Char Gen Issues with Homeworld Generation...Help Requested

[Nurien]

Never played Traveller before, but heard good things about it, so I picked up a copy of the Traveller5 rulebook to see about using it for an upcoming game.

The rulebook was quite dense, but that wasn't a drawback...I've played plenty of other game systems and have a solid wargaming background, so lots of rules and flexible options is a feature, not a bug.

I read my way up to the character generation part, and it seems like an interesting approach to building up a backstory, so I decided to give it a test run.

Wow! I can't even get off the first page before I'm totally lost... Let me know if you want the gory details of my endeavor, but after spending 10-15 minutes trying to figure out how the homeworld generation works, I had so many questions I wasn't sure I was doing any of it right. There's a lot of stuff that is never explained, abbreviations not identified... I'm wondering if there is a forum somewhere for new player help, or perhaps someone has written a "Char Gen for Dummies" guide?

I was able to skip the homeworld part and make some sense out of the profession system and the rest of chargen, but still had questions. And any resources on the homeworld stuff would be especially helpful.

I hate to bother veteran players with questions that are likely obvious to them, so any pointers to useful resources would be much appreciated!

 

[robject]

The fastest way to determine homeworld is to select one on page 82. On the Homeworld Matrix table, roll 1D for the row, and 1D for the column, then match the code to the homeworld on the table below it.

For a longer introduction to actually generating worlds, refer to the section "Star Systems and Their Worlds" beginning on page 426. There is a world generation checklist on page 431, then the process is explained in more detail from page 432 onwards.

Let us know if that helps.

 

[Hemdian]

As a further aid to character generation (and not to toot my own horn) I made a video walkthrough you might find helpful. (But read the two comments from Craig A Glesner on where I made mistakes.)

 

[Daddicus]

I wouldn't generate homeworlds the long way. As Robject says, generate them randomly.

Also, there are 4 independent (sort of) sections that you'll be flipping back and forth through. But, even before that, grab a copy of the errata; almost every page of character generation (chargen) has changes.

What's really needed for chargen:

• The descriptions of how to do each of the 5 phases of chargen. (pages 69-79)
• The actual step-by step and basic tables. (pages 83-95)
• More detailed descriptions and "deeper" tables. (pages 96-109)
• The mods tables. (pages 180-189)

I would print pages 69-77, 78-79, 84-94, 100, 106-107, 109, and 142. Make marks or notes on them where errata affects them.

There is further information on pages 110-141 that you'll need later, but you only need a cursory understanding of most of it.

The section on skills, knowledges, talents, etc. (pages 142-179) is the heart of the game. They're what makes a character into a playable construct. All throughout chargen, you'll be earning skills, usually by picking a table of them and then rolling randomly. o your players will want a basic understanding of skills so they know which table to choose.

I also recommend you avoid the careers of Craftsman and Functionary for your first campaign. They are interesting, but will complicate things for a first campaign. Heaven knows you don't need extra complications with this game.

I also recommend avoiding sophonts and robots for your first campaign unless somebody really wants to dig into them. Again, more complications are not really needed.

As a ref, make a choice for the early part of the campaign whether it will be planetary surface based, space based, or some hybrid. Choosing the beginning means there are rules you don't really have to know in-depth. You can learn about spaceships later if you plan on having your party slog their way across a planet for the first 6 months of your game.

But, don't TELL them it's planet-based (or space-based) in advance, lest they bias their skills chosen in that direction. Most Traveller campaigns usually end up being both, and you don't want your party crippled by having favored one element of the game.

 

[jcrocker]

As a further aid to character generation (and not to toot my own horn) I made a video walkthrough you might find helpful. (But read the two comments from Craig A Glesner on where I made mistakes.)

I love Traveller, but darn it all, I shouldn't need an apprenticeship to be able to make characters...

 

[Nurien]

The fastest way to determine homeworld is to select one on page 82. On the Homeworld Matrix table, roll 1D for the row, and 1D for the column, then match the code to the homeworld on the table below it.

For a longer introduction to actually generating worlds, refer to the section "Star Systems and Their Worlds" beginning on page 426. There is a world generation checklist on page 431, then the process is explained in more detail from page 432 onwards.

Let us know if that helps.

Thanks! I saw the random option, but that was for specific worlds in a specific setting. I like the idea of building my own, but hadn't gotten to those sections in the 400s yet. I'll check that out.

 

[Nurien]

• The descriptions of how to do each of the 5 phases of chargen. (pages 69-79)
• The actual step-by step and basic tables. (pages 83-95)
• More detailed descriptions and "deeper" tables. (pages 96-109)
• The mods tables. (pages 180-189)

I would print pages 69-77, 78-79, 84-94, 100, 106-107, 109, and 142. Make marks or notes on them where errata affects them.

There is further information on pages 110-141 that you'll need later, but you only need a cursory understanding of most of it.

Good summary here...thank you for the details.

I've been working with these sections, and have (I think) the general idea, but keep running into specifics that I can't find guidance for.

Some examples:

1) Under most of the professions, for instance there is a "B Skill Eligibility" section outlining skills earned during a term. There's then a chart of "C xxx Skills" with 1-7 columns. How does one determine which column to roll on? Is this player choice? Can it be different for each roll from the same term? Must it be different, or could one roll 4+ times on the same column?

2) What's the typical number of skills a starting character would have, and at what average rank? Would a "pilot-9" be a top gun dogfighter, or just someone qualified to handle a passenger cruiser? Looking at scholar as a specific case, a character who successfully completes a Doctorate prior to starting the career might already have a skill of ~10-11 in his major. Scholar terms then add up to 6-7 more. This seems awfully high level for a single skill. Is this by design?

3) If a homeworld has classifications corresponding to more than one skill (eg Tremous Dex = vacc suit and driver), does the character start with each such skill, or chose one?

4) The book mentions in a few places the idea of changing careers, and indeed two careers cannot be taken as initial careers. Failing a continue check means automatic mustering out though...under what circumstances can one change career? Does one make a successful continue check, then not actually continue? If one decides to change but fails the begin check, does one return to the previous career or muster out?

5) Why do nearly all the professions require checks vs. strength, dexterity and endurance for risk-reward rolls? Makes sense for the military-type careers, but not so much for scholar, citizen or noble...

I like the scope of the system, but keep tripping over these little bits that aren't clearly explained (to me, anyway).

 

[Daddicus]

1) Under most of the professions, for instance there is a "B Skill Eligibility" section outlining skills earned during a term. There's then a chart of "C xxx Skills" with 1-7 columns. How does one determine which column to roll on? Is this player choice? Can it be different for each roll from the same term? Must it be different, or could one roll 4+ times on the same column?

Players can choose any of the columns they are eligible for. In all tables, for example, 1 Personal can be chosen. But, some of the professions limit the choice.

For example, under Spacers (p89), there are 7 columns: Personal, Shore Duty, Battle, Patrol/Strike, Siege, Mission, and Technical. (Note that this example will include errata changes.) Under the Naval Operations table, we see Battle, Strike, Siege, Patrol, Mission, ANM, and Shore Duty. These map into skill columns 3, 4, 5, 4, 6, none, and 2, respectively. When you are on Siege duty for the term, you can include column 5 to your list of choices.

I'm not sure what qualifications there are for choosing Technical. Until I find a clear statement, I'm allowing my players to choose column 7 the same as they can choose column 1.

2) What's the typical number of skills a starting character would have, and at what average rank? Would a "pilot-9" be a top gun dogfighter, or just someone qualified to handle a passenger cruiser? Looking at scholar as a specific case, a character who successfully completes a Doctorate prior to starting the career might already have a skill of ~10-11 in his major. Scholar terms then add up to 6-7 more. This seems awfully high level for a single skill. Is this by design?

It depends a great deal on how many terms the character spends in professions. Remember that aging costs characters who spend more than 3 terms in professions. Many a player stops after 3 to avoid aging effects.

I'll let others respond with actual numbers; I know some have done the calculations; I haven't.

3) If a homeworld has classifications corresponding to more than one skill (eg Tremous Dex = vacc suit and driver), does the character start with each such skill, or chose one?

Character gets all of them. Planets can have from 0 to 5, I believe. If a planet with 0 or 1 trade classification is chosen in my campaign, I automatically make them either born in space or something to add some, unless there are reasons not to. Or, I'll just choose a new homeworld for them and come up with some excuse why they moved partway through their pre-profession years.

4) The book mentions in a few places the idea of changing careers, and indeed two careers cannot be taken as initial careers. Failing a continue check means automatic mustering out though...under what circumstances can one change career? Does one make a successful continue check, then not actually continue? If one decides to change but fails the begin check, does one return to the previous career or muster out?

Failure to continue means you can't continue in THAT profession. You can still start another. However, there may be limitations. I wouldn't allow a character who was forced to muster out due to injury to choose a different profession that has the injury possibility included. A spacer can't join the marines after being forced to retire due to injury, but a spacer who just didn't continue could become a marine, if the other qualifications are met.

I add a house rule in the special case where controlling characteristic (CC) is chosen from a list: the character is still bound by previous choices. So, assume our spacer above retired from the Spacers after 2 terms, having used C1 and C3 as CCs. When he joins the marines, he much choose C2 or C4 for his CC until he's used all 4. This seems in the spirit of the rules, even though it's not specifically called-out.

5) Why do nearly all the professions require checks vs. strength, dexterity and endurance for risk-reward rolls? Makes sense for the military-type careers, but not so much for scholar, citizen or noble...

I really don't know. Probably for game design reasons?

 

[Daddicus]

I threw together a helper a while back that might help: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=33606

 

[robject]

Planets can have from 0 to 5 [homeworld skills], I believe.

Here's one I rolled up two weeks ago:

0125 Sancidsta       G320889-9 De He Ph Na Pi Po Ho Lk

Let's see... that's good for...

Desert world: Survival
Hellworld: Hostile Env
Pre-High Population: [nothing]
Non-Agricultural: Survey
Pre-Industrial: JOT
Poor: Steward
Hot World: [nothing]
Tidally Locked: [nothing]

 

[robject]

5) Why do nearly all the professions require checks vs. strength, dexterity and endurance for risk-reward rolls? Makes sense for the military-type careers, but not so much for scholar, citizen or noble...

Because player characters are active, even before they are Travellers. So "scholar" could mean Indiana Jones. "Citizen" means... well it depends. "Noble" could mean Knight Templar. These aren't desk jobs.... even the ones that are desk jobs.

 

[Nurien]

Thanks to all of you for the helpful information. I appreciate the time taken to help me walk through this.

It does seem like there are a lot of aspects in the rulebook itself that are poorly explained or not clearly referenced, as different sites have offered contradictory answers to some of these questions.

Lots of little details, like coming up with negative values on tables which don't give guidance for handling them, could use some more explanatory notes. Seems like each time I work through a sample character or system I'm making 1-2 guesses as to how to handle an ambiguous case.

At this point, having put 10-12 hours into playing with the chargen and worldgen mechanics, I'm thinking I'll just homebrew a lot of this and use only the core skill and resolution systems. The rulebook seems like too much depends on already having a good familiarity with the game, which I don't have. Meanwhile I'll continue to lurk and see how much I can pick up from reading other's posts.

 

[robject]

I agree with your points. We need examples and examples and explanatory text. And examples.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Coming in late...

Rob was correct for most cases, but of you actually read the characteristics that a Noble uses for Risk/Reward. It is C2-5, and when I noticed this I asked Marc about it (because I liked it, but it seemed to off from most R/R) and he confirmed that it was as printed and lucky Nobles get to use Education for Risk/Reward. :devil:

Oh, and to answer the question of why some Careers get to use Edu for Risk/Reward is that they are careers that education provides a great base of data to make choices. Scholars are pretty straight forward, Citizens and Functionaries (not sure if they do, but seems like they would be one) and Nobles can be "desk jobs" as opposed to Merchants and Military Forces. I might get ambitious and pull the conversation, but I wouldn't lay money on it.