Starfleet Character Background and Lifepath

These are rules for generating a background for Starfleet characters, to help flesh out the character, and potentially provide the GM plot and sub-plot hooks for the character in the game. The Family Background and the Lifepath rules are adapted to a Star Trek milieu from the Lifepath rules in Cyberpunk 2020 and Mekton Zeta published by R. Talsorian Games.

Family Background

Use these tables to generate details about the character's parents, siblings, and upbringing.

Family Status

Roll 1d10

1-6

Parents are living:

1-4	you get along with both parents
5-8	you get along well with one
9-10	you don't get along with either

7-10

Something has happened to one or both parents:

1	Parent(s) died in the war
2	Parent(s) died in an accident
3	Parent(s) were murdered
4	You were adopted
5	You never knew your parent(s)
6	Your parent(s) were lost on a secret mission
7	Your parent(s) are in hiding to protect you
8	Your parent(s) defected
9	You were left with relatives for safekeeping
10	You grew up on the streets

Family Standing

Roll 1d10

1-7

Family Standing is good (even if parents missing or dead)

8-10

Family standing in jeopardy:

1-2	Family lost everything to betrayal
3-4	Family exiled or sent abroad, you use an alias
5-6	Family imprisoned, you alone escaped
7-8	Family vanished
9	Family was murdered
10	Family scattered due to misfortune

Siblings

Roll 1d10

1-7	number of siblings
8-10	only child

Note: These numbers are appropriate for most human-type races. Some alien races may have a larger or smaller average number of children in a family.

For each sibling

Sex: Roll 1d10, even=brother, odd=sister

Age: Roll 1d10

1-5	older
6-9	younger
10	twin

Feelings:

Roll 1d10

1-2	They dislike you
3-4	They like you
5-6	Neutral
7-8	They hero-worship you
9-10	They hate you

Environment

Character was raised in ... (roll 1d10)

1-2	Agriculture/Farm
3-4	Countryside, small town
5-6	Suburb, small city, or large town
7-8	Medium city
9	Large city
10	Starbase or space vessel

Starfleet Character Lifepath

The Lifepath rules are used to generate a series of significant events that occured to the character over the course of their lives prior to the game. Some of the events can result in changes to the character's Attributes, Skills, and other aspects of the previously completed Character Creation Steps.

The events are broken up into three time periods (or four for some characters) that reflect the character Creation Steps. Those periods are the Pre-Academy, Starfleet Academy, and Tours of Duty. Starfleet Medical characters also potentially have events from their time at Starfleet Medical College. For each applicable period roll 1d10, with the listed modifiers, and consult the table to determine the number of events that occur to the character during that period. Then for each event roll on the event tables to determine the type of event and the specific details.

Period	Die Roll	Number of Events
Pre-Academy	3 or less	no events
	4 - 6	1 event
	7 - 8	2 events
	9 or more	3 events
Starfleet Academy	2 or less	no events
	3 - 4	1 event
	5 - 6	2 events
	7 - 8	3 events
	9 - 10	4 events
	11 or more	5 events
Medical College		as for Pre-Academy
Tours of Duty		as for Academy, +1 event per 4 years of service

Modifiers to Die Rolls

LUC 80+: +2
LUC 60-79: +1
LUC 40 or less: –1

Event Tables

For each event, roll on the period appropriate table to determine what type of event has occured.

Pre-Academy

1-2	Disaster/Lucky*
3-5	Friend
6-7	Enemy
8-9	Romance
10	Contact

Academy/Tours of Duty

1-3	Disaster/Lucky*
4-5	Friend
6-7	Enemy
8-9	Romance
10	Contact

Disaster/Lucky

Roll 1d10, odd = Disaster Strikes, even = You Get Lucky.

Disaster Strikes

1	You received a nasty injury, probably in combat. You have a scar and there may still be some detrimental after effects.
2	You contracted a severe illness, suffer a -5 to your Current DEX and END.
3	You were investigated by the authorities for some reason and it is still on your record.
4	Betrayal: You have been backstabbed in some manner. Roll 1d10: 1-3, you're being blackmailed. 4-7, a secret was exposed. 8-10, you were betrayed by a close friend in either romance or career.
5	Lover, Friend or Relative killed. You lost someone you really cared about. 1-5, they died accidentally. 6-8, they were killed in the line of duty. 9-0 they were killed under suspicious circumstances.
6	Because of your actions in a crisis situation, an innocent was killed. It is a black mark on your record.
7	Accident: You were in some kind of terrible accident. Roll 1d10. 1-4, you were very badly injured, -5 to your current END. 5-6, you were hospitalized for 1d10 months. 7-8, you've lost 1d10 months of memory that year. 9-0, you constantly relive nightmares of the accident and wake up screaming.
8	Falsely accused: You were framed. Roll 1d10. 1-3 it was theft. 4-5 it's lying. 6-8 it's murder. 9-10 it's rape or assault.
9	You were held prisoner for 1d10 months and suffered torture at the hands of your captors.
10	A group of people were killed and... 1-3, you were the only survivor. 4-7, they were under your command. 8-10, they died as a result of your actions.

You Get Lucky

1	Make a powerful connection in Starfleet. Roll 1d10. 1-4, Star Fleet Chief of Operations. 5-7, Starfleet Chief of Staff. 8-0, someone in Starfleet Command.
2	Hand-To-Hand Training: +5 to Personal Combat, Unarmed
3	Served in allied planetary fleet: Get a Language and Culture/History at +10.
4	Highly successful mission, gain a commendation.
5	Gain a high-level contact in one Starfleet division or high priority civilian organization.
6	Performed above and beyond the call of duty, receive a medal.
7	Found a tutor: +5 to any non-combat skill
8	Someone high up in Starfleet or the Federation owes you 1 favor
9	Combat training: + 5 to Marksmanship, Modern.
10	Beneficial transfer: (reroll if Pre-Academy): replace one tour or cadet cruise with an assignment of your choice. You may reroll the OER or Cadet Cruise Result.

Friend

Roll 1d10 Even = Male, Odd = Female

This Friend ...

1	Grew up with you
2	Is a childhood friend
3	Was an old family friend
4	Is like a Big Brother or Sister to you
5	Is like a Kid Brother or Sister to you
6	Is a teacher or mentor
7	Is like a foster parent to you
8	Is a partner or co-worker
9	Is an old Lover
10	Is an old Enemy

Enemy

Roll 1d10 Even = Male, Odd = Female

This Enemy is ...

1-3	A member of an 'enemy' military (eg Romulan)
4	Ex-Friend
5	Ex-Lover
6	Relative
7	Childhood Enemy
8	Superior Officer or other High Official
9	Person under your command or Lower Official
10	Ex Co-worker or Partner

This enmity started when one of you ...

1	Caused the other to lose face or status
2	Caused the loss of a lover, friend, or relative
3	Caused a major humiliation
4	Accused the other of cowardice or some other flaw
5	Caused a physical disability (roll 1d10. 1-2= eye lost. 3-4= lost arm. 5-10= badly scarred)
6	Deserted or betrayed other
7	Turned down other's offer of job or romantic involvement
8	Caused imprisonment or exile of other person
9	Was a romantic rival
10	Foiled a plan of the other's

Choose who did what to whom, then decide if ...

1-4	They hate you
5-7	You hate them
8-10	The feeling's mutual

If you meet face to face, the injured party would most likely ...

1-2	Go into a murderous killing rage and try to kill the other.
3-4	Avoid the other person.
5-6	Cause injury in any indirect way possible.
7-8	Ignore them.
9-10	Verbally attack them.

Romance

1-4	Happy Love Affair
5	Tragic Love Affair - roll the Tragedy
6-7	Love Affair with Problems - roll the Problem
8-10	Fast Affairs and Hot Dates (+5 to Carousing)

The Tragedy

1	They died in the line of duty
2	They were killed in an accident
3	They mysteriously vanished
4	It "just didn't work"
5	A personal mission came between you
6	They were kidnapped or imprisoned
7	They committed suicide or went insane
8	Relatives or social pressures kept you apart
9	Duties kept you apart
10	A Rival kept you out of the action

The Problem

1	Your lover's friends/relatives hate you
2	You lover's friends/relatives would use any means to get rid of you
3	Your friends/relatives hate your lover
4	One of you has a romantic rival
5	You are separated in some way
6	You fight constantly
7	One of you is jealous
8	One of you is seeing someone on the side
9	You are professional rivals
10	You have conflicting backgrounds

** Roll on Mutual Feelings (if applicable) ***

Mutual Feelings

1	They still love you
2	You still love them
3	You still love each other
4	You hate them
5	They hate you
6	You hate each other
7	You're good friends
8	No feelings either way
9	You like them, they hate you
10	They like you, you hate them

Contacts

Roll d100

Pre-Academy	Academy	Tours of Duty	Contact
01-08	01-04	01-06	Underworld Contact
09-18	05-10	07-14	Interstellar Trader
19-25	11-25	15-25	Scientist/Technician
26-35	26-32	26-35	Freelance Pilot
36-42	33-40	36-42	Independent Explorer
43-50	41-44	43-48	Media Personality
51-60	45-50	49-53	Planetary Military
61-70	51-57	54-59	Planetary Official
71-78	58-64	60-65	Diplomat
79-91	65-89	66-90	Starfleet Officer
92-00	90-00	91-00	Federation Official

Example Contacts:

Underworld Figure: an informant, gang member, "Godfather", etc.
Interstellar Trader: lone pilot, Orion Merchant Prince, etc.
Scientist/Technician: junior tech, Spacedock worker, member of Daystrom Institute, etc.
Freelance Pilot: independent smuggler, fleet owner, etc.
Independent Explorer: lone adventurer, planetary exploration fleet commander, etc.
Media Personality: reporter, holovid star, singer, etc.
Planetary Military: police officer, soldier, planetary commander, etc.
Diplomat: member of diplomatic entourage, planetary ambassador (like Sarek), etc.
Starfleet Officer: ensign, NCO, Starship captain, Starbase commander
Federation Official: bureaucrat, senator, member of Federation Council