2025 31 Day Character Creation Challenge: Beltstrike encounter table

Just like it says on the tin: I'm going to populate a random encounter table with non-player characters for Beltstrike for classic Traveller, a character a day for the month of January.

For giggles, I'm solitaire playing a Belstrike campaign set in the Reaginworld Belt from Judges Guild's Ley Sector setting. The module includes a random encounter table in Folder 2, "On the Rock," for the Koenig's Rock station.



I'm using this for Reagin's World, the main dwarf planet of the Reaginworld belt.

I am a classic Traveller gamer but I use a fair number of sources, some GDW, some not; I will mark anything not straight by the CT book with a [*HR] tag and cite the source, or note if it's just something I pulled out of my own prodigious behind. It should go without saying, but everything here is IMTU.

I love CT lifepaths, but because these are NON-player characters intended to fill pre-determined slots in an encounter table, I need to steer their careers a little bit. To that end, I will toss [*HR] an advantage/disadvantage die from time to time, to beat a particular throw or give myself an extra option on a table .

All clear? Here we go.

1 January: 11 Broker

Tassa Lakhani
664AD4 age 34 ex-Merchant Broker, IN Reserve Lieutenant (ex-Belter)
Steward-3 Trader-3 Broker-2 Vacc Suit-2 Computer-1 Engineering-1 Administration-1 Handgun-1 Streetwise-0 Basic Weapons-0
Sworat Line Merchant Academy, Sworat Line Business School

Tassa is a Reagin's World native; her parish priest recognized her talent early and saw to it she got the best education he could, but like many of her family's limited means, by 14 she was working on an ice hauler, making the quarterly run to the ice giant Slough Feg's Bright Ring. She was taken under the wing of the engine room gang boss, learned how to code and wrench the power and drive systems and at 18, that boss pulled her aside, handed her a bonus check, and introduced her to a Sworat Lines recruiter: "You're too smart for this life, kid. Go make somethin' of yourself." [*HR] "Filling in Skills," Dragon 55 - rules for switching careers

Hired by the sectorwide merchant line, the recruiter encouraged Tassa to test for the company academy and to her surprise, she was admitted. Despite spending four years knocking around the mining platform engine room, Tassa spent here time at the Academy preparing for a career in the cabin, learning in-depth about the care and feeding of passengers and crew. A diligent cadet with a voracious appetite for knowledge, she also obtained a reserve Imperial Navy commission as an ensign. [*HR] Merchants & Merchandise, Paranoia Press

In her second year aboard a Sworat liner, Tassa learned a bit about speculation, earning 20 KCr in the process and two years later, she was admitted to the line's business school and subsequently transferred to the factor side of company operations. She excelled, earning big bonuses, but a personality conflict with a station manager led to her sacking, whereupon she was hired by Tri-Star lines, a smaller line operating primarily in the nearby Guadix Drift and Nightmare subsectors. Tri-Star's inadequate security nearly got her killed when hijackers attempted to steal a cargo she was shepherding and Tassa'd had enough; she resigned and cashed out, then returned home to Reaginworld to open her own broker's office near the Imperial starport.



Tomorrow: Bud Souza, SPA cargojack.

2 January: 12 Worker

My worker was created using [*HR] the "Starport Authority" rules in JTAS 19 and 21.

Gaspar 'Bud' Souza
97A767 age 32 Cargojack
Grav Vehicle-2 Vacc Suit-2 Ship's Boat-2 Recruiting-1 Carousing-1 Brawling-1 Computer-0 Basic Weapons-0
Shuttle Service, XT Line

The Imperial starport is the largest employer on the dwarf planet Reagin's World and Bud Souza is a third-generation SPA employee. Like his mother and brother before him, Bud works the docks, driving grav skids and shuttles carrying ore hoppers and freight containers to and from the berthed starships. He's proud of his work and his family.

Bud married a dispatcher at the port, but he can still be found several nights a week alongside his fellow 'jacks in the pubs of The Crawl, Reagin World's startown, playing as hard as he works. His ambitions include becoming crew chief and eventually supervisor, and toward that end, he hasn't succumbed - so far - to the temptations of graft offered by his position.



Tomorrow? A nefarious con artist of many names

3 January: 13* Swindler

For this character, I used [*HR] the rules for Con Men from Scam: Rogues in Space Vol. 2 by Cargonaut Press. I don't use the extended UPP rules, so references to the new abilities are back-translated to their CT origins.

'Dark Matter' (possibly Gazo Vehn)
668C53 age 40 Con Man (ex-Prisoner)
Streetwise-4 Forgery-3 Computer-2 Bribery-1 Jack of All Trades-1 Recruiting-1 Dagger-1 Wheeled Vehicle-0 Basic Weapons-0

'Dark Matter' was a gamer handle for a kid on the gas giant satellite Tawdry, 'Gateway to the Lesser Rift,' but Dark Matter was more than a gamer, quickly learning how to create and sell false online identities. By the time he was eighteen, he graduated to business fraud, creating fake invoices for busy businesses and pocketing the payments. At twenty-two he moved to Aldernis, capital of the nearby Guadix Drift subsector and expanded his scams, becoming increasingly resourceful in the process.

At twenty-six he moved on to Helena but his luck ran out; he was arrested for online impersonation and sentenced to prison, under the name Gazo Vehn, spending the next seven years fighting to stay alive in stir but also planning his next crimes.

Released at thirty-four, Dark Matter moved on to Valisa and completed his first big score, a massive insurance swindle, pocketing 100,000 KCr then escaping to the Reaginworld Belt. Now thirty-eight, he's laying low on Reagin's World, studying the mining business and contemplating his next scam . . .



Tomorrow, meet Cpl. Mur Rizban, a rather tragic figure.

4 January: 14 Drunk

A classic Book 4 character with the [*HR] rules for military justice in JTAS 10 applied. (This guy makes me so sad . . . )

Neither physically gifted not terribly bright, army life offered Mur Rizban a chance that civilian life seemed unlikely to provide. Enlisting at eighteen on the advice of a family member, the young man volunteered for support, to gain skills that would serve him in his future after the military. However, Mur already suffered a burgeoning substance abuse problem that became particularly acute during the tedium of garrison duty. A first court-martial, at twenty-one, was dismissed and he succeeded in staying out of trouble, for a while, training to be a mechanic and electrician, completing protect forces training, and rising to the rank of LSGT. However, another court-martial, for drunk on duty during a counter-insurgency operation, cost him his stripes.

This proved to be the beginning of a downward spiral of accusations, treatment programs, and discipline that resulted in refusal of his re-enlistment four years short of his pension. Discharged from the Valisan Army, Mur traveled to Helena, to seek employment as a mercenary and served in security and striker missions in the Selwynis system beyond the Imperial border, but his demons continued to torment him.

Repatriated to Valisa at last, Mur, in a sober moment at 36, decided to try his hand at belting; he was good with his hands and comfortable in a vacc suit, so he obtained passage to nearby Reaginworld, but even the ice haulers, with their notoriously lax standards, wouldn't take a chance on the ex-soldier. Now Mur haunts the pubs of The Crawl, surviving on odd maintenance jobs in between bouts of drinking and drug use. Mur's an affable drunk, not a violent one, and many of the regulars look out for him, finding him a job when he's sober, making sure he doesn't walk out an airlock when he's not.



Next up, a Scout-turned-belter who rubs people the wrong way . . .

5 January: 15 Belter

A straightforward Scouts-to-Belstrike character using the rules in [*HR] rules in Dragon 55 for switching careers.

Btw, I left her aging rolls off the worksheet; she lost points in both STR and END.

Joria Chang
899976 age 34 ex-Belter (ex-Scout)
Vacc Suit-4 Pilot-2 Navigation-1 Ship's Boat-1 Streetwise-1 Jack of All Trades-1 Computer-0 wheeled Vehicle-0 Basic Weapons-0
laser rifle, automatic pistol

Born on a sleepy agricultural world with three IISS x-boat links and eager for something more than her provincial life, Joria Chang's first stop after completing secondary education was a Scout recruiter. Joining the Communications Office, Joria became an x-boat and tender pilot and navigator, but after eight years developing the 'grayspace stare' of ComOff veterans, she longed for something new.

That something new proved to be news of a rich strike in the nearby Reaginworld Belt. Tendering her IISS resignation on Valisa, she made her way to the belt, sure her piloting skills would be in demand. Hired by the Frastin Mining Consortium to helm the Grimble Grumble, a Khazad-class seeker, she spent the next eight years chasing asteroids and earning good bonuses, so it came as a surprise when her FMC contract wasn't renewed.

The Scouts had made Joria resourceful and her years in the belt had honed her skills to a sharp edge - few know more about working in a vacc suit than she does - but Joria has one blind spot: her ego. Yes, she's as good as they come in a vacc suit, and she knows it, and isn't afraid to let other people know the many different ways they're Doing It All Wrong; she's also particular about the jobs she's asked to do, adding to her difficulties playing well with others. In the close quarters of a seeker or ship's boat, Joria's insufferable arrogance is a liability that time spent alone in the cockpit of an x-boat or in the constant shuffle of crew aboard a tender successfully concealed.

Now she's thirty-four and adrift on Reagin's World, looking for a new berth where she can bring her extensive experience to bear for these poor backwards belters . . .




Tomorrow, an ex-merchant medic turned startown bartender and drug dealer.

6 January: 21 Rogue

Another career-switcher using [*HR] the Dragon 55 rules.

Joachim 'Happy Jack' Springer
7579A7 age 32 Bartender and Drug Dealer (Rogue) (ex-Merchant Medic)
Liaison-2 Medic-2 Streetwise-2 Steward-1 Carousing-1 Bribery-1 Brawling-1 Computer-0 Vacc Suit-0 Basic Weapons-0

The son of a small businessperson and Solomani activist on Reagin's World, Joachim Springer wanted to see the stars and for most non-rockhoppers that means joining Sworat or Tri-Star Lines, the only two interstellar carriers with a regular presence in the belt. Joachim successfully hired on with Sworat and applied for the merchant academy without success; he was assigned to the purser department aboard a Sworat liner where he was trained as a medic initially and learned how to finesse passengers and provide for their off-the-books pharmaceutical needs. After eight years as a medic aboard ship, Joachim tired of Sworat and returned home to the belt with a plan.

With his background as a steward, finding a job as a mixologist was a trivial task and from behind the bar at the popular flagship of the Granny O'Malley's chain in The Crawl, Reagin's World's startown, Joachim cultivated contacts to continue his illicit drug trade. The Reaginworld Demarchy has few laws restricting either medicinal or recreational pharmaceuticals but recognizing the demand, there are significant tariffs for either delivered from out of system ([*HR] retail drug prices in the system are rolled on the Actual Value table as 1D+8). Joachim's outsystem contacts enable him to circumvent these duties and provide his goods at a lower cost to his customers.

The former merchant medic is also mindful of quality. Reaginworld's commercial production of pharmaceuticals is minuscule and the product offered by local small-timers from backroom labs can be highly variable with respect to efficacy and safety. Joachim knows dissatisfied - or dead - customers decrease his profits and increase his risks so he only deals with trusted sources.

Known to his bar patrons and buyers alike as Happy Jack, Joachim is a man in his element, earning a comfortable living in a trade he enjoys.



Tomorrow, a hell-raising noble with a taste for adventure . . .

7 January: 22 Rowdy

Another career-hopper using [*HR] Dragon 55's switching rules - as you can tell, I'm very fond of characters with multiple prior careers.

Dame Mindisa 'Mindi' Rth-Posten KG TAS
9A978B age 28 Imperial Knight of the Gateway
Navigation-2 Ship's Boat-2 Electronics-1 Gambling-1 Vacc Suit-1 Carousing-1 Computer-0 Grav Vehicle-0 Liaison-0 ([*HR] I give starting characters with Soc A+ Liaison-0, to represent 'good breeding' and 'manners.')

Born to privilege as a scion of the Houses of Rth, Counts Salenik, and Posten, Marquesses Helena, Mindisa Rth-Posten had great expectations laid upon her at a young age: a military career, preferably naval, then a position in one of the family businesses, such as Tri-Star Lines. Denied admission to the naval academy as well as a good college, however, Mindi was forced to enlist in the Helena Navy instead as a 'gentleman ranker.' Serving in the Crew branch, Mindi trained to be a dreadnought captain's personal boat pilot, a duty she grew to enjoy.

After completing a term and rising to the rank of petty officer, Mindi left the navy, her family 'obligation to service' satisfied, for which she was made a knight of the Order of the Gateway. However, instead of settling into a corporate job as expected, the distant heir to a county (27th in line) and a marquessate (46th in line) decided to pursue a personal passion instead: gravity-assisted space racing. Restricted in many systems due to the risks and potential hazards to space traffic, GAS-Racers - 'gassers' - are permitted with few restrictions in the Reaginworld Demarchy and Mindi gravitated to the belt. Thanks to Mummy and Poppy's money, she purchased a ship's boat and proved herself a respectable, if not quite championship quality, racer.

She also established herself as something of a hellraiser; Mindi's racing friends know her as the girl most likely to throw a drink in someone's face and dance on the bar. Mummy and Poppy hope it's a phase and remain indulgent, for the time being, but Mindi shows no signs of settling down anytime soon.



Next up, a thug for hire . . .

8 January: 24 Thug

Yet another career switcher, Book 4 Marine to Supplement 4 Rogue, per [*HR] Dragon 55 again.

Vahid 'Tur' Dizdar
B9C765 age 35 'Enforcer' (Rogue) (ex-Marine Infantry Corporal)
Zero-G Weapons-2 Brawling-2 Streetwise-2 Zero-G Combat-1 Combat Rifleman-1 Vacc-0 Computer-0 Grav Vehicle-0

A big tough kid and an average student, Vahid Dizdar was recruited out of secondary school by the Arnitag Space Marine Force, "The Best of The Best of The Best!" He served honorably, mostly aboard the provincial cruisers and dreadnoughts of the Arnitag provincial fleet squadrons and earned a combat service ribbon, but he wasn't retained by the Force at the end of his only term of service.

Discharged back on Arnitag, Vahid, known to many by his childhood nickname, 'Tur' (a mythical bull in some far away Terran language, which he had tattooed on his chest during his SMF years), was recruited once more, this time by the Sinaga crime family, as uniquely skilled muscle on the docks of the world's capacious highport. He served the family loyally for a dozen years, keeping bought-and-paid-for SPA cargojacks in line and putting the occasional rival family member or small-time hustler out an airlock, but the assassination of Tur's capo, Pieter Sinaga, by the Ginting family meant it was time to leave Arnitag, in a hurry.

The first ship on which Vahid could find passage was a far trader headed for the Reaginworld Belt.

Originally planning to lie low a while on Reagin's World, hoping to get a feel for the shifting winds back on Arnitag, Vahid found odd jobs, as a bodyguard and bouncer mostly, but the siren call of the belt station's thug life sings in Tur's ear once again.



Next up, a belter expedition sponsor . . .

9 January 25 Expedition Outfitter

We have a little chaos around The Captain's cabin; my SIL and her cat evacuated from the Palisades Fire to our house and my study's become a guest bedroom. This put me a day behind. I think I can get caught up today.

This is a Beltstrike-to-Merchant Prince career switch using [*HR] Dragon 55 again. I've used Book 7 for several characters so far and so far every one of them's ended up in the purser's department to start. Where are all my engineers?!

"Expedition Outfitter" can be interpreted a couple of different ways; here I chose a character who sponsors belter expeditions on behalf of a corporation, but it could just as easily be business owner who provides gear and services to belters. I may revisit this encounter somewhere down the line.

Alessandra 'Ale' Argukash
797995 age 28 Manager (ex-Belter)
Administration-3 Liaison-2 Legal-1 Bribery-1 Steward-1 Vacc Sui-1 Prospecting-1 Jack of All Trades-1 Computer-0 Basic Weapons-0

Born to a mining family in the LSP-owned Gheelis Belt, Ale Argukash worked aboard her family's slow boat until she was old enough to apply to LSP's merchant line. Her application to the academy denied, Ale was placed in the purser's department where she developed her people skills and rose to the rank of junior purser before being sent to LSP's trade school.

An assistant manager at the busy trading station on Helena, Ale's supervisor felt she wasn't quite up to the pace of work expected by the megacorporation and was let go, whereupon she was scooped up by Sworat, the Nightmare-based sector line and sent to the Reaginworld Belt - after all, who better for a belt trading station than a former Belter?

In the three years since her arrival, Ale's thrived, rising to manager and being put in charge of Sworat's sponsorship program outfitting belt expeditions; an able and resourceful administrator with a great rapport with the independent prospectors who make up the bulk of the system's belters, Ale's bucking for the assistant station manager's position with an eye to running the whole station herself in a few years.

10 January 31 Belter

This is a 'playtest' of [*HR] my homebrew CT career, Rescuer.

Borna Bella
677755 age 31 Belter/Rescuer Team Leader
Zero-G Environment-2 Vacc Suit-2 Ship's Boat-1 Prospecting-1 Medical-1 Leader-1 Computer-0 Zero-G Weapons-0

A native of the Reaginworld Belt, Borna Bella began belting at a young age on the family seeker. When she was twenty, tragedy struck, claiming the lives of her father, mother, and brother; Borna was saved by volunteers working for the Reaginworld Rescue Service, however, and after she recovered, she applied to become a member as well.

Standing watches in her free time, Borna's proved to be a vigilant, dedicated rescuer, applying her considerable space skills along with her medic training provided by the Service; in reward for her performance, Borna recently completed the Service's leadership program and was elevated to Team Leader.



Up next, a Belter just workin' to get by . . .

11 January 32 Belter

Straight up Beltstrike character this time; you may note that I [*HR] give characters with Zero-G Environment skill Zero-G Weapons-0 instead of the usual basic weapons skill of TTB.

Davos 'Davy' Svagnolf
685A65 age 35 Belter
Vacc Suit-2 Electronics-2 Mechanical-1 Zero-G Environment-1 Prospecting-1 Gambling-1 Computer-0 Zero-G Weapons-0

Born and raised on Cathbad, largest satellite of the gas giant Danu in the Reaginworld system, Davos Svagnolf hired on with Bright Ring Air & Water after completing his minimum required schooling. Many belters look down on ice hauling as lacking the allure - and the rewards - of prospecting or mining, but Davos - Davy to his friends - thinks rockhopping is a quick ticket to an early grave and is happy punching the clock on the old x-boat tender BRA&W uses to haul ice from the ring of the ice giant Slough Feg to the belt stations. When not repairing the myriad maintenance ticket items on the old tender, Davy is usually found in the wardroom with a handful of cards and a glass of small batch whiskey.

Davy was old enough to retire last year, but hauling ice is easy enough money that he's holding out for a bigger pension and more bonus checks, as long as his health stays good, then perhaps leaving the system altogether; living under the ocean of free air - and experiencing rain! - around Valisa, maybe opening a small repair shop near the starport, doesn't seem like a bad future.

(Not everyone wants to be a hero; some just want to stand on the sidewalk and clap as they go by.)



Next up, a subbie crewman on an unusual path to captain . . .

12 January 33 Crew Member

A High Guard-to-Merchant Prince character by way of [*HR] Dragon 55, this character shows that not all merchant ship captains need to be hot-shot pilots.

Odo Dunir
868886 age 33 Chief Purser (ex-Able Spacehand)
Medical-2 Steward-1 Streetwise-1 Administration-1 Legal-1 Ship's Lasers-1 Communications-1 Wheeled Vehicle-0 Basic Weapons-0

The world of Valisa has a tiny planetary navy consisting of a single 'customs cutter' - a system defense boat - and several shuttles and lifeboats, so Valisans who want to join a star fleet often look off-world. For this reason the Arnitag Navy, a constituent of the Titanstorm Provincial Fleet (BV: subsector navy IMTU), maintains a recruiting office there and it's there that Odo Dunir signed up to serve. Trained as a gunner and earning a combat service ribbon for action against pirates in the Lesser Rift, Odo served honorably but was not retained after his only term of service.

Repatriated to his homeworld, the now ex-Able Spacehand successfully signed on with one of the subsidized merchants that make up Valisa's reserve fleet, where, assigned to the purser's department (BV: ANOTHER purser!?) he trained as a ship's medic. A full ship's Medic by 27, Odo also learned the administrative and legal sides of the job and was appointed chief purser just three years later.

Now 33, Odo is close to completing his fifth year as a chief purser and looking forward to a transfer to the deck department next year. With eight years to go until retirement, he has a good chance at making captain and commanding his own fat trader or packet before too long. Some spacers might be troubled by stepping on the bridge without skills in astrogation or engineering, but after successfully running a purser's department for five years despite never serving as a steward, Odo understands that his job is hiring the right crew for the job and helping them be successful, and he looks forward to the challenge of command.

(I gotta admit, I really like this guy. He's the kind of boss I enjoyed working for, the kind of boss I try to be.)



Tomorrow, a researcher testing a new product in the belt . . .

13 January 34 Researcher

(Good Lawd, I'm not even halfway through this yet?!)

A Scientist character created using [*HR] the career rules in Challenge/JTAS 29, to which I add [*HR] the assignment retention rules from High Guard - I feel like scientists turn over jobs too often in the rules-as-written.

Btw, I use [*HR] the Scientist career in Supplement 4 as a 'Technician' career and allow characters to sub Robotics skill for Computer if they wish.

Consuelo 'Chelo' Yang PhD
8879C8 age 36 Doctor of Electrical Engineering
Electronics-3 Computer-2 Instruction-1 Vacc Suit-1 Grav Vehicle-0
Discovery*2, black ops program

Seat of the Duchy of Titanstorm and home of an important Imperial naval base, Starbridge is also the technical hub of the subsector. After completing her secondary schooling, Consuelo Yang's application to the Imperial University of Sarbridge was declined. She attended Starbridge Polytechnical University instead; graduating with honors, Chelo continued her education, receiving her PhD in Electrical Engineering at twenty-six.

Her first two years after graduation proved daunting, as she struggled to find work in her field, but then the Starbridge Navy offered her a position working on a black ops program about which she remains evasive. After that experience, Chelo worked steadily for employers including the Starbridge-Duke Thomas Joget High Energy Laboratory and her alma mater, Starbridge Poly; she was twice-published as a member of teams working on improving energy efficiency.

For three years now, Chelo's worked for Arnitag-based A Vaine, a company specializing in prefabricated habitats and environmental systems; she's in her second year in the Reaginworld Belt, field testing company products. Chelo's grown to admire the belters who depend on A Vaine to survive the vacuum, micrometeors, and radiation that define their home and workplace and she's diligent in her testing and reporting, knowing the stakes of putting a substandard or unreliable habitat in the field.

(Sorry, the last few pictures have been really crappy. I think my lighting was poor; I'll try to brighten them up going forward.)



Tomorrow, a corporate fixer cut from the cloth of pulp heroes!

14 January 35 Rogue

A Book 5 subsector naval officer to Supplement 4 rogue via [*HR] Dragon 55, using his powers for . . . not exactly good, but for profit and corporate benefit, at least. I tend to default to 'pensioners in space!' kinda characters, but this guy feels like he should be at the back of Supplement 1, a larger-than-life, pulp hero sort.

Garil Arron TAS
A77EA9 age 38 'Corporate Agent & Fixer' (Rogue) (ex-Arnitag Navy LCDR)
Handgun-3 Vacc Suit-2 Bribery-2 Streetwise-1 Carousing-2 Computer-1 Battle Dress-1 Laser Weapons-1 Interrogation-1 Leader-1 Grav Vehicle-0
CSR*3 CCR MCUF*3
Imperial University of Arnitag Naval Officer Training Corps, Arnitag Naval Intelligence School

Born into a moderately well-off family on Nathalia, Arnitag's colony, Garil Arron's ambitions were bigger than the family business and a good marriage; denied entry to the Arnitag Naval Academy, he instead attended Imperial University and earned a commission through the naval officer training corps. Enlisting in the provincial (subsector navy) fleet, Garil found himself assigned to ship and base security, working with spacehands and marines. Despite earning a couple of reprimands for 'conduct unbecoming' along the way, Garil steadily climbed the ranks.

As a lieutenant, in spite of - or perhaps due to? - his earlier behavior, Garil was sent to intelligence school; he excelled as an intelligence officer, even commanding a patrol cruiser delivering commandos preceding an important strike on a slaver base in the Lesser Rift. His superiors were pleased to see his growth, the troubles of his youthful career behind him, so they were shocked when Garil announced his intention to leave the navy at the end of only his third term of service.

Truth be told, Garil'd grown bored with naval life - too many strictures, too much tedium, too little action - and with his skill set he carved out a new career for himself as 'Commander Arron,' a sort of corporate agent or mercenary fixer: extract an industrial spy under the nose of rival security, rescue a merchant vessel and its crew from hijackers, recover stolen business secrets and expose a mole in the organization. Commander Arron worked for several of the largest firms on Arnitag, Starbridge, Nathalia, and Helena, so his current presence in the Reaginworld Belt arouses curiosity and intense speculation . . .

(Yup, the photo problem was lighting.)


Next up, a retired senior captain and the far trader they call home . . .

15 January 41 Shipowner

A Book 7 character with [*HR] the addition of attending technical college from Challenge 29, "Scientists," and my own [*HR] of characters with Soc 4- receive Streetwise-0 and characters with Soc A+ get Liaison-0; in this character's case, achieving Liaison-2, which is equivalent to Streetwise-1, obviated the need for the zero-level skill so it was removed.

(And hey, I finally got a merchant ENGINEER . . . for one year!?!)

Capt. Marig Chorbel
5769C4 age 48 Retired Senior Captain
Trader-3 Administration-2 Liaison-2 Navigation-2 Pilot-2 Legal-1 Leader-1 Computer-0 Grav Vehicle-0 Basic Weapons-0

Born on the wrong side of the maglev tracks, Marig Chorbel sought a way out through Helena's Duke Joren College of Industry and Technology and, with degree in hand, applied to Sworat Lines. The sector-wide shipping concern, however, declined Marig's application and instead they found themself hired by Galactic Trading, an interface line plying the Riftworlds to trailing of the Third Imperium.

Originally assigned to the engineering department, Marig demonstrated some ability with records and management and was quickly sent to command school, then transferred to the deck department, beginning a slow but steady climb through the ranks and developing skills in trading, management, astrogation and leadership. Retiring at last as a senior captain with Galactic, Marig purchased a new type A2 far trader, IMS Princess Projectra, and plies the star lanes of the Titanstorm subsector as an independent. Other merchants rightly regard Marig as a reliable source of knowledge about the Riftworlds.



Up next, a barbarian hunter exploring the stars.

During the outage I posted by characters at RPG Pub.

16 January 42 Adventurer - a barbarian turned hunter (we need more barbarians in Traveller!)
17 January 43 Hijacker - a former SPA security officer turned shuttle hijacker
18 January 44 Tourist - a bureaucrat who manages a planet's subsidies for merchants
19 January 45 Smuggler - a off-the-books trader whose reputation is clean as a whistle

We now resume our character creation challenge, already in progress . . .

20 January - 51 Arms Merchant

A straight-up Book 4 retired subsector navy marine turned mercenary and arms dealer.

Jorice Gerrem
889C83 age 44 Retired Helenan Marine Commando Sergeant Major
Forward Observer-3 Combat Rifleman-2 Tactics-2 Instruction-2 Administration-(2) Recruiting-(2) Brawling-1 Recon-1 Vacc Suit-1 Zero-G Combat-1 Leader-1 Computer-0 Grav Vehicle-0 Streetwise-0 Basic Weapons-0
CSR*6 MCUF*3 MCG*2 PH
CDO School, CDO School instructor*2, Marine recruiter

A third-generation Helenan Marine, Jorice Gerrem enlisted while still in secondary school and reported for duty the day after he graduated. An exemplary marine, he rose steadily through the ranks without a hint of trouble, serving with dedication to duty and élan de corps. At 22 he was sent to commando school; he would return twice as an instructor. Jorice ascended to the rank of sergeant major, earning a chest full of ribbons in the process; after serving with distinction, Jorice spent his final term on a colonel's staff, his second hitch as CDO school instructor, and a year as a recruiter before retiring at 38.

Not quite ready to put down arms as a career, Jorice turned to the life of a mercenary, with tickets in the Guadix Drift, Titanstorm, and Osiris Deep subsectors, but in the last year or so, the former marine commando turned to a new line of work, outfitting merc units. With sufficiently advanced technology and minimal regulations, the Reaginworld Belt provides an ideal base of operations for buying and selling arms, and Jorice leans into the trade, studying management to improve his business acumen the same way he once practiced with a gauss rifle. It's rumored that Instellarms is either invested in Jorice's business or perhaps sees him as a burgeoning rival.



Next up, a merchant from beyond the Imperial border.

21 January 52 Merchant

I've been remiss in not including more 'aliens' but this part of Imperial space wasn't originally settled by the Vilani - most of the first colonizers were Solomani during the Rule of Man and then Syleans, with a sprinkling of Sylean Vilani, during and after the Consolidation Wars. There's a Hiver trading station on Helena and a K'kree trading station on Starbridge, but these sophonts lack much of a reason to visit Reaginworld, an underdeveloped belt off the main trading routes. A strong cultural bias against Vargr makes the wolfoid aliens rare in the subsector, though Imperial Vargr are common coreward; most Vargr in Titanstorm are in Imperial service, most often the Scouts or the IN. Other races, like Virushi, Droyne, and Bwaps, are found coreward and spinward of this frontier subsector.

Minor races of Humaniti are less common as well. There are small colonies of Geonee, in the Spearhead subsector spinward, and Suerrat and Answerin, in the Iknahton subsector spin-coreward, but the bulk of humans in Titanstorm are predominately of mixed Imperial origin or (more or less . . . ) 'pure'-blood Solomani. The exception is the Sydymites, 2.4 m tall humans found along the trailing fringe of the Third Imperium. A Sydymic 'empire' is located to trailing rimward of Titanstorm, and colonies of Sydymites are found scattered among the Riftworlds. One such colony is located on Shanidar, a rich agricultural world located on an important J-2 route into the Lesser Rift. Shanidar was occupied by the Solomani during the Rule of Man and the two branches of Humaniti have lived side-by-side for over a thousand years.

Sydymites were introduced in Judges Guild's Ley Sector and expanded - by Roger E. Moore, no less - in [*HR] Ares 16 way back in '83; note they are different from the 'Sydymics' of T20 and QLI's Gateway products. Sydymites typically pursue military service of some sort before embarking on their careers, and so I give you a Supplement 4 Sailor - 'Shanidarian Coast Guard' - turned Book 7 merchant, by way of [*HR] Dragon 55.

(And I finally got a merchant engineer! Woo-hoo!)

Kedz-ja
A88796 age 36 Tri-Star Lines Captain (ex-'Coast Guard' Lieutenant)
Engineering-3 Electronics-2 Administration-2 Hovercraft-1 Navigation-1 Mechanical-1 Gravitics-1 Ship's Boat-1 Leader-1 Pilot-1 Legal-1 Wheeled Vehicle-0 Vacc Suit-0 Basic Weapons-0

As is expected of Sydymites, even on the Imperial client-world of Shanidar, Kedz-ja joined the Shanidarian Coast Guard for a term of military service, reaching the rank of Lieutenant, before presenting himself at 22 at the offices of Galactic Trading Company to embark on a merchant career. Gaining a wide range of skills and knowledge in the care and feeding of a starship, Kedz-ja rose through the ranks to become a chief engineer for Galactic, plying the parsecs between the scattered Riftworlds, but the Sydymite couldn't refuse an offer from Helena-based Tri-Star to serve as a first officer for the quadrant line. Four years later, Kedz-ja - known as 'Stretch' to his fellow crewmen - passed the test for his captain's cert, but still awaits his first command for the trading line.

Reserved and somewhat cautious, Kedz-ja performs his duties with quiet competence and utmost integrity. The Sydymite merchant finds he enjoys the company of Imperials with their mix of backgrounds and cultures - while his towering height attracts curious stares, and the occasional jibe of 'stilt' or 'longbone,' he rarely feels the same judgment his ancestry invites on his homeworld.



Tomorrow, another Shanidarian, a Solomani scout and merchant turned bloody pirate.