For those in the US, Happy Martin Luthor King Day. I actually have the day off, but as it has been snowing the last few days, I am unable to leave my house. Which personally is just fine by as long as I have electricity. Internet is not really needed as I have a LOT of books, but no power means no heat and as I am on a well, no water either. But internet is good, and I've binge-watched way too much the last couple of days. On the bright side, I did finish off a couple series I was watching, so in theory I can start new things. I really prefer to finish a series as long as it is not really bad. Though some of the Korean shows seem to go on forever - up to episode 45 of one show and have no idea how many more episodes there are. I have sort of given up on another after 50+ episodes, though who knows, I may get back to it as well.
Regardless, here we are for another character. And I'll do another Traveller character to add more people to this near mythical high port that is slowly developing in the back of my head. I'll have to have a post with the actual port and the character list, perhaps even various maps from the many resources I have or can create. And in looking back over the Points in Space, there are opportunities to pull parts of that together along with a few of the 0-Hr maps as there are a few stations among the PDFs and posters I have for that.
Raw stats: 859868, and human and male. A perfectly average kind of person, so viable for any career and none on particular. One career I've not really tried is the T5 Entertainer career, nor the craftsman. From various comments the fame seems to be a bit tricky, but we'll give it a go. Additionally, it gives me an excuse to open the big black book from the 2nd Kickstarter for T5. Perhaps there will be a 3rd Kickstarter to get rid of the remaining errata and finally, after almost a decade, the actual player's guide as promised in the 1st Kickstarter. Yeah, not really expecting that to ever show up. And as they paid no attention to the PDF reviews indicating errata, pretty sure another KS will just be more of the same. However - I will note that there are a LOT of useful charts in book 1 in dealing with the travel times and jump limits which I've never really paid attention to. It may be handy on my system detailing to see if the planet is within the stellar jump limits.
Step A is the stats as rolled above. I am not going to worry about the genetics (1 die of each roll is the genetic portion of that stat and is used when generating clones. Not a fan of the cloning thing as for me, if you need a clone, you may as well roll up a new character.
Step B is determining home world. There is a handy d66 table, so I'll utilize that. 15 = Efate (A646930-D), a high population, industrial planet (and with a 0-law level!). From the high pop I gain Streetwise-1 and 1 trade. And though there is an index, the actual trades are listed conveniently at the bottom of the table defining the trade classifications and what skills they grant. And of course, I looked everywhere else before looking at the bottom of the table of trade classifications and their skills. They are also nicely summarized on the skills overview table itself. As there are 10 listed and he is still a blank character, an 8 gives him Photonics-1. These are light-emitting devises (TVs, holovids, etc.). TV repairman or, as I am going to the entertainer career, perhaps a light sculptor of some sort.
Step C is education and training, or the pre-enlistment options. Looking at his existing education and intelligence, perhaps a trade school to boost his photonics skill. Note that T5 characters have much higher skills as that is a part of the dice-pool mechanism. I'll probably keep him as both versions of Traveller: the general idea is you divide the skills by 3 I think for Classic. Need to find where I read that, but we'll see how that works out. Anyway, back to a trade school (and yes, T5 is full of tables, including tables to generate a trade school name) yet the definition of the trade school shows a +2 to major. The trades don't have the M column checked, just the C for College and S for School. And d'oh, a trade school is a school. Going with that interpretation. Having to roll under Intelligence to get in, he manages it with exactly an 8. A year later, and he does pass, so I'll boost him to Photonic-3. He is getting good at photon-emitting devices, all thanks the (rolls on trade school name) <Company name> Institute of <Skill>. So, the Aeritis Lights Institute of Photonics has handed us our graduation chit. And somewhere I switched from entertainer to craftsman.
Retcon time: it was not until term 2 / year 1 below I realized that he could not become a craftsman. He needs some more skills before entering that career. Our 19-year-old was apprenticed to a photonic engineer during his early schooling and ended up with Photonic-7. Yes, Traveller 5 skills are a far cry from Classic. I'll parse this into Classic to fit the others on the station as well as leaving T5 character generation as well. Picking up craftsman as a skill is required, so a training course for another year (which he gets in with the photonics skill). He just passes with an 8 against his intelligence of 8, so picks up Craftsman-2 and is now 20 years old.
Step D is selecting and resolving a career. This is where Classic Traveller starts. Though the LBB 4 and on introduced pre-enlistment options, it is the Cepheus rules that really expanded on this a great deal so that your character has a life before 18 (or 14 in the case of belters or barbarians). T5 really complicated things though, at least for me. It is still the 4-year term process as started in LBB4, and there is the risk/reward minigame that may have been in LBB4 but was certainly in LBB5 / High Guard. You can take higher risks for survival for a better chance at a promotion, or vice versa. I just seem to never remember to do that but will endeavor this time around. There are actually 2 possible career choices that fit where I want this character to go: craftsman and entertainer. Now that I am looking at it, I've changed my mind, and craftsman seems like a better fit. As defined, a craftsman is a skilled creator, an artisan. The focus of a craftsman is creating a masterpiece, and there is no risk or reward. However, he needs to roll 9 dice to see if he creates a masterpiece against master points. Which are the controlling stat for that term + craftsman skill + up to 5 skills at level 6+. So obviously he is not going to get a masterpiece in the first term or two. And that is a lot of dice - good thing I do have a dice addiction!
Term 1
Year 1 age 20
I'll just go straight through the stats, so C1 / 8 is the controlling stat. Since 8 + 3 (my photonics skill) is not at least 40, I can't even try for a masterpiece. A skill is automatic, plus, as I do not have the 40 points, I also gain Craftsman-3 as I hone my skills. As I am working towards a craftsman, I may also need some business skills and pick up Comms-1.
Year 2 age 21
Controlling stat is C2 / 5, + 3 + 1 (1 for Craftsman). Still under 40, so still cannot attempt a masterpiece. For some reason I picked up Medic-1 on the avocation table. Not helping me to my masterpiece, but perhaps wearing those safety googles when working with lasers is a good idea.
Year 3 age 22
Stat is C3 / 9 + 3 + 2, still < 40. I must be working out: strength +1. Now have a 959868 UPP.
Year 4 age 24
This year is C4 for 8 + 3 + 3, or 14. Still far short of what I need to even try for a masterpiece. Apparently, you have to be really old to try! And heck - the skills have to be 6+ to count...so I've been doing it wrong already. T5 is...complicated. Rolling a 5 on the trade gives me Photonics-8. Some progress to making a masterpiece!
Term 2
Year 1 age 25
Back to C1 which is now a 9. 9 + 8 (photonics) + 3 (crafstman) and no skills above 6, so 20 is way, way below 40. Need to work on the skills. A 1 on the vocation table gives me Naval Architect? Okay, that must be errata: why the heck would naval architect be in this list? Swapping that for 1 Art and choose Artist-1. Ahh, a step towards creating a masterpiece. I am still not at all certain I am handling this correctly. In fact, I don't think I could have even entered this career: I needed 2 level 6 skills and craftsman in re--re-reading the career. So, our hero really needed to get photonics-6 and craftsman-1 before entering the career. Section C will have to be revisited: he'll need an apprenticeship and a mentor for a few years before even starting! See the retcon above. He is still below 40 points but not as much.
Year 2 age 26
Magnetics-1. Picking up another trade skill for a bit of a more well-rounded character. Though at this pace, a masterpiece is a ways to go!
Year 3 age 27
A new trade. Dang, picking Mechanic-1.
Year 4 age 28
C4 = 8 + 8 + 4, only 20. Artist-2. And as I can't succeed at the masterpiece, Craftsman-4.
Term 3
I also noticed I have no idea about the re-enlistment option. It says Craftsmanx2, so is that a roll under? In which case, he never would have made the 1st reenlistment. I'm doing to fudge this as I realized when I got all the way to term 4, I had been messing up the check for a masterpiece. You only check once per term, not each year! With Craftsman-4, I need an 8 or less to stay in.
And in rewriting this post multiple times, I can see why T5 is full of issues: it is complicated! Next time I do a T5 character generation, I am going to do it on a notepad first then transcribe the end results. Some of the masterpiece attempts may still not have the correct numbers adding up.
Year 1 age 29
Edging closer but still no good. Another new trade. If I run out of new trades, it is a lost roll. And having no major or minors, not having been to college or university, the academic is also not a good chance. Picking up Program-1.
Year 2 age 30
Magnetics-2.
Year 3 age 31
If I can just bump up the other trade skills. Another new trade Electronics-1. Fortunately, there are 10 trade skills. But eventually I am going to hit that limit when I roll the "new trade" and there are no new trades.
Year 4 age 32
Artist-2. Hmm, if I can boost the artist up, that would help. And I also will fail the masterpiece check, so Craftsman-5.
Term 4 (the aging term!)
Year 1 age 33
Still not anywhere near what I need. Artist-3.
Year 2 age 34
Magnetics-3.
Year 3 age 35
Artist-4. Soon I may be able to add that artist or magnetics skill in!
Year 4 age 36
Artist-5. Closing in! And of course, failing at a masterpiece Craftsman-6.
Aging rolls.
The aging rolls are interesting in T5. You want to roll over the life stage to avoid aging. At 36, we're at life stage peak, or 5. Rolling a 9, I age gracefully. A 10 and a 6 mean the other stats also are safe (roll per stat; yeah, if reading this you may be wondering why I bring this up. Another re-write!)
Term 5
Year 1 age 37
The UWP is still 959868. C1: 9 + 6 (Craftsman) + 7 (photonics) = 22. Not yet deciding to roll on the personals for a change and hoping for one of the stats to get boosted. It ended up being the education, so 959878. Which does NOT help.
Year 2 age 38
Artist 5. Okay, one more artist & I will be able to add towards the 40-point minimum requirements.
Year 3 age 39
Artist-6. Finally, we can add in another skill!
Year 4 age 40
C4: 8 + 6(Craftsman) + 7(photonics) + 6(artist) = 27! Still unable to even attempt a masterpiece. Craftsman-7, Magnetics-4.
Aging
I failed my aging roll with a 6. So, no affect, so no actual change. At least that is how I interpret it. And we'll go for a 5th term as I want another masterpiece, preferably a perfect masterpiece. Funny - you succeed on that roll, and you get the Craftsman skill bump & 3 other skills. Though I really think I am misunderstanding that: there is a 4 skills per term listed. Is that the roll to make, or the maximum skills you can get, or the maximum skill levels you can get? T5 is very confusing for me in the character generation. Regardless, I have a master craftsman. And I really, really think I screwed that up as in looking at the Craftsman skill, the hardest is a 4D < int + craftsman. Meaning this character would never, ever fail any of those checks. But I don't see how you can get to a masterpiece otherwise. Hmm - you can only try for a masterpiece once per term...so, all those craftsman rolls are only 1 per term, not per year. Dang. So, updating all those numbers above. Which of course, you won't see. But he would have had his masterpiece! We're going to have an older, bet very well-qualified, craftsman when done. Perhaps he can do some work on Lady Aidy's ship, put in some fancy custom lighting.
Term 6
Term 7
Term 8
- Cr60,000 + Cr60,000 + Cr40,000 = Cr160,000
- TAS for life
- Director - and I cannot find what that actually means
- Dexterity + 1 86A978
Sterey Pera, Craftsman 8 terms
86A978 age 52
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