A (Book 1) Character Generation Example
I'll call this character Roderick Trask.
I roll 2 dice for each of six characteristics in order: Strength 8, Dexterity 7, Endurance 10, Intelligence 6, Education 4, Social Standing 8.
My character starts at age 18. There are six career types: Navy, Marines, Army, Scouts, Merchants and "Other" (the last being typically a bit shady).
To enlist in the Army is 5+, DM (die modifier) +1 for Dext 6+, DM +2 for Endur 5+ -- so I need a roll of 2+ (which is automatic success). If enlistment had failed, then I would have rolled a die to see into which random career I was "drafted".
The first roll for each 4-year term is Survival, in this case 5+ (as I lack Educ 6+ for the DM of +2). So as not to have to start over with this example, I'll apply the optional rule that failure indicates leaving the service after having served but two years and recovered from an injury. A roll of 7 means I complete the term!
Commission as an officer is 5+, DM +1 for Endur 7+. A roll of 10 makes me a Lieutenant! Promotion is 6+, DM +1 for Educ 7+ (The Army is pretty easy!). With my Education, though, a 5 is not enough.
I get two skills automatically: Rifle-1 for joining the Army, and Submachinegun-1 for becoming a lieutenant. I also get two skills for my first term of service, plus one for my commission: 3 rolls (one die each).
There are four tables, but the second Advanced Education table requires Education 8+. I make one roll on each of the others.
Personal Development comes up 3: +1 Endurance (to 11). Service Skills gives 2: Air/Raft (piloting a common anti-gravity vehicle). For Advanced Education, 2 gives Mechanical.
Reenlistment is 7+ (no DM), and a roll of 6 means the end of my prior (to adventuring) service.
At age 22, I'm still too young (under 34) for aging rolls. For mustering-out benefits, I get 1 roll for my 1 term, and another for attaining rank 1 or 2.
A 4 (on one die) on the cash table puts Cr10,000 in my pocket. A 5 on the benefits table yields a high passage -- a voucher for a first-class trip on a starship. That's worth another Cr10,000 (although I would get only Cr9,000 if I were to trade it for cash).
What I end up with is:
Ex-Army Lieut. Roderick Trask _ 87B648 _ Age 22 _ 1 term _ Cr10,000
Rifle-1, SMG-1, Air/Raft-1, Mechanical-1 _ High Passage
The string of numbers after his name is his UPP (universal personality profile). That's the six ability scores in order, with numbers greater than 9 represented with letters (A=10, B=11, C=12, etc.).
This is supposedly hexadecimal (base 16), with F (15) being the highest possible characteristic value. In other contexts, though, G (for 16, which would be "10" in hexadecimal) and on are sometimes used -- but I and O are not, to avoid confusion with 1 and 0 respectively.