Man the past 18 months sucked

I had titled an earlier post "Life hates me doing blog posts" as a joke however a more accurate view would be Life hates me. I could whine about it however my troubles are directly related to failing to apply myself earlier in life so now I have to deal with the reality of trying to live on what unskilled labor pays in the US while living in a region with a very high cost of living.

Enough of that I am going to gather my scattered thoughts and dust off Fermi's Universe and continue on hopefully.

And now for something completely different or more on Fermi's Universe

I haven't posted a lot of stuff about the Tiber-Beltain Referendum (TBR) before this for two reasons. The main one is a mistake I have repeatedly made in the past which is getting caught up in doing stuff the GM needs (more truthfully might want) to know rather than what is needed to actually allow a group to play. The second is I don't want a set of house rules longer than the Cepheus Engine (CE) itself so I want to go through the rules as presented and create from that base as much as possible. The Colonist career presented a problem for me as I disliked the skill choices because I didn't see how they represented what I thought a government would train colonists for. However to present what I think they would be trained for I need to flesh out the government in question so I can create the Colonial Administration (TBRCA). I am a little apprehensive because the internet seems to bring out the easily offended and exaggeratedly combative in people and creating a government is in effect talking politics. This is not my ideal government to live under nor is it meant to represent any current or past government, I am presenting a government to allow the widest possible interpretation for GMs and players that is it.

So far what little I have presented can be summarized as a classic empire as defined by Google, "an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority". This is modified in that the empire, the TBR, has no say in internal world affairs and complete control of interstellar ones. In game this is primarily represented by the fixed prices for passages and freight and the ban on worlds having jump capable military or paramilitary ships. I decided while looking at the Aerospace Defense career that the three planetary military forces do not count as TBR forces which also means that the Scouts and Marines will only be TBR careers. I like this dynamic in that to invade a planet you have to get worlds to lend you their armies but the army has to travel on TBR ships. This helps represent a very tense relationship that I envision typifies the TBR. However this presents a glaring problem namely jurisdiction for crimes. Worlds want no interference from the TBR but also have no way of going after a criminal who flees their system. Worlds can make specific diplomatic requests but it is haphazard at best and with no centralized coordination escaping the system means no one is actively looking for you. What they can not do is sign extradition treaties as the TBR forbids interstellar treaties except those it creates. I am not a huge fan of this idea but it makes sense in the context of the TBR and does leave open all kinds of scenarios depending on the GM and players desires. Further thought also makes me like my idea that everyone has a noble to complain to. I didn't really have a firm idea what they would be doing but this gives a probably reoccurring task for nobles to deal with. Nobles owe their titles (and allegiance supposedly) to the TBR even though they represent the population of one world. So Calvin of New Earth (planet Bob) gets robbed but the crook flees the system. He complains to Sir Loin (of Bob) who takes it to the subsector peer council and convinces them to declare the crime as one against the TBR so jurisdiction is no longer an issue. World governments wouldn't like the TBR asserting authority but would like someone else to do the work and pay for it and the TBR would prefer not to get bogged down in every petty (or not so petty) crime however this does justify their existence to the average person.

Okay I will stop there as I probably got more involved than I needed too. The TBR is a relatively weak central government whose member worlds view it with suspicion. This will impact the TBRCA because the member worlds would be unhappy about creating new members inherently loyal to the TBR or at least more loyal to it. On the other hand it doesn't explain why the TBR would have a service dedicated to colonization. Why does the TBR want colonies? My idea behind the TBR is the behind the curtain power is the rich leading to the weak decentralized government and limited opportunities for worlds to cooperate. So colonies are primarily a way for them to get richer however economic enslavement of a captive market isn't going to be wildly profitable so the goal is to get colonies up to the point of self sufficiency quickly so people have a disposable income. So the TBRCA has a goal of getting a colony to population 5 and a tech level of 4 for habitable environments or 7 for hostile ones. When those goals are met all TBR assistance above what any member gets ceases. Having the goal in mind I can now look at the career and propose changes. The generation table doesn't need any as I am good with those values, the base skill and rank titles. The mustering out table I am thinking of replacing one middle passage with +1 education (EDU) and the high passage with an additional weapon to show a reluctance to let citizens leave although as I am also proposing this doesn't represent a reward for service but instead winnings from a game show I don't know if I will change anything. The cash table doesn't need anything changed that I can see.

I am good with the majority of the personal development table excepting only the lack of an EDU boost so I will replace the Gun Combat with that. My thinking here is to me EDU represents all the things not represented by a specific skill and for a small group to be successful they need as wide a knowledge base as possible so the TBRCA provides a lot of formal education. Athletics is fine because again I can see the TBRCA emphasizing physical fitness to quickly grow the population. The service skills need careful consideration as the overwhelming majority of colonists will know all these skills well enough to at least have no penalty. I am thinking Survival, Gun Combat, Melee Combat, Carousing, Animals and Vehicle. The first three seem to me to be the most basic things you would teach to people going some place with no infrastructure to speak of. I added Melee Combat because not needing ammo to defend yourself could be helpful on an undeveloped world. Carousing is one I would not have thought of on my own and is straight up theft from CE. The TBRCA does it's best to promote a beer commercial attitude in colonists to cut down on interpersonal friction and once again increase population growth. Animals and Vehicle are related as transportation is going to be an issue while building a world so both are going to be pervasive. For specialist skills I propose Survival, Animals, Electronics, Mechanics, Jack o' Trades (JOT) and Comms. The first two are because I think that most colonists would encounter situations using them more than any other skills. Electronics, Mechanics and JOT cover fixing just about any mundane piece of equipment and finally Comms I think would be a widely taught skill to keep tabs on everyone in the wilderness. As Comms also cover sensor operations I can definitely see this being taught as worlds are big places and I suspect quite a lot of a planet will be unexplored even when colonization starts. That leaves the advanced education table for which I propose Leadership, Medical, Computer, Admin, Sciences and Recon. I replaced Advocate and Linguistics because I see the TBRCA discouraging off world relationships other than with the TBR. Leadership boosts group endeavors so it should be desired in the colony skill mix. Medical, Computer and Admin are all skills someone on the colony is going to have to master for it to prosper. Sciences I added because settling a new world should guarantees encountering unknown things so you need a group capable of figuring them/it out. Finally I added Recon to account for the reasonable (to me) desire to thoroughly explore the colonists new home. I welcome any other viewpoints on this as I suspect CE might be better thought out than my version.

Farmer in the Sky or the Colonist Career in Cepheus Engine

I recall reading this years ago I believe it is by Robert Heinlein and was pretty good although I doubt the science holds up. This is the first time I have really looked at an attempt in Traveller to have this as a career the versions I am most familiar with (CT and MT) didn't have one. Right off the bat it seems to me that a distinction between where you are from and what you do for a living needs to be made. Having this as a career means to me that it is a government sponsored job you sign up with a colonial service to populate a world rather than just having a colony as a homeworld I expect this will affect how I view the career as a whole.

Diving into it you need to get a 5+ with Endurance (END) as the controlling characteristic. Which is a reasonable choice as you would want sturdy people on your new world. Survival requires a 6+ with the controlling characteristic being END again. That is not a good omen for a lengthy career. Helping my view of this representing an organization there is advancement in the career. A commission requires a 7+ with intelligence (INT) as the controlling characteristic so it is not easy to start your rise to colonial domination. Promotion requires a 6+ controlled by education (EDU) so quick thinking will get you started by knowing a wide range of information gets you promoted. Re-enlistment is on a 5+ roll which seems to be the Cepheus Engine (CE) standard. Not a guarantee of retirement but not impossible or unlikely either. Completing your first term you get Survival -1 as the base skill and rank -0 in Mechanics, Gun Combat, Animals, Electronics. and Vehicle. An interesting mix; Gun Combat and Survival cover hanging out in a virgin wilderness; Mechanics and Electronics should let you repair most common equipment and Animals and Vehicle cover transport and heavy work. I wonder if Comms shouldn't be here though for both staying coordinated and operating sensors. There is one rank skill earned at Three Council Adviser being Liaison -1 so the service trains you to listen to people on your rise through the ranks. Mustering out offers low passage, middle passage twice, a mental boost, weapon, high passage and for rank 5 and 6 characters a social standing (SOC) boost. None of these are bad but I am thinking it is odd that 4 out of 7 possibilities are traveling opportunities to escape a backwater world. The cash table ranges from 1,000 to 50,000 with 5,000 coming up 3 times bringing to mind for me the deal Amazon offers it's warehouse people. I might have understood this wrong but I believe the deal is something along the lines of try it for a year and at the end if it isn't for you you can leave with 1,000 dollars for at least trying.

The personal development table offers the three physical characteristics and INT, Athletics and Gun Combat. I am really unsure about the lack of EDU on the table as it seems to me that would be in the agenda of any group trying to get a world from zero to break even. The specialist skills are Athletics, Carousing, Jack o' Trades, Engineering, Animals and Vehicle. Huh? I am mystified by Engineering being a skill available to potentially any colonist as it's description specifies starship drives. Carousing seems a bit odd but apparently the Colonial Administration realizes training people to be enjoyable company is a good idea. The advanced education table has Advocate, Linguistics, Admin, Medicine, Liaison and Animals. I am not happy with the skill set overall for the colonist career. Lacking a way to improve EDU doesn't seem right and having no training for operating communication and sensor gear also seems unlikely. Athletics shows up twice and where I can definitely see physical fitness being desired I think that it might be over represented. Animals being on 3 different tables including the advanced education one isn't so far fetched people like animals and they increase in numbers without a manufacturing base although again I think it might be a little to prevalent. I find it odd that Gun Combat is present twice but melee weapon skill would only be available through the mustering out table. Survival and Medicine are only present on one table each and again this strikes me as implausible if you are setting up a new world. I already mentioned Engineering being totally out of left field for me. I suppose I will have to actually come up with the Tiber-Beltain Referendum Colonial Administration (TBRCA) and figure out why they found colonies before I can decide on what I would like for skills available though.

You are magnetic ink or the Bueaucrat Career in Cepheus Engine

If this turns out uninspired blame me. I have always wondered about this career in the various T versions as I can't fathom why someone would want to play it. I am not saying it doesn't make sense as a career but rather as a choice for an alter-ego in a game most of us play to escape from our own here and now. The description says this is a government official although I believe it is applicable to any large group acknowledging that it is necessary to have them to run. Let's get down to it then, shall we? Surprisingly it is hard to qualify for this career needing a 6+ with social standing (SOC) as the controlling characteristic. It seems that bureaucrats are a someone elite group so I may backtrack here on my NGO viewpoint. Thinking on this it seems likely to me that this career isn't the clerk at the registry of motor vehicles but perhaps more along the lines of a civil rights enforcement organization leading to a more positive public image. Survival is a fairly easy 4+ with education (EDU) as the controlling characteristic. Commission is fairly easy at 5+ with SOC giving a boost of hindrance. Promotion on the other hand is a difficult 8+ with Intelligence (INT) controlling any possible modifier. So it appears nepotism will get your foot on the bottom rung but you need an agile mind to climb the career ladder. Re-enlistment is 5+ giving a moderate chance to retire if you pursue this career to the exclusion of others. The base skill is Admin -1 unsurprisingly with Advocate -1 awarded at rank 4 Chief.  At the completion of your first term you know Computer, Carousing, Bribery, Leadership and Vehicle at rank 0. Again this skill set is not the one I originally imagined for a government desk jockey however it does suggest someone who gets out and mingles to find out what is going on. Mustering out offers low passage, middle passage twice, high passage, boosts to both mental characteristics and finally (to 5 and 6 characters) a SOC boost. All of this seems fine and the SOC boost helps with my re imagined career being one the average citizen admires. Cash wise the table ranges from one thousand to fifty thousand credits (still disliking English and it's rules) which seems okay to me.

The personal development table offers boosts to your dexterity (DEX), endurance (END), both mental characteristics, Athletics and Carousing. I am not sure what I make of this beyond being the kinds of things a regular person could accomplish in their free time. A quirk of mine regarding character generation is that the awards are what the career trained you to do however rather than as leisure activities which I view as covered by background skills. END, INT, EDU and Carousing can all be explained as coming from doing your job possibly for unexpected long shifts in the case of END. That leaves DEX and Athletics to explain in the context of a bureaucrat which I am struggling with at the moment. Then again I am positing the society as a whole is encouraged to gamble and compete so perhaps a part of the job is to run and compete in local versions of the Showcase of Worlds. The specialist skills are Admin, Computer, Perception, Leadership, Steward and Vehicle. The only ones that stand out enough for comment are Leadership a skill that boost a group rather than an individual; Steward which covers not only catering to others but appearing in high society and finally Perception which seems to have been left out of the rules. My version goes from Ocean Ships to Physical Sciences and with English having at least two meanings for the word, "I perceive that man is falling out a window" and "He appears unhappy about it" what is intended isn't immediately clear. I am going to go with noticing things being modified by INT and noticing an emotional state being modified by EDU. Advanced education skills are Advocate, Computer, Liaison, Linguistics, Medicine and Admin none are odd enough to comment on. So at the end I have gone from a faceless minion of the triplicate gods to a troubleshooter for the Referendum who wanders about trying to identify and solve discontent with the system. It is not meant to represent a rebel leader however as the most prevalent skill is Admin which is used to get the system to work rather than disrupt it. This is probably a concept I would have never had if I wasn't looking at the careers beyond just their titles and can see this actually being a character trope that someone could want as a background.

*insert something clever wordplay-ish here* or the Belter Career for Cepheus

The only two things that had come to mind for me were Bobby Darin's "Clementine" and "Quark" from the early eighties, one has lyrics that are no longer mainstream acceptable and the other I don't remember well enough to quote. Regardless let us have a look, a belter mines the asteroid belts for minerals or salvage. Which is why you should read the rules before getting too attached to a concept. Much like the Barbarian turned out to be more of a survivalist I had never considered the salvage aspect of being a belter. In Fermi's Universe (FU) I set out the idea that there had been lots of aliens in the past and that the all somewhat mysteriously disappeared and left it at that. Having read the description of belter I now am thinking that the were litterbugs and there is a ton of crap drifting around in systems waiting to be found. None of that changes any rules Per se but does offer a piece of filler fluff for the setting which is good. Having a career that does this also means it is reasonable (to me) that on the whole archaeology is probably closer to the 1850's kind than the more modern idea being more find stuff and take it rather than study it in place.

Wow it is ridiculously easy to qualify for the belter career needing only a 4+ with Intelligence (INT) being the controlling characteristic. Survival doesn't have the best chance even if you have the maximum bonus from your Dexterity (DEX) so lots of people die or get critically injured doing this job. With no formal ranking that only leave your re-enlistment at a 5+ meaning retirement is possible but not likely. At the end of your first term you get Zero-G -1 and Comms, Demolitions, Gun Combat, Gunnery, Prospecting and Piloting at rank 0. We can pause here to spew hatred at the English language for its ungodly rules on punctuation and whether numbers should be words or numerals. This list of "everyman" skills is even more pleasing to me than the barbarian one including every one I conceive as necessary to do the job. I am also intrigued that the base skill is Zero G rather than Prospecting which I agree with completely.  Moving on to the mustering out table your character can receive all three types of passage, a weapon (and possibly skill in its use), a boost to a mental characteristic and finally ship shares. The only one needing comment is the ship shares because I stated in a prior post I am not a fan of them. The problem is what to replace them with? I waffled for a while on this before deciding to change it to rank 1 in any skill of the player's choice allowing for skills not otherwise available. A ship would be a huge award so it's replacement should be as well in my line of thought. To be confusing though you can't use this award to increase a skill you have only to add another skill at rank 1 as I am offering it as a way to say a character devoted considerable free time to learn something above and beyond what normal characters do with their free time during generation. The money table ranges from 1,000 to 50,000 with 5,000 being awarded three times giving me (the GM) an idea of a standard find should be worth.

Keep in mind on the skill tables that a belter will get two rolls for each term as there is no advancement in the career. The personal development table offers the three physical characteristics, Zero G, Melee Combat and Gambling. I dislike having no chance for mental improvement however I also can't plausibly offer any replacements so it will go unchanged. The specialist table has Zero G, Computer, Electronics, Prospecting, Sciences and Vehicle which I am content with. Finally the advanced education table has Advocate, Engineering, Medicine, Navigation, Comms and Tactics and again I am satisfied with the table. On the whole I am satisfied with the career but I am dubious with the lack of two skills those being Mechanical and Jack of Trades. The problem is the skill tables presented give a wide range of skills so you can be a jack of all trades without the skill. As for Mechanical the only skill I could see replacing is Vehicle but that one makes sense as well so I don't like doing that. I will leave the skill tables alone after all.

At Law Level 2+ it is illegal to punch a horse while wearing a furry speedo or the Barbarian Career

The description says it represents citizens of a tech level 4 or less world capable of surviving without advance technology. Hearing (or reading) the career title however brings Conan to mind even though TL 4 is actually on par with WWII so lets see how this goes. It is fairly easy to qualify to join this career and you are helped or hindered by your END. Your survival chance is a moderately high 6+ modified by your STR. There are no commission or promotion rolls leaving only the re-enlistment check of 5+ which is not a guarantee of retirement by any means but still is possible. At the end of your beginning term you get Melee Weapon - 1 (a cascade skill) and mechanics; gun combat; recon; survival and animals all at level 0. This already has more of a survivalist than hulking swordsman feel to it. Mustering out benefits are low and middle passage; weapon x2; a mental boost and a boost to your END. Nothing bothers me about any of those so we can move on to cash which ranges from 0 to 10,000 cr which does bug me a little. A personal dislike of mine is rolling and getting a nothing result during character generation mostly because players are going to fail enough during play to not screw then out of the gate as it were. However this is a minor and personal enough quibble that I doubt I will change it.

On to the skill tables keeping in mind you get 2 per term as there is no chance for formal advancement in the Barbarian career. Personal development offers improvements to the 3 physical stats and INT; athletics and gun combat. Although I usually dislike players having no chance to improve their EDU thereby locking out a entire table unless they already have a high score to begin with I am okay with it here. The kinds of non-formal education things you would learn are covered pretty well by the skills available even without the advanced table I am content. No chance to improve SOC is also non-troubling as I can't see living rough leading to interstellar renown. Specialist skills offered are gun combat; J-O-T; melee combat; recon; animals and tactics. Again I have no trouble with any of these and like the inclusion of J-O-T to represent self reliance. The advance skills are advocate; linguistics; medicine; leadership; tactics and broker. It strikes me that this represents a set of skills necessary to interact with off worlders rather than to live off the land which is why I am okay with a character either having access to them before they start or never getting them as I don't see these as very common on low tech worlds.

I really like this career. The skills available do seem to suggest to me worlds that are not that interested in joining interstellar society but prefer to go it on their own which could easily explain everyone else calling them barbarians. I am a little iffy squaring my new outlook with getting melee combat as a base skill but I do like the rest of it. Melee and gun combat in this case are more likely (to me) to come from hunting than fighting other people. Athletics implies there are few people who don't have a job that involves manual labor. Recon and survival means that most people probably spend a significant amount of time in the wild. Animals shows up twice correctly emphasizing the importance they play in less industrialized societies. Tactics can be learned by anyone as described in Cepheus Engine (CE). Mechanics and J-O-T are nice additions to show a bias toward fixing it yourself rather than just buying it again. The advanced skills are realy well thought out in my opinion seeming to represent a special individual who is used to dealing with off world people and ideas represented by advocate; linguistics and broker. Leadership; medicine and tactics makes me think village elder even though there is no age requirement on the table. There is a thought perhaps it should be EDU 8+ or 4+ terms.

Engine, Cepheus Engine or the Agent Career

Sorry for my horrible work ethic, no excuses I am afraid.

So next up is the Agent career which is meant to encompass spy and secret agents although it could also be a undercover police officer or insurance claims investigator I suppose. Basically anyone who gathers information under false pretenses. It is moderately easy to join up with your social position helping or hurting you. That is an interesting choice to me although the predecessor to the CIA was the OSS which was said to mean Oh So Social! as it was staffed by all the right families. Survival is a slightly riskier proposition than either of the first two I have covered, being quick on your feet mentally helps you as INT is the bonus (or penalty) characteristic. Commission and promotion is helped or hindered by EDU although neither are terribly difficult to obtain. Re-enlistment is pretty high at 6+ leaving me to believe no one stays for long. Possibly because of paranoia on the part of the Tiber-Beltaine Referendum (TBR) in regards to the loyalty of it's agents. At the end of your first term you gain Streetwise - 1 and level 0 in admin; computer; bribery; leadership and vehicle. The lack of a combat skill as part of basic training implies they aren't expecting you to go in or come out with all guns blazing as your first course of action. At rank 4 you also get Admin - 1 to account for all the bureaucracy you will be dealing with. Mustering out offers passage of all three types; a mental boost; weapon (and possible training); A SOC boost and possible membership in the Explorer Society. All of these I am fine with and I like them even more as prizes for a game show rather than awards from a spy agency. The money table goes from 1,000 to 50,000 which strikes me as a little low but not enough to change anything.

The personal development table offers a boost to DEX and END but not STR and both mental stats, it also has carousing and athletics which seem like handy things to pick up. I am not sure about not being able to get a STR boost but that can be left until after I look at hand to hand combat to know if it is as disadvantageous as it seems. It does seem to imply (again) that you are not supposed to be getting in fights which makes sense. How good a spy can you be if you keep getting caught after all? The specialist skills are gun and melee combat; bribery; leadership; recon and survival. This seems to again imply the goal is not to get caught. It is true that combat skills show up but the other four entries are skills to avoid direct confrontation. Finally the advanced table has advocate; computer; liaison; linguistics; medicine and leadership. Interesting to note that the premier agent skill is leadership not streetwise. Realizing this changes my view on the career as a whole, Leadership provides a pool of points that can be doled out to members of a team to accomplish a common goal. So our spy becomes a team leader rather than a lone wolf. Coupling this with the general low emphasis on combat skills leads me to the view that agents are more Mission:Impossible than James Bond. They get a mission but little manpower support from the agency and assemble their own team to accomplish whatever task is set before them. In Fermi's Universe (FU) it goes along with my view of a very weak central government having deniable assets with little to tie them back to the TBR. Also with so many internal (effectively rival) governments I imagine this to be a common career which goes back to the relative low bar to entry. The only other skills to show up more than once are bribery and computer again implying a preference to avoid situations where you could be identified.

And this is why I am doing this series of blog posts. Just looking at the Career name I was thinking James Bond but actually delving into the skills awarded changed that view into a different but still valid one.