Let's take a moment to look at humans.

With all stats at 2 we are establishing a clear baseline.

The wound and stress thresholds are also apparently at base.

Xp is a bit higher than average at 110. This is good since we can get more obligation to earn enough xp to buy a single stat up to five or four stats up to three.

The special ability is where I become a sad panda. Getting a free specilization is intresting and brings out the versatility of humans. What I don't like is the restriction that it be an in-carrer specilization. That's just kind of boring.

I propose it be changed.

My first thought was that any spec would be cool. That would also make it easy to be a Force Sensitive Exile. I'm not sure that is desired.

My second thought was that it would be really cool if humans could pick two carrers. This would increase the number of in-carrer specs and skills. It might be a bit strong though.

A third thought was that perhaps it would be cool if humans could pick two skills that were always career skills for them. This is both reasonably powered and versatile and IMO much more intresting than the printed ability.

I like the any spec change. Make a sidebar that Force Sensitive Exile is an optional one with GM's approval perhaps?

Given that 1 rank in a non-career skill is 10xp (and at worst, most of the other species are getting exactly that), getting a straight 2 statline (which cost wise is the same as one at 3 and another at 1), humans starting with 110 xp is actually pretty good. Compared to Gand and Rodians, Humans are just plain better (unless you don't want the associated characteristic thats reduced to 1). Compared to Bothans and Twi'lek, they're a bit more balanced (given that getting +1 strain threshold is often an aspect of buying a cheap talent, i.e. 5xp for a +1 strain talent = 5x[ for an extra in-career spec).

Therefore, I see no reason to further improve that with humans, while failing to bring up the other races.

Honestly, at worst, it does nothing. You discard the specialization and call it a day. Best case it expands your career skills and you pick up a useful permenant talent, and then once again, discard the spec.

KommissarK said:

Cost wise is not the same as one at 3 and another at 1.

From 2 to 3 it costs 30 XP, from 1 to 2 it costs 20 XP, so species with 1/2/2/2/2/3 attributes should have 10 XP less (30 - 20) than humans (with "equal" special abilities).

Perhaps you misunderstand me KommissarK, I wasn't saying humans are weak. I simply think the extra spec is boring.

Also there are many cases where lacking a 3 in a stat is disadvantageous. If I wish to make an excellent meele combatant the the first priority is to make brawn very high like 5. If I am human that's all my points. Realistically I'll probably settle for 4 brawn. If on the other hand I'm a wookie, then 5 brawn only costs 70 points. I have some left over for a talent or two. Reguardless, I say again I want it to be cool otherwise I predict human PCs being an endangerd species.

cetiken said:

I think that letting humans take a non-career specialization for 5 XP (when using their "species" ability) wouldn't cause many problems.

So hold on, my books in the mail so this is a bit hard to follow so far. Humans get a 2nd free Specialization that has to be in their Career, right? And that's pretty cheap, I heard, like 5xp, but Out-of-Career Specs are 10xp. Amiright so far? But that doesn't give you cheap access to the 2nd Career/Spec skills, yer still paying double price fer them. That 8 skills, or 4?

Ugh, that book needs to hurry up. I remember when I first read the 2nd Specialization thing, I was pretty excited, I tell you what.

@cetiken -- all of your alternatives sound pretty good from where I'm at. Currently I'd rule any Spec up fer grabs, but I'll wait until I read it, I suppose.

Specs have four skills. One is repeted from the career that its associated with. When you take a spec all the associated skills become avalable at the in-career price and the talents are available for purchase.

So humies can increase their range of skill access as they are written up right now, so that doesn't sound bad.

What about a 2nd Career? It's spendy to buy into one, but that means the skills open up to you. Just the skills from the Spec, or also the Career? And having a 2nd Career -- does that mean buying into a new Spec WITHIN that 2nd Career is now cheap, or do you have a "primary Career?"

First, yeah, was wrong on my math, shouldn't post at 3am. It would seem that humans are actually at a slight disadvantage then (xp/characteristics being equal, 1 rank in a (possibly non-)career skill >= one in career specialization). Making it open to any career is probably a good fix to bring in line with the rest.

@Jordiver

Basically, you never select "just" a career. You always pick a specialization. At chargen, you pick a specialization. This choice gives you a few free ranks in some of the career skills of that specialization (careers have like a base 4 skills they have, specializations have maybe 3. Don't quote me on that, Basically, the career does define a large part of what the career skills are, but the specialization does have a few skills tied to it). Beyond that, any time you buy a specialization, all you get is acesses to its skills as career skills, and access to its talent tree (you obviously don't get the free ranks in skills). Its 5xp for specializations belonging to a career you already have a specialization in, 10xp for one that you don't have a spec in (this is mainly to compensate for the lack of new career skills, and represents that the new spec isn't as far off from what you already know).

Humans just get a free specialization trained at start of play, but currently its required to be from the same career as what you initially chose. Some may dislike this as I imagine many would see themselves picking specializations from a broad set of careers. Still, it is possible to drop a specialization (and lose some of the bonuses), so its not like the free spec is hurting a character (obviously, less xp efficient, but its hardly something thats going to force a character to not be able to achieve the same thing as another).

KommissarK said:

I say again that my problem is that starting with a spec I intend to drop is, while not a penatly, not an exciting bonus. A Twi'lek who is a mechanic is intresting in that he has a silver tonge compare to most other mechanics. A human who is a mechic / outlaw tech is just dull. And being dull is worse than being dead.

I kind of like the idea of changing the Human special ability to enable to them to pick a Specialization from any career (Force Exile included), especially if it's going to count against their maximum of three specializations.

I don't see it as inherently game-breaking, because that extra specialization doesn't provide any extra ranks in skills, just a broader selection of class skills and maybe an extra talent or two.

Does dropping a spec make its skills non-career again? Or do they stay cheaper?

Wulfherr said:

They become non-career.