No Navy Medics?

[AnotherDilbert]

MgT2 seems to redefine this:

For example, a Traveller with Medic 1 may be a paramedic or nurse, while another Traveller with Medic 2 might be a doctor. If a Traveller had Medic 3, they would likely be a very well-regarded doctor with many years of practice under their belt. A Traveller with Medic 4 or 5 would be at least world-renowned, and may well be known across several star systems for his expertise.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[E4MC]

"For example, a Traveller with Medic 1 may be a paramedic or nurse, while another Traveller with Medic 2 might be a doctor. If a Traveller had Medic 3, they would likely be a very well-regarded doctor with many years of practice under their belt. A Traveller with Medic 4 or 5 would be at least world-renowned, and may well be known across several star systems for his expertise."

Thank you. That's exactly what I was getting at. This is the Mongoose Publishing forum, so I thought it would be obvious that I'm talking about Mongoose Traveller 2e, not classic Traveller or T4, where it's easier to get higher levels in skills.

 

[Condottiere]

Character generation has been oversimplified, with an ambivalence whether or not to permit accumulation of player desired skill sets for their characters.

Skill packages that can dstribute these are available towards the end of character generation, but I suspect fine tuning will require a points/life path system.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you. That's exactly what I was getting at. This is the Mongoose Publishing forum, so I thought it would be obvious that I'm talking about Mongoose Traveller 2e, not classic Traveller or T4, where it's easier to get higher levels in skills.

I'm here because I like original traveler but COTI/FFE's web presence is horrible. Mongoose is slowly attracting me with the higher quality of their books now that I am exposed to them via here.

 

[Saladman]

As there is no listing in Mongoose Traveller 1st edition that I can find, denoting what levels of skill mean what...

It's on page 6, under Skills. They even use Medic skill/doctor as the example:

... A character with level 2-3 in a skill is a skilled professional in that field. A character with Medic 2 could be a doctor; a character with Medic 4 is a famous surgeon or specialist.

I know 2e character creation went in a more simulationist direction with college terms and prison terms, but one reason I'm not as bothered as the rest of this thread is I always assumed 1e character creation was more abstract. So Medic 2 in my game is a doctor however you get there, whether Marine Support or using connections, and you can figure out when you went to medical school after the fact by squishing the years of your various career terms.

I'm here because I like original traveler but COTI/FFE's web presence is horrible. Mongoose is slowly attracting me with the higher quality of their books now that I am exposed to them via here.

It's good to have you.

I don't hesitate to recommend Mongoose's work, but at the end of the day it's all Traveller. My game when I get to run it is a house-ruled version of Mongoose 1e, but I've got The Traveller Book on the same shelf, alongside Stars Without Number for the back of the book charts, and a stack of Classic adventures that I just convert on the fly.

 

[Condottiere]

Medical two should be enough to qualify you to practice medicine, get a licence and drive a cab.

 

[Old School]

Perhaps the Navy simply depends on another service, such as the Marines, to provide medical care. More or less the opposite of how the US Marine Corps utilizes US Navy doctors rather than have their own.

 

[Condottiere]

The Imperium Navy has a mdical branch.

The player could negotiate with the Dungeon Master to make a called shot roll, that gives him the skill he wants rather than randomize it, say a fifty percent chance, with failure being no skill gained.

 

[E4MC]

"The player could negotiate with the Dungeon Master to make a called shot roll, that gives him the skill he wants rather than randomize it, say a fifty percent chance, with failure being no skill gained."

I don't understand making a player randomly roll for what skill they gain. If a player is lucky enough to gain a skill during character creation, they should be able to pick the career skill they want so they have a better chance at getting a character they want to play. If the skill they want is not available in that career due to some rules oversight and it makes sense for someone from that career to have that skill, I say let them have that skill. The game is about everyone having fun, not making people play a character they're miserable with. In fact, if my only choice was to play a character I wasn't happy with, I'd go find something else to do.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't understand making a player randomly roll for what skill they gain. If a player is lucky enough to gain a skill .

long long ago rolling for stats in char gen was the way it was done, and hit points were rolled before each adventure and magic items were identified by aiming at something and shouting "shazam" and hoping you knew which end shoots.

rpg gaming is a lot less random now but i guess old habits die hard

anythings ok if your playgroup is ok with it

typed on a phone plz excuse no caps

 

[Condottiere]

GURPS has a points system, as long as you invested in minimal skills for a particular career.

Dungeons and Dragons you grinded your way up.

Classic Traveller is a gamble.

I think it was when I was introduced to Aftermath, i made a connection between age and declining physical abilities, and advanced knowledge.

Whatever system you pick, your group has to go along with it.

 

[Old School]

I don't understand making a player randomly roll for what skill they gain. If a player is lucky enough to gain a skill during character creation, they should be able to pick the career skill they want so they have a better chance at getting a character they want to play. If the skill they want is not available in that career due to some rules oversight and it makes sense for someone from that career to have that skill, I say let them have that skill. The game is about everyone having fun, not making people play a character they're miserable with. In fact, if my only choice was to play a character I wasn't happy with, I'd go find something else to do.

Giving them whatever skill they want leads to very overpowered characters, with alot of level 3 and 4 skills. The challenges of the game would need to be designed to match. I like running games with high powered characters, but you have to have some limit. The skill tables are intentionally a mix of skills to make it difficult too get high levels, especially in higher value skills.

Through five terms, a character with a +1 bonus to their promotion and survival roles can easily hit gain 15+ skill points, then get the 2 bonus “connection” skills that they get to choose outright.

A couple of options to give them some control but not full control of their character development: 1)let them pick the table after rolling the die. So they get to choose from up to 5 or 6 skill options. Some randomness, but still a lot of control and a lot of high skill levels result. 2) roll for random skills at the start of each term as per the RAW, but let them pick their skills (perhaps from a referee determined list) upon promotion. That considers that they don’t have complete control over their career (very true for military service as we know it), but also lets them guide their career so the extent the character is successful in said career (as defined by promotion/advancement).

Of course, point buy or “packages” as shown in the Traveller Companion are also options.

 

[Linwood]

I use your #1 option. That gives the players some ability to tailor their characters while still keeping an element of randomness.

 

[NOLATrav]

Same here. Roll the die then pick the skill. If a player really wants to play a certain concept (ex-Navy Medic, for example) I’ll go as far as granting a Level 1 primary skill and Level 0 secondary skill of choice during Term 1 in place of rolling, then see where they go from there. This is the only time the Adv Edu tables are open to anyone regardless of EDU score.

I want the players to be empowered and feel a connection to their characters but the randomness is so key to the experience.

 

[Condottiere]

If you opted for the grind method, in that the party invokes the one degree of separation and play through your careers, you can choose to put a lot of energy in practicing the desired skill, or advancing in it.

 

[Linwood]

There’s also the shared skill package option....

 

[NOLATrav]

Agreed on both counts but my group wants the rich, we-created-this backstory, then to hell with it - adventure with a capital misbehave!

So it’s a balancing act at the start of every campaign :wink:

 

[Droidarr]

Clement Sector Hub Federation Navy career book has a full medical career path for both commissioned and enlisted ranks.

Mongoose v1 High Guard has a Navy / Support / Medical career path (page 11) . You can actually pick up medic in the base crewman (adv edu table) as well (page eight). it keeps changing the number eight to a smiley face for some reason
Clement Sector, Hub Federation Navy and the Hub Federation Ground Forces books are also fantastic for more in-depth character creation.