I wrote the point-buy system for Mindjammer Traveller, in large part because I love Traveller and I love the Mindjammer setting, but I have no interest in rolled chargen, and always want an alternative. Here's what I'd do for standard Mongoose Traveller 2e:
1 Generate the six characteristics by purchasing them from a pool of 45 character points (CP). No characteristic can be below 2 or above 12 at this stage of character creation. In addition, each point of each characteristic costs one CP as long as the current value of the characteristic is eight or less. If the characteristic is nine or higher, then purchasing each additional point of characteristic costs 2 CP. For example, every point of a characteristic from 1-8 costs 1 CP, and each point after that costs 2 CP. Buying a single characteristic up to 12 costs 16 CP.
2 Choose background skills.
3 Decide if you wish to use pre-career education. You can also pay 1 CP to graduate with honours, and can pay a second CP to choose an event off the pre-career education events table.
4 Choose a career. At the start of each term, you gain +8 CP. You can choose to spend these during the term, or save some or all of them for later. Instead of rolling for survival, you automatically survive, unless you want to roll or purchase a mishap (see below).
5 If this is your first time in this career, you receive your basic training for free.
6 Choose a specialisation for your career. If you’re changing specialisations while remaining in the same career, ensure you come up with a good explanation.
7 Choose one of the skills and training tables for this career and purchase one of the items on it. Purchasing a characteristic up to 8 or a skill up to level 2 costs 1 CP per characteristic point or skill level of any skill other than Jack of All Trades. Purchasing a characteristic at 9 or higher (to a maximum of 15) or a skill of 3 or higher costs 2 CP per characteristic point or skill level for any skill other than Jack of All Trades. The Jack of All Trades skill always costs 3 CP per skill level.
8 You can choose to purchase a rank in your career. Each rank costs 1 CP, but you can purchase rank only once per term. Each rank you purchase lets you also purchase an additional entry from one of the skills and training tables for the career, as well as automatically providing the normal benefits for that rank, including any bonus skills. If available, you can also purchase a commission at the cost of 1 CP.
9 Choose an event. You can choose one item from either the Mishap table or Event table for your career, or a life event from the Life Event table. Mishaps can be chosen without cost. Alternatively, you may roll on the Mishap table. Doing so gives you an additional +1 CP, but you must abide by the result. Alternatively, you may pay 2 CP to purchase any item from the career’s Event table or the Life Event table. You may choose or roll only one mishap, event, or life event per term.
10 Increase your chronological age by +4 years. If your character has a biological age of middle age (human: 34) or older roll for ageing, take antiagathics (if available), or pay 2 CP to automatically succeed at any aging rolls where rolling 1+ on the aging table is possible.
11 If you’ve left your current career, return to Step 4 and choose a new career; or go to Step 12 if you want to finalise your character. Otherwise, return to Step 7.
12 If you’ve left your current career, choose benefits. This can be cash or another benefit (usually an item of equipment). Each choice on the benefit table costs 2 points. You can choose up to one benefit for every term you served in the career. If you reached rank 1 or 2, you can purchase a maximum of one additional benefit choice when leaving that career. If you reached rank 3 or 4, you can purchase a maximum of two extra benefit choices, and if you reached rank 5 or 6, you can purchase a maximum of three extra benefit choices. You can choose any benefit which requires a roll of 6 or less in standard character generation. However, to choose benefits which require a roll of 7, you must have the Gambler skill, choose an event that gives you a bonus to a benefit roll, or have a Rank of 5 or 6 in that career. Keep any unspent CP gained this term for use in later terms.
13 Finalise any connections with other characters.
14 Choose a Campaign Skill Pack and allocate skills from that pack among your group.
15 Purchase starting equipment.
Note: The above rules don't account for Psi. If a character chooses Psionics as a Life Event, the the character gains PSI 7, and can freely choose 1 Psi Talent (at Skill 0). Additional Talents cost 1 CP, and points of Psionic Strength is purchased like any other characteristic. The character can gain additional benefits by choosing one or more terms in the Psion Career.
