Starship Duty?

[AslanC]

Okay all the talk about when you have to buy this ability and when you don't is really confusing me.

Can someone explain this?

[Don Mappin]

Actually, it’s really simple. Starship Duty waives the prerequisites for entering a Starship Officer EP. You can take it (Starship Duty) as many times as you’d like.

That’s it.

The only thing that appears to be causing confusion is the question of does Starship Duty also bypass the 5 picks required to pickup an EP? We’re tossing this about in discussions for an official ruling.

You never "have" to buy it--you can pickup any Starship Officer EPs as long as you meet the prerequisites. (This is true for any profession, not just the Starship Officer.)

[Arknight]

Ok,

I had thought that once you got it, that was it. However, now my impression is that you would do (at the first creation) Starship Duty (Sciences), Starship Duty (Command), etc.?

Tom

[Doug Burke]

Right, Arknight. If you take the Starship Officer profession, you are required to take Starship Duty as your first Tier One Ability. This gives you one of the Starship Officer elite professions.

If, during advancement, you want to change jobs or departments, you could take Starship Duty again to get a second elite profession.

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by Doug Burke
If, during advancement, you want to change jobs or departments, you could take Starship Duty again to get a second elite profession.

Or simply meet the prerequisites. This is the little bit that everyone seems to keep missing. Starship Duty isn't required to pick up a Starship Officer EP--it just makes it easier.

[DavidSnyder]

But if it exempts you from paying the five advancement points,
it's cheaper to take Starship Duty than to meet the prerequisites.

-Dave

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by DavidSnyder
But if it exempts you from paying the five advancement points,
it's cheaper to take Starship Duty than to meet the prerequisites.

-Dave

Depending on how different the new elite prfoession is from what you have, meeting the prereqs may be more expensive even if Starship Duty doesn't waive the 5 pick cost. Prereqs are just another way to do it is all.

[AllenS]

when you take the Starship Officer profession, that gives you automatic Starship Duty, which lets you take the EP without spending the 5 picks. On that basis, it would seem that you could take Starship Duty again and get another EP the same way. My wife, Susan, will like this as it means her First Officer will have 5 more picks to play with as I made her pay the 5 points for her second EP, Starship Command Officer

Allen

[DavidSnyder]

>Depending on how different the new elite prfoession is from >what you have, meeting the prereqs may be more expensive >even if Starship Duty doesn't waive the 5 pick cost. Prereqs are >just another way to do it is all.

It'd make sense that one or the other was preferable at any particular time. But if Starship Duty waves the 5 pick cost, Prerequisites are NEVER better than taking Starship Duty. At best, if you happen to be a member of a non Starfleet Officer class and happen to meet the prerequisite requirements already, the costs are exactly the same.

If Starship Duty waves the five pick cost, there is never a reason to use prerequisites for Starship Officer Elite Professions.
Starship Duty is always at least as good.

-Dave

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by DavidSnyder
But if Starship Duty waves the 5 pick cost, Prerequisites are NEVER better than taking Starship Duty.

You'll notice, David, that I never said it was a "better" way, I just said it was a different way.

Options are good. Besides, not every decision made about how a character is made or advanced has to center around game mechanics.

[DavidSnyder]

I don't think it really is a diffirent way if it's an option that there's no incentive to ever take. It would just seem to needlessly complicate the rules.

It would also seem to be a poor model of reality in that it makes it as easy for Quark to become a Starship Medical Officer as it was for Dr. Phlox.

-Dave

[Chris Landmark]

Originally posted by DavidSnyder
I don't think it really is a diffirent way if it's an option that there's no incentive to ever take. It would just seem to needlessly complicate the rules.

It would also seem to be a poor model of reality in that it makes it as easy for Quark to become a Starship Medical Officer as it was for Dr. Phlox.

It would be a pretty large oversight on the part of the Narrator that would allow Quark's player to just spend his advancement picks and show up to the next session with a doctor's bag and a berth on a starship. While it may be easier from a mechanics standpoint for one to become a Starship Medical Officer through Starship Duty rather than by meeting the prerequisites, the Narrator should veto any attempt to do this unless there are sufficient story considerations to merit the character picking up Starship Duty and the new profession, such as a transfer (requested or not requested) ordered by Starfleet, the Klingon High Command, etc., lying about one's abilities ("I didn't know you were a doctor too, Quark." "Oh yes, I've been studying under Dr. Bashir for the past seven years. Nothing formal, you understand, I had a bar to run at the time..."), or some other extrordinary circumstance ("Well who's going to fly her for you, kid? You?").

-Chris

[DavidSnyder]

But if you're depending on the narrator to patrol things, prerequisites is still redundant. Even if you meet the prerequisites, the narrator could decide for some reason you're not suited for the profession.

"I know you meet all the prerequisites to be a Ship Counselor, Dr. Lecter, but I'm afraid there's been a problem with you
background check."

Having two mechanics to do the same thing where one is always at least as cheap as the other is still redundant.

-Dave

[EliasVaughn]

Yes, it is redundant. Redundancy strengthens systems; just look at the Klingon brak'lul.

[DavidSnyder]

Redundancy doesn't stregthen games systems. It weakens them by adding unneccessary complexity.

-Dave