Free skills?
- Thread starter Foxroe
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Major B
SOC-14 1K
The free skill for "knowing someone" can be done well if the Referee is supervising character generation right. By that I mean running it as the process of developing a character rather than "rolling up" some random stats.
What I took from the playtest manual was that, when a past connection to another player's character is made then the player is awarded a bonus skill. What it leaves unsaid is that the referee needs to help develop a story that explains the bonus skill in a way that furthers the character's backstory.
Something like: "While your Marine is assigned as an attache he meets Bob's Diplomat character. You new diplomat friend is instrumental in helping you unravel a series of beuracratic problems and in the course you gain the bonus skill Admin-1."
That said, the skill pool at the end of character development seems like an awkward attempt to make up for something that should have been part of the character creation process. It seems to be at odds with what should be the process of developing a history for the character, by tacking on a few extra skills at the end with no explaination as to how they were learned.
What I took from the playtest manual was that, when a past connection to another player's character is made then the player is awarded a bonus skill. What it leaves unsaid is that the referee needs to help develop a story that explains the bonus skill in a way that furthers the character's backstory.
Something like: "While your Marine is assigned as an attache he meets Bob's Diplomat character. You new diplomat friend is instrumental in helping you unravel a series of beuracratic problems and in the course you gain the bonus skill Admin-1."
That said, the skill pool at the end of character development seems like an awkward attempt to make up for something that should have been part of the character creation process. It seems to be at odds with what should be the process of developing a history for the character, by tacking on a few extra skills at the end with no explaination as to how they were learned.
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Agreed. Do characters really need the skill bloat, though? In other words, does anyone think the game mechanics warrant having to work these lost levels back into CharGen (if the "party pool" rule was dropped)?
- Fox
Plankowner
SOC-13
The Party Pool of skills is there to make sure that they group has the necessary skills to perform the type of missions that the GM and the players want to play.
Skills are very scarce in RTT, so every little one helps. Also, if you already have the skill, you don't get to increase your level, it only ensures that all skills are accounted for.
Yes, it is a bit of a plot device, but like the random nature of getting the skills in the first place, the player and the GM can work together to figure out when and how that skill came to be.
How does a farm boy from a jerkwater desert world learn to fly starships?
Skills are very scarce in RTT, so every little one helps. Also, if you already have the skill, you don't get to increase your level, it only ensures that all skills are accounted for.
Yes, it is a bit of a plot device, but like the random nature of getting the skills in the first place, the player and the GM can work together to figure out when and how that skill came to be.
How does a farm boy from a jerkwater desert world learn to fly starships?
hunter
Ancient - Absent Friend
It's just like flying stuff in an atmosphere, cept there's no atmosphere. What's the big deal ?
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
If you don't have a skill, tough. Either hire someone or find a different way of doing the job.
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far-trader
SOC-14 10K
... 'bulls-eye Womp Rats in my T80', if I remember correctly.
( T-sixteen actually, but who's counting
)That's fine for dropping a missile down a shaft with some hokey religion guiding you instead of a targeting R2 but we're talking how he learned to fly space ships...
(flashback to the Cantina at Mos Eisley... )
HAN: But who's going to fly it, kid! You?
LUKE: You bet I could. I'm not such a bad pilot myself!
I guess maybe in the SW universe flying a landspeeder (presuming T-sixteen refers to the landspeeder and not some hot-rod space craft Luke had in the barn ala Dukes of Hazard), is the same as flying a tramp freighter, is the same as flying a space fighter.
In that case in Traveller Luke had "Vehicle - Hovercraft - 1" and is able to use it as "Pilot - 0" (or better, unless he was lying to Han) and later as "Ship's Boat - 2" (or better, formation flying in combat, high speed canyon run under fire, I think it should be at least skill 3 but maybe hokey religions are good for that too).
I'll take a good blaster in my hand over some hokey religion any day and I'd have shot Greedo first too! :devil:
(too much a SW geek even after all these years... )
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Thanks for the link Andrew After all these years I finally know what a T-16 is. I'm not the biggest SW geek
After the second movie (disappointed me) I kinda lost interest. I'd always wondered about that though.
So (in Traveller parlance) Luke had some Ship's Boat skill he thought would serve as Pilot skill (but he'd be wrong in Traveller) and flying the T-16 (for sport with friends) translates quite well to flying an X-wing (in combat, outnumbered, where the walls shoot back)... OK :smirk:
After all these years I finally know what a T-16 is. I'm not the biggest SW geek After the second movie (disappointed me) I kinda lost interest. I'd always wondered about that though.
So (in Traveller parlance) Luke had some Ship's Boat skill he thought would serve as Pilot skill (but he'd be wrong in Traveller) and flying the T-16 (for sport with friends) translates quite well to flying an X-wing (in combat, outnumbered, where the walls shoot back)... OK :smirk:
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Agreed. This gives the players a hook into understanding how the group became a group. That kind of data is gold.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Yes, back on topic, and my apologies for the detour
I am also one who saw this as a great feature in Mongoose Traveller and intend to use it in any version of Traveller I play. Or any rpg for that matter. It can be translated to most other rpgs and solves the problem of the classic...
Frustrated Ref "You ALL took (skill zee) and NOBODY took (skill why)? Just how did you think you'd manage to (basic task eks)?"
Players as One "Maybe an NPC could do it for us, (skill why) is useless. Let's hire an NPC who has (skill why)!"
Adventure grinds to halt as players go to recruit an NPC...
I am also one who saw this as a great feature in Mongoose Traveller and intend to use it in any version of Traveller I play. Or any rpg for that matter. It can be translated to most other rpgs and solves the problem of the classic...
Frustrated Ref "You ALL took (skill zee) and NOBODY took (skill why)? Just how did you think you'd manage to (basic task eks)?"
Players as One "Maybe an NPC could do it for us, (skill why) is useless. Let's hire an NPC who has (skill why)!"
Adventure grinds to halt as players go to recruit an NPC...
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
Did Star Wars grind to a halt when Luke hired Han?
If you don't have what you need, then getting it becomes part of the adventure.
If you don't have what you need, then getting it becomes part of the adventure.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
True enough, and fine when that is the script or the ref doesn't mind working around the plot. And it might have, if not ground to a halt, been grounded for a while had the plan been for Luke to fly only to find when they get to Mos Eisley that he didn't have Pilot skill after all.
My point was more in favor of a system to allow players to customize skill sets a little so they don't need to hire Han everytime they want to jump to a new system. I wouldn't allow it in a point buy game, there it's caveat emptor player's, be sure you get the skills you will need or let the ships fall where they may
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Whatever happened to: "Each of you need to try to get at least one skill level in the needed skills on the ship, or you can't use those characters."
It was always interesting having players go through charagen, trying to get a particular skill. The results always made for fun gaming--and the characters, even though we tried to get specific skills--wouldn't get them in the way we imagined.
I'd start off with: "We'll need a character as Pilot, one as Navigator, one as Engineer...you know the drill."
Then, in order for all characters to play, the best person for the job wasn't always in that position (I like how that immulated real life). For example, the ex-Scout with Pilot-3 and Navigator-1 might serve as the ship's navigator because the only ship skill one of the other players ended up getting was Pilot-1.
This led to more background for the characters because we'd want to answer "why?". Why is the more experienced pilot not be utilized?
Well, maybe the Pilot-1 is part-ship-owner. Maybe the Scout is new. There are all sorts of reasons.
Kinda like making up the whys and howcomes of UWPs.
As for the Free Skills with MGT. Don't like it. That's strike two, in my book. I don't mind occassionally giving away a Skill-0 based on a character's background. And, I don't mind changing out some skills in the chargen tables if it makes sense for the career or the character. I don't even mind skill options, like being able to take Swimming when a Vehicle Skill is thrown.
But, giving full skill to players...I don't like that at all. I might as well be rolling up the entire PC group myself and passing out pregenerated characters.
I hate to say it. But, the more I see from MGT, the more I don't really like it.
Quoted for ze Truth.
weasel fierce
SOC-10
Im not sure what a bonus skill has to do with handing out pregenerated characters.
basically, its just a way of rewarding the players for creating a more interesting background for their characters.
basically, its just a way of rewarding the players for creating a more interesting background for their characters.
sablewyvern
SOC-12
Now, come on. That's just an absurd comparison.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
What I think is that the "Connections Rule" is silly (in that two PCs are given one extra skill each just because everyone decided everyone knew each other during chargen. A character can get up to two skills this way.
Then, on top of this, there's the "Skill Packages". More free skills. Just pass 'em out.
My comparison is not absurd. You might as well just give the PCs the skills you want them to have and forget chargen (or use chargen for the "other" skills the group has besides the ones you'll make sure they have).
Crazy. Don't like it at all.
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