Options

Characteristics

Explore available characteristics beyond basic Universal Person Profile six (STR, DEX, END, INT, EDU, SOC) offered in Core Rulebook, as they can enrich your game at the cost of slight increase of complexity, or just offer flavor for the theme.

Extra characteristics from across the official books: Characteristics.

Iron Man Mode

If players seek extra excitement and have time available to run character creation again when it goes wrong: Iron Man.

Solo Mode

The best way to create Travellers for playing in a group is with a group at session zero, but time constraints or Traveller's untimely retirement may require player to roll up a character Solo.

Skill Roll or Skill Selection

Since you like random so much, designers decided to add more random into your random character generation...

Seriously though, by default, during Lifepath Traveller creation, players select training table among the available for their career/assignment and roll for the actual item on it. Skill Selection option gives control back to the player.

Generating Traveller's Characteristics

There are options to consider beyond default 2D x6 and assign to characteristic of your choice. Read up on options for Generating Characteristics.

Term Limits

Not as much an "option", rather a necessity for a particular style of game. Details on implementing Term Limits.

Alternatives for Lifepath

Lifepath approach to generating a playable character is a highlight of Traveller in my book, but sometimes you may wish to explore other options that are available:

  1. Classical Lifepath - the default method for creating a Traveller - involves the following actions:

    • roll up characteristics;

    • select background skills;

    • take up pre-career education or start you career;

    • enter a career, do "Term", resolve Life Event, rinse repeat.

  2. Packages Method - the fastest method to roll up a character - involves the following actions:

    • roll up characteristics;

    • select background package;

    • select career package;

    • get a bunch of extra buffs.

  3. Hybrid Lifepath/Package Method - not super useful but it is an option - replaces background skills and pre-career education with a background package;

  4. Poin-Buy Method - it takes surprisingly long time to set up a character in point buy and it is not thrilling in any way, but allows player to get precise setup of a character they wish, while also maintaining some semblance of balance.