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When adding up your character's skill percentages (specifically in Robotech), do you count 1st level among the "% per level of experience"?

Put another way,
- You have a skill of 30% + 5% per level of experience.
- Your character is third level.
- What is your character's total percentage for that skill, please?

Also of equal importance - Would you please provide a link of the source material you learned this information from? I'm looking for Palladium rules (as opposed to "house rules" or "Well, I would say").

Thanks in advance, fellow gamers!

=)

Some earlier rule books explicitly stated that the bonus "per level of experience" for skills starts accruing at 2nd level. There are multiple examples of this, but I'll point to the one that was closest at hand:

RUE, p. 300:

For example: The Physical skill of Swimming reads: Base Skill: 50% +5% per level of experience. This means that a first level character without an O.C.C. bonus has a base skill proficiency of 50%. At second level +5% is added to increase the skill to 55%, at third level it increases to 60%, and so on.

Shadow Chronicles does not actually state this, and I cannot tell if this is an oversight or a deliberate rule change. There seem to be a lot of GMs who count the bonus at first level anyway, since 1) the bonus is so small as to have little impact in the long run, and 2) many other effects in the game (super powers, spells, psionics) calculate their "per level of experience" bonuses starting at first level. I have also heard anecdotal claims from convention-goers that even Kevin Siembieda himself counts the skill bonus at level 1, so make of that what you will.

The "per level" for skills does not kick in until 2nd level. That can be found in 2E RT TSC Main Book (manga size) on pg219 under "Skill Bonuses" in character creation toward the end of Step 5, the page assignment likely is different in the full-size version. I don't think its ever stated in 1E, but that is how we played it.

Thanks again! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. =)

=)

The first level only gives you the skill at the base percentage. The second and subsequent levels give you the per-level increase.

ShadowLogan wrote:The "per level" for skills does not kick in until 2nd level. That can be found in 2E RT TSC Main Book (manga size) on pg219 under "Skill Bonuses" in character creation toward the end of Step 5, the page assignment likely is different in the full-size version. I don't think its ever stated in 1E, but that is how we played it.

Silly me, I was looking in the skill descriptions section. Indeed, the cited page includes the same text as RUE.

I count one if they neglect to include a subsequent/additional disclaimer, hiding "not till 2nd" rules outside the skill itself is unfair.

Agree about the +% per level kicks in @ 2nd level onwards.

Unless a skill/ability bonus says "per each level of experience" (such as some of the Lew Line Walker's OCC abilities).

i.e. 30 + 5% per each level = 45 at 3rd level vs 30 +5 per level = 40% at 3rd.

I cannot recall any books throughout the PB lines, that across-the-board counted +%/level as each level including Level 1.

Here is a question about skill percentages too that I cannot find having been addressed. OCC Related Skills say, "All new
skills start at level one proficiency." and Secondary Skills say, "All secondary skills start at the base skill level."

I took this to mean that OCC Related when taken at higher levels equal their level of the character, and Secondary skills are at the base % without levels.

Is this correct? Or do all skills start at base proficiency as if level 1? If not then why is there a distinction implied between them for all OCC's?

OCC related, when you pick up a new skill, starts at the base level (the listed % in the skill list) plus any mods specified by the OCC's catagory list.

Secondary skills, since they do not receive OCC related bonuses, only get the base %.

basically both are starting at "level one", the wording is just different.

glitterboy2098 wrote:OCC related, when you pick up a new skill, starts at the base level (the listed % in the skill list) plus any mods specified by the OCC's catagory list.

Secondary skills, since they do not receive OCC related bonuses, only get the base %.

basically both are starting at "level one", the wording is just different.

This.

Ok. Thanks

note that bonuses/penalties that come from attributes (high IQ, or low ME, MA, etc), or from other skills (like hunting), and other such sources, apply whether the skills in question are OCC, OCC related, or secondary.