Go Ahead and JUMP!

[Rockymountainnavy]

Issue: There are three rules for how an Engineer makes a Jump; they all don't align.

References (All from NEWTRAV_UPDATE_27.OCT):
p. 65 Chapter Two: SKILLS AND TASKS - Engineer - SPECIALTIES - J-Drive: "Making a Jump: Routine (6+) Engineer (J-drive) check (1Dx10 minutes, INT)"
p. 148 Chapter Seven: SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS -JUMP TRAVEL - Preparing for Jump - Jump!: "Firing the jump drive requires an Easy (4+) Engineer (J-drive) check (1Dx10 seconds, EDU), modified by the Effect of the Astrogation check and the following modifiers...."
p. 160 Chapter Eight - SPACE COMBAT - ACTIONS STEP - Jump (Engineer): "Jumping in combat is the same as jumping in normal conditions but the astrogation calculations have to be done in a hurry, incurring a DM-2 on both the Astrogation and Engineer (j-drive) checks to bring the time down to 1D minutes (within one combat round)."
(see also the Timeframes Table on p. 60)

Problem 1: Which characteristic modifier (INT or EDU) is used?
Proposal: Use EDU since the "Jump Procedure" should be a "learned" item and not created on the fly.

Problem 2: Which timeframe is used (1Dx10 min or 1Dx10 seconds)?
Proposal: Use 1Dx10 MINUTES since "preparing for jump" involves getting the jump drive ready (calibrated, loaded, etc) and is more than the act of "flipping the switch." This keeps "combat jumps" aligned with "Going Faster or Slower" (p.60).

The result is a universal jump task that looks like the following: Making a Jump: Routine (6+) Engineer (J-drive) check (1Dx10 minutes, EDU), modified by the Effect of the Astrogation check and the following modifiers....(see p. 148).

 

[MongooseMatt]

Good catch!

 

[CosmicGamer]

In regards to INT or EDU. Page 58 states

a brilliant but unschooled
mechanic might fix a ship using Engineer and INT,
while a trained mechanic might follow the procedure
in the book by rolling Engineer and EDU. Some
checks can be attempted with either characteristic

 

[Meeko100]

In regards to INT or EDU. Page 58 states

a brilliant but unschooled
mechanic might fix a ship using Engineer and INT,
while a trained mechanic might follow the procedure
in the book by rolling Engineer and EDU. Some
checks can be attempted with either characteristic

Hmm. Perhaps an either/or scenario here?

A Intelligent Engineer would figure out how the jump drive works largely from intuition with little schooling or memorization, where the Educated one would draw on his memory of what the book says to do to pull it off.

The intelligent man ties his tie from a note card, figuring out what it means. A Educated man has a friend show him how and walk him through until he recalls the steps from memory.