WOIN Spartan Gambit Potential Errors

[Irishrelief]

On Page 9 of the Spartan Gambit, under the Psi-Corps Tour of Duty the descriptor paragraph reads:

The Psi-corps is a specialist investigative law
enforcement agency with psionic training, and
usually works alongside Navy Security or Intelligence—
in a consulting role. Psi-Corps agents aren’t
usually trained in direct psionic combat skills; their
area of expertise is in the teasing out of do receive
potent combat training.

I have highlighted the sentence in question. Um what were you trying to say here Morrus?

Also on Page 8, under the Intelligence Officer Tour of Duty the exploit is called False identify. Should it be False Identity? I'm sure to update if my players find anything else.

 

[Morrus]

1) "... their area of expertise is in the teasing out of information, although some do receive potent combat training."

2) Yup.

 

[BlckKnght]

Some less obvious things that might be errors, oversights or just balance issues:

1. Different school curricula grant wildly different numbers of skills. Science Branch School (the best one) grants +2 to seven skills while Advanced Medical School (the worst one, by far) grants only one +2 and one +1.
2. Speaking of Advanced Medical School, it seems pretty pointless. Even with its +2, it's a bit tough to get a medicine skill up to 10 ranks, and little need to try, since 6 ranks, which you can reach with just branch training and a few career skill choices, is good enough to get to the grade 6-7 pool cap for most medical characters (who should have decent LOG). To reach the grade 8-10 cap, getting LOG 10 is usually easier (indeed, it's often inevitable). So maybe the main value of the training is the title? If being called "Doctor" is a significant prestige thing, advanced training should probably increase REP by much more than 1!
3. It's unclear if there's a difference between marines and security officers. The two terms seem to be used interchangeably. But security officers sure aren't exactly hardened soldiers, given that they don't gain any STR, END or WILL from their tours of duty (so no extra HP or bonus melee damage from advancing in grade), and their career exploits come from the Police career in NEW. Every security officer is a redshirt maybe? Maybe ground-pounding marines should be different than shipboard security officers (even if they start with the same branch training)?
4. None of the careers let characters gain armor skills (none allow [combat] which is how you get it in NEW). Even security officers won't be able to use heavy armor to full effect. Maybe armor is rare in the USFMC?
5. The rank table looks like it might have been designed when starting REP was 0, rather than 3 as it has become after errata. The text suggests that grade 6 PCs should be low ranking, but it's impossible to take careers from the book and not get at least +3 rep by grade 6, making it so even the weakest officers are Lieutenants and many are Lt. Commanders or better. Ensign and Lt (jg) are right out.
6. The rank of Lt Valor M'para doesn't match his rep. Maybe he's just overdue for promotion (which would be an interesting thing to suggest players could choose to do too, if it's intended).
7. None of the pregenerated characters have any gear other than the standard stuff that all USF characters get automatically. On page 17, the book suggests that PCs might want to copy their loadouts for act 1 of the adventure from the pregens, but that seems like an extremely poor idea, since they'll have no scanners, tool kits, scientific or survival gear, and no rifles or improved armor.

 

[Irishrelief]

Some less obvious things that might be errors, oversights or just balance issues:

1. Different school curricula grant wildly different numbers of skills. Science Branch School (the best one) grants +2 to seven skills while Advanced Medical School (the worst one, by far) grants only one +2 and one +1.
2. Speaking of Advanced Medical School, it seems pretty pointless. Even with its +2, it's a bit tough to get a medicine skill up to 10 ranks, and little need to try, since 6 ranks, which you can reach with just branch training and a few career skill choices, is good enough to get to the grade 6-7 pool cap for most medical characters (who should have decent LOG). To reach the grade 8-10 cap, getting LOG 10 is usually easier (indeed, it's often inevitable). So maybe the main value of the training is the title? If being called "Doctor" is a significant prestige thing, advanced training should probably increase REP by much more than 1!
3. It's unclear if there's a difference between marines and security officers. The two terms seem to be used interchangeably. But security officers sure aren't exactly hardened soldiers, given that they don't gain any STR, END or WILL from their tours of duty (so no extra HP or bonus melee damage from advancing in grade), and their career exploits come from the Police career in NEW. Every security officer is a redshirt maybe? Maybe ground-pounding marines should be different than shipboard security officers (even if they start with the same branch training)?
4. None of the careers let characters gain armor skills (none allow [combat] which is how you get it in NEW). Even security officers won't be able to use heavy armor to full effect. Maybe armor is rare in the USFMC?
5. The rank table looks like it might have been designed when starting REP was 0, rather than 3 as it has become after errata. The text suggests that grade 6 PCs should be low ranking, but it's impossible to take careers from the book and not get at least +3 rep by grade 6, making it so even the weakest officers are Lieutenants and many are Lt. Commanders or better. Ensign and Lt (jg) are right out.
6. The rank of Lt Valor M'para doesn't match his rep. Maybe he's just overdue for promotion (which would be an interesting thing to suggest players could choose to do too, if it's intended).
7. None of the pregenerated characters have any gear other than the standard stuff that all USF characters get automatically. On page 17, the book suggests that PCs might want to copy their loadouts for act 1 of the adventure from the pregens, but that seems like an extremely poor idea, since they'll have no scanners, tool kits, scientific or survival gear, and no rifles or improved armor.

4. Aren't armor skills considered defensive skills? You can always opt for a defensive skill when you get a new grade over any listed skill.
5. 100% agree with you here.
6. Not all REP is good rep. I recently made a character that should have been a Lt. Commander, but his backstory involved some rather public incidents that bumped him down in rank. I have almost ignored the current suggested table in favor of my personal knowledge of military advancement.

 

[easl]

None of the pregenerated characters have any gear other than the standard stuff that all USF characters get automatically...

I assumed that the player using a pregen would get to decide on their requisitioned gear before the first session started. Part of the "get to know your character" part of the session. I followed this notion when putting the pregens together for the other thread - I didn't kit them out because I figured that was a decision left to the player.

 

[BlckKnght]

4. Aren't armor skills considered defensive skills? You can always opt for a defensive skill when you get a new grade over any listed skill.

I don't think so, defensive skills are what get averaged to make your various defense scores. Armor skills only reduce the penalties for medium and heavy armor, and let you get the extra soak for higher quality versions of them.

6. Not all REP is good rep. I recently made a character that should have been a Lt. Commander, but his backstory involved some rather public incidents that bumped him down in rank. I have almost ignored the current suggested table in favor of my personal knowledge of military advancement.

Yeah, I feel like a lot of downward leeway on the rank chart makes sense, but the book doesn't actually say that.

I assumed that the player using a pregen would get to decide on their requisitioned gear before the first session started. Part of the "get to know your character" part of the session. I followed this notion when putting the pregens together for the other thread - I didn't kit them out because I figured that was a decision left to the player.

Yeah, you're definitely supposed to kit out your character to your own taste (pregen or not), but in the section describing doing that, it says:

Let them outfit themselves with everything they might need (up to their requisition caps), or use equipment packages from the pre-generated characters.

It's the last clause of that sentence that doesn't make sense, since the pregen characters don't have equipment packages.

 

[easl]

It's the last clause of that sentence that doesn't make sense, since the pregen characters don't have equipment packages.

You're right. Well, if I do any more pregens for the other thread, I'll put in a "Suggested Equipment Package" section before the "Character build (for reference)" section.

 

[Morrus]

I’ll put together some equipment packages for the pregens in the book!

 

[BlckKnght]

I just noticed a typo, the Tactical Officer's Tactical Scan exploit has a subject/verb disagreement:

Tactical scan. Allies aboard your bridge gains +1d6 to their INITIATIVE checks.

Probably "gains" should be "gain", but you could rephrase it otherwise, I suppose.

I’ll put together some equipment packages for the pregens in the book!

I look forward to seeing them! For some of my characters in the other thread, I just picked out a distinctive item or two (like a second pistol for an ambidextrous character, or a special high-quality version of an item). Maybe I'll revisit the earlier ones and add more gear to the ones I left with the base loadout.