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Old 03-19-2016, 11:15 AM   #8
evileeyore
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Mechanic

Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
I'm distinctly unconvinced that Gasoline and Diesel engines are separate skills with -4 between them. Having done a bit of work on both, I think they're at least 80% common. Sure, treating one sort of plant exactly like the other will get you into trouble, but I think this is more like a familiarity penalty. (In Europe diesel cars are far more common than in North America, and that's what I'm thinking of - I'd be ready to believe that a 2,300-ton marine diesel is an entirely different sort of beast!) Anyone have more experience of shifting between gasoline/diesel?
My stepfather was a Diesel and Gasoline engine mechanic (and hydraulics mechanic, and body repair, and vehicular structure repair, etc) and I learned to shadetree our cars and trucks growing up (and went to work him a few times on weekends and helped on the big rigs and construction equipment).

My answer: It's complicated.

'Civilian' passenger vehicles are close enough that I'd only assess a Familiarity penalty going from Diesel to Gasoline or vice versa as long as you were familiar with that model vehicle (IE you have Mechanic (Gasoline) and are used to working on 1/2-ton trucks, you can work on diesel 1/2-ton trucks with a only a small familiarity penalty, -2).

Moving up to larger vehicles...

With construction equipment it's the differences in the power conversion systems from drive train to hydraulics that will be the big difference (and different ways the drive trains convert power), so going from Diesel to Gasoline (or vice versa) I'd assess a full default penalty (unless I were using my standard "Just use Familiarity Penalties" House Rule below.


Honestly with skills like this I prefer to operate within the Familiarity penalty system rather than Default penalty. So if my Player's PC had Mechanic (Gasoline) and was familiar with Commercial Passenger Cars and was faced with repairing a Diesel Ten-Wheeler I'd slap a -6 on him and call it a day (-2 for drive train differences (four wheeler to ten wheeler), -2 gasoline to diesel, -2 different hydraulic subsystems). But I don't mind the extra 'paper work' that comes with the Familiarity system.

I also think there is that big a difference between the two vehicles and with most things, it's never just the engine you have to repair (there's always wiring problems, hydraulics that need looking at, struts that need tightening, etc). If it's literally just the engine, then you assess a smaller penalty.

Last edited by evileeyore; 03-19-2016 at 11:21 AM.
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