What skill(s) would best capture Logistics?

[Rick_Smith]

I would like to make a character who is a bit of a logistics genius, but what skill would best cover this? I've read thru the business and military skills, and I have not seen anything that looks like a great match.

Thanks!

Warm regards, Rick.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Rick_Smith

I would like to make a character who is a bit of a logistics genius, but what skill would best cover this? I've read thru the business and military skills, and I have not seen anything that looks like a great match.

The primary skill would seem to be Administration. That's the skill of managing human and material resources to achieve a specified goal. Logistics is a classic function for staff officers, and what staff do always has a component of administration, though it may have other primary skills in some cases.

Conceivably it might involve Finance (to arrange funding for necessary resources), Politics (to influence people), Merchant (to do unofficial swaps and horse trading), or even Propaganda (to get a civilian population to cooperate with requisitions). But none of those would be primary.

[Farmer]

If you want them to focus on it, I'd probably create a new skill and define what it can do. If it was just something someone had knowledge in, then using existing skills and saying "that covers it" is fine, but as some sort of genius, it likely warrants creating the speciality. Maybe even Logistics! and then say it covers any/all aspects?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by whswhs

The primary skill would seem to be Administration. That's the skill of managing human and material resources to achieve a specified goal. Logistics is a classic function for staff officers, and what staff do always has a component of administration, though it may have other primary skills in some cases.

Conceivably it might involve Finance (to arrange funding for necessary resources), Politics (to influence people), Merchant (to do unofficial swaps and horse trading), or even Propaganda (to get a civilian population to cooperate with requisitions). But none of those would be primary.

Definitely Administration. In addition to the above other skills for a logistical genius type I would add Writing )for reports, paperwork, and convincing people through written form), and Intelligence Analysis and possibly Strategy for grasping possible effects of logistics.

EDIT Forgot to add Computer Operation in a modern setting, possibly Research or Scrounging for help with unusual and out there kind of requests.

[malloyd]

What do we need where and when? That definitely seems like Administration, with some Strategy for the military version.

How do we pay for it? For high level military planning that's probably Politics.

How do we get it there on time? OK that might be Administration at a fairly high level, particularly if you can order the transportation around too, but feels like something else at more middle levels. I've generalized Professional Skill (Traffic Control) for managing scheduling in and out of a transport hub like a port or distribution center. I've never been entirely happy with anything for the mid level question of how do we get our stuff shipped to our new base?, or what's the fastest way we could get the party to Timbuktu? On the one hand it's Post Office or Travel Agency Use, but what about in pre-modern settings that lack services like that, and what skill do those guys use. I think this might be the place that [does] need a separate missing Logistics skill.

At the very bottom level, the guy in charge of keeping a company or platoon supplied certainly needs Administration, but may want more hands on skills like Freight Handling, Packing, Animal Handling, Boating, Driving, Merchant and Scrounging.

On a close to individual level, most trade in a war zone probably calls for Streetwise , it's effectively a black market, and I use Scrounging for outright looting, though some DF groups apparently have a Professional Skill for it, and if you are playing it out Forced Entry and Search are good to have too.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by whswhs

The primary skill would seem to be Administration. That's the skill of managing human and material resources to achieve a specified goal. Logistics is a classic function for staff officers, and what staff do always has a component of administration, though it may have other primary skills in some cases.

Conceivably it might involve Finance (to arrange funding for necessary resources), Politics (to influence people), Merchant (to do unofficial swaps and horse trading), or even Propaganda (to get a civilian population to cooperate with requisitions). But none of those would be primary.

I'd definitely say Administration, first and central. Apart from anything else, there are examples of military staff officers mustering out and getting management jobs or starting successful businesses. It's a mindset as much as anything.

I'd then usually put a point into Strategy so that the officer can grasp what any request is for, and adjust to circumstances accordingly. Alternatively, a someone in charge of keeping aircraft, tanks, or ships functional might have a point in Mechanic to comprehend what's actually needed. After that, other skills depend on specifics and setting. Historically, Merchant has probably been almost as common as Administration, as the staff officer in charge of logistics chases round buying stuff through civilian suppliers and locals, but centralised procurement removes that requirement in most modern forces. A junior officer in charge of keeping a smaller unit functional in the chaos of war might end up with Scrounging.

Bill's other suggestions would also fit in some cases - Politics for the general in charge of army-level logistics, perhaps, Finance for someone handling a large mercenary unit's supplies, or Propaganda for the one in charge of supporting a large military base in the middle of potentially hostile territory long-term.

(And I recall a jokey SF story about a very peculiar engineering unit who carried a sheaf of pardons for their "procurement specialist", who'd been recruited out of prison and who had a world-class set of burglary skills.)

[thrash]

Administration is the primary skill, and also what GURPS Mass Combat calls for rolling against. For secondary skills, Strategy covers what to acquire and Merchant covers how to acquire and how to get it where needed. Scrounging is a classic enabling skill. Packing or Freight Handling would also be good -- not so much to do the work as for understanding what can be done. Similarly, at least a passing familiarity with Hazardous Materials would help avoid some obvious mishaps.

Intelligence Analysis isn't terribly useful, unless either (a) you and your enemy are competing for the same resources (which isn't common) or (b) your military bureaucracy is so labyrinthine that you can't get accurate reports on your own forces any other way. Likewise, Writing wouldn't be a requirement for all logisticians -- but it could make a particular one legendary, if the reports and requests that one sends are actually interesting to read.

[Anaraxes]

Associated skills to flavor that Administration could include Packing or Freight Handling, per the setting technology. A logistics officer probably isn't doing the work or even supervising loading of a single vehicle, but they likely have some understanding of what's involved to move stuff around effiicently.

[Donny Brook]

An optional specialization; Administration (Logistics) seems reasonable. One of my cousins is a logistics specialist for a large transport company. It seems like he spends a lot of time using Leadership over a cell phone. Area Knowledge of the regions served is also important. He also seems to have a lot of Contacts.

On a related note, I have houseruled Strategy specializations to apply it beyond strictly military applications, e.g.Strategy (Industrial Policy). So a logistics version of that might be applicable.

[Polydamas]

What is the canonical skill for small-scale scrounging up materials by trading and wheeling and dealing? Scrounging is more for searching the ruins or the garage sale.

This is important for small-scale logistics.

I would use skills like Soldier, Metallurgy, and Agriculture to decide whether someone with Administration was prepared to run a specific type of organization. At TL 7+, specialties of Mathematics sound like complimentary skills, at TL 1+ Accounting is useful.