2012-04-22

[GURPS] Skills for Traveller Spacers


This should also help in character creation, by setting expectations and understanding how things work.
Spacer 5cp
Core Skills:

  • Professional Skill: Spacer (A) IQ-1 [1] (B215)
  • Spacer (E) IQ [1] (B185)
  • Free Fall (A) DX-1 [1] (B197)
  • First Aid (E) IQ [1] (B195)
  • Computer Operation (E) IQ [1] (B184)


Spacer Skill (B185)

The most important element of this skill is the knowledge of various drills and procedures. These are drills that deal with safety procedures, damage control, safely powering-up and powering-down, various docking procedures, emergency shutdown and power-up, various  emergency landings or docking procedures, what to when intruders attempt to board or when there is a threat of violence to or in the ship, and emergency escape.



When the GM calls to roll for this skill ?

This is rolled typically in Ship emergencies, roll the skill to execute the drills. Margin of failure or success determines by the amount of time the character has performed. This is also quickly finding or remembering all the button, switches, pass-codes, etc. in the ship when needed in an instant.



Professional Spacer Skill (B215)

This is all the skills needed to operate all devices, controls, and programs needed for the operation, maintenance, and basic trouble shooting of a ship. This is also familiarity and understanding of all procedures, forms, processes, organization and  


When the GM calls to roll for this skill?
This can be rolled “Pro-Forma” to see how well oiled the character is in day to day operations, this is a mundane task.


Lead generation – Since this is a skill that makes Income as the Trade of the spacer (see professional skills), it is one of the more appropriate skills when generating leads for freight, passengers, and charters (see 4E gurps merchants of the third imperium by Mark Gellis JTAS). Use in place of merchant in Finding Goods For sale in ISW180 (brokers can be the ones doing the speculative trade working with the Free Traders to get some special services) and allow it to influence Trade Volumes in ISW179 (double the result of Freight Volume).

Instances this skill is rolled with low allowance for failure is during procedures: like Identification, entering in system, security protocols of various ports, and following rules and regulation to expedite any bureaucratic process related to shiping. A good roll dodges some red tape and the bad eggs of the organization the ship is dealing with. A failure means delays, a very valuable resource to merchants.  

Typical bureaucratic procedures take are in hours depending on the level of traffic, heavily traded systems have a lot of traffic which add 1d-3 for every of failure of 2.. Failures mean additional hours incurred based on the level of traffic.

The skill can be rolled rolled in place of electronic operations and piloting when the Ships’ AI does the heavy lifting.


Engineering and Maintenance
Core skill:  
Mechanic: High Performance Spacecraft (A) IQ-1 [1]. (B207)

Optional Skills and Specializations:  
Armoury: Vehicle Armor (A) IQ-1 [1]
Engineer: High Performance Spacecraft (H) IQ-2 [1]
Electronics Repair: Computers (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronics Repair: Sensors (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronics Repair: Communications (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronics Repair: Electronic Warfare (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronics Repair: Robotics (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Repair: Medical (A) IQ-1 [1]
Mechanic: Robots (A) IQ-1 [1]
Mechanic: J-Drive (A) IQ-1 [1]
Mechanic: Maneuver Drives (A) IQ-1 [1]
Mechanic: Fusion Powerplant (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Medical (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Security (A) IQ-1 [1]
Machinist (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electrician (A) IQ-1 [1]  
Computer Programming (H) IQ-2 [1]
Expertise: Information Security (H) IQ-2 [1]

Military Skills:
Armoury: Heavy Weapons (A) IQ-1 [1]
Armoury: Vehicle Armor (A) IQ-1 [1]

Operation and Command
Core skill:
Piloting: High Performance Spacecraft (A) DX-1 [1]. (B214)

Optional Skills and Specialization:  
Navigation (Space) (A) IQ-1 [1]
Navigation (Hyperspace) (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Communication (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Sensors (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Security (A) IQ-1 [1]
Expertise: Computer Security (H) IQ-2 [1]
Computer Programming (H) IQ-2 [1]

Military Skills:
Electronic Operation: Electronic Warfare (A) IQ-1 [1]
Gunner: Beam (E) DX [1]
Gunner: Machine Gun (E) DX [1]  
Gunner: Cannon (E) DX [1]  
Artillery: Guided Missile (A) IQ-1 [1]
Artillery: Beam Cannon (A) IQ-1 [1]  

Starship Support Personnel
Optional Skills or Specialities:
Administration (A) IQ-1 [1]
Savoir Faire: Servant (E) IQ [1]
Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]
Professional Human Resource Management (A) IQ-2 [1]
Professional, Service Industry or Hotel and Restaurant management Professional (A) IQ-1 [1]
Electronic Operation: Medical (A) IQ-1 [1]
Physician (H) IQ-2 [1]
Diagnosis (H) IQ-2 [1]
Pharmacy (H) IQ-2 [1]
Sociology (H) IQ-2 [1]
Psychology (H) IQ-2 [1]
Diplomacy (H) IQ-2 [1]
Expertise: Computer Security (H) IQ-2 [1]

2 responses to “[GURPS] Skills for Traveller Spacers”

  1. I recently finished running a GURPS space game in a Fireflyeque setting.

    I did have professional Spacers but the the skills a spacer would need is properly called Crewman in GURPS 4e.

    Having two skills Professional Skill Spacer and Spacer is redundant in GURPS terms for the same reason that there is no Profession/Soldier and Soldier skill combo.

    A 5 point template might more look like 1 point in each

    Crewman (Spaceship TL/Blah) M/A
    Savior Faire (Spacer) M/E
    First Aid M/E
    Computer Ops M/E
    Free Fall P/A

    I suspect a professional would need at least 12 to get a job, so a minimal template assuming mentally and physically average people have the job might be 8 points with Crewman+2

    Also if Vacc Suits are common you might include a point there as well though basics would be handled by Crewman

  2. To see my point please read B215 on the description of Professional Skill and the Description of Crewman B185 plus my clarification on the post.

    There is no Professional Soldier because Soldier is A Professional Skill, please read the description of Professional Skill and Soldier Again. Professional Skill is cross disciplinary and field specific, like Expertise skill. This means it has all the other skills like Savoir Faire, Electronic Operation, Mechanic, Etc. specific to the profession. Thats why I put the page references.

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