[freeroleplay] Re: Skills
- From: Samuel Penn <sam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: freeroleplay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 17:55:00 +0100
On Sunday 24 August 2003 17:23, Ricardo Gladwell wrote:
> As a side note, there is problem of converting different skills to new
> genres. I've tried to make the skills included here as neutral as
> possible, but they tend to align themselves to more S&S fantasy. It may
> well be impossible to construct a skills list that could be used across
> all genres. If so, we may have to specify different skill lists for each
> FRINGE genre book (e.g. FRINGE: Fantasy) Ideas?
As I mentioned in my GURPS post, GURPS has skills associated with
a Tech Level. Since I never run cross-genre campaigns, I prefer
having different lists of skills. I think it adds more flavour to
the game if the skills are tailored to the setting.
>
> Also, how do we compare scales. For example, the Medieval
> Science(Medical) does not even compare to modern Science(Medical).
Medieval would have First Aid (bandaging and the like), with possibly
some Knowledge (Herbs). Nothing else. Modern day First Aid would
include knowledge of how to perform an injection etc, and to know
about keeping a wound clean, but would be pretty much the same skill.
Science(Medical) would be known by modern doctors, but not many
normal people.
Likewise, 16th/17th century scientists would have a Science skill,
since at this point in time, science hadn't yet split into the
different sub skills. Reading about scientists of that age seems
amazing since they covered so many different fields, but there
wasn't that much to know compared with today, where scientists
have to specialise.
> > What if someone starts off specialising in East Africa, then starts
> > reading up on South America?
>
> I think the point maybe that you might be able to take a skill more than
> once, or have more than one specialization for a skill?
Something I've been thinking of for Yags, so to have specialisations
as a cheaper skill. Skill costs are on a pyramid scale (1, 3, 6, 10...),
but a specialisation would be a flat 1 pt/level. A specialisation can
never be higher than the parent skill.
This keeps the different specialisations apart, without being too
costly for the characters. You might have Survival as the parent
skill, with specialisations of Desert, Arctic, Temperate etc.
> > > Expression
> >
> > - See diplomacy. I have a 'Bard' skill which covers singing, oratory
> > and poetry, since these are the skills a bard type character would
> > want to use.
>
> Perhaps this should be merged with Art. Or maybe not: singing is
> entirely a different skill to painting a picture of creating a
> structure. The Bard skill you propose is, perhaps, too genre-specific.
> Ideas?
Performance might be a better skill name. I think I'll change Yags...
> > > Survival
> > > Track
> >
> > - I keep on changing my mind about whether these two skills should be
> > merged, or kept seperate. A ranger type character would tend to want
> > to take both, which is an argument to merge them according to my own
> > reasoning above. However, other characters may commonly pick up
> > survival (learning how to cook, what berries can be eaten), without
> > becoming good at tracking. I'm interested in seeing other arguments.
>
> Hmmm... I lean more toward combining Survival and Track into one skill,
> with tracking being a possible specialization. Someone with some outdoor
> skills would have some experience with tracking, no? Ideas?
One argumentI have with keeping them seperate, is that Survival is
one that cries out to be specialised in terrain/climate types,
whereas Track doesn't. However, I have no practical experience of
either of them.
> > > Sciences
> >
> > - Would you have Science (Physics), Science (Chemistry) etc as
> > seperate skills?
>
> I would lean towards that... perhaps have Knowledge(Mathematics) as a
> totally separete skill. This is tricky: perhaps we should think about
> some sort of cross-skill bonuses as in d20? +2 if to
> Knowledge(Mathematics) if you have a ranking in Science(Physics).
> Thoughts?
Again I'd point to GURPS, which has a very extensive defaults
and prerequisite system for skills. For nuclear physics, you
must have physics 15+ and mathematics 15+. Chemistry defaults
to IQ-6 (an attribute), Biochemistry defaults to chemistry-5.
I'd go for pre-requisites rather than bonuses, since it doesn't
make much sense to have a high physics skill and no knowledge
of mathematics. However, this whole area starts getting very
complicated. It's almost easiest to leave it to the GM and player
to come up with a sensible character, rather than enforcing it.
Actually, something else to consider if you want to go down that
route, is how the character got the skill. In the modern day,
somone with Science (Physics) has almost certainly gone to
university. This means they're going to have all sorts of
prerequisite skills. From a skill point perspective, such a
character is going to be very expensive. How do you model that?
> > > Disguise
> >
> > - Manipulation?
>
> Unsure here, i think it may well be a seperate skill all together.
> Ideas?
Can it be done by mixing existing skills? Some sort of acting to
pull off the disguise, make-up to create it maybe.
> > > Lock Picking (Craft?)
> >
> > - A professional/craft skill of Locksmithing. Yags uses a 'sleight'
> > skill, which covers sleight of hand, disarming traps, picking locks
> > and picking pockets.
>
> I think the Sleight skill is probably an excellent idea... can i rip it
> off you? :)
Sure! Again, it was a cure for the normal problem of half a dozen
skills which would often be taken altogether,
> > > Martial Arts [Group]
> >
> > - Brawl. At the end of the day, martial arts is just being really
> > good at brawling. Maybe allow special manouevres to be learnt,
> > which are only available to those trained in certain martial arts
> > styles, but which all come off the brawl skill.
>
> I think martial arts should have a separete skill - unlike brawling,
> they're not something you can just pick up.
How much is philosophy, how much is fancy foot work?
What happens when a bar room brawler (Brawl skill 5) starts learning
Karate (Karate skill 1). If they get into a fight, are they going to
be crap if they opt to use some Karate moves?
> > > Sleight of Hand
> >
> > - Again, see lock picking.
>
> What about magicians? Saying that, I can see your point here.
What's the magician doing? It could be craft (building a box with
a false bottom), sleight (palming a card), manipulation ("Keep
your eyes on this wand!").
> Not at all, keep 'em coming. You given us loads of ideas. I love it :)
> let me know what you think of my comments on your comments and I will
> update FRINGE: Basics with the above agreements ASAP.
Hope that helped.
I'd be very interested in seeing people's thoughts on how to handle
modern education btw. It's almost where a class based system is
better than a points based one, given the huge variety in number
and level of skills a university educated person would have compared
to someone who went straight into a job (though both are probably
of equal value in an adventure).
--
Be seeing you, -------------------------------
Sam. http://www.bifrost.demon.co.uk/
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