Earlier versions of GDW's Traveller used an annual die-based character generation (CharGen) process which was unique among RPG's at the time. Players determined their PCs characteristics and then proceeded to rolling up twenty plus years of military style service. This method created a PC with a reasonability well-defined history and persona.
Dozens of newer SciFi RPGs have hit the market since, each with their own distinct ideals regarding character creation. The current crop, including “Traveller D20” and “GURPS Traveller”, provides for a pre-determined number of points to be distributed between characteristics and skills recorded to a universal career template. This is not synonymous with rolling up a PC over several decades. In actually, it's just juggling numbers on a form. Some GMs use this method since it creates players with minimal effort or fore-thought. Unfortunately, this also produces a dilemma for the GM and other players.
Without background development the PC is limited only to what's presented on their record sheet.
Since no historical detail is available, the Player is forced to improvise their past. While I've met a few gamers over the years who could create a realistic storyline on the fly, I've met too many others who couldn't. Leaving the PCs history to the player's imagination can cause serious problems within the game. This often leads to a "Monte Hall" type game resulting from a poor GM.
During the past twenty years I've questioned various aspects of the Traveller system, in specific, the CharGen process. I began to make minor modifications to my own gaming universe. The concept of an annual workup is based in real world terms and works quite well in the game setting. Creating a PC using a year-to-year rollup allows enormous possibilities in the PCs storyline. But I felt the game needed expansion, including an early family life (age 0-12) and late childhood phase (age 13-18), along with more detailed in-service and post-service options. In essence, I made it to my liking.
I resently decided to present my CharGen system for public dissemination and discussion. First, my efforts are neither official nor canonical. Second, it takes four to five hours to properly develope a PC under my system, but when finished, the player knows where their character has been and what makes them tick. I've found the more complex the character, the more the player enjoys running them. They'll put more effort into the persona; doing everything they can to keep them alive and prospering. When you have a detailed understanding of the PCs history it gives a sense of direction and perspective to the player. How long would it take you to discuss the critical details of your life? Hopefully more than five hours!
During the initial CharGen workup the parties will roll and talk out the PCs past, defining key family events, identifying important family members, establishing personal goals, opening personal secrets, along with a variety of useful information that can add game hooks to future adventures. For a detailed breakdown of the entire CharGen sequence see my article: The Rollup Process
Central to this process is a revised list of characteristics. On the physical side, we have the classic characteristics of Strength, Dexterity and Endurance. But I've added “Agility” (Speed) , “Body Mass” and “Appearance”. On the psychosocial side, along with Intelligence and Social Status, I've added “Charisma”, “Determination” (Will Power), “Perception” (Awareness) and “Integrity” (Loyalty). These are fully explained in my article: Universal Personality Profile.
Yes, I've completely dropped "Education" as a characteristic. Instead, I've re-defined education as a combination of the character’s worldly knowledge along with their formalized academic credentialing. Traveller already allows PCs to attend a four-year college or a service academy, or enroll in a graduate or medical school, so the framework is already in place. Creating a standardized educational hierarchy (i.e., degrees such as Associate, Bachelor, Masters, Doctorate and Fellows) would appear to be a more rational approach to add education to the game. IMTU education is a rolled event, not a characteristic.
I also do whatever I can to insure that the PC receives a basic college degree.
In today's world it's essential for career success; that should be even more true in a futuristic society like Traveller. Therefore, a bachelors degree should be the minimal standard for any endeavor, including a military career. Having a degree provides career opportunities such as holding a commission, attending a graduate school, or having access to the social and political inner circles of power.
I also push the PC to obtain an officer's commission at some point in their development. Being an officer is consistent with viewing the PC as an educated "hero" or "heroine". In most movie plots or TV storylines the central character has more than likely served as an officer in one of the military services. Keep in mind, that in real life, only officers can formally command a naval ship (a scout or larger) or a significant military unit (a company or higher organization).
I begin character development at age 13. Many teenagers that I know have mastered a limited number of skills and have achieved some interesting life events. They commonly drive cars, shoot firearms, play musical instruments, speak foreign languages, fly aircraft, scuba dive, ski, and are often more sophisticated than many adults at using computers and other electronic devices. Some have lived in foreign countries or received various academic and athletic honors. Therefore, I put every PC through four years of some type of secondary education, allowing them to acquire several lower level skills. Upon getting their high school diploma the PC is ready to start their adult roll-up.
When Traveller was first published it had a limited number of broadly defined skills. In the future, skills will become much more specialized. "Engineering" or "Computer" would never pass muster in today's technological world, so why continue using such generalized terms? More detail is needed. "Engineering" should be split up into types such as combat , civil, mechanical, electrical, astronautical, etc., and "Computer" should be broken into specific application suites (Microsoft Office or Adobe Graphics Suite or a programming language, etc.). Years ago I went through the career specialty manuals of all the US armed forces and isolated the tasks associated with every Army and Marine MOS, Air Force AFC and Naval Rating and updated my skill list accordingly. Review my articles: Comprehensive Skill Listing and Skill Descriptive Inventory, and decide for yourself which ones may better apply to add to your game universe.
Breaking down generalized skills into more specialized ones would obviously increase the total number held by a PC. A number of fans may argue that this would alter the game feel or balance. I beg to differ. In Classic Traveller the average PC held between 7 and 15 skills. Under my system the count would be between 36 and 60; The upper limit being the function of adding together the characteristic scores of Intelligence, Charisma, Awareness, Determination and Integrity. I refer to this number as "memory points". Once a PC reaches their memory point threshold the player must voluntarily zero out "less used" skills. This is similar to real life, since we lose knowledge over time if it's not reinforced. The skill dropped is lowered to level zero for possible future refamiliarization – yet it's still at a level that the PC would not sustain a negative DM if they suddenly needed to use it.
I've had enormous fun revamping this alternative CharGen system. I hope you'll get some enjoyment in exploring my efforts. I’m constantly defining and re-defining ideals, so please check back periodically to watch the evolutionary process.
E-Mail me at: aaingram@peoplepc.com
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