The next career is Belter which I am handling as a specialty of the Merchant career. This career has two oddities about it, it starts at age 14 and the survival DM is the number of terms served. The age will be ignored as no one starts as a Belter, as for the terms I am going to say prior terms in Merchants do count because realistically chances to make it through a single term is fairly low.
I had thought a lot about whether Belter should be under Scout or Merchant. My view of the Belter is a being that surveys and analyses planetary bodies to determine their content. That sounds like something the service tasked with mapping the universe should be doing. I chose Merchant instead because the end goal is profit not to see what is there. I also am going to use the existence of this career to flesh out how the Scouts work though. The Imperium picks an object in a system to place an Imperial Consulate (IC) and expends some effort on that one place. The rest of the system doesn't rate an additional effort by the Imperium leaving it to the government of the world with the IC to develop the system as it sees fit. This is why atlas's only list the one UPP for the main world and from my previous ideas almost any visitor to the system is going to start and stop at that main world to check in and out with the IC.
So to get a transfer to Belter from regular service is not easy a high DEX is somewhat helpful but a bigger bump comes from having a slightly below average or higher INT. Coordination and speed are helpful but it is more helpful to be able to analyse data and react to it.
Survival (or the lack there of) is not easy. This service makes the Scouts look like a stay in the penthouse of a 5 star hotel.There is no bonus to the roll for any stat just for how long you have been doing it. With my modified careers you start with a 7+ in the worse case (Merchant for 1 term then going into Belter for the second) which is not a good chance. It seems that GDW's view was loners don't stand as good a chance as members of a group which is pretty sensible.
There is no commission or promotion and no 2 skills per term either so a Belter won't have as many skills as a veteran of another service. I am unhappy with this but am not sure if it is worth tinkering with the rules. I am thinking of adding a 5+ on 1D6 to get a roll on a table 1. Prospecting 2. JOT 3. Vacc Suit 4. Electronics 5. Mechanical 6. Grav Vehicle each term.
The reenlistment roll means the Imperium doesn't see the value in paying people to do this for long. It is only slightly better than a 50/50 chance you can continue. So they do want people poking around in the various systems but the payout for the Imperium isn't high enough to keep people on the payroll to do it.
The material benefits table has Low; INT; High; Weapon; Travellers and Seeker. The two passages come from the separation lottery, Weapon is participation in the service tournaments and INT from having spent time thinking for yourself. Travellers Aid membership seems a little out of place only because it doesn't show up in the basic careers except in the Navy and Marines, probably while poking around you found something more interesting than a mineral. The Seeker is the only ship you can get for free that I don't see as a distraction to play. It is to small to turn into an effective pirate or carry enough cargo to turn the game into an economics model though it can carry enough to pay for itself removing that burden from players minds. Also being a Type S the Scouts no longer wanted means it can break down whenever the GM wants it to without him being to much of a dick.
The cash table is not a thing to bring joy to the heart looking at it two chances for nothing, one pocket change, one average and two chances at big bucks. At least there is chance to gain Gambling so you can get a +1 because it isn't to likely you are going to retire from the Belters to get it the other way.
The Personal Development table has the 3 Physical stats; Gambling; Brawling and Vacc Suit. I am okay with the gold rush in space vibe of this.
Service Skills has Vacc x2; Prospecting x2; Forward Observer and Ship's Boat. I am okay with Vacc and Prospecting you are going to spend a lot of time in Zero G and Vacuum and your goal is to find stuff to mine. Forward Observer? I am dubious about the prevalence of situations you are calling orbital fire missions. Ship's Boat might make sense except the apparent craft of choice is a starship not a pinnace.
Advanced Education 1 has Ship's Boat; Prospecting x2; Electronics; Mechanical and Instruction. Electronics and Mechanical I can see to keep you Seeker functional but Instruction? Yes any service is going to need for it's more experienced members to teach new comers and the basic careers predate this skill so it could be that is why they don't have it but I am not convinced you would receive a teaching degree looking at rocks.
Advance Education 2 has Navigation; Medical; Pilot; Computer; Engineering and JOT. All of these make sense to me although I think JOT should be more prevalent throughout all four tables.
Also all Belters get Vacc Suit-1 which makes a lot of sense to me particularly as I am using Vacc Suit to represent familiarity with Zero G as well.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Supplement 4 overview and Pirates
Sorry for the Long Blog night I have been working 1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts as required and frequently all in the same week and it has killed off my ability and desire to think for recreation and coherently. As a summation this is a post in a series I am doing going through Starter Traveller and defining MTU by what I am encountering. I decided that the 12 careers in Supplement 4 are open to characters after they first serve one term in one of the 6 careers in ST.
Before dissecting the generation rules I read the rules section to see what (if anything) GDW changed with the addition of Books 4 and 5 and their expanded character generation. They didn't change the basics at all as far as I saw. Interestingly it must have been written before the revision of the LBB's because my version says most characters have a natural skill of 1/2 with weapons as opposed to the skill - 0 of the revised rules. They also decided there was not a draft if you tried one of the 12 careers covered. If you failed to enlist you tried somewhere else. 3 Careers meant you had no experience with guns but oddly everyone is assumed to be able to use blade weapons passably well. In the notes under the cash table it says anyone who has retired can add one to their rolls but this isn't mentioned in the rules section. <shrug> I see no reason to not allow it. Otherwise nothing changes from ST.
On to the Pirate career. MTU sees character generation as time spent in service to the Imperium so it is a stretch to come up with government pirates. A case has been made for privateers raiding non-imperial shipping but that would be the Navy not Pirates in my view. I had stated that characters who enlisted in the Navy or Merchants could try to get in to the Pirates in their second or higher terms and thinking on this some more I am going to add Scouts as well. This is because it is another service that has starships and a crew could go bad and start shooting up the galaxy. My premise is that this career represents a vessel in imperial service that acts against imperial interests for personal gain. This could be a Type T using its authority as a naval vessel to board an civilian merchant ship and steal its cargo, or the whole ship. A Merchant Marine vessel that kills off passengers who have something the crew desires. Or even a scout who has been in his Type S all alone a little to long and blasts ships trying to skim from a gas giant he has decided to preserve.
Enlistment is a greater than half chance to succeed which I am okay with only because I can see this as more a corruption issue than wild eyed cutlass wielding bezerkers. I find it odd being from middle class or lower will make it more likely you can succeed again feeding into my view of citizens not being all that loyal to the imperium as an institution. A high endurance gives you a bigger edge which I admit I am at a loss for explaining.
Comparing survival to the 3 base services the Navy and Merchants share the same roll and DM and as a Pirate you will be a little less safe and you need to be smarter to get the DM. Compared to the Scouts it is safer and an Intelligence of 8+ replaces an Endurance of 9+. Maybe the saner Scouts become Pirates rather than the crazier ones.
I was thinking of keeping the commission and promotion rolls of the original services because it isn't like anyone is admitting what they are doing but I decided not to. Rank in the Pirate career is a "shadow" rank. If you serve in the Navy and get to Commander then become a Pirate you start at Pirate rank 4 but any further promotions don't affect your Naval rank similarly for the Merchant Pirate. Scouts don't have any complications as they don't have a formal rank. Pirate rank is a representation of trust in the underworld society that needs to exist to get rid of ill gotten gains not an acknowledgement of skill and service to the Emperor. The suspicions and rumors of your activities will stall out any legitimate chance for advancement.
It is much harder to stay in the service as a Pirate than the base services. Every 4 years you have around a 50-50 chance of your career ending. I like this actually. The survival roll represents getting caught and the high reenlistment represents rumors of your shady behavior catching up with you.
Mustering out benefit table provides Low; Weapon; +1 Int; nothing; -1 Soc; Middle and Corsair. Weapon seems to take the place of the more specific gun or blade of the basic careers and still holds up as participation in the separation tournaments. The two alterations make sense quick thinking to pull off your schemes and rumors to destroy your standing with society. Middle and Low passages are pay outs from the separation lottery. Finally the Corsair. I never could wrap my head around who was building these things in canon. Only Pirates get them and you need a class A starport to build them, heck there is an official class name for them. However looking at the performance specs they make a descent customs ship for the Navy, Priority transport for the Merchants and a more capable ship to enforce scout interdictions so I am okay with them.
The cash table is sub-anemic so you aren't going to get rich as a Pirate. Even with the +1 you still have a chance to get nothing and without it you get nothing 1/3 of the time.
Personal development in the Pirate career can increase your 3 physical stats; Gambling; Brawling and Blade. Anyone choosing this as a career likes to gamble with their life why not cards as well? Brawling and Blade could be because if your breaking the law discipline might be harder to enforce resulting in a hands on approach to settle disputes.
Service skills are Blade; Vacc; Gun; Gunnery; Zero-G Combat; and Gun. The only one I see the need to comment on is Zero-G Combat. Here is were trying to integrate later works and the LBBs cause trouble. How do Marines not have this skill? Or the Merchants and Scouts? It is a plausible skill but I don't think I am going to use it instead it will be subsumed into Vacc Suit. I think Vacc Suit training is much more likely to occur or represent familiarity with a lack of gravity as well as a non-breathable atmosphere.
Advanced Education 1 has Streetwise; Gunnery; Engineering; Ship Tactics; Tactics and Mechanical. Streetwise is necessary to get rid of whatever you pirated. Gunnery, Engineering and Mechanical you need to keep your ship flying. Ship Tactics is another later skill I am not going to use. Situations calling for it will use Pilot instead. Tactics I am okay with as it is a more combat intensive service.
Advanced Education table 2 in this case further encourages me to change how you get access to the final table. Your BA in Art History qualifies your to learn advance skills as a Pirate? Using a system that doesn't have a way to go to college? However that will be a post for after I finish the careers. Navigation; Pilot; Forgery; Computer; Leader; and Electronics are what is on this table. Forgery and Leader are worth noting. Forgery assists in both getting stuff and getting rid of it after you have it and Leader is not available to the base three services. I mentioned under Navy that I believe this is a conscious decision as all the major upheavals in Imperial history have pretty much been caused by naval admirals so the Imperium doesn't provide leadership classes as a general rule. I do think they train leaders just not as a general skill available to all service members. Interestingly I think this is the first service to escape the papery fist of Admin.
Before dissecting the generation rules I read the rules section to see what (if anything) GDW changed with the addition of Books 4 and 5 and their expanded character generation. They didn't change the basics at all as far as I saw. Interestingly it must have been written before the revision of the LBB's because my version says most characters have a natural skill of 1/2 with weapons as opposed to the skill - 0 of the revised rules. They also decided there was not a draft if you tried one of the 12 careers covered. If you failed to enlist you tried somewhere else. 3 Careers meant you had no experience with guns but oddly everyone is assumed to be able to use blade weapons passably well. In the notes under the cash table it says anyone who has retired can add one to their rolls but this isn't mentioned in the rules section. <shrug> I see no reason to not allow it. Otherwise nothing changes from ST.
On to the Pirate career. MTU sees character generation as time spent in service to the Imperium so it is a stretch to come up with government pirates. A case has been made for privateers raiding non-imperial shipping but that would be the Navy not Pirates in my view. I had stated that characters who enlisted in the Navy or Merchants could try to get in to the Pirates in their second or higher terms and thinking on this some more I am going to add Scouts as well. This is because it is another service that has starships and a crew could go bad and start shooting up the galaxy. My premise is that this career represents a vessel in imperial service that acts against imperial interests for personal gain. This could be a Type T using its authority as a naval vessel to board an civilian merchant ship and steal its cargo, or the whole ship. A Merchant Marine vessel that kills off passengers who have something the crew desires. Or even a scout who has been in his Type S all alone a little to long and blasts ships trying to skim from a gas giant he has decided to preserve.
Enlistment is a greater than half chance to succeed which I am okay with only because I can see this as more a corruption issue than wild eyed cutlass wielding bezerkers. I find it odd being from middle class or lower will make it more likely you can succeed again feeding into my view of citizens not being all that loyal to the imperium as an institution. A high endurance gives you a bigger edge which I admit I am at a loss for explaining.
Comparing survival to the 3 base services the Navy and Merchants share the same roll and DM and as a Pirate you will be a little less safe and you need to be smarter to get the DM. Compared to the Scouts it is safer and an Intelligence of 8+ replaces an Endurance of 9+. Maybe the saner Scouts become Pirates rather than the crazier ones.
I was thinking of keeping the commission and promotion rolls of the original services because it isn't like anyone is admitting what they are doing but I decided not to. Rank in the Pirate career is a "shadow" rank. If you serve in the Navy and get to Commander then become a Pirate you start at Pirate rank 4 but any further promotions don't affect your Naval rank similarly for the Merchant Pirate. Scouts don't have any complications as they don't have a formal rank. Pirate rank is a representation of trust in the underworld society that needs to exist to get rid of ill gotten gains not an acknowledgement of skill and service to the Emperor. The suspicions and rumors of your activities will stall out any legitimate chance for advancement.
It is much harder to stay in the service as a Pirate than the base services. Every 4 years you have around a 50-50 chance of your career ending. I like this actually. The survival roll represents getting caught and the high reenlistment represents rumors of your shady behavior catching up with you.
Mustering out benefit table provides Low; Weapon; +1 Int; nothing; -1 Soc; Middle and Corsair. Weapon seems to take the place of the more specific gun or blade of the basic careers and still holds up as participation in the separation tournaments. The two alterations make sense quick thinking to pull off your schemes and rumors to destroy your standing with society. Middle and Low passages are pay outs from the separation lottery. Finally the Corsair. I never could wrap my head around who was building these things in canon. Only Pirates get them and you need a class A starport to build them, heck there is an official class name for them. However looking at the performance specs they make a descent customs ship for the Navy, Priority transport for the Merchants and a more capable ship to enforce scout interdictions so I am okay with them.
The cash table is sub-anemic so you aren't going to get rich as a Pirate. Even with the +1 you still have a chance to get nothing and without it you get nothing 1/3 of the time.
Personal development in the Pirate career can increase your 3 physical stats; Gambling; Brawling and Blade. Anyone choosing this as a career likes to gamble with their life why not cards as well? Brawling and Blade could be because if your breaking the law discipline might be harder to enforce resulting in a hands on approach to settle disputes.
Service skills are Blade; Vacc; Gun; Gunnery; Zero-G Combat; and Gun. The only one I see the need to comment on is Zero-G Combat. Here is were trying to integrate later works and the LBBs cause trouble. How do Marines not have this skill? Or the Merchants and Scouts? It is a plausible skill but I don't think I am going to use it instead it will be subsumed into Vacc Suit. I think Vacc Suit training is much more likely to occur or represent familiarity with a lack of gravity as well as a non-breathable atmosphere.
Advanced Education 1 has Streetwise; Gunnery; Engineering; Ship Tactics; Tactics and Mechanical. Streetwise is necessary to get rid of whatever you pirated. Gunnery, Engineering and Mechanical you need to keep your ship flying. Ship Tactics is another later skill I am not going to use. Situations calling for it will use Pilot instead. Tactics I am okay with as it is a more combat intensive service.
Advanced Education table 2 in this case further encourages me to change how you get access to the final table. Your BA in Art History qualifies your to learn advance skills as a Pirate? Using a system that doesn't have a way to go to college? However that will be a post for after I finish the careers. Navigation; Pilot; Forgery; Computer; Leader; and Electronics are what is on this table. Forgery and Leader are worth noting. Forgery assists in both getting stuff and getting rid of it after you have it and Leader is not available to the base three services. I mentioned under Navy that I believe this is a conscious decision as all the major upheavals in Imperial history have pretty much been caused by naval admirals so the Imperium doesn't provide leadership classes as a general rule. I do think they train leaders just not as a general skill available to all service members. Interestingly I think this is the first service to escape the papery fist of Admin.
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