Experience...

[Berg]

Been reviewing old threads and in a CT+ mood...

After an adventure characters get a dice roll for experience
2d6 for doubles is success (16.66%)

or

2d6 for 10+, INT: 5 less/ -1, 9 more/ +1
(5 less/8.32%)
(6-8 /16.65%)
(9 more/27.76%)

(Not sure which is better/easier)

then character chooses either:

1. Character gets one roll on a skills table for the career that most closely resembles what they've been up to as determined by the Ref (per Sigg O.)

or

2. Character rolls 1d6 over existing skill level to gain a level.
Ex: Vacc Suit-3 would require a 4 or higher to gain a level.

Thoughts....

 

[tinker123]

Skirting the realms of "IMTU".... I've never liked the experience rule. During prior service you can pick up 1 or more skills through on-the-job training and work experience. That includes skills you "learn" by being promoted (however that works). Once you quit that job and start out for yourself, it takes 4 years of dedicated focus to gain 1 skill level.

My solution is to offer the same chance of a skill during play, i.e. gain a skill every 2 years for Mercenary/High Guard characters, every 4 years for basic characters. In keeping with the idea of learn-by-doing, the skill must be one that the character has successfully used since the last skill-gain. That could be a new skill (used at level 0), or an extra level in an existing skill. Player's choice.

There's a bit of extra bookkeeping, for the players to note the skills they've used, and it may need the ref to tell them at the end of a session whether they succeeded or not, but it's not a big drag.

Few characters are actively played for 4 years of game-time, so it makes very little difference in reality, but it saves all the griping from the players about lack of development.

 

[pendragonman]

Been reviewing old threads and in a CT+ mood...

After an adventure characters get a dice roll for experience
2d6 for doubles is success (16.66%)

or

2d6 for 10+, INT: 5 less/ -1, 9 more/ +1
(5 less/8.32%)
(6-8 /16.65%)
(9 more/27.76%)

(Not sure which is better/easier)

then character chooses either:

1. Character gets one roll on a skills table for the career that most closely resembles what they've been up to as determined by the Ref (per Sigg O.)

or

2. Character rolls 1d6 over existing skill level to gain a level.
Ex: Vacc Suit-3 would require a 4 or higher to gain a level.

Thoughts....

I kinda like #2.

IMTU, I use a different system. At the end of the adventure (or a reasonable break point, like a long stretch of refuel-jump-refuel-jump cycles) I award 1-3 skill points based on role play. Then, the players get a choice of how to spend them. They can spend one point to increase one skill they have used regularly, they can spend one point to buy up to three skills (no carry over) at level zero (they must have a skill at level zero before they can improve it to level one), or they can spend one point for 2 luck points (emergency rerolls or reduction of something catastrophic to just bad).

Not canon, but a good house rule. Especially when using CT.

 

[weasel fierce]

A system we will propably use when we get started again is this:

You get a level 0 skill every 2-3 sessions

Every 4 or 5 sessions you can raise a 0 to a 1

Every 8 sessions you can raise a 1 to a 2


Numbers subject to change.

 

[Bob Weaver]

Skirting the realms of "IMTU".... I've never liked the experience rule. During prior service you can pick up 1 or more skills through on-the-job training and work experience. That includes skills you "learn" by being promoted (however that works). Once you quit that job and start out for yourself, it takes 4 years of dedicated focus to gain 1 skill level.

My solution is to offer the same chance of a skill during play, i.e. gain a skill every 2 years for Mercenary/High Guard characters, every 4 years for basic characters. In keeping with the idea of learn-by-doing, the skill must be one that the character has successfully used since the last skill-gain. That could be a new skill (used at level 0), or an extra level in an existing skill. Player's choice.

There's a bit of extra bookkeeping, for the players to note the skills they've used, and it may need the ref to tell them at the end of a session whether they succeeded or not, but it's not a big drag.

Few characters are actively played for 4 years of game-time, so it makes very little difference in reality, but it saves all the griping from the players about lack of development.

Is it typical for PC's to last less than 4 years of game time, regardless of how long in real time? In other RPG discussion boards I've read, I heard often of characters growing old and retiring in game time, some even having children to carry on adventuring after them. Why would traveller PCs last such a short time? Surely not because Traveller has a more deadly combat system than many fantasy systems.

 

[Bob Weaver]

Munchkinism?

Have those who make use of house Experience/Development rules found much occurrence of super-powerful PCs? As I understood the skill level concept in CT, skill-1 is a competent amateur and skill-3 is a degreed professional, while skill-5 is an acknowledged master of the craft. I would think that most referees would find it difficult to challenge PCs with multiple skill-5's, short of outright "killer scenarios".
Besides skill advancement, what else do referees use to reward players?

Cheers,

Bob

 

[atpollard]

Skill Bumping

What about awarding 1 skill “bump” per year (like when the ship goes in for annual maintenance).

Each BUMP moves 1 skill closer to the next level
The number of BUMPS required to advance a skill is equal to the next level.

For example,
one BUMP will advance skill-0 to skill-1.

To advance from skill-1 to skill-2 would require 2 BUMPS, so 1 BUMP would advance skill-1 to skill 1(+1/2). A second BUMP will advance a skill-1(+1/2) to skill-2.

To advance from skill-2 to skill-3 would require 3 BUMPS, so 1 BUMP would advance skill-2 to skill-2(+1/3). A second BUMP will advance a skill-2(+1/3) to skill-2(+2/3). A third BUMP will advance a skill-2(+2/3) to skill-3.

And so on. Making it fast and easy to improve low skills, and slow and hard to improve high skills.

[… but someone needs to think up a better term than BUMP.]

 

[Vargas]

That includes skills you "learn" by being promoted (however that works).

I think that's Marc's military experience showing again where promotion pretty much means you're sent to some school/class in order to prepare for your new rank.

 

[tbeard1999]

Been reviewing old threads and in a CT+ mood...

2. Character rolls 1d6 over existing skill level to gain a level.
Ex: Vacc Suit-3 would require a 4 or higher to gain a level.

Thoughts....

I use this system in my CT/Proto Traveller game. After an adventure -- which is typically 2-3 sessions in my campaign -- a character gets a single skill improvement roll that he can use on any skill that he *tried* to use during the adventure. (I think that you learn more from failures than successes). However, I only allow a total number of skills equal to (completed terms x 2)+3. If the character is maxed out, he must lose a skill point elsewhere to gain a point. I *do* allow characters to drop to skill level 0 in any skills (he retains a familiarity in that skill) to balance the books.

Characters that want to add a completely new skill must spend their experience point and must take a course (80 hours of instruction; maximum 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, minimum 8 hours per week. When required hours are completed, the point is spent, and the player makes a success roll on 1d6 -- 4+ (+instructor's instruction skill). If successful, he gets a level 1 in the skill. If unsuccessful, he can "take the course again" and will be +1 on his next roll. He can repeat this as many times as he wishes, but his bonus is limited to +1.

A player have 2 courses "saved up" in this manner.

Instruction is loosely defined. Most skills are available for cr50 per hour of instruction. Skills like Streetwise, Carousing or Gambling require active prowling about practicing the activity, which costs a minimum of cr50 per hour. Instructors must be obtained and the referee can require rolls (carousing, streetwise, admin) to find an instructor. I allow automatic success for finding an instructor for mundane skills (Electronics on a TL5+ world, for instance.) To find a master forger willing to teach Forgery would probably require a formidable Streetwise roll.

Player characters with a skill of 3+ can be an instructor for that skill, even if they lack Instruction skill.

Self-taught courses for most skills are available for anyone with a computer. They cost cr5000 and are considered to be Instruction-1 (no sentient instructor required). Such software is typically designed to be accessible for 12 weeks from activation. Registration can usually be extended one time for cr2500.

Characters with full time jobs (such as starship crew) will have about 10 hours per week available for training or instructing. The referee should force a "dedication roll" if players try to cram more hours in.

A character *must* have an experience point to improve his skills in my campaign.

 

[Merxiless]

In reference back to the aging of PCs...

I think in most fantasy games, your PC gets an adventure once a season / quarter, thus 4 adventures is a game year, a full real time year of gaming is about 12 years of a PC's life. Certainly the revised Runequest by Avalon Hill suggests something like this.

Of course with break points in between, jump-aheads, etc. i.e. the orc war ended, now it is 5 years later...etc. Add 5 years to your age and 5 levels to your AD&D character.

But with Traveller, because of the Jump rules, per week, a lot of adventures might be, week to week, thus it is a whole year of gaming to play out a year of a PC's life.

I think also in most merchant campaigns, if you are jumping, it is port to port, locally, or say 2 or 3 jumps, not some cross-galactic trek which will take 20 jumps to complete. Therefore no real reason to have large chunks of time just "pass into history".

I've seen many a D&D referee say "nothing of import happens in the kingdom for 6 months. But, one day, rumors of bandit attacks reach your ears. A messenger from the king appears..."

But I've never seen "42 weeks pass, as you run the route to Rhylanor, until rumors of ..." in ANY Traveller game.

I think, it is because the Scope of a typical Traveller game is the 5 to 6 PCs on whatever ship they have, typically, TCS games notwithstanding. Of course, some referees run sector spanning political games.

But most fantasy games seem to have increasing scope as you go. Certainly old school AD&D, you started out as a nobody, and by 9th "Lord / Name" level, you were owning a keep/freehold/guild or planning to. Larger scope / scale, and blocks of time, since the drake slain last week isn't going to appear in week 2. But the goons of megacorps can certainly do so.

I think that's the issue, right there. And agreed, I've never seen Traveller characters "Age" other than in character generation. Games just don't typically last that long.

Though they certainly could, of course.

 

[aramis]

Having run campaigns that ran for 6-9 months and covered 3-5 YEARS of character time, it's quite possible to have that happen.

A merchant crew will often make 3-4 jumps per session.

When the PC's are on a Find and Notify the Noble mission, 3-8 jumps per session...

Time can really fly IMTU.

Of course, since I use MT, Experience is resolved every 90 days...