Character #12 - Classic Traveller - Marine

 

Back to Classic Traveller, Book 1 for a Marine.

Marines need high Education to help get a commission, and then a high social to help get promoted. For this build, since I'm going for a specific type of character, I'm going to roll 6 characteristics and then put them where I want them.

7 8 12 8 10 6

Wow, a 12 social standing would be a Baron. I don' think I'm going to do that though, for a Marine.

Here's where things ended up when I tried to maximize all my positive DMs. I know this is counter to the Classic Traveller ethos of roll in order and play the Character Generation game. But sometimes it's fun to see what you can get out of the system. 

STR    10
DEX   12 
END    8
INT      6 
EDU    7  
SOC     8 

Let's see if playing the generation system rolls straight gets me a badass combat Marine.

I made the enlistment roll, even though I was going to grant that one. I've named this guy Michef Jalson, pronounced 'Mike-ef', but we'll call him MJ.

Term 1: With the +DM for Endurance, MJ barely makes it above the survival roll. A tough term of duty to start off. No commission, so no promotion, but earns the Cutlass - 1 rating like all newly minted Marines. First termers all get 2 skills (I missed this on a previous build!), so MJ rolls one on the Personal Development Table and gets Brawling - 1. Maybe that barely surviving was getting into lots of fights? He rolls once on the Service Skills Table and gets vehicle, taking Ground/ATV. Typical military, you've got a football linebacker type guy with great strength and speed, and you have him driving vehicles. Reenlistment is just barely made, so this term was tough all around.

Term 2: Survival is easily made with the +DM resulting in a 10 for the needed 6. This term MJ just makes the commission cutoff with his education +DM, and the newly minted Marine Lieutenant gets his Revolver - 1 skill. He doesn't make promotion, but easily reenlists for another term. For skills he rolls once on the Service Skills, getting Gun Combat and selecting Rifle - 1. Rolling on the Advanced Education Table, he gets Blade, and improves his Cutlass skill to level 2.

Term 3: Is an easy survival roll again, no promotion, and an easy reenlistment. His one skill roll this term on the Service Skills Table results in Vacc Suit -1.

MJ's fourth term is another challenge, barely making the survival roll. He is rewarded with a Promotion to Captain. This tough term found MJ in the field, and he improved his Rifle skill to level 2. After promotion he took an Electronics class for his second skill.

MJ decides to muster out and seek greater profit outside the Corps. At age 34, ageing begins to take effect.  HIs training regime kept his strength up, but there was nothing he could do about the wear and tear on his joints, and he lost one point of Dexterity and one point of Endurance.

In mustering out, his rank gives him an additional benefit over the 4 for his 4 terms of service. MJ takes two rolls on the cash table and only clears 7,000 credits total. His three rolls on the Benefits table result in a High Passage, a Cutlass, and a +1 Education benefit.

So after 4 terms of Marine service, here is where ex-CAPT Michef 'MJ' Jalson stands.

STR 10

DEX 11

END 7

INT 6

EDU 8

SOC 8

Skills:

Rifle - 2

Cutlass - 2

Revolver - 1

Brawling - 1

Electronics - 1

Vacc Suit - 1

Ground Vehicle/ATV - 1

7,000 credits

1 High Passage ticket

MJ Jalson is ready an itching for adventure. He's 34 years old but still in great shape, with a useful resume. Firearm, muscle weapon, and hand to hand combat skills, along with vehicle operator and vacc suit. MJ can operate in just about any environment, and provide value added to a team beyond just muscle and trigger pulling. His 7k credits won't last long, so he is primed to join a team.

#CharacterCreationChallenge