The Traveller Skills

[robject]

The discussion over "how would you do things differently" got me to thinking about the skills list.

I prefer a short list, some prefer a longer list, and everyone (I think) is more or less on board with the idea that player characters could, or should, specialize.

My question is more meta. What is "the skill list" for Traveller? What are the skills needed for Traveller? How are they best broken down into specializations? Which ones are critical or defining elements for Traveller, and which ones are common? Which ones may be later or less common, but just as defining for the OTU? Are any skills from a particular rule system spurious, i.e. unneeded?

The 40 Common Skills

These are the skills I think are common to most Traveller rules. I'm phrasing the skills in terms of a person, rather than a subject: thus "Bureaucracy" becomes "Bureaucrat".

Admin
Animals
Astrogator
Broker
Bureaucrat
Computer
Diplomat
Driver
Engineer
Explosives

<Fighter> - e.g. Battle Dress, Beams, Blades, Exotics, Primitive Ranged, Slug throwers, Unarmed
Flyer
Forensics
Forward Observer
Gambler
Gunner
Heavy Weapons
High-G
Hostile Environment
JOT

<Language>
Leader
Liaison
Medic
Pilot
Recon
<Science>
Seafarer
Stealth
Steward

Streetwise
Survey
<Survival> - e.g. Desert, Icepack, Jungle, Temperate, Alpine
Tactics
Teacher
Trader
<Trade> - e.g. Biologics, Electronics, Fluidics, Gravitics, Magnetics, Mechanic, Photonics, Polymers
Vacc Suit
<World>
Zero-G

 

[HG_B]

Here are ones I've dumped/modified or rolled into other skills.

Artist - Gone

Comms - rolled parts into Eng. (Electronics). Computers do this better/faster than people.

Computer - Rarely used by my players as needing to creating new, small pgms is rare & high TL computers are super easy to use.

Fluidics - just too esoteric.

JOT - Dumped it 30 years go.

Magnetics & Photonics - Rolled into a Physics skill

Polymers - Again, too esoteric for in game use.

Science - Use other skills such as Electronics, physics, etc.

Sensors - Rolled into Pilot & Astrogator, Recon, etc.

Spray Weapons - just a it too granular to be a separate skill.

Teacher - Never use it.

 

[lspitz]

That seems like a pretty good list. I think Language, Science, and Career as cascade skills are good additions; they help round out the heavily military slant of the basic CT career rules. I'd add Research/Investigation, as a nod to careers that involve digging for facts/information in some way (journalists, non-scientist scholars, private investigators and police detectives come to mind).

I might add Hunting/Tracking, and maybe split Unarmed Combat into Brawling (to represent rough-and-ready unarmed fisticuffs with no particular technique) and Martial Arts (to represent coherent, highly developed systems of fighting like judo and karate). Call it a mini-cascade.

I think Bow Weapons belong in there somewhere. Not quite sure where you were going with Exotic Weapons- maybe bow weapons are supposed to be in there? A better categorization might be Primitive (pre-gunpowder) Weapons, comprising bows, spears, staves, clubs, bolas, slings, blowguns and that sort of thing. Very useful to have sketched out and included in the combat tables in case you end up on a low-tech world where they are still current.

For my money, Fluidics, Photonics and Polymers seem overly specialized to appear on the basic list, and might be better placed in a technical/engineering Cascade skill.

 

[robject]

Good thoughts about archaic weapons. There's going to have to be a way to accommodate them. Exotics might do the trick, but then does that mean that "Blade Weapons" is not just a cutlass, but a TL15 Imperial Marine Energized Monofilament weapon?

I took the hint from both of you, and clumped the trades into a highly specialized category called <Trades>.

JOT - Dumped it 30 years go.

That's a thread discussion waiting to happen. Perhaps it's already happened, and more than once.

 

[Chuck Anumia]

J O T

Good thoughts about archaic weapons. There's going to have to be a way to accommodate them. Exotics might do the trick, but then does that mean that "Blade Weapons" is not just a cutlass, but a TL15 Imperial Marine Energized Monofilament weapon?

I took the hint from both of you, and clumped the trades into a highly specialized category called <Trades>.



That's a thread discussion waiting to happen. Perhaps it's already happened, and more than once.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=30358&highlight=jack+trades

I had weapons broken down as:
Blade Weapons
Slug Weapons (short Barrel/Rifle)
Energy Weapons
Crew Served weapons (Machine Guns, Cannons, Anti Aircraft, Anti Tank, etc.)

 

[lspitz]

Good thoughts about archaic weapons. There's going to have to be a way to accommodate them. Exotics might do the trick, but then does that mean that "Blade Weapons" is not just a cutlass, but a TL15 Imperial Marine Energized Monofilament weapon?

I took the hint from both of you, and clumped the trades into a highly specialized category called <Trades>.

Some things are hard to categorize. Are you a lumper, or a splitter? An energized monofilament could just as well be called an energy weapon as a blade weapon. You could change the "Beam Weapon" category to a broader "Energy Weapon" one and lump it in there, but the fit is just as good/bad as putting it under "Blade Weapon". I'm thinking you might want to retain "Exotic Weapon" as a category for hybrid stuff like this, and I'm guessing that the list won't be very large unless you go out of your way to dream up exotica.

You could split up the pre-gunpowder (i.e., muscle-powered) weapons by weapon type (bow family, polearm family, etc.) I'm undecided as to whether I'd do that myself, but it's a possibility to consider. And if you do that, you can fold non-powered blade weapons into that as a weapon type; the basic designs haven't changed much in centuries, and most advances in blade weapons have been in the materials they are constructed from. A knife made from a TL-15 titanium alloy functions much the same as an ancient bronze one, except for its durability.

One wonders what to do with bolas, lassos, nets, slings, sling spears, boomerangs and blowguns. I'd probably lump them with bows and be done with it, but you could put them in an "Other" category parallel to the bows, the polearms, and the blades.

Just some random thoughts.

 

[atpollard]

I always thought that there should be exactly 36 skills broken into 6 groups of 6 skills with one group as the specialty for each of the major classes. Along with that, I would roll Army and Marine together into something like Soldier and add a major class for more civilian careers like many that appear in "Citizens of the Imperium".

Since the world seems determined to add ever more skills to choose from and ever more skills per term, there is little point in posting my 'less is more' preferences in detail.

 

[McPerth]

The discussion over "how would you do things differently" got me to thinking about the skills list.

I prefer a short list, some prefer a longer list, and everyone (I think) is more or less on board with the idea that player characters could, or should, specialize.

My question is more meta. What is "the skill list" for Traveller? What are the skills needed for Traveller? How are they best broken down into specializations? Which ones are critical or defining elements for Traveller, and which ones are common? Which ones may be later or less common, but just as defining for the OTU? Are any skills from a particular rule system spurious, i.e. unneeded?

I'm going to put my list down here. I'm phrasing the skills in terms of a person, rather than a subject: thus "Bureaucracy" becomes "Bureaucrat".

My List of 48 Skills
Note: Many of these skills have inherent specializations. One in particular -- the "Trades" -- has been deliberately spelled out, since it conflated some of what I used to have as stand-alone skills.

Don't you include Tactics among your skills list?

I ask because in one of the skills I've seen (one way or another) in all the Traveller versions I know about.

 

[whulorigan]

Damper-Tech

Here's one I have often thought about:

- Electrical/Electronics is repaired using Electronics Skill;
- Gravitics is repaired using Gravitics Skill;
- T5 tells us that Photonics/Optics, Fluidics, Magnetics, etc, are all repaired using their own skills;

What skill is used to repair devices utilizing the Strong/Weak Nuclear Force (e.g. Nuclear Dampers/Meson Screens, and spin-off technologies)? There is no "Dampers-Skill". Would you need something like it it to repair a CommPlus/Neutrino Communicator?

 

[HG_B]

Here's one I have often thought about:

- Electrical/Electronics is repaired using Electronics Skill;
- Gravitics is repaired using Gravitics Skill;
- T5 tells us that Photonics/Optics, Fluidics, Magnetics, etc, are all repaired using their own skills;

What skill is used to repair devices utilizing the Strong/Weak Nuclear Force (e.g. Nuclear Dampers/Meson Screens, and spin-off technologies)? There is no "Dampers-Skill". Would you need something like it it to repair a CommPlus/Neutrino Communicator?

When I was 8 yrs old I used my Pneumatics-2 skill to fix my bicycle's flat tires..

 

[robject]

One wonders what to do with bolas, lassos, nets, slings, sling spears, boomerangs and blowguns.

Sounds like a category parallel to "Blade Weapons". "Primitive Ranged"?

Don't you include Tactics among your skills list?

I ask because in one of the skills I've seen (one way or another) in all the Traveller versions I know about.

Good point. It is characteristic of Traveller in all its forms.

I suppose I had trouble justifying it. When is it used? Okay, some rule sets use it better than others. I'll replace "Teacher" with "Tactics".

I always thought that there should be exactly 36 skills broken into 6 groups of 6 skills with one group as the specialty for each of the major classes.

Intriguing.

OK, done.

 

[rancke]

In Heltesagaerne, my house rules[*], people pay for minor and major backgrounds. A minor background gives you all skills associated with that background at levels up to 8 (I use D20s to resolve skill rolls) and a major background gives them at levels up to 12. Players can pay extra for better individual skills.

[*] A point buy system, but for Traveller I usually have the players roll up a Traveller character first and then design their Heltesaga character around the result.​

Hans

 

[HG_B]

A minor background gives you all skills associated with that background at levels up to 8 (I use D20s to resolve skill rolls)
Hans

If you find time at some point, could you post your mechanics? I want to port over to the same skill resolution paradigm.

 

[JFGarber]

How about
<Survival> Desert, Icepack, Jungle, Temperate, Alpine

Running a game for my daughter, I find little use for traditional combat, and utilize Mother Nature as an antagonist.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Other games, for their purposes use even less skills and still proclaim them to be all inclusive of what can be done in the entire universe. As an example, the current Doctor Who game only has 12, count them, 12 skills. I bring them here to show how in one paradigm, everything could be rolled up tighter than 36 skills down to 12. I include the "Areas of Expertise" from that game. The merely have the effect of adding a bonus to your roll. Everything else is with a normal roll.
I should note their skill system:
Attribute + Skill Level + (Area of Expertise Bonus is +2) + Tech Level Difference(if applicable) + Other DMs + 2D6. Average Difficulty is a 12. Human range for attributes is 1 thru 6, skills go from 0+ (yes untrained can roll) with 6 being "best in the world". TL go from 0 to 12. 21st Century Earth is a 5, the OTU would be a 6 or 7, Time Lords are 10.

ATHLETICS - Covers most physical activity (jumping, swimming, climbing, riding animals) Areas of Expertise: Running, Jumping, Riding, Climbing, Parachuting, Swimming, Sports.
CONVINCE - Covers all types of social interaction from nice to not so nice Areas of Expertise: Fast Talk, Bluff, Leadership, Seduction, Interrogation, Charm, Lie, Talk Down.
CRAFT - Creativity aka making things from bookshelf to poetry to music to souffles Areas of Expertise: Painting, Farming, Woodwork, Dancing, Papier-mâché Doctors.
FIGHTING - All hand to hand/melee/brawling Areas of Expertise: Unarmed Combat, Parry, Block, Sword, Club.
KNOWLEDGE - Knowing anything that can be known not covered by the other skills, typically the "softer" sciences or purely academic fields, such as law, sociology, psychology, archaeology, history, literature, or languages. Areas of Expertise: History (choose an area), Law, Psychology, Language (select a specific language), Literature, Sociology, Alien Cultures, Earthonomics.
MARKSMAN - Covers all Ranged combat, from slings to lasers Areas of Expertise: Bows, Pistols, Rifles, Machine Guns, Energy Weapons, Thrown Weapons, Ship Weapon Systems, Artillery.
MEDICINE - Healing people, even if they are aliens Areas of Expertise: Disease, Wounds, Poisons, Surgery, Forensics, Veterinary Medicine, Alternative Remedies.
SCIENCE - Knowing and understanding the "harder" sciences Areas of Expertise: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astrophysics.
SUBTERFUGE - All forms of deceit not covered exactly by Convince Areas of Expertise: Sneaking, Lockpicking, Sleight of Hand, Pickpocketing, Safecracking, Camouflage, Disguise
SURVIVAL - Surviving outside a city Areas of Expertise: Space, Desert, Swamp, Mountain, Icescape, Underwater, Wilderness.
TECHNOLOGY - Making or fixing tech devices Areas of Expertise: Computers, Electronics, Gadgetry, Hacking, Repair, TARDIS.
TRANSPORT - Going From Point A to Point B using a device Areas of Expertise: Cars, Trucks, Helicopters, Aircraft, Spaceships, Motorcycles.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I brought this to the table because most times when people bring up skills, most people want to maintain distinctiveness of a particular liked "skill" in comparison to others. Within the context of this exercise what Traveller with specialties calls 1,2,3,4,etc. are nicely wrapped up into skill X

Mongoose Traveller Core Rules has 78 distinct named specialties and 30 skills with no specialties (Not counting the 5 "Psionics" skills) for a total of 108 distinct skills:
Drive (Mole), Drive (Tracked), Drive (Wheeled)
Flyer (Grav), Flyer (Rotor), Flyer (Wing)
Pilot (Capital Ships), Pilot (Small Craft), Pilot (Spacecraft)
Seafarer (Motorboats), Seafarer (Ocean Ships), Seafarer (Sail), Seafarer (Submarine)

Get rid of the specialties and you are down from 13 to 4: Drive, Flyer, Pilot, Seafarer
Crunch it down to the Dr Who Game and you are down to 1: Transport

 

[McPerth]

I suppose I had trouble justifying it. When is it used?

It depends on the versión you play. In MT and T4 the tactics pool specifies how it's used, and does MgT with initiative rules. CT:Bk4 also gives it a use in the abstract combat system (I cannot talk about other versions, as I don't know them enough).

As for ship's tactics, MT treats it likely, while Bk5 uses by modifying the computer and MgT again in initiative.

After all, there are some skills I've seen even less used (e.g. Forward Observer, but I've nearly never have seen artillery/ortillery support in my player games).

Okay, some rule sets use it better than others. I'll replace "Teacher" with "Tactics".

Assuming Teacher was the equivalent to Instruction, I'd miss it, as I liked its use to direct another character on something he does not have the skill.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Since the goal is to get down to 36 skills or some N smaller than the original, a systematic thing is to look at their functionality for roleplaying purposes. So...
1.Get Rid of Specialties - This takes from 108 skills down to 48 skills (pus the 5 Psionic skills)

2.Combine other skills because of overlap. Examples:
Combine Vacc Suit and Battledress into BattleDress. Some people would say, "But Battledress is supposed to be more complex, yada yada yada". Perhaps, perhaps not. Battledress only does three things as far as I am concerned. Enhance physical abilities, protect you from the environment, and provide interface to the "battle dress" weapons. Vacc Suit teaches you to use the suit/dress appropriately.

Remove Heavy Weapons by splitting it into Gunnery or Gun Combat. To me if it is fired from your hand or shoulder personally (even with battle dress targeting), Gun Combat. If it is indirect, requires sensors, or the weapon is just too big, Gunnery.

Get rid of Space Sciences. I think the other skills cover it well enough. I won't get rid of the other sciences. Oops I have Science by itself as a skill. Get rid of that one too.
Get rid of Languages, that could be social sciences as well.
Get rid of Art.
Combine Admin and Advocate into Admin
Combine Flyer and Pilot into Pilot
Combine Astrogation and Navigation into Navigation
Combine Sensors and Remote Operations into Remote Operations
Combine Carouse and Persuade into Persuade
Combine Stealth and Deception into Deception.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

You end up with 36 Mongoose Traveller skills (+JoT and the Psion skills, but not on a rollable table)
Admin, Animals, Athletics, Broker, Comms, Computers, Deception, Diplomat, Drive, Engineer, Explosives, Gambler, Gun Combat, Gunner, Investigate, Leadership, Life Sciences, Mechanic, Medic, Melee, Navigation, Persuade, Physical Sciences, Pilot, Recon, Remote Operations, Seafarer, Social Sciences, Stealth, Steward, Streetwise, Survival, Tactics, Trade, Vacc Suit, Zero-G

 

[lspitz]

One question that hasn't been clearly addressed is, once you have your pared-down list of 36 skills (or whatever number floats your boat), how do you divide them among the careers?

A career is really no more than a defined subset of the master skill list. How many skills should be available to each career, on the average?

What mechanism are you going to use to make sure that characters who roll on the tables for Career X receive the basic skills that define Career X?

The classical solution is twofold: default skills are given free without the need to roll for them (for some careers, anyway), and important skills can appear more than once in the chargen tables, which increases the probability of acquiring them. Do people think this is sufficient, or does anyone have other ideas about how it could/should be done?