OOC - Welcome and Chat

[atpollard]

Do stats affect rolls, besides combat and noble standing?

So this questioned was sent to me and needs to be answered in a more open setting.

RULE #2 "Do not break the 2d6 curve."

Those into statistics will know that it is technically not a curve ... the lines are straight to a peak ... but the point is still the same. Here are your chances of success:

2d6, roll 2+ = 100%
2d6, roll 3+ = 97%
2d6, roll 4+ = 92%
2d6, roll 5+ = 83%
2d6, roll 6+ = 72%
2d6, roll 7+ = 58%
2d6, roll 8+ = 42%
2d6, roll 9+ = 28%
2d6, roll 10+ = 17%
2d6, roll 11+ = 8%
2d6, roll 12+ = 3%

I use Rule 68A for most tasks because it is 'stupid' simple.

RULE 68A:
The target number to accomplish an EASY task is 6+ on 2d6.
The target number to accomplish an AVERAGE task is 8+ on 2d6.
The target number to accomplish an HARD task is 10+ on 2d6. [the hexidecimal notation for 10 is 'A']

That's it. You roll 2d6, add your special modifiers (like any appropriate skill) and compare it to the target number.

So the thing about a 2d6 curve is that modifiers matter a LOT!
An average task (like a Medic patching a bullet wound in the field with a first aid kit) is 8+, so with a skill-0 the chance of success is 42%.
With any +1 modifier (like skill-1), the chance of success is 58%.
With any +2 modifier (like skill-2), the chance of success is 72%.
With any +3 modifier (like skill-3), the chance of success is 83%.

If we pile attribute bonuses on skill bonuses, then the odds quickly become so high that rolling is a waste of time ...
Medical skill with +2 attribute bonus (+1 Edu & +1 Dex) = 72% success for Medic-0 to 97% success for Medic-3.
Maybe we should add another +1 for a Sick Bay on a ship = 83% success for Medic-0 to 100% success for Medic-3.

With the modifiers for a good (not great) education and dexterity, the person with a little First Aid training (medical-0) is as good as an average Doctor (Medical-3) at treating a bullet wound!
The 2d6 curve has been broken.


So I do not add ability modifiers to skills unless they are exceptional ... ANY ABILITY OF 10+ may add +1 to an appropriate skill check.

The question then becomes "What do abilities do?" ... Good question.
Anything you can think of.

Seriously. Traveller is not like other games where the assumption is that I must have THE SKILL to do THE TASK. "How can I swim if I don't have Swimming-1?" is not how Traveller works. Assume that you can do anything and everything you want to attempt. Now common sense will tell you that some things have very poor odds ... attempting brain surgery to alter someone's personality using only your hunting knife and having no Medical training is not likely to end well, but you can try it with an actual chance of success (about 3%).

So a skill (like Medical-1 or Pistol Combat-1) indicates that you spent 2 years of your life engaged in that task on what approaches full-time employment. That makes a Skill-1 closer to a mini "prestige class" in D&D terms. You are assumed to know EVERYTHING that comes with 2 years of life experience as a Medic or Pistol shooter.

But what about all those things in life that are not about WORK ... like "Can I swim?" That is where your ATTRIBUTES come into play. Treat them just like skill as follows:

RULE 68A:
Easy Task = roll 6+
Average Task = roll 8+
Hard Task = roll 10+

Attribute = 0-2 = -1
Attribute = 3-5 = 0
Attribute = 6-8 = +1
Attribute = 9-11 = +2
Attribute = 12+ = +3

So swimming a short distance across calm water is EASY with a DEX of 7 grants +1 so roll 6+ on 2d6+1 to swim from the boat to shore (83% chance).

Now let's say that the water is rough and you are attempting to swim with someone else. The rough water makes it an Average Task (8+) so you roll 8+ on 2d6+1 (58% chance). The person with you is a bad swimmer (DEX of 2) and clinging to a life preserver. They must roll 8+ on 2d6-1 (28% chance).

They fail. so you attempt to pull them along with you. This is not a Dexterity issue, but more of an easy Endurance (END of 5) issue, so you roll 6+ on 2d6+0 to pull them with you (72% chance).

Any activity that is not DIRECTLY a skill can probably be attempted as an ability check.

[Inferno]

Hi atpollard,

Are there rules for pickpocketing, sleight of hand, card tricks and other legerdemain? Thanks.

[Leitz]

Local used book store is holding a replica of a 1902 Sears catalogue for someone else. If they don't get it, I will.

[atpollard]

Hi atpollard,
Are there rules for pickpocketing, sleight of hand, card tricks and other legerdemain? Thanks.

No official rules, but Traveller starts from the assumption that the character can attempt anything and "skills" just provide a bonus.

In this case, an ABILITY roll using Dexterity seems most appropriate ...
1. Use "DEXTERITY" as the skill. Probably something like Rule 68A [2d6 vs 6+ for easy, 8+ for average, 10+ for hard task] with modifiers for high/low Dexterity ...

• DEX = 0-2 = -1
• DEX = 3-5 = 0
• DEX = 6-8 = +1
• DEX = 9-11 = +2
• DEX = 12+ = +3

For tricks involving Cards, add your Gambling skill as an additional modifier.

So beyond that, it is all Referee decision based on circumstances for the difficulty of the task ... but I just try to use common sense and you will generally know the difficulty before attempting anything. Also note that common tasks require no rolls.

So a basic card trick or fancy shuffle requires no roll. Dealing from the bottom of the deck is an "EASY" task (6+) for someone with Gambling skill or an "AVERAGE" task (8+) for someone without gambling skill. In a casino with the 'house' watching, the difficulty shifts up one ("average" for a gambler and "hard" for a non-gambler).

Pickpocketing a Coat pocket is an "Average" task, while a Vest pocket would be hard. So let's say you are going after a vest pocket (need 10+ to succeed), but only get an (8). Remember the basic thresholds are 6, 8 and A (10). So you failed, but it was close. In that case, I would probably say that you didn't get what you were after, but you were not detected either. On the other hand, if you rolled a (7), then that falls two steps below success and I would say the target detected your failed attempt to pick his pocket.

Now placing an object in a coat pocket is an "Easy" task (6+).

So does that work for you?
[It also gives a general idea how other ABILITIES (STR, DEX, END, INT, EDU, SOC) can be used for other tasks.]

[Leitz]

Open to discussion about STR required to fire a pistol one handed?

The curve on the grip of single action pistols was so that the recoil pushed the muzzle up. This actually made it easier to fire since you could thumb the hammer as the muzzle fell back down. Trying to muscle the gun is why most people miss.

[atpollard]

Open to discussion about STR required to fire a pistol one handed?

The curve on the grip of single action pistols was so that the recoil pushed the muzzle up. This actually made it easier to fire since you could thumb the hammer as the muzzle fell back down. Trying to muscle the gun is why most people miss.

Just explain to me why everyone who comments on things like the 2 bore pistol (Lil Deuce) or shooting a S&W 500 describes the experience as "painful" and "unpleasant" and I will drop the whole concept of any link between STR and recoil. It seems that larger people with more 'muscle' seem better at tolerating the recoil of large calibers. That was all I wanted to include in the rules ... a reason why EVERYONE does not prefer a Colt Walker with a 2" barrel.

[Leitz]

Ah, easy questions! Here's a young lady shooting an S&W 500. What the top of her forearm ripple back in the recoil, and remember that the S&W 500 cartridge is a lot more powerful than any handgun round in the game. Doing that if you're not used to it does hurt. But it's not the length of the barrel but the massive energy of the round. Compare the S&W 500 doing 2,250 to 2,860 ft-lbf (See right hand side bar) to the 45 long colt in black powder (See numbers in first paragraph under "Cartridge loads". The 45 LC does about 500 ft-lbf. (Muzzle velocity of 1,000 ft/s with a 230 grain bullet)

Modern propellants burn a lot faster and propel the bullet a lot faster than black powder weapons. The recoil is a lot stiffer and sharper due to the speed. It also means you can deliver more energy a lot further out. That's also why people in the game world would choose a longer weapon; the 2 cm barrel is great for a quick shot at three paces. Beyond that it starts getting iffy. The 4.75 inch revolvers had a good balance of length and speed. When you needed an aimed shot the sighting plane was much longer. Longer barrel pistols are useful when you have a large target to hit. For example, using a Dragoon model during a cavalry charge; you were trying to hit something in a large group. The longer barrel gave a higher velocity and meant the bullet carried more energy futher.

In the game setting, shop-keepers and gamblers will likely prefer the 4 CM barrels. Shipboard officers who have to repel boarders will likely go for a longer barrel due to target range. Gunfighters would likely go for the 4-5" barrels. Most people have a single gun and thus six shots before a reload. On early models the cylinder doesn't swing out so loading time takes a bit.

That help?

[Leitz]

A few more notes.

In general, two handed firing is a relatively new skills. Even in WWII troops were taught to fire one handed, standing sideways. It produced a much smaller target. Pre-germ theory medicine any hit could kill you sooner or later. The less you got hit the better.

The gunfighter movie pose is for speed. Easier to get the gun out and on target in a fraction of a second. Two handed shooting would be great for that long ranged aimed shot. Just hope you don't get hit while aiming.

[Inferno]

Hi atpollard,
Are there rules for pickpocketing, sleight of hand, card tricks and other legerdemain? Thanks.

No official rules, but Traveller starts from the assumption that the character can attempt anything and "skills" just provide a bonus.

In this case, an ABILITY roll using Dexterity seems most appropriate ...
1. Use "DEXTERITY" as the skill. Probably something like Rule 68A [2d6 vs 6+ for easy, 8+ for average, 10+ for hard task] with modifiers for high/low Dexterity ...

• DEX = 0-2 = -1
• DEX = 3-5 = 0
• DEX = 6-8 = +1
• DEX = 9-11 = +2
• DEX = 12+ = +3

For tricks involving Cards, add your Gambling skill as an additional modifier.

So beyond that, it is all Referee decision based on circumstances for the difficulty of the task ... but I just try to use common sense and you will generally know the difficulty before attempting anything. Also note that common tasks require no rolls.

So a basic card trick or fancy shuffle requires no roll. Dealing from the bottom of the deck is an "EASY" task (6+) for someone with Gambling skill or an "AVERAGE" task (8+) for someone without gambling skill. In a casino with the 'house' watching, the difficulty shifts up one ("average" for a gambler and "hard" for a non-gambler).

Pickpocketing a Coat pocket is an "Average" task, while a Vest pocket would be hard. So let's say you are going after a vest pocket (need 10+ to succeed), but only get an (8). Remember the basic thresholds are 6, 8 and A (10). So you failed, but it was close. In that case, I would probably say that you didn't get what you were after, but you were not detected either. On the other hand, if you rolled a (7), then that falls two steps below success and I would say the target detected your failed attempt to pick his pocket.

Now placing an object in a coat pocket is an "Easy" task (6+).

So does that work for you?
[It also gives a general idea how other ABILITIES (STR, DEX, END, INT, EDU, SOC) can be used for other tasks.]

Makes perfect sense. Thanks!

[Inferno]

Hey,
I'll be away and offline for the holidays. Back in January. Looking forward to kicking off this game then.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone.

[atpollard]

NOTICE:
Map of world available to help select a place of origin:

WORLD MAP IN REFERENCE

The game will begin near the word "WORLD" in Spine of the World Mountains (on the map) ... you may, of course, go anywhere and do anything from there. The game just had to start somewhere.

[Leitz]

AWESOME!!!

Quick note, the last word in the Franciase paragraph, is "Chateaux" a particular place or just a "chateaux"? I started to look for a place called Chateaux that I assumed would be fortified.

[atpollard]

AWESOME!!!

Quick note, the last word in the Franciase paragraph, is "Chateaux" a particular place or just a "chateaux"? I started to look for a place called Chateaux that I assumed would be fortified.

“Just” a chateau (if a fortified family mansion can be called ‘just’).

[AsenRG]

I vote for the French Republic, or Basque islands:D!

[Inferno]

Atpollard,
P.T. Codswallop is such an American trope. Which of these nations is closest to America, please?
Thanks.

[atpollard]

Atpollard,
P.T. Codswallop is such an American trope. Which of these nations is closest to America, please?
Thanks.

Britannia is England and the Deep South (plantation Carolina, Georgia and Virginia) from 1750 to 1850 for the "culture".

New Britannia is the "American Frontier" culture ... Think of Lewis and Clark and the Mountain Men and the early settlers to Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Separatists are hard core "New England" in 1750-1800 culture. Boston Tea Party, Sons of Liberty, Green Mountain Boys.

[atpollard]

NOTICE:

Weapons are updated in the REFERENCE SECTION

The list is both expanded and streamlined. There is a greater variety of weapons to select from, but I have included only the most common weapons on the list. There will be many more options to be discovered in each local Gunsmith shop where you can have weapons made to order.

[atpollard]

NOTICE:

Bladed weapons added to the REFERENCE SECTION ... for those interested in something other than guns.

So for swords and knives and daggers (etc.), if the Character has less than the “Minimum STR” listed for the weapon, then they suffer a penalty of (-2) on all rolls to hit. If the Character has a STR equal to or greater than the “Bonus STR” listed for the weapon, then they get a bonus of (+2) on all rolls to hit.

The rules on “Weapon Grade” applies to ‘Blades’ as well as ‘Firearms’ (although the details on the blade differ from those on the guns) and the quality of the blade communicates your perceived social status.

[AsenRG]

NOTICE:

Bladed weapons added to the REFERENCE SECTION ... for those interested in something other than guns.

So for swords and knives and daggers (etc.), if the Character has less than the “Minimum STR” listed for the weapon, then they suffer a penalty of (-2) on all rolls to hit. If the Character has a STR equal to or greater than the “Bonus STR” listed for the weapon, then they get a bonus of (+2) on all rolls to hit.

The rules on “Weapon Grade” applies to ‘Blades’ as well as ‘Firearms’ (although the details on the blade differ from those on the guns) and the quality of the blade communicates your perceived social status.

What kind of a blade did Remy get from his benefits roll? Is it field grade as indicated by his social status?
Other than that, he's using a (cut-and-thrust) rapier, because to me, the point of the hand-and-a-half sword...is its most dangerous part.

[Pulpatoon]

Regarding all this talk of blade quality and clothes by social rank and so on: my character didn't get any money from his mustering-out benefit. So he's penniless, which seems fine for a child of privilege setting out to prove himself.

But, how literally penniless is he? I'd like to think he's clothed and has a few non-consequential possessions (some books, his manuscript-in-progress, a cameo of his mother, etc.).