First off lets go with the base class skills
First off, I have a gripe with the OCC having body building as a physical skill, while I don't oppose soldiers taking physical skills body building is the wrong approach. Robot Pilots have almost no connection between their physical abilities and their actual role in combat. Steve Erkle could be a damn effective robot pilot, with the right implants Stephen Hawking could be a damn effective as a robot pilot, Someone who is pumped up could be an effective pilot, but once in the suit they would have no effective advantage over the nerds they used to beat up once in the suit. The genuine physical challenge a Robot Pilot has is fitting in his seat, while PP is clearly valuable and PE allows you to stay in your armor longer PS is largely meaningless. I would replace that skill with general athletics as the primary physical goal of a power armor pilot is not to get too fat to fit into his suit.
Next is the Climbing skill, to which I have to ask: why? Why would climbing be a mandatory part of piloting training? Climbing in power armor or a robot is like prowling, your weight and sometimes awkward shape makes it next to impossible and the movement abilities of power armor often make it unnecessary, how often do you think you climb in SAMAS?
we then follow some good skills and come up to running. running? the only thing more useless than strength to a robot pilot is running speed.
OK, I obviously have issues with the physical skills a robot pilot gets, this is because a Robot pilot's profession has little to do with his own actual physical ability, its only slightly less silly than making a borg do a 1000 crunches a day for a year before letting him get his conversion. Obviously as a professional soldier, some physical training is useful and necessary but skills that do not reflect the actual profession of robot piloting don't make much sense to me.
So here is a list of the skills a Robot Pilot should have:
- Pilot Robot:
Power armor Combat: Basic
Radio: Basic
Heavy MD weapons
Literacy
Computer Use
Sensory Equipment
Optic Systems
Weapons systems
Piloting/power armor combat is pretty self explanatory, Radio: Basic is primarily because of the advanced radios robots and power armor have built in. Heavy MD weapons is the default weapon proficiency of all modern weapons hooked up to a suit of power armor. Literacy and computer use are useful for using that great combat computer in that suit. Sensory Equipment and Optic Systems are useful for making the most of the cool perception enhancements (notice the Robot Pilot OCC does not include optic systems). Weapon systems is because the skill it more than a +1 for heavy MD weapons, the sophisticated computers, sensors and radios in robots and power armor combine to make you a ideal forward observer for whatever artillery your team has handy.
The MOS selection is not that much better, For some reason Piloting Helicopters and fighters is shoehorned in to power armor pilots and construction vehicles, because the word "pilot" in the OCC means any piloting skill is applicable.
The other problem I have is the additional combat skills every few levels, because even if you get new one, its levels behind your original skills, making it less valuable to take up these vehicles compared to the robots you started with.
Tomorrow I'll post my updated Robot Pilot OCC.
Welcome to the Jason Richards school of O.C.C. design.
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