I am planning on using the careers in supplement 4 as "advanced" careers. Everyone serves their first term in one of the basic 6 careers and if they reenlist successfully they can try and go into one of several optional careers or continue with the basic one. You would also continue in the basic career if you fail enlistment in the optional career. Rank carries over into the new career and you muster out of your final career, although I am mulling over picking from any benefit table you served in. I had thought there was a basic career in Law Enforcement but I can't find it outside of MT and I am not interested in adding special duty to all careers and don't want to have it for just one career so I guess I will skip it or make my own.
Here is my proposed advance or optional careers and the reasoning for why they are split up the way they are.
Navy: Pirate. As I am deliberately coming up with a setting where there are internal rivalries I am thinking some naval vessels go rogue. If enough of the crew is from one world or faction they could start targeting "enemy" shipping using trade war as cover. Unlike normal piracy there wouldn't be survivors from these attacks and less money to boot as it is to damage the economy of a rival world. A failed survival roll is death in this service.
Navy: Diplomat. The Imperium believes in presenting a fierce face to all it's neighbors so it's diplomatic corp is largely military personal.
Marine: Flyer. The marines are tasked with base defense and aerospace defense not the navy which operates starships. In the case a marine flyers aircraft adds ship's boat to the list of choices for aircraft.
Marine: Diplomat, As with the navy.
Army: Sailor. A specialized planetary combat branch.
Army: Barbarian. Either raised on a low tech world or assigned to one this is meant to be a guerrilla force and able to function with limited to no support.
Scout: Scientist. This would be a more long term on world investigation of a system. I am underwhelmed with the science a scientist can learn and am going to have to think about how I want to change the skill table for this career.
Scout: Hunter. The study of a biosphere and the use of eco-tourism to support conservation efforts.
Merchant: Belter. A specialized field of commerce which the Imperium has an interest in keeping mega corporations from dominating as it encourages more wildcat exploration.
Merchant: Pirate: In government service as a merchant this is more in the line of smuggling than boarding actions however a failed survival roll indicated death as a merchant pirate as well.
Other. Rogue: This is either a life of crime or of crime fighting as the skills work equally as well for both sides.
Other. Bureaucrat: The faceless cogs that keep the giant machinery of the Imperial government working. I can't fathom actually wanting to play one of these but who am I to judge.
All services: Doctor. You can never have enough medical professionals.
All services: Noble. Because all that matters is who your parents are for this one.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Starter Traveller Post 6, Weapon and Vehicle skills
Okay I really don't like the individual weapon skills, they don't seem to make a lot of sense to me. However with the everybody has skill 0 in everything I am okay with it as it stands. Imperial Conscription has the first 4 weeks covering firearms and melee combat, the second 4 weeks covering ISO (Imperial Standards Office) electronic and mechanical iconography and vehicle controls, the final week covers standard computer UI elements.
Weapon skill Changes:
Melee skills can be divided up into attack and defense DM's.
Gunnery is any vehicle mounted weapon and also includes using sensors to locate targets.
Vehicle skill I feel should be a little broader than it is including repair of the vehicle you know how to operate. I am also adding Animal to the categories as there are more than enough worlds who's technology level make them a primary source. All instances of Air/Raft; ATV and Ship's Boat are replaced by Vehicle. The categories are now
Grav
Ground Contact
Ship's Boat
Watercraft
Submersibles
Hovercraft
Animal
Lighter than Air
Propeller
Jet
Helicopter
Vacc Suit
I am inclined to treat these categories like Zero level skills with characters having a more specific specialization. Mostly this is because I have a lot of material on specific vehicles so I don't think I will (I am looking at you 101 Vehicles). I may instead let the Player designate 1 vehicle per year as you guessed it Equipment Qualified. Instead of it being a positive DM it would be used to reduce any penalty by +1. So you would get Vehicle, select Ground Contact and pick 4 specific vehicles (Horrinon Tracked ATV; Jak Rabbit wheeled Automobile; Shackleton Tracked ATV; Dyncha Strider).
Weapon skill Changes:
Melee skills can be divided up into attack and defense DM's.
Gunnery is any vehicle mounted weapon and also includes using sensors to locate targets.
Vehicle skill I feel should be a little broader than it is including repair of the vehicle you know how to operate. I am also adding Animal to the categories as there are more than enough worlds who's technology level make them a primary source. All instances of Air/Raft; ATV and Ship's Boat are replaced by Vehicle. The categories are now
Grav
Ground Contact
Ship's Boat
Watercraft
Submersibles
Hovercraft
Animal
Lighter than Air
Propeller
Jet
Helicopter
Vacc Suit
I am inclined to treat these categories like Zero level skills with characters having a more specific specialization. Mostly this is because I have a lot of material on specific vehicles so I don't think I will (I am looking at you 101 Vehicles). I may instead let the Player designate 1 vehicle per year as you guessed it Equipment Qualified. Instead of it being a positive DM it would be used to reduce any penalty by +1. So you would get Vehicle, select Ground Contact and pick 4 specific vehicles (Horrinon Tracked ATV; Jak Rabbit wheeled Automobile; Shackleton Tracked ATV; Dyncha Strider).
Starter Traveller Post 6, Basic Skills
Here starts the heavy lifting in dealing with ST. I am slightly hostile to the skill set as presented. There is a huge (IMHO) difference in the scope of the various skills and yet they all take 4 years to gain. Each one of the basic skills seems to have its own rules governing it's use which I find annoying. I was thinking of trying to use them as presented but I like to have a little continuity in the way games I play operate.
The task system has in the past on the board generated an impassioned response. I don't discount the points expressed during that debate however I like to be able to consistently handle situations. I know there is support for the "make up a roll and go with it" style and for some it is valid not for me. It is annoying to end up feeling like similar situations had wildly divergent requirements depending on the GM's mood and I don't want anyone in one of my games to end up feeling that way. Also it is easier for me to look at a situation and think that is very difficult rather than try and figure out the percentage chance of success on a bell curved 2D6 roll. I am going to use this one by Paul Elliot on Freelance Traveller which gives me the framework to quickly and consistently set difficulties and retains the skill mods as presented. Mr. Elliot's thoughts on the skill tables mirror my own which I will cover at the end of character generation.
My problem with scope is best expressed by comparing Mechanical and Steward. Mechanical skill covers the use and repair of any mechanical device, Steward covers cooking. Huh? So I will be proposing expanding what some skills cover to make them a little more useful. I will be placing skills from later books under skills from ST to keep the list short and using the Equipment Qualified on block to indicate skill areas the PC has.
The Basic skills and there expanded changes in MTU
Administration: no change
Bribery: This is going to be more the skill to get someone else to do something for a character rather than the more narrow offering money to break a law. Coercion or Persuade might be a better name for the skill. Carousing and Liaison will be replaced by Bribery if I need to change published material.
Computer: No Change
Electronics: No Change
Engineering: No Change
Forgery: No Change
Forward Observer: Seeing as you need to detect the target, contact the firing unit and not die to accomplish this it will cover Recon; Communications and Stealth.
Gambling: Includes how to game the various government lotteries and other sweepstakes like elements of Imperial life.
Jack of All Trades: No Change
Leader: Broadened to cover interaction with all subordinates not just troops. Like all social interaction skills it is hard to game. People in general will follow someone who acts like they are in charge and this skill represents having that presence.
Mechanical: No Change
Medical: No Change
Navigation: The use of ship's sensors to analyse planets and other astronomic objects (Survey Skill). Also Communications skill.
Pilot: Also adds Communications and the use of sensors to detect things relatively (in space terms) close to the ship.
Steward: Getting a positive interaction with another being. Not just feeding a passenger this will be used when dealing with any being. It is the skill in verbal and non-verbal communication to get another to like you. Examples are obsequies behavior around an arrogant self important prick or telling fart jokes to 12 year old boys.
Streetwise: This used to gain acceptance into any insular group not just criminals.
Tactics: No Change
Vacc Suit: No Change
The task system has in the past on the board generated an impassioned response. I don't discount the points expressed during that debate however I like to be able to consistently handle situations. I know there is support for the "make up a roll and go with it" style and for some it is valid not for me. It is annoying to end up feeling like similar situations had wildly divergent requirements depending on the GM's mood and I don't want anyone in one of my games to end up feeling that way. Also it is easier for me to look at a situation and think that is very difficult rather than try and figure out the percentage chance of success on a bell curved 2D6 roll. I am going to use this one by Paul Elliot on Freelance Traveller which gives me the framework to quickly and consistently set difficulties and retains the skill mods as presented. Mr. Elliot's thoughts on the skill tables mirror my own which I will cover at the end of character generation.
My problem with scope is best expressed by comparing Mechanical and Steward. Mechanical skill covers the use and repair of any mechanical device, Steward covers cooking. Huh? So I will be proposing expanding what some skills cover to make them a little more useful. I will be placing skills from later books under skills from ST to keep the list short and using the Equipment Qualified on block to indicate skill areas the PC has.
The Basic skills and there expanded changes in MTU
Administration: no change
Bribery: This is going to be more the skill to get someone else to do something for a character rather than the more narrow offering money to break a law. Coercion or Persuade might be a better name for the skill. Carousing and Liaison will be replaced by Bribery if I need to change published material.
Computer: No Change
Electronics: No Change
Engineering: No Change
Forgery: No Change
Forward Observer: Seeing as you need to detect the target, contact the firing unit and not die to accomplish this it will cover Recon; Communications and Stealth.
Gambling: Includes how to game the various government lotteries and other sweepstakes like elements of Imperial life.
Jack of All Trades: No Change
Leader: Broadened to cover interaction with all subordinates not just troops. Like all social interaction skills it is hard to game. People in general will follow someone who acts like they are in charge and this skill represents having that presence.
Mechanical: No Change
Medical: No Change
Navigation: The use of ship's sensors to analyse planets and other astronomic objects (Survey Skill). Also Communications skill.
Pilot: Also adds Communications and the use of sensors to detect things relatively (in space terms) close to the ship.
Steward: Getting a positive interaction with another being. Not just feeding a passenger this will be used when dealing with any being. It is the skill in verbal and non-verbal communication to get another to like you. Examples are obsequies behavior around an arrogant self important prick or telling fart jokes to 12 year old boys.
Streetwise: This used to gain acceptance into any insular group not just criminals.
Tactics: No Change
Vacc Suit: No Change
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Starter Traveller Post 6, Skills - Default or level 0
Sorry for the delay that whole real life thing was bothering me. I am planning on using Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium but before I go into those careers I wanted to deal with skills.
I have an issue concerning the scope of skills in CT. On one hand you have Engineering which covers the use and repair of Jump Drives; Reaction-less Maneuver Drives and Power Plants and on the other you have Body Pistol which covers accuracy with a specific kind of automatic pistol. Oh, did I mention it takes the same amount of time apparently to learn both? Later incarnations of the game added more skills to the 54 (not counting the cascade skill titles only the ones under them) which I am reluctant in most cases to use.
I have been thinking on what a skill of 1 means. For most things I think a skill of 0 is what the average person has to perform their job. This is because you don't have skill 0 in everything but no skill at all. A skill of 0 is something you can do with no negative modifier whereas a no skill starts at -3 on the roll. Also I have noticed that home world skills from later editions are level 0 not level 1 contrasted with service skills. The note about default skills in the rule book describes them as "orientation to the skill by an experienced person" so it does imply some training or experience.
In an earlier post I had noted GDW seemed to making a game for larger than life adventure. Character generation doesn't seem to support this though as you get random stats and limited control of what you career is or how long it lasts. Then skills are semi-random as well with your control limited to picking which four sets of six skills you will be randomly awarded. Add to that the generally low number of skills and levels in skills basic character generations produces and it seems unlikely you will end up with heroes instead of plucky comic reliefs.
If however the average person has a skill of 0 in their job a skill of 1 becomes much more heroic. Having more experience with the D20 based linear progression it is easy to fail to see that is in no way related to the progression on a 2D6 based system. The base roll of 8+ is around 40% (I think being to lazy to look it up) for someone with a skill of 0, a skill of 1 changes it to 7+ (50%) and no skill changes it to 11+ (something under 10% I think). It also helps the GM with NPC's if you need to do them on the fly.
Lets veer off and look at TAS form 2 for the moment to bolster this premise. I am thinking of block 17 "Equipment Qualified On". This is different than skills because they are listed in the various block 18s. So what can we use this block for to add to the game? Battle Dress is in the ST game but the skill is not being covered under Vacc Suit and needing at least skill 1 to use. I have difficulty seeing the Merchant Service training it's members in use power armor no matter how much Vacc Suit training they get. So if you are a Marine (in MTU the only service that uses this) you put Battle Dress in block 17 and use Vacc Suit skill as listed, anyone else has 0 skill with a powered integrated weapon and armor system.
Also it is a way to give a skill outside of the normal gun/car recommendation. For instance the Engineering section of a starship has the chief engineer (Engineering skill 1) and J tech (skill 0 block 17 J Drive), M tech (skill 0 block 17 M Drive) and a power tech (skill 0 block 17 Power Plant). In the Engineering example block 17 is used to indicate when the skill 0 applies and when it doesn't. The skill 0 guys only avoid the -3 penalty when trying an engineering task related to their training, the J tech gets the -3 trying to use the M drive as an example.
You can use skill 0 in addition to the character improvement system in the rules. The systems available to train your character after character generation is done are difficult which they should be as it is really hard to pick up a mastery of a skill or change how you live enough to impact the characteristics. Level 0 can be used for "Starkiller is going to teach Potato Head piloting when we are on our ship" and after a period of time Potato Head get Pilot - 0 and puts Type S in his block 17. Potato Head (after escaping a bad movie) can fly a Scout/Courier with no penalty or bonus but not a Type A Free Trader. The idea is to still have skill 1 be noteworthy but let characters have some sense of advancement in an easier to implement way.
I have an issue concerning the scope of skills in CT. On one hand you have Engineering which covers the use and repair of Jump Drives; Reaction-less Maneuver Drives and Power Plants and on the other you have Body Pistol which covers accuracy with a specific kind of automatic pistol. Oh, did I mention it takes the same amount of time apparently to learn both? Later incarnations of the game added more skills to the 54 (not counting the cascade skill titles only the ones under them) which I am reluctant in most cases to use.
I have been thinking on what a skill of 1 means. For most things I think a skill of 0 is what the average person has to perform their job. This is because you don't have skill 0 in everything but no skill at all. A skill of 0 is something you can do with no negative modifier whereas a no skill starts at -3 on the roll. Also I have noticed that home world skills from later editions are level 0 not level 1 contrasted with service skills. The note about default skills in the rule book describes them as "orientation to the skill by an experienced person" so it does imply some training or experience.
In an earlier post I had noted GDW seemed to making a game for larger than life adventure. Character generation doesn't seem to support this though as you get random stats and limited control of what you career is or how long it lasts. Then skills are semi-random as well with your control limited to picking which four sets of six skills you will be randomly awarded. Add to that the generally low number of skills and levels in skills basic character generations produces and it seems unlikely you will end up with heroes instead of plucky comic reliefs.
If however the average person has a skill of 0 in their job a skill of 1 becomes much more heroic. Having more experience with the D20 based linear progression it is easy to fail to see that is in no way related to the progression on a 2D6 based system. The base roll of 8+ is around 40% (I think being to lazy to look it up) for someone with a skill of 0, a skill of 1 changes it to 7+ (50%) and no skill changes it to 11+ (something under 10% I think). It also helps the GM with NPC's if you need to do them on the fly.
Lets veer off and look at TAS form 2 for the moment to bolster this premise. I am thinking of block 17 "Equipment Qualified On". This is different than skills because they are listed in the various block 18s. So what can we use this block for to add to the game? Battle Dress is in the ST game but the skill is not being covered under Vacc Suit and needing at least skill 1 to use. I have difficulty seeing the Merchant Service training it's members in use power armor no matter how much Vacc Suit training they get. So if you are a Marine (in MTU the only service that uses this) you put Battle Dress in block 17 and use Vacc Suit skill as listed, anyone else has 0 skill with a powered integrated weapon and armor system.
Also it is a way to give a skill outside of the normal gun/car recommendation. For instance the Engineering section of a starship has the chief engineer (Engineering skill 1) and J tech (skill 0 block 17 J Drive), M tech (skill 0 block 17 M Drive) and a power tech (skill 0 block 17 Power Plant). In the Engineering example block 17 is used to indicate when the skill 0 applies and when it doesn't. The skill 0 guys only avoid the -3 penalty when trying an engineering task related to their training, the J tech gets the -3 trying to use the M drive as an example.
You can use skill 0 in addition to the character improvement system in the rules. The systems available to train your character after character generation is done are difficult which they should be as it is really hard to pick up a mastery of a skill or change how you live enough to impact the characteristics. Level 0 can be used for "Starkiller is going to teach Potato Head piloting when we are on our ship" and after a period of time Potato Head get Pilot - 0 and puts Type S in his block 17. Potato Head (after escaping a bad movie) can fly a Scout/Courier with no penalty or bonus but not a Type A Free Trader. The idea is to still have skill 1 be noteworthy but let characters have some sense of advancement in an easier to implement way.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Well that last post was a ray of sunshine wasn't it?
Bleah, I didn't care for where my review of the Other service ended up. I am okay with how I got there and the interpretations I made however it is not a pleasant view at the end. Which shows this is a valid way to approach making the OTU into MTU.
My favorite character class in D&D is the Paladin and I generally try and run for players who want to be heroes. Bet you wouldn't see that from the last post would you? I didn't expect when I started these posts that I would be developing as much setting material while doing them as I have.
I started with the idea no one leaves their own world but the universal draft means almost everyone does. Because it is a draft it is seen as a burden like taxes rather than a display of patriotism. So you get forced off world to serve the Emperor in whatever way he sees fit down to what you get trained to do.
The Imperium heavily encourages all kinds of lottery and or gambling. Join the service and hope to win the open slot lottery to keep your job because nothing about you improves your chance to stay in. All done in your service? Spin the wheel o' benefits and maybe win a life of moderate income or get nothing. Hey! Ho! reach into the hat and draw what skill area the Imperium has decided you will be trained in.
It is also a more paranoid Imperium than I originally envisioned with the 3 military branches looking at local governments and each other with a wary eye. My view of nobles has changed as well. There are going to be a lot more Knights than I suspect in most campaigns, 1 for every 250 people. This is because everyone has a local noble they can run to if they have a problem they can't fix otherwise. So every world government knows they can do mostly whatever they like but there are a bunch of people they have no control of and who are not bound by planetary laws running around.
The Scouts and Others are the Imperium having people they can point to and go "See we really do care". Both of them seem to me to be groups with non-specific mandates to fix whatever happens along without a dedicated organization to back them up. Leading Scouts to JOT and Others to less than legal means to solve issues.
The separation games idea for mustering out along with the lottery elements gives a very Romanesque bread and circuses feel I am okay with. The Imperium is less about solving individuals problems than distracting the population away from said problems. The emphasis on random chance and distraction gives an impersonal feel leading to a population with little regard for minor laws.
All of these actually enhance my premise to a great deal. Mustering out is the start of your adventuring because before that you where serving your required duty. The randomness of character generation can be used to explain people feeling like the end of an imperial career would be the start of them having some control of their own life. So the Imperium is good everyone has a job and skill but it isn't likely anyone is really impassioned by a system that give very little input in the direction their life takes.
My favorite character class in D&D is the Paladin and I generally try and run for players who want to be heroes. Bet you wouldn't see that from the last post would you? I didn't expect when I started these posts that I would be developing as much setting material while doing them as I have.
I started with the idea no one leaves their own world but the universal draft means almost everyone does. Because it is a draft it is seen as a burden like taxes rather than a display of patriotism. So you get forced off world to serve the Emperor in whatever way he sees fit down to what you get trained to do.
The Imperium heavily encourages all kinds of lottery and or gambling. Join the service and hope to win the open slot lottery to keep your job because nothing about you improves your chance to stay in. All done in your service? Spin the wheel o' benefits and maybe win a life of moderate income or get nothing. Hey! Ho! reach into the hat and draw what skill area the Imperium has decided you will be trained in.
It is also a more paranoid Imperium than I originally envisioned with the 3 military branches looking at local governments and each other with a wary eye. My view of nobles has changed as well. There are going to be a lot more Knights than I suspect in most campaigns, 1 for every 250 people. This is because everyone has a local noble they can run to if they have a problem they can't fix otherwise. So every world government knows they can do mostly whatever they like but there are a bunch of people they have no control of and who are not bound by planetary laws running around.
The Scouts and Others are the Imperium having people they can point to and go "See we really do care". Both of them seem to me to be groups with non-specific mandates to fix whatever happens along without a dedicated organization to back them up. Leading Scouts to JOT and Others to less than legal means to solve issues.
The separation games idea for mustering out along with the lottery elements gives a very Romanesque bread and circuses feel I am okay with. The Imperium is less about solving individuals problems than distracting the population away from said problems. The emphasis on random chance and distraction gives an impersonal feel leading to a population with little regard for minor laws.
All of these actually enhance my premise to a great deal. Mustering out is the start of your adventuring because before that you where serving your required duty. The randomness of character generation can be used to explain people feeling like the end of an imperial career would be the start of them having some control of their own life. So the Imperium is good everyone has a job and skill but it isn't likely anyone is really impassioned by a system that give very little input in the direction their life takes.
Starter Traveller Post 5, Other
The last of the services is the inspiring named "Other". There is an effort made in the description to try and say it isn't just criminals but GDW still puts criminal in the description as well. This career might be a heavier lift than the previous ones as I don't see the Imperium being so dystopian as to have public service criminals. I am thinking it is actually the social service organizations of the Imperium.
I follow +Joe Johnston guide to posting principles found here (https://plus.google.com/+JoeJohnston-taskboy/posts/4k23o9MsKrQ) which I feel necessary to point out before getting into a further explanation. This is an attempt at a gameable setting and not a commentary on economic issues or morals of any socio-economic group. So the Imperium has a social services safety net for those who are trapped at the very bottom for whatever reason. Normally it is left to world governments to see to the well being of their citizens but through the office of the local noble anyone can seek assistance. What was envisioned originally as a fail safe has frequently turned into the only assistance available. Without getting into the why citizens end up in desperate circumstances it is enough they are there. I postulate a somewhat dark vision that in most societies when you hit bottom it is extraordinarily difficult to get back on your feet. So the Others deal with a embittered population with little hope watching everyone else have a decent life. Unsurprisingly this creates a violent situation and with nothing to lose, one rife with crime.
It is almost impossible not to volunteer for this service which I view as a need for people rather than having low standards.
Survival is on par with the Army and Navy so you aren't working in the safest conditions. Problem solving ability (high INT) will help you out probably by actually figuring out ways to have a lasting positive impact on your clients life.
You have no chance to get ahead in a the service. So rather than the Imperium being your boss it is the local noble. I think of this as somewhat akin to being a staffer for a local politician.
It is a somewhat safe long term career but not a guaranteed life time job. Budget cuts are always out there.
Material Benefits are Low;INT;EDU;Gun;High and nothing. The low passage in this case seems to me to reflect the best gift a grateful community can afford rather than the lottery award of the previous services. No change in game terms but worth highlighting for the PC. The characteristics being only +1's implies limited funding to me rather than lack of interest. Gun would mean some Others enter to separation contests to try and recruit or to honor their patron noble. The high passage seems more a gift from said patron noble than the service lottery. And no award at all is just depressing but indicative of the hopelessness this service represents.
The Cash table is markedly lower except the two highest entries with Gambling offering the highest cash award of any service.
Personal Development is STR;DEX;END;Blade;Brawling and a reduced SOC. So you face situations where you need to be able to respond physically. Blade and Brawling show that violence is common and Others need to take care of themselves. The reduction is SOC is unique in that no other service reduces a characteristic as an "Award". It also covers being judged by the company you keep.
Service Skills are Vehicle;Gambling;Brawling;Bribery;Blade and Gun. Vehicle here could mean a stint in Mass Transit. Brawling, Blade and Gun reflect the violence of the areas worked in or perhaps self defense instructor. Gambling means familiarity with the various lottery systems in the Imperium and showing the clients how to use them to try and escape. Bribery is a reflection on the reality of corruption and how to get things done.
The first Advanced Education table has Streetwise;Mechanical;Electronics;Gambling;Brawling and Forgery. Streetwise should be to Other as JOT is to the Scouts, you can't help people who don't trust you. Mechanical and Electronics could mean infrastructure maintenance. Gambling and Brawling have been covered which leaves Forgery. I can't come up with a positive way to spin this one so instead I am thinking it shows the length Others are driven to to try and help.
The 8+ Advanced Education table has Medical;Forgery;Electronics;Computer;Streetwise and JOT. Medical can represent first aid or free clinic service. Forgery and Streetwise are covered above. Electronics can mean infrastructure or maybe refurbishing cast off equipment. Computer is kind of necessary no matter what you are doing in Sci-Fi. JOT is also appropriate for the career I am envisioning, making do with whatever you have.
So here we have the people tasked with helping the most desperate members of a society. They are expected to face violence and trained to respond to it. The service also teaches them that the lottery is a viable option to improve their clients lives. It fosters an attitude of the ends justifying the means by teaching bribery and forgery although it is not actually training by the service more than likely more experienced Others showing how to get things done. Also it shows you can lose out by joining with no reward for service and the average person lowering their opinion of you.
I follow +Joe Johnston guide to posting principles found here (https://plus.google.com/+JoeJohnston-taskboy/posts/4k23o9MsKrQ) which I feel necessary to point out before getting into a further explanation. This is an attempt at a gameable setting and not a commentary on economic issues or morals of any socio-economic group. So the Imperium has a social services safety net for those who are trapped at the very bottom for whatever reason. Normally it is left to world governments to see to the well being of their citizens but through the office of the local noble anyone can seek assistance. What was envisioned originally as a fail safe has frequently turned into the only assistance available. Without getting into the why citizens end up in desperate circumstances it is enough they are there. I postulate a somewhat dark vision that in most societies when you hit bottom it is extraordinarily difficult to get back on your feet. So the Others deal with a embittered population with little hope watching everyone else have a decent life. Unsurprisingly this creates a violent situation and with nothing to lose, one rife with crime.
It is almost impossible not to volunteer for this service which I view as a need for people rather than having low standards.
Survival is on par with the Army and Navy so you aren't working in the safest conditions. Problem solving ability (high INT) will help you out probably by actually figuring out ways to have a lasting positive impact on your clients life.
You have no chance to get ahead in a the service. So rather than the Imperium being your boss it is the local noble. I think of this as somewhat akin to being a staffer for a local politician.
It is a somewhat safe long term career but not a guaranteed life time job. Budget cuts are always out there.
Material Benefits are Low;INT;EDU;Gun;High and nothing. The low passage in this case seems to me to reflect the best gift a grateful community can afford rather than the lottery award of the previous services. No change in game terms but worth highlighting for the PC. The characteristics being only +1's implies limited funding to me rather than lack of interest. Gun would mean some Others enter to separation contests to try and recruit or to honor their patron noble. The high passage seems more a gift from said patron noble than the service lottery. And no award at all is just depressing but indicative of the hopelessness this service represents.
The Cash table is markedly lower except the two highest entries with Gambling offering the highest cash award of any service.
Personal Development is STR;DEX;END;Blade;Brawling and a reduced SOC. So you face situations where you need to be able to respond physically. Blade and Brawling show that violence is common and Others need to take care of themselves. The reduction is SOC is unique in that no other service reduces a characteristic as an "Award". It also covers being judged by the company you keep.
Service Skills are Vehicle;Gambling;Brawling;Bribery;Blade and Gun. Vehicle here could mean a stint in Mass Transit. Brawling, Blade and Gun reflect the violence of the areas worked in or perhaps self defense instructor. Gambling means familiarity with the various lottery systems in the Imperium and showing the clients how to use them to try and escape. Bribery is a reflection on the reality of corruption and how to get things done.
The first Advanced Education table has Streetwise;Mechanical;Electronics;Gambling;Brawling and Forgery. Streetwise should be to Other as JOT is to the Scouts, you can't help people who don't trust you. Mechanical and Electronics could mean infrastructure maintenance. Gambling and Brawling have been covered which leaves Forgery. I can't come up with a positive way to spin this one so instead I am thinking it shows the length Others are driven to to try and help.
The 8+ Advanced Education table has Medical;Forgery;Electronics;Computer;Streetwise and JOT. Medical can represent first aid or free clinic service. Forgery and Streetwise are covered above. Electronics can mean infrastructure or maybe refurbishing cast off equipment. Computer is kind of necessary no matter what you are doing in Sci-Fi. JOT is also appropriate for the career I am envisioning, making do with whatever you have.
So here we have the people tasked with helping the most desperate members of a society. They are expected to face violence and trained to respond to it. The service also teaches them that the lottery is a viable option to improve their clients lives. It fosters an attitude of the ends justifying the means by teaching bribery and forgery although it is not actually training by the service more than likely more experienced Others showing how to get things done. Also it shows you can lose out by joining with no reward for service and the average person lowering their opinion of you.
Starter Traveller Post 5, the Merchants
The given description of the Merchants is voided by my choice that it is a government service.
The service is a picky as the Scouts to get in voluntarily and oddly has the same two characteristics as DMs. However STR is the minor and average or higher INT is the higher bonus. So there is a fair amount of grunt work but a quick mind is even more helpful.
Survival is equivalent to the Navy and Army leading me to believe piracy and hijacking attemps are more common than most GMs play it. The DM is an average INT so most of these situations can be avoided by keeping your eyes open and your wits about you.
Commission seem to be handed out to anyone who can write their own name in block letters with a crayon given the extremely low roll and a DM for slightly below average INT. So just about everyone in the Merchants is a 4th officer and having rank in the Merchant service won't impress anyone.
Promotion on the other hand is ridiculously hard more so than even the Marines and only exceptionally bright (high INT) PCs get a DM. No one respects a 4th officer but most people know 3rd officer and higher are people you should not discount.
Only the Scouts are a more secure career than the Merchants which is probably why it is so fiendishly hard to get ahead in the service. It is just a fact of life than you need more people doing stuff they have been told to do than people to tell others what to do.
Material benefits are Low;INT;EDU;Gun;Blade;Low and Free Trader. Hmmm, to be unkind the service gives out leftover promotional passage tickets. Both characteristic mods are +1's the first service that doesn't have a +2 so personal improvement isn't stressed to much. The gun and blade means they service does have it's pride and participates in the separation duels. Free Trader I have mentioned I am not wildly thrilled with how mustering out starships work but am still unsure how I will change it.
The Cash table is a little on the low side but not remarkably so.
The Personal Development table provides STR;DEX;END;STR;Blade and Bribery. Interesting that you can't develop the one characteristic that gives you a DM after enlistment. Also no EDU or SOC however they like them husky in the Merchants. Blade combat fits in with my as yet not completely defined reasons people on a starship fight with swords. Bribery goes along with my view that the average person have a lopsided divided loyalty between their world and the Imperium. Seeing as the Imperium reserves the authority to regulate space law and there is rivalry between worlds customs regulations get little respect.
Service Skills are Vehicle;Vacc Suit; JOT;Steward;Electronics;Gun. The first three are useful to anyone in space. Steward is a necessary Merchant skill and useful when dealing with other intelligent beings. Electronics without Mechanical on the same table indicates the Merchants have to fix more higher tech devices than lower tech or more massive equipment. Finally Gun Combat indicates are fair amount of their on world interactions have the potential to go dramatically bad.
The first Advanced Education table has Streetwise;Mechanical;Electronics;Navigation;Gunnery and Medical. Streetwise is portrayed as the ability to deal with insular strangers which makes sense seeing as it is unlikely Merchants will be on the homeworld in most cases. Mechanical and Electronics are to be expected although it appears mechanical training is not provided as a general training and electronic problems are seen as more likely. Navigation being a general availability skill I find an oddity. Gunnery goes along with my view that unfriendlies are fairly common. Medical makes sense as I am sure any service dealing with the general public wants as many first responders as possible.
The 8+ Advance Education table has Medical;Navigation;Engineering;Computer;Pilot and Admin. Medical is valued highly enough to be on 2 tables as is Navigation. The Navigation showing up twice leads me to think a certain paranoia about misjumps and barristry (ship's officers stealing their own ship). The next three would indicate the Merchant's are picky about who learns skills that can control the movement of the ship. Navigation can plot a course but you need Pilot to get you there and Engineering to make the drives work. Admin shows that paperwork is universal.
And finally 1st Officers are all trained to steer the ship which is pretty handy.
So in MTU the Merchant service is picky about it's volunteers but once you get in you can have a pretty stable career. Providing you don't screw up you will become at least a low ranking officer bit advancement is hard. Life in the service is a little rough and tumble and a certain tendency to solving problems with cash is common place. As a cost cutting measure it would seem the service buys low bid electronics but mechanical systems are top notch. Merchants are fitness buffs with more social or intellectual pursuits not being encouraged. With the lack of advancement it is uncommon to get training in the officer skills.
The service is a picky as the Scouts to get in voluntarily and oddly has the same two characteristics as DMs. However STR is the minor and average or higher INT is the higher bonus. So there is a fair amount of grunt work but a quick mind is even more helpful.
Survival is equivalent to the Navy and Army leading me to believe piracy and hijacking attemps are more common than most GMs play it. The DM is an average INT so most of these situations can be avoided by keeping your eyes open and your wits about you.
Commission seem to be handed out to anyone who can write their own name in block letters with a crayon given the extremely low roll and a DM for slightly below average INT. So just about everyone in the Merchants is a 4th officer and having rank in the Merchant service won't impress anyone.
Promotion on the other hand is ridiculously hard more so than even the Marines and only exceptionally bright (high INT) PCs get a DM. No one respects a 4th officer but most people know 3rd officer and higher are people you should not discount.
Only the Scouts are a more secure career than the Merchants which is probably why it is so fiendishly hard to get ahead in the service. It is just a fact of life than you need more people doing stuff they have been told to do than people to tell others what to do.
Material benefits are Low;INT;EDU;Gun;Blade;Low and Free Trader. Hmmm, to be unkind the service gives out leftover promotional passage tickets. Both characteristic mods are +1's the first service that doesn't have a +2 so personal improvement isn't stressed to much. The gun and blade means they service does have it's pride and participates in the separation duels. Free Trader I have mentioned I am not wildly thrilled with how mustering out starships work but am still unsure how I will change it.
The Cash table is a little on the low side but not remarkably so.
The Personal Development table provides STR;DEX;END;STR;Blade and Bribery. Interesting that you can't develop the one characteristic that gives you a DM after enlistment. Also no EDU or SOC however they like them husky in the Merchants. Blade combat fits in with my as yet not completely defined reasons people on a starship fight with swords. Bribery goes along with my view that the average person have a lopsided divided loyalty between their world and the Imperium. Seeing as the Imperium reserves the authority to regulate space law and there is rivalry between worlds customs regulations get little respect.
Service Skills are Vehicle;Vacc Suit; JOT;Steward;Electronics;Gun. The first three are useful to anyone in space. Steward is a necessary Merchant skill and useful when dealing with other intelligent beings. Electronics without Mechanical on the same table indicates the Merchants have to fix more higher tech devices than lower tech or more massive equipment. Finally Gun Combat indicates are fair amount of their on world interactions have the potential to go dramatically bad.
The first Advanced Education table has Streetwise;Mechanical;Electronics;Navigation;Gunnery and Medical. Streetwise is portrayed as the ability to deal with insular strangers which makes sense seeing as it is unlikely Merchants will be on the homeworld in most cases. Mechanical and Electronics are to be expected although it appears mechanical training is not provided as a general training and electronic problems are seen as more likely. Navigation being a general availability skill I find an oddity. Gunnery goes along with my view that unfriendlies are fairly common. Medical makes sense as I am sure any service dealing with the general public wants as many first responders as possible.
The 8+ Advance Education table has Medical;Navigation;Engineering;Computer;Pilot and Admin. Medical is valued highly enough to be on 2 tables as is Navigation. The Navigation showing up twice leads me to think a certain paranoia about misjumps and barristry (ship's officers stealing their own ship). The next three would indicate the Merchant's are picky about who learns skills that can control the movement of the ship. Navigation can plot a course but you need Pilot to get you there and Engineering to make the drives work. Admin shows that paperwork is universal.
And finally 1st Officers are all trained to steer the ship which is pretty handy.
So in MTU the Merchant service is picky about it's volunteers but once you get in you can have a pretty stable career. Providing you don't screw up you will become at least a low ranking officer bit advancement is hard. Life in the service is a little rough and tumble and a certain tendency to solving problems with cash is common place. As a cost cutting measure it would seem the service buys low bid electronics but mechanical systems are top notch. Merchants are fitness buffs with more social or intellectual pursuits not being encouraged. With the lack of advancement it is uncommon to get training in the officer skills.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Confessions of an Andre Norton Fan
If you don't know who Andre Norton was don't feel too bad for an author who won every award Sci-Fi / Fantasy there is she is pretty unknown. I count myself fortunate to have found her when I did in what they now call my tweens. I believe that her relative obscurity may be due to her chosen audience of early teens. First and foremost she was a storyteller who made believable characters in interesting situations. Anyone playing Traveller can't go wrong reading her "Solar Queen" stories because you will see the influence they had on the Merchant career which is next up and why I am gushing in an embarrassing fashion. You will also see hints of the scouts as well.
Oddly my love of her stories directly ties to my failed efforts to run in the past. Although the common lie in RPG introductions that playing is like acting out a novel adds to it. I have never played or ran a session or campaign that was anything like a novel. Not that that is bad it is just that analogy should never be used. RPGs are much more like real life a chaotic mess of half baked ideas and bad decisions that are irritating and utterly fascinating. Anyways MTU Merchants will be nothing like the Free Traders of Ms. Norton because it is a government service with its manpower drawn through (partially at least) a draft.
I also felt the need to point out that the only starships in MTU are book 2 ones. There is no Book 5 extension to the construction system and I am still undecided about the expanded book 2 options out there as of yet.
I also view the rates for the various passages and freight services as government mandates. No one can charge more or less than the rates set in the rules. However there are two changes I will be making. Passage rates are per Parsec not per jump so there is a reason for commercial ships to have higher jump numbers. This is because of the huge volume jump fuel takes up. Why would the big companies make high jump number ships and only earn the passage rate once when if their ships could be jump one and make several passage fees for the same journey. Customers may think that would be a great idea but they still need to travel so I don't see companies feeling the pressure to provide that convenience. Much like rent companies will charge as much as they can not what people want to pay. It also adds to the Megacorp vs little guy vibe in that only the big guys can afford ships that can make jump 4 and the rich and famous can afford to pay 40,000 to take passage on them. This makes passages awarded at mustering out worth hanging onto as well. Yes you can cash them in for 80% of a 1 parsec journey or keep it in case you need to go along an xboat route and suddenly it is worth 4 times as much (not in cash though).
The other is the Merchant Prince change to cargo. Mostly this is because I am underwhelmed with there being only 36 items traded on the interstellar stage. If it becomes necessary to the story I can specify what the PCs are schlepping around other wise it is just as easy to know it is 3,700 cr / ton Ind TL 7 goods from Ruie.
Hopefully if you don't immediately understand some of the things I decide going through the Merchant service this post will provide some insight.
Oddly my love of her stories directly ties to my failed efforts to run in the past. Although the common lie in RPG introductions that playing is like acting out a novel adds to it. I have never played or ran a session or campaign that was anything like a novel. Not that that is bad it is just that analogy should never be used. RPGs are much more like real life a chaotic mess of half baked ideas and bad decisions that are irritating and utterly fascinating. Anyways MTU Merchants will be nothing like the Free Traders of Ms. Norton because it is a government service with its manpower drawn through (partially at least) a draft.
I also felt the need to point out that the only starships in MTU are book 2 ones. There is no Book 5 extension to the construction system and I am still undecided about the expanded book 2 options out there as of yet.
I also view the rates for the various passages and freight services as government mandates. No one can charge more or less than the rates set in the rules. However there are two changes I will be making. Passage rates are per Parsec not per jump so there is a reason for commercial ships to have higher jump numbers. This is because of the huge volume jump fuel takes up. Why would the big companies make high jump number ships and only earn the passage rate once when if their ships could be jump one and make several passage fees for the same journey. Customers may think that would be a great idea but they still need to travel so I don't see companies feeling the pressure to provide that convenience. Much like rent companies will charge as much as they can not what people want to pay. It also adds to the Megacorp vs little guy vibe in that only the big guys can afford ships that can make jump 4 and the rich and famous can afford to pay 40,000 to take passage on them. This makes passages awarded at mustering out worth hanging onto as well. Yes you can cash them in for 80% of a 1 parsec journey or keep it in case you need to go along an xboat route and suddenly it is worth 4 times as much (not in cash though).
The other is the Merchant Prince change to cargo. Mostly this is because I am underwhelmed with there being only 36 items traded on the interstellar stage. If it becomes necessary to the story I can specify what the PCs are schlepping around other wise it is just as easy to know it is 3,700 cr / ton Ind TL 7 goods from Ruie.
Hopefully if you don't immediately understand some of the things I decide going through the Merchant service this post will provide some insight.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Starter Traveller Post 5, Scouts
My favorite of the services perfect for those with the self preservation instinct of severely depressed lemmings. The Scouts are according to the book explorers; mappers and mailmen.
They are hard to get into voluntarily though not as hard as the Navy or Marines. The desirable traits are quick thinking and more importantly strength. Erm, well yeah. I am going to go with Scouts being solo. A lot. 2 of their 3 iconic ships are one crew vessels so they need to be able to lug, push, pull and shove stuff around. I think I should have tried to get more sleep because my scouts have an optional enlistment procedure. If you can win an arm wrestle versus a scout you're in. This is to give a sense of a quirky service portraying itself as having a sense of humor.
Survival is a 50/50 proposition with END being the bonus characteristic. Easier to explain in that if you are usually by yourself you probably need to go on short sleep while fighting off diseases as you explore new worlds. And holding your breathe can be real handy on Xboats.
Reenlistment is almost a given which means if you get in and can stay alive you can retire from the Scouts also suggesting they don't care about age.
Material Benefits are Low passage; INT; EDU; Gun; Blade; Scout Ship. If you enlist in the Scouts you like to gamble with your life so low passage is the only way to go <shrug>. Both characteristic bumps are +2 so you will come away from your service knowing a ton of stuff and being able to come up with solutions to problems. Scouts complete against the Army Marksmanship teams and in the Navy and Marine sword duels. Finally we come to the first player ship, the Scout/Courier. Great for adventurers next to useless for traders. I am trying to come up with a ship benefit thingy so all the players who get ship benefits can pool the benefit to get a single party ship. So far I am failing. I am also thinking of replacing the various ships with something else so the GM has a powerful motivator to start the campaign.
The Scouts are generous with separation pay with the best payouts in the services.
Before we get to the tables it is worth noting that Scouts get 2 skills per term not one. I am not buying the official because they don't get commission or promotions explanation but there are plenty of other services that don't either just scouts. I see this as a policy to keep Scouts from going nuttier than they are while zipping around in space by themselves. I also think it is presented as a kind of competition with their peers rather than as a directive.
The Personal Development table offers every characteristic except SOC replacing that with Gun Combat. So the Scouts don't mingle with the right people. It is also the only place to get a combat skill so the Scouts are not a paramilitary organization. Even the Merchant Marine is more bellicose than the Scouts.
The Service Skills table means the Scouts favor Air/Raft; Vacc Suit; Mechanical; Electronics; Navigation and JOT. Air/Raft means Vehicle to me, Grav Vehicle if you are going to be picky I am not. Vacc Suit is pretty important to people in space and going to any kind of world. Mechanical and Electronics make sense for an organization sending a bunch of people off by themselves in starships. Navigation being down on this table makes sense. Every Scout gets Pilot-1 but without Navigation you aren't going any place that doesn't have a course tape available. And JOT I see as the quintessential Scout skill try anything in any situation because they end up in all kinds of situations.
The Advanced Education table has Vehicle; Mechanical; Electronics; JOT; Gunnery and Medical. The first 4 make sense as they did earlier and add emphasis that Scouts are expected to make do on their own. Gunnery is acceptable because they are in small ships that are still worth millions so people probably try and take them. Medical is available to all Scouts because have you seen their Survival roll, just saying.
The 8+ Advanced Education table has Medical; Navigation; Engineering; Computer; Pilot and JOT. Engineering and Pilot complete the making a starship run skill set so are not revealing in their presence although I am thinking of replacing the first Adv Edu Vehicle skill with Engineering so it is available to all Scouts and putting either Blade/Gun or Brawling here. Medical and Navigation were covered above and JOT appears again. So I am not alone in thinking it is the Scout skill.
Mentioned elsewhere every Scout is a trained Pilot. I am a bit perplexed by the Pilot skill in it is the necessary FTL skill but Navigation is how you plot the course between systems. <shrug> We'll get to that when we hit the starship section.
This leaves me with the impression of a frat house rather than a military service or government department. The Scouts have tasks assigned but not jobs or even defined missions. They attract competitive people who can't work 9 to 5 at the same job and have difficulty with a traditional boss-worker environment. At odds with this is the detached duty mentality, once a Scout always a Scout constantly subject to recall. In MTU officials are used to going "Hey you were in the Scouts right? I have this problem". For the general public it means they wouldn't find it odd for a Scout to be just about anywhere asking about stuff. The lack of social mobility also means they are seen as average Joe/Jane and approachable although the reputation for being "odd" can hinder them.
They are hard to get into voluntarily though not as hard as the Navy or Marines. The desirable traits are quick thinking and more importantly strength. Erm, well yeah. I am going to go with Scouts being solo. A lot. 2 of their 3 iconic ships are one crew vessels so they need to be able to lug, push, pull and shove stuff around. I think I should have tried to get more sleep because my scouts have an optional enlistment procedure. If you can win an arm wrestle versus a scout you're in. This is to give a sense of a quirky service portraying itself as having a sense of humor.
Survival is a 50/50 proposition with END being the bonus characteristic. Easier to explain in that if you are usually by yourself you probably need to go on short sleep while fighting off diseases as you explore new worlds. And holding your breathe can be real handy on Xboats.
Reenlistment is almost a given which means if you get in and can stay alive you can retire from the Scouts also suggesting they don't care about age.
Material Benefits are Low passage; INT; EDU; Gun; Blade; Scout Ship. If you enlist in the Scouts you like to gamble with your life so low passage is the only way to go <shrug>. Both characteristic bumps are +2 so you will come away from your service knowing a ton of stuff and being able to come up with solutions to problems. Scouts complete against the Army Marksmanship teams and in the Navy and Marine sword duels. Finally we come to the first player ship, the Scout/Courier. Great for adventurers next to useless for traders. I am trying to come up with a ship benefit thingy so all the players who get ship benefits can pool the benefit to get a single party ship. So far I am failing. I am also thinking of replacing the various ships with something else so the GM has a powerful motivator to start the campaign.
The Scouts are generous with separation pay with the best payouts in the services.
Before we get to the tables it is worth noting that Scouts get 2 skills per term not one. I am not buying the official because they don't get commission or promotions explanation but there are plenty of other services that don't either just scouts. I see this as a policy to keep Scouts from going nuttier than they are while zipping around in space by themselves. I also think it is presented as a kind of competition with their peers rather than as a directive.
The Personal Development table offers every characteristic except SOC replacing that with Gun Combat. So the Scouts don't mingle with the right people. It is also the only place to get a combat skill so the Scouts are not a paramilitary organization. Even the Merchant Marine is more bellicose than the Scouts.
The Service Skills table means the Scouts favor Air/Raft; Vacc Suit; Mechanical; Electronics; Navigation and JOT. Air/Raft means Vehicle to me, Grav Vehicle if you are going to be picky I am not. Vacc Suit is pretty important to people in space and going to any kind of world. Mechanical and Electronics make sense for an organization sending a bunch of people off by themselves in starships. Navigation being down on this table makes sense. Every Scout gets Pilot-1 but without Navigation you aren't going any place that doesn't have a course tape available. And JOT I see as the quintessential Scout skill try anything in any situation because they end up in all kinds of situations.
The Advanced Education table has Vehicle; Mechanical; Electronics; JOT; Gunnery and Medical. The first 4 make sense as they did earlier and add emphasis that Scouts are expected to make do on their own. Gunnery is acceptable because they are in small ships that are still worth millions so people probably try and take them. Medical is available to all Scouts because have you seen their Survival roll, just saying.
The 8+ Advanced Education table has Medical; Navigation; Engineering; Computer; Pilot and JOT. Engineering and Pilot complete the making a starship run skill set so are not revealing in their presence although I am thinking of replacing the first Adv Edu Vehicle skill with Engineering so it is available to all Scouts and putting either Blade/Gun or Brawling here. Medical and Navigation were covered above and JOT appears again. So I am not alone in thinking it is the Scout skill.
Mentioned elsewhere every Scout is a trained Pilot. I am a bit perplexed by the Pilot skill in it is the necessary FTL skill but Navigation is how you plot the course between systems. <shrug> We'll get to that when we hit the starship section.
This leaves me with the impression of a frat house rather than a military service or government department. The Scouts have tasks assigned but not jobs or even defined missions. They attract competitive people who can't work 9 to 5 at the same job and have difficulty with a traditional boss-worker environment. At odds with this is the detached duty mentality, once a Scout always a Scout constantly subject to recall. In MTU officials are used to going "Hey you were in the Scouts right? I have this problem". For the general public it means they wouldn't find it odd for a Scout to be just about anywhere asking about stuff. The lack of social mobility also means they are seen as average Joe/Jane and approachable although the reputation for being "odd" can hinder them.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Starter Traveller Post 5, The Army
Let us start with an unrelated real life whine, I hate working day shift after having gotten used to overnights. It completely screws up my ability/desire to analyse RPGs. With that out of the way lets move on to the Army.
It is the easiest military force to volunteer for and has markedly lower characteristics to qualify for DM's on just about all the rolls. Where as it would be easy to just see it as having lower standards my premise of every (again let me emphasize every) 18 year old in the Imperium is required to serve in some way make me think otherwise. I see this as a deliberate decision on the Imperium's part. Train a insanely huge number of beings to kill other beings who come to a world uninvited. The army is not going to station very many (if any) people on their home world so important worlds will have a large number of armed and trained people from somewhere else loyal to the Imperium (most likely) rather than local government. Also to foreign powers Imperial worlds are probably stuffed full of trained militia. It is less a matter of not being picky as it is having such a crap load of troops. The Imperium isn't as nervous about the Army as the previous two services because they are pretty much stuck on one world.
Okay so it is fairly easy to get in and the traits a tested for are DEX and END so the exam is probably a very physical one.
Survival is the same as in most services excluding the Scouts and the slightly more dangerous Marines. Interestingly it is EDU that gives the DM suggesting a lot of time spent in field training with those lessons covering knowledge rather than tactics.
A commission is fairly easy to get with END giving the bonus. To me this suggests a desire to put people who give everything they've got and then a little more are put in charge.
Promotions are also markedly easier to come by and the DM is for EDU. So the Army is the only one of the big three military services where who you know or are related to doesn't impact promotion. Not immediately gameable but something for a GM to keep in mind on inter-service relationships.
And the kicker the Army is the service you are least likely to be able to continue in. There is no DM for reenlistment and a 7+ is a 50% chance you get shown the door. So the Army is the young person's service.
The Material Benefits table is Low; INT; EDU; Gun; High; Medium and SOC. I am going to revise my earlier take on the passages and say every Imperial registered ship that can carry passengers is required to offer some quantity of free passages. These are pooled by the bureaucracy and awarded by lottery on separation explain how an Admiral ends up with a low passage and feeding into my idea of the Imperium encouraging gambling. The EDU bump is greater than the INT one so the Army is big on facts more than process. The Gun award is interesting because the first two services award Blades and the Army a firearm, they show off the manual of arms and target shooting while processing out. And finally the SOC award is only +1 not the +2 of the Navy and Marines so I see there is a distance between the Nobility and the unwashed masses of the common man's service. Is the hand of the Iridium Throne at work here?
The cash table doesn't really speak to me much other than the high end rolls give less cash than the previous 2 services.
Default skills means everyone is competent with a rifle and LT's are trained with SMG's. This suggests to me the Army wants it's members killing their enemies at range and in close quarters it's leaders should be in the middle of the fray.
The Personal Development table has STR; DEX; END; Gambling; EDU and Brawling. Interesting the Army gives more general knowledge training than the Marines. Considering the low likelihood of retirement the brass pushes soldiers toward an associates type of degree.
The Service Skills have ATV; Air/Raft; Gun Combat; Forward Observer; Blade Combat; and Gun Combat. I have stated my dislike of ATV now let me add Air/Raft which should be Grav Vehicle, screw it both should be Vehicle. Blade Combat isn't to far fetched if you think about it with the amount of training in blade combat going around anyone with only Blade-0 is going to be shredded meat if an enemy gets close. I suspect I am adding T4 rules here and if that is the case be ready for a house rule to add them in.
Both Advanced Education tables are exactly the same as the Marine ones and I don't like it. It isn't any of the skills or which tables they are on just that they are exact duplicates. When I am done with the first take on the Careers I am planning on going back and doing a comprehensive reworking of the tables these two are at the top of the list.
So My Imperial Army is a huge force broken up into mostly battalion sized units scattered through out the Imperium. Soldiers don't serve on their home worlds but the Imperium does try and have regional units for cohesiveness (or siege mentality your pick). It values physical attributes giving a DM 3 times as opposed to twice for the Marines. It is easier to get commissioned and promoted but very hard to make a career of. So there is a up and out nature to the Army get 'em in, put 'em in charge and then get rid of them. The sheer size of the Army serves as a diplomatic tool similar to the rest of the world being aghast at the US civil war mobilizing as many troops as it did. Being willing to pull that many citizens out of society says something to anyone thinking of getting belligerent.
It is the easiest military force to volunteer for and has markedly lower characteristics to qualify for DM's on just about all the rolls. Where as it would be easy to just see it as having lower standards my premise of every (again let me emphasize every) 18 year old in the Imperium is required to serve in some way make me think otherwise. I see this as a deliberate decision on the Imperium's part. Train a insanely huge number of beings to kill other beings who come to a world uninvited. The army is not going to station very many (if any) people on their home world so important worlds will have a large number of armed and trained people from somewhere else loyal to the Imperium (most likely) rather than local government. Also to foreign powers Imperial worlds are probably stuffed full of trained militia. It is less a matter of not being picky as it is having such a crap load of troops. The Imperium isn't as nervous about the Army as the previous two services because they are pretty much stuck on one world.
Okay so it is fairly easy to get in and the traits a tested for are DEX and END so the exam is probably a very physical one.
Survival is the same as in most services excluding the Scouts and the slightly more dangerous Marines. Interestingly it is EDU that gives the DM suggesting a lot of time spent in field training with those lessons covering knowledge rather than tactics.
A commission is fairly easy to get with END giving the bonus. To me this suggests a desire to put people who give everything they've got and then a little more are put in charge.
Promotions are also markedly easier to come by and the DM is for EDU. So the Army is the only one of the big three military services where who you know or are related to doesn't impact promotion. Not immediately gameable but something for a GM to keep in mind on inter-service relationships.
And the kicker the Army is the service you are least likely to be able to continue in. There is no DM for reenlistment and a 7+ is a 50% chance you get shown the door. So the Army is the young person's service.
The Material Benefits table is Low; INT; EDU; Gun; High; Medium and SOC. I am going to revise my earlier take on the passages and say every Imperial registered ship that can carry passengers is required to offer some quantity of free passages. These are pooled by the bureaucracy and awarded by lottery on separation explain how an Admiral ends up with a low passage and feeding into my idea of the Imperium encouraging gambling. The EDU bump is greater than the INT one so the Army is big on facts more than process. The Gun award is interesting because the first two services award Blades and the Army a firearm, they show off the manual of arms and target shooting while processing out. And finally the SOC award is only +1 not the +2 of the Navy and Marines so I see there is a distance between the Nobility and the unwashed masses of the common man's service. Is the hand of the Iridium Throne at work here?
The cash table doesn't really speak to me much other than the high end rolls give less cash than the previous 2 services.
Default skills means everyone is competent with a rifle and LT's are trained with SMG's. This suggests to me the Army wants it's members killing their enemies at range and in close quarters it's leaders should be in the middle of the fray.
The Personal Development table has STR; DEX; END; Gambling; EDU and Brawling. Interesting the Army gives more general knowledge training than the Marines. Considering the low likelihood of retirement the brass pushes soldiers toward an associates type of degree.
The Service Skills have ATV; Air/Raft; Gun Combat; Forward Observer; Blade Combat; and Gun Combat. I have stated my dislike of ATV now let me add Air/Raft which should be Grav Vehicle, screw it both should be Vehicle. Blade Combat isn't to far fetched if you think about it with the amount of training in blade combat going around anyone with only Blade-0 is going to be shredded meat if an enemy gets close. I suspect I am adding T4 rules here and if that is the case be ready for a house rule to add them in.
Both Advanced Education tables are exactly the same as the Marine ones and I don't like it. It isn't any of the skills or which tables they are on just that they are exact duplicates. When I am done with the first take on the Careers I am planning on going back and doing a comprehensive reworking of the tables these two are at the top of the list.
So My Imperial Army is a huge force broken up into mostly battalion sized units scattered through out the Imperium. Soldiers don't serve on their home worlds but the Imperium does try and have regional units for cohesiveness (or siege mentality your pick). It values physical attributes giving a DM 3 times as opposed to twice for the Marines. It is easier to get commissioned and promoted but very hard to make a career of. So there is a up and out nature to the Army get 'em in, put 'em in charge and then get rid of them. The sheer size of the Army serves as a diplomatic tool similar to the rest of the world being aghast at the US civil war mobilizing as many troops as it did. Being willing to pull that many citizens out of society says something to anyone thinking of getting belligerent.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Before I start with the Eldritch rulebook
I said I was going to go through Eldritch Role playing page by page to get my thoughts in order for my next campaign but I need to do something first. Avalon Games has a series of PDF's offering advice on "How to.." various aspects of running and playing RPG's. The one titled "How to run a Great Campaign" contains some pretty good stuff the most important for me was to start where you plan on ending. Sounds crazy but if you read the PDF it makes sense. Obviously the dream of the next "Greyhawk" or "Forgotten Realms" is strong in DM's but a more realistic goal (particularly for working adults) is a single story at a time. If the story and gaming group works well you can just start the next one where you leave off.
Why one story at a time? Our hobby in general seems to attract the insatiably curious (and possibly easily distracted) so there is always some G+ post popping up that fires the desire to game that event. If you plan out a whole world and everything in it something else is always going to be there tugging at your interest. I call it the shaken key ring syndrome which anyone with toddlers will laugh while being slightly offend by. I can't take any credit for this concept as many RPG's have in the introduction or advice to the GM section the advice to start small. Too bad people rarely read those sections.
Eldritch has a default setting that does the grunt work of here is the continent level geography and some ancient history to work off of. It also has a really awesome premise that lets you add anything to it, we'll get to that in the section of the book.
+Michael Desing (who writes some good games as well) has advocated for some Latin phrase I am to lazy to look up right now meaning starting in the middle of the action which I am going to follow. The first action will be on a stretch of road between two points that the party is on for a pregame reason. I will list some points I am going to need answered as I review the rules and get set to play.
1) A bad guy who is more than attack/defense/hit points. This is the End Encounter bad guy for the story arc.
2) Significant places that reoccur like the "home" town and big city where you would need to go to get special stuff.
3) A red herring or three minor story lines that happen in the area of the big one with the possibility of getting confused with the main story.
4) Allies as full people and antagonists who may or may not be part of #1's evil plan.
5) Ways to have players play Eldritch rather than a different D&D. Fantasy RPG's can to often be straight jacketed into the party of 4 Fighter/Cleric/Thief/Wizard because it is how we think of them. Eldritch (and many others I suppose) allows you to not be held to this and it is up to the GM to come up with ways to encourage players to explore an alternate way, or not if they so choose.
6) Coming up with a usable player's guide to convey the tone of my game. Bram Stoker would run a different game than C.S. Lewis.
Hopefully this will help if you don't quite understand what the heck I am babbling while I go over the rules.
Why one story at a time? Our hobby in general seems to attract the insatiably curious (and possibly easily distracted) so there is always some G+ post popping up that fires the desire to game that event. If you plan out a whole world and everything in it something else is always going to be there tugging at your interest. I call it the shaken key ring syndrome which anyone with toddlers will laugh while being slightly offend by. I can't take any credit for this concept as many RPG's have in the introduction or advice to the GM section the advice to start small. Too bad people rarely read those sections.
Eldritch has a default setting that does the grunt work of here is the continent level geography and some ancient history to work off of. It also has a really awesome premise that lets you add anything to it, we'll get to that in the section of the book.
+Michael Desing (who writes some good games as well) has advocated for some Latin phrase I am to lazy to look up right now meaning starting in the middle of the action which I am going to follow. The first action will be on a stretch of road between two points that the party is on for a pregame reason. I will list some points I am going to need answered as I review the rules and get set to play.
1) A bad guy who is more than attack/defense/hit points. This is the End Encounter bad guy for the story arc.
2) Significant places that reoccur like the "home" town and big city where you would need to go to get special stuff.
3) A red herring or three minor story lines that happen in the area of the big one with the possibility of getting confused with the main story.
4) Allies as full people and antagonists who may or may not be part of #1's evil plan.
5) Ways to have players play Eldritch rather than a different D&D. Fantasy RPG's can to often be straight jacketed into the party of 4 Fighter/Cleric/Thief/Wizard because it is how we think of them. Eldritch (and many others I suppose) allows you to not be held to this and it is up to the GM to come up with ways to encourage players to explore an alternate way, or not if they so choose.
6) Coming up with a usable player's guide to convey the tone of my game. Bram Stoker would run a different game than C.S. Lewis.
Hopefully this will help if you don't quite understand what the heck I am babbling while I go over the rules.
Starter Traveller in order post 2
The next section is GETTING YOUR FEET WET a high level view of the overall system. Ummm, even though this section is longer than the two I talk about in my first post I don't really have anything to say about it. It is a well written snapshot of what Traveller can be which I have no quibbles with so I am going to move on. If you are just starting with Traveller give it a read as it does bring up some reoccurring themes.
REQUIRED MATERIALS is up next and seems quaint and nostalgic considering I am posting to a blog as a way to get organized enough to run a VTT game. A few things strike me though concerning players knowing the rules and imagination. It isn't as annoying to explain what a total newbie needs to do in CT as in a lot of games because there aren't many rules. The relative lack of rules (as opposed to 3.5 and it's derivatives) encourages (IMHO) players to ask more frequently can I do this?
As for imagination I think my fantasy background actually inhibits me somewhat because I am more used to thinking about the possibilities offered by a world as opposed to an entire universe. So I need to try and make each location different than the others. It is very seductive to have every starport and world be the same if an adventure isn't fleshed out for that world. Realistically however I am not going to be able to make all 440 systems of The Spinward Marches a fully developed as your average D&D campaign so what is my goal? I have a fairly extensive library of fiction; history; DVDs and RPG stuff so I am planning on assigning an inspiration source to each world.
For instance Esalin is going to have "Casablanca" as my inspirational source. This doesn't mean space nazis per say but instead I have a reason to watch one of my favorite films and try and create a sense of a paranoid population with little respect for the terribly corrupt government. Also the natives resent both the Zhodani and Imperial outsiders. Because you can't tell who is a disgusting mind reading freak by looking at 'em there is a large group of people trying to flee the Zhodani empire but unable to get passage into the Imperium. I think I mentioned I am better at adapting things than creating whole cloth so this seems like a way to get a different feel for each world without an enormous amount of work.
To take the place of scrap paper and index cards I am going to shamelessly shill for people who have never heard of me. Cherrytree is a super awesome free windows and linux based app. It says it is for note taking however it is easily a lot more than that. Roll20 or Roll20 in Google Hangouts go without saying although the free ScreenMonkey from NBOS is an alternative I am still mulling over.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS is a necessary section with no reason to discuss.
CONDUCT OF THE ADVENTURING SESSION is mostly a primer on how to run any kind of RPG with some Traveller specific mentions. "Don't split the party" kind of stuff is routine if everyone has played an RPG but if you have some neophytes it would be very worthwhile before the session (and ideally one on one through email/IM) to cover. Why do it away from the game session? Because it is mostly because of meta-game reasons you don't do them and things that take away from being in game are probably best dealt with outside of the context of the game.
One thing mentioned I need to work on is passage of time and tracking the flow of information. If the party blasts it's way out of say Heroni/Rhylanor a low tech backwater off of the main xboat network I need to have an easy way to track when the info gets where. Mostly because it isn't going to be reasonable that they will be anonymous. The "Blatant Lie" is the ship that fled and the crew roster will be accessible to the authorities. Besides if I don't screw it up the fun potential of this is huge. The PCs get up to typical naughtiness on a low pop world off the main line and it takes 3 months for word to hit the Xboat network and it takes another month to catch up with them. I can say without fear they won't remember that they did it and will get the best dumbfounded expression when confronted. I am exploring ways to actually do this however and am leaning toward outdated day planners from the local dollar store.
Before starting the campaign I am going to have to come up with how long news takes to travel from the subsector capital to each world in the subsector so I only need to know when the alert reaches a capital not track it for each world individually. Again I am trying to come up with a way to use a potential awesome way to make the game different from real life but balance it against the amount of time and attention I can devote to a game. I also think I am going to use Google's IM version of hangout to send secret notes to players because the whisper feature of group chat isn't as convenient as having a different window for each player and with chat history it is a good way for players to have access to stuff their PC's should know without having to ask me while the game is going on. That isn't clear but I mean have a instance of the chat window for each player.
REQUIRED MATERIALS is up next and seems quaint and nostalgic considering I am posting to a blog as a way to get organized enough to run a VTT game. A few things strike me though concerning players knowing the rules and imagination. It isn't as annoying to explain what a total newbie needs to do in CT as in a lot of games because there aren't many rules. The relative lack of rules (as opposed to 3.5 and it's derivatives) encourages (IMHO) players to ask more frequently can I do this?
As for imagination I think my fantasy background actually inhibits me somewhat because I am more used to thinking about the possibilities offered by a world as opposed to an entire universe. So I need to try and make each location different than the others. It is very seductive to have every starport and world be the same if an adventure isn't fleshed out for that world. Realistically however I am not going to be able to make all 440 systems of The Spinward Marches a fully developed as your average D&D campaign so what is my goal? I have a fairly extensive library of fiction; history; DVDs and RPG stuff so I am planning on assigning an inspiration source to each world.
For instance Esalin is going to have "Casablanca" as my inspirational source. This doesn't mean space nazis per say but instead I have a reason to watch one of my favorite films and try and create a sense of a paranoid population with little respect for the terribly corrupt government. Also the natives resent both the Zhodani and Imperial outsiders. Because you can't tell who is a disgusting mind reading freak by looking at 'em there is a large group of people trying to flee the Zhodani empire but unable to get passage into the Imperium. I think I mentioned I am better at adapting things than creating whole cloth so this seems like a way to get a different feel for each world without an enormous amount of work.
To take the place of scrap paper and index cards I am going to shamelessly shill for people who have never heard of me. Cherrytree is a super awesome free windows and linux based app. It says it is for note taking however it is easily a lot more than that. Roll20 or Roll20 in Google Hangouts go without saying although the free ScreenMonkey from NBOS is an alternative I am still mulling over.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS is a necessary section with no reason to discuss.
CONDUCT OF THE ADVENTURING SESSION is mostly a primer on how to run any kind of RPG with some Traveller specific mentions. "Don't split the party" kind of stuff is routine if everyone has played an RPG but if you have some neophytes it would be very worthwhile before the session (and ideally one on one through email/IM) to cover. Why do it away from the game session? Because it is mostly because of meta-game reasons you don't do them and things that take away from being in game are probably best dealt with outside of the context of the game.
One thing mentioned I need to work on is passage of time and tracking the flow of information. If the party blasts it's way out of say Heroni/Rhylanor a low tech backwater off of the main xboat network I need to have an easy way to track when the info gets where. Mostly because it isn't going to be reasonable that they will be anonymous. The "Blatant Lie" is the ship that fled and the crew roster will be accessible to the authorities. Besides if I don't screw it up the fun potential of this is huge. The PCs get up to typical naughtiness on a low pop world off the main line and it takes 3 months for word to hit the Xboat network and it takes another month to catch up with them. I can say without fear they won't remember that they did it and will get the best dumbfounded expression when confronted. I am exploring ways to actually do this however and am leaning toward outdated day planners from the local dollar store.
Before starting the campaign I am going to have to come up with how long news takes to travel from the subsector capital to each world in the subsector so I only need to know when the alert reaches a capital not track it for each world individually. Again I am trying to come up with a way to use a potential awesome way to make the game different from real life but balance it against the amount of time and attention I can devote to a game. I also think I am going to use Google's IM version of hangout to send secret notes to players because the whisper feature of group chat isn't as convenient as having a different window for each player and with chat history it is a good way for players to have access to stuff their PC's should know without having to ask me while the game is going on. That isn't clear but I mean have a instance of the chat window for each player.
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