Traveller Bounty Hunter, Session 3 Recap: To Oriryu

Seated at the CoffeeRUs after Lt. Pratricia Kern left, our bounty hunters try & decide what to do. Realizing that Katja has a few days lead on them and recognizing that with the OTU and how travel works, if they guess wrong, they have just made an expensive mistake. They decide to utilize their skills and start poking into the port data systems. After some good rolls, they do narrow down the most likely as being the Empress Brooke. This was a chartered A2 Trader, owned by one Captain Juan O'Conner. Because it was charted, the passenger manifest and cargo was not made public. However, in researching it's last few jumps and the dossier provided by the Navy, they did tie together the ship and Katja having several overlapping world trips.

The Empress Brooke has 2 engineers, a medic, a gunner/steward, and the navigator who has been with the ship for as long as Juan, over 20 years. The engineers, James and Anna, have been aboard less than 2 years.

As the Empress Brooke was heading to Oriryu, they board the Fenris (as they have named their ship) and take off for Oriryu. I did the Mongoose skill package a bit and one got Navigate (sorry, I just can't seem to make myself call that astrogation though it is more technically correct!) and the other pilot at level 1, as well as each getting an engineering level 0 skill. They still need an engineer, so I need to generate that character should they continue to play. 

The pilot and navigator made good rolls, though the lift off was a bit rough. A week later, after numerous meetings that were often filmed with the Intstellarms weapons on good display, they pop out of jump space and arrive at Oriryu.

At the port they land on pad A6. Again perusing public records, they find that the Empress had landed on pad T3, which is a landing pad with attached warehouse. They also find that a woman and two men had left the ship and headed to the star town. The woman did match Katja's description. 

Anastasia had gotten Martha to basically photoshop a picture of her and Katja looking like buddies. Took a bit of work from the mug shot, but as they have TL-C equipment available, pretty certain that AI manipulation for media can do just about anything. She was planning on using that to help track down our fugitive. 

Going to the World Police (with a population of 900K, there is not a lot of layers to police) they find Captain Jane Fren. She looks up Katja, but there is only a Cr10,000 award for her here, and when they produce the MCR2.5 reward, she is all ears and wanting to assist. They manage to score an unmarked police vehicle, though none actually have any driving skills, so "Wild Bill" Davidson, our nearly 7' tall cameraman, will drive (and he is very vaguely based on a character from the The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind series which is a very fun series. But in hindsight will play up more of his characteristics should we continue playing).

Captain Jane Fren of the World Police

They find that she and her thugs have checked into the Hotel D'Orroe, a cheap hotel in star town. Deciding to check it out, Anastasia finds a very disinterested manager watching a wrestling show. And Shintaro goes to the Purple Fountain Club, which is adjacent to the hotel. When a break comes up, Anastasia slips Cr40 to him (and no, she does not have bribery skill and technically I could have rolled for the reaction, but figured moving the story forward as I was thinking we may be able to close off the adventure that night. Spoiler: did not). He said yeah, they had checked in but were at the club next door. Sharing the picture of her & Katja, Anastasia stressed she wanted it to be a secret to surprise her for her birthday. Clicking a credit on the counter, the manager smirks a bit and indicates he'll think about keeping quiet, but after another Cr20, his silence is a given. 

Purple Fountain Club, from Points In Space

Shintaro had been scoping out the club, bit no sign of their target. At the foyer, Anastasia again tells her story, and finds that Katja was on the private meeting room at the back of the club.

And that is where we left things. I hurried through a few things and ignored a few things to move things on to what I was hoping to be the end. However, we talked a bit, and we moved slower. And sadly, I am never as prepared as I wish I were. None of the NPCs really had anything behind them. And I can barely play my own characters, let alone several NPCs. And as mentioned, I felt I was rushing to get something exciting to happen. 

Not sure if we have another week of Traveller, or back to the OSE game. So I need to find that out so I can plan for the next session!

Traveller Bounty Hunter, Session 2 Recap

After returning to Checkmate Acquistions headquarters for a brief nap and regroup, Shintari and Anastaisa head to the port. The class A starport on Zeng is a huge complex, though most of it is set up for the Imperial Navy and Scouts. Perhaps 10% of the actual port is for civilian traffic. 

They meet up with Charlie Michelson, who is running his 4 autobot cleaners across Annex 43. He is at first disappointed that the film crew for On The Hunt are not there, but Shintaro explains that they want to set things up and make sure the conversation goes smoothly and will be ready for recording and broadcasting later. They find that Charlie saw a blond woman and two men go through the Navy security gate. This particular gate is often used for Navy personnel returning from shore leave but is still guarded well as it does lead to the Imperial Navy's section of the port. Charlie said he has spoken with a Jan Voohikan, a Navy captain working the case. The blond woman and the two men did not look like Navy, and Charlie has seen a lot of Naval crewmen return to the base in all sorts of states. 

At this point, Mac, Wild Bill and Martha, the film crew, show up. Mac starts getting things moving while Bill sets up his records, and Martha sets the 3 camera drones to start getting some blocking and background shots of the starport annex. A small crowd gathers to watch the interview process. A few more Navy personnel show up at the security gate, including an officer or two at least. Charlie shares the autobot cleaners footage of the group entering the Navy base, but the footage does not give enough resolution to identify the group. They have low-res cameras and lidar to avoid people while cleaning floors, not for surveillance. Though now I am thinking that could make a good way to spy in public spaces in Traveller. 

During the discussion, Charlies lets them know that Lisa also works the same shift as he does, over in the OnePrint shop, a news and printing service. As the shop may have better security, they talk to her. It turns out that the shop sells local and regional tourist things, as well as having an extensive library of books. Anastaisa decides to get an actual printed volume of War and Peace, and while not getting the top-of-the-line acid-free paper, Smythe binding, pseudo-leather cover and satin ribbon, she does get the book maker to manufacture a decent book. At a cost of Cr15. Yes, my Traveller universe has Makers, but some are a bit smaller and make books. People in the future still like to have physical things. And I personally prefer real books (as I type on an electronic story...)

The security cameras from the shop only cover the shop area, though Linda does mention that the SPA cameras would have high resolution 3D imagery. And while I strongly hinted that between their admin and advocate skills they could probably get access to the recordings, the players decided that they were at a dead end. 

Sitting down and having a coffee, one Navy Lt. Pratricia Kern walks over. She lays it on the line: yes, Navy Intelligence would prefer to capture Katja Rigg themselves, they want her captured at all costs. Which is how the bounty got put out a day after the explosion. She lets them know that the two Naval guards are both being interrogated by her boss, Capt. Voohiken. They were bribed but not aware of Katja's ID: they thought she was just another Navy junky who wanted a quick peek at the shipyards. A few hundred credits and promise to be fast and she was in. An hour or so later she left, and not long past that the explosives took out the INS Far Stretch, the Imperial courier. Our group also notices one of Martha's drones perched up high. This area of the starport is probably 3 stories high, but those drones have 360-degree views with very high-definition cameras. They have done this before, and their commdots can be linked to the drones, so our bounty hunters are recording this conversation just in case. They are used to Martha recording things after several episodes of their show.

Handing them her card, Lt. Kern follows up that she will be available if they need more, and that her card would also aid in getting access to the SPA's security. She also gave them the list of civilian ships that have come and left in the last few days:

Incoming last 7 days (other than Navy or Scout ships):

• Free trader (type A2), Empress Natashia. Left night previous to explosion
• Subsidized merchant (type R) on charter from political group bringing in an executive party from a neighboring system to plead for aid. Still at the port. Giddy Up
• Subsidized merchant (type R) on free trade status, Fat Chance. Left day before the explosion

Leaving last 3 days:

• Seeker (type J). This ship may be on a trade mission or may be prospecting on the moon. Hopper, heading to the Belt in the Zeng system
• Free trader (type A1 ), Empress Natashia. Left night previous to explosion. Destinatin: Agdarmi
• Far trader (type A2) leaving system, Empress Brooke. Had been there almost 2 weeks. Destination: Oriryu

• Subsidized merchant (type R) on subsidized merchant route.  Carrying mail and loading up on aid supplies. Gilded Princess, heading to Sorel

And that is where we left that session.

Unfortunately, despite Zeng being fleshed out in my head pretty well, I don't think I am getting the "feel" across to the players. And they do prefer fantasy or more pulp science fiction games, so I am thinking as much as I enjoy it, they are not enjoying it as well. Dry, rather than juicy was mentioned. Part of this is that every time I run Traveller with the current group (even years before) they always play the straightlaced Imperial citizens. Even as bounty hunters, they don't want to carry weapons, even though the stunners are allowed in the port (well, they do have their stun sticks). Of course, in a high-tech world like Zeng, and especially in the port, there are cameras and things. So getting caught is a lot different than a fantasy game. In the end it is my failing - while I really enjoy Traveller, both MTU & OTU, the wide divergence of play style from fantasy RPGs, as well as the lack of an established sense of what the technology has available, detracts from that. For those who play Traveller a lot, there would be a lot more digging into the differences in the tech levels, how to use their skills to better things, and all that stuff. I think if I run Traveller again, I'd much prefer the players to generate not only their characters, but also at least describe their home worlds and systems. None of them want to actually roll up the worlds (and I'd go full Book 6 on that!), but from the descriptions I can establish the details. And then we could establish at least that corner of the universe and perhaps they would "understand" at least that MTU. Unless they wanted to roll up the system as well, but this group is NOT a crunchy rules group. We play a lot of rules-light games. I'd really like to get back to games and get better at understanding the rules, as for me that is a lot of the fun. And while we do play for much longer than the previous 1-to-2-month cycle, we rarely go back to an earlier game. We talk about it a lot, but everyone one keeps getting more games, and wants to play and run that. One of the reasons I stopped buying games - I want to get good at the ones I have. I prefer a more in-depth approach to a lot of things (probably one of the reasons I write software: it is ALL details!) Just a difference in how we play and enjoy the games. Which does make for some fun games, and I appreciate getting to play at all. 

I did do a survey of our group using the types of players as described in Robin's Laws:

3/4 picked "the story teller", much more interested in telling a story and not preoccupied with XP or levels: The Storyteller: Like the method actor, is more attuned to the roleplaying side and less interested in XP or levels. More interested in taking part of a fun narrative that feels like a book or movie than strict identification of his character. Quick to compromise if it moves the story forward. The other was a butt-kicker: The Butt-Kicker: wants to let off steam with a little old-fashioned vicarious mayhem. Picks a simple, combat-ready character whether or not that is the best route to power. Wants to let off steam and prove his superiority over all who would challenge him. May or may not care about the rules as long as he gets plenty of chances to clobber things.

Bottom line: I need a better way of running Traveller for this group. The way I played in college (where 3 of the 5 of us all had dog-eared copies of the game as it was our primary game we played for years) does not work here as that group knew Traveller and we all played or ran the game pretty much the same way as each other. At a guess, the first several sessions may have been "dry" but as we played most Fridays for 5-8 hours (yeah, I used to stay up late!) we all figured out Traveller. Heck - one of the players created an Aslan font. And this was in the early 80s, so way before the internet gave us all these cool tools. Another player actually had Vargr custom tags - yes, we were really into Traveller! Which goes back to my really wanting to play a system enough so that I can understand the rules. And I actually like crunchy rules (again, I write software. It is also all crunchy. Been doing that for 40+ years so apparently, I do like crunch!)

Traveller Bounty Hunter, the Ship To Be Named

I used the fairly simple Mongoose v1 ship rules to create their ship. Based on the 0-Hr Tachikaze Interceptor, it is a 30-year police pursuit craft that has seen better days. But is is also how they can afford it: the new 40-year mortgage is for 1/4 the original price which was just over MC120. And also, they have a bit more income than normal as they are the stars of the On The Hunt holo-series, a reality show about bounty hunters. And they also do product placement for Instellarms, LIC. 

Working out the basic costs, I get the following:

Monthly costs:

                Pilot                        Cr6000

                Navigator               Cr5000

                Engineer                 Cr4000 x 3 = Cr 12,000

                Life Support           Cr2000/person (x5 crew = Cr10000)

                Power Plant fuel   Cr2000

                Mortgage               Cr125,000 (MCr30 / 240 payments over 40 years)

                ==========

                Cr159,000

Which for starships is not so bad. And also, the PCs will fill in 3 of those roles, so we can really subtract that. Life support I am going with Cr2000/person/month which is how I read those rules. Though I think Classic is Cr2000/person/week but that always seemed really high to me. Regardless, house rule if nothing else!

We also need to figure out how much they are getting paid, both from the residuals for the show and their sponsor, Intstellarms. A search indicates that a popular bounty hunter in real life gets $75,000 a year for his show. As credits are about $2/credit (well, they were in the late 70s, and I'll go with that!) meaning the players also earn Cr150,000 a year, or Cr12,500/month. Which is already 2x the pilot pay! We'll add a bit more as the show does promote the arms maker, so let's add Cr50K/year, bringing our players getting Cr200,000/year, or Cr16,666/month. Plus, any bounties they get. 

We have a few decisions to make: is the ship the characters' ship, or does it belong to Checkmate Acquistion? I am going to go with the players are owning this but use their company to help back the loan. Assuming we get 3 players (only 2 showed up the first night), the mortgage split 3 ways is Cr41,666/month. So, while it looks like they are making a LOT of credits, they are really still in the hole. Starships are really expensive in Traveller. 

I've pegged the bounty on Katja Rigg at MCr2.5. And there may or may not be accomplices - they have yet to do any real investigation other than talking to one of their contacts, which did give them the lead to the starport custodial engineer who "saw something he should not have". 

Maybe they will name it this session. They did just get it

everyone needs ID cards (I'll add the skills on the back and voila, character sheets!)

And as I've noted before: Traveller is really different than most SF games. Things are expensive. Star Trek and Star Wars everyone and their dog has a spaceship, can fly it, and it costs nothing. Of course, RPGs should not be accountants in space, but things should not just be given away. Similar to why I like low-level games - there are consequences and this this is not just a fantasy fulfilment thing for me. Traveller has a different set of struggles than a lot of SF games in addition to your normal things. One of the reasons I really enjoy it!

And yes - it is also time for the next Organic Towns for Windemere Crossing. I may get that out tomorrow, though I also need to finish my 3 sessions outline (and one session is done). I generally plan the overall arc, but never define how to get to the endpoint specifically. Basically, we start at A and need to get to F. There are a number of ways I throw out there, and then build on the choices the players take. And yes - part of that comes from the XDM book which I need to re-read. And yes, I did back yet another GM book, The Secret Art of Gamemastering though I only backed the book and not the whole thing as the other two books are really just forms, and I can make those myself. One of these days I'll be good at running games (though it seems the ones I do less prep work run better. But I like prep work!)

Traveller Bounty Hunter, Session 1 Recap

Setup

There was a bit of housekeeping to set things up, characters 4 and 7 were picked up, so let's give a bit more information from the players.

Bounty Hunter support specialist Shintaro Ruye has a heavy autopistol and a stun gun. I tried to get him a stunner, but the player wants a shotgun that shoot bean bags basically to knock people out.

UPP 989577 age 29, Bounty Hunter Support, Rank2

Skills: Slug Pistol-2, Investigate-1, Computer-1, Admin-1, Deception (Lies-1), Electronics-0, Streetwise-0, Broker-0, Advocate-0

Cr10100, Auto Pistol, shotgun w/stun bags, Cloth armor

Bondswoman Anastasia Rozhenko is proud of her Deception (Disguise-0) and apparently carries a wig with her most of the time. She wears a cloth duster over a flak vest a lot of the time as well. And for some reason, no idea what guns she has!

UPP: 7889B6 age 34, Rank 4, 4 Terms, Trust 4

Skills: Advocate-1, Melee (Martial Art-1), Investigate-1, Remote Operations-1, Carouse-1, Deception (Disguise-0), Gun Combat (Energy Wpn-1, Slug Pistol-1), Medic-0, Streetwise-0

Cr30,000, Gun, Flak Vest, Cloth Duster

They are still employed by Checkmate Acquisitions, a bounty hunting company situated on Zeng. With a population of only about 10,000, you may be wondering why Zeng? Beyond the metagaming aspect of me picking a random planet in a system I've never played in again, of course! Zeng is the capital of the Zeng subsector, and the class A port has a huge Naval component as well as a a large Scout base. There are almost 10,000 service personnel who move through Zeng on a yearly basis as their terms move them from system to system. Communication is top-notch for the sector, and so our bounty crew is based here.

Johanne Von Num owns Checkmate Acquisitions, but with the fame of our hunters becoming a subsector phenomena from the On The Hunt holo-series (brought to you by Instellarms, LIC) bringing in even more revenue, they have managed to purchase an older police pursuit ship. Which the players have yet to name!

The police version retains the Tachikaze name but ditches the heavy weapons and armor to focus fully on speed and maneuverability. There are several of these law enforcement ships in service throughout the Zeng subsector as they excel at their pursuit and interception role. They can chase down just about anything heavier than a fighter, but are lightly armed and fairly fragile. This means that they are excellent for law enforcement against common civilians and merchants, but must depend on backup in order to bring more serious criminals to heel.

300 tons, TL 13

Jump Drive D: Jump 2      25 60 (2xjump 1, 1x jump 2)

Man Drive E: Man             5 9

Power Plant E:                  16 20 (4 weeks)

Bridge 20

Model 2 Computer

Basic Military Sensor Specs 2

Kintaro from 0-Hr

I'll see about the Traveller details in a later post, but we are handwaving big chunks of what I consider basic Traveller game mechanics. I feel my players would rather fall into a pit trap than deal with the details of managing the details. The handwave is that between the product placement for Instellarms and the residuals of the popular show, we'll just keep the high cost of starship ownership in the background. Should we decide to play more than what is assumed to be a 3-session deal, we will start layering in those details. Probably via an NPC so it will be me, but they will be aware of more. But my breakdown of the ship-to-be-named will cover operating costs (and it is a 30-year-old ship. so not brand new). 

Our holovid crew consists of the 3 people mentioned in the set-up post though they were only background in the office when we finally got to the start of the session.

The Job Starts

The explosion was 2 nights ago, and Johanne finally has the information needed, and the license, to go after our fugitive Katja Riggs. Getting Anastasia and Shintaro off the sofa, our two decide to check in on one of their known sources, a Miss Dawson. 

Miss Dawson is a companion for hire, who is usually available at the Star Dwellers Bar and Lounge. Taking the underground walks, it is not too far from their headquarters. Which, like 80% of the population, lives in Startown. The transient population of Zeng is about 10x the locals. 

Finding her at her usual haunt, they start talking with her and find that her friend Charlie Michelson, a custodian at the starport in Annex 43, "saw something he should not have." While Anastasia was questioning the diminutive Dawson, Shintaro noticed two goons watching with a bit more than the usual interest in the conversation. Paying for their drinks, they use a bit of a ruse to exit the bar, and noticing that they are being followed, go up the street to the Star Motel, a cheap hotel frequented by Navy personnel on shore leave. There is much discussion and planning as to what to do, but in the end, they took a simpler route. Anastasia puts on the far-too-small clothing of Miss Dawson and dons her wig. Hoping to be a distraction while Shintaro goes out the back and grabs a handy lead pipe. No one questions why a TL-C world has a lead pipe lying around, but this is not the nicest of neighborhoods. It really should be some lightweight composite pipe, but that just does pack the same punch. And pretty sure plumbing is not made of crystaliron...

Anastasia horribly fails her deception/disguise roll, but is distracting enough as is, especially as the dress starts to tear for her first (and only - this is a PG-17 game!) wardrobe malfunction. But it is enough for Shintaro to come up behind one the thugs and knock him down, to stand on top while Anastasia uses her martial arts to successfully take the other thug down.

While they want answers, the thugs were singularly unhelpful in giving them any information, and eventually they are let go. 

Returning to the Star Motel, they give Miss Dawson Cr25 to pay for the dress, and the ever-helpful woman mentions that the Ine Givar would never just stay on the planet after something like that. 

Calling her friend Charlie, the janitor who runs 4 auto-cleaner drones on the night shift, they make plans to interview him in the morning. They will bring along the camera crew as he is a huge fan, and his parents on Quirinal would love to see him on the holoseries. Of course, between editing and transit time, it will be months before the episode on Katja Riggs even airs, let alone gets transported 4 parsecs away!

And session 1, done!

I've mentioned before that running Traveller is a bit harder than most games to run. Not for the mechanics, but for the "feel". The OTU is a distinct type of universe, and though Zeng is TL-C, they've been staying inside as the very thin atmosphere if nitrogen trichloride is not particularly appealing, even with compressor/filter masks! And being that high tech, the entire city is on grav plates, so the 0.5G that the planet has is not noticed. We did comment on the sun being far larger than ours is as they are all of .25AU or so away from the M3 star. And the day sis a 20 hour day, but other than that, it mostly feels like just being here on Earth. 

I'll have to try and get some underground future city pictures to help, but by golly, we are going to get  into a spaceship as this IS Traveller, not On the Hunt (brought to you by Instellarms, LIC). Have to make sure that they do some product placement while interviewing Charlie next week! Meaning I need to get some products ready :)

I'll also get more details about the potential worlds they can go to. They do have the investigation skill but we've been light on actual skill usage. Investigate: The Investigate skill incorporates keen

observation, forensics, and detailed analysis. Which really does not apply in this scenario much...

Finally, including the cover to the Clement Sector rules. The starport and startown could look like this but probably not. I'll have to get some good pictures for next time to help them get a feel for the science fiction.

Bounty: Katja Rigg, Insurgent

 Katja Rigg, Group Commander of the Ine Givar

Katja Rigg is a human female, approximately 38 years old. Raised with a twin sister, they took wildly divergent approaches when the Tigress Incident of 1094 happened. While her sister ended up being an agent for the Imperium, Katja thought that the Imperials were the ones at fault, and somehow came into contact with the Ine Givar. She has been an active member about a dozen years, and quickly moved up the ranks within various cells. She has had to move often but has only been compromised twice. A quick bribe to a port guard allowed for access to the Naval base.

Character

UPP: A46A97 Group Commander Katja Rigg

Weaponry-2, Mechanical-2, Slug Pistol-1, Blade-1, Instruction-1, Combat Engineering-1, Comms-1

A tall blond, with a perpetual smoke stick hanging from her lip, though never lit. Though strong she tends to be clumsy, though watching her tear down any weapon and put it back together seems to bely her normal physical ineptitude. Her last act of sabotage against an Imperial Naval Base on Zeng resulted in the deaths of more than 2 dozen Naval personnel and Marines as well as the complete destruction of Naval Courier. She has escaped the system, current whereabouts unknown.

History in the Ine Givar

Year 1: Training, Recruit -> Recruit 1st class. Gun Combat: Slug Pistol-1, Blade-1, Operations

Year 2: Military Support, -> Section Leader, Instruction

Year 3: Intelligence Gathering, Compromised -> Support Services

Year 4: R&D, Weaponry-1

Year 5: Sabotage, -> Group Leader, Combat Engineering-1

Year 6: Intelligence Gathering, -> Force Leader, Comms-1

Year 7: Internal Security, bribed official Cr6000, Mechanical-1

Year 8: R&R year (visited with family for an extended time)

Year 9: R&D, -> Commander, Weaponry-2

Year 10: R&D, -> Group Commander

Year 11: Sabotage, compromised and on the run.

The Navy has one less on Zeng now...

The character was rolled up from the RIPs In Traveller (Rebels, Insurgents and Partisans). From Adventure Gaming, Dec 1981. I miss the days of general RPG magazines!

The PCs are part of a bounty hunters' group. One of them (and if none of the players pick character #6, instant NPC on deck!) did so well is a media star which is where a chunk of the funding comes in as there will be a holovid crew on board for the popular holo-series, On The Hunt, brought to you by Instellarms, LIC. Would also explain how shiny and new their weapons and arm or may be! And allows me to handwave the expense handling for this group for a bit. As well as have some interesting characters. 

Holovid Crew:

• Mac Tudor, manager. Handles most of the expenses and directions on the show. Has some say in where the group may go as well as a hand in picking out the next target. I picked Katja Rigg as he is also getting an advance from the Imperial Navy with the understanding he shares all footage and info with them first, before broadcasting. A small man just under 5' tall, he is loud for his size and wears flashy clothes. He is not afraid to be in the midst of firefights.
• "Wild Bill" William Davidson. Considerably the opposite of Mac, Wild Bill is almost 7 feet tall, making the holographic gear he carries look tiny in his hands. An eye for detail, he seems to know just where to go for the best shots. Though the more dangerous shots do use drones for holo-capture. A fairly quiet man, he does not want to be in the spotlight but does want to capture the spotlight. 
• Martha Snow, technician and runner. Evan smaller than Mac, Martha is the tech wiz maintaining the equipment as well as doing most of the initial editing and processing of the various feeds. Gregarious, she gets along with pretty much everyone and is very tech-focused. 
• Holo-equipment. The main system is the gear Wild Bill carries on him, for capturing the hunters close up and giving that raw footage style. Even though the cameras have extensive image stabilizing, they often add fake jitters to make it seem "more realistic". They also have 4 remote drones used for wide-angle and distance shots. 

Traveller 3 session game - Pregens

One of the players will be unable to play for 3 weeks, so I get to run a 3 session Traveller game! I've an entire weekend to put together an arc that should last for 3 sessions. To start, I'm going to generate several characters and they can pick and choose. We've decided to do a bounty hunter game as that is pretty focused and has a definite endpoint: get the bounty! 

I have a few bounty hunter careers, and actually did one a while back in the character challenge. Though he only lasted 1 term and was generated using the Cepheus rules. As this is a quick game, I am not going to go through the Cepheus backgrounds and all that, but since most of the careers have the events tables, there will be in-career events for things that shaped the characters.

I am also leaving the cascade skills as slots, so that they can pick the specific skill they want. Same for the benefits - roll a gun and they can pick a gun. I'll have the list of options at the end of this post.

Probably not as exciting as you would think...

Character 1: Mongoose v1 Agent: Bounty Hunter Thieftaker

A bounty hunter that worked along merchants and merchant vessels, hauling in criminals for the price on their heads.

=================================================================

Final Stats

UPP: 975A67 age 34, Trust 6, Rank 2 (Bailsman)

Skills: Investigate-2, Persuade-1, Carouse-1, Gun-0, Melee-0, Recon-0, St4alth0, Streetwise-0, Trade-0

Cr13,000, +1 END, Gun, Gun

=================================================================

Career

Initial UPP: 874A67

Term 1 (age 18-21) Basic Training, picked up all basic service skills at 0. Made promotion to Rank 1.

Chased after a target the entire term but never caught them. 

Term 2 (age 22-25) +1 STR. Not promoted.

Not paid in full for a bounty, -1 DM for all subsequent benefit rolls (taken into account above)

Term 3 (age 26-29) Investigate-1, promoted Rank 2

A renown legal advocate attempts to throw your company to the media to get your mark off the hook. You succeeded in the persuasion roll, +1 Trust and +2 to next advancement.

Term 4 (age 30-33) Investigate-2, promoted rank 2, Persuade-1

A powerful criminal organization attempts to bribe you. (even/odd, and rolled odd so you refused). Gain +1 Trust.

Decided to muster out after that last bribery attempt. Collected Cr13000, +1 END and 2 guns (or 1 gun and +1 skill in that gun)

Character 2: Mongoose v1 Agent Bounty Hunter Shiptracer

You worked as a galactic tracker of starships for a living. Then as a special operations police officer. 

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UPP 886655 age 25, Bounty Hunter Shiptracer 1 term (Trust 1), Polic Special Operations 1 term (Trust-2)

Skills: Astrogation-0, Comms-0, Computer-0, Gunner-0, Pilot-0, Sensors-0, Heavy Wpns-0

Law Enforcement  Equipment

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Career

Initial UPP: 886655

Term 1 (age 18-21) Basic Training Astrogation-0, Comms-0, Computer-0, Gunner-0, Pilot-0, Sensors-0

There is an opening in the local police force and they really want you! You may automatically qualify. Even we become police, odd stay as a bounty hunter: huh, we could have a copper on board! Choose to enter the police! On the way out the door you pick up some law enforcement gear!

Police Career, Special Operations

Term 1 (22-25) Basic Training Heavy Wpns-0. Barely survived, but a political shift forced you out of your new career. But do gain the trust of the local police force.

Character 3: Mongoose v1 Agent Bounty Hunter Shiptracer

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UPP: 87B988 age 39, 5 terms, Rank 4 Star Tracker, Trust 3

Skills: Pilot-2, Astrogration-1, Computer-1, Vacc-Suit-1, Comms-0, Gunner-0, Pilot-0, Sensors-0

Cr16,000 TAS Membership, Law Enforcement Gear, Combat Implant, Armor, weapon

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Career

Initial UPP: 87B988

Term 1 (18-21) Basic Training Astrogation-0, Comms-0, Computer-0, Gunner-0, Pilot-0, Sensors-0 Promoted Rank 1 Navitracker, Astrogation-1

Spent an awful amount of time in underground casinos looking for your mark. Deception-1

Term 2 (22-25) Gunner-1, Rank 2

Sent to another planet to search for a particularly difficult mark, Sadly, you did not get him.

Term 3 (26-29) Investigate-1, Rank 3 Finder

A charming mark convinced you to let them go, -1 Trust but extra cash benefit roll

Term 4 (30-33)  Computers-1

You hitch a ride to a mark on a Star Marine and learn a few things; pick up Vacc-Suit-1

Term 5 (34-38) Pilot-1 Rank 4 Star Tracker (Ship Share) Pilot-2

Life Event: someone close to you died, perhaps a family member or a buddy in the team you are in. You decide to retire.

Character 4: Mongoose Agent Bounty Hunter Bondsman

You spent your time hunting down escaped prisoners and bail jumpers for many galactic slams and Imperial prisons

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UPP: 7889B6 age 34, Rank 4, 4 Terms, Trust 4

Skills: Advocate-1, Melee-1, Investigate-1, Remote Operations-1, Carouse-1, Deception-0, Gun Combat-0, Medic-0, Streetwise-0

Cr30,000, Gun, Armor, Gun, Gun

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Career

UPP: 7A89B6

Term 1 (18-21) Basic Training  Carouse-1, Deception-0, Gun Combat-0, Melee-0, Medic-0, Streetwise-0, Hunter

You encounter aliens while tracking a bounty. No success on the roll, so just an interesting encounter. Promoted to Rank 1

Term 2 (22-25) Remote Operations, Rank 2, Bailsman, Investigate-1

You spent an entire term chasing a single target. And failed. Hey, it is a 10+ on 2d6, so hard to hit!

Term 3 (26-29) Melee-1, rank 3, Con Runner

You are in a position to take a bullet for your mark to make sure he gets delivered. You succeed but lose an eye, DEX-2, but then get promoted.

Term 4 (30-33) Advocate-1, Rank 4, Combat Implant

You are heralded as one of the best in the business. Your missing eye is replaced by a cybernetic eye giving you effectively binoculars and IR/light intensifier vision.

Character 5: Cepheus Bounty Hunter, Hunter

You are one of the people who hunt down those who have skipped out on bail & tried to run to another world to escape justice.

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UPP: 98C663 age 30 Bounty Hunter - Hunter, Rank 1, 3 terms

Skills: Gun-1, Language-1, Stealth-1, JoT-1, Survival-0, Tactics (Military-0), Recon-0, Streetwise-0

Cr4000, Armor, 1 company share

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Career

UPP 97C663

Term 1 (18-21) Basic Training Survival-0, Tactics Military)-0, Steath-0, Recon-0, Streetwise-0, JoT-1, not promoted, Language-1

Being in pursuit of a target often involves being intimately familiar with the cultures of other worlds. Picked up Language

Term 2 (22-25) Not promoted, Stealth-1, Gun-1

You spend a lot of time at the gun range, Pick up Gun

Term 3 (26-29) Rank 1, Stealth-1, +1 DEX

Life Event: something good happened to you! +2 on 1 benefit roll

So good in fact that you decide to head out on your own. Plus slightly miffed you've only been promoted once in 12 years...

Character 6: Cepheus Bounty Hunter, Repossession

You hunt down vehicles and ships for which payments are late or unpaid.

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UPP: 9B6798 age 30 Bounty Hunter, Repossession 3 terms Rank 3

Skills: Deception-2, Tactics-1, Pilot-1, Drive-0, Flyer-1, JoT-0

Cr 4000, Armor, Armor

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Career

UPP 9B6798

Term 1 (18-21) Survival-0, Electronics-0, Tactics (any-0), Pilot-1, Drive-0, Flyer-1, JoT-0, promoted Rank 1, Deception-1

You often have to deceive your prey. Deception-1

Term 2 (22-25) Promoted Rank 2, Tactics-1

Your success has angered a rival. Gain a rival.

Term 3 (26-29) Promoted Rank 3, Deception-2

A holovid producer has become interesting in following your team and the show becomes very popular across multiple worlds. A good time to join the entertainment career apparently.

Character 7: Cepheus Bounty Hunter, Support

You are part of the support network that assists bounty hunters

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UPP 989577 age 29, Bounty Hunter Support, Rank2

Skills: Slug Pistol-2, Investigate-1, Computer-1, Admin-1, Deception-1, Electronics-0, Streetwise-0, Broker-0, Advocate-0

Cr10100, Weapon, Weapon

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Career

UPP 989577

Term 1 (18-21) Basic Training Admin-1, Interrogation-0, Electronics-0, Streetwise-0, Broker-0, Advocate-0, Deception-1

Your job requires you go undercover; gain Deception.

Term 2 (22-25) Rank 1 Computer-1, Gun-2

Sometimes you just have to fight; Slug pistol-1

Term 3 (26-29)  Rank 2 Investigate-1

You work hard and play hard, Carouse-1. And too hard - you are asked to leave.

Character 8: Manhunters Independent Hunter

You hunt down criminals for your own enrichment.

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UPP A47857 age 38, Independent 5 terms, Rank 2

Skills: Tactics (Military-1), Electronic-1, Stealth-1, Broker-1, Recon-1, Navigation-1, Admin-1, Streetwise-0

Cr6500, +1 INT, Weapon, +1 Int, Armor

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Career

UPP A46657

Term 1 (18-21) Survival-0, Tactics (Military-0), Steath-0, Recon-0, Streetwise-0, Broker-0, Admin-1

Keeping records is important when you work for yourself! Admin-1

Term 2 (22-25) Recon-1, Electronic-1

Technology is the friend of the hunter, pick up Electronic-1

Term 3 (26-29) Rank 1 Stealth-1, Recon-1

You must be aware of your surroundings: get Recon-1.

Term 4 (30-33) Broker-1, Navigation-1

Targets often hide in inhospitable places. Gain Navigation-1

Term 5 (34-37) Rank 2, +1 END

You have them right where you want them: gain Tactics(Military-1)

Character 9: Manhunters Thieftaker

Killer - you deliver justice to the wronged by eliminating those who hurt them.

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UPP 9CD777 age 38 Killer 5 terms Rank 3

Skills Melee-2, Advocate (Law-1), Gun-1, Survival-1, Tactics (Military-1), Interrogation-1, Art/Science-1. Electronics-0

Cr80,000, Weapon, Armor, +1 END, Weapon

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Career

UPP 8CC777 

Term 1 (18-21) Stealth-0, Gun-0, Melee-0, Electonics-0, Recon-1, Rank 1, Gun-1

You need to be aware of your surroundings, gain Recon-1

Term 2 (22-25) +1 STR, Survival-1

Some targets are on hostile worlds, pick up Survival-1

Term 3 (26-29) Recon-2, Rank 2 Tactics (Military-1), Interrogation-1

You need information and gain interrogation-1.

Term 4 (30-33) Melee-1, Art -or- Science

Your hobbies help keep you sane. Take a level in Art (any) or Science (any)

Term 5 (34-37) Melee-2, Rank 3, Advocate (Laws-1)

It's important to know the laws on your target's world. Gain Advocate (Law-1).

Stuff To Pick

Law Enforcement Gear:

• Flak jacket
• commdot
• stunstick
• autopistol & 2 magazine or stunner
• 2 smoke grenades

Pilot Options:

• Small craft (shuttles) to 99 tons
• Starships

Gun Skill Options:

• slug rifle
• slug pistol
• shotgun
• energy rifle
• energy pistol

Heavy Weapons:

• Launchers (rocket, grenade)
• man-portable artillery (fusion and plasma gun, man portable)
• field artillery (mortars and other indirect weapons)

Melee:

• unarmed combat (martial arts, boxing...)
• bladed (fencing, swords)
• bludgeon (maces, clubs)

Deception:

• Lie
• Disguise