Check, good gaming to you.

So there's objection to having thrown weapons covered by the same skill as pistols, but it seems better to have thrown weapons covered by the same skill that governs climbing and swimming? Ok...

So there's objection to having thrown weapons covered by the same skill as pistols, but it seems better to have thrown weapons covered by the same skill that governs climbing and swimming? Ok...

To be fair, firing a gun is a matter of setting your body to absorb the recoil and plotting the trajectory of the bullet. Shooting is a limited use of muscle groups. Most of us can hold still for a split second. It takes some coordination to properly compensate for recoil, but not as much as you might think.

Swimming, climbing, and throwing are all about total body movement. You have to coordinate large groups of muscles across the body to swim or to properly hurl something to any distance.

The only thing that guns and baseballs have in common is trajectory analysis. Swimming, climbing, and throwing all require multiple limb synchronization. In the absence of a throw skill athletics feels like a more natural grouping then firearms.

At least to me.

Athletics is too broad a category. You need physical skills to be a Surgeon, forearm strength to turn wrenches, etc. This sort of approach makes the game into a pair of skills, Athletics and Academics, applying the logic put forth imo.

Athletics is too broad a category. You need physical skills to be a Surgeon, forearm strength to turn wrenches, etc. This sort of approach makes the game into a pair of skills, Athletics and Academics, applying the logic put forth imo.

Those for the Athletics for thrown/primitive weapons also think Ranged (light) is too broad of a category. No one at all is suggesting simplifying all skills into a pair of skills, so that logic shouldn't apply. No one wants that. We are just saying this one piece of the Ranged (light) skill in our opinion makes more sense as a piece of another skill. You could also argue something like a new Thrown/Primitive weapon skill, but I think most of us don't want to create new skills.

We aren't trying to complicate or simplify, just order things more along our personal preferences. My group perfers it this way and it hasn't created any problems at all. Throwing stuff doesn't happen much* and primitive ranged weapons haven't been encountered. Yet.

*This brings up another thought. If a player says as an action he tries to pick up the dropped stolen jewel and toss it through a slot in the vent nearby to hide it as the Imperials enter the room, what skill makes more sense? Ranged (light) that is used for single-handed blasters or Athletics (agility) or even Coordination (agility)? If you say, "but wait a jewel isn't a grenade that Athletics or Coordination is fine to toss it but an actual weapon should be Ranged (light)", then I will of course say what exactly is the difference other then pulling a pin first?

2P51 I completely understand your reasoning please understand our reasoning. In the end it comes to personal choice of what makes the most sense for each of us.

Athletics is too broad a category. You need physical skills to be a Surgeon, forearm strength to turn wrenches, etc. This sort of approach makes the game into a pair of skills, Athletics and Academics, applying the logic put forth imo.

I almost wonder what your reaction would be to my rolling Astrogation into Computers.

My guess? You'ld have a melt down.

Athletics is too broad a category. You need physical skills to be a Surgeon, forearm strength to turn wrenches, etc. This sort of approach makes the game into a pair of skills, Athletics and Academics, applying the logic put forth imo.

I almost wonder what your reaction would be to my rolling Astrogation into Computers.

My guess? You'ld have a melt down.

Good gaming to you sir.

Athletics is too broad a category. You need physical skills to be a Surgeon, forearm strength to turn wrenches, etc. This sort of approach makes the game into a pair of skills, Athletics and Academics, applying the logic put forth imo.

While it's true that many (most?) skills involve some sort of physical action, I think we are looking at the primary form of action. Mechanics is really about knowing which bolt to tighten and which wire goes where. It's not really a question of physical ability. Unless someone is severely handicapped turning a wrench isn't much of an issue.

Throwing is an instinctual response for most humans. There is no fancy knowledge base to draw upon to throw something. All the toddlers of my experience have mastered the basics. Electrical engineering? Not so much.

Either you are a skilled jock or you aren't. The game system abstracts your jock-ishness into the skill Athletics. Thus to many of us it makes sense to put throwing there.

There is no right or wrong answer. I'm not in favor of creating a Throwing skill as the system wasn't designed with that in mind. At the moment you need the Well Rounded talent to make a custom skill a class skill. Given that this is a talent mostly applied to academic types it's a bit contradictory to have them using it on being a better thrower.