MGT Only: "Ok, make a G.E.A.R. roll..." House Rule proposal

[Spinward Scout]

This is such a great name.

GEAR: General Equipment Adventurers Require

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/431101/gear-general-equipment-adventurers-require

(And it looks like an awesome equipment book)

So, I'm blatantly snagging this acronym with one change.

I remember a D&D game where the DM asked: "Did anyone remember to buy torches?" I don't live in Medieval Europe. Next, they'll expect me to speak fluent German when my character is walking through the Schwartzwald. If I don't actually live in that world, I shouldn't have to remember the minutia of living there. That's what stats are for. So, I propose the G.E.A.R. roll.

General Equipment Anyone Requires

• Did your character remember an oxygen sensor? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember to get toilet paper for your ship? It's a long week in Jumpspace. - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character buy any Rope? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character get a new Radiation Badge? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember (just the right) tool that you would need? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember bullets? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember to buy torches? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.

The G.E.A.R. roll

If you have the skill in what you need the item for, then you can make a Routine Skill (G.E.A.R.) Check with that skill to see if you have the equipment.
Remember, if your Skill Level + Characteristic Bonus + 2 = 6 or higher, then it's an Automatic Success and you don't have to roll.
If you don't have the skill, you can make either a Routine INT Characteristic (G.E.A.R.) Check or a Routine EDU Characteristic (G.E.A.R.) Check, whichever is higher, to see if you have the G.E.A.R.

How a Ship's Locker is sometimes used is very similar. So is Batman's Utility Belt. Equipment you need when you need it.

From the Core Rulebook: A Routine task is trivial for a trained professional and relatively easy even for an amateur.

No more being asked if you remembered to get a certain thing you needed to have. This makes adventuring as a character that's not similar to you much easier. And using the skills your character has makes the situation more immersive.

Modifiable for other versions of Traveller. I'm sure.

What do you think?

 

[Diveguy]

I'm not against it - particularly for things like ship's locker/general consumables. I would still posit that the more specialized/niche the skill, the more I'd want a character to at least document "X skill toolkit" as a purchase/possession.

So - does character have access to a light source (flashlight/chemlight/whatever)? - good with that on a GEAR roll.
Does character have an armorer's tool kit, or a hacking deck, or illicit entry tools? - document that stuff.

Note - I would also perhaps go with a version of this as "Does "X" tool kit have what the character needs?" - with modifiers perhaps based on the quality/price of the kit, the size (personal vs. starship) and so on. Using my above example then it's not a case of "does the entry kit have bypass tools for a biometric hand scanner?" as a need to write it down, but it's that GEAR roll to see if so when the situation comes up.

 

[Commander Truestar]

IMTU, my players and I work to insure they have the gear appropriate to their skills.
I also have them create "Kits" in advance, which cover classes of events.
So, if the character is going to a bar with the crew in startown - there's a kit for that
If they're venturing out of the ship to scout a location - there's a kit for that
If they're going to a fancy party with some covert weapons - there's a kit for that

As for the book, I would look into it to see what else I can add but new rules for a basic idea just seems to add complexity

 

[Grav_Moped]

I'm not against it - particularly for things like ship's locker/general consumables. I would still posit that the more specialized/niche the skill, the more I'd want a character to at least document "X skill toolkit" as a purchase/possession.

So - does character have access to a light source (flashlight/chemlight/whatever)? - good with that on a GEAR roll.
Does character have an armorer's tool kit, or a hacking deck, or illicit entry tools? - document that stuff.

Use skill level and either INT (guessed correctly what's needed) or EDU (has Read The Fine Manual and knows) as DMs to modify the roll.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I'm not against it - particularly for things like ship's locker/general consumables. I would still posit that the more specialized/niche the skill, the more I'd want a character to at least document "X skill toolkit" as a purchase/possession.

I was thinking of it as more of a General than a Specialty Equipment thing, but I'm not sure how to specify that.

I also have them create "Kits" in advance, which cover classes of events.

I like the 'kits' idea. Have you posted those anywhere? Or how to create them?

Use skill level and either INT (guessed correctly what's needed) or EDU (has Read The Fine Manual and knows) as DMs to modify the roll.

The training for the Skill to make a Skill Check is already a form of EDU, isn't it? Or do you mean additional DMs? But yeah, If you are doing a GEAR Check to see if you remembered bullets wouldn't take a DEX Bonus, would it?

 

[ady]

This is such a great name.

GEAR: General Equipment Adventurers Require

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/431101/gear-general-equipment-adventurers-require

(And it looks like an awesome equipment book)

So, I'm blatantly snagging this acronym with one change.

I remember a D&D game where the DM asked: "Did anyone remember to buy torches?" I don't live in Medieval Europe. Next, they'll expect me to speak fluent German when my character is walking through the Schwartzwald. If I don't actually live in that world, I shouldn't have to remember the minutia of living there. That's what stats are for. So, I propose the G.E.A.R. roll.

General Equipment Anyone Requires

• Did your character remember an oxygen sensor? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember to get toilet paper for your ship? It's a long week in Jumpspace. - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character buy any Rope? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character get a new Radiation Badge? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember (just the right) tool that you would need? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember bullets? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.
• Did your character remember to buy torches? - Make a G.E.A.R. roll.

The G.E.A.R. roll


How a Ship's Locker is sometimes used is very similar. So is Batman's Utility Belt. Equipment you need when you need it.

From the Core Rulebook: A Routine task is trivial for a trained professional and relatively easy even for an amateur.

No more being asked if you remembered to get a certain thing you needed to have. This makes adventuring as a character that's not similar to you much easier. And using the skills your character has makes the situation more immersive.

Modifiable for other versions of Traveller. I'm sure.

What do you think?

Sounds like a good idea, especially for new players to the game that might not know about all the Traveller gear available to their character. The only problem I can see is about encumberance? Maybe add a kilo or two to what their total encumberance carried is and allow a number of rolls per game based on how big their 'bag of misc gear' is?

 

[whulorigan]

I was thinking of it as more of a General than a Specialty Equipment thing, but I'm not sure how to specify that.

I like the 'kits' idea. Have you posted those anywhere? Or how to create them?

The training for the Skill to make a Skill Check is already a form of EDU, isn't it? Or do you mean additional DMs? But yeah, If you are doing a GEAR Check to see if you remembered bullets wouldn't take a DEX Bonus, would it?

You can presume that a character has 1 level of "Profession" skill for every term they had in their prior career (i.e. 3 terms in the Marines = Marine Career-3; 2 terms in Scouts = Scout Career-2, etc). That serves as just general knowledge and experience, traditions, procedures, expectations, etc.

Could be used along with G.E.A.R in some instances.

 

[Commander Truestar]

You can presume that .....

As a GM for decades, I constantly faced players saying "Wouldn't you expect my character to have..."

The point, >>IMO<<, is that the players are faced with puzzles and they should think their way through them
If they don't even want to commit to:
1) Looking at their skills and considering what tools they need before a game(or, in char gen or response to being issued a pre-gen character)
2) Looking at their record sheet before leaving the ship/hideout/etc... before heading out on a mission and saying "I will carry..."
3) Having a chat out of character with the GM....

Well, I am not the GM who is willing to reward them by waving my magic wand and saying "yes, you've got that"

My answer is, "you forgot to bring it and now have to use that lump of meat between your ears to figure a path forward"

If that's not your path.....it is not your path.

So long as everyone's having fun....Play Traveller

As a real world note, I knew a Sheriff's Deputy who used to play in a Battletech campaign I ran.
One day, he got up, cleaned up, dressed, gathered his gear and all before hopping in his car
He got to work and went into the locker room to stow things he didn't want with him on the streets....

.....And realized he'd forgotten to take his service weapon out of the gun locker at home.

So, Anyone can forget Anything in my experience.
And I can tell you something that happened outside "Keys and Codes" at a base I was assigned to....

But, I'll leave it at: "If you forgot or don't have the tool.....use your brain"

 

[Commander Truestar]

I like the 'kits' idea. Have you posted those anywhere? Or how to create them?

I have not, to be honest.
It was a simple answer to a basic problem - Especially with players who don't bother to think things through and simply assume they'll magically have the tool they want when they need it.

It short circuited "debates" when I asked a player, "Did you say you were bringing it?" and I said, "It was left back at the ship" when they answered "No"
As for how to make a Kit....Consider the places your character might be:
- On the ship or in a rented living space
- Leaving the ship/living space to wander the general locations in a city/on a station/in the town in which we're currently staying
- Going to a raucous bar or the bad side of town
- Going to a fancy party or high end event (Invited, not sneaking in)
- Gearing up and expecting to trade lead in a loud blood-letting party
- Gearing up to be sneaky and hope not to be seen

Once you have names for the kits your character wants....go through what all they have (say, while in Jump space with nothing better to do) and list each thing they have into the kits where it makes sense

One Restriction: Items in a Kit are ALWAYS in that kit....there are no optional items or items from which to choose
So, if you are not sure if you will carry your snub pistol or gauss pistol...that is a "game time decision" and outside your kit.

Here is an example:
On the ship / In the Suite:
Executive armor
Darrian gauss pistol w/ 2 spare magazines
KBar
Comms
Generic civilian clothing
Lanthanum ring
Ident

Going out bar hopping:
Same as In Suite plus minus Lanthanum ring
Medkit
Duster
Garrote

Going to a fancy event
Same as In Suite minus Generic civilian clothing
Suit

Investigating kit
Same as In Bar Hopping
Ballistic cloth shipsuit instead of generic civilian clothing
Shoulder holster x2 w/Pain and Misery
Darrian Gauss pistol (Hip) w/ 2 spare magazines

Combat(Planetary) --- Note: an Armor suit, outside exec. Armor, is not mentioned because the character has a choice to make
Executive armor
KBar
Comms
Ident
Submachinegun (slung low) w.2 spare magazines
Gauss Rifle w/5 spare magazines
*Another Rifle* (over shoulder)
.50 cal Auto-Pistol w/2 spare magazines
Snub pistol (w/2 speedloaders once bought)
Vibrocutlass
5 Frag grenades
Medkit

Combat(space) --- Note: an Armor suit, outside exec. Armor, is not mentioned because the character has a choice to make
Executive armor
KBar
Comms
Ident
Gauss Rifle w/5 spare magazines
Darrian Gauss pistol (Hip) w/ 2 spare magazines
Gauss pistol (Hip) w/ 2 spare magazines
Snub pistol (w/2 speedloaders once bought)
5 Frag grenades
Medkit
Vacc Suit Patch kit

 

[Badenov]

I have to say a G.E.A.R roll seems like a great way to quantify ship's locker use as suggested in the first post here. That way your capability to do technical things is not hampered by being non-technical and/or non-bookkeepy yourself, and ship's locker is already a thing in-game so it's not handing out some new capability. This is just a mechanic for something that's already in game.

So, when you're down on the planet and lost in the wilderness, attending a social function off the ship, or exploring the abandoned ship wreckage, you obviously don't have access to that locker. Then you're going to need to rely on your kits as suggested above, which seems like a great way to pre-plan your gear/encumbrance in various situations when you don't have access to the locker. But when you do have that ships locker access, the GEAR roll seems cool.

 

[kilemall]

Charge em for each item.

 

[Spinward Scout]

These are all great ideas!

 

[mike wightman]

I am old school. In D&D all those years ago there was an equipment list and if you didn't spend the coin and write it down your character didn't have it.
For Traveller there are so many equipment books - LBB:3, FASA Consumers Guide, MT Imperial Encylopedia, T4 CSC, MgT CSC...
each of these is available at my gaming table, players can pore through and spend credits and write it down.

It's not as if the characters don't have opportunity to go shopping, every starport, every world, every ship with a concession stand...

If they don't have it written down their characters don't have it, the end.

I have a strong dislike of games that just use a resource or wealth stat... "you have Cr50,000 from mustering out, what have you bought?"

 

[Condottiere]

You don't want to mix up your vials; holy water, oil, healing.

And we do have the bag of holding, ship's locker.

 

[Spinward Scout]

"you have Cr50,000 from mustering out, what have you bought?"

That's a great idea, tho. If you succeed at the G.E.A.R. Check, you definitely should pay for the equipment the Check gets you. If you don't have the Credits, the Check fails.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Keep in mind the difference between what the player knows and what their character knows.

Players may not know about the need for tools for in-game tasks they don't understand -- even, or perhaps particularly, for TL-7 type tasks.

 

[whartung]

"We're heading to the pub!"

"Great, let me get my garrote!"

 

[kilemall]

Should be limited by expertise and likely usage of item. Repair guy doesn’t roll for guns, gun guy doesn’t roll for tool kits. Value, TL and LL issues should increase difficulty of roll.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I'm also wondering if there should be a positive DM for having a Handcomp that can have a shopping list all ready for you when you walk into Starship Mart. The Handcomp should be good for something, right? A Digital Assistant is something that would track all of this stuff.

 

[Condottiere]

Which happens if you leave your Bluetooth or WIFI on.