What skill levels do your CT characters have?

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Prospero:
As for 0-level skills, I see them as something the character has through experience but doesn't really use much and may have forgotten. They get no bonuses but also suffer no penalties.

I didn't mention it above, but I do this as well...I just do it only with skills that have to be learned.

So, since everyone's got Bribery-0, I'll use the CT suggested -5 DM if a character with Bribery-0 attempts a bribe.

But, if we're talking about a skill that has to be learned...say Medic-0...then, I'll do it your way above. No penalties but no bonus either, provided I don't get trumped by the CT skill description (I figure Marc & Co. knew what they intended with each skill...and skills have come to mean something a little different than what thye meant back then).

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Prospero:
As for 0-level skills, I see them as something the character has through experience but doesn't really use much and may have forgotten. They get no bonuses but also suffer no penalties.

I didn't mention it above, but I do this as well...I just do it only with skills that have to be learned.

So, since everyone's got Bribery-0, I'll use the CT suggested -5 DM if a character with Bribery-0 attempts a bribe.

But, if we're talking about a skill that has to be learned...say Medic-0...then, I'll do it your way above. No penalties but no bonus either, provided I don't get trumped by the CT skill description (I figure Marc & Co. knew what they intended with each skill...and skills have come to mean something a little different than what thye meant back then).

 

[Prospero]

I didn't mention it above, but I do this as well...I just do it only with skills that have to be learned.

So, since everyone's got Bribery-0, I'll use the CT suggested -5 DM if a character with Bribery-0 attempts a bribe.[/QB]

Makes sense...NT

 

[Prospero]

I didn't mention it above, but I do this as well...I just do it only with skills that have to be learned.

So, since everyone's got Bribery-0, I'll use the CT suggested -5 DM if a character with Bribery-0 attempts a bribe.[/QB]

Makes sense...NT

 

[aramis]

Since I became a slave to the UTP, and it has a DM limit +8, I found that no one takes skills above 6 anymore.

 

[aramis]

Since I became a slave to the UTP, and it has a DM limit +8, I found that no one takes skills above 6 anymore.

 

[Supplement Four]

Whelp, I rolled up a character with my new player tonight.

This time, I enforced the Survival Optional Rule (forced muster out when that roll failed), and I was prepared to allow career changes only if re-enlistment bricked.

A character who makes re-enlistment has two choices: re-enlist or muster out. A character who bricks re-enlistment has two choices: change careers or muster out. A character who fails survival is forced to muster out.

I did use the Special Duty and +4 Rule from MT.

And, I was prepared to enforce the Experience Limit rule. But, as the case with this character went, I didn't really have to enforce anything.

The poor guy made re-enlistment for a second term only to immediately fail survival. I forced him to muster out.

He still picked up five skills from his first term.

The character looks like this:

988674

Vacc Suit-2, Electronics-1, Steward-1, Streetwise-1

That's it. That's all he got.

He would have had only three skills (2 for first term and one for commission) had I not used the MT rules.

This guy is a lot less skilled than the other PCs in my game (see the original post).

But, that's the new way of things. I'm enforcing Optional Survival, and I'm enforcing the Experience Limit.

 

[Supplement Four]

Whelp, I rolled up a character with my new player tonight.

This time, I enforced the Survival Optional Rule (forced muster out when that roll failed), and I was prepared to allow career changes only if re-enlistment bricked.

A character who makes re-enlistment has two choices: re-enlist or muster out. A character who bricks re-enlistment has two choices: change careers or muster out. A character who fails survival is forced to muster out.

I did use the Special Duty and +4 Rule from MT.

And, I was prepared to enforce the Experience Limit rule. But, as the case with this character went, I didn't really have to enforce anything.

The poor guy made re-enlistment for a second term only to immediately fail survival. I forced him to muster out.

He still picked up five skills from his first term.

The character looks like this:

988674

Vacc Suit-2, Electronics-1, Steward-1, Streetwise-1

That's it. That's all he got.

He would have had only three skills (2 for first term and one for commission) had I not used the MT rules.

This guy is a lot less skilled than the other PCs in my game (see the original post).

But, that's the new way of things. I'm enforcing Optional Survival, and I'm enforcing the Experience Limit.

 

[flykiller]

I get terrible anxiety in Traveller when my characters have more than ten skills. That's because I can't organize them well in my head ....

I categorize them this way.

Ship: (pilot, navigation, etc)
Tech: (airraft, vacc suit, etc)
Prof: (hunter, computer, etc)
Peop: (leader, streetwise, etc)
Weap: (FGMP-15, sidearm, etc)

makes it clear what kind of character you have.

 

[flykiller]

I get terrible anxiety in Traveller when my characters have more than ten skills. That's because I can't organize them well in my head ....

I categorize them this way.

Ship: (pilot, navigation, etc)
Tech: (airraft, vacc suit, etc)
Prof: (hunter, computer, etc)
Peop: (leader, streetwise, etc)
Weap: (FGMP-15, sidearm, etc)

makes it clear what kind of character you have.

 

[Straybow]

If you're in Other service gun proficiency may be more of a people skill...

"Say hallo to my leetle friend!"

 

[Straybow]

If you're in Other service gun proficiency may be more of a people skill...

"Say hallo to my leetle friend!"

 

[Darkhstarr]

I used the LBB 1-3 untils I found 4-7, then I used those. Wish their could have expanded the careers in Citizens of the Imperium. One of the reason I created my advanced Corsair generation table. I'm pretty pleased with that table, unless some of the career tables I created way back when.

 

[Darkhstarr]

I used the LBB 1-3 untils I found 4-7, then I used those. Wish their could have expanded the careers in Citizens of the Imperium. One of the reason I created my advanced Corsair generation table. I'm pretty pleased with that table, unless some of the career tables I created way back when.

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
He would have had only three skills (2 for first term and one for commission) had I not used the MT rules.

S4,

Borrow another nifty bit from MT and use the Homeworld skills table. He could get a level 0 in one of several useful skills like gun combat, computer, or vehicle.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
He would have had only three skills (2 for first term and one for commission) had I not used the MT rules.

S4,

Borrow another nifty bit from MT and use the Homeworld skills table. He could get a level 0 in one of several useful skills like gun combat, computer, or vehicle.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Borrow another nifty bit from MT and use the Homeworld skills table. He could get a level 0 in one of several useful skills like gun combat, computer, or vehicle.

Already did!

I've created some specific homeworld tables for my game. You can see them in the article in my sig.

What I do is this: At age 18, before any enlistment throw, I have the player throw 2D for his character's EDU or less. If the throw is equal to or higher than his EDU, then no background skills are awarded. If he throws less than his EDU, then he gets a number of throws on the background skills chart (specific to his homeworld) equal to the difference.

For example, let's say a character has EDU 9. 2D are thrown, looking for 9 or less (really, it's 8 or less).

Let's say a 4 was thrown. Then that character gets 5 throws on the background skills table.

Now, the background skills table awards skills starting at Skill-0 (not Skill-1 as in CharGen). If the same skill is thrown a second time, then the skill can be upped to Skill-1. A third time means Skill-2, and so on.

The thing is, with this character above, he missed everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

He rolled higher than EDU, so he got no background skills.

He tried to enlist in the merchants by signing on with a free trader captain, and he missed it by one.

If a character misses his first enlistment choice, I make them check for the draft. There's a roll to avoid it, but this guy wanted to be drafted.

I have an altered Draft chart that includes only military services (no Merchants and such) and also has a chance of Draft Rejection.

You guessed it. This guy was rejected.

He finally made a career, survived for one term, then bricked the survival on the second term (needed a 4, rolled a 3).

Instead of going a standard 2 years before being forced to muster out everytime a survival throw is bricked, I make my players roll 1-4 to reflect how many years were wasted.

You guessed it again, this guy rolled 4.

Amazing.

It just wasn't in the cards for this dude.

It'll be fun to see how the player plays him.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Borrow another nifty bit from MT and use the Homeworld skills table. He could get a level 0 in one of several useful skills like gun combat, computer, or vehicle.

Already did!

I've created some specific homeworld tables for my game. You can see them in the article in my sig.

What I do is this: At age 18, before any enlistment throw, I have the player throw 2D for his character's EDU or less. If the throw is equal to or higher than his EDU, then no background skills are awarded. If he throws less than his EDU, then he gets a number of throws on the background skills chart (specific to his homeworld) equal to the difference.

For example, let's say a character has EDU 9. 2D are thrown, looking for 9 or less (really, it's 8 or less).

Let's say a 4 was thrown. Then that character gets 5 throws on the background skills table.

Now, the background skills table awards skills starting at Skill-0 (not Skill-1 as in CharGen). If the same skill is thrown a second time, then the skill can be upped to Skill-1. A third time means Skill-2, and so on.

The thing is, with this character above, he missed everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

He rolled higher than EDU, so he got no background skills.

He tried to enlist in the merchants by signing on with a free trader captain, and he missed it by one.

If a character misses his first enlistment choice, I make them check for the draft. There's a roll to avoid it, but this guy wanted to be drafted.

I have an altered Draft chart that includes only military services (no Merchants and such) and also has a chance of Draft Rejection.

You guessed it. This guy was rejected.

He finally made a career, survived for one term, then bricked the survival on the second term (needed a 4, rolled a 3).

Instead of going a standard 2 years before being forced to muster out everytime a survival throw is bricked, I make my players roll 1-4 to reflect how many years were wasted.

You guessed it again, this guy rolled 4.

Amazing.

It just wasn't in the cards for this dude.

It'll be fun to see how the player plays him.

 

[Straybow]

Comparing CT skills to D&D/d20 skills:

Shmo has Rifle 1. He needs 8+ on 2D to hit, he gets a +1 from his skill; that is now 7+ on 2D. His odds just went from 15/36=41.7% to 21/36=58.3%, an increase of 16.6%. That's like a +3 on a d20 roll.

Archibald has Pistol 3. He needs 8+ on 2D to hit; 5+ given his skill. His odds went from 41.7% to an astounding 83.7%, net +42%. That's equivalent to +8 on a d20!

Archibald is pinned down by Schmo's firing. He can tell Schmo is over 50 yards away, crouched behind cover of a low wall. Archibald tries to line up a shot through a small gap in his cover.

Ordinarily the shot with a pistol would need a 12+ (-2 for range, -2 for cover). Archibald needs a 9+, a probability of 10/36 instead of 1/36. That's a 900% increase! Archibald is quite the marksman.

When you consider the 2D mechanics then skills should be low numbers.

Medic 1 is full paramedic skill.
Medic 2 is Practical RN skill, a 4-year degree plus.
Medic 3 is general MD skill, an 8-year plus regimen.
Medic 4 is a talented specialist (neurosurgeon, researcher, etc)

A skill level of 5 should be a rarity, and nigh impossible without full time dedication. No other technical skills above 2. Maybe one physical skill at 3 (the one hobby you allow to intrude). There are only so many hours in a day, and yours are devoted to that one field of study.

Does an Olympic level athlete have time for Masters level studies in Engineering (Engr-3)? No. Maybe that's his 9-to-5 job (Engr-2), and even then he has to take several weeks off in preparation for a major competition.

 

[Straybow]

Comparing CT skills to D&D/d20 skills:

Shmo has Rifle 1. He needs 8+ on 2D to hit, he gets a +1 from his skill; that is now 7+ on 2D. His odds just went from 15/36=41.7% to 21/36=58.3%, an increase of 16.6%. That's like a +3 on a d20 roll.

Archibald has Pistol 3. He needs 8+ on 2D to hit; 5+ given his skill. His odds went from 41.7% to an astounding 83.7%, net +42%. That's equivalent to +8 on a d20!

Archibald is pinned down by Schmo's firing. He can tell Schmo is over 50 yards away, crouched behind cover of a low wall. Archibald tries to line up a shot through a small gap in his cover.

Ordinarily the shot with a pistol would need a 12+ (-2 for range, -2 for cover). Archibald needs a 9+, a probability of 10/36 instead of 1/36. That's a 900% increase! Archibald is quite the marksman.

When you consider the 2D mechanics then skills should be low numbers.

Medic 1 is full paramedic skill.
Medic 2 is Practical RN skill, a 4-year degree plus.
Medic 3 is general MD skill, an 8-year plus regimen.
Medic 4 is a talented specialist (neurosurgeon, researcher, etc)

A skill level of 5 should be a rarity, and nigh impossible without full time dedication. No other technical skills above 2. Maybe one physical skill at 3 (the one hobby you allow to intrude). There are only so many hours in a day, and yours are devoted to that one field of study.

Does an Olympic level athlete have time for Masters level studies in Engineering (Engr-3)? No. Maybe that's his 9-to-5 job (Engr-2), and even then he has to take several weeks off in preparation for a major competition.