 July 28, 2012 - 8:04pm | Anyone out there have house rules for creating Star Frontiers characters fully developed, sort of like the character creation method used in Traveller? I think it would be a cool way to create PCs when needed for an adventure without having to resort to a GM pregenerated PC. I also think it would make it easier to brink Knight Hawks into the game even for brand new players. |
 July 29, 2012 - 5:27am | First thing would be to decide on whether to go with basic Traveller or the more advanced systems used in the later little books. Sorry I just realized since there are about 6 different Travellers which ones did you mean? I assumed the original with all the career charts. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 July 29, 2012 - 7:42am | The way I do it is just to assign a number of XP for the character generations process. Then have them buy all their skills, stat upgrades and racial ability upgrades from that pool starting with 0 skills. For example, in my PBP game that I ran the PC's needed to have at least a level 1 spaceship skill. So they were to be created with 300 XP. If you focus you can get a level one spaceship skill with about 100-150 XP but 300 gave them enough to round out the character with a few extra skills. That's also how I did my pregens for the two games I ran for the Virtual Con back in March. For one game, it was 350 XP and the other it was 50. And then just give them a number of credits that they can spend on equipment. Again the amount depends on how much gear you think they should have. I typically use 1000-2000 credits for lower level PC's and 10,000-20,000 cr for PC's that will be starting with KH skills. If you want them to have the option of having vehicles and robots and such you should probably give them more. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 July 29, 2012 - 10:51am | I'll have to dig it up but I did just such a system for pregenerated "experienced" characters based off the Traveller model, at least as far as I understood from the player perspective as I don't have any of the rule books. |
July 29, 2012 - 7:40pm | One general rule I follow with NPCs is to give them skills that in no way reflect what the characters have unless they are going to be repeat NPCs. If they are going to one background or one shot or cannon fodder. They don't need really need alot of skills. Just enough to get them through the session they are part of and then they are never seen again so who cares. NPCs who will pop in again and again either contacts or villains can be given skills they need as per what they are going to be used for. This does not mean they should be limited to their experience level but that the experience level should be used as a guide to what their skill levels should be. IE level 3 NPC should not have Pilot-5 and Gunnery-4. BUT as I read and agree with in 45 Retroapocalypse "If you stat it they will kill it" Meaning once you give an NPC stats then you are limited and your players will kill it. Let's say your players took a completely different direction than you thought and now your campaign villain is about to be killed during gaming session 2 because she lacks any robot repair skills. Your choose now is to either rewrite the campaign and lose the reasonable explanation for the three-headed puppies OR just give her the necessary skill level because you never finished her skills in the first place, lrsving room to add things as necessary and carry on. Of course what you choose has more to do with your GM style than anything else so have fun. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 July 29, 2012 - 7:47pm | NPCs have all the skills and tools to do the things I need them to do because I say they have those skills and things. I have a level one pirate mook and he grabs a grenade off another character's body, he can chuck that grenade with no penalty for lacking the skill. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
July 29, 2012 - 9:49pm | The one thing my Traveller-esque tables did well was when players stopped somewhere and needed to hire a few NPCs. Once I decided if any were available (and how many), my charts would randomly generate retired/discharged/kicked out professionals (and rookies) that were military, techs, corporates, planetary militia, spacefleet, and even Star Law & criminals. If you need a quick spot to fill, you get what you get in a pinch... |
July 31, 2012 - 4:58pm | Okay I found my stuff so here's the low-down. Once the basics are determined (race, ability scores, height/weight, starting age) the NPC (or optional PC) is eligible for ten different fields: Military, Technologist, Social (all based off the core skills of course), Mercenary, Rogue (with Space Pirate possiblities), Corporate/Merchant, Scout/Explorer, Planetary Militia, Space Fleet, and Star Law. Each year of service yields a skill (or an increase to existing skill). Each year of service yields a survival roll (just like Traveller does) which can go straight to another year of service, or if the character is discharged (honorably or otherwise), as well as possible permanent injuries and/or death (the latter being lifted from Traveller). Each skill roll is determined between four tables (Basic, Field, Advanced, and Special)...each year of service allows greater chances for rolling on the "better" tables. Basic tables also have ability modifiers (typically +5 in one or the other or both in a set) in addition to the basic skills for each profession. Advanced & Secial table skills permit automatic pre-req skills if the character doesn't already have them (and gives them lv-0 as such, or lv-1 if they already had the pre-reqs). There is also a rank table signifying what position the character had upon dismissal, and finally a mustering out table that awards "gifts" based on the profession...again much like the Traveller system I had observed. I created many an interesting "on the spot" NPC with this system, some were hired/kept on by players/parties and others were let go after their usefullness expired. |
 August 1, 2012 - 10:05pm | Shadow, Do you have that in a pdf or available to peruse?? |
August 2, 2012 - 5:51am | No, it's merely a pen & paper insert I keep in my Referee Screen at the moment. |
 August 3, 2012 - 10:05am | I'd be interested in seeing that, as I am big fan of lifepath-style chargen. Given that SF skill levels top out at 6, that would seem to mesh with Traveller pretty well. |
August 3, 2012 - 9:42pm | Shadow, If you want you could submit it in the Starfrontiersman?  |
August 4, 2012 - 12:14am | I'll try to get cracking on it then. So far I'm off until at least Wednesday unless I get called in, alas the next three days are already spoken for. Hopefully I can get to it by Tuesday. |
August 5, 2012 - 6:25pm | First thing would be to decide on whether to go with basic Traveller or the more advanced systems used in the later little books.
Sorry I just realized since there are about 6 different Travellers which ones did you mean? I assumed the original with all the career charts. ??? **Shrug** I don't know enough about Traveller to know the difference but I think I want the career charts. My intention is to give GMs an alternative to the standard 1+1 skill character creation method and instead allow players to start with characters that are fully grown with a background to match. A series of tables and flowcharts would allow players to choose their general career path and a roll of the dice would fill in the specifics of their skills and background. So for example, a character is a former Clarion Royal Marine and starts with piloting skills and level 6 weapon skills to go along with a missing limb. Or maybe they were a robotics expert with Streel Corp. and know a little too much. The stats and general background info could be on a basic chart system and more extensive background info could be a second set of charts and purely optional. |
August 7, 2012 - 5:39pm | Besides the traveller system there are template systems. Basically stereotypes that come with complete background with some fill in the blank areas. Mechwarrior 2nd Edition used these. Some other template systems used packages. Which were basically you were born on this type planet so you get this and you went to college so you get this and you majored in Starship Navigation so you get this and then you went to work for a Vrusk Merchant company for five years so you get this. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 August 12, 2012 - 5:54pm | When I think of Traveller's CharGen, I think of: "Well, I have developed a 32-year old Merchant Marine with a deep, rich history and... Oh damn, he just died from a paper-cut! Time to roll-up a new character. That was time well spent!" |
August 12, 2012 - 7:24pm | I think a fundamental difference between SF and Traveler is that Traveler accounts for long periods of a character's life however for a SF characater starting with 2 or even 3 skills you're not going to account for the same depth of time. Perhaps the creation process might involve some fluff type stuff like awards and commendations instead of skills I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 August 27, 2012 - 7:29pm | If a crazy idea works, then it's not crazy: We would generate the stats for our SF characters in our good, old-fashioned SF house rules way. Then we'd convert 'em to the pertinent Traveller stats. Run 'em thru the stock Traveller c-gen process, let 'em stay in their chosen (or drafted) field as long as they wanted or were allowed, muster 'em out, then convert 'em back to SF stats. If starting a campaign from scratch, we'd take the entire first evening for c-gen. Everybody had a blast creating a character with a past and as a GM, it was a hoot for me to watch people get excited over a great career term or depressed over a term of *shudders* garrison duty. The players really connected with their characters, they got backstories for their characters, sometimes backstories they couldn't have expected, not to mention edges and flaws. And as a GM I got a boatload of plot hooks, twists and ways to engage or spotlight characters. If there's plenty of time, the later specialized books (Mercenary, High Guard, Scouts and Merchant Prince) can give a very rich character with a decent amount of assets. There are also some good non-standard career options. If you're in a hurry, the original little black book "Characters and Combat" is a good quick and dirty way to get the job done. Yes, the rules do allow for a character to die in c-gen. But having the character maimed instead of killed is always an option. (Okay, that last sounds pretty calloused and/or creepy now that I read it again.) All this having been said, I'm a huge fan of a random c-gen process as opposed to a point-driven "design" process. The random method forces players to play the cards they're dealt. Using the Traveller process can allow a player to take a little bit of control back from the randomness. It's a pretty good compromise. Anything to keep a player from "designing" a character who is Mr. Spock, Darth Vader, The Stainless Steel Rat and Chuck Yeager all rolled into one. With a leadership score of 120. You are What you will do When it counts --The Masao |
August 28, 2012 - 3:00pm | Ok prior i had as a part of a volturnus prequel written up a list of background which gave the character a little something. Most were keyed to a planet of origin but some were keyed to racial culture ie. Traditional yazirian warrior culture imparts skill with yaz honor weapons. Or to historic events like sathar war 1 heritage which, for families who lived thruough the nuking and devistation of 3 planets by the worms gain a +5 or 10 when battling the worms or their agents. I'm going to break that list up some and i'm working on a new concept that adopts the "game" aspect of traveller. First move of the game is to roll abilitiy scores as per AD and record them in order. No rerolls no rearranging what you roll is what you get. Now there will be points called development points or whatever DP is the working name and current thinking is you get 3 (subject to change once i write this out and play test). DP can be used during char-gen game to modify any roll if declared before dice are rolled or to reroll a bad roll. Any rerolls are final. At this point the player may spend a DP to reroll one ability score. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 3:05pm | Next move in the SF char-gen game is choice of race and application of racial ability modifiers. Also with this is the choice of culture and planet of origin which will be a listbut like i described before keyed to planets, religions, or other heritage like things that would have caused the individual to grow up with a particular outlook and expossure to a skill or knowledge base. [Sorry for the multiple post on this but the phone has limits on word processing ] I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 3:24pm | The game begins in earnest now and the DP become crucial. Each round of game is for a period in a being's life : youth- in a human its birth thruogh age 12, Teens- in a human its 13-17, Young adult- in a human it 18-22 or 23, adult rounds are now just incriments of 4 or 5 years. In the youth round the player chooses a focus: athletics, academics, science, art, or what I'm calling counter culture for space goth, rebellious behavior, perhaps also work focus, to stay in this focus the player must roll against an appropriate ability score one time and succeed percentage of success is important and blowing a DP on a dice roll allows you to shave 10 points off the dice roll. Percentage of success impacts what you get at this stage but this represents a childhood focused on one of these focuses so an athletics focus that succeeds would allow the player to add 1-3points to one physical ability score where as a failed roll would be a serious injury that killed a promising carreer in sports early on and the player must subtract 1-3 points from one physical ability score. A PD can be blown for a reroll or used to ensure a good result on the roll before its made. This is the first round so only one ability roll is made and must be past. Choice of focus impacts things for next round for instance our athletic character is primed to become a military or other physical PSA type character but perhaps not a doctor. In round two 2 ability scores must be checked and past with percentage of success impacting what happens. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 3:48pm | I was going to have PSA locked in at round two but i think there should be an opportunity for a player to have had a career in athletics experience some bad rolls that generate an injury that in the character background would be a career ender but in game mechanics is a reduction in an ability score and a reduction in movement speed. The player then could attempt to retrain in a tech or other field. So im thinking PSA doesnt lock in till round 3 or for a DP you can shift it. The analog to a sports injury is failing out of or expulsion from an academic institution or etc. Third round requires three ability score checks and rolling low is important. At this point actual skills are being recorded, school debt is being recorded, and character can opt to graduate with a Frontier equiv of a BA or BS degree. Another couple ofof rounds of education can be attempted but each round is yet one more ability check more then in the previous round that must be braved. Character can earn masters or doctoral level degree and even multiple masters degrees. But at some point enough bad things will pile up from failed ability checks. Thus a player chooses how far to push his luck with this. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 3:55pm | So thats the educational rounds and at any time a player may enter the work force or be forced to due to things that happened in the educational rounds. Work round function like education rounds requiring ability checks and have good and bad results career wise. School debt gets taken off during these rounds. Results of work rounds might be good review by boss with commendation, work bonus for hard work, or consequently a bad review or even fired from a job. Work rounds would have distinctly different tracks for mega corp, military, public service, regular small company with each track being different and providing different things. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 3:59pm | Net result should be minimum of 2 skills, max of 3 adventure skills and possibly some proficiency in non adventure skills as well as some improvement of pertinent ability scores. Some money or debt and some material- ex military may have gotten out and retained a skien suit, but corporate military may have had to account for all company material and thus didnt get that free skien suit. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 28, 2012 - 4:26pm | Finally if its a game it should be possible to lose. I know that the death result in the traveller system was a common complaint but i think it the one objective way to say someone categorically looses. However, i dont think it should be totally random but based on results from all the rounds, perhaps used DP and all failled ability checks contibute to the possibility of death or even imprisonment or marriage to a shrew. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
