Back In The Saddle

[Under Pale Gray Skies]

Hello, everyone.

Im going to get back into running d6 star wars. I havent played or GM'd d6 in more than 10 years, so obviously Im a bit rusty on the rules. I'd like to ask some questions and hopefully some of you will be kind enough to answer.

My first question:
Which skills can be used under each attribute? Do I automatically know how to use a blaster or do I have to select the skill?

[jmanski]

You can use them all. The attribute sets the minimum for each skill. So if you have technical 3d and demolitions 5d, all other technical skills would be at 3d.

Ask away, there are no stupid questions.
_________________
Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[Under Pale Gray Skies]

[garhkal]

Yup. Skills with an (A) by them are Advanced skills and need to have some pre-requisit skills at set levels.. Such as to get (A) Medicine, you need first aid at 5d.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Under Pale Gray Skies]

[Guardian_A]

[CRMcNeill]

I've always wondered, if you can use skills untrained by rolling the attribute, why include just a few skills on the various templates? I know some GMs who have imposed a -1D penalty to the use of any unimproved skills not included on the character template. It makes sense to a point; a character with a 4D Tech attribute wouldn't necessarily be as naturally adept at, say, First Aid as they would be with Computer Programming /Repair. I haven't decided which way I'm leaning on this one...
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[garhkal]

You always can *by the book* default any skill you don't have to the base attribute for said skill.
Don't have bows and wish to fire a crossbow. Roll Dexterity
Want to indimitate that gungan, but lack the skill, roll knowledge.

BUT to me some skills should NOT be allowed to be checked for without the skill (scholar, alien species, some tech based ones)..
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[vanir]

Bit of an ad hoc way of dealing with the issue garhkal brought up, I've been varying difficulties whether a skill is exercised using the base attribute, or general skill, or specialised skill.

eg. I'm a starting PC on Anaxes. Someone asks, gee where's Tattooine? I have no skill in Planetary Systems, just a 3D base Knowledge. Given the PC happens to be on the other side of the galaxy and in the Core with no specific reason to know anything about an Outer Rim planet called Tattooine I might have to rule that it's a bit phenomenal that some random core worlder has ever even heard of the place, and say it's a Heroic difficulty to just come out with its location.

But same PC, after some adventuring on Anaxes has now spent some CP into the skill Planetary Systems. He's kept his ears open, he's read some e-books and asks people where places are, he's got skill in this area. Still pretty astronomical that he's just going to randomly happen to know where a planet called Tattooine is located, but there's more chance he's heard mention of it than before, in a book about distant colonies he might've read increasing his Planetary Systems skill. So I'll say now it's Very Difficult to know whereabouts this place is.

But after more adventuring he actually hired a tramp freighter and went there. Said, Ohhhh THIS is Tattooine. Then left. Back at Anaxes someone asks him where it is and he thinks, uh-oh what was those paths we took again, which direction did we go again I was a bit drunk? I might say it's now a Moderate Difficulty to know cartographically where a place is that he's been, but didn't necessarily write down or assert to take notice of the astrogating to, although he might just have noticed and remember.

So he adventures more, goes back to Tattooine and wanders all over the planet, spends CP in the specialised skill of Planetary Systems:Tattooine, so has really got to know the place and talked to people about the system in the Canteena and the Starport and the settlements and dude knows where the Krayt Dragon lairs are.
Now it's going to be Easy difficulty to state where Tattooine is situated cartographically, because some spacer or administrator or farmer or someone is bound to have mentioned somewhere along the way of him learning specialised planetary knowledge, that it's in the Outer Rim, just off the Corellian Run, near the Hutt Highway. Because they'd have said things like, "Whoa I outran some Corellian cruisers on the way here," and, "Man some smugglers I know just got pirated by Nikto, gotta watch that Hutt Highway," and, "If there's a bright centre to the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from."


So rather than penalise or add dice circumstantially for normal skills/attribute uses, I vary the difficulties for the same effect.

Same system any app. Say Garhkal asserts that it would be ridiculous for someone who has never necessarily switched on a computer so has no Computer Programming/Repair skill, but has good Technical attribute of 4D (by "good" I mean genius level, savant, rain man quality being human maximum), can walk up to a computer for the 1st time and work it better than most trained operators with 2D attribute and a few skill pips.
As GM one would have to counterpoint that nothing is strictly impossible in an RPG, it is only increasingly difficult to the point of ludicrous. Therefore the task is simply Heroic in difficulty by definition...circumstantially. After he's done it a few times obviously the difficulty to do basic tasks on a computer should tumble back to moderate and easy with familiarity despite no formal training for this skill.

But also add that species which have a d6 attribute range of 4D or more in Technical have been exposed to this type of technology, if not personally then at least in media and by observation. Species which are on low tech worlds with tech restrictions have reduced attribute range in Technical and Mechanical, it's in the books.

So someone who has never actually seen a computer or dining utensils before, should be at a penalty certainly, but they will already be, because they'll have necessarily have come from a low Tech environment and will have a Technical attribute range less than average human spacer, like say 1D-3D instead of 2D-4D so there's where it winds up in game.

For specialised Knowledge skills like Scholar:Jedi Lore which we use a fair bit in game, well some PCs aren't Jedi but put high general Scholar skill, or just have a high Knowledge attribute. We have a simple house rule. For specialised knowledge in academia it's double all normal difficulties if you don't have the specialised skill for that knowledge.
So you might have Knowledge 5D and Scholar 6D but to know a moderate piece of Jedi Lore it's still going to take you a minimum 30+ rolled because you don't have that specialised formal instruction. A Jedi with Scholar:Jedi Lore at 4D only needs to roll 13+ for the same piece of Jedi insight.

[cheshire]

[Ankhanu]

[Under Pale Gray Skies]

So, by the book, you can use any skill as long as its not advanced then?

Im using Second Edition Revised and Expanded.

[cheshire]

[DougRed4]

Exactly. Any character can use any skill (except the Advanced ones, unless you've purchased those).

And R&E is the latest/most recent version of the rules, which probably the majority of us go by, from the looks of things.

Welcome to the boards, UPGS!

[garhkal]