This is the overview for the section of this game devoted to Characters.  Here are so far subtended:

(This topic remains in Group Zero as it is of general interest.)

1100 - Character Creation by Classic Traveller Rules.

1200 - Character Creation by Traveller Plus Rules.

1300 - Skills in Traveller

1400 - Resources and Outfitting  - PENDING

1500 - Character Development - Experience & Improvements - PENDING
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:49, Sat 05 Oct 2019.

1100 - Creating Characters using the Classic Traveller Rules

I won't be typing in the entire book word for word - that wouldn't be cricket.  Those without books should probably get Starter Traveller.  It's a free download in PDF, and the link will take you to it.  Book 2 of this set will have the charts and tables needed to play.

Here's a pull quote:  "All characters begin the game the same way:  untrained, inexperienced, and about 18 years of age."

(Oh, to be eighteen again...)

Start a worksheet somewhere for storing temporary data.  You can use a spare piece of foolscap, or a text file or spreadsheet, just so long as you can read and understand the data you record after it gets cold.  (I have just posted a character sheet template.  Feel free to use it if you wish or to present your data as you best see fit - character sheets are editable by players.)

It's generally smart to keep track of things like skills and resources by the term of service in which they were acquired.  This can help the player later on if they wish to create a backstory for their character, as it preserves a loose sequence of events.

1101 - Characteristics:

Normally, all dice rolls for the basic six Characteristics (STRength, DEXterity, ENDurance, INTelligence, EDUcation, and SOCial standing) are made by rolling two six-sided dice (2d6) six times, but I'm modifying this with House Rule #1: roll 3d6, reroll 1s, and drop the lowest die.

NOTE:  Whenever rolling dice for any reason, please note the reason in the Reason for the Roll field of the dice roller.

House Rule #2: roll 7 times and drop the lowest total (unless you want to be a psionic character, in which case, keep all 7), and express these six (or seven) Characteristics as hexadecimal numbers ranging from 1 through F...

Hexa-what-imal?  Hexadecimal.  In this number system, the digits 0 through 9 remain the same, but the numbers 10 through 15 are now represented as single digits using the symbols A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively.  (The use of hexadecimal numbers for Characteristics is a time-honored Traveller tradition...  it saves space.)

House Rules #3: Assign the 6 (or 7) results to your Characteristics in whatever order you want!

These six (seven) Characteristics are sometimes collectively referred to by the acronym: UPP.  This stands for Universal Personality Profile.  (This same acronym originally applied to planetary systems but was later changed to UWP--Universal World Profile.) Thus, a character with a UPP of 6789AB would have STR = 6, DEX = 7, END = 8, INT = 9, EDU = 10, and SOC = 11.

After the Characteristics are set, the character is ready to enlist in one of the six services to gain some experience, skills, resources, and benefits.

House Rule #4: Mulligans. When rolling dice for your Careers (enlistment, survival, commission, advancement, reenlisting, mustering out), you get one FREE re-roll per TERM--that's your Mulligan. If there's some roll you don't like, you get just discard it and roll again. This helps you generate the character you'd really like to play, and not just some randomized character. If that was the case, I might as well just hand you a pregenerated character (which is what most of the early adventures included).
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:17, Tue 15 Nov 2022.

1110 - Enlistment, Re-enlistment, Promotions & Commissions

To gain experience, training, resources, and benefits characters should enlist in one of the six services.

{The following data is presented in much more concise form in Traveller, Book 1 on p. 14  and on the various other tables on that page and p. 15 (of the GDW edition).  Those using The Traveller Book will find this stuff on p.24 of the PDF.}

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1111 - Step One:  Enlistment.  To enlist in a service, choose and roll 2d6, applying any Enlistment DMs (die modifiers) as shown.  (Yes:  DMs do STACK.):

(Note:  in the tables below:  a number followed by a + sign is read, as, for example, 6+, "six or greater".  We'll call this "plus format".)

ENLISTMENT TABLE
Service Branch:     Enlistment:     Enlistment DMs:

1 -->  Navy             8+          INT = 8+ --> +1
                                    EDU = 9+ --> +2

2 -->  Marines          9+          INT = 8+ --> +1
                                    STR = 8+ --> +2

3 -->  Army             5+          DEX = 6+ --> +1
                                    END = 5+ --> +2

4 -->  Scouts           7+          INT = 6+ --> +1
                                    STR = 8+ --> +2

5 -->  Merchants        7+          STR = 7+ --> +1
                                    INT = 6+ --> +2

6 -->  Other            3+          {No DMs - who needs 'em?}
(Other Examples: butcher, baker, candlestick maker, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, entertainer, athlete, thief, criminal, librarian, agent, scoundrel, explorer, stuntman, noble, scholar, adventurer, bounty hunter, belter, LEO, politician, journalist, scientist, interior decorator, fashion designer, archaeologist, architect, artist, barbarian, bodyguard, consulting detective, farmer, gambler, repo-man, roustabout, salvager, beach bum, student, gadabout, author, clown, etc.)

If an attempt to enlist fails (that is, if your throw plus any applicable DMs does not meet or exceed the difficulty stated in the Enlistment: column), then throw a single d6 to submit to the Draft and enter a random service (see the numbers listed in Service Branch:).  This can be the very same service in which the earlier enlistment attempt was made.

So much for getting your character in  the door.  Jot down the Service Branch on your character record worksheet.

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1112 - Step Two:  Survival.  Check to see if your character survives their hitch in the service.  Throw 2d6, applying any DMs.  (More on what survival or failure to survive means for a character in this game below.)

SURVIVAL TABLE:
Service Branch:     Survival:    Survival DMs:

1 -->  Navy             9+          INT = 7+ --> +2

2 -->  Marines          6+          END = 8+ --> +2

3 -->  Army             5+          EDU = 6+ --> +2

4 -->  Scouts           7+          END = 9+ --> +2

5 -->  Merchants        5+          INT = 7+ --> +2

6 -->  Other            5+          INT = 9+ --> +2

To streamline the character creation process, we are not going to kill characters during this phase.  Instead, if you fail to survive, simply exit the service after two years with a disqualifying minor injury and head on over to Mustering Out.  In any case, at this point you should mark a term of service on your character worksheet.

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1113 - Step 3:  Commissioning.  The Navy, Marines, Army, and Merchant services have a difficulty rating for achieving a Commission, with die modifiers as shown.  Draftee characters cannot throw for Commission during their first enlistment.

Throw 2d6 for Commission each hitch until achieved.  Once a Commission is received, make a mark for it on your character's worksheet.

COMMISSIONING TABLE:
Service Branch:     Commission:  Commission DM:

1 -->  Navy             A+          INT = 7+ --> +1

2 -->  Marines          9+          END = 8+ --> +1

3 -->  Army             5+          EDU = 6+ --> +1

4 -->  Scouts           N/A         N/A

5 -->  Merchants        4+          INT = 6+ --> +1

6 -->  Other            N/A         variable = 6+ --> +1

1114 - Step 4:  Advancement/Promotions.  In the same hitch in which a Commission is received, and in each hitch thereafter, throw another 2d6 for Promotion. Make a mark recording each promotion on your worksheet.

PROMOTIONS TABLE:
Service Branch:     Promotion:   Promotion DM:
1 -->  Navy             8+          EDU = 8+ --> +1

2 -->  Marines          9+          SOC = 8+ --> +1

3 -->  Army             7+          EDU = 7+ --> +1

4 -->  Scouts           N/A         N/A

5 -->  Merchants        A+          INT = 9+ --> +1

6 -->  Other            6+          variable = 8+ --> +1

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1115 - Step 5:  Re-Enlistment.  At the end of each four-year term of service, characters may either muster out, retire (after five or more terms), be compelled to serve an additional term, or be discharged involuntarily.

Throw 2d6 without any modification:

RE-ENLISTMENT TABLE:
Service Branch:  Re-Enlistment:
1 -->  Navy             6+

2 -->  Marines          6+

3 -->  Army             7+

4 -->  Scouts           3+

5 -->  Merchants        5+

6 -->  Other            5+

If this throw meets or exceeds the stated difficulty, re-enlistment is successful or, for officers, continued commissioned service is permissible.  If the throw fails to meet or exceed, the character is mustered out, and retired if sufficient terms have already been served (five terms - twenty years of service).  IF the throw is a natural "boxcars" twelve, the character is COMPELLED to serve for an additional term.

Once re-enlistment is successfully achieved, the character should cycle back through steps 2 through 5, above, until they are discharged, be it voluntarily or involuntarily.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 16:30, Thu 29 Oct 2020.

1120 - Acquiring Skills:

Remember all those marks for Enlistment, Re-enlistment, Commission, and Promotion I asked you to make?  Those are what determine how many throws you get to make on the Skills table.  (Be aware that those playing by Traveller Plus rules are allowed to choose their skills...)

Here's how to total up how many skills you get for a character who is not a Scout:

For their first term of service, your character gets two (2) skill throws on your choice of the four Acquired Skills tables (noting that Table 4, Advanced Education Table, is only open to characters with EDU of 8+.)

For each subsequent term, one more such throw is made.  Thus, if a character had five terms of service, including her first, she would roll six times on the tables to select skills related to terms of service.

Continuing, if your character receives a Commission, make another skill throw on the tables.

On receiving any Promotion, make another skill throw (it is, thus, possible to receive three skills in the hitch where one receives both a Commission and a Promotion - the first for the term of service, the second for the Commission, and the third for the Promotion).

An interrupted final term in which a character gets cashiered out for an injury still counts as a full term for skill acquisition purposes, but not for retirement.

1121 - Skills for Scouts:

Since Scouts do not stand eligible for Commission nor Promotion, they receive greater training in compensation:  two skills per term of service.

1122 - Examples:

Let's walk through two examples, one is an Army character, the other a Scout.

Our Army character made it through four terms of service, but was cashiered out with an injury during her fifth term.  She received a Commission during her second term, was also promoted, and received promotions again during her fourth and fifth terms.

1st Term =   2 skill throws. (neither promotion nor commission occurred here)
2nd Term =   3 skill throws. (1 for the term, 1 for Commission, and 1 more for Promotion)
3rd Term =   1 skill throw.  (no promotion occurred here)
4th Term =   2 skill throws. (one for the term, one for Promotion)
5th Term =   2 skill throws. (one for the term, one for Promotion)

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TOTAL =     10 skill throws.

Incidentally, since our Army character saw service in, but did not successfully complete her fifth term of service, she is not eligible for retirement.

Our Scout character served five terms of service, and mustered out after a successful fifth term.  He is eligible for retirement, having completed five terms successfully.  He is also eligible for ten skills, at two skill throws per term of service.

He would have been eligible for ten throws even had he been cashiered out during term five with an injury, but, like our hapless soldier in the previous example, he would not have been eligible for retirement.  (Of course, a look at the Survival Table will point up how fortunate this character was.)

1123 - The Acquired Skills Table:

I will not be reproducing the Acquired Skills Table here since it is available in Starter Traveller (which is freely available -- see Game Links), but I intend to make some notes concerning its use:

If the same skill is acquired more than once, each subsequent occurrence raises the proficiency level of the skill.  Let's talk about Brawling as an example:  if a character gets Brawling the first time, it's Brawling +1.  A second time would bump this to Brawling +2, and a third would raise it to Brawling +3.  (Traveller purists would omit the plus sign, but that's what skill level does - it adds to a throw as a die modifier).

1124 - Rank & Service Skills:

Some Skills and Characteristic upgrades automatically accrue to a character by reason of rank or branch of service:

Navy Captain:            +1 SOC
Navy Admiral:            +1 SOC
Marine:              Cutlass +1
Marine Lieutenant:  Revolver +1
Army                   Rifle +1
Army Lieutenant:         SMG +1
Merchant 1st Officer:  Pilot +1
Scout:                 Pilot +1


This message was last edited by the GM at 04:19, Sat 07 Sept 2019.

1200 - Creating Character Using Traveller Plus:

Character creation using Traveller Plus does not use random dice throws for Characteristics or Skills.  Character Points are allotted by the Referee (me), and the player created a character with those points to his or her liking.

Out of respect for Ed Messina's work, I have not made any corrections directly to my Traveller Plus Large Print Edition, preferring to capture any corrections or changes for local use in an Errata.

I created the Large Print Edition as a faithful copy of Ed Messina's original work, only scaling it up to an 8.5 X 11 inch layout, updating the paragraph style to block (non-indented) with whitespace between paragraphs, and striping table rows to make tables more readable.  Other than that, no intentional changes were made to the original text.  The Large Print Edition is distributed with Mr. Messina's kind permission.

Download a copy of either edition via the Game Links or the links provided here, and dig in.  Ask me if you have any questions during the creation process.

There are also character record sheets that will do the arithmetic for you which I have uploaded to my google drive and linked from the Game Links for convenience.  I have provided both Excel 2007 and LibreOffice versions of these sheets.  I would appreciate feedback if any trouble is encountered, since I did these quite some time ago.  (I have not had time to automate Psionics, for one thing...)

If you decide to use these sheets, I have updated the CP Allotment on them.  Please let me know how they are working for you (especially the Excel version, as it is rather old, and I don't have Office installed anywhere at home anymore.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:04, Sun 08 Sept 2019.

1300 - A Note on Cascade Skills In My Traveller Universe:

I limit cascade skills to one primary and four secondaries, maximum.  This prevents such things as Science (which has 12 skills within the default Cascade) from becoming game-balance-threatening.

I think, given the nature of this game, to minimize confusion and imbalances, I am going to disallow skills in Traveller Plus that are not derived from the first three books.  If this causes too much pain, let's talk about it.

I actually went a different route:  We are now using the Traveller Plus skills list in full, and I am converting awarded skills in Classic Traveller characters to their Traveller Plus equivalents, including any Cascade Skills.  My apologies for any confusion this may have caused.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:41, Sat 05 Oct 2019.

1310 - Skills in Traveller:

Please consult the Traveller Plus skills list, available from Traveller Plus in the Game Links.  If you created your characters using Classic Traveller tables and I haven't done skills conversion for you, please let me know and I'll tend to it ASAP.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:42, Sat 05 Oct 2019.

Here are the Traveller Plus skills, with a few additions and changes.

red = added entry
blue = changed entry
* = More subskills are possible; not intended as a comprehensive list.
DIFF = how difficult it is to learn and advance in a skill.
A = Advanced; hard.
B = General; easy.
C = Cascade skill—it includes several subskills that all have a common basis.
S = Subskill; you have to select one of these whenever you advance a basic Cascade skill.