Trader

Of the 8 Career Skills, choose 4 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Explorer Career Skills: Astrogation, Cool, Knowledge (Lore), Knowledge (Outer Rim), Knowledge (Xenology), Perception, Piloting (Space) and Survival

Trader Specialization Skills: Deception, Knowledge (Core Worlds), Knowledge (Underworld) and Negotiation

Those seeking to take what they discover as they explore the Outer Rim and beyond (and turn a serious profit from it) are Traders. For a Trader, a new planet represents nigh-infinite potential for resource exploitation, while a new culture or hidden community is a customer base just begging for his particular talents.

Most Traders know how to build connections between the center of civilization and the far reaches, and they are often educated folks who bring knowledge and proficiency in economics, sociology, and politics with them.

Traders are exceptionally adept at commerce, naturally; they know how to find what is needed, and can usually bypass the kinds of restrictions that stymie others. At the same time, Traders can get the most out of a transaction, as well as talk themselves into or out of almost anything. Traders are strategic thinkers, planning ahead for contingencies. They are also strong-willed, making them excellent companions in a crisis.

A Trader played in a campaign will likely serve as the group's public face, though not necessarily as the leader. He will be one of the best first choices for interacting with public officials, money men, and anyone with whom the group seeks to do business. When it comes to finding and buying something that the team needs, or fencing something that they wish to get rid of for a profit, he is invaluable.

Potential Backgrounds

  • Academic: Traders who understand the grander scope of interstellar economics may well have a tremendous upper hand in commerce. Reaching out to a nascent civilization to bring trade to it, the academically minded Trader is likely to reap the maximum long-term rewards for his efforts. An interesting background could be the radical economist, determined to change how mercantile systems work, making his way to the Outer Rim to prove his theories.
  • Criminal: Traders quite frequently face the slippery slope of temptation by cheating customers or by working out deals that bend the law too far. Those that take such shortcuts one too many times discover they are no longer honest businessmen, that they are instead walking the road of a crooked dealer. This doesn't have to be a death sentence for their career; there are plenty of folks, especially in the distant places of the galaxy, who need to do business with those not afraid to smuggle, lie. and cheat to get what is needed when t needs to go. Criminal Traders a often the only option those in the" frontier areas have to conduct necessary transactions
  • Entrepreneur: Traders are almost by definition entrepreneurs, regardless of whatever else may be driving them to explore the galaxy. A Trader making his own way among the stars is constantly on the lookout for business opportunities, even when he's not in a particularly strong position to take advantage of them at the moment, he'll take note of the information for later exploitation.
  • Ex-Imperial Operator: Traders may have been bureaucrats of some kind, ensuring the Empire received its due in the form of taxes, fees, and penalties from merchants and mercantile consortiums in various corners of the galaxy. Perhaps one saw an opportunity that could be best exploited if he went independent, taking all he had learned as an inspector or tax collector and employing it to start a business all his own. Alternatively, such a functionary might find himself simply removed from his cushy Imperial post, and now he's forced to search for opportunities among the stars.
  • Fallen Noble: Traders have a great need for diplomatic skills and connections, and someone from the upper crust of the Empire is bound to have plenty of both. A fallen noble might yet have access to enough resources to start up a business, which is a natural path for one who was born to lead. Some nobles come from great mercantile empires anyway, so even on the outs with their families, they are still Traders by nature.
  • Wanderer: Traders in the outer reaches of the galaxy make their livings by going from planet to planet, space station to starport, carrying goods to those who want them and buying supplies to sell elsewhere. The mentality of a wanderer is well suited to such a life, especially if the wanderer actually enjoys dealing with other people. A classic sort of background would be the wanderer who started the habit of bringing things needed to the places he was traveling and one day realized he'd taken up the Trader profession without really intending to.