Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: DisnyShamn <DisnyShamn@***.COM>
Subject: Skill Level 0
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 16:15:29 EDT
(A subject which often could decribe my typing ability, btw :)

> This brings up a thought. Why can't a skill be brought to 0? Effectively
> the person starts out with a Concentration Skill level?

I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.

BTW, Craig, if you're reading this, I'm considering the idea of necessary
concentrations for physical sciences...

- Disney Shaman
Message no. 2
From: Quantum <a.hides@*******.QUT.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 11:09:42 +1000
DisnyShamn wrote:
> (A subject which often could decribe my typing ability, btw :)
>
> > This brings up a thought. Why can't a skill be brought to 0? Effectively
> > the person starts out with a Concentration Skill level?
>
> I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.

How do you get it to work?
I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
concentration?

Quantum
+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
He who said it couldn't be done,
should never interupt he who is doing it
+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
hidesy@***.brisnet.org.au
Message no. 3
From: Alfredo B Alves <dghost@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 20:39:35 -0500
On Mon, 25 May 1998 11:09:42 +1000 Quantum <a.hides@*******.QUT.EDU.AU>
writes:
>DisnyShamn wrote:
>> (A subject which often could decribe my typing ability, btw :)

LOL :)

>> > This brings up a thought. Why can't a skill be brought to 0?
Effectively
>> > the person starts out with a Concentration Skill level?

>> I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.

>How do you get it to work?
>I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
>concentration?
>
>Quantum
<SNIP Sig>

I allow the same thing in my campaigns, so I'm guessing he handles it the
same way I do, or in a similar manner ... when you want to use the
general skill 1) default from another stat, or 2) use the rules in SRCo
pg 48 for defaulting from concentrations / specializations ... (I use
option 2)

D.Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, and RuPixel)

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Message no. 4
From: Robert Watkins <robert.watkins@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 11:16:59 +1000
Quantum writes:
>DisnyShamn wrote:
>> > This brings up a thought. Why can't a skill be brought to 0?
Effectively
>> > the person starts out with a Concentration Skill level?
>>
>> I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.
>
>How do you get it to work?
>I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
>concentration?


Why would you want to? By having a skill, you're not allowing defaulting
anymore, so you wouldn't be _able_ to do anything in that general area
except for the concentration (Hmm... I suppose you could allow defaulting to
the Concentration).

And where's the Karma benefit?

--
.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com
Message no. 5
From: Ereskanti <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 23:15:08 EDT
In a message dated 5/24/98 8:11:51 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
a.hides@*******.QUT.EDU.AU writes:

> How do you get it to work?
> I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
> concentration?
>
Similar situaitons already exist, they're called "Languages" and
"Etiquettes"....

-K
Message no. 6
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 11:58:47 +0100
Quantum said on 11:09/25 May 98...

> > > This brings up a thought. Why can't a skill be brought to 0? Effectively
> > > the person starts out with a Concentration Skill level?
> >
> > I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.
>
> How do you get it to work?
> I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
> concentration?

By buying a Concentration at level 1 after character generation, you end
up with a general skill of 0.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html - UIN5044116
"You haven't given me a headache. I like you."
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- + --+--
Version 3.1: | Incubated into
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N | the First Church of
o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ | the Sqooshy Ball
tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y? | 21 May 1998
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------ + --+--
Message no. 7
From: DisnyShamn <DisnyShamn@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Skill Level 0
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 22:04:27 EDT
Me:
> >> I, personally, allow exactly that in my game.

Quantum:
> >How do you get it to work?
> >I'm assuming that you mean that you don't have a general skill, just a
> >concentration?

D.Ghost
> I allow the same thing in my campaigns, so I'm guessing he handles it the
> same way I do, or in a similar manner ... when you want to use the
> general skill 1) default from another stat, or 2) use the rules in SRCo
> pg 48 for defaulting from concentrations / specializations ... (I use
> option 2)

Feel kinda silly quoting all that to just say this, but: Basically, yeah.

Bear in mind I don't overmuch like the defaulting rules as they are. I don't
really know what to do about it, but the solution in the Compendium is
certainly an improvement.

My own GM doesn't allow us the choice in defaulting -- if you have the skill,
you HAVE to use the skill (at least, last time I checked), no matter what your
default is; the result is that someone defaulting at +2 target from skill 8
(which is fairly competent) who goes and *trains* (1 die) in the actual skill
becomes *abyssmal*.

As I'm sure some have, I was toying, for my game, with the idea of subtracting
dice with skill substitutions, rather than adding to targets. Anyone have any
success with this?


- Disney Shaman

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Skill Level 0, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!