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MGT Only: Maximizing your Minimized Character

Social Climbing

Fastest way to social climb is join the Navy, get a commission on your first term, get promoted in each of your five terms.

At thirty eight (probably thirty five), you are the Imperium Navy's youngest Admiral, you've probably collected nineteen skill levels, and are a Baron. Collect eight benefit rolls as you pass Go and retire. And ten thousand a year.
 
Traveller Package Deals

And then you get a selection of eight useful skills that can be distributed to the characters in the group, presumably four to seven, so you could arrange to get another two skills for the character you're playing.

So for a two termer, that's sixteen to twenty two skill levels.
 
At thirty eight (probably thirty five), you are the Imperium Navy's youngest Admiral, you've probably collected nineteen skill levels, and are a Baron. Collect eight benefit rolls as you pass Go and retire. And ten thousand a year.

and then go risk it all on some ridiculous adventure ....
 
I recall there's some life event somewhere where you marry into the Imperial family, probably a second cousin.

You may be known as Mr. Imperial Princess from then on, but your social standing just jumped a couple of notches to likely fourteen.
 
Lack of Character(istics)

Strength 3
Dexterity 3
Endurance 3
Intellect 5
Education 3
Social Standing 2


Your name is Ai.

War came to your world three generations ago, and destroyed whatever could be described as civilization and society. Your family became so poor that it even lost it's surname, and wandered the radiated ruins.

Your hard life has made you aware of your shattered urban surroundings, giving you Streetwise zero, though you aren't the brightest of sparks, you've become proficient enough to qualify as Medic zero, and hope to eventually graduate as a streetdoc.

The Imperium has lifted the interdiction of your world, and their military has set up recruiting stations. It's time to see the great wide universe, after being confined for the past eighteen years in the collapsing infrastructure of your insignificant planet's capital city.

The Army will take anyone, and you manage to sign your name and fingerprint the enlistment forms. The lack of a surname seemed to be a problem, but the recruiting sergeant has his quota to fill, and your interest in his communicator inspires him to gift you with your new family name of Fone.

You not only survive boot camp, but they've fast tracked you through Officer Candidate School. You are now Lieutenant Ai Fone, and have the following skills, Athletics zero, Streetwise zero, Drive zero, Gun combat zero, Recon zero, Melee zero and Heavy weapons zero.

The Army decides to give you specialized training in Medic, feeling that's where your true potential lies; you justify their trust in you by saving a very wounded, Very Important Traveller (connections rule number one), and gain another level in Medic. Congratulations, you are now a medical doctor at twenty one, and caps it all by promoting you to Captain, where you prodigize to Medic three.

Much to your consternation, you are assigned back to your home world; you not only manage to survive this familiar environment, but thrive in the military hierarchy as you are promoted to Major. Your skills as a medical practitioner become renowned as you peak at Medic four, and decide you should become more familiar with blades (one), in case you ever have to undertake surgery without robotic support an a laser scalpel.

You discover that talking sometimes works better than fighting and become persuasive (one), and meet another Very Important Traveller (connections rule number two) who's got himself in a pickle, and manage to talk him out of that (Persuade two).

You feel it's time to retire and study human biology; you check your savings account and find you have ten thousand creds. You also discover that the Army has stuck three previously unknown combat implants into you.

You hook up with three other Travellers and find out that you're actually good at trading (Broker one) and have a great bedside manner (Diplomat one).

But first, get Psi tested.
 
If you use that MgT 1E point system, such a character would be loaded with points for skills, the functional equivalent of the GURPS Disadvantages fueling a skills bonanza.

Another point that comes to mind about an actual 333 physical- that character is in all probability going to have a VERY short life, failing 0 aging rolls at a very young age.
 
Another reason for very early retirement.

The above, of course, was slightly manipulated and played for laughs, but demonstrates like Federal Service, you can enjoy almost any career and there'es very little to stop you from being successful.

Unless they can find a more suitable assignment for you.
 
Speak Softly, But Find a Big Stick

Your greatest weapon is yourself, but if you start accumulatingt minus one dee emms due to subpar strength or dexterity, specializing in unarmed combat may not be for you.

The problem with things with point ends, is that they might not be permitted, or difficult to smuggle in; also, in case you do get arrested, intent tends to be highlighted. Whereas if you locate an improvised weapon, it's a lot easier to claim it's an accident; you can upgrade that improvised weapon to club or staff.

Pressure pointing works better if you can hit the correct location, and have the strength to apply pressure; you don't need to be that precise with a stun club, nor really need to apply that much pressure.
 
The Right to Harm Bears

At law level six, you're still allowed to defend yourself with a shotgun and a stunner.

A shotgun is basically tech level four, so there's a lot of room for improvement. An interesting question would be at what point your improvements cause the shotgun to be tagged with military grade, which would make it illegal.

You have a short range of twelve and a half metres, long range between fifty and a hundred metres. and extreme range between a hundred and two.

One issue is, it's bulky, that is nasty recoil, only compensated through strength nine. Since this is about characters usually at the other end of the scale, a shotgun suddenly seems a rather questionable choice.

Invest nine hundred credits in a tech level nine gyrostabilizer, and people are going to stop smirking; add in a scope, a laser sight and a sound suppressor, plus folding stock and shoulder strap, maybe a monopod/handgrip and a torchlight. The shotgun also acts as a convenient club.

And that's before you send it to the armourer to tinker with the performance, or tech level improvements are incorporated.

While it is a smoothbore, so is a Rheinmetall tank cannon, and the shotgun shell is largish, and can become intelligent.

Perhaps Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot would be an option; High Explosive should be
 
At the point that you make it automatic, able to make it penetrate troop/cop armor with something like snub rounds, or homing/HE rounds.

An advanced non-lethal round MIGHT go over well.
 
That is the primary issue at medium law levels, at which point is it military grade?

So we have a generic shotgun, which is what, four to six plus one shells in a tubular magazine? Or a one or two or three barrel variant?

I think that pump action or break open is mandatory, the noise of the pump action acts as a natural warning, much like a rattle from a rattlesnake.

Pistol variants and sawn off barrels would be very illegal, it goes to concealment.

Magazine capacities tend to be arbitrary, though I think they have to be capped at six, since it's supposed to be a civilian model.

Control would be mostly on ammunition.

If I read the stats correctly, a light sports variant at tech level four with 3D6 damage has no significant recoil. Also, not quite sure why the ordinary sports model is a tech level up at five.

They should have an advantage with increased accuracy to compensate for only one or two barrels/ammunition capacity.

Onboard your scout or freetrader, could easily have armour piercing ammunition, and distances are short enough to be rather fatal.

I'm going to speculate anything with a larger calibre than two inches starts wandering into LAG category.
 
If you assume that four tech levels is about the optimum you can improve a product, ye (civil) shotgun will reach it's apex at tech level eight, with a maximum of one hundred twenty five to one hundred seventy five maximum improvement in one or some of it's performance parameters.

That could be a 7d6 in damage; load up with solid slugs, and even a fully armoured Imperium Marine will get worried.
 
surely the tech level improvement will mean an improvement on the ammunition?

emp, sabot, and shaped charge come to mind for armored targets.
 


I came across Waverly Earp, and believe she represents the maximized minimum character.

Unfortunately, couldn't find a picture where she tries to shoot Wynonna with an over under double barreled shotgun (which was an interesting introduction) after kicking open her boyfriend's bedroom door, who she thinks was making out with her sister. Unfortunately, this image couldn't be located online.

She's not too strong, hasn't left her hometown, but did graduate from presumably a four year university/college correspondence programme in ancient languages, neither bright nor dumb, but apparently beloved by the townsfolk. In her heart of heart, she thinks she should be the primary protagonist, rather than playing a supporting role.

She seems organized when it comes to data collection and analysis, but a bad judge of character.
 
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INT2 impacts my char+skill task system intensely, it's the painful outlier.

Let's say you have an INT2 Engineering-1 doing a Routine power-up.

Routine target is 11+. For a regular Engineering Joe, it's +8 for INT 7 + 1 skill, so only a failure on a 2.

For our Rain Man, it's 8 to get it done. May take 2 or 3 tries when everyone else is powering up near automatically, but he's got training.

Just don't ask him to reroute power from the jump capacitors to weapons- say an Effective roll, 15+, that +3 gets only success on a 12.

Much less Not Engineering Trained, that goes to +2 vs. a 17+ Long target roll, would have to roll 12 and then a follow-up bonus roll of 1d6 5, VERY difficult.

However, this is where Education can come in.

IMTU a Routine task or less does not require the problem-solving aspect of INT, I use the character's EDU as the base stat if it's higher.

Let's say 2nd Spaceman Rainman has INT 2, EDU 7- the power up sequence gets the normal success roll because he's had the process drilled into him.

For the Effective reroute power roll, +8 for EDU 7 +1 Engineering gets a knowledge check of 7+ against the 15+ target- very good chance he knows how to do it, which knocks it down to Routine and again very good odds to get it done.

Not suggesting everyone should use this system, just an example of how you do not have to knuckle under the tasking tyranny of INT-based throws.

This example has made me understand the benefits of the CT approach of not referencing characteristics for skill throws to anywhere near the same degree as MGT or even MT.
 
I've always assumed 2-12 describes a range of playable characteristics, rather than a 2 making you a candidate for institutionalization. Certainly our own culture would be very different if IQ distribution mapped to a 2d6 bell curve.

This example has made me understand the benefits of the CT approach of not referencing characteristics for skill throws to anywhere near the same degree as MGT or even MT.

In some fairness to MgT, that's not it's skill system.

But, yes, I like CT's skill system in principle, though I prefer a unified system over trying to remember all the special cases in practice.
 
This example has made me understand the benefits of the CT approach of not referencing characteristics for skill throws to anywhere near the same degree as MGT or even MT.

HEH, missed this comment.

My philosophy is precisely the opposite, that raw talent and native ability based on stats makes the character unique, and the personal development table and benefit stats becomes equally desirable to the others.

To be explicit, STAT-7=DM.

Yes it means young talented people can be pretty ferocious out of the box, but harsh no skill rolls keeps them from super status, and any damage takes away their edge while the skill-4 pro can 'play hurt'.

Also makes aging rolls poignant, as maybe a Scotty can't quite do those miracles routinely.

I'm moving towards an even more simplified task system so the above examples won't be exactly 'right', but the underlying principle is the same.

It's an approach that is not for everyone, or even most, just put out there for consideration.

Dave, a unified system that is both crunchier AND simpler is my design goal. Whether I reach it or it's worth the effort is opinion.
 
McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War

A presentation and reading by Hamilton Gregory, author of "McNamara's Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam." Because so many college students were avoiding military service during the Vietnam War, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara lowered mental standards to induct 354,000 low-IQ men. Their death toll in combat was appalling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J2VwFDV4-g


Seven is the acknowledged average in Traveller, six is acceptable, and I'll say that five would be the minimum intelligence factor that would allow a recruit to be generally functional in a military organization, specifically in a frontline combat role.

For an interstellar military organization that tends to have an embarrassment of riches in terms of a recruiting pool, this shouldn't be an issue.

However, one aspect of McNamara's premise seems relevant to Traveller, you can improve your characteristics.
 
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