Starting Equipment

[BackworldTraveller]

What do you give your characters as starting equipment other than that which they can buy with their ill-gotten retirement benefits?

Hopefully clothes, toothbrush and towel.

What else?

Or to put it another way, what does a 19 year old newby get? They have served 0 terms and have limited skills and nil retirement benefits.

Or a 22 year old university graduate.

 

[mike wightman]

Cloths for all likely environments they have lived in. Outdoor wear, indoor wear, sports wear that sort of thing.

If you want to have some fun tell them they have £/$ 1000 to spend on amazon on cloths and the like.

Tools and equipment suitable for the trade they have - again amazon can be fun here

Finally personal electronic items - phone, tablet, laptop, headphones etc.

Not under any circumstance let them actually checkout on amazon and send you the bill/tab.

 

[Condottiere]

Solomani Army Knife.

 

[kilemall]

Suitcase/duffel bag.

Datapadcomm set to most standard on TL8+ worlds, for bank access if nothing else.

Wallet, attached to belt or other clothing with anti theft properties because money is life for Travellers.

Hot or cold weather clothing, one set, tailored to their SOC level.

Two personal items they carry with them at all times, I’d make one ex-service/home planet and one about the most important person to the character.

 

[Rigel Stardin]

Nemon Marcus for nobles.
Macy's for the autocrats.
Walmart for us normal people.

That should give you a spice of life sort of thing.

Of course, you may have to mortgage home if they hit send. But it's all about the love of the game, isn't it?

 

[Dragoner]

This reminds me to make some lists. Personally though I will have:

Clothes

• Casual
• Dress
• Warm
• Cold
• Trainers
• Boots

Phone
Wallet
Instruments or tools
Laptop or tablet
Writing materials
Sleeping bag or bedding
Knapsack
Sunglasses
Respirator/filter mask

More as it comes to mind.

 

[Dragoner]

Macy's for the autocrats.
Walmart for us normal people.

Between these two places is where I buy most of my clothes.

 

[Diveguy]

Cloths for all likely environments they have lived in. Outdoor wear, indoor wear, sports wear that sort of thing.

If you want to have some fun tell them they have £/$ 1000 to spend on amazon on cloths and the like.

Tools and equipment suitable for the trade they have - again amazon can be fun here

Finally personal electronic items - phone, tablet, laptop, headphones etc.

Not under any circumstance let them actually checkout on amazon and send you the bill/tab.

I will lean towards shorter lists and more multi-purpose items for my characters and campaigns - based on personal experience, and the "concept" of travellers. With that constant mobility, limited storage space in most situations, and the life of adventure characters will be more of the "one bag lifestyle" type than the "Reginald, bring the case with my summer dress uniforms please." (Of course, as always there are exceptions based on the setting, character, or moment!)

So, a bag or duffle. Multi-purpose/multi-functional clothing. Personal hygiene items. Compact electronic tablet/comms. And so forth.

I *do* like your idea of "make a list from Amazon with this price range" as an example of making the characters think!

 

[Krikkitone]

Id say something like a budget of 50*2^Soc
For clothes, toiletries, equipment, personal vehicles
So 200$ to your name at Soc2 (after you are kicked out of juvie)
6400$ at Soc7 (ie maybe a old ground car from a summer job)
~50k at SocA (you got a job at mommy’s business for a summer)
200k at SocC(12) mommy gave you a small business last summer

 

[McPerth]

I use to quite handwaive this, in a way not unlikely what MgT (at least 1^st ed) does with the ship's locker. Instead of keeping a list.

So, I use more common sense, and be quite liberal in allowing the characters to have something that might be logical they have, according the background, situation and Tl (s)he lives in.

No listing of a match box (and number of matches on it, of course) is needed, if it's logical it could have it...

 

[Condottiere]

Bag of Holding.

Uncommon.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Bag of Holding.

Uncommon.

Bag of bags.

Common.

(You've probably got one yourself. It's where you put the leftover plastic grocery bags if you don't throw them out immediately.)

 

[Rigel Stardin]

Or that piece of Tupperware that constantly get used to store leftovers.

I get the idea that most player would have a standard kit they can take with them. The problem is they will choose the High Tech solutions to their limited storage space. Example: Environmental suit. The ones which come with heating and cooling, some protection from hostile atmosphere, etc. Some of the players I've encountered think they can be fixed with duct tape and a needle and thread. Laser pistols and rifles are another good example. They are useless without a power source to recharge them and can't be fixed on world were the highest tech mechanic is your local blacksmith.

The same can be said about starships as well. If they don't have the spare part and workshop to repair those items, then those High tech gadget and garments are useless to them. Of course, some player think ahead and plan for these things, but the major of them just want to get past the creation phase of their character and start the adventure.

 

[Condottiere]

I was thinking throwaway cellulose clothing, especially underwear.

That could be edible.

 

[Drew]

This reminds me to make some lists. Personally though I will have:

Clothes

• Casual
• Dress
• Warm
• Cold
• Trainers
• Boots

Phone
Wallet
Instruments or tools
Laptop or tablet
Writing materials
Sleeping bag or bedding
Knapsack
Sunglasses
Respirator/filter mask

More as it comes to mind.

Sounds more like an EDC kit.

 

[Drew]

I was thinking throwaway cellulose clothing, especially underwear.

That could be edible.

Nah, edible underwear gets to be habit forming.

 

[Rigel Stardin]

@Drew you naughty boy... This channel is rate G for general audiences. Do you want are master and lord god Walt Disney to sends his imperial guard after you?

What??? We all know Walt owns everything.

Don't look at me like that.

 

[kilemall]

Sounds more like an EDC kit.

Precisely the sort of mindset a Traveller would develop. If it’s not with you and portable, might as well be back on Regina for all the good it does.

 

[aramis]

What do you give your characters as starting equipment other than that which they can buy with their ill-gotten retirement benefits?

Hopefully clothes, toothbrush and towel.

What else?

Or to put it another way, what does a 19 year old newby get? They have served 0 terms and have limited skills and nil retirement benefits.

Or a 22 year old university graduate.

Civil garments: Soc² garments (counting a set of undergarments as a single garment, including undershirt or brassier, underpants, and socks)
uniforms: Dress, 2 office, 2 field uniforms.
ID card.

 

[coliver988]

A towel is a necessity as well. Useful for all sorts of things.