Skills 101

[powersthatbe]

SKILLS 101 Skill AC Thresholds | Jaunt Skills | Teaching Threads | Using New Skills | Skill Equivalences | Anything Else? Skill AC Thresholds What constitutes skill AC? Single skill AC is 30 comments, same as standard, as we approach endgame. Double skill AC is 45 comments (half again standard), and has some additional requirements alongside comment count, but we’ll get to those in a minute. In both cases, the comment count must be spread across at least three threads (multiple threads off one toplevel or post count as separate threads, and log/psychic-post starters count as one comment), and all comments must have been made within the current AC window. As a general rule, new comments on threads that were started before the previous jaunt (the Liminal Space mingle immediately before a jaunt counts 'with' that jaunt) are not accepted for AC count. Psychic, Liminal, Hybrid, Favor, and Combo skills can be picked up with single-skill AC alone (even if that may mean you can’t really use the Combo skill until someone else takes it). To help new characters catch up on the sheer volume of available skills a little bit, newly accepted characters may claim one free skill for meeting standard AC (30 comments across at least two threads) each month of their first jaunt, for a total of two skills. This slot may be used for jaunt skills, as long as you have a thread proof (see below). Re-apped or un-idled characters are only eligible for this freebie if they did not claim any skills during their previous tenure in-game. I don’t know what skill I want to take. Can I bank it? No, you cannot bank your skill AC, or your first-jaunt freebie for meeting standard AC - skills must be claimed in the same month you earn the comment count. What you can do is submit your AC with ‘skill TBD,’ and go back and edit in your skill claim later, once you’ve made up your mind; if the skill mods beat you to it, they’ll ask what you’d like. Claiming a skill just because you have skill AC also isn’t mandatory; it’s just a fun bonus for going above and beyond standard activity. What are the special requirements for double skill AC? To claim double skill, in addition to reporting at least 45 comments within the current AC period, you must also show one of the following: ● That your character is in a plot-important role for the current jaunt; ● that you have a ‘teaching’ thread for at least one of your reported skills (more on those later); or ● that one of your reported skills is a Favor skill. I took a skill and don't want it anymore. Can I ditch it? For the most part, yes, if you've made skill AC for the month and haven't already dropped a skill from your collection on the current jaunt. For more details on the process, or to report a skill you'd like to be rid of, head over here. Jaunt Skills How do I claim a jaunt skill? To claim a jaunt skill, you must submit a thread proof that shows your character doing/having/being/obtaining the skill in question. This is true regardless of whether it’s your only skill for the month, or whether you’re in a plot-important role. Because jaunt skills always require a thread, they’re a popular source for taught skills, but they don’t always have to be taught. Often, but not always, jaunt skills are only available to investigators if an infiltrator teaches them. How elaborate does this thread proof have to be? That depends on whether you’re claiming it as single skill or double. For single skill AC, ‘thread’ proofs consisting of a single comment demonstrating the skill (‘my character sure is a mermaid/space rock/etc.’ or ‘here they are talking shop with an NPC about such and such trade’) have been accepted in the past. However, if the jaunt skill is your second skill, your thread proof will be scrutinized a little more closely; see below for more on that. What do I need to link on the AC submission form? Just your use proof for jaunt skills, or teaching proof for any second skill. If you're just taking one of the skills off of a skill tree, you don't need to link anything - all you need to do is list the name of the skill! Teaching Threads What constitutes a ‘teaching’ thread? What we’re really looking for in teaching proofs, whether they’re for jaunt skills or something off one of the skill trees, is some kind of CR-building activity, be it with new-to-you characters or old friends. Things that have been accepted in the past include: ● the teacher of a jaunt skill submitting the teaching thread as their proof ● two characters working together to figure out something off the skill trees ● a character buying a souvenir from an infiltrator/giving an item as a gift ● threads that pick up after the moment of teaching is over, so long as they mention a lesson took place What’s the T S U stuff on the Previous Universe Skills page mean? That indicates whether a given skill is teachable outside of the jaunt setting. Form changes and animal companions are pretty much always unavailable to pick up outside of a jaunt. The S stands for ‘special circumstances,’ meaning some condition or other needs to be met before the skill can be taught out-of-jaunt; for more details on one of those, contact the mods. If something’s not teachable outside of the jaunt, does that mean I can’t take it with a teaching proof during the jaunt? Not necessarily. Creative threading has netted ‘teaching’ threads for both form changes and animal companions in the past; there’s just no way to impart those skills on someone outside of that particular jaunt world. Using New Skills How soon can I use a skill I’m picking up? As long as you’re confident in your AC tally and any necessary prerequisites, you can use a tree skill as early as before AC the month you pick it up. The same goes for using jaunt skills out-of-jaunt before AC gets processed - by no means do you have to wait for the AC and skill mods to double-check everything! Skill Equivalences What’s up with skill equivalences? As we started accruing more and more jaunt skills, it came to our attention that some characters already had overlapping abilities, and might want to use their own skill sets to teach these skills to others or to bypass prerequisites for a more advanced skill. At its heart, that’s what the Skill Equivalences page is for - to give players a place to report these overlaps and present canon evidence to back them up, so that they can teach them to others. When we streamlined AC reporting to include skill reporting, the Skill Equivalences page became where new characters report powercaps and veteran skills, if necessary. My character has like 20 of these ‘endless mundane skills.’ Do I have to report them all? Certainly not! As far as mundane skills go, characters are generally assumed to have the mundane skills appropriate to their canon setting (for example, Japanese etiquette was a possible skill pickup in Doki Doki no Gakuen, and not a one of our gaggle of Japanese teenagers has reported the equivalence). You’re welcome to submit these equivalences if you want, but nine times in ten, there’s no requirement to do so; in fact, odds are it’ll be easier on everyone involved, including you, if you forego the step. Anything Else? I have a question you didn’t answer! In that case, feel free to ask! You can get in touch with the mod team at any time by email (synodiporians at gmail), or poke Quinn and Thomas, our skills helper mods, directly (if they can’t answer your question, they’ll know who can).