CT Only: Low TL Worlds

[Supplement Four]

Let's start with some choice quotes from the Traveller Book, starting on page 82, under the Technology Level section.

The degree of technological expertise, and thus the capabilities of local industry, depends greatly on the basic characteristics of a world.

...

World technological levels may vary from 0 to 20, more commonly ranging from 4 to 10. Higher numbers indicate greater capability.

...

The technological level is used in conjunction with the technological level table to determine the general quality and capability of local industry. The tables indicate the general types or categories of goods in general
use on the world. In most cases, such goods are the best which may be produced locally, although better goods may be imported by local organizations or businesses when a specific need is felt.

...

Local citizenry will usually not be armed with weapons of a type which cannot be produced locally, although police or military may be.

...

Tech level also indicates the general ability of local technology to repair or maintain items which have failed or malfunctioned.

...

The technological level tables have several spaces or holes, and such gaps should be filled in by the referee or the players when they discover items or devices of interest.

...

The purpose of the world generation sequence is to prod the imagination. Even the most imaginative individual soon loses brilliance in the face of creating hundreds of individual worlds. The procedure substitutes die rolls for random imagination and then allows the referee to use that information to determine specific world data. Imagination may be required to explain a tech level 4 civilization in an asteroid belt, or a high population world with a participating democracy for a government.

...

Characteristics for worlds should be construed as guidelines rather than strict limits. For example, a world with a hydrographic percentage of A is 100% ocean; nevertheless, the world would have small islands for a starport.

...

The technological level of a world determines the quality and sophistication of the products of a world. It indicates what precise types of equipment are
available and common locally.

The approach that I and others have been taking towards TL is that TL is the level of tech known on the planet and thus is the tech that the citizens of that world are most comfortable.

There is merit to this approach, but reading the above, it seems as if that is approach, while not 100% incorrect, should be modified.





It seems that the Traveller approach to TL is that most people, regardless of their world's TL, are sophisticated enough to operate without too much trouble in a modern Imperial environment.

The TL seems to be a gauge of the equipment that is available locally. It also refers to what can be manufactured locally.

This is akin to a person from the US going to live among tribesmen of a poor third world country. What is available locally may be of a lot lower TL, but that person is still be able to function in the higher tech US.

But, what of the tribesmen? They, too, will know how to use cell phones and be able to operate modern equipment with some training.







The notes above about TL seem to say that Engineering-1 learned on a TL 4 world is the exact same skill as Engineering-1 learned on a TL 15 world.

The notes seem to indicate that almost all citizens of the Imperium, regardless of homeworld TL, are viable candidates to use modern equipment up to TL 15.

This is the norm. And, as one of the notes above says, the Ref is certainly welcome to make certain distinctions on certain worlds as he sees fit.





In Sum, any character generated on any world, regardless of TL, can operate freely and knowingly with any type of Imperial tech for which he is trained. There is no minimum TL for learning the Pilot skill. If a character is on a low tech world, then he learned modern starship piloting by some method determined by the player and the referee.

 

[GypsyComet]

Three points:

PCs are entering PLAY with these skills that are presumed to be universal. They may not have been universal on the first day of class.

Pilot is generally available only from careers that involve spaceflight, so the Low Tech PC's history immediately implies either imported tech or an escape.

Barbarian is a career specifically for the exceptions.

 

[Supplement Four]

It's new perspective, though, than the one I was taking (and others were taking) in previous threads.

Mike is the notable exception, of course. I think his thoughts are more along the lines of what I'm suggesting here.

That original perspective was that a character lives on his homeworld and is defined, technology wise, by that homeworld's tech level. If a character is on TL 4 Pysadi, then what he knows is oxen-analog pulled covered wagons, steam trains and ships, air balloons, and generally WWI level tech.

This perspective (and what I think Traveller intends) is more that people on almost all worlds (unless the Ref says otherwise) are familiar with modern day Imperial tech--they just happen to live on a low tech world where high tech stuff is rare and hard to get.

Thus, a skill gained like Medical-1 is the same no matter where it is gained, on a TL 15 world or on a TL 4 world.

The previous perspective made a distinction to where Medical-1 skill would be learned at a TL 4 level if on Pysadi.

 

[Grav_Moped]

So, skills are standard regardless of TL. This implies a TL-based limit to what level of skill is achievable through a given world's indigenous educational system. High Medical skill on a TL-4 world (for example) would imply access to off-world education.

 

[Supplement Four]

So, skills are standard regardless of TL. This implies a TL-based limit to what level of skill is achievable through a given world's indigenous educational system. High Medical skill on a TL-4 world (for example) would imply access to off-world education.

Yes, it would be like going to Medical school in Kenya.

The Ref may step in and decide a character's skills are not up to snuff with modern tech, but that's not the default (and, it's the Ref's decision). This is akin to the US not recognizing an MD from Kenya (I have no idea if that's the case in RL).

We assume that characters who obtain Medical-3 on a TL 4 world got that education via some means probably not native to the world (as you can't build computers at TL 4, much less scanners and such).

 

[coliver988]

I'm going to stick with the parallel that skill levels, like the UPP, represent a universal level of skill.

Otherwise you have to start tracking "well, you are Pilot 3 for TL 9 craft, Pilot 2 for TL A craft, Pilot 1 for TL B, and heaven help your passengers for TL C+"

Traveller already has a reputation for accountants in space - trying to track stats or skills that vary based on home world stats would make it CPAs in space

 

[Supplement Four]

I'm going to stick with the parallel that skill levels, like the UPP, represent a universal level of skill.

...which is the point of this thread.

 

[mike wightman]

The world generation rules produce a world in isolation. The setting has the worlds of the Imperium being in contact with each other for over a thousand years even in the frontier regions like the Spinward Marches.

If the setting had gone with the long night era than it would make sense for a world's TL to be taken in isolation, even the proto-Spinward Marches with worlds that have only been contacted by the Imperium for a few decades and a whole unexplored subsector or two adjacent to the Marches also offers worlds where Imperial contact is limited and thus local TL is all you have.

Move beyond the borders of the Imperium and you will have worlds that have had no Imperial contact and thus local TL is all they have too.

The original S:3 has a couple of interesting little takes on TL:

Thisbe E4305AD 5 is doing this "The desert world of Thisbe has undertaken a long-term project to divert large numbers of frozen water and gas asteroids from the Thisben belt to the planetary surface; the intention is an improved atmosphere and hydrographic percentage." not bad for a TL5 world... mind you there is TL15 Trin just 7 parsecs away, and TL15 Glisten even closer at only 5 parsecs.

Then there is Nexine C97A443 8 which is being repopulated using biologically engineered colonists, that's a bit above TL8 don't you think? Mind you it is the Imperium doing the bioengineering...

Kinorb type A starport with a TL of 5, Jae Tellona type A port TL8; Dinomn TL3, Heya TL5, Byret TL5 and Belizo TL5 all have B starports and there are a few TL6-8 type B starports.

There are a couple of areas within the SM where Imperial technology may not be overly well known, District 268 and possibly the Sword Worlds.

 

[Supplement Four]

The world generation rules produce a world in isolation. The setting has the worlds of the Imperium being in contact with each other for over a thousand years even in the frontier regions like the Spinward Marches.

If the setting had gone with the long night era than it would make sense for a world's TL to be taken in isolation, even the proto-Spinward Marches with worlds that have only been contacted by the Imperium for a few decades and a whole unexplored subsector or two adjacent to the Marches also offers worlds where Imperial contact is limited and thus local TL is all you have.

Move beyond the borders of the Imperium and you will have worlds that have had no Imperial contact and thus local TL is all they have too.

The original S:3 has a couple of interesting little takes on TL:

Thisbe E4305AD 5 is doing this "The desert world of Thisbe has undertaken a long-term project to divert large numbers of frozen water and gas asteroids from the Thisben belt to the planetary surface; the intention is an improved atmosphere and hydrographic percentage." not bad for a TL5 world... mind you there is TL15 Trin just 7 parsecs away, and TL15 Glisten even closer at only 5 parsecs.

Then there is Nexine C97A443 8 which is being repopulated using biologically engineered colonists, that's a bit above TL8 don't you think? Mind you it is the Imperium doing the bioengineering...

Kinorb type A starport with a TL of 5, Jae Tellona type A port TL8; Dinomn TL3, Heya TL5, Byret TL5 and Belizo TL5 all have B starports and there are a few TL6-8 type B starports.

There are a couple of areas within the SM where Imperial technology may not be overly well known, District 268 and possibly the Sword Worlds.

Good stuff, Mike. Makes me want to take Sup 3 cover to cover.



One of the things I love about Traveller is highlighted in this quote from TTB.

The purpose of the world generation sequence is to prod the imagination. Even the most imaginative individual soon loses brilliance in the face of creating hundreds of individual worlds. The procedure substitutes die rolls for random imagination and then allows the referee to use that information to determine specific world data. Imagination may be required to explain a tech level 4 civilization in an asteroid belt, or a high population world with a participating democracy for a government.

How does TL 4 Pysadi, with a 0.5 G Standard surface gravity and a tainted atmosphere support a colony of 1.9 Million folks? But, also has a Class C starport.

That gets your juices flowing.

1.9 Million isn't all that much. Yet, the world has several scattered towns and settlements (the biggest being Sadi, with a population of 200,000) connected by a steam rail road.

Extremely interesting, if you think about it. All of them religious zealots, too.

I almost picture the towns akin to the Old West. Lots of small, scattered towns of just a few people.

 

[rhialto]

How does TL 4 Pysadi, with a 0.5 G Standard surface gravity and a tainted atmosphere support a colony of 1.9 Million folks? But, also has a Class C starport.

That gets your juices flowing.

1.9 Million isn't all that much. Yet, the world has several scattered towns and settlements (the biggest being Sadi, with a population of 200,000) connected by a steam rail road.

Extremely interesting, if you think about it. All of them religious zealots, too.

I almost picture the towns akin to the Old West. Lots of small, scattered towns of just a few people.

And this is the role of the Ref, potentially with input from the players: take the raw numbers and their descriptions and come up with your own elaboration. I could easily see this as a refuge, too, where colonists have deliberately settled on a pre-Imperial way of living for religious reasons.

 

[kilemall]

My outstanding example is Leonardo Da Vinci, INT B Mechanical-6 TL3.



He isn't going to know about iridium torque couplers out of the chute, but give him an hour and a bit of explanation, and he will probably be doing amazing things with them no one thought of before by the end of the month.



The familiarity mechanic I'm always on about again handles this situation, and also career details like say a big navy engineer that never handled the A-B-C drives but can learn quickly, and vice versa, a free trader engineer trying to salvage a Kininur.

 

[Carlobrand]

I'm going to go with: a little from column A, a little from column B.

First, I agree with Gypsy Comet: the skills described in the character generation tables are for characters getting trained in spacefaring professions.

However, the numbers on the system UPPs are just that: numbers. It's up to the gamemaster to flesh out those numbers and make sense of them. The guy from TL4 Dodge Planet whose steam-and-sixgun city huddles around an Imperial starport with an active recruiting center in town and a school system that draws on Imperial knowledge - even if it's doing so with old-fashioned books and paper rather than computers - is a very different person than the guy from TL4 Amishworld, where they forbid foreign teaching because it might conflict with Holy Text and the only reason he got offplanet was by running away from home and pleading his way into the starport to see the bored recruiter who was exiled there a few years back after pissing off some commander.

And, if you found yourself in the hand of a Dodge Planet TL4 doctor, you'd probably end up with much better care than you could expect from the TL4 Amishworld doctor, even if they happened to be using the same tools.

The game is about telling stories. The only thing that matters really is that you try to tell a good one.

 

[Marchand]

I would assume any PC joining an adventuring party would have at least basic familiarity with Imperium-level tech, to justify the all PCs are level 0 in all weapons rule, unless there was a strong reason to say otherwise e.g. a barbarian that has never been offworld.

There's also a question of how characters from higher TLs get on with lower TL gear.

I found another interesting tidbit from Book 4 (on top of my other recent thread about injuries):

Except, I think a 1 skill level penalty per tech level difference is a bit harsh. I would do it in terms of the tech categories from Megatraveller e.g. 0-3 Pre-industrial, 4-5 Industrial, 6-8 Pre-stellar, 9-A Early Stellar, B-D Average Stellar, E-G High Stellar.

In one way this is still a little unconvincing - would an Early Stellar mechanic really only be at -2 trying to fix a 19th century steam engine? Referee should have the final say as always. But I think it's not a bad rule of thumb.

 

[GypsyComet]

Remember that CT is all about case by case adjudication for skills. What works for Artillery, which changes significantly for every TL until about TL12, may be too harsh for some other skills, if not most other skills.

 

[aramis]

However, the numbers on the system UPPs are just that: numbers. It's up to the gamemaster to flesh out those numbers and make sense of them. The guy from TL4 Dodge Planet whose steam-and-sixgun city huddles around an Imperial starport with an active recruiting center in town and a school system that draws on Imperial knowledge - even if it's doing so with old-fashioned books and paper rather than computers - is a very different person than the guy from TL4 Amishworld, where they forbid foreign teaching because it might conflict with Holy Text and the only reason he got offplanet was by running away from home and pleading his way into the starport to see the bored recruiter who was exiled there a few years back after pissing off some commander.

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The above quote has issues that need to be addressed.

Using religious group stereotypes is offensive to a subset of board members, including me. (The consensus of the staff is that it's not to an infraction level... but could develop into prohibited areas, and a public warning is good)

The use of them in the above is entirely avoidable, and a couple other terms might fill the bill better better than . Retro-world; luddite world.

There are issues in association of Amish with other more luddite Mennonite sects, as well; Amish make use of modern medicine with a very few limits.

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