While Classic Traveller had all of 6 career paths, with Mercenary, High Guard, Scout & Merchants additional career paths within those careers got expanded out, and the characters started getting a lot more skills. The original LBB characters were still comparable in some ways, as they automatically had a weapon 0 skill in all weapons, and the skills were more broadly defined. Some of the later skills (looking at you, broker) could break parts of the system (always getting to add a DM to the actual value price table is a sure fire way to get rich quick. While I never played any characters with that skill, I do think it could be tempered based on distance from where you gained that skill: i.e., broker assume connections and knowledge of how the local economy works. I'd start reducing the skill by 1 for each system away from where it was picked up. But that is not in the rules).
Anyway, when Mongoose, and later Cepheus, expanded the career paths even more, there were even more career options. I have several books now with various career choices, and thought a bibliography may be a useful thing. My players may want to play something far outside the traditional path (hey, we're gamers, and while gaming is now a popular thing, for most of us it was far more niche than it is today: we're not "normal" to begin with. Thank goodness!)
I have an earlier post here about the careers, but pretty sure I've since bought even more books or PDFs. I am a Traveller hoarder! But I'll try and and make this list grouped and give the source material, and which version of Traveller it goes with. Many of course are available in all the versions.
I'm going to have to go through my books: I made this list a few years back but never added the source. I need to have the source listing so I can find them! And I'll probably be updating this post as I find more of the things I've got stashed away (for some reason I cannot find my SORAG book, pretty sure it is still in a bag I was taking to the game sessions for some reasons. Probably just to show off my ancient collection).
Abbreviations are:
- CT - Classic Traveller LBB
- MT - Megatraveller
- T5 - Traveller 5th edition
- Mg - Mongoose Traveller, either 1st or 2nd edition. Core rules unless otherwise noted
- Ce - Cepheus (and I'll try and include the publisher)
- JTAS - Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (Classic version)
- JTAS-Mg - Mongoose version
Breaking the career choices down by military, paramilitary and other. And when there were specific sub-careers, including those. I've also got a bibliography by version at the end. For the most part, with the exception of T5, all the versions I have are mostly compatible. T5 is special in a lot of ways, but mostly compatible if you adjust skill levels (and I'll need to find that, but it was something like divide by 2 as T5 has even more skill bloat than the classic expanded character generation!
Note that these are for rules and books I actually have. There are a lot more out there I don't have. Yet.
And I've added some house rules for character generation at the end of this post.
Careers
Pre-career options
College (in most versions)
University: Mg
Medical College (somewhere I've got rules on that)
Military College: Mercenary (CT), Mg
Navy College: High Guard (CT), Mg
Other Pre-Career Options (Mg, Traveller Companion) [similar to background skills]
- Colonial upbringing
- Merchant Academy
- Psionic Community
- School of hard knocks
- Spacer Community
Careers
Military
Army
- CT basic career
- CT Mercenary (book 4):
- Artillery
- Calvary
- Infantry
- Marine
- Support
- Commando
- Mg Core:
- T5 (Soldier)
- Army
- Operations
- Commando
- Technical
Navy
- CT basic career )book 1)
- CT High Guard (book 5)
- Technical Services
- Crew
- Line
- Engineering
- Gunnery
- Flight
- Medical
- Mg Core
- Line/Crew
- Engineer/Gunner
- Flight
- T5 (Spacer)
Marine
- CT basic career
- CT Mercenary (book 4; see above in Army)
- Mg Core:
- Support
- Star Marine
- Ground Assault
- T5 Marine
Paramilitary / Police
Agent / Law Enforcement (world based)
- Mg Core: Agent
- Law Enforcement
- Intelligence
- Corporate
- Mg Agent (1st edition)
- Law Enforcement
- Patrol
- Special Operations
- Customs
- Investigator
- Private Investigator
- Inspector
- Undercover Agent
- Spy
- Field Agent
- Operative
- Infiltrator
- Analyst
- Political Officer
- Technical Expert
- Handler
- Corporate
- Security
- Espionage
- Bodyguard
- Bounty Hunter
- Ship Tracer
- Bondsman
- Thieftaker
- Ce - Investigator (Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games)
- Forensics
- Inspector
- Private Investigator
- Ce - Police (Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knight Games)
- Beat Cop
- Patrol
- Strike Force
- T5 Agent
Space Patrol / Space Police (space based)
Space Patrol
- System Guard (Ce, Foreven Worlds, Careers Beyond the Claw)
- Crew/Line
- Inspectors
- Planetary Patrol
- Space Patrol (Ce, Space Patrol, Stellagaming)
- Secretariat
- Investigation
- Marshall
- Operations
Port Authority- Skyport Authority (JTAS 19)
- Administration
- Passenger Service
- Freight Handling
- Ship Servicing
- Port Authority (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games)
- control
- inspection
- stevedore
- Starport Authority (Starport Planetfall, Cargonaut Press / Apocrypha 3)
- Port administration
- Port Services
- Ship Services
- Customs/Security
Other Sort of Legal Things
Bounty Hunters
- Manhunters (Ce, Gypsy Knights Games)
- Bail Enforcement
- Bounty Hunter
- Thief Taker
- Repossession
- Uplift Hunters
- Skip Tracers
- Debt Collectors
- Marshalls
- Bounty Hunter (hunter, repossession, support) (???)
- Bounty Hunters (Moon Toad Publishing - see DriveThru)
Other Career Options
Science/Exploration
Scout
- CT Book 1
- CT Book 6: Scouts
- Survey
- Exploration
- Communications
- Detached Duty
- Technical
- Operations
- Detached Duty
- CT Scouts And Assassins
- Technical Support
- Surveillance
- Exploration
- Mg Scouts, Core 2nd
- Mg Scouts, 1st ed
- Contact
- Courier
- Exploration
- Special Ops
- Survey
- T5, Core
Scholar
- Mg Scholar (core)
- Field Researcher
- Scientist
- Physician
- Medical Professional (Ce, Foreven Worlds, Careers Beyond the Claw)
- Surgeon/Nurse
- Long term care giver
- Physical Therapy
- T5 Scholar
Scientist (CT, Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium)
Doctor (CT, Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium)
Everything Else
Adventurer (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games) Hunter, Pioneer, Relic Raider
Arts (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games) artist, collector, critic
Assassin (CT, Scouts and Assassins)
Athlete (Electronic, Physical or Vehicle Sports) Foreven Worlds Careers
Barbarian (CT, Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium)
Belter
- CT Citizens of the Imperium
- Mg Beltstrike
- asteroid miner
- prospector
- worker
- researcher
- Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games
Citizen
- CT - Citizens
- Frontierist (Ce, Archeologist, prospector, Terraformer) Foreven Worlds Careers
- Mg Core
Clergy (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: evangelist, minister, monk)
Craftsperson
- Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: architect, tradesperson, labor
- T5
Corporate Shipper (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games) crew, engineer, gunnery
Customer Service (Ce, Company Rep, Company Prostitute, Wait staff) Foreven Worlds Careers
Drifter/Rogues
- CT: Other(book 1)
- CT: Citizens - Rogue
- Ce: Gambler (Gypsy Knight Games, Diverse Roles: casino, sports, track)
- Mg Core Drifter
- Barbarian
- Wanderer
- Scavenger
- Ce, Organized Crime (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: hitman, enforcer, operator)
- Ce, Outlaws (Ce, Outlaw; Gypsy Knights Games
- Cleaner, Driver, Drug Dealer, Forger, Hitman, Smuggler, Prisoner
Engineer Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: Aerospace, biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, Space
Entertainer (Mg, artist, journalist, performer)
Fringe Marketer (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: professor, teacher, tutor) black market, fence, pawnbroker)
Gambler Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games; casino, sports, track
Hunter CT, Citizens of the Imperium (and adventurer for Ce)
Instructor (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: professor, teacher, tutor)
Merchant
- CT - Book 1
- CT - Book 7
- Mg Merchant
- Merchant Marine
- Free Trader
- Broker
Noble requires 10+ social
- CT Supplement 4
- Mg (administrator, diplomat, dilettante)
Other (rogue: thief, enforcer, pirate)
Politician (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games) candidate, manager, operative
Prostitute (Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games) prostitute, hetaerae, streetwalker. here for completeness?)
Psionic (*)
Rebel/Insurgent/Partisan - Adventure Gaming, December 1981
Scavenger Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: junker, picker, restorer
SORAG (Zhodani intelligence *)
Surface Navy
Thief Ce, Diverse Roles; Gypsy Knights Games: con artist, hacker, intruder
Bibliography By Version
Classic
Book 1 Characters and Combat: Navy, Marines, Army, Scouts, Merchants, Other
Book 4 Mercenary: Artillery, Calvary, Infantry, Marine, Support, Commando
Book 5 High Guard: Technical Services, Crew, Engineering, Gunnery, Medical, Line, Flight
Book 6 Scouts: Survey, Communications, Exploration, Detached Duty, Technical, Operations, Administration
Book 7 Merchant Prince
Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium: Pirate, Belter, Sailor, Diplomat, Doctor, Flyer, Barbarian, Bureaucrat, Rogue, Noble, Scientist, Hunter
Mongoose
Cepheus
Diverse Roles: Adventurer, Arts, Belter, Bounty Hunter, Clergy, Corporate Shopper, Craftsperson, Fringe Marketer, Gambler, Instructor, Investigator, Organized Crime, Police, Politician, Port Authorit, Prostitute, Scavenger, Thief, Engineer
T5
T5 Careers (I've not gone through these enough to generate characters easily; they are included in the above list)
Craftsman
Scholar
Entertainer
Citizen
Scout
Merchant
Spacer
Soldier
Agent
Rogue
Noble
Marine
Functionary
Notes for Port Authority
High Passage #3: Port Authority Handbook, Arriving in system
High Passage #4: Port Authority Handbook, Interdicted Systems
High Passage #5: Port Authority Handbook, Convoys
House Rules In Character Generation
As with most games, over the years I've added a few house rules that I can optionally use when generating characters. Mostly for players who want more agency over their characters, which seems like the antithesis of Traveller generation for me. I also use several systems when letting players generate characters. While mostly the expanded character generation, if someone wants to run through the Classic, that's perfectly fine. They do get all weapon skills at 0 as per the book (which I glossed over for years until joining up at COTI a long, long time ago & finding that rule). Most of my games are fairly rules-light anyway, and for my group it is about the role-playing more than the mechanics. It really does not matter too much if you have that 1 term barbarian playing with the 6-term extended character generated that has a bazillion skills. It is what you bring to the game. I also try to wrap my games around the characters where I can so everyone gets a chance to do something interesting.
- an extra roll. I'll allow for 7 rolls, and you can swap out any 1 roll if you'd like. Sucks though if the 7th roll is worse than the others. I sometimes let the player try again
- Skill rolls: you may roll then choose which table to pick your skill from. This allows for better control over what skills you get
- swap a benefit roll for a promotion. Got this from Deluxe Cepheus, and I like the idea. Not sure how well that would play with the Noble career but that is its own can of worms
Things I do insist on though:
- roll stats straight. Roll for STR, DEX, END, INT, EDU, SOC in that order
- if running Classic generation, failed survival is death.
There are lots of house rules other referees use as well, I'll try & post links if I get permission (so I am old school and like to get permission even for what is already public. Perhaps enough ethics courses back in college, and come to think of it, my master's program, which was liberal arts, had a lot of ethics classes. Hopefully some of it sank in!)
