Specialised Schools and Development of Pro Skills

[alex_greene]

Some of the skills sets in Traveller are for professionals only. These include the following:-

Advocate
Astrogation
Explosives
Flyer
Medic
Pilot

These skills really should only be made available to someone who has spent time training in a specialised School, either through an Event during character generation or during pre-career education.

The University section is the best place to grant certification to Travellers during character generation. The writeup for skills reads thus:-

Skills: Choose a level 0 and a level 1 skill from the following list;
Admin, Advocate, Animals (training or veterinary), Art (any), Astrogation, Electronics, Engineer (any), Language (any), Navigation, Profession (any), Science (any).

It should read thus:-

Skills: Choose a level 1 skill from the following list:
Advocate (Law School), Astrogation (Astronaut School), Explosives (EOD training), Flyer (Flight School), Medic (Medical School), Pilot (Astronaut School)
Travellers will not be allowed to learn these skills during play until they have attended the appropriate schools to gain certification and a license to practice.
Choose a level 0 skill from the following list:
Admin, Animals (training or veterinary), Art (any), Drive, Engineer (any), Language (any), Navigation, Profession (any), Science (any)

Availability of the pro skills during the career phase, e.g. through rolls in the Service Skills, Advanced Education and branch career tables, means that Travellers spent that term attending the requisite school, and that it was during that term that they gained their certifications and license to practice.

Example: Samuel Schrottlin, EDU 10, attends University and spends the next two terms as an Agent. Term 1, he attends Law School and picks up Advocate 1 and Admin 0. He is an accredited lawyer with a license to practice law, if he chose. He chooses the Agent career.

Term 2, he picks up Streetwise 0, Drive 0, Investigate 0, Flyer 0, Recon 0 and Gun Combat 0 in boot, indicating that as well as earning his rank as a rookie Agent he spent some time in their Flight School to gain the basic qualification in driving ground vehicles and piloting flying vehicles. Term 3, he rolls on the Advanced Education table and gains, not Advocate 1, but Medic 1, indicating that the Agency sent him to a Medic School to pick up a license.

So your pro character can emerge after three terms as a licensed lawyer, pilot, driver and physician. He could learn Advocate, Drive, Flyer and Medic during play - but not Explosives, Pilot or Astrogation, which would require him to have attended the appropriate schools during his career phase.

Event 6 on the Events table could be reworded as "You are given advanced training in a specialised school, which grants you a license to practice. Roll Edu 8+ to learn one skill from the following list at level 1 - Advocate (Law School), Astrogation (Astronaut School), Explosives (EOD training), Flyer (Flight School), Medic (Medical School), Pilot (Astronaut School) - or to increase an existing skill from that list by 1, representing refresher training."

That Event 6 should be the same for all career choices except Prisoner, maybe, or Psion, and represent the character's being assigned to that School for accreditation or for a refresher.

 

[-Daniel-]

Some of the skills sets in Traveller are for professionals only. These include the following:-

Advocate
Astrogation
Explosives
Flyer
Medic
Pilot

These skills really should only be made available to someone who has spent time training in a specialised School, either through an Event during character generation or during pre-career education.

While I agree with your basic concept, there are degrees of some of those I do not think need additional schools to do.

Medic-0 has been treated as general first aid, low level first response. But I can see where a Medic level that makes someone a doctor might need medical school. Same goes for Flyer (Grav). If you are on a world where grav cars are the norm, you would have a different experience than someone who is trying to learn how to fly a 747.

I would then have to disagree with your proposed change.

It should read thus:-

Skills: Choose a level 1 skill from the following list:
Advocate (Law School), Astrogation (Astronaut School), Explosives (EOD training), Flyer (Flight School), Medic (Medical School), Pilot (Astronaut School)
Travellers will not be allowed to learn these skills during play until they have attended the appropriate schools to gain certification and a license to practice.
Choose a level 0 skill from the following list:
Admin, Animals (training or veterinary), Art (any), Drive, Engineer (any), Language (any), Navigation, Profession (any), Science (any)

.

The assumption that a Character who gained the skill of Astrogation for example, during a four year terms received it without training seems flawed. In the four years of the term my assumption would be they did do some kind of training school. Needing a pre-term school first just seems overly clunky in a life path system that is as random as it is.

In my opinion, this is not a needed restriction on the present abstract four year term system.

 

[alex_greene]

And yet, the clunky pre-career education system and those skills tables and Events tables are all there. Clunky or not, that is how characters pick up their vital pro skills.

Just that, unless someone acquired (say) Medic 1 or Advocate 1 during chargen, representing their time spent in training, they cannot advance any further during play, because they never spent four years trying to pass the Bar or attend med school / flight school / astronaut school.

And you're never going to be able to have someone sit down with a copy of Grey's Anatomy and three weeks later they're a full blown medic.

 

[-Daniel-]

And yet, the clunky pre-career education system and those skills tables and Events tables are all there. Clunky or not, that is how characters pick up their vital pro skills.

I do not disagree the system can feel clunky, but adding another level of clunky does not smooth it out.

And you're never going to be able to have someone sit down with a copy of Grey's Anatomy and three weeks later they're a full blown medic.

I agree 1,000% with this, thus I am one of those calling for the Training post Character Generation to not use one week as the time frame. I agree, even in an abstract system there would need to be a reasonable time commitment to gaining skills.

 

[alex_greene]

And yet, the clunky pre-career education system and those skills tables and Events tables are all there. Clunky or not, that is how characters pick up their vital pro skills.

I do not disagree the system can feel clunky, but adding another level of clunky does not smooth it out.

And you're never going to be able to have someone sit down with a copy of Grey's Anatomy and three weeks later they're a full blown medic.

I agree 1,000% with this, thus I am one of those calling for the Training post Character Generation to not use one week as the time frame. I agree, even in an abstract system there would need to be a reasonable time commitment to gaining skills.

One week, one month, a decade - you won't be able to advance in your skills without some serious down time, if they'd let you into med school at age 54 at all, which they won't.

Clunky it might sound to some, but it works better than what's currently there. Pre-career university that includes the pro skills, and allows you to only select one, gives you access to that one school early in your career that preps your character to be a medic, lawyer, whatever.

Flight School and Astronaut School would give your character their chance to develop, say, Pilot 1 and Astrogator 0 - just the start for your character facing a lifetime in the Scouts or Merchant / Free Trader, because at least he would be starting his career fully accredited.

After career, your pro medic, pro pilot, pro lawyer, whatever can brush up all they like on their career skill - but someone who never went through what they did at age 18 won't ever be turned into a skilled doctor or lawyer overnight. Their skills would automatically be capped.

Remember: pre-career is not about gaining skills. It is about acquiring accreditation, or license to practice. The system should be set up such that those skills which require that accreditation cannot be advanced without that vital initial qualification.

 

[-Daniel-]

One week, one month, a decade - you won't be able to advance in your skills without some serious down time, .....
[snip]
Remember: pre-career is not about gaining skills. It is about acquiring accreditation, or license to practice. The system should be set up such that those skills which require that accreditation cannot be advanced without that vital initial qualification.

I don't have a problem with the idea of a pre-education term like a "Flight School" that preps you for a future in Navy/Scout/Merchant and gives you say, Pilot 1 and Astrogator-1. Where I ran into a problem with your model was when you wanted no allow even Medic-0 or Fly when it covers "driving" Grav-Cars and Grav-Bikes. Some of those skills cover a wider range of uses beyond the "professional" area covered by focused post graduate schools.

But I am now starting to feel like the only one commenting so I will stop and let others express their thoughts. Maybe the Hive Mind will like the idea.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

But I am now starting to feel like the only one commenting so I will stop and let others express their thoughts. Maybe the Hive Mind will like the idea.

I haven't looked at the Pre-Career Education rules at all, so have nothing to say about them. Maybe tonight I can take a look at them.

 

[allanimal]

First off, I think no matter what the skill, post char generation skill training should take longer.

I don't like the idea of limiting skills so much during char gen. I don't have a problem with the marine Doctor getting medic-3 during career path even if they didn't start in med school. I would support a mechanic that allows one to focus training. For example, if I wanted to be the marine Doctor, I could join the marines, specialize in support. Then roll on the support skills table and have a 1/6 chance of getting medic. One term maybe I get it, one term maybe I get mechanic or drive. Or maybe I never get it.
Which is fine, but if there were some professional skill path scheme added, one should be able to have a better ability to focus.

In general, I would not add any new limitations to gaining skills in ones career. There are so many random things thrown in, and this is taking place in a vast galaxy in the far future - we should not constrain ourselves by early 21st century English-speaking earth human ideas of what makes a doctor or lawyer in a far future game set in a vast and varied Galaxy.

Specifically flyer. No way that only special people that trained for years are allowed to drive an air/raft...

Let's have fewer fiddly exceptions we have to look up when making a character, not more.

 

[NOLATrav]

The idea of needing a license is interesting, sort of like the weapons permits from CSCv1. I think it's a bit too fiddly for the core rules though.

Out of four characters I've made with v2 rules, only one went to university, no honors, got Electronics-2 and Advocate-1. Interesting mix, which I find nice. Requiring a special school to gain that level of Advocate would have been a bummer, as it is this guy is a better steward for the ship than he otherwise might have been.

Also, people often talk about 'well-rounded' characters, or characters that have nothing to do in certain situations. Limiting certain skills to specialty schools may increase the chances of a Traveller being, erm, not so useful at times...

I should try them out some more but the pre-career training rules didn't seem clunky to me. Granted I am unfamiliar with them and they may become so as I explore them more :wink:

OT but I really, really, really miss the Homeworlds background skills. They're going back in IMTU.

 

[allanimal]

Also, people often talk about 'well-rounded' characters, or characters that have nothing to do in certain situations. Limiting certain skills to specialty schools may increase the chances of a Traveller being, erm, not so useful at times...

Agreed. I don't mind "jack of many trades" characters.
I'd rather have them all competent in many places than experts in just one.
That guy who has medic-4 and science (biology)-3 and not much else will kick ass in the surgery, or be able to figure out how to sythesize a cure for the weird new disease that has befallen the planet, but may get bored the rest of the time.

Sure the medic/biologist could be in the lab doing the science, while the survivalist is finding the rare plant/fish/whatever that has the secret ingredient for the cure while the advocate is securing the licenses to whatever and the mechanic is retrofitting the factory to mass produce the drug, but as a GM I would rather have the group together most of the time, each contributing a little bit in all situation, rather than each having a time to shine on their own continent / planet / system / whatever while the others watch (or more likely, check Facebook).

 

[-Daniel-]

OT but I really, really, really miss the Homeworlds background skills. They're going back in IMTU.

There still there, just they are optional now. Every Character I have made using the 2nd edition beta I followed the suggestion and selected a world and then used the trade codes to help me select some of the skills that seemed to fit their world.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have to disagree with Alex's basic premise that you need dedicated schools for some skills.

Given advanced AI and VR technology (TL8 or so), someone should be able to simulate flying a ship, or doing surgery etc., without having to attend a formal, instructor led school or class. It should take longer, but you should still be able to learn from it.

I would also expect that it would be part of the on-going training that everyone goes through to keep proficient.

 

[grauenwolf]

Agreed. I don't mind "jack of many trades" characters.
I'd rather have them all competent in many places than experts in just one.
That guy who has medic-4 and science (biology)-3 and not much else will kick ass in the surgery, or be able to figure out how to sythesize a cure for the weird new disease that has befallen the planet, but may get bored the rest of the time.

Specialists are ok by me. Since Traveller is such a lethal game, each player runs multiple characters anyways. As a side benefit, they can match the characters to the needs of the mission.

 

[allanimal]

each player runs multiple characters anyways.

Not in my group.
We do have occasional NPCs to fill in gaps when they are needed (and known), but generally each player has 1 character.

 

[-Daniel-]

Since Traveller is such a lethal game, each player runs multiple characters anyways.

While I know some groups do this, I would suggest the core rules can't make the assumption of multiple characters per player. I think today, the assumption is one character per player.

Having said that, it might be an interesting option to discuss somewhere in the Traveller Companion. Maybe where campaign options are found for example, a simple side bar discussing pro and con to the multiple character per player option.

 

[Anonymous]

I think this is too large a change for the core rules but, how about modifying basic training for certain careers? Effectively, the first term would be intensive training without "working" as such. Instead of all service skills at level 0, a player chooses, for example, 3 skills at level 1 from the service skills list.

As an aside and specifically referring to flyer (grav), I think it might be learnt for civilians on frontier worlds assuming the world has the infrastructure to support the vehicles, on high tech core/established worlds I can see grav vehicles being flown by computers and locked into a grid and civilians not learning to fly them at all. In the military you would certainly learn to fly grav vehicles.

 

[-Daniel-]

As an aside and specifically referring to flyer (grav), I think it might be learnt for civilians on frontier worlds assuming the world has the infrastructure to support the vehicles, on high tech core/established worlds I can see grav vehicles being flown by computers and locked into a grid and civilians not learning to fly them at all. In the military you would certainly learn to fly grav vehicles.

This is an interesting thought. I think of the part of the movie "I Robot" where Will's character takes the car "off the grid" and drives manually. Some folks could grow up never needing to learn to drive. people mover style grav carts haul them around. What an interesting visual this idea brings up.

 

[nawara]

I've definitely seen pro se prisoners who are better lawyers than a lot of actual defense attorneys.

The internet is a magical thing.