SORAG Character generation

[Megamanic]

So, back when I was first playing Traveller I bought "SORAG" from Paranoia Press. It gave rules for creating SORAG characters as well as some cool spy gadgets.

Fast forward over 40 years...

I'm trying to create a SORAG character in MGT2. The Agent career doesn't include the Psionic skills, and the Psionics career isn't "Superspy" enough.

I'm considering creating a variation of the Agent with the Psionic skills in the SORAG specific skill table - a fourth Agent variant as it were.

Has anybody done this? Are there any published guidelines around balance? I am aware a high SOC psionic Zhodani superspy could be a little OP, but for what I'm planning that's kind of the point

 

[Arkathan]

The table structure hasn't changed from the old books, so the easy way would be: use the SORAG for skills, changing the ones that no longer exist; and alternate between Psion and agent for the events.

 

[CordwainerFish]

I'm considering creating a variation of the Agent with the Psionic skills in the SORAG specific skill table - a fourth Agent variant as it were.

Sounds like a JTAS article waiting to happen!

 

[Megamanic]

Sounds like a JTAS article waiting to happen!

Especially now the Fifth Frontier War is underway. Bring back the PsyOps skill I say

 

[Saladman]

I don't know SORAG, but I've done a few homebrew careers. Balance in the usual sense is hard to screw up; it's just d6 tables and don't hand out two skills at once and you'll be fine.

Balance aside though, it can pay to treat the core book careers as a style guide. No one career gets all the "sexy" skills, i.e. no core career gets, say, Pilot, Medic, Gun Combat, Gambler, Jack of all Trades, [Psionic Talent]. I wouldn't homebrew one that does even if I could come up with a rationale for it. Jack of all Trades isn't actually overpowered in Mongoose unless you get it all the way to 3, but in core it's mainly reserved for Citizens, Entertainers, Drifters and Scouts (except via events but this is rarer and won't push it as high). So not every character that might want it gets it. Military careers may get Gambler on Personal Development but not anywhere else. Include some non-sexy skills like Drive or Steward in Service Skills if they're at all appropriate. Advanced Education is obviously where you put academic skills like Science and Linguistics, but can also include practical skills you'd learn in an advanced course, like Navigation or Explosives.

Psi talents are a special case - you can justify putting them on Service Skills, Specialization, Advanced Education, or even Personal Development, but they shouldn't appear everywhere. Choose one or two for them to appear on and stick to the plan.

Benefit tables can also sneak in skill results - any gun/armor/toolkit/vehicle result that's duplicated can push a relevant skill higher in place of taking a second or third piece of gear. So that's a way to backstop your career tables, but also means any one gear type should usually appear only once, not on like 1-3, or you risk pushing skills higher than you may have intended.

 

[To Tha Moon!]

You just need 2 Careers.

Use this Character as an example. Replace the University and Doctor sections with Agent Terms.

T

Thread 'Thought someone might like to try this Pre-Gen'

Jan 16, 2025

It wasn't easy rolling him up, but he works.

Here's where you can find Alternate Rules: https://sswstation.blogspot.com
_____
Human Male Doctor (Stage 5 Psion Adept Acolyte)
578BB6-H Age 34 4 Terms
Efate: A646930-H

STR 5 (-1)
DEX 7 (0)
END 8 (0)
INT 11 (+1)
EDU 11 (+1)
SOC 6 (0)
PSI 18 (+4) (Originally 12, +1 from Pre-career, +1 from Psion, +4 from Alternate Rules)

Background skills
Electronics 0, Flyer (Grav) 0, Melee 0, Persuade 0

Skills
Gun Combat 0, Investigate 0, Profession 0, Science 0, Streetwise 0, VACC Suit 0
Animals (Veterinary) 1, Electronics (Sensors) 1, Persuade 1...

• To Tha Moon!
• Replies: 1
• Forum: Traveller