What rules or tables have you changed already?
- Thread starter Leitz
- Start date
I like this. It reminds me of RISUS clichés.
As I work on the side on my Sword and Planet version of CE I'm modifying the core CE rules to do similar things with skills: no Background or 0-level skills, just an umbrella "background", much as you're using the career for.
Also, no cascade skills. All previous cascade skills are now umbrella skills: just Archery, Gun, Gunnery and Melee for combat skills, for example (much as Engineering in CT included all engineering disciplines, and was not subdivided into specialties).
I'm also ditching any non-adventuring careers, mostly because I don't want to simulate Bureaucrats and Entertainers in an adventure game.
I've also rewritten the core "skill" system to be a core "task" system, so that it doesn't always have to involve a skill: it would, using your background of "Navy-3" for example, just be roll 2D6 for 8+ with background modifier, characteristic bonus optional.
That's it so far.
The game I work on is more story based than random die roll, though dice do play a part. Often there's a modifier for player effort on the task. So reasonable things become easier if the player can explain how the character overcomes issues. For example, a character just gave an introduction speech. Based on the approach the player wrote the speech in I rolled each NPC's reaction and modified accordingly.
I've thought about the 7th Sea "drama dice" mechanic; the player gets one or more dice at the start of the session and they can use them if a critical roll is low. When they use the drama die the DM gets it and can use it for when an NPC action needs some extra.
Haven't actually tried it yet, though. Still working out the kinks.
For the most post I don't game at the scrabble for credits level. Right now I'm trying to drown the PC in success and seeing how he handles it.
I've thought about the 7th Sea "drama dice" mechanic; the player gets one or more dice at the start of the session and they can use them if a critical roll is low. When they use the drama die the DM gets it and can use it for when an NPC action needs some extra.
Haven't actually tried it yet, though. Still working out the kinks.For the most post I don't game at the scrabble for credits level. Right now I'm trying to drown the PC in success and seeing how he handles it.
I added the following to make "my Traveller" more generic for all uses. Each source is OGL/SRD
From Universal Machine Publications:
Basic Character Generation - Added Education Chart
Physical Appearance - Added doc
Family Background - Modified SOC chart and added the rest of document.
University - I added the doc and specified which specific careers gain a a "commission" for non-military degrees and from which degree path taken (Arts, Engineering, Science)
Graduate School - Added doc, modified to incorporate degree paths from University.
From Samardan Press:
Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation - Added all the "Alien Traits". Funny, these alien traits look like they came from D&D...
Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller - Hmm. You can see where this is going...:devil:
From WotC:
o:
d20 SRD - Everything else. Mapped Difficulty from Cepheus Engine to DC from SRD, Skill Levels to Skill Ranks and Die Modifiers to Die Modifiers. Hmm. Those alien traits seem much more useful now. Conversion on-gong. :coffeegulp:
I am a sick piece of wood...:nonono:
From Universal Machine Publications:
Basic Character Generation - Added Education Chart
Physical Appearance - Added doc
Family Background - Modified SOC chart and added the rest of document.
University - I added the doc and specified which specific careers gain a a "commission" for non-military degrees and from which degree path taken (Arts, Engineering, Science)
Graduate School - Added doc, modified to incorporate degree paths from University.
From Samardan Press:
Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation - Added all the "Alien Traits". Funny, these alien traits look like they came from D&D...
Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller - Hmm. You can see where this is going...:devil:
From WotC:
o:d20 SRD - Everything else. Mapped Difficulty from Cepheus Engine to DC from SRD, Skill Levels to Skill Ranks and Die Modifiers to Die Modifiers. Hmm. Those alien traits seem much more useful now. Conversion on-gong. :coffeegulp:
I am a sick piece of wood...:nonono:
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Some of my ex-service buddies have long joked that the game needs a Malingering skill to properly capture the careers.
Let's see, adding a Special Duty roll to careers.
Expanding out the Hull/Jump Table to 10K dtons.
Adapting the 1E MgT High Guard rules for ship sections - and adding ganged drives, so that ships can be up to 60k dtons (though slow...)
TL9 Jump Drive is much slower, it's a month per Jump, not a week.
Added Collectors from T5, plus Antimatter.
Plus I have some rules for Jump Rutters, Shadowing and Masking that I like.
D.
Expanding out the Hull/Jump Table to 10K dtons.
Adapting the 1E MgT High Guard rules for ship sections - and adding ganged drives, so that ships can be up to 60k dtons (though slow...)
TL9 Jump Drive is much slower, it's a month per Jump, not a week.
Added Collectors from T5, plus Antimatter.
Plus I have some rules for Jump Rutters, Shadowing and Masking that I like.
D.
"What's the color of the boathouse at Hereford?"
Isn't this more or less what INT is supposed to be, though? It's Cunning vs. Education's 'Knowledge'. Streetsmarts vs. Booksmarts.
The Recon skill is trained/experienced cunning applied to the environment. If you're a reconnoiterer, you've got your eyes open on the environment.
You'll notice careers that have it as a service skill (Rogue/Pirate/Barbarian/Surface Defense/Scout - others, I'm just glancing) are all jobs where you'd need to keep your eyes out to avoid getting caught by cops/shot by baddies/clawed by monsters.
For careers like Agent, Streetwise is more appropriate since that covers looking out for 'Societal Danger' like not getting nabbed by a mugger.
I like it
Will you be posting it anywhere?
"I am bound by canon."
Tell that to Judges Guild....
Deletions:
75% less passive voice.
Removed the Marines, Mercenaries, and Pirate career fields.
Removed the remaining OTU concepts and items (Those are in the Traveller Books, where they belong).
Stupid stuff (MgT had a lot of that - starting with the mishaps and event tables).
Changes:
Swapped the MgT task system for the MT task system. (Less Math and no need to change any Mgt Tasks - they match up almost exactly - just like the skill set listing. Plus I have the MT task system memorized.) Renamed a number of careers and concepts.
Separate Players and Referee's Manual.
Additions:
Paragraph indentations, white space, and oxford commas (See what I did there.). I also am adding bookmarks and ensuring that the page numbers in the ToC is correct.
Fully justified the text - because nothing says amateur quite like left-justified documents.
Standardized the charts.
Gender neutralized the document.
Law Enforcers (Constables), Journalists, with more to come.
Merging the CE Vehicle SRD, along with the Mercenary & High Guard SRD mechanics - every career field will have a choice of basic or annual character generation (They will end up with about the same amount of skills; just like MT.)
Adding the OGLed content from Orbital 2100.
Adding the OGLed World Generation Tables from Near Space.
Like Nathan, I've added the UGM content to the Players Manual, and the Flynn Guides to the Referee's Manual. I'd also recommend the GM's Guide to Planet Building over on Drivethrurpg - I have found it quite helpful.
To Do:
Building a better Trade System.
Building a Sanity Characteristic, so PCs can deal with the Eldritch horrors that await them in my campaign.
Better Artwork.
Examples (Alien Design, Character Design, Vehicle Design, Ship Design, etc.).
I shall call it:
Call of MegaCepheus Engine. ;p
75% less passive voice.
Removed the Marines, Mercenaries, and Pirate career fields.
Removed the remaining OTU concepts and items (Those are in the Traveller Books, where they belong).
Stupid stuff (MgT had a lot of that - starting with the mishaps and event tables).
Changes:
Swapped the MgT task system for the MT task system. (Less Math and no need to change any Mgt Tasks - they match up almost exactly - just like the skill set listing. Plus I have the MT task system memorized.) Renamed a number of careers and concepts.
Separate Players and Referee's Manual.
Additions:
Paragraph indentations, white space, and oxford commas (See what I did there.). I also am adding bookmarks and ensuring that the page numbers in the ToC is correct.
Fully justified the text - because nothing says amateur quite like left-justified documents.
Standardized the charts.
Gender neutralized the document.
Law Enforcers (Constables), Journalists, with more to come.
Merging the CE Vehicle SRD, along with the Mercenary & High Guard SRD mechanics - every career field will have a choice of basic or annual character generation (They will end up with about the same amount of skills; just like MT.)
Adding the OGLed content from Orbital 2100.
Adding the OGLed World Generation Tables from Near Space.
Like Nathan, I've added the UGM content to the Players Manual, and the Flynn Guides to the Referee's Manual. I'd also recommend the GM's Guide to Planet Building over on Drivethrurpg - I have found it quite helpful.
To Do:
Building a better Trade System.
Building a Sanity Characteristic, so PCs can deal with the Eldritch horrors that await them in my campaign.
Better Artwork.
Examples (Alien Design, Character Design, Vehicle Design, Ship Design, etc.).
I shall call it:
Call of MegaCepheus Engine. ;p
Perception as a rolled attribute. The attribute DM could then be used on Recon checks.
Edit: And following Clone95's post, Streetwise checks.
I quite agree with your comments, especially the use of Streetwise. My play group however felt that Int should be more problem solving cognition rather than perceptive cognition, hence adding Perception as a seperate attribute.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
HRmph, if I am dealing with eldritch horrors (they are space gods after all) I sure as heck want marines around.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
On the recon skill front, as part of a general effort to expand the skills to big generic ala Engineering, I have it as a combined noticing/perceiving/trained observer/sneaking skill. Its' more sedate counterpart is Investigation, the principal skill for LE AND for Scientists, possibly Brokers.
