On 3/7/20 8:36 am, Frank Filz wrote:
>
> I had not seen “pick your skills” until the past few years poking
> around the boards. No one who has played my games has expected to pick
> their skills (well, I suppose some might have, since my gaming is
> either play by post or Roll20, I don’t require people roll their
> characters up in front of me).
>
>  
>
> For the way I play, I don’t think I’d like having players pick skills,
> it would seem to lead to too much optimization.
>
>  
>
> Frank
>
>
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>
>  
>
> Rolling to determine skills is probably, in my experience anyway, one
> of the most ignored rules.
>
> Just about everyone I know/knew much, much preferred to pick their skills.
>
> Even the few Trav computer games (the MicroProse ones were my favs),
> let you pick skills.
>
>  
>
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>

Randomisation _per se_ wasn't a _complete_ shock to my mob, as they'd
played systems with lifepaths (eg Fuzion) before.

The _degree_ of randomisation - up to eleven - was the real surprise. 
It has definitely created some ... interesting ... histories
(frinstance, El Capitane, Rosa and Nikki - the latter could (from her
skills) almost be an upstanding blood member of the Dodgie family, none
of this public/military-service crap), has given me more roleplaying
hooks, and generally let me move the game forwards.

As this was the first time I'd run a CT-derived game, I went with Da
Roolz As (Almost) Written - some wombat missed the "limited to level 4"
bit.  No one else was any the wiser, and as I applied the same standards
to everyone, no one minded.

It would have helped if said wombat hadn't also managed to miss the
"basic skills package".

Is there any gubbins in MGT, either 2e (or not 2e), about running
_active duty_ characters?  If so, where?