Here’s what players need to know who are playing in Stan’s ‘Critical Vector’ Traveller game on May 16, 2020.

Player Information

What You Need to Play

In order to participate in these organized play games, you’ll need the following:

Creating Your Character

Each player will have THREE characters, one Bridge Crew (think Star Trek bridge), one Flight Crew (think Battlestar Galactica Viper pilots), and one Ground Crew (think grunts / Space Marines). We will see who lives through this harrowing adventure!

If you wish, you can create your own characters using the fast-gen rules below. If anyone doesn’t wish to create your character, please let me know and I’ll create them for you (or, very happy to delegate this to another player (*John* cough, cough)) if you guys want).

We are using the Point-Buy and Package-Based character creation rules from the Traveller Companion (which are super-quick compared to normal character generation rules). Start with a character sheet.

Then, to create a character, follow these steps:

(1) Create characteristics

For this we will use point-buy with 105 points. The super-quick way to do this is pick one of the two arrays:

  • 10 (+1), 9 (+1), 9 (+1), 7 (+0), 6 (+0), 5 (-1) [100 points]

  • 12 (+2), 9 (+1), 7 (+0), 7 (+0), 6 (+0), 5 (-1) [102 points]

However, you can use the detailed point-buy rules on pages 22-23 in the Traveller Companion if you wish.

(2) Assign characteristics

Assign characteristics as you wish, with the caveat that you assign at least one of your three highest characteristics to Mental Characteristics (INT, EDU, or SOC).

(3) Choose a background package

Choose a background package on pages 14-22 in the Traveller Companion.

(4) Choose a career package

Choose a career package on pages 14-22 in the Traveller Companion. The only Pilot skills in the career packages are Pilot (starship) which is for larger ships; replace that with Pilot (small craft) if you wish, although you can also pick up this skill in the ‘Flight Crew Skill Package’ as well.

(5) Select skill package

Select a skill package based on your role (you will have one character for each role):

  • Bridge Crew Skill Package:  Astrogation 1, Diplomat 1. Electronics (choice of coms or sensors) 1, Gun Combat (choice of specialization) 1, Gunner (turret) 1, Leadership 1, Pilot (choose small craft or spacecraft) 1, Tactics 1, and Vacc Suit 1
  • Flight Crew Skill Package: Flyer (wing) 1, Gun Combat (choice of specialization) 1, Heavy Weapons (vehicle) 1, Leadership 1, PIlot (choose small craft or spacecraft) 1, Recon 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1, Vacc Suit 1
  • Ground Crew Skill Package: Athletics (choice of specialization) 1, Drive (your choice of specialization) 1, Explosives 1, Gun Combat (choice of specialization) 1, Leadership 1, Mechanic 1, Melee (your choice of specialization) 1, PIlot (choose small craft or spacecraft) 1, and Vacc Suit 1

Note that when rank in a skill is listed, then you gain the skill at that level only if it is higher than your current level in that skill (see Traveller Core Rules p. 16).

Recommended Skills based on the characters role:

  • Bridge Crew
    • Helm (Pilot / Navigator) — Recommended Skills: Astrogation, Pilot (spacecraft)
    • Tactical (shooting, operations) — Recommended Skill: Gunner (Turret)
    • Science (scans, analysis, drone operations) — Recommended Skill: Electronics (Sensor)
    • Comms (scans, communications) — Recommended Skill: Electronics (Comms)
  • Flight Crew
    • 4 Small Craft Pilots — Recommended Skills: Pilot (Small Craft) [Used for piloting the Sunfuries], Heavy Weapons (vehicle) 1  [for shooting small ship fix mount weapons]; Social (Leadership or Persuasion) [One person can be a Wing Commander and have mechanical benefit to squadron dogfights.]
  • Ground Crew
    • 4 security personnel (guns, vacc suit) — Recommended Skills: Explosives

(6) Finalize the Traveller

Finalize the Traveller as mentioned on page 21 of the Traveller Companion but ONLY do the ‘Career’ table options. The Skill Packages above (Flight, Ground, and Bridge Crew) replace the ‘Traveller Skills’ and ‘Benefits’ section. You’ve got cash but it’s off-camera and you can’t buy stuff to use outside the gear provided by the Scouts. Don’t worry about gear. You’re in the Scouts, and they have standard issue gear provided to you based on your duty station (Security (SEC), Combat (COM), or Flight/EVA (EVA)).

Alternate Character Method

You can alternatively use Mark Munson’s Mongoose 2e character generator to create your character, but add-on the skill packages above (Flight, Ground, and Bridge Crew) so that you have the necessary skills for your ship role.

Your Ship: The IISS Mourning Wolf

Here is a PDF that shows the deck plans for the Mourning Wolf (full Mourning Wolf product is from 0-Hr). The one thing not listed in the deck plans is that there is a small, unarmed Shuttle located in the launch chamber capable of transporting Ground Crew.

Characters –The IISS (Imperial Interstellar Star Ship) Mourning Wolf has a crew of 30:

  • 5 Bridge Crew
    • Captain Anthea Vance (Blonde, female, late 40s but due to anagathic drugs appears to be in late 20s)
    • Helm (Pilot / Navigator)
    • Tactical (shooting, operations)
    • Science (sensor scans, analysis)
    • Comms
  • 10 Flight Crew
    • 5 Small Craft Pilots
      • (These are the Player Characters typically)
    • 2 Small Craft Engineers
    • 3 Scientists/Mission Specialists
  • 8 Ground Crew
    • 6 security personnel
    • 1 logistician
    • 1 smallcraft pilot
  • 7 Operations Crew
    • 3 Engineers
      • Sr. Engineer Liko Silver
      • 2 other Engineers
    • 1 Medic
    • 3 Gunners

Story Setup — Regardless of past career background, characters have now become members of the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service (IISS) and are aboard the IISS Mourning Wolf, a Light Cruiser outfitted with ‘Sunfury Mark II’ fighters. Your ship is tasked with the exploration of the Imperial frontiers and peacekeeping efforts associated with the colonial outposts on the Spinward Frontier.

Squadron — You are stationed on the IISS Mourning Wolf but also pilot a ‘Sunfury Mark II’ fighter. These fighters are collectively called ‘Wolf Squadron’, and each ship is named ‘Wolf One’, ‘Wolf Two’ and so forth.

Money — Expenses are not tracked and are assumed to take place ‘off-camera’. Although any character debt or other story hooks that came from character generation are in full effect, players don’t bother to track ship shares or do other such accounting. Equipment needed for a given mission are doled out from the ship’s locker.

Ship, Expenses, and Salvage — The IISS provides the ship and takes care of all reasonable expenses during missions. Any treasure, derelict ships, or the like are given over to the IISS for processing and salvage.

Standard Equipment for Assigned Duties — The Captain or commanding officer will typically give characters one of three standard duties, each of which has a standard set of equipment:

  • All Duties:
    Commdot (Throat Mic), Hand comp. / communicator, Multifunction pocket tool, Flashlight, Med. kit
  • VAC (Vacc Suit Duties, including EVAs and small craft sorties such as pilots on Sunfuries will often do). Standard Equipment issued from Ship’s Locker:
    Vacc Suit TL10, Accelerator Rifle, Snub Pistol
  • COM (Combat Duties where you expect military combat). Standard Equipment issued from Ship’s Locker:
    Cloth Armor TL10, Advanced Combat Rifle
  • SEC (Security Duties where you provide police protection or escort, typically in civilian security contexts). Standard Equipment issued from Ship’s Locker:
    Cloth Armor TL10, Submachine Gun

Your Location and the Date

Current Date — It is the 55th century: AD 5420 according to Earth’s common reckoning, or IC 1107 according to the Imperial Calendar.

Subsector Location — The events of Mourning Wolf adventures usually take place in the Concordia subsector or one of the subsectors adjacent to it.

Concordia-Subsector