Traveller-digest       Tuesday, June 10 1997       Volume 1997 : Number 1417



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Star ship design question
Re:initiative
Jump troops and acceleration
Re: Star ship design question
Re: Initiative Thoughts
Re: Tech level dependant skills
Re: Hydrogen Bubbles (was Re: Star ship design question)
PE vs reality(tm)
Scenario: Generation-Ship
Re: TRAVELLER digest 499
Re: Traveller-digest V1997 #1415
T4.1 Char Gen Checklist

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 17:01:11 -0600
From: "David J. Golden" <goldendj@pcisys.net>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

At 12:55 am 06/09/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Ive started laying out a set of deck plans for a 200 std yaght. I used
>the SSDS Design Templates for Excel to determine the volume for the
>various components, and to add some custom touches. While laying out the
>design I noticed that the fusion power plant I used to power the ship
>used only 125 M3 for fuell for a year and was capable of powerring the
>ship, including a 1G thruster drive, which needed no seperate fuel.
>However the 1J jump drive demands 280 M3 for fuel space for 1 jump. Now
>maybey one of the gearhead types could explain why I can build a ship
>that needs only a minimuim of fuel for a YEAR to move around inside a

	There's a lot of energy in hydrogen when you fuse it. Throw in the magical
thruster drive, which breaks physical laws, and there's no reason you can't
move around as long as you have power.

>system, but can't jump without more than five times as much LIQUID fuel?
>Does the J-drive burn the fuel, or is it pushed through the power plant
>to increase it's output just before jump? And what about accumulators?
>Could I replace the liquid fuel with accumulators to store power over
>time for the jump? If accumulators are used how can I determine what
>size PP to install for what lenth charge rate? I'm sure someone has

	Jump drives require both ENERGY to "rip" the hole between our space and
jump space, as well as MATTER to stabilize the "bubble" of normal space
around the ship while you're in jump space. Jump drives already include
accumulators to store the energy prior to opening the jump rift, but you
have to have the "fuel" to provide the matter necessary to keep the walls
of the bubble away from your ship.
- -- Dave Golden                  http://www.pcisys.net/~goldendj --
   goldendj@pcisys.net                       finger for PGP key
    *** USE OF THE ABOVE EMAIL FOR SOLICITATION PROHIBITED ***

 "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his
  enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes
  a precedent that will reach to himself" -- Thomas Paine

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 22:44:21 -0500
From: The Stump Family <stumps@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re:initiative

Anders wrote;

<snip>

> At one time I toyed with the idea that combat experience is the flipside of
> karisma. The more karismatic/empathic you are (better at relating to others
> etc) the worse off you are in a fight. This would work nicely as a
> Travellers version of CoC sanity/Cyberpunk psuchosis: The more combat you
> endure the harder you'll have relating to other humans. Finally you'll need
> psychiatric care.

Well... IMHO this is inaccurate. I spent a lot of years living and
working with U.S. Army Special Forces troops; lots of training, lot of
combat experience, tons of training, etc. One guy I knew walked into a
dark room from bright sunlight, caught a dart thrown at him in jest and
snapped it across the room and hit the dart board... all in one smooth
motion, all without warning, all in less time than it takes to say
'boo!'. And S.F. guys are usually the nicest, most polite people you
will ever meet. My wife (a non-military type) says they were the most
gentlemanly group she ever met. IMHO a skilled professional soldier will
be very self assured and, thus, very empathic.

[Kinda' off-topic, but close]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 23:08:50 -0500
From: The Stump Family <stumps@earthlink.net>
Subject: Jump troops and acceleration

Somewhere at the beginning of this thread was a question (from... well,
someone. Sorry I can't remember the original poster) about the g-forces
jtroops could withstand on reentry and how this would affect approach
vectors for drop ships. I recently dug out an article from _The
Foundation Point_ VolI, Issue 1, by Eric Lee where he lists data from
_The Bioastronautics Book_ from Nasa that used various human and animal
test data on g-stress as well as data gathered from high-speed accidents
where g-force was extrapolated. The first table I will reproduce is for
sustained acceleration (more than 30 seconds, but LESS THAN 15 minutes!)

Tolerance for subjects
Time		Accel couch<Gs>		G-Tank<Gs>
(in min)		
..5			23		  28
1			17		  22
2			12		  17
3			8		  14
4			7		  12
5			6		  9
6			5		  8
7			4		  7
8			4		  6
9+			3		  6

at longer periods extreme pain/fatigue resulted. At higher Gs pain,
difficulty breathing, etc. were reported. Above 6 Gs breathing was
difficult and NO arm/leg movement was possible above 7Gs

The second chart is for short period (<6 seconds) acceleration

Accel time 	Safe	Moderate injury		Severe/lethal injury
(in seconds)	 <Gs>	     <Gs>			<Gs>
..005		 <45	     45-160			>160
..01		 <45	     45-100			>100
..02		 <40	     45-70			>70
..05		 <40	     40-45			>45
..1		 <40	     40-42			>42
..5		 <18	     18-26			>26
1		 <14	     14-31			>31
2		 <13	     13-23			>23
5		 <12	     12-26			>26

Considering that there is an estimated 20% variance between subjects and
that the Jtroops will not be in acceleration couches, I think it is safe
to assume that they could withstand a (battledress/jump capsule
assisted) 10G acceleration for 5 seconds. (interesting aside... the high
G tolerance at the shorter durations is believed to be because the human
body is, effectively, a rigid object in a short duration exposure. But,
accident data seems to indicate that no human could surviveexposure to
250 Gs for any duration. Not that this should surprise anyone....)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 21:23:39 -0800
From: Richard Hough <rdhough@orca.bc.ca>
Subject: Re: Star ship design question

>I have wanted to post this before... but, here goes... if "SO" much energy
>is required why cant it be stored in some sort of accumulator and
>generated slowly... This would require no excess fuel and would increase
>the area available for the rest of the ship for other aspects...

I think one of the important points of Scott's post is that it *dosen't*
take "so much" energy to jump. The majority of the jump "fuel" is actually
displacement mass needed to create a pocket universe in J-space. You can
use accumulators or a power plant to operate the drive machinery, pumps,
and so on, but you must have displacement mass to jump.

This also explains why jump drives aren't used as super-power-plants, why
ships don't get melted to slag by waste heat, and how the Annic Nova was
able to jump merely with solar energy; jump drives just don't produce that
much power. We can assume the Annic Nova also had one of those "metastable
pocket universes" so it didn't need displacement mass. In my campaign such
metastable jump bubbles are occasionally encountered and are extremely
valuable.

If you inject the displacement mass into the pocket universe from a single
point, the hydrogen will have a high probability of fusing and we can use
some of the energy leakage to power the jump machinery, so this explains
where jump drives get their power too.

Good post, Scott. I like it.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 22:04:22 -0800
From: Peter Newman <pnewman@alaska.net>
Subject: Re: Initiative Thoughts

Kenneth Bearden wrote
> Subject: Re: Initiative Thoughts

> What if the initiative throw was skill dependent?  If you were
> attempting a hand to hand attack, you use your Brawling skill as a
> DM.  If you were attempting a direct fire shot, you use your weapon
> skill as a DM.
> 
> In this instance, we are not using blanket DMs for everything the
> character does.  A character who is highly skilled with a rifle can
> klick off rounds right after the other, while he may not be so good
> at punching another guy in the face.
> 
> In this way, skill not only helps the character be more accurate
> (with the to hit throw) but also improves his speed (initiative
> throw).
> 
> When just throwing around ideas, that one seems to have some merit.

This is good in theory but probably too complicated for ease of use.


> I would prefer a more simple solution. 

How about just using TNE's initiative ?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 22:23:20 -0800
From: Peter Newman <pnewman@alaska.net>
Subject: Re: Tech level dependant skills

Richard Hough wrote

> >I have a question about certain Skills that should be Tech level
> >dependant. Should a
> >Ships engineer who was taught at a T12 University be able to work on T14
> >stuff?
> >This just doesn't seem logical. There are lots of skills (at least
> >technical skills)
> >which are Tech level dependant or should be. Has anybody every thought about
> >some rule modifications which would correct this?

IIRC in MT the official rule was that a charecters skill level was that
the task increased in difficulty by 1 level for each TL the equiptment
being used was in advance of that the charecter was familiar with (the
homeplanet TL for charecters who had never left their homeworld or the
prevailing high TL for travellers).  Thus if Joe Bob Gustafson was from
a TL 9 world and had never left his home planet (say he had served as a
cop or bureaucrat) it would be 4 difficulty levels harder for him to use
a TL 13 computer.

When using equiptment from a lower TL the task was 1 difficulty level
harder for each tech _code_ it was below the TL he was familiar with.

Tech Code Table (MT Players manual pg 13)

TL 0 - 3	Pre Industrial
TL 4 - 5	Industrial
TL 6 - 8	Pre Stellar
TL 9 - A	Early Stellar
TL B - D	Average Stellar
TL E - G	High Stellar
TL H +		Extreme Stellar

So if Joe Bob Gustafson were to try to use a TL 8 computer it would be 1
difficulty level harder.
> 
> I think a character who was educated at TL 12 should be able to work on TL
> 14 stuff; just not very well. On the other hand a TL 14-educated character
> should be able to work on TL 12 equipment, but not as well as the TL
> 12-educated one because of their lack of familiarity.

The MT rules did provide for this.

If you want to make the TL penalties both less harsh and more realistic
(in a cinematic fashion) you might consider the following scheme.

For every 1 Tl higher or tech code lower the equipment being used is
decrease the charecters skill level by 1.  If the effective skill level
drops below 0 treat the task attempt as unskilled (because it is).

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 09:10:16 +0100
From: anders.backman@aniware.se (Anders Backman)
Subject: Re: Hydrogen Bubbles (was Re: Star ship design question)

>Why Hydrogen?
>
>Heavier elements react violently with jumpspace. Hydrogen, and some
>isotopes of Helium (just throwing that in for fun...) seem to be
>relatively inert. This is why it is imperative that the hydrogen be free
>from impurities. Small impurities in the bubble may cause jumpspace
>incursion and misjumps.

<hand waving ON>
Hydrogen is used as jump-displacement mass for a reason: You want the
particles that make up the bubble to contain as little uncharged mass as
possible and hydrogen is protons only. Neutrons degrade the effect quite a
bit and therefore some jumpdrive users filter out any deuterium, helium
whatever to improve stability of the jumpbubble (can you say refined fuel
anybody). The earliest j-drives (TL-9) where REQUIRED to use hydrogen only
and also couldn't create a nonspherical jumpfield thus requiring the ships
to be spherical or use an awful lot more jumpfuel.
<hand waving OFF>

This is not that well thought out I admit but I think it sounds a bit more
physics like than 'reacts violently to jumpspace'.


/Anders Backman
Aniware AB
anders.backman@aniware.se

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 09:08:43 +0100
From: anders.backman@aniware.se (Anders Backman)
Subject: PE vs reality(tm)

>My suggestion for infrastructure improvement is that it costs RUs equal to
>the TL of the planet for each labor point (100,000,000 people).
>
>Similarily, I recommend a cost of RUs equal to infrastructure per labor
>point to uplift technology.
>
>The cost of establishing a new colony should be Inf*TL per labor point.
>
>The cost of moving people should be 10 RU per parsec per labor point.
>
>Transportation costs should add 10% per parsec to foreign investments, not
>50%.

The thing I disliked most about PE (so far, I got it yesterday) is the
apparent lack of TL impact on society. A high TL world according to PE is
like a low TL one but better. The only real TL advantage that plays a role
is jumpdrive but surprisingly enough the transportation costs does not seem
to go down with TL and the disadvantages of atmos etc doesn't alter with TL
either.
As have been seen from "history" again and again is that higher TL is not
only a quantitatative advance but a qualitative one as well. Terrans got
their mesonguns and whipped the Vilanis, when we get high powered lasers
we'll stop using high flying aircraft in warfare, out of womb child
carriage will improve population growth enormously etc.

Are there anybody interested in a PE rules discussion along the lines of
the gearhead one? Do some reality checking, handwaving etc (whats the PE
equivalent of a frac c rock?). I think PE despite some flaws (mostly in
presentation) is one of the most important things to come out for Traveller
ever.
I hereby dub such a thread as 'PE vs reality(tm)'


/Anders Backman
Aniware AB
anders.backman@aniware.se

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 10:11:07 MET
From: "Volker A. Greimann" <GREI5001@uni-trier.de>
Subject: Scenario: Generation-Ship

Hi folks,
yesterday during a perticularly boring lecture, i hit upon a new idea 
for a scenario: Travel onboard a GenerationVessel, a whole new take 
on the "limited space" campaigns. 
I am already outlining the first adventures, and the background, and 
i'll post more on that when i am done, but for now i ask the list 
what adventures you can think of on such a vessel. I am thinking of a 
vessel that can carry 10.000 individuals onboard. 
At first it will be a dictatorial govt. and policestate, later a 
rebellion (led by PC's) will hopefully transform the societey into a 
more agreeable path!
So, any ideas, comments, etc.? 
When i am done (which may be a while since my studies take most of my 
time at the moment), i will post everything here and on my Web-Page!






Ad Astra,
V.A.G.       
- ------  Volker A. Greimann, also known as: Grei5001@uni-trier.de  ----
- -- Am Weidengraben 86,C6 - 54296 Trier - Germany - T+F: +49651148846 -
- ------- check out: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/4061 --------
- ---- Student of Law, Gamer, Illuminatus Primus, Slayer of Windows95 --

- -----  "Don't hold me up: I am just barely ahead of insanity!!!" -----

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 10:41:03 MET
From: "Volker A. Greimann" <GREI5001@uni-trier.de>
Subject: Re: TRAVELLER digest 499

A long, long time ago in a galax..., HHale posted the following:
- ->    James Cambias, a frequent contributor to Challenge, is being brought
- -> on board to write the final two parts of the Virus Redux Epics.  I have
- -> no further information on Mr. Cambias, though it would appear that he
- -> will be picking up some of the slack created by Dave's and Loren's
- -> change of status.

Is there any way to contact Mr. Cambias, to find out what the plans 
were for the final two parts of Virus Redux? The first part seemed 
interesting, so i wonder how it would have continued.
Anyone? Hhale?
Ad Astra,
V.A.G.       
- ------  Volker A. Greimann, also known as: Grei5001@uni-trier.de  ----
- -- Am Weidengraben 86,C6 - 54296 Trier - Germany - T+F: +49651148846 -
- ------- check out: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/4061 --------
- ---- Student of Law, Gamer, Illuminatus Primus, Slayer of Windows95 --

- -----  "Don't hold me up: I am just barely ahead of insanity!!!" -----

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 04:46:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: pawn@CAM.ORG (Glenn Grant)
Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1997 #1415

I'm one of those players who likes to know as much as possible about their
character before the game starts. I want to know everything about their
homeworld, the culture they were born into, what happened to them when they
were young, what kind of family they had... anything that will help make
the character live and breath as a unique and interesting individual.

Like most players, I like to let my creativity fly, sparking ideas from my
UPP stats, homeworld skills and UWP, background skills, career history, and
so on. A detailed homeworld write-up can be a source of lots of character
development ideas, and if it isn't a world drawn from the game setting,
I'll work with the referee to quickly sketch out the world's physical
environment and cultural profile. Culture determines many aspects of the
character's family - big or small? dominated by one or the other sex?
healthy or dysfunctional? Eventually a general character history suggests
itself.

Still, there's a lot about the character I don't know. For more
information, I'll need a detailed history of virtually everything they've
ever experienced. Well, why not? Why not come up with a system for sparking
ideas for detailing major formative experiences and turning points in the
PC's life?

The Life Events generation system is designed to serve this need. Don't
expect it to do all the work for you: it's only intended to give your
imagination a jolt in the right direction. It provides vague general
suggestions which you're expected to flesh out in detail.


The System

The Life Events system consists of twelve short tables: six "Personal
Development" tables and six "Transformative Events" tables. These labels
are highly arbitrary: they could just as easily be called Group One and
Group Two. Similarly, the tables themselves have vague names, some of them
redundant or meaninglessly broad: Single Life, Love Life, Relationships,
Career, Finances, Health, Change, Discover, Law & Crime, Turning Points,
Social Conflict, and Major Event. Below the twelve events tables, there are
few extra tables - I'll describe them in a moment.

Depending on how much detail you're looking for, or how much time you want
to spend on the process, you can roll up a separate event for each year of
the character's life, or for each two year period, or for each five year
period. It's up to you. But one event per year is usually more than enough
for an eventful life history.

You can skip the PC's first twelve years and roll from that age onward (the
system isn't specifically designed to generate childhood life events). Or
you can start with the PC's year of birth, but in this case you should
assume that most of the results apply not to the character but to their
parents or guardians: their experiences, obviously, can have a major
influence on the development of their children. Thus, the character's
parents might divorce, or the family might move to a new home (or planet,
for that matter), or their financial fortunes might change radically.

When the character is over the age of twelve, continue to use this rule of
thumb: if the result of a roll doesn't make sense for the character,
interpret it as the experience of someone close to the character, such as a
parent, sibling, lover, friend, whatever. For instance, if a roll
determines that your PC "splits up or gets a divorce," but they aren't
currently involved in a relationship, just assume that the PC's parents
have split up, or their best friend is going through a divorce.

The Events Tables refer to the character as "you". The word "You" is
assumed to proceed the Event description, as in: [You] "are involved in a
lawsuit".

The Events listed are supposed to be influential, pivotal, or in some way
character-forming. Obviously the PC will have a lot of inconsequential
experiences and relationships, but those aren't worth generating. Don't
just jot down the result as listed, such as "try a new sport"; instead,
work out the specifics of the event, and its consequences for the
character, rolling results randomly if necessary: "Age 19: Ensign Phred
takes a course in Free Fall Jujitsu, but quickly washes out, as the
instructor delights in humiliating late starters."

Similarly, if the tables say the PC falls in love, work out the
consequences. In love with whom? Roll up the lover's UPP; do the couple
have radically different Social Standings? Are they badly mismatched in
Intelligence or Education? Is the love returned, or unrequited? Again,
determine the outcomes with die rolls if you want, or make it all up. You
can assume the relationship lasts a long time, at least until another roll
determines that's it's Over. If it's just an "affair," you might give it a
randomly-determined time limit.

Remember to take into consideration the world you're on at the time of the
event - your homeworld, or a planet you're stationed on, or a ship for that
matter. Make use of the local culture, geography, Tech Level, Law Level,
whatever is appropriate. Sometimes, to determine the outcome of an event,
the UWP stats can be used as target numbers for rolls. For instance, if you
are "diagnosed with a serious disease or disorder", roll the world's Tech
Level or less on 3D to recover fully (use more dice or less, depending on
the lethality of the disease). A failure might imply that someone close to
the PC died of the disease. Similarly, use your UPP stats for target
numbers. If you are "involved in a lawsuit", you might roll your Social
Standing or less on 2D to win a favourable ruling. If you "try a new drug",
try rolling your Endurance or higher on 2D to avoid addiction. And so on.

Don't be a slave to the dice. It's your PC after all - you can make
decisions at any time. If the PC settles down with a partner, it might make
perfect sense that they have children, whether or not this comes up as an
Event roll; after all, pregnancies can be planned or unexpected. However,
since Traveller is about Travellers, it's generally a good idea to assume
that the PC will begin the game single, or at least not living with a
partner - unless you and your referee think that a marriage can be worked
into the game.

The referee should be allowed to check the final character history for
consistency with the setting (especially some of the large scale events
such as wars and disasters). But the other players don't necessarily have
to know any of it. You might have two versions - one the life story you
tell to your shipmates; the other listing experiences even your lovers
don't know about....


To Roll for Events:

For each year (or period of two years, etc):

Roll one die to select a group of tables. 
        1-3: Personal Development group
        4-6: Transformative Events group
Roll one die to select a table from that group.
Roll one die to select an event from that table.

Interpret the results very freely. Fudge as necessary.


1 - 3. Personal Development group

 1. Single Life
   1  start or end an affair
   2  start or end an affair
   3  start or end an affair
   4  start or end an affair 
   5  move in together with someone, or move out
   6  have a falling-out, or reconciliation

 2. Love Life
   1  fall in love with someone
   2  fall madly in love someone
   3  get pregnant, or get someone pregnant
   4  become celibate for a long period
   5  confront your lover regarding a serious problem
   6  question your sexual lifestyle, role, or orientation
 
 3. Relationships
   1  get engaged to be married (or betrothed)
   2  get married (or enter a long term pact)
   3  have fights with partner
   4  go for counselling with partner
   5  separate from partner
   6  split up or get a divorce

 4. Change
   1  change your religion, sect, or philosophy
   2  change your political affiliation
   3  change your home
   4  join an important organization
   5  perform a major rite of passage
   6  become a celebrity

 5. Discovery
   1  try a new sport or recreational activity
   2  become an ardent fan of an athlete, artist, or performer
   3  become involved in visual art, or a new musical form
   4  become a volunteer for charity, development, or community
   5  become involved in media
   6  try a new drug

 6.  Turning Point
   1  reveal a secret to someone, or learn someone's secret
   2  become a colonist, pilgrim, seeker, or wanderer
   3  become a recluse, loner, or outcast (or cease to be one)
   4  encounter an important person from your past
   5  have an experience which changes your worldview
   6  a relative dies (and perhaps leaves an inheritance)


4 - 6 Transforming Events group

 1. Health
   1  are diagnosed with a serious disease or disorder
   2  are badly injured
   3  have a mental/emotional disorder or breakdown
   4  require a transplant organ, or donate one
   5  get a minor body modification
   6  decide on a major body modification

 2. Career
   1  get a new job or assigment
   2  lose your position
   3  get a new boss or partner
   4  have a major success
   5  have a major failure
   6  feel your career is stagnating

 3. Finances
   1  make a major purchase (home, vehicle, land, etc)
   2  find yourself deeply in debt
   3  get out of debt, or declare bankruptcy
   4  invest with great success
   5  invest with great losses
   6  go on the dole, or receive a grant

 4. Law & Crime
   1  become involved in crime or conspiracy
   2  become a victim of crime or conspiracy
   3  become involved in a lawsuit
   4  get into trouble with the law
   5  are publicly accused of a crime
   6  are affected by a new law or crackdown

 5.  Social Conflict
   1  are betrayed by someone you trust, or betray someone
   2  join, or oppose, a controversial social movement
   3  are caught up in a feud or other factional conflict
   4  encounter discrimination or intolerance
   5  encounter oppression or exploitation
   6  make an enemy or encounter an old one

 6. Major Event
   1  survive a major disaster, natural or otherwise
   2  are caught up in a war or armed uprising
   3  experience a famine or other severe shortage
   4  are caught up in violent civil disorder, rioting, or protests
   5  experience a kidnapping, hostage crisis, or terror attack
   6  are caught up in political upheaval or revolution


If you need to determine the identity of another person related in some way
to your PC, you can roll on the 'Others' table below. For instance, if you
roll an event that isn't appropriate for your character, you might decide
that it applies to a person determined by a roll on this table. 

Others
   1  A relative, or one of your children, if any
   2  One of your siblings
   3  One of your parents/guardians
   4  Your lover, spouse, partner, or close friend
   5  A friend, mentor, or hero
   6  A rival, enemy, ex-spouse, or ex-lover

If you're a real fanatic, you might roll up some of the more important
people in your character's life, and perhaps even roll up their life
histories (though you might want to only roll one event per three years,
say). This can add whole new dimensions to your PC, discovering how the
lives of lovers, enemies, siblings, or children intertwine with your
character's life.

Bear in mind that a good referee will find a lot of inspiration in all of
this. Expect people from your past to unexpectedly pop up in the middle of
an adventure. That high school rival who ruined your first romance; that
ex-wife you thought you'd gotten away from forever; that twin brother who's
supposed to be long-lost... But of course this is one of the best reasons
for going to all the trouble. It brings the game to life and adds to the
fun.

Feel free to adapt and modify the system to your liking, or adapt it to
your game as necessary. Heretics who like icosahedrals or ten-sided dice
might want to convert it into a single D100 system (not a bad idea, really
- - even if it just ain't Traveller!)....

Comments and suggestions are most welcome.





    -----------------------Glenn Grant-----------------------  
                         <pawn@cam.org>
    Web: <http://helios.physics.utoronto.ca:8080/ggrant.html>
"Nature abhors normality. It can't go too long without a mutant."
                        --Dr Blockhead

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 05:51:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: CardSharks@aol.com
Subject: T4.1 Char Gen Checklist

CHARACTER GENERATION
CHECKLIST
	Use the following sequence to create Traveller characters.

	1. Basic Characteristics. Roll the six personal characteristics (2D each):
Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, and Social Standing.

	2. Name. Decide on this character's name. (this step may be delayed until
the end of the sequence).
	3. Birthworld. Determine the character's birthworld.
		A. On TL Group Table, roll 1D for TL Group. Note Starport Range (in
parentheses).
		B. On World Determination Table, roll 2D for world trade classifications
using the correct column for TL Group.
		C. On Starport Table, roll 1D for the specific starport type.
	4. Homeworld. If player decides that homeworld is not the same as
birthworld, determine homeworld.
		A. On TL Group Table, roll 1D for TL Group. Note Starport Range (in
parentheses).
		B. On World Determination Table, roll 2D for world trade classifications
using the correct column for TL Group.
		C. On Starport Table, roll 1D for the specific starport type.
	5. Homeworld Skills. Determine homeworld skills. For each trade
classification of the homeworld, on World Skills Table 1 or World Skills
Table 2, roll 1D to determine the specific skill received.
	6. Education. Determine Educational Background.
		A. Initial Schooling. Scan the Available Schools Table to determine which
prerequisites for education are met (University, Military, Naval, Merchant
Academy or Educational Certificate,). If additional education is to be
pursued, and prerequisites are met, consult the specific Educational
Institution and 
			1. Roll for Admission. If this roll is failed, character may immediately
attempt admission at any other schools for which the prerequisites are met. 
			2. Roll for Perseverance. If this roll is failed, the character spends one
half-die in years (1-3 years) in attendance (including for Education
Certificate) and receives one skill for each year spent, but does not receive
the school's education increase or degree. Re-admission is not possible.
			3. Attendees at University or Merchant Academy may also attempt to join
NOTC or OTC.
			4. Roll for Honors.
			5. Increase Education Level.
			6. Select Major.
			7. Roll (or choose) skills.
			8. Receive Degree.
		B. Subsequent Schooling. Scan the Available Schools Table for any other
schools for which the prerequisites are met. If so, and that school is
desired, roll for admission and return to step 2 above.
	7. Service. Determine Career Path.
		A. Select Career. Select a career from the Available Careers Table.
		B. Resolve Career. Consult the specific Career Page and
			1. Roll for Enlistment. If unsuccessful, re-application for enlistment is
not possible.
				a) Apply for enlistment in any other career, or
				b) Roll on Random Career Selection Table, or
				c) Roll on The Draft.
			2. Roll for Injury. If an injury occurs, roll one half-die for the years
served. Resolve that number of years, and proceed to Muster Out.
				a) If Army, Navy, or Marines and Injury roll is 10, 11, or 12, consult
the Military Heroism Awards Table.
				b) In any service, an Injury reduces one characteristic; consult the
Injury Table.
			3. Roll for Commission (if possible in the career).
			4. Roll for Promotion (if possible in the career).
			5. Roll for Continuance. If Continuance fails, the career ends at the end
of the current term.
			6. Determine skill eligibility.
				a) Automatic Skills.
				b) Allowed Skills. Player chooses which of the six career tables to roll
on (each table may be different) and rolls 1D until all currently allowed
skills are taken.
			7. If player decides to continue and that is possible, go to step 2.
	8. Muster Out. Roll on the Muster Out Cash or the Muster Out Benefits
Tables, taking one benefit for each term served, and one benefit if the
character held a commission. If Muster Out is required due to Injury, the
total number of benefit rolls allowed is doubled.
		A. Cash Tables. A maximum of three of the allowed rolls may be on the
Muster Out Cash Table. If Muster Out is due to Injury, the maximum number of
allowed rolls is six.
		B. Benefit Table. Any number of the allowed rolls are permitted on the
Muster Out Benefits Table.
	9. Possessions. If any Muster Out benefits are possessions, note them.
	10. Cold Sleep Weeks. Determine the total number of weeks spent by the
character in Cold Sleep during service.
		A. Roll 2D on the Low Passage Effects Table.
		B. Multiply the result by the number of terms served (to a maximum of 4
terms).
	11. Determine Birthdate.
		A. On the Birthdate Table, determine standard birthdate.
		B. If any Cold Sleep Weeks, determine true birthdate.
	12. Hit Boxes. Mark hit boxes available on the Character Card.
	13. Comments. Mark any comments in the Character Card Comments box.
		A. Injury. Note nature of any injuries received in service.
		B. Educational Institutions attended.
		C. Characteristic Alterations received (note totals).
		D. Note if still in service.
		E. Entertainer comments.
		F. Agent comments.
		G. Rogue comments.
		H. Military awards.
			1. Heroism Awards.
			2. Wound Badges.
	14. Aging. At the end of each term (beginning with term 6), determine the
effects of aging on the character.
	15. Skills. Note skills received.
		A. List in alphabetical order.
		B. Note Cascade skills received in parentheses behind the specific skill
selected.

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End of Traveller-digest V1997 #1417
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