01-13-2018, 11:09 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
__________________
-- MA Lloyd |
|
01-13-2018, 02:20 PM | #12 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2017
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Thank you everybody, I agree. I just saw it and thought that it was so overpowered that it could break my game.
|
01-13-2018, 05:15 PM | #13 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
* I did wind up even adding one skill, for Power Plant Operation, just to complete the design/repair/use triad with Engineer (Power) / Electrician, Mechanic (Fusion) / ?. I couldn't find a skill in RAW for running a power plant. And a few of those 39 are "use" skills that are a little more generic, that most of the characters would have, or even other specialties where the "engineer" may not be particularly good at all (Spacer, Guns, Pilot). So that's not an exact count, but gives you an idea of the size of the job. It's much wider than most GURPS archetypes seem to call for. |
|
01-13-2018, 05:31 PM | #14 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
|
|
01-13-2018, 06:20 PM | #15 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
Then as I stated above Mechanic (Starships) will let you fix _anything_ on a starship including the small appliances in the galley (as long as they're built-in rather than freestanding). One supposes this was why the USAF in the 70s ordered coffeemakers from Boeing instead of Sears. Finally I'll agree about Spacer. Professional Skill (Nuclear Plant Operator) is what you use on a TL7-8 nuclear power plant and Spacer covers built-ins. I'm pretty sure the plant mostly operates itself. that sort of thing explains how the Scouts get away with so many fewer watchstanders than the Navy.
__________________
Fred Brackin |
|
01-13-2018, 07:00 PM | #16 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
By RAW, Mechanic has a long list of required specialties. Power plants (of various types, separate skills for each) are one of those. ISW specifically calls out Mechanic (Jump Drive), Mechanic (High Performance Spacecraft) (used for life support), and Mechanic (Gravitics) in addition to the categories in Basic. They seem to be largely paralleling the Engineering specialities, though occasionally there are some separate skills with distinct names ("Electrican" instead of "Mechanic (Power)" or "Electronics Repair" instead of "Mechanic (Electronics)" to match up to some of the Engineering specialties. Trying to build a matrix of comparable skills mentioned in RAW, I wound up effectively with specialties of Starship, Jump Drive, Gravitics, Power, Electronics, Computers, Heavy Weapons, Armor, and Small Arms. Design/repair/use means three of each. Existing skills means some of them branch more finely in some columns. For example, Armory has Body Armor, Battlesuits, and Vehicular Armor in RAW, while Pilot has existing categories for High Perf Spacecraft, Aerospace, Contragrav (all of which are usually "gravitic" engineering in Traveller), and Electronics Operation already has specialties of Comms, Sensors, Security, Medical, and Scientific (I lumped those last two together with others into "Application") along with Computer Operation all lining up as "use" for the broader "Electronics" specialty for Engineering and Repair. If you're willing to declare the entire "use" column to be Spacer (along with sir_pudding), and the entire "Repair" column to be one Mechanic skill (along with Fred), then you might well just declare the entire "design" column to be Engineer (Starship) -- or perhaps call it "Naval Architecture". Then you're down to three skills, one of which everyone on the crew will have, so the engineer really just needs two broad skills -- Engineer (Starships) and Mechanic (Starships). You can then go back and introduce familiarities if you want a security guy to be good at maintaining personal weapons (only) while the ship engineer doesn't bother with them. But once you start down the dark path of splitting skills, forever will it control your destiny, until you wind up back at something RAW-like. There's a reason they made all those distinctions in the first place. The right place to stop splitting is one of those things that's going to depend on the focus of the game and personal taste. The problem here is just that some roles by RAW default have that splitting much further down the detailed and fine-grained path than others. You can equalize them either by lessening detail in some places, or adding it in others, but the main point, I think, is just equalizing the burden across your game roles. If the hotshot pilot can navigate and fly anything with six skills, and the brilliant leader can inspire his people and outsmart the enemy with six skills, and the badass Proud Warrior Race member can trounce anybody in unarmed, high-tech ranged, and obligatory ethnic melee weapon combat with six skills, then you probably shouldn't require the engineer to buy 20 to 30 skills to fix and repair anything -- but rather about six. |
|
01-13-2018, 07:14 PM | #17 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
Your post seemed to imply that Mechanic (Vehicle Type) was not RAW when it absolutely is. It's one of the four main sub-types of the Skill on p.207. It's disallowing Mechanic (Vehicle Type) that's the House Rule. Maybe someone wants a high level of complexity but Gurps doesn't demand it.
__________________
Fred Brackin |
|
01-13-2018, 08:35 PM | #18 | |||||||
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
One of which is Vehicle Type.
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||||||
01-14-2018, 10:10 AM | #19 | |||
Join Date: Sep 2007
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
That literal reading does leave a mechanic oddly unable to understand or deal with the same system once you move it outside of the hull, but that's the way it goes. GMs can deal with that if need be. Or just call it a bang skill. Quote:
Quote:
Suggesting that Pilot must also apply only to life support because they both use the word "Starship" for a speciality is just silly, and beneath you. At any rate, this horse seems thorough beaten, plasma-roasted, and disintegrated. The various options seem well covered from various angles, (thanks, Fred and pudding!), so the OP or other prospective GMs can anticipate when deciding how they want their game and setting to work. |
|||
01-14-2018, 10:55 AM | #20 | |||||||
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
|
Re: Dabbler Perk
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
The "triad" is Engineer (Vehicle Type), Mechanic (Vehicle Type), and Bicycling/Boating/Driving/Piloting/Submersibles (Vehicle Type). That results in the same number of skills for everyone. Last edited by sir_pudding; 01-14-2018 at 02:51 PM. |
|||||||
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|