Regarding skills in Classic Traveller

On this thread on the Citizens of the Imperium Boards, people discussed the Classic Traveller skills, their meaning, and whether or not a typical Book 1 character is playable. I'll give you my views on this.

One (1) skill point is a profession. Enough to hold a job and make a living. The average non-adventurer, non-military and non-criminal civilian probably has one or two skills at 1 and probably a few at 0. For example, a professional mechanic would have Mechanic-1 and very likely also Ground Vehicle-0 (he has a driver's license) and possibly Steward-0 (if he knows how to cook and is a good host). On a vacuum world he'll also have Vacc Suit-0. Skills above 1 denote specialization; for example, a paramedic would have Medic-1, a nurse Medic-2 and a full doctor Medic-3. Colonists on dangerous frontier worlds will probably have a few weapon skills at 0 as well, but not too many - say, Carbine-0 or Shotgun-0.

Let's see a typical Book 1 character:

557AF7
Computer-1, Gunner-1, Vacc-1

This is a multi-skilled professional. He can work as a programmer; work as a gunner; and work as vacc suit technician or EVA specialist. He has THREE full, money-earning professions. He is also HIGHLY educated and very smart. If he were an adventurer, he'd also have all Book 1 (but not Book 4) weapons at 0, and probably also a vehicle skill at 0. He can hack, he can shoot all common guns (though he isn't a marksman), he can fire big guns with professional skill, he can work very well in zero-G/vacuum, and probably can drive/pilot a vehicle as well. He can even wear Combat Armour with no penalty! Very playable.

Look at it from the old-school D&D angle. Your Fighting-Man has, essentially, skill-0 in all weapons at level 1; later on he gains a higher skill (in CT that would be in specific weapons). old-school D&D Fighting-Men do not have any other skills on their character sheet. Yet they're perfectly playable.

Another way to look at it - in D&D 3.xE/D20, CT skills are much more akin to feats than to 3.xE/D20 skills. A weapon skill is like a Weapon Specialization feat in that weapon. Medic is essentially a "Medic I" feat (allows you to be a Medic on a starship and treat wounds where one characteristic has been reduced to zero with no roll needed) and its advanced/"Greater" feats, "Medic II" (gives you a bonus to revive low-berth passengers) and "Medic III" (allows you to treat all wounds - including serious ones - with no roll needed). Vacc Suit is like an "Armour Proficiency" feat.

[ACKS] Planning the Swap Rebels campaign!

After a discussion with my prospective players for my upcoming Barbarian Conqueror King campaign (ACKS Dinosaur & Wizardry AKA Sword & Lizardry), I've had an idea - rather than start the game in the current timeline, i.e. the year 3341 AS, with the City-State of Harat already liberated from its tyrant Sorcerer King and ruled by the slave-rebellion leader Hardun, why not start the game 15 years earlier, in 3326 AS, when the Sorcerer-King still reigns? The PCs will be escaped slaves, or peasant rebels, and will have their chance of participating in Hardun's Army of the Free, possibly ending up as his vassals when they'll reach name level; eventually, after 3341, they might even replace him as the rulers of Harat!

This will give the game a clear conflict to motivate things. This will still be a sandbox, and they can sill amass treasure and power (probably as part of an independent detachment fighting the Sorcerer King's forces). But there will be the backdrop of rebellion against the forces of evil sorcery.

The idea is as follows: early in their travels, the PCs, possibly escaped slaves, will join Hardun's Army of the Free fighting in the Great Servile War against the sorcerer king; they'll be an independent detachment, fighting for the Cause, as well as for gold and glory, detached from the main forces. At the beginning, this will mostly be a guerrilla war. Eventually, especially as the PCs will rise in level and hire mercenaries (or shape escaped or liberated slaves into an army) and grab power locally, and, later on. on a larger scale, as vassals of King Hardun, the Lizardman Gladiator and leader of the rebellion who'll take Harat itself.

Dungeon crawling will be part of this; after all, they'll need money and resources to fund their war, and also they will have to protect locals against Chaos and marauders (who are usually in league with the Sorcerer King).

The campaign will take place in the swaps south of Harat, where the rebels - escaped slaves - hide, and where much older things sleep (AKA Barrowmaze), and will, eventually, reach Harat itself.

The main point here I'll have to handle delicately is to preserve the sandbox and players' freedom and avoid a railroad. So what I'm thinking of doing is:

1) They'll be provided with motivation (either as escaped slaves or as villagers whose friends and families were enslaved). They could follow it, or ignore it. Or become bandits.

2) They'll be provided with background events, i.e. the growing rebellion, and will be able to participate in them, or ignore them. Or raid Barrowmaze.

3) If they do take part in the rebellion, eventually they'll be granted regional command (i.e. nobility and local rulership) once Hardun grabs Harat, as his vassals.

4) Once Hardun grabs Harat, he won't adventure much, while the PCs will probably do so, so eventually they'll surpass him in level, and if they want, they could depose of him and take power over the entire city-state. Or ignore him and go invade another city, probably with his blessings.

I'm also thinking about how to start this. One option is the funnel; but I'm not sure if the players will like it (too sharp a transition from 3.5E). The other options are:

1) They were all slaves, and the first adventure would be to escape, possibly while their masters' stronghold is under attack (by the rebels? by another noble? by monsters?). The main problem here is that I'm not sure if powerful level 1 characters would be slaves; maybe warrior types (as gladiators) but what about Mages and various priests?

2) They were all rounded up recently by slavers working for the sorcerer king. First adventure would be a prison break.

3) They're villagers. They go on a simple first adventure, then return home to find their village ransacked by slavers (under the sorcerer king's Banner of the Tentacled Eye), their families and friends mostly gone. They have to fight a small slaver garrison, and then they'll have a strong motivation to free their friends and family and take revenge.

I'm leaving towards #3, as revenge is a major motivation. Of course, they'll be free to ignore that motivation and go being bandits/raiding Barrowmaze etc. What do you think? Also, they'll need a base of operations; I'll need to find a way to introduce them to either a liberated town or a rebel camp... One hex from Barrowmaze, possibly...

Why do Commercial RPGs Succeed?

Basic D&D - a successful commercial RPG.

I posted this as a comment to the RPGPundit's column "Why do Commercial RPGs Fail?", and thought that this might be interesting as a blog post of its own.

So why do some commercial RPGs succeed?

1) Usability out of the box. You take the book, read it cover to cover, and can start an actual game with people around an actual table. Good products, especially good "big" products (i.e. rulesets and settings), should always include a starter adventure with pre-generated PCs so that the book would be of immediate use to any group. This is the reason old-school D&D boxed sets always came with a pre-packaged adventure.

2) Editing and proofreading. Significant errata kills games. The game should be perfectly playable at its first printing, with no need for looking for errata online due to missing tables and similar screw-ups. Both old-school D&D and Classic Traveller could be played out of the box without needing much errata.

3) Focus on actual play. An RPG is a *GAME* first, anything else second. Mechanics should facilitate play. Fluff should be limited to what is useful in play. Setting histories of over 2-3 pages rarely figure in play, especially if they come in the first product in the line. Old-school D&D and Traveller, for example, came with VERY little fluff, yet were highly successful, as they were focused on play. In my Outer Veil setting for Traveller, for example, there are about 2 pages of setting history; and most other setting material is game-relevant (a few paragraphs on things such as culture, politics, etc with some hooks); flavor text is usually a paragraph or two at most at the beginning of each chapter.

4) Art and layout. Too much text with no art is painful on the eye. Tasteful stock art will do. Custom art conveying the feel of the setting is better. D&D always had art, especially in later editions. An index can help, too, and if you're publishing a PDF, make sure that it is indexed, bookmarked and fully searchable for maximum usability.

5) Aiming at the casual player. Most people who play RPGs are not the big enthusiasts, but rather people who play every 1-2 weeks for 3-5 hours each time over beer and pretzels (or Mountain Dew and pizza). They want a game which is easy to understand and use, requires little commitment, and which is fun from the get-go. Generally speaking, for the casual gamer, simple rules and quick chargen are preferable. The casual GM/DM/Referee/Judge, i.e. one with limited time to devote to the hobby, needs a game for which it is VERY easy to prep adventures. Old-school boxed-set D&D, or Classic Traveller for that matter, fit this to a T.

And, the most important -

6) Aim towards subjects and themes with a broad appeal. A lot of people dig faux-Tolkien fantasy, for example, and thus D&D appeals to them thematically. Traveller appealed very much to all Battlestar Galactica, Alien and Star Wars fans. Being overly unique and "original" can be bad for your game - it is generally better to take a common, even cliche, theme and build a good game around it than re-invent the wheel around something too focused.

BIG dragon spotted in Rehovot!

This is a particularly large specimen of Painted Dragon (Stellagama stellio) who lives on the fence of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. He is the local dominant male, sort of a king of lizards... Bigger and fatter than any other Painted Dragon in a large radius.

Barbarian Conqueror King is taking shape!

I am pleased to announce that the Barbarian Conqueror King draft is almost half ready! I've put a lot of thought and work to it in the last two months, and now I'm starting to see the fruits of my effort on paper.

A key chapter I've almost finished writing is the Classes chapter. There are 15 new classes, all ready for use in any ACKS campaign, all fully described with experience tables, abilities, templates, proficiencies, and, in the case of divine spellcasters, also spell lists.

So here are the classes I wrote:

Blessed Undertaker: The cleric of the Neutral death god Mawat, specialized in slaying undead.

Bug-Man Female: A female sentient insectoid capable of arcane spellcasting, flight, interaction with insects and fungi, and, eventually, establishing a nest and spawning a huge multitude of bug-men to populate her domain!

Bug-Man Male: A sneaky male sentient insectoid with a huge mercantile network and thievery abilities.

Cultist: Classic Chaos-worshiping lunatic, granted with massive divine power by his alien gods; cultists of different gods have different special powers.

Deep One Hybrid: A spawn of Chaos, a crossbreed between abominable fish-men and humans. A savage fighter, and also capable of Chaotic divine spellpower granted by Dagon and Rahab.

Dragon Incarnate: A human born with the soul of a great dragon; born to lead, fights with a dragon's ferocity, and, on higher level, capable of casting arcane spells.

Gecko-Man Spirit-Talker: The 'shaman' of the Gecko-Men, protected by an ancestral spirit and casting divine magic; climbs walls and ceilings very well, may detach his tail for a hefty bonus on the Mortal Wounds table.

Gecko-Man Stalker: A sneaky, patient hunter and trapper of the Gecko-Men; climbs walls and ceilings very well, may detach his tail for a hefty bonus on the Mortal Wounds table.

Lizardman Gladiator: A lizardman bred for arena combat, fights like a real monster. A modified version of the Thrassian Gladiator from the ACKS Player's Companion, somewhat weaker, but progresses faster in XP, especioally at high levels.

Lizardman Hunter: Wild, stealthy hunting lizard-man, with abilities geared towards ambushing prey.

Lizardman Priestess: A lizardman priestess of the grand goddess Ixchala, a divine spellcaster with good healing powers.

Lizardman Warrior: Totemic fighting-lizardman. Each Warrior belongs to a secret society or order following a totem, each totem has its own advantages.

Lizardman Witch-Doctor: Tribal sorcerer of the lizardmen, an arcane spellcaster who gains several additional powers by trafficking with demons and spirits.

Visitor Hybrid: Half human, half alien Visitor. Has an innate knack for alien tech, as well as locks and traps, and is also telepathic and can cast arcane spells at higher experience levels.

ACKS: Deep One Hybrid Racial Template - REDUX

A re-design of the Deep One Hybrid I made half a year ago.

"I think their predominant colour was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked ... They were the blasphemous fish-frogs of the nameless design - living and horrible."

- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Shadow Over Insmouth"

The Deep Ones are a race of aquatic monstrosities, part fish, part frog and part man, who have inhabited the oceans around Kanahu for aeons. They battled the Serpentmen for dominance; vied for control with the mysterious Visitors; and were the targets of numerous holy wars by the Lizardmen followers of Lawful Ixchala. And yet, they remain; dwelling under the waves in their magnificent, if terrible, reef cities, where they pay tribute to their father-god, Dagon, as well as to their over-god, K'tulu.

The Deep Ones are not content with living underwater, however. In service of their Chaotic masters, they seek to infiltrate coastal communities, intermixing with the local Human population, and tainting the blood of Men with their terrible curse. Indeed, the old, deposed nobility of Harat, mostly chased from their mansions and seaside castles by Hardun's Army of the Free, were, and still are, hybrids of Men and Deep Ones. This racial template represents these hybrids, who continually devolve from humanity into aquatic monstrosities.

Deep One Hybrid character classes are created using the Deep One Hybrid racial category and experience points. Requirements, class category values, hit points per level after 9th, and experience point progressions are modified as noted below.

Requirements:
All Deep One Hybrid classes require a minimum Strength and Constitution of 12 or better. They must also be Chaotic, or, in rare instances (subject to the Judge's approval), Neutral, butnever Lawful.

Class category Values:
Divine: Any build points allocated to the Divine Value stack with build points allocated to the Deep One Hybrid value for purposes of determining the class’s spellcasting ability (see below).

Deep One Hybrid 0 (XP Cost 300): at Deep One Hybrid 0, the class will have the following four custom powers:

• Swimming: The character gains a swimming movement rate of 120' per turn. The character may hold his breath for 1 Turn (10 minutes). Costs 3 custom powers.
• Tainted Blood: The character is, since early adulthood, somewhat deformed, displaying some Deep One traits. Even to those who do not know what these tell-tale signs mean, the character will look ugly and unworldly, granting him or her a -2 penalty to Reaction.  However, most sentient Chaotic monsters will recognize the character's true nature and react favourably towards him or her, granting a +2 bonus to Reaction. This is a variant on the Inhumanity custom power and costs 0 powers.
• After the Fish: If and when they complete their transformation into full Deep Ones, the Hybrids retain their class abilities and may continue to level and grow in HD and in power. This works similarly to the Sakkaran (Zaharan) Ruinguard's After the Flesh power. The character can be continued to play as a Deep One. This requires, however, an unholy ritual of self-sacrifice to the Chaotic gods Dagon and K'tulu, which costs money and effort. see Transformation into a Deep One, below. This costs 3 custom powers.
• Longevity: The Deep One Hybrid ageless and enjoys a lifespan three times longer than normal, even if he does not transform into a 'full' Deep One; upon "death" from old age, if no ritual is used (see below), the character transforms into an immortal Deep One monster (NPC) of 2+1 HD with no class features. Deep One Hybrids are also immune to ghoul paralysis. This is effectively the Elven Bloodline proficiency, selected as a custom power.

Deep One Hybrid 1 (XP Cost 800): Deep One Hybrid 0 + Fighter 1

Deep One Hybrid 2 (XP Cost 1,300): Deep One Hybrid 0 + Fighter 2

Deep One Hybrid 3 (XP Cost 1,800): Deep One Hybrid 0 + Fighter 3

Deep One Hybrid 4 (XP Cost 2,300): Deep One Hybrid 0 + Fighter 4

Experience Point Progression After 8th Level
Deep One Hybrids increase the amount of experience required to gain each level after 8th by 45,000XP.

Transformation into a Deep One
Deep One Hybrids who reach 11th level or higher may transform themselves into fully-blown Deep Ones by a baleful ritual of self-sacrifice to the Deep One gods of Dagon and K'tulu. The 'full' Deep One has HD as the character had class levels, retains all class abilities and spellcasting (if any) the Hybrid had in semi-Human life, may breath both under and above the water indefinitely, is immune to disease and to further ageing, has Infravision and may attack with its claws for 1d4-1 damage each, in addition to all other powers. However, 'proper' Deep Ones suffer a -4 Reaction penalty from all Neutral or Lawful mortals, but enjoy a +4 Reaction bonus from all Chaotic beings.

It requires 5,000gp per character level to transform into a Deep One. The ritual takes one day per 1,000gp of cost. The transformation requires a magic research throw. The target value for this throw is increased by +1 for every level the character has. Using precious materials in the ritual can affect chances of success of the transformation, as above. Failure indicates that the character is dead and cannot be raised except through a Wish or a Miracle.

To perform the ritual, a Deep One Hybrid must have access to an altar to Dagon and/or K'tulu of at least equal in value to the cost of the ritual as given above. For every 10,000gp of value above the minimum required for the transformation, the Deep One Hybrid receives a +1 bonus on his magic research throw. By using precious materials, the character can gain a bonus on his magic research throw, as described on ACKS 118. Transforming into a Deep One also requires special components for the ritual. Components are usually organs or blood from one or more beings - typically Human sacrifices of high level - with a total XP value equal to the cost of the research. At least one creature must be of a level equal to that of the Deep One Hybrid attempting the transformation. The Judge will determine the specific components based on the ritual involved. If a character doesn’t know the components at the outset of the ritual, he learns them when the necromancy is 50% complete.

Note that it is possible for a Deep One hybrid to transform into a Deep One due to old age without a ritual, but this will create a 2+1 HD monster as described here, with no special abilities and without retaining any class features, except for proficiencies. In this case, the character will be an NPC. This is how many level 0 Deep One Hybrids transform naturally into 2+1 HD deep ones.

[ACKS] Visitor Hybrid Racial Template

The enigmatic Visitors came from beyond the stars to pursue ends unknown on our world (or the world of Kanahu in case of my Barbarian Conqueror King setting). As part of their mysterious mission, they abduct, from time to time, ordinary Humans (and less frequently so, Lizardmen, Gecko-Men or even Bug-Men) to perform experiments on them and, in some cases, impregnate their women with hybrid fetuses. These hybrids, half human and half Visitor, grow up to be eccentric outsiders, belonging to neither the terrestrial world nor the alien realms. Some are picked up by their alien sires to serve an unclear higher purpose, but many are abandoned.

Gifted with amazing powers of the mind, as well as an aptitude with magic, these abandoned children often use their alien legacy to further their own ends. Their alien heritage marks them with large, almond-shaped multi-faceted eyes, similar to those of their Visitor progenitors, but also with an instinctive knack for deciphering alien technology. They are usually somewhat shorter than ordinary Humans, rarely standing higher than 5', and are slight of build and greyish-skinned, with oily, usually black (though sometimes red) hair. While sometimes shunned by superstitious Humans, their alien origin is a great boon for the Hybrids, who may work wonders with the combination of alien tech with arcane magic.

Requirements:
All Visitor Hybrids require a minimum Dexterity and Intelligence of 10 or better. They may not have Strength or Constitution above 16.

Class category Values:

• Fighting: Visitor Hybrids with narrow or broad weapon selections must include at least alien pistols and rifles among their selections.
• Divine: Visitor Hybrids, who are more attuned with alien beings than with local divinity, are usually less concerned about divinity than most Humans, and thus may not have a Divine Value higher than 2.
• Arcane: Any build points allocated to the Arcane Value stack with build points allocated to the Visitor Hybrid value for purposes of determining the class’s spellcasting ability (see below).

Visitor Hybrid 0 (XP Cost 325): at Visitor Hybrid 0, the class will have the following four custom powers:

• ESP: Thanks to their telepathic genes inherited from their alien progenitors, Visitor Hybrids may use ESP (as per the spell) every 8 hours, with a casting time of 1 round. This is in addition to any potential castings of this spell if they possess levels in Arcane Spellcasting and learn this spell.
• Alien Intuition: Any Visitor Hybrid can rely on his alien subconscious to achieve On the Spot Understanding with all alien tech on a a roll of 11+ (with mishaps only on a 1) (counts as 2 proficiencies).
• Alien Lore: Furthermore, Visitor Hybrids possess an instinctive knowledge of baseline alien technology, and thus have the equivalent of the Alien Lore proficiency in Weapons, Armour and Chemicals. A Visitor Hybrid can achieve On the Spot Understanding of an alien artifact from these three categories on an 7+ (Alien Intuition already factored in), and only suffers mishaps on a natural 1 in that category. He gains +1 on all research rolls related to alien technology, and only mishaps on 1-3 even if it is a category he isn't familiar with (counts as 3 proficiencies).
• Alien Senses: Visitor Hybrids are highly tuned to their surroundings and enjoy sharp senses. The character gains a +4 bonus on any proficiency throws to hear noises and detect secret doors. With a proficiency throw of 18+ he can notice secret doors with just casual observation. He gains a +1 bonus to avoid surprise. This is effectively the Alertness proficiency selected as a custom power.
• Perceive Intentions: Blessed with telepathic senses, the Visitor Hybrid always know the exact reaction result (Hostile, Unfriendly, etc.) of creatures he interacts with, even if the creatures attempt to lie or conceal their reactions. Creatures with a CHA greater than the character’s WIS are immune to this power (and the character will know they are immune).

Visitor Hybrid 1 (XP Cost 950): Visitor Hybrid + 1/3 level Mage.

Visitor Hybrid 2 (XP Cost 1,575): Visitor Hybrid + 1/2 level Mage.

Visitor Hybrid 3 (XP Cost 2,200): Visitor Hybrid + 2/3 level Mage.

Visitor Hybrid 4 (XP Cost 2,825: Visitor Hybrid + Mage.

Experience Point Progression After 8th Level
Visitor Hybrids increase the amount of experience required to gain each level after 8th by 55,000XP.