Having built your 100 point enthusiastic
youth, spend another 150 points on their education and career.
(YES. Raising attributes and buying advantages now costs DOUBLE.)
New York invests HEAVILY in Sapient Capital. The Galaxies are a
competitive and hostile place and NO mind, no sapient potential, can be allowed
to go to waste or be seriously under-utilized. All levels of
education and re-training are WELL provided for from the public
purse. Spacers are among the cream of the crop, and Spacers
authorized for missions beyond Confederation Space are the best of
these.
In short, the baseline for the campaign will be 250 points, with 100 points for initial "attributes" and another 150 points for "prior education and experience." Starting age is 25 (20 for Marines --lower ages merit the "Youth" disadvantage and will require explanation.)
Also note, that the board calls for an "ensemble" cast to avoid
the dullness of ship-centered play. You will have your own
"stable" of characters, but the actualcharacter that you play on any given "night" will
fit into the administrative structure of the Ibn BaTTutah, and will fit
the evenings scenario. Diplomats one night, engineers
another, bridge crew on a third, and occasionally the ship's small
complement of Marines. The upshot is that just because one evening
a player gets stuck playing"third assistant purser" doesn't mean that she won't get to be Marine
Captain of the Guard next time.
The other point is that senior officers (and equivalent) get a 50 point bonus to their 150 "education" points (without them they would hardly be SENIOR officers) but they should also be fifty or over. Lower level characters (below the "rank" of Petty Officer or equivalent) will be built on only 100+110 points.
Standing Tg.Is.S. orders for Captain's of multiple-use vessels are:
1) Protect vital Tg.C. interests and security.
2) Respect the chain of command
2.1) Obey (relevant) orders of superiors
2.2) Fulfill your mission.
3) Protect your ship! (None of the other specialists on a Tg.Is.S. vessel is given this charge. They are told not to recklessly endanger the boat or its crew.)
4) Protect those aboard.
4.1) Protect passengers
4.2) Protect civilian crew
4.3) Protect uniformed crew
5) Fulfill the Tg.Is.S. multiple-use mandate
5.1) Trust the senior specialists to do their jobs. Render them every service.
5.2) Lend them effective command (of the ship) when expedience so dictates
5.2.1) Resume command if you believe they are recklessly endangering your ship. (but see 2 and 5.1).
5.3) In the absence of a Tg.Is.S. superior aboard, arbitrate fairly between on-board factions.
Tg.Is.S. Officers tend to lean toward the technical side of things. They also tend to be biased toward either Military or Merchant concerns. Other Tg.Is.S. constituencies thus frequently complain of political and budgetary short-shrift, both in New York and aboard ship.
Usually a Tg.Is.S. Captain is the ultimate authority on the ship, and this is always true in a breaking crisis or emergency. However, larger ships also have a civilian administrator (much like an "owner aboard") who out-ranks the uniformed Captain and who moderates between factions. On board Administrators are appointed directly by the Tg.Is.S. minister and approved by the Security Council for 25 year terms. (The Ibn BaTTutah has a Tg.Is.S. Administrator.)
______________________
The Captain (or First Officer) can be a Chim, Fin, or Human, but either the Captain or his Exec MUST be Human. Note that these aren't expected to be Star Fleet Captains. Well trained pilots and astrogators fly the ship. Expert engineers keep her running, and any member of the Tactical Command knows more about space battles than any of the Bridge officers. Take the extra 50 point bonus, and make the Character at least 50 years old (and a 50 year old Tg. Captain is YOUNG.)
1) As a matter of course, the Tg.Is.S. provides every spacer with at least
one hidden chip slot (Cyberpunk, p.38). Ratings get one, junior
officers get two, and senior officers get three. (You may buy more
[for xp] if you want. At the time the character also had to come up
with the money for the extra slots, but this has long
since been amortized.) These are not free advantages, pay 5 points
per slot.
2) As a bridge commander you are basically a shiphandler, expert
administrator, and technical dilettante (so you can evaluate your crew's
performance).
A bridge commander MUST have:
The appropriate Rank. (Captain or full Commander)
A high level of Leadership.
A high level of Administration
(possibly a high level of Politics)
An expert level of Shiphandling (Hyperspace Starship)
An expert level of Shiphandling (Jump line)
An expert level of Shiphandling (S.T.L. Spaceship)
A high level of Shiphandling (E-level Hyperspace)
You will also have at least basic knowledge/skill (though it might be
rusty) in:
Free Fall (every Spacer)
Vacc Suit/(ExoSkeleton/Battle Suit, like every Spacer)
Each kind of Astrogation used by Clan Terragen: Normal Space, Hyperspace, and Jump Line-also some E-space
Piloting (Starship)
Drive Engineering (Hyperdrive, Thrusters, and Fusion Plant)
Electronics
Sensors
Gunnery
Tactics (Starship)
Galactic Languages (at least one required [besides Gal-one])
Also appropriate is some level of skill in any of the
following:
Personal Beam Weapon
A hand-to-hand combat skill
A science: esp. astrophysics or Planetology
Space Ship Building
Xenology/Anthropology
Merchant/Economics
Strategy (political-economic policy, or military/logistical)
Diplomacy
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