RTT Chargen Options

Various character creation options for Mongoose Traveller.

Young Characters

You may start character creation at age 14 instead of age 18. This is commonest for low tech or low social status character, but also suits certain genres.

Roll only 1D for initial Education. For the first term only, your Social Standing is treated as if 2 points lower; you get your full Social Standing upon turning 18. If you are tested for Psionic Strength at this time, add +1 to Psi.

A Youth attempts career entry normally. If you try to enter one of the Imperial Services – Army, Navy, Marines, Scouts, Agent (law enforcement), or Merchant (merchant spacer) – you get a -2 DM on the Enlistment roll, because you have to lie about your age. If you fail to qualify for a career, you cannot enter the Draft, but instead may choose between entering the Drifter career, or staying at home and going back to school. If you choose the latter, you gain 1d3 Education and a Contact from your family.

Higher Education

Upon first entering a career, you may attempt to pursue a degree in that field before entering employment proper. You cannot do this for the Drifter, Psion, or Rogue careers. You cannot do this if you are Drafted into the career.

Enrollment:

Roll Soc 8+ to enter the school.

• -1 DM for each previous career
  
• +1 DM if you have the minimum Education for the Advanced Education table

If you fail, you receive no higher education, and continue into the career normally. If you succeed, you spend your first term at school instead of in the normal career.

Tuition

Basic tuition is equal to Cr150,000. Scholarships reduce this by your Education x Cr10,000. If you can't pay the rest up front, you'll have to accept it as a Debt.

If you enter one of the Imperial services – Army, Navy, Marines, Scouts, Agent (law enforcement), or Merchant (merchant spacer) – you may agree to commit yourself to the needs of the service. If you do this, your entire tuition is waived, but you cannot leave the career voluntarily; you may only leave from a mishap, mandatory retirement, etc.

Skills and Training

You receive normal Basic Training. Instead of one roll on the skills tables, you increase any one of your Background skills by one level.

Survival

For survival, use Edu instead of the listed characteristic. If you succeed, you pass the course and graduate. If you fail, you must roll on the Academic Mishap table:

• 1) Drop out or did not complete. You may continue in the career.
• 2) Flunk out. You are ejected from the career.
• 3) Burn out, sports injury, illness, or other complication forces you to drop your coursework. Reduce any one characteristic by 1. You may continue in the career.
• 4) Due to a shortage of personnel or other crisis, they rush you through the course. Although you get the degree, you do not get the practical effects of graduation; however, all tuition is waived. You must continue in the career.
• 5) Expelled! Gain the person who ratted you out as a Rival. You are ejected from the career.
• 6) Accident in the field. Roll on the normal Mishap table for this career.

Events

Instead of the normal Events table for your career, roll on the Academic Events table:

• 2) Disaster! Roll on the normal Mishap table for this career, but you still graduate, and do not have to leave the career.
• 3) High honors. You receive a +2 DM to your next Advancement check.
• 4) Major awards or accolades, granting you an additional roll on the Benefits table.
• 5) Advanced graduate course. Roll End 8+ to allow you to increase any one skill you already possess by 1.
• 6) You participate in extracurricular sports. Gain one of Animals (riding) 1, Athletics (any) 1, Melee (any) 1 or Zero-Gravity 1.
• 7) Life Event. Roll on the Life Events table (page 34).
• 8) You make many friends and connections, giving you 1d3 Contacts.
• 9) You participate in a student organization. Gain any one skill of your choice at level 0.
• 10) An instructor takes you under their wing. Take them as a Contact, and receive your choice of Persuade 1, or a +2 DM to your next Advancement roll.
• 11) A crisis breaks out on your world. If you are in an Imperial Service, your class is rushed into service immediately; you must take another term in this career, with a +1 DM on your next Advancement roll and a -1 DM on your next Survival roll (next term). If you are in a civilian career, you must either submit to the Draft, or take a -3 DM on your next Advancement roll.
• 12) Exceptional test scores! You obtain an automatic commission or promotion (pick one).

Advancement & Commission

Roll for Commission and/or Advancement normally. If you succeed, you may take the skill roll from any of the career's skills table, not just those you normally qualify for.

Benefits & Graduation

You receive no Benefits roll for this term! However, if you successfully graduate, you may purchase greater Education, up to your world's Tech Level, at a cost of Cr5,000 per point. (Example: An Edu 7 character on a TL9 world could purchase +2 Edu for Cr10,000.) If you committed to Imperial Service, use Tech Level 15.

Elite Occupations

Most careers (except Drifter) have Elite services, reflecting particularly high-risk, high-notoriety activities.

To enter an Elite career, you must first spend at least one term in the normal career. At the beginning of each new term, you may attempt a new Qualification roll, with a -3 DM. If you fail, you remain in the normal career. If you succeed, you become an Elite.

As an Elite, you suffer a -3 DM to all Survival and Advancement rolls. However, each term, if you pass the Survival roll, you get your choice of an additional skill roll or an additional roll on the Events table.

Common Travellers

A character can exchange their accumulated Ship Shares for a chance to enter the Traveller's Aid Society. If you roll less than or equal to the number of Ship Shares on 2D, than you become a full member. A natural roll of 12 is always a failure – the infamous "blackball."

Rank-based Pensions

If you wish retirement pensions to take rank and status into account:

• If you have Rank 0, apply -2.
• If you have Rank 1-2, apply -1.
• If you have Rank 3-4, make no change.
• If you have Rank 5-6, apply +1.

Multiply the modifier by Cr1,000. Apply this to the normal pension amount.

If you want to emphasize social stratification, apply the character's Social Standing characteristic modifier as well.

Examples: A Soc 10 Admiral (Rank 6) gets an additional Cr2,000 per annum. A Soc 6 Corporal (Rank 1) gets Cr2,000 less per annum.

Adjusted Aging

If you want the available medical technology to influence Aging, apply a DM to all Aging rolls based on Tech Level:

• Primitive (TL 0-3): -2 DM
• Industrial (TL 4-6): -1 DM
• Pre-Stellar (TL7-9): no DM
• Early Stellar (TL A-B): +1 DM
• Average Stellar (TL C-E): +2 DM
• High Stellar (TL F+): +3 DM

If you really want to get nasty, also apply the Social Standing characteristic DM to Aging rolls.

Examples: A Soc 11 king on an isolated medieval world gets a -1 DM. A Soc 5 rogue in the Imperium (TL F) gets a +2 DM.