I'm not even sure if anyone follows this blog or reads these posts anymore, but my solo Traveller RPG campaign will be resuming soon! I had generated an interesting subsector for Classic Traveller and was going to play the LBBs as solo, but I'll be honest - I miss Eldon and his crew, their chemistry and interconnectedness.
With the introduction of a new version (and total overhaul) of Cepheus Light (my favorite form of this 2d6 ruleset) and Zozer Games releasing a second edition of their fantastic SOLO rules, I couldn't help myself - I was just drawn back in!
And honestly, a task-oriented system like Cepheus or Mongoose Traveller works better for solo play than Classic does, at least in my opinion. The strength of Classic Traveller is that the Referee has a lot of latitude and the use of skills and target numbers are more ambiguous and open to interpretation - whereas a solo player relies on the dice to guide the story.
With that in mind, I have revised the stats and skills of the crew in order to conform with Mongoose Traveller Second Edition career package rules (as seen in the Traveller Companion). I do wish there were more options for Backgrounds and Career Paths (I'd buy another supplement if they added more!), but what's included is sufficient for our purposes here. As it so happens, those skills map directly to Cepheus Light skills of the same name, so it'll be no problem to run under that rule set!
I also implemented one significant restriction, that I feel keeps things from getting out of hand: In Mongoose Traveller, the total number of skill levels a character can possess is equal to three times their Int+EDU. This seems insane! An entirely average character could have 42 total skill levels and countless 0-level skills as well. That's not how I roll.
In Classic Traveller, the total number of skill levels is equal to Int+EDU, so the average character has 14 skill levels. And that's how I do it. But in my game, that's not just a limit on total skill levels, but also on total number of skills - including 0-level skills. So an average character could have up to 14 different skills, with a total number of levels up to 14. This allows for core skills and a few level-0 skills at which a character has basic proficiency. If generation results in more skills, or total levels, skills and levels can be reduced or dropped to get within the limits.
Furthemore, I am imposing a limit of 3 levels in any particular skill. I have found that level 4 or 5 in a skill gives far too much of a bonus in a 2d6 system and makes most rolls utterly pointless. Level 3 is still a very respectable proficiency, and it allows a reasonable amount of success without near-absolute certainty.
I went with the package generation because it allows me to quickly create characters that are focused on their particular concept, but also retain a bit of variety and depth. The other option I used is one I've borrowed from Zozer 2d6 games - rather than rolling for each Characteristic, I assign the values of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and A (10) to whatever Characteristic I wish. So a character will always have a strong characteristic, and something that's not as good (but may be improved during character creation, depending on the chosen options).
All that said, I'm eager to begin playing! If you're new here or want a refresher, please visit these links to see what's happened in the story so far:
The Robber Baron: Part One
Stay tuned - the next post will provide a recap on the crew with their updated stats. Thanks for tuning in!