MT Only: Character creation : how to create skills-0 ?

[calmar11]

Hi !

In MT, I found nothing to create 0-skills... It could be useful.
We played this : after creation , a player could choose ANY 3 skills at 0 level , for personalisation, giving them a real feeling.
But, it could have been cool to have this NOT randomly..everything is random in Traveller character creation...as a gamemaster , I always "cheated" to help players to play the character he could have a possibility to play...playing a pilot without pilot skill is absolutely stupid, isnt'it ? I am certain everybody do this ?

We where really alone with Traveller in France , Lyon , nobody played MT , nor was interested. Space Opera games in general didn't interested people a lot. Heroic Fantasy was the thing at there !
SF always was "underground", except weird or ridiculous RPG settings which seems to have a lot of success in our country. So, I never found anybody these times ago to share ideas and discuss about the system : there was no internet 20 years ago !

 

[aramis]

Actually, there WAS internet 20 years ago. I have been using the internet since spring 1988... and Traveller was discussed on usenet's alt.games.frp.misc... not often, but a little. And by 1994, there was the TML...

Note that, at least in the GDW release, the standard level 0 skills are on the character generation tables pages. Adding additional level 0's doesn't break anything, and many people (including myself) used additional level 0's from time to time. Also note: Any skill levels lost due to the Experience cap result in level 0 skills, since level 0 doesn't count against the cap. I saw one 7 term int 3 edu 2 assassin type played quite convincingly - CbtRifleman 3, Recon 2, and a dozen other skills at level 0.

 

[whulorigan]

In MT, I found nothing to create 0-skills... It could be useful.
We played this : after creation , a player could choose ANY 3 skills at 0 level , for personalisation, giving them a real feeling.
But, it could have been cool to have this NOT randomly..everything is random in Traveller character creation...as a gamemaster , I always "cheated" to help players to play the character he could have a possibility to play...playing a pilot without pilot skill is absolutely stupid, isnt'it ? I am certain everybody do this ?

I also rather like the idea introduced in Mongoose Traveller (MgT), that every character gets all of the skills listed on the "Service Skills" table as 0-Level skills as part of his/her basic training in his/her career, in addition to a few skills at 0-level based on homeworld background.

Also note: Any skill levels lost due to the Experience cap result in level 0 skills, since level 0 doesn't count against the cap. I saw one 7 term int 3 edu 2 assassin type played quite convincingly - CbtRifleman 3, Recon 2, and a dozen other skills at level 0.

THIS. If I were using the experience-cap rule, I would wait until the end of CharGen, and then let the player decide what skills he wants to reduce to meet his INT+EDU value (but never below "0" - skills may atrophy, but you never totally forget). And those skills don't count against the cap, as Aramis mentioned.


Also, ATPollard has a system that he uses (it is for Classic Traveller - but should be easily imported into MT), if you would prefer fewer skill levels for your characters, while still having the same number of skills:

When I use the Advanced Chargen rules to create Basic Characters, I roll as many skills as the advanced rules warrant in each 4 year term. These are the skills that you are exposed to in that term. Pick two to keep at skill-1 (or +1 if improving a skill) and change the others to skill-0. You learn two skills per term and are 'familiar' with some others.

 

[mike wightman]

I give every character skill level 0 in every skill on the service skills table.

 

[aramis]

THIS. If I were using the experience-cap rule, I would wait until the end of CharGen, and then let the player decide what skills he wants to reduce to meet his INT+EDU value (but never below "0" - skills may atrophy, but you never totally forget). And those skills don't count against the cap, as Aramis mentioned.

Which is actually how it is supposed to be done.

 

[McPerth]

I give every character skill level 0 in every skill on the service skills table.

That's what I always did too...

 

[calmar11]

Hi !

Hello !

Thanks for your answers ! I had internet not so early, so I couldn't
I dont know Mongoose system, but it seems a good manner.
I will use it, giving 0-level to all service skills table AND giving any 3 free 0-level skills as I did to the players to personnalize their character. I think what you said all is a good idea.

Thanks a lot.

 

[E.D.Quibell]

Don't forget character improvement via ATs

New skills are gained at skill-0