Multi-profession characters in Classic Traveller

[Condottiere]

There are lots of possibilities, depending if you tweak character generation:

1. Barbarian at eighteen recruited into the Space Marines.

2. Drummer boy, son of a gun, recruited into the Regiment.

3. Cabin boy, recruited as midshipman at fourteen into the navy, then commissioned as a (sub)lieutenant either at eighteen or twenty two.

Sort of age/life modules are possible, and the Traveller variant is demonstrated in Companion, chapter four, as Pre Career Options.

 

[willtron3030]

If the PC's homeworld has compulsory military service, I'd give the PC a chance to reenlist or start fresh at 22, after one term in planetary/system forces.

For careers that start at 14 (Belters and Barbarians; I'd consider "Career Book 1" Colonists[farmer|settler] too), the compulsory service would be the second term. The PC could also attempt reenlistment in their original career with a positive DM.

Reenlistment in the compulsory service career may have DMs based on military need, PC skills, homeworld population, etc.

 

[McPerth]

Several... in the advanced careers
Technically, Navy can switch navies up/down level. (CT Bk5: HG) Merchants likewise can switch lines.(CT Bk7:M)
Field Scouts can move to the Scout administration (CT Bk6:S)
All advanced gen characters can go from college to advanced career. (CT Bks 4,5,6,7); some Refs allow to basic careers.
The Poltroonery rules (JTAS 10, p31) allows for jail, but no skills are gained in jail...

Yet another:

AM6:Solomani: SolSec secret agents may serve in another career until their cover is blown, and then are moved to SolSec Administration (so in fact changing career)

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

I'm in the exciting process of getting back involved in Traveller after an almost 15-year absence. One thing I remembered liking most was the character generation process, of course. I love the idea of playing characters that already have skills and backgrounds, rather than the old "experience level" way of roleplaying.

I remember when I used to play my friends and I would always allow a character to be in more than one profession if the player desired. Thus, if you failed to re-enlist after two terms in the navy you could head off and join the scouts. Re-reading the classic traveller rules that seems to be a no-no. In many ways I like this restriction, as it reduces instances of over-powerful characters. On the other hand, multiple careers allows you to create more of a narrative for your character's background... ("kicked out of the navy after two years, Moogi decides to join the scout service where, alone in his ship, he can brood about the dishonourable discharge he should have avoided...")

Do most Classic Traveller GMs follow the one-profession rule to the letter?

Hans Koch

Yeah, that rule surprised me too and like you I also said "Too late now. Guess I'll house rule it."

Back in the T5 beta there was a great chart I hope I still have a copy of that had all the Careers and showed which ones you could go into after the first Career. There were some restrictions like if you started the Noble Career you couldn't quit it and try then to join the Scouts. Which I rather liked and really wish it had made the cut into the printed edition.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

I would allow it. But I was also a stickler for aging so folks wouldn't want to make too many aging roles. I was also a stickler for 2d6 for each ability and no moving the numbers around (like in other games). So they were stuck what they were born with....

Oh yeah, Aging Rolls. Those plus Survival Rolls made many a player have to make some hard choices about whether that 6th Term was really worth it. And of course that horrifying time of trying to get an Aged down stat back up and never rolling it on the Personal Development table which of course decreased the Skills the character ended up with. Yet we all do it..why?

 

[whulorigan]

Yeah, that rule surprised me too and like you I also said "Too late now. Guess I'll house rule it."

Back in the T5 beta there was a great chart I hope I still have a copy of that had all the Careers and showed which ones you could go into after the first Career. There were some restrictions like if you started the Noble Career you couldn't quit it and try then to join the Scouts. Which I rather liked and really wish it had made the cut into the printed edition.

In T5.1 Noble and Functionary are still "terminal" careers, per RAW (I do not remember the page reference).

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

In T5.1 Noble and Functionary are still "terminal" careers, per RAW (I do not remember the page reference).

I might allow them to Transfer to Scholar. Basically they either study and write up papers on the workings of this or that part of their Career or they teach others how it's done.

 

[Aokhir]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I completely forgot about Solsec Admin and the Imperial Academy of Science and Medicine, and I'd never previously read about dolphin career changes.
As a result of reading about the Valkyrie I've been considering eccentric 'supervillain' type characters that could theoretically survive their invasion, or that of a similarly overpowered adversary. Inevitably, most of these aged villains are Vilani (e.g. Vilani organised crime boss/psionic institute trainer...rogue 5, scientist 1).