Cepheus Review - Generating Characters
TOC
Generating Characters
With page 11 we enter "Book One: Characters", and chapter 1, Character creation. Much like Classic Traveller (CT), you follow a career path, and are generally assumed to be a veteran of some sort of life path - though you do actually have theoption to step out into the world as a fresh-faced adult with no career or college-equivalent experience.
We shortly arrive at the checklist, which, in the spirit of letting you know how the later elaborations all fit together, does a better and briefer job of describing the overall character creation process and loop than the original CT rules. We'll create a new character in the process as we follow along. Meet William Robert.
Using the default method, roll 2d6 six times in order, he rolls a strength (Str) of 10, a dexterity (Dex) of 9, an endurance (End) of 4, an intelligence (Int) of 7, an education (Edu) level of 7, and asocial standing (Soc) of 11. This results in a UPP of A9477B once translated into CT-style pseudo hex coding. We're not going to worry about psionics, but his social standing is the rough equivalent of a knighthood.
Incidentally, we have one of the first mechanical breaks - much like ACKs, there are modifiers to characteristic-based rolls and derivatives, with 6-8 as the assumed average (+0), a -1 for values of 3-5, and so on.
Like CT, aging will have an impact on values down the road, and other things can affect core stats. Like a lot of more modern games, and unlike, say, AD&D, there's an explicit "we make no distinction on stats based on human gender or race" rule, though alien races may be different.
Another new mechanic is introduced here : homeworld, and homeworld based skills. The character's homeworld determines some skills that will be available to him due to the overall environment, as well as more general education-based skills.
Character gains a number of background skills at Level 0 equal to 3 + their Education modifier. The first two have to be taken from your homeworld (based on the world's trade codes or law level); the rest are taken from the education list.
While trade codes are not explained until later, the homeworld skills made available are based on factors such as law level, ocean vs desert or vacuum worlds, and so on. I'll have to check but there doesn't seem to be a default homeworld trade code type if the world is not known, but since we're presumably playing in a sub sector generated by the referee, that's not likely to be a problem.
After the two homeworld-specific skills, (assuming you don't have a -2 modifier based on a very low Int), you pick from a general list including Admin, Advocate, Animals, Carousing, Comms, Computer, Electronics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Linguistics, and so forth. Given how many teenage hackers I knew growing up, I'm not sure I'd limit some of these skills to zero - but then there's also the question of how fiddle do we want to make the process to specially designate some skills over others. In CT terms, having these skills at level zero means that you may not be able to make a living based on them, but you also don't have a penalty for being untrained. We'll see how that falls out later in the rules.
Billy Bob gets three, and he came from an industrial vacuum world, so his skills start at Zero-G- 0, and Broker- 0, he also pocks up Comms-0.
As we enter the career loop, it's worth noting that unlike CT, you can change careers, but there's an entry/enlistment penalty for most careers based on prior careers. You can of course get drafted into some of the mainline military careers, even a branch you failed to enlist in. There is also the "drifter" option, and since you can now have multiple career terms, the "draft" option can only apply once.
There is an expansion of careers. Instead of the basic 6 of CT, we've massively expanded what used to be the "other" option as well as split out some of the military services in a more granular fashion for a total of 24 possible career paths. You can be an Agent, a Diplomat, a Belter, work in Maritime Defense, be a scientist, or even a technician, among other things. You can also just be a Noble, doing Nobleman things. Each of these careers has a short matrix for enlistment, survival, rank advancement, and re-enlistment options, as well as tables for rank, service skills, mustering out benefits, and so forth.
Oddly, I don’t find a minimum rank for being a “nobleman” - so perhaps there are administrative posts available, but with a Soc-dependent target roll of 8+, you’d have to have a well above average social stat to have even odds or better of getting in.
So let's look at the Marines.
To join the marines your target qualification roll is 6+, modified by intelligence. Oddly, we fail. Wups. So drifter or being drafted are our choices, and I somewhat like the odds better for an exploitable career without penalties with a draft, so… we roll a 2, and…. end up in the Marines anyway. I’m keeping track of the draftstatus in the event it affects promotion.
For your first career only, you get all the skills listed in the Service Skills table at Level 0 as your basic training. For any subsequent careers, you may pick any one skill listed in the Service Skills table at Level 0 as your basic training.
Similar to CT, there are four tables you work off of for gaining skills: Personal improvement, basic service skills, specialist skills, and “advanced” skills that are education bound. To simulate boot camp, Cepheus is awarding everything under service skills at level zero.
So, despite his social status, Billy Bob didn’t successfully enlist, but gets drafted into the marines, and gains Comms-1 (already at zero), Demolitions-0, Gun Combat (slug thrower) -0, Gunnery (Turret weapons)-0, Melee Combat (slashing weapons)-0, and Battle Dress-0. He also gains 1 level of Zero-G as an enlisted Marine.
Billy Bob makes the survival roll of 6 with an 8 (-1 for endurance), but because he is a draftee (p.17) cannot make a commissioning check.
Much like CT, you basically get one full skill, two if there are no promotion possibilities, per term, plus extra skills for office commissioning and advancement. We’ll roll on thepersonal advancement table, and get a three, +1 endurance, raising it to 5 - not high enough to get rid of the survival roll penalty.
At age 22, Billy Bob decides to re-up, figuring trying a second career at -2 is still not worth it, and succeeds with a 9. His second term starts and he gets a seven for his survival roll, which gets him by despite the penalty. He does NOT get promoted, however. He aims for a specialist school and learns Recon-1. He succeeds on the re-up, survives, and finally gets commissioned in his third term, and advanced to O2 (Captain).
With a 4, a 4, and a five on the personal, service, and specialist tables, he gains 1 int, improves his turret gunnery, and his recon skills.
After two close calls, he elects to get out. Not rolling a twelve on his re-enlistment roll, he succeeds in parting ways from the Marines at the age of 30.
As much as I like “your character died”, the optional survival rules with the possibility of dishonorable discharge, permanent injuries, and even, to a degree, restoration as a possibility, may be worth a try, as it reminds me of the mortal wounds and tampering with mortality tables in ACKs. At the very least there is a concrete and permanent consequence to failure here, even if it isn’t outright death.
With three terms of benefits from the Marines, Billy Bob feels the need to server his family’s estate, and with the 9 required to get in (-2 for previous career, +1 for his Soc), fails. He has to take the drifter option or wrap up.
He decides to wrap up, with three rolls on the benefits tables for the Marines, potentially all three can be for cash benefits, since he doesn’t have four or more rolls. A five on the cash table nets him Cr. 20,000 and he elects to finish his last two on the material benefits tables, mustering out with a Mid Passage and a Rifle.
William Robert UPP of A9587B terms: 3 Age: 30 Zero-G- 1 Broker- 0 Comms-1 Demolitions-0 Gun Combat (slug thrower) -0 Gunnery (Turret weapons)-1 Melee Combat (slashing weapons)-0 Battle Dress-0 Recon -2 Cr. 20,000 Mid Passage Rifle.
Closing out the chapter, after the career tables, are a few pages on various modifiers for basic alien race styles, including various descriptive traits and their game mechanic effects. More is available in a supplement called Flynn’s Guide to create custom races.