Cadet cruises are prior assignments just after finishing up at the academy.

Describe one
cadet cruise using guidance from the following questionnaire:

1. What caused you to leave your former life for life aboard a starship?

Suggestions:

Choose one of the NPCs from your playbook, or a faction from the list. What happened between
you? How did this cause you to leave your former life?

Or think about your homeworld and your early life before this voyage. What did you leave
behind? What dream are you chasing?

2. What was your ship’s assignment during your cadet cruise?

Roll 1d6 and look at the chart below for your answer.

Cruise Type

1 Merchant Marine

2 Military Outpost

3 Research Station

4 Terraforming

5 Colonization

6 Galaxy Exploration

3. What challenge did you face along the way?

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Roll 2d6 (declare one as the Determination die) and look at the chart below for the answer. You
can also choose one instead of rolling. Your life came to some great crisis. What was it? What
was at stake? Who was at fault? How were you caught up in things?

Determination die roll 2nd die

odd even

Lost in deep space Engine Instability 1

Treachery of/by a friend or frenemy Boarding party 2

Mindless machines Hivemind cyborgs 3

Betrayal of/by allies Strange infection 4

Capture of crewmates Consumed by pastime 5

Space anomaly Attack by rival warships 6

4. What did you do?

When you were faced with a challenge, you took surprising action and it helped shape you into
who you are today. Note that the maximum number of dots allowed in any one action is still 2,
and roll the appropriate number of dice for the action you chose. Keep track of this roll’s result
for Step 7 as well.

● On a Crit: you got everything you wanted and more. When interacting with your old crew,
you get potency. Mark experience or potential (your choice), and roll on the table
below - making a note that is a particularly auspicious sign.
● On a 6: it went exactly how you planned. When interacting with your old crew, you get
potency. Mark potential, and roll on the table below - making a note that this is a fond

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 memory of yours. Who did you leave behind who shared this memory with you? How did
your then-allies celebrate your victory?
● On a 4-5: you got what you wanted, but at a heavy price. Mark potential, and roll on the
table below - making a note that this is something you carry with you, even if you’d
rather forget about it. How did you avoid danger by the skin of your teeth? Did it leave
you with a happy memory, a lifelong regret, or a departed friend?
● On a 1-3: It didn’t go your way. Say how the crisis got complicated despite your best
efforts. Mark experience, and roll on the table below. What was the price of failure?
What Great or belief does knowledge of this complication instill in you: perhaps a broken
heart, a sense wanderlust, or tireless vengeance?

5. What did you take back with you?

Your experience left you with a memento you can never lose. Add details as necessary to form
a narrative.

Determination die roll 2nd die

odd even

A massive toothmark or garish scar Another culture’s tattoos and/or 1

piercings

A strange musical instrument A rock that boils liquids instantly 2

A missing eye, ear, foot, hand, etc The remains of strange flora or fauna 3

A cube of a unique isotope A new hobby 4

A mysterious star system chart A vial of bioluminescent material 5

A haunting vision of your death in space A holographic drawing 6

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6. What did you learn?

You learned a lot from whatever happened. What did you focus on when you returned? If this is
your first cruise during character creation, you get a dot in the appropriate action of your
choice.

7. Second Half of the Cruise

In the second half of the journey something else happened (probably as a result of the last
problem). What happened, what did you do, and what did you learn? How did you respond to
your previous experience? Repeat steps 3, 4, and 6 to find out.

8. Assess Performance

Cadet Cruise result (sum all highest results, for which Critical counts as 12) Commented [1]: a rule idea that never got finished. Or
perhaps the one below wasn't finished?! Rethink
● If your lowest result was a 6, you exited your cruise as a Lieutenant.
● If your lowest result was a 4/5, you exited your cruise as an Ensign.
● If your lowest result was 1-3, you exited your cruise as a Crewman.

Command Cadet Cruises. Optional. If you want, talk about another cadet cruise. It is not
uncommon for cadets to have gone on multiple. Repeat steps 2 through 7 (skip the actions
dots), and exit the crew at a rank 1 higher than before.
*: note that repeating Cadet Cruises makes it easier to obtain a higher starting rank score. This
is intentional: the experience these officers have before being assigned is highly valued.

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