Disclaimer: This article is un-official in terms of the Lorien Trust. It is a collection of questions that have been asked and answered regarding the OSP system implemented at the end of Rules 3. The Lorien Trust have made the Occupational Skills guide available online and it can be found using the following link [ Lorien Trust Occupational Skill Guide ]
As in many games of a role playing ilk (tabletop rpg's, video games etc), within the Lorien Trust it is possible for your character to gain new abilities. These abilities can provide everything from additional in-game income every year through to allowing your character to strike crushing blows. These abilities and how they are purchased all fall under the heading "Occupational Skills". The complete list and details of Occupational Skills is available as a booklet download from the Lorien Trust website.
Every Lorien Trust event that you play at will reward you with a set number of points that can be spent on skills for a character. As a general rule of thumb, a 3-day main Lorient Trust event will award 5 OSP's, a 4-day main Lorien Trust event awards 10 OSP's and sanctioned events (run by Factions) awards 1 OSP.
There are 3 ways of purchasing Occupational Skills:
Pre-Book: If you book for your main Lorien Trust events in advance you may list the OS's you wish to purchase (and are elegable to) on the form. These OS's (providing you are allowed them) will then be printed on your character card for this year. Pre-booking cannot be used to purchase restricted skills (marked with an @ in the OS booklet).
Self Teach: During the course of any main Lorien Trust event, you may visit games control and register that you are 'Self Teaching' a number of OS's during the winter. You may only visit games control ONCE per year to purchase OS's. These OS's will be printed on your character card next year. Self teaching cannot be used to purchase restricted skills (marked with an @ in the OS booklet).
Training Vouchers (aka Insta-Buys): This is a special mechanism that allows you to visit games control at a main Lorient Trust event to purchase an OS that will instantly (for regular skills) appear on your character card. Training vouchers come in many varieties, some limiting you to a specific skill and others allowing you to purchase any skills you are eligable for. This visit to games control will count as your single trip to games control, so book any Self Teach skills at the same time!
Groups
Within the OS booklet all OS's are divided into categories and groups
These groupings, though logical and convientient make very little difference in terms of purchasing them for most players. Where they may make some difference is when purchasing OS's with a Training voucher as some vouchers may restrict what groups you may purchase OS's from.
Tiers
Within the OS booklet OS's all have an appropriate 'Tier'. As with
OS groupings the tier of a skill makes little difference in terms of purchasing
them via pre-booking or self teaching. Again Training vouchers may have
restrictions on what the maximum tier you can use to learn with. Players
are limited to having a maximum of four Tier 5 skills on their character card.
Within the OS booklet you will notice that some OS's have a requirement (pre-requisite) of another OS. These OS's groups form a 'ladder' which you climb one rung at a time. For example, the general knowledge ladder is
Apprentice > Journeyman > Master
In order to be eligable for the next rung, you must have your current rung actually printed on your character card. So in order to purchase the Journeyman OS you must have the Apprentice OS on your character card.
Q - How many skills can I purchase each year?
A - Four in total. These
can be purchased as 'pre-book', 'self teach' or via 'vouchers', the total number
not exceeding four within a single year period.
Q - Can I pre-book or self teach any skill?
A - No. Skills marked with
an @ symbol (indicating a restricted skill) in the OS Booklet cannot be pre-booked
or self taught. Additionally in order to learn the next step in a skill
ladder, you must have the pre-requisite OS(s) phyiscally listed on your character
card.
Q - How can I learn a restricted skill?
A - By using a traning voucher.
These vouchers are obtainable from Factions and Guilds, but will likely have
some In Character strings attached. Additionally restricted skills, even
when bought with a training voucher will not appear on your character card
until next year.
Q - Some skills are listed as Skillname <X>. What does this mean?
A
- The <X> in the case of those skills is a specific subject that is picked
by yourself. For example in the case of Apprentice <X> at 10 OSP's,
you could choose a subject of "Brewer" in which case you would be an Apprentice
Brewer. Some of the skills that require you to pick a subject may have
a specific list for you to choose from.
Q - If I purchase Apprentice Butcher as a self teach this year, can I purchase
Journeyman Butcher as a pre-book next year?
A - No. You must have the
Apprentice Butcher physically on your character card before you can purchase
Journeyman Butcher.
Q - If I purchased Apprentice Butcher via a Traning voucher can I purchase
Journeyman Butcher as a self teach?
A - Yes. The Traning voucher will
make Apprentice Butcher appear on your character card immediatly, as such you
may self teach Journeyman Butcher, during the same visit to games control,
providing this would not raise the number of purchased skills this year above
four.