Skill and Characteristic improvement as a task

[Dabbler]

It has always surprised me that skill improvement is not treated as a task in Traveller. Training is either via career development, old style Mercenary six week/six month bootcamps or the arbitrary .. the more skills you have the longer it takes to learn .. anything at all.

In addition, while the lack of characteristic improvement is understandable in short term adventuring. It is a gap in the rules that make sense in longer term campaigns. Training scenarios can create character arcs, jobs, contacts, allies, rivals etc rather than just saying “sorry the rules don’t allow it”.

Here are some home rules for skill and characteristic improvement that are available for comment or trolling. Just add some substance to your feedback to make it useful.

Time Frame	Increment	Action
1-6 weeks	One Week	Learn a skill (intensive) 50hrs a wk (8-10 hrs/day) (DM-2)
1-6 months	One Month	Learn a skill (full time) 100hrs a month (25 hrs/wk)(DM -1) Improve a Characteristic intensively (25 hrs/wk) (DM -1)
4-24 months	Four Months	Learn a skill (part time) 40hrs a month (10 hrs/wk) (DM0) Improve a Characteristic normally (DM 0)
1-6 years	One Year	Learn a skill (casually) 20hrs a month (5 hrs/wk) (DM+1) Improve a Characteristic casually (DM +1)

SKILL IMPROVEMENT​
Learning	DM	Task to improve characteristic	Roll Needed
Unskilled to 0	-3	4-24 Months, Easy (4+)	7+
0 to 1	0	4-24 Months, Routine (6+)	6+
1 to 2	+1	4-24 Months, Average (8+)	7+
2 to 3	+2	4-24 Months, Difficult (10+)	8+
3 to 4	+3	4-24 Months, Very Difficult (12+)	9+
4 to 5	+4	4-24 Months, Formidable (14+)	10+
5 to 6	+5	4-24 Months, Hopeless (16+)	11+
6 to 7	+6	4-24 Months, Impossible (18+)	12+

Time frame options:
1-6 years +1 (Hobby); 1-6 months -1 (Training Course); 1-6 weeks -2 (Bootcamp);

Task Chaining:
Effect (-6 or less) -3, Effect (-2 to -5) -2, Effect (-1) -1, Effect (0) 0, Effect (+1 to +5) +1, Effect (6+) +2

Mentored by individual of higher than target skill/chr: Skill, Chr DM, time taken, Routine (6+)
Mentored by individual of same as target skill: Skill, Chr DM, time taken, Average (8+)
Mentored by individual of lower than target skill: Skill, Chr DM, time taken, Difficult (10+)
Instructor skill: Instruction, Chr DM, sets time taken, Average (8+)
(1 Student +1;2-4 Students 0; 5-10 Students -1; 11-30 Students -2; 30+ Students -4 to Roll/Effect)

Knowledge/Implementation of appropriate Science: Life (genetics, psionics, sports, psychology, etc)

Example 1
New green crewmember Dex 8 trains in Gunnery skill with the Ship’s Gunnery AI in the VR suite

Basic: Learn Gunnery 0 (-3 to 0): Skill -3, Dex 0DM, 4-24 months, Easy (4+)=7+
a chance of Gunnery 0 in about 12 months at 10hrs per week approx 500 part time hours.
Fairly consistent with Core character development tables.

Advanced: Intensive training (50 hours per wk); AI mentor with Gunnery 2.

Mentor higher skill than target: Routine (6+)= +2 skill -2 time frame =6+ (-2 to +2 bonus avg +1)
Learn Gunnery 0 (-3 to 0): Skill -3, Dex 0DM, 1-6 weeks, Easy (4+)=7+ -2 time frame +1 bonus = 8+
a chance of Gunnery 0 in about 3.5 weeks at 50hrs per week. (Total of 175 intensive hours)
Fairly consistent with classic Mercenary Instructor training (can be fixed to six weeks as that is the length of the online training course).

Example 2:
The crew’s topgun pilot Clara Haagii with Dex 12 +2DM seeks to increase Pilot 4 to 5.

Options available:
Increase Pilot 4 to 5: Skill 4, Dex +2DM, 4-24 months, Formidable (14+)=8+
a chance of Pilot 5 in about 12 months with 10hrs per week approx 500 part time hours. Will likely take about 2 years. Fairly consistent with Core character development tables.

Increase Pilot 4 to 5: Skill 4, Dex +2DM, 1-6 months (-1 Time Frame), Formidable (14+)=9+.
Clara tracks down a mentor who is a retired instructor from academy days who runs a six month advanced pilot course (Pilot 6 Instructor 2 Int 7). The course has 15 students (-1 to Instruction).
Mentor higher skill (Routine 6+) +6 skill = 0+ = Effect 2 to 12 (+1 to +2 bonus)
Instructor (Average 8+) +2 skill -1 student numbers = 7+ = Effect -5 to +5 (-2 to +1 bonus)
Total chance of Pilot 5 between 6+ and 10+ (depending on rolls – probably 8+) with 25hrs per week approx 600 full time hours.

Alternately upgrade the computer AI skill package on the ship to get +1 Piloting.

CHARACTERISTIC IMPROVEMENT​
Characteristic Change	Current DM	Task to improve characteristic	Roll Needed
0 to 1;	-3	4-24 Months, Simple (2+)	5+
1 to 2; 2 to 3;	-2	4-24 Months, Easy (4+)	6+
3 to 4; 4 to 5; 5 to 6;	-1	4-24 Months, Routine (6+)	7+
6 to 7; 7 to 8; 8 to 9;	-0	4-24 Months, Average (8+)	8+
9 to 10; 10 to 11; 11 to 12;	+1	4-24 Months, Difficult (10+)	9+
12 to 13; 13 to 14	+2	4-24 Months, Very Difficult (12+)	10+
14 to 15 (Human max)	+2	4-24 Months, Formidable (14+)	12+
		​	​

Time frame options: 1-6 years +1 (Casual); 1-6 months -1 (Intensive)
Possible bonuses: Drugs (steroid, learning, focus), Technology, Aging term negatives

Task Chaining:
Effect (-6 or less) -3, Effect (-2 to -5) -2, Effect (-1) -1, Effect (0) 0, Effect (+1 to +5) +1, Effect (6+) +2

Mentored by individual of higher than target characteristic: Chr DM, time taken, Routine (6+)
Mentored by individual of same as target characteristic: Chr DM, time taken, Average (8+)
Mentoring by individual of lower than target characteristic: Chr DM, time taken, Difficult (10+)
Instructor skill: Instruction, Chr DM, sets time taken, Average (8+)
(1 Student +1;2-4 Students 0; 5-10 Students -1; 11-30 Students -2; 30+ Students -4 to Roll/Effect)

Knowledge/Implementation of appropriate Science: Life (genetics, psionics, sports, psychology, etc)

Example 1:
Suugii Inari seeks to upgrade his Psi strength from 8 to 9 to get a +1 bonus.

It will take Suugii 10 hours a week training (4 to 24 months – average 12 months) to have a 8+ chance of increase. Having a mentor could increase the chance to 6+ or better.

If Suugii wants to dedicate 25 hours a week to training then (1-6 months – average 3.5) months later chance of improvement is 9+. Perhaps a Psi Institute would have a mentor and training program. Alternatively they may have the quicker option of surgically implanting a psi booster to increase Psi without the effort. The nice fellow with an unusual accent at the Institute was very helpful last visit.

Example 2:
Cleon Johnson seeks to increase strength from 14 to 15 gaining an extra +1 bonus during a sabbatical.

Attending an Olympic powerlifter training facility on Rhylanor is available at an exorbitant cost. The facility has specialist facilities +2 to strength training (Science bonus), mentors who are Str 15 and Cleon pays for a dedicated elite instructor Instructor 3 Int 9 and also undertakes a steroid of +1 which only has a few minor side affects.

Normally it would take Cleon 4 to 24 (12 average) months to roll 12+ (3% chance) to increase strength or 1-6 (3.5 average) months for an 13+ (0% chance)

At the facility the training course the price is for a fixed 6 month term, there is +3 to the roll for the facility and for the drug.

The mentor has 15 strength so is at the target level (Average 8+) +3 DM = 5+ -1 time frame = 6+ average roll is 7 which is +1 bonus. Effectiveness could have been between -1 and +2.
Dedicated Instructor with Instruction 3 and Int 9 +1. Average task 8+ -1 time frame +1 student number +3 skill +1 Int = 4+ average roll is 7 which is +1 bonus. Effectiveness could have been between -1 and +2.

Total bonus is +5 (facility, drug, mentor, instruction) to Cleon’s 1-6 month skill check = 8+ (42% chance). Using the average roll of 7 means Cleon fails to reach Str 15 after 3.5 months (1-6 month average). Another 3.5 months puts him into the next 6 month cost cycle. Cleon needs higher than average rolls to succeed. Or he could try their new experimental drug with minimal side affects .. probably.

The total bonus could have been +1 to +7 depending on rolls. Time frame could have been 1 month to twelve or more months depending on rolls. Also why did the mentor/instructor have a -1 bonus .. home life problems, addiction issues, personality conflict, trying an experimental program that just didn’t work .. any interaction can lead into a scenario.

Generally
Training periods and bonuses can always be fixed rather than random and available bonuses can be limited to prevent skill stacking. If the training period is forced to the maximum (6 weeks, six months or 24 months) then a +1 training bonus could be applied. In most instances wafers, tech and pharmaceuticals will provide greater increases quicker.

 

[JustEastOfTheEdge]

You have seen the XP point system in the Traveller Companion, right? It gives XP for training and/or adventuring.
I think the system is excellent and it is one of the main reasons we came back to Traveller as characters can grow, slowly, even their stats.
(Old AD&D power-gaming habits die hard I am afraid..)

 

[Sigtrygg]

Character inprovement has existed since the 77 classic Traveller rules, it's just the rate of improvement is no faster than the rate of gain during generation - as it should be.

Traveller can be a zero to hero game - but expect your character to have to age some before achieving the same skill level as a twenty year veteran.

 

[Reisender]

Character development (in the sense of gaining skills and becoming more powerful) is certainly not the main focus in Traveller, at least not in comparison to D&D for example. Traveller characters already start at a very competent level in their field(s) unlike in other systems where you start at character level 1 or so.
I think classic Traveller assumed that characters have a reasonable amount of downtime due to frequent jumps. With that in mind I think the current rules are just fine. But frequent jumps may not be part of every campaign. In that case the referee should come up with something to allow for frequent downtimes that allow characters to develop in an appropriate way.
And let's not forget that a DM+1 makes quite a difference if you roll just 2D6. Even just having level 0 in a skill to avoid the DM-3 is already quite a thing. And I think that a referee can come up with other methods for characters to gain at least some basic understanding in certain fields/skills.
In the end there is a cap on how many skill levels a character can have in total anyway.

 

[Dabbler]

I posted as I was looking for something like this to work in with a long term Traveller campaign running over decades game time. Unfortunately the nearest I could find was the T5 rules which are unwieldy especially for new players. I have trained in many sports, education areas and languages. It was an interesting exercise to try and link the original Mercenary 6 week/month training with standard character generation.

I have played many different game types over decades and played/ran the earliest versions of Traveller. To me this just fills a hole in the rules I prefer to use. Never really liked the D&D gold star approach to xp. Follow the script and get some points for character development. No storylines or justification for why an improvement or change occurred.

I did some basic probability and statistical analysis and a basic 10000 hours leads to around skill 5 or 6 without mods. That analysis lead to me changing my original plan of using -2 or +2 per time frame change rather than the normal +/-1. Minor mods can make differences in 2d6 for sure.

Have also been working on some rules to justifiably develop Jack of Trades skill, healing and rehab, etc. If there is interest.

 

[NOLATrav]

I’ve been using a slightly tweaked version of the XP rules from the Companion and that is working for us. It’s taken about a year of game time for three PCs to acquire a level 0 skill each and one PC to raise a skill from 1 to 2. Feels right but we don’t really have a frame of reference.

I do like what’s laid out here, the various time frames at first seemed too fiddly but now, understanding this is meant to be a long term mechanic, it makes a lot more sense to me. Also it would ostensibly overlap with an aging roll which is a great decision point for a player.

I’d like to see your take on healing and rehab.

 

[Condottiere]

Role playing mechanisms tend to simplify the process of skill and knowledge acquirement.

Organically, as opposed to augmented, ten thousand hours, assuming a cap of factor five, should be enough to push through to factor four permanent, and factor five temporarily, as long as the skill is actively practiced, and permanent with maybe another ten thousand hours.

 

[NOLATrav]

and permanent with maybe another ten thousand hours

Right, I'm recalling now that CT had time-intensive skill increases as temporary boons, which required even more training to become permanent.

I suspect many players these days wouldn't go for that. The desire for character improvement is strong.

 

[Garran]

The trouble is that most Traveller campaigns probably don't happen on a similar time scale to career terms. You can potentially get three stat or skill-ups directly during a term (at the start, from advancement, and from the event), maybe a fourth if we count muster out benefits as having happened during the terms rather than all magically happening on the day that you leave. Maybe even five if we count connection and package skills along with a short-to-medium length career.

That's still just over one skill-up per year on average, under optimal conditions.

How long do most campaigns run? Deepnight Revelation would certainly give plenty of time to cover skill ups at that scale, and Pirates of Drinax is likely to take a few years of game time to pull off start to finish, but most adventures take place over a few days to a few weeks (and most of the latter is idle travel time), so you'd need to string a lot of them together to get there.

Sure, in-game advancement can be a bit different than chargen advancement, but the thematic disconnect is awkward if it becomes many times faster.