Overview
Here on BSG Orion, every PC automatically receives a small amount of XP every week to reflect the time he or she devotes to performing their chosen occupation. While PCs' Attributes are meant to remain static reflections of their inherent capabilities, PCs can spend XP to improve their Skills. A player must wait one week for every XP point spent until they may +request to up this skill level again. Skill levels may not be jumped, either. For example, a player with loads of XP cannot go from Level 1 Firearms to Level 6 without stepping up one level at a time.
At a rate of 2XP per week, standard, our ratios provide the ability for characters learning untrained skills to become Proficient (4-6 dots) relatively quickly. This provides players the ability to become relevant and competitive in their new focus areas fairly fast. Past six dots, the scale gets harder to afford and spends become more about precision placement. While pilots need to concern themselves with both Piloting and Gunnery, Marines will need to be concerned with Firearms and Melee. Everyone should consider Alertness checks. There are many places to put XP, but past six dots it becomes a consideration.
XP Scale
Our XP scale is as follows:
1 XP/dot for every dot purchase up to six dots.
At seven dots and up (the Veteran levels), the costs are staggered and become increasingly expensive:
6 to 7=10 XP
7 to 8=14 XP
8 to 9=18 XP
9 to 10=24 XP
10 to 11=30 XP
11 to 12=40 XP
To break it down further, consider the following scenarios:
Raising a skill from 0 to 1 (rookie) costs 1 XP.
Raising a skill from 0 to 4 (proficient) costs 10 XP (1 + 2 + 3 + 4).
Raising a skill from 0 to 7 (veteran) costs 31 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 10) XP.
Raising a skill from 4 to 5 costs 5 XP.
We realize that there is currently an +xp code on the MUSH, but we ask that players please refrain from using this. To use your XP, please send a +request to staff so we can edit your +sheet. We do not generally require justification for stat increases within a given field. For instance, a Marine won't just pick up a dot of Vipers on a lark. Obviously, raising your primary skill or skills (Piloting/Gunnery for Viper pilots, Firearms for Marine Rifle, ECM for ECOs, &c.) requires no such justification up until 10, at which point staff needs to see IC participation and/or practice. The higher the spend, the more justification will be required. If a Marine wants to pick up Piloting, though, we will want to see RP towards this end as well as IC permissions granted towards using Flight Sims, etc.
Instruction
If your PC has the Instruction skill, she can help her student lower the cost of an experience purchase he makes. This works by reducing the cost of a skill by 1 XP, up to a minimum of 1 (that is, buying the first dot still costs the student 1 XP). You can teach PCs if the following two conditions are met:
1) You possess the Instruction skill
2) You have four dots or higher in the skill you want to teach.
You can train a student up to a maximum level determined by your instruction skill or the skill in question, whichever is lower. Consider the following examples:
1) Cynthia has 4 Instruction and 5 Raptors. She can train somebody up to 4 in Raptors.
2) Dave has 4 Raptors and 5 Instruction. He can train somebody up to 4 in Raptors.
3) Abe has 2 Instruction and 4 Raptors. He can train somebody up to 2 in Raptors.
4) Belinda has 6 Instruction and 3 Raptors. She can't train anybody at all!
A teacher can have only as many students as dots in the Instruction skill. A teacher with 4 dots in Instruction can teach four students in Raptors, or three students in Raptors and one in Vipers, or two in ECM, one in Raptors, and one in Vipers. You get the picture.
A student may only have only one instructor at a time.
To take advantage of this opportunity, please have your teacher throw us a +request and we'll get things kicking!
Attn: Nuggets!
Nuggets — that is, flight cadets — may translate their existing Piloting skills into the corresponding squadron focus to represent the accumulated weight of knowledge they've gathered in a slightly different spaceframe. If you're a nugget learning to fly, you can spend two (2) points of XP to receive a percentage of your Piloting score in the corresponding focus of your choice. Since both Raptors and Vipers use the same skill, this will be an overall reset of your character's skill and aptitude towards the squadron (frame) they will be flying with. This one-time bonus will cap out at 3 dots and must be applied prior to purchasing any additional dots in the skill.
The scale is as follows:
Piloting 1-2: 1 dot in Vipers or Raptors
Piloting 3-5: 2 dots in Vipers or Raptors
Piloting 6+: 3 dots in Vipers or Raptors