Skills

From SteelStorm

The skill system is based on certain assumptions, the main one being that all items in Steel Storm of any complexity are buit from component parts, known as subassemblies. Therefore, most complex items, such as computers and vehicles, will consist of: an energy source (be that steam or contained magical energy), a number of subassemblies for the technology, the device's basic frame or structure, and any add-ons. It should also be assumed that anyone with the skill to build a particular class of equipment has the skills to build the device's baisc structure, and to add in the necessary subassemblies and other requisite components.

While receiving an education, characters in Steel Storm may pick up a wide variety of skills. Depending on their focus, they may acquire skills in a number of areas. Generally speaking, through training and apprenticeships, most characters will have two areas in which they are specifically trained, and quite proficient in. In addition, most characters have hobbies or things that they do on the side - other areas of interest, as it were. Generally speaking, they will have some proficiency in four additional areas of skill.

Contents 1 Skill Levels 2 Skills and Tactics 3 Skill Classes 3.1 Building 3.2 Other Technological Skills 3.3 Scientific Skills 3.4 Magical Skills 3.5 Battle Skills 3.6 Other Skills 4 Other Info

Skill Levels

• Novice - the skill level for a skill that you've never officially trained in. You might be able to pull it off simply by being a competent character, but without any formal training, you're sort of guessing how things would work as you go along. For the statistically inclined, success rates for performing a skill at this level will generally be less than 10%.
• Apprentice - the skill level formally trained skills start out at. You've had training, but you're not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Probably about a 50% chance of success.
• Journeyman - the skill after quite a bit of experience with it. You've done a lot of things in this skill area, and you're becoming fairly competent at it. About a 65% success rate.
• Expert - You are highly experienced at this skill (and have probably had additional training). There is very little in this skill area that you feel unable to do. About a 80% success rate.
• Master - You are a full master of this area of skill. Not only can you do anything in this skill area, you can also reliably teach this area of skills to others. About an 95% success rate (which most likely ranges to over 100% with bonuses).

Skills and Tactics

Generally, certain skills will lend themselves to tactics that can be used in combat - especially the combat-specific skills. These tactics would generally increase as skill levels went up:

• Novice - no tactics available
• Apprentice - basic tactic available (for example, with a mech combat skill, adeptly targeting one mech weapons system in combat)
• Journeyman - wider range of tactics (melee-specific attack, ranged attack, specifically-aimed sniping attack, etc)
• Expert - additional tactics, simultaneous tactics (firing two weapons systems in one round, using this tactic in combination with another tactic)
• Master - full simultaneous tactics (simultaneous sepcialized attacks - for example, sniping one enemy and then transitioning to a melee attack for a closer enemy)

Skill Classes

Building

Many characters, especially technomancers and tradesman, will be quite fond of building various types of equipment. Generally speaking, someone with these types of skills can build the class of items in question, and, knowing the inner workings of them, can generally use them quite well in a technical setting. However, this does not automatically mean that people who are skilled at building these items can use them to their maximum extent in the heat of battle - while they know the capabilities of their equipment, they may not have specific combat training with them, and will generally be figuring out which tactics work best once they engage in battle. However, knowing the full capabilities of their devices, they are capable of giving them heavy maintenance in the field, given the proper equipment (and full maintenance in a fully-equipped workshop).

• Subassembly Mechanics - Only for the truly hardcore. Characters with this skill will be able to build the various technical subassemblies from their component parts. This means that they can build each subassembly to their custom specifications, creating enhanced functions that may not be available on stock subassemblies. However, creating the subassemblies is a long, complex, and costly process, and so is usually only done by those who want to get the absolute most out of their equipment.

• Smithing - Specifically, the skill of creating traditional weapons - swords, shields, pikes, crossbows, and the like. If it's a basic, nontechnological weapon that can be made out of metal and wood, you can generally create it. This skill also allows you to create standard, non-powered, nonenchanted armor.

• Personnel Weapons - This skill allows you to create handheld or man-portable projectile weapons based on current (nonmagical) weapons technology, using basic or alchemically advanced gunpowder. You are also skilled at sighting in, test-firing, breaking down and cleaning these types of weapons, as well as more advanced maintenance, such as swapping out barrels or breeches in the field. This skill also allows you to build ammunition for the weapons that you create, if they require nonstandard ammo (most weapons will use the commonly available ammunition cartridge types).

• Vehicle Weapons - You are adept at creating heavy weapons, which are designed to be mounted onto vehicles, or set up as emplaced weapons. This skill also allows you to build ammunition for the weapons that you create, if they require nonstandard ammo.

• Wheeled Vehicles - You excel at building vehicles with variable wheelbases, be they for combat or general transport.

• Tracked Vehicles - You can build various types of tracked vehicles, which are adept at traversing many different types of terrain. Being adept at building tracked vehicles also means you can build tanks and other heavier weapons that require tracks to handle the weight of the equipment.

• Mechs (Exoskeletons) - You are able to build the type of mech that a person can wear, more or less, like a suit of armor (albeit sometimes a suit of armor with 6 to 8 legs protruding from it). This type of mech is versatile, able to traverse a wide variety of terrain, and is comparably quick-moving, but somewhat less armored and can carry less weapons systems than heavier mechs.

• Mechs (Massives) - You are capable of building the "massive" variety of mechs, which use 2-8 legs to support a heavy main body, with the pilot residing in a cockpit. These mechs are slower-moving and not quite as versatile at moving across rough or unstable terrain, but can be heavily armored and can carry most heavy weapons systems (the heaviest weapons can still only be added onto a tracked vehicle).

• Robots - You are able to build various robots to assist you or act as companions. Most robots can carry sensors, as well as some light weaponry. These robots generally are driven by remote control or by preprogrammed movement or combat routines.

Other Technological Skills

• Modification - Rather than focusing on building things from scratch, you're the kind of character who would rather buy stock equipment, and then modify it to their own specifications. Specifically, you are skilled at adding in additional subassemblies, weapons systems, and so on to existing equipment. While you can't necessarily build the item in question from scratch, you know enough of how to take it apart to add new things to it. This means that you can add (nonmagical) capabilities to most types of complex or technological equipment. Sadly, if it's less complex than a crossbow technologically, there's not much you can do for it.

• Automation/AI - While most equipment in Steel Storm is user-driven, a person with this skill and a handful of computation subassemblies can add automated systems to various types of equipment. This means that they can, for example, add automated navigation or targeting systems to mechs, or build circuits into robots to allow them to act autonomously.

• Disassembly - with this skill, you are quite adept at taking things apart - putting them back together, though, not so much. However, it means that you're quite good at dismantling the inner workings of security systems, sabotaging equipment, and taking things apart to figure out what makes them tick. Also handy for disassembling an enemy force's mech fleet before making your getaway...

Scientific Skills

Rather than devote themselves to engineering, magic, or battle, some characters choose to pursue somewhat more traditional paths of research.

• Health Science - Essentially, learning how to be a doctor. This skill lets you diagnose and treat various types of diseases and wounds, as well as performing surgery in an equipped facility. This skill, with enough experience, also lets you treat severely wounded and comatose patients, and can save them from death if you can get them to a properly equipped facility in a timely manner.

• Field Surgery - A paramedic-type skill focusing specifically at dealing with injuries in the field. You are skilled at using medical and technological devices to quickly heal most wounds in the field, and to stabilize seriously wounded individuals. With this skill, you can stablize seriously wonded characters to make them capable of battle again, as well as keep comatose players alive for longer than the usual hour (3-6 hours depending on experience and available supplies).

• Cybernetics/Interfacing - This is a surgical-only skill, specializing in the insertion and intergration of mechanical and technological devices into biological systems. Widely viewed to be a highly experimental science, its success rate is somewhat low even for skilled practitioners, but its rewards can be great - all manner of devices can be melded to flesh, and truly advanced cyberneticians have been said to even be able to create systems that allow mechs to be controlled directly by a user's mind...

Magical Skills

Rather than focus on building things, other characters in Steel Storm will focus more on the magical arts - that is, the harnessing of magical energy for various purposes.

• Alchemy - Sorry, no FMA here... rather, the skill of Alchemy is the use of magic and various substances to create new substances not found in nature. This includes the advanced propellants used in modern weaponry, as well as advanced explosives and explosive devices that are far more destructive than the "keg of gunpowder with a fuse." Alchemy also allows you to create special, hardened metal alloys that can then be used in smithing or other construction.

• Enhancement - This skill entails using magic powers to enhance traditionally technological weapons with some magical properties.

• Energytronics - This skill allows you to convert magical energy, from yourself or the environment, into a form that can be used in most modern technology. Essentially, you can create storage devices, or batteries, holding a concentration of magical energy, that can then be used to power various technological items.

• Magical Weaponsmithing - This allows you to create magical weaponry; that is, weapons that use magic directly as an offensive weapon (as opposed to weapons that simply use magical energy as a power source).

• Attack Magic - One of the more traditional forms of magic, this type of magic specializes in directly attacking an enemy.

• Restorative Magic - Magical skill specializing in healing and restoration, of personnel, animals... and sometimes even technology.

• Area-Effect Magic - A magical specialization that allows you to create certain effects on the nearby environment, or on a specific group.

• Necromancy - The art of resurrection and zombies, learned from dark practitioners in Empirix. Not for the faint of heart.

Battle Skills

Rather than train in the specifics of building certain types of equipment, other characters would rather train in the arts of battle. Not only do they know their equipment inside and out, as well as their specific capabilities, they have proven their skills in both training and the heat of battle. They are adept at fighting with (and piloting) their given class of equipment, and can do basic field repairs. Their training, and their ability to carefully evaluate and select a certain class of equipment, gives them some bonuses and other useful attributes in combat, as well as additional default battle tactics. However, while they are skilled in battle, unless they have other technological skills in their class of equipment, they are unable to do advanced repairs and modifications, and generally use stock equipment.

• The Traditional Warrior - A character with this skillset is highly trained in the use of traditional weapons and armor - swords, shields, pikes, and so on. They are skilled at melee attack and defense, and as traditional fighters in an age of modern weapons, when wearing full armor, they can shrug off many ranged attacks that are not fired by advanced projectile systems, or are not fired at point-blank range.

• The Traditional Ranger - This skillset gives proficiency in attack and defense with traditional ranged weapons, including bows, crossbows, slingshots, and the like. When using a weapon that they have used many times before and are comfortable with, they will rarely miss their target, and are accurate out to the weapon's maximum range. Additionally, they are adept at finding and effectively utilizing cover from ranged weapons fire.

• The Martial Artist - A skillset that leads to a character excelling in hand-to-hand combat. If a character is able to get in close enough to an enemy, they can often relieve the enemy of their weaponry. However, these skills are mostly useless against an enemy in a vehicle or mech.

• The Modern Soldier - This set of skills means the character is proficient in the use of personnel-level projectile weapons in battle. This versatile skillset allows the use of projectile or magic-driven weapons (assuming a high enough Magical Prowess). The character is highly accurate with these weapons, and can also use the environment to steady their weapons, giving them improved accuracy even at a high rate of fire.

• The Vehicle Pilot - This skillset allows a character to effectively use vehicles (wheeled and tracked) in battle. This skill also gives the character the ability to calculate trajectories for indirect fire, and allows a pilot with a suitable vehicle to rain fire down on a target that would otherwise be out of range (and allows fire on a target with relative safety, as the target is usually out of range to fire back).

• The Mech Pilot - This skillset allows the character to effectively use any type of mech in combat. Accuracy with the mech's weapons is improved, and a pilot with this skillset can fire multiple weapons on the mech at once. Those with high proficiency in this skillset, or an advanced targeting system, can also target multiple enemies with different weapons systems.

• The Battle Engineer - This skill allows a character to construct and destroy emplacements in battle. He can erect quick defenses, or, given time, more permanent emplacements. The battle engineer is also adept at the use of explosive, and has the necessary skills to set up mines or traps, or to act as a "sapper" and blow up enemy emplacements or stationary equipment and vehicles.

Other Skills

• Animal Training - this skill allows you to tame and train various animals, either for use as companions wich can be equipped to attack in battle, or as mounts in place of a technology-based vehicle. Those who are very proficient in this skill can tame some of the realm's more cantankerous beasts, including dragons.

• Environmental Appropriation - this skill imparts knowledge of the different environments that can be found, and which items in those environments can be utilized as safe food/drink, medicinal use, and the like. Characters with this skill have a much higher ability to live off the land, even if they run low on supplies. This also means that villagers may tend to like you a bit more, as you're not attempting to... "appropriate" food from them at swordpoint.

• Diplomacy - you are a skilled and trained negotiator and haggler (especially a good skill for those with high Persuasiveness values). This skill may allow you to avoid some battles by negotiating with possible enemies instead of fighting them (sorry, doesn't work on enemies who can't understand what you're saying). Additionally, you have a much higher success at negotiating on price with merchants and others.

• Precip Linguistics - through years of intense study, you have familiarized yourself with the ability to speak, read, and write the highly complex Precip language. This means that you can decipher information found at abandoned Precip facilities, as well as converse with any Precips you come across, many of whom do not deign to speak the standard Human dialects.

Other Info

You can also take a look at the original, overly complex skill system here.