Distance Learning

[IanBruntlett]

When Travellers are, well, travelling, there is a fair amount of down time. All those 1 week journeys into jump space.

At the moment I ad-lib.

To learn the basics of a skill via distance learning in downtime in jump space and between adventures would take about a year. How about initial skills in a language? first-aider medic? co-pilot? astrogation? unarmed combat? guns?

A skill level of 2 or higher would require downtime at an appropriate academy or organisation. Stiff tuition fees. At least 2 years - anything up to 5 years.

Thoughts?
I suppose that in one academic year one can learn something useful even in jump space. Maybe initial skills (i.e. a skill level of 1)

 

[DFW]

Thoughts?
I suppose that in one academic year one can learn something useful even in jump space. Maybe initial skills (i.e. a skill level of 1)

As per the rules: "Each rank represents several years of experience using that skill. A character with Level 2–3 in a skill is a skilled professional in that field."

I apply as follows: If a character goes from 0 to 1 in game, I require at least 2 game years of frequent use of that skill (at level 1) before they can try to increase that skill to level 2, and so on...

 

[Bense]

I like to have adventures dealing with the passengers or crew while in jumpspace, so I don't really consider it all down time.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

I tend to agree with Bense on this, I see the crew as doing things, even when in jump (stewarding, checking the drives, maintence, cleaning etc) and any spare time is spent in keeping up their current skill and attribute levels.

If they want/need to start a new skill we use the rules in MgT, which require quite a lot of time.

If someone has spent a long time "helping out", and by long time I am thinking of years, then might allow a bit of basic skill transfer, e.g. Ug the barbarian has spent 4 years helping the engineer clean and holding the spanners, he has now picked up a level 0 Mechanic skill (and level 0 skills are well worth having).

Just my 2CR

Egil

 

[Matian]

I've allowed my players to pay for distance ed courses in things like Linguistics and Alien Phrenology - they need to study, mail the work (and pay for the shipping, plus fees), and challenge the course (IRL it's a 15 page essay and a 3 hour exam per course) once they get back to the planet with the university. Four years of this buys them three points of skills in the field, and one unrelated for that goddamn elective.

For more technical skills (Mechanic, Medic, etc) I allow for a lot of holo-vids and practical testing where applicable. As with the above, they get a point per year if they're studiously keeping up with it.

To prevent imbalance, any character who decides to take this route forfeits their right to increase skills in the "normal" way. I prefer to ad hoc skill increases anyway, so it hasn't been much of an issue when I've used it. A lot of characters get really into their "degrees" especially since the MGT character gen tends to create characters without a lot of formal (or non-military) education.