Brainstorming Space-Opera skills

[Morgenstern]

Space navigation has come up a couple times. I tend to think its a typical navigation (knowledge) check based on Pilot, but with a very high DC. Skill will help, related tools will give large bonuses, several interest might be relevant (getting you a nice +2 if you overlap two). Add a big bonus for mathamatical savants (possibly Origin bonus, maybe a feat). As a seperate skill I don't see it as having legs. Especially with space not really crawling with heaps and heaps of unexplained phenomena (at least in the Expanse ). The closest comparison seems to be "like Survival, but for space". This needs to be a wider umbrella to get traction. Plus there is a certain verbal elegance in answering "Can we plot a course that does X?" with "Sure, make a Piloting check."

Might formalize it as an actual check under the piloting skill though. THat lets it have a nice table of modifiers.

Technological wizardy is a fun idea (McGuyver, the skill), but its another case where I think we're looking at a modern day Craft check. One made more cool either by writer's fiat/extraordinary skill in modern day settings, or futuristic tools in space-opera setings such as replicators and even omni-tools to a lesser extent. Its a downtime skill with little hot-play application. Broadening it in that direction sounds promising to me, especially in setting where gear scarcity is not a driving feature (since overcomming that scarcity is Crafting's main contribution in more primative settings).

Would calling it a "McGuyver check" be too obvious?

[Doublebond]

What if you had a space navigation skill, with the distinction from typical pilot being that you can preform the same kinds of checks with pilot that you can with SN, but the DC gets a sizable bonus if you try SN-oriented checks with pilot instead of SN. SN itself would be unable to preform standard pilot checks, whatever that's supposed to cover...

I have no idea if this is a good idea or not. It just came to me.

[pawsplay]

Teleportation pad could be a focus for Pilot, or you could throw in a new skill for non-vehicle, non-weapon, non-sensor things.

Exoskeleton/powersuit would be a Ride focus, I guess. That would be an interesting new "mounted character."

[Mister Andersen]

Crafting though is about making stuff, not using it.

Crafting (cars) doesn't after all give you ranks in Ride (cars), or vice versa. Similarly, knowing how to work a tricorder (even as a super user) doesn't translate to knowing how it functions at a physics level to magically suck in and display information OR convert it into a sub-space distress beacon.

Pilot & Technology would be perfect for a Spacer skill feat pairing.

[Sletchman]

Isn't using a tri-corder as a super user just high skill Investigate in action?  Unless it doesn't do what I think it does.  [Honest question - I've never seen Star Trek outside of JJ Abrahms offering]  I assume it just gives a user data that he has to interpret.

Also this thread and the Mass Effect one has had me pondering things like cheap easily maintainable force fields and their application as not just tools, but potential weapons, even ones with limited range.

[Morgenstern]

Crafting though is about making stuff, not using it.

Maybe I'm missing something. What do you see the checks of "Technology" actually allowing?

Crafting (cars) doesn't after all give you ranks in Ride (cars), or vice versa.

So how do you see the relationship between Technology and Ride? Cause if Technology is "does everything to gear that doesn't have another skill already associated with it", we have a problem.

Similarly, knowing how to work a tricorder (even as a super user) doesn't translate to knowing how it functions at a physics level to magically suck in and display information OR convert it into a sub-space distress beacon.

See, that's where I thought you were going with this, and if you replace "convert A into B" with "Build a B out of an A" I think you could be looking at Crafting as the skill covering a new check. The reason using Crafting as an umbrella instead of making a new skill to cover this check is that it would likely have the same focuses. If I am understanding correctly, I see the need for a new check, but not for a new skill - especially in light of Crafting being devalued in a high tech setting.

[Mister Andersen]

When I first floated it, I mentioned that it's sort of like Spellcraft in that it's a "make tech stuff happen" skill; you still need crafting to make magic items so the same thought process is at work.

Tech stuff being things like Hudson's picking the electronic lock when the Marines enter Hadley's Hope or Bishop using the colony's transmitter to persuade the Sulaco it should prep the 2nd dropship or Ripley getting the remains of Bishop to read the EEV's black box recorder (Bishops's remains essentially being a kit). You could argue that remote piloting the dropship was "tech stuff" with a synergy from Pilot, or else a Pilot (drone) check with a synergy from Technology.

Pilot & Ride aren't "make tech stuff happen" because they're not just about making tech work as a standalone concept,  they're all about interacting with an environment in a manner that just happens to use a technological construct. Similarly I think you can divide making something and fixing it when it goes wrong (I can build a computer from its components, but I'd be banjaxed if something was wrong with one of those components)

[pawsplay]

Tech stuff being things like Hudson's picking the electronic lock when the Marines enter Hadley's Hope

Prestidigitation.

or Bishop using the colony's transmitter to persuade the Sulaco it should prep the 2nd dropship

Using equipment in a standard way is not challenging. If that involved rigging a signal, that's Craft.

or Ripley getting the remains of Bishop to read the EEV's black box recorder (Bishops's remains essentially being a kit).

Investigate.

You could argue that remote piloting the dropship was "tech stuff" with a synergy from Pilot, or else a Pilot (drone) check with a synergy from Technology.

Is there anything Pilot (drone) wouldn't cover, or anything Pilot covers you don't do with a drone?

[Morgenstern]

The interesting thing with those examples is their comparitive plot critical nature adn their infrency/uniqueness. Makes me wonder if they aren't more akin to a hail mary effect (spend a few action dice to make gear perform a bit outside the norm) than a skill. They seem sort o f like somethign that should, on occasion, be available to all heroic types, rather than calling for the constant input of skill points across a career.

[Mister Andersen]

Tech stuff being things like Hudson's picking the electronic lock when the Marines enter Hadley's Hope

Prestidigitation.

Locks like that are Mechanical; the once in the movie is electronic. Spycraft has recognised the difference between the two since 1st edition.

or Bishop using the colony's transmitter to persuade the Sulaco it should prep the 2nd dropship

Using equipment in a standard way is not challenging. If that involved rigging a signal, that's Craft.

Except it's not  standard, is it? The whole point of Bishop's crawling down that pipe is that the standard interface mechanisms are busted and he has to hack into the network direct AND successfully get into the Sulaco's system to fuel up and launch the dropship (because a military vessel is going to have all manner of safeguards to preven an enemy doing the ssame thing).

or Ripley getting the remains of Bishop to read the EEV's black box recorder (Bishops's remains essentially being a kit).

Investigate.

Nope, that's only extracting the information: getting the the point where she's capable of interrogating the black box is another thing entirely.

You could argue that remote piloting the dropship was "tech stuff" with a synergy from Pilot, or else a Pilot (drone) check with a synergy from Technology.

Is there anything Pilot (drone) wouldn't cover, or anything Pilot covers you don't do with a drone?

I repeat "Synergy."

What it comes down to is that Pilot is already hiving stuff off from Drive and there's just as strong an argument to consolidate a number of disperate but thematically linked efforts things under the heading Technology.

And with Astrogation and Cultures both relegated to the new Pilot skill and Interests respectively, no one's come up with any alternative for a new skill to accompany the desired new Pilot skill

[Sletchman]

Another thing I was thinking of along these lines is what skills to give classes.  Surely space opera doesn't need an completely exclusive list of classes.  So does the Intruder just get the same skill list as the Burglar?  I always figured the Intruder was a bit more techno-burglar.  What on earth does one give the Hacker [which in a surely has a place in space, no rhyme intended]?

[snake]

Heres a few thoughts I had on Classes for a Space Opera type game. May help you think of suitable skills.

Classes

Common Classes

Advocate.  Could be an Interstellar Diplomat. (Examples are Princess Leia,  Ambassador Delenn or Sarek Of Vulcan)  

Captain.   Perhaps a Starship Captain or Commander of an Orbital Station (Eg Kirk, Picard or John Sheridan from B5)

Explorer.  Maybe a Smuggler or Tramp Trader Captain. (Eg Han Solo).

Faceman.  A Gambler (Eg Lando Calrissian or Jason Din Alt).

Intruder.  Intergalactic Rogue.  (Eg The Stainless Steel Rat)

Martial Artist. A star warrior fighter trained in an exotic fighting art. He may use Psi powers and/or advanced melee weapons. (Eg Marcus the Ranger from B5, Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Knights or River Tam in Serenity)

Scientist.   A Doctor or Engineer on a starship or a Reseacher studying the universe. (Examples would be Dr McCoy, Jordy LeForge and Mr Spock from Star Trek.)

Scout.  Could be a First-In Surveyor of alien worlds (like StarFleet) or a hunter from a native Alien race (eg Wookies).

Soldier.  Maybe a tough Marine defending colonists (as in Aliens) or an Intergalactic Bounty Hunter stalking escaped criminals or fugitives (eg Boba Fett or Strontium Dog)

Burglar. A sneak thief running scams on a Market World. (Eg Flinx and Pip the Minidrag too of course !!!)

Wheelman.   A hot shot starfighter pilot (eg Starbuck), Helmsman of a large star cruiser (eg Sulu) or a fierce Space Pirate.

I'd also convert the Miner/Prospector Specilality from FC/OofS to a "Belter" speciality. This should cover using mining lasers and surveying asteroids for useful minerals with sensors.

[snake]

Actually, having re-read the details of the Prospector again, he is pretty close to what an asteroid miner should be.

He has suitable skills:

Drive. (Used to fly his ship around in space)  
Search. (Used with his ships sensors to find mineral deposits)
Science (Chemistry). (To analyse quality of minerals)

Maybe change his Hammer Basics Feat to Laser Basics (or Energy Weapon Basics ??)  

The Scout class could use the same skills (in Space Opera) to do his planetary surveys. He needs a few sciences though - Xenobiology etc.  Guess these are Interests in MC ?.

[area_51_games]

I hope I have not missed something or missed something from master craft, but the general all purpose skill I have always thought was missing for sci fi, is system operator. see all tech from computers to rador, is a system a tech learns to operate. network system, medical surgery robot, scanners, all systems to be operated.  it covers many gapped skills, or maybe call it system operations. or operational system.

any who and while we are at it we need a good general sci fi game thier are none left like the old space opera rpg, that was general enough to try and handle all space and sci fi games, taveller use to be that m and space opera tryed and well Gurps is gurps !

you should have standard species!

Beast  Man t ype < half man half animal


Exotic matter /living matter


robotic/techno construct





Enery type be it shadow or light







humanoid . weather with ridge or with out!

can any one  else think of any other type?

[Morgenstern]

Farthest Star basically runs in a universe where if it looks human (or like a human in make-up) it IS human, or at least derived from the human genestock. We made it in our own image - the universe offers a bit more variety. Alien sapients are discovered only rarely, and they ain't from around here, generally evincing as many differences from humans as I can manage while still being able to cooperate and share spotlight time in an ensemble-style game. That is to say the main races being fleshed out and provided for play can get along in an Earth-like atmospheric mix (with minimal technical support), can communicate fast enough to participate in combat-speed scenarios (though 1 is mute), and most importantly have the social skills to share goals and form lasting relationships (though naturally some story-inspiring quirks are also at work).

I've currently split things up into 2 potential volumes, with the latter dealing with a lot broader chunk of space (expanding on the foundation laid by the first volume). IF I were to do energy beings, machine intelligences, and other more exotic potential neighbors for the expanding human race, I'd save it for that half of the project.