Skill proficiency rework

Intent

• The old system allows someone dedicated enough and with enough time to max every single skill in the game, making skills effectively obsolete in roleplay
• The concept of starting "profession" is very obscure and only obfuscates the intent of "your background makes you good at this" without adding any depth
• Combat skills aren't necessarily something that should be rolled, nor something that should be maxed to keep up with the combat subsystem
• It's a credit sink, making rich players stronger in roleplay, to a disruptive level even if caps were enforced

The new system intends to offer the following:

• More accessibility: no or very little impact from farming heavens 24/7 on your skill array
• No obfuscation: you pick your skills, done, easy.
• As a baseline, players have some level of training (50%+ chance to tackle DC6 challenges) in half of the skills in the game (up to a full specialization) and basic competency in the other half (85%+ to tackle DC1 challenges)
• Keep the skill system as a tool for storytellers and not an avenue of mechanical optimization

Properties of the rework

Each player is given the opportunity to pick:

• 2 specializations
• 4 Interests
• 8 hobbies
• beginner level in the remaining 16 skills

Having a skill at hobby level or higher ensures an increasingly high chance (starting at 35%) to tackle standard DC6 tasks, with specialists being able to tackle DC9 tasks 35-40% of the time instead). Those levels correspond to the current proficiency number of 40, 30, 25, and 10, respectively

During the transition period, breaking down of precious items from lack of skill proficiency is temporarily disabled

The following gameplay effects of skills are removed, backed in character baseline, or changed:

• [implemented] intimidation no longer affects shop prices
• [implemented] economics no longer affects shop prices
• [implemented] Xeno is no longer needed to see enemy HP
• [implemented] Xeno is no longer needed to see player mutations, but no longer show "real" mutation (behind looks human/looks native perks) at high xeno
• [implemented] Combat skills no longer affect combat abilities power and effectiveness
• [implemented] Combat previous items will never require more than 10 in a given skill to upkeep, obtained from beginner proficiency alone
• [implemented] Armor skill no longer affect power armor salvage drain (it uses the standard value of "20")

The following skills are removed from the game:

• Climbing
• Running
• Strength \_ This becomes Athletics
• History
• Legends
• Theology \_ This becomes Academics
• First-Aid (Medicine can cover it)
• Management
• Economics

The following skills are added to the game:

• Athletics
• Academics
• Armor

The following skills are changed to apply to different RP scenario:

• to
• do

Know issues

• Strength-increasing powers haven't been reassigned to improving Athletics instead
• Similarly, History/Legends/Theology haven't been reassigned to academics