Let's Read: Traveller, 1977 Edition, Characters & Combat, page 25

            Okay, let’s finish off Mr. Rollinson’s character creation and background, and then we’re done with the character creation section.

            Finishing up Jamie Rollinson’s background and creation, we move on to term 5. Survival roll of 5 (+2=7) indicates that things are heating up. In fact, there’s now a war going on, and Captain Rollinson’s actions in this conflict earn him a promotion to Major (natural 12 on the roll). He serves on the front lines and gets some on-the-job training in hand-to-hand combat (Brawling-1), but also gets slotted into an artillery unit due to his prior experience, building on the skills he already learned there (Forward Observer-2). Unfortunately, the stress of active combat is taking its toll on Jamie’s health, as some injuries and battle fatigue slow him down (all three physical stats drop due to aging rolls). Not only that, but the needs of the service in a time of active conflict means that Jamie isn’t retiring on his twentieth anniversary of enlisting; he’s too valuable to let go (re-enlistment roll of 12). So, he’s automatically re-upped for one more term.

            The conflict winds down during his sixth term, and his new duties as a Major keep him away from the worst of the fighting (survival roll 10, +2=12). Determined not to let age slow him down, he works hard at maintaining his physical health, and while his wind isn’t what it used to be (loss of Endurance due to aging), he’s gotten back some of his physical strength (Strength +1). With the war ending, however, Jamie’s age and physical deterioration mean the Army is going to retire him, despite his wish to stay on, even as a trainer. Bitterly disappointed, Jamie looks to his future.

            Mustering out provides him with some surprises. Though he has no memory of them, Jamie underwent some secret medical procedures as part of an experiment, and his intelligence was greatly increased. The experiment was, however, largely a failure, as few of the other test subjects survived, and may have contributed to his physical deterioration. He leaves the service with a 6,000 CR annual pension, just enough to live on, and a large cash bonus. Unable to fit in when he returns home (PTSD and his family’s snubbing), he decides to leave his home planet for good, using a good chunk of his bonus to head for more interesting pastures. He still has one ticket left if he really needs it. That, and his rifle and blade, are all he’s got left of his time in the Army.

            And, there we have it. Jamie Rollinson, Army Major (Ret.), 42 years old and ready to get out there and be even more than he could be before. He’s got a nice background that an enterprising Referee can work with if need be. Looks good so far.

One of the things that's stuck out for me in this process is that normally, old-school games don't have a lot of character background; you roll the dice, you pick your race, class, skills, etc., and you go to it. Here, you start off with a fully-fleshed out character who's already had tons of experience. Today, of course, character creation is a game all to itself, where players can spend hours working out the optimum way to build an entire party. In a sense, that style of play gets its start here in Traveller. Of course, with Traveller you don't have to go through all the trouble of explaining all the rolls as I just did; you can just roll your stats and skills, and start playing. Still, it's an interesting way to go about it.