CT Only: Character Creation: Most Elegant Synthesis of Book 1 & Supplement 4?

[kilemall]

Here is my take on the question. While LBB6-7 are usually considered inferior to LBB4-5, there are some lovely skills in there, and so while I am at it, I've put in the chance for those skills to be acquired as well, most importantly for Scouts and Merchants who would be neglected otherwise.

The intelligence requirement means a lot of these skills are rarely picked up, but gives an opportunity to the intelligent but undereducated (and another incentive to increase characteristics).

While I was at it, I went through and gave a table to all the CotI careers too. For some they are picking up LBB1 skills that they otherwise would miss. I tried to pick skills that enhanced their role- in some cases they are counter-intuitive such as the Pirate admin skill, but would be the sort of specialty that would be that much more valuable when it rarely occurs.

I also did a pass with Gambling, mostly to give unranked and rich cash table careers an opportunity to pick up that skill and get better cash results without retiring. It seemed particularly perverse to me that Scouts could not get result 7 on their cash table, or that Rogues did not have Gambling.

Speaking of which, CotI has the additional rule of getting +1 on the cash table if retired- if you retro that rule into the original 6 careers, then I'd eliminate Scout Gambling for Ship Tactics.

NOTE: Marines and Army can substitute FA Gunnery and Heavy Weapons for any Gun Combat skill result (but not mustering out equipment).

Advanced Service Table (Int 8+ only)


Navy
1. Instruction
2. Communications
3. Naval Architect
4. Fleet Tactics
5. Liaison
6. Ship Tactics

Marines
1. Battle Dress
2. Demolitions
3. Interrogation
4. Recon
5. Survival
6. Zero-G Combat

Army
1. Combat Engineering
2. Instruction
3. Interrogation
4. Recon
5. Recruiting
6. Survival

Scout
1. Equestrian
2. Survey
3. Survival
4. Gambling (Ship Tactics)
5. Liaison
6. Communications

Merchant
1. Broker
2. Legal
3. Liaison
4. Trader
5. Carousing
6. Zero-G Combat

Other
1. Admin
2. Carousing
3. Interrogation
4. Prospecting
5. Recruiting
6. Tactics

Pirate
1. Broker
2. Legal
3. Heavy Weapons
4. Trader
5. Carousing
6. Zero-G Combat

Belter
1. Gunnery
2. Demolitions
3. Survey
4. Gambling
5. Tactics
6. Zero-G Combat

Sailor
1. Carousing
2. Communications
3. Tactics
4. Interrogation
5. Survey
6. Leader


Diplomat
1. Legal
2. Bribery
3. Equestrian
4. Recon
5. Communications
6. Brawling

Doctor
1. Carousing
2. Leader
3. Interrogation
4. Survival
5. Jack-O-T
6. Gun Combat

Flyer
1. Recruiting
2. Heavy Weapons
3. Survival
4. Recon
5. Forward Observer
6. Tactics


Barbarian
1. Small Water Craft
2. Admin
3. +1 Educ
4. Navigation
5. Hunting
6. Prospecting

Bureaucrat
1. Electronics
2. Computer
3. Forgery
4. Bribery
5. Broker
6. Legal

Rogue
1. Gambling
2. Electronics
3. Trader
4. Interrogation
5. Recon
6. Survival


Noble
1. Gambling
2. Legal
3. Interrogation
4. Trader
5. Recruiting
6. Air Craft/Water Craft


Scientist
1. Gambling
2. Air Craft/Water Craft
3. Interrogation
4. Survey
5. Instruction
6. Prospecting

Hunter
1. Bribery
2. Gambling
3. Recon
4. Brawling
5. Air Craft/Water Craft
6. Tactics

 

[wolvenwood]

My personal Solution

This thread really appealed to me because I am putting together a CT game using Starter Traveller and was planning to offer CotI characters. So this thread set me on a research project to find the least intrusive method of dealing with the skill problem. I plan to leave all as is as much as possible, using the skill descriptions from Books 4 and 5, with this minor house rule for Battle Dress:

For Marine characters, a second or greater result of vacc suit skill may be declared Battle Dress.
For Naval characters, a third or greater result of vacc suit skill may be declared Battle Dress.

This is a slight modification of Mike Wightman's solution 4, very early in the thread.

Thanks for pointing out the issue with using Supplement 4, which was unknown to me.

 

[whulorigan]

For Naval characters, a third or greater result of vac-suit skill may be declared Battle Dress.

Do Naval characters actually need Battle Dress skill? Wouldn't Vacc-Suit be sufficient? I would think Army would be more likely to get Battle Dress skill before Navy characters.

 

[aramis]

Do Naval characters actually need Battle Dress skill? Wouldn't Vacc-Suit be sufficient? I would think Army would be more likely to get Battle Dress skill before Navy characters.

A variety of jobs would be readily enhanced by powersuits. Especially yard repairs and cargo loading.

 

[wolvenwood]

Vacc suit not on

Do Naval characters actually need Battle Dress skill? Wouldn't Vacc-Suit be sufficient? I would think Army would be more likely to get Battle Dress skill before Navy characters.

I do not see the vacc suit skill on the Army tables of Starter Traveller, so I don't see a clean way to confer Battle Dress.

 

[mike wightman]

Include it in the vehicle cascade...

looking at it, any receipt of ATV or air/raft skill should be treated as vehicle so could be replaced with battledress skill

 

[atpollard]

I do not see the vacc suit skill on the Army tables of Starter Traveller, so I did not see a clean way to confer Battle Dress.

Strictly my personal opinion, but I think that the ability of a soldier to operate in the equipment necessary to survive in the tainted atmosphere of a planet or a chemical weapon battlefield ('vacc suit') is at least as important as the ability to hold your own in a knife fight. ('blade')

Vacc Suit: The individual has been trained and has experience in the use of the standard vacuum suit (space suit), including armored battle dress and suits for use on various planetary surfaces in the presence of exotic, corrosive, or insidious atmospheres.
Non-breathable atmospheres or hostile environments can be easily overcome by use of protective equipment, but the danger of minor mishaps becoming fatal remains great. A basic throw of 10+ to avoid a dangerous situation applies whenever any non-ordinary maneuver is attempted while wearing a vacc suit (including running, jumping, hiding, jumping untethered from one ship to another, or other such activity). Allow a DM of +4 per level of expertise. When such an incident occcurs, it may be remedied by*any character with vacc suit skill (including the character in danger) on a throw of 7+; DMs: per level of expertise, +2; if no expertise, -4. Battle dress and combat armor are special forms of armored vacc suit and require at least vacc suit-1 to wear at all.

Personally, I would change the Air Raft back to 'vacc suit' (like Navy and Marine) and let soldiers learn 'air raft' as a choice under the 'Vehicle' cascade.