Low TL familiarity?

[William]

Hey all, simple question. Can't remember the name of the Advantage, if it exists.

I'm a simple TL11 alien robot hanging out on a good old TL8 Earth. I have plenty of time to educate myself. I'd like to be able to use a bunch of TL11 skills at TL8 levels. Could buy 'em all separately, but I'm pretty sure there's an Advantage I can obtain where all my skills are basically "yeah I'm sufficiently familiar with two different TLs that I can use skills with stuff from either, the new one lower than my native TL." But if so I can't remember the name to look it up. Anyone?

[Hide]

Originally Posted by William

Hey all, simple question. Can't remember the name of the Advantage, if it exists. I'm a simple TL11 alien robot hanging out on a good old TL8 Earth. I have plenty of time to educate myself. (...)

The closest thing I recall is "Cutting-Edge Training" from GURPS Power-Ups 8: Perks (p10). It says: "You’ve received instruction in one specific technological skill above your personal TL (...)"; however, it is not aimed "for a bunch of skills".

Also, there's Pyramid #3/86: Organizations, with the "Limited modifier for High TL" (p. 6).

A variant of these could be applied for lower TLs (IMO). RAW p168 features a chart with the penalties for your situation, just in case.

[Phantasm]

As a pure house rule, I use "I Lived It!" as a leveled Perk, specializing by skill, each level eliminating the penalties for using the skill at one TL lower than the TL you bought the skill at. Basically, this is the opposite of Cutting-Edge Training.

One level of this perk is realistic, as there are those alive now who have their skills at both TL7 and TL8. Even two levels isn't impossible, for those who are in the 75-100 age bracket.

In the event of knowing a skill at TL11 and learning just the TL8 level of it (for example, Electronics Operation, Electronics Repair, Armoury, or Mechanic), I could see learning one level of the perk to cover just the lower TL without the intervening TLs.

[whswhs]

Reawakened lets you "remember" skills, spells, or techniques learned during past lives, and purchase them at the normal point cost. It normally works because you've been reincarnated, but the Basic Set says it's just a special Unusual Background that allows you to know those skills. I think the same 10-point cost could cover what you want.

Alternatively, you could use the cross-default rules for skills. If you have Machinist/TL8, your default for Machinist/TL5 would be at -5; if that's better than IQ-5, then you could start buying up Machinist/TL5 from the default, at the normal point cost for Machinist.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Alternatively, you could use the cross-default rules for skills. If you have Machinist/TL8, your default for Machinist/TL5 would be at -5; if that's better than IQ-5, then you could start buying up Machinist/TL5 from the default, at the normal point cost for Machinist.

Considering that High TL is only 5 pts per level and buys off the TL penalty for all skills, this would seem a bit costly.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Considering that High TL is only 5 pts per level and buys off the TL penalty for all skills, this would seem a bit costly.

It doesn't do that. "Certain skills are different at each tech level" (p. B168). "That means that when you learn the skill, you must learn it at a specific tech level."

So if you have Surgery/TL8-14, and you have TL7 equipment, you can use it at skill 13; if you have TL9 equipment, at skill 9. You can learn Surgery/TL7, and you can probably buy it up from skill 13. You can't learn Surgery/TL9 at all. Presumably, when you use advanced gear, you're puzzling out how to do Surgery/TL8 with it.

If you buy a level of High TL, you CAN learn Surgery/TL9, and use its equipment at no penalty. You may be able to buy it up from Surgery/TL8-5, giving you a default Surgery/TL9-9; but that may not be any better than buying it up from nothing. But in any case High TL grants you the ability to learn Surgery/TL9; it doesn't give you that skill.

[evileeyore]

I've always tossed the TL nonsense out the window, at least for lower TL skills, which is pretty much the only time it's ever come up in my games.

I treat it as a Familiarity penalty, -1 per TL difference, a further penalty for tool Unfamiliarity, anywhere from -1 to -5. With sufficient usage, i allow the Character to eventually become Familiar.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by William

I'm a simple TL11 alien robot hanging out on a good old TL8 Earth. I have plenty of time to educate myself. I'd like to be able to use a bunch of TL11 skills at TL8 levels.

See the Anachronistic Training technique, from p. 183 of Infinite Worlds.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by whswhs

It doesn't do that. "Certain skills are different at each tech level" (p. B168). "That means that when you learn the skill, you must learn it at a specific tech level."

Oops, too right, a bit of neocortical flatulence.

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Originally Posted by johndallman

See the Anachronistic Training technique, from p. 183 of Infinite Worlds.

That's the name of a perk in Low Tech, but it only "grants access to" learning one skill at 1 TL higher.