My! You are very tall!

Character Height and Mass

While reading the GURPS: Traveller supplement Humaniti I came across a nifty system for establishing the height and mass of a player character. This article is a conversion from GURPs: Traveller to Classic or Mongoose Traveller for Human or Humanoid characters.

First, work out the character’s Height and Mass based on his Strength score. Adjust these in accordance with any racial descriptors.

Strength	Height	Mass
2	5’1”/152.5 cm	110 lbs/55 kg
3	5’2”/155 cm	120 lbs/60 kg
4	5’3”/157.5 cm	130 lbs/65 kg
5	5’4”/160 cm	130 lbs/65 kg
6	5’5”/162.5 cm	135 lbs/67.5 kg
7	5’6”/165 cm	135 lbs/67.5 kg
8	5’7”/167.5 cm	140 lbs/70 kg
9	5’8”/170 cm	145 lbs/72.5kg
10	5’9”/172.5 cm	150 lbs/75 kg
11	5’10”/175 cm	155 lbs/77.5kg
12	5’11”/177.5 cm	160 lbs/80 kg
13	6’0”/180 cm	165 lbs/82.5 kg
14	6’1”/182.5cm	170 lbs/85 kg
15	6’2”/185 cm	180 lbs/90 kg

For each 1”/2.5 cm of height over 6’2”/185 cm, add 10 lb/5 kg to average mass. For female characters, subtract 2”/5cm from height and 10 lbs/5 kg from mass.

Determine the surface gravity of the race’s homeworld and the character’s birthworld. Surface gravity is defined as heavy (more than 1.5G), normal (0.71 to 1.5G) or light (0.7G or less). The formula for working out surface gravity of a planet is G=K*(D/8) where G = Gravity at planetary surface, K = Density of planet (Earth has a density of 1)and D = Diameter of planet (as per UWP).

Once the surface gravity of the race’s homeworld and birthworld have been determined, adjust the character’s Strength and Endurance, and Height and Mass in accordance with the following comparisons:

Heavy Homeworld Gravity, Normal Birthworld Gravity
Reduce Strength by 3 and Endurance by 1
Increase Height by 20% and decrease Mass by 20%

Heavy Homeworld Gravity, Light Birthworld Gravity
Reduce Strength by 5 and Endurance by 2
Increase Height by 20% and decrease Mass by 20%

Normal Homeworld Gravity, Heavy Birthworld Gravity
Increase Strength by 3 and Endurance by 1
Reduce Height by 20% and increase Mass by 25%

Normal Homeworld Gravity, Light Birthworld Gravity
Reduce Strength by 2 and Endurance by 1
Increase Height by 25% and decrease Mass by 20%

Light Homeworld Gravity, Heavy Birthworld Gravity
Increase Strength by 5 and Endurance by 2
Reduce Height by 33% and increase Mass by 60%

Light Homeworld Gravity, Normal Birthworld Gravity
Increase Strength by 2 and Endurance by 1
Reduce Height by 20% and increase Mass by 25%

Sources:
GURPs 3e by Steve Jackson - Steve Jackson Games
GURPs: Traveller by Loren K. Wiseman - Steve Jackson Games
GURPs: Traveller Humaniti by Loren K. Wiseman and Jon F. Zeigler - Steve Jackson Games
The Traveller Book by Marc W. Miller - GDW