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.