Drawing on Experience

[Supplement Four]

For some time now, I've been toying with methods for introducing experience and character growth rules into Classic Traveller. Some of the "fun" in many RPGs is had by a player in guiding and developing his character. Say what you will about the d20 system and all it's character levels and un-ending stream of DMs on a roll (I'm not a big fan of the d20 system either), but it is kinda neat to grow a character with "special abilities" in feats and skills and such. Players delight when they achieve a new level and can finally do "fill in the blank"....

Traveller, though, isn't made that way. It's not that kind of game--especially Classic Traveller. Sure, CT has an experience system, but it's a long road (4+ game years) before a character can increase a skill level.

I didn't want to upset that balance. Classic Traveller IS few but broad skills. I don't want to "change" that aspect of CT--because it opens a whole new can of worms with repercussions down many hallways.

No, CT needs to remain "Few and Broad Skills".

But...where does that leave us...those that want our players to experience the joy of developing a character?

Whelp, I think I've hit on a compromise.

What if a player couldn't easily increase his character's skill levels...but could, through his role playing and contribution to the night's gaming session, increase his character's skill level for a single task throw?

Hmm...

What we're talking about here is players earning positive DM's (which basically increase skill level for a single throw) as a reward (like experience points) for roleplaying well.

Follow on, my young lads and ladies, as I put this idea up for discussion....

Drawing on Experience

 

[Supplement Four]

For some time now, I've been toying with methods for introducing experience and character growth rules into Classic Traveller. Some of the "fun" in many RPGs is had by a player in guiding and developing his character. Say what you will about the d20 system and all it's character levels and un-ending stream of DMs on a roll (I'm not a big fan of the d20 system either), but it is kinda neat to grow a character with "special abilities" in feats and skills and such. Players delight when they achieve a new level and can finally do "fill in the blank"....

Traveller, though, isn't made that way. It's not that kind of game--especially Classic Traveller. Sure, CT has an experience system, but it's a long road (4+ game years) before a character can increase a skill level.

I didn't want to upset that balance. Classic Traveller IS few but broad skills. I don't want to "change" that aspect of CT--because it opens a whole new can of worms with repercussions down many hallways.

No, CT needs to remain "Few and Broad Skills".

But...where does that leave us...those that want our players to experience the joy of developing a character?

Whelp, I think I've hit on a compromise.

What if a player couldn't easily increase his character's skill levels...but could, through his role playing and contribution to the night's gaming session, increase his character's skill level for a single task throw?

Hmm...

What we're talking about here is players earning positive DM's (which basically increase skill level for a single throw) as a reward (like experience points) for roleplaying well.

Follow on, my young lads and ladies, as I put this idea up for discussion....

Drawing on Experience

 

[Supplement Four]

RECORDING XP


Take a look at my signature. Click on the front side of the Traveller character sheet. I want to draw your attention to three places on that sheet.

First, just to the right of EDU, you'll see a blank called EXP. This is where you will record your character's Experience score.

Remember that "Experience" is defined, in CT, as the sum of your character's INT and EDU scores. CT states that characters cannot have more skill levels than this total. Many GMs, including myself, ignore this rule. But, we're going to use the Experience number here with these rules, and those characters who have a total number of skills that exceeds their Experience will have a harder time of drawing on experience than those whose total skill levels are less than than their Experience score.

I'll explain how to draw on experience below. For now, let's just fill in those three blanks on the character sheet.

In the parentheses, next to the EXP score, we have room to notate whether the character's total skills exceed his Experience.

So, let's look at two characters and then fill in the EXP blank on the character sheet.


Da Bien-Hua 9AA655
Streetwise-2, JOT-1, Medical-3, Electronics-1, Grav Vehicle-1


Da's EXP blank will be filled in like this....

EXP: 11 (+0)

What does this mean? Well, Da's Experience is 11 (INT 6 + EDU 5), and his total number of skill levels do not exceed 11 (he has a total of 8 skill levels).


OK, now let's look at the second character:

Sir Bromley Riieve 8889AB
Dagger-2, Liaison-0, Sm. Watercraft-0, Swimming-0, Gambling-0, Brawling-1, AutoPistol-2, Computer-2, Vacc Suit-1, Wheeled Vehicle-2, JOT-1, Navigation-1, Carousing-2, Forgery-1, Linguistics-1, Pilot-2, Engineering-1, Leader-2


Bromley has quite a few more skills than Da has. His EXP blank will be filled out like this....

EXP: 19 (+2)

What we see here is that Bromley's Experience is 19, and that Bromley has a total number of skills that exceed his experience by two points. The sum of his INT and EDU is 19, and if we count all of his skill levels, they total to 21 (thus, in parentheses, we write "+2", since 21 - 19 = 2).


==================================

The other two blanks on the character sheet to which I draw your attention are simple to understand. They're just places where we will record the number of XP (experience points) the character has.

If you look below the EXP blank, to the right of the SOC stat, you'll see the blank to record the character's XP.

But, also note, that each specific skill has an XP blank associated with it as well.

I'll explain how XP are awarded next.

 

[Supplement Four]

RECORDING XP


Take a look at my signature. Click on the front side of the Traveller character sheet. I want to draw your attention to three places on that sheet.

First, just to the right of EDU, you'll see a blank called EXP. This is where you will record your character's Experience score.

Remember that "Experience" is defined, in CT, as the sum of your character's INT and EDU scores. CT states that characters cannot have more skill levels than this total. Many GMs, including myself, ignore this rule. But, we're going to use the Experience number here with these rules, and those characters who have a total number of skills that exceeds their Experience will have a harder time of drawing on experience than those whose total skill levels are less than than their Experience score.

I'll explain how to draw on experience below. For now, let's just fill in those three blanks on the character sheet.

In the parentheses, next to the EXP score, we have room to notate whether the character's total skills exceed his Experience.

So, let's look at two characters and then fill in the EXP blank on the character sheet.


Da Bien-Hua 9AA655
Streetwise-2, JOT-1, Medical-3, Electronics-1, Grav Vehicle-1


Da's EXP blank will be filled in like this....

EXP: 11 (+0)

What does this mean? Well, Da's Experience is 11 (INT 6 + EDU 5), and his total number of skill levels do not exceed 11 (he has a total of 8 skill levels).


OK, now let's look at the second character:

Sir Bromley Riieve 8889AB
Dagger-2, Liaison-0, Sm. Watercraft-0, Swimming-0, Gambling-0, Brawling-1, AutoPistol-2, Computer-2, Vacc Suit-1, Wheeled Vehicle-2, JOT-1, Navigation-1, Carousing-2, Forgery-1, Linguistics-1, Pilot-2, Engineering-1, Leader-2


Bromley has quite a few more skills than Da has. His EXP blank will be filled out like this....

EXP: 19 (+2)

What we see here is that Bromley's Experience is 19, and that Bromley has a total number of skills that exceed his experience by two points. The sum of his INT and EDU is 19, and if we count all of his skill levels, they total to 21 (thus, in parentheses, we write "+2", since 21 - 19 = 2).


==================================

The other two blanks on the character sheet to which I draw your attention are simple to understand. They're just places where we will record the number of XP (experience points) the character has.

If you look below the EXP blank, to the right of the SOC stat, you'll see the blank to record the character's XP.

But, also note, that each specific skill has an XP blank associated with it as well.

I'll explain how XP are awarded next.

 

[Supplement Four]

EARNING XP


At the end of each game session (or the beginning of a new game session--your choice), XP are awarded.

How can a player earn XP for his character?

Simple. XP are awarded for fantastic role playing and great ideas contributed during the game session.

Those players who consistently role play, stay in character, and continually come up with creative ideas will find that their characters are "rewarded" with XP...and XP can be used to draw on the character's experience . I'll explain how to draw on experience later, but for right now, let's just focus on how a character gains XP.


At the end of the game session....

Who role played well--consistently, all night? Whose role playing deserves to be rewarded?

Who contributed that great idea that saved the party? Who figured out how to jury-rig the Jump Drive...or fake out those natives so that the group could get away.

These are the types of things you, as GM, are looking for.

Don't turn this into a contest that the players will not like. This should be a time of smiling, reflecting over the night's game session, with much patting on the backs of the players who did well. I've always found it useful to have the group vote on who should get what (with me, as GM, having veto power, of course).

Each game night, you can award 0-3 XP to each character, based on how the player played him.

Here is a guideline on awarding XP.

0 XP is awarded quite often, and it doesn't necessarily mean that a player did not play well. It simply means he had little impact on the night's game session. Maybe his character was stuck back on the ship and could do little to influence the night's action (although I've had players with characters that were tied up throughout the session, yet the player continually brought up great ideas for the others to work with...which means a player like that deserves some XP).


1 XP is awarded to a character with a player who did contribute something of note to the night's session (either by role playing or a few good ideas). This is one of the most common awards.


2 XP is awarded to a character with a player who role played extremely well and continually contributed creative solutions to problems the group faced during the night's session. It should be hard to achieve this level of XP during a single session.


3 XP is typically not awarded each game session, and when it is awarded, it can only be given to a single player in the group--two players cannot be awarded 3 XP to a character in a single session. Have the players vote on who should be awarded the 3 XP if the award is close. The "second place" character is awarded 2 XP instead.


When XP is awarded, it is recorded in the character's main XP blank (that you can see on the character sheet in my sig just to the right of the SOC stat).


Other ways of earning XP...

When a Critical Success is thrown on a task (if you are using a task system, like the UGM or the MT task system, that includes critical success/failure rolls), the character is awarded 1 XP for that skill alone. Record the XP in the blank next to the skill (these XP can only be used when drawing on experience for that specific skill).

If a Critical Failure is rolled, then remove one of the XP that may have been earned earlier for that skill (but XP can never be less than 0).


===================================

Now that we know how to earn XP for a character, and where to record that information, we can learn how to use the XP during a game.

That's the next section: Drawing on Experience .

 

[Supplement Four]

EARNING XP


At the end of each game session (or the beginning of a new game session--your choice), XP are awarded.

How can a player earn XP for his character?

Simple. XP are awarded for fantastic role playing and great ideas contributed during the game session.

Those players who consistently role play, stay in character, and continually come up with creative ideas will find that their characters are "rewarded" with XP...and XP can be used to draw on the character's experience . I'll explain how to draw on experience later, but for right now, let's just focus on how a character gains XP.


At the end of the game session....

Who role played well--consistently, all night? Whose role playing deserves to be rewarded?

Who contributed that great idea that saved the party? Who figured out how to jury-rig the Jump Drive...or fake out those natives so that the group could get away.

These are the types of things you, as GM, are looking for.

Don't turn this into a contest that the players will not like. This should be a time of smiling, reflecting over the night's game session, with much patting on the backs of the players who did well. I've always found it useful to have the group vote on who should get what (with me, as GM, having veto power, of course).

Each game night, you can award 0-3 XP to each character, based on how the player played him.

Here is a guideline on awarding XP.

0 XP is awarded quite often, and it doesn't necessarily mean that a player did not play well. It simply means he had little impact on the night's game session. Maybe his character was stuck back on the ship and could do little to influence the night's action (although I've had players with characters that were tied up throughout the session, yet the player continually brought up great ideas for the others to work with...which means a player like that deserves some XP).


1 XP is awarded to a character with a player who did contribute something of note to the night's session (either by role playing or a few good ideas). This is one of the most common awards.


2 XP is awarded to a character with a player who role played extremely well and continually contributed creative solutions to problems the group faced during the night's session. It should be hard to achieve this level of XP during a single session.


3 XP is typically not awarded each game session, and when it is awarded, it can only be given to a single player in the group--two players cannot be awarded 3 XP to a character in a single session. Have the players vote on who should be awarded the 3 XP if the award is close. The "second place" character is awarded 2 XP instead.


When XP is awarded, it is recorded in the character's main XP blank (that you can see on the character sheet in my sig just to the right of the SOC stat).


Other ways of earning XP...

When a Critical Success is thrown on a task (if you are using a task system, like the UGM or the MT task system, that includes critical success/failure rolls), the character is awarded 1 XP for that skill alone. Record the XP in the blank next to the skill (these XP can only be used when drawing on experience for that specific skill).

If a Critical Failure is rolled, then remove one of the XP that may have been earned earlier for that skill (but XP can never be less than 0).


===================================

Now that we know how to earn XP for a character, and where to record that information, we can learn how to use the XP during a game.

That's the next section: Drawing on Experience .

 

[Supplement Four]

DRAWING ON EXPERIENCE


Now that we have this XP, what do we do with it?

Well, during a game session, whenever it is important for a character to make a roll, the character can draw on his experience . If he's successful, he'll receive a positive DM on the roll.


How to draw on experience...

Drawing on experience is a simple roll. The player rolls 2D, and if that roll is equal to or less than the number of XP the character has, the character is rewarded with a +1DM that can be used on the roll.

EXAMPLE--

One of the characters from above, Da Bien-Hua, has racked up 9 XP over the last six game sessions. The ship has been hit, and power is fluctuating. Da, the ship's medic, is desperately trying to revive someone from low berth before the ship completely looses power.

Da decides to draw on his experience. 2D are thrown. If the total is 9 or less, then Da will receive a +1DM he can use on his throw to revive the low berth patient. If the roll is 10+, then no bonus is received.

NOTE that whatever number is thrown on the 2D roll when drawing on experience is the number of XP that are "used up" in the attempt.

So, if Da, above, throws a total of 7, then he will get is +1DM he needs for his low berth recovery roll, but his XP will be reduced from 9 to 2.

=====================================


That's the basics of how this is done. Below, I'll go into a couple of other situations that are a variation on this theme.


What if a player wants a +2DM instead of a +1DM? This is possible. The character simply throws 1 extra D6 for every extra point he's trying for.

For example, if Da, above, wanted to try for a +2DM rather than a +1DM when he drew on his experience, then he would roll 3D for 9-. If successful, he would recieve a +2DM instead of the usual +1DM.

If Da wanted a +3DM, he would roll 4D for 9-, and so on.


What if the character's total skill levels exceed his experience score? This is what we see in the Sir Bromley Riieve character above. See the (+2) notation in his EXP blank? That means that any roll Bromley makes to draw on experience is penalized with that modifier.

Let's say Bromley has racked up 11 XP over several game sessions, and Bromley's player desperately needs a +2DM on a roll he's about to make.

To draw on Bromley's experience, the roll for this situation would be 3D +2 for 11-.


How are the XP tied to a specific skill used? They are used just like regular XP, except they can only be used when drawing on experience for a task roll using that specific skill.

Let's say Bromley has rolled three Critical Successes on Engineering tasks in the past. This would mean that he has 3 XP tied to the Engineering skill.

Now, let's say that Bromley is trying to fix the ship's Maneuver Drive. He's got 11 XP as a character, but his Engineering skill has an additional 3 XP. That means we're working with 14 XP.

Bromley wants a +1DM to use on his Engineering roll. He'll roll 2D +2 for 14-. Note that Bromley will automatically make this roll (even if he rolls 12 on the 2D throw, he'll roll 14).

NOTE that XP from a specific skill is "burned" first before general XP are used up.

 

[Supplement Four]

DRAWING ON EXPERIENCE


Now that we have this XP, what do we do with it?

Well, during a game session, whenever it is important for a character to make a roll, the character can draw on his experience . If he's successful, he'll receive a positive DM on the roll.


How to draw on experience...

Drawing on experience is a simple roll. The player rolls 2D, and if that roll is equal to or less than the number of XP the character has, the character is rewarded with a +1DM that can be used on the roll.

EXAMPLE--

One of the characters from above, Da Bien-Hua, has racked up 9 XP over the last six game sessions. The ship has been hit, and power is fluctuating. Da, the ship's medic, is desperately trying to revive someone from low berth before the ship completely looses power.

Da decides to draw on his experience. 2D are thrown. If the total is 9 or less, then Da will receive a +1DM he can use on his throw to revive the low berth patient. If the roll is 10+, then no bonus is received.

NOTE that whatever number is thrown on the 2D roll when drawing on experience is the number of XP that are "used up" in the attempt.

So, if Da, above, throws a total of 7, then he will get is +1DM he needs for his low berth recovery roll, but his XP will be reduced from 9 to 2.

=====================================


That's the basics of how this is done. Below, I'll go into a couple of other situations that are a variation on this theme.


What if a player wants a +2DM instead of a +1DM? This is possible. The character simply throws 1 extra D6 for every extra point he's trying for.

For example, if Da, above, wanted to try for a +2DM rather than a +1DM when he drew on his experience, then he would roll 3D for 9-. If successful, he would recieve a +2DM instead of the usual +1DM.

If Da wanted a +3DM, he would roll 4D for 9-, and so on.


What if the character's total skill levels exceed his experience score? This is what we see in the Sir Bromley Riieve character above. See the (+2) notation in his EXP blank? That means that any roll Bromley makes to draw on experience is penalized with that modifier.

Let's say Bromley has racked up 11 XP over several game sessions, and Bromley's player desperately needs a +2DM on a roll he's about to make.

To draw on Bromley's experience, the roll for this situation would be 3D +2 for 11-.


How are the XP tied to a specific skill used? They are used just like regular XP, except they can only be used when drawing on experience for a task roll using that specific skill.

Let's say Bromley has rolled three Critical Successes on Engineering tasks in the past. This would mean that he has 3 XP tied to the Engineering skill.

Now, let's say that Bromley is trying to fix the ship's Maneuver Drive. He's got 11 XP as a character, but his Engineering skill has an additional 3 XP. That means we're working with 14 XP.

Bromley wants a +1DM to use on his Engineering roll. He'll roll 2D +2 for 14-. Note that Bromley will automatically make this roll (even if he rolls 12 on the 2D throw, he'll roll 14).

NOTE that XP from a specific skill is "burned" first before general XP are used up.

 

[Supplement Four]

CHARACTERS FOR EXAMPLES


Bob is playing Bromley, and David is playing Da.

Currently, their EXP and XP fields (on the character sheets), look like this:

Bromley
EXP: 19 (+2)
XP: 11


Da
EXP: 11 (+0)
XP: 9

 

[Supplement Four]

CHARACTERS FOR EXAMPLES


Bob is playing Bromley, and David is playing Da.

Currently, their EXP and XP fields (on the character sheets), look like this:

Bromley
EXP: 19 (+2)
XP: 11


Da
EXP: 11 (+0)
XP: 9

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


The GM, Bob, and David have just finished a game session of Traveller.

The GM thinks over the night's session. David didn't have much opportunity to actually role play with Da this night as Da was stuck in the medical bay during the entire game session doing research on some strange mold the crew had found growing on an asteroid out in space (without an atmosphere...on solid, cold, rock!).

But, David did contribute quite a bit to the night's game session with creative ideas that solved some problems the group faced. There was also a little roleplaying (nothing spectacular) done with David's character, Da, over the comm.

This could have been a situation where Da was awarded no XP for the night's session, but because of David's creative input, the GM decides to award Da 1XP.

On the other hand, Bob's character, Bromley, was in the thick of it all night. It was a game-session-long bar fight. Bromley had left the ship to see if he could find some information on the mold the crew had found. He stumbled into a bar in startown (hoping to use his Carousing skill), but ended up getting drunk and into a fist fight with the locals.

Bob really didn't contribute anything creative during the game session, and really didn't make much of the role playing opportunities he had when in the bar.

So, the GM decides to award 0 XP to Bromely for the night's session.

But, Bromley did roll one Critical Success on one of his Brawling attacks during the bar fight, so now he has 1 XP tied to his Brawling skill.


======================

This example shows that, although it is typically so, it is not always the characters who are in the "thick of it" during a game session who are awarded XP.

As a GM, when awarding XP, consider what each player, through their characters, contributed to the night's game session.

In this example, David's character Da was stuck the entire session in the ship's sick bay, studying the strange mold the crew had found. There wasn't much opportunity for Da to earn XP in that situation, but David, through his character via the comm, and outside of the game, found a way to contribute creative ideas that helped the group solve the problems they faced during the game session.

On the other hand, Bob, through his character Bromley, had ample opportunity to role play in the bar. But, Bob did little with it. His playing was uninspired, and Bromley basically spent the whole session in a fist fight.

Looking at this situation, the GM decided to award Bromley 0 XP (although Bromley did get 1 XP tied to his Brawling skill for the Critical Success he rolled during the fight).

The point here is: When awarding XP, be stingy. Some nights, nobody will earn XP. The players have to be very impressive in order to earn 2 XP. And, if you have a night when you decide to award 3 XP to a character (can only be awarded to a single character during a game session), there should be much rejoicing.

When awarding XP, consider what each player, through their characters, contributed to the game session. Was it consistent, creative ideas that helped the group solve problems? Was it superb role playing?

How much of this type of "value" did the player bring to the game?

The player who is consistently proactive and creative in his role playing will be awareded many more XP over the long run than a player who typically occupies his seat but doesn't contribute much unless he is spoken to.

This system is designed to encourage great role playing.

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


The GM, Bob, and David have just finished a game session of Traveller.

The GM thinks over the night's session. David didn't have much opportunity to actually role play with Da this night as Da was stuck in the medical bay during the entire game session doing research on some strange mold the crew had found growing on an asteroid out in space (without an atmosphere...on solid, cold, rock!).

But, David did contribute quite a bit to the night's game session with creative ideas that solved some problems the group faced. There was also a little roleplaying (nothing spectacular) done with David's character, Da, over the comm.

This could have been a situation where Da was awarded no XP for the night's session, but because of David's creative input, the GM decides to award Da 1XP.

On the other hand, Bob's character, Bromley, was in the thick of it all night. It was a game-session-long bar fight. Bromley had left the ship to see if he could find some information on the mold the crew had found. He stumbled into a bar in startown (hoping to use his Carousing skill), but ended up getting drunk and into a fist fight with the locals.

Bob really didn't contribute anything creative during the game session, and really didn't make much of the role playing opportunities he had when in the bar.

So, the GM decides to award 0 XP to Bromely for the night's session.

But, Bromley did roll one Critical Success on one of his Brawling attacks during the bar fight, so now he has 1 XP tied to his Brawling skill.


======================

This example shows that, although it is typically so, it is not always the characters who are in the "thick of it" during a game session who are awarded XP.

As a GM, when awarding XP, consider what each player, through their characters, contributed to the night's game session.

In this example, David's character Da was stuck the entire session in the ship's sick bay, studying the strange mold the crew had found. There wasn't much opportunity for Da to earn XP in that situation, but David, through his character via the comm, and outside of the game, found a way to contribute creative ideas that helped the group solve the problems they faced during the game session.

On the other hand, Bob, through his character Bromley, had ample opportunity to role play in the bar. But, Bob did little with it. His playing was uninspired, and Bromley basically spent the whole session in a fist fight.

Looking at this situation, the GM decided to award Bromley 0 XP (although Bromley did get 1 XP tied to his Brawling skill for the Critical Success he rolled during the fight).

The point here is: When awarding XP, be stingy. Some nights, nobody will earn XP. The players have to be very impressive in order to earn 2 XP. And, if you have a night when you decide to award 3 XP to a character (can only be awarded to a single character during a game session), there should be much rejoicing.

When awarding XP, consider what each player, through their characters, contributed to the game session. Was it consistent, creative ideas that helped the group solve problems? Was it superb role playing?

How much of this type of "value" did the player bring to the game?

The player who is consistently proactive and creative in his role playing will be awareded many more XP over the long run than a player who typically occupies his seat but doesn't contribute much unless he is spoken to.

This system is designed to encourage great role playing.

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


Da now has 10 XP , having just gained another last game session.

He's in the startown now, trying to find out something about the mold. He's found someone he thinks knows a little about the mold--that strange living thing that can grow in a vacuum--but the local citizen isn't talking.

David suspects the GM may have rolled badly for the guy's reaction to Da when Da approached him.

So, David wants to use his Streetwise skill to attempt to learn something about the mold. Da's success or failure on this roll will determine how the GM role plays the local, so David knows he wants a success.

Da has 10 XP. David is going to attempt to get a +2DM on his Streetwise roll by drawing on Da's experience.

In order to get the +2DM, David will need to roll 10- on 3D.

David rolls the dice: 6, 6, 3. The total is 15. David has missed the roll. He got too greedy (should have tried for a +1DM instead of a +2DM).

All of Da's XP are wiped out. Da now has 0 XP.

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


Da now has 10 XP , having just gained another last game session.

He's in the startown now, trying to find out something about the mold. He's found someone he thinks knows a little about the mold--that strange living thing that can grow in a vacuum--but the local citizen isn't talking.

David suspects the GM may have rolled badly for the guy's reaction to Da when Da approached him.

So, David wants to use his Streetwise skill to attempt to learn something about the mold. Da's success or failure on this roll will determine how the GM role plays the local, so David knows he wants a success.

Da has 10 XP. David is going to attempt to get a +2DM on his Streetwise roll by drawing on Da's experience.

In order to get the +2DM, David will need to roll 10- on 3D.

David rolls the dice: 6, 6, 3. The total is 15. David has missed the roll. He got too greedy (should have tried for a +1DM instead of a +2DM).

All of Da's XP are wiped out. Da now has 0 XP.

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


Last game session, we ended with Bromley in a fist fight at a startown bar. Beginning this new game session, we're picking up where we left off--Bromley is still in that fight.

Now, Bromley was not awarded XP last game session (see above), but he does have 11 XP awarded him from previous sessions.

And, Bromley rolled a Critical Success during the fight last game, so he now has 1 XP tied to hsi Brawling skill.

Well, it looks like Bromley is going to need it, because he's not doing too well in this fight. His physical stats of 888 have been reduced to 365. He won't be able to take too many more hits (and he's suffering from the weakened blow penalty have gone over his allottment of combat blows).

Bob, playing Bromley, decides to draw on Bromley's experience in order to win a +1DM on his next Brawling attack throw.

Bromley has 11 XP. This is bolstered to 12 XP (using the 1 XP tied to Bromley's Brawling skill).

Also note that Bromley's EXP field looks like this:

EXP: 19 (+2)

And, this means that a +2DM penalty is applied anytime Bromley attempts to draw on his experience.

So, Bromley's roll to obtain the +1DM for his Brawling attack is: 2D +2 for 12-

Bob rolls 2D: 3, 3. A total of 6 +2 = 8.

Bromley has successfully drawn on his experience, and his is allowed an additional +1DM on his next Brawling attack.

Bromley's XP are reduced accordingly: the 1 XP tied to the Brawling skill is "spent" first, while his general XP pool is reduced by 7.

Bromley now has 4 XP.

 

[Supplement Four]

EXAMPLE


Last game session, we ended with Bromley in a fist fight at a startown bar. Beginning this new game session, we're picking up where we left off--Bromley is still in that fight.

Now, Bromley was not awarded XP last game session (see above), but he does have 11 XP awarded him from previous sessions.

And, Bromley rolled a Critical Success during the fight last game, so he now has 1 XP tied to hsi Brawling skill.

Well, it looks like Bromley is going to need it, because he's not doing too well in this fight. His physical stats of 888 have been reduced to 365. He won't be able to take too many more hits (and he's suffering from the weakened blow penalty have gone over his allottment of combat blows).

Bob, playing Bromley, decides to draw on Bromley's experience in order to win a +1DM on his next Brawling attack throw.

Bromley has 11 XP. This is bolstered to 12 XP (using the 1 XP tied to Bromley's Brawling skill).

Also note that Bromley's EXP field looks like this:

EXP: 19 (+2)

And, this means that a +2DM penalty is applied anytime Bromley attempts to draw on his experience.

So, Bromley's roll to obtain the +1DM for his Brawling attack is: 2D +2 for 12-

Bob rolls 2D: 3, 3. A total of 6 +2 = 8.

Bromley has successfully drawn on his experience, and his is allowed an additional +1DM on his next Brawling attack.

Bromley's XP are reduced accordingly: the 1 XP tied to the Brawling skill is "spent" first, while his general XP pool is reduced by 7.

Bromley now has 4 XP.

 

[Supplement Four]

LET'S SUM ALL THIS UP


1: XP is awarded at the end of each game session. Characters are awarded 0-3 XP, and this is based on how well the characters were played. A player who consistently role plays well and continually comes up with creative solutions to problems will gain more XP for his character than a player who is passive and rarely contributes unless spoken to. If 3 XP is awarded during a game session, then it can be awarded to a single character only.


2: Task throws that result in Critical Successes will earn a character an XP point, but that point is always tied to the specific skill. Critical Failures rolled on that skill will reduce any of these skill-specific XP (can never be reduced below 0 XP). And, anytime XP are spent, these skill-specific XP are spent first before the character's general XP pool is reduced.


3: A character's Experience score is the sum of his INT and EDU. If the character's total number of skill levels exceeds the character's Experience score, then the difference is a penalty modifier used with the character attempts to draw on his experience.


4: When drawing on experience, a dice roll is made. If the roll is less than or equal to the total number of XP the character has, then the roll is successful. If the roll is higher than the character's XP, then the attempt to draw on experience fails.


5: When drawing on experience, a successful 2D roll will net the character a +1DM. A successful 3D roll will net the character a +2DM. A successful 4D roll will net the character a successful +3DM, and so on.

Note that the total achieved on the dice roll indicates the number of XP that are "burned" in the attempt to draw on experience. If the dice roll is higher than the total number of XP, then the character's XP total is reduced to 0.

 

[Supplement Four]

LET'S SUM ALL THIS UP


1: XP is awarded at the end of each game session. Characters are awarded 0-3 XP, and this is based on how well the characters were played. A player who consistently role plays well and continually comes up with creative solutions to problems will gain more XP for his character than a player who is passive and rarely contributes unless spoken to. If 3 XP is awarded during a game session, then it can be awarded to a single character only.


2: Task throws that result in Critical Successes will earn a character an XP point, but that point is always tied to the specific skill. Critical Failures rolled on that skill will reduce any of these skill-specific XP (can never be reduced below 0 XP). And, anytime XP are spent, these skill-specific XP are spent first before the character's general XP pool is reduced.


3: A character's Experience score is the sum of his INT and EDU. If the character's total number of skill levels exceeds the character's Experience score, then the difference is a penalty modifier used with the character attempts to draw on his experience.


4: When drawing on experience, a dice roll is made. If the roll is less than or equal to the total number of XP the character has, then the roll is successful. If the roll is higher than the character's XP, then the attempt to draw on experience fails.


5: When drawing on experience, a successful 2D roll will net the character a +1DM. A successful 3D roll will net the character a +2DM. A successful 4D roll will net the character a successful +3DM, and so on.

Note that the total achieved on the dice roll indicates the number of XP that are "burned" in the attempt to draw on experience. If the dice roll is higher than the total number of XP, then the character's XP total is reduced to 0.

 

[Supplement Four]

I haven't play-tested these rules yet, and I have a few ideas for modifying them already (like having a Critical Failure reduce the general XP pool...to keep the attempt to draw on experience rare).

But, what do you think of this? Neat addition to a Traveller game? Or, is it a waste of time?

 

[Supplement Four]

I haven't play-tested these rules yet, and I have a few ideas for modifying them already (like having a Critical Failure reduce the general XP pool...to keep the attempt to draw on experience rare).

But, what do you think of this? Neat addition to a Traveller game? Or, is it a waste of time?