There are many modes of generating characters for RPGs, and one of them is what is called a Career system. Generally, this takes the form of a series of events in a characters life that build up and contribute to their final set of skills and stats. Some of the steps are entirely random, and some are chosen by the player.

I thought I’d take a look at a few different Career systems in games that I’m familiar with and draw some comparisons between them. The games are:

• Classic Traveller - Home of the original Career system
• Universe: The Role Playing Game of the Future - a Traveller heartbreaker with no small amount of charm (and no small amount of chart)
• Stars Without Number - A recent, D20 based system, with an abbreviated Career system
• Cepheus Engine - A Traveller clone, but taking from more recent editions than Classic Traveller?
• Cepheus Deluxe - Not sure exactly where and why it’s different from Cepheus Engine, but it seems that it is.

For this comparison, I’ve divided them into these steps:

• Statistics - Few RPGs avoid these, and they are usually generated first. If Statistics represent a character’s innate capacities, it makes sense they would preceed any learned skills.
• Enlistment - Players may choose the career they enter, but might not always get what they want.
• Survival - Events that happen over the course of the career. May affect how long characters stay in their career (for one reason or another).
• Ending - How does the character leave their career, and under what auspices? Do the effects of age wear upon them?

Classic Traveller

Statistics

• Strength
• Dexterity
• Endurance
• Intelligence
• Education
• Social Standing

Randomly Generated. 2d6, straight down the line.
May be written as a pseudo-hexadecimal string, for some reason.

Enlistment

May attempt to enlist in one of:

• Navy
• Marines
• Army
• Scouts
• Other

Die-roll, modified by stat. Only one attempt is allowed.
If the attempt fails, submit to the draft (roll for random service).

Survival

Career is divided into terms. Each term:

• Survival roll. Failure means death (!), or optionally injuries. Modified by stat.
• Commissions and Promotions. Roll to get one (modified by stat). Scouts have no promotions, but double skills.
• Gain skills. 2 in the first term, 1 each after. +1 when you receive a commission or promotion.
• Choose from 4 skill tables to roll on, 1 is gated by Education.

Some skills are gained just from entering a career.

Roll to Re-enlist. Failure means it’s time to leave.

Ending

Retirement is optional after 5 terms, mandatory after 7.
Mustering Out: receive benefits based on terms and ranks.
Aging will make you lose stats for each term after 34.

What I Like:

• Interesting process in a small number of pages
• Characters are usually suited for adventure
• Benefits for long service, and successful service
• Stats and services do some world-building

What I Don’t:

• Only one career allowed, no mixing
• Not guaranteed to get the type of career you want
• Benefits are mostly money

Universe

Statistics

Roll for Potential Multipliers. Better multipliers, fewer study points. Worse multipliers, more study points.

• Physique
• Co-ordination
• Intellect
• Social Background

Natural Habitat. Where did you come from?

• Environ type - modified by physical stats (hardier types come from higher gravity or rugged terrain). Deep-space is a special-case.
• Skill level in that environ type
• Gravity
• Urban skill - if the terrain is too dangerous, you probably spent more time indoors or on the streets

Roll for Social Standing. Greatly boosted by Social Background multiplier, somewhat boosted by Urban skill and lowered by Environ skill.

Then, choose a number of studies, based on your study points.
Picking the same field more than once costs increasing amounts of study points.

• Theoretical Science
• Applied Science
• Business
• Humanities
• The Mind
• The Body
• Military

Chose a few childhood skills. Modified by social standing (rich kids don’t try as hard).

Finally, add values based on fields of study and multiply those by your multipliers. The result is used to modify a d100 roll on a table.

• Strength
• Endurance
• Dexterity
• Agility
• Intelligence
• Mental Power
• Leadership
• Empathy
• Aggression

Enlistment

Choose from the list of professions:

• Astroguard
• Civil Inspector
• Colonist
• Diplomat
• Doctor
• Enforcer
• Explorer
• Freefaller
• Handyman
• Interstellar Trader
• Lawman
• Merchant
• Ranger
• Reporter / Journalist
• Scientist
• Scout
• Space Pirate
• Space Technician
• Spacetrooper
• Spy
• Star Sailor
• Thinker
• Zero-G Miner

There’s no roll, just pass/fail requirements.
Psions (high Mental Power) may bypass requirements in some careers.
Requirements are usually particular Studies or stat values.
Less common requirements include skills and environment origin.

Survival

Not a feature of Universe you just skip straight to…

Ending

Simply choose how many years you want to serve.
Roll to see if you server longer or shorter. Some careers you might get exactly what you asked for.

Aging penalties for characters over 24.

Receive skill points based on years, profession, and intelligence. Which skills you can spend them on restricted by profession and fields of study.

Benefits based on how time spent in profession. Includes money and equipment.

What I Like:

• Extravagant tables at every step
• Many interesting careers to choose from
• Guaranteed enlistment in any career you qualify for
• Environs are varied and evocative
• Some neat statistics you don’t normally see
• Don’t need to choose between money and equipment for benefits

What I Don’t:

• Lacklustre benefits on career exit
• No danger aside from aging
• Many unnecessary and convoluted procedures
• Characters generated are often pretty bad. Far too few skill points
• Benefits could be a little nicer
• No way of entering a career you’re un-qualified for

Stars Without Number

Statistics

Roll for attributes down the line or assign an array.

• Strength
• Dexterity
• Constitution
• Intelligence
• Wisdom
• Charisma

Pick a background and get one free skill with it.

Roll or pick skills based on background.
If you pick, less access to “Any” skills.
If you roll, some choice of tables, one extra skill, and chance at increased Statistics.

Enlistment

Choose a class:

• Expert
• Psychic
• Warrior
• Adventurer

Pick a hobby skill and a focus.

Survival

Not a feature of this system.

Ending

None of that here either.

What I Like

• Nice partial step towards a career system from a standard d20 Chargen
• Incentivizes rolling, but still allows choice
• Foci are pretty cool
• Accomodates many character concepts with (relatively) few rules

What I Don’t:

• Not really a full career system
• No risk

Cepheus Engine

Statistics

Roll Statistics:

• Strength
• Dexterity
• Endurance
• Intelligence
• Education
• Social Standing

Get 3 background skills, plus Education mod. Choose from primary education list, or 1-2 from homeworld.

Enlistment

Roll to Qualify, modified by statistic, or submit to the Draft or choose Drifter.
Twenty-four career paths to choose from:

• Aerospace System Defense
• Agent
• Athlete
• Barbarian
• Belter
• Bureaucrat
• Colonist
• Diplomat
• Drifter
• Entertainer
• Hunter
• Marine
• Maritime System Defense
• Mercenary
• Merchant
• Navy
• Noble
• Physician
• Pirate
• Rogue
• Scientist
• Scout
• Surface System Defense
• Technician

Negative modifier for each previous career entered.
Cannot return to previous careers - unless chosen by Draft or Drifter. (You can be a Drifter as many times as you wish.)

Survival

On first term, of first career only, get a starter set of skills.

Make a survival roll. Death on failure (!). Optional rule to have a mishap instead and fail out after a half term.

Some careers have Commission and Advancement check. May attempt once per term, except draftee on their first term.

Gain skills, choose from Personal Development, Service Skills, Specialist Skills, and Advanced Education (gated by Education).

Injuries may happen, resulting in stat loss. May be mitigated by Medical care, which may be paid by employer.

Ending

Aging for each term after 34 years. Anti-aging drugs are possible.

Check after each term if they wish to re-enlist. Re-enlistment is usually easier than enlisting, but not always. Must retire after 7 terms.

When mustering out, gain one benefit per term, additional benefits for higher ranks. Must choose between cash and material.

What I Like

• Many, many Careers, including primitive, non-space-faring Careers
• Chance for death
• Big, well-designed tables

What I Don’t

• No Event tables

Cepheus Deluxe

Statistics

Assign an array of numbers to these statistics:

• Strength
• Dexterity
• Endurance
• Intelligence
• Education
• Social Standing

Choose a homeworld, and a skill associated with it.

Enlistment

Select a career, and start at Rank 0.

• Agent
• Army
• Belter
• Colonist
• Elite
• Marine
• Merchant
• Navy
• Pirate
• Rogue
• Scholar
• Scout

On first term, of first career only, get a starter set of skills, and pick two more levels from tables.

Option to allow switching careers.

Survival

Two rolls for skills per term. Choose from Career, Specialist, or Advanced (gated by Education).

Fewer skill levels can be gained per term as you go on.

Roll on the Career Event Table. May involve skill tests, or injuries. Injuries may be ameliorated with cybernetics.

Gain Ranks at fixed term numbers. No rolling.

Age for 4 or 1d6 years. Aging effects after term 4, optionally may be mitigated by anti-aging treatment.

Ending

Gain benefits based on terms served, may choose to roll for either cash or material benefits.

Limit on skill levels based on INT + EDU.

Referee may assign additional level-0 skills, either from a package or as they like.

Gain a Trait for every two terms.

What I Like

• Nice number of careers. Not too few, not too many.
• Career/life event tables! They are pretty interesting.
• Sub tables! Go to prison and roll on the prison table!
• Gives clearer guidance on how many terms to take.
• Ranks sometimes give bonus skills.

What I Don’t

• I don’t think you can die in this one?
• Guaranteed advancement in careers.
• No rolling for statistics, no rolling to enter career. Neither is that bad, but the game has less oracular power for it.

Next Time

I’ll try to feel out what my ideal career system would look like.