Character Generation Questions...

[DickNervous]

Okay, so I have been going through the T5 rules for character generation and have a whole bunch of questions, primarily related to careers. And while I am sure that these are all answered somewhere in these esteemed forums, I can't seem to find concise answers, so I thought I would ask them here. A lot of this is simply going to be re-stating things to make sure I understand them right, so please bear with me.

My questions focus mainly on the "classic" careers (Scout-Rogue from pg 79).

Risk Rolls: In most careers, failing the Risk reward is akin to failing the survival roll and you get injured losing the delta of the stat you rolled against. Then you get to roll 1D to see how much of that you get back. Rogues go to jail instead of being injured.

Reward Rolls: You make this, you get the reward as per the career description. So here are some questions:

• You can take a -DM on the risk roll to add a +DM to the reward roll. So if I take a -2 on the risk roll, I get a +2 on the reward roll.
• And with military careers, if you beat the roll by set amounts, you can earn medals. The higher the amount the better the medal (which explains why you would take the -DM on the risk roll).
• In the Rogue career, do you actualyl keep the reward? So if I succeed at a scheme against a scout, I get a Scout Ship? (or is that a ship share?) And I could make 1.2Mcr scamming a Noble?

Skills: How many skills you get is pretty clear cut, but it isn't always clear which tables you can roll on. For example, with a Rogue should the table match the scheme? If so how does that work? Some would be obvious but most are not. With military careers it seems a bit easier to match an assignment to a skill table, but must you?

And can someone explain Knowledge and Skills. I thought I understood it, but every time I read the section I get confused again. At first I thought it was like "Life Sciences" from MgT would be a Knowledge and "Biology" a skill. But I'm not so sure.

Military Careers: So these questions are specific to Soldiers, Spacers, and Marines. For each YEAR of a 4 year term you roll for an assignment. I get that. What I don't get is how the mods work, R/R, promotions, etc.

For example, I have a guy in the Marines. To pick a branch you roll 1D, but there are 8 options. What are the DMs for this? And do you stay in the same branch the entire career?

And then each year you roll an assignment. So let's say the guys is a Commando.

• What are the DMs for this table?
• Is the R/R rolled for each year? Or is it per term?
• Could you end up with 4 medals in one term?
• When matching the operation to the skill table, where does Combat and Insurgency match up?
• If you get ANM school, do you just pick from whatever knowledges are available for your career?
• For promotion rolls it say "Mod +1 Per Medal" against EDU. So if I am trying roll under doesn't that mean medals make it HARDER to get promoted? That doesn't make sense. Also, is this where the "mod" for the operation comes in?

I've got more questions, but I think that's enough for now. I started wondering if I was doing it right when I rolled a Rogue who after 6 terms had a Scout ship and about 3 million credits BEFORE mustering out. Then got a Barony and Directorship (along with more money). And then I rolled a Marine who had so many medals that his fame was literally off the chart. I figured I have to be doing something wrong....

As always, thanks for the answers I know will come flooding in.

 

[Daddicus]

And can someone explain Knowledge and Skills. I thought I understood it, but every time I read the section I get confused again. At first I thought it was like "Life Sciences" from MgT would be a Knowledge and "Biology" a skill. But I'm not so sure.

Skills were made such that there would never be any new skills. I think this was because of Classic Traveller, where you only got some of the skills if you were playing with certain books.

Knowledges are subdivisions of skills, sort of. A skill can include many knowledges, but knowledges never include skills.

For example, the skill Animals includes 3 knowledges: Rider, Teamster, and Trainer. Points that go into those knowledges are separate from each other and from the skill. But, points in the skill itself also translates into points in the knowledges as well.

The rule set starting near the bottom of the left column on page 144 makes this more clear, I think.

When you get your first and second points in Animals, you must instead take it in one of the knowledges instead. So, you could pick Rider +1 and Teamster +1. Now lets say you get 3 more points in Animals. Those 3 all go directly into Animals. That translates into 3 points in each of Rider, Teamster, and Trainer. So, in the end, s/he has Rider-4, Teamster-4, and Trainer-3.

Alternately, our hero could have taken his/her 2 points in Rider, and then the next 3 in the skill itself. So, this person's counts would be Rider-5, Teamster-3, and Trainer-3.

 

[Daddicus]

Military Careers: So these questions are specific to Soldiers, Spacers, and Marines. For each YEAR of a 4 year term you roll for an assignment. I get that. What I don't get is how the mods work, R/R, promotions, etc.

For example, I have a guy in the Marines. To pick a branch you roll 1D, but there are 8 options. What are the DMs for this? And do you stay in the same branch the entire career?

The DMs are in the errata. In this case, the DM is +2 if Edu 10+.

Changing branches is defined on the right side of page 74 (under the section "Armed Forces Branch").

And then each year you roll an assignment. So let's say the guys is a Commando.
[*] What are the DMs for this table?

In the errata. +2 if Edu 10+

[*] Is the R/R rolled for each year? Or is it per term?

Per term. Use one mod for the R/R roll, taken from the highest mod in the 4 operation years. (Also, see my comment below from page 23: I think these should be called "DMs", not "Mods". Otherwise, battle is more survivable than garrison.)

In this example, I'm adjusting for the errata, so the numbers below won't match the book: Say you spent 1 year in Garrison (entry 8, mod 0), 2 as peacekeeper (entries 3 & 4, mod 1), and 1 year in Mission (entry 5, mod 2). Then your mod for the term is 2 from operations (and 2 more from Commando).

[*] Could you end up with 4 medals in one term?

No. See previous comments.

[*] When matching the operation to the skill table, where does Combat and Insurgency match up?

See the errata. Many of the table entries changed names.

[*] If you get ANM school, do you just pick from whatever knowledges are available for your career?

See the table on the right side of page 100.

[*] For promotion rolls it say "Mod +1 Per Medal" against EDU. So if I am trying roll under doesn't that mean medals make it HARDER to get promoted? That doesn't make sense. Also, is this where the "mod" for the operation comes in?

See page 23, right side. Mods are changes to the target number. DMs (die mod or die modifier) are changes to the die roll.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Dangit, missed a chance to pontificate.

Thanks, Daddicus!

Spot on and I second your rulings.

In concurrance with my colleague,
Senior Referee Glesner.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Ah-ha, a weakness, prepare The Pontificator!

/Snips/.

My questions focus mainly on the "classic" careers (Scout-Rogue from pg 79).

Risk Rolls: In most careers, failing the Risk reward is akin to failing the survival roll and you get injured losing the delta of the stat you rolled against. Then you get to roll 1D to see how much of that you get back. Rogues go to jail instead of being injured.

Reward Rolls: You make this, you get the reward as per the career description. So here are some questions:

Oh, boy talk about questions I can answer. I did a Rouge for Greg and plenty military folks too.

You can take a -DM on the risk roll to add a +DM to the reward roll. So if I take a -2 on the risk roll, I get a +2 on the reward roll.

Yep, the more difficult the Risk, the greater the Reward.

And with military careers, if you beat the roll by set amounts, you can earn medals. The higher the amount the better the medal (which explains why you would take the -DM on the risk roll).

Oh, pretty much the only reason.

In the Rogue career, do you actually keep the reward? So if I succeed at a scheme against a scout, I get a Scout Ship? (or is that a ship share?) And I could make 1.2Mcr scamming a Noble?

Yes. It is just a Share(s) as per the Rogue Scheme formula in the Errata. Yes, being a Rogue in T5 is sick with a good Controlling Characteritic, and you wondered why the Stainless Steel Rat was so badass. :devil:

Quick behind the screens production notes, Greg had me tone down the Rogue in Cirque due to the ridiculous amount of goodies they can stack up. If you want cash and prizes and have a stellar characteristic (A+) you can rack up more pocket change than a Noble...in the short term anyway.

Skills: How many skills you get is pretty clear cut, but it isn't always clear which tables you can roll on. For example, with a Rogue should the table match the scheme? If so how does that work? Some would be obvious but most are not. With military careers it seems a bit easier to match an assignment to a skill table, but must you?

I don't recall if the Rogue has to/or may chose a Skill from their Scheme Career, but that is the way I would lean, but I would let them chose any column whereas a true military character only gets a free choice for Commisson or Promotion rolls.

/snipperino/

Military Careers: /snippers/

For example, I have a guy in the Marines. To pick a branch you roll 1D, but there are 8 options. What are the DMs for this? And do you stay in the same branch the entire career?

DMs Daddicus handled, don't recall him addressing the Branch. As I recall, Officers are stuck for their Branch for their Career and Enlisted or Ratings may switch Branch when and if they achieve Promotion (and possibly Commission as an Officer, but I am at work and sans B³).

And then each year you roll an assignment. So let's say the guys is a Commando.
/snip/If you get ANM school, do you just pick from whatever knowledges are available for your career?
/snip/

Actually it is by Service, if you check the list on page 100, right side you will see thee columns with A,N,M in them which is Army (Soldiers), Navy (Spacers) and Marine. If you are in a service with its letter before a Knowledge on the ANM School list you can take that as your ANM Op, no service letter means you can't get that Knowledge.

I've got more questions, but I think that's enough for now. I started wondering if I was doing it right when I rolled a Rogue who after 6 terms had a Scout ship and about 3 million credits BEFORE mustering out. Then got a Barony and Directorship (along with more money). And then I rolled a Marine who had so many medals that his fame was literally off the chart. I figured I have to be doing something wrong....

As always, thanks for the answers I know will come flooding in.

Yeah, done right Fame can get pretty high, awful quick. SEHs help.

Hope that helps.

 

[DickNervous]

Thank you very much both of you! I should have thought to look in the errata for clarification on some of this stuff.

The most up-to-date errata is the .71 version from July 2013, correct? Any chance there is a version of the main text PDF that has been updated?

I'll go through a few chargens with the errata and your answers and see how it goes. At least now I won't end up with a 5 term Marine with over 100 fame....

 

[pendragonman]

Thank you very much both of you! I should have thought to look in the errata for clarification on some of this stuff.

The most up-to-date errata is the .71 version from July 2013, correct? Any chance there is a version of the main text PDF that has been updated?

I'll go through a few chargens with the errata and your answers and see how it goes. At least now I won't end up with a 5 term Marine with over 100 fame....

What's wrong with a 5 term Marine with a 100 fame?

What, you want to be anonymous?

 

[DickNervous]

What's wrong with a 5 term Marine with a 100 fame?

What, you want to be anonymous?

:rofl:

Nah, just not more famous than the Emperor. Do you have any idea what a pain it is just to go to the bar when you are that famous?!

 

[DickNervous]

Alright, let's see if I did this right. I rolled up a Rogue. I didn't bother with the homeworld stuff. I used Dex (B) as the CC. So all rolls were against a base of 11 before mods.

First term I made all the rolls and the scheme was against an Agent. I rolled a 2 for the payoff so according to the errata the payoff would be 100k * (1+11+DM-2). Since I didn't take any DM on the R/R roll that would mean my payoff was 1Mcr, right? (I assume the Terms mod is completed, so the current one does not count).

Second term was a Merchant scheme. I took a 1 DM on the R/R. So the Risk roll was 2d + 1 (for the DM) + 1 (for terms). The reward was 2d-1+1. My payoff was (1+11+0-R) and I rolled a 5. So that means I got 7 ship shares.

So this goes on for 5 terms. I make the risk roll for each, but missed the reward roll for the last one (so I only get 1/2 payout). I end up with 14 Ship Shares and 9.225Mcr. 5 rolls on the benefits table net me "Forbidden", a Directorship, Knighthood, WaferJack, and Life Insurance.

For skills I get 2 per term + 4 for each successful scheme which is a total of 30. So I roll those up. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory, but I want to make sure I understand a few of them.

I got Driver-1, however since Driver is a cascade skill (like Gun Cbt in CT) I need to pick a particualr type of vehicle the first two times I get it, so I picked Grav Vehicles. So I would record that as "Grav Vehicles-1" or "Driver: Grav-1".

I got Starship Skills and Soldier Skills a few times. That just means that I need to pick from the lists of skills. If I got Starship Skills 3x, that means I have 3 points to allocate to any combination of the Starship Skills. So I could take Pilot-2 and Astrogator-1.

Now for the one that confuses me, Fighter. It confuses me becuase it is listed as a Knowledge, but I didn't see a list of the various types like there is for Gunner, Driver, Flyer, etc. I do see (pg174-5) in the list of Knowledges things like Beams, Blades, Ordnance, Slug Throwers, Sprays, and Unarmed. Are those the sub-categories?

So would I end up with Slug Throwers-2, Fighter-2? And if I did, that means for checks with any of those weapons, I have a skill level of 2, but with Slug Throwers it would be 4?

And those 14 ship shares would mean that I could own a 350t ship outright. Now what to do with 9,225,000,000 credits.....

 

[pendragonman]

Alright, let's see if I did this right. I rolled up a Rogue. I didn't bother with the homeworld stuff. I used Dex (B) as the CC. So all rolls were against a base of 11 before mods.

First term I made all the rolls and the scheme was against an Agent. I rolled a 2 for the payoff so according to the errata the payoff would be 100k * (1+11+DM-2). Since I didn't take any DM on the R/R roll that would mean my payoff was 1Mcr, right? (I assume the Terms mod is completed, so the current one does not count).

Second term was a Merchant scheme. I took a 1 DM on the R/R. So the Risk roll was 2d + 1 (for the DM) + 1 (for terms). The reward was 2d-1+1. My payoff was (1+11+0-R) and I rolled a 5. So that means I got 7 ship shares.

So this goes on for 5 terms. I make the risk roll for each, but missed the reward roll for the last one (so I only get 1/2 payout). I end up with 14 Ship Shares and 9.225Mcr. 5 rolls on the benefits table net me "Forbidden", a Directorship, Knighthood, WaferJack, and Life Insurance.

For skills I get 2 per term + 4 for each successful scheme which is a total of 30. So I roll those up. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory, but I want to make sure I understand a few of them.

I got Driver-1, however since Driver is a cascade skill (like Gun Cbt in CT) I need to pick a particualr type of vehicle the first two times I get it, so I picked Grav Vehicles. So I would record that as "Grav Vehicles-1" or "Driver: Grav-1".

I got Starship Skills and Soldier Skills a few times. That just means that I need to pick from the lists of skills. If I got Starship Skills 3x, that means I have 3 points to allocate to any combination of the Starship Skills. So I could take Pilot-2 and Astrogator-1.

Now for the one that confuses me, Fighter. It confuses me becuase it is listed as a Knowledge, but I didn't see a list of the various types like there is for Gunner, Driver, Flyer, etc. I do see (pg174-5) in the list of Knowledges things like Beams, Blades, Ordnance, Slug Throwers, Sprays, and Unarmed. Are those the sub-categories?

So would I end up with Slug Throwers-2, Fighter-2? And if I did, that means for checks with any of those weapons, I have a skill level of 2, but with Slug Throwers it would be 4?

And those 14 ship shares would mean that I could own a 350t ship outright. Now what to do with 9,225,000,000 credits.....

The CC is supposed to rotate each term, so you can't hide a bad characteristic.

 

[DickNervous]

The CC is supposed to rotate each term, so you can't hide a bad characteristic.

For every other career, yes. But the Rogue uses just one.

"A Rogue selects one Controlling Characteristic which is then used throughout his career." (pg 92, 2nd paragraph).

 

[Daddicus]

Well, you've posted a strong example of why full-career CC may be a mistake.

BUT, did you remember to age your character after 4 terms (and 5)? That may have reduced your CC. Still, even a 11/12 chance of succeeding is great.

(Mulling over some house rules ... )

 

[DickNervous]

Well, you've posted a strong example of why full-career CC may be a mistake.

BUT, did you remember to age your character after 4 terms (and 5)? That may have reduced your CC. Still, even a 11/12 chance of succeeding is great.

(Mulling over some house rules ... )

Yes I did, well I think I did it right.

His UPP started at 9BB9A6. After the 4th term I rolled 2d against Str, Dex, and End. I rolled higher on Str, but lower on Dex and End so they were both lowered by 1 so going into his 5th term his UPP was 9AA9A6. Then at the end of the term I did it again and his Dex got hit again, now he was 99A9A6.

But I think I have been reading one thing wrong....

When a roll states "CC Mod + Terms" does that mean to pass that roll you need (A) 2d6 + Terms to be less than CC OR (B) 2d6 to be less than CC + Terms to pass?

In other words, if the CC is 10 and you are rolling to continue for term 6, do you need to roll 2d6+5 < 10 or 2d6 < 10+5? I have assumed it was the first one, but the wording on pg73 in "The Process" makes it sound like the 2nd. Which means that as you progress in a career it will become effortless to continue, which doesn't make sense.

 

[pendragonman]

Well, you've posted a strong example of why full-career CC may be a mistake.

BUT, did you remember to age your character after 4 terms (and 5)? That may have reduced your CC. Still, even a 11/12 chance of succeeding is great.

(Mulling over some house rules ... )

"A Rogue selects one Controlling Characteristic which is then used throughout his career." (pg 92, 2nd paragraph).

I have added it to the addenda thread for the very reason of exploitation. Further, it is not how any other career is done.

 

[DickNervous]

"A Rogue selects one Controlling Characteristic which is then used throughout his career." (pg 92, 2nd paragraph).

I have added it to the addenda thread for the very reason of exploitation. Further, it is not how any other career is done.

And here my wife thought I am always just wasting time with with stuff. I'm actually contributing to make the game better! That'll teach her!

 

[Daddicus]

Yes I did, well I think I did it right.

His UPP started at 9BB9A6. After the 4th term I rolled 2d against Str, Dex, and End. I rolled higher on Str, but lower on Dex and End so they were both lowered by 1 so going into his 5th term his UPP was 9AA9A6. Then at the end of the term I did it again and his Dex got hit again, now he was 99A9A6.

But I think I have been reading one thing wrong....

When a roll states "CC Mod + Terms" does that mean to pass that roll you need (A) 2d6 + Terms to be less than CC OR (B) 2d6 to be less than CC + Terms to pass?

In other words, if the CC is 10 and you are rolling to continue for term 6, do you need to roll 2d6+5 < 10 or 2d6 < 10+5? I have assumed it was the first one, but the wording on pg73 in "The Process" makes it sound like the 2nd. Which means that as you progress in a career it will become effortless to continue, which doesn't make sense.

Two things. On your question at the end, I don't really know. In some professions, staying a longer time would make it more likely you'll remain, but in others the opposite is true.

Regarding that character, that's an AWFULLY good set of rolls. The average of your characters rolls is 9.3, extremely high.

One thing Traveller assumes is that the die rolls are "normal". Unlike most incarnations of other RPGs (like D&D), Traveller doesn't let us use alternate dice-rolling conventions. Our characters aren't "heroes" as they are in most RPGs. They're "travellers".

However, your point on the Rogue still stands, because B (11) is a problem even if all the others are 7s (because you get to use it continuously).

 

[DickNervous]

Two things. On your question at the end, I don't really know. In some professions, staying a longer time would make it more likely you'll remain, but in others the opposite is true.

Regarding that character, that's an AWFULLY good set of rolls. The average of your characters rolls is 9.3, extremely high.

One thing Traveller assumes is that the die rolls are "normal". Unlike most incarnations of other RPGs (like D&D), Traveller doesn't let us use alternate dice-rolling conventions. Our characters aren't "heroes" as they are in most RPGs. They're "travellers".

It's these awesome new dice I got that are designed specifically for T5!

But yeah, I rolled that one really good. It's a shame it is just a test roll for me to learn the system. I promise you, I *never* roll like that when it actually counts.

However, your point on the Rogue still stands, because B (11) is a problem even if all the others are 7s (because you get to use it continuously).

It really depends on what the reasoning was behind it. I mean I can't be the first person to point this out so I assume that somewhere along the way someone said "Let the Rogue use the came CC for their entire career because <reasons>" and everyone else involved agreed. Assuming the reasons were good ones, I have some ideas that just popped into my head instead of making the Rogue like all the other careers.

Have the CC chosen impact the available schemes. After all, running a scheme against different careers requires different skills. Some examples off the top of my head...

* Physical CCs (C1, C2, C3)--> Citizen, Scout, Spacer, Soldier, Marine, Agent, Rogue
* Mental CCs (C4, C5, C6) --> Craftsman, Scholar, Entertainer, Merchant, Rogue, Noble, Functionary

Then limit the use of a CC to 2 terms before you have to pick another or that you would have to use all 3 in a "category" before using again.

Or, another thought that just came to me, is to add mods to the R/R rolls based upon the CC and the Scheme. So perhaps instead of limiting which scheme is available, give a bonus when using the "preferred" CC for a scheme. For example, perhaps a Rogue using C6 would get a bonus on the R/R rolls for a scheme against a Noble or Entertainer.

Obviously this needs more thought (I just came up with this as I was sitting here) and play testing, but it sounded good in my head so I thought I would share.

EDIT: I created a new thread for discussing these ideas that can be found -->HERE<-- so as not to clutter up this thread since I will have more questions as I go through the other careers.