Skills Question about Specialties

[nezeray]

Working on some characters and ran into a question. I'm using a character sheet that has all of the specialties listed. If you have a base skill at 1, do all of the specialties get level 1 also or just one of them?

My guess is that we need to add a "base" skill blank so that nobody gets confused and thinks they have specialized in all of the skills encompassed by the base skill.

Here are some examples with Base skill 2 and a specialty at level 1

Example1, with base skill blank:

Animal 2
Animal (Farming) 1 (so farming rolls actually get 3 levels of bonus)
Animal (Riding) 0
Animal (Training) 0

Example 2, no base skill listed

Animal (Farming) 3
Animal (Riding) 2
Animal (Training) 2

Are these both okay?

Thanks

James / Nezeray

 

[Galaga]

Granted I only got Traveller less than two weeks ago, but how I think it works is this. You've got your skill [whatever] {specialization} 1. This means your specialization is a +1 DM while the rest count as level 0.

If you get a level up during character gen, you can either pick up another specialization to level 1, or boost your current specialization to level 2.

Thus a character who gets 4 Gun Combat skills ups while in the Army could have the follow skills:

Gun Combat (Slug Rifle) 2
Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 1
Gun Combat (Shotgun) 1
Gun Combat (anything else) 0


I could be wrong, but that is how I read it.

 

[TheLemondropDan]

Granted I only got Traveller less than two weeks ago, but how I think it works is this. You've got your skill [whatever] {specialization} 1. This means your specialization is a +1 DM while the rest count as level 0.

If you get a level up during character gen, you can either pick up another specialization to level 1, or boost your current specialization to level 2.

Thus a character who gets 4 Gun Combat skills ups while in the Army could have the follow skills:

Gun Combat (Slug Rifle) 2
Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 1
Gun Combat (Shotgun) 1
Gun Combat (anything else) 0


I could be wrong, but that is how I read it.

This was my impression as well, and how we've been playing it.

 

[JimG]

Granted I only got Traveller less than two weeks ago, but how I think it works is this. You've got your skill [whatever] {specialization} 1. This means your specialization is a +1 DM while the rest count as level 0.

If you get a level up during character gen, you can either pick up another specialization to level 1, or boost your current specialization to level 2.

Thus a character who gets 4 Gun Combat skills ups while in the Army could have the follow skills:

Gun Combat (Slug Rifle) 2
Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 1
Gun Combat (Shotgun) 1
Gun Combat (anything else) 0


I could be wrong, but that is how I read it.

This is correct, and it is spelled out explicitly somewhere in the core rule book, but I don't have my copy handy to give you a page reference.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

TMB Page 6 gives you the details.

You are correct in how you have been interpreting the skills.

If you have Gun Combat 0, you have Level 0 in all specialties.
If you have Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 1, then you get the +1 DM when using any slug pistol and all other specialties are at Level 0.

Your breakdown of the 4 Gun Combat skills is correct.

 

[nezeray]

Thanks, I wasn't sure if you got Gun Combat 0 in all specialties or if you'd have to choose one to start at 0

James / Nezeray

 

[Galaga]

Nope, your first skill up in whatever field gives you [skill] 0, with no specializations. After that further skill ups let you pick up new specializations or improve existing ones.

I rather like the way the system works, it means you can create someone who is a modestly skilled generalist (Such as my previous example) or say Gun Combat (Slug pistol) 4, a man who is a crack shot gunslinger with pistols but only competent with any other gun.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Sorry Galaga, but that is not true.

When you get your Basic Training Skills, they are at Level 0.

When you roll a skill on any table, it is +1.

So, the first time you roll it, you get Level 1 in that skill
Second time you get Level 2 in that skill (or Level 1 in two different specialties).

Unless the table specifically says Skill 0, you get it at Skill 1 or as +1 to the existing skill level.

See page 8 under Skills and Training, second Paragraph.

 

[AndrewW]

There is an exception. Having levels in one trade specialty doesn't give you any ability in other trade specialties.

 

[Galaga]

Sorry, I left out the free Gun Combat 0 you get as basic training from joining the Army. Should've mentioned that.

Assuming that, I'm still correct, right?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Sorry, I left out the free Gun Combat 0 you get as basic training from joining the Army. Should've mentioned that.

Assuming that, I'm still correct, right?

I'm not sure.

Unless a skill specifically states that you are getting it at a certain level, be it Level 0 or Level 1; you get to increase your skill by 1 level.

Level 0 doesn't come in to that.

If you roll "Space Surfing" as a skill, then you get that at Level 1 the first time you roll it, at level 2 the second time etc.

Only as a background skill or "Basic Training" skill would you get it at Level 0.

 

[MrUkpyr]

The ONLY TIME you get a Skill 0 in something is when you learn the skill as a Homeworld/Education Background Skill (pg 6) OR in Basic Training.

So a Scout, as part of his Basic Training - gets Gun Combat 0

Later on he gains Engineer +1
Now Engineer is a skill that has specialties, so he has to select a specialty.
Thus he learns Engineer (J-Drive) 1.
He DOES NOT learn Engineer 0 in all the other ones, unless he gained Engineer 0 as a Background Skill at character creation.

Later still he gains Gun Combat +1. At this point he selects Rifle-1, so he now has Rifle 1, and the other gun Combat skills at 0.

 

[JimG]

Later on he gains Engineer +1
Now Engineer is a skill that has specialties, so he has to select a specialty.
Thus he learns Engineer (J-Drive) 1.
He DOES NOT learn Engineer 0 in all the other ones, unless he gained Engineer 0 as a Background Skill at character creation.

This is incorrect. Again, I don't have the book with my to quote the relevant paragraphs, but you *do* learn all of the other specialties at level 0 whenever you learn a new skill with a specialty.

 

[AKAramis]

Later on he gains Engineer +1
Now Engineer is a skill that has specialties, so he has to select a specialty.
Thus he learns Engineer (J-Drive) 1.
He DOES NOT learn Engineer 0 in all the other ones, unless he gained Engineer 0 as a Background Skill at character creation.

This is incorrect. Again, I don't have the book with my to quote the relevant paragraphs, but you *do* learn all of the other specialties at level 0 whenever you learn a new skill with a specialty.

I do...

Some skills have specialities – specialised forms of that skill. A
character picks a speciality when he gains level 1 in a skill with
specialities. For example, a character might have Engineer 0,
allowing him to make any Engineer skill checks without an
unskilled penalty. He might then gain a level in Engineer, giving
him Engineer (Jump drives) 1. He would make all Engineer
checks involving Jump drives at a +1 DM, but would make all
other Engineer checks at a +0 DM. A character can have multiple
specialities in a skill – an engineer might have Engineer (Jump
drives) 1 and Engineer (power plant) 2. He would make checks
related to Jump drives with a +1 DM, checks related to power
plants with a +2 DM and all other Engineer checks with a +0 DM.

 

[whtknght]

TMB 51 sidebar
Some skills have specialities – specialised forms of that skill. A
character picks a speciality when he gains level 1 in a skill with
specialities. For example, a character might have Engineer 0,
allowing him to make any Engineer skill checks without an
unskilled penalty. He might then gain a level in Engineer, giving
him Engineer (Jump drives) 1. He would make all Engineer
checks involving Jump drives at a +1 DM, but would make all
other Engineer checks at a +0 DM. A character can have multiple
specialities in a skill – an engineer might have Engineer (Jump
drives) 1 and Engineer (power plant) 2. He would make checks
related to Jump drives with a +1 DM, checks related to power
plants with a +2 DM and all other Engineer checks with a +0 DM.

Forgive me for being dense, but it only says what happens when you go from level 0 to level 1. It does not state that if you get level 1 in a skill specialty that you get level 0 in the others.

 

[The Chef]

as soon as you gain +1 in any specialty you get +0 in the base skill. its like you have to have a grounding in engineering before being able to specialise in it.

 

[EDG]

as soon as you gain +1 in any specialty you get +0 in the base skill. its like you have to have a grounding in engineering before being able to specialise in it.

I'm not sure that's correct. It looks to me like you learn a skill by starting off unskilled in it (no levels in it), and then learning the skill to bring it up to level 0 (taking a number of weeks equal to your Skill Total to learn it). At that point, you have +0 at all skill checks involving the base skill.

Then when you raise the skill up to level 1 (over the course of (Skill Total + 1) weeks), you gain level 1 in the skill and you also choose the speciality. So if you go from Engineer 0 to Engineer 1, you need to pick a speciality where the +1 applies, and all your other engineering rolls remain at +0.

Though if that's correct, then that raises two issues:

1) If you were somehow to start off with all your skills at level 0, it apparently takes no time at all to learn another skill at level 0? (because the Skill Total is 0, and the skill you're learning is level 0)

2) Shouldn't it be possible to gain more specialities at level 1 by learning the same skill as if it you were trying to raise it from level 0 to level 1? So you could learn Engineer (Jump Drive) 1, and later also Engineer (Power Plant) 1 while the rest of your Engineer skill was still at level 0?

 

[The Chef]

2) Shouldn't it be possible to gain more specialities at level 1 by learning the same skill as if it you were trying to raise it from level 0 to level 1? So you could learn Engineer (Jump Drive) 1, and later also Engineer (Power Plant) 1 while the rest of your Engineer skill was still at level 0?

Thats certainly how i play it. just rolled up a scout who spent 8 years in the Navy, basing the character on my farther in law.

now he has Engineering M Drive 1 Electonics 1 J Drive 1. he would therefore have life support and power at 0 as they were learnt at basic training

now another character i have another scout who spent time as a merchant before going off to the scouts picked up gun combat as an event. he took slug pistols 1.

as a result of this training, i have always surmised that because he gets slug pistol 1 he also has gun combat 0. he can use slug pistols better cos he's had extra training in it, but he can also use rifles, energy weapons, just not as well as pistols. you would have this as the foundation in training first, and the principles are the same, ie this end shoots, pull this and it goes bang, press here and this plops out, but due to the training he's got he can put a bullet in a target with a pistol better than a rifle.

This seems to me common sense. I can drive a car, but i have also with no additional training driven a van, truck, motorcycle. additional i'm trainined with swords, but recently had to pick up an axe (i'm a viking reenactor) and used that sufficiently well, also have used short swords, knives, etc although i'm not specifically trained in them.

however, i am just saying this is how i interpret the guidelines set down in the book. the book does not explicitly state one way or the other, but this just seems to be the most sensible, straight forward and realistic approach.

Chef

 

[EDG]

Yeah, when you put it that way it makes sense - I think the way you phrased it sounded odd to me.

If you learn a skill at level 1 (thus gaining a speciality in it) during character creation then you must have learned it at level 0 as well. So you've got the basic grounding as well as the specialisation.

If you increase your skill during character creation though, it seems you can't opt to just take a new specialisation at +1 instead of increasing an existing specialisation to +2? That's what the Jamison example implies anyway.

 

[Stainless]

Forgive me for being dense, but it only says what happens when you go from level 0 to level 1. It does not state that if you get level 1 in a skill specialty that you get level 0 in the others.

I agree.