<snip>

Sure, but the point remains - Colonists, described as going and taming
untamed worlds, can only learn to use guns from an uncommon event, or by
getting to Rank 6, or by rolling 'weapon' twice on the mustering out
benefits table. In fact, the only combat skills they can learn are
'melee', and they are no more likely to get that than a factory worker
or a manager. It bugs me. Oh, and the only stats they can improve are
EDU and INT. Who knew that being a colonist means you just sit in a
chair all day.

>
> By the way, Merchants, even rough-and-tumble Free Traders learn no
> personal combat skills at all.
>
> On the other hand, apparently corporate spying is a full-contact blood
> sport, because they have plenty of chances of learning to fight.
>
> It might be a minor thing, and I know it can be 'fixed' with the skill
> packages, but it bugs me.

I take your point.  Like Dave Eddings burning half his office down to
check it for flammability, can reasonably be characterised as "DUMB".

Can't say I overly noticed directly, as 2/3 of my current PCs are
(para)military veterans. (1 RAN Rupert / UNNF Scouts (El Capitane), 2 RM
(1 flag officer - Badass-Moustache, 1 enlisted - Lily), 1 UNNF Scouts
(Rosa), +2 others (Bert, Nikki)).
>
> <snip>
>
> I like the skill package idea in MgT, but unless it's a no-combat game
> or everyone took a military career, the choices are going to have to
> always be from the packages with combat skills in them because the
> odds are that most non-military characters in a MgT game won't be able
> to fight. Given most of the Traveller adventures over the years have
> had some shooting at some point, that's a problem.
>
> So yeah, overall it bugs me.
>
I grok where you're coming from - now it looks a bit like a kludgy patch
(or a patchy kludge).
<snip>
> It's been absolutely explicit in every previous edition of Traveller
> that there's no radiation damage from the things.
I sit corrected.
> <snip>

> The numbers for dissipation seem to be related to the basic power
> requirements of the ship, but if so, they should have just said so,
> and let people use the charge in place of a broken reactor, etc.
>
> Also, you can only discharge with the globe powered right down,
> whereas previously you could discharge 'in the gaps' when flickering.

WTF?

... bugger me, _that's_ getting into pants-on-head territory.  *Sigh*...
time to port yet more gubbins from GT... (which further makes your point).

>
> Now, me favourite version (TNE) has all sorts of inconsistencies with
> previous editions, and I don't think they really thought about the
> implications of ships requiring lots of hydrogen propellant for combat
> manoeuvres and that same thing being used as jump fuel (most combat
> ships can make double jumps or more if they're confident they won't
> need to fight), but otherwise they beat all hell out of this.
>
> That said, these days I use GURPS 4e, the equipment from Ultra Tech,
> etc., and Spaceships with house-rules to make it sort of
> Traveller-like, so I'm doing all sorts of terrible things to the
> setting, etc. too.
>
So not quite the inverse of what I've done, where I started with GT:IW,
mine it for background detail, use MGT2 mechanics, and along the way
send the canonical timeline boink?

If you've got time and inclination, could you email me off-list with how
you've danced a fandango on the setting?