Trades

Trades are the most common type of roll in SolarLink. A character’s Trade represents training in a particular field. Trades may include a traditional job (ex. Surgeon, TerraLink Pilot), a role (ex. Marksman), or even a specialized talent (ex. Pole Vaulter). Each player decides what Trades their character is trained in.

Trades are intended to be open-ended and flexible in order to keep options open to players. Generally, this poses a challenge to GMs, as they need to anticipate where a Trade may be relevant. GMs should review and approve Trade selections to ensure they are no broader than a typical career choice (ex. Trade (Science) is too broad). If a GM wants to restrict the list of Trades, they can stick to Trades listed within this SRD. A full list of Trades listed in this SRD is provided for convenience.

Trades are used for any non-trivial action that is not explicitly covered by a Maneuver. Note that the Trade system is intended to be flexible. Just because an exact action is not covered within the rules of SolarLink does not mean it cannot be accomplished. It is up to GMs to determine what actions are possible and what Trade needs to be rolled for the action to be accomplished.

Training Trades

When making a new character, players get a number of Trade Points (TP) dependent on their class. Workers, Super Soldiers, and Willblades gain six (6) TP upon character creation. Savants, who are specialized in Trades, gain nine (9) TP upon character creation. In addition to their class, characters gain TP equal to their Intellect Attribute Modifier during character creation. A negative Intellect Modifier reduces the number of TP received from a class; however, this total cannot go below one (1).

Training in a Trade is as simple as spending Training Points on Trade Ranks (TR) for a specific Trade. A TR represents how well trained an individual is in that Trade. Generally, there a maximum of five (5) TP can be spent on a single Trade. This cap increases by one (1) per level.

Since SolarLink makes use of a 2d10 system, rather than a single die roll, each additional point is more valuable than the previous. Therefore, some degree of Trade specialization is expected. Note that most character power in SolarLink is intended to come from character wealth. With the exception of Savants, no class gains additional TP per level.

Using Trades

Trades are intended to be open-ended. Generally, the GM will call for Trade Rolls when appropriate, but all players are expected and encouraged to ask the GM if an opportunity to utilize a Trade is useful. When a Trade Roll occurs, the GM will assign a Difficulty for the Trade Roll. The difficulty should be determined by how difficult the action a character is trying to perform is.

This SRD includes Difficulties for many Trade applications, but there will be several instances where a GM might need to assign a Trade difficulty. The Table "Examples of Trade Roll Difficulty" provides the success rate of a task for an untrained median person and how it relates to difficulty. Note that, with a 2d10 roll, the median person cannot roll lower than a two (2). Note the GM might adjust the Difficulty of any Trade Roll, including those listed in the SRD, due to extranuating circumstances.

Once the GM determines a Trade Roll should be made, the modifier for the Trade Roll needs to be determined (Figure: Determining the Trade Roll Modifier). First the GM should determine if the Trade Roll can be performed untrained. A character is untrained in a Trade if they have no TRs in that Trade or a relevant Trade. If the GM determines the Trade (called a necessary Trade) Roll cannot be performed untrained, any characters without a relevant Trade automatically fail the Trade Roll. If characters have TRs in a relevant Trade or the Trade Roll can be performed untrained, the characters make a Trade Roll by rolling 2d10 and adding any relevant Trade, a relevant Attribute Bonus, and any other bonuses or penalties determined by the GM.

For characters with a relevant Trade, they add their TR in the Trade to the 2d10 roll as well as a relevancy penalty. If a character’s Trade perfectly matches Trade requested for the Trade Roll, then the player adds the TR and receives no relevancy penalty. If a character's relevant Trade is overlapping with the requested Trade Roll, but not exact, then a minus one (-1) penalty to the roll should be given. For example, a Mechanical Engineer would receive a minus one (-1) penalty for Trade Rolls of various mechanical components they do not specialize in. If a relevant Trade is loosely relevant, but still has cross-field applications, then a minus two (-2) penalty for the Trade Roll should be added to the modifier. For example, the GM may rule that a character may utilize their TRs in Trade(Marksman) to throw darts at a bar, but at a minus two (-2) penalty.

For every Trade Roll, an appropriate Attribute Modifier determined by the GM is added to the 2d10 roll. This is done by the GM determining what Attribute Modifier is needed for the Trade Roll in a specific context. Different contexts can result in the same Trade adding a different Attribute Bonus for requested Trade Rolls. For example, a Trade(Surgeon) Roll would require Intellect to remember details of the human body, but it requires Dexterity to make an ultrafine incision. Generally, GMs will find that most Trades have a preferred Attribute. For example, engineering-based Trade Rolls nearly always use Intellect. Note that, if a character has no relevant Trade, they still apply their Attribute Modifier to their Trade Roll.

Trades may be used in place of Attribute Rolls when appropriate and approved by the GM. For example, if a character is standing on an unstable surface, the GM may request a Dexterity Attribute Roll for the character to remain standing. If the player has a relevant Trade, such as Trade(Trapeze Artist), the GM may allow the player to use their TRs in that Trade on the roll. While some actions may require a Trade Roll, the GM may determine that untrained operation occurs in disastrous (rather than no) effect. For example, TerraLinks are complicated spacecraft. Attempting to operate one by pressing random buttons results in random results.

Assumed Trade Rolls

Oftentimes the time to complete an activity may be on the scale of days or even months. When the time scale is so large, making a Trade Roll for every unit of the time an activity takes becomes too tedious. Instead it is better to take an assumed Trade Roll that automatically sets the Trade Roll to a value. An assumed Trade Roll assumes the character rolls an eleven (11), plus any relevant modifiers they would have added on their Trade Roll.

Generally, assumed Trade Rolls function for long term activities as long as the character making the assumed Trade Roll can succeed. For example, building a piece of equipment does not require a character to exceed the difficulty of the equipment on every single Trade Roll to make progress. Therefore, as long as the duration of time is long enough, it is fine to assume the character will succeed on the Trade Roll.

However, if the duration of the activity is short enough, or the GM so chooses, they may modify progress of an assumed Trade Roll if there is a chance of failure from the character. Instead of tracking every individual success and failure, it is easier to modify the progress by a percentage based on the odds of failure. This percentage is determined by subtracting the assumed Trade Roll value from the difficulty of the task (Table: Assumed Trade Roll Failure Modifier).

Note that if the difficulty of the Trade Roll is ten (10) higher than the assumed Trade Roll, the character is incapable of making progress. In contrast, if the difficulty is ten (10) lower than the assumed Trade Roll, it is impossible for the character to fail, and no percentage modification is necessary. For example, a character is making a piece of equipment that costs 100 KDo and has a Complexity Score of eleven (11). If a character has an average TR of (11) to make the equipment, then their progress per shift is 6 kDo (11 * 0.55, rounded down to the nearest kDo).

Retraining Trades

As in real life, characters may want to change their career direction and change their Trade. If a character has access to knowledge bases or experts, they may exchange TRs in one Trade for another. To retrain a single TR requires one (1) month and thirty (30) kDo. Characters must spend at least half a Shift per day on retraining. This retraining does not count as excess labor for NPC characters unless they are being instructed to learn a new skill by their superior. At the end of the month, the character may convert the TR into Trade Points which they may immediately spend in a new Trade.