CIA Special Activities Division PMO Skill Set

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by TheOneRonin

And what I don't understand is how many people on these boards will argue to their death that certain units can't possibly have a skill at level N or higher because that's just not realistic. And then when you get down to the mechanics of doing what that unit HAS to be able to do, you come out with the unit NEEDING to have N+2, by the rules, to be able to meet those requirements.

Two parts of the answer are: (a) people have very different models of what are acceptable odds of success and (b) situational modifiers.

Here's an example with situational modifiers that would fit into a PMO campaign: shooting someone whom you have to take down, because if he gets to start giving orders, things get a lot harder. He's in a house 100 yards away, visible through the window his desk looks out of; your team is concealed, but will get spotted when you start firing.

Totally naïve calculation: I need to hit the skull (-7) at 100 yards (-10), I'm at -1 for firing through glass and I need to do this on 16 or less. I need Guns (Rifle) + Acc of 34, rifles are Acc 5, so I need skill 29. That is not a skill level that real humans have.

Really optimised calculation: I need to hit the Vitals (-3) at 100 yards (-10) with -1 for the glass, and I'll accept doing it on a 14-. I have a Fine rifle (Acc 6), hand-made super-match ammo (+2), I'm braced (+1), I have a telescopic sight for +4, and two seconds of extra Aim (+2). All-Out Attack (Determined) gives another +1. I need Guns (Rifle) of 12, and while that's better than a DX10 rifleman fresh from basic training, nobody could call a professional sniper with skill 12 implausibly good: indeed, it's implausibly low for someone with all this equipment. Getting the exact range and wind could help some more but may risk alerting the target, who thinks there's only him and his henchbeings within ten miles. There's a rule somewhere about not being able to more than double Acc with equipment bonuses, but I can't find it right now.

The situation when this came up in a somewhat cinematic game a few weeks ago: I want to hit the Vitals (-3) at 100 yards (-10) with -1 for the glass and I have skill 16 (defaulted from Pistol-18) as a generalist commando. I have a Fine rifle (Acc 6), Match ammo (+1), I'm braced (+1), I didn't bring a telescopic sight because this is the first time in the whole campaign that I'd have used it, but I have a collimating sight for +1, and two seconds extra aim for +2. My effective skill is 14-, which will have to do.