SciFi tabletop roleplaying has given us some of the most iconic archetypes in gaming. The hard-bitten Colonial Marine. A grease-stained ship’s mechanic. The company stooge with a hidden agenda. These roles are familiar because they work; they are the focus of our favourite books and films; they are instantly recognisable, easy to picture, easy to roleplay, and often central to the stories our games want to tell.
But here’s the problem: maybe they’ve become too familiar. If you’ve sat down to play a homebrew within Mothership, Alien, or others, chances are the character sheets look eerily similar. A colonial marine, pilot, scientist or wrench-wielder. We are missing the vast and varied possibilities of a spacefaring society, minimised to a handful of repeatable tropes.
And that’s a shame, because science fiction isn’t just about combat units and engine bays. It’s about complex societies, cultures, and people. It’s about what happens when ordinary people, fringe outcasts, and unexpected dreamers get pulled into extraordinary and often horrific situations.
Beyond Marines and Mechanics
Let’s take a breath for a moment and think about who really keeps a space station alive: a janitor that knows every single hidden crawlspace, the hospice worker tending cryosleep patients. One of the most recognisable faces in the galaxy could be a holo-actor, famous across the colonies. What about the agricultural tech coaxing algae vats into feeding a billion mouths?
These aren’t background extras or disposable NPCs; they’re potential protagonists. In the wrong circumstances, a cook with a sharp knife is as vital as a soldier with a pulse rifle. A psychologist under pressure might be the only one keeping a crew from tearing itself apart.
By expanding the range of careers available to players, we can crack open up a whole range of new stories: survival horror seen through the eyes of the powerless, political intrigue driven by negotiators instead of mercenaries, or the desperate choices of smugglers, couriers, and artists stranded in hostile space.
The 100 Careers Players Aid
We’ve built a simple play aid: a d100 career generator for science fiction RPGs. Roll the dice and you might end up as a scavenger, a chaplain, a genetic counsellor, or a dock loader. Or choose deliberately and build a character whose background enriches the story you want to tell. It’s a starting point for homebrew. You’ll have to work out the details, the nuances of each character’s background, their skills, flaws and motivations, but that’s most of the fun.
Each career comes with suggested attributes and skills, so it’s not just flavour — they’re playable. A hacker needs intellect and willpower. The disgruntled bodyguard leans on Strength and Presence. The overlooked nurse still needs willpower and empathy baked in. These touches give GMs and players alike a springboard for quick character creation that goes beyond the usual suspects.
Each suggested career has
3 - 5 broad attributes
Strength (STR): physical power, endurance, brawn.
Agility (AGI): coordination, reflexes, speed.
Intellect (INT): knowledge, reasoning, problem-solving.
Presence (PRE): Charisma, influence, command.
Willpower (WIL): grit, mental toughness, faith.
Map these to your game mechanics. They might not fit directly, but with a little tweaking you should be able to work them to fit any system.
Example Skills: Shooting, Piloting, Mechanics, Science, Medicine, Negotiation, Stealth, Survival, Culture, Hacking, etc. You should map these to the game’s relevant skills, feats or similar, with some tweaking again. Just make sure your GM is on board.
Take It to Your Table
You can download the 100 Sci-Fi Careers play aid now . Roll on the table, or scan it for inspiration when creating NPCs and player characters alike. Use it to break out of the marine-mechanic rut, and watch your stories take on unexpected, unforgettable new shades.
Because in space, it won’t always be the soldier who saves the day. Sometimes it is (and should be) the janitor.