'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

[doulos05]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

"You never noticed the game rule that is the draft?"

No. That sounds like a meta-issue from description though.

No, it's pretty clear that your choices, should you fail to get into your chosen profession, are "get drafted" or "become a drifter". The rule's name is "The Draft", the result is being forced to join a branch of the military (or possibly civil service, but generally you end up in the military), and the only way to avoid it is to become a vagabond. It behaves like a draft (assignment in a draft is "random", though it's weighted towards the neediest services) and the consequences of avoiding it are that you have to become the equivalent of a hobo. The only thing missing is the legal fallout of "dodging" the draft later on in life (i.e. when you're a PC). It's present in every life-paths style variant of Traveller under the same name.