Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

That's true.

We were discussing virtual reality earlier. Would it be possible to learn, say, piloting this ship by finding a simulator on the Net? Or other specialised ship skills? I want Xerxes to get more skills that are useful for the crew so that he doesn't end up swabbing the decks once all the vital tasks have been done.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

VR training exists. I've my doubts that it provides quicker learning, though, so you're not going to become a qualified pilot over night. It can serve as a pretty good technical manual, though. If you can find a program for a skill, you can learn enough to get a default pretty quickly, or eliminate the familiarity penalty quickly.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Well, that's something anyway. Thanks.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I'm guessing the group of us who are searching the cabins will divide them up so that one person searches one little search, the next person, the next, and so on, so that the search goes more quickly, and then put everything we find in one central location.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Something like that would make sense. Elfie isn't going to give you much direction, unless you prove to be idiots, though, so feel free to make a suggestion.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Will Xerxes' Scrounging skill be of use in this situation?

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

It's pretty much what scrounging is all about, I'd think. If it's there, you'll recognize it.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

I wasn't sure if Scrounging would cover this, or whether Search would be of more use.

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Search lets you find things that are hidden. Scrounging lets you recognize that something is useful for whatever it is you're scrounging bits for. The two sometimes get combined. For instance, if someone has hidden a powerful computer in his mattress, you'd have to find it -- with Search -- before you could decide if it was useful or not.

When you're scrounging, you usually know what you're looking for, at least generally. ("A widget that will let us clamp the two ends of the Frobulator together") Searching, you don't have to know what you're looking for. (The guys who search your bags at Customs don't know if they're looking for drugs, or guns, or whatever, but do know to look for hidden things.)

Re: [OOC] The Catacombs, hard SF
 

Got it. Looks like Search would also be useful in this situation. Xerxes will continue searching the cabins once Elfie has responded to his report.