CT+ Careers
- Thread starter robject
- Start date
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
It's a serious suggestion.
Ok - proposals for the chop?
Flyer, Sailor, merge Doctor and Scientist, merge Diplomat and Bureaucrat?
Other candidates would be Belter, Hunter, Noble?
Which would leave:
Army, Marines, Navy, Scout, Merchant, Scientist/Doctor, Diplomat/Bureaucrat, Law Enforcer, Pirate, Rogue, Barbarian and one of Belter/Hunter/Noble
Thoughts?
Flyer, Sailor, merge Doctor and Scientist, merge Diplomat and Bureaucrat?
Other candidates would be Belter, Hunter, Noble?
Which would leave:
Army, Marines, Navy, Scout, Merchant, Scientist/Doctor, Diplomat/Bureaucrat, Law Enforcer, Pirate, Rogue, Barbarian and one of Belter/Hunter/Noble
Thoughts?
Whilst pondering things over lunch, I got to wondering just how many careers are actually used by players? Using the initial list from this thread I came up with the following careers used by my players since 1980;
Scout-yes
Merchant-yes
Marine-yes
Army-yes
Navy-yes
Other/Rogue-yes
Barbarian-no
Belter-yes
Bureaucrat-no
Diplomat-no
Doctor-no
Flyer-no
Hunter-no
Noble-yes
Pirate-yes
Sailor-no
Scientist-no
Law Enforcement-yes
Scout-yes
Merchant-yes
Marine-yes
Army-yes
Navy-yes
Other/Rogue-yes
Barbarian-no
Belter-yes
Bureaucrat-no
Diplomat-no
Doctor-no
Flyer-no
Hunter-no
Noble-yes
Pirate-yes
Sailor-no
Scientist-no
Law Enforcement-yes
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Blech.
I see a problem with 12... Namely, that some of my favorites have to get dropped (Hunter, Belter). What would my list be... hmmm...
Army
Marine
Navy
Scout
Merchant
Barbarian
Rogue
Belter
Scientist/Doctor
Law Enforcer
Noble/Idle
Pirate or "Functionary"
for Bureaucrat/DiplomatI hate losing Hunter, as I have played one. And, I would prefer Pirates to Bureaucrats as PCs. However, a bit of verbage that says you could come up with your own careers, as well, then gives a partial example of Hunter as a variation on Scout would work.
How's that sound?
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
BTW, forgot to mention something else. (I don't remember if it was somebody's homebrew, or if it was in T20.) Rogues should be allowed to do alternating terms as something else.
Oh, and Pirates should be allowed to do a term as a Merchant, maybe.
Oh, and Pirates should be allowed to do a term as a Merchant, maybe.
What's wrong with 14 careers? I think dropping the Flyer & Sailor and subsuming them into the Army or other military is fine. Ditto with the Bureaucrat/Diplomat merge. The Doctor/Scientist is an OK merge too. (I've had the occasional scientist PC, fun stuff!) Make the hunter a combined hunter/explorer class, which means changing not much but the description. Have to keep the separation between Pirates (space-based) and Rogues (planet-based) IMHO. Nobles are just too cool a concept to lose. We'd be left with:
Army
Marines
Navy
Scouts
Merchant
Barbarian
Rogue
Belter
Pirate
Hunter/Explorer
Noble
Law Enforcer
Scientist/Doctor
Diplomat/Bureaucrat
Have to keep the separation between Pirates (space-based) and Rogues (planet-based) IMHO. Nobles are just too cool a concept to lose. We'd be left with:Army
Marines
Navy
Scouts
Merchant
Barbarian
Rogue
Belter
Pirate
Hunter/Explorer
Noble
Law Enforcer
Scientist/Doctor
Diplomat/Bureaucrat
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Aaarrrrggghhh! But 14 doesn't fit on 2d6! Yes, it's just me (and maybe Sigg), but you need to fit it in d6, so you can build random generation tables (for NPCs, encounters, etc.). Though, your list makes the most sense outside of my paradigm.
And now, for something completely different - how about allowing career changes? I built a relatively interesting character once who started at age 14, spent a term as a rogue, then did two terms in the merchants, then a term as a law enforcer. As backstory, he had been a ne'er-do-well on his homeworld, hooked up with some Free Traders when things got too hot, then settled down as an investigator on another planet.
Making it an optional rule and providing an example or two like the above would be enough.
- John
Making it an optional rule and providing an example or two like the above would be enough.
- John
If it has to fit on 2d6 then we need to get down to 11 careers.
One thought as far as the Hunter goes - could we combine Barbarian and Hunter as being basically the same thing? Or should I run for cover?
To give the Flyer/Sailor option we could have Planetary Military instead of Army, with skill cascades to allow the creation of whichever career path you wanted. The same could work with Marine/Navy becoming Space Military, but I know the Marines would revolt!
IIRC 2300AD does this with the military careers.
One thought as far as the Hunter goes - could we combine Barbarian and Hunter as being basically the same thing? Or should I run for cover?
To give the Flyer/Sailor option we could have Planetary Military instead of Army, with skill cascades to allow the creation of whichever career path you wanted. The same could work with Marine/Navy becoming Space Military, but I know the Marines would revolt!
IIRC 2300AD does this with the military careers.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Takei, you are right about 2d6! I should have said 2 d6s.
Barbarian shouldn't be combined with Hunter - they are two different beasts. Hunter would fit better as a variation on a Scout/Explorer type.
Flyer/Sailor works great as a variation on "Army" in the Traveller CT sense. And, I know some folks that would hunt you down if you combined Navy/Marines.
And, jappel is right, there needs to be a mechanic for switching careers. I built an interesting character by jumping from Merchant to Pirate. (Hence my post above.)
Barbarian shouldn't be combined with Hunter - they are two different beasts.
Hunter would fit better as a variation on a Scout/Explorer type.Flyer/Sailor works great as a variation on "Army" in the Traveller CT sense. And, I know some folks that would hunt you down if you combined Navy/Marines.
And, jappel is right, there needs to be a mechanic for switching careers. I built an interesting character by jumping from Merchant to Pirate. (Hence my post above.)
T5 introduced several ways that PCs could switch.
Rogues could do a 'masquerade', allowing them to run an alternate identity in another career for up to 5 terms. Mustering out was done at each masquerade, and mustering out of Rogues only took into account terms served as a Rogue proper.
Agents could go 'undercover' every other term, under an assumed ID, in another career, for one term. Since it was an assignment, it didn't really count as another career: although you rolled the dice and picked the skills from that career type, you were still at the core acting as an Agent. Therefore, mustering out took all terms into account, and was only done at end-of-career.
Imagine your PC as a retired Agent. Not as a corporate ambassador, like some Agents, but an espionage expert. First he gains some skills, then he goes undercover as a Marine enlistee, and later as a Baron, and finally as a Rogue. When he retires, he has three alternate identities he can use, each with their own contacts: his fellow marine buddies and his sergeant; functionaries in the government offices he was in charge of; and the Underworld kingpins he dealt with. He has four valid Imperial ID cards. Imagine him loading a Type A trader with contraband from his Mafia contacts, and then flashing his Baron's ID to the Starport Authority.
Military careers can request a transfer, to one of the other military careers or agents. This required a task roll, I believe, to successfully transfer, and I imagine the number of terms were determined up front. Very official.
Scholars can have one sabbatical, for any length of time, and attempt to enlist in another career. I imagine a waiver or two would be available to such a person.
These systems have interesting combinations. For example, a Rogue could masquerade as an Agent, and could therefore go 'undercover' every other term as an Agent, although when the Agent career was over he would be back in the Rogue career. Very amusing. And an Agent or Rogue could also pose as a Noble for a time, perhaps receiving a Baronial patent (under a fake name, of course)!
Or imagine your PC becoming a Scholar, due to high INT perhaps, and doing some hands-on research (requires a pistol and a whip) for a couple terms, then taking a sabbatical and becoming a Noble for a few terms, crushing some petty insurrections with an Imperial cruiser, getting a Knighthood, then returning to scholarly pursuits.
Rogues could do a 'masquerade', allowing them to run an alternate identity in another career for up to 5 terms. Mustering out was done at each masquerade, and mustering out of Rogues only took into account terms served as a Rogue proper.
Agents could go 'undercover' every other term, under an assumed ID, in another career, for one term. Since it was an assignment, it didn't really count as another career: although you rolled the dice and picked the skills from that career type, you were still at the core acting as an Agent. Therefore, mustering out took all terms into account, and was only done at end-of-career.
Imagine your PC as a retired Agent. Not as a corporate ambassador, like some Agents, but an espionage expert. First he gains some skills, then he goes undercover as a Marine enlistee, and later as a Baron, and finally as a Rogue. When he retires, he has three alternate identities he can use, each with their own contacts: his fellow marine buddies and his sergeant; functionaries in the government offices he was in charge of; and the Underworld kingpins he dealt with. He has four valid Imperial ID cards. Imagine him loading a Type A trader with contraband from his Mafia contacts, and then flashing his Baron's ID to the Starport Authority.
Military careers can request a transfer, to one of the other military careers or agents. This required a task roll, I believe, to successfully transfer, and I imagine the number of terms were determined up front. Very official.
Scholars can have one sabbatical, for any length of time, and attempt to enlist in another career. I imagine a waiver or two would be available to such a person.
These systems have interesting combinations. For example, a Rogue could masquerade as an Agent, and could therefore go 'undercover' every other term as an Agent, although when the Agent career was over he would be back in the Rogue career. Very amusing. And an Agent or Rogue could also pose as a Noble for a time, perhaps receiving a Baronial patent (under a fake name, of course)!
Or imagine your PC becoming a Scholar, due to high INT perhaps, and doing some hands-on research (requires a pistol and a whip) for a couple terms, then taking a sabbatical and becoming a Noble for a few terms, crushing some petty insurrections with an Imperial cruiser, getting a Knighthood, then returning to scholarly pursuits.
Just a brainstorm: perhaps 'Noble' could be subsumed under the nondescript term 'Functionary'.
Commission: 8+
Promotion: 9+
Possible Ranks:
Officer
Sergeant
Inspector
Superintendant
Chief
Noble
Nobles may choose to begin at rank 6 'Noble'. Additional promotions mean an increase in SOC.
Commission: 8+
Promotion: 9+
Possible Ranks:
Officer
Sergeant
Inspector
Superintendant
Chief
Noble
Nobles may choose to begin at rank 6 'Noble'. Additional promotions mean an increase in SOC.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Not a bad thought on the Noble, robject. Though, it would have a different skillset than your average bureaucrat (similar to a diplomat, though). Oh, and your ranks are too much like police ranks - they should be something like GS1-6. Nice and bureaucratty.
BTW, lets just call it Other, or something. Functionary just sounds WAY too goofy. By checking a thesaurus, I find that it is a synonym for, oddly enough, Agent! But, I also find Official. (Checkout thesaurus.reference.com) What do you think?
BTW, lets just call it Other, or something. Functionary just sounds WAY too goofy. By checking a thesaurus, I find that it is a synonym for, oddly enough, Agent! But, I also find Official. (Checkout thesaurus.reference.com) What do you think?
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
I like Official. It has the ring of "bureaucrat" without restricting it to that. It could be anybody who is an part of "officialdom". But, hey, check out the thesaurus site yourself and see what you like.
Maladominus
SOC-14 1K
I liked the Assassin class from Paranoia Press' "Scouts & Assassins". I do not see them as a subclass of something like Rogues. They seem to be unique just by themselves.
IF there is added another class like Bounty Hunter, then perhaps it's OK to ignore the Assassin class (because there is a lot of overlap between the two).
IF there is added another class like Bounty Hunter, then perhaps it's OK to ignore the Assassin class (because there is a lot of overlap between the two).
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Well, Bounty Hunter would be covered by Law Enforcer as a sub-category. See, this is why TNE is so silly: there's a career for EVERYTHING! You have to draw the line, and CT+ should have the line drawn at 12 (IMO).
This is also why I suggested a bit of verbage showing a partial variation on a class. In my example, it was a Scout-based Hunter. Your Assassin could be a variation on Rogue - changes to the skill lists, maybe mod survival rolls, etc. The idea is to keep the rules to a certain set, with extensibility to other ideas.
I also like the idea of Scout/Explorer. It makes the rules less setting-dependent, as the Scout Service is very OTU-related. (And, it makes even more sense to extend Hunter from there....)
This is also why I suggested a bit of verbage showing a partial variation on a class. In my example, it was a Scout-based Hunter. Your Assassin could be a variation on Rogue - changes to the skill lists, maybe mod survival rolls, etc. The idea is to keep the rules to a certain set, with extensibility to other ideas.
I also like the idea of Scout/Explorer. It makes the rules less setting-dependent, as the Scout Service is very OTU-related. (And, it makes even more sense to extend Hunter from there....)
