Traveller RPG Character Creation - The 💫DANGEROUS💫 Business of Living

[@TheBasicExpert]

I have a whole series on Classic Traveller too. I love this game. Glad to see you covering this. You haven't lived until you have died in character creation.

[@RPGElite]

I'm one of the crazy folks that loves that mechanic. 😋

[@TheBasicExpert]

@@RPGElite Same. Most people are skeptical but once we start making characters it's fun.

[@loconius]

I’m skeptic… of the skeptics! I have always been a fan of consequences in player choices, and pressing your luck is one of them. My table is less a fan of the life path with death in it (or life paths in general). But I’m such a fan of traveller!!

[@loconius]

Something I thought about doing was letting the player choose on a failed survival roll to begin play as is or start a new per the rules. Let them play their own death as it were ;-)

[@hDansRandomCrud]

@@RPGElite Me too! We've developed a system where we roll the skill the character WOULD have gotten that term, and then come up with a story about how that got the character killed. The deceased character(s) will be acquaintances of the player's final character. "My buddy Ghzegrev supposedly got killed on an admin assignment. I won't stop until I find out what really happened..."

[@KhanTrav]

Congratulations on your son and your Dr. Daughter In-Law. I always like character creation in Traveller. Thank you for making Traveller RPG content.

[@Hellcat1665]

"Somebody please, get this man a gun" 😃

[@derekmann494]

I never got to play Traveller back-in-the-day, so I'm really looking forward to this Elite series.

[@ReustersPlace]

Love it, this game is what Sci Fi should be

[@RPGElite]

I'm having mad fun with this series and only two videos in. 🙂

[@shadowandson3550]

Congrats to the family and all those mikestones. You must be so proud. I know that feeling. My son made 1st LT. In Jrotc (his first year of high school no less) and 12 ribbons for his rack and honor role all before turning 15. Keep up the good work,you have alot to be grateful for and deserve a hearty pat on the back.

[@oldmanofthemountains3388]

I am LOVING the art design that you put into this series!

[@RPGElite]

Thank ya kindly. 🙂

[@Ratenef]

Most interested in Scout, the rest are all about the same. I'd have no issues with any of them. I love the enroll/draft mechanic. I also love the whole randomness of what you get in terms of skills/term of service. And how you can create an effective backstory based upon what was randomly rolled. (i..e. for Aria - during her first term of service, being a non-com, her training focused highly on improving her strength with daily activities, how to shoot effectively and the general level knowledge of Engineering. etc...) You can easily create descriptions of why she did/didn't get a commission, promotion, and why she ultimately mustered out. And all this from a series of d6 rolls....I better understand why Traveller is so revered.

[@RPGElite]

Exactly. The die rolls can tell assist telling the story for you which I love. Great observation. 👍🏿

[@nemooh]

thanks for the video. Ive never played Traveller but will take a look.

[@RPGElite]

Welcome aboard. It's time to get hip with the grandaddy of science fiction. They did good.

[@benjamineisenhofer8174]

Interesting approach! We always roll the stats in order and the start the carreer from there.

[@RPGElite]

There’s no hard and fast rule. I err of giving my player’s the freedom and options so they can go into whatever branch they desire, or at least have a better chance to get in. 👍🏿

[@benjamineisenhofer8174]

@@RPGElite Fair! I can totally see that for people who aren't used to making random character creation part of the game. My group has fun with the randomness, and I personally wouldn't want it any other way, especially in Traveller. But that's just us. =)

[@keithmathews4605]

@@RPGElite It's your game, run it as you want. But to say that you play with no homebrew rules or modifications doesn't really fit if the rules of Classic Traveller say that you roll 2 dice for each characteristic on the table and record the results, and that each player should use the character as it is created... even with the seemingly unsatisfactory results. I prefer the randomness, but I can definitely see where there are situations where a specific character is needed to round out a group. Even more so if solo playing the game with miniatures that already look/feel like a particular type of career. With that said, the randomness of the dice rolls are part of this game's charm. The system creates some very interesting groups and situations, and oddly enough, it just works. Anyway... great content! Traveller is a truly awesome game. Thank you for giving it the love that you do :)

[@gregoryhuelsenbeck337]

My first roleplaying game in high school was Traveller .. love it! I always felt it was a little underpowered .. I built a point buy skill system .. that builds a little more powerful “experts” .. here it is .. Traveller Skillgen This allows you to quickly build a skilled character using a skill point buy system. Skill toploading in beginning terms lets you create a more skilled character without making 50 year old charactrs. In real life we see Navy Seals in their 20's who are at peak gun cbt skill of 4 or 5. We learn most of what we are going to learn before we are 30. This system allows for that. You can use any of the Traveller careers from any of the Classic books. Make the normal rolls for enlistment, survival, commission, promotion, assignment, etc as the particular career service requires. But instead of randomly rolling for skills, just pick your skills from the tables provided for that career. For faster creation with zero randomness, you can skip rolling on the career charts alltogether. Just determine how many terms are served and buy any skills you want with Referee approval. Decide with Referee approval your starting rank. Skill Levels T d% Rating - -- -------------------- X 00 Unskilled 0 40 Novice(Semiskilled) 1 50 Proficient(Certified) 2 60 Able(Professional) 3 70 Adept(Veteran) 4 80 Expert(Elite) 5 90 Master Maximum Skill Level = (Basic Skill Term + 2 / Advanced Skill Term + 1) 1st Term (+8 Skill Levels - 2/1 years) year 01) +2 year 02) +2 year 03) +2 year 04) +2 2nd Term (+8 Skill Levels - 2/1 years) year 05) +2 year 06) +2 year 07) +2 year 08) +2 3rd Term (+4 Skill Levels - 1/1 years) year 09) +1 year 10) +1 year 11) +1 year 12) +1 4th Term (+4 Skill Levels - 1/1 years) year 13) +1 year 14) +1 year 15) +1 year 16) +1 5th Term (+4 Skill Levels - 1/1 years) year 17) +1 year 18) +1 year 19) +1 year 20) +1 Sample Characters: (Name): Lt. Tom Maverick 77A899 (Age): 26 (Service): Navy 2 Terms (Credits): 10000cr (Skills): Pilot-4, Navigation-3, Computer-2, ShipsBoat-2,AutoPistol-2,Blade-2,VaccSuit-1 (Muster Benefits): 10000cr, Blade, Travellers Aid Society (Name): Lt. Snake Duggin C89665 (Age): 22 (Service): Marines 1 Terms (Credits): 5000cr (Skills): AutoRifle-3, AutoPistol-1, Revolver-1, Cutlass-1, VaccSuit-1, Tactics-1 (Muster Benefits): 5000cr, Low Passage Classic Traveler Skills * Advanced Skill Administration Air/Raft ATV Battle Dress Blade Combat Brawling Bribery Broker Carousing Combat Engineering Communications Computer Demolitions Electronics Engineering* Equestrian FA Gunnery Fleet Tactics Forgery Forward Observer Gambling Gravitics* Gun Combat Gunnery Heavy Weapons Hunting Instruction Interrogation Jack of all Trades Liaison Leader Legal Mechanical Medical* Naval Architect Navigation* Pilot* Recon Recruiting Ship Tactics Ship's Boat Steward Streetwise Survey Survival Tactics Trader Vacc Suit Vehicle (Aircraft, Grav Vehicle, Tracked Vehicle, Watercraft, Wheeled Vehicle) Xeno-Medicine* Zero-G Combat

[@karlheilmann9172]

That's the cool thing, rule 0 says you can do what you want with this game and each table can have differences to the core foundation if they want to. Have fun and thanks for your content creation!!!

[@matthewesch8758]

This is my first introduction to this system... I've heard about that "you can die in character creation" thing, but now I know. 😂 Congrats to your son & daughter-in-law.

[@joshuashaw5524]

I've thought of pitching Traveller to my players for our next game. It'll be at least another year or so. I really appreciate this series to use as a reference.

[@MichaelSchgowiz]

The two careers that I would want to be - Scout or Marine! Scouts have that possibility of mustering out with their ship, IF they survive that harsh survival check of 7+! Marines are tough and make for some great career options. One of my favorite pregens for my Battlestar Galactica/Traveller mashup is "Savanna Achelous" - only served 2 terms as a Scout, but rolled the Ship result on mustering out! (With my houserule, she instead has a guaranteed job. Too bad the Cylons showed up to the Twelve Colonies...). My least favorite is "Other". The skills there are not too helpful in space, unless you've got a good Education and can get Medical or Computer. I don't have a second least favorite because I can make Army/Navy/Merchants work!

[@RPGElite]

Getting a ship is mega useful. One of my guys has a merchant who got one mustering out. Gives the GM more options when setting up scenarios.

[@briansmaller7443]

My last CT character used in a game was an Other. SOC 12 so he was a dilettante noble slumming it the lower classes. I rolled really good on money and had like 200K starting money.

[@RPGElite]

Man. Someone was BANKING. 😄👍🏿

[@ARKavli]

I love coming up with how a character almost died; accident? Pirates?

[@RPGElite]

Me too. When I rolled that 3, My mind started churning with multiple scenarios. I plan on having a separate video telling her story based on what I rolled. 😉👍🏿

[@Parker8752]

So, there were a couple of minor errors here if going strictly rules as written - first, stats are supposed to be rolled in order (not that it would have made much difference with joining the navy); second, you forgot the survival roll on the final term; and finally, you're actually supposed to roll to re-enlist even when you don't want to go back in, because on a double 6 the service forces you to stay in. Still enjoyed the video; just thought it was worth mentioning.

[@RPGElite]

@@Parker8752 Thanks for the latter two. However, when it comes to rolling PC attributes, there's nothing explicitly in the Starter Set that says you have to roll them in order. You could argue that it's implied, but it really is up to interpretation. I like to give my players options if the rules aren't crystal clear. 😉

[@shadowandson3550]

Awesome! Im running a Traveller game on Tablebreakers Thursday for 5 of my bros. Id love to hear what you think of it . Such a great game.

[@Tygertyger8008]

Traveler was my HS gaming group's go-to game after we stopped playing The Game That Must Not Be Named. I was never a fan of those survival rolls, though; we ignored that rule.

[@davidlee3311]

Sitting with my rulebook in hand and ready to follow along. Choosing one of the careers is always tough for me. When I played Traveller back in the day we rolled them in order, so you got what you got. Give a choice probably Navy or Marine, and I avoid Scout. I have died too many times going for a scout.

[@RPGElite]

Ha, ha! 😄 I feel you. That survival req is a bear.

[@loconius]

Agreed lol!! I always felt like scout closely resembled what PCs do once they are playing, and we all know the survival rate of travellers once play begins!!

[@michaelsudsysutherland5353]

I love the Scout career path, as the in-game lore and occupation is fascinating. If you roll right, you can even acquire a nice 100 dton scout ship on loan from the Imperium to use (with strings attached of course... something about being that ship being recalled in time of war). Sure, those Merchants brag about a 200 dton Free Trader they can possibly muster out with, but it's not like earned it facing the unknown like the Scout service did.

[@davidbrown5912]

Just a minor point: even if you want to muster out you still roll re-enlistment. If you roll a 12 they make you stay in!

[@karlheilmann9172]

How many military people see him mustering out at 16 years and the retention side comes out, telling him he only has 4 years and he can draw retirement, why get out now?? Yes, he made Commander.

[@danmounfield7431]

Hey man, found your channel completely by accident but I wanted to say -- absolutely enjoyed this video. The concept of reviewing an RPG book piece by piece with a bookend of a play session is such a good idea. Your video quality/production and sound is that good this almost feels like a TV show. Anyway, wishing you all the success man. Keep up the great work! 👍

[@sirpercarde709]

I would hope for a navy pilot. But I would probably end up an army potato peeler. That was an option, right? When I got the first edition I remember rolling up 6 straight characters that died during creation.

[@RPGElite]

Ouch. That hurts.

[@derekburge5294]

Hey, congratulations to the family! Well-educated bunch! Perfect example of why I love this style of character generation! The life path option naturally throws you Yes And's that help shape the character. For the QotV: I'd love to do a washout character. They enlisted, had the right stuff, but threw it away doing something dumb... The only path that doesn't appeal at all would be straight up jarhead. The dirt is for dead people, as a wise player once said. Loving it, SoS! You deliver the good stuff!

[@ChrisGeisel5000]

Very cool run down of character creation. I really liked the character portrait, did you draw it?

[@howardkingston7901]

'Entertainment all the way!' career I try and avoid is Merchants but I like the Other career as it's proper random When I first played classic back in 80 I wanted Army failed got drafted to Other

[@RPGElite]

Sometimes you will be surprised by who you can be in the other careers. "Other" definitely doesn't sound sexy, but it is the most versatile in relation to backstory.

[@Darklight689]

Think you missed your first term promotion, with 4 enlistments it would be rank 3.

[@RPGElite]

It actually is Rank 4 since she hit the commission on the first one which gives Rank 1 automatically, but she missed the promotion and nailed it it later three times. 😉 It didn't give her anything extra since Rank 3 and 4 combined only give one throw on mustering out. But that's the bomb for 34 years old. 😋

[@Darklight689]

@@RPGElite oh makes sense no rank 0. Excited to see what kind of adventure you come up with for this game ive had my eye on traveller for a while now

[@jacobhouck1182]

What edition of Traveller is your favorite?

[@ARKavli]

Whenever I roll good stats, I know the character is going to die during creation, LOL

[@RPGElite]

I had a couple moments there, especially her first term. Makes for Interesting storytelling for her background.

[@derekmann494]

🎉 Congratulations on your kids' graduations

[@GwydoStClair]

Was it by design that you did not roll the Survival after each term of service?

[@RPGElite]

No. I did. Maybe you missed it but I did 🙂

[@GwydoStClair]

@@RPGElite I'll rewatch it. I know you were doing the re-enlistment rolls, but I don't remember seeing the survival rolls. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

[@GwydoStClair]

Apparently I was just blind the first time. I'm seeing now. Don't know how I missed it but yep, it's there.

[@brianjohnson1985]

what character creation app is that ?

[@n.ludemann9199]

Scout Service, but never the Army...

[@blankmike4613]

it's not long, Traveler is long....but deserving. This Ttpg kept me out of "that game", until Starfleet Battles. gr8 episode though.

[@DakotaRileyMedia]

What is this vtt?

[@RPGElite]

This is Foundry. 🙂

[@DakotaRileyMedia]

@@RPGElite thanks!

[@Ravencross06]

I'd probably play a merchant type. Someone more honorable than Harry Mudd but maybe not as noble as Han Solo.

[@briansmith7791]

Nice video, and good overview of the character generation process. On the question: the career path really depends on what kind of gaming you want to do. * If you want to jump around with a ship (either as a mercenary, adventurer, or trader), you're best off going Navy for the skills. Except, a Scout or Merchant can get his own ship, which is hugely useful to have in your party. (Merchant can get this benefit only if he gets to Rank 5) Getting lots of terms of service is useful for racking up skills and increasing chance of getting a ship. * If you want to play military adventures on planets, you're best off going Army or Marines. * If you want to be a shady character, maybe criminal activity as needed, then "Other" can give you good skills. My question: where did you find that character generation system? It's very cool. For anyone looking to buy the game, you should consider: You can get a pdf of the basic rules for about $10 at a download site. You can also get a CD (if you have a CD reader) with pdfs of ALL the Classic Traveller books from Far Future Enterprises (farfuture.net) for $35 plus shipping. The CD includes essentially ALL of the Classic Traveller material: Books 0 through 8, including (by my count) all three versions of the basic rules, plus 14 Adventures, 7 Double Adventures, 8 Alien Modules, 5 Modules, 13 Supplements, and 4 Special Supplements. Plus 4 games, which are not strictly "part of" Traveller, but can be used well with it. You can also get more CDs with all editions of the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society, plus lots of other content from other publishers. You can also get the later versions of Traveller (Megatraveller, The New Era, Marc Miller's Traveller (T4), and Traveller 5. If you want to order from the Far Future Enterprises site, be prepared - the ordering process isn't working at the moment. I sent an email for help, and got a quick response from Marc Miller himself (creator of Traveller and all things coming from it). Within less than 9 hours, I had ordered by email, gotten a PayPal invoice, paid, and had my order shipped. Plus, I got to deal directly with Marc Miller!

[@KhanTrav]

I like IISS Scout characters and dislike Army characters.