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](progression.md)**. **Combat gigs** (roster, hub swap, sub-gig, etc.) are **[gigs.md](gigs.md)**.

**This file also owns the [Seams (gigs ↔ skills)](#seams-gigs--skills)** section—rules where **gigs** and **skills** meet (gear, crafting, consumables, rep, alts). **Brainstorm-only** ideas: [`brainstorm/`](brainstorm/README.md).

## 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.
- **Specialist path:** it must be viable to **keep gigs low** (minimal combat-role investment) and still **meaningfully play** by pushing **gather / process / make / tech**—best supplier, best bench, best netsec in the hubs and instances that reward skills. Combat and story may still **touch** gigs; they must not **hard-require** high gig levels to participate in the **economy and skill loops** players care about for that lifestyle ([Seams](#seams-gigs--skills): e.g. **craft** without needing to **equip** what you make).
- **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** | Pulling value from the world: **earth/subsurface** (mining, drilling), **consumer salvage & biology** (**Salvage**, **Harvest**), and **urban infrastructure materials** (**Quarry**) vs geological **Extraction** skill |
| **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) |

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 |

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 row is a **candidate skill** (or tight cluster we might merge). The tables below are a **solid opening roster**—on the order of **~17–23** names depending on how we **merge or split** clusters—and we **expect to add more** as we approach launch. A **wide** skill set is intentional: it gives design and live ops room to grow **loops**, **biomes**, and **specialist fantasies** without collapsing everything into a tiny tree.

Final roster needs **stable IDs**, **XP sources**, and **gig/skill boundary** checks (especially **Tech** vs combat netrunning).

Layout mirrors **[gigs.md](gigs.md) gig roster**: one **table per category**, **Skill** name plus **what it covers** and **open / merge** notes.

#### Gather — pull raw value from the world

| Skill | What it covers | Open / merge |
|-------|----------------|--------------|
| **Salvage** | **Consumer goods and vehicles:** cars, ships, computers, other wrecked or discarded **products**; e-waste, stripped chrome—**not** structural building stock (that’s **Quarry**). | — |
| **Extraction** | **From the earth:** mined or drilled feedstock—synth ores, rare earths, geological substrate for industry (subsurface and natural seams, not the city stack). | — |
| **Harvest (bio)** | **Organic feedstock** for chem, medtech, or food chains: cultured tissue and fungal mats **and** deliberately **grim** sourcing—e.g. **morgue** break-ins, **blood** and **tissue** theft, black-market organics. | Grim **concepts** in scope; **how we show it** and **target rating** are **vision-level**—see [overview.md](overview.md) |
| **Quarry / bulk** | **Urban infrastructure** and **built-environment mass:** bricks, concrete, wooden building supplies, aggregate, fill, demo recoverables from **structures**—**not** consumer goods or vehicle wrecks (**Salvage**). | Intentionally **not** **Extraction** (earth seam vs **city stack**) |

#### Process — turn raw into workable intermediate

**Overlapping chains:** **Process** and **Make** are not isolated trees. **Different** skills (or different recipes under one skill) can consume the **same** items and yield **different** intermediates or products—e.g. the same gathered or refined feedstock feeding **Refine**, **Synth-chem prep**, or **Bioprocess** paths with **different outputs**. Data-defined recipes carry the truth; overlap is **intentional** for a dense, interconnected economy.

| Skill | What it covers | Open / merge |
|-------|----------------|--------------|
| **Refine** | Smelt, purify, reduce ore and scrap to usable grades. | Merge vs **Synth-chem prep**? **open** |
| **Fab tech** | *Refine family:* print circuits, micro-actuators, substrate prep—industrial intermediates for **Make**. | Fold into **Refine** mastery only? **open** |
| **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

| Skill | What it covers | Open / merge |
|-------|----------------|--------------|
| **Gunsmith** | Barrels, receivers, ballistics fab. | [Seams](#seams-gigs--skills): 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 = *combat use* |
| **Rigging (gear)** | Drones, harnesses, tool mods—**non-combat** rigging. | Combat deployables **gig**-gated — **open** |
| **Food synth** | Ration fab, street kitchens. | Skill at all? **open** |

#### 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**).

| Skill | What it covers | Open / merge |
|-------|----------------|--------------|
| **Intrusion** | Bypass locks and access control, pivot non-combat systems, **hack timers** / objectives. | e.g. [brainstorm/hack-bodyguard](brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md) |
| **Netsec / hardening** | Patch holes, segment networks, raise **defense** for sites, convoys, ally systems (downtime / prep). | — |
| **Counter-intrusion** | Trace hostile processes, sever sessions, quarantine malware—defensive counterpart to **Intrusion**. | — |
| **Exploit dev** | Build or tune **payloads** and tools for **Intrusion** (pen-tests, heists, corps). | Fold into **Intrusion** mastery? **open** |
| **Crypto & identity** | Break weak schemes; spoof or forge **credentials** where content allows. | Rep / legality hooks — **open** |
| **Electronics** | Repair boards, swap modules, bench diagnostics—physical layer next to netsec. | — |
| **Signal** | Scan, trace, tap—RF and traffic **out of combat** or in objectives. | **Combat** jamming: gig vs skill — **open** |

**Cross-cutting notes**

- **Overlapping production chains:** **Agreed**—shared **inputs** across **Process** / **Make** with **different outputs**; recipe UX and balance **open** (paragraph under **Process** in [Skill roster](#skill-roster-draft-ideas-by-category)).
- **Merge candidates:** e.g. **Refine** + **Synth-chem prep** vs split by fantasy. **Salvage** vs **Quarry** split (**consumer goods / vehicles** vs **urban infrastructure** materials) — **agreed**.
- **Cut / defer:** **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](../decomposition/modules/E2_M2_XpAwardAndLevelEngine.md)).
- **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](#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](../decomposition/modules/E2_M4_ProgressionPacingControls.md)): global or cohort knobs for ops; **gig** pacing stays separate ([gigs.md](gigs.md)).

### Gates, discovery, prerequisites

**UnlockRequirement**-style gates ([E2.M1](../decomposition/modules/E2_M1_SkillDefinitionRegistry.md)) 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](../decomposition/modules/E2_M3_MasteryAndPerkUnlocks.md)) 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](../decomposition/epics/epic_02_classless_progression.md) | Registry, XP engine, mastery, pacing |
| [Epic 3](../decomposition/epics/epic_03_crafting_economy.md) | Gather and craft **award** skill XP; items and recipes |
| [Epic 7](../decomposition/epics/epic_07_quest_faction.md) | Quest rewards, rep gates, optional skill payouts |
| [gigs.md](gigs.md) | **Craft** combat gear with **skills**; **equip** with **gigs**—[Seams](#seams-gigs--skills) |
| [brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md](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](#skill-roster-draft-ideas-by-category) |
| 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](gigs.md#hub-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](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](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](overview.md)) |
| 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 |
| Social skills category | **No** dedicated **Social** skill family or tracked negotiation/fixer/fence skills—outcomes live in **rep**, **quests**, **economy**, and other systems if we need them | Agreed |
| Low-gig specialist | **Viable** to focus progression on **skills** (gather/craft/tech) with **low gig levels**; economy loops must not **hard-gate** on high gig rank | Agreed |
| Skill roster size | **Opening** v0 list is strong; **add skills** pre-launch as needed—**breadth** is a feature | Agreed |
| Gig XP award | **Main gig only**; **sub-gig** earns no XP—see [gigs.md](gigs.md) | Agreed |
| Epic 2 doc split | Align modules when gig data model is chosen | TBD |

## Next artifacts

- **[gigs.md](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](brainstorm/hack-bodyguard-missions.md) — group **skill** (hack) + **gig** (bodyguard) instances (brainstorm).