Chargen, changing specialisations within a career

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding the rules or if there's more than one way to read the rule:

Do you allow a character to change specialisation at the start of a new term or do you have them muster out and re qualify for the career with the new specialisation?

 

[tuz_sen]

The official answer is referee's discretion. All though the mongoose staff allow changing it with out a roll in their games.

 

[nats]

I have it where characters have to muster out and then re-enlist as a new career. Most of the specialisms are pretty much separate careers in themselves. A possible exception to this would be the services where officers maybe can join a new specialism as an officer. But remember that you cant immediately rejoin the same career so you have to go do something else for four years anyway (unoess you rejoin through the draft). I think its just simpler to assume that for any change you must muster out and reenlist properly. That way characters are encouraged to stay in the same career and not mess around too much which is probably more realistic. And it keeps character sheets more straightforward as well if there are too many career changes to write up.

 

[CosmicGamer]

Nothing against people doing things their own way. I could easily see a sculptor (Artist), writer (Journalist), and athlete (Performer) being their own careers instead of specialties under the Entertainer career. Then again, I can see a actor and athlete, both entertainer within the performer specialty, as separate careers.

The format of the careers does not lay them out that way though. What reason would there be for them to be called specializations/assignments if they are treated in every way like a career?

Personally having a military background, I even find it odd that one might be a assigned to Engineering for one tour and then to Sensors then Gunner then Pilot (service skills) as a Navy Engineering/Gunnery specialist. Why would the Navy of the future want to train people to have lower level skills in multiple things instead of being highly skilled in one thing? From my experience, it is uncommon for one to change their MOS.

It is not a simulation.

It is a game mechanic. A way to help create characters that are more rounded out in skills and not a one trick pony. Having somewhat related specializations that one can move between within a career helps with this game concept.

I don't require mustering out and requalification to change specialties. For me, I feel that the Character Generation Checklist makes it clear. It could easily have you go back to step 6 instead of step 5 if one was not supposed to be able to change specializations at the beginning of a new term in the same career.

Of course, the book is filled with errors and inconsistencies. On this very topic, the rules also state

In each career, there are three specialisations. Pick one of those when you enter the career.

The Careers summery table on page 9 lists the 3 specializations for each career. But take a look at every single career and they have 3 Assignments, not specialties. Page 8 talks about the tables and refers to

subtables corresponding to assignments

but here, if you go back to each career, the tables are not labeled as assignment but as specialist. shrug

That said, I'm not aware of anything else in the rules, that supports or opposes the one clear place that does address this issue, the character generation checklist.

But again, nothing wrong with people doing things the way that works best for them and their play group.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree that it's open to interpretation, the rules are not crystal clear either way.

In thinking on it after posting I was thinking of a couple of options.

For certain careers, allow moving between specialisations on successful advancement or where careers could be seen as more fluid allow movement between specialisations, the citizen career or entertainer seem appropriate.

I think tho I'll just wing it and see what reasoning players can come up with. Always good to reward a well thought out plan.

 

[dragoner]

I'd judge it on a case by case basis, otherwise, you do not know what you are saying yes to.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

The rules are deliberately vague. Do what works for you.

My interpretation:

The character must roll for Qualification to move between Specialties. If they fail, they just stay in their current specialty. "Needs of the Service" and all that.