[Basic] Skill of the week: Fishing, Survival and Urban Survival

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I would make the distinction in a slightly different place on one point. If you have Area Knowledge, I'll let you know what parts of town are likely to have gambling establishments. But if you go there, you won't look like you fit it, and you may be a target for anything from cheating to violence.

Like how I may know of a place or two full of drug dealers, but actually going there to buy from one would not result in success or safety.

[Rocket Man]

One of my players is fond of characters who either are or used to be homeless, so Urban Survival crops up on nearly all her character sheets. Including her most recent PC, a 15-year-old super-powered "street rat."

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I would be interested in hearing how GMs choose among Urban Survival, Area Knowledge and Streetwise for various tasks.

I consider Urban Survival almost purely physical - if it involves people it's not the right skill - and Streetwise basically the mirror image - it's almost entirely social.

Area Knowledge is about knowing things, not doing them, which overlaps with the other two skills some only because the doing part is often so trivial it doesn't need a roll when once you know. And of course it only works in your familiar area.

[simply Nathan]

I lump Tracking, Fishing, all Survival specialties including Urban Survival, Navigation, and Cartography into a single Per/H skill called Exploration. It also allows HT-based rolls for Hiking.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by simply Nathan

I lump Tracking, Fishing, all Survival specialties including Urban Survival, Navigation, and Cartography into a single Per/H skill called Exploration. It also allows HT-based rolls for Hiking.

With that much lumping, I think you're describing something that most GMs would call a ! skill.

[Þorkell]

Seriously guys, this thread is about Fishing, Survival and Urban Survival. I fail to see what a)Influence skills have to do with it, and b) what Sex Appeal has to do with it.

Unless, of course, you're trying to seduce a fox or a bear...

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by whswhs

With that much lumping, I think you're describing something that most GMs would call a ! skill.

Maybe, but I just charge normal skill price for it because those things are way too expensive to use more than one per character.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Seriously guys, this thread is about Fishing, Survival and Urban Survival. I fail to see what a)Influence skills have to do with it, and b) what Sex Appeal has to do with it.

Unless, of course, you're trying to seduce a fox or a bear...

Streetwise/other Influence discussion moved.

[Vynticator]

Plenty of my characters have had Survival, rather fewer Urban Survival, and I don't think any have ever had Fishing. What have you, or your players, done with these skills?

Survival situations I found great for throwing a change of tone and pace into a group who were well established and wealthy in a TL3 setting. Suddenly when washed up naked on a beach on an unfamiliar coastline in late Autumn after a shipwreck, they were very glad one of them had taken coastal survival! Having no armour and equipment for a while meant they were back to TL0 effectively, fun times having them try to struggle over things as simple as making shoes and clothes to survive the coming winter.

Urban Survival- never run a campaign as low powered and gritty as that, but I like the idea, tempting to do it as a one-off.

Fishing - again, never really done a naval-heavy setting. Seems like a skill that makes sense to exist, but not very exciting to use in play.

[whswhs]

It seems to me that the difference between Fishing and Survival is that fish are not found on land. If you have Survival for an aquatic environment, I would expect it to include at least some forms of catching fish or marine invertebrates. But land animals either stay on land, or wade into shallow water, or go out on boats; in any case they're working across an air/water interface.

I think it would make sense to say that Fishing has familiarities: tickling, spear fishing, net fishing, and line fishing at least.