Following on from yesterday’s post about starting a GURPS Traveller mercantile game solo, I’ve been focusing on building the “Serene Dawn” crew. Based on the Ally Group advantage that Captain Reynold Alexander holds, giving him 2-5 crew @75pts each, I’ve created three such folk for play.

Eleni Black, Ship’s Engineer

Eleni is one big stereotype that makes me smile: long brown hair, green eyes, 5′ 10″ and 145lbs, she always carries a big wrench and she loves strawberries. Based on the Engineer template from GURPS Traveller, she is the technical whizz of the crew and believes that “engines have feelings too”.

Eleni loves that Serene Dawn is second-hand, one of those truly ancient old tramp traders that has been around hundreds of years. I imagine her crooning over the 500-year-old Jump Drive which, although twitchy and hard to maintain, gives her direct contact with bygone days of engineering greatness.

Jocasta Akil, Ship’s Pilot

Jocasta is an ex-Scout Service glory-hound who’s probably too full of herself to be taken seriously by most spacers. Although Reynold can fly the ship, Jocasta is the regular pilot due to her broader experience of piloting, knowledge of engineering, and space tactics. She can double as an engineer but primarily adds Electronics Operation skills to the bridge.

Carrying a Laser Pistol-10 seemed inevitable for Jocasta. She also sports a Light Infantry Helmet which tends to mark her out in a crowd, but like I said she loves the attention. She’s signed up for the opportunity to hang out with Reynold – who’s a rich boy with his own ship – and explore the Mains.

Ari Fel, Ship’s Steward and Medic

Officially, Ari’s a trained Medical Technician and skilled in handling the Autodoc plus the Low Berths. He doubles-up as the Ship’s Steward for those times when the Serene Dawn entertains passengers, which Reynold hopes will be frequent. Ari is broadly a nice guy who likes to help.

Unofficially, Ari spent some time on the street as a younger man and worked in a downtown clinic. He’s handy with guns and knows a few street skills, such as lockpicking and getting through security systems. He packs a Laser Carbine-10 for on-world excursions and fire support. Ari’s along for the adventure and chance to make some serious money.

Reflections

It’s been a load of fun to explore the Traveller templates and pull together a basic crew for the starship. These NPCs feel interesting and add some depth to the adventure possibilities in the game, especially as their involvement is conditional on that 9- roll each adventure. Sometimes these guys will choose to stay onboard.

Building characters is a good way to interact with the game rules too. I’ve been reminded of some key differences between GURPS Third Edition (for this game) and the later Fourth Edition. One observation is that Active Defence scores are lower and the Passive Defence rules feel very cool.

Overall, I am feeling positive and keen to drop the starship into the Traveller universe. This will most likely be somewhere in the Spinward Marches – it’s a timeless classic, afterall! I might even just plump for Regina, just like it was back in 1977.

Game on!