In an unstable asteroid belt, you managed to slip through impossible crevices to lose a group of space pirates that were after your cargo. When the powerful political figure's son needed a lung transplant during the Outer Plague, you managed to slip through a razor thin gap in the quarantine zone unnoticed to deliver them. In your more charitable times, you have transported innocents from a damaged space station to the safety of the planet's surface, or helped haul endangered animals to preservation planets where they would be protected from poaching. You are one of many the galaxy relies on to move packages of great importance from band to outer band. You are not just a messenger or a hauler, and you're not some backwater delivery driver - You are a Galactic Courier.
- Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Stealth
- Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (Starships)
- Languages: Common, and two other languages of your choice.
- Equipment: A leather vest, a pair of leather boots, an airtight spaceflight suit, and a leather pouch with 30 gp
Every great courier has that one tale that sets them apart from common criminals. By wits, piloting skill, or a silver tongue, you lived to tell the story—and you tell it often. You can roll on the following table to determine your claim or choose one that best fits your character.
| d6 | Claim to Fame |
|---|---|
| 1 | You once smuggled stolen alien liquor into a star system under heavy alcohol prohibition. When you're ship was boarded and searched by authorities, you managed to convince them that the liquor was actually a new medical disinfectant that was undergoing a trial phase in various parts of the galaxy. You then made triple what the cargo was worth by selling to speakeasys across the system. |
| 2 | Previously broke from serious ship repairs, you took a dangerous job hauling a new explosive compound that was intended for use on the front lines of a war going on between two neighboring star systems. Despite the compound being reactive enough to reduce your ship and you to atoms, you flew through a flurry of ballistic rounds, laser fire, and missiles while singing a dated tune and drinking from a bottle of whiskey. You made the delivery, and your only regret is that you spilled the whiskey. |
| 3 | You took a job that required you enter a militaristic society's star system to pick up the cargo, and found yourself confronted by several heavily armed ships. You managed to convince them you were a returning soldier with a commandeered ship, and proceeded to be escorted back to their base. While there for weeks, you managed to earn a promotion that gave you authority to order recruits to pick up and deliver your package for you. You've since fled the system and refuse to return out of fear of execution. |
| 4 | While traveling through hyperspace on a delivery run, your ship was suddenly rocked by cosmic waves that knocked you out of warp. Your ship then crash landed on an uncharted planet, sending out an S.O.S. to the stars over the course of many moons. Survival on this planet was brutal, but you lasted long enough to be found and rescued by a passing merchant ship. You then found your way to the client and deliver the package despite them thinking you were dead. You've been their exclusive courier ever since. |
| 5 | While on your way to another pick up, you received a hail of distress calls from a nearby star system. Deciding to check it out, you discovered that a colony ship had been irreparably damaged and was being pulled into a star's gravity well. You docked your ship and spent every last minute you could heroically finding and helping survivors evacuate to your ship. They were packed in like sardines, but you managed to undock and jump to hyperspace just moments before the colony vessel was consumed by solar fire |
| 6 | You received two jobs at the same time - the First job came from an undercover client that involved delivering a stolen weapon prototype to their allies. The Second job came from another undercover client on the other side with a prototype defensive system to protect against laser fire. You then took on both jobs, made schematic copies of each prototype, and proceeded to sell the prototypes to the other side, while selling the stolen schematics back to the original owners. Neither side is aware you did this |
You've traversed the galaxy for so long that piloting a starship feels more natural then running to you. When making a roll to handle, pilot, or otherwise operate a starship, you do so with advantage. You also know how to find nooks and crannies within a ship that others cannot. When rolling Investigation or Stealth for the purposes of hiding or finding cargo, you do so with advantage.
Suggested Characteristics
In general, Couriers value survival, and then profit, above other things. One could be a part of a larger organization, or might run a small courier business of their own. Couriers live the lies they have told, and they have a natural ability to recall all the falsehoods and half-truths they have ever spouted.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I love piloting in space but hate waiting in warp. |
| 2 | I think of everything in terms of monetary value. |
| 3 | I never stop smiling. |
| 4 | You'll never catch me off guard; I have a lie for every occasion. |
| 5 | The only things more important to me then money are my friends. |
| 6 | You say "Impossible", I say "Challenge Accepted." |
| 7 | I become wistful when I see the glow of the sun illuminate a planet's atmosphere. |
| 8 | People think I'm a common criminal, but that's by design. If they knew I was a mastermind, things might get dicey. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I dream of being able to open a vault one day and look down at a sea of money that I call mine. (Any) |
| 2 | There are unwritten rules of Couriers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents... I follow it to the letter. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Profit is the only thing that matters to me. I don't care what I have to do to get it. (Evil) |
| 4 | I do this only to achieve a greater goal that benefits my community. (Good) |
| 5 | For all my many lies, there is one truth I hold dear - I value friendship more then anything in the galaxy. (Any) |
| 6 | I am in my element when my life is in danger - there is no greater feeling. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My vessel was stolen from me, and I burn with the desire to recover it. |
| 2 | I intend to become the leader of the network of smugglers that I belong to. |
| 3 | I owe a debt that cannot be repaid in gold. |
| 4 | After one last job, I will retire from the business. |
| 5 | I was tricked by a fellow Courier who stole something precious from me. I will find that thief. |
| 6 | I give most of my profits to a charitable cause, and I don't like to brag about it. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lying is reflexive, and I sometimes engage in it without realizing. |
| 2 | I tend to assess my relationships in terms of profit and loss. |
| 3 | I believe everyone has a price and am cynical toward those who present themselves as virtuous. |
| 4 | I struggle to trust the words of others. |
| 5 | Few people know the real me. |
| 6 | Though I act charming, I feel nothing for others and don't know what friendship is. |
Contacts
As a courier, you've met with and hauled cargo with clients all over the galaxy - and many of them have become regular customers. These clients might be people in the criminal underworld that use your services for discreet narcotic deliveries, or wealthy political figures that pay handsomely for strange artifacts, or maybe your clients retain anonymity and happily pay an extra fee for you to haul a package with unknown contents. Work with your DM to establish possible contacts that might offer you jobs out of respect for your skill, financially help you out in a pinch because you did the same for them, or maybe even hide you from the law because you delivered a heart that saved their little girl.
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