First: this is intended as constructive criticism - not as an attack. I really like Traveller and what you've done with it and think T20 is the best way forward for the game.
That out of the way...
If you're reprinting the T20 Handbook, as I believe you are about to do - please revise it first. Nothing too major. Obviously you'll be incorporating the errata. One system jumps out at me and my players, though, as needing revision, and that's character creation.
It should not take an hour or more to create a new player character under the D20 system, even taking into account the fact that prior history must be created.
To explain where I'm coming from - I recently started a T20 campaign with six players. Two players and I are new to D20, the rest are all familiar with various incarnations. All of them took an average of an hour to create their character, though. Yes, there's the prior history, different feats and loads of new skills, but even so... People should not view character generation as a long, boring chore. Yet that is what's happened with my group - the only positive comments so far being "Well, at least you can't die in character creation" and "OK, it was shorter than Rolemaster..." (and where is that game now?)
The problems, as we see them, are actually relatively few:
Layout: It's necessary to flick backwards and forwards through the rulebook multiple times, marking pages to return to - XP table, one or more Class descriptions, the Class prior history page, and so on. Some stuff is not where you'd expect to find it (aging effects come to find).
The layout needs to be redesigned to eliminate that need as much as possible. Possible solution - shrink to fit? Definitely put the 'prior history' page for each Class in beside the basic material for the Class. Put all the age-related material together - starting age through to aging effects. And similar... I'm sure you can get where I'm coming from with this.
Explanations: As seen in reviews on other boards and on multiple threads here, many people cannot get their heads around how to handle University. Fine if people bother to come here and find the relevant threads, but examples are needed in the book.
Emphasis: It's a big book. Very relevant details have ended up being buried. It was only after the fourth character was created that we noticed the part about being able to take a higher survival DC in return for lower XP, cash and promotion DCs, for example. Similarly, (although I accept Hunter's point made on rpg.net) while Lifeblood/Stamina are combat stats, players will get upset when they find their PC only has say, 8 lifeblood - "If I'd known about that when I was creating the PC I'd have put the low stat into...". I explain the rule before the player rolls stats - others mightn't.
Examples: As stated in another thread here, the two character generation examples so far are *very* basic - straight through one career, no multi-classing, no University. Because of prior history, T20 probably has one of the most complicated PC generation systems around. That needs to be covered in the examples given... so rewrite the one in the book. Have a PC start off in Uni and Merchant OTC, (maybe taking a level in rogue as well with his Uni XP), graduate into the Merchants, stay there for a couple of terms, then multi-class into Merc, then go back to Uni before mustering out and beginning play...
Heh - one rule quibble... because so many skill points are received, is there ever a T20 PC created who doesn't have at least one skill rank in Gambling? It's worth it, for the +1 on the mustering out Cash tables, when only the rarest PC will have less than 50 skill points before beginning play...
I hope you can see where I'm coming from. Character generation is needlessly complex - something that we think could be greatly improved by revising or adding some examples and changing the layout.
I know my few simple suggestions (especially the layout one) could involve a lot of work, but I think it would be justified. There have been so many gripes about character generation here and on other boards that I think it will have to be done sometime, so why not sooner rather than later?
Again, please take this in the spirit its intended - constructive criticism, not an attack.
Regards,
Anton
That out of the way...
If you're reprinting the T20 Handbook, as I believe you are about to do - please revise it first. Nothing too major. Obviously you'll be incorporating the errata. One system jumps out at me and my players, though, as needing revision, and that's character creation.
It should not take an hour or more to create a new player character under the D20 system, even taking into account the fact that prior history must be created.
To explain where I'm coming from - I recently started a T20 campaign with six players. Two players and I are new to D20, the rest are all familiar with various incarnations. All of them took an average of an hour to create their character, though. Yes, there's the prior history, different feats and loads of new skills, but even so... People should not view character generation as a long, boring chore. Yet that is what's happened with my group - the only positive comments so far being "Well, at least you can't die in character creation" and "OK, it was shorter than Rolemaster..." (and where is that game now?)
The problems, as we see them, are actually relatively few:
Layout: It's necessary to flick backwards and forwards through the rulebook multiple times, marking pages to return to - XP table, one or more Class descriptions, the Class prior history page, and so on. Some stuff is not where you'd expect to find it (aging effects come to find).
The layout needs to be redesigned to eliminate that need as much as possible. Possible solution - shrink to fit? Definitely put the 'prior history' page for each Class in beside the basic material for the Class. Put all the age-related material together - starting age through to aging effects. And similar... I'm sure you can get where I'm coming from with this.
Explanations: As seen in reviews on other boards and on multiple threads here, many people cannot get their heads around how to handle University. Fine if people bother to come here and find the relevant threads, but examples are needed in the book.
Emphasis: It's a big book. Very relevant details have ended up being buried. It was only after the fourth character was created that we noticed the part about being able to take a higher survival DC in return for lower XP, cash and promotion DCs, for example. Similarly, (although I accept Hunter's point made on rpg.net) while Lifeblood/Stamina are combat stats, players will get upset when they find their PC only has say, 8 lifeblood - "If I'd known about that when I was creating the PC I'd have put the low stat into...". I explain the rule before the player rolls stats - others mightn't.
Examples: As stated in another thread here, the two character generation examples so far are *very* basic - straight through one career, no multi-classing, no University. Because of prior history, T20 probably has one of the most complicated PC generation systems around. That needs to be covered in the examples given... so rewrite the one in the book. Have a PC start off in Uni and Merchant OTC, (maybe taking a level in rogue as well with his Uni XP), graduate into the Merchants, stay there for a couple of terms, then multi-class into Merc, then go back to Uni before mustering out and beginning play...
Heh - one rule quibble... because so many skill points are received, is there ever a T20 PC created who doesn't have at least one skill rank in Gambling? It's worth it, for the +1 on the mustering out Cash tables, when only the rarest PC will have less than 50 skill points before beginning play...
I hope you can see where I'm coming from. Character generation is needlessly complex - something that we think could be greatly improved by revising or adding some examples and changing the layout.
I know my few simple suggestions (especially the layout one) could involve a lot of work, but I think it would be justified. There have been so many gripes about character generation here and on other boards that I think it will have to be done sometime, so why not sooner rather than later?
Again, please take this in the spirit its intended - constructive criticism, not an attack.
Regards,
Anton
