Character Creation Questionnare

Traveller Character Creation Background Questionnaire:

World Origin

-What kind of world were you from?  Do you know the sector and system?  What was the government and culture like?  What is the tech level of your home world?
-Age: Most characters come to age at 18, plus or minus a few years.
• If your character is human, is your heritage primarily from Solomani (Terran), Vilani (humans of the first Imperium), or mixed ancestry?
• Characters are assumed to be educated to the Imperial maximum tech level.  If the character wishes to keep this tech level, this should be reflected in the character’s home-world, university education, megacorporation employment, or by having served in the Imperial Military.
• There are many worlds throughout the Imperium that have populations of genetically engineered minor race humans, adapted to the conditions of that world.  They are rumored to have been seeded there by an ancient race many thousands of years ago.  If you wish to have a genetic modification to your character, consult the GM and GURPS Biotech.  Note that such characters cannot be from the major human populations of Solomani or Vilani.
• There are many races that live within the Imperium.  Many of them are available as PC races.  Consult the list of allowed character races.

Family Background (see GURPS Traveller: Nobles)

-What was your family like?  Social standing?  Wealth?  Profession?
• Any Imperial Noble Status must be reflected in your family.
• Characters with wealthy or powerful families may wish to take patrons, contacts, reputation, or enemies.
• Nobles and wealthy scion templates can be found in GURPS Traveller.

Psionics (see Psionic Powers 4th edition)

-Does your character have psionic powers?
-What kind of powers did you express?
• Telepathy (Most common.  Mental communication.  Mind Reading.  Emotion Sensing)
• Psychokinesis (Moving objects from a distance)
• Precognition (Impressions from the future, distance seeing, looking into the past)
• Teleportation (Very rare and poorly understood.  Often dangerous to the user.)
-Do you know you have these powers or are they latent potential?
• Latent Telepath: Empathy advantage
• Latent Precog: Danger Sense advantage

-Were these powers discovered, or are they secret?
• If your powers were discovered by authorities, then your character was trained in a secret Imperial Psionics Center to use them for the good of the Empire. Psionics are considered dangerous to the liberties of imperial citizens and the good order of the empire.  The Psionic Zhodani race has tried repeatedly to use imperial psions to infiltrate the empire and there is deep concern about the reading of minds or influencing those in positions of authority.  Your character would have been given psychic surgery to have Fanaticism (Empire) -10, and Programmed not to give away secrets of the Psychic Program -5.  These disadvantages do not count against your disadvantage limit.  Your character takes the advantage Imperial Psychic Institute Training (15) which allows you to spend points on skills and abilities from 4th edition psionics with few limitations.  
• If your character has kept his powers hidden, then you have the disadvantage Secret (Psionic) -15.  These points do not count against your disadvantage limit, and the points must be spent on psionic powers.  You may only buy latent psionic powers, or the powers without the skills to activate them.  
• If your character was able to seek out a hidden psionics institute, you could receive training.  Psionics Institutes are hidden groups of psionics who learn and train together away from the the view of the empire.  It is a 15-point advantage to have learned at an institute, and this opens the powers and skills available in the Gurps Psionics 4th edition book.
-Age: Training at a Psionic Institute or Imperial Psionic Center takes at least 2 years.

Education

-Did your character go to university?  If so, did he succeed or drop out?  What did he study?
• If your character graduated from a university, consider taking the Educated (10 points) advantage.
• Primary skills learned from college (at least two) must be learned at minimum skill level 12.  Any level if the character dropped out.
• If your character graduated from a university then joined a military service, he may be an officer.  Take the officer version of the military packages.
• If your character is from a world with a lower tech level than the world of your university, you would be educated to the tech level at the University.  Universities on high tech worlds are thus expensive and sought after.
-Did your character obtain any advanced post-graduate degrees? (Doctor, Lawyer, xenolinguist, xenoarchaeologist, Jump drive physicist etc)
• If your character has a post-graduate degree, he should take at least one level of social status.  
• Primary skills learned from Post-Graduate Degrees (at least three) must be at least skill level 15.
• Megacorperations often seek out graduates with advanced degrees for employment.
-Age: Earning an Imperial Degree takes 4 years.  Earning a post-graduate degree takes 8.


Military Service (see GURPS Traveller: Ground Forces, First In, and Starships)

-Did your character serve in any of the service branches?

-If so, what did you do?  Where did you serve?  What did you learn?  Officer or enlisted?  Were you discharged honorably?

• Imperial Navy  (See Gurps Traveller and Gurps Traveller Starships for character templates)
1. Type of ship? (How big was it? From Dreadnaught to cutter)
2. Which of the general primary departments did you specialize in?
I. Operations (pilots, navigators, sensors, communications, computers)
II. Combat (gunnery, bay weapons, spinal weapons, missiles, mesons, shipboard security)
III. Engineering (Jump drive, maneuver drive, reactor mechanic, starship mechanic)
IV. Aviation (Fighter pilots, shuttle pilots, cutter pilots)
3. Did you qualify on more than one ship type?

• Imperial Marines (See GURPS Traveller Ground Forces for character templates)
1. Battlesuit Infantry
2. Armored Cavalry (Grav Tanks, APC)
3. Support (Mechanics, technicians, medics {navy}, cooks)
4. Commandos
5. Marine Aviation (fighter pilots and small craft pilots)

• Imperial Army (See GURPS Traveller Ground Forces for character templates)
1. Infantry
2. Military Police
3. Armor (Grav Tanks, APCs)
4. Lift Artillery (Missile and Meson Batteries)
5. Rapid Interface Brigades (Battledress Jump Troops)
6. Support (Mechanics, technicians, medics, cooks)
7. Sylean Rangers (Special Forces Units)

• Imperial Scout Service (See GURPS First In for character templates)
1. Interdiction (Restricted world protection)
2. Planetary Survey (Study and cataloging of all Imperial Space)
3. Security Branch (IISS Law Enforcement)
4. Xboat or Courier Service (Imperial Mail System)
5. S3 (Special Security Service/Hostage Rescue)
6. Intelligence Branch (Imperial Spy Service)
7. Exploration Service (First Contact / New Worlds)

• System Defense Navies (Run by individual system governments at local tech level)
1. System defense boats
2. Small Craft / fighters
3. Base / support personnel

• System Defense Army (Run by individual system governments at local tech level)
1. Infantry
2. Armor
3. Artillery

-Age: A tour of service in the Imperial Military is 6 years.  A service member usually serves no more than 5 tours, for a 30-year military career.
Other Imperial Service Branches (see Starports)

-Did your character ever serve other imperial services?
• Imperial Consulate (See GURPS Traveller and GURPS Traveller Starports for character templates)
• Imperial Starport Authority (See GURPS Traveller Starports for character templates)
• Imperial Bureaucrats (Any of a host of government jobs needing diligent attention.)
• Imperial Justice System (Attorneys, clerks, judges etc)

Megacorporations

-Was your character ever employed by a megacorporation?  Which one, and what did you do and learn? Why did you leave?  (See GURPS Fartrader and GURPS Behind the Claw for a list of powerful megacorporations)
• Megacorperations have their own system of corporate rank like military rank.
• Megacorperations have levels of security clearance for company tech and secrets.
• Megacorperations have work for almost any skill set, provided the employee is skilled enough involving everything from research and development, to all kinds of starships, or even corporate assassination.
• Characters who did well in a megacorporation often have wealth or status advantages.

Merchants (See GURPS Traveller: Far Trader)

-Did your character ever join or work for a mercantile crew or company?

-What type of ship?
• Merchant or Passenger Liners (10,000 Dton or often larger in the core-ward sectors)
• Unlimited Class Merchant Ships (1000 Dton or larger ships)
• Subsidized Merchant ships (Merchants subsidized by companies or interests)
• Free or Far Traders (Small independent merchant ships)

-What department did you work in? (See GURPS Far Trader for character templates)
• Deck Department (Pilot, sensors, communications, astrogation)
• Engine Department (Engineers and Maintenance)
• Pursers Department (Merchants, Freight Handling, Passengers, Account Management, Food)

-Did your character earn an honest credit?
• Hey, I do it by the book.  Got a reputation to keep.
• Work’s hard to find these days.  Sometimes a traders got to look the other way.
• I try to carry legit goods where they can be seen as a cover.
• I specialize in transporting goods past authorities.

Mercenaries (See GURPS Traveller: Star Mercs)

-Did your character ever serve in a mercenary company?  What kind?  What was it named?
(See GURPS Star Mercs for character templates)

(Mercenary Companies often recruit from former planetary or Imperial military servicemen.)

-What was the company’s primary “Tickets”?  (Mission type)

Ground Tickets:
• Cadre Tickets (Train, support, and lead local forces)
• Commando Tickets (Trained to carry out raids or serve as a raiding force.)
• Striker Ticket (Complete unit used to spearhead attacks for local forces.)
• Security Ticket (Hired to safeguard areas or installations)
Deep-Space Ship Tickets:
• Cadre Ticket (Provides captains and department heads for local vessels.)
• Raid Ticket (Launches hit and run attacks on bases, ships, or worlds)
• Striker Tickets (task force hired for off-world operations and attacks)
• Escort Ticket (Protect a vessel or convoy, or act as system defense boats)
Aerospace Tickets: Similar to space tickets, but vessels are limited to air superiority craft.

-Age and Injuries: Merc unit member might serve for any length of time, as they do not have specific tours of duty like the military.  A merc without a military background will usually sign a minimum 4 year contract, as it takes at least 2 years to fully train, and then get 2 years of fighting out of him.  Serious injuries suffered are less likely to be fully healed, as mercs don’t have the same access to high tech medical facilities as the military.

Bounty Hunters (see Heroes 1: Bounty Hunters)

-Did your character ever work as a professional Bounty Hunter?
-Was he a company man or freelancer?
-Did he work legal or illegal contracts?
-What kind of contract did he specialize in?
• Skip Tracer – Hunting criminals who skip on bail bonds
• Repo Man – Recovering ships when they don’t make the mortgage.
• Illegal Contracts – Anything from loan shark thug to assasinations.
• Criminal Bounties – WANTED – Dead or Alive $$$$ credits.


Body Modifications

-Has you character ever gotten cybernetic modifications? Where they elective or part of a medical treatment?  Are they designed to appear natural or are they obviously synthetic?  Do they expand your abilities?
-Wafer Jack Implant: This is the most common implant available in the Imperium.  It permits the user to plug in new skill sets or even personalities temporarily.  There are risks if relied on too often, but the benefits in a pinch are usually seen as worth it.
(See GURPS Cyberpunk 3rd edition for inspiration on possible cyber-modifications.)
• The use of obvious cybernetic modifications is frowned upon in imperial society.  This will give you a negative reaction modifier to most imperials of status level 0 or higher.  The modifier can be from -1 to -2 depending on the extent.
• Using cybernetics to add abilities or weapons is also frowned upon.
• Damage to cybernetics can only be repaired at a facility equal to the tech level or the modification.

Other Jobs

-What other jobs or work history has your character done not listed above?
• Planetary Government Employee
• Local Lawman
• Private Detective
• Hunter / Guide
• Scientist
• Primitive Barbarian
• Criminal (organized crime or independent)
• Corsair / Pirate
• Cargo Broker
• Travellers Aid Society Employee
• Reporter / Journalist
• Asteroid Miner (Belter)
• Computer Programmer / Hacker

There are infinite possibilities, but this questionnaire lists the most logical ways a character might gain the skills to be a useful team-member.  

Note that many of the templates from the third edition books would need to be converted to 4th edition.  I will work with you to make any conversions.