Army and Marine rank 0 skill

[CosmicGamer]

The Army and the Marines have rank 0 skills but the character creation checklist only has you gain rank bonus skills when you advance. I also saw no mention of gaining benefits from rank in the book except under the section on advancement.

Personally, I take that Rank 0 NCO skill as soon as my character successfully enlists. What do you think?

Now, if you take an army or marine career as a second career, do you still take that gun skill immediately? It would be an easy way to get a gun or melee skill if your character didn't earn it in their first career....



Also, just an observation here...

John "The Gun" Doe joins the marines and gets Gun Combat 0 as one of his basic training skills.

John takes Gun (Slug Pistol) 1 as his Rank 0 NCO skill.

John rolls a 5 on the Service skills table for his first term skill and starts to get pretty good moving up to Gun (Slug Pistol) 2.

John survives and rolls a 8 on the event table and decides to take another gun skill at Level 1 - Gun (Energy Rifle) 1.

John decides that becoming an officer is not his style. John succeeds in making Lance Corporal though and gains another gun skill - Gun (Shotgun) 1.

For his advancement skill John rolls and again gets a gun skill and decides to improve to Gun (Slug Pistol) 3

So, after one term John "The Gun" Doe has these skills:
Gun (Slug Pistol) 3, Gun (Shotgun) 1, Gun (Energy Rifle) 1 and approximately 7 level 0 skills from Background skills and Basic training.

Again, just an observation that it's possible to get 5 gun skills in the first term if you include that Rank 0 NCO gun skill. If you must comment on this observation in a way that is not on topic with the title of this thread "Army and Marine rank 0 skill" could you please start a new thread. Thanks.

 

[sid6.7]

one question before i answer...is this book 0? cuase i don't see a "marine" section...

 

[casquilho]

Could it happen, yes. Odds of it happening? Bet that is low. Do I think it is an issue that it happened? No.

If you take a Marine and they get this as their "Term" then that was a great first term for a combat monster. But the first time I stick your combat monster in Zero-G and he only has the Blade he was alowed to keep with him, he will not seem so "Wow".

Daniel

 

[casquilho]

one question before i answer...is this book 0? cuase i don't see a "marine" section...

Marine is on page 20 in the core book.

Daniel

 

[aramis]

page 9 says that you get the rank skill immediately upon attaining that rank.

So yes.

BTW, skill acquisition rate
Per term: 1 roll
1st Term: All service skills at 0
Per successful Advancement: 1 roll
Rank Skills: 0-2 specified skills (2 only for Army and Marines who are promoted in term 1)
Events: 0-1 specified skills
Mustering out benefits: 0-1 (Rank 1 gets extra roll, so two weapons =1 skill)
So this confirms that up to 6 skills in term 1. Plus up to 2 from connections, and one from package, that's 6 level 0's, plus 1-7 levels, for a single term marine

Now, a CT comparison:
Bk1:
Per Term: 1
First Term: 1
Commission: 0-1
Promotion: 0-1
Rank and Service: 0-2 (Marine Lt gets Cutlass-1 as a marine, and Revolver-1 as an LT)
Mustering Out Benefits: 0-1 (same as MGT)
for 2-7 skills in term 1

MegaTraveller
Per Term: 1
First Term: +1
Comission: 0-2 (Commission roll 9-12= +1, 13=+2)
Promotion: 0-2 (Promotion roll 9-12= +1, 13=+2)
Special Duty: 0-2 (SD Roll 5-8=+1, 9-12=+2)
Rank and Service: 0-2 (Marine: LBld-1. LT: Handgun-1)
Mustering Out Benefits: 0-2 (1 term gets 2 rolls, Lt gets one more, 1st is the weapon)
Net range: 2-12

 

[casquilho]

Now, a CT comparison:.....

Is that only a LBB1-3 analytical point of view?

I would have thought the Book 4 on would have been higher.

Daniel

 

[CosmicGamer]

page 9 says that you get the rank skill immediately upon attaining that rank.

hmm, I don't see it. Is that your interpretation? Could you provide an exact quote so that I can locate it? It's late and my eyes are getting blurry, maybe I'm just missing it.

 

[CosmicGamer]

Could it happen, yes. Odds of it happening? Bet that is low. Do I think it is an issue that it happened? No.

If you take a Marine and they get this as their "Term" then that was a great first term for a combat monster. But the first time I stick your combat monster in Zero-G and he only has the Blade he was alowed to keep with him, he will not seem so "Wow". Daniel

Responded in a new thread

 

[casquilho]

page 9 says that you get the rank skill immediately upon attaining that rank.

hmm, I don't see it. Is that your interpretation? Could you provide an exact quote so that I can locate it? It's late and my eyes are getting blurry, maybe I'm just missing it.

Last line of the section titled: Ranks and Benefits.

It reads:

You gain these benefits as soon as you attain that rank.

Daniel

 

[CosmicGamer]

Last line of the section titled: Ranks and Benefits.

Thanks. I must be pretty tired to have missed that.

 

[casquilho]

Thanks. I must be pretty tired to have missed that.

Yep, I know the feeling. The other night I read the same section in the ship section three times before I relized I had just done it.

I looked at the clock and it was 2:30 am, I closed the book and went to sleep. :rofl:

Daniel

 

[aramis]

Thanks. I must be pretty tired to have missed that.

Don't worry about it. EVERYONE will miss something on a read-through.

I've used the older Big Black Book (CT's TTB) for 26 years... and keep finding stuff in it.

BTW, page 9, left col, ¶6

Some ranks have benefits associated with them, such as extra skills or more benefits. You gain those benefits as soon as you attain that rank.