Today...this week, I move into the future. It's Sci-Fi week! Today's character comes from Mongoose Traveller 2nd edition. There are a lot of editions of Traveller. This is my first. I know. It's a travesty.
Traveller character creation can be fun. If you go into it with the right mindset. Approaching it with the same mentality as other traditional rpgs will leave you disappointed. Unless the stars align and you receive all the blessings in the world to your dice rolls.
Character creation is confusing. I've created dozens of characters for Traveller 2e and I'm still not sure if I'm doing it right without visual aids. I've used several different workflow sheets others have created.
That said, meet Alina Shevchuk:
Alina aspired to become a great admiral in the navy. Just like the ones she had seen in the holovids.
Alina
Human
5
7
9
7
7
9
0
She grew up on the agricultural world of Conway. She spent time helping her family with the crops and animals they tended. Overall, her childhood was average. She was average at school, athletics, but her family was in good standing with the local baron giving her the chance she sought.
Animals-0
Art-0
Athletics-0
At 18 she applied for the Naval Academy. It was time to achieve her dreams. Even with the support of the baron, she was unable to attend the academy. Her application was denied. Despite missing the chance to become an officer, she took a chance and enlisted. Even if she couldn't be a general, maybe she could fly through the depths of space instead of being stuck on a rock. She was accepted into the pilot program for the Navy.
| Pilot-0 |
| Vacc Suit-0 |
| Athletics-0 |
| Gunner-0 |
| Mechanic-0 |
| Gun Combat-0 |
She excelled at it and looked forward to a long career. As a young pilot aboard a massive starship she met plenty of people in power. She was able to leverage those opportunities into a commission!
Receive +2 DM to next Advancement roll. Successful Commission.
She was on her way to living her dream. She almost immediately received a promotion from Ensign to Sublieutenant. She took to being an officer.
Melee(blade)-0
As her career progressed she focused on the leadership skills she knew any good officer needed.
Leadership-0
During a training exercise in the Trojan Reach, her ship maneuvered into the path of another causing a collision. On the flight deck one of the massive beams fell and crushed her left arm.
Life Event - Injury - Missing Limb - Strength reduced by 2.
Despite the injury she maintained her commitment to the Navy and progressed to the rank of Lieutenant. She spent the next few years working hard to recover from her injury.
Personal Development - Strength +1
She continued to develop as a naval officer.
Tactics (naval)-0
She had created a number of friends and confidants in her time. She enjoyed her career immensely. She felt she could achieve her dream. It was when she felt everything was going her way that she was brought to her lowest emotional point. Her best friend, and sometimes lover, had been working against her. Kateri was executive officer for the captain aboard her ship. Both women were promoted to Commander, but their once intimate relationship had grown strained.
Gain Rival (Kateri Lidmila)
She continued working on her rehabilitation and had regained her strength, if not her limb.
Personal Development - Strength +1
She focused the next four years on becoming a better leader. Unfortunately, Kateri had convinced their new senior officer that she was no longer navy material. Admiral Alfredo Viliame gave Alina a Do Not Promote rating on her next 3 evaluations. Alina left the service broken-hearted and confused. She was able to leverage some of her remaining good will into receiving a re-grown left arm for free.
Roll of 2d6+4(rank) on Medical Bills.
Taking what money she had stashed away, Alina invested in a ship and began gathering a crew.
Cr55,000
Ship's Boat or two Ship Shares
TAS Membership
Personal Vehicle or Ship Share
Takes 3 ship shares, TAS Membership, and Cr55,000.
Character Sheet
Final Thoughts
Character creation went better than expected. I'm kind of sad it did. I was expecting a girl that aspired to be something great and ended up a drifter for the majority of her adult life.
Traveller character generation is a lot different than other RPGs. When I ran a game for my group most of them hated the random nature of generation (though I do house-rule that they roll and can then pick the table for their skills, giving them a bit of personal choice. and the Cepheus Deluxe is all player choice).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am a big fan of the randomness: it will create characters I never thought of. I've got friends who play the same character no matter what game we're in when they can design their characters.
And yes, there are a LOT of Traveller editions and versions.