Trait Specialties Question

[urbwar]

I see it says you can get specialites free during character creation. Does it matter if you take the level 1 or level 2 specialty?

Also, what if you wanted to get a speciality later, with experience? I didn't see any info on that in the section under Advancement.

[Eddy Fate]

I see it says you can get specialites free during character creation. Does it matter if you take the level 1 or level 2 specialty?

Nope.  Level 2 gives you more, but takes more away.

Also, what if you wanted to get a speciality later, with experience? I didn't see any info on that in the section under Advancement.

Umm... uh... that's a good question!  Off the top of my head, I would say that you can choose to specialize when you increase a Trait rating, for 30 CP for level 1, and 60 CP for level 2.  You basically calculate the unspecialized/specialized ratings from your current Trait rating.

Example: You want to increase your Ranged Combat from 2, but you want to specialize.  30 CP would give you level 1, which would be "Ranged Combat (specialty) 1/3".  60 CP would give you level 2, which would be "Ranged Combat (specialty) 0/4".

I'll chat with Cindi, and come up with an "official" errata for that questions.  ;-)

[urbwar]

Nope.  Level 2 gives you more, but takes more away.

That I know; we were doing my nephew's character last night, and he had some traits that were -1/3 when he applied the specialty

Umm... uh... that's a good question!  Off the top of my head, I would say that you can choose to specialize when you increase a Trait rating, for 30 CP for level 1, and 60 CP for level 2.  You basically calculate the unspecialized/specialized ratings from your current Trait rating.

Example: You want to increase your Ranged Combat from 2, but you want to specialize.  30 CP would give you level 1, which would be "Ranged Combat (specialty) 1/3".  60 CP would give you level 2, which would be "Ranged Combat (specialty) 0/4".

I'll chat with Cindi, and come up with an "official" errata for that questions.  ;-)

So I found an errata for the game? Coolness :-)

That sounds good for advancement later. I was really surprised not to see it mentioned in the advancement section, since people could learn specialties during play and all

[Eddy Fate]

That I know; we were doing my nephew's character last night, and he had some traits that were -1/3 when he applied the specialty

And that's perfectly acceptable.  It's like those action movies where the hero is really good with one weapon, and kinda crap with any other.

So I found an errata for the game? Coolness :-)

Indeed you did!  Don't I feel a bit silly?

That sounds good for advancement later. I was really surprised not to see it mentioned in the advancement section, since people could learn specialties during play and all

I think it's just something that didn't cross our minds, but you're right - it's totally appropriate to the genre.

[urbwar]

And that's perfectly acceptable.  It's like those action movies where the hero is really good with one weapon, and kinda crap with any other.

He had good reasoning too. In his secret id, he's a target for bullies. So he took 2 specialties for stealth, and one for persuasion. And of course he took one for ranged combat for his flame blast power

Indeed you did!  Don't I feel a bit silly?

Nah! It's not something that's probably come up when the rules were playtested, otherwise it would have been in there. I've had the book for awhile, and it only came to mind now, because my nephew actually asked about getting them later for other traits, and I said yes (only to find it wasn't in the rules!)

I think it's just something that didn't cross our minds, but you're right - it's totally appropriate to the genre.

Cool. Then I am glad I caught it then. Now everyone can benefit from me bringing it up. So it's a win-win situation for everyone, designers, gm's and players alike :-)

[Eddy Fate]

And that's perfectly acceptable.  It's like those action movies where the hero is really good with one weapon, and kinda crap with any other.

He had good reasoning too. In his secret id, he's a target for bullies. So he took 2 specialties for stealth, and one for persuasion. And of course he took one for ranged combat for his flame blast power

Excellent!

I think it's just something that didn't cross our minds, but you're right - it's totally appropriate to the genre.

Cool. Then I am glad I caught it then. Now everyone can benefit from me bringing it up. So it's a win-win situation for everyone, designers, gm's and players alike :-)[/quote]

Which is awesome.  A couple of similar questions have come up since the book was released, and it's been great to be able to document these slight loopholes and tie them up.  If you're interested, the current errata is at the website (in my sig file), and it will be updated once Cindi and I come to an "official" agreement on buying specialities.

[urbwar]

Excellent!

Yeah, it was cool, especially since he came up with those ideas on his own. I didn't nudge him into anything.

Which is awesome.  A couple of similar questions have come up since the book was released, and it's been great to be able to document these slight loopholes and tie them up.  If you're interested, the current errata is at the website (in my sig file), and it will be updated once Cindi and I come to an "official" agreement on buying specialities.

Yeah, I need to check out the errata, just to make sure the character came out ok.

BTW, check out the other thread (the one I had started about getting my nephew into roleplaying via CAH), as I posted the 4 SA's for his character. I wanted feedback on if I had handled the costs and such correctly

[Norbert]

> And that's perfectly acceptable. It's like those action movies where the
> hero is really good with one weapon, and kinda crap with any other.

Good. But I noticed that some characters in the Iconia book have a
Specialty taken from trait rating "zero", like Bouldarr who has Performer at -1/1. Technically, this costs zero CP, but it is not conforming to the rules earlier in char-gen where you say that you have to take at least level 1 in a trait to get a Specialty.
GM's option, I guess...

[Eddy Fate]

Good. But I noticed that some characters in the Iconia book have a Specialty taken from trait rating "zero", like Bouldarr who has Performer at -1/1. Technically, this costs zero CP, but it is not conforming to the rules earlier in char-gen where you say that you have to take at least level 1 in a trait to get a Specialty.  GM's option, I guess...

Oops.  :-)