Question on Profession (soldier) and Profession (siege engineer)

[AdamMeyers]

So I'm going over the mass combat rules, siege engines, etc., and I have a question to make sure I'm understanding things. Namely, am I correct in deducing there is NEVER a time a time when a Profession (soldier) check is called for? And other than making the DC 15 Profession (siege engineer) checks needed to load a heavy catapult and the 5 ranks needed for some feats, am I correct that there is NO OTHER check nor reason for that skill's existence? It seems like everything I feel a high Profession (siege engineer) would help with is already tied to Knowledge (Engineering), including the more powerful siege engineering feats.

It just seems strange to me; if you are the helmsman for a ship there are (limited) reasons you might want to take Skill Focus (Profession [sailor]), but if you are the ship's gunner you'd be better served dedicating yourself to Knowledge (Engineering) instead, and there seems to be absolutely no reason nor ability to specialize in being a commander.

Just wanted to know if I was missing something.

[Nefreet]

I would imagine, like specialists IRL, that a Siege Engineer would have a more detailed knowledge of their trade than a standard Engineer.

It's not something that's codified in the game anywhere specifically, but should be a part of GM discretion and circumstance modifiers.

[TheYell]

Google "Mary Rose shipwreck" to see why the guy in charge of cannons has got to know something about how they affect the handling of the ship. Then there's the whole issue about handling black powder on board.

Knowledge (Engineering) would tell you how much weight you need to throw a 500-lbs block 400 feet over a 50 foot wall. But what skill tells you that 400 feet is within arrow range of the yard behind the wall, or within reach of a cavalry charge through the gate? Such things are abstracted in any combat system.

Instead of letting you lose catapults through a complicated raiding system until you personally learned what you're doing, they abstracted it. You can't operate a heavy catapult at all, unless you buy the experience to use them reliably. The price, skill points, forces you to choose the experiences of a Siege Engineer over experiences behind other skill ranks.

[Dallium]

Prof (Solider) can be used to generate income like any other profession skill. It can also come in handy when you're trying to impersonate military personnel. There are a couple of splat books that deal with commanding armies and troop formations during battle, and Prof (Solider) is one of the key skills determining leadership ability.

It can also be used as a general Knowledge (military) skill, (because there isn't one). I've always seen it as roughly equivalent to Military Protocol from Rifts.

[FLite]

Dallium wrote:

It can also be used as a general Knowledge (military) skill, (because there isn't one). I've always seen it as roughly equivalent to Military Protocol from Rifts.

This can be useful for "Is that guy over there wielding that sword terrifyingly good? or ridiculously bad?

Also useful for "Hey boss, think we can take them? Or should we just run like scared bunnies?" (Assuming the them in question is a bunch of soldiers.)

[Wolfsnap]

If you're looking for better mass combat rules that make more use of the PCs skills and abilities, you might check out this book:

The Very Last Book About War

Full Disclosure: I wrote it. :)

So far I've got nothing but positive feedback from the folks who have tried it out.