Guidelines for Pete’s Gurps Traveller campaign

May 2008

 

Points: 130

Disadvantage Limit: 40

Quirks: 5

 

Notes about some advantages and disadvantages: The existence of cybernetics means that some advantages (improved vision, hearing, DR, etc) can be acquired by artificial means.  If you decide to take that type of advantage, be sure to take the “social stigma” disadvantage (5-15 points, depending on how “bionic” you are).  If the mods are hidden, this becomes a “secret” (that converts to stigma if revealed) instead. 

 

Everyone has as “defaults”:

Computer Ops (GTL 10)

Literacy

Area Knowledge (Deneb, a Domain of the Imperium)

 

…unless you are doing something really different.

 

Aliens are OK.  I have some guidelines.  See the other links

 

Tech Level: Gurps is annoyingly different from Traveller.  The “standard” Gurps TL (GTL) in this area is 10, the highest is 12 (occasionally 13).  This is the same as Traveller TL (TTL) 12-15.  This will be very important for skills; repairing a GTL 12 device when your skill is GTL 10 based will be very difficult (-5 for each TL), repairing devices when your skill TL is higher is also tougher, but not as much.  Anyone with experience in the services (Scouts, Navy, Marines) would have gotten those skills at GTL11 or GTL12.  If you are a merchant or some other vocation, the skills will be very location dependent.  Glisten is nearby and at GTL12, for example, while a Sword Worlder is going to only see GTL10, ever.

 

Roles;

 

We are eventually going to need to run a starship here, so there have to be certain crew roles filled (unless you want to take on NPC hirelings, which always complicates things):

 

Skills everyone should have at least a little of;

  • Spacer is a Gurps 4th edition skill that encompasses all the miscellaneous things that happen on a ship; operating air locks, using rescue gear, landing and takeoff precautions, superstitions and traditions, etc.
  • Vacc Suit is the ability to use and fix pressure suits.
  • Free Fall is the skill of operating in a no-gravity environment.  There is also an advantage called G-Experience.

 

Five Roles:

Ø      Captain/Pilot,

Ø      Navigator/Sensor Operator,

Ø      Chief Engineer,

Ø      Second Engineer/Computer Operator/gunner,

Ø      Steward/Gunner/Cargomaster. 

 

Mixing and matching roles is possible (for example, the Captain could be cargomaster, and someone else be the pilot) but there are limits; many ships have only two bridge positions, two engineers (well 1.5) are usually needed to maintain a ship, if a bridge officer is also a gunner, they are at -2 for everything they are doing to multitask during combat.

 

Captain/Pilot Skills Needed

Piloting (Starship)

Electronic Ops (communications)

Electronic Ops (sensors)

Leadership

Tactics (space)

 

Navigator/Sensors Officer Skills Needed

Electronics Ops (Sensors)

Electronics Ops (communications)

Electronics (Sensors)

Electronics (Communications)

Astrogation

Cartography

Computer Ops

Piloting (Starship)

 

Chief Engineer Skills Needed

Leadership (needed to combine work of two people on one repair)

Engineering (Vehicles)

Mechanic (Jump Drive)

Mechanic (Life Support)

Mechanic (Power Plant)

Shipbuilding (Starship)

Electronics (Computers)

 

Second Engineer/Gunner/Computer Operator Skills Needed

Same as Engineer (between the two all those skills need to be covered – two people with the same skill can make a relevant repair easier/faster, so overlap is not wasted)

Computer Ops

Computer Programming

Electronics (Computers)

Gunner (Beam Weapons)

Gunner (Missiles)

Gunner (Sandcasters)

Armory (Ship’s Guns) is needed for repairs

 

Steward/Gunner/Cargomaster Skills

Cooking

Savoir Faire (Passenger Liner or Service Industry)

Gunner as above

Merchant

Accounting and/or Administration

Freight Handling

 

Someone should also have some medical skill, another pilot is always nice, computer skill and computer programming and/or computer hacking can come in handy.

 

Funny, I left out gun skills;  Laser weapons (skill is guns(energy weapons) for all lasers) will be readily available for purchase, but some planets restrict such weapons (laws come in all shapes and sizes, actually, so having a “small gun” skill is recommended in addition to anything big), and in shipboard combat such materially destructive weapons are not recommended.  In fact, shotguns (including gauss shotguns), small handguns (“snub pistols”) and old-fashioned hand-to-hand weapons (the cutlass) are better for shipboard combat if you want your ship to continue working afterwards.  Often tranquilizer or gas filled rounds are utilized.  FYI, the Gauss Rifle is the ultimate non-laser weapon, and uses standard rifle SMG or pistol gun skills, depending on configuration.