CT Only: A Gift For The Lowbies

[Supplement Four]

As we all know, many CT character end chargen with few skills. And, while it is true that a CT character can boost his starting skills with the Experience rules (and it is true that CT characters can easily succeed without skills), if you ask a player, he will always say that, given his rathers, he'd like a character with more skills rather than less.

Here's something that I would sometimes do.

In secret, during character generation, I'd offer a player character with 5 skills or less (before Experience) to try for psionics. Now, psionics is very hard to get, and I would roll it straight by the rules as written. But, I figure that most Imperial characters don't even have a chance at learning psionics.

So, what I did in these situations would have the player roll a D6, and if that roll was greater than the number of skills the character had after mustering out, the player would have the option of using the psionics rules and trying to get trained (following those rules).

You'd be amazed at what this does for a player who ends up with a character who has a low skill total. If successful, he ends up with psionic powers--in secret--that he can guess no other player character in the game will have.

And, players smile at this.

 

[kilemall]

While there is plenty of scifi that supports the aging/less psionic bit, I always figured it was a balancing powerup for the 1 term character.

 

[aramis]

While there is plenty of scifi that supports the aging/less psionic bit, I always figured it was a balancing powerup for the 1 term character.

Same here.

 

[Supplement Four]

I've rarely used psionics in my games. I think I'm more interested in using it now than I was back then.

Typically, what I would do, if a player showed interest in psionics, is allow them to search for an institute, per the rules, once play began.

 

[Rerednaw]

In 40 years I've never been in or run a campaign where there was psionics. Few refs have ever allowed it and the ones that do, you have a minute chance at best to have it as a usable level, find an institute, get accepted for training, and so on.

Given the prevalence of Zhondani psi-strike teams hitting my PC's with L10-15 assaults I found the "GM can have nice toys, but not PC's" a bit unfun so in my campaigns I allow it outright if someone wants to start with a 1-term newbie.

As an option I have +/- DMs that are used at character creation only to modify rolls, makes it easier to ensure you get the right skills, or in the case of psi, have at least 1 talent at a decent level.