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Skills, Training, and related subjects


Nightshade

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We've recently discovered a couple of missing or unclear things related to skills and training:

1. How long does it take to train a 0% base skill? There's no apparent discussion of it.

2. There's reference to skills that don't advance by experience in several places, but it tends to reference "skills that don't have a experience box on the character sheet"; the problem is that all skills have a box, except for the entry for the generic header for fill-in-the-blank skills, and the sub entries there all do. Classically RQ3 didn't do advancement with Knowledges/Lores so they're presumably in this category, but what else? Sciences (I can see this both ways)?

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We've recently discovered a couple of missing or unclear things related to skills and training:

1. How long does it take to train a 0% base skill? There's no apparent discussion of it.

The way we have done it, and this won't work unless you use either of the Characteristic Bonus methods, is to train for a number of hours equal to the bonus. After all, as soon as you succeed and roll the 1D6 for skill points you will be adding the bonus to the skill. For example, we use the simple Characteristic Bonuses for Classic Fantasy. So the bonus for all knowledge skills will be INT/2. If our character has a 14 INT, he will have a 7 INT Bonus. If learning a new language for example, he would have to train for 7 hours before checking for improvement, and if successful, will have a beginning skill of 7 (1/2 INT), +1D6.

Yes, I know it has the weird thing that a smarter character will have to train longer before getting the skill, but the final result will be higher too. I know that isn't an official answer, but it's how we handle it.

2. There's reference to skills that don't advance by experience in several places, but it tends to reference "skills that don't have a experience box on the character sheet"; the problem is that all skills have a box, except for the entry for the generic header for fill-in-the-blank skills, and the sub entries there all do. Classically RQ3 didn't do advancement with Knowledges/Lores so they're presumably in this category, but what else? Sciences (I can see this both ways)?

Now this I do have an official answer for, at least I asked Jason once and received one. Check boxes are setting specific, some like COC will have check boxes for all skills, others like RQ will have some skills with them and some without. For Classic Fantasy, I like the simple "all skills have them" but if I was doing something more realistic, like Star Trek or some other SciFi, I would have knowledge skills need to be improved through research.

Thats all I have,

Rod

Join my Mythras/RuneQuest 6: Classic Fantasy Yahoo Group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RQCF/info

"D100 - Exactly 5 times better than D20"

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How long does it take to train a 0% base skill?

We solve this problem with a little "time warp": First the teacher makes his

Teach skill roll to determine the amount of the skill increase, then the stu-

dent has to study one hour per skill point gained.

"Mind like parachute, function only when open."

(Charlie Chan)

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The way we have done it, and this won't work unless you use either of the Characteristic Bonus methods, is to train for a number of hours equal to the bonus. After all, as soon as you succeed and roll the 1D6 for skill points you will be adding the bonus to the skill. For example, we use the simple Characteristic Bonuses for Classic Fantasy. So the bonus for all knowledge skills will be INT/2. If our character has a 14 INT, he will have a 7 INT Bonus. If learning a new language for example, he would have to train for 7 hours before checking for improvement, and if successful, will have a beginning skill of 7 (1/2 INT), +1D6.

Yes, I know it has the weird thing that a smarter character will have to train longer before getting the skill, but the final result will be higher too. I know that isn't an official answer, but it's how we handle it.

Like you said, that's a bit weird, though.

Now this I do have an official answer for, at least I asked Jason once and received one. Check boxes are setting specific, some like COC will have check boxes for all skills, others like RQ will have some skills with them and some without. For Classic Fantasy, I like the simple "all skills have them" but if I was doing something more realistic, like Star Trek or some other SciFi, I would have knowledge skills need to be improved through research.

Thats all I have,

Rod

Well, I always thought it was sensible that Knowledges didn't improve by experience; after all, you don't learn more about something purely as a knowledge because you remembered the knowledge. Its just that most other skills have at least some elements of technique, and you can refine technique by seeing what works.

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I looked for this in my RQ3 books, too, and couldn't find it there, either. I'm pretty sure that we used to play that it would take a full week (50 hours) to learn a new skill from scratch, but that must have been a house rule. One place (now that I think of it) that I forgot to look was in the soercery section (RQ3) where there might have been something about learning a new spell. Since sorcery spells are skills, this might be applicable.

The drawback to Threedeesix's method is that someone with a negative skill modifier can't learn new skills in that category.

CoC 6th Ed. declares that all people have at least a little knowledge in everything so they eliminated 00% skils in favour of 01%. This probably doesn't make sense in all settings, though.

Rust's method sounds good to me.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Thalaba

"Tell me what you found, not what you lost" Mesopotamian proverb

__________________________________

 

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The drawback to Threedeesix's method is that someone with a negative skill modifier can't learn new skills in that category.

I hadn't thought of that as I tend to use the simple method where there are only bonuses, no penalties. Good point. I like the 1 week (50 hours) idea and will more than likely adopt that.

Thalaba

Join my Mythras/RuneQuest 6: Classic Fantasy Yahoo Group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RQCF/info

"D100 - Exactly 5 times better than D20"

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I looked for this in my RQ3 books, too, and couldn't find it there, either. I'm pretty sure that we used to play that it would take a full week (50 hours) to learn a new skill from scratch, but that must have been a house rule. One place (now that I think of it) that I forgot to look was in the soercery section (RQ3) where there might have been something about learning a new spell. Since sorcery spells are skills, this might be applicable.

The drawback to Threedeesix's method is that someone with a negative skill modifier can't learn new skills in that category.

CoC 6th Ed. declares that all people have at least a little knowledge in everything so they eliminated 00% skils in favour of 01%. This probably doesn't make sense in all settings, though.

Rust's method sounds good to me.

Sorry I can't be more help.

Thalaba

The 50 hours needed to learn a new skill are in the RQIII errata.

It is the same duration needed to learn a new magical skill or a new sorcery spell.

Jean

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The 50 hours needed to learn a new skill are in the RQIII errata.

It is the same duration needed to learn a new magical skill or a new sorcery spell.

Jean

Ding, ding, we have a winner!

Join my Mythras/RuneQuest 6: Classic Fantasy Yahoo Group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RQCF/info

"D100 - Exactly 5 times better than D20"

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