Help Please! Gain Arcane Skill at d4 with New Power

[Save-vs-DM]

Okay, so one of the house rules my players have is that when a Chi Master takes the New Power edge, they gain the arcane skill at d4. But I can't figure out how to do this. Can someone help me?

 

[Save-vs-DM]

In the same vein, we use Athletics instead of Climbing and Swimming. Is there a way to make the Athletics skill count as both Climbing and Swimming? The replaces thingid only has an option for 1 skill.

 

[zarlor]

I wouldn't use Replaces at all. Instead just preclude Climbing and Swimming in your data file and that will take care of that. Adding a skill at d4 is covered in the common code thread, though, in fact it's the very first example! Albeit it's adding Boating at d6. Just Bootstrap the skill and in the code you can just skip the:

~This will increase the Skill
foreach pick in hero where "thingid.skHealing"
  eachpick.field[trtBonus].value += 1
nexteach

You won't need to bump it up the extra die type since it would start at d4 anyway.

Going back to the use of the Replaces mechanic, the problem with using that is that it would take effect for EVERYTHING, regardless of the source you set on it or anything and in most cases you probably don't want to do that. Even for things we do use that are house rules where I do generally want something to happen for every data file I just create a separate House Rules file with those things in it and still use the preclude method. That way I just select the setting but also make sure to select my House Rules file to include our own rulings for stuff. Now if the setting already does some kind of preclude and replace for some reason you would probably need to figure out why and then preclude and do some replacements in your House Rules file to handle that, but I don't run into that too much.

 

[Save-vs-DM]

I wouldn't use Replaces at all. Instead just preclude Climbing and Swimming in your data file and that will take care of that. Adding a skill at d4 is covered in the common code thread, though, in fact it's the very first example! Albeit it's adding Boating at d6. Just Bootstrap the skill and in the code you can just skip the:

Can you dumb this down for me a little more? How would I set it up so that it only happens for the Super Powers (or Chi Mastery) background and it only gives you the skill for that newly selected power?

 

[zarlor]

Did you look at the Common Code Examples thread? It's the very first thing explained there. One the Edge you are creating that Bootstraps the AB, you just need to Bootstrap the skill you want and use the first part of the code so it doesn't charge you for it.

 

[SeeleyOne]

It should be noted that it does not charge you when you get a bootstrapped skill when you take the edge that grants it as an Advancement.

I suggest having two versions of the edge. One is for "creation only", which is a checkbox when you make the edge. This edge would include something like this eval script:
Phase: Pre-Traits
Priority: 5000
Script:

perform #resspent[resSkill,-,1,"Free Skill"]

Timing: Before Scripts: Calc trtFinal

Then make a second version, with the intent that it is taken only as an Advancement. It would not be "creation only" and would not have the above script. The problem is that Advancements do not use Skill points and ignore them altogether. Well, not really a problem, but a feature that makes sense. Anyway that is how you get around it. If you only have the version with the skill adjustment script, if you take that edge later on as an advance it would mess up your skill point total,

 

[Save-vs-DM]

Did you look at the Common Code Examples thread? It's the very first thing explained there. One the Edge you are creating that Bootstraps the AB, you just need to Bootstrap the skill you want and use the first part of the code so it doesn't charge you for it.

First thing I checked, but it didn't seem relevant. Thanks for the help.

Looking at the common code examples, is there a way to edit this:

foreach pick in hero where "thingid.skHealing"
  eachpick.field[trtBonus].value += 1
nexteach

so that it looks at what new power you selected and then gives you that arcane skill at d4?

 

[zarlor]

Oh, Chi Master. I see what you're trying to do now. Honestly, doing it would pretty much entail making a New Power Edge for every single power individually so you could do that OR you'd have to just add a a new New Power Edge strictly for Chi Mastery which I guess could grant you and extra skill point, but if you do that you'd have to switch your sheet back to character creation mode to then spend the point on the new skill... or you could do the same manually on the In Play section, which is what I would actually do. How many players are even going to need to deal with this and how often? The coded versions could be a pain compared to just doing it manually for those very few times you'd be needing to do it.

 

[Paragon]

Yeah, that sounds pretty painful.

 

[Save-vs-DM]

Hmm. What if I went about it the opposite way, and instead had the powers grant the d4, but only if the character has the Chi Mastery background? Would that work? Or rather, would sticking this code (changing the skill name) into the power do the trick?

~This will offset the cost:
if (hero.tagis[edgArcDLCh) <> 0) then
perform #resspent[resSkill,-,1,"Chaplain"]
endif
nexteach

~This will increase the Skill
if (hero.tagis[edgArcDLCh) <> 0) then
foreach pick in hero where "thingid.skHealing"
  eachpick.field[trtBonus].value += 0
endif
nexteach

 

[zarlor]

Well, that's sort of what I was saying earlier. In order for the powers to do it it would depend on where you had the powers. If they are already all copied over with the original powers precluded (like I think maybe might possibly be the case in the DLR file) then I'd just flat bootstrap the skill onto the power and be done with it. No need for any code, I don't think... although maybe the cost when you get any powers at character creation would be problematic... I any case, though, you'd have to do that on every power so if there are any powers you use that are not in the .user file you're modifying you'd have to add them in and the preclude the base versions. If you need to work through ones for character creation versus being in advancement I guess you'd then have to make duplicates of all of those powers, the creation ones having just the "offset the cost" code (no need to use any code to increase a skill by 0, after all) and the advancement ones just having the boostrap with no need for any of the above code.

All of which sounds like more work than its really worth to me, but if you're willing to do all of that, more power to you. (Then again, I'm not one to talk considering some of the stuff I've shoved into data files.)

 

[Save-vs-DM]

I think the new power giving a skill point is probably the easiest solution, then. Swapping between creation and advancement mode isn't very difficult.