Assorted House Rules

Character Creation

(Optional) Extra Dice

For a playerbase coming from higher power systems and settings, or for those who are just looking to have a character that is slightly more capable than a typical character, this is a slight modification of the career progression system to produce characters that will be slightly more capable on average. When creating a new traveller, a player starts with a pool of five "dice". These can be exchanged for rerolls in a number of locations, though rules are different for each instance.

• Base Characteristics: Dice from the pool are exchanged for rerolls on basic characteristics on a die for die basis. Rerolls can be attempted only once with the higher result taken.
• Qualification, Survival and Promotion Rolls: One die can be exchanged for a reroll of any Qualification, Survival, or Promotion roll. However, one can only reroll any one of these rolls once, with the result of the second roll being taken no matter what.
• Skill Rolls: When rolling for a skill in the relevant step, a die can be exchanged after a roll is made. If the die is expended, the player chooses a skill from the same column to gain or advance.
• Mishap and Event Rolls: Dice can be exchanged for a reroll of any Mishap or Event roll. Rerolls can only be attempted once. After a reroll, the player chooses which event or mishap occurs. Rolls within events or mishaps cannot be rerolled.
• Aging Rolls: A die can be exchanged to reroll die on aging rolls on a die for die basis. The first time a character faces a stat reduction from aging, they may elect to exchange two dice to ignore this result.
• Benefit Rolls: Dice could be exchanged to reroll benefit rolls on a die for die basis, retaining bonuses. Each can only be rerolled once. A player chooses which result of the reroll to take.

Point Buy

Players may, if they choose use the point buy system layed out in the Traveller Companion (pages 22-23). In this case there is a limit of 250 points for travellers in a new campaign, or 300 for travellers joining an established group.

Characteristics

Social Standing

In the world of the New Frontier, there isn’t an overarching state with a widespread nobility. However, one’s social upbringing will nevertheless impact how one moves through the world to a certain extent. In all but the most egalitarian regions of space, social status can be, to some extent, inherited, though one usually be able to prove themselves as well to maintain their own standing. As a result, Social Standing the SOC characteristic really has value in formal settings (such as diplomatic or trade negotiations, or business deals), within one’s own culture, or another that is similar to and respects the character’s home culture (for example, Yuan characters with high regard in Yuanjing may also expect similar treatment in other Stelsoc societies, the upper echelons of Solar society can expect good treatment from friendly states etc.). In terms of informal persuasion one can use the INT characteristic, or if using the optional Charm rules, CHA instead.
  Inversely, a high social standing can cause problems when dealing with pirates, enslaved persons, criminals, or other persons of “ill repute”, with a high social standing representing a penalty equal to its normal bonus, and a low score representing a bonus equal to its normal penalty.

(Optional) Charm

Charm is a traveller’s ability to influence others through informal channels. It is used for most social skill rolls. Charm is a factor of one’s intuitive ability and emotional intelligence, and to a lesser extent, one’s social reputation. Charm or CHA is not rolled for normally, instead at the end of character creation, Charm is calculated taking the average of their INT+2 and their SOC-2, and changes to these characteristics may result in needing to recalculate charm.

Aging

During character creation, a character will age more or less normally, unless otherwise indicated by the rules specific to their species (consult pages 48 and 49 of the Core Rulebook). However, there are additional options to reduce the impact of aging within the New Frontier that may be taken advantage of by travellers. Additionally, one can undergo pre-emptive medical intervention of GCr50.000 per point of characteristic restored in order to ignore the effects of Aging the first two times it occurs.

Anagathic Drugs

There are a few different possible anagethics that a traveller may choose between if electing to begin taking them. Each anagathic has the same gameplay effect (consult Core Rulebook on pages 49 and 115 unless specified otherwise here), but different methods for obtaining them which offer different challenges. Once a character has started an anagathic regimen they must either continue the same regimen or suffer from withdrawal symptoms per the Central Supply Catalogue (page 92) or the Core Rulebook (pages 49 and 115). Additionally, anagathics do not mix well, and a character that attempts to switch from one anagathic regimen to another must allow themselves to age naturally for eight years in order to flush the existing anagathic chemicals out of their system, or if they fail to do so will suffer a critical aging crisis immediately rolling four times on the aging table as their biochemistry is severely damaged by the reaction. If the character suffers from such an incident they must then roll 2D, a result of 2 results in their body rejecting the drugs they used and they may no longer benefit from anagathic drugs. The types of anagathic drugs (the Referee decides which, if any are accessible) are as follows:

• Artificial Anagathics: By far the most common form of anagathics, and the easiest to acquire, artificial anagathics represent a relatively widespread pharmaceutical formula that is produced by a number of corporations. Though usually the formula is mostly identical across the board, some less than ethical manufacturers will slightly tailor their formulation to be incompatible with other artificial anagathics. Artificial anagathics do not require a SOC check to gain access to, but otherwise operate the same as the Core Rulebook rules.
• Xinder Flower Essence: The most common of the “natural” anagathic compounds, the Xinder Flower is cultivated on a number of worlds with its nectar being harvested and processed in considerable amounts, but is still in high enough demand to limit supply. Xinder Flower Essence costs GCr1Dx30.000 per term during character creation and GCr40.000 per month, but instead of requiring a second Survival roll per term a DM-2 is applied instead. Otherwise Xinder Flower Essence operates the same as the Core Rulebook rules.
• Raqnisian Hayaroot Powder: Available only from the hostile desert planet of Raqnis, which is under a military occupation by Bastion’s military, Raqnisian hayroot powder is one of the more difficult sources to gain access to though it is also much safer to use. This has made the Hayaroot a valuable strategic resource, one which the Bastion government has been careful to safeguard and gatekeep access to. SOC rolls to obtain Raqnisian Hayaroot Powder requires a Very Difficult (12+) SOC roll to obtain, with a 4 or less resulting in imprisonment (and therefore spending terms in the Prisoner career). However, Raqnisian Hayaroot Powder does not require a second Survival roll per term. Otherwise it operates the same as the Core Rulebook rules.
• Paradise Hearts: Quite literally the hearts of Birds of Paradise (include reference) cut out and consumed. Birds of Paradise are generally considered a protected species in most jurisdictions and therefore hunting them for their hearts is a risky and often highly illegal prospect (or at the least the preserve of the highest in society exclusively). Accessing the hearts of Birds of Paradise requires a Formidable (14+) SOC roll to obtain with a 6 or less resulting in imprisonment. However, their hearts are probably the most effective anagathic compounds available, not requiring a second survival term and only requiring a single “dose” every four years (costing GCr500.000 in play, and the normal amount in the Core Rulebook during character creation) to maintain the regime. If one can maintain a regime of paradise hearts for twenty years, a traveller obtains the effects of Anagathic Gene Therapy (see below) for free, and can safely cease their regime without consequence. Otherwise paradise hearts act as the Core Rulebook rules.

Anagathic Nanobots

Anagathic nanobots are specialized medical nanobots specifically designed to repair aging cellular DNA. They are generally not heavily restricted, though supply and demand does make them somewhat difficult to acquire. To access Anagathic nanobots during character creation, a Traveller must make a Difficult (10+) SOC check, being imprisoned on a result of a natural 2. Additionally, Anagathic Nanobots are produced at TL16, 17, and 18, having the same effect as TL15 Nanobots but extending their efficacy. Otherwise they operate exactly the same as aging rate reduction nanobots found on pages 83 and 84 of the Robot Handbook.

Anagathic Gene Therapy

An expensive augmentation procedure, Anagathic gene therapy is a procedure that alters the genetic coding of the recipient’s body cells, halving the rate at which aging occurs in most cases. Anagathic gene therapy costs GCr5.000.000 and reduces a traveller’s END by 1 in exchange for halving the aging rate. If a character wishes to acquire this augment during character creation. They must pass a Difficult (10+) SOC check.

Cellular Rejuvenation

Perhaps the rarest and most sought after anti-aging treatment, cellular rejuvenation involves immersing oneself in a tank filled with nanoaugmented stem cells adapted to the genome of the recipient. These stem cells can actively make a person younger without undergoing a brain transplant into a clone body. This procedure is impossible to obtain outside of the most advanced nations (The Union of Sol, The Cincastrella Confederacy, the Centauri Republic, The Fracana League, and independent systems of TL 16 or greater), and costs a truly staggering amount of money (GCr500.000 per year of age reduced at TL16), but for those seeking the ultimate cheating of death, it is hard to do better than the cellular rejuvenation procedure. Travellers seeking out this treatment must make a Formidable (14+) SOC check.

Social Standing Extended - Social Standing in Play

Social standing in play can be a highly important factor or a non-factor depending the type of campaign the travellers are playing though. As a rule, travellers that move around a lot are less impacted by their social standing than those that remain in a certain area of operations. Though initial social standing has an initial impact, travellers that remain in a specific area will build up a reputation that will steadily modify or indeed eclipse their original SOC characteristic. However, travellers that range over a wide area and rarely if ever stay in a single location will however not need to worry so much about their SOC, with other characteristics impacting their social interactions with the world.

Social Standing and Class

Though some societies are quite egalitarian, most have some, often significant discreet social classes that the Social Standing characteristic is meant to represent. Unlike in the traditional, 3rd Imperium setting, entrenched nobility is quite rare and one’s class can change significantly if they cross into certain, foreign borders. As a rule these are what different SOC scores translate to.
  SOC 0 - SOC 0 represents that despised and the dehumanized, pirates, career criminals, and enslaved persons, people that are generally outcast from polite society or possibly even hunted by state authorities. is a special characteristic that one cannot enter into or leave normally. This means that a person usually needs to commit a heinous crime to hit SOC 0, and would need to perform an atonement of Herculean effort to leave. For persons who are enslaved, the process is much simpler, though often just as difficult, usually needing to escape bondage and flee to a society where slavery (or at least their enslavement) is impermissible.
SOC 1-2 - SOC scores of 1 and 2 represent the bottom rungs of “normal” society, indentured workers, the destitute, and refugees. Though a person with a SOC of 1 or 2 is not necessarily a criminal, they will likely frequently come into contact with crime as a regular fact of life. Getting out of this condition is relatively simple, though material conditions make it difficult in practice, for the most part.
SOC 3-6 - SOC scores of 3 to 6 represent the lower half of the “normal” working class. “Unskilled” industrial, agricultural, or service laborers tend to exist at this level. Poverty and want are typically common at this level, but nowhere near to the extent that someone of SOC 1 or 2 is likely to encounter. Alternatively, people of this Social Standing can live quite comfortably, if they are willing to live with great precarity, with unexpected emergencies casting them into destitution.
SOC 7-10 - SOC scores of 7-10 represent the upper half of the “normal” working class as well as the lower echelons of the Petit Bourgeois, “skilled” laborers, lower level professionals, low level government functionaries and the smallest of small business owners. Those with social standing in this rung are the lowest that can reasonably expect to maintain a consistently comfortable standard of living in societies that are not especially egalitarian. Particularly catastrophic emergencies can still impose some level of precarity however.
SOC 11-13 - SOC scores of 11-13 represent the professional class, highly skilled professionals (such as experienced doctors, engineers, and attorneys), regional celebrities, mid rank government officials, and the bulk of the petit bourgeoisie. The “black sheep” of higher status families also tend to exist at this level. At this level living standards can be quite high, even in higher cost of living, and highly unequal societies, and there is some basic level of financial security against most calamities. In societies with a noble caste, the lowest of noble titles will typically be awarded to people in this strata. In most cases, this is the highest a “normal” person can ascend under typical circumstances.
SOC 14-15 - SOC scores of 14-15 represent the majority of the bourgeoisie, widely famous celebrities, the nobility, and the bulk of the upper strata of government officials (anyone in charge of major departments but underneath the authority of top level ministers and heads of state), and in the case of nobles, the majority of the nobility. At this level, one has actual, meaningful political or economic power. It is usually difficult to rise to this station naturally, unless one was born into it, or is an unusually talented or ambitious member of the SOC 10-12 strata. At this point it starts becoming difficult to readily explain why one is bandying about on a rusty free trader instead of running a government department, a major business, or a noble estate.
SOC 16+ - Characters of SOC 16+ represent the highest of the high, heads of state, the highest of government officials (heading entire ministries of interstellar governments, or the grey eminences of legislatures or judiciaries), the mightiest of business magnates, and galactically famous superstars. While it is technically possible to rise to a Social Standing of 16, 17, or even 18, characters operating at this level of influence, wealth, and power are largely out of scope for a typical campaign.

Social Standing and Cost of Living

When something isn’t part of a regular database, it may not have a regulated cost. Instead of specifics, broad ranges can be used for regular run of the mill objects that don’t escalate to the level of high end consumer goods, or adventuring equipment. For example, a typical meal eaten out will cost between 5 and 50 credits (“greasy spoon” meals at street vendors or fast food restaurants will be lower, as low as a credit or two, high end gourmet meal cost more, typically 300-500 credits but potentially much much more). Accommodation typically costs 10 credits a night at the low end between 50 and 150 at the high end, and possibly much higher for the most luxurious accommodations. “Normal” clothing can cost between 10 and 100 credits unless unusually fancy or reinforced against specific environments.Taken together, one can aggregate a monthly cost of living. While travellers who live on a ship use their portion of a ship’s life support cost as their cost of living, those who spend a considerable amount of time on a station or planet must pay a monthly cost of living.
  There are various costs of living matched to various social strata. Those who live well below their means can sometimes face social sanction by the people they’re nominally supposed to interact with. For example, the business magnate living in an impoverished hab block, and wearing tattered rags, may be seen as merely quirky, it may grate after a while. This may, eventually result in a reduction in Social Standing. Conversely those who spend beyond their typical station, and can maintain this lifestyle can, if they can prove their ability may eventually increase their Social Standing.
  Below is a Lifestyle Standards chart. The Cost represents the monthly cost in Guild Credits that must be spent to maintain that lifestyle in a static location. The Minimum SOC represents the lowest Social Standing score that can be seen as “normal” living at it without social consequence. The maximum SOC represents the highest Social Standing that can pursue a lifestyle and be seen as “normal” with those beneath that maximum seen eligible for social advancement.