CT Only: PTL - Personal Tech Level

[Supplement Four]

"Let's throw this out on the porch and see if the cat licks it up."
-- Ancient Solomani Quip



PERSONAL TECH LEVEL

Along with the UPP, Traveller characters are rated by the PTL, the Personal Technological Level. This rating generally describes the Traveller's competence with high technology.







EDUCATION

A character's EDU score serves as his base tech level of which he is trained and comfortable. Because of tech bleed in the star-spanning Imperium, a person has no trouble with technology up to two levels higher.

Thus, a person who grew up on a TL 7 homeworld and ended up with EDU A has a PTL-10 and is comfortable with higher technology up to TL-12.

This person went to the best schools and was introduced to higher technology from teachers imported from higher tech worlds.

Note that TTB stipulates that EDU can never be raised higher than INT (post character generation).

Referee: A character's PTL will never be lower than the character's EDU unless specifically specified by the referee. The default PTL for an NPC is the NPC's EDU level (barring no other known factors that would raise the PTL).







HOMEWORLD

If the UWP of the character's homeworld indicates a TL higher than the character's EDU, then the character's PTL is raised to that level. In other words, a character's PTL is the higher of the TL of his homeworld and his EDU score.

Referee: Since most citizens in the Imperium never (or rarely) leave their homeworld, it can be assumed that any NPCs encountered are from the world where the player character encounters them. If this is true, consider NPC PTL's to be the higher of the NPC's EDU or the current world's TL (if the referee agrees that that NPC's homeworld is the current world).







CAREER

A person's PTL is first determined by his schooling during his first 18 years of life (determined by homeworld or EDU score), but the PTL can be vastly changed by the character's previous career.

Book 1 Careers

Imperial Navy = TL 15.

Imperial Marines = TL 15

Army = Homeworld TL

Scouts = TL 15

Merchants = Home Port TL or Vessel TL

Other = Homeworld TL

Referee: The referee should adjust career TL to match custom circumstances (such as the character entering the local world Marines).








WHY BOTHER?

These rules are specifically designed to be easy to use in the game and not hinder the PCs unless special circumstances appear. Note how a character's PTL is raised to TL-15 with most of the careers provided in Book 1, making the PTL a moot factor.

These rules are meant to add some depth to play sometimes. For example, an NPC is created using Book 5, and the character ends up mustering out from the Colonial Navy (which is considered a Subsector Navy by the Book 5 rules). This person's career TL is equal to that of the Subsector Capital (according to Book 5).

If from the Aramis subsector of the Spinward Marches, that means that this characters career TL is TL 11.

The referee may not know or wish to ponder the character's homeworld, so the Ref quickly knows that the NPC is the higher of TL 11 or the character's EDU score.

And, remember that tech bleed allows for two additonal levels, so an NPC with PTL-11 is competent with tech up to TL-13.







TECH CRISIS

If a situation occurs (rarely) when a character is not competent at a TL, then make the throw to resolve the tech crisis.

2D for Crisis Level or higher

Crisis Level is the difference between the level of technology being attempted and the character's PTL.

For Example: Alex spent two terms in the Army on Aramanx, which is a TL 6 world, and mustered out as an Army Major. Alex's UPP is 7C67A8, and this means that Alex attended extremely advanced education classes that improved his PTL from PTL 6 to PTL 10. With the tech bleed modifier, Alex is comfortable with technology up to TL 12.

Alex would have a tech crisis when interacting with technology of TL 13-15.

Alex would throw 2D for 3+ to operate TL 13 tech.

Alex would throw 2D for 4+ to operate TL 14 tech.

Alex would throw 2D for 5+ to operate TL 15 tech.

Referee: Alex should be given one try at the Tech Crisis, where failure means that he cannot operate the device. Additional tries should not be forthcoming unless the factors of the Crisis change. Instruction from a character who can operate the device may be sufficient to warrant a second Crisis attempt if the device is simple to operate. But, complicated technology will require a PTL change in the character in order to attempt another try at the Crisis.



Another Example: Forgi has a UPP of 684A45. He's an ex-Other from Natoko, in the Aramis subsector. His homeworld TL is TL 8. Thus, his PTL increased from PTL 4 to PTL 8 because of his environment on Natoko.

Forgi spent 5 terms on Natoko in the Other career, and he has these skills: Forgery-1, JOT-1, Medical-3, Streetwise-1, Vacc Suit-0, Shotgun-0, Dagger-0.

Forgi makes a friend of one of the captains for the large cargo carriers that go through Natoko, and that captain asks him to sign on as ship's Medic.

Forgi tours the captain's TL 15 vessel and sees that the sickbay, medical bed, and diagnostic equipment are way over his head. Can Forgi fulfill this position competently?

This is a Tech Crisis.

TL 15 minus PTL 8 = 2D for 7+.

If Forgi makes the roll, then he can serve as Medic aboard the vessel. If the roll fails, then the TL 15 equipment is not something that he can competently use.







SUMMARY

1. A character Personal Technology Level, or PTL, indicates the level of technology at which the character is familiar.

2. Because of tech bleed, a character can competently operate technology that is two levels higher than his PTL. The two extra levels represent experimental and emerging, cutting edge tech, from the character's perspective.

3. A character's is first determined by his homeworld TL and then by his EDU score until the character is 18 years old. Then, the PTL can be increased by the character's career.

The character's homeworld TL is technology that the character is first used to using.

The character can be educated to use technology that is above his environment. Thus, if the character's EDU is higher than his homeworld's TL, then his PTL is raised to the level of his EDU.

A character's career usually has a vast impact on the character's PTL, which is raised if the career TL is higher than either the character's EDU or homeworld TL.

4. If the character attempts to use technology that is above his threshold--that is, the technology being used is 3+ levels above his PTL, then the character is in a Tech Crisis and must make that throw in order to perform with the higher tech.

 

[Supplement Four]

What do you think of using JOT as a modifier to increase PTL?

Or, JOT can be used to increase the tech bleed buffer. So, if Franni has PTL 8, the tech bleed rule says that she is comfortable with TL 10 items.

If Franni has JOT-2, we could increase the tech bleed from two to four levels so that Franni has PTL 8, as normal, but she's comfortable up to TL 12.

We could make it so that Tech Crisis rolls happen at TL 13 rather than TL 11.

Thoughts?

 

[Supplement Four]

CHARGEN - OPTION



Another idea is to do the PTL check once the character musters out of his chargen career.

This way, you check once, then don't worry about it the rest of the game. It's a one-time check.

It is likely that the character will have PTL 15 through his career.

If he doesn't, then make the Tech Crisis throw immediately upon mustering out.



Thus, most characters will be comfortable with TL 15 technology.

Those that aren't, you record their PTL on the character's sheet (only if it is less than 15) and remember the +2 levels for tech bleed.



Thus, let's say an Other character musters out with PTL 10. You roll 2D and compare to the chart...

Result/Max Tech
2 = TL 12
3 = TL 13
4 = TL 14
5+ = TL 15



If you rolled a 3, then notate that the character has trouble with TL 14 and 15 technology, and always play that in the game (it doesn't change unless the Ref approves a change).



You make the check, one time, right as the character musters out of his previous career, and you record the PTL on the character's sheet if it is lower that TL 15. Most characters will have PTL 15. There will be some who have a lower PTL. Record this, and never do a PTL check again. The character will never improve his PTL for the life of the character. Quick. Easy. Simple.

 

[Supplement Four]

UWP - OPTION



The PTL can also be used on a macro level, if the Ref would like to use the rule this way. It can be used to devise a throw to figure TL options for the world.

For example: Pysadi is a TL 4 world, with a C class starport, in the Aramis subsector of the Spinward Marches. The world is dominated by a religion that worships the world itself.

By extension, the Ref decides to broaden world worship to include the entire solar system. All of the other worlds make up the gods of the Pysadi pantheon, with Mother Pysadi as the main goddess.

Pysadi is a lowly TL 4 world, but the Ref decides that the Mother Church is quite rich. The governing council has decided to purchase surplus Type SB System Defense Boats from the Imperial Navy on the base at Aramis.

Two such SDB will be purchased, and an elite force will be created from among the faithful to crew, maintain, operate, and control these two SDB's to patrol the other planets in the solar system.

Is this possible from a TL 4 world?



This is a Tech Crisis on a worldly scale. Roll one time, and if successful, the stars-align and it is possible for Pysadi to create a special department for these SDB's. Failing the roll means that it is just not practical given the TL difference.

The SDBs are TL 12 vessels. Pysadi is TL 4.

The Tech Crisis roll is a steep 2D for 8+.

Success means that the Pysadians have managed to prove all doubters wrong, and this SDB elite department will be one of the world's crowing achievements.

 

[McPerth]

Remember taht this also applies in the inverse sense: if you're used to TL15, you'll be in trouble using TL7 equipment.

Current doctors (TL7-8) would have serious problems if working at TL6, wihtout scanners, advanced analysis, etc. At lower Tls, without antibiotics, they wil lbe in deeper trouble yet.

Current artillerists would be (I guess) in serious trouble having to fire artillery without any computer assistence, and most car drivers will have similar problems to drive a Ford Model T, or current fighter pilots to fly a Fokker DR1, just to give you some more examples...

Didn't Mr Spock try to talk to a current computer mouse when told he had to use it to use a computer?

 

[GypsyComet]

Didn't Mr Spock try to talk to a current computer mouse when told he had to use it to use a computer?

That was Scotty, in ST-IV. He seemed to catch on to a QWERTY keyboard fast enough, though.

 

[Supplement Four]

Remember taht this also applies in the inverse sense: if you're used to TL15, you'll be in trouble using TL7 equipment.

I thought about that, but I drew the line there because some low tech things are easy to use. A TL 4 Revolver, for example, is easily useable over a broad spectrum of TL's.

So, for game purposes (ease of play), I took the stance that, once your PTL was higher than a TL, you could easily use that tech.

I figured that specific notes could be made if low tech needed to be limited, like Sup 4 does with Barbarians and the Bow Weapons.

 

[McPerth]

I thought about that, but I drew the line there because some low tech things are easy to use. A TL 4 Revolver, for example, is easily useable over a broad spectrum of TL's.

So, for game purposes (ease of play), I took the stance that, once your PTL was higher than a TL, you could easily use that tech.

I figured that specific notes could be made if low tech needed to be limited, like Sup 4 does with Barbarians and the Bow Weapons.

Some people thinks opposite: the higher the TL, the more user friendly stuff is.

A TL4 revolver is easily usable over a broad specturm TLs, as long as you're not used to some recoil absorving tech magic, as if you're used to that, you can have a nasty surprise when using this TL 4 Colt.

Likewise, most people now obtaining their driver licence will have trouble to use the car I used for it, without any electronic help to start it up or to park it, and of course wihtout GPS to guide me.

The doctors I work with are amazed when I talk them about not having all the imagery they have now so easily available, and my own daughters are also amazed when I talk them about the first computers I used (those tht have to load programs from a tape, do you remember?).

Forgive me to bring (again) MT to bear, but on it, a character has a penatly to use stuff of a TL higher than its own, but also has a panalty (albeit lessened) to use stuff of a lower TL. IIRC, the same penaltiy applied per TL above his usual one is applied to use lower TL stuff per TL cathegory (early stellar, average stellar, etc) under his usual.

 

[Fovean]

A lot of interesting thoughts here.

So I’ve been using a simplified form of the Stages rules from T5, which allows tech variance for pretty much anything...

Early TL-2
Basic TL-1
Standard TL+0
Advanced TL+1
Ultimate TL+2

... and this is the range of tech that people are familiar with IMTU, two levels on either side of their baseline. It’s one level more difficult (DM-2) for each TL outside of the range, cumulative.

I’ve been using the subsector average TL (with exceptions) as baseline but I like the ideas you’ve been laying out so I’ll be taking another look at this.

I agree with McPerth that lower TLs should present challenges as well. An example from my own life would be use of an abacus or slide rule versus a pocket calculator or app.

 

[Supplement Four]

Forgive me to bring (again) MT to bear, but on it, a character has a penatly to use stuff of a TL higher than its own, but also has a panalty (albeit lessened) to use stuff of a lower TL.

Hm... I wouldn't mind reading that. Do you have a page number?

 

[Enoki]

Remember taht this also applies in the inverse sense: if you're used to TL15, you'll be in trouble using TL7 equipment.

Current doctors (TL7-8) would have serious problems if working at TL6, wihtout scanners, advanced analysis, etc. At lower Tls, without antibiotics, they wil lbe in deeper trouble yet.

Current artillerists would be (I guess) in serious trouble having to fire artillery without any computer assistence, and most car drivers will have similar problems to drive a Ford Model T, or current fighter pilots to fly a Fokker DR1, just to give you some more examples...

Didn't Mr Spock try to talk to a current computer mouse when told he had to use it to use a computer?

I don't think this would apply across the board. In many trades, jobs, and skills there is a maximum level of technology that it really doesn't go beyond.

Some examples:

An artist who does paintings or sculptures is pretty much going to be using the same techniques at virtually all tech levels. The paints or tools used might change in composition and quality, but their use will remain pretty much constant.

Someone working in many trade skills would find the same thing. They could easily go up or down tech levels from about 2 to 10 doing pretty much the same thing. This would include masons, carpenters, or even machinists to a good degree.

A soldier that is used to using any firearm from about TL 4 to 8 wouldn't find it very difficult to adjust to using any firearm from those periods. A muzzle loading musket to an assault rifle isn't a big jump. Sure, he'd have to be shown the detail differences but the principles in using either are pretty much the same. If anything, from my own experience watching people try to use black powder weapons it's harder for them to go down in technology than up. In fact, I'd say that's true for many items. Using a bow was mentioned. Easily explained, but very difficult to actually use effectively. You can hand somebody a sword, but to use it in combat is going to take considerable skill. On the other hand, I'd bet with an hour or two of training you could get somebody at a minimum proficiency on a gauss rifle, particularly if they have already used other long guns even at much lower tech levels.

Imagine a character that's a steward. He or she is used to pulling a tray package meal and heating it in the equivalent of a microwave, then serving it on TL 12 ships. Now this person is expected to cook using a TL 4 kitchen. Knife work to prep the items to be cooked? They may have never used a knife that way before. Having to bake from scratch? Could be completely beyond them.

So, you can't easily make an assumption across the board that a big difference in technological level results in a big problem adjusting, or that it is one-way upwards. Going down is probably much harder than going up in many cases.

 

[aramis]

Hm... I wouldn't mind reading that. Do you have a page number?

MT Ref's, page 15.

Simulating such Tech Level effects on a characters effective skill level is easy if the character’s homeworld Tech Code is known. For each Tech Level above the highest Tech Level represented by the Tech Code, subtract one from the character’s skill level.

To simulate the effect of skill level when working with lower tech items, subtract one from the character’s skill level for each Tech Code below the character’s homeworld Tech Code.

 

[Timerover51]

Imagine a character that's a steward. He or she is used to pulling a tray package meal and heating it in the equivalent of a microwave, then serving it on TL 12 ships. Now this person is expected to cook using a TL 4 kitchen. Knife work to prep the items to be cooked? They may have never used a knife that way before. Having to bake from scratch? Could be completely beyond them.

In your Universe, that may be the case, but not in mine. Stewards who continually serve crews microwaved food go out the air lock without a suit very quickly. As for passengers, no way do they get airplane food. Stewards are expected to be able to cook from scratch the meals needed, based on the passenger requirement. They are also expected to keep ship accounts, purchase needed ship supplies, including cleaning materials, along with monitoring the life support system supplies, and checking on water safety and usage.

I have the US Navy's manual for wardroom stewards on my computer, along with a couple of handbooks for making and serving meals on commercial ships. Those are what I use for expectations of a Steward in my universe when it comes to cooking.

 

[Supplement Four]

That's an interesting take, and I like it.

Hmm...

I like use EDU, too.

And, I'm having second thoughts about being so generous with TL 15. I think I let Mike get to me.

False alarm! False alarm! I've shaken it off!



Here's a little tweak on that...

Skill level gives a range of TL that the character is effective. If from a TL 13 homeworld, and you have a Skill-1, that means that you are effective from TL 12-14 with that skill.

That's a nice, simple rule.

I think I like that better than PTL.



If this person wanted to operate at TL 15, he'd be at -1 to skill, making him Skill-0*.

The same goes for him operating at TL 11.

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

*The MT rule says that Skill can never drop below 1, but I'm not sure that would work with CT since CT character don't get as many skills as MT characters.


That's a nice approach, though.

I may tweak this around a bit for CT.

 

[Supplement Four]

What I could do is this...



1. A person's PTL is defined by his homeworld TL.

2. Effective range is 2 levels, up or down. Thus, a character from a TL 10 world would be effective between TLs 8-12.

3. EDU can potentially increase effective range. If EDU is 3+ higher than HW TL, then effective range is increased. Thus, a character from a TL 8 world with EDU 12 has an effective range of 4-12.

4. Skill level positively increases effective range. Thus, a character from a TL 10 world with EDU 7 (no help) and Skill-1 would have an effective range of TL 7-13.

A character from a TL 8 world with EDU 12 has an effective range of 3-13.

5. TL 0 and TL 15 are hard caps to effective range.

 

[BlackBat242]

I don't think this would apply across the board. In many trades, jobs, and skills there is a maximum level of technology that it really doesn't go beyond.

Some examples:

An artist who does paintings or sculptures is pretty much going to be using the same techniques at virtually all tech levels. The paints or tools used might change in composition and quality, but their use will remain pretty much constant.
Except for the photographer using the best his world has: glass-plate negatives where the subjects have to remain motionless for several minutes, which are then developed by being washed in chemicals - vs the one using a digital camera with image-editing software. Or the sculptor using his hands and clay (or marble & a hammer & chisels) vs the one who programs the 3D printer to create the shape he envisions.

Someone working in many trade skills would find the same thing. They could easily go up or down tech levels from about 2 to 10 doing pretty much the same thing. This would include masons, carpenters, or even machinists to a good degree.
The carpenter who has as his best "power" tool a pedal-powered lathe, hand saws, and hand drills - vs the one with cordless routers, electric saws, electric sanders, electric lathes, etc (and who has never seen one of the hand drills or that pedal-lathe, much less used one). Or the machinist whose highest-tech item is a lathe where he sets speed, then uses various bits etc to shape the metal via constant manual control of the tools - vs the one programming a 3D CNC (computer numerical control) to automatically shape a complex item "hands-free".

And so on, etc.

 

[McPerth]

MT Ref's, page 15.

Thanks for finding them for me.

I don't think this would apply across the board. In many trades, jobs, and skills there is a maximum level of technology that it really doesn't go beyond.

Some examples:

An artist who does paintings or sculptures is pretty much going to be using the same techniques at virtually all tech levels. The paints or tools used might change in composition and quality, but their use will remain pretty much constant.
Except for the photographer using the best his world has: glass-plate negatives where the subjects have to remain motionless for several minutes, which are then developed by being washed in chemicals - vs the one using a digital camera with image-editing software. Or the sculptor using his hands and clay (or marble & a hammer & chisels) vs the one who programs the 3D printer to create the shape he envisions.

A more extreme case would be the Darrian fire sculptures. Try to make them at lower TLs, without the advanced gravitics and power sources that allow them to exist...

Someone working in many trade skills would find the same thing. They could easily go up or down tech levels from about 2 to 10 doing pretty much the same thing. This would include masons, carpenters, or even machinists to a good degree.
The carpenter who has as his best "power" tool a pedal-powered lathe, hand saws, and hand drills - vs the one with cordless routers, electric saws, electric sanders, electric lathes, etc (and who has never seen one of the hand drills or that pedal-lathe, much less used one). Or the machinist whose highest-tech item is a lathe where he sets speed, then uses various bits etc to shape the metal via constant manual control of the tools - vs the one programming a 3D CNC (computer numerical control) to automatically shape a complex item "hands-free".

That would mostly depend on the trade. There are trades taht don't evolution (or evolution just a Little) with TL, but in many of them computing has been added as help.

Few masons today would be able to build a gothic arch without help of advanced machinery, and most will be in deep trouble if traying to.

And see that most examples I gave (as the computers using tape recorders, robotic(advanced imaery used in medicine, etc.) are within the same TL or, at most, 1-2 TL changes, so I guess we cannot imagine what a true TL change may bring in the future...

 

[McPerth]

What I could do is this...



1. A person's PTL is defined by his homeworld TL.

2. Effective range is 2 levels, up or down. Thus, a character from a TL 10 world would be effective between TLs 8-12.

3. EDU can potentially increase effective range. If EDU is 3+ higher than HW TL, then effective range is increased. Thus, a character from a TL 8 world with EDU 12 has an effective range of 4-12.

4. Skill level positively increases effective range. Thus, a character from a TL 10 world with EDU 7 (no help) and Skill-1 would have an effective range of TL 7-13.

A character from a TL 8 world with EDU 12 has an effective range of 3-13.

5. TL 0 and TL 15 are hard caps to effective range.

This also brings problems, the main of them being, IMHO, the personal TL, as many player characters will have two of them.

Let's imagine one character coming from Aramis. he has been schooled in a TL 11 (low stellar in MT) environ, using TL 11 computers and other stuff until he's 18 years old.

Then he joins Imperial Navy, and uses TL 15 stull.

If its PTL is 11 (his homeorld's), then he will be penalized to use all IN equipment (at -4 to his skill Rank, according MT), while if it is changed to 15 (as one of the goals of basic/advanced training can be assumed to familiarize people with IN TL stuff), the if he ever returns to his homeworld, he will be penalized (at -2, again according MT) to use the equipment he was schooled with...

I don't say there's an easy way to reconcile all this (and less so that I have it), just pointing at one of the problems all of this may bring.

 

[mike wightman]

Aramis museum currently has an exhibit extoling the virtues of TL15 Imperial technology up to and including a TL15 meson spinal.

Are you suggesting that the population of Aramis have no knowledge of TL15 science, engineering and technology despite Imperial 'text books' being available, despite there being a TL15 IN base etc?

Thee is a big difference between a stand alone planet's TL and the TL of a planet that is part of an interstellar trading polity - something which the game writers failed to address as the setting developed.

If I am two jumps away from a TL15 world and I have a couple of million credits to burn on a new grav car I can buy a local TL12 jalopy or a state of the art TL15 import. How did people in the US get BMWs before BMW built a car plant their for tariff reasons?

Is a tablet or smartphone higher TL than a desktop computer? Which is easier to use?

 

[Supplement Four]

Let's imagine one character coming from Aramis. he has been schooled in a TL 11 (low stellar in MT) environ, using TL 11 computers and other stuff until he's 18 years old.

Then he joins Imperial Navy, and uses TL 15 stull.

I don't agree that the Imperial Navy is always TL 15, first off. There are vessels in Sup 7 that are not TL 15.

Next, a character gets 2 levels, up or down, as default. So, if from a TL 11 homeworld, his default is 9-13 (under the system I am thinking of using.

Then, skill always improves effective range, so a Skill-2 makes that range 7-15.

Jury is still out on whether I will adopt the system, but I think that looks pretty good to me.