chore: document hybrid combat gigs + classless non-combat skills

docs/game-design/overview.md

@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ Neon Sprawl’s design work here starts from **concrete visions** of progression
 
 | Document | Focus | Notes |
 |----------|--------|--------|
-| [skills.md](skills.md) | Classless skills, XP, caps, mastery, gates | First vision artifact |
+| [skills.md](skills.md) | Hybrid: combat gigs + classless non-combat skills | First vision artifact |
 | *(add rows as files land)* | | |
 
 ### Planned topics (stubs)
 
 Link new files here when they exist; remove or rewrite this subsection once the table is populated.
 
-- **Skills** — [skills.md](skills.md): classless progression, training, caps, mastery, gates. *Professions* stay folded into skill graph + reputation unless a future doc defines a non-skill meaning.
+- **Skills & combat gigs** — [skills.md](skills.md): gig-style **combat roles** for grouping; **classless skilling** for gather/craft/etc. *Professions* stay folded into non-combat skills + rep unless a future doc defines a non-skill meaning.
 - **Zones** — tone, danger, faction or economic role of a place.
 - **Travel & connections** — how places link (gates, costs, downtime, danger en route); complements zone identity.
 - **Mechanics** — loops, constraints, what the server vs. client must honor.

docs/game-design/skills.md

@@ -1,80 +1,79 @@
-# Skills (classless progression)
+# Skills & combat gigs (hybrid progression)
 
-Vision-level design for how characters grow without classes or chosen professions. Implementation hooks live in [Epic 2 — Classless progression](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_classless_progression.md) (E2.M1–M4).
+Vision-level design for how characters grow. **Combat** leans **gig-style** (swap roles for grouping clarity). **Non-combat** stays **classless skilling** (gathering, crafting, and similar loops). [Epic 2 — Classless progression](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_classless_progression.md) (E2.M1–M4) still describes the **skill/XP machinery**; a **combat job layer** may sit beside or above it in data—decomposition should be revisited when this split hardens.
 
-## Design pillar
+## Why hybrid
 
-- **Any character can train any skill** over time. There is no character-creation lock that forbids a path.
-- **Identity is the skill graph**, plus reputation and gear—not a label picked at the start. Optional diegetic titles (NPC reactions, faction jobs) are flavor or routing, not a second progression system (see [overview](overview.md)).
-- **Long-term progression should avoid dead-end grinds**: a skill might be slow or costly, but not “mistaken” in the sense of irreversible failure to participate.
+- **Gig-style combat** gives parties a readable answer to “what are you on this run?” without forcing alts. It matches **contracts, loadouts, and corporate muscle** as fantasy.
+- **RuneScape-style non-combat** keeps the **economy and crafting** surface wide: anyone can work the world’s jobs over time, and “street doc” can mean high medic craft + rep, not only a combat button pick.
 
-## What counts as a skill
+## Combat gigs (roles)
 
-A **skill** is a persistent, leveled capability that improves through **doing the thing** in the world (gathering, crafting steps, combat with a weapon class, etc.). Abstract “read a book → +XP” can exist later as a *supplement*, not the default fantasy—primary gains should be visible in play.
+**Gig** (job / role—final name TBD) is the **combat identity** you bring to a fight: ability access, baseline tuning band, and party expectations (tank, support, control, damage, etc.). Gigs are **swapped** under rules TBD—not necessarily mid-fight.
 
-Skills are **data-defined** (stable IDs, categories, prerequisites) so content and balance can evolve without redefining the pillar.
+- **Swap constraints** (out of combat only, hub-only, cooldown, consumable, story gate) are a major feel knob: permissive = FF flexibility; strict = sharper commitment per outing.
+- **Progression per gig:** separate level/track vs. shared “combat rank” with gig-specific unlocks—**open**; separate tracks support “I main tank but leveled medic for backup” at the cost of more balancing.
+- **Mastery/perks** can attach to **gigs** (combat expression) while **non-combat skills** use the same *idea* for craft depth (E2.M3-style), or stay separate—**open**.
 
-## Categories (families)
+## Non-combat skills (classless)
 
-Categories group skills for **UI, tooling, and content** (e.g. *Combat*, *Gathering*, *Craft*, *Social*, *Movement*). They are not classes: they do not restrict what you can raise, only how players browse and how designers tag balance.
+Everything **outside combat role resolution**—gathering, refining, crafting lines, hacking that isn’t the combat gig, etc.—uses **classless skills**:
 
-**Open:** initial category list and whether some skills sit in multiple tags.
+- **Any character can train any non-combat skill** over time (subject to world gates: discovery, rep, licenses—those expand content, they are not “you picked the wrong class”).
+- **Identity** for “what you do in the economy” is the **non-combat skill graph + reputation + gear**, not the combat gig you wore last night.
+- **Long-term:** avoid dead-end grinds; slow or expensive is fine, “wrong choice forever” is not.
 
-## XP and leveling
+### What counts as a non-combat skill
 
-- **Server-authoritative** awards (who leveled is not client-decidable).
-- **Structured grants**: skill id, amount, source (gather node, recipe, hit/kill, quest payout, etc.) so telemetry and tuning stay honest.
-- **Curves are data-driven** per skill or policy; expect iteration on time-to-first meaningful level vs. long tail.
+A **skill** here is a persistent, leveled capability improved primarily by **doing the activity** (chop, refine, assemble, etc.). Supplementary sources (books, training) stay optional. Skills stay **data-defined** (stable IDs, categories, prerequisites).
 
-### Failure and risk
+### Categories (families)
 
-- **Default bias:** failed attempts can still teach—small XP on failure is acceptable where it reduces feel-bad and matches “practice” fantasy; **no XP** on failure is acceptable where exploits (spam fail) would dominate. Per-activity policy is fine.
-- **AFK / automation resistance:** XP sources should tie to validated actions, not passive timers, unless explicitly designed (rest, training dummies with caps, etc.).
+Categories group skills for **UI and balance** (e.g. *Gathering*, *Craft*, *Tech*, *Social*). They are **not** combat gigs and do not replace them.
 
-### Runaway mitigation
+### XP, failure, caps, pacing (non-combat)
 
-- Watch for **one faucet** leveling a skill far ahead of others. Prefer **diminishing returns**, **context modifiers** (harder content pays more), or **soft caps** before hard caps—not a single global solution until live data exists.
+Same principles as before, scoped to **non-combat** awards:
 
-**Open:** whether global daily/weekly XP bands exist for launch, or only per-skill tuning.
+- **Server-authoritative** grants with structured sources (node, recipe, mission payout, …).
+- **Failure XP** per activity where it helps fun and not exploits.
+- **Runaway mitigation** via diminishing returns, context, soft caps.
+- **Gates** (recipes, rep, licenses) should **add** paths, not fake classes.
+- **Pacing/catch-up** (E2.M4) applies across non-combat skills; combat gigs may use the same engine or a parallel one—**open**.
 
-## Prerequisites and gates
+## Seams (where the two halves meet)
 
-Some skills or tiers may require **UnlockRequirement**-style gates: discovered recipe, faction standing, mentor NPC, item consumed, etc. Gates should **expand the game**, not replicate classes (“only smiths get this” without diegetic reason).
+These need crisp answers so players and designers do not argue from different assumptions:
 
-**Open:** ratio of “open from level 1” vs. “gated by world discovery.”
-
-## Caps
-
-- Prefer **soft caps** (slowing gains) over **hard caps** (cannot raise further) unless a hard cap protects PvP or economy integrity.
-- If a **maximum skill level** exists per skill, it should be understandable (“master tier”) and leave room for horizontal options (other skills, mastery, gear).
-
-**Open:** global character-wide cap on “total levels” vs. uncapped breadth with per-skill curves only.
-
-## Mastery and perks (build expression)
-
-Raw levels answer **breadth and baseline power**. **Mastery tracks** (later: E2.M3) answer **how** you specialize within a skill: branches, perk unlocks, optional tradeoffs. Perks should **differentiate** without **locking out** the rest of the skill tree for other players—other builds, other branches.
-
-**Open:** how respec works (cost, time, partial).
-
-## Pacing and live balance
-
-Long-term: **pacing policies** and **catch-up** rules (E2.M4) adjust velocity by cohort or season without invalidating skill IDs. Design should assume **tuning will move**; avoid promises like “always 40 hours to max” in player-facing text.
+| Topic | Question |
+|--------|----------|
+| **Gear** | Can any gig use any weapon, or do gigs restrict weapon classes? |
+| **Crafted combat gear** | Gated by non-combat skill, by gig level, or both? |
+| **Consumables** | Usually shared; gig might gate *deployment* (e.g. only medic gig applies this stim at full power). |
+| **Rep / story** | Almost always **character-wide**; gigs change how you *express* it in combat. |
+| **Alts** | Hybrid should reduce alt pressure; if gig swap is too free, maining “everything” becomes the new problem—tune swap cost or ramp. |
 
 ## Player-facing readability
 
-- Clear **sources of XP** in feedback (what action moved the bar).
-- Skill sheet shows **level, next threshold, and category**; mastery UI can layer on when that system ships.
+- **Combat:** UI shows **active gig**, gig level/track, and combat abilities for that gig.
+- **Non-combat:** skill list, XP sources, categories—as today.
+- Avoid two different words meaning the same thing (“job” for both gig and trade skill) unless intentional in fiction.
 
 ## Decisions log
 
 | Topic | Direction | Status |
 |-------|-----------|--------|
-| Classless vs. professions | Skills + rep; no separate profession system | Agreed ([overview](overview.md)) |
-| Primary XP fantasy | Do the activity | Proposed |
+| Combat vs. non-combat | **Gigs** for combat roles; **classless skills** for gather/craft/etc. | Proposed |
+| Classless vs. professions (economy) | No separate profession system; economy identity from skills + rep | Agreed ([overview](overview.md)) |
+| Primary non-combat XP | Do the activity | Proposed |
 | Failure XP | Per-activity; watch exploits | Open |
-| Caps | Prefer soft; hard only if needed | Proposed |
-| Mastery | Perks for identity, not class locks | Aligned with E2.M3 |
+| Non-combat caps | Prefer soft; hard only if economy/PvP needs | Proposed |
+| Gig swap rules | — | Open |
+| Shared vs. per-gig combat progression | — | Open |
+| Epic 2 doc split | Align modules when gig data model is chosen | TBD |
 
 ## Next artifacts
 
-When you draft them, link from [overview.md](overview.md): **Abilities** (skill gates, scaling), **Items** (requirements, crafted vs. dropped).
+- **Combat gigs** — deeper pass: roster size, swap UX, party finder tags, PvP implications ([overview](overview.md)).
+- **Abilities** — which abilities are **gig-locked** vs. **item-locked** vs. **skill-gated** (non-combat).
+- **Items** — requirements that reference gig level vs. craft skill.