average number of skills gained

[Allensh]

I've seen characters with some pretty high skills-to-tours ratios online. I have been involved in a discussion on this topic elsewhere so I looked at 17 characters created for MGT games I have run, dating from the playtest to last Saturday night. If I have this figured out, and removing things like rank skills, connection skills, etc. I am coming up with about 1.4 skill levels per term served. is this about right? with everything added in it was around 2.2 skills per term served.

Allen

 

[Paladin]

That seems too low.
-Two skills for an additional term in a career (1 basic, 1 skills & training)
-rank check possibly 2 new skills
-Events = possibly 2.

 

[Stormraven]

It's that 'possibly' that kills you. Yes, you've got a chance of getting an additional skill due to advancement, but in my creations, I've generally advanced less than a third of the time. Same with Events - you may have a chance, but it's not much of one.

 

[Allensh]

Someone said you don't actually get a skill for being commissioned like you did in CT...but there are some ranks that give auto skills.

We don't use the connections rule either, we tend to use the solo generation rules so that may impact our totals somewhat.

Allen

 

[Emperor Herdan]

For solo creation, I let the PC's pick 2 different career classes and let them use them for the "connection" rule.

Thus I may have a player who has a connection to a service (say Navy) but has a Contact in the Marines...

How and what that connection is, is determined by me and the player...

That might help with the skill gap.

Take care

E. Herdan

 

[zanwot]

-Two skills for an additional term in a career (1 basic, 1 skills & training)

That's one skill per additional term. No more garanteed. Where do you see 2 skills? (appart from the level 0 skill(f) of first term)

Extra skills are indeed all dependant on rolls or specials (advancement/promotion can give you up to two skills, event say one skill on average, plus contacts and group package)
The only ways to garantee high ratio of skills are:
* make sure you have good attribute modifiers for advancement and survival roll.
* try to not waste the "skill 1" you get through ranks or events (by not getting them before getting the rank if possible, or by choosing to try for a promotion or not intelligently)
* be lucky.

 

[AKAramis]

-Two skills for an additional term in a career (1 basic, 1 skills & training)

That's one skill per additional term. No more garanteed. Where do you see 2 skills? (appart from the level 0 skill(f) of first term)

one event table has a two skill entry: Scholar, entry 3.
Several other tabels have a skill and a stat on entry 3

Expected skill receipts per term: 2 levels, plus any rank skills. I went through and calculated the odds, and the average for MGT is 2 skills per term, plus connections, package, level 0's and rank skills.

 

[Paladin]

-Two skills for an additional term in a career (1 basic, 1 skills & training)

That's one skill per additional term. No more garanteed. Where do you see 2 skills? (appart from the level 0 skill(f) of first term).

Upon yet ANOTHER reread, you're right. We've been doing it wrong. Using #4 on the quick ref checklist we read it as each additional term, not just additional career allowed you to pick a basic skill to raise.
One new/improved skill in 4 years...kind of disappointing.

 

[captainjack23]

-Two skills for an additional term in a career (1 basic, 1 skills & training)

That's one skill per additional term. No more garanteed. Where do you see 2 skills? (appart from the level 0 skill(f) of first term).

Upon yet ANOTHER reread, you're right. We've been doing it wrong. Using #4 on the quick ref checklist we read it as each additional term, not just additional career allowed you to pick a basic skill to raise.
One new/improved skill in 4 years...kind of disappointing.

Well, even if it is only one skill, keep in mind that going from no skill to skill 1 represents going from untrained to well trained with experience (from -3 to +1) - and if level 2/3 is a graduate degree or master of trade level , the time is certainly reasonable; and one can certainly get more skills in 4 years. Some terms are more productive than others - personally, I think I may have just finished one of the 1 skill terms...after a two or three skill term.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Someone said you don't actually get a skill for being commissioned like you did in CT...but there are some ranks that give auto skills.

We don't use the connections rule either, we tend to use the solo generation rules so that may impact our totals somewhat.

Allen

All of the mongoose careers give you a skill at O1, so that is basically the same as a Commisioning skill, they just pick it for you!

 

[Allensh]

Point taken

Allen

 

[Paladin]

That's one skill per additional term. No more garanteed. Where do you see 2 skills? (appart from the level 0 skill(f) of first term).

Upon yet ANOTHER reread, you're right. We've been doing it wrong. Using #4 on the quick ref checklist we read it as each additional term, not just additional career allowed you to pick a basic skill to raise.
One new/improved skill in 4 years...kind of disappointing.

Well, even if it is only one skill, keep in mind that going from no skill to skill 1 represents going from untrained to well trained with experience (from -3 to +1) - and if level 2/3 is a graduate degree or master of trade level , the time is certainly reasonable; and one can certainly get more skills in 4 years. Some terms are more productive than others - personally, I think I may have just finished one of the 1 skill terms...after a two or three skill term.

Even in college you learn more than one skill.

Different spin. 4 years in the military you're going to learn any number of these skills depending on their position, certainly more than 1:
Astrogation
Athletics
Comms
Drive
Engineer
Explosives
Gunner
Hvy Wpns
Leadership
Mechanic
Medic
Melee
Navigation
Pilot
Recon
Sensors
Space Sci
Survival
Tactics
Vacc Suit

 

[captainjack23]

Upon yet ANOTHER reread, you're right. We've been doing it wrong. Using #4 on the quick ref checklist we read it as each additional term, not just additional career allowed you to pick a basic skill to raise.
One new/improved skill in 4 years...kind of disappointing.

Well, even if it is only one skill, keep in mind that going from no skill to skill 1 represents going from untrained to well trained with experience (from -3 to +1) - and if level 2/3 is a graduate degree or master of trade level , the time is certainly reasonable; and one can certainly get more skills in 4 years. Some terms are more productive than others - personally, I think I may have just finished one of the 1 skill terms...after a two or three skill term.

Even in college you learn more than one skill.

Different spin. 4 years in the military you're going to learn any number of these skills depending on their position, certainly more than 1:
Astrogation
Athletics
Comms
Drive
Engineer
Explosives
Gunner
Hvy Wpns
Leadership
Mechanic
Medic
Melee
Navigation
Pilot
Recon
Sensors
Space Sci
Survival
Tactics
Vacc Suit

for your 4 years in a career (military or otherwise)in traveller, you learn at least six service skills at level -0 (trained) and a minimum of one at level 1 .
(trained and experienced).


Across four terms, you can learn a minimum of 10 skill/levels (six from above, one per term minimum), or, potentially six skills + one at world class expert levels.

Granted, you may lose a few to the "level 0 +1 =1" effect, but those will almost certainly be balanced by the opportunity for promotion and event skills.


I admit that yes, only getting one skill in any given career term seems a bit slim, but its the final result that matters it seems to me. I suppose one could spread out the basic skills across the terms served, but that would actually act to reduce the number of skills overall (careers ending befofe all basic skills learned). In essence, the system front loads the character with a (fairly) excessive number of skills so as to allow even 1 term wonders to be playable.