Freelance Traveller

Martial Artist: A Career for Mongoose Traveller 1st Edition

by Steven Pustay

This article originally appeared in the January/Feburary 2017 issue.

You’ve dedicated your life to developing your skill in a method of hand-to-hand combat, whether as a sport, self-defense or a means of self-cultivation. Along the way, you may inspire others or help pass on your enthusiasm and love of the fighting arts to them.

Assignments

Choose one of the following:

Competitor:

You are a competitor, and fight in tournaments, matches, and duels.

Instructor:

You share your knowledge of martial arts and self-defense with others.

CQC (Close Quarter Combat) Trainer:

You train others for the reality of close quarter combat, combining techniques of melee fighting and close range shooting.

Qualifications

-1 DM for every previous career. Skills listed are mandatory, except where separated by or.

Competitor:

any two of Str 7+, Dex 7+, End 7+; Athletics or Melee (specialty) 0

Instructor:

Int 6+ or Edu 6+; Melee (specialty) 1+

CQC Trainer:

at least one prior term in relevant Law Enforcement or Military career; this career is typically only found in Military services and Law Enforcement agencies; Gun Combat (any) 1, Melee (any relevant such as knife or unarmed) 0; Int 6+ or Edu 6+

Career Progress

Mustering Out Benefits

Other Benefits Notes

The options for weapon (#4) and armor (#6) are intended for CQC instructors who presumably are either currently serving or have previously served in a military or law enforcement capacity. If the character is a weapons-based martial artist, such as a kendoka (one who practices kendo, fighting with the samurai sword), the Referee could allow them the opportunity to choose a high-quality weapon of that type if the number is rolled.

Ranks and Benefits

Explanation of Ranks and Benefits

Competitor

Rank 1:

Melee 1 reflects the PC gaining fighting proficiency (if they don’t already have it) after many rounds of sparring, grappling, or “ring time”.

Rank 3:

Discipline 1 reflects the learned ability to keep focus despite pain, again, something gained from experience fighting.

Rank 5:

Broker 1 represents basic knowledge of contract negotiation. A character that achieves this rank is likely something of a sensation and might have been approached to fight professionally.

Instructor

Rank 1:

Instructor 1 reflects the PC’s polished ability to pass on information to those less skilled.

Rank 3:

Leadership 1 represents the ability to move beyond rote instruction, providing inspiration to students. Additionally, the instructor with Leadership can act in the role of coach or mentor, preparing students for sparring matches or fights, and analyzing the results afterward. (Optionally, allow a character serving as a coach to use this skill to increase the initiative of a fighter as per the Traveller Core Rulebook, p.56).

Rank 5:

Social Sciences 1 reflects the instructor’s deepening appreciation of their martial art and its philosophical, historical, and cultural background (for specializations like history, philosophy, etc.). Alternately, it may reflect the Instructor’s deepening understanding of the human person and how to motivate (for specializations like psychology or sociology, etc.).

CQC Trainer

Rank 1:

Instructor 1 reflects the character’s polished ability to pass on information to those less skilled. Because of the dynamics of close quarters combat (simulated or real), chaos is the norm.

Rank 3:

Leadership 1 allows the Trainer to organize and rally the trainees, to get them to work together (since CQC requires the ability to work as a team, not only as an individual).

Rank 5:

Admin 1 represents the expanded roles that experienced CQC Trainers take on, such as running a training program at a military base (or something similar); this requires the ability to keep records of training, navigate through the hurdles of military or government bureaucracy, etc.

Skills and Training

Explanation of Skill Choices

Personal Development

Strength +1, Dexterity +1, and Endurance +1 represent the general increase in physical condition that any physical training represents.

Medic represents a character’s ability to handle injuries, especially those that come from training, physical exertion or as a result of fighting. This is basic competency, representing first aid, and should not be taken from this table more than once.

Carouse and Gambling are common ways of socializing.

Service Skills

Athletics represents the increased knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the human body, and the ability to get increased performance within those limits.

Deception means the character can recognize and perhaps use the various kinds of deception present in the world of martial arts – this might include various means of cheating in a match, setting up cheap shots, etc. as well as faking various techniques.

Diplomat represents the character’s ability to tactfully navigate through the various cultures, governing bodies and/or regulatory commissions surrounding their martial art without giving undue offense to others, bruising egos or committing cultural faux-pas, etc.

Discipline here (borrowed from High Guard, p.39) represents the character’s ability to stay on task in the face of distraction and discomfort, in this case, from the pain and shock of jarring physical blows.

Trade (Any) represents the fact that few martial artists can actually make a living in martial arts, and most hold down a second job (or a ’day job’). This skill can be replaced by any other skill which would allow a character to make a living (such as Computers) while training in martial arts; a skill from a prior profession or career path might fit in well here.

Advanced Education

Advanced Education represents intellectual and artistic skills that may be taken in the exploration of the martial arts, or skills that may of necessity be acquired during a martial artist career.

Art represents artistic endeavors associated with certain martial arts, such as calligraphy or playing certain musical instruments. In certain forms of martial arts, the focus may be on meditation and movement, rather than fighting; in those, Art (Dancing) may be an appropriate skill.

Social Science represents the study of various contexts of martial arts, such as philosophical and historical.

Admin represents the business skills for e.g., running a dojo or negotiating a contract to be an instructor at one.

Advocate represents knowledge of laws relevant to martial arts, such as those regarding use of force or fighting, etc., how to avoid law suits, etc.)

Medic represents a knowledge of first aid and sports medicine, especially the types of injuries that can be incurred in martial arts competitions or fights where martial arts are used.

Craftsman (Weapon) represents knowledge of weapons, both care and creation, used in the martial artist’s specific style. This generally represents blades or cudgels, but is not necessarily so limited, and represents a martial artist’s interest in crafting the kind and quality of weapon they themselves would want to use.

Specialty: Competitor Skills

Athletics, Discipline, and Melee have all been previously explained.

There are arguable similarities between the Martial Arts Competitor and the general Athlete as conceived in Career Book 2 (Spica Publishing). Based on those similarities, Stealth and Streetwise are adopted from the latter: Stealth represents the superior physical self-control of the martial artist, which can include, when necessary, being light of foot. It might also be useful for the competitor to sneak back to their room after a night of carousing without alerting the coach. Streetwise represents their ability to see and head off trouble outside the ring since a wise fighter does not want exert their energy before a fight unnecessarily and would want to avoid injuries that could negatively affect their abilities. (Of course, PCs being PCs, these might not be the case!)

Specialty: Instructor Skills

Athletics, Discipline, and Melee, described earlier, represent the Instructor’s continuing to gain skill in their specialty, or in other martial disciplines. This may give them new insight into body positioning, mechanics, etc.; also, increased skill in a specialty allows them to instruct students at a higher level.

Instruction represents the ability to pass on one’s knowledge to those who are less skilled, and willing to learn.

Leadership represents the Instructor’s ability to inspire the student(s), and see the Instructor as a mentor and model, and as a coach rather than just a trainer in competition.

Persuade represents the instructor’s ability to motivate students to push themselves beyond their limits and carry on with training even when they’ve hit a plateau.

Specialty: CQC Trainer Skills

Instruction, described earlier, represents the CQC Trainer’s ability to pass on his knowledge.

Gun Combat covers marksmanship techniques optimized for shooting at extreme close quarters.

Melee (Any) represents a character’s trained ability to utilize different melee weapons, including hands, feet, elbows and knees or knife, blunt objects, etc., when a firearm is not accessible or desirable.

Stealth allows a character to move quietly to gain surprise on an opponent, making most use of angles of approach (such as “cutting the pie”) and cover.

Recon is the opposite side of the coin and represents a character’s situational awareness, in this case, to reduce the opponent’s ability to approach without warning.

Athletics because close quarters combat is physically very demanding and may involve movement around, over or through obstacles (walls, windows, furniture, etc.) in a dynamic manner.

Mishaps and Events

For some mishaps or events, you are instructed to roll on a table that is not included with this career. In such cases, the source of the table will be indicated as shown:

TCR:

Traveller Core Rule Book (Mongoose Publishing)

CB1:

Career Book 1 (Spica Publishing)

CB2:

Career Book 2 (Spica Publishing)

CB3:

Career Book 3 (Spica Publishing)

Mishaps

Events

Notes on the tables

The Mishap and Events tables are inspired primarily by those from Career Book 1 (Spica Publishing) and Career Book 2 (Spica Publishing). Some ideas were taken from Entertainer profession Life Events table (p.19, TCR) and the Duelist Life Events table (Signs and Portents #76, p.53)

For characters who are still serving in the military or law enforcement, at the Referee’s option, the player can roll on the appropriate table for their branch of service as it might be the case that their current assignment is only a collateral (part-time) duty, which means they do it in addition to regular duties (as an infantryman, detective, etc.)

In order to make the Events table as applicable to all as possible, I think I did not put as many in that applied specifically to CQC Instructors. Many of the events can be altered easily enough to apply to them. Of course, Referees can alter the events to suit their own needs!

Sources of Inspiration

Career Book 2 (Spica Publishing, 2009)

Athlete (Player/Trainer/Manager), pp.14-15

Signs and Portents, #76 (Mongoose Publishing, 2010)

Duelist (Fencer/Pistoleer/Champion), “Duelist” by James Desborough, pp.52-3 http://mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/sp76.pdf

Blog (Mongoose Publishing, 2011-Oct-13)

“Martial Arts in Traveller” http://blog.mongoosepublishing.co.uk/?p=71

Traveller: The New Era (GDW, 1993)

“Martial Artist” career, p.48