Issues starting a CT campaign from scratch?

[Daddicus]

I'm going to try to get a CT campaign going. We'll be using the Imperium and all of the official rules.

What I want to probe here for is a list of issues we need we will need to deal with following the official rules. We'll be using all of the LBB 4-7 rules where they supplement/override the earlier books. Anything goes, including conflicts, continuity issues, 77 vs. 81 (I think we have books from both versions), etc. JTAS is fair game as well, but if there are later rules that supercede an article, please mention the tie-in as appropriate.

For an example of a possible conflict:

There are no academies available to Mercenary army or marine characters. So, to be fair, one might want to either come up with a reason why there isn't an Army/Marine Academy, or else create one mirroring rules in the later books. (Plus, no regular college, either.)

I'm guessing there are a lot of issues where conflicts between rule books show up. Please pop in and highlight any issues you can foresee possibly running into with a CT Campaign. If this thread gets much traffic, I'll make a list of them below in this first post. Feel free to add your own "solutions" if you have come up with some. Also, if you know of a specific article that solves or tries to solve an issue (yours or someone else's), please note that as well.

1. There are no colleges available to Mercenary army or marine characters. [See JTAS 10 for an option to rectify this.]
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2. Related to the previous entry, normal college (non-academy) stints aren't defined until LBB 5, also leaving Mercenary characters a little short. [ { from agorski } See JTAS 10 for an option to rectify this.]
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3. { From aramis } LBB 7 (pg 31) imposes a limit on Int and Edu (can't have more skills/skill levels than Int and Edu combined).
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4. { From aramis } LBB 1 and S4 characters average 1.4 skill levels gained per term. Other characters from LBB 4-7 average about 2 per term. Term maximums gained are also higher for LBB 4-7 (20 vs. 6).7
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5. { From aramis } The only available details on pulse vs. beam lasers are in Starter Traveller and Don's Errata.
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6. { From aramis } SS3, Mayday, Starter Traveller and Don's Errata do not match about missile capabilities.
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7. { From saundby } Task resolution is undefined in CT.
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[aramis]

Bk 7 imposes the Int+Edu limit; Bk1 and Bks 4-6 do not. You may want to.
(Ironically, Bk7 characters run afoul of it less often than Bk4 characters!)

Bk1/S4 characters average about 1.4 skill levels per term, with a maximum of 6 (Army 1st term Rank 2); Bk4-7 run about 2 skill levels per term, with a maximum of up to 20 (2nd Term Army character getting 4 school results).

Only Starter Traveller (and Don's Errata file) gives the details on pulse vs beam lasers.

SS3, Mayday, Starter Traveller and Don's errata don't match about missile capabilities. Pick one, and stick with it.

 

[agorski]

1. There are no colleges available to Mercenary army or marine characters.
2. { From aramis } LBB 7 imposes a limit on Int and Edu. (I am unable to find the reference for this. If anybody knows what page it is on, please let me know. Thanks!)

Terry McInnes wrote an article in JTAS 10 adding college and military academy options to Mercenary. I've incorporated that option into my Mac Mercenary chargen program.

I've also put the Int+Edu limit into all my programs as a warning to muster out after the current term. Usually, the character will pick up an Edu or Int level from the mustering out table and not have to delete a skill over the limit.

 

[aramis]

• { From aramis } LBB 7 imposes a limit on Int and Edu. (I am unable to find the reference for this. If anybody knows what page it is on, please let me know. Thanks!)

Bk 7, Page 31, 2/3 of the way down the page...

Skill Limitations: No character should have more skills (or combined total levels of skills) than the sum of intelligence and education.

 

[LeperColony]

Interesting, then you can't even have a ton of skills at 0?

 

[aramis]

Interesting, then you can't even have a ton of skills at 0?

Level 0 skills were actually rather rare in CT. No real systematic method of getting them existed until Bk4.

In MT, they don't count against the limit. Probably shouldn't in CT.

Nor should CT's language mechanics (from the Alien Modules), nor CT Psi-Skills (which are scaled like languages - 1 to 12).

 

[McPerth]

Level 0 skills were actually rather rare in CT. No real systematic method of getting them existed until Bk4.

In MT, they don't count against the limit. Probably shouldn't in CT.

Nor should CT's language mechanics (from the Alien Modules), nor CT Psi-Skills (which are scaled like languages - 1 to 12).

While I agree with you about not counting level 0 skills, rules, as you quoted it, says

Skill Limitations: No character should have more skills (or combined total levels of skills) than the sum of intelligence and education

(emphasis is mine)

so, it seems to say any skill had counting as one, regardless if it is 0 or 1 (higher levels count as skill levels).

Personally, I've never applied this limitation when I've been referee, but, anyway, characters with more skills than allowed are quite rare...

Even there is at least one character in canon (Indro the Lightless, MT:HT page 27) that has more skills that would be so allowed (Int C, Edu A, 23 skill levels).

One of the problems we had when trying to apply it was: a character reaches his skill level limit in CharGen. As such, he's not allowed more skills and retires. In mustering out he obtains +2 to Edu (twice) and +1 to int (once), so being able to have 5 more skill levels... Should we have allowed him to learn more skills in hope he will raise its Int or Edu on mustering out, and after he had not obtained such raising, what then?

 

[FreeTrav]

One of the problems we had when trying to apply it was: a character reaches his skill level limit in CharGen. As such, he's not allowed more skills and retires. In mustering out he obtains +2 to Edu (twice) and +1 to int (once), so being able to have 5 more skill levels... Should we have allowed him to learn more skills in hope he will raise its Int or Edu on mustering out, and after he had not obtained such raising, what then?

The way I handled that was that during chargen, I didn't enforce the limits (though if a character was getting close, I'd suggest trying for +INT or +EDU on the Personal Development tables) - but after the character had mustered out, and applied all benefits (including any +INT or +EDU), the limit would be applied, and the player would have to reduce skills.

The next phase of the debate, obviously, is "How do you decide how to cut skills in such a case?"

 

[aramis]

While I agree with you about not counting level 0 skills, rules, as you quoted it, says


(emphasis is mine)

so, it seems to say any skill had counting as one, regardless if it is 0 or 1 (higher levels count as skill levels).

Personally, I've never applied this limitation when I've been referee, but, anyway, characters with more skills than allowed are quite rare...

Even there is at least one character in canon (Indro the Lightless, MT:HT page 27) that has more skills that would be so allowed (Int C, Edu A, 23 skill levels).

One of the problems we had when trying to apply it was: a character reaches his skill level limit in CharGen. As such, he's not allowed more skills and retires. In mustering out he obtains +2 to Edu (twice) and +1 to int (once), so being able to have 5 more skill levels... Should we have allowed him to learn more skills in hope he will raise its Int or Edu on mustering out, and after he had not obtained such raising, what then?

It's causing you problems because (1) you're applying it at the wrong point and (2) giving it an effect that it isn't supposed to have. In short, it's a user error mimicking the appearance of a bug but not being a bug. (Like using a drill to remove staples... it can be done, it works, but it usually makes a small messy pair of holes which may annoy some people.)

On (1): It's done only AFTER muster out benefits are obtained.

On (2): the limit on no further terms is term 7, not maxed out skills.

 

[LeperColony]

Is post-creation advancement possible in CT?

 

[FreeTrav]

Is post-creation advancement possible in CT?

I don't recall any provisions for it in RAW, though ISTR there were some 'house rules' that made it into fairly widespread publication.

 

[Dragoner]

Is post-creation advancement possible in CT?

Yes, Bk 2, pgs 42-43, Experience.

 

[aramis]

Is post-creation advancement possible in CT?

There are several methods in the core... but they are VERY slow... slower than spending time in prior service! All are on page 103 of The Traveller Book, and pages 42-43 of Bk 2...

you can train a ranged weapon and a non-ranged weapon skill already possessed at level 0 or better for 8 years, During which each is raised by 1 level; after 8 years (4 years for raising from level 0 to level 1), this is a permanent raise.

A similar program for 2 non-weapon skills of level 1+ may be taken, and after 8 years, the raise is permanent.

You can also raise physical attributes by 1, but this never becomes permanent by the wording on TTB p.103. It does, however, raise all 3 attributes at once.

Likewise, correspondence courses can permanently raise Edu - 50 weekly units provide +1 Edu.

One can take a 4 year sabbatical to learn 2 levels of skill, as well.

 

[saundby]

I'd add that you want to make sure you're clear on your process for task resolution. The rules don't have a fixed approach.

 

[McPerth]

(2): the limit on no further terms is term 7, not maxed out skills.

I'm afraid that (once more) I didn't express well what I meant. When I said he reaches the limit of skills and so he retires, I didn't mean he had to, just he voluntarily retires a he sees no point to remain in the carreer if he cannot achieve more skills.

The next phase of the debate, obviously, is "How do you decide how to cut skills in such a case?"

That's exactly what I meant. Voluntarily? Random?

After all, if your character has (among other skills) Pilot 3 and Ship's Boat 2, this should be (IMHO) the first one to be cut, as the character will lose nothing (his Pilot skill being used as Ship's Boat at -1). And that happens also with other included skills (there are several in CT and even more in MT).

 

[McPerth]

Is post-creation advancement possible in CT?

Aside from what Aramis explained above, Instruction skill allows to teach some skills to other characters (Bk4 pages 13-14, Bk5 page 12).

 

[FreeTrav]

I'm afraid that (once more) I didn't express well what I meant. When I said he reaches the limit of skills and so he retires, I didn't mean he had to, just he voluntarily retires a he sees no point to remain in the carreer if he cannot achieve more skills.



That's exactly what I meant. Voluntarily? Random?

After all, if your character has (among other skills) Pilot 3 and Ship's Boat 2, this should be (IMHO) the first one to be cut, as the character will lose nothing (his Pilot skill being used as Ship's Boat at -1). And that happens also with other included skills (there are several in CT and even more in MT).

I don't like either pure voluntary or pure random; I'd tend to want to look at the career progress in as much detail as possible, and cut least-recently-used skills first - so, if I've spent the last three terms in an admin assignment, rather than out there pushing spacecraft around the sky, I'd be cutting Pilot or Ship's Boat before I cut Admin or Liaison. If, on the other hand, I've been on the pointy end rather than teaching rookies out on the range, I'd cut Instruction before cutting Gun Combat.

I also would not cut skills below level-0 unless I absolutely HAD to - that is, unless I have so many unique skills that even cutting them all to level-0 leaves me above the INT+EDU limit. I'll let you work out the likelihood of that...