CT Only: Merchant Capt. Jamison, what a brilliant, shrewed rascal.

[Axe]

Throughout the known universe, Terrans and other intelligent beings told rumors, tales, and nursery rhymes about the Great Merchant Captain of the Expanse, Captain Jamison. For eons, thinking organisms have debated on just how the Great Merchant Captain rose to such prominence within the elite rich, upper social circles, and the most advanced scientists, while keeping his ties grounded with the…less savory elements. What is the truth? Well, the truth is so simple it has eluded discovery until an Ancient relic was found buried with a imaginable riches and technology deep within an ice covered labyrinth. The relic was Captain Jamison’s true service records. These service records prove just how cunning and ambitious young Alexander Lascelles Jamison was, and some may say he was a “cutthroat”. So, the truth. While serving his second term of service, 3rd Officer A. L. Jamison defied clear, succinct stamped and signed orders to report for specific training. Instead of making a right turn into training room 81, he snuck off to the left to training room 77. His keen intellect drove him to avoid the dreaded Steward classroom and to seek the beloved/powerful Gun Tactics. Gun Tactics would prove to be far more useful for survival and…..persuasion, than handing out silverware and napkins, or topping off drinks. So, satisfied with the resulting skill set gained years ago, 1st Officer A. L. Jamison doctored orders and returned to training room 77 during his fourth term of service.



BOOK 1 (1977 edition), BOOK 1 (1981 edition), THE TRAVELLER BOOK (1982), and STARTER TRAVELLER (1983), all say "He goes on a physical fitness Kick [Table 1, roll 3= +1 endurance] and learns to better defend himself [Table 2, roll 4= gun combat] using the small body pistol.", during his second term of service.

BOOK 1 (1977 edition), BOOK 1 (1981 edition), THE TRAVELLER BOOK (1982), and STARTER TRAVELLER (1983), all say "He trains himself in the martial arts [Table 1, roll 5= blade combat], choosing the cutlass and [Table 2, roll 4= gun combat] the submachinegun.", during his Fourth term of service.

Check this out:

ACQUIRED SKILLS TABLES comparing BOOK 1 (1977 edition) and BOOK 1 (1981 edition):

Personal Development Table

_

77 Navy

81 Navy

77 Marines

81 Marines

77 Army

81 Army

77 Scouts

81 Scouts

77 Merchant

81 Merchant

77 Other

81 Other

1

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

2

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

+1 Dext

3

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

+1 Endur

4

+1 Social

+1 Intel

Gambling

Gambling

Gambling

Gambling

Gun Cbt

+1 Intel

+1 Stren

+1 Stren

Blade Cbt

Blade Cbt

5

+1 Intel

+1 Educ

Brawling

Brawling

Brawling

+1 Educ

+1 Intel

+1 Educ

Blade Cbt

Blade Cbt

Brawling

Brawling

6

+1 Educ

+1 Social

Blade Cbt

Blade Cbt

+1 Educ

Brawling

+1 Educ

Gun Cbt

Bribery

Bribery

-1 Social

-1 Social

Service Skills Table

_

77 Navy

81 Navy

77 Marines

81 Marines

77 Army

81 Army

77 Scouts

81 Scouts

77 Merchant

81 Merchant

77 Other

81 Other

1

Ship's Boat

Ship's Boat

ATV

Vehicle

ATV

Vehicle

Air/Raft

Vehicle

Steward

Vehicle

Forgery

Vehicle

2

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Air/Raft

Air/Raft

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Vacc Suit

Gambling

Gambling

3

Fwd Obsv

Fwd Obsvr

Blade Cbt

Blade Cbt

Fwd Obsv

Gun Cbt

Navigation

Mechanical

+1 Stren

Jack-o-T

Brawling

Brawling

4

Blade Cbt

Gunnery

Blade Cbt

Gun Cbt

Blade Cbt

Fwd Obsvr

Mechanical

Navigation

Gun Cbt

Steward

Blade Cbt

Bribery

5

Gun Cbt

Blade Cbt

Gun Cbt

Blade Cbt

Gun Cbt

Blade Cbt

Electronic

Electronics

Electronic

Electronics

Gun Cbt

Blade Cbt

6

Gunnery

Gun Cbt

Gun Cbt

Gun Cbt

Gun Cbt

Gun Cbt

Jack-o-T

Jack-o-T

Jack-o-T

Gun Cbt

Bribery

Gun Cbt

The ACQUIRED SKILLS TABLES for THE TRAVELLER BOOK and STARTER TRAVELLER are the same as in BOOK 1 (1981 edition), except for table 2, line one, and is shown below:

Services Skills Table
_	Navy	Marines	Army	Scouts	Merchant	Other
1	Ship's Boat	ATV	ATV	Air/Raft	Vehicle	Vehicle

*Note: Errata indicates incidents of "ATV" and "Air/Raft" should be "Vehicle" in the above tables.




Captain A. L. Jamison learned his lesson about "Steward" and skipped class for more useful training, starting in 1981!


I guess the thing to do is to change the rolls from "4" to "6", for 1981 and later.

CHEERS!

 

[Shadow Shack]

In my game Jamison fell on hard times and bartered a charter with a band of pirates, and is currently operating as a successful corsair captain under said band with his free trader.

There is a 10K credit bounty on his pony tail and 50K for the rest of him.

 

[BRover]

Captain Jamison's Ire

I always wondered why the description claimed Captain Jamison was upset with the Merchant service for retiring him at the peak of his career--when obviously he had to retire (move on) in order to become captain of his own Free Trader? Which is better--to serve on someone else's ship, or to be Captain and Master-Aboard? And, with all those pesky, incessant bills to pay on the Type A, he's not gonna be retired to the vacation house on the lake any time in the next 40 years. . . .

 

[Madmax]

IMTU A.L. Jamison is a rival merchant captain that is always undercutting the player's activities, sometimes by unethical means. He hires away crew, he spreads disinformation about (and sometimes to) the players, he shows up at inconvenient times. He is especially good at beating the players to an expected payoff. :nonono:
Players can often find themselves in trouble with Customs or other agencies because of inaccurate information about them. If the players make a concerted effort they can usually find circumstantial evidence pointing to Jamison as the source of the information, but are never able to conclusively prove anything.:rant:

On the other hand I hold him in reserve to rescue the players if they get into an irretrievable situation through no fault of their own. Of course he will then expect the players to do favors (many favors) for him in return. :devil:

 

[mike wightman]

If you are in the Merchant service - ie character generation - you are in a career with a rank structure, benefits, a pension.

Once you muster out or are forced to leave you are no longer in the Merchant service, you are a Traveller, a Traveller that may have had the foresight and/or where with all to blag a free trader...

 

[BRover]

If you are in the Merchant service - ie character generation - you are in a career with a rank structure, benefits, a pension.

Once you muster out or are forced to leave you are no longer in the Merchant service, you are a Traveller, a Traveller that may have had the foresight and/or where with all to blag a free trader...

It depends. Doesn't LBB7 "Merchant Prince" have the "Free Trader" career/merchant line, with one rank (R6?) as Captain/Owner? It seems to me that is just what Capt. Jameson has become!

 

[mike wightman]

Then why is he not still in the merchant service?

Calling one of the career structure paths in LBB7 Free Trader doesn't change Jamison's status.

He is no longer a Merchant of any sort, not a free trader or small line or large line Merchant. He no longer gains mustering out benefits over time, he no longer earns more pension, he can no longer be promoted through an official rank structure.

The inclusion of Jamison lines as a free trader example in LBB7 is a bit of fluff that actually contradicts the rules.

It appears that Jamison can have two careers...

 

[kilemall]

Jamison probably wanted to earn another benefit, shooting for another round of mortgage payoff on his retirement craft. Being cutoff in his prime potentially cost him megacredits.



I think there should be another rank to CT Merchants, Commodore. The commander of a shipping line and/or first rank among captains would be a capstone to a career.

 

[Madmax]

Then why is he not still in the merchant service?

Calling one of the career structure paths in LBB7 Free Trader doesn't change Jamison's status.

He is no longer a Merchant of any sort, not a free trader or small line or large line Merchant. He no longer gains mustering out benefits over time, he no longer earns more pension, he can no longer be promoted through an official rank structure.

The inclusion of Jamison lines as a free trader example in LBB7 is a bit of fluff that actually contradicts the rules.

It appears that Jamison can have two careers...

IMHO you may be taking the use of the word "Service" in Merchant Service a little too literally.
To me it seems the LBBs were just using that word to make it clear that, as far as basic character generation mechanics, the choice of Merchant is carried out the same way as the other "Services" (Army, Navy, Marines). I don't think they intended to imply that the Merchant Service is a branch of the Imperial Government in the same sense that the military services are, but rather "Merchant Service" is just a way to group a wide variety of trade based careers. In that case some of the rules of LBB7 make more sense, at least to me, especially the Free Trader branch.
Take for example the fact that there are many Trader Lines listed in LBB7. Are you suggesting these are all owned, or at least principally controlled by, the 3rd Imperium?
So, by not taking the word "Service" too literally, it means that each Free Trader (such as Jamison) is still in the "Merchant Service", and one could continue to play the game in 4 year abstract 'turns', using the character generation rules, to determine his future, OR one could use the regular rules to carry out a much more detailed play of the rest of his life.
Or have I completely misunderstood your point?

 

[mike wightman]

Governments and corporations sponsor shipping lines, up to and including the right to militarise them in times of war. They have a training programs, rank structure, benefits and pension.

The Merchant service prior career represents a character that has gained experience in this service.

Once you end character generation your character is now a Traveller - they can engage in activities that resemble those carried out by a Free Trader merchant line but with a couple of major differences.

It is similar to joining a mercenary units post service career and thinking you are still in the Army - you are not.

 

[kilemall]

Just for perspective, the US Merchant Marine IS a service in the fullest sense of the word.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Merchant_Marine

 

[BRover]

Governments and corporations sponsor shipping lines, up to and including the right to militarise them in times of war. They have a training programs, rank structure, benefits and pension.

The Merchant service prior career represents a character that has gained experience in this service.

Once you end character generation your character is now a Traveller - they can engage in activities that resemble those carried out by a Free Trader merchant line but with a couple of major differences.

It is similar to joining a mercenary units post service career and thinking you are still in the Army - you are not.

So the Free Traders in "Merchant Prince" are sponsored by governments/corporations? Or even just some of them?

 

[Madmax]

Governments and corporations sponsor shipping lines, up to and including the right to militarise them in times of war. They have a training programs, rank structure, benefits and pension.

The Merchant service prior career represents a character that has gained experience in this service.

Once you end character generation your character is now a Traveller - they can engage in activities that resemble those carried out by a Free Trader merchant line but with a couple of major differences.

It is similar to joining a mercenary units post service career and thinking you are still in the Army - you are not.

Sure, that's one interpretation.

Another is:
"The beauty of CT LBB1-3 is that the ref is free to make such decisions for themselves."

 

[mike wightman]

So the Free Traders in "Merchant Prince" are sponsored by governments/corporations? Or even just some of them?

Well they have to get their rank structure, skill accreditation, benefits and pensions from somewhere...

 

[Diveguy]

Well they have to get their rank structure, skill accreditation, benefits and pensions from somewhere...

IMTU I view it like much of the other LBB careers - you're simplifying numerous options under the 6-ish choices. So, just as one could take "Army" as meaning "Imperial Army," "Duke's planetary forces" or "3rd militia regiment, TL7 backwater".... "Merchant Service" could imply a formalized Merchant Marine setup, a Megacorp with established hierarchies and pension plans, or the deal you cut with Uncle Olaf for the family LLC free trader as part of your apprenticeship.

As others said, it's all in the backstory you choose to build. Me? I lean towards more "local" organizations/structures and fewer galaxy-spanning bureaucracies.

 

[DMC64]

More Jamison mysteries...

Here's the thing that's confused me (and I probably just need education on this point).

When Jamison mustered out, he got five rolls on the mustering out tables. (That's clear enough. Five terms served gives him five rolls.) Then things get weird. I've used THE TRAVELLER BOOK for this, but it seems consistent with other books.

He's reached Rank 5 (Merchant Captain). According to the Muster Out Benefits Table (page 24) he should get 3 rolls for that, but according to the example, he gets 2 (page 31). Can anyone explain that? Should he get 5+2=7 or 5+3=8 rolls?

He gets a +1 on all rolls because of his rank. Again, clear enough.

Roll 1. He chooses to roll on the cash table, gets a 4 and receives 20,000 Cr. Again, clear enough.

Roll 2. Then he rolls on the benefits table and things get strange. Page 31 says he rolls a 5+1=6 and gets +1 education. But the table on page 24 says a 6 gets you Low Passage. Why the discrepancy?

Roll 3. He rolls again, gets a 6+1=7 and gets the Free Trader. Clear.

Roll 4. Next a 2+1=3 and gets Middle Passage, but the table on page 24 says a 3 gets you +1 education. Why?

Roll 5. 6+1=7. Merchant ship again. Both match.

Roll 6. 6+1=7. Again the merchant ship. Both match.

Roll 7. 6+1=7. One more merchant ship. Both match.

Just can't seem to figure out how this one example, reprinted multiple times over many years has these discrepancies. Seems hard to believe they're really discrepancies. It's easier to imagine I just don't understand what I'm doing.

Anyone care to help out?

Thanks!


Dan

 

[AnotherDilbert]

He's reached Rank 5 (Merchant Captain). According to the Muster Out Benefits Table (page 24) he should get 3 rolls for that, but according to the example, he gets 2 (page 31). Can anyone explain that? Should he get 5+2=7 or 5+3=8 rolls?

The example is correct for LBB1'77, wrong for later printings.

He gets a +1 on all rolls because of his rank. Again, clear enough.

DM +1 on the benefits table, not cash table.

Roll 2. Then he rolls on the benefits table and things get strange. Page 31 says he rolls a 5+1=6 and gets +1 education. But the table on page 24 says a 6 gets you Low Passage. Why the discrepancy?
...
Roll 4. Next a 2+1=3 and gets Middle Passage, but the table on page 24 says a 3 gets you +1 education. Why?

The example is wrong, already in LBB1'77.


The example is wrong in some details. Perhaps the mustering out tables were changed after the example was written. Obviously the example was never rewritten for later printings.

 

[DMC64]

Thanks!

Back in the late 70's (and, yes, I remember them, you could really get away with a lot more of these kinds of errors than people will tolerate today. It was so costly to correct them that hardly anyone expected corrections. Errata was irritating, but accepted.

The thing that's weird about this is that these examples were reprinted in so many versions! LBB's in '77. Then in '81. Then in The Traveller Book. Then in Starter Traveller... It's everywhere. Those errors should have been fixed.

And then there's just the weird wording you find from time to time. "C. Attempt rank. 1) If no rank, attempt commission. 2) If commissioned, attempt promotion." There's no "rank" to attempt. You just see if you get a commission and then if you do you try for a promotion. Simple.



Dan

 

[Black Vulmea]

So the Free Traders in "Merchant Prince" are sponsored by governments/corporations? Or even just some of them?

Not in my TU, no - if they're part of an organization, like a shipping association or a subsidized liner, they're a fledgling line, as per Merchant Prince.

Well they have to get their rank structure, skill accreditation, benefits and pensions from somewhere...

By my interpretation, and in light of MP, rank structure and skill accreditation is by the Imperial Bureau of Trading Standards, benefits accrue from their acumen, and pensions are paid for by the Independent Merchanters Benevolent Society ('The Benevolence').

However, I do things a little differently IMTU in one important detail: free traders are Book 1 characters, not Book 7. I give them a single Bonus roll each term, and if they roll the minimum success for re-enlistment, they move up to a fledgling line, but otherwise they're basic characters.

Free traders learn on the job, and few are fully accredited by BTS, the way their peers in the merchant lines are. Free traders are fiercely independent and dismissive of outside regulation, and so while they are minimally qualified to perform their jobs - meet the skill reqs, frex, Pilot-1, Medic-1, &c, as set by BTS - they rarely conform to the standards for formal accreditation, reflected by the stepwise progression of tests for rank and position for MP characters.

I like my free traders scruffy, with chips on their shoulders over their perceived inferiority, toeing the line of Imperial regulation just enough to keep flying.

So, while I take your point, Mike W, IMTU 'merchant service' isn't a 'branch' - it's the collection of lines and independents regulated by the BTS. I used to remove Merchants from the draft for this reason, but now I make a drafted Merchant character a member of a fledgling line, representing naval auxiliary service for the sponsoring government of a subsidized liner.