[House Rules] Skill System Adjustments

We are incorporating a few changes to skills as presented in the core Savage Worlds rule book. Some alterations are being made in the hope of streamlining an already narrow system, while other aspects are being added to better flesh out what is already there.

Removed Skills:

Guts is no longer a skill in the Future Perfect campaign setting. It is our position that everything governed by a Guts skill roll in a non-horror setting can be handled with a simple Spirit roll. Instead, Guts may be taken as an Edge if so desired. Requiring a Spirit of a d6 or higher, the Guts Edge will offer a bonus of +2 to all Spirit rolls involving fear resistance or personal morale.

Altered Skills:

Language skills no longer have die type ratings. They are acquired normally as if purchasing a new skill, but any language skill check is handled with a Smarts roll. They never have to be advanced, requiring only the initial purchase. All characters begin play with their Native Language for free.

Firearms may be split into two distinct skills: Small Arms and Gunnery. The Small Arms skill governs the use of man-portable firearms. The Gunnery skill is used when operating emplaced weapons or large, immobile weapon systems mounted on vehicles. This skill alteration remains pending.

Healing has been changed to Medical, and in addition to the capacities of the Healing skill, it also includes the use of Medical Technologies and the surgical implanting of bio/cybernetic systems.

Lockpicking has been changed to Security. In Future Perfect, it has been changed to a Smarts-based skill, though in settings with less advanced technologies it should remain Agility Based.

New Skills:

Hacking (Smarts) involves the attempted defeat, exploitation, and/or alteration of the security capabilities of a computer system. More than just basic computer use (which is handled with a Smarts roll, or occasionally, Investigation), Hacking allows system intrusion and the non-standard use of a system in both legal and illegal ways.

Performing Arts (Spirit) is used for various performing arts including dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments. This skill may also cover acting if performed within certain formalized settings, but casual acting attempts intended to fool or trick another person should use the Persuasion skill.

Sleight of Hand (Agility) is used in situations where deftness, manual subtlety, and subterfuge are in order. Such tasks as picking pockets and feats of prestidigitation are governed by this skill. In many cases, use of Sleight of Hand may require an opposed roll against another character's Notice skill.

Visual Arts (Spirit) is used when attempting most forms of visual expression from drawing and painting to sculpture and graphic design. In some cases, this skill may also be used for art forgery.

Zero Gravity Maneuvering (Agility) is used when attempting to make physical actions in zero gravity or to control one's movement.

Expanded Skills:

Knowledge (Astrogation): The art of stellar navigation, including how to calculate the complex mathematics behind FTL travel.

Knowledge (Battle): Knowledge of how battles are fought, lost, and won. It addresses tactics as well as history, providing a broad, general knowledge of military systems past and present.

Knowledge (Engineering): Knowledge of how technology is designed, tested, and manufactured. This skill often is used when inventing new technologies or improving upon old ones.

Knowledge (History): The general knowledge of the past, its peoples, places, and important key events.

Knowledge (Life Sciences): The broad knowledge of the various sciences involving living beings, including biology, ecology, genetics, biochemistry, etc.

Knowledge (Physical Sciences): The broad knowledge of the various physical sciences including physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, astronomy/astrophysics, etc.

Knowledge (Politics): The knowledge of current political personas, events, issues, and tensions.

[House Rules] Alternate Experience System

Assigning Experience:

Every Skill gains its own set of Improvement Experience (IXP) that may be spent only on improving that skill. General Experience, however, may be spent on anything, provided the GM approves an improvement. General XP may be spent as IXP when a character is improving a Skill.

Skill Experience:

Listed below is how skills gain their individual Improvement Experience Points, assigned at the end of the play session. Unlike General Experience awards which are added together, Skill Experience is assigned singly to each skill.

The Skill was:

• Used in a common way, but failed [1 IXP]
• Used in an uncommon way, but failed [2 IXP]
• Used successfully one or more times [3 IXP]
• Used successfully in a unique way(s) [4 IXP]
• Used in a way that had a strong impact on game events [5 IXP]
• Used multiple times in ways with a strong impact on game events [6 IXP]
• Used exceptionally well, and changed the course of the game [7 IXP]
• Used exceptionally well, in a unique way, and changed the course of the game [8 IXP]

Skill Improvement Experience Points are tracked for each skill individually. When a skill's current IXP total meets or exceeds ten times the die rating of the next skill die, the skill improves and the current IXP total for a skill is reset back to zero. If a skill die will exceed or already is higher than a skill's governing Attribute, then it costs twice as many IXP to improve the skill.

General Experience:

The Character:

• Was active/present in the game [+1 XP]
• Contributed meaningfully to the game [+1 XP]
• Had an outstanding contribution to the game [+2 XP]
• Overcame a major personal obstacle [+3 XP]
• Met a major personal goal [+3 XP]

The Group:

• Was successful in their efforts [+1 XP]
• Succeeded admirably due to skill and ingenuity (not sheer luck) [+1 XP]
• Overcame a major obstacle [+3 XP]
• Achieved a significant long-term goal [+3 XP]
• Completed a minor storyline [+3 XP]
• Completed a major storyline [+5 XP]

Both Character and Group bonuses add together to total a character's full general experience points for a session. It may be noted that in any given game session, experience earned may fluctuate significantly. Average gains tend to be 4-7 points per session, but may range much higher in those sessions where more dramatic vistas were reached. Character development and advancing the story tend to present more significant bonuses.

Unified Experience Costs:

Skills	Edges*	Characteristics**	XP Cost
New Skill (d4)	New Edge	---	40
d6	Seasoned	d6	60
d8	Veteran	d8	80
d10	Heroic	d10	100
d12	Legendary	d12	120

*In the case of those Edges where there is a demonstrable progression of a single ability (called an Edge Track), the cost of an Edge of superior rank includes those points already spent in earlier, lesser versions of the ability. Edges where there are normal, and then Improved versions tend to be good examples of Edge Tracks.
**For non-humans, consider each improvement value as the basic die before racial modifiers are added. For example, Dwarves, who would gain a +1 Vigor Die and suffer -1 Agility Die (from their maximum), treat Vigor as being one step down the table, and Agility as one step up. So, a Dwarf increasing Vigor from a d8 to a d10 would pay 80 (instead of 100) XP and increasing his Agility from d6 to a d8 would pay 100 XP (instead of 80).