Experience/Advancement system - modification

[Delerium]

Firstly, hello all, this being my first post here.

Enjoying the new traveller thus far, mostly.

In order to satisy my players' thirst for some limited advancement through skill use, I decided to make this system, which so far seems fairly balanced so far. It is designed to sit alongside the method in the book of studying to learn skills.
This method represents the on-the-job accumulation of skills, whereby it is much quicker to pick up a working knowledge (level 0) rather than attain the higher levels.

I do realise this may be herecy to some, but I think I have set it fairly low-key so as not to be the primary objective or source of gain for players.



Experience Points needed to learn a new skill:

Current skills points grand total + level of skill you wish to learn x 20

e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Vacc Suit 0, needs 22 points
e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Gun Cbt 1,having level 0 already, needs 42 points

Players can only go for skills that have been successfully attempted and used in previous game-play in a live situation, whereby failure may have some consequences. This prevents people all learning Pilot 0 , for example, for just messing about with a spaceship. It has to be used in a live situation, hence not a job you would necessarilty entrust to an unqualified person in that case!
Also you must learn level 0, before you go for level 1.



Experience point awards
I normally give this at the end of each adventure or session. I do not tell the players what points they get. It's all secret. I just tell them when they have enough points available for a possible skill gain.


Exceptionally clever use of a skill: +1
Roleplaying: +0-2
Surviving(including evading) +1
a hazardous situation/fight
An amazing idea/insight +1
Mission objective complete +2-5




Any comments, positive or negative welcome.

 

[GamerDude]

Sounds like an interesting system and you've kept away from the "I kill the hedge hog, how many XP do I get for it?" mentality.

I like that you've thought out things like skills they don't use or just wouldn't get to learn without a reason (pilot 0).

Good job. I'll give it some more thought and come back with a deeper comment (if I have one)

 

[Tipsy]

Howdy,

Below are Xp/Fatepoint house-rules I’m floating for an upcoming Mongoose Traveller game and have cross-posted over at rpg.net. I'd love your comments and or your own rules.

Please note that I know that many Traveller fans find the notion of xp rules heresy. I have been a Traveller guy since the late 1980s and have always found that Xp systems improve the games I play in or run.

So please, if you are going to criticize the very notion of adding experience rules to the Traveller Toolkit, please refrain from commenting. I've seen some ugly dogpiles and would like to avoid another one.

Finally, I have borrowed liberally from 3:16- Carnage Among the Stars because the Flashback mechanic rocks. It really really does.

So for those interested in such things, please take a look and tell me what you think. Or feel free to share your own rules.

Thanks!

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1-3 Xp per session, playing every two weeks, average of two xps per session. I’m not expecting the campaign to go on forever.

Cost to increase a skill level: Your current skill level x5 or your skill total, whichever is higher.

Xp can also be used in the following ways:

Spend 1 xp for a Flashback. Once per session.

Spend 2 xp for a reroll.

Spend 1-3 xp for a piece of equipment to appear in the Ship’s Locker for 1 session.

Ship’s Locker: Items found in the ship’s locker due to Xp use is inoperable, lost, or broken at the end of the session. Cost is based on how expensive/rare/unbalancing the equipment is. Battledress, for instance, would cost 3 xp to use for an entire session and even then it will breakdown/be unusable at the end of the session.

Flashbacks: Briefly describe a moment in your character’s past that has emotionally, physically or tactically prepared them for the situation at hand. This should take no longer than 30 seconds or so. Players get a +1 bonus on the roll the Flashback has been applied to.

 

[Stormraven]

Experience Points needed to learn a new skill:

Current skills points grand total + level of skill you wish to learn x 20

e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Vacc Suit 0, needs 22 points
e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Gun Cbt 1,having level 0 already, needs 42 points

Does that count 0 as a skill point? So if you've got 8 level 1 skills, 1 level 2 skill and six level 0 skills, you've got 16 skill points?

 

[Delerium]

Experience Points needed to learn a new skill:

Current skills points grand total + level of skill you wish to learn x 20

e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Vacc Suit 0, needs 22 points
e.g Bob has 22 skills, wants to go for Gun Cbt 1,having level 0 already, needs 42 points

Does that count 0 as a skill point? So if you've got 8 level 1 skills, 1 level 2 skill and six level 0 skills, you've got 16 skill points?

Zeros count for nothing in the total.

8 level 1 skills = 8 points
1 level 2 skill = 2 points

Grand total 10 points

(Incidentally, its similar to the core book formula for gaining skills by learning, zeroes count as nothings there too)