Freelance
Traveller
Traveller is an awesome game. Let's face it, it was the D&D of Sci Fi and is still going strong. But, like D&D of yesteryear, the mechanics were quaint, simple, and basically assumed people couldn't do very much. It was entirely too possible to have a character start in the game with no skills whatsoever, and learning a new skill was a painful, lengthy, and expensive process.
But then Mega Traveller came out and solved most of that, making us heavy with skills. And we liked it. But even it still failed to entirely address the beauty that is man – to reflect knowledge, aspirations, and interests that make our lives worth living.
Trivia. Hobbies.
Most of us work to live. To enjoy ourselves doing the things we like. Undertake hobbies like gaming, fishing, or if the TML is any judge, blazing away at targets with a variety of high powered weapons. But in the Traveller universe only the latter is supported in the skill sets. A player can scream 'til his blue in the face that his Traveller is a master of Venusian Chess, but without Venusian Chess-4 after his name whose going to believe it? Hell, how is he going to get that skill?
The solution is Trivia Skills. Trivia skills represent those hobbies, interests, and passions in life that make it worth living but that, in a gaming sense, have little intrinsic gaming value beyond assisting in role playing the Traveller. Things like Cooking, Wine Appreciation, Backgammon, Pool, Writing, or Massage Therapy.
Essentially it works like this. Every PC, and NPC for that matter, gets their Education value in Trivia skill levels to assign to Trivia skills. List the skills separately to the main skills so the GM has a nice snapshot of possible motivations for that character.
Editor's Note: If your game is played with the original rule limiting total skill levels to INT+EDU, you may choose to not count them against the total allowance, since they don't really represent any abilities 'useful' to the character. Then again, you might not, as time devoted to a hobby is time not devoted to 'useful' pursuits and skills. You're the GM. You decide.
If you're a player bringing a character to a new GM, and your old GM used these trivial-skill rules, you might want to explain this to your new GM - or point your new GM at this article - before bringing your character in.
Level 1 represents a passing familiarity, level 2 a decent knowledge, while level 6 means the Traveller is a master of all minutia of that pastime and probably gathers with the like minded at train stations wearing an anorak and carrying a thermos of tea.
For example, Terry has an Education of 6. He gets 6 levels and assigns them thus: Holo Movies-2, Cooking-2, Beer Appreciation-2.
Terry is a holo movie buff. He has a vast collection on his hand computer and likes nothing more than to pop an exotic tinnie, put his feet up, and watch a classic flick. He's a dab hand in the kitchen, particularly desserts, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the crew. He is a big fan of beer, sampling local wares on every planet in a quest for a perfect ale. If able to he'll have a brew on the go in his mini high tech beer fermenting keg – even though it takes up a big chunk of his personal space allowance.
Well, what's the point? If this skill is of limited game mechanic value why have it? Like I said it helps colour a Traveller, make them more of an individual instead of a collection of just stats. Besides give a Traveller an interest and they'll pursue it. Tie it in with a skill level then they're more likely to find ways to use it in the game. In the hands of a creative player or GM it could prove much fun.
Terry is thrown onto the grimy bulkhead before Ragnar the Corsair. The other pirates laugh.
'We caught this one skulking in a drive access way,' says the escort. 'He shot Mernak in the face.'
'Made him uglier eh?' says Ragnar with a laugh.
'Made him dead,' says the escort.
A somber mood comes over the assembled throng.
'Dammit, he was our cook. Now we'll have to eat T-rats again,' yells Ragnar, slamming his fist on chair's arm.
The other pirates mutter angrily.
'I hate T-rats,' complains Tagrett the Shiny, rubbing his half metal head. 'They taste tinny.'
'And I don't like what they do to my waistline,' argues Yeslick the merciless, pinching the rolls of flab under his vacc suit. 'I put on four kilos last time. Let's space the snecker.'
'I can cook,' says a small voice.
The pirates look down at Terry.
'I do a mean soufflé,' he adds. 'With wild berry jus.'