A Couple of Questions pertaining to a planned traveller game

[Hopeless]

I'm in the throes of setting up a Traveller game which I hope to develop into a campaign and want to ask about a couple of details I'm either using that differ from Mongoose Traveller rules and the backdrop to the campaign itself.

Firstly I was concerned with how any starting character has their education modifier+3 in starting skills but any skills gained by virtue of their homeworld would automatically cut into this so told my players that any homeworld skills they would gain and the bonus skills would be treated as separate.

Now the thing is my game idea is based around the idea that humanity has spread beyond the solar system and although found evidence of alien life has yet to actually encounter such life "officially" so any languages present are based on those from Earth so Im using a list from Central Casting Heroes of Today as an example of lists of available languages being present to select from.

Now all characters have a free languages +1 in their native language so given what I've recently figured out they have the Languages skill at +0 for any others indicating they do know a mish-mash of other languages to back up the idea that a universal translator of sorts is present but as I mentioned to them isn't entirely reliable.

Whats your view on these two details?

Too much or okay?

 

[rust]

It is quite plausible that someone knows a little of all the more common
languages of the region where he lives, especially if he travels a bit - no
problem with that. However, at the same time it is rather implausible that
he knows even a single word of the more rare and remote languages. For
example, I can communicate a little in most languages of major European
nations, but my Basque and Vietnamese are completely non-existent. So
you should perhaps restrict the language skills of the characters a little.

As for homeworld skills in addition to education skills, I see no problem at
all. Since these will all be Level 0 skills, a slightly higher number of them
cannot really damage the system's balance.

 

[rinku]

All sounds quite reasonable to me. Language is very campaign dependant; if you were running a setting where the characters had been raised in a multicultural environment (such as 2nd generation immigrants to a culture different to their parents') two "native" languages would be reasonable, and any setting with multiple cultures in close proximity results in multiple language skill as a common thing (Canada, US/Mexican border, Switzerland, Occupied Japan, Imperial India etc).

It's up to you to allow bonus skills over the Edu+3, based on circumstances. I allow the driving skills (Drive, Flyer depending on tech) as a bonus.

Language 0 per the rules means the character has a "smattering of different words and phrases in many languages"; you need Language (whatever) 1 to actually converse meaningfully.

Having said that, redefining Language so that each major language is a separate skill (including at L0) and dialects are the specialty is a fair treatment. Social Science (linguistics) and J-o-T can be used to cover a character who has a natural talent for language trying to communicate in one they haven't studied to a high degree.

 

[FentonGib]

The first home-rule I've done is to allow my players to pick one free "hobby" level 0 skill from either Art, Carouse, Language or other similar non-combat skill. I find that some worlds have 2-3 (some even 5) trade codes but they only get 2-3 skills, and so they are restricted. This means they have some kind of hobby that they participate in.

Once the players were done I took the concept of the "traveller package" loosely and instead of assigning/letting them pick 1-2 skills from a small package, I manually give them up to 3 skills at levels 0-1 in whatever I thought would help round off their concepts. e.g. one of the naval players (a Captain) I gave Zero-G 0, Discipline 1 (a High Guard skill) and Diplomacy, which he'd somehow failed to get and I thought all should have. To my scout player I gave Gun Combat 1 and Sensors 1. Another player I gave Trade (barkeeping) 0 and Steward 2 (she had 1) as that would be the only role we could find for this player's character (who we all knew was an ex-hitman... but the characters don't) on the ship.

Ultimately 1-2 extra skills (at levels 0-2) isn't going to unbalance things, but it may help round things off nicer to your game setting. This is assuming, of course, that you want the players to be experienced with a few terms under them, rather than 18 years old fresh from school (in which case I'd only give them 1-2 extra level 0s)