Difference between revisions of "Acuity Skills"

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Artillery
This skill is used for the targeting of crew-served or emplaced weapons like projectile artillery batteries, mortars and surface-to-surface or surface-to-air missile or rocket launchers. These larger weapons do not rely so much on a steady aim and hand-eye coordination, but one’s ability to read charts, interpret data and other factors to place ordnance on target and not hundreds of meters off course. Range is not such a determining factor when it comes to the accuracy of artillery, but range to target will greatly determine the drift of any ordnance that does not hit its mark. Regardless of range, the initial shot from an artillery unit will have a TN of 9. If the firer has line of sight to the target, he can act as his own spotter. Without line of sight, the artillery unit will require spotters to help "walk" subsequent fire missions closer to target. With reports from a spotter, the TN for each ranging shot is reduced by 1, to a minumum of TN 3. If the shot misses, multiply the step + 1 of the card by how much the check missed the TN. This will yield a deviation percentage that is then multiplied by the range of the shot. Refer to the scatter element of the action card to determine the direction that the shot drifts. If the blast radius is large enough and the check is close to the TN, the round may still affect the target. If the firer chooses not to alter his aim, he can continue to rain fire on the same location. Any time the firer chooses a new target location (rather than ranging shots to close in on a target), the process starts over and the TN goes back to 9.

Arts (As appropriate)
This skill is used to make various reproductions or representations in a variety of media, such as sketches, painting or sculpture.

Astrogation
Performing a hyperspace jump requires more than aiming one's vessel toward the target and punching the warp button. Before a pilot can make an FTL jump, an astrogator (who is sometimes also the pilot) must plot a course. The path the ship takes through tachyon space is influenced by events and objects in real space for which the astrogator must account, lest the ship transition from hyperspace wildly off course or off target.

For an astrogator, the gravity wells of stars are like beacons. They are anchor points that help ensure a correct course with a minimum of difficulty for the pilot. As such, most FTL jumps will both start and end just outside the jump envelope surrounding a star system. This envelope is determined by the mass of the stellar object, with more massive stars having significantly larger jump envelopes. This means that any FTL jump cannot begin or end within a star system; the ship must travel under TISA drive outside the system to jump out, and when arriving at a system, the ship will transition far outside the star system, requiring it to travel at sub-light speeds to reach the planets within the system (travelling from the jump point to a planet is also known as the "burn-in," and traveling from within a system to outside the jump envelope is called the "burn-out").

To determine the range (in light years) an astrogator can plot a basic, short FTL jump (TN 3), multiply his skill level by his Acuity trait die type. So, an astrogator with level 3 skill and a d8 in his Acuity trait can plot a TN 3 jump out to 24 light years. This is the basic range increment. The astrogator can plot a jump at double this range (range increment 2) at a TN of 5, four times this range (range increment 3) at a TN of 7, 8 times this range (range increment 4) at a TN of 9 and so on. In the above example, the astrogator could plot a single jump of up to 768 light years with a TN of 13. The minimum time to plot a course is 30 minutes plus the range increment times (6 - skill level (minimum of 1)). For the astrogator above to plot a course from 25 to 48 light years (range increment 2) would take (30 + (2 x (6-2)) = 38 minutes. Plotting long courses can be extremely difficult; additional time can be taken to ensure calculations are correct. Each time the astrogator doubles the time spent calculating the course, the TN of the astrogation check decreases by 1. If the aforementioned astrogator spent 152 minutes plotting the course above, he would reduce the TN from 5 to 3. If the crew/ship are under no time constraints, most astrogators will prefer to spend enough time plotting to make the TN 3, and oftentimes, the course is plotted during the lengthy burn-out of system to viable jump distance. While simple, routine courses can be plotted relatively quickly, longer or more challenging jumps may take many hours to plot a safe, accurate course. When making the astrogation check, each bump will reduce the pilot's TN by one for that jump. Also, while an astrogator may be plotting the course in real time far in advance of the actual jump, he will not know ahead of time how accurate his calculations are until the pilot actually lays in the supplied course. As such, the astrogation check itself should be made just prior to the FTL pilot's Piloting check.

Because making long jumps (even with a proper course plotted) can be taxing on the skills of the pilot, the astrogator may need or choose to make a series of smaller jumps rather than one long one. Each new course must be plotted when the ship is in real space at its new location; leg B to C of a two-jump course cannot be plotted while you are still sitting at point A.

Smaller vessels, because of their reduced mass and interaction with gravitational anomalies, are easier to plot courses for.

Other scene attributes may affect the astrogation difficulty roll as determined by the Master. Improved Mk. rating of the ship's computers may give a bonus (TBD), and if another member of the crew with Programming (Systems Operation) aids the astrogator, a successful check at TN 5 will decrease the TN of the astrogation check by 1 with and additional -1 to the astrogation TN for each bump. If the astrogator has plotted this exact same jump before (from one system to another), he can add +2 to his skill roll, as he will only have to deal with changes in any gravitational phenomena rather than account for all of them that apply.

If the astrogation check succeeds, the astrogator has plotted a course that the pilot can follow, and if the pilot makes his checks, the ship will transition back into real space close to the determined point. There is a slight margin of error known as "Tachyon Drift." This will cause the ship to transition back into real space a short distance away from the calculated jump point. This distance is equal to 6-Astrogation skill level (with a minimum of 1) x light years traveled. This drift is due incalculable variables in realspace, tachyon space and the vessel itself for which an astrogator can never fully account. This means that any course plotted can never truly "pinpoint" a target in space, and the odds of transitioning into a solid object (such as another vessel) are astronomically low.

If the skill check fails, the astrogator has performed some miscalculation, and the ship's location will be a number of light years off target. In deep space, location generally isn't so important, but if it is (if one was close to enemy territory and you need to figure out if you jumped behind enemy lines, for example), use the scatter element on the action card to determine the x/y position and the yes/no toggle to determine direction on the z-axis (up or down). The distance from the target is equal to the range increment of the jump times the number the astrogation check failed the TN. So, an astrogator attempting to plot a range increment 5 (TN 11) jump rolls a 5 for his skill check. He will be off course by 30 (5 x (11-5)) light years. If the astrogation check fails and the pilot fails his check, the final transition point may be drastically off target just as if the astrogation check is a critical failure (See the "Lost in Space!" minigame for more details). Failure to plot a proper course can often have far greater consequences than mere FTL piloting failures.

Other factors modify the difficulty of plotting a course:

• "Deep space" is defined as any point that is more than 5 times the jump envelope of the nearest system.
• A "loose" transition point will cause the ship to transition into real space 1-4 times (check the step of the card, results 0 and 5 equal 1 and 4 multipliers, respectively) the jump envelope of the system. This may require a significantly longer burn-in to the system. Cannot be used for deep space jumps.
• A "pinpoint" transition point will cause the ship to transition as close to target as Tachyon Drift (see above) allows.
  

Along some routes and near some systems, pirates and other criminals may have deployed deep space sensor buoys that can detect FTL signatures. These pirates often prey upon ships that miss their mark, swooping in with short-range FTL jumps using pre-plotted astrogation courses. One of the primary duties of the ISP is to crack down on these pirates and secure the space lanes from such predation. As such, if an astrogator miscalculates his course, there is also a chance that an ISP vessel may come to assist (though, depending on the law level or government type of the local system, this aid may not be free...) If the the ship is not lost in space, recovering from a failed astrogation check will require the astrogator to plot a new course to the target, and the pilot will need to make another piloting check.

Awareness
The Acuity trait is a general measure of how perceptive a character is, but some people are specially trained or hyper-vigilant to the point that it is difficult to slip something past them unnoticed. The Awareness skill is used passively to detect movements of people or creatures that are sneaking, or detecting things that are unusual or out of place. This skill is also used when one is actively looking for items, clues or evidence. It can be used to spot tracks, but to follow a proper trail, the tracking skill should be used. Unless afflicted with some massive sensory disadvantage or impairment, all characters will start with level 0 in awareness, allowing them to apply their full Acuity trait toward awareness checks. Awareness is generally used to process immediate sensory information; the world around the character, as it were. If trying to sift through information, figure something out or analyze data, one should use Investigation, Forensics or Science skills.

General Technical Aptitude
This skill is used to build, modify or repair electronic devices or machines. This use of this skill, is intended for short-term fixes, field applications or relatively simple tasks. Large scale projects will likely fall under the appropriate engineering skill. If using GTA for a task that requires engineering, GTA may (at the Master's discretion) be used as an associated skill, but if it is an extended action, GTA will only yield half the number indicated from the effect (damage) section of the action card drawn. Care should be taken with electronic tasks to ensure the proper skill is used; bypassing an electronic lock or security system would be better suited for the security systems skill. Working on a minicomp is a job for the programming skill or system operations: computer skill. If any of those devices were busted, you could roll out your GTA skill to fix them, but that’s about it.

Investigation
This skill is used to pick useful information out of a mess of data, to put clues together to learn the big picture, or simply track down people and events electronically or through interviewing witnesses or suspects. Police, detectives and certain types of mercenaries (like bounty hunters) will often be trained investigators. Investigation can sometimes be used in the place of the Awareness skill. If used in such a manner (for example, to find clues at a crime scene), the TN might be lower if using Investigation than for Awareness because of the narrowed focus of the skill.
Designer’s note: This has been referred to as the “give me a hint” skill, with the implied potential for players to broadly claim that they want to apply their investigation skill to a person or a bunch of paperwork and expect the master to give them answers. Sometimes the master will have to determine salient information that might be deduced from any particular scene and figure out ways to impart it to the players. Use of the investigation skill could just be one additional potential vector of information. However, just because someone is using investigate, it doesn’t mean they should be able to find information that is simply not available where or when they are looking; we all know about squeezing blood from stones. If the player asks more pointed questions and offers some kind of a direction to the answers he is seeking, though, an investigation roll may determine how successful he is at extracting the information or determining the absence of information (as opposed to the bland exclamation of "I use my investigation skill! What do I find?"). The investigation skill might also be used to help players eliminate red herrings, allowing them to focus on more pertinent leads.

Navigation
Navigation is the ability to figure out where you’re at and how to get where you are going. Land navigation requires the ability to orient based on landmarks and geographical features, the local sun, moon(s) and stars (depending on planet type, its rotation, orbit and axial tilt). Navigating on the sea might require star charts or tools like a sextant. Using navigation may require maps or the appropriate area knowledge skill, especially when navigating by the stars; the night sky may look very different from one world to the next when you are looking at it from worlds that may be tens or hundreds of light years from your homeworld. Not all worlds will be so well-established to have satellites or orbitals that beam data (like GPS services) down to the surface, so the ability to navigate should not be dismissed.

Comp Tech (Program Design, Hacking, System Operation)
Computers can be wonderful tools, but to get them to do anything but take up space and collect dust, one must have the Comp Tech skill. Commercial or specialized programs may allow a person to utilize a computer system with little to no programming skill, but getting a computer to do something new (or something not intended by existing programs) requires the program design specialization. When you are trying to get a computer to operate outside the bounds of its programs or get information from it or whatever networks it is linked to, use the hacking specialization. System Operation is for regular use of computers to achieve most computer-oriented tasks, and also to counter hacking attempts. Program Design is used to make custom programs to accomplish specific tasks.
(Designer’s notes: Potential for a hacking/programming mini game?)

Scrounge
This skill is the ability to find common items in a hurry. Sometimes this means settling for less than what is needed, but a good scrounger (or requisition specialist) can usually come up with something that gets the job done. The Master sets the difficulty of finding a particular object depending on the item and the amount of time available. Also, just because you have found something doesn’t necessarily mean it is free for the taking; you may still have to beg, borrow or steal (or just buy it) when you find it. In some respect, scrounging may work like the streetwise skill, insofar as streetwise can help you find things, but scrounging does not guarantee that the items are technically available!
(Designer’s note: Possible scrounging/salvaging minigame?)

Security Systems
Alarms, motion detectors, electronic locks. They are all intended to draw attention if people breach other layers of security. If attempting to bypass an electronic lock or alarm system, the character can make multiple attempts with no penalty (unlike the lockpicking skill), but after each failure, he must make another roll versus the system’s TN. If this second roll fails, his attempts have had some consequence. He might have tripped the alarm, set off a silent alarm that will summon security forces to ambush him, or frozen the lock to require an administrator override. Sometimes, breaking into an electronic system using the GTA: electronics skill (dismantling a keypad, for example) will expose the guts of the device and make the job of defeating the system easier. At the Master’s discretion, bypassing a device that has been broken into may yield a +2 bonus, but any one investigating the scene later will see the damage which will probably raise an alarm of its own…

Starship Mechanic (repairs, upgrades)
Starships are incredibly complex vehicles, and keeping them operating at peak efficiency (to say nothing of just making sure they are space-worthy!) will demand that you have some ships’ mechanics on your crew. Some mechs specialize as damage control (DC) crews, some try to eke a few extra light-seconds out of the TISA drives or add custom smuggler cubbies. The scope of these types of upgrades will usually be relatively narrow or short term; a secret stash for illicit goods may be quite small, or a boost to the ship’s drives might only last for a few minutes or hours before a part breaks down. As with the GTA skill, if a task calls for an engineering check, the starship mechanic skill may be used as an associated skill, but any effect (damage) on the action card is halved. To effect major changes to starship systems or to repair and maintain a large ship requires the appropriate engineering skill. Kaylee from the Firefly is a starship mechanic; Montgomery Scott aboard the USS Enterprise is an engineer. Starship Mechanic is a skill that may be called upon during starship combat by technical or engineering personnel.

Starship Sensors (Area Scanning, Combat Operations, FTL Signature Tracing)
Because of the sheer volume of space and the distances involved, the ability to understand what is going on around a ship in real time involves more than sweeping the area all around with emissions and waiting for a signal reflection from a target. Modern sensors utilize tachyon emissions to send and receive information at FTL speeds, and operate passively by detecting faint tachyon emissions from certain events such as another vessel transitioning to/from FTL or the firing of Novaguns. Since starship sensors are tight-beam, scanning an area involves quite a bit of intuition and guesswork, as the operator is essentially fumbling around in the dark with a laser pointer.

The area scanning specialization is used when trying to learn what is around the ship. It is also used when scanning things like planets and asteroids for other ships, energy sources, sources of communication and resources. Combat Operations is used to establish and maintain lock on a target during ship-to-ship combat. When another ship is inbound, it will project an FTL anomaly field several minutes before it arrives, and when one warps out, it will leave a tachyon signature. These emissions can be read and traced by the sensor operator to determine where a ship is coming from or where it is heading. No skill check is normally needed to simply detect an FTL transition or emergence; these events are easily picked up by passive sensors. All that is required is the ship's sensors to be active. Reading the signatures to reveal target location requires a trained sensor operator, however.

Tactics (Land, Space, Naval)
The ability to overcome a greater force with a lesser one, or oppose an enemy while minimizing casualties is often accomplished by leaders who uses better tactics. Making wise or foolish decisions will ultimately fall to the player’s choice; the successful application of tactics adds an ineffable something to your actions, or those of your crew, hopefully giving you the edge you need in a fight. If a member of the crew spends and action analyzing the current situation, he can attempt to size up the battle and relay vital orders and information to members of the crew. He makes a TN 5 check, and if he succeeds, everyone nearby (or that he can communicate with) can draw an additional card at the beginning of the next round, with one extra card for each bump. The use of this skill also requires that the tactician must be able to perceive the action; one cannot give sound tactical advice if they are hiding behind cover or just aren't there! For a space or naval battle, tactics is a skill that may be called into play.

Tracking Good trackers usually find whoever or whatever they are looking for. Of course, on an alien world, that may not always be a good thing. A successful tracking roll helps a character find a trail, stay on it, and maybe even figure out how many targets he is following. One’s ability to track at all will depend on the terrain; finding out where someone went in a city would probably require investigation or streetwise. The difficulty for following tracks is shown on the charts below: