Mazun Shaim, ex-Marine bookstore owner
ST: 11 [10] -- Swing 1d+1, Thrust 1d-2
DX: 12 [20] -- Basic Speed 5.5, Move 5
IQ: 13 [30]
HT: 10 [0]
Point Total: 114
Advantages: Charisma +1 [5], Courtesy Rank 2 [2]; G-Experience [10]; Fit [5]; Language Talent +1 [2]; Panimmunity [5]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10]
Disadvantages: Agoraphobia (severe) [-20]; Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-5]; Compulsive Behavior (collect books) [-5]
Quirks: Doesn't like talking about his past; Loves to tell jokes
Skills: Administration-13 [2]; Armoury (Small Arms)-12 [1]; Battlesuit-10 [0.5]; Computer Operation-12 [0.5]; Electronics Operation (Comm)-11 [0.5]; First Aid-12 [0.5]; Free Fall-11 [1]; Gesture-12 [0.5]; Gunner (Machine Gun)-12 [0.5]; Guns (Light Auto)-14 [1]; Guns (Rifle)-14 [1]; History (Imperium)-18/11 [4]; History (Spinward Marches)-18/11 [4]; Hobby: Jokes-13 [1]; Judo-12 [2]; Knife-13 [1]; Leadership-13 [2]; Linguistics-11 [2]; Literature-15 [8]; Merchant-14 [4]; Piloting (Contragravity)/TL10-12 [2]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-13 [1]; Stealth-11 [1]; Tactics-12 [2]; Vacc Suit-13 [2]
(Unless otherwise noted, all TL skills are TL12, giving a -3 penalty for TL10 equipment.)
Languages
Galanglic-15 [0]; Sword Worlder-14 [1]; Vargr (Gvegh)-14 [1]; Zhodani-14 [1]
Appearance
Mazun is 5'8" tall, 165 lbs, in his late forties with dusky skin, brown eyes, and short black, graying hair.
Equipment
Gauss rifle (semi-auto only) as a mustering-out benefit, books, books and more books. His old uniform is kept locked away for special occasions like reunions, which he rarely attends.
Biography
Anyone who steps into Mazun Shaim's shop would probably be surprised to learn that the jolly, middle-aged man behind the counter served several years in the Imperial Marines as Section Sgt Mazun "Brainiac" Shaim. Rather than become a merc or bodyguard upon mustering out, Mazun opened a bookstore in one of the smaller towns on an important planet in the Five Sisters subsector. He prefers not to discuss his military past, since doing so has lead to offers of mercenary work. If he must discuss something related to the military, he uses his own experiences but claim them to be "tales from a friend."
Mazun developed his interest for history and literature long before he joined the Marines. During his service he had the chance to collect books from a wide variety of cultures, from worlds he was either stationed on or took R&R at. Mazun is especially interested in acquiring alien books and often hires adventurers to locate or acquire them. He seldom goes on book-hunting expeditions himself; a very minor case of agoraphobia he had as a teenager became a full-grown phobia during his time in the Marines and was the primary reason for him leaving the service with an honorable discharge; his commanding officer managed to place Mazun in positions (such as Astrin APC pilot and ship's troops) that would not expose his phobia for the final two years of his last term, thus sparing him a medical discharge as a 'nutcase'.
In the decade since his discharge, Mazun has managed to collect a fairly sizable number of common and rare books from across the sector, some of them written in languages not even he understands.
Encountered
Mazun is rarely found outside of his bookstore or home (which is upstairs); aside from his phobia, he saw enough of the universe as a Marine to last him at least a few more decades.
Canonically
Shaim is designed using normal GURPS® rules. GMs should note that since he has been out of the Marines for nearly 20 years, he has forgotten most of his military skills (although, unlike most civilians attempting military-taught skills, he should be allowed a default roll with them).
Also, note that in some settings paper books may not exist -- simply replace Mazun's obsession with whatever takes the place of books in that setting.
What if?
While Shaim is designed for a GURPS Traveller® campaign set in the Five Sisters subsector of the Spinward Marches, he could be moved elsewhere within the sector (or to another sector entirely). In general, he would prefer a world with CR 2-4 and a population from 1,000,000 to 100,000,000 with a Class V, VI or III starport.
Except for some skill changes, Shaim works well in most other space campaigns. With a bit more change (and also generally requiring a medical discharge or a different set of Disadvantages), he could fit in a historical (or horror) campaign.
In the Campaign
Mazun can serve two purposes. First, he can hire the party to retrieve a collectible book for him; since this would get rather boring after a couple of trips (unless the books were on topics near and dear to the PCs), this limits mazun to being used once or twice. Alternatively, his collection could be used as a sort of private library for the PCs to research unusual subjects (somewhat like the special section of the Miskatonic University library in Arham); however, the PCs would need a good reason why he would let any of the PCs do this (perhaps as a reward for retrieving a book for him?). Note that he could tie in with the smuggler Nashu Nirkra; perhaps the book he wants is either illegal on his world or on the one it has been found on.