How to Build a Boy Scout

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Tomalak

I am getting involved in a new game a friend is running. I would like to give my character a background in Scouting, but having not been a scout myself (outside of one year as a wolf cub) I am not certain what skills would be reasonable to represent this.

Do you have greater experience with scouting & GURPS? Any advice on how to accurately portray a background in scouting would be most appreciated.

Many thanks,
Tomalak

My experience was with the Italian scouts, of course, so that may be quite different from the background you have in mind.

I'd say that much depends on whether you keep up or you go slack. I'm convinced I earned my first point in Navigation (Land) while I was a scout. And no, it was not by means of simple artificial exercises for the sake of a badge, not up here in the Alps; and it wasn't like driving back and forth to work with bonuses due to ordinary situations.

But then I continued trekking and finding my way out of the beaten paths. Nowadays I use a GPS, too, but I have not allowed my skill to rust. Many of the boys who were scouts with me lost interest in that kind of thing a long time ago and they might well be represented with a skill level created by means of the Dabbler Perk, if at all.

The same applies to Hiking, and again, I still go hiking. Much of that is physical training, however. So a person who stopped hiking a decade ago might still have in mind some dos and don'ts, but his body might simply no longer be up to even the Dabbler level.

[Gedrin]

Originally Posted by Michele

My experience was with the Italian scouts, of course, so that may be quite different from the background you have in mind.

You seem to have had a similar experience as I, though translated for region. Like any set of experiences, some people will explore them fully enough to make a significant personal impact. The majority of Scouts will not have this sort of personal investment in Scouting, but I don't see how you could make Eagle without doing so. Talking about Scouts in general is different than talking about Eagle Scouts. Only 7% of Scouts become Eagle (as of 2012), and it's probably fair to think of them as the "top 7%". The top 7% of anything, from stock brokers to burger flippers, is getting a lot more out of the experience than the average guy. That's not to say non-Eagles can't have this sort of investment, only that Eagle Scouts almost certainly do.

I think that's the best way to draw the line. If the character "was in Scouts", he might have some of those skills or dabblers. If the character was an Eagle Scout, he probably does.

It's also worth observing that people who enjoy Scouting frequently pursue similar activities in their non-Scouting time. While I was in Scouting, it would not have been uncommon to camp one weekend, fish the next, and swim the one after that. Similarly, the idea of "doing my duty to God and my country" was a native concept in my family. My experience probably is an outlier, but probably in that 7% range.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Critical

It seems to be the consensus, though, that first aid, knot-tying, and hiking are particular strong suits.

I hate to squash this one, but the modern scout (including eagles) does not have knot-tying. It ceased to be a required badge a long time ago and had gotten steadily dumbed down since.

I taught that particular badge at a summer camp three years, and the good ones (who had done all the rope work necessary for eagle) remembered a few basic knots, mostly the square and the bowline. Mostly, knots are becoming less useful in our society of hooks and bungee chords.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I hate to squash this one, but the modern scout (including eagles) does not have knot-tying. It ceased to be a required badge a long time ago and had gotten steadily dumbed down since.

I taught that particular badge at a summer camp three years, and the good ones (who had done all the rope work necessary for eagle) remembered a few basic knots, mostly the square and the bowline. Mostly, knots are becoming less useful in our society of hooks and bungee chords.

I'm sure Sea Scouts still have simply for line while sailing. I made to Boson in sea scouts Navigation(Land) was secondary to Navigation(Sea) for me, as I had to be able to both Chart a course as well as direct the troop in following said course. It also put a high priority on Swimming , water rescue and other water safety issues.

Though Swimming was also a compulsory primary school subject so we had more time to consecrate on the rescue side.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Icelander

First responders or EMTs have a minimum skill level of 12 in their areas of expertise and an argument could be made that since what they do carries serious risks in case of failure, the minimum for qualified personnel is 14.

That's miles away from the skill level of 8-10 that you'd get if you spend 1 point in some of the scouting skills for a regular scout.

First, I would argue that First Responders would not necessarily have a 12 in First Aid, simply because it is a secondary skill for them. Second, I was talking about training more than professional competency, and the standards for the former are more lax than the latter. With 200 hours of training I could be an EMT-B, even if my skill level was not enough to sustain professional employment. And that is my point - Scouts are NOT professionals, do NOT really spend all that much time practicing (much less using) First Aid, and that (to me) is what Dabbler is all about!

Originally Posted by Icelander

That's irrelevant, because your Dabbler write-up didn't include Navigation, so your hypothetical Eagle Scout has the same default as anyone else who knows what a compass is.

Yep, that was an oversight - thought I had that in there earlier, must have left it out at some point.

Originally Posted by Icelander

What I think the OP is more interested in is the likely competence for someone who actually defines himself and is defined as a character by his scouting experience.

That's not how I interpreted the OP - he wants to give his character a background in Scouting, not define him by his background in Scouting. And "likely" competence is a hard thing to say because you have to make a whole set of assumptions (that were not given) before "likely" can even have meaning. Is this a 19 year old, fresh out of Scouts? A crusty old mechanic who was a Scout a half century ago? Was he an Eagle, or a Tenderfoot? Was Scouting his only connection to the outdoors, or something he maintained?

This is why I like benchmarks, saying "at this testing point, the character has to have these skills/attributes/etc", because then you can use the context of the character to choose skills/attributes/etc relative to those benchmarks. If an Eagle Scout needs 2 Dabbler perks with skills A through G, along with 1cp in each of skill H through J, then it is trivial to either cut them back (for deterioration or never having made Eagle) or expand them (for a particularly avid Scout or one who continued to develop their skills).

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I hate to squash this one, but the modern scout (including eagles) does not have knot-tying. It ceased to be a required badge a long time ago and had gotten steadily dumbed down since.

Probably right - my troop emphasized it more than most, which I think skewed my viewpoint a little. The minimum required is only for a handful of knots which a child can learn in perhaps an hour or two.

[ed_209a]

I got my Eagle Scout in the late 90s. Based on my personal experience, and the troop I was in, I think a creating a skill similar to Soldier or Sailor would be the way to go.

If you went to scout camp every year and paid attention in meetings (and your leadership wasn't half-assed) you might come out with a few points in "Scout".

[Gold & Appel Inc]

WRT First Aid: First Aid is kind of a big deal in Scouting, and probably one of the most likely to get a full point (it is the first merit badge that most Scouts earn, required to attain First Class rank and, in my Troop at least, to go on the really "fun" ie: dangerous trips), but I would definitely not require a full point. I'd give a full point to kids who are in a Troop that does their first aid training with a real medical professional, does practice sessions with it where you eg: rappel down into a gorge, improvise splints out of present materials, and lift a kid who's pretending to have a broken back out, does stuff that gets them hurt for real on a regular basis, and regularly wins awards at Councilwide First Aid competitions (ie: my Troop). Every time anybody got injured, the Troop Leader would rally the whole group and turn it into an impromptu lesson, even the time he ripped his own forearm open from the wrist to the elbow when he took a header while we were coming down Mount Washington in Hurricane Andrew.

WRT: Diplomacy: The only training in conflict-resolution that I received in mid-90s-era Boy Scouts was very informal, contributing points only to Brawling.

WRT: Swimming Merit Badge was definitely Eagle-required when I was a Scout, but I wouldn't necessarily give every kid who has it a full point, especially if they don't live in a coastal state. If the kid has merit badges in Swimming and Lifesaving, that's definitely a point in Swimming.

[Kromm]

My scouting experience was (1) in Canada, and (2) in Sea Scouts. However, I'd echo those who are saying that it's probably either a Dabbler perk or an IQ/Average catchall skill much like Soldier. To determine which is better, playtest it!

I'll add that I agree that the only standard skill likely to get a full point is First Aid. At least our crew had to take a course from St. John Ambulance, which involved watching films of scary open chest wounds and compound fractures, compressing the chests of dummies, and letting other scouts apply dressings. It seemed to go on forever, though I doubt it reached 200 hours. On the other hand, no activity ever started without a briefing on how to deal with likely first-aid emergencies resulting from that activity. And we all had to maintain little kits.

[Dragyn]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

WRT: Diplomacy: The only training in conflict-resolution that I received in mid-90s-era Boy Scouts was very informal, contributing points only to Brawling.

I wish there was a like function on these forums.

I am an Eagle Scout, earned in '93. As much as I'd like to say I have several points in the relevant skills, the only one I can really claim would be First Aid. Dabbler would have to make up the rest, and several have simply fallen to full default.

Though, my Guns (Rifle) Sport and Guns (Pistol) Sport have invested some real points. :)