Astronauts

[TrippyHippy]

It appears that Astronauts are the ultimate Prestige career in Pioneer, with a 15+ Qualification roll. With the Lifepath character generation system in place, it almost feels like the purpose of the ‘game-within-game’ is to navigate a career path that ultimately gives characters a shot at being selected as the ‘best of the best’.

Strategically, you need to Graduate (preferably with Honours), then probably go through at least a couple of careers and take Personal Development for each Term and every Advancement opportunity before Mustering out and hoping you accumulate enough high Characteristic scores that you can get enough bonuses on a qualifying roll to make it. One would expect that a Graduate would have a good Education at least too. Even then, you are going to have a more than even chance of failing and while you can attempt again, the cumulative penalty and likely Ageing rolls are probably going to scupper it. It is probably a realistic chance of Qualifying and, in some ways I find it really invigorating, but is this reading the approach right and is this going to be frustrating for some?

In a pioneering type of scenario isn’t every player going to be wanting to play an Astronaut? What happens if they don’t qualify?

 

[Sigtrygg]

They don't get to be astronauts and must find another way to explain how they were picked, from all the people who did make it to be astronauts, to be a crew member on the first mission to...

it doesn't make much sense.

Either work backwards from being an astronaut, or make becoming an astronaut automatic at the end of your life path - otherwise your character is watching the game on a TV...

a quick fudge is you are allowed to roll boon for astronaut enlistment

This is one of my main concerns with the "thirty years in the future", with that sort of timeframe the vast majority of astronauts are still going to be government employees or very rich people who can afford the ticket...

 

[Geir]

This is one of my main concerns with the "thirty years in the future", with that sort of timeframe the vast majority of astronauts are still going to be government employees or very rich people who can afford the ticket...

If it's a government mission, they (NASA specifically) might require a 'trained' astronaut aboard, but the rest could be everything from private employee (remember payload specialists? - all the rage in the 80's shuttle program until that cold weather incident - I'm not even referring to teachers, but Charlie Walker flew three times as McDonnell Douglas employee) media personality, scientist (public, private, or 'mad'), lottery winner, somebody's kid - some of that is already happening now. Think more like Everest adventure tourism and suborbital flights, or unfortunate trips to the Titanic. If the price point drops below $100K per trip, it opens up to the wealthy and/or highly motivated. There was an ex-postal worker from somewhere around my neighborhood on an Everest jaunt a few years back. Both private suborbital operators are also subsidizing various people of limited means for, I presume publicity reasons - or maybe you're just some rich dude's brother...

 

[CordwainerFish]

remember payload specialists?

I remember Jake Garn, who gave his name to the SI unit for space sickness.