a rather big thing in your life and could end up dominating your choices, and interfering with the normal flow of the game. Traveller is not a game about heroes saving their homes, it is a game about the day-to-day life of people trying to make a living. It might be incongruous for your character to spend the needed amount of time trading and adventuring with something like this hanging over them.

But that is up to you. Don't expect anyone else to care about petty problem of a missing rim-world.
The universe is big, and information travels at the (slow) speed of light --or ships and jumps where it can-- so most worlds have never been heard of except by those in the vicinity. This sort of 'information erasure' does not need to go far. Most people don't care.
Really only slightly below average.
Not that I recall, no.
Yes. Your Characteristics can go up (and also down) during Character Creation. This is the main time you get to improve your Characteristics, they are very hard to change after Character Creation. Skills are easier to improve later, but Traveller is not a game about 'leveling up' so Character Creation is the main time to look for self-improvement, later it is mainly money and gear.
Makes sense. That would have been my suggestion since you can't take Melee and Guns at that stage.
As chatted about during recruitment, we can look at modeling mechs upon the vehicles.

I don't know much about this 'mech' business, so don't be surprised if I look down on the concept as an impracticable and nonfunctional version of a vehicle. :)
Only if you want it to be. We can make a plan to include them in the setting. But they could also be a mere curiosity of your home planet.

Ok, I'm moving my character creation further and tomorrow I will comment/answer all the things you have written here(it's almost 2 o'clock here).

So... indeed, as stated before Rafael have gone to the university before his planet was sealed. Let's see if he got the Entry.

Lol... he really was determined I can see:)

Skills:
Medic 0 - he indeed enlisted mainly for medical studies as he intended...
Science (Cybernetics) 1 - but after getting to know more about "this Cybernetics things" he couldn't help himself not too look into new ways of "better connecting" with his mech... and he ended doing more curses about it than medical things:) He is mostly interested in non-invasive cybernetics that work by the side of body, enchanting it, but not getting into it or modify it permanently... like mechs on his planet, that are still unique and have even different approach for human-mech connection. Not known for general public/science.

Addding +1 to EDU - getting visibly better at it at 9! :)

Rolling for event.

"Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table (see page 46)." Getting even more interesting.

"Ending of Relationship: A romantic relationship involving you ends. Badly. Gain a Rival or Enemy."
Uhh... romantic BS... ;) I will have to think about that. Until tomorrow then!

He could not stand to let you down, you were so sure he would get in. :)
Education --even more than travel-- broadens the mind. It would be disappointing --though, unfortunately, not uncommon-- if you came out of University without a better EDU. :)
It can be whatever you are comfortable with. It is less about the relationship that ended than about the Rival (or Enemy) you now have because of how it ended.

We also don't need to know the details, and those details may feed into future events, or only come up when we meet the Rival.

Hmmm... I think it is connected to the moment when his home planet was sealed... or just before that. She was a girl from different noble house. Her name is Esmera. And the funny fact is that she was designated for him as his future wife - arranged marriage thing. They first meat about when Raf was about 16 years old. At first he didn't like her. It seemed to him that she turned up his nose a lot and that Esmera thought that she was a much better match than he deserved(her family was higher status than him). Petite, energetic and intelligent(maybe more like "smart-ass") brunette. But after getting to know each other... something sparked between them. He promised to marry her after he get back from his studies. She promised she will be waiting;-) But before he ended his studies she somehow came to him, to the university... and she began to tell very strange stories about their planet and that he must com back immediately... Raf didn't listened to her, or even ignored not believing those stories... that broke her heart. "Badly". ( ;-) ) And before she managed to go back to their homeworld... the planet become sealed. And now she blames Rafeal for not doing anything and that she is too separated from her family now. That was the last time he saw her. And she is not a fan of him... certainly. What is sad for Rafael even more...

Would that be ok? Now let's see if he had enough discipline to end his studies in such circumstances...

Rolling for graduation.

Ehh... those princesses... always some trouble ;)

Ok, so that's the end of my adventure on the university and I should choose some career now?

And Raf is 22 yo now?

Ok, understood and agreed.
Yeah, you are right I use art mostly for character concept inspiration. Probably because I'm better with describing events and actions then human appearance. And this time it probably will other way around: the old school way:D And probably there indeed won't be proper art fro this character.
I think this can wait. I think it won't be too easy to get there in the first place. Let's call it: Ignomia :)
For this I meant it as "local nobility" - in old fashion way. But you are right there is always some kind of 'nobility' be it by blood or by pure money and power.
It's exactly as I have seen this: Raf is "noble" on his planet, but outside of it he is just an ordinary student as many other. He was a little richer then others - before his planet was sealed and money were coming from his parents - but nothing extraordinary. And now not many know that there was such planet as Ignomia.
It is very traditional planet. People there don't use genetics modifications or cybernetics implants - so by the facts of biology science: human males are simply statistically stronger and "better equipped" for physical fights. And thats the main reason why things are in that way for many years now - there. There are sporadic situations that women also train martial arts and no-one have a bigger problem with that. But that's just uncommon that girls want to do that. As statistically they are more interested in people then things(like metal swords or robots).

But that is: for this planet. I don't know what is the standard for the whole universe:) But I'm for exploring different views and social conflicts. As with slavery. This is a disgusting concept for me, but pretending it was not a thing (or even is today) like ever is a missing opportunity to remember how awful some people can become. So exploring such things as societies that impose restrictions on man or women is ok with me.
Yes. Exactly. Raf was about to end his training with getting to know lethal technics at least, but it was supposed to be after his university and connected with joining a new family by marriage. "A knight don't have to know how to kill, if he don't have a wife to protect" ;)
Medic was just a beginning - finding his way in the brutal world for Raf - but I didn't think it would be his focus. So I think no problem with this. Especially that now he is kicked out of his studies....
Apparently dice were agreeing with my initial ideas... :)

---

Ok.
Yes. His career choices will be dominated by that. But after them - at the point when he will start to be a traveller and I think our adventures will start - he will realize that official paths to solve this issue leaded him to nowhere, probably leaving him a little bitter in the process. But he have to live somehow, make money, gain in his own power - not counting on official ones, as they seem to be corrupted - and by traveling a lot, making contacts, meeting people, he still hopes to get some information/clues at least about what has really happened there? He needs his own organization, his own power and influence to set things straight... ("good"/noble mafia? ;) we will see... how far he will go... )

So it would be a good thing if his home planet would be not so far from "party's base of operation" or something like this.
Exactly.
His determination will have to do... :)
I think mech for him in this case should be more like lightsaber for Jedi - very hard to get in current circumstances. A praise. But maybe other players will be also interested? We could become some kind of voltron/mecha mafia in this setting.... lol ;D Mafia in the sense of - opposition to official forces.

I have Mecha Hack rules, so when proper time will come we can use them - if other players will be interested. They are quite easy and elegant, and mainly they are about the mechs statistic - not necessary pilots, so I think we could blend this ruleset with Traveller without a bigger problem.

What you think? When time will come for this:)
I'm counting on that. There must be another planet with similar technology somewhere? Sister/Mirror/Twin planet? At very specific coordinates in relation to the Ignomia? Maybe finding those other mechs will help somehow to get to Raf's home planet? Maybe it was in old legends and Raf still remembers that? Or something will make him recall that? In proper time. Time will show...

Sounds like this is bordering on Enemy, but until this bit I was seeing her as a Rival (Page 20). Your choice which she is.
Failing to graduate has no negative side effects (you keep the Level 0 and Level 1 Skills you learned), and is a story to add to the flavour. One wonders how much your lost love had to do with your failing out.

You are four years older, though you can tell us if you failed at the end and went straight to the next thing, or if there was a period where you bummed around for a bit after dropping out early, either way you are 22 when we see you next.

By my ruling you could also attempt entry into Military Academy, with the second Term penalty.

If you go on to a Career, this is your first Career (even though it is not your first Term) so you get the full Basic Training for that first Career.
Indeed. Cat is also part of that circle.
I agree, though if we tread into uncomfortable territory there are Safety Tools and we should talk about things.
I am not sure we will have a 'base of operations', we are Travellers after all. But we can move to there if and when we need to. I don't want to make this a big part of everyone's story, so we should not be so close that we have to deal with this blockade all the time.
I have no idea what any of this is. :)
I doubt it.
I hope that is not the case. I was clear in the recruitment that I don't know 'mechs' and would not do more than what the Vehicle rules provide. Your 'mech' could be a vehicle, or a suit of armour, or even a Small Craft, but remember the TL9 restrictions. They may not prove all that valuable or useful in the outside world and are not a defining characteristic, they are probably more of a 'fun oddity' from your home world.

Yes. Bordering, but I think she is still a Rival - she don't wants Rafael dead. And deep inside she knows that it wasn't his fault completely. But those were traumatic experiences and she vented all the anger and fear on him. This way it is easier for her.
Dropping was mainly because of the sealing event and realization that what Esmera was telling was indeed true, looking for her(with no luck), loosing income from his parents and all distractions connected with all of this. He didn't pass the final exams:(

I think this will be straight ahead a brand new career - but I will do it at my evening again. At this moment I'm thinking about Journalist - good for young active man(or woman) who tries to find "the truth"... but will think about it some more.
Yeah. I didn't meant to say that we should focus on that, just claiming that those are important and interesting subjects(human nature and in what circumences it turns to its bad side - to prevent that). But for now probably it will be better to start with lighter themes.
Yes. Of course. I was thinking about more like neighboring sector - something that you can reach in reasonable time (1-1.5 months considering that one jamp is 1 week) but not too close.
It was meant to be some kind of a joke... but it it looks like a poor one now... hope it's more about that I'm not native speaker. Never mind.
[/quote]

Ok. No problem with that. As you can see... sometimes I get too much enthusiastic and want to do too many things in too less time or to fast... :)

Cool. Think about how she is a Rival in terms of the mechanics. What might she do to hinder your plans? What is it she wants.

Sounds like it might even be possible to get her back on your side... if you put the effort in.
What does she think you could have done? It does not need to be logical, but how would your going home have helped or prevented the larger government from erasing your planet? Is there any validity to this belief?
Did he try to write those exams?
That sounds suitable. Think on it and decide tonight. Then let the dice decide for real. :)
Completely up to the players. We can say that this sort of thing exists and then decide as we play (including on the first mission/job/adventure) how much we see or do about these issues. It is a dial we can adjust constantly.
More like two weeks. You spend about a week in 'jump space' then maybe another week in the new system dealing with refueling (if that is an option or needed) and getting to the correct place to make the next Jump. If you need to go to a place in the new system, that might take a week to get to and then another week to get from, and you might spend some time on the planet (or whatever). So, unless you are rushing somewhere --where the two weeks per Jump is a baseline-- you can possibly think about making a Jump per month under normal 'trading'.
No, just that I literally have no idea who 'voltron' is. I understood the language, just not the reference.
No worries. I just didn't want you getting your hopes up about mechs, since they are not going to be a significant part of this game.

Rolling for Qualification: Journalist

I had a feeling.... ;) Ok, no personali investigation... than maybe through official military ranks - to know something about his planet from friends he may make at the army?

oh... no... Merchant Marine probably the most boring career from the whole list?

I don't know. Their Service Skills are pretty good, and their Personal Development table has a lot of Characteristic increases and you were complaining about being weak. You qualify for their Advanced Education table and that has some Skills that seem like they could be very useful in your search.

Any ideas on what happened? 'Draft' is used a bit loosely. Were you rejected as a journalist because you were too outspoken about subjects that should not be talked about? Were you tricked into joining the Merchant Marines on the pretense that you would learn answers there? Did you decided this was the way to go --as suggested in your post-- and, if so, how did you end up in the Merchant Marines instead of the Army? Are they a stepping stone, or do you believe they are more likely to have the answers you seek? Or did a war break out and your burgeoning Journalist Career had to be put on hold till next Term (you can try again, if you want)? Just to name a few options.

I feel that she have disappeared for first few terms from Raf's life. And then she returned... changed. What she tried to do to hinder Raf... lets wait for the result of the next term - I will try to introduce her then.

She wants... hmm... I think... she wants Raf to also feel betrayed, left alone and get to know how corrupted the officials are. I think she may still think that Rafael is "on government side", believing whatever story they come up to explain the sealing up of their home planet.

Yes... there could be a possibility for them to join forces in the future, but it would be quite hard to do. As many words have been spoken and Rafael takes it very personally when someone tries to harm him directly. Maybe he is not physically very strong, but still have this strong resolve of mind that he inherited after his parents. And we will see what she will try to do to him in the meantime:)
I think to answer that we would have to establish what is the "official story" and what really have happened(or what Esmera is thinking is really happened - and that shouldn't be without some true in it). Do we decide to do it now? Or leave the surprise for later?
Yes. He was on them. He knew most of the answers... but he didn't have necessary training to do the exam tasks fast enough - he have run out of time. And that - lack of training - was due all the distractions that I have mentioned.
I meant those animation series:
Votron

The joke was meant to put two things together:
Voltron that is very Japanese in my view, anime mostly aimed at children(but I liked to watch it too with my children - I mean the newest series, but only few first seasons) - "happy going"
with
Mafia - "not very easy going theme".

But never mind. It was a poor one:)
[/quote]
No problem. I think I can live with them being "a different kind of vehicle" - when and if the time will come to introduce them. And as I mentioned before - if Raf is supposed to ever get one it should be like lightsaber - a prize that he will have to work for.

Many of these questions are meant to stimulate thought, they don't need answers right now. Some may be answered or hinted at by the end of the character creation, but they are just things to keep in mind while thinking about other things.
Makes sense. Mechanically she would probably just be getting in the way of your jobs/life?
Remember, for a Rival to be of use in the game I need to act out her interfering with you. I will try to keep this in line with how you see both characters, but will rely on you to fill in more details when it comes up in the story. Don't stress about it.
On a meta level you --the player-- get to tell us what you are wanting to get from this aspect of the story. If you want us to, we can keep the prospect of reconciliation open, or I can push her so hard that Raf may never be able to forgive her. You need to guide that as we play.
Do you have ideas? This is not something I came up with and I have nothing for it and it is not a central part of the universe. This is only one part of one character, so don't expect anyone else --other than Raf and his Rival to care about this most of the time.

Unless you have thoughts about what is going on, I say we leave this till we have to find answers.

It is fine for Raf to have no idea what she thinks he could have done about it. It is also fine for her reasoning to be completely wrong, or to not make sense --now or ever-- or for her to be correct and it could have been prevented. We can have her try to explain later, and it might still not make any sense, but it might not be possible to persuade her of that. How you respond to her actions may influence how much rational explanation you get, so it is up to you each time.

Also up to you how much you tell us, or tell the other characters.

I meant from story point of view... You know... all this dramatic situation of sealing his whole home planet with his parents on it... loosing his potential wife... being kicked out of the studies at the very end of it...
and he ends hauling some cargo for this corrupted government/Imperium for 4 years... I hope I have enough imagination to make it interesting and reasonable :D

But... getting good at making businesses and having knowledge how the cargo moving at empire works... could be handy... if he ever will go in the criminal direction...:)

But you are right from mechanics pov - those are very interesting skills and can become useful in the future.

But... as I understand it right now I get the skills from Service skills by adding them to any existing levels? So my Drive will go from 0 to 1 and I have to choose speciality? And after that I have 1 roll in one of those 4 tables?
Hmmm... I think he started at some of most regarded media company, as some very low grade employee, had a chance to become a real journalist. But as soon as he mentioned he want to do some investigation about Ignomia he was fired right a way. Realizing very early and the hard way that the biggest media companies are mostly funded by Imperium and won't allow to harm their main money "donor". And it is nothing about getting to the truth. Also this was the first time that he got a very vogue hint that the eccentric multi-bilionner Bill Doors may had something to do with his home planet being sealed. Also it turns out that he is the main donor to the media company's "foundation".

Then he realized that it was the army forces that sealed his home planet. So there should be some trace from where the order came from... at the higher levels of course. So he have enlisted. He really wanted to go Navy, Army or Marine as he thought that would allow him to get up in the ranks much faster. And get to know something. He was very angry when he got to know that he is going for the Merchant (merchant marine) path... Every appeal he made against this decision was immediately rejected. Coincidence? Maybe. ;)

Not having to many other options left... he simply get to work and tried to be the best on the imperial ship. Leaving the next steps of his investigation after he will learn some new things and maybe get closer to the ship's Imperial management. Luckily - as it turned out - the captain of the ship was a retired military captain, who served near his home planet at the time of sealing it... But we will see if Rafael will menage get closer to him...

One comment for the last post. As for the rest in it - I agree completely:)
Yes, I would like to have this "prospect of reconciliation open" - as you named it beautifully:)

Doing this:
Drive - Walker to 1 - I think he was a "Cargo Lifter virtuoso" on the ship before he moved higher in the ranks. Doing most of the work in half the time using this vehicle. Maybe by that he attracted the attention of the ship's management somehow?
Vacc Suit 0 - always handy:)
Broker 0 - it will not hurt to know how to find something to buy or seal or in general...:)
Steward 0 - I don't like the meaning of that, but I guess it won't hurt to know how to get closer and to deal with those at higher social ranks?
Electronics 0 - Raf already see some new applications to his mech left at his parent's castle...
Persuade 0 - getting to know the truth will require a lot of persuasion... I think.

Ok... rolling for... ADVANCED EDUCATION. Personal development was very tempting... but this one will be better for his story(getting closer to higher ranks), and let's hope he will survive... so maybe the next term?

Sounds like you are well on your way already. :)
No. For Basic Training you get them at level 0, they do not add. Later, if it lists a number you get it at that number (unless you already have it higher), if it does not list a number you add one to whatever you have, skipping 0.

Since this is your first Career you get all of them at level 0, for later Careers you chose one of them from that list and get that at level 0.
Yep. That you add to whatever you have in that Skill (or Characteristic).

Then you roll Survival (EDU 5+), and if you 'survive' you roll Advancement (INT 7+), then on to the next Term.
And owner of the megacorporation you end up Merchant Marining in? Or don't you know that yet? :)
Yeah, but beggars can't be choosers, and your previous failed Career must have some negative effect on your getting in.
Sure. That is all it was. Where's your tinfoil hat anyway? :)
Or so the rumours go. Is this a good or a bad thing? We shall see. :)

Hmmmm.... Engineer... interesting... If it goes on like this, he'll be able to build his own mech. Maybe....;)

Oh... and I've just read... that those skill will be on 1, not 0 level... Correcting that....

So:
Drive - Walker to 1 - I think he was a "Cargo Lifter virtuoso" on the ship before he moved higher in the ranks. Doing most of the work in half the time using this vehicle. Maybe by that he attracted the attention of the ship's management somehow?
Vacc Suit 1 - always handy:) Every mech should be vacuum ready... I think...
Broker 1 - it will not hurt to know how to find something to buy or sell or in general...:)
Steward 1 - I don't like the meaning of that, but I guess it won't hurt to know how to get closer and to deal with those at higher social ranks?
Electronics - Remote Ops. 1 - Raf already see some new applications to his mech left at his parent's castle... And Remote Ops. seems to be the best fit for his interests.
Persuade 1 - getting to know the truth will require a lot of persuasion... I think.

And the roll:
Engineer - Power 1 - what's a mech for, without it's power? :)

Where did you read that? Your Basic Training is at level 0, and you do not get extra Drive for doubling up.

Engineer is at level 1 with a Speciality as you did.

Oh... ok... I focused to much at skills description as it is without the number. Basic training is indeed at 0 ;( Ok, getting back to previous values:
Drive - stays at 0 - I think he was good with "Cargo Lifter" on the ship but that's all... :(
Vacc Suit 0 - always handy:)
Broker 0 - it will not hurt to know how to find something to buy or seal or in general...:)
Steward 0 - I don't like the meaning of that, but I guess it won't hurt to know how to get closer and to deal with those at higher social ranks?
Electronics 0 - Raf already see some new applications to his mech left at his parent's castle...
Persuade 0 - getting to know the truth will require a lot of persuasion... I think.

Engineer - Power 1 - what's a mech for, without it's power? :) Stays the same.

Ok, time fot the survival roll... yes? We will see how it all came out...

Absolutely. That seems like it would transfer over from a mech. You can work on getting it higher as you gain more real-world experience.
How so?
Yes. I would have suggested either Power or Life Support.

Uff... good roll at least. Ok, now event.

10 A good deal ensures you are living the high life for a few years. Gain DM+1 to any one Benefit roll.

So I can use it now, on later?

Benefit rolls are done during Mustering Out, so when you leave this Career you get to add +1 to any of those rolls. Declare it before you roll (just add the +1 to the dice code). You may get more such boosts and you can choose how you apply them but most of them don't stack, so ask first if it comes up.

Ok, now ADVANCEMENT roll, yes? Or should I do something else first? Assuming this is it.

Lol... barely but still... so thats Senior Crewman and Mechanic 1 - noting on sheet. And another roll on... PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - after all this struggle there should be some "personal development".

Yep, that's the next step.

A 7 is 7+, so success! You get Mechanic 1 (this is an example of it listing a number so not, +1, not that it makes a difference here).

You also get to make another Skill roll on the Tables because of your Advancement.

Then you decide if you are staying in this Career (it seems promising, and they like you) or trying for another.

Streetwise!?!? Lol... is the criminal activity knocking on Raf's door? I will be Streetwise at 1, yes?

Or just getting information from people on the street, dealing with locals, understanding customs. It helps with crime, but is not only a crime thing.
Yep. Streetwise 1.

---

What's next for you?

I hope so:)
Really? That sucks... ;) Well... you have to know your enemy if you want to win over them. And not all people working there are evil... I hope so at least... :D
Now... you are harsh ;) ;)
Mine? Always on... always on... man. ;-D

Rafael's? He is still too proud for this... probably too young and didn't see enough... ;-D
[/quote]

We shall see... But there must be some good people at the higher ranks at those organizations, sometimes... don't they?
So know he is 26 yo? Will note this on the sheet. Probably he will stay at this career, but I will see into that at my evening today. Now have to get back to work. Thanks for all the help!

Hey, might not be. It was just a rumour I heard.
Might be. Though whether they are willing to risk their positions to help you is the question. You might need to come back to them later, if you manage to maintain friendship after leaving.

Right now we are making obstacles to finding the answers, not actually looking for answers.
Yep. 18 + 4 + 4.
That seems wise. But decide when you get back to this later.

Ok. Lets try to get up in the ranks some more... Staying with this career. So I presume I just roll for the next term in one of the tables? Ok choosing... it was a chard choice, but will get PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - maybe will help with advancements later.

Streetwise... again ? On "Personal development"? lol:) It was a Merchant Marine ship... or more like pirate ship? ;) Or was it that our beloved captain wasn't exactly a saint himself... ?

Streetwise 1 -> 2

Ok, time for survival...

Not bad. He is good at survival it seems:) Event roll.

Again: "A good deal ensures you are living the high life for a few years. Gain DM+1 to any one Benefit roll."
Hmmm... good... indeed... getting some wealth and power I hope...:)

ADVANCEMENT roll - INT 7+

Yes!!! :D
"4th Officer"
I feel this time it will be good to go for: MERCHANT MARINE table - because of advancement.

So that would be Electronics - choosing Remote Ops. 0 -> 1.

Ok, now he is 30 yo... and face the choice to stay at this career or change it... Probably stay... but will think about it some more...

Ok... so far it wasn't bad, so I think it will be the last term at this career - I hope it will be by choice...:) So rolling a for ADVANCED EDUCATION... that was a hard choice but didn't want to get another Streetwise or Vac Suit...:)

A Pilot - nice one! :) It will be Spacecraft specialization. Noting on the sheet.
So... now survival...

Nice! It will be by the choice! I like it! :D So now event

Lol... So Raf indeed had some criminal opportunities... but... on Imperial Ship?!?!? ;) ;) ;) Interesting... did captain knew about that? Was he directly involved in such activities? Or maybe he was not the "government guy" in the end of the day?

"You are offered the opportunity to smuggle illegal items onto a planet. If you accept, roll Deception 8+ or Persuade 8+ to gain Streetwise 1 and an extra Benefit roll. If you refuse, you gain an Enemy in the criminal sphere."

I think they were illegal... but only by the eyes of the planet's awful dictatorship and they were a weapons for the opposition... so Raf could help fight against some communist regime and... make some money:) Two birds with one stone. He would definitely try that... :) Let's see if he managed to pull it through? I wonder what should happen if he wouldn't pass this test? But I really hope he will:) I'm not sure, but after reading skill examples it would be 2d6 + Persuade (0) + INT(0) -> so in this case 2d6? Rolling that. But will wait for the confirmation.

A REAL pity... ;( So what now?

Could be. But Streetwise is about how wise you are on the street, not necessarily about crime.
That Streetwise getting you in contact with the officers? On you way to schmoozing with the captain? :)
Elsewhere possibly, or possibly +SOC if you are Persuading with your 'nobility' or possibly +DEX if you are using your 'grace and beauty', or other options, the fiction will inform the Characteristic. But in this case, no, just 2d6 + Persuade, exactly like it says. As they say on page 11, this is a special rule for Character Creation, later --in actual play-- you will get to add further Modifiers. It is a pity that they don't use the proper/full rules during character creation, but I suppose they are tying to keep it 'simpler' for new players?
Nothing. You did not refuse, so you don't get an Enemy, but you also did not do well enough to really benefit from this (you did not Learn more Streetwise or get the extra Benefit roll).

Did you succeed in getting the stuff in? Was it, maybe, so easy that you did not learn anything, or such a close shave that you kept your head down and don't want to risk accepting any rewards and drawing attention? Or something else? Tell us the story.

This need not have any effect on you 'leaving on your own terms', though it might add flavour as to why (or make you stay?). Where do you want to go next?

Hmm... I'm not intending to "force" criminal themes on those results, but to be honest I don't have other good ideas for that. How do you see streetwise in context of imperial merchant ship?
So could it be that ship was so big that it had it own "society"(in some sense it is always a case)? But I always thought about it as applicable mainly outside of the ship? Well... in the streets, starports and so on. Ships and i.e. starports - as I see them - probably have quite different social structures. I.e. at ship the hierarchy is strictly defined or it won't function too well.
By "4th Officer" I meant Raf's new rank. (Was celebrating it:) ) And still only one thing that comes to my mind, right now: that becoming an officer on the ship and/by getting streetwise would mean that all the higher ranks on the imperial merchant ship were involved in some shenanigans? Or what other ideas you have for that? Probably I have made myself too narrow-minded :(
Yes, so far I love the process of character creation - for generating interesting story and being its own mini game . But... it has a lot of "exceptions" to what is stated in the next few pages of main rules - and that's sometimes confusing for me. Thx for explaining that. Luckily this exception didn't changed anything for this roll.
I will think about that. But first lets see if he got advancement...

Excelent! This failed mission with contraband apparently didn't help Raf, but still he somehow manage to advance and now he is:
3rd Officer
Rolling at MERCHANT MARINE table - for advancement...

I must say... it become more tempting to stay for this career... But I have to decide well: the next term will be the last one. Gotta use it well.

Also: by checking for what else Vacc Suit skill is useful I found that there is something called a Battle Dress... could it be that on Ignomia it was what they called as mechs? :) That would explain why Raf has STR and DEX so low... as this armor compensate for this. But still I'm not sure....:) Huge robots with human inside still are tempting even more... But such Battle dress seems more subtle and probably have more useful applications.

Athletics... nice... Being a 3th officer requires you to get into shape... I think? Noting on the sheet as Athletics - Endurance 1. Being in the mech or battle armor for longer period of time requires some trained endurance I presume, more then Strength or dexterity which are exchanged by it...
Ok... it leaves me with the aging roll for this term and I will want to tie up all the above loose story threads + choose the career for Raf's last term... or to stay in this one... He is so close to being "noticeable" by the Captain... could it be worth to stay here? Or he decided that this paths don't leads him to anything useful? That I leave for my evening to decide...

Hmmm... would getting "Pilot 1" as potential bonus because of next rank would allow Raf to get Capital Ships at 1 or it will not change anything as he already has 1 at Spacecraft ?

I can help out if you need, but this is your story. This is also an empire local to your homeworld or system, so you can tell us about them. If that is what you choose. Remember that the book says Merchant Marine is working for megacorporations or 'the Imperium' which is an organisation in the official setting and not something we have here. 'Imperium' and 'imperial' are not the same thing, so that is your word, if you want it.
It can just be a skill you learn on your travels. It does not have to a big part of the story. But it does seem this one might be as you learn how the real world really works.
Indeed. A ship of any size will have its own society, but the skill also applies when you go ashore at a variety of places during your many years here.

You also don't have to have been on the same ship the whole time, maybe that captain you speak of is just where you end up? Maybe you worked your way towards getting onto that specific ship? Streetwise will help you learn the ropes on any ship you join --which is why you had to learn it on your first Term in the real world. You might further your Skills as you deal with more people and hierarchies, on and off ships.
All strongly defined hierarchies have black markets --too rigid a system snaps under pressure-- and you have seen firsthand that there is smuggling in yours.
Yes, an officer's rank. So now you are rubbing shoulders with people who might be able to give you answers, now you have access to ship's systems and records you would not have as a mere worker.

Now, as a 3rd Officer, you may even have access to the captain, though not close or regular access.
I have worried about that a few times. On of the first things I said was that this backstory might end up dominating your game, I have seen it before.

Given what we have, it makes sense that his life so far has revolved around this event. We can work towards resolving it now to free you up, but I don't get the impression that is what you were wanting. We can try to fade it into the background, it has been over a decade and you have seen the real world outside your planet.

The Streetwise Skill is your Skill, it does not tell us anything about the other officers (and you got it before being an officer?). You are welcome to say they were all involved in any criminal activities, but it does not need be a conspiracy, it is just a thing you learned.
Confusing for everyone, which is why I called it out. Rather confusing now for a roll or two than confusing later throughout the game. :)
Yes and no.

On a meta level note that getting to 2nd Officer does not give you anything mechanical since you already have Pilot 1 (I am not totally happy with the Rank tables).

On a in-fiction level 2nd Officer (if you get there) would get you substantial access to the captain... which might a reason to come up with a reason to not go there?
A suit of armour was one of the possible ways I mentioned to do your 'mechs'. Though Battle Dress is 4 Tech Levels above what we have, so we would need to tone it down. A Cargo Lifter Vehicle (page 145) is also possible as a starting point.

Your lightsaber analogy has worried me, since --in that setting-- lightsabers are the pinnacle of technology, and walker style vehicles are not very practical outside of fantasy settings. I say again, mechs are not going to be a big or important part of this setting.
Yep, but you are still young, so it should not be a risk...
Tie up any you want to, but we can also leave some of them unanswered and see if your next Term brings more enlightenment or if they come up later as we play to find out. Your choice.
Very good question. I will look into it more, but I think I will probably rule it as another, different Pilot 1 so you can get Capitial Ships. This is only because this is a special case and it is still Pilot 1 and not increasing the level.

Unless someone can show in the book where it contradicts this, these Specialities will work like that. In which case ignore the above 'meta' discussion about your next Term.

Depending on the time period, this might line up with my character's smuggler days. My smuggling event was a success though, so maybe we were rival smugglers (is that a thing?)? Or we could just have met at a smuggling social gathering?

Which Term was that in for you?
Nothing here says Raf's was not a success, just that those rewards were not gained, but no one was angry about it either.

The 3rd. There's a handy overview here. I'll cross out Trailhead's character.
You can't line them up until you know the final amount of terms, right?
Oh, I guess that's true :)

Indeed, the last one is now, so they line up from the bottom.

Aaah right smugcon5465™
Hell of a convention! Nobody paid the entrance fee btw😉

That convention was hell, until they realised it was a convention for smug people, it got better when they stole all the Jags on their way out. :)

😂

It's like the thieves guild in Discworld. Only government-sanctioned smuggling, and you need a license :D

Sorry for derailing your char creation post, Pedrop :S

@Pedrop, hows it going? Do you need anything from us to help with your next Term?

Sorry it was just a lot of information to take in, had to thing it through and I'm a little sick last few days, but still working a lot.

So it looks, that Raf is now 34 yo, but advanced in his 4th term. Now roll for aging, and the choice if I stay in this career or not. What I will do for my last term...
I guess it will 2d6-4 as there were 4 terms total for now...

Wow... I have spend way too much time for this decision... And in the end I figured out that Raf at this point's want's to establish his own business, to get more power/wealth as this is the only way that he see to get to know what really had happened with his planet. So he is ending his career as Marine Merchant... heading for Scout, Surveyor - to find the proper place for his "base of operation" - what is more like "new area with small competition", and by area I mean some cluster of systems of border worlds. Also he is hopping to get training with a guns, as he knows that he will have a need to "defend" himself.
So now... Mustering out... As I understand this I get 5 benefit rolls for this career. 3 full terms, +2 for getting to 3rd rank. I will decide where I roll before each roll as I hope to get Free Trader( good fit for some beginner "business" man... with high street wise... ;) ). Also as you said - if I use my two events: "A good deal ensures you are living the high life for a few years. Gain DM+1 to any one Benefit roll."

First roll... lets go....

Lol... 2... but it is a INT+1... becoming a real criminal/bussiness mastermind? Noting on the sheet. Ok, next one. This time without event, one event left.

And... here we are! A quirky Free Trader! :D Good for business. Noting 25% of it on the sheet. Next roll.

Getting smarter, and smarter... INT +1 ;) Noting on the sheet. Ok, this time a cash.

This is the way to go! :) A apparently Raf has done some proper "transactions" this time... :) It's Cr40000 :D Noting... Ok, the last one... hmmm... hard decision... very hard... but the cash is always quite flexible... using event this time. So no more events to use, and that will be a 2nd roll for cash - one left.

Lol... it looks that you not always live in times of prohibition or something like that... :) Better this then nothing. Cr5000 - noting.

Ok... time to go for a Scout career... really hope they will allow Raf in...

Qualification: INT 5+ and DM -1 for previous career, luckily Raf has risen it during previous career. So the final DM = 0.

Lol... he really like to walk on the knife edge! :) Ok... choosing - as planed - Gun Combat at 0, as basic training. Ok... it's time to stop and wait for confirmation of all those steps.
So the next step is to roll for one of the tables now, yes? Or the basic training was all I get... hope it is not the case...

Note to self: roll for ship quirks.

Boy, you really know how to doom yourself with event bonuses. :) (Perhaps someone is interfering with your life, making it look like you are getting a benefit but undermining you on a deeper level? Maybe they don't get to interfere when you allow fate to take its course?)

That all looks correct (from memory).

Even in first Term you roll on the tables, this is in addition to Basic Training.

Ok, I will try to end my character creation from mechanics pov first, and then star to gradually answer all your interesting(but not so easy... :) ) question about Rafael's backstory. Ok, so rolling for one of the tables. That was a hard choice between PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT and SURVEYOR. first has vary good options to make my character stronger, but SURVEYOR is good fit for my backstory assumptions - making/preparing for his own business. So... I choose Personal Development as those stats are needed, and potentially will help with his survival roll. Hoping for advancement and then using SURVEYOR table.

Ok, DEX+1 - always handy, at least as HP:) Oh... and rising it to 6, removing -1 DM from it! Better then I thought. I wonder what caused his development in this on those border words? :) I think it was his training and probably actually using his Gun Combat skill...
Ok, now survival I suppose. Important moment I think:)

Ouch... :( Ok, rolling for MISHAP.

Lol... could be much worse... "You have no idea what happened to you – they found your ship drifting on the fringes of friendly space." Hmm... thats interesting... Could it be something connected with his bounding(almost spiritual) to his mech? Or he has gone to the places he shouldn't have... But why didn't they just killed him and instead erased his memory of this? Or something else. But as "You have no idea what happened to you" - that would me that either I or Rafael don't know what really has happened... yes GM? And you have some ideas for that?

Ok... I think it all means that Raf's career at scouts ended quite rapidly, I think it was last year, but still no advancement roll:(
And that would be mustering out? So... from the rulebook:
"Benefits are gained when a Traveller leaves a career. A Traveller gets one Benefit roll for every full term served in that career. "
But was it a "full term" or was it not - because of the mishap? In case it was, I will roll for one benefit and it will be the cash for all the effort and to have a good start as traveller - but then will wait for the answer.

Cr30000 - nice:) Noting on the sheet. Now roll for dreadful aging...

Uff... good. I was afraid for a moment. But it looks that those border words were good for his health:)

Ok, waiting for the answers and I think we can finalize this character from mechanics point of view. Should I buy equipment now? Or we will do it after taking a skill package? I don't think Raf has any pension(in the time perspective he probably should have stayed for the 5th term in the Merchant Marine career... :) ) and medical debt to pay? Would that be all for the numbers/mechanic and I can get back to answering your questions about his backstory and end his character creation for now?

Rolling for Spacecraft Quirks - first how many of them?

Oh... is it even fly capable ? :D There are 3 tables for this. And I think it would be most interesting to roll on all three? As it is somehow trade ship, but also a military one (from my main career) and others. What you think? My suggestion is to do 5 rolls: Trader, Military, Other, Trader, Military.

Take a look at the rules for low gravity and DEX (and Athletics), that might also be a reason out there?
Seems like a pattern forming. I have heard rumours of the Scouts doing things like this in the past as well, if only you could remember why you even joined them when your plans were to become a merchant... something is hinky.
It means your character does not know, but also that we --the players-- don't have to know yet. We can play to find out. It seems in keeping with your character... but does your character even remember that there is other stuff that is being erased? Will your Rival need to remind you? Will you believe her? (Not questions we need to answer, just ones that could be interesting to think about).
It was not.
I treat rules that say you have to 'spend x before starting' a bit loosely. We don't yet know where we will be playing or what sort of gear you would want to have, so I allow players to get a bit of a feel for the world and then let them claim to have bought the sorts of things that are useful, sometimes there is a roll to see about the improbably lucky items (like a flashback mechanic).

If the players do spend money on specific types of gear that will suggest the types of situations they want to find their characters in. So if there is anything you think you want, go ahead.

Any money you don't spend now you keep and can spend in play. Prices in play will depend on where you buy them, so you may have to pay more than the list price, but you could also arrange things that you pay a lot less.
Nope.
I don't think so. Did you ever get hurt?
Is that your last Term?

Ship
It can be made flyable, else it takes away your reward. Some of the Quirks are even good things.

It might need work, and that could be our first adventure? Getting to the ship and then getting it up and running. (I admit I misread that as being item 5 on the table and some ideas sprang to mind about the recovery job details.:)

It is possible we only learn about the Quirks as we play? When something goes wrong and it seems interesting we add another till we have all 5?
I am not sure about it being a Military ship, it is a Trader, and you were a Merchant (not actually military), but maybe we roll the number and then look at all the options and pick the one that seems the most interesting (if it fits)? Or maybe we roll and don't know exactly which of the three options it is till it manifests clearly? This is more flavour than mechanics, they add fun and should not have too large an impact.

Yes, I think there were some words with low gravity. And probably he was learning to use weapons with Zero-gravity too. You never know where you will have to defend yourself. But it was not enough training to get Athletics - Dexterity, but he developed his DEX by it.
I think the main reason was for him to finally break free from those official structures. That didn't bring him the good enough answers. And he joined Scout services in order to find new "markets" for his future activity as a Traveller that want to amass power and influence outside of government/public structures himself.

So you think it could be actually a Scouts Services themselves that erased Raf's memory? (so you were hiding your tine foil hat all this time? ;P )
I think the last thing he remembers was that he was sent on some regular mission not too close to his home planet, but in that direction. All the records at the ship's database claims that he just have done some ordinary resource delivery mission to some relatively new colony. And that's all. After that strange event and leaving scout career he started to do some basic businesses. But later, he was still curious, and he finally went on this particular new colony to see it on his own eyes and do some little investigation - as he did not remember even being there. But soon after landing there it turns out he was accused of some criminal activities apparently done there by him or someone very similar. The funny thing is that he don't know if he really have done anything bad there or someone frames him for a crime. He don't think so, but in the same time he don't remember anything from that time. But by this event... he was - someone could say - forced on the wrong side of the line( of law). Becoming "a criminal" even against his initial will and started to be treated by others like that. At the beginning at that planet/system only(?) . Could it be that the thing he is accused for was significant enough that he started to arouse respect in other small criminals which also think he have done this? What it could be?

Could it be a place where he meet the rest of the team? At that colony? And they were also accused for something that they didn't do? It could mean that officials at that particular new colony had some reasons to frame each of them? And those reasons could be different for each of us? But the common treat have made us allies? Wheter we wanted that or not. Depending which of us has known who before coming to this colony?
Ok:( Extracting this beautiful 30 grands... from Raf's account;( But now he is even more motivated to make some more of those...
You mean like in the Blades in the Dark?
Having his ship, Raf only need a few more things, nothing spacial. More specifically a gun and good vest - as any self respecting merchant...:) The rest will have to be based on his brain... and some luck/divine protection will not hurt...:) So I think I will but this for him. The rest - as you suggest - would be the best to buy later. Or you ok with that?
Not that I have any knowledge about:) He is considerate guy. (Have a whole planet to safe and girl to win back... maybe... ;)
Yes it is. False(hopefully) accusations and erasing of a memory can really change man approach to life... you know? :)

True. I'm hoping for them:)
If you and others will like my ideas about false accusations and new colony I think we could combine them with this. Could it be that the ship was confiscated when they arrested Raf upon his arrival? And some of the quirks are caused because of situation?
I love this idea! But considering above I think the best way to do it would be to roll 2 quirks "now" - PC know them and have to do something bout them, before escaping the colony with suspicious officials? And rest 3 of them will come out during the play. What you think?
[/quote]
I like this. Let's use it as inspiration, but fit it to the story:)

Scout Services? The people responsible for finding and mapping where planets are? Do I think they might have been involved in erasing a planet from the registry? Seems now that they would have to be, right?

What is 'memory' if not just a big map? (It is probably more than that, which is why they mess up when fiddling with memory.)
Just 'criminal' in general, or are there specific accusations of crimes? It is fine if we don't know yet what they are, but surely the locals or the local law would know the accusation? If not, then there is more going on, of course.

But remember, you don't know what happened. So maybe we should honour that and not have you start in a situation where you are learning what happened?
You are free to claim such things, but they are not backed up by any mechanics since there are no Contacts or anything happening here. When you interact with these criminals --or anyone else-- you could always say they might have a past with you and roll to see how they feel.
That requires us to all align our Connections with that one point right at the end. If it turns out that we do that anyway, then fine, but let's not push it.

For instance: There is an inflection point in Term 2 where almost everyone was a Merchant at the same time (and one med-student).

Traveller assumes you are not a new crew, that many of your have known each other for years and worked together before. If we want to be strangers until recently, we can do that, there is no strong mechanical reason to force you all to be old acquaintances, though it does smooth over some starting struggles. But those 'struggles' can also be fun to play out.
That's why I used the term Flashback, yes. But Blades merely mechanised a thing that many of us were doing already and that I do in most games. Blades tying it to their Stress mechanic means players can not just claim "we had prepared for this exact situation" every time something goes wrong, but I have seldom had that be a problem if players work within the fiction.
Cool, you need help with speccing out any of those? I assume it is an Energy or Slug Gun --and not Archaic?

Whatever you buy, you can start practicing with it --though maybe not on the ship!-- and work towards Specialising in that type. Currently you are equally good at all types of Guns (so you might want to shop around and play out finding what sort you like?). Energy weapons are probably better in those zero-G environments you were practicing in?
"Er... no. Who are you?" :)

Ship
While I am hoping for the more interesting ones. I much favour flavour over simple number adjustments. But it is your ship (partially).
Technically you don't have the ship yet. You are using Scout Services' ships till after you finish with Character Creation. None of the rewards exist till we start playing, which also means none of them can be damaged or lost during Character Creation. If you really insist on flying your own ship as a Scout then we can try work with that, but remember that these are Quirks, not 'damage', they are the little things that have happened over a long life --something with 5 Quirks would be nearly 100 years old by the chart on page 188-- and are things that can not be repaired --short of replacing the Quirky part.

Quirks ordinarily represent things that happened to the ship before you got it.

Let's remember your tendency to be too focused on one thing and making everything connect to that one thing. Such a rigid framework tends to break when the pressures of the game push on it. The ship is important to the whole group --central to Traveller-- and this is just part of the way you got it (and you only got a 25% share), so maybe we don't link it too closely to one player's story?
Could do. We can roll as many as we need, when we need.

Now... when you put it that way... someone from them had to be involved in erasing Raf's planet... for sure! But personally I don't think the most of the organization is so corrupted... as if that was the case, then no one would relay on their maps and services. I would prefer them being in the most part this idealistic organization of brave pioneers, silent keeper of the known for humans universe. But that doesn't mean every single one of them is like that of course. And of course there is a possibility that someone was forced to do that by some secret services blackmail....

To state it clear: I was thinking about this event, that Raf's memory was erased "only" for the period of this particular mission. Not before it and not after. And he is wanted only this system/planet. I think it would be not fun to be afraid of some arrest in the whole universe, at the beginning of the game. So at least for first few months it should be restricted to this system.
I think that, how specific this crime is depends on that if Raf will go for this "new colony planet" before we start the game or after(eventually at the beginning). We can get to know what are the accusations together during the play.

But as I don't see (so far) much interest in this storyline from other players and (probably) you - it looks that we should establish it as event that happened before the point in time of our game beginning. What do you think about that? Do you consider to start our game with this?
Ok, you are right probably thats too much for now. We can go back to it, when we will know what was the crime. And other criminals reaction will be "natural" depending of who they are and what the crime was. Not need to say to much:)
I agree again - no need to push it, especially on other players. I have put out the idea - maybe it will be useful, maybe not. But for my character story - if we want to go by what dice have told us and I think we do - this event(fals accusation) probably should happened at the end of his 5th term, as it was an effect of mishap - a reason he had to leave the career. So not long before the beginning of our game, or at it very moment. Yes?
I limited myself to TL 9. I would like to take:
Flak Jacket Cr300 - Now that he may have some law officers on his back, Raf has to protect himself. Probably hidden under other ordinary clothes.
Magnetic Grapples Cr100 - Fancy, military-like looking boots with... hidden little surprise for his enemies, when he turns off the gravity on the ship with a hidden buttons, cleverly placed around the ship.
Laser Pistol Cr2000 - what is the point of playing sci-fi system without laser weapon ? ;)
Additional power pack Cr1000 left in ship to charge.
Dagger Cr10 - hidden in right boot of his, more like knife, just in case... now as he is treated as criminal by some.

All good?

He would also like to have:
Autorifle - for some added firepower on planet surfaces,
Antique Rifle - for some style(hanged in the ship, but fully functioning) and nostalgia of his home planet, as such weapons were kept in his family home as decorations and traditional items

But I presume there is limit for initial equipment?


And what about the Vacc Suits - do we get them with a ship, or have to buy them? The same question about some kind of comms?
"It's a me! Rafio! Don't you remember that you promised me your sister for my wife?" ;)

Yes "interesting" is also good for me:) Let's allow dice decide:)
I think there is/may be a few(1-3) months period when Raf was using his "own" ship - between the mishap, leaving the career and nominal end of his 5th term(beginning of the game). And that probably was the period during which he visited this new colony planet, where he was accused. Could be just at the beginning of the game, or little earlier. So after leaving scout career he picked up "his" ship and had some time to fly with it. Not necessary alone, hopefully with other players. But from where is the ship and what quirks it have - probably we should brainstorm with other players?

And for ship's age. As 5 is between 4 and 6 in the table(I checked it too, earlier:) ) for me it is more like 50 year. Not "new" certainly, but not awfully old:)
I agree. I did't think about linking it too much to my story. But was thinking of having it for just a few months before we all meet in one place. As mentioned above. Would that be ok?
Ok, to end this aspekt: I'm rolling one quirk - for my 25% of the ship :) And let's leave the rest for the whole team. Ok? It leaves 1 for each player including you! :) If you agree with above it would mean that Raf was indeed flying the ship for little time before the beginning of our game and that was the time when he discovered it. Ok, let's see what it is. I'm curious.

Lol... :):) "Double maintenance costs." It is indeed old... Maybe it is good that I will no more roll for it... But as this is PbP, maybe I have gone to much ahead of myself and I shouldn't be rolling this quirk? And do we interpret it literally?

Of course not, but there is currently no way for your character to know how far the corruption goes, or who from there they can trust.
That is assuming that is their main income source, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. :)
That is what the recruitment posters say.
If that is what you want, we can do that.

I was merely offering a way to remove the need to explain away your lack of focus on your missing homeworld at the start of the campaign. It has been 20 years since you left, it could be another 20 before you resolve this.
There was nothing in the Event about criminality or being wanted, so you are adding that on your own. You are always welcome to say, whenever we land somewhere, that you might have local wanted status and we can act accordingly.
I am loath to foist this on the other players. We don't want one player's backstory to dominate the landscape too much.
With the faulty memory and all, maybe we leave this undefined. Maybe you do not even know that you are wanted there and might learn it if we ever go there. We can sort it out when it comes up, remind us when we get there. The type of world, and what is going on at the time may influence these decisions.
But the dice did not say anything about a false accusation, did they?
Presumably the Event lead to your leaving, so it was around the end of that Career. If there was a gap between your leaving the Scouts and us starting, all we know --by the mechanics-- is that you did not do anything significant in that time.
Probably. I have not looked closely at the items.

The only thing that worries me is your assumption of 'hidden'. A Flack Jacket for instance weighs 6Kg and is described as "bulky flak jacket is an unmistakably military", so probably not hidden? Maybe you were thinking about a Jack? Magnetic Grapples are metal plates in the armour boots, so they are probably not too discreet either, probably a bit clunky for normal walking, and probably look like big chunky boots, but that could just be a 'fashion choice'.
If is it functional it will cost you --though not much-- but if it is decorative it might be free. If it has artistic value it may cost more or be sellable later.
CR10000 can be spent before we start adventuring (page46).
That depends on how we get the ship. If getting it is the first mission then we will need to work out gear for that mission at the start of the mission, they may be provided --depending on how a 'get ship' mission is picked up-- or they may be part of the ship.

Ships are expected to be kitted with Vacc Suites at each airlock, but we will need to work out those details.
You guys will need to sort yourselves out. 'Cell Phones' are only CR50 so it should not be a big deal.

If, for some reason, you don't have comms at any point, that could lead to some interesting play (but I have struggled with modern players who forget that constant connectivity should not be assumed:).

Ship
This ship is technically from your reward, so if you insist on already having it and it being in working condition at the start of the game then we can go with that.

We may need to roll most of those Quirks, though, to see what you can and can't do with it. We don't want to have you say you have spent last few months ferrying cattle around and then find that you hold was contaminated and they all died, that is bad for the cows. Rolling the Quirks into the story later was sort of predicated on our learning the ship as we play. I can come up with other ways to do something like this if we have to.
Sure.
Don't worry about me in this regard.
Indeed. We would need to add such things, they would come with the ship, but might have their own Quirks.
You can put all manner of things in your cargo bay. But we can make a place.
That is what I was thinking: Maybe Cat's 'money' finances the mission to get the ship, and the others' expertise are needed? But if you already have the ship then they just reduce the amount owed.
Cool. We can work out those dynamics with the others, maybe in play.
Fair enough. In other words you definitely did. Noted.
Mechanically that is what it does. But the fiction says you are more heavily invested than the others.
Its a ship, you can do all sorts of things with it. It was not a military ship, so its history should mostly reflect that. If the Military option on the Quirk is the most interesting we can go with it.

If you guys want to kit it out with guns, you are welcome to, and it might even start that way. Do note that the more obviously threatening it looks the more suspicion you will receive. You will reap the whirlwind you sow.
No, that is why you continue to work to better it or replace it. If all you cared about was the money I am pretty sure a
savvy character like yourself could make millions just trading.
Pretty much. I am not sure how else to do it. Double costs means double costs. Remember this is just for the Maintenance portion.

So the ads can lie? ;)
Yes, I think this is what I want.

Yes it has been 20 years of trying... Without much success so far. So now Raf is trying a different approach: making the most money and power he can - to be "strong" enough to get his answers himself... maybe even by some kind of "force". I think this will provide interesting narrative opportunities... as it is a very thin line between getting money and power for the "good cause" and... starting to get it for the sake of itself. I see some moral dilemmas here:) So mainly he is now focused on being straight "powerful Traveller". And I feel that this explains your (right) concerns. And having this memory erasure only made him more persistent and focused.
Ok.
Ok. Let's leave it for now - what was the crime. But I feel that false accusations for Raf has happened. This will help put him on the line between being lawful and lawless. And I want him to be there:)
No, of course they did not. But that was my interpretation of this event. Did we change it for something else? Do you have better ideas for it?
Yes, but I don't think Raf was sitting and doing nothing for the few months. Do you? I don't understand this remark. I just proposed some story for Raf for that period. What was your purpose of it?
Yes, you are right - "hidden" wasn't a good world. What I was thinking that it is not immediately visible from some distance. So is covered with some other cloths, but when someone is close and will take a closer look, there will be no problem for him to notice that there is something as thick/sturdy as Flak Jacket.

Yes again, as for the first look the boots look like military boots - it is a 'fashion choice'. Raf's - even though wasn't in "real" military service - likes to dress in "military style" fashion, but the more elegant version of this style, but still:)
Yes. Raf's is not particularly an "art guy" - he much more prefers functional items. So it is functional. But will probably be used only in dire situations by him. He likes old weapons.
So it will be:
Flak Jacket Cr300 -
Magnetic Grapples Cr100 -
Laser Pistol Cr2000 -
Additional power pack Cr1000 left in ship to charge.
Dagger Cr10 - hidden in right boot of his, more like knife, just in case... now as he is treated as criminal by some.
Autorifle Cr750 - for some added firepower on planet surfaces,
+ 30 magazinse = 300
Antique Rifle Cr150 - for some style(hanged in the ship, but fully functioning) and nostalgia of his home planet, as such weapons were kept in his family home as decorations and traditional items
+ 10 magiaznes = 100 Cr
SUM: 4710 Cr - is it all ok, now? Notting on my sheet.

Ship
I feel that Raf should come to the adventure "with a ship". You know this antique rifle has to have some place to hang... ;) Maybe he just got it "yesterday" or something like that and still don't know what are the quirks - as I like the idea of finding them during play a lot. Of course that doesn't mean he is "with a ship" alone. Hopefully other PCs have picked up the ship with him at the same time and they started to fly together? And about it's condition: maybe they have picked it up "yesterday", landed somewhere and it didn't took off again - something has broken on it? If you need that for our first adventure? And we have to fix the issue.
So we agree about ships needed modifications:)
Ok, it can also be that our first mission is to go and pick up our ship if you already have good ideas for that. Raf can get false accusation without his own ship too... but it would make much harder for him to get off the suspicious planet/colony.
Yes, of course. Let's see what other PC's motivations are. But I think Raf's hunger for power(maybe justified maybe... not always) and his balancing between this and staying with his "noble intentions" can make him an interesting captain.
"I don't remember a single instance of that... As you know I have a deep respect for the official structures and rules. They are always very hopeful to have...."
Understood. So let's see if we have it already. For how long and so on. If it will not come with a guns, Raf will try convince everyone to get some. Preferably not so visible. Speaking of this... aren't turrets in this system retractable ? So you can't be sure witout any good scanners if the weapons are really there? And Far Trader has some turrets hardpoints?
Yes... I think Raf... will need much, much bigger ship for his plans.

"Yes... I need a lot of money... but it is not for me. It's for [i]my people[i/] on my home planet, you know?"

...

"No! Let's take those Beam Laser... I know that specifications are the same... but the look much more dangerous!"
Ok.

Nope. All ads are completely truthful. Just like in the real world. :|
Cool. These may be hooks for your Rival to get involved, we shall see how it plays out. I will take my lead from you.
Only this one? What about all the other memory erasures you have had? Oh, you don't know about them... nevermind, ignore that remark. I was only joking... :)
Cool. Was it only in this one place --which will mean you went back there on your own if the others don't want to start there-- or also elsewhere, and for reasons you can not explain? We can turn this into a recurring event and mystery if you are interested in something like that?
No, your interpretation is fine. I was just observing that that was not 'what the dice have told us', in case you were feeling forced into it.
I was saying that, if it did not 'happen at the end of his 5th term', you could have had as much time as you want to have passed between then and now, that time just had no mechanical effect (since it was already part of that last Term). You don't have to have gone straight from that Career into the current events. But it is up to you.
Cool. There may be places where that is common and places where that is frowned upon, or even illegal. Some people may judge you for your fashion choices.

Armour is often illegal, but that is part of the fun.
Looks good, I will trust your numbers. Cr10K is quite a lot of money, it seems. I don't think it is meant to be a significant limitation, just like the limit on number of Skills is unlikely to come up very often.

Ship
OK.
Sure, we won't deny you access to the ship you 'earned' during Character Creation. We don't expect you to play without it.
We could do that, if people want, but that sounds a lot like 'you don't have your ship at the start'.
I do not need anything like that, I am quite happy for you all to start on your working ship if that is what you guys want.
No ideas yet. I can see several ways to make that happen. It did seem like a way to bring the characters together, but the rules assume you are 'already together' so we can assume that already happened. It was just a 'quest starter' idea.
I don't think we are starting on that planet/colony, though. So we can assume you managed to get off (or were driven off?) somehow, even if that was a while ago.

If you really want to start at the time of that accusation we can start things at the point that the others have just swooped in and gotten you out? Not being there with your ship could help keep the 'accusation' from tainting your ship's reputation along with your own?
Sure. You are majority owner of the ship, whether the other characters continue to accept you as 'captain' may depend on what you do.
And yet, there are those rumours... Maybe your memory is worse than you think? I don't mind if it starts with guns. If we are just going to convince everything to buy guns anyway, then there is little reason to restrict them. If think that will be interesting, and we want to play out the purchase and installation of those guns --on the black market, presumably-- then we can turn that into a mission, but if they are just going to be bought we can as easily start with them.
Not the ones in the Core Book, in High-Guard there are TL10 Pop-Up Mounts that allow for that at the cost of +1 Tons and +1 MCr. If you really want those, then we might have to 'play to get them', they are 'high-tech' devices and not common.
I believe you get one hardpoint for every 100 Tons? So two? There are rules for hulls with more than the normal amount.
Sounds like a job. :)

It's very unfortunate then... How I will choose a proper detergent for Raf's Flak Jacket if all of them are the best? :(
"(Awkward silence)"
It start to border with Raf being "crazy" in Jackyl and Hyde style... or himself being a serial-unconscious-criminal... And for now I don't like this direction. I like him striving to be good... but it not being easy for him. So for now I wouldn't want to loose some control on him... going nuts:)

So for now let's leave it in that one place only... But let's keep it for later. If it will be a good fit for the story, we can get back to idea. This one event was a mystery enough for now... and it recurring on different planets can be very hard to explain... but... it depends what will be your idea.
I think it will be interesting for those events to be recent or very recent. So it was near the end of the term. Can put some initial heat on him and maybe group?
I like your ideas for this development of my choices:)

No worries, it was just a fleeting idea. (There does not have to be anything criminal about the memory loss, though, except for that one time you asked for.)

Forget about it.

I'm ok with that. As long as other players won't be interested in going after my character backstory there is no need for it influencing our common ship or other PCs.
I like it. Getting "nice things" should take some effort.
Again - even better than "normal weapons", and good fit for the one of the warm up missions.
I think so.
Indeed.

Moving EMP Grande discussion here, not to clutter up the main thread.
Ok, I got it for Raf. 100 Cr subtracted from his funds. Let's say that for now it can be attached to the pistol. Not that it sounds like a good idea for shooting with it, so probably only for caring.
Yes, sure. Unless... the EMP grenade takes off inside the ship, near it's main computer... don't you thinks so?
Ok. We will figure it out. You will tell me how it should be.
I agree that it would be more interesting to pick it up - most of the time. Let's say that shell is harder to do/construct, then recharging it after first use, but still doable. Not leaving it there could be for other reasons:)
"In this world you have to have your own style"...:)

Yeah, that would be clumsy. :)
With proper preparation you could get it to affect such things. It may take more than just tossing it near a ship's computer, though. They are quite important to keeping everyone alive, and therefore quite protected even aside from the hull. You are more likely to take out your own gear in such a situation. Planting it in the right place, possibly on a timer could well be effective, but taking out a ship should be appropriately hard.
If you are found to be taking devices that can kill everyone on a ship onto ships you are likely to come into conflict with those who enforce the rules, even in the fiction, the rules are there for a reason. :)

My main intention for this EMP was attacking robots/drones in dire situations, so it can not work on ships. No problem with that for me.