Thoughts... Experience

[Supplement Four]

OK, I've already roughly outlined my Talent idea for CT in another thread. Talents are a method I'm looking at using for adding character growth and improvement to my Classic Traveller campaign.

But, there should come a time when a character can earn a skill improvement or learn a new skill.

That's the topic of this thread.

I'm looking at getting away from bookkeeping. I had an experience point idea (see the earlier thread) that I've been using in my campaign for the last couple of months, but now I've decided that I want to drop the whole "you-get-X-amount-of-experience-points-each-game-session-based-on-how-you-played-and-what-you-did" idea. That's a hold over from most other RPGs (probably having it's roots in D&D).

I want something simple. I want something that makes sense. I want something that fits Traveller...specifically Classic Traveller. And, I don't want any bookkeeping. I don't want to keep track of experience points (or Action Tallies, or Character Points...whatever you want to call them), and I don't want to have to award them after every adventure or game session.

And, I'm willing to think outside of the box a little too.

Given that, here's what I'm thinking....








=================================================
Experience

There are two basic ways a person learns: (1) Through Practical Experience , or (2) Through Study & Practice .

Let's look at Practical Experience first....

A Critical Success on a task roll (Remember, I use the latest version of the Universal Game Mechanic in my game) is the alert-light that indicates that the character just may have learned something new (may have improved his skill level).

When CS is thrown on a task, a check is called for:




To obtain a Focus Skill through Practical Experience: Roll 2D for INT or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




Note that the DMs will make the throw harder.

If this check is successful, then the skill becomes the character's Focus Skill . Put a tick mark or a star next to this skill on the character's sheet to designate it as the character's Focus Skill. A Focus Skill is the skill the character is attempting to improve, and a character can only have one Focus Skill at a time.

As a Focus Skill, the skill is immediately raised 1 level...but this level increase may not be permanent. The skill may fall again to its original level.

Any Critical Failure thrown on the skilll, during it's time as a Focus Skill, will require a new INT check (as above). Success on this check is required or the Focus Skill is lost (meaning that the skill returns to its original level, and the character no longer has a Focus Skill).

When a second Critical Success is thrown on the character's Focus Skill (could be the next time a task is thrown using the skill...could be the next game week...or even a couple of game years down the road for the character), the character may attempt to make the skill increase permanent.

Making the skill increase permanent is done by a throw exactly like the throws above, except EDU is used instead of INT.




Permanent Skill Increase: 2D for EDU or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




If this check is successful, then the skill is permanently increased one level. The character can pick up a new Focus Skill the next time a Critical Success is roll on a task roll (and, if he chooses, the character can start the long process of improving that Focus Skill with a permanent level increase).








What is the Experience Penalty?

Classic Traveller says that a character's INT + EDU is his Experience. Add up a character's total skill levels, subtract that from the character's Experience score, then divide by 2 (rounding fractions up). This is the character's Experience Penalty. It's half the number of skills the character currently has that exceed the sum of the characters INT and EDU stat.

A character with INT-A and EDU-7 would have an experience score of 17. If that character's total skill levels summed to 19, his experience penalty would be +1.

What this means is that characters with A LOT of skills....a number of skills exceeding the total of that character's INT + EDU....can still improve and gain new skills--it'll just be harder for this character to do so (thus the penalty).

This mechanic keeps the spirit of CT's "you-can't-have-more-skills-than-the-total-of-your-INT + EDU", yet still allows character improvement, albeit more slowly.

Note that the checks mentioned above ALWAYS succeed on a roll of 2 (snake eyes), allowing even characters with a butt-load of skills (or a character with low scores in INT or EDU) a chance to improve or learn a new skill...they'll just do it very, very slowly.








What about the Skill Level penalty?

I added the character's current skill level to the DMs on the throws above for one reason: to make it harder for high level skills to improve.

Because the character's current skill level is used as a penalty DM to the throw (making the roll higher when you're trying to roll low), it will be much harder for characters with high skills to improve.

This will keep CT's method of Skills ranging, typically, 1-5 or so. Players will definitely start to notice that it's hard to improve that SMG-4 skill...much harder than if their AutoPistol-1 was their Focus Skill.

Because of this penalty, players will think twice about making their SMG-4 combat skill their Focus Skill. Players only get one Focus Skill at a time, and it's a long road to improvement. That 4 point penalty to the checks required to improve a skill make give players pause...they'll know that they could be spending their time more wisely improving a lower level skill. And, if they do choose to focus on a high level skill for improvement, they'll know that there will be many restarts...back to the beginning, as checks are failed during the game.








Learning by Study & Practice?

The same method outlined above will be used if a character attempts to improve his character through study or practic (as opposed to Practical Experience). The only difference is that time spent practicing or studying (as defined by the GM) takes the place of the Critical Success requirement.

So, a character who is attempting to increase his Navigation skill will spend some time in Astrogation class and study (study time requirement defined by the GM based on TL and available facilities, instructors, and study materials). Time will pass in study before the first INT check is allowed, making the skill the character's Focus Skill. Then, more time is spent before the EDU check is made to see if the skill increase is permenant.

Oh...and the INT and EDU checks are made using 3D instead of 2D as outlined above. Because of this, the checks are much harder, but, as long as the character spends time studying as required by the GM (and good GMs would pick appropriate lenghts of study...months or a year game time to finally go up a level is about right), he can keep making these rolls until he makes them successfully.




To obtain a Focus Skill through Practical Experience: Roll 3D for INT or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




Obviously, smart GMs who do not want to unbalance their game will be long study times so that the character do not move up too fast using this method of improvement.




Permanent Skill Increase: 3D for EDU or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level





And, if the study time is broken, it can be treated as if a Critical Failure was made on the Focus Skill as outlined above--possibly requireing the character to begin studies anew, starting at the beginning.








What about rewards for fantastic roleplaying or superior ideas during the game session?

How I'm planning on handling this...is using a similar method to what I've just outlined. When a player really plays a character impressively (nowhere near every game session, mind you), he could be rewarded with an opportunity to increase one of his skills....to gain a Focus Skill.

The methods above will be used (whether the Focus Skill is improved through experience or study), but the INT and EDU checks are made using 4D .

This makes it hard to increase a skill level, or learn a new skill, using this method, but it's possible. Remember, four 1's on all 4D means the check is a success.








My thought here, with this method of experience, is to give the player something to focus on...his Focus Skill. If it's a skill he really wants to improve, he'll spend a lot of effort trying to improve that skill. It will take time. The character will live with the skill increase (as a Focus Skill) a while only to loose it later (on a failed check). And, he'll have to start over.

Once a permanent increase is made, however, the player will have the satisfaction of accomplishment. He'll feel like he earned that skill increase.

And, with this slow progression, a CT game won't be unbalance with PC always improving. What will happen with this system is that each character will, probably, get a Focus Skill soon...and then the lengthly process of getting that skill improvement permanent will begin.

This, combined with the Talents idea I mention (in the other thread) should give my players a sense of character improvement without unbalancing my CT game.

 

[Supplement Four]

OK, I've already roughly outlined my Talent idea for CT in another thread. Talents are a method I'm looking at using for adding character growth and improvement to my Classic Traveller campaign.

But, there should come a time when a character can earn a skill improvement or learn a new skill.

That's the topic of this thread.

I'm looking at getting away from bookkeeping. I had an experience point idea (see the earlier thread) that I've been using in my campaign for the last couple of months, but now I've decided that I want to drop the whole "you-get-X-amount-of-experience-points-each-game-session-based-on-how-you-played-and-what-you-did" idea. That's a hold over from most other RPGs (probably having it's roots in D&D).

I want something simple. I want something that makes sense. I want something that fits Traveller...specifically Classic Traveller. And, I don't want any bookkeeping. I don't want to keep track of experience points (or Action Tallies, or Character Points...whatever you want to call them), and I don't want to have to award them after every adventure or game session.

And, I'm willing to think outside of the box a little too.

Given that, here's what I'm thinking....








=================================================
Experience

There are two basic ways a person learns: (1) Through Practical Experience , or (2) Through Study & Practice .

Let's look at Practical Experience first....

A Critical Success on a task roll (Remember, I use the latest version of the Universal Game Mechanic in my game) is the alert-light that indicates that the character just may have learned something new (may have improved his skill level).

When CS is thrown on a task, a check is called for:




To obtain a Focus Skill through Practical Experience: Roll 2D for INT or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




Note that the DMs will make the throw harder.

If this check is successful, then the skill becomes the character's Focus Skill . Put a tick mark or a star next to this skill on the character's sheet to designate it as the character's Focus Skill. A Focus Skill is the skill the character is attempting to improve, and a character can only have one Focus Skill at a time.

As a Focus Skill, the skill is immediately raised 1 level...but this level increase may not be permanent. The skill may fall again to its original level.

Any Critical Failure thrown on the skilll, during it's time as a Focus Skill, will require a new INT check (as above). Success on this check is required or the Focus Skill is lost (meaning that the skill returns to its original level, and the character no longer has a Focus Skill).

When a second Critical Success is thrown on the character's Focus Skill (could be the next time a task is thrown using the skill...could be the next game week...or even a couple of game years down the road for the character), the character may attempt to make the skill increase permanent.

Making the skill increase permanent is done by a throw exactly like the throws above, except EDU is used instead of INT.




Permanent Skill Increase: 2D for EDU or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




If this check is successful, then the skill is permanently increased one level. The character can pick up a new Focus Skill the next time a Critical Success is roll on a task roll (and, if he chooses, the character can start the long process of improving that Focus Skill with a permanent level increase).








What is the Experience Penalty?

Classic Traveller says that a character's INT + EDU is his Experience. Add up a character's total skill levels, subtract that from the character's Experience score, then divide by 2 (rounding fractions up). This is the character's Experience Penalty. It's half the number of skills the character currently has that exceed the sum of the characters INT and EDU stat.

A character with INT-A and EDU-7 would have an experience score of 17. If that character's total skill levels summed to 19, his experience penalty would be +1.

What this means is that characters with A LOT of skills....a number of skills exceeding the total of that character's INT + EDU....can still improve and gain new skills--it'll just be harder for this character to do so (thus the penalty).

This mechanic keeps the spirit of CT's "you-can't-have-more-skills-than-the-total-of-your-INT + EDU", yet still allows character improvement, albeit more slowly.

Note that the checks mentioned above ALWAYS succeed on a roll of 2 (snake eyes), allowing even characters with a butt-load of skills (or a character with low scores in INT or EDU) a chance to improve or learn a new skill...they'll just do it very, very slowly.








What about the Skill Level penalty?

I added the character's current skill level to the DMs on the throws above for one reason: to make it harder for high level skills to improve.

Because the character's current skill level is used as a penalty DM to the throw (making the roll higher when you're trying to roll low), it will be much harder for characters with high skills to improve.

This will keep CT's method of Skills ranging, typically, 1-5 or so. Players will definitely start to notice that it's hard to improve that SMG-4 skill...much harder than if their AutoPistol-1 was their Focus Skill.

Because of this penalty, players will think twice about making their SMG-4 combat skill their Focus Skill. Players only get one Focus Skill at a time, and it's a long road to improvement. That 4 point penalty to the checks required to improve a skill make give players pause...they'll know that they could be spending their time more wisely improving a lower level skill. And, if they do choose to focus on a high level skill for improvement, they'll know that there will be many restarts...back to the beginning, as checks are failed during the game.








Learning by Study & Practice?

The same method outlined above will be used if a character attempts to improve his character through study or practic (as opposed to Practical Experience). The only difference is that time spent practicing or studying (as defined by the GM) takes the place of the Critical Success requirement.

So, a character who is attempting to increase his Navigation skill will spend some time in Astrogation class and study (study time requirement defined by the GM based on TL and available facilities, instructors, and study materials). Time will pass in study before the first INT check is allowed, making the skill the character's Focus Skill. Then, more time is spent before the EDU check is made to see if the skill increase is permenant.

Oh...and the INT and EDU checks are made using 3D instead of 2D as outlined above. Because of this, the checks are much harder, but, as long as the character spends time studying as required by the GM (and good GMs would pick appropriate lenghts of study...months or a year game time to finally go up a level is about right), he can keep making these rolls until he makes them successfully.




To obtain a Focus Skill through Practical Experience: Roll 3D for INT or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level




Obviously, smart GMs who do not want to unbalance their game will be long study times so that the character do not move up too fast using this method of improvement.




Permanent Skill Increase: 3D for EDU or less

DMs
+ Experience Penalty
+ Skill Level





And, if the study time is broken, it can be treated as if a Critical Failure was made on the Focus Skill as outlined above--possibly requireing the character to begin studies anew, starting at the beginning.








What about rewards for fantastic roleplaying or superior ideas during the game session?

How I'm planning on handling this...is using a similar method to what I've just outlined. When a player really plays a character impressively (nowhere near every game session, mind you), he could be rewarded with an opportunity to increase one of his skills....to gain a Focus Skill.

The methods above will be used (whether the Focus Skill is improved through experience or study), but the INT and EDU checks are made using 4D .

This makes it hard to increase a skill level, or learn a new skill, using this method, but it's possible. Remember, four 1's on all 4D means the check is a success.








My thought here, with this method of experience, is to give the player something to focus on...his Focus Skill. If it's a skill he really wants to improve, he'll spend a lot of effort trying to improve that skill. It will take time. The character will live with the skill increase (as a Focus Skill) a while only to loose it later (on a failed check). And, he'll have to start over.

Once a permanent increase is made, however, the player will have the satisfaction of accomplishment. He'll feel like he earned that skill increase.

And, with this slow progression, a CT game won't be unbalance with PC always improving. What will happen with this system is that each character will, probably, get a Focus Skill soon...and then the lengthly process of getting that skill improvement permanent will begin.

This, combined with the Talents idea I mention (in the other thread) should give my players a sense of character improvement without unbalancing my CT game.

 

[Ptah]

I like the concept. Will you be following up with odds/number of rolls to skill increase info? I wonder if it may provide increases too fast or too slow, or just right.

Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase?

 

[Ptah]

I like the concept. Will you be following up with odds/number of rolls to skill increase info? I wonder if it may provide increases too fast or too slow, or just right.

Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase?

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Ptah:
I like the concept. Will you be following up with odds/number of rolls to skill increase info? I wonder if it may provide increases too fast or too slow, or just right.

Well, the odds would be easy enough to figure, given the exact rolls. The problem in posting such a thing is that it would be HUGE and unreadable.

Remember, I'm using the latest version of the UGM, and with that task system, the odds of rolling a Critical Success vary depending on skill level and task difficulty. With the UGM it's easier to roll CS the higher your skill is, but it's harder to roll CS the higher the task difficulty is. And, a CS is only possible when box cars (two sixes) are thrown on the task to begin with.

Rolling a CS with the UGM is an affair of, "Look, I rolled box cars!", and then rolling the CS check...

UGM CRITICAL SUCCESS: 3D < or = Stat + Skill + Difficulty

So, figuring those odds, on every task, on every difficulty, is certainly easy enough to do--it would just spit out a huge, unreadable spreadsheet.

I'll tell you this, though. My Traveller campaign is coming up on its one year anniversary. We only play once a month, though, for an average of 5 hours per session (4-6 or 5-7 hours or so), and during that entire time, I've had exactly one CS roll come up. That's it. Just one.

Now, we've had several sessions with little die rolling too, which I think skews things a bit. My games tend to flop back and forth between intense role playing and intense action.

Right now, the characters are in a firefight, so maybe we'll see some more CS's rolled soon.


Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase? [/QUOTE]


Good point. And, I did think about this. The GM, of course, has a lot of control over this.

I did think of implementing a task difficulty penalty as well--where it would be harder for easier tasks to result in a Focus Skill.

With my game, though, I just didn't think it was necessary.

As a GM, I always prefer role playing to die rolling. Like I said above, we've had several sessions where there were only a couple of rolls made all night. Some characters didn't even make a roll the entire game session.

So, for me and mine, at least, I don't think this will be a problem at all.

Any other GM using this method would be charged with running just like he is charged with running his entire game--he'll have to ensure that the system is not abused.

If a player says, "I want to make a phone call on this TL 6 planet", and then he tries to roll his communications skill to make sure he dials the numbers right...well, that's an obvious abuse. The GM shouldn't allow it.

But, if the character is being chased down a dark ally by a group of men with knives, and the character happens upon a police call box, the GM probably could see--in fact enforce--a roll on the character as his adreline-pumped fingers frantically tap out the numbers on the phone pad. The GM: "You dial the numbers as fast as you can, connecting you with the planetary police, but if you miss your roll, the group of men chasing you will be upon you before you can hang up and dial the number again..."

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Ptah:
I like the concept. Will you be following up with odds/number of rolls to skill increase info? I wonder if it may provide increases too fast or too slow, or just right.

Well, the odds would be easy enough to figure, given the exact rolls. The problem in posting such a thing is that it would be HUGE and unreadable.

Remember, I'm using the latest version of the UGM, and with that task system, the odds of rolling a Critical Success vary depending on skill level and task difficulty. With the UGM it's easier to roll CS the higher your skill is, but it's harder to roll CS the higher the task difficulty is. And, a CS is only possible when box cars (two sixes) are thrown on the task to begin with.

Rolling a CS with the UGM is an affair of, "Look, I rolled box cars!", and then rolling the CS check...

UGM CRITICAL SUCCESS: 3D < or = Stat + Skill + Difficulty

So, figuring those odds, on every task, on every difficulty, is certainly easy enough to do--it would just spit out a huge, unreadable spreadsheet.

I'll tell you this, though. My Traveller campaign is coming up on its one year anniversary. We only play once a month, though, for an average of 5 hours per session (4-6 or 5-7 hours or so), and during that entire time, I've had exactly one CS roll come up. That's it. Just one.

Now, we've had several sessions with little die rolling too, which I think skews things a bit. My games tend to flop back and forth between intense role playing and intense action.

Right now, the characters are in a firefight, so maybe we'll see some more CS's rolled soon.


Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase? [/QUOTE]


Good point. And, I did think about this. The GM, of course, has a lot of control over this.

I did think of implementing a task difficulty penalty as well--where it would be harder for easier tasks to result in a Focus Skill.

With my game, though, I just didn't think it was necessary.

As a GM, I always prefer role playing to die rolling. Like I said above, we've had several sessions where there were only a couple of rolls made all night. Some characters didn't even make a roll the entire game session.

So, for me and mine, at least, I don't think this will be a problem at all.

Any other GM using this method would be charged with running just like he is charged with running his entire game--he'll have to ensure that the system is not abused.

If a player says, "I want to make a phone call on this TL 6 planet", and then he tries to roll his communications skill to make sure he dials the numbers right...well, that's an obvious abuse. The GM shouldn't allow it.

But, if the character is being chased down a dark ally by a group of men with knives, and the character happens upon a police call box, the GM probably could see--in fact enforce--a roll on the character as his adreline-pumped fingers frantically tap out the numbers on the phone pad. The GM: "You dial the numbers as fast as you can, connecting you with the planetary police, but if you miss your roll, the group of men chasing you will be upon you before you can hang up and dial the number again..."

 

[Supplement Four]

One more comment, Ptah:

The system is meant to be easy. No fuss. No record keeping.

Nobody thinks about it unless a Critical Success shows up. When that joyus event happens, the INT roll is made to see if the skill becomes a Focus Skill.

If it doesn't, then we're done. We forget about it again.

If it does, then the skill is tagged with a star on the character's sheet. Whenever the CS pops up again for that skill...whenever that may be, who knows....the EDU check is made to make the skill increase permanent.

If either of these tasks fail, then the Focus is lost, and the system resets itself.

In game play, you'll see characters who have a Focus skill, then loose it. Then, they'll have another one, then loose it.

Finally, it will come up that the rolls are made, and the character will get the skill increase.

This system should mirror CT chargen loosely--in terms of skill increases.

 

[Supplement Four]

One more comment, Ptah:

The system is meant to be easy. No fuss. No record keeping.

Nobody thinks about it unless a Critical Success shows up. When that joyus event happens, the INT roll is made to see if the skill becomes a Focus Skill.

If it doesn't, then we're done. We forget about it again.

If it does, then the skill is tagged with a star on the character's sheet. Whenever the CS pops up again for that skill...whenever that may be, who knows....the EDU check is made to make the skill increase permanent.

If either of these tasks fail, then the Focus is lost, and the system resets itself.

In game play, you'll see characters who have a Focus skill, then loose it. Then, they'll have another one, then loose it.

Finally, it will come up that the rolls are made, and the character will get the skill increase.

This system should mirror CT chargen loosely--in terms of skill increases.

 

[Plankowner]

You didn't say it explicitly, but I would assume that if a player HAS a Focus skill and rolls a Critical Success on a different skill, he gets a choice of whether to switch his focus to the new skill or keep the old focus skill?

 

[Plankowner]

You didn't say it explicitly, but I would assume that if a player HAS a Focus skill and rolls a Critical Success on a different skill, he gets a choice of whether to switch his focus to the new skill or keep the old focus skill?

 

[Supplement Four]

Howdy, Planky,

Originally posted by Plankowner:
You didn't say it explicitly, but I would assume that if a player HAS a Focus skill and rolls a Critical Success on a different skill, he gets a choice of whether to switch his focus to the new skill or keep the old focus skill?

You got it. A character can only have one Focus Skill at a time.

If Bob rolls a Critical Success on his AutoPistol skill, then makes the INT check, AutoPistol can become his Focus Skill...if that's his choice.

Later on, Bob ends up rolling a Critical Success using his Communications skill. If Bob prefers, he can drop the AutoPistol as his Focus Skill (AutoPistol will drop down 1 point to its original level) and make Communications his new Focus Skill (provided the INT check is made). As a Focus Skill, Communications will immediately go up one level (the Focus Skill status).

As long as Communications remains as Bob's Focus Skill, it will be increased one level.

If a Critical Failure is rolled using that skill, then the INT check is called for again (failure means loss of status as a Focus Skill).

When a Critical Success is again rolled on the Communications skill, provided it is still the character's Focus Skill, then the permanency EDU can be made.









Also NOTE that players can mix and match learning styles.

A Critical Success (and subsequent INT check) launches Bob's Communications skill as a Focus Skill.

Instead of waiting for another Critical Success to be rolled on his Communications skill, Bob seeks out a communications class. The GM requires a lengthly amount of time that Bob must spend in the game studying communications (he may even require the INT check again for Bob to remain "determined" during his studies)...and after that set amount of class and study, the EDU permanency roll is allowed.

In effect, what we've done here is start with Practical Experience (the Critical Success) and then carried it through to permanentcy using Study & Practice.

Note that the INT check made after the Critical Success is made using 2D (from the Practical Experience method). The book-learning method uses 3D on checks (from the Study and Practice method).

There are pros and cons to each method. With Practical Experience, you've got to wait for another CS to appear with that skill...and a CF requires a check that you may fail loosing status as a Focus Skill.

On the other hand, Study & Practice just require a teacher and study time. If the PC puts in the time studying, he will get the EDU roll at the end of the length of time determined by the GM...but that EDU roll will be made using 3D (instead of 2D used with the Practical Experience method).

 

[Supplement Four]

Howdy, Planky,

Originally posted by Plankowner:
You didn't say it explicitly, but I would assume that if a player HAS a Focus skill and rolls a Critical Success on a different skill, he gets a choice of whether to switch his focus to the new skill or keep the old focus skill?

You got it. A character can only have one Focus Skill at a time.

If Bob rolls a Critical Success on his AutoPistol skill, then makes the INT check, AutoPistol can become his Focus Skill...if that's his choice.

Later on, Bob ends up rolling a Critical Success using his Communications skill. If Bob prefers, he can drop the AutoPistol as his Focus Skill (AutoPistol will drop down 1 point to its original level) and make Communications his new Focus Skill (provided the INT check is made). As a Focus Skill, Communications will immediately go up one level (the Focus Skill status).

As long as Communications remains as Bob's Focus Skill, it will be increased one level.

If a Critical Failure is rolled using that skill, then the INT check is called for again (failure means loss of status as a Focus Skill).

When a Critical Success is again rolled on the Communications skill, provided it is still the character's Focus Skill, then the permanency EDU can be made.









Also NOTE that players can mix and match learning styles.

A Critical Success (and subsequent INT check) launches Bob's Communications skill as a Focus Skill.

Instead of waiting for another Critical Success to be rolled on his Communications skill, Bob seeks out a communications class. The GM requires a lengthly amount of time that Bob must spend in the game studying communications (he may even require the INT check again for Bob to remain "determined" during his studies)...and after that set amount of class and study, the EDU permanency roll is allowed.

In effect, what we've done here is start with Practical Experience (the Critical Success) and then carried it through to permanentcy using Study & Practice.

Note that the INT check made after the Critical Success is made using 2D (from the Practical Experience method). The book-learning method uses 3D on checks (from the Study and Practice method).

There are pros and cons to each method. With Practical Experience, you've got to wait for another CS to appear with that skill...and a CF requires a check that you may fail loosing status as a Focus Skill.

On the other hand, Study & Practice just require a teacher and study time. If the PC puts in the time studying, he will get the EDU roll at the end of the length of time determined by the GM...but that EDU roll will be made using 3D (instead of 2D used with the Practical Experience method).

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Ptah:
Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase?

Ptah,

In addition to my other answer to you (above), also consider that the CS must be rolled on a task using the Focus Skill. Not just any CS will do it. It has to be achieved on a task roll using the Focus Skill.

So, with the GM only allowing legitimate rolls and this requirement that I mention, I don't think there's a real danger of players abusing the system.

If they do, it's the GM's job to zap 'em.

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by Ptah:
Is there a danger that players will want to be making lots of task rolls to increase the odds of a skill increase?

Ptah,

In addition to my other answer to you (above), also consider that the CS must be rolled on a task using the Focus Skill. Not just any CS will do it. It has to be achieved on a task roll using the Focus Skill.

So, with the GM only allowing legitimate rolls and this requirement that I mention, I don't think there's a real danger of players abusing the system.

If they do, it's the GM's job to zap 'em.