The Best Background Skills

[CyborgPrime]

Some Background Skills get duplicated during Basic Training.

Don't waste skill points on duplicate skills.

Here's an article detailing which Background Skills are best and worst for each Career.

Traveller Character Creation: Best Background Skills

Enjoy!

 

[MyndkryM]

This is pretty cool....but the old grognard in me chafes just a little bit

After many years of playing RPGs (I first picked the LBBs in '79....for $12 ), I've recently developed an aversion to the min/max approach to character creation. While having a player understand THE HOW of acquiring skills, sometimes I feel "build guides" tend to take something away from that process. One of the thing that I've always enjoy about Traveller is character creation. Thinking your character will be one thing (provided you survived), only to end up as something unexpected, has been one of the features that Traveller (IMO) does better than any other game.

Now don't get me wrong. It's all about fun...so if I have a player who really wants to be a "rooty tooty point and shooty" marine. As the referee, I'm going to try to help make that happen (Traveller Companion FTW).

But sometimes making "mistakes" leads to happy accidents.

 

[Ursus Maior]

I support that idea. In my group, we use the Luck attribute, mostly as described in the Traveller Companion. However, when rolling the attribute during character generation, I let the player use the higher rolling dice as Luck points to reroll any roll during creation, while the GM (me) can use the lower dice for points to counter these player Luck points or force a reroll. All in the name of creating more conflict and opportunities, because that's what causes narratives.

Now, I don't see anything wrong with a player choosing his background skills smartly and efficiently. But I favour story based choices over efficiency.

 

[Linwood]

My thoughts are more inline with Ursus Maior. Ideally I’d like to see the background skills come from the character’s actual home world and early life. After all, if you grew up in an asteroid belt you’ll likely have Vacc Suit.

Another thought would be to ask the player to come up with a background story that explains how they acquired those skills. Good world-building potential there...

Or - for something completely opposite (and likely completely against RAW) - home-rule that for the character’s FIRST career only each skill they already possessed in their Background Skills that’s in that career’s Basic Training gives them a DM+1 on the Qualification Roll. I think the overlap between background and career basic training skills would be a little easier to stomach that way.

(Note - not touching pre-career options with this. No need,)

 

[Condottiere]

1. Mandatory.

2. Cascade.

3. Random.

4. Complete discretion.

 

[MyndkryM]

Hmmm...will have to read a bit more about LUCK in the Companion. Since Ursus mentioned stat rolling, I'm thinking of allowing each player two Boon die to use during stat rolls....and maybe allow a re-roll on snake eyes.

 

[Ursus Maior]

@Linwood, I like your idea of background skills modifying the first career enlistment rolls. I shall ponder on this for a bit.

@MyndkryM, I encountered Luck as a quasi-attribute in Call of Cthulhu an liked it. That's why I adopted it for Traveller. We used Boon dice, too, but rolled luck and Morale afterwards, so those roll mechanisms were not linked. We also use Experience Points mosly as per the Companion, but I allow XP generation during downtime (i. e. in j-space). The trick is however that Luck points spent are also only recovered during downtime. So either you try learning more stuff (generating more XP) or you enjoy some "leisure time" and regenerate Luck points. My Travellers cannot do both at the same time.

So, after combat and tricky situations, the Travellers might feel the need to decompress and thus regenerate Luck, whereas during an adventure they might try to learn more stuff faster. I guess, in a film that would be featured in a montage. :mrgreen: