Everyone once in a while my brain picks at a sci-fi LotFP hack that can be expressed in 3 pages or less to be at the start of an adventure I need to write. The biggest thing with radically changing the technological level of a setting is skills, as far as I can tell. How to do work out whether the PC knows/can do/is successful at a technological thing that isn't remotely covered by the existing rules?
I'm sure this has been hashed out at length and better elsewhere; I've been out of the game, so to speak, for a bit now.
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Skills
Option A: rip your favorite skill system that you feel comfortable enough with for a PCs death to result from a failed check in the right situation.
Option B: use the below correlation with Ability Scores, and have the PC roll under.
Option C: use the below correlation with Ability Scores, divided by 3 round down, and roll that or less on a d6 as per Specialist Skills. Optional: divide level by 3 and modify in PCs favor.
STR: Should be obvious
CON: Stamina or health related activities
DEX: Should be obvious (speed, fine motor skills, acrobatics)
INT: Things that require smarts that the character could have learned about before
WIS: Things that require smarts that the character couldn't have learned about before but coudl be figured out/intuited
CHA: Should be obvious / convincing people of stuff
So: opening a security door with a digital wall panel made by the PCs home race? INT (unless the PC is from a vastly different culture, maybe)
The same but on the ship of an alien species or vastly different culture? Wis, maybe at a penalty.
When INT and WIS fail...
Would love thoughts/opinions/links to other people getting at the same things. My goal is something a GM and players could feel comfortable with without a lot of time or reading.
