O.C.C. Cross Vocational Training

[Aermas]

What are some O.C.C.s with specialized abilities or learning/skills that could (arguably) be learned by any appropriate O.C.C. given enough time, dedication & specialized training?

A clear example is Temporal Magic. If one takes a decade of their life to study & servitude under a Temporal practitioner, they can learn a spell or two. Or Nazca Line mages, theoretically if you devote enough time & study you can learn them too.

This isnt limited to magic classes either. I'd like to make a list of any vocational training or knowledge

[darthauthor]

According to one of the Dinosaur books, it is possible to learn the Wilderness Scout's O.C.C. special ability of Cartography (Map Making).

I think I remember it taking 2 skills. I forgot if they were secondary or O.C.C. Related.

[Devjannz]

I think that any skill that does not require other Advanced Skills (that the character does not already have) or is a natural ability can be taught to someone else even if it says that they cannot select it as a Related or Secondary skill as long as there is someone to teach it to them. How to handle that would be up to the GM.

[ShadowLogan]

Fanatic Robophile Skill in WB20 (pg117-8) is available to other OCCs beyond the Headhunter Anti-Robot Specialist

The previous mentioned Wilderness Scout variants in WB26 also have skills that can be selected at increased cost

I'd argue any/most of the Japanese Martial Arts in WB8 (China MA to, but I don't have the book) should also be available as some of the base HTH can be traded in those OCCs for the more advanced forms (not always consistent though).

World Book 10 has Pilot Skyccycles, Pilot Death's Head Transport (both pg84), Lore Geomancy (pg83), Homemade Explosive Skill (pg82, I'd require some other skills to be known for this like Chemistry and Basic Mechanics OR Demolitions).

World Book 14, some of the OCC abilities get repeated which IMHO means they could be reasonably picked up by other OCCs, especially since some of them already exist as standalone skills (like Sharpshooting, Trickshooting) or have been made that way by the time of RUE (my copy of WB14 is RMB-era). "Drink others under the table" and/or "Tolerance to Alcohol" (same ability) would be an ability that could be available to some classes automatically given the description.

[Hotrod]

Heroes of Humanity's advanced training (AT) packages include some skills that were previously O.C.C.-restricted:

The Close Quarters AT allows characters to upgrade Hand-to-Hand: Martial Arts to Hand-to-Hand: Commando.

Field Intelligence AT includes some assessment abilities similar to the Vagabond's "Eyeball a feller" ability.

The Marksmanship Training allows for quick draw with bonuses that are normally associated with gunslinger-type O.C.C.'s.

The Stealth AT includes abilities that are pretty similar to the Ninja arts of stealth.

[Blue_Lion]

The TW ability to make TW devices, is based off a skill found in the list of normal OCC skills not as a ability. So it could be possible to learn the TW skill or transfer it with instill knowledge.

[Aermas]

Or maybe with a a masters course in Lalzo?

[Grazzik]

My house rules on skills are rather loose and dynamic as I believe anyone can learn anything with time and money and effort.

• Skills mean you can do something if you know it (prowl, cartography, engineering etc.), but maybe not all the nitty gritty details
• Lore is where you know all about something but may not necessarily be able to do it (catalogs of prowl techniques by terrain, the history of map making, the theory of how engines work, etc.)
• A PC can learn any lore they want if the knowledge is available, like from books or teachers or empirical research.
• A GM can make up any lore they want, no matter how obscure or ridiculous... Lore: Basket Weaving in the Post Modern Era
• Unless otherwise listed, a lore is 25%+5%/level
• Outside of leveling, a PC can learn any Secondary skills that are reasonably simple and that they can physically do - not just the ones listed in RUE, but subject to a GM using common sense (no temporal physics, but boxing is okay for crying out loud)
• Base level Secondary skill can be learned over 300 hours of study (intense: 13 wk @ 23hr/wk, formal: 39 wk @ 8hr/wk)
• Up to three Secondary skills can be learned at any given time

Cost of Education Rule Per Skill or Lore (for Rifts)

• Wilderness Scholar... in the wilderness - 250Kcr
• Small Urban School - 4Kcr (-5% penalty)
• Academy / College / University - 12Kcr
• Advanced University - 32Kcr (2x study time, +5% bonus)
• Exclusive University - 120Kcr (2x study time, +10% bonus)

So, bottom line, if a player sees a skill or lore they like in another OCC or listed as a special skill or a talent that has a percentile and could be rationalized as a skill by a half-decent rules lawyer, this allows the PC at least a passing familiarity with it. The problem is that the likelihood of a passing dice roll at a base level is often so low that it's not worth the time and money to learn the secondary skill or lore in the first place for PCs that have advanced sufficiently to afford the luxury of learning.

[Blue_Lion]

PB does have rules for changing your class. It recommends to limited it to one time, you can find the rules in High seas Adeventures for PF. (a earlier draft is in the cutting room floor under PF on the PB websight) there is a school in NG book that likely has courses for combat classes. Most major nations have training courses for their military, and there are story reasons that nation might teach them a new occ. For example, a CS grunt applies to and gets picked up for CS special forces, could be trained in the new occ by the CS.