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Post by Escher on Jan 18, 2014 13:11:19 GMT
Title edited to avoid confusion
Craft: Useless? Not so.
This came up a while ago with my group and very recently in discussion so I thought I’d share as this may be useful.
In the days of the classic series, when episodes stretched across weeks, months even, characters had to do some things that we never see in modern stories.
Last year I ran a First Doctor adventure where the players were trapped in a medieval stone tower sixty feet up, about to be executed in the morning. The player roleplaying Ian Chesterton suggested weaving a rope out of the straw in the tower chamber. All four players pitched in and just before dawn they had a rope of sorts to climb down.
The point is that the Craft skill is often overlooked but in fact can be a life-saver and a source for generating plot twists and ideas both for the GM and players.
With a bit of ingenuity, the Craft skill can really come into its own to get characters out of a tight spot.
It is also the low-tech skill to have, as every Tech Level form 1 to 4 utterly relies on it for everyday living.
Without Craft at Tech Level 1, any primitive society is doomed.
Craft paired with the relevant attribute can allow any character to do the following:
Work with materials and textiles: metal, wood, stone, fabrics, etc.
Sew, stitch, mend, repair.
Make cooking utensils: pots, pans, dishes, forks, spoons.
Make tools and weapons from flint, wood and stone.
Build a tent or shack.
Weave.
Weave rope and twine from grass, reeds, hair, fibres.
Weave baskets.
Make a pen and paper.
Draw pictures.
Draw a map.
Write in Calligraphy.
Carve a Chess set. Chequers. Make a pack of cards.
Create a work of art.
Write a book.
Tell an entertaining story.
Build furniture.
Make clothing.
Make nets.
Make hunting/fishing equipment.
Build a raft. A boat.
Carve things.
Carve letters into stone or wood.
Make arrows. Spears. Knives.
Smelt metals.
Make swords. Bows. Armour.
Forge documents, and so on...
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Post by Marnal on Jan 18, 2014 16:32:40 GMT
The problem is that Craft is basically [as you point out] Technology (TL 1) or Technology (TL 2) Technology (TL 3) Technology (TL 4). The game already has a perfectly set up set of rules for this [including modifiers for being someone's tech being TOO advanced].
Everything you state above can be applied to the Technology skill [at the appropriate TL]. For a game that ONLY allows 12 skills, having two that are the same skill just effectively reduces the number to 11.
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 18, 2014 17:50:32 GMT
No, the Technology skill has to do with using and modifying electronics, gadgets, and computers. Smithying, rope-making, singing, and making ancient weapons is covered by Craft. There is very little overlap between these two skills; Technology has to do with complex machines and Craft does not. Characters coming from Technology Levels 1–3 will be unable to acquire Technology skill and will have well-rounded Craft skills, while Technology Levels 4+ will see the Craft skill shift progressively away from making things toward doing things.
Since the Craft skill is so broad it is essential to take a character's background into account when deciding what he or she can do with it. The musician archetype character, for instance, has a Craft of 4, but that obviously does not mean he can necessarily build a house, paint a landscape, or make a dress. (In the Eleventh Doctor edition it's the rock-star archetype with a Craft of 5 and an Area of Expertise in a single instrument or in voice.)
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Post by olegrand on Jan 19, 2014 19:44:18 GMT
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Post by Marnal on Jan 20, 2014 6:52:19 GMT
So Stormcrow what could you do with Technology (TL 2) that you couldn't do with Craft (TL 2)?
And why is sun dial or wagon not technology?
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 21, 2014 4:08:19 GMT
Read the rules.
Technology skill quite clearly covers electronics and gizmos; Craft skill obviously covers creativity and making things with your hands.
As I said above, Technology skill probably isn't available to societies earlier than TL 4 (unless they're the Flintstones), so your question is invalid.
Sun dials and wagons certainly are technology, but their invention, construction, and use are not covered by the Technology skill in the Doctor Who game.
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 21, 2014 13:55:07 GMT
I really like your Craft modification, and I intend to introduce that in my games. (I'll also be adding the "Aliens" skill, just because it makes a lot of sense.)At that link, you state that for skills, 1=Novice, 2=Amateur, 3=Proficient, 4=Seasoned, 5=Expert, and 6=Master. However, I note that 5s and 6s are exceedingly rare numbers for skills--even 4 is an uncommonly high number, really. So I think these numbers might need some different description: 1-Novice 2-Proficient 3-Expert; equivalent of bachelor's degree 4-Master; equivalent of advanced degree 5-National-class master 6-World-class Master But then, I'm new at this, and I've only played with my kids. What do you think?
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Post by Escher on Jan 21, 2014 15:45:28 GMT
Compare with the Primeval rulebook:
1. You’re broadly familiar with the topic. For Medicine, you’ve done a first aid course and watched a lot of Casualty (TV Medical Drama). For Knowledge or Science, you’ve read a few books on the topic.
2. You’ve had some training in the topic, such as a night course or diploma.
3. You have a graduate degree in the field.
4. You’ve got a masters degree in the field, or you’ve got extensive practical experience. You’re an expert.
5. You’ve got a PhD and have a lot of experience. If you’re not a university professor or a researcher, then you’re almost certainly working in the field.
6. You’re a household name—or could be. Your name is synonymous with the Skill. Stephen Hawking, for example, has Science 6.
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 21, 2014 19:15:08 GMT
I love this. Thank you!!
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Post by Marnal on Jan 21, 2014 22:17:06 GMT
But Technology (TL 2) would all cover Building, Woodwork, Metalwork. All of this was once state-of-the-art technology.
Science (TL 2) would cover Farming.
So the Rules As Written just created an arbitrary new skill NAME to cover some thing that was already covered in a pre-existing skill.
I suppose "Craft" still has a somewhat exclusive Dancing, Singing, Guitar (and maybe painting). Maybe they should have called if "Performance"?
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 22, 2014 0:01:08 GMT
Yes, but it's usually argued that people have control of TL's below their own, and surely most of us at TL 5--even computer network engineers--are not "in control" of masonry or woodwork. Unless we're going to argue that someone at TL 7 would be utterly bewildered at how to operate an iPhone, of course. (And they probably would!)
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Post by Marnal on Jan 22, 2014 15:36:04 GMT
Well [according to the rule book's mods] a late 20th century computer engineer would have a -4 to all rolls to weave a basket. That's a pretty significant modifier. Indeed, its the same modifier he'd have to repair a TL 7 teleporter!
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 22, 2014 15:40:06 GMT
Well [according to the rule book's mods] a late 20th century computer engineer would have a -4 to all rolls to weave a basket. That's a pretty significant modifier. Indeed, its the same modifier he'd have to repair a TL 7 teleporter! I sit corrected. |
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 22, 2014 17:56:50 GMT
A 21st century basket weaver doesn't have a penalty to Craft when making a basket. TL penalties apply to technologies that do not exist in the user's home TL(s), or are rare enough that the user has never been exposed to it.
The Craft skill requires that the life experience of the user be taken into account. If you're a basket weaver and can't draw, your Craft skill is unpenalized for making baskets but penalized when drawing. If you're a farmer your Craft skill will cover lots of things around the farm, but you'll be penalized for building skyscrapers if you've never done it before. It's all about your personal history.
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