When I look back on the long journey of creating characters for my Space Opera stories, it’s impossible not to credit my experience as a referee and player of the classic role-playing game Traveller. It was 1977, and I was just 11 years old when I first picked up the Little Black Books of Traveller—a game that would go on to shape not only my early storytelling experiences but also the way I approach character development in my novels today.
While most of my friends had heard about Dungeons & Dragons, it hadn’t become the global phenomenon it is now. In fact, I hadn’t started with D&D at all; my entry point into the world of tabletop role-playing was Traveller. D&D’s appeal was obvious even then, offering the excitement of dungeon delving, treasure hunting, and spellcasting. But what struck me about Traveller, and what continues to influence my writing decades later, is its life path character generation system—a process that feels more like crafting a backstory than simply rolling stats.
The Difference in Starting Points
In Dungeons & Dragons, characters often begin their journeys as young adventurers, just stepping out into the world. It’s a zero-to-hero system where the excitement lies in gaining skills, acquiring powerful items, and watching your character grow in power. Your average D&D adventurer might start with a longsword or shortsword, a bit of money leftover from a small inheritance, and a pack of essential gear. You’re equipped, but you’re at the beginning of your journey, with a lot of room to grow. It’s a setup that mirrors the classic coming-of-age tale—young heroes finding their place in a dangerous world.
Traveller, on the other hand, flips this narrative on its head. Instead of starting as a fresh-faced adventurer, you begin with a character who has already lived a life—sometimes several careers' worth. When I introduced my D&D-playing friends to Traveller, they were amazed by how different the experience was. Here, you might be creating a grizzled Navy captain, a retired scout who’s seen it all, or a merchant who’s already made (and lost) a fortune. The characters are disparate in experience, age, and background, much like the eclectic crews you find in classic Space Opera tales. Think of the bridge of the Enterprise, or the crew of the Serenity—individuals with different skills and histories, each bringing something unique to the table.
The Life Path of Traveller: Guided by Fate and Choice
The beauty of Traveller’s character creation lies in its life path system, a process that I’ve come to love and adapt in my own writing. Unlike D&D, where you roll dice to determine your stats and pick skills from a list, Traveller offers a blend of randomness and choice. You start with basic attributes—Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing—determined by dice rolls. But from there, the process becomes a narrative in itself.
You choose a career path: Will your character join the Navy, enlist as a Marine, become a merchant, or take the risky road of a scout? Each career choice brings its own set of challenges and opportunities. You don’t always get what you want, though. Sometimes, a failed roll means your character couldn’t make it into their desired career. Maybe they were injured in a failed scouting mission, or perhaps they were dishonorably discharged from the Navy under mysterious circumstances. These twists become plot hooks and character-defining moments, shaping the backstory and personality of the character long before they enter the story.
The skill acquisition in Traveller isn’t about cherry-picking abilities; it’s about making choices that align with the narrative you’re building. You gain skills through the experiences your character goes through—surviving combat, making risky trades, or navigating uncharted space. It’s a process guided by the player but influenced by the unpredictable nature of dice rolls, creating a character with strengths, weaknesses, and a wealth of experiences that feel real.
The Unpredictability of Life Path Generation
One of my favorite aspects of Traveller’s character creation is how the process mirrors real life. It’s not a perfect, linear path. There are setbacks, unexpected events, and sometimes catastrophic failures. I remember vividly the first time a player in my Traveller campaign experienced a major setback during character generation—a roll of the dice meant that their character was severely injured in combat, leaving them with a permanent limp and a lower Dexterity score. Instead of being upset, the player was thrilled. This wasn’t a disadvantage; it was a storytelling opportunity. That limp became a defining trait, a source of tension and drama throughout the campaign. It’s these kinds of moments—when things don’t go as planned—that make Traveller characters feel alive.
For me, this process translates seamlessly into writing Space Opera. In a genre where the scope is vast and the stakes are cosmic, it’s easy for characters to become lost in the spectacle. But by grounding them in a detailed backstory created through a Traveller-like process, I can ensure that they feel real. They have scars, both physical and emotional. They’ve made mistakes, learned hard lessons, and have stories to tell before the reader ever meets them.
Building the Crew of the SS Vagabond
When I started writing Merchant of Vision, I applied this method to my main characters. Take Kars Vandor, for instance. I didn’t just decide that he would be a young, talented welder on a mining colony. I mapped out his life as if I were generating him in Traveller. He started as a laborer, who learned mechanical skills out of necessity, and faced the life of a smart but inexperienced technician on a poor, corporate controlled, mostly lawless frontier mining world that shaped his drive to escape his harsh circumstances. By the time he enters the story, he’s not just a blank slate—he’s a fully realized person with a history that informs his every decision.
Kris Herron was another character brought to life through this approach. Her backstory as the daughter of a Terran naval hero shaped her motivations, her sense of duty, and her inner conflict. I didn’t plan out every detail; instead, I let her life path unfold as if I were guiding her through a Traveller character generation session. She starts out on the same desert Frontier world with a higher social status and some more money, as well as being a skilled pilot. But I also understood that she's going to become a naval officer who is going to go to the Naval academy because she's been accepted. So that she's going to be gone for 4 years. This means that their paths are going to diverge, they're going to separate and then perhaps come back together at a later date both having matured so much over those four years of early adulthood. What starts out as essentially a high school romance on a frontier colony can become something with depth, or their lives will just diverge and they will have the memories.
This method gave her depth, making her relationship with Kars more complex and layered, rather than just becoming the stereotypical passive female love interest, she has her own life, motivations, and dreams. She feels organic to her own story... not just arm candy for the lead male protagonist.
Why It Works for Space Opera
The essence of Space Opera lies in its characters—the heroes, the rogues, the explorers who make the universe feel alive. By using a method rooted in role-playing game character creation, I’m able to build individuals who feel like they’ve lived entire lives before the story even begins. They come with baggage, with unresolved conflicts, and with skills honed by experience. This makes the dynamics between them richer and the narrative more compelling.
I believe that this approach can benefit any writer, especially those crafting speculative fiction. It adds a layer of realism and depth that draws readers in, making them feel like they’re peering into the lives of real people, not just characters on a page.
If you’ve ever played a role-playing game or are curious about how game mechanics can inform storytelling, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you created characters this way? Do you enjoy reading about characters with detailed, nuanced backstories? Drop a comment below—I’m always excited to dive into a conversation about the art of character creation.
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