Zero-level Skills Made Easy

[Golan2072]

Baron, the zero-level skills are IN ADDITION to the Homeworld skills, given by your system...

 

[Golan2072]

Baron, the zero-level skills are IN ADDITION to the Homeworld skills, given by your system...

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Sigg, the only change I might make to your idea is to give a chance that some of the skills aren't received at 0-level. I know some folks who managed to avoid certain training their entire careers....

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Sigg, the only change I might make to your idea is to give a chance that some of the skills aren't received at 0-level. I know some folks who managed to avoid certain training their entire careers....

 

[mike wightman]

Good point Fritz

 

[mike wightman]

Good point Fritz

 

[MadDrJeffe]

I just give the players the option of 2 "hobby" skills which they can take at 0 level. Everything else is unskilled. It allows them to take a weapon or a needed skill, but keeps its level low. After all they just dabble.

 

[MadDrJeffe]

I just give the players the option of 2 "hobby" skills which they can take at 0 level. Everything else is unskilled. It allows them to take a weapon or a needed skill, but keeps its level low. After all they just dabble.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
3) Every non-Barbarian has Vacc-Suit-0 and Steward-0.

Really?

I can see the Steward-0. I think that's a skill anybody (of the same culture) can do.

But Vacc Suit-0 too?


Take a character from Aramanx. TL 6. (Maybe a Bureaucrat career...or a Doctor or something like that).

The starport around Aramanx is a high port, in orbit aroung the planet.

It seems that many characters (especially from this homeworld) would not automatically have Vacc Suit-0.


Pysadi is another good example. TL 4. Heck, I could even see an arument for a StarPort worker on Pysadi to not have Vacc-Suit expertise, spending all their time dirtsidew without ever venturing out into space.

Remember that Travelling from world to world in Traveller is an expensive proposition. It's a trip costing $8,000-$10,000 and taking at least a week one-way.

If travelling were like that in the real world, we'd have a lot less traveller running from place to place.


My suggestion would be to change Vacc Suit-0 from a default skill "all characters have" to a default skill for particular careers.

Naval spacers, Merchants, maybe even Marines...those types get Vacc Suit-0 due to their jobs.

Doctors, Bureaucrats, Rogues....probably have to earn Vacc Suit-0 by rolling it during chargen.

Just a thought.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
3) Every non-Barbarian has Vacc-Suit-0 and Steward-0.

Really?

I can see the Steward-0. I think that's a skill anybody (of the same culture) can do.

But Vacc Suit-0 too?


Take a character from Aramanx. TL 6. (Maybe a Bureaucrat career...or a Doctor or something like that).

The starport around Aramanx is a high port, in orbit aroung the planet.

It seems that many characters (especially from this homeworld) would not automatically have Vacc Suit-0.


Pysadi is another good example. TL 4. Heck, I could even see an arument for a StarPort worker on Pysadi to not have Vacc-Suit expertise, spending all their time dirtsidew without ever venturing out into space.

Remember that Travelling from world to world in Traveller is an expensive proposition. It's a trip costing $8,000-$10,000 and taking at least a week one-way.

If travelling were like that in the real world, we'd have a lot less traveller running from place to place.


My suggestion would be to change Vacc Suit-0 from a default skill "all characters have" to a default skill for particular careers.

Naval spacers, Merchants, maybe even Marines...those types get Vacc Suit-0 due to their jobs.

Doctors, Bureaucrats, Rogues....probably have to earn Vacc Suit-0 by rolling it during chargen.

Just a thought.

 

[Supplement Four]

BTW, Vacc Suit-0 may depend on the character's homeworld too.

Living in space? Then Vacc Suit-0 seems appropriate.

Living dirtside in a standard atmosphere? Maybe not so appropriate.


You might want to rule that Vacc Suit-0 in as a automatic default skill is tied to the atmosphere code of the character's homeworld.

 

[Supplement Four]

BTW, Vacc Suit-0 may depend on the character's homeworld too.

Living in space? Then Vacc Suit-0 seems appropriate.

Living dirtside in a standard atmosphere? Maybe not so appropriate.


You might want to rule that Vacc Suit-0 in as a automatic default skill is tied to the atmosphere code of the character's homeworld.

 

[Supplement Four]

I've now decided to limit this to just level 0 in the Service Skills. [/QB]

I tend to fly more by the seat of my pants in this area. Instead of a hard-and-fast rule, I tend to consider the character's background.


Let's say we've been playing a while and all of a sudden Vacc Suit becomes important. Maybe the ship is exploding.

A player may say, "Hey, my character's homeworld is Patinir--an asteroid colony. And, he's an ex-merchant marine. I don't have Vacc Suit-0, but isn't it likely that I should have that skill?"

Seems appropriate to me.

I'll give give the character that skill right there and then, or I'll say something like, "roll a six sider, and you have the skill on a result of 2-6".


I've found that's easier than, quicker, and more customized towards an individual than coming up with a hard rule about these types of things.

As the character is played, he is "developed". There might be another default skill out there, not on his sheet at the moment, that the character has.

For example, say Swimming becomes important. Swimming isn't even an official skill in CT. But, if a character from a water world, the I think it is highly likely that the character knows how to swim!

Even if he character was from a wet world, I'd give him a quick roll (4-6 on a 1D) to have Swimming-0.

I don't bother with these types of things until it is important in the game. Then, if it does become important, I come up with a quickie roll on the spot, based on the character's background (and maybe even the player's argument).

Then, zoom, zoom, the game goes on.

 

[Supplement Four]

I've now decided to limit this to just level 0 in the Service Skills. [/QB]

I tend to fly more by the seat of my pants in this area. Instead of a hard-and-fast rule, I tend to consider the character's background.


Let's say we've been playing a while and all of a sudden Vacc Suit becomes important. Maybe the ship is exploding.

A player may say, "Hey, my character's homeworld is Patinir--an asteroid colony. And, he's an ex-merchant marine. I don't have Vacc Suit-0, but isn't it likely that I should have that skill?"

Seems appropriate to me.

I'll give give the character that skill right there and then, or I'll say something like, "roll a six sider, and you have the skill on a result of 2-6".


I've found that's easier than, quicker, and more customized towards an individual than coming up with a hard rule about these types of things.

As the character is played, he is "developed". There might be another default skill out there, not on his sheet at the moment, that the character has.

For example, say Swimming becomes important. Swimming isn't even an official skill in CT. But, if a character from a water world, the I think it is highly likely that the character knows how to swim!

Even if he character was from a wet world, I'd give him a quick roll (4-6 on a 1D) to have Swimming-0.

I don't bother with these types of things until it is important in the game. Then, if it does become important, I come up with a quickie roll on the spot, based on the character's background (and maybe even the player's argument).

Then, zoom, zoom, the game goes on.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Sigg, the only change I might make to your idea is to give a chance that some of the skills aren't received at 0-level. I know some folks who managed to avoid certain training their entire careers....

Sig, you could do something like:

(at the start of the character's career)

Roll EDU or less on 2D.

The difference is how many rolls the character can get on the Service table--but these skills start at level-0 instead of the usual Level-1.

So, the first time the skill is rolled, it's Level-0. The second time, it's Level-1. And so on.

This way, your characters won't all have Level-0 skills in their service skills. Some (those who roll higher than EDU on 2D) will have no skills this way.

And some will end up with a couple level-0 skills from he service list....a few might even get lucky and end up with Skill-1 or Skill-2 before the "official" careers starts.


Alternatively, you could have the character roll EDU or less on 2D once per term, and if successful, he gets ONE roll on the service table...which will either improve an existing skill by +1 or provide the character with the skill at Level-0.

Just a thought for handling this.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Sigg, the only change I might make to your idea is to give a chance that some of the skills aren't received at 0-level. I know some folks who managed to avoid certain training their entire careers....

Sig, you could do something like:

(at the start of the character's career)

Roll EDU or less on 2D.

The difference is how many rolls the character can get on the Service table--but these skills start at level-0 instead of the usual Level-1.

So, the first time the skill is rolled, it's Level-0. The second time, it's Level-1. And so on.

This way, your characters won't all have Level-0 skills in their service skills. Some (those who roll higher than EDU on 2D) will have no skills this way.

And some will end up with a couple level-0 skills from he service list....a few might even get lucky and end up with Skill-1 or Skill-2 before the "official" careers starts.


Alternatively, you could have the character roll EDU or less on 2D once per term, and if successful, he gets ONE roll on the service table...which will either improve an existing skill by +1 or provide the character with the skill at Level-0.

Just a thought for handling this.

 

[mike wightman]

I have thought about allowing a player to choose a number of level 0 skills equal to the number of skills he is eligible to roll (automatic rank skills don't count for this), or even roll them randomly.

For homeworld level 0 skills, I do it much like you do WJP. If the player can make a convincing case for having some experience with the skill from his homeworld then he gets it at level 0.

I never give level 1 for homeworld skills though.

 

[mike wightman]

I have thought about allowing a player to choose a number of level 0 skills equal to the number of skills he is eligible to roll (automatic rank skills don't count for this), or even roll them randomly.

For homeworld level 0 skills, I do it much like you do WJP. If the player can make a convincing case for having some experience with the skill from his homeworld then he gets it at level 0.

I never give level 1 for homeworld skills though.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
For homeworld level 0 skills, I do it much like you do WJP. If the player can make a convincing case for having some experience with the skill from his homeworld then he gets it at level 0.

I never give level 1 for homeworld skills though.

I wouldn't give a Level-1 skill to a character in a situation described above, but I have been known to detail out homeworlds, with their own skills tables, for chargen.

I just did that for my current campaign. I detailed Aramis, Pysadi, Natoko, Vanejen, and Patinir. Players rolled where their character was from, and I have different background tables for different homeworlds.

Also, once per term, I allow a character to "trade in" one of his career skills and roll on the homeworld table instead. I call this a "Fifth Table" (because it's the Fifth Table the character has to choose from during chargen).

Here's a taste of what I prepared for my campaign:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">FIFTH TABLE

Pysadi Vanejen Natoko Patinir Aramis
1. Bus Vice Transportation Space Transportation
2. Bus Vice Bus Bus Bus
3. Transportation Bus Vice Vice Vice
4. Personal Transportation Technical Technical Technical
5. Vice Personal Space Personal Space
6. Combat Combat Personal Combat Personal
7. Bus Vice Combat Space Combat</pre>[/QUOTE]The process I use is this: Characters "trade in" one of their skills earned during the term for an *opportunity* to roll on the Fifth Table.

The roll is 2D for SOC or less.

If the player bricks this roll, he looses the skill (it costs him a skill to fail the roll).

If the player makes the SOC check, he can roll on the Fifth Table (which takes the character to another table indicated in the chart).

If the player makes his SOC check by 3+, then he receives a +1DM on the Fifth Table (not mandatory).

If the player makes his SOC check by 5+, then the player can pick the Fifth Table to roll on (instead of rolling for the table as indicated above).

I figure characters with higher SOC have more choice in life and are exposed to a wider variety of experiences in life. The Fifth Table are all homeworld based skills which might indicate a character's hobby, personal interest, or what-not.

Low SOC characters are stuck with "the usual" that a career offers.


To give you an idea of what a Fifth Table looks like, here's the Transportation table:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">TRANSPORTATION
+1DM/EDU 8+ +1DM/EDU 8+ EDU 8+ only
Pysadi Vanejen Natoko Aramis
1. Equestrian Equestrian Equestrian Grav Belt
2. Equestrian Wheeled Veh. ATV Vacc Suit
3. Sm. Watercraft Sm. Watercraft Hovercraft Vacc Suit
4. L-T-A Craft L-T-A Craft Grav Belt ATV
5. Wheeled Veh. Lg. Watercraft Air/Raft Grav Veh.
6. Lg. Watercraft Submersible Helocopter Ship's Boat
7. ---- Prop Aircraft Jet Aircraft ----</pre>[/QUOTE]And here's the Technical Table:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">TECHNICAL
Natoko, Painir, Aramis Technical Sub-Tbl
1. Mechanical Computer
2. Electronics Robot Ops
3. Communications Robotics
4. Computer Gravitics
5. JOT JOT
6. Technical Sub-Tbl SPACE Tbl</pre>[/QUOTE]There are several others, of course, but I won't bore you with them.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
For homeworld level 0 skills, I do it much like you do WJP. If the player can make a convincing case for having some experience with the skill from his homeworld then he gets it at level 0.

I never give level 1 for homeworld skills though.

I wouldn't give a Level-1 skill to a character in a situation described above, but I have been known to detail out homeworlds, with their own skills tables, for chargen.

I just did that for my current campaign. I detailed Aramis, Pysadi, Natoko, Vanejen, and Patinir. Players rolled where their character was from, and I have different background tables for different homeworlds.

Also, once per term, I allow a character to "trade in" one of his career skills and roll on the homeworld table instead. I call this a "Fifth Table" (because it's the Fifth Table the character has to choose from during chargen).

Here's a taste of what I prepared for my campaign:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">FIFTH TABLE

Pysadi Vanejen Natoko Patinir Aramis
1. Bus Vice Transportation Space Transportation
2. Bus Vice Bus Bus Bus
3. Transportation Bus Vice Vice Vice
4. Personal Transportation Technical Technical Technical
5. Vice Personal Space Personal Space
6. Combat Combat Personal Combat Personal
7. Bus Vice Combat Space Combat</pre>[/QUOTE]The process I use is this: Characters "trade in" one of their skills earned during the term for an *opportunity* to roll on the Fifth Table.

The roll is 2D for SOC or less.

If the player bricks this roll, he looses the skill (it costs him a skill to fail the roll).

If the player makes the SOC check, he can roll on the Fifth Table (which takes the character to another table indicated in the chart).

If the player makes his SOC check by 3+, then he receives a +1DM on the Fifth Table (not mandatory).

If the player makes his SOC check by 5+, then the player can pick the Fifth Table to roll on (instead of rolling for the table as indicated above).

I figure characters with higher SOC have more choice in life and are exposed to a wider variety of experiences in life. The Fifth Table are all homeworld based skills which might indicate a character's hobby, personal interest, or what-not.

Low SOC characters are stuck with "the usual" that a career offers.


To give you an idea of what a Fifth Table looks like, here's the Transportation table:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">TRANSPORTATION
+1DM/EDU 8+ +1DM/EDU 8+ EDU 8+ only
Pysadi Vanejen Natoko Aramis
1. Equestrian Equestrian Equestrian Grav Belt
2. Equestrian Wheeled Veh. ATV Vacc Suit
3. Sm. Watercraft Sm. Watercraft Hovercraft Vacc Suit
4. L-T-A Craft L-T-A Craft Grav Belt ATV
5. Wheeled Veh. Lg. Watercraft Air/Raft Grav Veh.
6. Lg. Watercraft Submersible Helocopter Ship's Boat
7. ---- Prop Aircraft Jet Aircraft ----</pre>[/QUOTE]And here's the Technical Table:

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">TECHNICAL
Natoko, Painir, Aramis Technical Sub-Tbl
1. Mechanical Computer
2. Electronics Robot Ops
3. Communications Robotics
4. Computer Gravitics
5. JOT JOT
6. Technical Sub-Tbl SPACE Tbl</pre>[/QUOTE]There are several others, of course, but I won't bore you with them.