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Character Competency
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RedFox
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:25 am    Post subject: Character Competency Reply with quote

A review of D6 Space on rpg.net has the following contained in it (note that I'm not really in agreement with a lot of the author's POV, but I found this one part interesting):

Jeremy Reaban wrote:
I've always thought that 7 dice was far too stingy for skills, especially if you are creating characters that are experienced. This book suggests that if you want more experienced characters, you give them 15 extra skill dice for every year. Although that is a step in the right direction, I think that is going way too overboard.

I normally give out 15 skill dice for characters are normal (ie, say, 25 to 30-ish), but vary upon the "level" or "quality" of the character. I came up with a chart by essentially looking at every NPC in just about every Star Wars D6 book I own (which is most of them) and counting the number of dice they had in skills. Then graphing them,and breaking them down into categories. (In case you care, the most skilled character I could find was Mara Jade, with well over 200 skill dice. But in Star Wars d20, she's only like 7th level. Funny how different the two are). This is how I do it:

Beginner: 7D
Normal: 15D
Somewhat Experienced: 22D
Experienced: 30D
Very Experienced: 45D
Greatly Experienced: 70D
Legendary: 130D


I've changed the format of the table to work in BBCode, but otherwise the quote is wholly accurate.

I'm wondering what folks' opinion on this is. The reason I ask is because I think it'd be interesting to have tiered guidelines for how many Skill dice one should give to NPCs, depending on how experienced (or simply badass) they are.

So I'm wondering if you think this particular assessment is accurate or not, and whether or not this could be a useful tool.

EDIT: I also think these tiers could use some examples to help give a general idea of what they mean. For example, "7D: A beginning SW PC, a a typical Stormtrooper, a cadet or grunt in the military, most non-adventurous civilians." Maybe even throwing in NPC names for some of the higher tiers, "130D+: Top in the Galaxy, prowess nigh unsurpassed. Mara Jade."

EDIT 2: Also, Force Skills work differently than normal Skill dice. Basically they're on a higher scale. So they should be added onto each tier entry, for characters who are Force users. Like so: "Beginner: 7D, 3D of Force Skills."
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Rerun941
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Joined: 27 Jul 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My opinion is: It's not so much how many skill dice you have, it's how you have them distributed. Is the character highly specialized? or more generalized? GMs have to be careful giving away extra skill dice. This makes a huge difference with how you can challenge a character. If you have PC group that's all blasters and bashing heads, then confront them with a computer system they have to slice or they have to use their negotiating skills.

On a side note, I think it's in the GM screen there's a table with a skill dice comparison. (i.e. 4D = professional level of skill, 7D = best on a planet, etc.)
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RedFox
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rerun941 wrote:
My opinion is: It's not so much how many skill dice you have, it's how you have them distributed. Is the character highly specialized? or more generalized? GMs have to be careful giving away extra skill dice. This makes a huge difference with how you can challenge a character. If you have PC group that's all blasters and bashing heads, then confront them with a computer system they have to slice or they have to use their negotiating skills.

On a side note, I think it's in the GM screen there's a table with a skill dice comparison. (i.e. 4D = professional level of skill, 7D = best on a planet, etc.)


So add another axis to the chart. Instead of just breadth, we add depth. So you might go "Beginner: 7D Skills, 3D Force Skills: Skills in the 4D range, specialties at 6D to 8D."

That help?
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Grimace
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you actually going to try to chart this whole thing? Shocked

What you're getting into seems very challenging and entirely dependent on the power level of the game. A "highly skilled" person on one planet may have 8D in a skill, while on another planet, that same person would just be an average civilian as the best person has 14D in a skill.

I've never really cared for the breakdowns in the books of the approximate skill levels, as they seem too extraordinary for such a low amount. The only thing I can think of is that they were talking about "base skill" and not the skill added to the attribute (which every skill roll entails) when they made that chart.

I'd say good luck with the chart. I think with all of the variables, it'll be more than a moderate challenge.
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Loc Taal
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's the WEG chart showing skill levels.
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Zarn
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

GeraldJ880 wrote:
A bit back when I employed to participate in this particular, there seemed to be some sort of down loadable report on many of the drive power on the internet someplace. I has been wondering in the event any person could possibly stage myself within the suitable course because of this as well as some thing identical... thanks a great deal.


... What? I'm sorry, but I just can't parse that. Either this is Google Translate at its finest, or there's something wrong with my head. I can't eliminate either of the two.
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Jedi Skyler
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do like the idea of giving more skill dice at character creation, when it's warranted. I especially like the notion of giving separate dice for Force users.

Before everyone starts chiming in with cries of "game breaking" and "munchkins!!!", I'm not saying this is always how it should be. But I have always had an issue with how someone who is Force sensitive somehow always HAS to be deficient in some way in one or more of his other attributes in order to have beginning ability in the Force.

I know a LOT of GMs have argued about Jedi (or Force users in general) unbalancing the game. However, the game has been out for so long, and communities like this one have been in existence for so long, that GMs are much more prepared, and better able to provide a challenging experience for their players. Part of making sure that unbalancing happens is by making the other PCs more experienced in their own specialties. That also makes them able to withstand encounters with more seasoned groups of opponents. And, quite honestly, this allows a GM to overcome the issue I've heard a number of GMs complain about, namely, that being the issue of stormtroopers being nothing but cannon fodder. Yes, they are intended for that purpose; however, that only really applies to newly-minted troops. Beyond that, as in any military, you're going to have people who survive engagements, and therefore will get better. And that needs to be expressed in their stats, which is possible when the PCs' own stats are improved.

Unless, of course, you're a GM who insists on throwing near-impossible situations at your players all the time, and think balance only applies between the players, and not between them and NPCs...
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zarn wrote:
GeraldJ880 wrote:
A bit back when I employed to participate in this particular, there seemed to be some sort of down loadable report on many of the drive power on the internet someplace. I has been wondering in the event any person could possibly stage myself within the suitable course because of this as well as some thing identical... thanks a great deal.


... What? I'm sorry, but I just can't parse that. Either this is Google Translate at its finest, or there's something wrong with my head. I can't eliminate either of the two.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this is our friendly neighborhood spammer come calling again.
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Whill
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

crmcneill wrote:
Zarn wrote:
GeraldJ880 wrote:
A bit back when I employed to participate in this particular, there seemed to be some sort of down loadable report on many of the drive power on the internet someplace. I has been wondering in the event any person could possibly stage myself within the suitable course because of this as well as some thing identical... thanks a great deal.

... What? I'm sorry, but I just can't parse that. Either this is Google Translate at its finest, or there's something wrong with my head. I can't eliminate either of the two.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this is our friendly neighborhood spammer come calling again.

I sent the spammer off to the gallows to await the executioner.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
I sent the spammer off to the gallows to await the executioner.

If nothing else, they are great for thread necromancy.
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Whill
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

True, lol.

Jedi Skyler wrote:
I do like the idea of giving more skill dice at character creation, when it's warranted.

When 2e came out and split some of the 1e skills up into multiple skills, I immediately added a bonus skill die at character creation (thus increasing the 7D to 8D). However in more recent years I wanted alien PCs to be more game balanced to each other and humans, so each species that is playable as a PC in my game has a species package which include the species-related bonus skill dice for specific skills, special abilities, advantages and offsetting disadvantages that are together worth a net total of approximately 4D in skill dice. If nothing else, the species get bonus skill dice to get up to the 4D mark. Humans, being described in fluff as extremely versatile, just get 4D in skill dice to be used for any skills as their species package, which means Human PCs start with 12D in skills total.

I've kept this system as I've combined (and recombined) skills. I tend to have smaller player groups so it is important for the PC party to start out with a sufficient skill set to handle even beginning-level adventures designed for more characters. And skill advancement tends to be slightly on the slow side in my game, so the PC abilities don't get out of hand too quick.

I'm also ok with giving additional skill dice to all characters as needed for specific campaigns, but IMO the 30D or more levels in the OP's chart are increasingly ridiculous. You start off with super-powerful characters and have the problems more common at the end of campaigns right off the bat.
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