I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

In my head, I am also playing with the idea of having synegistic skills where a roll would allow one skill to aid another skill. Like if you had Mechanics and Medical you should be better at providing medical attention to a cyborg than someone with just medical. Maybe Mechanic and a weapons skill gives you a synergy skill that boost when dealing with weapons repairs. Just a thought bouncing around my head.

Like...could be a talent that lets you pick a type of weapon, and add +1 Advantage/Success to all rolls with that weapon? Perhaps?

With many of the talents already available, it is pretty easy to become fairly deadly with weapons.

At best maybe a talent like:

Weapon Specialization

Activation: Passive

Ranked: No

Trees: Whichever

When this talent is taken, choose a weapon type used to become specialized in. This weapon is considered to have the Superior quality hen you use it. Each time this talent is taken a new weapon type may be chosen.

But I really don't see much of a need for weapon specialization.

While nowhere near the level of utter brokeness that angelicdoctor's suggested talent tree was, I still think this borders on being too good. After all, it's not only a free boost to damage, but a free advantage, making it far more potent than a boost die, which has been noted is fairly random in the benefit provided.

I think Deadly Accuracy covers the 'weapon specialization' angle quite sufficiently. And much like Weapon Specialization wasn't available to everyone in the d20 versions of Star Wars RPGs, so too is Deadly Accuracy not a commonly available talent, instead being limited to those specializations that one would expect to specialization in a particularly category of weapon.

So swap Superior with Accurate.

Weapon Specialization

Activation: Passive

Ranked: No

Trees: Whichever

When this talent is taken, choose a weapon type used to become specialized in. This weapon is considered to have the Accurate quality when you use it. Each time this talent is taken a new weapon type may be chosen.

Wouldn't it need to be Ranked for you to take it more than once?

I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

In my head, I am also playing with the idea of having synegistic skills where a roll would allow one skill to aid another skill. Like if you had Mechanics and Medical you should be better at providing medical attention to a cyborg than someone with just medical. Maybe Mechanic and a weapons skill gives you a synergy skill that boost when dealing with weapons repairs. Just a thought bouncing around my head.

I would tend to give boost dice based on how they try to justify it. Something like xenology to boost medicine or weapn to help with modding said weapon would make perfect sense. Some more creative things might require a roll.

I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

In my head, I am also playing with the idea of having synegistic skills where a roll would allow one skill to aid another skill. Like if you had Mechanics and Medical you should be better at providing medical attention to a cyborg than someone with just medical. Maybe Mechanic and a weapons skill gives you a synergy skill that boost when dealing with weapons repairs. Just a thought bouncing around my head.

Very cool!

Warhammer allowed specializations in any skill, I believe the benefit was a boost-die equivalent.

How much would a specialization cost?

You can get a rank of Quickstrike for 5xp, could start there and scale up from there like depending on how many dice you want to give per weapon.

My thought for cost was that it was built into each rank of a skill you take. So at rank one you have one thing you specialize in. At rank 2 you have 2 specializations. It just represents what you focused on without causing more math or need for additional xp. I'm not sure if i would allow a player to take the same specialization twice. One boost is a mechanical flavor enhancer. 2,3, or 4 boosts could break the system.

Warhammer allowed specializations in any skill, I believe the benefit was a boost-die equivalent.

How much would a specialization cost?

Going by 2P51's base suggestion of Quick Strike (which only applies on the initial round of combat), I'm thinking that 20 XP for an "always available" boost die would be a fair cost. In terms of combat skill checks, it's the equivalent of a free Aim action every single round, which is a fairly nice perk.

The idea behind having it cost so much is that it doesn't become a "gotta have it!" thing, which was something that angelicdoctor's attempt was and that mouthymerc's initial suggestion veered towards.

I'd probably also require that the PC have at least two skill ranks before they can "specialize" in that skill. While a boost die isn't super-hot, there were enough math-fanatics doing analysis that a PC was generally better off rolling an additional die than upgrading one, though most of those were centered around upgrading to a proficiency die vs. adding an ability die.

I'm not sold on the idea of having "micro-specializations" within a skill the way that artteach has suggested on his website, most as it adds an additional layer of complexity that this system is generally trying to steer away from.

If you really want specializations, I would treat them as custom skills. Each rank in a specialization adds a blue die to your die pool.

i.e.

Agility 3

Ranged (Light) 2

Heavy Blaster Pistol 2

you would roll 2Y 1G 2B

The specialization would be considered a class skill if the main skill is a class skill. Not sure how unbalancing this would be. Combat monkeys would be getting significantly better rolls, but at the expense of their talent trees.

If you really want specializations, I would treat them as custom skills. Each rank in a specialization adds a blue die to your die pool.

i.e.

Agility 3

Ranged (Light) 2

Heavy Blaster Pistol 2

you would roll 2Y 1G 2B

The specialization would be considered a class skill if the main skill is a class skill. Not sure how unbalancing this would be. Combat monkeys would be getting significantly better rolls, but at the expense of their talent trees.

Yeah, I like this. Very WEG-like.

I feel like none of this is really needed. The fact that putting ranks into Ranged: Heavy (for example) gives you skill dice (and the greater chance of success and triumph that goes along with it) which help ALL weapons of that type (rifles, carbines, sniper rifles, rocket tubes, repeating blaster cannons, etc). Unless you remove that blanket upgrade, I just don't see the need to further complicate the system and add even more guaranteed boost to firing a specific weapon. There are already boost dice flying around due to allies passing advantage, aim boosts, and even narrative boosts (which I allow) from minions and rivals rolling disadvantage or from creative roll-playing. I get that it feels a bit watered down with the blanket skill covering a broad weapon type...but really its there to keep things running smoothly (IMHO).

I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

Check out http://bastionkainssweote.blogspot.com/p/referance-material.html and especially https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypnqp4dsbv7owhj/Skill%20Focus%20Published.pdf

I feel like none of this is really needed. The fact that putting ranks into Ranged: Heavy (for example) gives you skill dice (and the greater chance of success and triumph that goes along with it) which help ALL weapons of that type (rifles, carbines, sniper rifles, rocket tubes, repeating blaster cannons, etc).

If your Agility is low, and you've already taken your Ranged skill as high as it can go, then you may not have much options for further improvement in ranged combat. So, in that case, the ability to have some sort of specialization might be attractive.

That said, it's all up the GM as to what they want to allow.

What about a base Specialization of 15 xp for a boost die, and at 25 xp it upgrades a die, giving a chance for a Triumph?

I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

Check out http://bastionkainssweote.blogspot.com/p/referance-material.html and especially https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypnqp4dsbv7owhj/Skill%20Focus%20Published.pdf

Do these boost dice stack? If not, why would anyone take the Weapon Focus for, say, a blaster rifle, when he can take Energy Weapons and get blaster rifles, heavy blaster rifles, carbines, or anything else that falls in the Ranged (Heavy) category?

I have been working on the exact nature of the specialization boost for skills and currently have

http://www.dailydoserpg.com/house_rules.htm

these categories for specialization. Does anyone have any other ideas for specialization areas that would provide a boost for the character?

Check out http://bastionkainssweote.blogspot.com/p/referance-material.html and especially https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypnqp4dsbv7owhj/Skill%20Focus%20Published.pdf

Looks fun! One thing though, "Hackers" do not exist in Star Wars It's all "slicers" and "slicing" as opposed to "hackers" and "hacking."

Smokey says: Only YOU can prevent "Hackers" in Star Wars.