Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Not to mention what the heck does Profession (Belter) actually let you do?
Error about Fuel skimming
- Thread starter Vidgar
- Start date
J. L. Brown
Emperor Mongoose
I house-rule all the Profession (specialization) skills stand in for Jack-of-all-Trades for up to six (mostly non-combat) skills which are common for the profession & appear on the 'Service' or a single 'Branch' skill table; in addition to a character being able to make a Profession roll each month to earn a living (appropriate for their SOC, +10% per Effect) at it.
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Since Belters are among the few who can get JoT that would make it rather redundant for them. So it still comes down to what does it DO?
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Profession/specialization becomes a boon for associated skills.
If you're acting non professionally, it becomes a bane.
If you're acting non professionally, it becomes a bane.
J. L. Brown
Emperor Mongoose
'Can Get' =/= 'Always Do Get'; every Rank-3 Belter gets Profession (Belter), though. But getting 'Jack of All Trades' requires taking a one in six chance on the 'Personal Development' table -- where they might end up with 'Profession (Belter)' anyway.
For Belter probably:
Athletics
Melee (unarmed)
Recon
Streetwise
Stealth
Survival
So a Belter who had no 'Recon' in their skill rolls at least gets to offset a point of penalty; ditto for Athletics, etc.
What does any Profession skill do? It lets you be familiar with the people, processes, and equipment of a particular profession. You know the equipment that belters use, you can predict the kinds of things a belter NPC would be doing, interpret their notes. Know where and how to file the forms associated with asteroid mining, who the players are in the refining industries.
Admin is knowing about forms and bureaucracies of all sorts. But you can use Profession (Belter) if it's the bureaucracy around asteroid mining.
Carouse is socializing with all sorts of people. But you can use Profession (Belter) to mingle with other belters.
And so on.
Admin is knowing about forms and bureaucracies of all sorts. But you can use Profession (Belter) if it's the bureaucracy around asteroid mining.
Carouse is socializing with all sorts of people. But you can use Profession (Belter) to mingle with other belters.
And so on.
MasterGwydion
Emperor Mongoose
So, why are any other skills needed? Profession (soldier)? Now I know how to shoot guns, but only military guns? Profession (Lawyer)? Knows how to be an Advocate, but only legally? Profession (Belter)? Now I can fly ships, but only ships with mining equipment installed?
Edit - I could actually enjoy using this method as it simplifies the character sheets to the point that they are basically only equipment lists...
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Profession (Belter)? Now I can fly ships, but only ships with mining equipment installed?
Profession (Belter) - I can use laser drills to mine asteroids but not to attack another ship
Profession (Belter) - I can use sensors for prospecting but not to detect anything else.
Profession (Belter) - I can fly a Seeker for prospecting/mining asteroids but not for trade or a pleasure jaunt (to the same place even).
Profession (Belter) - I can maintain my seeker and mining equipment but only for prospecting/mining not to prepare it for sale or port inspections.
Not a lot of sense there.
You obviously have to decide where it is reasonable to substitute. I tend to think using a mining laser to drill and trying to hit a actively evading target using fire control systems I'm not familiar with is entirely different things.
To some extent, none of the skills make sense. Admin knows all paperwork everywhere in the universe? You are good with horses so naturally you can deal with Crested Jabberwocks?
IRL, EMTs, Nurses, Surgeons, Infectious Disease specialists, and perinatologists are very different people with very different training, but it's all just "Medic" in Traveller.
No matter what you are doing in the game, you are making judgement calls about what skill applies when your players describe what they are doing. And part of the job of the player & the GM is to make sure that the character's skills do matter in that campaign.
If you can't imagine how a skill would ever be relevant, remove it from the game for your campaign.
Like, I wouldn't say that Profession (Physician) would replace the actual Medic skill. But I would say that Medic doesn't tell you anything about dealing with Insurance companies or who's who in hospitals or how medical review boards work. Because you might just be the world's best on the job trained field medic.
Profession is like any other skill. You talk it out with your player so you are both on the same page about what it does.
To some extent, none of the skills make sense. Admin knows all paperwork everywhere in the universe? You are good with horses so naturally you can deal with Crested Jabberwocks?
IRL, EMTs, Nurses, Surgeons, Infectious Disease specialists, and perinatologists are very different people with very different training, but it's all just "Medic" in Traveller.
No matter what you are doing in the game, you are making judgement calls about what skill applies when your players describe what they are doing. And part of the job of the player & the GM is to make sure that the character's skills do matter in that campaign.
If you can't imagine how a skill would ever be relevant, remove it from the game for your campaign.
Like, I wouldn't say that Profession (Physician) would replace the actual Medic skill. But I would say that Medic doesn't tell you anything about dealing with Insurance companies or who's who in hospitals or how medical review boards work. Because you might just be the world's best on the job trained field medic.
Profession is like any other skill. You talk it out with your player so you are both on the same page about what it does.
I would say that IN GENERAL if there is another skill specific to a task, that Profession doesn't much matter. It won't matter too much how good you are at diagnosis using Profession (Physician) when it comes to picking up a scalpel and Medic is the skill required. At best, it may be useful as a related skill for a skill chain bonus. Or, maybe to hold down a job in a clinic as a General Practitioner, referring patients to specialists for actual treatment.
But there are MANY skills that are not defined, and those are largely the ones Profession is meant to be used for. Profession (Civil Engineer); Profession (Construction); Profession (Apothecary); Profession (Educator). "Producing useful goods or services" is the key definition.
If a skill already is used to produce useful goods and services, you would generally use it, but many skills overlap. Profession (Belter) and Science (Minerology) could both be used to assess a rock formation... but the science is going to be less useful about mining methods, while the Profession is going to be less useful in preparing an academic theory about it.
Profession (Belter) shouldn't really be used to replace any skill on the Scavenger career tables; of course for a REAL Belter that was born eating rocks, they get all the Assignment Skills at zero for basic training anyway. Casuals who try their hand at it later... well, they can look out for themselves. Maybe they can fly a boat, maybe they don't.
So... for me it's mostly prospecting and mining. Finding the rocks; knowing what's a good one and what's junk, and then extracting the paydirt. Providing useful goods.
In regards to Fluffy's examples, yeah... they can use it with their mining laser to melt stationary rocks at point blank range. If they haven't got Gunner, they're unskilled at trying to hit a ship with it; -3 for an unskilled task on top of any other penalties a mining laser might have when used as an improvised weapon. None of those examples *prevent* a belter attempting the tasks.
A lot of Belters are only going to get Profession 0 anyway, and it's not listed as Profession (Belter) on the skill table... that's just something you get at level 1 if you hit Rank 3. You could train up as a civil engineer or a crittersmith.
But there are MANY skills that are not defined, and those are largely the ones Profession is meant to be used for. Profession (Civil Engineer); Profession (Construction); Profession (Apothecary); Profession (Educator). "Producing useful goods or services" is the key definition.
If a skill already is used to produce useful goods and services, you would generally use it, but many skills overlap. Profession (Belter) and Science (Minerology) could both be used to assess a rock formation... but the science is going to be less useful about mining methods, while the Profession is going to be less useful in preparing an academic theory about it.
Profession (Belter) shouldn't really be used to replace any skill on the Scavenger career tables; of course for a REAL Belter that was born eating rocks, they get all the Assignment Skills at zero for basic training anyway. Casuals who try their hand at it later... well, they can look out for themselves. Maybe they can fly a boat, maybe they don't.
So... for me it's mostly prospecting and mining. Finding the rocks; knowing what's a good one and what's junk, and then extracting the paydirt. Providing useful goods.
In regards to Fluffy's examples, yeah... they can use it with their mining laser to melt stationary rocks at point blank range. If they haven't got Gunner, they're unskilled at trying to hit a ship with it; -3 for an unskilled task on top of any other penalties a mining laser might have when used as an improvised weapon. None of those examples *prevent* a belter attempting the tasks.
A lot of Belters are only going to get Profession 0 anyway, and it's not listed as Profession (Belter) on the skill table... that's just something you get at level 1 if you hit Rank 3. You could train up as a civil engineer or a crittersmith.
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ResslynHalvik
Cosmic Mongoose
I'm suggesting to my Referee that my Profession (Belter) 2 skill removes my penalty for being untrained in Melee, but only in zero G.
CordwainerFish
Emperor Mongoose
If it's a bar fight, I'd allow it.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
ResslynHalvik
Cosmic Mongoose
Well, his tool of choice is a Halligan bar.
