What skills would you add to CT?
- Thread starter infojunky
- Start date
Well first thing I did was add several of the LBB4+ skills- but not all.
Second thing I did is largely destroy the cascade skill setup.
Simple example, Gunnery means starship weaponry, but it also means FA gunnery and Heavy Weapons from LBB4.
Third, I added most but not all of the social skills from the MgT series. They become very broad ranged.
So for instance Persuade replaces Recruiting, Liaison and Bribery (but not Leader or Carousing), Investigation replaces Interrogation and is broadened to LE and scientific study, and Deception replaces Forgery but is also a primary spy/ agent skill that actors also use.
Finally, I altered all the basic chargens to the above broad skill type, and an additional advanced education table accessible by INT 8+ that I packed in unusual previously unavailable but needful skills.
Second thing I did is largely destroy the cascade skill setup.
Simple example, Gunnery means starship weaponry, but it also means FA gunnery and Heavy Weapons from LBB4.
Third, I added most but not all of the social skills from the MgT series. They become very broad ranged.
So for instance Persuade replaces Recruiting, Liaison and Bribery (but not Leader or Carousing), Investigation replaces Interrogation and is broadened to LE and scientific study, and Deception replaces Forgery but is also a primary spy/ agent skill that actors also use.
Finally, I altered all the basic chargens to the above broad skill type, and an additional advanced education table accessible by INT 8+ that I packed in unusual previously unavailable but needful skills.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
I've take a few away to make the skill list smaller. Skill bloat and the 'you have to have this skill to attempt this' is something I have definitely moved away from over the years.
I added several hobby and science skills, and allowed a possibility to add one of them each term.
While hobbies had little effect in most playing, they could be useful from time to time (e.g. knowing how to play a piano will rarely come into play, but when it does it may give good RPG results)
While hobbies had little effect in most playing, they could be useful from time to time (e.g. knowing how to play a piano will rarely come into play, but when it does it may give good RPG results)
This is COTI, so I'm going to quibble.
Forgery is a practical skill, related to the Graphic Arts. Drawing, materials, eye for detail, etc.
I think the practical skill set does not necessarily organically transfer from operating a ships gunner console to elevating and orienting a gun tube, or crewing a shielded anti-tank gun.
Deception I would consider a soft "people" skill. These are the skills of a con artist, used car salesmen, etc.
Forgery is a practical skill, related to the Graphic Arts. Drawing, materials, eye for detail, etc.
I myself still see utility in Gunnery as a cascade skill.
Gunnery (Starship weaponry, FA gunnery and Heavy Weapons), as they each have some commonality in the fact that you are utilizing fire control systems (the computer is doing the heavy lifting). The reduction in skill between them would reflect the physical differences in the the delivery system.
For Persuade is would say it covers those soft "people" skills, but it ties into the attribute(s) involved and any other relevant skills that firm up the persuasion. What is really the main differences between Deception, Recruiting, Interrogation and Bribery? Honestly not much in my book. What is the intent? Is it a push, a pull or both? What are the incentives/disincentives (money, sex, getting a whooping). Who are the beneficiaries (direct/indirect)?
I want to see the player role play out how it goes down. Let the way they say it dictate the dice (if any are really needed).
Now I see Forgery as the physical manifestation of Persuade.
Gunnery (Starship weaponry, FA gunnery and Heavy Weapons), as they each have some commonality in the fact that you are utilizing fire control systems (the computer is doing the heavy lifting). The reduction in skill between them would reflect the physical differences in the the delivery system.
For Persuade is would say it covers those soft "people" skills, but it ties into the attribute(s) involved and any other relevant skills that firm up the persuasion. What is really the main differences between Deception, Recruiting, Interrogation and Bribery? Honestly not much in my book. What is the intent? Is it a push, a pull or both? What are the incentives/disincentives (money, sex, getting a whooping). Who are the beneficiaries (direct/indirect)?
I want to see the player role play out how it goes down. Let the way they say it dictate the dice (if any are really needed).
Now I see Forgery as the physical manifestation of Persuade.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
I've suggested this before, and those would be construction skills. Right now, you have combat engineer skills that focus on things like mines and obstacles and clearing these, but not on skills that are for building structures and putting in infrastructure. It could be general skill that cascades into say, ones like carpenter, plumber, electrician, heavy equipment operator, survey, and the like. Maybe add in civil engineer and architect for those with more education.
These don't duplicate the starship engineering skills that are really focused on ship's systems for the most part.
In game terms, these skills would be useful to a party if they were doing survival, or needed shelter. They'd be useful to a party wanting say to B&E a building or something particularly if they didn't want to be noticed doing it. So, they have lots of uses in the game but aren't covered right now.
These don't duplicate the starship engineering skills that are really focused on ship's systems for the most part.
In game terms, these skills would be useful to a party if they were doing survival, or needed shelter. They'd be useful to a party wanting say to B&E a building or something particularly if they didn't want to be noticed doing it. So, they have lots of uses in the game but aren't covered right now.
Spinward Flow
SOC-14 5K
Starship weaponry = ship mounted, range measured in light seconds
FA gunnery = vehicle mounted, range measured in kilometers
Heavy weapons = man portable, range measured in meters
Same job (bang bang, boom boom) ... different scales.
I personally would be loathe to collapse all three skills into a single skill, because although doing so is convenient for bookkeeping purposes you have to sacrifice a lot of "game immersion/realism" in order to do so.
"I'm qualified on machine guns, so naturally that means I can use lasers to hit things out at lunar orbit!"
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
<MgT think> gunnery is like in Star Wars, you strap into a ball turret and pew pew
<Traveller think> you press a button that authorises the weapon to fire.
<Traveller think> you press a button that authorises the weapon to fire.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
The rules say each ball turret is an island entire of itself.
I have a system I have been developing for this. I can post it here or a separate thread.
<Shrug> don’t feel the cascade, at all.
Ultimately Gunnery is either firing directly with a little bit of lead, or firing a weapon that has to include gravity and propulsion effects. Between that and likely a firing computer doing the heavy lifting, don’t see that much difference, mostly the gunner keeping in mind the environment and characteristics of weapon and target.
It’s also a nice empowering, and allows for things like Army guys working gunner jobs or Navy guys jumping into that grav tank turret.
The Forgery interpretation that it is a specialized craft is not unreasonable, but my interpretation opens up a lot more gameplay and just as importantly allows an easy insertion into existing chargen.
Offered as an option for the OP, can ignore as you will it.
Ultimately Gunnery is either firing directly with a little bit of lead, or firing a weapon that has to include gravity and propulsion effects. Between that and likely a firing computer doing the heavy lifting, don’t see that much difference, mostly the gunner keeping in mind the environment and characteristics of weapon and target.
It’s also a nice empowering, and allows for things like Army guys working gunner jobs or Navy guys jumping into that grav tank turret.
The Forgery interpretation that it is a specialized craft is not unreasonable, but my interpretation opens up a lot more gameplay and just as importantly allows an easy insertion into existing chargen.
Offered as an option for the OP, can ignore as you will it.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
The rules say 1 ton is fire control, the turret and weapons have no displacement.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
By TL9 crew served weapons, ie gunnery skill, will consist of pushing the button - the computer and the servos will do the rest.
Well considering that this is CT the computer has a Lot to say about it.
The question is the similarity between the user interface of a laser cannon on a grav-tank and that of a beam laser in a starship turret. Might be quite similar.
Below TL-8 or so? I wouldn't expect that fire control on a TL-7 rocket launcher will resemble that of a TL-9 missile turret.
