I'm statting out an alien species, but this question, I think, applies to characters as well: What is the difference in gameplay between increasing a skill by one rank versus taking a talent that enhances that skill?

Specifically, I'm trying to weigh the different impacts of:

• Taking a rank in the skill Negotiation versus taking a rank in the talent Wheel and Deal, and

• Taking a rank in the skill Charm versus a rank in the talent Kill with Kindness.

Thanks for any help! I'll post up my species writeup once I've weighed the options more.

They are both statistically and narratively different.

An unskilled roll against even difficulty dice tends towards Success with Threat. Adding skill ranks increases the odds of triumph and pushes the result towards Success with Advantage.

Something like Kill with Kindness is more about being able to overcome current situational difficulties, e.g.: people might give you more benefit of the doubt even if they initially are inclined not to like you. Sometimes the result is the same, but the fact that the setback was applied by a GM in the first place suggests a different narrative than if it didn't need to be overcome in the first place.

You really could just play the game with Skills only, but you'd lose a lot of flavour.

Slightly more mechanical take:

In this system a good rule of thumbs is "More dice=better or worse" at least in reference to basic success.

Adding setback dice increases the difficulty slightly but, unlike a red die, leaves out the chance for a Despair. Removing setbacks allows you to ignore those minor difficulty increases.

By comparison, 1 Yellow die will tend to generate more success then 1 green, and 2 green dice will tend to generate slightly more success then a single yellow die. BUT two green dice will never generate a Triumph, which can have greater consequences to how an encounter plays out then a simple matter of success.

So bottom line: Removing setbacks will make things easier, at least when there are setbacks to remove. Adding ranks will only slightly improve your chances of basic success, BUT will include a possibility of something really amazing happening, even if you don't actually succeed at what you were trying to do.

Thanks, both of you, for the rundowns. Just to make sure I've got this right:

So, if Species A gets a free rank in Charm, but Species B gets a free rank of Kill with Kindness, that basically means, all else being equal, a member of Species A will be more capable of charming without negative repercussions, or at charming the socks of someone (with a Triumph), yet a member of Species B will be able to overcome situational difficulties due to a naturally charming demeanor or some such.

And if Species X gets a rank in Negotiation, but Species Y gets a rank in Wheel and Deal, a member of X will have more shot at getting a really great deal without negative side effects, while a member of Y will not necessarily be a great negotiator, but when he or she does sell something, it's for more than a member of another species would likely have gotten.

So, if Species A gets a free rank in Charm, but Species B gets a free rank of Kill with Kindness, that basically means, all else being equal, a member of Species A will be more capable of charming without negative repercussions, or at charming the socks of someone (with a Triumph), yet a member of Species B will be able to overcome situational difficulties due to a naturally charming demeanor or some such.

Species B's pickup lines are better icebreakers, but Species A's pickup lines might not work on the girl he's talking to, but might totally work on her best friend, sister, and the waitress....at the same time!

I'm statting out an alien species, but this question, I think, applies to characters as well: What is the difference in gameplay between increasing a skill by one rank versus taking a talent that enhances that skill?

So, I’ll use different examples. Consider someone who is trained in computers, but facing an unfamiliar system. Now, consider someone who is naturally gifted with computers, but maybe not as well trained.

If you had to choose, which would you rather be? What fits your character concept better?

I’ve personally known and worked with guys that were so talented they could walk into any situation with computers, and they would literally be operating at the level of someone who had decades of experience — even on a system they had never seen before.

People like this can be insufferable, especially if their natural talent allows them to be better in your own specialist field than you are, and you’ve spent decades to get to be as good as you are.

But when guys like this are actually nice, sometimes that can even be more galling. You may like them and even consider them your best friend, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not sometimes seriously annoyed and willing to just chuck it all in when they come up with a trivially easy solution to a problem you’ve been banging your head against for days or weeks.

However, when the effluent really hits the impeller, you also know who you want to have in your corner.

Much obliged, everyone. Keep the ideas coming if there are any, of course. I'll post up my species concept shortly in a new thread.

Update: The species (Bimms) appears here: http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/128736-the-great-movie-alien-compendium/

Much obliged, everyone. Keep the ideas coming if there are any, of course. I'll post up my species concept shortly in a new thread.

Update: The species (Bimms) appears here: http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/128736-the-great-movie-alien-compendium/

Awesome!

I love the fact that you included notes and references to other species and books, to help explain the reasoning behind what you have come up with. For me, knowing the why and the how is as important as knowing the what — if not more so.

I wish that the FFG game designers/developers would do the same in their published betas, even if those notes were later taken out of the official final versions.

I would enjoy seeing more fluff text that helps explain what is known of the racial background, too. Oh, and of course, pictures are usually also helpful.

In contrast, the Unofficial Species Menagerie gives us the bare minimum stats, skills, talents, etc… but doesn’t help explain anything at all about where and how they fit into the broader Universe, and certainly doesn’t give us any explanations, references, or fluff text. That’s the kind of thing I might expect to see on Adversary cards with only one side, but I’d like to see more than that for a species write up that might belong in Wookieepedia or in one of the published game books.

I found this that sound really interesting. Look for the rest of things on the blog

http://bastionkainssweote.blogspot.com.es/p/referance-material.html

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypnqp4dsbv7owhj/Skill%20Focus%20Published.pdf

I wish that the FFG game designers/developers would do the same in their published betas, even if those notes were later taken out of the official final versions.

Try being a playtester. Some of these note do make it into those docs. Sam tried to get them all out of FaD Alpha, but there were a few of his snarky comments left.

I found this that sound really interesting. Look for the rest of things on the blog

http://bastionkainssweote.blogspot.com.es/p/referance-material.html

Yeah, the Silhouette and Speed Reference is particularly good — and relevant for this topic!

Try being a playtester. Some of these note do make it into those docs. Sam tried to get them all out of FaD Alpha, but there were a few of his snarky comments left.

Okay, so how do I apply to be a playtester? Because access to something that included notes like that would be far better than what I’m seeing with the F&D Beta.

Another player once suggested seriously that his character could do Piloting - Planetary tasks as well as my Driver character, based on both having the same skill level 2 in Piloting - Planetary. The GM and I looked at him like he was insane.

He was totally ignoring 170 XP of Driver talents that make my vehicles hard to hit, 40% faster for short bursts, and the ability to remove two setbacks and drive flat out through difficult terrain that the other character would have splattered himself all over.

Skills can make you good, but a smattering of talents in your area of specialty can make you great.

I don't bother driving or flying most of the time, but when we're trying to evade an ambush by a dozen ancient armored Mandalorians through the lower levels of Nar Shaddaa, I want to be driving!