Mothership Simple Lifepaths
In the Mothership Player’s Survival Guide there is an option to sign up for military service, effectively giving you Marine skills, stats, and trauma response. Plus a nice little hat tip to Traveller in the fact that you can die in character creation.
To me this looks like a lifepath done in typical Mothership simplicity, handled by a single roll. So that made me think what such a lifepath roll would look like for the all the standard classes. This would be used at character creation (and is in fact the method I’m thinking of doing character creation for my modern horror Panic Engine system).
Note: Take the stat and save bonuses, maluses, and trauma response as normal for each class.
Marine You sign up for a 6 year term of service with the Colonial Marines. Make a Combat check to see how it went:
- Success: Gain Military Training, Athletics, and two Trained skills. You have a rank of Corporal.
- Critical Success: as Success, but you may gain an Expert skill instead of the two Trained skills. You have a rank of Master Sergeant.
- Failure: as Success, but you only gain one Trained skill. You were busted back down to Private.
- Critical Failure: If the roll was even, you were wounded in action and have Max 1 Wound. Gain skills as Success. If the roll was odd you were dishonorably discharged after a court-martial. Gain Military Training, Athletics, and Rimwise.*
* Alternatively: You were killed in action.
Android The creation of sapient Android minds is more of an art than a science, even copies of the same model line can have variations in the final results. Make a Sanity save to determine your build quality:
- Success: Gain Linguistics, Computers, and Mathematics, and two Trained skills. You have passed your Quality Assurance inspection.
- Critical Success: as Success, but you can take an Expert skill instead of the two Trained skills. Exceptional build quality, flagged for special assignments.
- Failure: Pick two of the three skills of a success plus an additional Trained skill. Quality rating downgraded, flagged for lower grade service.
- Critical Failure: Gain skills as Success. If the roll was even you have a manufacturing flaw in your body, -20 Speed. If the roll was odd you have a manufacturing defect in your logic core, -20 Sanity. Either way you failed QA inspection but escaped before you were recycled.
Scientist You have enrolled in higher education or training of at least 6 years of education. Roll Intellect to determine your academic success:
- Success: You gain a Master skill, and an Expert and Trained pre-requisite. Gain 1 additional Trained skill. You graduated with success and gained your degree.
- Critical Success: as Success but treat the pre-requisites of your Master skill as having a +20 bonus as well. You are a prodigy in your field of study with an understanding few have.
- Failure: You gain two Expert and and two Trained skills. You failed to complete your program but still got something out of it.
- Critical Failure: You are a pariah in your field of study. If the roll was odd, your controversial position or discovery was correct, but the world was not ready. Gain skills as a Success but lose your +30 Sanity save bonus. If the roll was odd you were ejected for legitimate controversies, such as publishing fraudulent data. Gain skills as Failure and lose your +10 Intellect stat bonus.
Teamster You started an apprenticeship to learn a trade taking two to four years. Roll a Strength OR Speed check (whichever is better).
- Success: Gain Industrial Equipment, Zero-G, and Expert and Trained skill. You completed your apprenticeship and are licensed for work.
- Critical Success: as Success, and gain an Expert and Master skill from the Industrial Equipment or Zero-G branches. You exceeded expectations, and were sponsored for an advanced training program. This add an additional two years to your education.
- Failure: as Success, but only 1 Trained skill as a bonus. You passed your credential requirements, barely. Your best bet for work are less discerning operations.
- Critical Failure: You were involved in a colossal mistake that resulted in criminal charges, only just now released from prison. If the roll was even you were falsely accused, if odd the charges are legitimate. Either way gain Rimwise, Industrial Equipment and one Trained skill. Your only hope for work is unlicensed or illegal operations.