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\title{Advanced Character Generation for {\bf 2300AD}}
\author{\copyright 1990 Shawn Dudley}
\date{}
\maketitle

{\it {\noindent \Large T}he following is a set of
guidelines intended to give helpful hints and
assistance to anyone creating a character for Game Designers' Workshop's
role-playing game {\bf 2300AD}.\\}

{\noindent \Large T}he character generation rules in {\bf 2300AD} and
in its previous format, {\bf Traveller:2300} tend to be somewhat vague, and
often do not mention important facts about generating characters. Also,
players often are looking to add color to their character's background.
This article should help players (and game masters) on both accounts.
To fully use this guide, one must have the Adventurer's Guide from {\bf 2300AD}
(or the Player's Guide from {\bf Traveller:2300}), as well as a sheet of paper
or a character record sheet.  It will also be helpful to have both the
{\bf Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook}, and the {\bf Colonial Atlas}. Further articles will
be forthcoming about subjects like equipment for {\bf 2300AD}, as well as details
on the Cybertech supplement for {\bf 2300AD}.\\

\begin{center}
{\noindent \Large Creating a Character \\ {\em the basics}}
\end{center}

{\noindent \Large T}he first order of
business in creating a character in {\bf 2300AD} is determining
his homeworld.  In the rules, a player first needs to make a die roll to
determine if he is from the core or frontier.  If he rolls frontier, he
then rolls for the gravity of the frontier world/outpost.

In practice, the above is not generally recommended.  Choosing one's home
need not be so random, and the charts given in the rules tend to be very
biased towards characters born in the colonies on worlds with abnormally
high or low gravity levels.  While this is great if you're playing adventures
on the frontier, it tends to be a big minus for characters involved in
Cybertech adventures on Earth, as the given die charts give them a big
disadvantage when it comes to abilities and background skills.

For characters who are intended to be played in Earthbound cybertech
adventures, the following is recommended: reverse the core/frontier
die chart so that a roll of 1 through 3 is a Frontier result, and a 4
through 10 is a core result.  Once this is done, then skip the gravity
roll and directly choose your homeworld from the Colonies given in the
Adventurer's guide and the {\bf Colonial Atlas}.  Characters in the core, of
course, can choose either Earth or Tirane (the colony at Alpha Centauri).

Once you've chosen your homeworld, you need to determine your body type.
This can be done in two ways: one, roll under the appropriate gravity
column on the bodytype chart to find a body type, or two, just choose the
body type you like.  The second method is preferred by many, as it gives a
player a little more control over his character than the existing charts
would allow.  The full descriptions of the body types are given in the
Adventurer's guide, but an easy way to think of body types is like this:
Mesomorphs play football, Ectomorphs play basketball, Endomorphs play
hockey, and Normals play baseball.

Now that you've got your body type taken care of, now roll for your
physical and psychological attributes, as per the original rules.
One thing to note, however. The game rules are very vague on Attribute
Task Modifiers (basically, some fool at the typesetters left it out!).
Each one of your eight attributes needs to be divided by four, fractions
rounded down, to provide die modifiers for various rolls. This means a
roll between 1 and 3 would yield no modifier, a roll of 4 to 7 would yield
za modifier of 1, a roll of 8 to 11 would yield a modifier of 2, a roll of
12 to 15 would yield a modifier of 3, a roll of 16 to 19 would yield a
modifier of 4, and a roll of 20 would yield a modifier of 5.  Always keep
this in mind when you are making your rolls (and your rerolls), so that
you can achieve the maximum level of modifiers.  

Also, don't forget you can reroll two attributes: one physical and one
psychological, and that the reroll is only optional: you don't have to
take it the second time around.  For the physical modifiers, what you
reroll depends on what you want to emphasize: it could be wise to concentrate
on beefing up one particular ability, as opposed to just picking up lower
rolls.  At the same time, its easier to pick up a low roll than it is to
make a high roll even higher by rerolling up.  The choice is yours.  As far
as your psychological attributes go, the Determination ability is the single
most used asset your character has.  You should always try for a reroll of
any Determination roll under 8, and it is strongly encouraged also for a
determination under 12.  The second-most used attribute in play is (get
this, folks!) eloquence. If the character desires to interact well with
NPCs, this ability should have a minimum of 8, and 12 or higher is desired.\\

\begin{center}
{\noindent \Large Background Skills}
\end{center}

{\noindent \Large H}ow a character divvies up his skill
points depends on what type of character
he desires, of course, but a general rule of thumb is to have a character
with one skill at level 4, about two or three at level 3 (including at least
one combat skill), and the rest at level 2.  Any skill at level 1 or 0 tends
to be not as useful.

What background skills a player gets depends on if he's from the core or
the frontier.  The core is quite sanitary, computerized, controlled, and,
well, boring.  A core character will receive little in the way of combat
skills, but lots of computer and intellectual skills.  Frontier characters
do not get much in the way of computer of intellectual, but do have most
of the combat and survival-oriented skills available, due to a more rugged
lifestyle.

For players who are looking for real detail in their characters, a helpful
hint: Characters growing up on Tirane, and any colony over 75 years of age
(determinable by the colonies chart in the play aids) have access to both
core and frontier background skills.  This reflects the modernization occuring
on the oldermost of Earth's colonies, as they cease to become mere frontier
installations, and transform into fullfledged, thriving worlds.

Before I get into carrers, a note on skills: the amount of skill {\bf points}
needed to achieve a certain skill {\bf level} depends on the type of skill,
determined in the carrer section.  To make it easier, follow the chart below.

\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{l|cccccc}
		   &   \multicolumn{6}{c}{\em Skill level desired}  \\
{\em Type of skill}&	0&	1&	2&	3&	4&	5\\
\hline
Primary, Background&	1&	1&	1&	2&	2&	3\\
Related		&	1&	1&	2&	3&	4&	5\\
Unrelated	&	1&	2&	3&	5&	6&	8\\
\end{tabular}
\end{center}

{\noindent Cross-index the type of skill with the skill level desired: the given
number is the number of skill points it takes to reach that skill level.
A few notes to remember: skill points left over in choosing background skills,
initial training, or carrer skills NEVER carry over.  Use them, or loose them.
Keep in mind that you can't jump skill levels: a character must move from each
skill level to the next, paying all of the necessary costs. Also, an unrelated
skill is any skill that is not a primary or related skill, as given by the
carrer chart.\\}

\begin{center}
{\noindent \Large Choosing Carrers \& Skills}
\end{center}

{\noindent \Large P}robably one of the two most challenging
things a player has to do when
generating a character is pick a carrer (for some reason, picking a
nationality is the other one).  Players need to have at least one carrer,
and having two is highly recommended.  As for what kind of carrer is best
for one's character, I suggest that you should read both what skill points
the carrer offers you in initial training, and what the primary skills are,
then choose a carrer that best suits you.  For combat oriented characters,
a military carrer is a must for a first carrer.  If you want a character to
have some combat abilities, but be more well rounded, Troubleshooter, Field
Agent, Law Enforcement and both of the extralegal carrers are good.  For real
technical-oriented characters, the two exploratory carrers, academic, colonist,
and core world are recommended.  And, for those that want characters that
roleplay well, Field Agent, both Extralegal carrers, Journalist, Independent
Trader, and Administrator come in handy.

The reason why I recommend taking on a second carrer is due to the free skill
points available in initial training. Normally, a character with a single
carrer will get a whole mess of skill points once, in initial training, then
a small trickle of skill points based on how many years a character spends in
a carrer until he fails a turning point.  With a second carrer, the player
will get another flood of skill points, as he goes through initial training
for that carrer as well.  On the average, this will leave your character with
more skill points, and therefore higher skill levels, than if he had just
selected one carrer. Remember, though, you can only change carrers after
passing a turning point, and you only get to do it once.

For players interested in more detail in their carrers, consult the various
sidebars and notes on organizations in the basic game, as well as in other
{\bf 2300AD} source materials. Characters may want to assign their characters to
a particular corporation, foundation, or national military, law enforcement,
or intelligence organization.  A wide selection is given in the adventurer's
guide alone.  If none of the groups mentioned in the above sources really
appeal to your character, make something up, or, attach him to a future
equivilent of a modern day organization. For example, in {\bf 2300AD}, just as
in present day, the United States will probably still have the US Army, the
Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps, plus probably a Space Force of some
kind, as well as the FBI, the Secret Service, the CIA, the National Security
Agency, the DEA, and the US Marshall's Office, or at least the twenty-fourth
century equivilents of them.

\begin{description}
\item[A note on college:] In {\bf 2300AD},
nearly 80\% of the population of the core worlds
has five years of college education or more, as well as close to 40\% of the
frontier population.  If you wish to simulate this, let either your first or
second carrers be academic.  Optionally, you can allow for two carrer changes,
as long is one of your carrers is academic.  But don't feel pressured to go
academic: its a good way to build up intellectual and computer skills, but it's
not necessary to have one in {\bf 2300AD}. {\em On the other hand, a good cyberjockey
would be incomplete without a college education and the cheap computer and
info gathering skill points it provides.}

\item[A note on skills:] The academic skills provided in the adventurer's guide
are only a smittering of the type of skills one could obtain.  Characters
that desire to have fields of study outside of this list should feel free
to add another skill or two, maybe skills like Law, Economics, Botany,
Astronomy, or whatever else he feels like (with the GM's approval, of
course).  The General Skills list could be added to in the same manner,
with skills such as Heavy Equipment, Animal Handling, Agriculture, Acting,
Dance, Music, etc.(within reason, of course). However, adding skills beyond
these two areas is not generally recommended.\\
\end{description}

\begin{center}
{\noindent \Large Finalization}
\end{center}

{\noindent \Large U}pon failing your last turning point,
your character is now given the
polishing touches that make him/her complete. Finalization is explained
pretty straightforward in the Adventurer's guide, but there are a few extra
points of interest.

\begin{description}
\item[Mass:] you might notice that, after computing this characteristic, your
character seems a little overweight, particulary if he's a mesomorph or
an endomorph.  I'm somewhat suspicious of the tabulation method myself,
but I usually don't worry about it much. Mass is probably one of the most
useless stats this game has.

\item[Throw range:] A character with a strength of 10 can throw an 1 kg (about 2
lb. object) 80 meters, in the game.  Like mass, it's a little questionable,
but just how many situations occur in which you need to throw something the
length of a football field, anyway?

\item[Nationality:] For some reason, this seems to be the other really difficult
choice a character has to make.  If you really want to get into what the
political shape of {\bf 2300AD} is, buy {\bf Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook} from your
local game shop, or borrow it from somebody.  It will answer most of your
questions about who's who these days. However, for those who would like a
quick and dirty approach to picking a nationality, just use the nations that
are here today.  The basic geography has not changed all that much, and
the important changes are listed below.\\

\item[United States:] Now commonly called America. No longer the world's \#1
nation (not necessarily a weakling, either!), significantly more
isolationist.  Southern California, and most of Arizona and New Mexico
are now part of Mexico.  Texas is an independent nation.  Puerto Rico
is now a state.
\item[Mexico:] Gained Southern California, Central America, Cuba, and most
 of the Carribbean.
\item[Texas:] Now independent of the U.S.
\item[Australia:] Tasmania is independent, as is Queensland (now known as Papua).
\item[Japan:] Gained the Phillipines, Guam, most of the small Pacific island
chains, but not Hawaii, or Korea.
\item[France:] Now the \#1 nation; the French Empire is composed of
France, Belgium, Guyana, a good chunk of North, West and Central Africa, as
well as various other parts of the world.  Characters who are French are
generally not well liked by anyone but Frogs themselves.
\item[Britain:] Northern Ireland now part of unified Ireland.
Still has a King, still a major power, but does not have Gibraltar, or the Falklands.
\item[Germany:] Unified, but only recently (see game history). 
\item[Russia:] USSR no longer around, most of the captured republics have
gone independent, such as the Ukraine, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the
Far East Republic.
\item[Scandinavia:] Now unified.
\item[China:] Split in three parts. Manchuria in the north, Canton
in the south, and China in the middle.  Tibet is still not independent.
\item[India:] Split nine different ways.
\item[Arabia:] Saudi Arabia absorbed all the gulf states.
\item[Iran:] Still has an Ayahtollah.
\item[Palestine:] Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and the PLO all unify (the {\bf only}
future event I personally don't think would really happen.  GDW can dream on,
but if you want to be a Zionist in my campaigns, please, feel free).
\item[Africa:] Egypt expands into the UAR, the French take over half
the continent, and South Africa comes under black rule, and changes its name
to Azania.
\end{description}

{\noindent A character does not have to be particularly loyal to his chosen nationality,
but he should come from somewhere.}

Major powers in {\bf 2300AD} are France, Germany, Britain, America, Japan, and
Manchuria.  Other major political players are: Azania, Ukraine, Mexico,
Argentina, Brazil, Texas, Canton and Australia.\\

{\noindent There! Now, you're finished with an enhanced character, but still within
the basic rules and game universe.  A note to the wary: please don't let
the above rules and recommendations, or the standard game rules restrict
you too much on what you want to do with a character. As long as you and
the game master both agree to it, there's really nothing you shouldn't be
able to do, or as GDW prez and {\bf 2300AD} creator Frank Chadwick told me once:
``Once you buy it, it's not our game anymore; it's yours, to do what you want
to do with it." Enjoy!}

\end{document}

