neon-sprawl/docs/game-design/skills.md

Skills (non-combat progression)

Design for non-combat skills only. Shared vocabulary, why we use gigs + skills, and the hybrid overview are in progression.md. Combat gigs (roster, hub swap, sub-gig, etc.) are gigs.md.

This file also owns the Seams (gigs ↔ skills) section—rules where gigs and skills meet (gear, crafting, consumables, rep, alts). Brainstorm-only ideas: brainstorm/.

Classless skills

Everything outside combat role resolution trains on skills. That includes gathering, refining, crafting, non-combat tech work, and other world interactions we choose to track as progression.

Pillars

• Any character can train any skill over time (subject to world gates: discovery, rep, licenses—those add content, they are not “you picked the wrong class”).
• Economy identity is the skill graph + reputation + gear, not which gig you had equipped last night.
• Long-term: avoid dead-end grinds; slow or expensive is fine, “wrong choice forever” is not.

What is (and isn’t) a skill

A skill is a persistent, leveled capability, data-defined (stable IDs, categories, optional prerequisites). Primary progression is doing the activity (gather, refine, assemble, hack a door in a skill-based encounter, etc.). Books, trainers, or mission grants can supplement XP—optional and should not replace “play the loop” as the main fantasy.

Not skills: gig combat progression, raw item stats with no trained gate, and one-off quest flags (unless we explicitly model them as skills—open).

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)
Extraction	Salvage, mining, harvesting, reclaiming scrap
Processing	Refining, chemistry prep, material conversion
Fabrication	Weaponsmith, armtech, synth-chem, cooking if we track it
Tech / intrusion	Hacking, netsec, counter-intrusion, bypass, diagnostics—combat-facing net actions stay gig
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; a skill can sit in multiple domains in conversation before we assign its primary category.

Categories (families)

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):

Category	Rough scope
Gather	Nodes, yields, field extraction
Process	Refine (incl. fab-tech intermediates), batch, intermediate goods
Make	Finished goods, recipes, bench work
Tech	Intrusion, netsec, counter-intrusion, electronics, signal—not combat gig kit
Social	If we skill it: negotiation, contracts UI hooks (open)

Optional secondary category for UI sorting only—primary category in data drives balance defaults.

Skill roster (draft ideas by category)

v0 — for examination, not a commit list. Each bullet is a candidate skill (or tight cluster we might merge). Final roster needs stable IDs, XP sources, and gig/skill boundary checks (especially Tech vs combat netrunning).

Gather — pull raw value from the world

• Salvage — wrecks, derelicts, e-waste pulls, stripped chrome.
• Extraction — mined or drilled feedstock (synth ores, rare earths, substrate for industry).
• Reclaim — urban scavenge: construction scrap, abandoned blocks, “legal gray” recovery.
• Harvest (bio) — cultured tissue, fungal mats, organics for chem or food chains (open how grim we want this).
• Quarry / bulk — aggregate and low-grade mass for concrete, fill, industrial bulk (open if distinct from Extraction).

Process — turn raw into workable intermediate

• Refine — smelt, purify, reduce ore and scrap to usable grades.
• Fab tech (refine family) — print circuits, micro-actuators, substrate prep—industrial intermediates that feed Make (open vs folding into Refine mastery only).
• Synth-chem prep — precursors, reagents, stable compounds for Make (stims, reactives, polymers).
• Bioprocess — ferment, culture, grow feedstock for medtech or consumables.
• Composite work — laminate layers, weave fibers, prep armtech “blanks” before final assembly.
• Data scrub — clean, normalize, or decrypt datasets that become a craft input (Tech overlap—pick one primary category).

Make — recipes, benches, finished goods

• Gunsmith — barrels, receivers, ballistics fab (ties Seams: craft without gig to use).
• Armtech — armor plates, suits, hardshell integration.
• Synth-chem (product) — finish stims, chems, consumables from Process outputs.
• Medtech fab — field kits, injectors, trauma foam—craft lane; gig Sawbones is combat use.
• Rigging (gear) — drones, harnesses, tool mods—non-combat rigging; combat deployables stay gig-gated (open).
• Food synth — ration fab, street kitchens (open if we skill it).

Tech — systems, hacking, and cyber security (non-gig)

Skill tech covers prep, world interaction, and instance / downtime work. Combat net attacks, debuffs, and “today’s gig kit” ICE-breaking in a fight stay gig-gated unless we deliberately duplicate (open).

• Intrusion — bypass locks and access control, pivot through non-combat systems, progress hack timers and objectives (e.g. brainstorm/hack-bodyguard).
• Netsec / hardening — patch holes, segment networks, raise defense ratings for sites, convoys, or ally systems before/during downtime phases.
• Counter-intrusion — trace hostile processes, sever sessions, quarantine malware—defensive counterpart to Intrusion in supported content.
• Exploit dev — build or tune payloads and tools used by Intrusion (authorized pen-tests, heists, corps)—open vs folding into Intrusion mastery.
• Crypto & identity — break weak schemes, spoof or forge credentials where content allows; ties rep and legality (open).
• Electronics — repair boards, swap modules, bench diagnostics on devices and vehicles (physical layer adjacent to netsec).
• Signal — scan, trace, tap—RF and traffic analysis out of combat or in objectives; jamming in combat open (gig vs skill).

Social — only if we give real loops and XP

• Negotiation — better outcomes on prices, timers, aggression thresholds in supported content.
• Fixer facework — unlock alternate quest routes, call in markers (open vs pure rep).
• Fence / laundering — move hot goods with less heat (economy risk skill—open).

Cross-cutting notes

• Merge candidates: e.g. Refine + Synth-chem prep vs split by fantasy; Salvage + Reclaim vs one Scavenge skill.
• Cut / defer: Social entire row if we decide rep-only; Food synth if not a loop.
• Next pass: pick prototype trio (one Gather, one Process/Make, one Tech) for Epic 2/3 slices—align with decomposition when ready.

XP, levels, curves

• Server-authoritative XP and level resolution (E2.M2).
• Primary source (agreed): do the activity—gather, craft steps, skill-based mission objectives, etc.
• Secondary sources (open): quests, dailies, books, training dummies—tuned so they assist without replacing loops.
• Structured grants: skill id, amount, source (node id, recipe, quest key…) for telemetry and anti-exploit review.

Failure XP (failed craft, failed hack attempt—not death): per skill / per mechanic; open until each activity’s rules exist (Decisions log).

Caps (agreed): soft curve only—each level needs more XP than the last; data-driven per skill or policy. Runaway mitigation: steeper curves, context modifiers, diminishing returns on repeat actions—open per skill.

Pacing / catch-up (E2.M4): global or cohort knobs for ops; gig pacing stays separate (gigs.md).

Gates, discovery, prerequisites

UnlockRequirement-style gates (E2.M1) should widen what you can do, not mimic a class pick:

• Recipes and facilities tied to skill tier or world state.
• Faction rep or licenses for restricted goods or zones.
• Discovery: find a schematic, rescue a teacher, complete a gig-agnostic storyline.

Open: how much is available at level 1 vs gated; how alt-friendly discovery is.

Mastery and perks (skills)

Beyond raw level, mastery tracks and perks (E2.M3) give build texture inside one skill (branch picks, efficiency, side effects). Same idea as gig expression, different system—no shared perk tree between gig and skill unless we deliberately link them (open).

Respec for skill mastery—open (cost, partial reset).

Cross-skill synergies

Open: explicit bonuses when skill A + B cross a threshold vs pure fiction (“you’re known as a rigger-smith”) with no math. Avoid mandatory cross-grinds unless the loop is fun.

Where skills meet the rest of the game

Area	Tie-in
Epic 2	Registry, XP engine, mastery, pacing
Epic 3	Gather and craft award skill XP; items and recipes
Epic 7	Quest rewards, rep gates, optional skill payouts
gigs.md	Craft combat gear with skills; equip with gigs—Seams
brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md	Skill lane in a group instance (idea only)

Open questions (skills-only)

Topic	Status
Full launch skill list and names	Draft roster by category in Skill roster
Social / negotiation as tracked skills	Open
Failure XP defaults per activity type	Open
Mastery respec rules	Open
Cross-skill synergy math	Open
Skill-based combat-adjacent actions (e.g. deployable) vs gig ability	Open

Seams (gigs ↔ skills)

Topic	Direction
Combat gear	Gig-restricted. Weapons, armor, and other combat-loadout pieces declare which gig(s) may equip or fully activate them. After a hub-only gig swap, the player re-banks or re-equips combat gear for the new gig (automation vs. manual loadout UX open). Non-combat tools (pickaxe, scanner, craft bench) stay skill-gated, not gig-gated, unless a piece is explicitly hybrid.
Crafting combat gear	No gig or gig level requirement. Who can build it depends on skills (e.g. gunsmith), recipes, rep, facilities—never on owning a gig or its level. A character can craft combat gear they cannot equip (wrong gig, low gig level, etc.): valid for trade, stock, or group play. Equip/activation stays gig-restricted as above.
Consumables	Carry and use are not gig-gated by default—anyone can pop a stim or patch. Passive potency can scale with gig match: e.g. a medic-tagged bonus applies if main or sub-gig matches (see gigs.md). Others use a baseline. Active abilities from consumables (if any) follow their own rules—open. Other items may have no gig hook—data-driven per item.
Rep / story	Hybrid. Faction / world reputation stays character-wide where it fits (one person, one web of grudges). Narrative also includes gig storylines and main-quest-style arcs tied to a gig—mentor paths, employer chains, identity stories that assume you are that role for a chapter. State for those arcs is per gig (or per gig branch) on the same character; switching gigs does not erase character rep, but gig plot progress is its own track.
Alts / multi-gig mastery	One avatar still reduces alt pressure for economy and story. Maining every gig is not a design problem for now: gig leveling is intentionally slow, so fully progressing (or “maxing”) every gig is a long-term time investment, not something handed out quickly. Players who put in that time may legitimately be strong in every gig on one character. Revisit only if pacing, live balance, or PvP show harm.

Player-facing readability

• Combat: UI shows main gig, sub-gig, levels/tracks, combat abilities, and combat gear the main gig can use (mismatched gear disabled or greyed). Consumable tooltips for passive amps can show baseline vs. boosted when main or sub matches the item’s gig hook.
• Non-combat / crafting: skill list, category filters, XP with source hints where helpful; mastery branches when E2.M3-style systems exist. Crafting combat gear uses skill/recipe gates only—not gigs (optional hint if you can’t equip the product on your current gig).
• Story: journal or quest UI can separate character / faction threads from gig threads so players see which arc belongs to which gig.
• Use gig / skill consistently in specs and tools; flavor text can vary.

Decisions log

Topic	Direction	Status
Vocabulary	Gig = combat role; skill = non-combat only	Agreed
Combat gear	Gig-restricted equip/activation; non-combat tools skill-gated	Agreed
Crafting combat gear	Skill/recipe/rep (etc.) only—not gig or gig level; craft-for-others OK	Agreed
Consumables	Baseline for all; passive gig amp from main or sub (gigs.md)	Agreed
Rep / story	Character-wide rep; gig-scoped storylines and main quests (per-gig progress on one avatar)	Agreed
Multi-gig mastery	OK for now; slow gig leveling makes “all gigs” a time goal, not a loophole	Agreed (revisit if balance/PvP needs)
Combat vs. non-combat	Gigs for combat; skills for gather/craft/etc.	Agreed
Professions (economy)	No separate profession system; economy identity from skills + rep	Agreed (overview)
Primary skill XP	Do the activity	Agreed
Failure XP	Open; decided per skill / activity once mechanics exist (not the same as death penalty)	Open
Skill caps	Soft; progressively more XP per level (data-driven curves)	Agreed
Gig swap rules	Hub-only (city / home base / designated site)—not in the field or mid-fight	Agreed
Sub-gig	FFXI-style slot agreed; sub abilities up to ~½ main gig level (formula TBD); wide build space	Agreed
Combat progression	Per gig—separate level/XP (and mastery) per gig; no shared combat rank	Agreed
Gig XP award	Main gig only; sub-gig earns no XP—see gigs.md	Agreed
Epic 2 doc split	Align modules when gig data model is chosen	TBD

Next artifacts

• gigs.md — gig roster, hub UX, recruitment deferred; PvP gig rules open indefinite (overall PvP scope TBD).
• Abilities — gig-locked vs. item-locked vs. skill-gated.
• Items — equip: gig rules; craft: skills (and recipe/rep), never gig level.
• brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md — group skill (hack) + gig (bodyguard) instances (brainstorm).