Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I can't remember all the details, but I did use, in the past, a system I quite liked for character improvement. I used this for CT and MT games.
At the time, I wanted characters to have a chance of improving their skills as they used them--literally through experience. So, every time boxcars (two sixes) where thrown on 2D when attempting a task, the character would apply a learning point to that skill. I'd just write a stick number next to the skill to keep track of learning points.
Once a year, on the character's birthday, I'd allow the player to pick one skill and roll to see the skill improves. The throw is 2D for total learning points or less.
So, the system worked like this...
1. Player makes a check using his Navigtion skill. For the task, he has to succeed on a roll of 10+, with various DMs for skill and EDU level. Regardless of whether the task succeeds, the character gets a LP in Navigation (makes a hash mark next to the skill on the character's sheet).
2. On the character's birthday (or some other date, like Day 001 of every year), once per year, the player is allowed to pick one of any of his skills that have gained LPs. Obviously, two LPs are needed to make a check. If Navigation has gained 7 LPs during the last game year, then the throw is 7- on 2D.
Characters could learn new skills by taking classes and training. Plus, there are lots of rolls in CT where a character can roll without having the skill. For example, if a character is pulling another out of Low Berth, and the operating character does not have Medical skill, then the character gets an LP to Medical.
Some skills, like Medical, could gain LPs through experience, but some sort of teaching program was mandatory in order for the character to every gain the new skill. A mentor could help, too.
I just used common sense. If a character wanted to learn the Medical skill, and another character on the ship had Medical skill, I'd allow the first character to learn Medical (provided the yearly LP throw on Medical was a success) as long as there was a mentoring relationship between the two characters. If not, and the learning character didn't take any courses or try to learn Medical in a different way--you couldn't learn Medical just by experienced alone. In that case, it would be ineligible for the LP throw at the end of the year.
I'd also use a divisor sometimes on the LPs. Skill that I thought were harder to learn would have the LPs divided by a number before the LP throw at the end of the year is made. For example, Medical is a pretty hard skill to learn, I think. It takes a lot of schooling. So, the divisor might be 3. If you've got 9 LPs in Medical at the end of the year, then the actual throw is 2D for 3- (9 / 3 = 3).
Also, take the Navigation example I wrote earlier. EDU was the modifier. A character could, instead, try to improve his EDU. Instead of taking an LP on Navigation, the character could take it on EDU. That way, at the end of the year the character would roll to see if EDU was improved.
If you threw an attribute only check, then you could also give a stat an LP that way, too.
Since so many skills are attached to attributes, my divisor for stats was something like 10. You needed 20 LPs on a stat to get the minimum 2- throw.
And, since this is CT, not all throws are 2D for a higher is better number. I'd adjust the LP award for lower is better and different amounts of dice.
Finally, LPs could also be obtained by taking classes and other learning programs. Depending on the program, sometimes a base number of LPs was provided, or LPs could be variable by a throw (usually EDU or less) to see how good a student the character had been. The better the roll, the more LPs the character obtained.
It's been a long, long time since I used this system, and some of the details are fuzzy, but what I've written here are the basics of it.
At the time, I wanted characters to have a chance of improving their skills as they used them--literally through experience. So, every time boxcars (two sixes) where thrown on 2D when attempting a task, the character would apply a learning point to that skill. I'd just write a stick number next to the skill to keep track of learning points.
Once a year, on the character's birthday, I'd allow the player to pick one skill and roll to see the skill improves. The throw is 2D for total learning points or less.
So, the system worked like this...
1. Player makes a check using his Navigtion skill. For the task, he has to succeed on a roll of 10+, with various DMs for skill and EDU level. Regardless of whether the task succeeds, the character gets a LP in Navigation (makes a hash mark next to the skill on the character's sheet).
2. On the character's birthday (or some other date, like Day 001 of every year), once per year, the player is allowed to pick one of any of his skills that have gained LPs. Obviously, two LPs are needed to make a check. If Navigation has gained 7 LPs during the last game year, then the throw is 7- on 2D.
Characters could learn new skills by taking classes and training. Plus, there are lots of rolls in CT where a character can roll without having the skill. For example, if a character is pulling another out of Low Berth, and the operating character does not have Medical skill, then the character gets an LP to Medical.
Some skills, like Medical, could gain LPs through experience, but some sort of teaching program was mandatory in order for the character to every gain the new skill. A mentor could help, too.
I just used common sense. If a character wanted to learn the Medical skill, and another character on the ship had Medical skill, I'd allow the first character to learn Medical (provided the yearly LP throw on Medical was a success) as long as there was a mentoring relationship between the two characters. If not, and the learning character didn't take any courses or try to learn Medical in a different way--you couldn't learn Medical just by experienced alone. In that case, it would be ineligible for the LP throw at the end of the year.
I'd also use a divisor sometimes on the LPs. Skill that I thought were harder to learn would have the LPs divided by a number before the LP throw at the end of the year is made. For example, Medical is a pretty hard skill to learn, I think. It takes a lot of schooling. So, the divisor might be 3. If you've got 9 LPs in Medical at the end of the year, then the actual throw is 2D for 3- (9 / 3 = 3).
Also, take the Navigation example I wrote earlier. EDU was the modifier. A character could, instead, try to improve his EDU. Instead of taking an LP on Navigation, the character could take it on EDU. That way, at the end of the year the character would roll to see if EDU was improved.
If you threw an attribute only check, then you could also give a stat an LP that way, too.
Since so many skills are attached to attributes, my divisor for stats was something like 10. You needed 20 LPs on a stat to get the minimum 2- throw.
And, since this is CT, not all throws are 2D for a higher is better number. I'd adjust the LP award for lower is better and different amounts of dice.
Finally, LPs could also be obtained by taking classes and other learning programs. Depending on the program, sometimes a base number of LPs was provided, or LPs could be variable by a throw (usually EDU or less) to see how good a student the character had been. The better the roll, the more LPs the character obtained.
It's been a long, long time since I used this system, and some of the details are fuzzy, but what I've written here are the basics of it.
