BackworldTraveller Character Generation

[atpollard]

Just a place to get things started for a new Player/Character entering a bit differently. We have some OOC stuff to work through before you can appear on the scene.

First, here are some NAMES (as much as a place for me to keep as a Reference as you to use as inspiration).

BOY NAMES
1. Agafon “Good”
2. Albert “noble and bright”
3. Aleksandr “defender of the people.”
4. Alex/Alexsey “defender of the people.”
5. Anastasiy “resurrection”
6. Anatoliy “sunrise”
7. Andrey “masculine”
8. Benedikt “Blessed”
9. Bogdan “God given,”
10. Daniil “God is my judge”
11. Dariy “possessing goodness”
12. Dimitri/Dmitri “agriculture”
13. Dorofey “Gift of God”
14. Dosifey “Giving”
15. Eduard “rich guard”
16. Emil “Rival”
17. Faddey “heart.”
18. Feliks “lucky, successful”
19. Georgiy “earthworker,”
20. Grigoriy “watchful, alert.”
21. Ieronim “Sacred name”
22. Ignatiy “fiery”
23. Ilariy “cheerful.”
24. Ioann “God is gracious
25. Iosif “He will add”
26. Iriney “Peaceful”
27. Kazimir “Destroyer ”
28. Khariton “Grace, kindess”
29. Kliment “Merciful, gentle”
30. Kuzma “Order, decency”
31. Lev “lion,”
32. Lukyan “Light”
33. Makari “blessed” and “happy
34. Matvey “gift of God.”
35. Maxim/Maksim “greatest.”
36. Mikhail “who is like God?”
37. Miroslav “Peace, world, glory”
38. Moisey “Son, deliver”
39. Nikandr “victory of man.”
40. Nikita “Winner”
41. Nikolay “victory of the people,”
42. Pyotr “stone,”
43. Radimir “happy, famous, world peace,”
44. Rafail “God heals.”
45. Renat “Born again”
46. Rurik “glory/fame,” combined with “king.”
47. Rustik “Rustic”
48. Samuil “Name of god”
49. Sergey “Servant”
50. Vissarion

GIRL NAMES
1. Agafya “good.”
2. Aglaya “Splendor, beauty”
3. Agnia/Agnessa “chaste”
4. Aksinia “Hospitality”
5. Albina "white, bright.”
6. Alesya/Alexandra “defender”
7. Alisa “great happiness,”
8. Alyona “Torch, moon”
9. Amaliya “brave,”
10. Anastasia/Anastasiya “resurrection.”
11. Angelina/Anzhelina “angel,”
12. Ania/Anna/Annushka “grace,”
13. Ariadna “Most holy”
14. Avrora “dawn”
15. Daria/Darya “possessing goodness”
16. Diana “divine, goddess-like,”
17. Dominika “born on Sunday”
18. Elena “moon”
19. Eleonora “Ancient north”
20. Elmira “noble”
21. Elvira “happy, friendly,”
22. Emiliya “rival.”
23. Evelina/Eva “life.”
24. Faina “Shining”
25. Fedora “Gift of God”
26. Gennadiya “Noble, generous”
27. Inessa “pure.”
28. Irina “peace,”
29. Karina/Katerina “pure
30. Klara “bright,”
31. Lara “citadel”
32. Liliya “Lily, purity”
33. Lyubov “love.”
34. Maria/Mariya/Masha “drop of the sea”
35. Mila “dear, gracious,”
36. Motya/Matrona “gift of God, lady”
37. Nadya “Hope”
38. Natalya “Christmas day”
39. Ofeliya “help, aid”
40. Oksana “Hospitality”
41. Polina “humble.”
42. Roksana “bright, shining,”
43. Sofiya “wisdom
44. Svetlana “star.”
45. Ulyana “youthful”
46. Varvara “foreign, strange”
47. Varya “Foreign”
48. Viktoriya “victory.”
49. Yelizaveta “God is my oath.”
50. Zinaida “sky, shine.”

[atpollard]

The Planet "KULAK" [in the IMPERIUM]

1 Asteroid belt and 3 Gas Giants
TL 11, Non-Industrial, Class B Starport
Size 7 World with a Dense Atmosphere [8] and 90% hydrographics [9]

HISTORY:
400 years before the PC was born: The IMPERIUM set up a Military Outpost in the Beau System comprised of a few hundred soldiers and their families conscripted from the planet Kulak.

100 years before the PC was born: Kulak began a 30 year Civil War - technically, the first of THREE civil wars that would stretch over the next 30 years. Almost 2000 people fled the first Civil War into the worlds surrounding the Blue Cluster.
80 years before the PC was born: By the end of the Second Kulak Civil War, the Military Outpost in the Beau System had been destroyed, but the refugees from Kulak had settled at the ruins and grown into a civilian community of 720 people.
70 years before the PC was born: By the end of the Third Kulak Civil War, the refugee population at the Beau System Outpost had grown to 5000 people. Those that fled the Civil War were primarily Skilled Workers and Business Owners that had managed to create a "Free Labor Market" within the predominantly "Slave Economy" of Kulak's rigid Oligarchy and Caste System. They established factories and businesses at their new Beau System Colony because that is what they knew ... and they found worlds willing to trade with them.
20 years before the PC was born: A DEMOCRACY Movement was born on Kulak that challenged the ruling oligarchy and demanded reforms.
10 years before the PC was born: There was a Military Coup that removed the Oligarchy and established a new government.
1 year before the PC was born: The IMPERIUM invaded Kulak with overwhelming force, crushed the democracy movement, began a purge of anyone it suspected of disloyalty to the IMPERIUM, and began to relocate 14,000 children off-world for reeducation on "loyal" IMPERIAL Worlds.
2 years after the PC was born: Your parents arranged for the PC to be smuggled off to the Beau System in the hope that they would be able to rejoin you soon. You were one of several thousand children to arrive at "MESTO" ("The Place") - the Krusk refugee colony founded in the Beau System.
4 years after the PC was born: Your Father and Mother joined you at MESTO. Your Grandfather was executed in the IMPERIAL Purge of Krusk and your entire family has been marked for termination by the IMPERIUM as "Enemies of the State".


The Refugee Settlement "MESTO" [in the Beau System]
The people from Krusk living in Mesto ("the place") call themselves LYUDI ("the people" in your native language). The LYUDI absolutely HATE the Imperium and few families do not have stories of loved ones killed in the wars, by the Oligarchs or by the IMPERIUM. After more than a century of war and Civil War, Krusk is a harsh hellworld to survive on. So for the LYUDI, MESTO is home (there is no going back).

Like all of the Lyudi, you have learned two indelible lessons:
ONE: Life is hard. You will struggle to survive, that is just the way of life. However, what does not kill you, makes you stronger.
TWO: The UNIVERSE is not your friend. It is a cold, harsh and dangerous place.

[atpollard]

Some General thoughts for a Lyudi in the Buau System.

• You are NOT a citizen of Beau or a citizen of the Blue Confederation. You are living in a colony with no legal standing and no legal protection at the mercy of a foreign government allowing you to "squat" on a moon.
• The "status quo" has existed for 100 years before you were born, so the Beau Government will likely maintain benign indifference to the Lyudi as long as you give them no reason to feel otherwise.
• You can never visit the IMPERIUM (except as a spy or a pirate would) ... you are under a death sentence on all Imperial Worlds.
• You will visit BEAU (the planet) as an Alien (non-citizen) on a VISA and be subject to greater Law Level questioning.
• For an idea ... Imagine the CUBAN COMMUNITY in the 1970's living in Miami having just fled Fidel Castro, or someone that fled Stalin's Purge of Russia, or a student that fled China after Tienanmen Square and discovered that there was a warrant for his arrest.

I have LOTS more details on the historic events and SOME more details on the COMMUNITY (Mesto). Just let me know if you need them.

[BackworldTraveller]

Name:	Nyota Elskaður Seren	or Svetlana or Varya

Attribute	Rolled	Adjusted per below
STR	7	4
DEX	9	9
END	8	5
INT	A	C
EDU	C	E
SOC	9	9
PSI	6	0

---

Term Progression

Term 1	2124-2127
Enlistment:	Merchants (Success)
Survival:	Passed (Safe)
Service Skill:	Jack-o-T
Additional Skill:	Steward
Commission:	Jnr. Purser
Promotion:	Asst. Purser
Re-Enlistment:	Passed
Ageing:	PSI -1
Term 2	2128-2131
Survival:	Passed (Safe)
Service Skill:	Admin
Additional Skill:	Medical
Promotion:	Purser
Re-Enlistment:	Passed
Ageing:	PSI -1
Term 3	2132-2135
Survival:	Passed (Dangerous)
Service Skill:	Mechanic
Additional Skill:	Admin
Promotion:	None
Re-Enlistment:	Passed
Ageing:	PSI -1
Term 4	2136-2139
Survival:	Passed (Safe)
Service Skill:	Streetwise
Additional Skill:	Medical
Promotion:	Sideways to Medic
Re-Enlistment:	Passed
Ageing:	STR -1, PSI -1
Term 5	2140-2143
Survival:	Passed (Close)
Service Skill:	Vacc Suit
Additional Skill:	Mechanic
Promotion:	None
Re-Enlistment:	Mandatory
Ageing:	STR -1, PSI -1
Term 6	2144-2147
Survival:	Passed (Close)
Service Skill:	Medical
Additional Skill:	Brawling
Promotion:	None
Re-Enlistment:	Passed
Ageing:	END -1, PSI -1
Term 7	2148-2151
Survival:	Passed (Safe)
Service Skill:	Steward
Additional Skill:	Pilot
Promotion:	Chief Purser
Re-Enlistment:	Mandatory
Ageing:	END -1, PSI -1
Term 8	2152-2155
Survival:	Passed (Danger)
Service Skill:	Gun Cbt
Additional Skill:	Bribery
Promotion:	None
Re-Enlistment:	Aged Out
Ageing:	STR -1, END -1, PSI -1

---

Post Term Benefits

Pension (P.23):	10,000 pa
Homeworld Skill:	Vehicle (Land)
Connection Skill:	Mechanic

---

Mustering Out (+1 for rank)

Roll	Benefit
Term 1	Low Psg
Term 2	INT +1
Term 3	Blade
Term 4	INT +1
Term 5	EDU +1
Term 6	Gun
Term 7	Gun (To Gun Cbt Skill)
Term 8	EDU +1
Rank 1	20,000
Rank 3	40,000
Rank 5	10,000

---

Skill Summary

Admin	+2		Computer	0
Brawling	+1		Electronic	0
Bribery	+1		Engineering	0
Gun Cbt	+2		Gunnery	0
Jack-o-T	+1		Navigation	0
Mechanic	+3		Vehicle(Air)	0
Medical	+3
Pilot	+1
Steward	+2
Streetwise	+1
Vacc Suit	+1
Vehicle(Land)	+1

[BackworldTraveller]

Personal Timeline

Term	Year	Event
Current	2156	Age:50. 8-Terms
Term 8	2155
Term 8	2154
Term 8	2153	Widowed in drive-by shooting (Uninjured but not unscathed). Learn to Shoot.
Term 8	2152	Promoted
Term 7	2151	Twins Graduate. Mandatory Re-Enlistment (Promise of Promotion)
Term 7	2150
Term 7	2149	Pilot's Licence
Term 7	2148	Second Child Graduates. Back to Space. Compagnie d'Azure finally manage to secure me papers for Beau Residency.
Term 6	2147	First Child Graduates
Term 6	2146	Takes up Martial Arts
Term 6	2145	Admitted as a Surgeon (F.B.S.S)
Term 6	2144	Training at a Teaching Hospital on Cobalt. Awarded Doctorate (M.D.) on achieving Medical-3 Qualification.
Term 5	2143	Mandatory Re-Enlistment (Promise of Med School)
Term 5	2142	Met Guillaume (Guy) Dubois in Beau Highport (Guy was 32)
Term 5	2141
Term 5	2140	Old Children Move School. Twins in School; All in Montsoleil Starport International School, To d'Azure's Orbital Medical Center, Beau Highport as First Response Emergency Medic on their emergency services contract with the port.
Term 4	2139	Moves from Purser's Branch to Medical Branch on gaining Medical-2 Qualification (2nd Officer/Purser becomes 2nd Officer/Medic)
Term 4	2138
Term 4	2137	Second Child In School
Term 4	2136	First Child in School
Term 3	2135	Met Joe Black in Freeport (Joe was 21)
Term 3	2134	Twins Born, Complications
Term 3	2133
Term 3	2132
Term 2	2131	Second Child Born
Term 2	2130	First Child Born
Term 2	2129	Married
Term 2	2128	Promoted (2nd Officer/Purser). To Compagnie d'Azure's "Corporate Health" office on Freeport.
Term 1	2127
Term 1	2126	Promoted (3rd Officer/Asst. Purser)
Term 1	2125	Commissioned (4th Officer/Jnr Purser)
Term 1	2124	Compagnie d'Azure Shipping Line. Purser's Department. Liner: Améthyste
High School	2123
High School	2122
High School	2121
High School	2120
Middle School	2119
Middle School	2118
Middle School	2117
Middle School	2116
Junior	2115
Junior	2114
Junior	2113
Junior	2112
Kindergarden	2111
Kindergarden	2110	Purge of Krusk. Parents arrive in Beau System. Grandfather Killed
Kindergarden	2109
Kindergarden	2108	Shipped to Beau System (B543487-B) as refugee
Toddler	2107
Babe	2106	Born in Kulak System (B789?6?-B)

---

General Timeline

Year	Event
2105	Imperial Invasion of Kulak. Children Kidnapped and shipped off-world in Purge of Dissidents.
2096	Coup on Kulak
2086	Kulak Democratic Movement Formed
2030s	Kulak Civil Wars End
2000s	Kulak Civil Wars Start

[atpollard]

Would you happen to have saved the EXACT "survival" rolls and adjustments for each term?
... it is just something I use in the background (not essential).

[BackworldTraveller]

Would you happen to have saved the EXACT "survival" rolls and adjustments for each term?
... it is just something I use in the background (not essential).

Will update...They are all well clear of the required 3+

[BackworldTraveller]

Would you happen to have saved the EXACT "survival" rolls and adjustments for each term?
... it is just something I use in the background (not essential).

Will update...They are all well clear of the required 3+

9(11),7(9),4(6),8(10),5(7),5(7),6(8),3(5)

[atpollard]

9(11),7(9),4(6),8(10),5(7),5(7),6(8),3(5)

Just as a POINT OF INTEREST, here is what I look for ...
The BASE survival roll for a Merchant is 5+ [with a +2 bonus for INT]. Therefore, any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was 6+ indicates absolutely no danger (beyond normal space travel) for that Term. Any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was 4 or less indicates that you were in mortal danger and SOMETHING HAPPENED and you survived. Any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was exactly 5 indicates a "close call", but no real danger of death [perhaps a risk of injury]. That is the sort of BACKGROUND information that is good to know.

Term 1 = 9(11) = safe
Term 2 = 7(9) = safe
Term 3 = 4(6) = danger
Term 4 = 8(10) = safe
Term 5 = 5(7) = close call
Term 6 = 5(7) = close call
Term 7 = 6(8) = safe
Term 8 = 3(5) = danger

[BackworldTraveller]

9(11),7(9),4(6),8(10),5(7),5(7),6(8),3(5)

Just as a POINT OF INTEREST, here is what I look for ...
The BASE survival roll for a Merchant is 5+ [with a +2 bonus for INT]. Therefore, any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was 6+ indicates absolutely no danger (beyond normal space travel) for that Term. Any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was 4 or less indicates that you were in mortal danger and SOMETHING HAPPENED and you survived. Any TERM in which the unmodified ROLL was exactly 5 indicates a "close call", but no real danger of death [perhaps a risk of injury]. That is the sort of BACKGROUND information that is good to know.

Term 1 = 9(11) = safe
Term 2 = 7(9) = safe
Term 3 = 4(6) = danger
Term 4 = 8(10) = safe
Term 5 = 5(7) = close call
Term 6 = 5(7) = close call
Term 7 = 6(8) = safe
Term 8 = 3(5) = danger

Term 8's close call (exact number with bonus) probably explains why my partner was dead that term! And why I learned Gun Combat and Bribery.
The most dangerous thing in Term 3 was having Twins. Medical Complications?
Term 5 & 6 are when I learned Blade Combat and started on Vacc Suit work. Not sure how that would relate to going to get my surgeon's doctorate (if at all).
p.s. Assuming there is a Blue Society of Surgeons, of which I could become a fellow and get (FBSS letters).

[atpollard]

p.s. Assuming there is a Blue Society of Surgeons, of which I could become a fellow and get (FBSS letters).

I just want to touch base on something that is going to become a "FEATURE" of this character's interaction with the world.

First, a comment on the UNIVERSE:
This is a universe of THOUSANDS of independent worlds each with a unique language and culture. It is also a universe of HUNDREDS of 'Star Kingdoms' ... small clusters of two, three, four worlds that have achieved Intersellar TL (10+) and have a sufficient reason to trade and unite to form some sort of multi-system ALLIANCE. That means that the answer to many of your specific questions is "whatever" ... there are THOUSANDS of small lines that you could have served on from HUNDREDS of interstellar Polities. It is a "small ship universe" full of Free Traders (200dT x J1) and Far Traders (200dT x J2) and Fat Traders (400dT x J1) ... with some 600 dT and a few 800 dT traders running around. At 1000-5000 dT, you are entering the realm of Major Warships for a Single World Navy. At 10,000 dT, you are looking at an IMPERIAL DREADNAUGHT.

Second, a comment on the CHARACTER's place in the universe:
You might want to embrace the reality that your Character is in a unique POLITICAL situation. On the one hand, you have impressive experience and credentials. On the other hand, you will encounter a variety of reactions to those credentials. Some places will accept them blindly and without hesitation, because they care about your ability more than the certification. Other places will completely reject your credentials because they were not issued by the correct authority (or an authority with a reciprocal treaty). You WANTED a special background ... something unique ... and now you have it. Social elite. Advanced Education. Part of a Refugee Population with no home but a 'squatter colony' in the system of ANOTHER POLITY. You are struggling to survive in a hostile universe and to maintain a CULTURE (Old Russian) in exile.

Third, a comment on the Beau System:
The Planet Beau has a "French" Culture (technically French Canada plus Creole) and a population of only 70,000 people. The SYSTEM has 12 rocky worlds and 2 Gas Giants with at least 14 "dwarf planet" size moons (like Earth's Moon) and many more tiny "Asteroid size" moons. That is FAR TOO MANY places for the Navy of a 70,000 person world to properly patrol. Therefore, the window has long been open for small colonies to pop-up and disband in this system (often created by mining booms). Each "squatter colony" will have the culture of its homeworld. The Beau Government is largely hands-off to these colonies as long as they cause no trouble for Beau or the Blue Confederation.

Beau is not TL 11 by accident. The system is located at the crossroads of at least 3 major Jump-2 Trade Routes between distant, significant Star Kingdoms (including two Star EMPIRES - the HUMAN IMPERIUM and the URSOID EMPIRE). All 3 trade routes stop at Beau to refuel and goods/ships can transfer from one trade route/destination to a new trade route/destination at Beau. That makes the Beau SYSTEM a hub of trade activity with merchant fleets from 6 Major Star Kingdoms (TL 12-13) regularly passing through the system.

[BackworldTraveller]

The background suggests that I have been working for a shipping line with multiple vessels rather than a free trader. What book 7 would call an interface line. (Akin to Oberlindes Lines in the later (Late 1980's and after) Imperial setting).

I'd offer "Compagnie d'Azure" as a name for the line. Ships might be:

• Saphir (1000 dTon Flagship Liner)
• Améthyste (600 dTon Liner)
• Tourmaline
• Spinelle
• etc.

Routes at your suggestion but also ad-hoc charters and occasional speculative trade ventures.
Ships would be sourced from Oxford (as the only local yard) or through trade deals with non-Blue (non-Imperial) yards.

Under this model
Term 1: Aboard Améthyste. A liner of 600 dTons.
Term 2-4: Head Office at Beau Downport
Term 5-6: Cobalt Orbital with attendance at the Teaching Hospital there
Term 7-8: Travelling inspector (always a "popular" visitor) shifting between ports inspecting port medical and quarantine facilities and ship's medics in action.

As to Culture...As a member of an exiled community from the imperial fringes I'd have the parental push to recall my heritage, while being required to integrate socially and the educational pressure "Become an Engineer or Doctor or Lawyer". I seem to have managed the last of these. The second appears to have worked OK(ish) given my merchant rank and SOC. The former can be read in many ways. Is the SOC my heritage entirely or has my (now former) marriage stopped/slowed me becoming irrelevant and middle class?

Is the description of the Mesto is only partially applicable. As a merchant and/or wife have I escaped the physical ghetto to live elsewhere? Has the marriage and parenthood gained me (or my offspring) a form of citizenship or am I again a "Gastarbeiter" following my Husband's death?

Do you have any specific background for my darling, departed Pierre Seren?
My 4 children: Albert(26), Elvira(25), and the twins(22) Maria and Andre.
Any thoughts as to what they are now doing?
Do I have any grandchildren yet?

[atpollard]

Leave as much GENERAL as possible and fill in the DETAILS as they become needed. There is a LOT happening in the Beau System.
The Lyudi are modeled after the Jewish-American and Cuban-American communities ... living IN an area, but remaining OUTSIDE the dominant Culture and fiercely protective of their INSULAR culture. Mesto is one or TWO Lyudi communities in the Beau system (Mesto and Proselok). In addition, there is a place called "FREEPORT" that is an independent colony [Multi-Cultural] on a moon of a Far Gas Giant that is home to 20,000 people. (Remember Beau, the Mainworld, only has 70,000 people). So there is as much happening in the Beau System OFF the planet Beau as there is ON the planet Beau.

Reality is that I do not have the spare time to create all the communities on all the worlds and moons in detail just to fill in "throw away" names for your CHARGEN. At THIS point in the game, all the action is on the planet BEAU (pop 70,000; TL 11). Your Character will be arriving on BEAU as an OUTSIDER. Someone from the Beau System, but not the Beau (French Canadian-Creole) culture and world. You will adapt as an outsider with off-world knowledge of closed societies. You are on BEAU (planet) seeking a new start. Why is up to you.

Things like the names of the Trade Routes and the names of Major Star Kingdoms are not needed at this level of detail. We are focused on the LOCAL and will fill details on the broader as they are needed. It is not an accident that the Star Map lists 4 worlds by name and everything within 3 hexes of those worlds in generalities and 1 hex beyond that by a star position only. The focus is very local and the rest does not matter in the game at this point.

[atpollard]

The background suggests that I have been working for a shipping line with multiple vessels rather than a free trader. What book 7 would call an interface line. (Akin to Oberlindes Lines in the later (Late 1980's and after) Imperial setting).

I meant "Free Trader" the size/class not "Free Trader" the function. The Population of the entire 4 world BLUE CONFEDERATION is less than half the population the United States in 2024 (Cobalt and Turquoise are comparable in POP to modern Germany and France). They neither NEED nor can they AFFORD a fleet of 1000 dTon freighters. So anyone trading OUTSIDE the Blue Confederation [Beau, Oxford, Cobalt, Turquoise] is an "Interface Line" and would probably use 200 dTon to 600 dTon ships. If YOU want to check, you have the stats for Beau, Oxford, Cobalt, Turquoise under MAPS AND REFERENCES, so you can go to the Starship Trade Rules in LBB1-3 and see what size cargoes those worlds have and how many passengers. 4dT per passenger + 1 dTon per dTon of cargo will tell you how large of a "Cargo Capacity" the typical TRADER needs and 2x Cargo is roughly the size of the ship. So how big a ship can each world support on average?

A 200 dTon Free Trader matches the Cargo Capacity of a 747 Cargo Plane.

I'd offer "Compagnie d'Azure" as a name for the line. Ships might be:

• Saphir (1000 dTon Flagship Liner)
• Améthyste (600 dTon Liner)
• Tourmaline
• Spinelle
• etc.

Routes at your suggestion but also ad-hoc charters and occasional speculative trade ventures.
Ships would be sourced from Oxford (as the only local yard) or through trade deals with non-Blue (non-Imperial) yards.

The ship names are fine. I suggest rather than OXFORD, you signed on with a NON "Blue Confederation" line, then transferred to FREEPORT, then Beau Highport, and then toured the scattered colonies of the various Blue Confederation (worlds and moons) where your advanced EDU and TL mattered more than where your papers came from.

Under this model
Term 1: Aboard Améthyste. A liner of 600 dTons.
Term 2-4: Head Office at Beau Downport
Term 5-6: Cobalt Orbital with attendance at the Teaching Hospital there
Term 7-8: Travelling inspector (always a "popular" visitor) shifting between ports inspecting port medical and quarantine facilities and ship's medics in action.

Term 1: 600 dTon Liner
Term 2-4: Freeport [you met [PC] Joe Black, a Spacer]
Term 5-6: Beau Highport [you met [PC] Guillaume (Guy) Dubois, a diplomat at the High port]
Term 7-8: Travelling Doctor/Inspector - isolated communities throughout the Beau, Oxford, Cobalt, and Turquoise systems - with papers from the Blue Confederation.

Term 5-6 you learned ABOUT Beau (planet) but were denied a Visa [suspected IMPERIAL spy and lack of "correct" paperwork ... it is a LL7 Bureaucracy.]
Term 7-8 you gained the "Political Respectability" to be granted a VISA to land on Beau (planet).

FYI: There are rumors of DRUGS available on the Beau Black Market that can do amazing things ... like restore lost STR/END or enhance mental acuity (INT) and learning (EDU). Mostly rumors, but some reliable second-hand reports suggest that SOMETHING exists.

The former can be read in many ways. Is the SOC my heritage entirely or has my (now former) marriage stopped/slowed me becoming irrelevant and middle class?
Is the description of the Mesto is only partially applicable. As a merchant and/or wife have I escaped the physical ghetto to live elsewhere? Has the marriage and parenthood gained me (or my offspring) a form of citizenship or am I again a "Gastarbeiter" following my Husband's death?
Do you have any specific background for my darling, departed Pierre Seren?

A lot of this has as much to do with YOU as ME. So let's talk. I create "forks in the road" and allow PLAYERS to make choices. Those choices come with consequences [Good, Bad and just Different].

The Starting point is the JEWISH Community or the CUBAN community living in the united states. In both cases, they live APART from the mainstream culture by THEIR choice. They choose to retain their language and customs and culture and live in communities where that language/culture/community is perpetuated.

So YOU will need to decide whether you are a person that turned their back on your Heritage and embraced the BLUE CONFEDERATION culture or chose to maintain your LYUDI (Russian Exile) culture even in the Blue Confederation. Rejecting the LYUDI culture will get you shunned by your people - a traitor to your parents and grandparents in their eyes - but make you far more acceptable to the BLUE CONFEDERATION Culture. Embracing your LYUDI culture, will paint you as an outsider to the general Blue Confederation population - like a Hasidic Jew or Spanish Speaking Cuban in an English Speaking community.

The choice is completely YOURS and is based on who YOU see the character as. Whatever your decision, as you can see, there will be consequences of that decision. What you cannot have is "both ways".

My 4 children: Albert(26), Elvira(25), and the twins(22) Maria and Andre.
Any thoughts as to what they are now doing?
Do I have any grandchildren yet?

Actually, yes ... but we will save those for a later surprise and they are fluid enough to adjust based on what you decide for YOUR CHOICE.
[Random Dice WILL play a part.]

[BackworldTraveller]

Nyota has had a hard time balancing the cultures. She's worked outside the Mesto in the Ports of Beau - on ships and clinics - and married a wonderful Beau citizen (Pierre Seren). Despite this, her accent has marked her as Imperial (to the Beaus) and she's always maintained contact with the Kaluki diaspora and has taught her children about the Old World and its (pre-imperial) customs. She still has a penchant for Balalaika music and old Kaluki folk songs. (She owns a 120Cr Balalaika for sentimental reasons but can only twang it)

As a result, she is still in contact with Mikael (an old Priest) (and owns an Icon of St Xenia, the wanderer), Masha (the woman who ran the orphanage when she was a baby) and shops at "Baba Yaga's" store when she can - although the old owner she called "Baba Yaga" died about a decade ago and it's now run by Baba Yaga's Son's wife Annushka. Her parents (Stephan and Omari) are now in their late 80s. Stephan was a history teacher with an interest in Icelandic Sagas and a secret yearning for Kulaki Democracy; Omari was a Captain's daughter turned naval architect. Both lost their places when they fled Kulak and made whatever living they could in the Mesto.

She also holds ideas from her African Traveler heritage. She owns a Black Cow (Orok Kiteng) totem passed down from her mother - and has a tendency to ask Engai Narok for help and blame Engai Na-nyokie for troubles: much to Mikael's disgust!

n.b. She was working at the Highport during most of the children's school years. As a result, her children (or as far as the school system's admin cared, Pierre's children) were in the exclusive (SOC:9) starport international school, not that of the Mesto. At the school gate she mostly mixed with parents from "outside".

[BackworldTraveller]

Equipment and other Assets

Item	TL	Cost/Value	Notes	Running Total
Motorised, Mid-Passage Standard, Luggage	12	Free	Starting Gear	0.00
Icon of St Xenia, The Wanderer	12		Gift from Kaluki Priest	0.00
Idol of Orok Kiteng (Black Cow)	3		Reputedly from Earth...but almost certainly not	0.00
Balalaika	1	Cr 120	Cost includes carrying case	120.00
Adventure Backpack ( Multi-Spectrum Binoculars, Grapnel Gun, Inertial Locator, Piton Gun, and Atmospheric Water Distillation System)	9	Cr 3,000	Starting Gear	3,120.00
Gentlewoman's Clothing		Cr 120	Starting Gear	3,240.00
Business Clothing		Cr 240	Starting Gear	3,480.00
Formal Clothing		Cr 360	Starting Gear	3,840.00
Filter Mask	8	Cr 5	Starting Gear	3,845.00
Filter Cartridges x10	8	Cr 30	Starting Gear	3,875.00
Rungu	12	Free (Value TBC)	Mustering Out: Thrown or Bludgeoning or Walking Stick with stun-circuitry	3,875.00
Snub Pistol		Free (Value Cr 170+)	Mustering Out: 6-Shot Snub Revolver, Presentation Case, Cleaning Kit, 10 Tranq Rounds, 2 Gas Rounds	3,875.00
Open Low Passage Ticket		Free (Cr 1,000)	Mustering Out	3,875.00
Beau Resident's Papers & Passport			Mustering Out	3,875.00
Pilot's License			Mustering Out	3,875.00
Surgeon's Certificates			Mustering Out	3,875.00
Vacc-Suit User's Certificate			Mustering Out	3,875.00
Driver's License			Mustering Out	3,875.00
Commercial HandComp (Model C0)	9	Free (Cr 1,000)	1kg. A 30cm Tablet Handheld Computer designed for business use with the equivalent of a Model/0 Starship Computer with 1/1 (CPU/Memory) as a “no bonus” basic technology to allow the use of the Computer skill. The “commercial” versions are the standard business models; any damage requires an 8+ on 2d6 for the unit to continue to function.	3,875.00
Distant “SmartPhone” Communicator	11	Free (Cr 250)	300 g; 0.6 Liters; 50 km range	3,875.00
Toiletries	9	Free (Cr 50)	Make-up, Brushes, Scents, Bathroom Toiletries, etc.	3,875.00
Formal Jewelry	11	Cr 1,125	Necklace, Bracelet	4,500.00

---

Cashflow Item	Amount	Running Total
Pension for 2156	10,000	10,000
Starting Equip (SOC*500)	4,500	14,500
Mustering Out	70,000	84,500

[atpollard]

If YOU want to check, you have the stats for Beau, Oxford, Cobalt, Turquoise under MAPS AND REFERENCES, so you can go to the Starship Trade Rules in LBB1-3 and see what size cargoes those worlds have and how many passengers. 4dT per passenger + 1 dTon per dTon of cargo will tell you how large of a "Cargo Capacity" the typical TRADER needs and 2x Cargo is roughly the size of the ship. So how big a ship can each world support on average?

Funny enough, someone at "Citizens Of The Imperium" Forum posted the answer ...

1733127036385.png (34.1 KiB) Viewed 719 times

The average SHIP is about double the size of the Average Cargo.
BEAU is POP 4 and the largest Blue Confederation Worlds are POP 7.

[BackworldTraveller]

If YOU want to check, you have the stats for Beau, Oxford, Cobalt, Turquoise under MAPS AND REFERENCES, so you can go to the Starship Trade Rules in LBB1-3 and see what size cargoes those worlds have and how many passengers. 4dT per passenger + 1 dTon per dTon of cargo will tell you how large of a "Cargo Capacity" the typical TRADER needs and 2x Cargo is roughly the size of the ship. So how big a ship can each world support on average?

Funny enough, someone at "Citizens Of The Imperium" Forum posted the answer ...
1733127036385.png

The average SHIP is about double the size of the Average Cargo.
BEAU is POP 4 and the largest Blue Confederation Worlds are POP 7.

I'm not sure I agree with those stats for various reasons but I get the principle being aimed at and the assumptions being applied.

Specific issues I'd have include:

• These stats apply to player free-traders in a game seeking cargo at short notice (<= 1week) to a random target world with no local agent or long-term shipping contracts.
• It doesn't include speculative cargoes or charters, or take into account passenger luggage mandates
• The multiplier is optimistic: an A1 free trader is 2.25 ship-tons per ton of cargo; and an A2 is 3.33 ship-tons per ton of cargo.

---

What is the price of property on Beau? How much is a 1 or 2-bed apartment by the port?
Do I need a garage if I own a vehicle or is there on-street parking?

[atpollard]

I'm not really a gun-geek but I'm looking for something that isn't going to knock my character flat and is non-lethal.
The best I can see are dart-guns used for tranquilising at a distance or low-powered shotguns firing taser or bean-bag rounds.
The former are (in some cases - per wikipedia) just the latter!
the M26 taser has a range of about 10m (again per wikipedia) and is single-shot only. Other versions seem available and don't always even look like a "gun".
I have 2 guns in my mustering out. My character is a surgeon and likely to be somewhat with Shepherd Book regarding the killing/kneecap controversy. I'm also got a -1 STR bonus so a 4-bore seems unlikely, as it will probably land her on her arse every time she shot!

What you want is called a SNUB REVOLVER loaded with TRANQ Rounds.

"Snub Pistol:" The snub pistol is a low velocity firearm designed for use on shipboard and in a Zero-G environment. It fires 10mm, 7.0 gram bullets (depending on load) at velocities of 100 to 150 meters per second. In revolver variants, no magazine is used, six individual cartridges being inserted into the revolver separately. Reloading takes less than a minute, and around a minute if the firer is evading; automatic versions use a 10-round magazine, although extended magazines are available. Standard rounds include a tranquilizer round, gas round, high explosive round, and a high explosive shaped charge round to defeat personal armor. The snub pistol is a standard shipboard security weapon generally loaded with five tranquilizers and one gas round. More expensive pure combat versions of the snub pistol are available, generally in the automatic pistol configuration with extended magazines holding up to twenty rounds. A regular ball round is sometimes used, but its performance is only approximate to a TL 5 5mm autopistol round.
[TL 8] Length: 100.0 mm. Weight, unloaded: 250.0 grams (weight of six cartridges, regardless of type, is 30.0 grams). Base price for revolver: Cr150 (six cartridges, regardless of type, cost Cr10).

Note that with MUSTER, the first "GUN" is typically a service/ceremonial object and the second "GUN" is a +1 skill with the weapon.

As to her Blade, is there a stun-stick alternative? As a surgeon, wielding a knife is one thing to fix someone...but less attractive in reverse.

African (Zulu) culture had a weapon called a Iklwa - a very short spear used in close quarter combat. What if we gave her a blunt version of an Iklwa that functioned more like a "Cattle Prod" ... then her "Blade Cbt" skill could be a traditional African Martial Arts from her OTHER culture and the weapon is a non-lethal training version (that looks like a walking stick to casual observation).

[atpollard]

What is the price of property on Beau? How much is a 1 or 2-bed apartment by the port?
Do I need a garage if I own a vehicle or is there on-street parking?

You only have Cr 4500 worth of STUFF when you make planetfall on Beau for the first time. The rest of your CASH is in CASH (probably in a BANK).
Those are all matters to be adventured out ... but the interesting things are happening in a radical artist/free thinker enclave called "THE COLONY" located on the outskirts of the city of Brulantfort (pop 10,000) - the second largest city on Beau.

You will arrive at the DOWNPORT at Montsoliel (pop 5000) and take the daily Grav Shuttle [Cr 10 per person] to Brulatntfort. Everything you have available will be carried on your person/luggage.

To answer the last question ... there are 70,000 people on a planet with a surface area of 47,100,000 square miles (roughly the same land area as Earth excluding Antarctica) ... or about 1 person per 670 square miles. So there is plenty of room to park: paved streets are in short supply.

Seriously:
The atmosphere is TAINTED (high Ozone concentrations) so most people (70% of the population) lived in Arcologies (self-contained sealed cities where vehicles are not needed). The other 30% that lives in scattered small communities employ a variety of vehicles and often RENT vehicles to travel between villages/towns while just walking in a community of 100-1000 people. Those that live in remote settlements often own a personal vehicle. Ultimately, WHEELED and TRACKED vehicles are very affordable and GRAV vehicles are expensive. AIR CUSHION vehicles are popular along the coastal areas where the water allows them to take advantage of the better speed (they fall in the middle for cost). You will have opportunities to purchase a vehicle on the world once you enter play.