Meet Byku Liu, Leader of the Vargr Uprising

[allanimal]

Yesterday we did character generation for High and Dry. I had a few veteran traveller players, and one guy new to Traveller.

The new guy elected to play a Vargr, not knowing about the scenario. I think he liked the name.
He proceeded to roll stats in order, resulting in a total DM from characteristics at -4. Yes, there were multiple 2,3 and 4 stats. Nothing over 7.

As the new guy to traveller, I helped him directly thru the process and witnessed this series of abysmal rolls, (and those that follow.)

"No problem", player says.

Term 1:
Tries for university. Nope, not admitted.
Qualifies for Navy, rolls a mishap. -2 to a physical stat. Connects to another PC for a small skill bump.
"No problem," player says.

Term 2:
Fail to qualify as citizen. Becomes a drifter.
Drifts successfully, but is not promoted. Event gives him +4 to next qualification roll.

Term3:
Successfully qualifies as a pirate.
A job goes wrong, ejected from career. Connects with other PC for skill bump.

Term 4:
Fails to qualify for scouts. Elects for draft. Gets drafted to ... Scouts.
Successful term, but event is "2" - roll on mishap table but not ejected. Mishap "You have no idea what happened to you – they found your ship drifting on the fringes of friendly space."
No promotion. In fact, with his die roll of snake eyes and his stat DM, he gets a "1", so the scouts tell him he's no longer needed after all.

Player decides that he's ready to muster out.

1 benefit roll for drifter - hoping for that lucrative ship share, but gets EDU+1 (which he very much needed)
1 benefit roll from scouts - weapon. Chooses TL12 Stunner, as it maximizes the parameters of the weapon benefit.

No starting cash, all known skills at 0 (due to always getting basic training) except one from connections and one from skill package. Net negative stat DMs.

"No problem", player says.
He proceeds to role play the hell out of this character, and may just start a Vargr uprising on Walston.

I wish I found this player sooner for my traveller games...

And a perfect data point for those arguing against stats rolled in order... But I think I takes a certain type of player for this to work.

 

[hdan]

That's beautiful.
I've heard similar stories of "hopeless" characters who were enlisted in "high mortality" careers (this was under CT) but who carry on to become legends.

It really is all on the player. You just have to be flexible about what goals you have for your character sometimes.

 

[MongooseMatt]

This is what makes Traveller for me - playing the hand you are dealt with.

A bit like real life, but among the stars

 

[allanimal]

My new to traveller player had a couple comments about character creation.

I dont really like the life event table as it is fairly boring and also.....just mostly negative.

I would have to agree with him - the life events just don't have the same panache as the career events. They can be spiced up a bit. Several (3,5,6) imply getting a contact or ally, and #4 implies a rival/enemy, but these do not explicitly say.

I'd say 3-6 at least should have a bit of extra something to spice them up.

I'd like to see some more variety for survival and career advancement rolls, seems many need END or ....what was the other big one? I think INT or EDU it was. Having all 6 attributes evenly viable there would be nice

Again, I would have to agree, that more variety in the attributes needed for the qualification, survival & advancement rolls. I tabulated the number of careers and the attributes needed for career progress:

           Qual      Survival   Promotion
STR          0          1          2
DEX          1          5          2
END          2          13         2
INT          6          9          16
EDU          1          5          13
SOC          1          3          1

There is quite a skew towards INT, END & EDU...

Not sure if it is something that can be fixed, but from a new player perspective, it is perceived, by this one guy at least, as a problem.

 

[-Daniel-]

Not sure if it is something that can be fixed, but from a new player perspective, it is perceived, by this one guy at least, as a problem.

While I believe everyone in my circle knw this, I have never seen the numbers spelled out. Having said that, I still do not believe this I is a "problem" that needs to be fixed. In this case I am not sure it needs to be balanced. It offers a particular take on life. Raw talent get's you in the door, INT and END get you through the trials, and you INT and Experience (Reflected in your EDU) get you promoted. Seems like a model of life that feels right to me.

I think it would be a mistake to feel the need to make sure every attribute was evenly distributed on the grid. Just my opinion of course. :wink:

 

[egoaz2ca]

I agree with Life Events being limited. I suggest these be developed into a D66 list.

 

[Jame Rowe]

This sounds like a wonderful RP story! Thanks for sharing! Also, tell your guy he's cool for taking the character and running with it.