Skills

Some rough notes on skills. I haven't finished typing up all of this.

Section 1: How skills are handle in Nexus.

Nexus has 3 types of skills. No master skill list exists for Nexus. Players and GMs are encouraged to invent new ones. The Nexus rule book does give sevearl example skills in the skill section, and many others are scattered througout the book. Rember Nexus uses Character Points and is point based in character design.

Skill Types & Costs
Narrow/Trivial Skills ½ CP per level
Specific Skills 1 CP per level
Package Skills 2 CP per level

Familiarities are zero level skills. They cost 1 CP less than the skill cost.
Familiarities for 1 point cost skills cost ½ CP. Familiarities for ½ point skills are free.
Some package skills give familiarities.
A Familiarity gives no AV bonus, but the user suffers no non-familiarity penalties when using that skill.

Skill Examples

Narrow/Trivial Skills
Baseball trivia (Mnd:Int)
Basketball (Ref:Agl)
Comic (Mnd:Cha or Int, whichever is lower)
Computer Usage (Mnd:Int)
Dance (Ref:Agl)

Specific Skills
Bargaining (Mnd:Int or Cha)
Brawling (Ref:Agl)
Computer Programing (Mnd:Int)
Dodge (Ref:Agl)
Intimidation (Mnd:Cha)
Language (no base attribute)
Lock Picking (Ref:Dex)
Persuasion (Mnd:Cha)
Stealth (Ref:Agl)
Vehicle Operation (Ref:Dex)
Weapon Skill (Ref: Dex ranged, Agl hand to hand)
Wrestling (Ref:Agl)

Package Skills
Actor (Mnd:Cha)
Computer Freak (Mind:Int)
Criminal (Mnd:Int)
Culture (Mnd:Cha for etiquette, Int for knowledge)
Grit/Con (Mnd:Cha)
Gun Combat (varies)
Hand to Hand (Ref:Agl)
Martial Arts (Ref:Agl)
Sample Martial Arts:
Karate
Streetfighting
Military/Grunt (Mnd:Int)
Military/Officer (Mnd:Int for tactics, Cha for leadership)
Mystic Scene (Mnd:Int for knowledge, Cha for interpersonal)
Nexan (Mnd:Int)
Politics (Mnd:Cha for persuasion/oration, Int for strategy)
Polygot (no base attribute)
Skulking/Thief (Ref:Agl)
Sorcery (Mnd:Int)
Streetwise (Mind:Int for knowledge, Cha for interpersonal)

If your not clear on what each skill type does this may help. The various computer skills in the example list illistrate this.

Coumputer Usage - You know how to use a computer. You can't program one, and you aren't super computer savy.

Computer Programing - You know how to use a computer plus can program it.

Computer Freak - You can use a computer, program one, build one. You are skilled and knowledgeable in just about all topics relating to a computer.

Package skills cover a wide range of related abilities. Actor for example, doesn't just cover acting, but stage make up techniques, and other things that an actor would know that could be seperate skills.

Feng Shui Skills allow the use to have contact in a particular field that is valid to the skill. Nexus doesn't let you do this and makes you purchase an seperae advantage with CP for that. FS skills when converted over tend to all into the catagory of Package Skills.

Now I had done some very rough CP comparisions with Feng Shui Archetypes using Nexus CP costs. For example look at the numbers for the Monster Hunter and Scrappy Kid. The Scrappy Kids unique schticks aren't given. (I haven't worked out what those would be CP wise yest.) Package Powers are a system in Nexus to build special abilities like magick powers, psychic ablities, etc. that hasn't neen covered with a specific advantage all ready. I'll skip the rules on this, but it was the closest way to convert Chi over. Most character have Chi at 0 which makes it perfect for using the Nexus Powers System. A Schtick will translate over as an Advantage or a Nexus Power in Nexus.

Monster Hunter

CP Cost Purchased
50 Add 50 CP to one primary attribute or to the Package Power: Chi
50 Package Power:Chi, at a value of 5
20 Package Skill: Arcanowave Device: Mag
14 Package Skill: Gun Combat
8 Package Skill Info/Ancient China
8 Package Skill: Martial Arts
9 9 CP to make one FS Gun Schtick
9 9 CP to make one FS Arcanowave Schtick
9 9 CP to make one FS Arcanowave Schtick
-6 Poor income

162 Total Base Package Cost

Scrappy Kid

CP Cost Purchased
20 Add 20 CP to one primary attribute or to the Package Power: Chi
10 Add 10 CP to one primary attribute or to the Package Power: Chi
70 Package Power:Chi, at a value of 7
2.5 Narrow/Trivial Skill: Info/Comic Books*
2 Narrow/Trivial Skill:Computer Usage*
1.5 Narrow/Trivial Skill: Skateboards*
1.5 Narrow/Trivial Skill: Pop Music*
4 Package Skill Info/choice
10 Package Skill: Martial Arts*
12 Package Skill: Sorcery
4 4 CP to make one FS Fu Schtick
4 9 CP to make one FS Arcanowave Schtick
17 9 CP to make one FS Arcanowave Schtick
-6 Poor income

162 Total Base Package Cost

If you use the Nexus costs you'llget some interesting resaults if you compare various FS types. Even with this the FS types don't have a universal CP cost that they were all built from.

Section 2: Making FS Skills that may be of no use usefull and very important in a game.

As any experienced player and GM of FS knows all skills aren’t created equally.

This is especially true in the case of info skills. Info/Computers is going to be much more helpful than Info/Comic Books or
These Info skills that are of a more trivial nature could be very valuable in a FS adventure provided the GM utilizes them. To illstrate this I'll give some examples.

Example: Info/Comic Books.

The players just defeated a Buro cybernetic demon that was sent to kill them. The GM tells the player of the Scrappy Kid that recalls there is something familiar with the cyberdemon and a comic book and has the player make a skill check against Info/Comic Books .
The player makes a skill check against Info/Comic Books to see what he knows.

Depending on the degree of success the player will know that the one or more of the following:

1.) The cyberdemon is on the cover of a comic book.
2.) The comic in question is an independent title and isn’t a Marvel or DC one.
3.) The comic in question is a Wuxing Press one.
4.) The cyberdemon is on the cover of the newest issue of “The Bronze Dragon”
5.) The comic is written and drawn by Steven Chen.
6.) The player has actually read it and knows that the basic plot of the issue, which was The Bronze Dragon is forced to team up with a Triad bosses in order to defeat the cyberdemon that was sent to kill him and most of the triad bosses in Hong Kong. The demon was sent by some mysterious group from the future that uses technology and magic, but the exact identity of them and what their exact goals are hasn’t been revealed in the comic series.
7.) One of the triad bosses that gets attacked in the same issue that looks a lot like Fast Eddie.

And I’ll leave it at that kudos if your Info/Feng Shui RPG skill kicked in with Wuxing Press refrence if you figured Steven Chen was going to get mentioned. (See Back For Seconds)

The Info/Comic Books could even have an advantage of Info/Computers in this adventure.

Example: 2: Info/Comic Books vs. Info/Computers

The situation the characters have got in to Chen’s studio and want to search his computer for clues. The GM has decided that in the art on Chen’s computer are various clues that could be of great help.
Info/Computer is the skill one would normally use but info/Comic Books might be better as the player will know exactly what graphics programs to check to see what files were access last from them. Chen has 30 different graphics and publishing programs on it and not all of them are used when he makes his comic books.

To be contiuned...

Comming Soon: Specific examples of what could be gotten with Info/Comic Books vs. Info/Computer and an example of to use that Info/Noodle Making skill in a game.

I find it interesting my spreadsheet breakdown came fairly close, giving the Scrappy Kid 122 points and Monster Hunter 124, so though it is a lower point total, it actually comes up with a slight difference but still puts the two types very close to each other, capability-wise.

Yeah, the stats mesh pretty close for several of the characters. The biggest problem comes to when you get to schtick costs. A schtick in Nexus terms when translated over will cost anywhere from 1 CP and up. Most cost 4CP or 7 CP I’ve noticed. Also note that some attributes cost more and you have the paired attribute option that can help lower costs.

Nexus is prone to munchkinism and the rules tell you to not worry too much about point costs. It also has a problem of being not clear on how certain systems work fully, and I’ve been unable to reverse build some of the Nexus characters in its' rule book because of this.

I did try to build the Scrappy Kid’s 2 unique schticks in Nexus terms. I was going to wait till I posted the continuation post, but I'll do it now.

The cost came out to 5 for each of them.

Distraction Attack – You can decide to attack to distract an opponent rather than injure him - by throwing things at him, pulling his shirt over his head, squirting him with whip cream, and so on. You opponent suffers 3 points of Impairment per level you have in this power for a number of shoots equal to Outcome. The Impairment can’t be increased by further distraction attacks. This power works to full effect in all reality conditions.

Type: Nexus Specific Power
Power Type: Attack
CP Cost: 5 per level

Squirmy Lil' Bastard - Your Action Value when dodging is always 2 x (power level in this power) higher than your Martial Arts or Sorcery value. This power works to full effect in all reality conditions, and is considered to be always on, can’t be negated, and costs no shots to use.

Type: Nexus Specific Power
Power Type: Empowering Alter
CP Cost: 5 per level.

Note: You can’t improve your level in these powers in FS. Nexus uses levels for powers. The Scrappy Kiid gets these both at level one.
So our Scrappy Kid archetype will cost 172 CP.

Note you can make these powers cost more to make the Scrappy Kid by changing some numbers in description. Examples: change the numbr of impaiment points per power level in the Attack one or change the "2 x" to a diffrent number in the "2 x (power lel in this power) in the Squirmy one.

I have to finish typing up my continuation of using Info/Comic Books, etc. in the next few days, if I get some free time.