Player Character Morale

[gloriousbattle]

One of the things I like about original D&D (and it is one thing they consistently got WRONG thereafter) was that NPCs had a morale stat. All NPCs had a chance of breaking and running when things got goo nasty.

For PCs, OTOH, morale was a function of the player's resolve. If you want your first level wizard to charge a red dragon, he does it. He probably gets incinerated in the process, but he does it just the same. If he has any retainers with him, they probably blow their morale check and stay back. "You want us to do WHAT and go WHERE boss? Uh, yeah. We're right behind ya..."

But the point was that player characters are heroes. Even an NPC paladin should probably have some chance of blowing his morale and running from the orcs, but, for the PC, if he wants to be a hero and push things, he always has the option to do so.

Not so in Classic Traveller, at least if you play the game as presented in the rules. Any group has a chance of breaking and running, including one made up of nothing but PCs.

Curious who uses this and who discards it.

Personally, I use morale only for NPCs. Groups that contain PCs get morale throws, but the individual PCs can always elect to remain and fight, even if the NPCs are running for the hills.

I can see the opposing argument, that not all PCs are necessarily cut from the heroic mold. A merchant with multiple levels of admin and bribery, but no combat skills, is probably not going to acquit himself in a gun battle with the aplomb that a hardened marine or soldier would, and this should be represented. However, to me, the PC, just because he is one of the main characters in the plot, is a hero by definition, and should always be able to reach down into his viscera -should he choose to- and pull out that little bit of heroism that saves the planet from the Berserker battleship, or whatever.

 

[Supplement Four]

Not so in Classic Traveller, at least if you play the game as presented in the rules. Any group has a chance of breaking and running, including one made up of nothing but PCs.

Don't forget that morale is also in Book 4.

For a long time, I used Book 4 morale as initiative. I'd create their morale using the Book 4 formula, then, for nish, I'd throw 2D for morale or less. If you rolled under your morale, then your nish was what your threw (lower is better). If you throw above your morale rating, add 10 to your total.

A person who wanted to wait for a later nish position could also add 10 to their nish throw.

 

[Higgipedia]

However, to me, the PC, just because he is one of the main characters in the plot, is a hero by definition, and should always be able to reach down into his viscera -should he choose to- and pull out that little bit of heroism that saves the planet from the Berserker battleship, or whatever.

I agree with you completely. In a game like Traveller, regardless of edition, you need to have the ability to show that the characters are not like the rest of the rabble. They are the ones who ventured offworld and engaged in all manner of unsavory (for Joe Sixpack) activities. Even if they aren't saving the universe, they are as close to a Big Damn Hero that most people are ever going to see.

 

[Supplement Four]

Traveller can be anything you want it to be, but given that the game has no official "hero" generation, and that stats and skills are created for characters the same, no matter if the character is a PC or NPC, I've always viewed the game as a case for the normal dude getting involved in extraordinary circumstances. More Sean Connery in Outland, less Mark Hamill in Star Wars.

I've never looked at Traveller as I do the James Bond RPG or D&D. To me, Traveller isn't really a game about BIG DAMN HEROES. It's more of a game about average, nomarl, every-day joes who find themselves tested.

We're not talking about Conan. We're talking about Ellen Ripley.

Again...just my take.

 

[Supplement Four]

@gloriousbattle

You seem to be gearing up for a game, asking a lot of questions and what not (that's good! I do the same thing when I'm running a game). You might be interested in this thread I started a couple of years ago:

Extending Character Generation

There's a lot of ideas in that thread. Some of them I took from Traveller sources. Some of them I made up. Not all of them are good choices, but some are still worth a looksee.

You may want to browse through the thread, picking and chosing ideas.

 

[gloriousbattle]

I agree with you completely. In a game like Traveller, regardless of edition, you need to have the ability to show that the characters are not like the rest of the rabble. They are the ones who ventured offworld and engaged in all manner of unsavory (for Joe Sixpack) activities. Even if they aren't saving the universe, they are as close to a Big Damn Hero that most people are ever going to see.

That's my take. A hero is not a hero because he has rippling muscles and psionic powers that can reduce armies to quivering jelly; he is a hero because he can make the choice to stand up to enemies bigger and badder than himself.

We're not talking about Conan. We're talking about Ellen Ripley. Again...just my take.

And nothing wrong with that, but I think you make my point. In the end, it is not the big badass marines who are the heroes, but Ripley. She chooses to become a hero.

@gloriousbattle

You seem to be gearing up for a game, asking a lot of questions and what not (that's good! I do the same thing when I'm running a game). You might be interested in this thread I started a couple of years ago:

Extending Character Generation

There's a lot of ideas in that thread. Some of them I took from Traveller sources. Some of them I made up. Not all of them are good choices, but some are still worth a looksee.

You may want to browse through the thread, picking and chosing ideas.

You are right, and I will definitely look at this. Thanks!

 

[aramis]

Traveller can be anything you want it to be, but given that the game has no official "hero" generation, and that stats and skills are created for characters the same, no matter if the character is a PC or NPC, I've always viewed the game as a case for the normal dude getting involved in extraordinary circumstances. More Sean Connery in Outland, less Mark Hamill in Star Wars.

I've never looked at Traveller as I do the James Bond RPG or D&D. To me, Traveller isn't really a game about BIG DAMN HEROES. It's more of a game about average, nomarl, every-day joes who find themselves tested.

We're not talking about Conan. We're talking about Ellen Ripley.

Again...just my take.

On of our few areas of general agreement.

 

[Spinward Scout]

To me, Traveller isn't really a game about BIG DAMN HEROES. It's more of a game about average, nomarl, every-day joes who find themselves tested.

We're not talking about Conan. We're talking about Ellen Ripley.

I always thought you could be either in Traveller. The chargen wasn't set up that way, but they did have stats for Luke Skywalker and others.

Morale always seemed more like the way a player role-played the character, to me anyway.

 

[Sturn]

Both Twilight 2000 and 2300 AD had "coolness" or "coolness under fire" ratings that might be similar to what you want.

I have a house-ruled morale system for MGT that I've never yet play-tested. It affects initiative giving bonuses to "veterans". It can lead to heroic responses on one extreme to routing (running away) on the other end of the scale.

Your current morale starts at a base level affected by what terms you took (military/law enforcement helping). Levels (from memory) are something like Routed-Green-Average-Veteran-Elite-Fanatic (the middle 4 being the normal state at the start of combat). It incorporates Leadership skill to "rally" troops, etc if given time. Morale checks come when something bad happens that can result normally in lower morale levels, but exceptional rolls can actually raise your morale temporarily (A.i., "Oh no, they've killed Timmy - Charge!").

Inspired by both Twilight 2000 and the Squad Leader board game.

 

[BlackBat242]

There a re a number of ways to apply experience, nerve, and other such morale factors to NPCS... but for PCs it comes down to letting the player play his character as the player feels the PC would act, not applying some arbitrary "you cannot attack because the die roll says you are frozen with fear/you run away, leaving your friends to die because the die roll says you do" mechanism.

PCs are under the control of their player... and whether they are a decorated ex-Special Forces "Jayne" type or a mild, engineering tech "Kaylee", there is always the time when you "do what has to be done" DESPITE your fear!

You know... the "unlikely hero" bit that shows up so often in real life?

 

[jawillroy]

I'm fine with the morale roll effecting PCs and NPCs alike in Traveller, in principle: Travellers are heroic because they've uprooted themselves and cast themselves out into the bigger universe, and are doing daring things... but are nevertheless normal people.

They're frail like everyone else. A desperate traveller might die just trying to get offworld on his last thousand credits. Combat is mercilessly deadly in this game: one bullet can lay them down or kill them outright. Any player can look at the numbers and see that combat isn't messing around in Traveller.

In practice, I use morale rolls after the point that the PCs really should have figured out for themselves that they should be running. At that point it's a mechanism for <b>saving the game.</b> There's plenty of ways PCs can plan out fights in ways that will reduce the chance of a meatgrinder happening. (Ever hear of firing from cover, kids? Lots of PC's just stand up there blazing away like idiots wearing SHOOT ME teeshirts.) And if your character's mortified that he's turned tail in a moment of weakness, well then, you roleplay your way into living it down, don't you?

(Big Darn Heroes die like flies in Traveller, as far as I can see. Traveller's cold, vacant gods favor the canny.)

 

[Supplement Four]

I think very few forced behavioral dice throws should be placed on players. It's never good roleplaying to have a dice throw--say SOC throw--decide a situation in place of actual roleplaying. Likewise, I think players should control their own character's morale (morale throws for NPCs only).

Now, if you've got something that is out of the character's personal control--lets say that they were injected half and hour earlier with a drug that makes them paranoid. Or maybe via some gas or some pheromone that some creature exudes--some science fiction version of D&D's "fear". Then, I could see forcing the behavior on the character, but only in situations like that.

One thing to do, though, might be to roll the morale check for the PC--not to force the PC to act one way or the other, but to use the roll to inform player some of the things the character is starting to feel. The end result of the character's behavior is still up to the player, but the player now has more to work with.

"Live ammor fire is whipping around your head. To your left, on the ground, is Kirsch, the cargo hand. He doesn't have a face any longer, but you know it's him. You were just playing poker with him no two hours ago."

The GM rolls a morale check for the PC and fails.

"It's a screwed up situation. That could be you down there. Your guts are butterflies. You hope you don't lose your water. Your breathing is heavier, and it's getting harder even to look around the corner towards the men that did this to your friend, much less fire back at them.

"What are you going to do?"