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MGT Only: Maximizing your Minimized Character

well now there's a clue.

does social standing restrict/permit priviledges? such as travel, commission, tax rates (!), command? is there a minimum social standing to be legally qualified as a pilot in civilized areas? is weapons possession status dependent on social standing? may a merchant captain arm his merchant ship if he is social standing, say, 4? or 10? is high passage limited to social standing 10+? is any traveller with social standing 7- required to take lowberth? etc.

One of the aspects I had not considered until reading MgT Agents was the idea that being a trusted LE agent likely means being at or earning to SOC 8.
 
INT

Intelligence, measuring ability to process information, solve problems, apply knowledge and pattern recognition to analyze and diagnose, etc.

Probably the most important stat along with the combat stat Dexterity.

However, it is not the be-all end-all for intellectual skill rolls, as we will see when we get to Education.

If a diagnosis, task or repair is Routine or easier, players have the choice of using their Intelligence OR Education stat, they can use the higher of the two along with the applicable skill for their roll.

However, if it is a Challenging task or higher, the player MUST use Intelligence, although it can be modified by a Knowledge Check.
 
EDU

Education, the level of schooling that a person has.

I use the idea that Education level corresponds to 2 years per stat. So EDU-6 is 12 years (US High School), 7 is an Associates Degree, 8 is a Bachelor's, 9 is a Masters, and 10 and above are doctorate(s).

Education as noted above for intelligence can be used for Routine or easier task rolls, and can be used for knowledge checks, a bid to see if the character knows a technique to make a Challenging or tougher Difficulty Level easier.

Education is of course also the basic stat used for rolls checking for knowledge in general.

An option I provide is the ability to convert 1 or more Education stat points into 4 knowledge levels per point. They can be assigned to any topic the player cares to think of, in any combination that adds up to 4 (4 KLs in one topic, 2 KLs in two topics, 4 in one each, etc).

But they cannot be as broad as a skill level, cannot be used as a task solving skill, and can only be used in knowledge checks.

I am also treating Education level as a life-long habit of studying diligently, staying informed, ability to access and find academically captured information, tendency to continue studying (i.e. say Scotty and his engineering journals) and seek high quality information from experts.

However, the undereducated have just as much need for information, they are just not equipped or oriented to see it through academic or quality channels, so they seek it through another path-

the rumor.

The Rumor Check is the polar opposite of the Knowledge Check- the Check is rolled as Education number or greater to succeed and hear the rumor. The more educated, the less chance the character has heard the rumor, or rumors in general.

Rumors are as per the Patron rule and gossip or information in general, with an eye towards Social Standing influencing some content.

Rumors should be considered and played as highly unreliable, but occasionally absolutely true and information that is otherwise unavailable or rare.

This of course is a work in progress, and I'm valuating the knowledge skills now a bit differently then above (which I came up with before I even came on this board or even knew about T5's existence).

Basically Know (subject) with converting EDU point to 2 for a broad subject <Know Music-2> and higher for progressively narrower knowledge.

Know Music-2
Know Jazz-3
Know 20th century Jazz-4
Know Late 20th century Jazz-5
Know Late 20th century French Jazz-6
 
SOC

This one is very underutilized IMO in most TUs, besides the 'do I get a yacht' question and the matter of nobility privilege, and was the stat that got me thinking about the whole use of stats and how they are largely neutered in favor of skills.

I don't have a 1000 star empire with the emperor and 'loyal' vassals as organizing principle, just the opening phase of Earth's exploration and expansion. So I do not have nobles in the classic OTU sense.

Went through thinking about all manner of human history, cultures etc. and decided that this is a valid character differentiation. EVERY society, from ancient to modern democracy/communist/fascist setup, has stratas of people that are 'in' and 'in power', and those that are not.

Also, being human, the power elite AND the common citizen are IMO more comfortable dealing with people 'at their level' across cultures and nations moreso then 'their own kind' at a different social level. There is a behavioral element to one's 'place in society'.

Americans especially like to think that we are all one great big fluffy meritocracy hence ignoring this stat, but even so there is strata based on wealth if nothing else, with behaviors that apply.

I have read some Mongoose Traveller on 'keeping up' re: social events and what sort of neighborhood you live in at what price, and I like that. I think IMTU the stat is actually something tracked to include demographics, a valuation of the neighborhood the player lives in, credit rating/societal reputation, attitudes, honor, and associated behaviors.

So, I am amping up the use of SOC in three ways.

1) SOC can go up or down by player action in game. In particular scandals, conviction in crime, failing to meet financial obligations, or lack of activity within X community can drop the stat, increased wealth, moving into the right clubs/social circles, achievements and reputation can increase it. SOC can change more readily then the other stats.

Players will want to manage it carefully, if for the 'credit rating' aspects if nothing else, and can be a major RP element to increase or prevent dropping.

2) SOC is the base stat for Fiscal Checks.

For loans/investments, it would be a task check with appropriate skills such as Trader, Admin, etc. but basically who you know and what reputation you have, and how much you can expect to raise/be granted. Difficulty Level would be set by the referee by a number of factors in play, particularly how much the amount sought is divided by the character's income, under how much a cloud the character is under with LE or society in general, etc.

The flip side for the underclass is utilizing the power of The Street to work around society's conventions and resource allocation structure to get things done outside the rules set by the power elite. So Social Standing is the primary stat for Streetwise checks, but in reverse from the normal stat/task check- it's rolling SOC or higher with Streetwise added in and DL modifying.

3) SOC is the primary modifying stat for reaction rolls in a social setting.

On a reaction roll, check the difference between the characters' SOC.

If the same, +3.

If the difference is 1, +2.

If the difference is 2, +1 mod.

If the difference is 3, 0 mod.

If the difference is 4, -1 mod, etc. etc.

Each level of Liaison and/or Steward adds +1 to the reaction roll.

In general, the attack factor should not be taken literally except in a frontier/bar/urban hell type setting, the attack should come as a verbal attack. Which may turn into a fight/duel/vendetta, depending.


There are two exceptions to the above.

* If a natural 2 or 12 is rolled, the SOC modifier is completely ignored- kindred spirits or despised personalities have come to the fore, ignoring class behavioral issues due to a strong deep reaction.

* Corporations, businesses, crews, military forces, none could operate if people with critical skill sets cannot get along due to SOC issues, so in a professional setting people tend to use their professional persona.

For that purpose, everyone who is 'being professional' is treated as SOC 8, no positive or negative mods between each other, Liaison and/or Steward +1 per skill level.

If one character is acting professionally and the other retains their 'natural' social reaction persona, the professional is treated as being at 8 and the social at their level, mods and Liaison apply.

Referees may exact different rolls for 'maintaining professionalism' in the face of provocation or excessive length of time 'on the job'.

Note that at upper levels of the military, government and corporations, one is expected to perform at social events, as 'an officer and a gentlemen' or as a gracious business/community leader, and drinking, long party hours or peer pressure may cause a character to drop out of their professional persona, with possibly positive or negative effects.
 
Generally speaking, you can be really weak in one of these three characteristics, and the other two can cover for it.

The maximum number of skills is three times Education and Intelligence, which seems no limitation at all.
 
Generally speaking, you can be really weak in one of these three characteristics, and the other two can cover for it.

The maximum number of skills is three times Education and Intelligence, which seems no limitation at all.

CT from Robots on had it 2x INT+EDU, 3x is MgT?
 
Athletics

No limitations.

Endurance might be the best specialization, if you're footslogging in the military, it would certainly be counted towards your schlepping capacity.

Dexterity for personal development.

Strength for the times you want to overcome a situation or opponent.
 
Strength

In Traveller, characteristics seem very much linear, and strength seems one of those things you can really measure.

Strength seems to be only relevant to the survival of an Infantryman, and only for barbarians is brute force the way to advancement.

At nine, you are demonstrably stronger, and probably are welcomed by competitive teams where there's principally a lot of pushing and shoving; twelve gets you into the Olympics weight lifting competition. The modifiers are force multipliers allowing you to go beyond the expected linear strength measurement for one or a couple of rounds.

But our real interest is finding the minimum strength characteristic that still allows you to function, fairly normally in society.

You really want to have at least a six for either the Army or Marines, and probably for your career as a barbarian; I hear the one Anglo Saxon army recognizes this and wants to drop the pack load to twenty-fivish kilos, which fits in with six each in endurance and strength, or in our case, twenty four (twelve times two). Modern lightweight equipment, and a discriminate selection thereof, could keep this to a non-penalized twelve kilos (I can lug around a twelve kilo backpack).

Worn armour, and presumably well fitted, virtually eliminates three quarters of it's mass.

In most cases, lack of strength doesn't penalize your career survival or chances for advancement, but once you start playing, it can become a major handicap. I don't see the Navy enlisting anyone on crutches or in a wheelchair, unless you're one helluva pilot. You may want to avoid strength two in general, unless you're planning on becoming Professor X.

The upside is, that if you can avoid melee, there are a lot of ranged weapons where strength isn't really required to carry it, or absorb the recoil.

Five is doable, four is doable if you have normal endurance, three becomes iffy.
 
On STR my entry is a bit in flux, as I am going whole hog Striker combat, with stripping out the whole per weapon STR mod and settling whether I go with DEX as the to-hit and STR as a damage increase or not.

Two-handed weapons handling, whether that is a melee weapon in every hand or a shield or weapon or shield and gun, isn't defined very well in any Traveller system I have seen to date. It will likely have a STR component.

I use STR as THE major stat for determining how tall and heavy a character is since I'm pegging it to overall musculature and frame at age 18 (although increases in STR as part of personal development means one might be 'shorter' yet bulkier and stronger then the height might indicate otherwise).

I also use the three physical characteristics as both determinants of damage taken AND a selection mechanism for special disease/poison/weapon damage vectors, by defining what major physiological systems they represent.

STR = muscles, cardiovascular system, bones
DEX = nervous system, senses
END = digestive/energy, respiratory, immune system

And I suppose one could take hits to INT and/or EDU as brain death sets in or a disease/drug impacts them-

INT = cognitive functions
EDU = memory

So a critical hit result to END might be described as gut shot and internal organ damage, a minor DEX hit could be ears ringing, a major STR hit might be a broken leg.

Then you could have a stunner weapon that attacks DEX first, an immune disease that goes to work on END, being drunk or drugged hits your INT, a concussion hits EDU, or a rads/bone marrow damage result hits STR.

Don't forget to have immediate damage impacts to characteristic mods for tasks and attack to-hits.
 
With weak physical characteristics in general, you really don't want your character to enter combat, let alone melee.

Outside of laser weaponry, the best zero gee orientated one would be an accelerator rifle, with no recoil and a weight of two kilos.

Using characteristics to determine exact physical secondary ones works if you assume it scales, but various mishaps over the course of your career(s) could well alter that.

I think that endurance and strength work together to determine damage capacity and overall physical condition, intelligence should certainly be affected by oxygen deprivation and blood loss, and large body size may dilute the affect of drugs, alcohol or otherwise.

Short term memory during a traumatic incident has been known to be affected, if not forgotten.
 
Dexterity

As long as you don't plan to operate or shoot anything, you could probably make your character work with a low dexterity, even two.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ttd48u0J0

You may not want her anywhere near any controls, not too sure you'd want her to nurse you either.

Actually, Tony Curtis also plays a social climber, diligently working on an Admiral's daughter.

Anyway, voice operated commands work pretty well, maybe you could compensate with an intelligent weapon with IFF, and I think that dexterity three is acceptable.
 
It used to be,
with Medic three,
an officer's slot,
with a mercenary lot.

Not too sure
it's the procedure,
an Imperial commission
rolling your next mission.
 
Endurance

Hiking is an integral part of most infantry activities, and I find it hard to believe either the Army or Marines will let anyone get past boot camp with five or below endurance.

Even if you're a chair jockey, the rest of the military has to have some fitness standards, or any career with above normal physical activity.

But that's why we have cars, to get from point a to point b fairly fast, and without overstraining ourselves, and if your activities can be measured in short bursts or require little physical strains, endurance three seems doable.

Endurance two seems like a very serious chronic illness or physical handicap.
 
Terms of Service

Assuming you start at eighteen, join either the Navy, Marines or Army. Then buck for a commission, and go get a promotion.

Reenlist for a second term, go get yourself another promotion.

With the connections rule, you get two free skills, together with two to five background skills, six basic service ones, two promotion ones, and two to three rank skills.

You might get a couple of more skills or benefits from events.

At rank three and two terms, you get four roles for retirement benefits.

So you might end up with fourteen to twenty skill levels.

At twenty six, you're young enough to enhance your psi characteristic.
 
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