How many points for 'realistic' space explorers?

acrosome · 06-02-2016, 08:15 AM

NASA astronauts are... pretty impressive people. They're sort of like the high-point special forces characters in that they are always training to maintain high skill levels. So somewhere around 250-300 points seems reasonable.

One of my classmates from medical school graduated from the astronaut program a year ago. So he did four years at West Point, four years of medical school, a three year residency, served a few years in special operations medicine (including Ranger School, HALO, Combat Diver, and Command and General Staff College) and then to top it all off the astronaut candidate program is two years. The candidate program. After that they start real training.

Granted he's a doctor so it looks like a lot of schooling, but when you read the other bios they're just as packed. The pilots tend to be aeronautical engineers, the mission specialists are frighteningly competent scientists, etc., and then they are all intensively cross-trained.

Fred Brackin · 06-02-2016, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acrosome

The pilots tend to be aeronautical engineers, .

The pilots tend to have extensive air combat training too. Even if it's no particular use to their current job.

The Skil levels can also be very high. Why id Armstrong get the pilot's assignment to Apollo 11? Because some people who were very well informed about the subject thought he was the pilot in (at least) the US. With multiple Specializations and very, very cool in emergency situations too.

jason taylor · 06-02-2016, 03:08 PM

If we are assuming a society where space travel is routine, many of the qualifications needed for astronauts will be obsolete. Equally there will be some things, like Diplomacy, Tactics: guerilla, etc(reflecting relations with natives), that modern Astronauts do not need(they do not need to say take me to your leader when the State Department already gave info on who was leading the other nation's party).

johndallman · 06-02-2016, 03:45 PM

Here's the character generation page for a somewhat similar campaign I played in. It was expecting to study entire solar systems rather than one planet in detail, so you may need to tweak the skill lists a bit.

PTTG · 06-02-2016, 03:53 PM

Could always throw in "I payed literally 50% of the mission costs on the condition I get to come along for the ride." So, lots of points into Wealth and business skills, plus a few points of astronaut boot camp, but very little that one would expect would actually be useful for a mission. Plus a disadvantage or two along the lines of Overconfident and Stubborn since nobody could convince him not to make the demand.

robkelk · 06-03-2016, 08:44 AM

As I understand it from reading Chris Hadfield's books about commanding the ISS, everyone needs to be cross-trained on everything that can solve something that might go wrong and still be survivable. They don't all need to be professional doctors and dentists and drivers and dieticians (for example), but they need to know enough to keep the mission going if the professional is no longer able to act. If they don't, then the mission gets scrubbed.

Unless you're using wildcard skills, 300 points might not be enough for all the cross-training. I got the distinct impression that astronauts' skills are gained from training, not from defaults fro IQ and DX.

Drop Bear · 06-03-2016, 09:54 AM

read "The Martian" the main character was the least qualified member of the mission team, he had multiple Masters Degrees in Botany and Mechanical Engineering (they left that part of the movie), like real astronauts he lacked any serious personalty defects, psychological problems or intellectual challenges and on Sol 1 no physical anomalies that would be considered a disadvantage. this cuts down the potential to pick up extra points from disadvantages forcing up the points total. unless you are going to give out a basic default package of adds for the campaign and charge 0 points for it you are looking at 200 points for the least qualified member of the team or for Ensign Nubie on the USS Endeavor.

from a more advanced star-faring civilization check out GURPS Space or any of the GURPS Traveller books dealing with the Scout Service.

06-02-2016, 08:15 AM	#1
acrosome Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: The Land of Enchantment	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? NASA astronauts are... pretty impressive people. They're sort of like the high-point special forces characters in that they are always training to maintain high skill levels. So somewhere around 250-300 points seems reasonable. One of my classmates from medical school graduated from the astronaut program a year ago. So he did four years at West Point, four years of medical school, a three year residency, served a few years in special operations medicine (including Ranger School, HALO, Combat Diver, and Command and General Staff College) and then to top it all off the astronaut candidate program is two years. The candidate program. After that they start real training. Granted he's a doctor so it looks like a lot of schooling, but when you read the other bios they're just as packed. The pilots tend to be aeronautical engineers, the mission specialists are frighteningly competent scientists, etc., and then they are all intensively cross-trained. __________________ I'd need to get a grant and go shoot a thousand goats to figure it out. Last edited by acrosome; 06-02-2016 at 08:19 AM.

06-02-2016, 03:08 PM	#3
jason taylor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? If we are assuming a society where space travel is routine, many of the qualifications needed for astronauts will be obsolete. Equally there will be some things, like Diplomacy, Tactics: guerilla, etc(reflecting relations with natives), that modern Astronauts do not need(they do not need to say take me to your leader when the State Department already gave info on who was leading the other nation's party). __________________ "The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison

06-02-2016, 03:45 PM	#4
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? Here's the character generation page for a somewhat similar campaign I played in. It was expecting to study entire solar systems rather than one planet in detail, so you may need to tweak the skill lists a bit. __________________ The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques.

06-02-2016, 03:53 PM	#5
PTTG Join Date: Feb 2011	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? Could always throw in "I payed literally 50% of the mission costs on the condition I get to come along for the ride." So, lots of points into Wealth and business skills, plus a few points of astronaut boot camp, but very little that one would expect would actually be useful for a mission. Plus a disadvantage or two along the lines of Overconfident and Stubborn since nobody could convince him not to make the demand.

06-03-2016, 08:44 AM	#6
robkelk Untitled Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: between keyboard and chair	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? As I understand it from reading Chris Hadfield's books about commanding the ISS, everyone needs to be cross-trained on everything that can solve something that might go wrong and still be survivable. They don't all need to be professional doctors and dentists and drivers and dieticians (for example), but they need to know enough to keep the mission going if the professional is no longer able to act. If they don't, then the mission gets scrubbed. Unless you're using wildcard skills, 300 points might not be enough for all the cross-training. I got the distinct impression that astronauts' skills are gained from training, not from defaults fro IQ and DX. __________________ Rob Kelk “Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.” – Bernard Baruch, Deming (New Mexico) Headlight, 6 January 1950 No longer reading these forums regularly.

06-03-2016, 09:54 AM	#7
Drop Bear Join Date: May 2012	Re: How many points for 'realistic' space explorers? read "The Martian" the main character was the least qualified member of the mission team, he had multiple Masters Degrees in Botany and Mechanical Engineering (they left that part of the movie), like real astronauts he lacked any serious personalty defects, psychological problems or intellectual challenges and on Sol 1 no physical anomalies that would be considered a disadvantage. this cuts down the potential to pick up extra points from disadvantages forcing up the points total. unless you are going to give out a basic default package of adds for the campaign and charge 0 points for it you are looking at 200 points for the least qualified member of the team or for Ensign Nubie on the USS Endeavor. from a more advanced star-faring civilization check out GURPS Space or any of the GURPS Traveller books dealing with the Scout Service.