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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7018484" data-attributes="member: 4937">Not entirely.  The "decker problem" is a more specific case of a general problem running Sci Fi games (and skill based, multi-pillar games generally).  Imagine you are playing a 'Transhuman Space' type game, with a skill based chargen system, set in the near future TL8-9, and you have a crew of a space freighter and you are going to run a sandbox style classic 'space trader' game.  You have four players and they create a balanced crew that consists of:An expert pilotAn expert computer tech/robotics engineerAn expert negotiatorAn expert in close quarters combatOne problem that you run into in this game is that you have to work hard to find problems that the whole party works on at once.  Challenges to the pilot largely only effect the pilot.  The computer tech has the "decker problem", in that any time you give a tech challenge, it's pretty much about only that player.  When you land on an asteroid, pretty much only the negotiator is involved in buying cargo, meeting contacts, and so forth.  And the expert in close quarters combat stands by and watches everything unless a fight breaks out.  No matter how enjoyable each minigame might be, you don't have a highly cooperative game here but instead a series of solo RPGs where one player gets a lot of face time with the DM while the others watch.  Trying to engage everyone in the problem at the same time is a massive burden on the GM, made worse if characters don't have strong secondary skills.Note that in this case, balance really doesn't depend mostly on the system, but on the problems that the group faces.  If you are never running from space pirates through the rings of Saturn, the pilot's investment in 'I'm a Space Ace' never is meaningful.  But if that's all you do, then maybe your game needs 'space fighter' tech just to let everyone play.</blockquote>

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