From ebbe1f90b279e7d00ab4f06e4a4ea76387f428c3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: VinPropane Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2026 19:49:07 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] chore: clarify skill domains vs categories in skills.md --- docs/game-design/skills.md | 10 +++++++--- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/game-design/skills.md b/docs/game-design/skills.md index a4840de..fb2d170 100644 --- a/docs/game-design/skills.md +++ b/docs/game-design/skills.md @@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ A **skill** is a **persistent, leveled** capability, **data-defined** (stable ID ### Skill domains (examples) +**Domains** are a **design vocabulary**: when we brainstorm content, what *kind* of real-world activity is this skill about? They help writers and designers stay consistent (“is this **extraction** or **fabrication**?”) and stay separate from **gigs**. Domains are **not** required to match data tags 1:1. + Domains are **content-shaped**, not a locked taxonomy. Early vision includes: | Domain | Examples (illustrative) | @@ -33,11 +35,13 @@ Domains are **content-shaped**, not a locked taxonomy. Early vision includes: | **Support craft** | Medtech fabrication, field repair kits, augment maintenance (**open** naming) | | **Social / street** | Negotiation, street doc *craft*, fences—**only if** we give them real loops and XP (**open**) | -New skills land here as **design + data** demand; domains can **overlap** one skill in multiple tags for UI. +New skills land here as **design + data** demand; a skill can sit in **multiple domains** in conversation before we assign its **primary category**. ### Categories (families) -**Categories** group skills for **UI, filters, and balance**—they are **not** gigs, **not** professions, and **not** hard caps on how many skills you can raise. +**Categories** are **registry / UI tags**—what we put in data (e.g. E2.M1 `SkillCategory`) for **filters, sorting, and balance** knobs. Expect **one primary category per skill**; optional **secondary** tags for UI only if we need them. + +**Domains vs categories:** **domains** = “what is this skill *about* in the fiction/pipeline?” (design). **categories** = “which bucket does the **system** put it in for players and tuning?” (product). Today’s tables **overlap** on purpose while the roster is unsettled (e.g. extraction work often maps to **Gather**); when we lock a skill list, we either **merge** domain language into categories or keep domains as a **writer’s appendix** only. Categories are **not** gigs, **not** professions, and **not** caps on how many skills you can train. **Draft families** (can merge or rename): @@ -49,7 +53,7 @@ New skills land here as **design + data** demand; domains can **overlap** one sk | **Tech** | Intrusion, electronics, rigging that isn’t a gig kit | | **Social** | If we skill it: negotiation, contracts UI hooks (**open**) | -A skill may appear in **more than one** category for sorting; **canonical** category lives in data for balance. +Optional **secondary category** for UI sorting only—**primary** category in data drives balance defaults. ### XP, levels, curves