Character Challenge 2022 31: Ghon Davtell, Other 3 terms

I've neglected to link the other challenges this year as I did last year. As a note, the Tardis Captain has posted those entries here. While I've been pretty limited to the games I actually play or at least have the rules for, if I do this again next year I may try & branch out a bit. Though I still need to finish this challenge, then my wrap up of the challenge within a challenge: connect all the same game system characters together. There has been a bit of that in each post. Hopefully I'll manage to pull it all together. I am working on a Windemere publication (purely for myself, though I'll post access to the PDF probably). Same for the high port: I'd like to see if I can make something that I can actually use in a game at some point, versus just making stuff up for me. Not that there is anything wrong with that: this is my entertainment. I'd just like to share a bit, as I get a lot of inspiration and stuff from all the kind people who share their works and worlds. And I have the drives full of PDFs and art to show for it!

Anyway, our last character. Being primarily a Traveller blog (with the primarily meaning hopefully at least 50%!) I'll finish on a Traveller character. 

Raw stats start as 573782. And I'll permit myself to reroll 1 stat, so end up with 578782. A mostly average, if a bit weak, character, with very low social ranking. A 1/1 makes it a human male. What sort of career can someone on the bottom of the social rankings get into? There is, of course, the classic Other character, or a rogue by any other name. Then there are bounty hunters, and oddly I have a career for fringe marketeer. That alone could be something I've not done yet, and he could be a sleazy salesperson for the Documat.

But, as I don't recall doing an Other character (aka Han Solo really), I'll try that. Also going with the pseudo-rule as there are no ranks and promotions as with the Scouts, they will get 2 skills per term.

Term 1

5+ to survive and I roll a 5. There were some tough scrapes the last few years, but we got through it. Going to rotate through the tables, so personal gives us +1 dexterity for a UWP of 588782. We also pick up Bribery-1. Learning how to grease palms.

Term 2

A 7 survival is much better, so we must be learning! Electronic-1 and the elusive Jack-of-Trades-1. Box cars on re-enlistment means we'll press on.

Term 3

An 8 on survival. Apparently this Other is picking up some good skills and learning to survive. Brawling-1 (is this just another name for Melee? Probably.) and then another Brawling-2. Nothing like your traditional bar fight! I can see this character going head-to-head with Lady Rowen. In fact - perhaps how they met, training. Making re-enlistment, we'll do another term.

Term 3

Survive on an 11 - getting easier and easier! Mechanical-1 and Electronics-2. Seems to me he deals in hardware of some sort, a tinkerer. Other does not need to be your rogue type of character, though they do pick up fighting skills, possibly forgery. But with the skills this one has picked up I can see Other as just something not fitting the other 5 mostly military-style careers. He may have worked at a repair ship and joined the fight club because he was bored. Or he was a thief, an expert at picking electronic locks. 

Think we'll stop here (a 7 on the re-enlistment roll means he does not have to continue). 

Mustering out

3 rolls. We'll start with cash and see how that plays out. A 6 for Cr60,000. Enough to last a good chunk of time (especially at his social ranking: Cepheus plugs his monthly expenses at Cr200 for starvation level, Cr500/month for sustenance level), so we'll try the benefits tables: +1 intelligence, +1 education. Leaving our UWP at 588892. So, a bit above average in intelligence and education, but not much. That low social rank is going to be interesting: perhaps he has an accent that marks him as being from "the other side of the tracks". And huh - where does phrase even come from? From quora:

The etymology is not entirely clear. The common explanation is that in the old days of steam locomotives, the wind would tend to blow the soot to one side of the tracks. The sootier side would then become the poorer / industrialized neighborhood.

We'll have him from a poor world. And while from the other side of the oxygen lines, that does not necessarily make him a criminal element. In fact, I sort of like the idea that he is a general fix-it guy, used to working in small shops and places like that. Mostly dealing with repairing electronic or mechanical devices, and with that JoT skill, able to scrounge together things like Macgyver.

Ghon Davtell, Other 3 terms

 588892 age 30, Cr60,000

Electronics-2, Brawling-2, Mechanical-1, Jack-of-Trades-1, Bribery-1

Growing up on the poor Hell-world of Louzy, Ghon worked for his family business, repairing equipment for the miners. Often using Sternmetal Horizon's cast-off equipment, Ghon became quite adept at scrounging, and when necessary, bribing, to get the pieces he needed to fix the equipment. He is never without a tool belt and a thick jacket from a grateful miner who could not afford the repairs. There were times when he had to fight over junkyard scraps when bribery or scrounging did not work out for him.

Ghon got noticed by Sternmetal, who hired him on a contract basis. A few years of moving ship to ship got wearisome, even though the environment was always better than the barely filtered air and heat of his family's small apartment and shop. While the living was easier and safer than home on Louzy, and he managed to get his certifications and additional qualifications, he grew weary of changing ships at Sternmetal's bidding. He is currently doing odds and ends for the high port, living with a couple of roommates near the docks. He has managed to patch the failing links for Lady Aidy's ship to station system. He is friends with several of the inhabitants of Red's Quarters. He sometimes visits the station gym and spars, and has had some practice fights with Lady Rowen.

he is a cheerful young man, whistling while he works. Though small from a calory-deficit early childhood, 

And this wraps up the January challenge! A character a day, a post a day with only 1 cheat day. And in fact, I posted twice in one day as I had time and thought a random cow list is funny. 

I'll take a bit of time off, but will try and get my challenge in a challenge completed and somehow bring them all together. The Windemere PDF does have TFT character sheets in there, along with the more full descriptions in the character section. May add the links for the blog posts in that PDF.

Character Challenge 2022 30: Sharn, Orc Potion Peddler

I was listening to an Elton John song on the way to the gym, and the line "selling potions in a travelling show" hit me as a good character to develop. Every fantasy world needs a potion peddler. And as it is easy to design a character in the Fantasy Trip, we'll go use those rules.

Interestingly, I get one of the 'zines, Tales of the Smoking Wyrm, and there is a section in each issue, Culpepper's Herbal. And I also have a book of fantasy mushrooms for world building, which of course I've not used. Perhaps wrap some of those into this post.

Going to also use some of the quick rules. My initial roll of 13 on the table ended up an Orc. I thought: traditionally Orcs are not thought of as peaceful creatures, though TFT does handle Orcs significantly differently than most RPGs. Thought I'd just re-roll. And another 13 came up. I take it as a sign for this poor Orc, peddling potions. An even roll and it is a female Orc, and a roll on the main motivation is seeking adventure. There are some personality rolls as well based on 2d6, where 2 is low and 12 is the high values:

• 11 for looks. She is a beautiful Orc
• 11 for bravery. Not only beautiful, but brave
• 6 for friendliness. Middle of the road, as she has probably had some bad encounters as well as good ones
• 5 for honesty. She leans to the corrupt, so perhaps her potions are not as good as she says
• 7 for mood, so not boisterous nor completely withdrawn and shy

Now, Orcs start at the same stats as human: ST 8, DX 8, IQ 8 with 8 points. I know I want her to have herbal and physicker skills. Naturalist is IQ 10 and physicker is 11. Putting 3 points into IQ leaves us 5 more points to spread out, and I'll just give her a 9 ST and 12 DX to give her a fighting chance for DX rolls. She'll also need some combat skills as living on the road is rough. A strength of 9 is not great: her choice of weapons is pretty limited. Knife and the ax skills will allow her to use a dagger and a hatchet well. and the bow may be handy. That's 5 points already. Physicker and naturalist bring us to 9. Woodsman will aid her in survival, Having 1 point left over I am leaning to literacy, though climbing is actually something she could use (having just seen some movie where they were herb picking and it was way up a mountain). We'll put in climbing - some of those herbs are hard to get to. 

Now we have the basics for (and does some random Orc names, though how they differentiate male vs female seems entirely arbitrary).  And there is not a lack of female Orc images floating out there, but I am aiming for the PG-13 crowd so that does make the search a bit smaller. And she is not a fighter so no She-Hulk Orcs either.

Sharn is a potion peddler who wanders the countryside. Beautiful for an Orc, she is sometimes a bit shy around people she does not know. With her pack, she wanders and gathers herbs and other pickings she finds to make potions. Healing potions, love potions, warding potions. you name it and she will have a potion or potpourri infusion she will sell you. She is also a physicker, and will help heal those that she comes upon if they need help. Coming from the southern mountains, she is more than capable of handling herself in the wilderness. She has found herbs in places most people would not even attempt. She carries a small book of mostly images. She can't read the words but is always on the lookout for those plants that are drawn in it. It is her prized possession, given to her by her mother. It is well-worn. She is trading some of potions at Lurbuk's stables for learning how to read and write. She passes through Windemere every few weeks and may say for a day or several weeks. She usually stays in Lurbuk's stables, though she has stayed at an inn when she has a few more gold. While not a guide, she is not averse to taking adventurers through the mountains south of Windemere. She can follow the trails and knows some of the better places to sleep. She is also very good at getting game and plants for meals. 

She has a satchel, usually full of papers of dried herbs, or small potions. She sells those for the going price of 150 silvers, though for some people, she has some that really don't heal if she feels they are being mean or cruel. Her love potions she often sells to the caravans to be sold elsewhere. She trades with Alore Eldris sometimes when in Windemere, restocking her various magic potions. Sharn has also fetched herbs or mushrooms as requested by Alore. This is where Sharn gets her potion bottles from usually. It is not uncommon for Sharn to take along a couple of people on these excursions for both protection and to help haul back what she finds.

She tries to avoid the deputy when in Windemere as he has tried to arrest her more than once for selling potions without a license. Not that there are actually licenses to sell potions, even in Windemere. Newtonson just does not like Orcs and will harass them when he can.

The relationship graph for Sharn is a good deal smaller as she is not always in Windemere and does not know many people there. She lives on the road and has a small rough cave she lives in when in the mountains. She may be seen in the central market square on trading days, borrowing a bench and selling her potions. She may also be met travelling in the mountains or areas near Windemere. Her journeys take her leagues away at times.

World Building: How many cows are there?

 I was reading some blogs the other day, and this one struck me as both funny and relevant to world building: How many cows are there? And of course, like most gamers, both the author, and then I, go down a rabbit hole looking at cow information.

From the site he found, there are 77 beef breeds of cows, and 24 dairy breeds. And this just begs for some sort of a random table! Probably because I have a LOT of random table sources yet rarely make my own.

Guess we can also roll the herd size, but it would generally be consistent with the size of the town or city that it is near to. A village of 20 people do not need 1,000 head of cow! And a dozen cows would not suffice for a small city of 10,000 people. We'll just go make it an appropriate size. Though an odd size could be a puzzle: perhaps they are feeding a nearby dragon or making a large number of bovine sacrifices for some reason.

It could get more complicated, but we will start with simple:

1D6	Type
1-3	Dairy
4-6	Beef

 And now we have a lot of cows to add; there were 77 beef cows and 24 dairy cows from that site from a site I found!

Beef Cows

roll	Breed	roll	Breed
01	Aberdeen Angus	51	Parthenais
02	Africander	52	Piemontese
03	Aubrac	53	Pinzgauer
04	Barzona	54	Red Angus
05	Bazadaise	55	Red Poll
06	Beef Shorthorn	56	Retinta
07	Beefalo	57	Romagnola
08	Beefmaster	58	Salers
09	Belgian Blue	59	Sanganer
10	Belmont Red	60	Santa Cruz
11	Belted Galloway	61	Santa Gertrudis
12	Blonde d'Aquitaine	62	Senepol
13	Bonsmara	63	Shetland
14	Boran	64	Simbrah
15	Braford	65	Simmental
16	Brahman	66	South Devon
17	Brahmousin	67	Speckle Park
18	Brangus	68	Square Meaters
19	British White	69	Sussex
20	Buelingo	70	Tarentaise
21	Canchim	71	Texas Longhorn
22	Caracu	72	Tuli
23	Charolais	73	Wagyu
24	Chianina	74	Watusi
25	Composite	75	Welsh Black
26	Corriente	76	Zebu
27	Devon	77	something interesting
28	Dexter	78	something interesting
29	Drakensberger	79	something interesting
30	Droughtmaster	80	something interesting
31	English Longhorn	81	something interesting
32	Galloway	82	something interesting
33	Gelbvieh	83	something interesting
34	Gloucester	83	something interesting
35	Hays Converter	85	something interesting
36	Hereford	86	something interesting
37	Highland	87	something interesting
38	Hybridmaster	88	something interesting
39	Limousin	89	something interesting
40	Lincoln Red	90	something interesting
41	Lowline	91	something interesting
42	Luing	92	something interesting
43	Maine-Anjou (Rouge des Prés)	93	something interesting
44	Marchigiana	94	something interesting
45	Miniature Hereford	95	something interesting
46	Mirandesa	96	something interesting
47	Mongolian	97	something interesting
48	Murray Grey	98	something interesting
49	Nelore	99	something interesting
50	Nguni	100	something interesting

Diary Cows

d100	Breed
01-04	Ayrshire
05-08	Brown Swiss
08-12	Busa
13-16	Canadienne
17-20	Dairy Shorthorn
21-24	Dutch Belted
25-28	Estonian Red
29-32	Fleckvieh
33-36	Friesian
37-40	Girolando
41-44	Guernsey
45-48	Holstein
49-52	Illawarra
53-56	Irish Moiled
57-60	Jersey
61-64	Kerry
65-68	Lineback
69-72	Meuse Rhine Issel
73-76	Milking Devon
77-80	Montbéliarde
81-84	Normande
85-88	Norwegian Red
89-92	Randall
93-96	Sahiwal
97-100	something special

Character Challenge 2022 29: Managing Director Lady Rowen Snow, Retired

Back to some Traveller dice rolling!  88656B. Human, female. And a knight to start with. Not too bright. There are a number of "noble careers" available to Traveller, from the Classic Noble, Mongoose's careers, and Cepheus Elite. Having not gone through that particular path, let's see how we fair when "you were a member of the upper crust of society, a diplomat or a junior executive".  Note that the careers are a LOT more player-driven than random, so we should be able to get someone without a tragic backstory. 

And the tragic backstory: a trope in RPGs that persists. My Sunday group the players all had parents that were killed or lost. My Monday group is not as bad, though there is a player that always comes from a tragic and abused background it seems (though come to think of it, his Apex character did not. So perhaps not always!) Why I want to play characters that had a happy childhood and background. I'm just obstinate that way, going against the flow sometimes. When it really does not matter. 

Back to our elite character. She comes from an inhospitable outpost, picking up Repair-1 (you get to pick one of the 3 home world skills). And with her 5 intelligence she has a -1 on all intelligence rolls. Which hopefully we may be able to boost that. And she has a max number of skill points of 11. 

Term 1

Basic training, so to speak. We start at rank 0, Analyst. Get one of the skills at 1, the others at 0. Grav-1, Admin-0, Liason-0, Carousing-0, Computer-0, Decption-0. I also get to pick 2 skills. I can also boost 1 stat. Choosing to boost intelligence and pick up Melee Combat-1. My UWP is now 88666B. 

Event: Conspiracy. I can go along with the conspiracy but if I get caught, a prison term. If I refuse, I gain an enemy. I'll let the dice decide: even I go along, odd I refuse. 4, even, so let's see if I can roll 8+ to join the conspiracy and not get caught! A 9, so I also gain Deception-1. Apparently, I am sneaky now.

I also can pick up a trait. At this point, going with the conspiracy event and her deception skill, our elite is also a thief: specialized in stealing goods & selling them on the black market, she throws with advantage.

Term 2

Automatically rank 1 now, a supervisor. This is more corporate elite than social elite. I can pick 2 skills. Think I'll boost Melee Combat-2 and Grav Vehicle-2. A fighter and driver. 

Event: I receive an inheritance from a rich relative, so will gain an extra benefit roll. And note that I can also increase rank as part of the benefits, so that is something to remember.

Term 3

Still well under my skill limit, but I'm going to boost my endurance as that factors into hit points in the Cepheus engine. UWP 88766B. And we'll bump Computer-1. No rank increase this term. 

Event: Cybered! Cr10,000 worth of implants. Some of the implants are rather curious. While the idea of a prehensile tail is cool, everything you wear would have to be customized. And good luck finding a vacc suit! Having grown up on an inhospitable world, she'll take the internal oxygen supply (3 hours of oxygen) for Cr4000. And in going with her melee skill, the internal blades (2 retractable blades, so now she is X-23) for Cr5000. With the remaining credits, we'll add the internal omnicomm and the internal omnicomp. Throw in some cyberpunk glow tattoos and she has turned out a lot different than the noble I started with.

Term 4

Going to go with term 4 and try the aging challenge. I do want to rank up a bit more. Fortunately, aging is not as harsh as Classic Traveller. Rolling 11 - 4 for the 4 terms, we will be aging gracefully (and yes, I should do this at the end of the term).

Getting to rank 2. she is now a manager. She can pick 1 single skill, and in going with the thief trait, will get Liaison-1. We can also pick up another trait, which is also why I chose liaison: Proper Etiquette She knows the intricacies and rules of formal settings. Gains advantage for these high-powered social meetings. 

Event: She makes an alliance and can have a contact or leadership. The contact stuff makes sense in a game: it gives the referee a way to help the characters by knowing a powerful NPC. We'll stash this contact so she can be used to perhaps help out somehow. I am hoping that I can start a new Traveller game, and we could make this high port their home base. We'll see.

At age 34, the question is: do we risk aging? We'd get an additional benefits roll, and if we're lucky, a good event. Think we'll go once more

Term 5

She picks up another skill, and I'll take Leadership-1. 

Event: Life event - she spent a lot of time travelling. Carousing-1 as she travels in a lot of social circles. 

She also picks up blind fighting as a trait: she can fight in the dark. No negative DM for dim lighting and only -1 for totally in the dark. Yes, she has changed a great deal from my initial concept, but I really like this.

Aging: rolled a 5, so 5-5 = 0. But it was close - time to leave the service and start adventuring before he bones become too brittle!

Mustering Out

She gets 7 rolls - 6 for the terms served, plus the inheritance. We'll take 2 of those to bump up her rank to a managing director, which also gives her Admin-1. 

• 2 cash rolls: Cr50K + Cr20K = Cr70,000. Enough to live on for a while
• benefits: Explorer's Society (aka TAS/Traveller's Aid Society) and 2x the yacht

Interestingly, rolling twice for the yacht there are a few things to think about. She obviously does not get 2 yachts. Traditionally, rolling a duplicate benefit is a lost benefit for some things, but if this were a gun, she'd pick up the weapon on the 1st roll, then she could choose a skill. As pilot is a skill on the advanced education table (which she could not roll on), I'll do the referee thing and allow her the Pilot-1 skill so she can at least pilot the type Y yacht.

Now to work through the various pieces and put together a character sheet for Managing Director Rowen Snow, retired. Also boosting her yacht to this one from Yet Another Traveller Blog (an excellent resource, though he has not posted in a while). Her contact boosted her yacht up a bit, so the favor may be called in at some point.

With her cyber tattoos on, Rowen can be an imposing figure

And realized I forgot her yacht. Which is docked next to Lady Aidy's yacht.

After 20 years in the cut-throat world of corporate politics, Rowen figures she has enough to go her own way. Her years of high corporate offices and in the back streets gave her a more cutting edge than many of her co-workers realized. In fact, she carries two ceramic knives built into her forearms, and has picked up the unique fighting style of Grit'ma. Having made some credits on the side via some conspiracies as well as her great-great Aunt Petunia Rose leaving her some credits, she is not too concerned with her lifestyle. She actually stays on her ship. the Lady Rebellion, though she often has haute cuisine delivered. She is thinking about the things to do and spends a fair amount time at the Purple Fountain. She has inquired about the owner of the yacht next to hers, the Lady Prosperity, but has yet to follow up with a visit to the Documat.

Character Challenge 2022 28: Aiwon Cliffdreamer, Thief

Coming into the final few days. And having downloaded the basic rules for Old School Essentials (my KS / game addiction is getting bad as I may back that KS after I keep saying no more games!) I'll try my hand at that character creation process. OSE is a B/X clone basically:

Old-School Essentials is 100% compatible with the 1981 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy RPG, commonly known as the Basic/Expert edition (B/X for short). Any material published for the Basic/Expert rules can be used directly with Old-School Essentials. Decades of adventure are at your fingertips!

 Taking our 3d6, we get:

• Strength (STR): 12
• Intelligence (INT): 11
• Wisdom (WIS): 11
• Dexterity (DEX): 17 (whoo-hoo!)
• Constitution (CON): 11
• Charisma (CHA): 7 (well, not a pretty character. Probably picks his nose)

With these, STR gives me no bonuses. I can speak my native language and I'm literate with my intelligence. No wisdom bonuses, but my dexterity gives me a +2 on my AC, a +2 for missile attacks, and a +1 on my initiative rolls. Nothing for my constitution roll. With my charisma I get a -1 on reaction rolls, have a maximum of three retainers and have a loyalty value of 6. 

Alignment has lawful, neutral or chaotic. I'll just do a d6 and a 4 plops me in the neutral alignment. 

There are 4 basic classes I can choose. With my dexterity, thief is the obvious choice as it is the prime requisite. As such I have a paltry 1d4 for hit dice, can wear leather armor but nothing heavier, use any weapons, and speak my alignment coda and the common tongue. Of course, the classic back-stab is present with a +4 bonus to hit and double damage. Interestingly, The Fantasy Trip gives everyone a +4 to hit from the back. Coincidence?

Rolling a d4 I have all of 2 hit points. Heaven help me from tripping and killing myself! Though there is a nice note that a 1 or 2, if the GM allows, may allow the player to re-roll. And I did, and still, a 2. It is fate. That and the dice do hate me.

There are a number of skills and things that are very level dependent. 

Looking at the chart: my THACO is 19. Saving throws are:

• death/poison 13
• wands 14
• paralysis/petrify 13
• breath attacks 16
• spells/rods/staves 15

I start with 3d6x10 gold, so 12x10 or 120 gold. My AC will be figured once I get armor, and I get the +2 due to my dexterity.

I'll need some adventuring gear: backpack (5), crowbar (10), grappling hook (25), iron spikes (1), oil (1 flask, 2), rations for 7 days (5), 50' rope (1), thieves' tools (25), tinder (3), 6 torches (1), waterskin (1). Armor is leather for 20 giving me AC 7, then +2 for my DEX for 5. A dagger (3) [1d4], short sword (7) [1d6] and a sling (2) [1d4] rounds out my belongings. 111 gold, leaving me 9 gold to start my journey.

And I think we're done. 

A wry, small man with a well-groomed beard, close-set eyes and an uneven face, Aiwon has left his small village. The 3rd son, he has nothing from his family other than good riddance, and along the way to the city has managed to pilfer and collect enough odds and ends. He is hoping to strike it big, figuring if someone leaves something out to get snatched, why, that is on them. Oddly though, he also gives to beggars and those less fortunate. While no Robin Hood, he believes that there needs to be a balance between good and evil. The bigger the heist, the more he also helps others.

Character Challenge 2022 27: Sergeant Ou Sakannga, Enforcer

Think I just like rolling dice...

988958, Vargr female. Going to dig out the old Mongoose v1 Vargr book, which means I will need to adjust the stats. There is also a sub-species table, so that ended up being am Urzaeng, which ends up giving me +1 dexterity, +1 strength, and -2 intelligence. Ouch, but fortunately I did roll a bit above average there. And the 1d6 for the charisma is a 5 (1d6 + 2). UWP is now A88755.

Not particularly a fam of the entire sub-species thing (Mongoose made some decent choices early on for the most part, but the last few years they've gone off the deep end as far as I am concerned in how they treat Traveller. Too much Judge Dread/Warhammer 40K, not enough actually Traveller. At least in my opinion. But I am old and crotchety at times). However: the Urzaeng are one of the few Varg sub-species known to the Imperium, as well as not being outcast. They average 1.85 meters and 70kg. In theory they can take on an adult Aslan (yeah, no. The Aslan will out-mass even the Urzaeng Vargr by 30 kg of mostly muscle). Originally bred for heavy labor (and why would a hugely technologically advanced race need manual heavy laborers? You can see why there is some....disdain...for how Mongoose deals with things just to put their own spin on stuff. We can surely ignore 40 years of canon, why not. But I digress). 

Career qualifications are based on charisma. If I read the chart correctly, with a charisma of 5 I can't do any of them other than loner. Thinking I've read it incorrectly, perhaps a charisma 6+ means I need to roll a 6+? I'll just go with the draft and have a random career as I am unsure what they are actually asking for here. As there is mention that Vargr are expected to change careers often, and a career can raise their charisma, I'm assuming unless you roll really well the draft is the only real choice to begin with. After that, admission is automatic if you have the moxie, err, charisma, for it. A 6 gives me law enforcement, any. I have 3 choices: enforcer, security or investigator. In comparing my stats for survival and promotions, going to go with enforcer as that gives me the best chance for a promotion, and they are all close to the same for survival. Enforcers are police, not the thug type of enforcer.

Law Enforcement, Term 1

Basic training gives me Advocate-0, Streetwise-0, Recon-0, Stealth-0, Melee (Unarmed Combat-0, Natural Weapon (bite)-0) and +1 dexterity. UWP: A98755. 

I survive and get promoted to rank 1, Corporal. This gives me another melee skill, so going with Unarmed Combat-1. Rolling on service skills I get Recon-1. I also saved the life of one of my pack members and gain an ally.

Term 2

I barely survive, rolling a 6. And get promoted again to rank 2, sergeant. 2 Skill rolls: personal I get Gun Combat (Slug Pistol-1) and service skills Computer-1. An investigation took a dangerous turn! Fortunately, I succeeded, and I choose Jack-of-all-Trades-1 as a skill. Oh, and the sergeant rank gives me Streetwise-1.

Term 3

I fail my survival roll! An investigation went critically wrong, and I failed, losing a charisma. My UWP is A98754 now. And I lose the benefit roll. 

Mustering out

Rolling on each table I end up with Cr5,000 and some armor. Going to say she kept her flak jacket, which looks like a heavy leather coat for the most part. And why yes, it will be a duster-style to protect her legs as well. 

Sergeant Ou Sakannga, 2+ terms Enforcer

A98754, age 30, 2.5 terms Law Enforcement - Enforcer

Computer-1, Streetwise-1, Gun Combat (Slug Pistol-1), Recon-1, Melee (Unarmed Combat-1, Natural [teeth] 0), Jack of all Trades-1, Advocate-0, Stealth-0

Cr5,000, Duster-style flak jacket

Ou was a bruiser of a pup, and her pack perhaps pushed her into law enforcement to keep her on the right side of the law. She took to it like a canine to a squeaky toy and was consistently promoted until that fateful investigation where everything went sideways. She ended up on the wrong side of the review and was forced to leave her beloved service. Despite that, she still bears no ill-will to her clan, and in fact, a fellow officer owes her his life, and has promised to always keep that in mind if Ou ever needs help. 

Ou is a large Vargr who really loves police work. She is quite talkative and while she'll talk to anyone, she also seems reticent to push her own opinion or take charge. She is competent at many things and can generally figure out something to get by even if not trained for it specifically. After her hearing, she feels a bit more unsure of herself and is looking for a strong leader or someone to join with as she is no longer with her birth pack. 

On the station, she has, quite unconsciously, making rounds about the station. She keeps an eye on Red's Quarters and knows both Arlo and Kookie. She is vaguely aware that Pandra seems to notice her regular wanderings but has yet to make his acquaintance. She and Kookie often eat together and talk about their past and what brought them here. Both are looking for something to do to start earning credits. 

Ou in her duster flak jacket

Character Challenge 2022 26: Liei Aeeaiiy O, Aslan Spacer

Switching back to Traveller. Though I did just get the basic OSE (Old School Essentials) rule set as I may, despite many times saying I won't keep backing games, back the new print edition. We'll see where things are at when that opens up. I do like old school games (hence this blog!)

Anyway. Let's see what the dice give us tonight: 7B6867, hmm, 5 for Vargr, though as I did that last time, let's just switch to Aslan. And an even roll for a female Aslan. And I think I've only done female Aslan characters, so I will also change that. Not so random other than the initial stats, then player determination took over.

For those not too familiar with the Aslan, they have more sexual dimorphism both physically and socially than humans do. Females tend to do the brainy things and males tend the brawny things. While stereotyped as Samari Lions, they are not really. But there is a fair amount of overlap.

Regardless, in the Classic books you have to bring out the Alien expansions. I do have the reprint, and in reading the section on character generation there are a few differences. Careers start at age 16 (which is about 14 Imperial), and terms are 8 years (about 7 Imperial). I also need to adjust the rolls, giving me a UWP of 8A7867. Increasing strength and endurance while reducing dexterity was actually a good trade-off.

Rite of Passage

At 16, Alsan undergo the Rite of Passage., the Akhuaeuhrekhyey. Roll 2 dice, and any stat above that roll counts. Rolling a 9, our rite of passage gives us just 1, which is not so great. Now I roll high!

Looking at the careers available, I will be using the basic character generation. I have the RPGSuite Aslan character generation, and it does an awful lot. Going with Classic and simple for the moment. I actually have just about a 50/50 chance of getting into a career by choice. I'll try for Space, which for Aslan is sort of a combination of the Navy and Merchants, with a hint of Scouts. a 9 and yes, I make into the Space Force. And one of the reasons I also picked this career is that my survival roll is 4+ with my intelligence. I need all the help I can get!

Term 1 (age 16-24 Imperial, 14-21 Aslan)

Survival: by the skin of my teeth with a 4. 

Commission: need an 11, rolled a 9. Females only need a 10+. 

Skills: 2 automatic skills, I rolled over my education so no, but I get a 2nd roll for term 1, and a 6 says yes, so 3 total skills. Personal gives me Independence-1 (males generally cannot handle money, that is a female trait). Interestingly, even though I rolled the skill, I have to make yet another roll above my social level: the hoity-toity apparently refuse to even deal with money. Rolling a 7 I just make that skill. Service skills gives me Gunnery-1. The male service skill table gives me Vacc-Suit-1. 

My snake-eyes on re-enlistment shows me that the Space Force was not for me! 

Mustering Out

Having all of 2 mustering out rolls (the terms are longer for Aslan), we'll do 1 each for cash and benefits. This gives us Cr5,000 and +1 education. 

Note that Classic Traveller characters are not as wimpy as you think. They do gain all weapon skills at 0 effectively, though it is not noted in the character sheets usually. And the skills just say what you are good at, not the only thing you can do. Traveller is a lot more theater of the mind in terms of actual play than more complex, skill or talent-based RPGs. As with all games, it is what you bring to the table, not what the table brings to you!

Liei Aeeaiiy O, 1 term Spacer

8A7877 age 21 (24 Imperial), 1 term

Independence-1, Gunnery-1, Vacc Suit-1

Cr5,000

Liei comes from a small clan. With stars in his eyes, he joined the Space forces. Travelling amongst aliens in addition to his clan, he picked up the basics of handling money after getting taken advantage of at various ports. The female officer helped the younger ones acclimate to the concept of the credit. Not coming from a rich or storied clan, Liei was not too proud to learn a traditional female skill. On board the ships, the constant drills gave him the ability to get about in a vacc suit readily, and he became a gunner. When his first term was up, he was let loose at the high port: the 3rd son of a small clan, his parents did not have land enough and hoped he would be able to find his own property if forced out into the universe. Liei does not hold that against his clan: he is driven to acquiring his own land.

In the meantime, he stays at the station. The game hall has a small Space Gunner console where he still plays at being a gunner against the invading hoards. In the mostly human station, there are a few other Aslan as well as other aliens, but they are a small portion of the population. His credits will be running out soon, so he is actively searching the ship job boards daily, looking for a post on some ship.

Character Challenge 2022 25: Timothy Dixon, Gardener

Turns out our Monday game got cancelled and moved to tonight. So, lacking time, I am going to borrow a character/NPC from the Fantasy City Scenes III book I just got in the mail. Yes, another Kickstarter I backed a while ago, and will use this just as a quick & easy. And oddly I used his house for the Sheriff's house and office. Guess I liked it. And as much as I like this type of book, as it can help spark ideas as well as give you an NPC or character, I always feel sort of guilty not doing it all on my own. Which is ridiculous as that is why I buy these things: to get me out of the same old characters I may come up with!

I'll just copy a bit of the text:

In his younger days, Timothy Dixon was an adventurer, a dungeoneer who spent months at a time exploring the many ruins, dungeons, and strange places of the lands. Trained as a fighter, Dixon thought that he enjoyed his life on the road, until one day when wounds suffered in battle with a terrible eye beast forced him to rest and recover at the home of a villager. Weeks of working in the gardens as he healed changed the man’s outlook on life. Once he was fully recovered, Dixon sold many of his be-longings – mostly gear used in adventuring – and rented a large home in the city. It has now been three years since Dixon last used a weapon in battle, these days devoting his energy to caring for the small vegetable garden that he maintains in the city. To make extra coin, Dixon rents rooms in his large home to heroes who prefer the quiet of a private house to the noise of an inn. From time to time, those Dixon knew during his days as an adventurer will pass through the city and spend a week or so with the man, talking about the old days and, at times, trying to convince him to join them on some excursion or other. Dixon has no interest in returning to a life on the road and has been slowly saving his coins in the hopes of buying the home that he currently rents. Perhaps one last adventure would earn him enough gold to meet his goal?

Running out of time so we'll just post the character sheet here

He did hold on to his old sword and leathers and can always get a spear from the town somewhere should he be convinced to go adventuring. 

He goes by the Nimble Priest Inn once in a while, and if a bit flush with gold perhaps the Devilish Waters. He sells some of his vegetables in the market once in a while, using an old hand cart to transport his produce.

 

Character Challenge 2022 24: Merchant 3rd Officer Rupert Cantu

Cheating and doing this on Sunday as Monday is a long day for me: gym, then work, then my Monday game. Little time for generating a character!

Going with Traveller as the 6-sided dice are there, and I was looking through my various deck plans and found two possible high ports if I want to use something pre-made. Both are from 0-Hr, and while I don't have the posters or minis for these (as those were never made or part of a Kickstarter, just the PDFs as at first, he was way too generous with his Kickstarters!) Both are pretty similar, just scaled a bit. Jericho is a 27K station, ring-based station. The flavor text actually fits the vibe, I think. Argo is very similar, just scaled up to 262K tons, and has many of the same elements, just significantly larger. I'll see about picking one, or entirely making my own via the amazingly wonderful starship geomorphs so I can sort of design my own. Or perhaps, knowing me, a combination: most of the deck layout matches the PDFs, but some sections not so much. As I am also using Points in Space for some background. 

Regardless, my first rolls are: B85B79. An odd roll and we have another bruiser who is also quite brainy! I don't recall doing any merchants this go around (though I thought I used the Merchant Prince supplement recently, but heck if I can see a merchant character in this year's challenge. Aha - the purser! As he was not really a merchant exactly, but more specialized.) Going old school as it is quick, and despite doing this on a Sunday, it is late on a Sunday. 

Needing only a 4+ to get in due to the DMs from both his strength and intelligence, a 9 + 3 for 12 is an easy entry to the merchant career!

Term 1

Survive Needing only a 3+, unless I roll another snake eyes, our budding merchant will survive. And a 7 makes for an easy survival roll.

Commission Only needing 4 3+ (4+ and the +1 DM for being brainy, and we're commissioned! 4th Officer, reporting in.

Promotion Needing a 9+ (10 - 1 DM for intelligence, we do not make a promotion this term.

Skills We get 3 rolls: 2 for term 1 and 1 for the commission. As I don't make the advanced education minimum requirements, we'll just go sequentially through the tables. Personal development gives us a +1 strength for UPP C85B79. He has to get the 4XL ship suits. Service skills we pick up Vacc Suit-1, and advanced education (not the advanced advanced education) we gain Electronic-1.

An 8 is plenty for re-enlistment.

Term 2

Survive an 11. Easy-peasy!

Promotion 6 and we remain a 4th officer. Now, if this were a player, would I allow them to switch the rolls? Maybe, but we'll just stay as is. 

Skills Going with the service skills table as I do want some skills, and we get Electronic-2. He is great at re-wiring things!

A 6 is good enough to re-enlist.

Term 3

Survive a 3! Dang, he got into something dangerous this term!

Promotion a 6, and we're still stuck at a lowly 4th Officer.

Skills and the advanced skills give us Medical-1.

 

A 4 so we just make re-enlistment. Perhaps, because we are not getting promoted, the merchants is just not the career we thought it would be! We'll try once more (and face our aging throws!) and see what happens.

Term 4

Survive a 5 and we survive even without our wits!

Promotion a 10, so we finally rank up to 3rd officer. Woot!

Skills we get two rolls, so back to personal and we get blade combat. Having the bonus for a broadsword (and why would a space merchant be carrying and using a broadsword? Who knows but it is cool!) our merchant now has Broadsword-1. The service skills table gives us Steward-1. Which is technically only useful for high passage tickets, though I like the thought that the steward actually handles cargo and purser duties despite the Merchant Prince supplement putting cargo & passenger into the line officers' duties. Regardless, our merchant can now compare swords with our young Marine and compare hospital corners with our purser. 

I did not roll a 12, so reenlistment is optional. Let us see how we do on the aging rolls then decide if we're getting too old for this. Happily, all 3 rolls were higher than what I needed. We are aging gracefully. Off to term 5, maybe 2nd officer! I was hoping to get to captain level, but it seems unlikely.

Term 5

Survive a 4 again! What is he doing that is so dangerous! Gosh.

Promotion another 4, so no, 3rd Officer again. 

Skills Advanced and 6, so Medic-2. While not a doctor, he could be a good assistant and first responder. 

A 3 for re-enlistment, and so even if I wanted to, I cannot continue. His lack of promotions hurt his career. And as for his aging rolls: he failed all 3 this time! No more bonus for that broadsword! Unless we make it up in the mustering out phase. My UPP is now B74B79.

Mustering out

I get 6 rolls, 1 for each term and 1 for rank 2. I also get retirement pay of Cr4,000 a year. Hmm, later editions I think start a bit higher. Anyway, we'll start rolling on the cash first, and see where that goes.

Cr20,000 + Cr5,000 = Cr25,000. A nice nest egg. In looking at the benefits, they are not that great especially as I am not a captain: no chance of a ship. So, 1 more on the credits and another Cr20K for a total of Cr45,000. We can live off that a bit. Benefits give us a low passage (oh boy!), +1 intelligence and +1 education. Our UPP is now B74C89. A very smart man who never got promoted much.

Rupert Cantu, 3rd Officer Merchant

B74C89, 5 terms, age 38

Electronic-2, Medic-2, Broadsword-1, Vacc Suit-1, Steward-1.

Cr45,000, 1 low passage

Rupert grew up in an arcology, surrounded by thousands of people every day. While extremely brilliant, he is also extremely lazy and only does the minimum required of him. When he left for a career as a merchant, thinking easy credits was the way to go, while his intelligence got him a commission early on, he only managed to get promoted once in the next 18 years. The merchant line, finally recognizing a lost cause, did not accept his reenlistment options and turned him loose with a small retirement. Despite this seeming set back, at 38 Rupert is finally realizing that there may be no easy way and is at the port rethinking his life choices. He is two rooms down from Sterey Pera and sees him talking to the attractive Major Quarol Rocha at times. He and Sterey play cards in the common areas next to the station park as well on occasion. He has yet to figure out what he wants to do next. The staff at the Comfy Quarters like him as his bed is always made up and his quarters there neat and tidy. 

Rupert in a crew image used for advertising the ship line. He is the center character.

And in looking for science fiction characters who are not military, it becomes an interesting rabbit hole. Military is easy, not military not so easy. Or at least I am just not hitting the right terms. 

Character Challenge 2022 23: Lance Corporal Jery Russon

 My Sunday game is on a bit of a hiatus as the kids don't want to play for a bit. I may be re-arranging Sunday to be more 1 on 1 or some Death Test style games where we can both play against the "choose your own adventure" game. We'll see what we shall see.

After spending a bit of time cleaning the kitchen and starting some tax stuff (while Traveller is often accountants in space, at least they don't have taxes to also calculate!) going back to a Traveller character. First, our initial rolls: A5A7A5. An odd roll, so a well-educated bruiser who is a bit clumsy. Thinking about a high port (and in further ruminations I am also thinking this may be an independent commercial  high port and not necessarily an Imperium-owned port. Something to think about at any rate) and other needs. We already have several possible employees, from ex-security agents to workers in various on-board business ventures. As well as a couple of vagabonds. What I don't have are longshoremen who load and unload cargo, even though that may be watching the machines do a lot of the work. Though I like the idea of Ripley's cargo loader exo-suit from Aliens. And I've not done a Marine in some time. My father was a Marine for 4 years, ended up a drill sergeant, which explains his ability to yell at us growing up! Regardless, looking at the stats from Classic the marines give him a good chance of getting in, surviving and gaining a commission. Not so good for a promotion as that DM is based on social level. Though looking at LBB4, his education also pays off. We'll use LBB4 as that is a more detailed background generating system.

Term 1

Year 1 He does get in! First year is basic/advanced training. Basic gives him the gun skill of Combat Rifleman-1 (basic training in LBB4 is always combat rifleman). Advanced training, rolling on the Marine MOS table, gives him another gun skill, and I take Pistol-1 (note that pistol now covers auto-pistol and revolver, as well as other handguns). 

Year 2 Command. I noted that with my A (10) education I have an optional +1 Interestingly, the text block says intelligence 8+. I found some errata! However, both 1 & 2 are command for the general assignment. Reading through the rules (and how many times have I read this book? There are even some penciled home rules, such as allowing a 6 on the specialist table to be battle dress instead of electronics). Though as I am still enlisted, the command/staff differentiation does not mean anything. I also rolled a 6, for special. I manage to get cross-trained in the calvary and gain a vehicle skill. I usually take Grav-1 as I want my flying car!

Survival, commission and advancement don't apply when in specialist school. So still a grunt E1 private after 2 years.

Year 3: Another command position (unless I roll a 5 or 6, this first roll does not really matter that much). Ship's Troops. I easily survive, receive no decorations, and get promoted to E2, Lance Corporal. I pick up a skill, and being shipboard will use that table and pick up Ships Boat-1. I was a shuttle pilot for my squad.

Year 4: Another command roll, then a stint at counter insurgency! I survive readily, get a MCUF for bravery under fire, though a 3 horribly fails any chance of a promotion. I do pick up a skill and decide the Marine life and gain a +1 dexterity. Not quite so clumsy! My UWP is now A6A7A5.

I horribly fail my re-enlistment with snake eyes! Even though I could use the +2 DM and switch to the calvary as I was cross trained, it is still not enough. This 22-year-old apparently is not cut out to be a Maring. Second time I've been kicked out of the service. Which is one of the reasons when rolling up characters to actually play, sometimes it takes a few times to get something close. Which for me is a good thing. Though as I've also pointed out probably too many times over the years, the reason some people just dislike Traveller character generation. 

With all of 1 mustering out roll, I am going to go with a benefit instead of cash and give him some sort of job at the port as a private contractor or employee. 

Mustering Out

1 benefit roll, and he manages to get an Imperial Marine Cutlass. Which he can't really use well, so it is simply a reminder of a career that did not pan out as he expected. Though classic Traveller will give him a Cutlass-0 basically, so I'll be kind and allow that.

Lance Corporal Jery Russon, formerly of the Imperial Marines

A6A7A5 age 22, 1 term Marines, cross-trained in Calvary, 1xMCUF

Combat Rifleman-1, Pistol-1, Grav-1, Ship's Boat-1, Cutlass-0

Growing up, Jery always played toy soldiers with his action figures. As soon as he could, he enlisted in the Imperial Marines. After basic training, he cross-trained with the Calvary and was licensed grav pilot. His next term took him to deep space, where he was part of the ship's troops. Mostly he piloted the shuttle. Hitting dirtside the next assignment, he was part of an anti-insurgency team, and earned his MCUF while carrying a teammate back under heavy fire conditions. Despite his decent career, he was discharged much to his dismay. His platoon was being disbanded for political reasons as well as practical reasons. He was left at the high port, and currently works as a shuttle pilot for Delgado Trading and has talked quite a bit with Ralphy as they are roommates. Ralphy is feeling out Jery to see if he would join his crusade. Yes - there are political aspects going on at our port!

Lance Corporal Jery Russon during the counter insurgency operation. Staff image (c) Imperial Marines 

[okay, copyright whoever drew this!]

Side note: looking for science fiction marines is mostly Halo or Warhammer. Shows what an impact those games have had.

Character Challenge 2022 22: Sally Harris, Dino Express

Having a bit more time on a Saturday, I'll pull out my Apex book and see about rolling up a dinosaur rider. I am going to restrict to change some of the things so that she will fit your Saturday morning cowboy show, albeit with dinosaurs!

First, we have the traditional attribute scores of strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity and charisma. We roll 4d6 and take the top 3, so that we start off with a more heroic character. In general:

• 3 - 6: below average (-1 / -5% bonus for skills and checks using this attribute)
• 7-14: average
• 15-18: above average (+1 / +5% bonus for skills and checks using this attribute)

 Our cowpoke starts with:

• Strength: 14. Physical power is in the average range, though at the top of that.
• Intelligence: 6 (-1) (wow, a few ones on that roll. so dumb as a post!) IQ, reasoning and the ability to solve puzzles. Let's leave him with the kid's 24-piece puzzle set instead of the 1000-piece set.
• Wisdom: 17 (+1). Insight, perception and good judgement. He is an excellent judge of character and will rarely be surprised.
• Constitution: 13. The health and endurance of a character. 
• Dexterity: 14. Coordination and quickness. 
• Charisma: 13. The character's leadership ability. 

As I am hoping that I'll be using this character in a future Apex Cowboy game, and I am also hoping to use some shared world-building to get the players to start at level 2 or 3, we'll have a few more steps to add in traits and so on. But first, I need to determine if this cowpoke is a girl or boy: even roll, so we have a cowgirl. Using a random cowboy name generator (and yes, there are random generators for EVERYTHING!), and looking at her wisdom and her intelligence, going with Sally "the Deaf" Harris. Deaf in not that she can't hear, but that she never paid attention to the school marm and children just called her Deaf. Children can be cruel, as well as being amazingly nice. You can't tell...though Sally could always tell it seems. 

Sally, at level 2, gets 2 traits. With my idea based on part of a Bonanza episode I saw the other day at the gym on the treadmill (you can only stare at the walls for so long!) she is going to be part of the pony express network. As such, and as she really loves her dinosaur, we'll go with animal affinity and explorer. With animal affinity, she gets a +2 when trying to train, placate or calm animals. Explorer grants her a boon, excuse me, advantage, for finding her way. Both useful traits for the dino-express. 

At level 2:

• Hit points are constitution + 2, for 15
• Saving throw: 12
• Lore: 1

Her dinosaur will know 1 trick, and looking through those available, the "come" trick seems the best. After all, Silver always came to the Lone Ranger's aid when called. Mounts will come when a rider calls. This trick is an "urgent" come so that allows the rider to leap onto their mount without costing an action.

Her wisdom plays with the dinosaur rider class: she gets a 10% bonus on experience points. So, the rolls went mostly where I'd like them to. But, in deference to another Western game I played, she will have to act similar to Whitey (may his soul rest in peace) and not be the brightest at much of anything. 

She also gets an advantage on saving rolls when she is on her mount - something I will have to remember when playing her. I tend to forget a lot of these little rules when playing. One of the reasons I want to play some games more: I do want to understand and be able to use the rules better. Not necessarily always to my advantage, but to get more into the game.

Now I need a character sheet to round up all these pieces. And she named her dinosaur Daisy.

Character Challenge 2022 21: Priestess Zhou Smithensonne

I think we need to detail a priest from the Nimble Priest Inn. Perhaps expound a bit on the Fair Lady that they worship, or whatever it is they do. The Fantasy Trip does not have classes, so no Cleric class here. It does have skills and spells that anyone can use. The costs just vary based on if you are a magic user (and skills cost more) or a fighter/non-magic user (and spells cost more). Funny in a way: that whole alignment thing causing such an uproar for some people is not even an aspect in my 2 favorite games. In these games, people are people regardless of race, gender, whatever. You, the player & GM, decide about the various races and attitudes. Anyway, refreshing to not get caught up in that craziness!

First, I need to decide if these priests are all male, all female, mixed, whatever. As I rolled an even number, this will be a priestess, and then we'll figure out if the devotees of the Fair Lady are all women, or mixed and it does not matter. Or something along those lines. Though for some reason I am leaning towards a matriarchal priesthood. 

We'll start with the standard human, 8/8/8 with 8 points. And actually, as she has been a priestess for a while and will be in charge of the Nimble Priest Inn, at least 2 more points. We know for skills we need the priest skill (which I forgot that if the GM wishes we can have prayers affect dice rolls. I'd go with a boon affect I think and allow an extra die or two and pick the highest). Additional skills for her will be literacy so she can read the liturgy. Not all religions would have a written word, but we will say this one does. With a name like the Nimble Priest, I am also thinking, hey, monk-style ninja priests! Acrobatics and unarmed combat II. And a fun unusual weapon: quarterstaff. As she will be leading any songs, we'll add bard. Now, we may also want to see about a spell. I like drop weapon as it makes fighting your opponent easier if they've dropped their sword! And that seems like a good list. And after poking around image searches, found one I liked, but she also had a sword. So...another skill!

Zhou Smithensonne is the local High Priestess of the Followers of the Fair Lady. She runs the Nimble Priest Inn in Windemere. There is a small cadre of 5 other priestesses who assist with the operations, including Wren, who is a most excellent cook. Zhou is quiet and tries to stay in the background. But with her good looks, shaved head, and singing voice, she usually ends up singing for the evening entertainment. Her staff, which she carries constantly, is both well-worn and well cared for. Glyphs of some sort entwine the length of it, with a set of crossed quarterstaffs showing up at one end. The staffs the priestesses carry indicate their rank within the order. All the priestesses have a quarterstaff, though it is usually in the kitchen when they are on duty. Zhou will often greet patrons as they arrive, and floats between the bar and kitchen, keeping an eye on the guests.

She and the other priestesses live next door to the inn, reserving the inn for guests. They reserve one of the smaller back rooms as a generic sanctuary. It has a tiled floor, and cushions on the floor, and a small table at one end. Deputy Newtonsom shows up every 3 days for his prayers, and often to pick up the sheriff and take him home when he gets maudlin drunk. They have a small temple in the rear yard, which is more of an open sparring ground than a temple. The Fair Lady may be related to Tinma, the god of plants, that female warlocks often venerate. There are no images or statues of the fair lady in the temple. Instead, there is a recurring motif of crossed quarterstaffs. The priestesses rejoice in the Fair Lady by combat. And always a fair combat, which is where the deputy thinks the name comes from. To rise in the ranks, one must be a fierce fighter, and training a few hours a day will weed out those who are not sincere. 

While Zhou is the best fighter, the other priestesses are also valiant and capable fighters. Wren, even despite her girth from "testing" her dishes, is a more capable foe than one would think. Fights at the Nimble Priest often do not require the sheriff or the deputy: the priestesses are more than capable of handling most fights.

The inn is a large 2 story building with a basement below the main floor. The Nimble Priest is run by the acolytes of the Fair Lady. Fellow clerics and acolytes get a good discount, everyone else pays fair coin for the rooms. Rooms range from a few coppers to sleep in the stable above the riding mounts, 5 silvers for a shared room and breakfast, 1 gold for a single room and breakfast. The Fair Lady is a deity none of the characters would have heard of before. 

 

Character Challenge 2022 20: Major Quarol Rocha

Another long day and out of time. So, I have a choice: true Classic Traveller or TFT? Those are the fastest I can use to generate characters. And while I did do a Delve character, I really should look into some other games I have. In fact, I plan on running Apex in the Old West sometime so we can have a Dinosaur Cowboy game. I'll try & do that this weekend. Maybe a western-style map as well!

Anyway, let's just roll dice & see what we get. If it is good or interesting, CT, else TFT.

698657 - well, sort of interesting. And the only career that gives her a good chance is the Army. And maybe she will be my first character death this year. And she easily gets in.

Term 1

She handily survives and gets a commission, and (re-read the rules) she also made her promotion. From raw private to Lieutenant to Captain in her first term! Due to the 1st term, commission and promotion, 4 skill rolls! She does not have access to the advanced education roll with her 5 level of education. We'll just rotate through the tables.

Skills: +1 Endurance, Air/Raft, Blade Combat: Blade-1, +1 Dexterity. 6A9657.

Noted that the air/raft skill is later renamed to grav as the description does indicate all grav-based vehicles. Sadly, she does not have enough strength for a modifier. Maybe one of those rolls will boost her strength.

Re-enlistment roll was a success.

Term 2

She again survives and made promotion to Major. 

Skills: Revolver-1, Grav-Belt-1

hah - I don't remember seeing grav-belt as a specific vehicle. I assume it later got subsumed into grav vehicles in general, but I had a character, a Marine, who used power armor with the built-in grav belt. Good times!

And she failed her re-enlistment! With her rank and 2 terms, she gets 4 rolls. 2 cash, 2 benefits.

Mustering out

Cash rolls: Cr2,000 + Cr10,000 = Cr12,000

Benefits: Mid-passage and a gun. She'll take her trusty service revolver.

Amry Major Quarol Rocha

6A9657 age 26, 2 terms

Air/Raft-1, Grav-Belt-1, Blade-1, Revolver-1, Cr10,000, Mid-passage ticket

A brief but amazingly rapid career in the army left Major Quarol Rocha spinning in her own head. She joined the army fresh out of high school and rose very rapidly through the ranks. Some say perhaps too rapidly and that is why she was denied re-enlistment. She was a capable officer and well-liked by those she commanded. She took great joy in flying: grav vehicles or her preferred style of grav-belt. There was a certain freedom in the air. 

After 8 hectic years in the Army, she decided a nice long vacation to figure out her next steps. She ended at the high port at the end of her term and took on a long-term apartment while she weighed her options. She spends a good bit of time at the Purple Fountain, mostly because the photonic light sculpture in the concourse next to it caught her eye. In fact, she has talked with its creator, Sterey Pera, when he noticed her looking at his masterpiece. They've since taken on an almost father-daughter relationship. She keeps her service revolver at her apartment, well-cleaned and serviced. Eventually she will have to find a job as her credits will dwindle down as she stays at the port.

And finally, the Traveller Army career has always been interesting to me. Like all the LBB1 careers, they predate the OTU. There is no 3rd Imperium, so the careers only say things like "members of the armed planetary forces". Which I like in many ways: the "proto-Traveller" does not have the decades of history and our Major Rocha could be from some small planet's army, or some interstellar government's army that has armies on multiple worlds. It was up to the referee to decide what and how they wanted to play.  Probably why I keep going back to Classic Traveller (and the reference in the name of this blog!). It was my first RPG, and the original LBBs were open to playing any SF game we wanted to. Don't get me wrong: I love all the resources now available. People in the Traveller community are very giving when it comes things like the Traveller Map site, or COTI. But as my sig says for my COTI account, Traveller is a neat tool box!

Character Challenge 2022 19: Keze Briarlegs

Deciding I've run out of time today, I'll do a Fantasy Trip character. Rennor gets her "looks like armor" clothing from Keze Briarlegs. He is introduced briefly here, and other than a name and the town's second barber, we don't have a lot to go on. 

With a name like Briarlegs, though, you have to wonder. Going to play against the Dwarves despise Orcs as Rennor is exceptional in many ways. And hoping I can play her well when my group visits Windemere. And also deciding based on a roll that she is actually a female Dwarf.

Dwarves start with ST 10, DX 6, and IQ 8. Going to boost her to ST 12 DX 12 and IQ 9. Some skills she will have will be brawling (one of the reasons she is the 2nd best tailor is she is often in fights and so does not always get her work done in time). Also carousing which is what ends up as brawls. Being a Dwarf, the ax/mace skill is required of course, and perhaps shield and knife (swords just don't work well for her stature). The mundane talent of tailor and finish off with silent movement and toughness. 

Keze used to be an adventurer in years past, but one dungeon delve too many left her left side scarred from a slime. Deciding to settle down, she ended up in Windemere. Seeing how the tailor in town was pretty snooty (at least in her eyes) she decided that tailoring should be available to more people. She set up shop just outside the Goblin Drecks. And she also provides some of their tailoring needs, usually trading for odd jobs and things she needs. 

Seeing a bit of herself in Rennor, she helped the Orc girl with some padded cloth armor. She made it look more like armor, but it is effectively cloth armor. While Keze keeps away from the rest of the Lurboc clan, she talks with Rennor a lot as the girl makes her "patrol" through the Drecks. Rennor also is more gentle with Keze when breaking up fights. In fact, that is how they first met. Keze was fighting a caravan guard at the Devilish Water after they both had a bit too much of the wine. Rennor simply picked Keze up and took her home and actually tucked in the older woman. Ever since then, Keze had second thoughts about the Orcs, but figured she would take it one Orc at a time. And one Orc was all she wanted to know. 

While generally quiet about her past, a few drinks and she opens up about her adventures. She claims she managed to stash away a good bit of her loot and findings but spent a fair amount setting up her shop. Her shop is in the west side of town just outside the Goblin Drecks. Between the interesting smells and piles of refuse and debris in that section of town, not many people visit. She can do clothing repairs and carries a small stock of clothing she can modify a bit. Clothing there is not particularly well made but does the job. Costs are 75-100% of the normal cost of clothing. The building is almost a hovel and not well cared for, located against the wall to the west side of town. She will buy and order magical items and has her errand boys (which includes girls) pester caravans as they come through to see if there are interesting baubles she can purchase before other merchants in town can get to them. Though Goblins are not always welcome near the caravans, she has managed to get a few odd magic items. She will sell them if she can't use them or gets bored of them. Or needs to pay up her bar tab.

There is a war ax behind the counter, and she always wears several knives. Sharp enough to slice a thread, most of those are actually 1d damage knives. She is also one of the people that, if she is not in the bar brawl, the sheriff calls out to break things up.

While getting on there in age, she could possibly be pulled from the tailoring life to a bit of adventure. She is also a possible source of low-end magic items in addition to decent and cheap clothing. 

Character Challenge 2022 18: Kueklluegz Khengarkang ("Kookie"), former Vargr Corsair

Just rolling dice...

A66AA8, Vargr this time, and female. Another smart character. Though depending on the rule set I may need to adjust the physical stats. As I have the reprint of the Classic Alien Modules 1-4, which has the Vargr, we'll use that. And side note - I found that book in a bookstore years ago, and, having not looked at my Traveller books in years and years, I suddenly got nostalgic and bought that and it restarted my interest in my first RPG. Not long after that I found COTI. Life was good!

Anyhoo. We adjust the strength & endurance by -1, and dexterity +1, and social is 1d. So, our revised Vargr UWP is now 975AA5 (hey, I choose the 5 I rolled for charisma!) We have a smart, strong Vargr with pretty good charisma. Using the word generation for a name, her name will have 6 syllables. Another roll and 3 for first and 3 for last. Kueklluegz Khengarkang. And we'll need some sort of Anglic name as I cannot bark that out! Kookie. Well, it is a work in progress.

Looking over the careers, and choosing the extended versions, I'll choose Corsair - I mean, this is a Vargr! How will I integrate an ex-Corsair Vargr into the station? Ahh, that shall be interesting. If I even get in - I don't actually have any DMs, but a 5+ is pretty straightforward. And a 9, Kookie is a Corsair!

Term 1

Needing to pick space or troop, she is a spacer (well, okay, I need to roll as I'll always pick spacer. Hey, I like Traveller! So, even = spacer, odd = trooper. Odd). Okay, she decides to be a trooper. 

Year 1 Basic/Advanced Training: Heavy Wpns (Auto-Cannon-1), Grav-1. I should look up the details for heavy weapons, but honestly, I think we can wait until she is actually in use and then pick what is appropriate? Nah. Opens LBB4 to find the list of heavy weapons. And back-fills the entry.

Year 2 Protection. I survive handily with a 10 but am not successful, but fortunately a 7 means no effect. I can gain a skill and choose Corsair life and pick up Gambling-1.

Year 3 Raid! Another easy survival with a 10, and no success with a 5, but again, an 8 yields no effects. No skills in this seemingly uneventful year of raiding.

Year 4 Protection, barely survive with a 5, and again, no success and this time I lose a charisma for UWP 975AA4. I do pick up a skill, and again choose Corsair and gain +1 dexterity for 975AA4.

Term 2

I just make reenlistment with a 7.

Year 1 Protection. I survive with a 6, finally succeed and yeah, no effect. And no skills. Sometimes, those dice really hate me.

Year 2 Protection. Maybe I need to become a spacer...and I am injured. A wounded Vargr who does not seem to be getting anywhere. However, having just said that I do succeed and gain a MCUF (Meritorious Conduct Under Fire) and gain a charisma back! UWP: 975AA5. Finally - some recognition!

Year 3 Garrison. While I survive, no success but no effect. And no skill. I am looking more like a Classic without expanded character generation!

Year 4 Training. And I must have really acted out. While survival is automatic, I failed, and actually get a -2 charisma and tossed out of the Corsairs! 

Mustering out

Traditionally I believe if you get tossed out you do not get the benefits for that term. So Kookie only has the 1 roll. I'll gamble and do the benefits table and she nabs education +2. And no credits to her name.

Kueklluegz Khengarkang ("Kookie"), former Vargr Corsair

975AC3, age 26, Vargr

Grav-1, Heavy Wpns (Auto-Cannon-1), Gambling-1. 

MCUF

Her days as a Corsair did not do well for Kookie. She had a soft heart and raiding people to take from them just seemed to be off for her. A loaner from early on, she just never fit in anyplace. After several years of being the ground and ship boarding troops, she decided she was getting nowhere other than scarred up. Her captain, tired of her inability to really go for it, finally dropped her off at a high port far away from their last raid. He was picking up supplies and dropping off what he considered dead weight. With nothing to show for it, Kookie joined the group in Red's Quarters. She avoids most people but has managed to barely survive in the weeks she has been there. She does wander by the gambling dens but without a credit to her name, she can't even enter. She does post that she is available for hire at the hiring boards, and the Lady Aidy, having seen the wandering Vargr, has started up trying to get her employed at the DocuMat. At least it would be a job.

most of the time, she was bored

Red's Ruins, home of the destitute

Yeah, another one that did not turn out to have a happy experience! Not sure why. Maybe I need to switch games for the next character.