Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
2:33 AM
I just got home from the first game session of the campaign I'm starting with my players. Well, I guess you can call it a game session. All that really happened was that we did chargen. I got there at 4:30 pm earlier today.
Now, chargen was a little longer than normal because I used my extended chargen stuff for my campaign that went into detail about a character's homeworld.
The funny thing is, I had one of the best times I've ever had playing Traveller....just rolling up the characters!
It was incredible. We didn't just roll them up--we "role-played" them up. Magnificent session.
One player couldn't show up today, so I'll get him later. Another had to leave early, so only got his character partially rolled-up. That left two others--which we completed their characters.
The most amazing part?
Well, I made them roll SOC first, to understand what their childhood was like--where and how they were "brought up". And, the very first person to roll SOC--the very first die roll of the evening--was boxcars. That player (this is the one who had to leave early) STARTED the game with a character who was born into nobility.
I use the straight, CT, 2D roll for stats. No funny business. No "roll 3D and pick the best two". All stats were straight CT, one time, 2D rolls.
This should have been a good indicator that the night's session of rolling up characters for the campaign wasn't going to be "normal".
Because, here's the most amazing part....
Of one of the two characters that were completed...GET THIS....went 11 freakin' terms! You read that right. He rolled 11 freakin' terms, and ended up with a UPP of E6AB48.
Incredible.
Yes, I use CT chargen pretty much as written in the official rules. I've incorporated only two tweaks, both from MT.
First, I allow the Special Duty roll (used in MT) and an extra skill awarded if the Special Duty roll, or the Commission or Promotion roll is exceeded by 4+ points. I like that MT rule because it tends to equalize 4-Year chargen with advanced 1-Year chargen.
Yes, I used 4-year chargen for all characters.
The second, and only other non-official CT tweak I used was the MWM rule (see the T5 rules) where a character can, upon failing a survival roll, try for another career. But, the enlistment of that next career is made with a -2DM. A third career uses a -3DM. A fourth career uses a -4DM, etc.
If a survival throw is failed, then the character is injured if in the military (but a second survival throw is made to determine if a character is actually injured if the character is in a civilian career--failure on only the first survival throw indicates he was "fired" or otherwise lost his job somehow "made a life change to another career--whatever).
Other than that, I use straight CT rules. Yep, I use the aging table, just as it is, no tweaks.
It is so incredible that, after 11 terms, that this character ended up with those stats. The player was on fire! If those weren't MY dice he was using, I'd swear that they were loaded!
A 14 STR at age 62!!!!
This is a pretty straight CT game. Remember CT? Skills-lite, right? Not for this guy.
UPP: E6AB48
Blade-5
Gambling-5
Bribery-4
Brawling-3
SMG-2
Rifle-1
Wheeled Vehicle-1
Vacc Suit-1
Forgery-1
Medical-1
Engineering-1
Legal-1
Electronics-1
Can you freakin' believe that?
On top of this, he rolled "Free Trader" twice on the muster out tables. He ended up at Rank 5, Captain. He owns his own ship.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
I'd swear this was rigged in a munchkin game if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. This player could roll no wrong.
He was simply on fire.
I've never, in 24 years of playing Traveller, EVER seen a CT character rolled up like this. Never. Not in my games.
It was on amazing night.
I don't think I've ever had a better time just rolling up characters--in any game, ever.
The guy rolled a low DEX to begin with. His whole career, all 11 terms, he tried to get his DEX up to 6. He wanted it there so he wouldn't suffer the -2 DM when he used his Rifle or SMG.
So, he kept rolling on the Personal Development table. And, he would roll all around it. His STR would increase. Then his END would increase. But, he never could get that "2" to pop up on the die so he could increase his DEX.
We'd roll on the aging table when called for in the rules (terms 4-11), and you just wouldn't believe how this guy could throw to keep his stats from declining. I mean we're talking 8+, 7+, 8+...whammo...right down the line.
Amazing.
But, still, that damn DEX was still below 6.
On his 10th term, he finally bricked an aging table DEX roll, and his DEX went down to 4.
Well, we all thought he was in trouble then.
So, he decided that his 11th term would be his last. He rolled so well on his promotion and Special Duty throws that he ended up getting 5 skills that term (1 for the term, 2 for promotion by rolling 4+ over what he needed, and 2 on Special Duty rolling 4+ over what he needed).
He finally got a +1DEX, which took him DEX-5. Still, that wasn't a DEX-6.
Then, on his VERY LAST FREAKIN' ROLL.
I am NOT making this up.
This guy rolled another DEX increase. No kiddin'. He got his DEX-6.
Then, the dude went on, during the must out process, to roll Free Trader twice.
What a character.
I can't stop saying "amazing".
On the way home (we rode together), we started about what names he was going to christen his ship.
I suggested: The Dextrous Pursuit.
Great game. Can't wait to see what's going to happen when we actually get to play!
I just got home from the first game session of the campaign I'm starting with my players. Well, I guess you can call it a game session. All that really happened was that we did chargen. I got there at 4:30 pm earlier today.
Now, chargen was a little longer than normal because I used my extended chargen stuff for my campaign that went into detail about a character's homeworld.
The funny thing is, I had one of the best times I've ever had playing Traveller....just rolling up the characters!
It was incredible. We didn't just roll them up--we "role-played" them up. Magnificent session.
One player couldn't show up today, so I'll get him later. Another had to leave early, so only got his character partially rolled-up. That left two others--which we completed their characters.
The most amazing part?
Well, I made them roll SOC first, to understand what their childhood was like--where and how they were "brought up". And, the very first person to roll SOC--the very first die roll of the evening--was boxcars. That player (this is the one who had to leave early) STARTED the game with a character who was born into nobility.
I use the straight, CT, 2D roll for stats. No funny business. No "roll 3D and pick the best two". All stats were straight CT, one time, 2D rolls.
This should have been a good indicator that the night's session of rolling up characters for the campaign wasn't going to be "normal".
Because, here's the most amazing part....
Of one of the two characters that were completed...GET THIS....went 11 freakin' terms! You read that right. He rolled 11 freakin' terms, and ended up with a UPP of E6AB48.
Incredible.
Yes, I use CT chargen pretty much as written in the official rules. I've incorporated only two tweaks, both from MT.
First, I allow the Special Duty roll (used in MT) and an extra skill awarded if the Special Duty roll, or the Commission or Promotion roll is exceeded by 4+ points. I like that MT rule because it tends to equalize 4-Year chargen with advanced 1-Year chargen.
Yes, I used 4-year chargen for all characters.
The second, and only other non-official CT tweak I used was the MWM rule (see the T5 rules) where a character can, upon failing a survival roll, try for another career. But, the enlistment of that next career is made with a -2DM. A third career uses a -3DM. A fourth career uses a -4DM, etc.
If a survival throw is failed, then the character is injured if in the military (but a second survival throw is made to determine if a character is actually injured if the character is in a civilian career--failure on only the first survival throw indicates he was "fired" or otherwise lost his job somehow "made a life change to another career--whatever).
Other than that, I use straight CT rules. Yep, I use the aging table, just as it is, no tweaks.
It is so incredible that, after 11 terms, that this character ended up with those stats. The player was on fire! If those weren't MY dice he was using, I'd swear that they were loaded!
A 14 STR at age 62!!!!
This is a pretty straight CT game. Remember CT? Skills-lite, right? Not for this guy.
UPP: E6AB48
Blade-5
Gambling-5
Bribery-4
Brawling-3
SMG-2
Rifle-1
Wheeled Vehicle-1
Vacc Suit-1
Forgery-1
Medical-1
Engineering-1
Legal-1
Electronics-1
Can you freakin' believe that?
On top of this, he rolled "Free Trader" twice on the muster out tables. He ended up at Rank 5, Captain. He owns his own ship.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
I'd swear this was rigged in a munchkin game if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes. This player could roll no wrong.
He was simply on fire.
I've never, in 24 years of playing Traveller, EVER seen a CT character rolled up like this. Never. Not in my games.
It was on amazing night.
I don't think I've ever had a better time just rolling up characters--in any game, ever.
The guy rolled a low DEX to begin with. His whole career, all 11 terms, he tried to get his DEX up to 6. He wanted it there so he wouldn't suffer the -2 DM when he used his Rifle or SMG.
So, he kept rolling on the Personal Development table. And, he would roll all around it. His STR would increase. Then his END would increase. But, he never could get that "2" to pop up on the die so he could increase his DEX.
We'd roll on the aging table when called for in the rules (terms 4-11), and you just wouldn't believe how this guy could throw to keep his stats from declining. I mean we're talking 8+, 7+, 8+...whammo...right down the line.
Amazing.
But, still, that damn DEX was still below 6.
On his 10th term, he finally bricked an aging table DEX roll, and his DEX went down to 4.
Well, we all thought he was in trouble then.
So, he decided that his 11th term would be his last. He rolled so well on his promotion and Special Duty throws that he ended up getting 5 skills that term (1 for the term, 2 for promotion by rolling 4+ over what he needed, and 2 on Special Duty rolling 4+ over what he needed).
He finally got a +1DEX, which took him DEX-5. Still, that wasn't a DEX-6.
Then, on his VERY LAST FREAKIN' ROLL.
I am NOT making this up.
This guy rolled another DEX increase. No kiddin'. He got his DEX-6.
Then, the dude went on, during the must out process, to roll Free Trader twice.
What a character.
I can't stop saying "amazing".
On the way home (we rode together), we started about what names he was going to christen his ship.
I suggested: The Dextrous Pursuit.
Great game. Can't wait to see what's going to happen when we actually get to play!
