MERCHANT MARINE: CIVILIAN SERVICE

The Merchant Service is organized on a tight Guild structure. Normally, employment is maintained in one of the Guilds, but a general SpaceHand position may be obtained by any personnel unable to obtain employment in their Guild position.

Most large vessels are owned by large corporations as both the cost of the vessels and the cost of operations are far too high for many private citizens to manage. However, PCs may own skips of corvette and light merchantman displacement.

Pcs do not have to have pre-requisites to enlist, but one's promotion chances are very much determined by personal characteristics:

Astronaut: 10+ on 2d6, with +1 DM for each complete 5-point block the sum of the following personal characteristics exceeds 113: Constitution, Dexterity, Agility, Intelligence, Intuition, Leadership, GTA.

Scientist: 10+ on 2d6, with +1 DM for each complete 5-point block the sum of the following personal characteristics exceeds 113: Constitution, Dexterity, Agility, Intelligence, Intuition, Leadership, GTA.

Engineer: As Scientist, but MechA or EIecA can substitute for GTA. Further, if all three areas of Technical aptitude are 15+, an additional +I DM can be added.

Tech: As engineer, but promotion on 9+ on 2d6.

Armsman: 10+ on 2d6, with +I DM for each complete 5-point block the sum of the following personal characteristics exceeds 113: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility, Intelligence, Leadership, Bravery.

Multi: Any character with very strong expertise in General Skills may be ruled a Multi by the StarMaster. A Multi is a jack-of-all trades and generally fills positions aboard a starship which require working with people, such as Purser. He should also be able to serve in several specialized areas other than his own specialty. A Multi-Astronaut, for instance, might have expertise in a number of Tech skills as well, and might sign on as a Tech if no positions were available for astronauts. The result is that the PC can have a rank grade rating in several categories of starship personnel at the same time. His chance of promotion in any category is based on his personal characteristics, as outlined above for each of the character types.

There are a considerable number of different categories of Merchant Marine personnel. Each category is organized under a Guild structure, and no one may work in any category unless he is a Guild member in good standing. Initial Guild fees are CR 500 x number of rank grades in the personnel category. Annual fees are CR 100 x rank grade currently held. The Guild recognizes military service rank grades but discounts them to 2/3 of military grade. An Astronaut/ 10, for instance would be rated rank grade 6 in the Guild Astronauts and Astrogators.

Pay scales are given for the various positions occupied aboard a commercial starship. In some instances, the category may be filled by several PC types. The elegible PC types are listed below the category name.