2 Sept 2013

NaNo Prep 2013/Fun With Traveller - Personalities

I mentioned that last time would be the last with this group.  I was wrong.  I have backgrounds, connections, skill sets.  I don't have personalities.  Oops.

Well, I do have their personalities, but not well defined.  Right not, the crew is still a little blobby.  Time to rectify that.  I'll switch up the order a bit.  Usually, Philomena goes first, being the first one created.  Not this time.  Spencer's up.  Of the four, he's the one that didn't get kicked out of his careers.  Sure, at the end, the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service didn't renew his contract, but they loaned him his old ship and kept him on the books as a detached Scout.  Spencer comes from a sparsely populated world, spent a lot of time on his own or with a small number of fellow Scouts, and now doesn't have to check in every few weeks.  Spencer is a happy guy.  Takeaways: Spencer is self-sufficient, can stand to live with himself for weeks on end, personable despite being born to near-outcasts.  Spencer is someone who others wouldn't mind having a beer with.

Philomena, who needs a decent nickname*, on the other hand, has been dealt several major blows in her career.  She's always seen herself as having to work harder to be noticed.  On a world where counts and barons are easily found, Philomena's not-quite-noble background makes her just another face in the crowd.  She wanted more, she wanted recognition.  Her ambition led her to the Imperial Navy.  Not long after recruiting, she saves her ship.  Her reward, from her view, is a nice shiny medal and an honourable discharge; nowhere near the long career she wanted with her own command.  Philomena got back up, though; her naval career was short but memorable, letting her easily get a position as an aide to a Count in the Spinward Marches**.  That career went well enough for a decade, letting her move up in responsibilities, but she never predicted the political maneuverings that saw her career as an aide end abruptly.  Philomena is now dejected, self-doubting.  Two careers, both of which her classmates could have been doing, and she failed.  Takeaways: Philomena is her worst critic.  She may have borderline depression.  Travelling with Spencer is more "it's better than nothing" than anything else.  She may not know what to do with herself on a small ship like the Scout/Courier; there's nowhere to go to if she wants to be on her own.

Cuddy was described as the embittered soldier.  He followed family tradition and joined the Imperial Army.  He had ambition and the talent to back it up.  In three of his five tours of duty, he saw combat.  The last tour saw his regiment slaughtered because of errors further up the chain of command.  Like Spencer, Cuddy stayed in his career for five terms; the difference is the last term.  For Spencer, it was a gift.  For Cuddy, it was a disaster that saw him drummed out of the Army.  Meanwhile, he's heard from his old girlfriend, Philomena, who sounds off from what he remembers of her, and she has her own tale of woe.  Cuddy is going to be by her side; one of them is going to get through the next year.  Takeaways: Cuddy has empathy; he knows when something is wrong.  Cuddy also cares about the people he is responsible for; causing them pain gets you on the wrong side of a twenty-year veteran.  At the same time, he's survived wars.  His training lets him take command in a crisis; Cuddy might even do so even if someone else is in command.

Miryim had a career like Philomena's; unexpected departures and a rival who forced her out of a position.  Even the first terms were similar; both Miryim and Philomena served on an Imperial Navy vessel that got into a major battle.  In Miryim's case, she was on secondment from the Darrian Confederation Navy as part of her required service.  Afterwards, Miryim left the Confederation Navy instead of being discharged.  She decided that she prefered the 99% of the time bored instead of the 1% of the time hoping not to die and joined the Merchant Marine.  Note that Miryim is well educated and could have easily spent her time as a scholar in a university researching.  Instead, Miryim wanted first hand experience.  Forced out of the Merchant Marine?  No problem; she'll just drift from planet to planet and see where she goes.  Takeaways: Miryim prefers hands-on experience over reading a book or watching a documentary.  She's curious.  She's also easy going.  Fighting isn't her forte, and she'll be happy to avoid it, but the Imperium gave her a shiny medal that said that she can keep her head in a crisis.

Combining the group now gets interesting.  Philomena is still brooding.  Spencer is satisfied with his lot in life.  Cuddy is bitter but able to still function.  Miryim is chipper.  A week together in Jump space could be the most dangerous adventure in their lives.


* Suggestions welcome.
** World to be determined.

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