Ship's Boat vs Pilot Skill

[Plankowner]

Here's the thing I have never understood. Why is there a ship's boat skill AND a pilot skill? Don't they do the same thing, just on different sized vessels? So what? In a computer controlled environment, wouldn't the interface be the same for a 20Tn Gig and a 2000Tn Merchant?

I tried thinking of Ship's Boat as being more of an atmospheric thing, but that doesn't make much sense either since larger ships can also enter atmospheres.

How do you treat these two skills so that they are both worth having?

 

[jfetters]

In CT, I view it as a matter of size - for example, handling different kinds of boats in the water varies greatly depending on the class of vessel.

However, I agree to your original point and that is where I think TNE got the skills right by separating Pilot (Atmospheric) versus Astrogation (Vaccuum/Jump).

 

[aramis]

My take on it has been that Pilot doesn't cover aiming weapons; I have oftne let ship's boat skill serve as gunnery.

 

[Rover]

It aways struck me as a distinction without a difference.

With pilot skill you can fly anything in atmo or vaccume from 100 tonnes to 1,000,000.

With ship's boat you do pretty much the same thing. In theory a 1,000,000 ore hauler can have a 50,000 tonne shuttle.

I have bandied about the idea of making different classes based tonage. Class A 0-999, Class B 1,000 - 49,999, Class C 50K Plus.

But then I thought my palyers will never get to fly a 1,000 tone ship, let alone a 1,000,000.

I still may do away with ship's boat. Another thing I don't like, and this applies to T20, is that Characters need both a feat and a skill to operate a vehical, ship, or other type of vessle.

 

[aramis]

Rover:

In both CT and MT, Pilot skill will fly small craft at Pilot minus one level.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

IMTU,

SB covers boats under 100dt. Relatively simple craft and short trips.

P covers boats/ships over 100dt. More complicated craft, longer flights, and jump-capable.

Pilot gives SB at minus 1, SB gives P at minus 2.

 

[Maladominus]

Originally posted by Andrew Boulton:
IMTU,

Pilot gives SB at minus 1, SB gives P at minus 2.

This is fair. And sensible.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Maladominus:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Andrew Boulton:
IMTU,

Pilot gives SB at minus 1, SB gives P at minus 2.

This is fair. And sensible. </font>[/QUOTE]I like it...

"Can you get us out of here?" Dorna asks, watching the screens as the Imperial destroyer bears down on the hapless trader.

"I don't know," Enli replies, racing to orient himself to the controls. "I flew fighters, never anything this big..."

 

[Plankowner]

Yeah, that can work for me as well. I played many a game where the two skills just got lumped together.

I was basing my bias on aircraft pilots. Sure there is a difference between a Cesna and a Boeing 747, but in some ways, flying is flying. I kinda like using SB as an atmospheric thing. Sure a pilot can land a ship, but can he dogfight in-atmo with it? Ship's Boat would let him do that as much as the craft design would allow it.

OK, Thanks everyone!

 

[Straybow]

Flying is flying, but landing...

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

 

[jawillroy]

I'd been considering doing away with deckplate grav IMTU (decided against it, changes too much to remove it) and one of the results of this would be many fewer streamlined, atmosphere-capable starships (really hard to make rotational grav-arms, wheels, and cylinders streamlined) and a much heavier reliance on streamlined, atmosphere-capable small craft to shuttle stuff from surface to orbit.

That'd make the ship's boat/Pilot split make a bit more sense...

D'oh, and I'd made up my mind and evertything, and now I'm all thinky about it again!

 

[Whipsnade]

Gents,

IMTU, the difference between Pilot and Ship's Boat was more of a "Where you fly" than a "What you fly" determination. I based this off real world maritime conventions and the idea of restricted handling. So;

Pilot - Skewed towards deep space & long journeys
Ship's Boat - Skewed toward maneuvering in tight quarters & atmospheres.

We also need to remember that each defaults to the other and that level-0 skills impose no penalties on a task. A character with Pilot-1 also has Ship's Boat-0 and can attempt a Ship's Boat task without penalty. She may not get a bonus, but she isn't penalized either.

So, there really isn't that much different between the two just as their really isn't that much different between Revolver and Auto Pistol.


Have fun,
Bill