Skills.

[AcesAndEights]

I just recently got started in the game and did so in a big way. I am currently playing in two campaigns and since I'm not that familiar with the skills and what not, I don't really know what I want to use my CPs on. So, I'm wondering if there is an online skills source guide. I don't currently have access to any of the rule books (seeing as how I'm stuck on a college campus.)

Any help would be great. As a note, I'm especially interested in the specialization rules and advanced skills.

[Ankhanu]

The Holocron is a decent source: http://members.aol.com/vstarblaze/main.html

[AcesAndEights]

Thanks, that is quite helpful. It still leave me in the dark as far as advance skills and specializations go, but that definitely covers the basic skills.

[vong]

well, in a nutshell, specializations are basically specifics. in my games i say that it will have to narrow down the skill significantly.

examples
Tactics - good at tactics as the book says
tactics:Imperial - familiar with imperial squad tactics, and your tactics will start to resemble imperial ones in nature

Blaster: you shoot
Blaster:Pistol - you are good with the pistols, small ones, not the rifles.

space transports repair: You fix freights
STR: Correllian YT 1300: your good at fixing the falcon, but you dont know s*** about others.

that help out, or you need some more help?
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[AcesAndEights]

That helps some, but what benefit is there to narrowing the skill? Is it cheaper to upgrade or does it give addition bonuses of some kind?

[vong]

ahh yes, it does cost quite a bit less. It costs half the amout of cps to increase a skill (rounded up) or at character creation, you can split up 1D into 3D
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[PsiberDragon]

Short answer: Yes, it's cheaper.

Basic skill upgrade = Cost before the "D" in Character points (experience points, whatever) to raise it one pip.

For example:

You have Blasters at 3D+1. You spend 3 Character Points (CP) (the number before the "D". You now have blasters at 3D+2. Spend another 3 CP after your next adventure, and you have Blasters at 4D. To raise this to 4D+1, you need to spend 4 CP this time (the number before the "D)

Specialized skill upgrade = 1/2 cost before the "D" in CP to raise (rounded up) to raise one pip.

For example:

You have Blasters at 3D, specialization of Blaster Pistol at 3D+2. It costs you (3/2 = 1.5 rounded up to 2) 2 CP to raise it to 4D. What this means is whenever you shoot a Blaster Pistol, you use 4D, but shooting a Blaster Rifle or Heavy Blaster or the like means that you only roll 3D.

Advanced Skills. Here's where it gets a little tricky.

Advanced skills do NOT start out at your base attribute. Say, for example, you have a TECH of 3D. You pick up First Aid (a basic skill) for 3CP, and you now have First Aid at 3D+1. It costs you 3CP to raise it to 3D+2, just like in the first example above.

Now, after some time, you've managed to advance your First Aid up to 5D (minimum required for picking up (A) Medicine [The "(A)" just means an advanced skill). You can pick up the Advanced Skill (A) Medicine for 2CP, and you now have (A) Medicine at 1D.

What this means is that if you have to perform surgery on your friendly neighborhood Wookie First Mate, you can only roll 1D (Hope you're using the Force on this.... )

However, the advantage here is thus: You can add this to your First Aid roll. So, to set the Wookie's broken arm, you get to add your 5D in First Aid AND your 1D in Medicine for a total roll of 6D.

The disadvantage? Well, Advanced skills are... well... advanced. They cost TWICE the number before the "D" to advance. So, to advance your (A) Medicine skill from 1D to 1D+1 means that you'll spend 2CP. To advance it again to 1D+2 means another 2CP, and so on.

Now, here's a little twist for ya. Suppose you realize that your friendly neighborhood Wookie First Mate is gonna get shot at. A lot. What you can do is Specialize in (A) Medicine: Wookies. Suppose you've advanced your (A) Medicine skill to 2D, and you've bought the specialization up to 2D+1.
To Increase your (A) Medicine: Wookies specialization costs: 2 (the number before the D) * 2 (cost for an advanced skill) = 4CP But wait! You're advancing the SPECIALIZATION. So it costs the 4CP / 2 (because it's a specialization) = 2CP - just like a normal skill.

How's this affect the game? Well... if you advance a specialization too far over the base skill... you're gonna be aces in that field, but all thumbs elsewhere. For example, you've stop advancing your (A) Medicine skill at 1D+2, but you've gotten your (A) Medicine: Wookies skill up to 6D. You're gonna be able to do pretty much any surgery on that First Mate, but if the Sullustan Smuggler whose ship you're riding on needs surgery... well... just make sure that you're in his will and he leaves the ship to you...

does that help or make things murkier?
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[AcesAndEights]

That helps a great deal, but I believe we use slightly different rules for upgrading base skills...The upgrade scheme you described for advanced skills is what we use for base skills. We also seem to require more pips before the skill turns over to the next die level.

For example: One of my characters has 6D in dodge. In order to raise it to 6D+1 it would cost 12 CP. Therefore for me to go from 6D to 7D it would cost me 12*4( for 6D+1, +2, +3, & finally 7D.)

So for me to level and advanced skill I guess it would require me to spend 4 times the number of die while a specialization would only cost me the die code.

Oddly enough this is the case for both the games I'm in, but the same "system" (since things are more or less the same rules wise in each game) is being used.

Just out of curosity, what is the law of the letter in regards to upgrading attributes? In the games I'm in it is 10 times the die code for a pip (this excludes force attributes which are treated as skills in our Jedi campaign.)

[cheshire]

http://krapz.free.fr/data/SWD6_New_Player_Handout.zip

That covers the letter of the law for almost all advancement, though the beginning section is on character creation.

[AcesAndEights]

You something that is kind of stupid? I actually have that .pdf and I completely forgot about it. I really need to look through all of the fan sourcebooks I downloaded.

Thanks for posting that.

[Gry Sarth]

Well, you seem to use a bunch of pretty harsh house rules regarding character advancement. Why is that? To me SWD6 character advancement is pretty slow already, with the multitude of skills you have to increase in order to make a decent character. Now, I'm curious as to why you would double the CP cost for inccreasing skills, and also create and unhheard-of +3 pips modifier... I mean, I would much rather have 4D+3 than 5D (+3 being about the average roll for a D6).
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[Ankhanu]

[garhkal]

[AcesAndEights]

Gry, I honestly don't know. One of the reasons I came on here was to make sure I was doing things correctly and now it seems that I have found an odd difference between the House rules and the Official rules. I will definitely be checking with both of the GMs to make sure I understand there interpretation or twist on the rules.

At least I have a general idea of how advanced skills and specializations work. I only have one last question in regards to specializations, do combat specializations ( such as Brawling: Boxing) give special bonuses or 'moves' like the lightsaber forms?

[Ankhanu]