The UNIVERSAL GAME MECHANIC - better than ever edition

[Supplement Four]

Introduction


As the UGM is used in Traveller games, it's natural that people make suggestions and improvements are made. After the UGM was first developed and posted here on the CotI Forum, the UGM's revised version was released. Now, it's time to incorporate a few more tweaks, so I am presenting to you the "better than ever" edition.

What is the Universal Game Mechanic?

It's a task system for Classic Traveller. It's designed to be used with CT without changing official Classic Trav rules. Just pop this sucker into your game when you need a character to attempt a task.

As I was designing this task system, I benefitted greatly from the input of other Traveller gamers from both this forum and the TML. (See the threads on both this forum and the mailing list.)

The Universal Game Mechanic is a very simple task system that will be very familiar to Classic Traveller players. When a task is called for, the player simply rolls 2D, adds mods, for 8+.

Every UGM task roll succeeds if the throw totals 8+.

Besides that simplicity, what this task system will bring to your game is the influence of a character's natural ability (rarely referenced in official CT rules with respect to tasks). And, each and every level of a character's stat will provide a benefit (i.e. you won't have your Pilot-2 EDU-9 and Pilot-2 EDU-5 guys always making the same roll as you do with the DGP/MT task system).

The UGM is probably the most Classic-Traveller-centric, CT-intuitive task system I've ever designed.

I hope you find it useful in your games.

 

[Supplement Four]

The Universal Game Mechanic


TASK ROLL

2D + mods for 8+


--Roll 2D. Add or subtract modifiers. Tasks succeed when 8+ is thrown.--


Proceedure:
-1- Roll 2D.

-2- Check natural ability modifier.

-3- Add or subtract modifiers for difficulty, skill, etc.

-4- Task succeeds if total is 8+.

 

[Supplement Four]

Task Difficulty


DMs used to modify the UGM task roll with respect to the task's difficulty:

Difficulty    DM
----------    --
Easy          +4
Routine       +2
Standard      +0
Difficult     -2
Challenging   -4
Formidable    -6
Insane        -8
Impossible    -10

NOTE: These difficulty DMs are not meant to be definitive. These are guidelines for the GM meant to give him a rule of thumb only. The GM is encouraged to use these DMs as a starting point and then move the DM up or down a point, depending on the task situation.


Also NOTE: The UGM not only provides a simple, easy method for a GM to handle tasks on the fly during a game, but it is also designed to exactly replicate Classic Traveller throws found in Canon.

If a player wants his character to use extra tubing from the ship's fuel system to rig up a still for the PCs to drink some home brew, the GM can easily think a second and come up with a roll (maybe Mechanical skill and +1DM Difficulty?). But, if a GM sees the roll for avoiding loss of control in Zero-G (a roll of 10+ according to the Traveller Book), this can easily be exactly duplicated using the UGM as well (it'd be a -2DM Difficulty roll).

That's one of the beauties of the UGM that other CT task systems do not provide: The UGM can exactly replicate canon throws described in offical CT publications (as we see in the example below).








-------------------------------------------------
Example

A ship's medic is attempting to revive a low berth passenger. The GM decides this is a task of Routine difficulty, which means the ship's medic recieves a +2DM to his revival roll (not counting other DMs that may apply). But, since the ship's medic does this job all the time, every two weeks, on most worlds the ship travels to, with several passangers, on equipment the medic is very familiar with, the GM decides that the revival roll is a task of Routine difficulty with a +3DM instead of a +2DM (in effect, the task is "a little harder than EASY" and "a little easier than ROUTINE").

The medic's roll will be: 2D +3 for 8+.

(Other appropriate mods, such as Medical skill, not important to this example, would be used as well.

And, note on page 50 of the Traveller Book, the roll to revive Low Passengers from berth is a roll of 5+, plus mods, which is exactly what we're expressing in this example.)

 

[Supplement Four]

Task Descriptors


UGM task descriptors can be written easily by including (1) the appropriate skill, (2) the appropriate governor attribute, and (3) the difficulty DM.

A task descriptor for the task used in the low berth revival example above might look like this:

Medical/EDU/+3

That's a short-hand way to say: It's a task roll using the character's Medical skill and Education attribute, and there is a +3DM on the roll.

 

[Supplement Four]

Natural Ability


Each task roll involves the use of a skill and the character's natural ability in the form of his attribute scores.

On every task, pick an appropriate skill to use and an appropriate stat to govern the task. (Consider the character at Skill-0 if the character does not have an appropriate skill.)

Immediately after the natural 2D roll is thrown, before any other modifiers are applied, check the natural roll against the character's natural ability.

When the throw is equal to or less than the governor stat, allow a +1DM on the task throw.


Note: The UGM Natural Ability check is ignored if a character's stat is referenced in any other way. For example, combat in CT references DEX (DMs are provided) for gun combat and STR for brawling combat. Therefore, the Natural Ability check is not made on UGM combat rolls since the task's governor stat is already referenced. On the other hand, most tasks listed in CT rule books do not reference a character's attribute, and in these cases, the UGM Natural Ability check is made.

The Zero Gravity throw (page 48 of the Traveller Book) references DEX. But, on page 22 of the Traveller Book, a throw is given for operating an Air/Raft, and that throw does not reference any of the character's stats. It would be appropriate for the UGM Natural Ability check to be performed when making the Air/Raft throw, but, in the case of the Zero G roll, the UGM Natural Ability check should be skipped.









-------------------------------------------------
Example

Dunci is attempting to bore out his AutoPistol, physically changing the weapon so that it can accept ammunition obtained locally of non-standard calibre. Dunci's stats are 784A86, and he has Mechanical-2 skill.

The GM decides this task is: Mechanical/DEX/-1

-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 2, 5

2. Check natural ability. 7 is less than Dunci's DEX-8, so Dunci receives a +1DM on the roll.

3. Add or subtract modifiers: +2 Mechanical, +1 Natural Ability. -1 Difficulty.

4. Tasks succeed if total is 8+. This task is successful as the total is 9.

 

[Supplement Four]

High Natural Ability


Characters with attributes of 13+ are considered to have high natural ability, and tasks governed by these high-level attributes are elligible for an additional bonus.

All characters, when their governor attribute is 12+, receive an automatic +1DM for natural ability on task rolls referencing that stat. Characters who have high natural ability (attribute level 13, 14, or 15) can receive an additional +1DM (for a total +2DM) when the natural roll is equal to or less than the level of the attribute minus 10.

Stat Natural Ability Bonus
---- ----------------------
13 +2DM when natural roll is 3-; otherwise +1DM
14 +2DM when natural roll is 4-; otherwise +1DM
15 +2DM when natural roll is 5-; otherwise +1DM

In essence, a character with a 13 attribute will always receive a +1DM on his UGM task rolls, but he will receive a +2DM when his natural roll totals 2 or 3.

A character with a level 14 attribute will always receive the +1 automatic Natural Ability modifier, and that Natural Ability modifier will be increased to +2 if the character's natural roll results in 2, 3, or 4.

And, a character with a Stat-15 will automatically received the +1 Natural Ability bonus, and the +2 Natural Ability bonus will kick in when the character rolls low at 2, 3, 4, or 5.

A character with high natural ability will draw on his natural ablility when he needs it most: when his natural roll is low.







-------------------------------------------------
Example

Trasc's stats are 7A9DA8, and he's attempting to understand the workings of an alien computer with is Computer-3 expertise.

The GM has decided this task is: Computer/INT/-3

-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 2, 1

2. Natural Ability Check: High Natural Ability passes.

3. Add/Subtract modifiers: +3 Computer, +1 automatic Natural Ability, +1 High Natural Ability, -3 difficulty.

4. Task succeeds on 8+. This task fails with a total of 5.

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM NATURAL ABILITY CHART


This chart reflects the effect a character's natural ability has on his dice roll.

The left column shows a natural 2D throw. Across the top, we see Classic Traveller attribute values ranging from 1 to 15.

In the body of the chart, you will see the adjusted throw once the character's natural ability has influenced his performance (the natural 2D throw has been modified by the Natural Ability modifier).

Note how the UGM provides differentation between each stat level (whereas other Traveller task systems tend to collect stats in "groups"...which makes a character with Stat-7 no different from Stat-6, but a Stat-6 is better to have than Stat-5, etc...)

Roll	Stat														
2D 	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__
2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4
3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5
4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6
5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7
6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11
11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12
12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13

 

[Supplement Four]

Critical Success / Critical Failure


When snake eyes (double 1's) are thrown on a UGM task, a Critical Failure may result.

When box cars (double 6's) are thrown on a UGM task, a Critical Success may result.


In either case, a check is called for.


UGM CRITICAL SUCCESS / FAILURE CHECK:

3D < or = Stat + Skill + Difficulty


Add the character's stat plus his skill level plus the difficulty modifier used on the task.

--Roll this amount or less on 3D to avoid a Critical Failure result.

--Roll this amount or less on 3D to achieve a Critical Success result.


Note that characters with higher natural ability (higher stats) and higher expertise (higher skill level) will be more likely to roll Critical Success and less likely to roll Critical Failure. The opposite is true for those characters with lower attributes and lower (or no) skill level--those characters will throw Critical Success less often and Critical Failure more often.

The UGM skews Critical Success or Failure results in accordance with a character's ability and expertise. Your "klutz" characters will be more likely to throw Critical Failures, and your characters who are highly skilled experts are more likely to throw Critical Successes.

Also note that the same is true for the difficulty of the task. On tasks of easier difficulty, it will be easier to avoid Critical Failures and easier to obtain Critical Successes. On more difficult tasks, it is harder to avoid Critical Failures and harder to achieve Critical Successes.

With the UGM, Critical Success and Critical Failure is not a blanket random chance equal among all character no matter their experience, natural ability, or the difficulty of the task being attempted. The UGM takes all these factors into account before a Critical Success or Critical Failure is indicated.

In the end, a Stat-10 Skill-5 character will always have a better chance of avoiding Critical Failures and achieveing Critical Success than a character with Stat-5 Skill-0. But, that Stat-10 Skill-5 character will have a harder time of avoding Critical Failures and obtaining Critical Successes as the difficulty of the task gets harder.









-------------------------------------------------
Example

Frenhe has just rolled boxcars on this task: Engineering/EDU/-1

Frenhe is the engineer (Engineering-1; EDU-6) on the far trader JOYSTON'S LUCK. The Jump Drive has been damaged (and he's rolling the standard CT Book 2 roll of 9+ to fix the drive).

With the double 6's on the roll, Frenhe may have rolled a Critical Success. He'll have to pass the check in order to achieve it, though.

UGM Critical Success Check: 3D for 6-.

The "6-" was obtained by adding Frenhe's Engineering-1 skill to his EDU-6 and his UGM difficulty -1DM. If Frenhe throws 6 or less on 3D, Frenhe has just thrown a Critical Success on the task. Otherwise, if the 3D roll is 7+, the task is completed normally.

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

The UGM used with an "official" CT throw.


Da Bien-Hua (9AA655) is involved in an Air/Raft chase, fleeing some Vargr pirates (in their own grav vehicle).

Da's skill is: Grav Vehicle-1

Looking at the Traveller Book, page 22, a throw is published for this situation, and the GM decides to use the UGM version of this task.

The Traveller Book says to roll 5+ with these DMs: +1 per level of skill and -1 if gunfire is involved in the chase.

The UGM version of this task is: Grav Vehicle/DEX/+3

And, the task includes a situational modifier of -1DM due to gunfire and the chase.


-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 3, 6

2. Natural Ability Check: Succeeds

3. Task DMs: +1 Natural Ability; +1 Grav Vehicle; -1 Situational DM (gunfire chase); +3 Difficulty.

4. Task succeeds on an 8+: This task succeeds with a total of 13!

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

Skipping the Natural Ability Check


Sir Bromley Riieve (8889AB) has donned his Vacc Suit and is attempting to shove of from his own vessel towards a disabled craft in an asteroid belt.

Bromley's skill: Vacc Suit-1

According to BELTSTRIKE, a 10+ roll is needed to maintain control. DMs are: +2 for forward movement; -2 for making a free jump; +0 for moving at Speed 1; -6 for making a long range jump; +1 if DEX 9+; +2 if DEX 11+; +4 per level of Vacc Suit skill.

In UGM terms, this task is: Vacc Suit/DEX/-2

The various situational modifiers (above) apply. Note that Bromely does not meet the DEX requirement. Also note that, since DEX is referenced in the throw, the UGM Natural Ability check is skipped on this task.


-The Task Throw-
1. Roll 2D: 2, 3

2. Natural Ability Check: Skipped on this task throw.

3. DMs: +4 Vacc Suit; -2 Difficulty; +2 Situational DM (forward movement); -2 Situational DM (free jump); -6 Situational DM (long range jump).

4. Task succeeds on 8+: This task fails as Bromley's task totals only 1.


Bromely goes spinning out of control, free-falling in space, having missed his jump completely.

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

Coming up with a task roll "on the fly"


Dexter Bryte (E6AB58), owner/operator of the far trader ADROIT PURSUIT is providing medical care for one of his injured crewmen.

Klue Gagarrin, the ship's gunner, was injured when the turret was hit during the battle (space combat under Book 2).

Klue's physical stats of 6A5 have been reduced to 620. He's been knocked out and burned a bit. Dexter has dragged him out of the gunner's station, across the corridor into one of the ship's staterooms. There, Dexter was able to grab an emergency medkit and see to Klue's wounds.

Dexter's skill: Medical-4

According to the Traveller Book, page 47, Klue has been rendered unconscious, sustaining a minor wound. As Dexter tends to Klue's injuries, the TB say to raise Klue's stats halfway between their wounded level and their max.

Klue's stats are now raised to 662.

In 30 minutes, as Dexter treats him, Klue will be fully recovered from the blast that knocked him unconsious in the gunner's station. But, the crew of the ADROIT PURSUIT doesn't have 30 minutes (that's 240 personal combat rounds!). The PURSUIT is being boarded, and Captain Bryte needs every able hand to fend of the interlopers.

One of those game situations occurs here. The player playing Dexter says, "Hey! My character's got Medical-4! Can't he slap some stims into Klue and get him up and moving faster?"

The GM thinks a moment, and then comes up with an answer on the fly. The GM says, "Well, normally it takes 30 minutes for a minor wound to fully recover, according to the CT rules. Here's what we can do in this specific situation..."

Dexter will make a Medical task roll. If the roll is successful, the difference will be subtracted from the 30 minute time period. On the other hand, if the roll fails, the difference will be added to the time period (the healing time required could be longer than 30 minutes--30 min being an "average").

The UGM task: Medical/EDU/+0


-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 3, 5

2. Check Natural Ability: Fails.

3. DMs: +4 Medical

4. Task succeeds on 8+: This task succeeds with a total of 12.


The result is: it will take Klue 26 minutes to fully heal all of his damage (12 is 4 points over 8. 30 -4 = 26 minutes).

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

Using a default skill


Russlin Suvarrii (324A76) is a common sight in startown. He was injured during the Fourth Frontier War, but passersby don't remember that. Most of them refer to him as "the cripple".

But, from time-to-time, Russlin makes a little extra cash just by keeping his ears open as he frequents the multitude of bars and pubs that infest the startown quadrant. When he overhears something he thinks might be worth some credits, he waddles on down to the warehouse district where there are those that are interested in such tid-bits of information.

The GM had decided that Streetwise is the skill needed for Russlin to find someone to sell his information to. The problem is: Russlin does not have the Streetwise skill.

This is no matter, though. Streetwise can be considered a default skill. Everybody has this one, even if it is not written on a character's sheet. All characters have default skill at Level-0.

So, although it's not on Russlin's character sheet, he has Streetwise-0.

The UGM task to find a buyer for Russlin's info: Streetwise/INT/+1

The warehouse district is so infested with people that deal in this type of "trading" information that the GM decides this is a ROUTINE roll. ROU rolls, under the UGM, use a +2DM on the task roll.

But, the GM thinks that's a bit "too easy". The docks aren't that infested with criminals. So, the GM decides to use the +2DM for a ROUTINE task as a starting point, then lower the difficulty by a point to make the roll a tad harder. Thus, the +1DM for difficulty is listed in the task above.


-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 4, 3

2. Check Natural Ability: Succeeds.

3. DMs: +1 Natural Ability; +1 Difficulty.

4. Task succeeds on 8+: This task is successful as Russlin rolls a total of 9.

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

The benefit of High Natural Ability


The Marquis Terran Tukera (4C8AAD) has traveled from his estate on Aramis to the troubled world of Aramanx in an attempt to gather a summit of the world's leaders before the brink of war tips into full-scale conflict.

After he and his retainers arrive at Aramanx (the "powderkeg of the Towers Cluster"), the GM has roleplayed some interesting and different customs displayed by the high social class of the troubled planet.

The player playing the Marquis Tukera is unable to successfully figure his role in the strange customs, and he asks, "My character is a Marquis! Can't you give me a roll to figure out what's going on with these people?"

The GM replies, "I won't tell you exactly what to do--that you'll have to figure out for yourself. But, what I will do is give you a hint if you are successful on a task. You'll have to take those hints and roleplay with them as best you know how."

So, the GM decides this is a task of Routine difficulty: Carousing/SOC/+2

Terran Tukera's skill: Carousing-1


-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 2, 2

2. High Natural Ability Check: Succeeds!

3. DMs: +1 Carousing; +2 Difficulty; +1 automatic natural ability; +1 high natural ability

4. Tasks succeed on 8+: This task succeeds, barely, with the total of 9.

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM Example

The UGM and CT Combat


Dexter Bryte was successful in treating Klue Gagarrin's wounds, and Klue's heal time has been reduced to 26 minutes (see the example above).

But 26 minutes is still too long. The boarders of the ADROIT PURSUIT have infiltrated the ship. Dexter has left Klue alone in the stateroom--he left to join the others in defending the bridge.

The door to Klue's stateroom crashes open with a kick from a Vargr Corsair. But, Vargr legs are weak, and as the door flew open, the pirate lost his grip on his boarding shotgun.

Klue wasted no time. Without a weapon, the injured gunner leapt to engage the Vargr, hand-to-hand.

This is a straight-out Classic Traveller Brawling attack. And, the UGM can be used with CT combat. In fact, the UGM fits CT combat perfectly.

Klue's wounded physical stats are: 662.

Klue's skill: Brawling-1

Since Klue is recovering from the turret explosion, the GM rules that Klue must act as if he has used all of his Brawling combat blows (which means he's got to use the Weakened Blow DM).

In my game, I use a modified CT combat system, but for the purposes of this example, I'll use straight CT rules.

Klue doesn't have a weapon. It will be a straight Brawling attack with his hands. Remember that CT combat attacks hit on a roll of 8+ (a STANDARD UGM difficulty).

Luckily, Klue's STR hasn't been damaged, and his STR-6 keeps him from receiving the Required STR penalty. The Weakened Blow penalty is -2.

The Vargr is wearing some type of suit equivalent to Cloth armor (-4 vs. hands), and the Short range distance yields a +1DM. The Vargr has Infighting-1 skill, which will be used with his "parry" of Klue's blow.

Also note that STR is referenced in CT Brawling combat, so the UGM Natural Ability check is skipped on this task.

In UGM terms, this task is: Brawling/STR/+0


-The Task Throw-
1. Roll 2D: 6, 3

2. Natural Ability Check: Skipped.

3. DMs: +1 Brawling; -2 Weakened Blow; -4 Cloth vs. Hands. -1 Vargr's parry.

4. Task succeeds on 8+: This task fails with a total of 3.

Unfortunately, Klue swung but missed, and we go into combat round two....

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

Critical Check


On round two, the Vargr went for his weapon instead of taking a swing at Klue, but the Vargr missed that roll. The boarding shotgun went skittering under the stateroom bed when the Vargr dropped it.

Now, it's Klue's turn again (continuing the example from above). He's got to hit the Vargr, and take him out, quickly. Klue's in no shape for a prolonged fight.

Klue swings again. The task is the same as outlined above. But this time, Klue doesn't just miss--he rolls snake-eyes on his attack roll.

Under the UGM, this is a possible Critical Failure. In order for Klue to avoid the Critical Failure he must succeed at a check.

The Critical Failure check is: 3D for 7-

The "7-" target comes from Klue's skill, difficulty, and STR stat.

Luckily, Klue's STR is still at a maxium of 6. Klue's Brawling-1 raises this number a point, and the difficulty of +0 leaves the number at 7.

3D will be rolled for Klue. If the result is 7 or less, Klue avoids a Critical Failure. If the result is 8+, then the GM will impose some penalty on Klue for rolling a Critical Failure.

This doesn't look good for Klue.


(Note that the UGM check for Critical Failure is a check to AVOID the CF, and the check for Critical Success is a check to OBTAIN the CS.)

 

[Supplement Four]

UGM EXAMPLE

Enhancing Natural Ability


Luukhan Pershiire (EDU-7, Navigation-2) is First Officer aboard the tramp freighter ADROIT PURSUIT, and he's had to pull duty lately as the ship's Navigator. The last guy quit when the ship made port at Natoko.

The PURSUIT is approaching one of the gas giants clusted together in the Patinir system, and Luukhan is attempting a simple Active EMS sensor scan on the area before he zips over an approach pattern to the pilot's console.

The GM allows Navigation skill to be used as Sensor Ops at one level lower, so Luukhan is considered as having Sensor Ops-1 on this task roll.

Normally, this task would be governed by Luukhan's EDU score, but since the ship's computer and sensor systems suggest approach vectors and do a lot of the work for the navigator, the GM rules that the ship's TL can be used in place of Luukhan's EDU score when figuring the Natural Ability bonus.

Note that, since Luukhan's EDU is 7, his player is obviously going to use the ship's TL 13 to govern the roll.

And, in using the ship's TL to govern the roll, this task roll becomes a task using High Natural Ability (13+).

As for difficulty, the GM decides this is an Easy roll (+4 Difficulty), but since a small amount of filtering must be done to correct for the interference created by the gas giant's magnetic field, he penalizes the difficulty one point, making the roll: Sensor Ops/EDU or Ship's TL/+3

Something that the GM doesn't tell the PCs is that, if the sensor roll results in a total of 12+, he will alert them to a small, satellite-sized object that is caught in close orbit around the gas giant the ship is approaching. A roll of 8-11 will allow a second check once the ship is closer, about to make orbit around the GG. And a roll of 7- will indicate the object has crossed the planet's horizon, and it will be on the far side of the world until the ship is deeply involved in scooping operations.


-The Task Roll-
1. Roll 2D: 2,3

2. High Natural Ability Check: Fails (by 1 point)

3. DMs: +1 Sensor Ops, +1 automatic Natural Ability, +3 Difficulty

4. Task succeeds on 8+: This task is successful with a total of 10.


The roll of 10 indicates Luukhan did not detect the satellite, but he has enough information to send an approach vector over to the pilot, and the ship will begin scooping operations at the GG in a few minutes.

Secretly, the GM will roll to see if the satellite is detected once more before it passes across the world's horizon to the far side of the planet.

 

[Supplement Four]

MegaTraveller Products and the UGM...

Task Difficulty


DMs used to modify the UGM task roll with respect to the task's difficulty:

Difficulty DM
---------- --
Easy +4
Routine +2
Standard +0
Difficult -2
Challenging -4
Formidable -6
Insane -8
Impossible -10

FYI, UGM users...

If you are using a MegaTraveller product, and you want to convert tasks to the UGM, I have (purposefully, for this reason) named some of the Difficulty categories the same as those in MT.

The EASY, ROUTINE, DIFFICULT, FORMIDABLE, and IMPOSSIBLE UGM difficulty categories will provide about the same (usually the exact same) chance of success as those same difficulty categories using the MT task system (the DGP/MT system's "official" title is the "Universal Task Profile" or UTP).

So, if you see a ROUTINE MT task roll, it corresponds directly with the UGM ROUTINE category.

The STANDARD, CHALLENGING, and INSANE categories do not have a direct correlation to the MT task system (which is why I chose to name those categories with titles "different" from what you are used to seeing in Traveller).

 

[Border Reiver]

Well there you have it folks, it took me a long time really but it probably is better than any of the other Traveller based task systems (including "must not be named less you get censored"CT).

I am intending to piece this altogether as a single sheet pdf though with some editing it could be put together as an article for Stellar Reaches.

This has become a definite boon for Traveller. Despite my initial dislike it has become an extremely playable mechanic for all my CT/MT/T4 games.

 

[Border Reiver]

I personally think this mechanic would have made an excellent basis for CT+ whilst it was on the go.

It retains the feel of CT with its 8+ mechanic yet includes the flexibility of the MT task system (and fixes some of its faults).

It would be nice to resurrect CT+.

 

[mike wightman]

I quite like UGM too, although I do simplify it a bit.
In fact it inspired the simple task system in my proposed CT-lite rules.