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

Alright, now we have enough information to get Jamie Rollinson’s career going. I’ll take a break from the read-along to finish creating this character.

So last we saw, JR is in the Army, got commissioned in his first term (but not promoted), survived, and re-enlisted. So according to what I saw earlier, he’s got three skills, two for first term, and one for commissioning. So, I’m going to pick two of the Service Skills, and one on the Advanced Education Table (lower table; Education only 6). Rolling, I get 4, Blade Combat, 6, Gun combat, and 2, Mechanical. I don’t know what the gun and blade options are yet, so I’ll go with ‘rifle’ and ‘blade.’ So, JR can shoot a rifle, swing a blade, whatever that is, and fix things. Good start.

Alright, second term. Survival roll is 8 (modified to 10 with Education), so he survives term two. No need for a commissioning roll, but his promotion roll is 3, so he’s still a Lieutenant. He does get one more skill, which I’ll roll on the Service Skills table, getting a 3, which is Forward Observer. Reenlistment is a 10, so he can go for term 3.

Term 3: Survival roll 6 (8), so he survives again. Promotion roll is 4. He just can’t catch a promotional break. Should have studied more in school, I guess. So, one more skill off the AE table. A 1 gives him ATV skill. Reenlistment is 11, so he’s still in. Now he’s 30 years old, and if he stays in he risks getting the aging effects. But I really want him to get that promotion, so we’ll try one more term.

Term 4: Survival is 9 (11), so he’s still alive. Promotion roll is…8! Yes! He’s a Captain now. So that’s two skills. First one on Service Skills gives him a 5, so he’s got another Gun combat, which I’ll add to ‘rifle.’ I can do that, right? I assume I can get more than one rank in a skill. If not, I’ll pick ‘pistol’ instead. Second skill for promotion is on the AE table again. A 3 gives him Electronics. So, he’s got a nice, well-rounded skillset for an Army Captain who’s served sixteen years. Oh, and there’s the aging table to worry about, as well. A ‘5’ on the Strength roll means his Strength is reduced to 4. ‘5’ reduces his Dexterity as well, to 8, while his roll of ‘8’ for Endurance means he’s still got the ‘A’ for that one. So, his new UPP is 48A769. Reenlistment roll is 7, so he can reenlist if he wants to. One more term means he gets retirement benefits, too. Well, my Dad did twenty years in the Air Force, so in his honor I’ll go one more time.

Term 5: A survival roll of 5 means he makes it one more time. Promotion is a 12! Hello, Major Rollinson. So, that’s two more skills. I’m going to make one roll on the Personal Development table, so I can hopefully get back one of the characteristics I lost last term. A roll of 5, though, means he gets Brawling. Oh, well. Another Service Skill of 3 makes a second point in Forward Observer. So, he’s very observant. Reenlistment roll is…12. Oops. Well, I guess they need him to stick around. But first, aging rolls. A ‘6’ drops his Strength down to 3, another 6 drops Dex to 7, and a third 6 drops his endurance to 9. So, he’s now at ‘379769’, and he’s stuck with one more term. This is getting interesting.

Term 6: He survives with a natural 10, and stays a Major. His single skill is off the Personal Development table, so he gets…+1 Strength! Sweet! Working out to stay in shape at the age of 42 pays off. His reenlistment roll is 6, so the Army says, ‘thank you for your service, we’re done with you now.’ Oh, and the aging rolls are 10, 10, and 4, so he loses one point of Endurance, making his UPP 478769.

So, let’s go to the Mustering Out tables. He served 6 terms, so he gets six rolls. His rank (Major) is 3, so he gets a bonus roll. for a total of 7 rolls. He doesn’t have Gambling skill, and his rank isn’t high enough to get any bonuses on the tables. So, I’ll go with four rolls on the Material Benefits, and max out the three rolls for Cash Allowance. I’ll do the Material benefits first.

The rolls are…2, 2, 2, and 6. Wow. +3 Intelligence and Mid Passage. UPP is now 478A69. Join the army, and become a genius! The cash rolls are 2, 2, and 6. The dice seem to be peculiar in this case. Ah, well. That works out to 30,000 in cash. Oh, and he also gets an annual retirement pay, but I haven’t found the table yet for that.

So, here’s what I’ve got so far:

Major Jamie Rollinson, Army (Ret.)

UPP 478A69, Age 42

Skills: Rifle & Forward Observer 2, Blade, Mechanical, ATV, Electronics & Brawling 1.

Benefits: Mid Passage, 30,000 Cash.

Sounds great so far. Let’s see what we get next.