Hirelings and Henchmen for Traveller

Hirelings! Everyone could use a little help now and then, even your PCs. They can't rely on the Random Encounter to bring along a helpful troop of soldiers or adventurers. What to do? Hire them and bring them along yourself! A solo player in particular would benefit from having some helping hands by his side.

There is a problem though. How do the PCs do this? The only concrete advice or discussion of hiring NPCs we get in The Traveller Book is crew salaries on page 55. Ship crews are specialists, trained to operate a multi-million credit ship. This should not be the standard rate of pay for NPCs.

When the PC party is small, or the danger is going to be large, hired NPCs can spread the work-load, and supply needed skills. NPCs can also be convenient red-shirts for the referee to signal impending danger. The Referee can harm an NPC, giving the PCs a chance to react to the danger.

A general assistant NPC should will expect Cr 300-500/month. That's enough for 'subsistence' to 'ordinary' living standard, plus a potential for profit. A general assistant, a factotum or dogsbody, has average stats and one or two skills at zero level.

Better trained NPCs (skill-1) might ask Cr 500-1,000/month. Any NPC with skill-2 or better will work as a contractor on a specific project. At that skill level, they can be in business for themselves. NPCs with higher mental stats will ask for higher pay. Depending on difficulty and danger, a Senior or Master Technician could ask Cr 2,000 to 10,000 for the job.

D66 Reasons Why the Colony Failed

A few months back I asked a question of one of the Facebook Traveller groups that I read. I have a scenario in mind where the PCs are exploring an abandoned habitat. No specific setting, no specific arrangement. Just some kind of colony. The idea may have grown out of the tables in Stellagama's Pirates & Privateering source book, which lists abandoned space stations as a random encounter.

The question was: Why did the colony fail?  Much to my delight, the answers poured in. I have collected here the bulk of the answers (deduplicated for near identical answers) and arranged them in a D66 table. To roll D66, roll 1D for the 'tens' digit and a second 1D for the 'ones' digit.

 

Clearly something has gone dreadfully Wrong here.

If you have any ideas that don't appear on this list, share in the comments!

D66 Reasons why the Colony Failed

11 Pilgrimage site for some religion that was later deprecated as a forgery

12 Fast-acting or slow-acting contagion (bacterial/viral/fungal/parasitic)

13 Mining site, better yield found elsewhere and everyone moved.

14 Mining site, ore vein tapped out

15 Colony set-up was a scam. Shells of buildings only, no infrastructure. Scammers on the run.

16 Environmental factor not initially detected caused health problems (i.e. death)

A High-Level Traveller Character

I have written before about High Level Play in Traveller, and what that might mean. Today I want to share a character I've created, to illustrate what that might look like. 

Here is the character, right after character generation finished:

Jackson Law     Age 22   7A87B5     Ex-Army Captain
Tactics-4, Rifle-1, SMG-1, CG Vehicle-0, Carousing-0
Cr 2,000        

Our good Captain. Still a young pup. That will change.

Quite the junior tactician, eh?  But out of the service after only one term. What's that about?  Was it because of his low SOC that the other officers didn't approve of the young man?  Well, could be a lot of things.

Skip ahead 20 years.

Crew of the Bonaventure

May is cleanup time here at the AF3 blog. I'm perusing my files for post drafts, finishing them, and putting them up. It's going to be a mixed bag, I suspect. 

To start off, here is the Merchant ship Bonaventure, and its crew. I created these years ago with the idea of using them as the cast of short stories, but the stories never materialized. Maybe they'll show up in my monthly game as NPCs. Maybe they'll show up in your game as NPCs! If they do, please leave me a comment and tell us about it.

"Parking orbit, please Mr. Hammilton." "Aye, Sir."

The US Merchant Marine ship Bonaventure is registered in New Maryland.

Owner/Navigator Jason Hammilton 7A5D98 Age 42 Merchant 3rd Officer

Navigation-4, Leader-2, Vaccsuit-1, Electronics-1, Mechanical-1, Gun Combat-0, Broker-2, Trader-2, Administration-2

Captain Hammilton has dreamed of running his own starship since he was a child. He was level-headed enough to see that more than dreaming was required. He took every opportunity he could to learn about merchant operations and taught himself how to be successful. Once he felt he was ready, he left his job and bought his own ship. He is very aware of the debt burden he’s put himself under but it keeps him focused on succeeding.

Quote: “You have two choices. One, realize that I’m in command here and get in line. Two, get your sorry ass off my ship. You have one minute to decide.”

Pilot Derek T Hammilton 7998A8 Age 38 Navy Commander

Pilot-4, Leader-1, Pistol-2, Computer-2, Ship Tactics-2, Vaccsuit-1

Derek has been piloting since he was 18. He has piloted everything from yard tugs to heavy cruisers. Bonaventure is an easy assignment for him. Mostly he took the job to work with his cousin Jason. He is orderly, efficient and confident. He reads a lot and always is looking for new ship types & classes to add to the catalog he is writing.

Quote: “This crate is easy. You should have seen the panel on this one destroyer I was on. Talk about inefficient.”

In Defense of Older Adventurers

On occasion, some gamers like to remark on the fact that Traveller characters are mostly middle-aged by the time they begin play (assuming they survive character creation). Is it really necessary for me to point out that the off-screen prior service is simply glossing over the “low level play” of level based systems, or the “few character points” stage of point-buy systems?

Don't harass us middle-aged guys who go off in search of adventure. We're not old, we're experienced. It's at this time of life when you finally know what you want, and go after it. And you're not taking any guff from punks.

Like this guy – he took no guff, and took names.

Samuel Whittemore

57A879 Age 80   

Army (militia) 3 terms, Captain

Brawling-1 Percussion Rifle-1 Survival-2 Badassery-3 Percussion Pistol-2
Leader-2

As another old soldier said "I could do this all day."

With thanks to Jed McClure on G+

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Whittemore

Pilot Ace Enrique Salazar

While reading the section in The Traveller Book on computer programming, I spotted something of great interest. One of the requirements to write the program Maneuver/Evade-6 is that someone has to have the skill Pilot-7.

I have never seen this in play before. Yes, there's the Other character in Supp: 1 1001 Characters who has Electronics-8, but that's non-standard creation.Still, it's there in the rules so the possibility is valid and canon.

Is it possible, though, to be this skilled via normal character creation? I decided to find out.

Yes. It is.

Meet Enrique Salazar, The best pilot in the Royal Talaveran Scout Service. 

777587 Age 30 Scouts, 3 terms

Pilot-7

An Example of Solo Play with a familiar Patron

Michael Thompson over at the Traveller Adventures blog recently posted a report from a solo play session which featured a familiar face. Back when I posted the Casual Encounter with Adelaide Thrupp, Michael asked in the comments if he could use the character, and I said please do! Here's a snippet from the results:

            A middle-aged woman dressed in professional attire approached her, “Excuse me, Petty Officer? I’m Third Secretary Thrupp, formerly of the Diplomatic Corps. I think you may need my help here.”

            “Madam, I’m quite sure that anything like that- “

            “Can go through your Captain, and the Station Officer. I know the channels. I also know somebody in the Station Office has been compromised. If I can talk to your Captain, you can help me make a big bust here.”

            “What?”

            “People are listening. Aboard ship, it’ll be clear.”

Read the entire post here.

Thanks Michael!

Casual Encounter - Dane Buckminster

Here's a Traveller character who never went into the Services. Will this work? Let's find out.

Dane Buckminster
4B78C2     Age 22     College     Homeworld: Dimitrov/Holtzmann's Corridor
Streetwise-2 Brawling-0, Auto Pistol-0, Air/Raft-0, Administration-0

The man with the plan.

Chris over at Tales to Astound! suggested this concept. Yes, he's 22. I rolled up characteristics then went straight to the 4-year Sabbatical for Education. The rules do not say you must enter a Service, only that you may enter a service.

He's got Cr 500, and Cr 70,000 worth of debt. He has a reason to go adventuring!

Motivated Villain #4 The Dreadful Doctor

Delusions of Grandeur - The Dreadful Doctor

Here is the next entry in my irregular series of NPCs who can confound, obstruct and annoy the heck out of the PCs.

Doctor Hiram Califrax 787789 Age 38 Doctors, 5 terms

Medical-3, Liaison-1, Carousing-1, Computer-1

Dr. Califrax is the chief/only physician on the colony world of Somerset, [F-353393-9] a subordinate world of Mavramorn (Holtzmanns Corridor 0605).

Dr. Califrax has delusions of grandeur. He believes that he is wise, intelligent, super-competent and generous. The community around him tells him so. His medical skill is accurate; he is a competent physician. The problem is that he needs everyone to recognize it, and needs constant affirmation of his self-image. His clinic staff consists of several nurses (Medical-2) and orderlies (Medical-1) chosen more for their adoration of the doctor than for medical competence.

He is unaware that he over-diagnoses patients, claiming they are far more ill than they actually are. He then persuades the patient that only he can save them. He prescribes expensive medications and surgeries. He owns the only pharmacy so he makes quite a tidy profit, twice. The money also contributes to his delusion.

People of the settlement either adore or dislike him. With so little other medical advice at hand, he remains accepted. Those who like him come near to worshiping him. Those who are skeptics have learned to keep it to themselves.

Casual Encounter - Adelaide Thrupp

Who says you have to use guns to have adventures in Traveller?
 
Adelaide Thrupp 577AC8 Age 50 Diplomat 3^rd Secretary 8 Terms Cr 210,000

Retired, 10,000 cr/year TAS member, 1 High Passage

Gambling-1, Carousing-1, Interrogation-1, Liaison-2, Streetwise-1, Vacc Suit-1, Forgery-1, Computer-2

Adelaide (Addy) came from a solidly respectable middle class family on Gataneau in the Talaveran Empire. She decided to make her career in public service and joined the Imperial Diplomatic Corps (IDC), and was assigned to the Corps headquarters on Talavera.

Third Secretary Thrupp lays down the law. You would do well to listen up, citizen.

In her first term she was assigned to work with the Imperial Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on a case involving an illegal gambling house with extra-Imperial ties. The casino was successfully shut down, and she was rewarded for her good work with a promotion to Third Secretary.

Casual Encounter Nazir Kobayashi

Nazir Kobayashi
BB7335  Merchant 3rd Officer 2 terms Age 26 Cr- some
Vacc Suit-1, Engineering-1, Bribery-1, Streetwise-1, Carbine-0

Not as stupid as he looks. Far stupider, in fact.

I found this character in a list of pre-generated characters, in Double Adventure 2, Across the Bright Face. I have no setting that he's a part of, no storyline to fit with. I just took what was presented and extrapolated this from his stats and skills.

World Leaders and Hot Zones in the Corridor

On Stavanger, the senior Baron is the Head of State; with a Chancellor appointed as Head of Government.

Baron Allan, of House Hokksen 996ACF Age 50 Nobles

Leader-3, Administration-2, Steward-3, Air/Raft-2

Baron Hokksen is driven to see his barony's and his world's economic power increase, to an extent that even mercantile Stavanger sees as excessive.

On Lanzhou, there is a President and Vice President.

President Long Duyi A788AE Age 38 Merchants

Admin-2, Computer-2, Jack-o-T-2, Steward-2
President Long is viewed as a wise grandfather who has run his political party for over two decades.

Dekalb is a Civil Service Bureaucracy so they have a Prime Minister, who is simply a figurehead. The Business leaders are the real power.

Prime Minister Cecil Aylsworth 55699D age 42 Bureaucrat

Electronics-1, Bribery-3, Forgery-1, Streetwise-2
Minister Aylsworth is a cheerful, genial man on the surface. Underneath he is a canny manipulator, playing the business leaders against one another.

On Holtzmann, the Admiral of Naval Base Holtzmann is the de facto head of state. He often coordinates with the seneschal of Dimitrov, a private holding of a Talaveran Duke. 

Admiral Jupater 799A8D Age 42 Navy Admiral

Admin-1, Leader-1, Navigation-1, Pilot-2
The Admiral is an able administrator who chooses to be as uninvolved as possible. He delegates almost all civilian/domestic issues to his staff, leaving him free to run the Navy.

On Tabraz, The Potentate is an absolute dictator.

Potentate Indrus 697BCF Age 50 Bureaucrat

Theology (Islamic)-2, Admin-1, Bribery-2, Aircraft-1, Medical-2
The Potentate is a religious zealot and every bit as xenophobic as the people he leads.

On Dorothua, The Warlord Horkar Baddon is an absolute dictator.

Warlord Baddon 98D88F age 38 Army General

Leader-3, Brawling-3, Rifle-2, T/ATV-2
Baddon is boastful, brash, aggressive and ambitious. He despises anyone who shows sign of anything he considers weakness or passivity. 

On Narok, The Chancellor Kannos Heraklia is a constitutional monarch.

Chancellor Heraklia 3348BF age 117 Bureaucrat

Administration-3, Pistol-2, Bribery-2
The Chancellor is a stubborn old goat and an anti-religious bigot. His ruthlessness has kept him in power for most of a century.

Conflict Zones in the Corridor

• The very destructive civil war on Faldor is now in its sixth year.
• On Chapolco, the Geder region is in active revolt. Chapolco proper is supported by Stavanger; Geder, by Lanzhou. It is a proxy battleground for the two.
• Pampati's unpopular king has to contend with multiple small rebellions and intrigues. The local economy is meager enough that Lanzhou is unlikely to expend much effort to help the king.
• Narok could go the same way as Faldor once the Chancellor dies, as regional lords vie for the Chancellorship.
• Worosha could try to break away from VanGoff's World by force.
• On Dorothua, The Warlord wants to re-arm and get out from under the Empire.
• Piracy and Multi-planetary organized crime groups threaten trade everywhere.
• The Lycosky Trade Protectorate will back any group willing to impede the Talaverans, and vice versa.

Casual Encounter - The AVENGERS!

In honor of the premiere of the new film Avengers: Age of Ultron, I've teamed up with my son to cast the Avengers team in Traveller terms, again demonstrating that Traveller is flexible enough to encompass almost any genre of fiction & RPG.

And now, Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

Captain America FFF88A Age 87 1 terms Army

Look Out! Here come Motivated Villains 2 & 3

Social Acceptance and Madness

The first post and series explanation is here. In one sentence, I'm creating villains whose motivation falls outside the usual acquisition of money & power or revenge. In two sentences, one villain is motivated by the desire for social acceptance, and the other by the voices inside his head.

The Loser

Ranjit Lloyd-Kurnikov 8677AD Age 34 Army General Cr 2,000,000+

Gambling-2, Medical-1, Carousing-3, Gun Cbt-2, Admin-1, Hunting-1

I am the very model of a modern major general!

Casual Encounters - Fiona and Sam

Since my post about Michael Westen of Burn Notice was well received, let's round things out by presenting Michael's support team. 

"Should we shoot them?"

 
Fiona Glenanne     698885      Rogues  5 Terms Age 38   Cr 0-lots
Demolitions-3, Gun Cbt-2, Unarmed Cbt-2, Streetwise-1, Air/raft-1, Blade Cbt-1, Heavy Wpns-1, Interrogation-1, Recon-1


Fiona was/is Michael's long-time love interest. The two met while Michael was under cover, having infiltrated the Bishorian Monarchist movement on Gataneu. (See the entry for the Talaveran Empire.) Fiona did demolitions for them, until her local group leader got too radical and began targeting civilians, including children. Fiona has always had a soft spot for children, and so she broke all ties with the Monarchists.  Michael was pulled from his infiltration mission before this, and the two lost contact for years. They met up again on Bishor after Michael was 'cast out'. Now she uses her skills and her underworld contacts to help Michael on his 'jobs'. 

Like Michael, Fiona's SOC is 5. She cannot reveal her past association with the Monarchists because it is illegal on Bishor to have anything to do with them. Fiona rents rooms legally, but most of her work (apart from Michael) is still criminal, so she cannot integrate into Bishorian society.
 

Or as he is better known, Chuck Finley.

Sam Axe     889877      Navy Commander  6 terms Age 42   Cr 0-some
Administration-1 Forgery -1, Liaison-2, Carousing-3, Gun Cbt-2, Interrogation-1, Leader-1, Recon-1, Air/raft-1, Unarmed Cbt-2

Sam is Michael's oldest buddy. They've been everywhere and done everything together; Sam's job in the Navy Special Services section led to his missions often overlapping with Michael's. Currently Sam is retired on Bishor, although the reason for his retirement is cloudy. He spends his time womanizing, drinking, and helping Michael on his 'jobs'. Sam's Carousing skill reflects (as much as skills do) his extensive network of contacts, both legal and illegal that provide him with valuable information. 
Sam's SOC is better than either Fiona's or Michael's because of the three he can most honestly admit what he did for a career.

Casual Encounter - Michael Westen

Today I want to illustrate how Classic Traveller, despite its sci-fi orientation, is flexible enough in its rules structure to create characters in other genres as well, like the espionage genre.  I have referred elsewhere to my appreciation for the USA Network show Burn Notice. Here is the show's main character as a Traveller character. 

"I'll see what I can do."

Michael Westen used to be a spy. Until the day for no apparent reason the Imperial Talaveran Ministry of Intelligence "cast him out", leaving him with no money, no job history and no idea why he was suddenly out of a job.

Michael Westen     89A995     Age 34  4 Terms (Other)  Cr 0-lots
Liaison-3, Streetwise-2, J-o-T-3, Electronics-1, Mechanical-1, Air/raft-1, Unarmed Cbt-2, Gun Cbt-2 Tactics-1

Michael now lives in the capital city of Bishor ( B-788795-D). He can't leave the planet, but can move around freely. He has no work record, so he takes whatever work happens to come along. Mostly, Michael solves problems for people. Usually the kind of problem they can't solve by going to the authorities. People call Michael when they have a criminal problem. The client tells Michael what their problem is, and Michael persuades the problem to go away. Sometimes he has to get creative with his persuading, but in the end the problem generally goes away. Most of the time, he succeeds in solving the problem without having to shoot anyone.

PCs who are Talaveran, or have worked with (or against) Talavera may have heard of Michael's reputation. To his clients, he is confident, reassuring and willing to help. To those in the intelligence community he is a highly competent agent who has a long record of accomplishing difficult missions. He is also credited with killing over a dozen spies, and blowing up a debated number of buildings. Taking on Michael Westen with fewer than a platoon of men will not, as they say, "go well."* How much of this is true, only Michael knows. The question of who cast him out and why is always at the front of his mind.

Michael lives by the Reaction table. Most of the 'jobs' he does, he does by assuming a persona, then infiltrating the environ of the person causing the problem. He then persuades the NPC to do something, whether it be leave his patron alone, commit some act that will get them arrested, reveal the secret information or location of the macguffin. What is Michael's #1 go-to skill then?  In Traveller it is Liaison. 

From the CT Skill description: This individual is trained to subordinate his or her own views and prejudices where they may conflict with those held by the individuals being dealt with. As a result, greater cooperation may be achieved, and substantial progress in mutual projects made. Liaison is primarily used as a positive DM on the reaction table when dealing with other individuals. Now that is a handy skill for a spy. Get the other person to help you, without realizing what they've done. 

Combine this skill with his knowledge of sub-cultures, especially criminal ones, (Streetwise) and overall inventiveness (J-o-T), and you have someone who is rarely at a loss for what to do.  Throw in his combat skills and his vehicle skills, and Michael can go almost anywhere and do just about anything. 

I put his SOC at 5 - he's not exactly a criminal, and apart from government operatives, no one knows about his espionage career. To most Bishorians, he's a guy who's not very plugged into society - he is not married, claims no local University background, he has no regular job and does not participate in many normal civilian activities like sporting or social events. The personae he adopts, however, can be anywhere from SOC-2 to SOC-12.

 
A common espionage activity is analyzing data. Here's how I work it.

Intelligence Analysis
 
Intelligence analysis is the practice of taking collected data and distilling from it useful information. As a mostly intellectual exercise, this should take place in the realm of the players, not the characters. Use the intel analysis roll to request a clue or hint from the referee. Typical roll 9+, with DM's for high EDU, high INT or espionage experience. The referee should make the roll in secret, and give true or false 'rumor' type information. This activity should never be used as a roll-playing substitute for solving puzzles presented by the referee.

Streetwise skill can also be used as a DM when Tailing a suspect.

You can read my earlier post on Surveillance for general guidelines on role-playing this common espionage activity. Here are some suggested game mechanics. 

Surveillance is the action of a character observing someone's actions at great length without the subject's notice, or it is an individual detecting that he is being observed. Any surveillance attempt will take 2D hours to accomplish. Both sides make a 2D roll with DMs, the referee keeps the NPC's roll secret. Compare totals to determine the winner.

Dms for Surveillance
+1/lvl of Recon skill, if in a wilderness setting
+1/lvl of Streetwise or Liaison skill in an urban setting
+1 for INT 9+
+1 for vision devices (binoculars, etc.)
+1 for successful Disguise
Winning gets the observer information about the target. Losing means getting no information. Losing by 3+ means the agent is 'made' by the target.

Dms for Counter-surveillance
+1 for EDU 9+
+1 - +3 for electronic security equipment
+1/lvl of Recon skill, if in a wilderness setting
+1/lvl of Streetwise or Liaison skill in an urban setting
Winning means the surveillant got no information. Winning by 3+ means the target has 'made' the observer and can retaliate, or present the observer with false information.  Losing means the surveillance went undetected by the subject. 

*From season 4, episode 7, "Past and Future Tense" - a Russian operative, upon learning who they're up against complains "He is Michael Westen! There are only four of us!"

Casual Encounter - Vincent Poul

Senior Chief Petty Officer Poul at the start of term seven.

Vincent Poul
Ex-Navy Starman     961797     Age 50   8 Terms   Cr 1300
Admin-1, Computer-1, Dagger-4, JoT-1, Navigation-1, Ship's Boat-1

This character appears in one of CT's Short Adventures, as a pregenerated character in  The Argon Gambit. Everything you read from here is my own creation, to show again that the CT character generation system can, with two lines of text, create an interesting and multifaceted character.

Vincent Poul served over 30 years in the Dothan Alliance Navy. He enlisted as a Starman Recruit, and over his career worked his way up to Senior Chief Petty Officer. His most common assignment was as Bosun (or Boatswain) aboard Heavy Cruisers, but for two years he was attached to an Admiral's staff as his shuttle pilot. As Bosun he also had a wide range of administrative duties, and picked up a knack for lots of tasks (JoT) In other assignments he repaired computers, and served as Navigator's mate. 

 There is almost nothing in his service record about his impressive skill with short blades. If Medical-3 indicates an M.D., Dagger-4 means postdoctoral work in Stab-ology, with a degree from Pokeaholein U. According to the CT combat charts, Vincent gets a whopping +6 DM with his blade, meaning he's at only a slight disadvantage when stabbing someone in Battle Dress. With an Endurance of 1, he's only going to get one full-strength attack, but it will probably be all he needs.

Vincent spent a lot of years at the Naval Base, Sutter's Belt. For many reasons, firearms are not legal or available in the belter's space stations. So everyone fights with knives and clubs. Vincent learned out of self-defense.

Eight years ago, while taking part in a raid on a pirate base in the Kassiran Defense League, Vincent was caught in a trap and gassed with something that burned his lungs. He barely survived, and spent a long time in hospital recovering. He could have mustered out, but decided to stay on, with several officers pulling strings on his behalf. To this day he typically wears a filter/respirator, and even so is very short-winded. He almost never moves faster than a walk. 

He can't stand to be around smokers, doesn't sing, and his voice is raspy at the best of times. When he is on a dense atmo planet, the respirator acts as a decompressor to make the air thin enough for his fragile lungs. He is on a medication regimen which he cannot go more than two days without. The meds are legal and commonly available, so keeping up his prescription is rarely a problem. Any PC with Medical-2 or better will know of the medication, and can help him locate a legal vendor.

After retiring from the Navy with 32 years, Vincent has taken a few jobs with merchant liners and private starships, as bosun and ship's boat pilot. Through long habit, he dresses smartly and prefers jobs where he gets a uniform, which he keeps professionally clean. He gets his jobs based on his record and proven space skills, while he neglects to mention his knife fighting skill. He does not carry knives with him, unless he knows his employer is expecting trouble. 

PCs might encounter Vincent aboard a liner or he might present himself for employment if the PCs need a small craft pilot. He could also be found working ground-to-orbit shuttles for Navy bases or civilian starports. He's very friendly, especially with former Navy personnel, and will be open to taking an adventuring 'job' on the side if it is offered - as long as the 'job' is for his piloting and space skills. He will not work as 'muscle'. He shares the typical Dothan's mistrust of Talaverans, he thinks both the Kassirans and Stedhards are trigger-happy lunatics, and refuses to deal with the Lycosky Trade Protectorate at all. He will never knowingly become involved in piracy or theft, and God help you if he thinks you've gotten him into something like that. He's a crusty old space-hand who isn't scared of much, and wouldn't mind going out with a bang, if he thought the cause was right.

Motivated Villains for Traveller #1

Creighton Broadhurst recently wrote a blog post on what motivates villains for RPGs. I liked what he wrote, so to go along with my earlier post about villains; I set myself up a challenge, to come up with villainous NPCs that are driven by the motivations he gave. My intention is to do these as a series, like Casual Encounters, but with people you DON'T want to meet. To begin with, here's the list Creighton used. Read the full blog post here.

•Excitement

• Justice or Retribution

• Selfish; Feels Personally Entitled

• Poor Self-Esteem

• History of Abuse

• Social Acceptance

• Mad

• Religious Or Political Convictions

• Love

• The Greater Good

• (Delusions of) Grandeur

[Library Bob's edit 11/20/2014 - I found a podcast on this same topic from the podcast site "On RPGs". Check it out!]

Self-Esteem villain

Peter Bland 777877 

Bureaucrat or Diplomat, 2 terms, rank 0

Admin-1

Bland came from a middle class family, and thought that public service might be a way to get ahead, so he joined the Organization. But his timid nature and a few negative performance reviews from unsympathetic superiors, which Bland took as accurate assessments of himself, quickly shuttled him into a low-paying clerical job. There he remained, afraid to ask for a transfer, seriously unhappy, but without the ability to distinguish himself with superior work, and nothing but obscurity and a tiny apartment in the low-rent district to look forward to.

Then one day one of the office messengers, one of very few people who gave Bland any notice at all, suggested that he take some confidential information and leak it onto the public networks where interested parties would pay good money for it. Encouraged by the messenger and the prospect of being able to afford better accommodations, Bland searched the files he had access to and found something the messenger suggested might be worth something. His first leak netted him a big score, but more importantly, for the first time, Bland felt like he had some power, like he was somebody. He was hooked. Bland began exploring the Organization's data network for other useful things he could sell off.

A close call with Organization security has left him terrified of being caught, but the money has enabled him to conduct his personal life in ways he never could as an honest man, so he is also reluctant to give it up. Being a big spender allowed him to feel like a big shot. He continues to dig for new intel to leak, encouraged occasionally by the messenger.

The player characters will become involved with Bland's doings while doing a job for the Organization, which goes spectacularly wrong, despite all the PC's planning and preparation. Somehow their target knew what was coming before they got there. To finish the job, and to prove that they were not at fault, the PCs must track down the source of the leaked intel. Who got it, from where did they get it, how did it get out of the Organization's control? There may be several operations that Bland has compromised, or secrets that the Organization wants to get back under wraps. The players could have a lengthy campaign doing damage control before every getting close to finding out the source of the leak.

Bland's handler, the office messenger, will disappear if the PCs get too close, leaving Bland hanging out to dry. If confronted, Bland will break down almost at once rather than fight; his panic about discovery and the loss of his source of cash will overwhelm him. Depending upon how the PCs handle the confrontation, Bland may even attempt to do himself in. He might run, but if he does, it will be in a panicky and unstealthy manner that will make tracking him down easier. Once he's in custody, he will talk freely about everything he knows about the fiasco of his intel leaks. Unfortunately everything he thinks he knows about the messenger is false. The Organization may hire the PCs to chase down the handler, who was clearly a professional agent working for another Organization, but that's another job.

Casual Encounter - Fenton Tukachevski

557AF7 Navy 4 terms* Age 34 Cr 0
Computer-1, Vacc suit-1, Gunnery-1
TAS membership  

     A while back the Space Cockroach shared this NPC short form, taken straight from the list of sample characters given in The Traveller Book, in a post about how many skills are needed for viable or competent Traveller characters. I thought I'd see what I could come up with to turn this pile of stats into an interesting character. From just 14 words/81 characters (according to my word processor) what can we make of this character?

 Ex-Navy Petty Officer Fenton Tukochevski

Computer tech. Space walker. Laser gunner. Has more PhD's than you.

• He's a former navy PO (computers).
• He's familiar with working in space.
• He knows a lot about Navy computer (especially weapon computer) systems.
• He could work as starship crew, or as a vehicle gunner for a mercenary group.
• He also possesses Skill-0 in all the usual weapons, and likely Grav Vehicle-0 

     Fenton was always more interested in learning about the universe as a whole than he was about doing his job. He never even bothered applying for a commission; his work as a weapons computer technician left him with ample time to read & study the things that interested him. He's a big history buff, and knows a lot about lost ships, derelicts, and other historical curiosities of space. 

     He spends all his money on books/e-books (hence his poor cash state), and always carries a large collection of e-book readers with him. He has travelled a lot since leaving the Navy, and had the foresight to secure several backup collections/archives on several planets, in the event that he loses his current travelling collection of source works. 

     After a long study of art & crime Fenton is an expert in detecting forgeries & knows all about the common scams (and uncommon ones). He is near impossible to fool. He freelances with corporations and wealthy individuals to verify authenticity of documents and art objects. Another freelancing area where he often works is information support to salvage & treasure hunting expeditions.  He has an extensive collection of records, folklore and speculation on the location of crashed ships.

     Adventurers could meet Tukochevski in any of these ventures. He could be the patron, in need of a ship to transport him to the location of a wrecked ship, or he could be an NPC hired by the PC's patron to assist them with recovering something from a derelict. 

     The PCs could be hired by a patron who was swindled by a forger, and wants Fenton to help them find the parties responsible. If the PCs are passengers aboard a starship, Fenton might be a passenger or taking working passage. In an emergency, he would be a good companion to have. 

     The PCs could meet Fenton aboard a space station, or on a sattelite where he is working EVA to repair/upgrade computer systems or weapon stations.

     Physically Fenton is short, slight of build, and soft spoken. Despite being very bright and unbelievably well educated, he is very reserved socially. His clothes are neat and clean, but obviously not the current fashion. He works for pay, and is smart enough to not get duped out of a paycheck, but is not motivated by the prospect of riches. When he has money, he buys books or objects that can further his education, until he needs to work some more - to buy more books. 

     He prefers to listen rather than to speak, and will be an attentive audience to anyone who has something new to tell him. He has little interest in popular culture or entertainments, but can converse at length on obscure subjects. He understands social rules of interaction, but does not always choose to participate. He prefers the company of other educated persons, but will not be intentionally rude to the uneducated. Attractive women will not rattle him, but would be very surprised if one expressed romantic interest in him, given his poor physique and esoteric interests. 

     Fenton is no coward, but he is aware that his physique puts him at a disadvantage as a fighter. If he has to go into a potentially dangerous situation, he will hire or ally himself with people who can protect him. If the situation demands it, he will use a gun; he has no personal objection to fighting but he would rather not risk his life for simple material gain. 



*By my reckoning, a 4-term Navy character should have 5 skills. Perhaps Fenton used two of them to increase characteristics - like his Education.
Image in the public domain, taken from Morguefile.com. (http://mrg.bz/hA0iOH)

Casual Encounter - Fr. Meffodi

Casual Encounter: Father Meffodi

Monk          7769B7       Age 56

Streetwise-2, Medical-2, Liaison-2, Steward-1     Cr 0 to 'some'

 Fr. Meffodi is a Brendanite monk. The Brendanites follow the rule of St. Brendan the Voyager (also known as Brendan the Traveller(1)) They do not build monasteries; to be a Brendanite is to be always a pilgrim.