Skill check!

Hello fellow post-apocalyptic revelers. I’ve been having quite a think about how to ensure that there are plenty of challenges for those players who aren’t interested in combat.

So have a think about your skills. Then have a think about what kind of cool things you’d like to do with them. Then post those cool things here or email me so I can come up with awesome challenges that let you use your skills.

Well on top of the basic repairing of weapons etc I guess the repair skill could be used on buildings, wells etc, but those require the repair-person to trade and argue with various residents and travelers in order to get the parts needed. So if there are big storms that damage things beyond guns/armour that might be interesting.

Interesting point, though it feels like that is more of an Engineering challenge than a repair one… I may need to think on this.

I think I mostly chose skills based on allowing my character to do cool things that got me to this point, as opposed to being useful in session right off… But then I suspect I’ll have plenty to do anyway ;p

Very true. A lot of people will feel this way. But I want to ensure that those who don’t want to shot guns and swing fire axes have IC challenges that aren’t 100% a given.

Diseases and surgical emergencies would seem like good non-combat challenges for the medic-y skills, and very appropriate for the post-apocalyptic genre where you want to stress the differences between the world that is and the world that was. This is presumably a world without antibiotics, after all.

Yip that’s a good point. Of course if people have the knowledge they could try to make penicillin…

I’m also keen to hear people’s thoughts on literacy.

If there was an option to make your character illiterate, in return for another character bonus (an extra HP or bonus skill) would you take it?

It would mean that most of the science skills would be unattainable to your character until they learn to read and write.

Personally, I would prefer it as another skill and we just get 7 skills to choose from. Couriers and Arcologists would have to take it. Having it as a source of an HP that you can’t get any other way, makes it way too tempting to take at character gen for players.

Great way to give yourself a boost at something else. I think another skill would be better than HP.

I would need to be a prerequisite for various character types, or other skills, but in a post apocolyptic world, not everyone reads and writes.
It shouldn’t stop you from talking properly, but you might not use long / hard words.

[quote=“sophmelc”]I’m also keen to hear people’s thoughts on literacy.

If there was an option to make your character illiterate, in return for another character bonus (an extra HP or bonus skill) would you take it?

It would mean that most of the science skills would be unattainable to your character until they learn to read and write.[/quote]

I don’t expect my character to be literate, as that would be knowledge that they would not have needed…

[quote=“sophmelc”]I’m also keen to hear people’s thoughts on literacy.

If there was an option to make your character illiterate, in return for another character bonus (an extra HP or bonus skill) would you take it?

It would mean that most of the science skills would be unattainable to your character until they learn to read and write.[/quote]

Personally I don’t like it. Mostly because flaws for bonuses are complicated. Why is an illiterate person more hardy or more skilled with weapons than a literate one. It makes no sense.

It makes sense that people might be illiterate, and your no science flaw is a good one, but I just don’t see how they realistically gain anything from it.

Flaws complicate things. You have a pretty nice simple system right now. If someone wants to roleplay that then fine, but you start adding flaws in and suddenly everyone needs one to get something else. I have White Wolf flashbacks where people take them and then forget about them.

So for example something that might work is having Elderly have -1 health but +1 skill. Add in a skill called Fit +1 health (elderly only, must take before getting hardy) and you can have a fit and healthy elderly person or an old one. But do you need it? Who knows.

If you are going to do that what to teens get, they should have -1 skill but what is the advantage, they can ignore their class flaw?

Does anybody have any thoughts on challenges that could be used for advanced computer use (like hacking)? I’ve heard some people say things like soduku or word games. But I’d be keen to use something I can actually place on a laptop…

Wondering if there is a way to steal the hacking mini game from Fallout.

Look for an app that you could download? Maybe something like this? (first thing that came up).

Or this
addictinggames.com/puzzle-ga … r-game.jsp

Or either of the hacking games from Mass Effect 2. Though they are both kinda short.

You need something that you can make super complex or not.

While you are looking at something for a computer, we could probably create a game from and old Set of Netrunner cards.

You could use the Mass Effect 2 code idea and print out cards that had a bunch of different codes on them and then give someone a route that they have to place from all of their cards.

You could use something similar to the ball in a cup game. Shuffle up 3-5 cards and place them face down, then select a card. If it say success move onto the next node. If not try again. So with 3 cards 1 would say success, 2 fail (or just a simple green and red dot). A complex challenge might take 10 nodes to get through. If you succeed you go forward, if you fail 3 times to guess you go back. It hacking, its trial and error. It doesn’t have a cool computer sim, but it is something that a player could do on their own.

Adding to this idea you could have higher levels of tech, so someone with 1 tech would have 5-6 cards, while someone with 3 would have 3 cards. Still only 1 success. Meaning it is much easier for the higher level hacker to do. Each hacker could have their own set.

But I agree a computer interface of something would be better.

Ha, check this out. mitchellthompson.net/demos/terminal/

Ha, check this out. mitchellthompson.net/demos/terminal/[/quote]

It’s good but way to short. I guess you can get people to hack 10 ports or something though. Does it work on a tablet is the real question?

Ha, check this out. mitchellthompson.net/demos/terminal/[/quote]

It’s good but way to short. I guess you can get people to hack 10 ports or something though. Does it work on a tablet is the real question?[/quote]

It’s just browser based, so yes it would. Or on the netbook I’m planning to use.

I don’t think it’s too short though. It will work very well for simple hacking tasks. And I can add to it if I want things to be harder.

Another craft based thing. Making ammunition. Would that be Repair or Gunsmith? I imagine good quality ammunition would be quite valuable.