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Old 12-12-2012, 11:53 AM   #110
Fwibos
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Default Re: What's with the modesty about stats?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DCB View Post
Again, descriptive not prescriptive.

What a doctor does every day has an enormous amount of training and experience behind it; what someone in a call centre does every day typically has minimal training and relatively short-term experience. Suggesting that they both have skill 12 because "it's what they do every day" is silly.

I strongly suspect Kromm was giving a rough rule of thumb for "average folks", and did not intend for the wide range of human competences to be crammed down into that average.

Assumption: Real-World. This does not hold for games outside that

And yet, Tactical Shooting describes a well-trained, regularly vetted and tested sniper as having a skill of 15. The best shooters in the world have a 16. You average beat cop isn't likely to have more than a 10.

And why is that silly? A Professional Chemist, Doctor, or Call Center tech all have their skills at about 12. That's what professional means. the fact that being a doctor is harder than being a Call Center Jerk is covered under skill difficulty levels.

Assume IQ 10:
Call Center professional - Computer Operation -10 [1], Diplomacy-9[1], Fast-Talk-9 [1], Pro Skill: Call Center - 12 [8]*, Administration -9 [1] = 12 points

Chemist - Chemistry-12 [12]*, Administration -9 [1], Secondary skill related to job: (Mathematics, Biology, Metallurgy, or Pharmacy) -10 [4], = 17 poiints

Doctor: Physician-12 [12]*, First Aid-12, Surgery-8 [1], Diagnosis-12 [8]*,
Physiology -11 [8] = 29 points

Surgeon Surgury-12 [16]*, Physician-9 [2]. First Aid -11, Physiology -11 [4], Diagnosis-10 [4] = 30 points

* Primary skills used.

It takes nearly twice the number of points to become a pro doctor as a pro chemist. All of them have 12s. I did not add optional specialties - a surgeon would have one, in all likelihood.

This is why a doctor spends 8 years in school, that and the fact that while Failing a Pro Skill: Call Center default is embarassing and may anger somone, failing a physician of surgery roll can kill someone

The elegance is that an IQ 11 person learns much faster than an IQ 10 person - they get to professional level quicker. Same with someone with Talent - they breeze through med school, if they are a lsacker, then they have the same professional skill. If they buckle down, they become best in field.

I will, however, add, that subjective level is also a distinction worth knowing.

IQ + 2 and IQ +4 may both equal 12, but IQ+4 has a lot more experience.
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Word of God and Word of Kromm are pretty much the same thing in my book
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