Messages

Maybe instead of disabling skills all together, they could get mood penalties for doing things they don't want to do?

Pawns Are Capable! by RimRue replaces "incapable of" restrictions with a set of traits that provide work speed and/or mood penalties when pawns are stuck doing tasks they don't like.

I think one of the easiest ways to make a soft penalty is to make an opposite of the Interest/Passion for skills. Disinterested/Hating a task gives a mood malus and penalty to learning, the exact opposite of a passionate pawn.

Thread is self-explanatory. In combat Pyros should get a bonus to the speed at which they can throw molotovs and fire the incendiary launcher.

Even better if it stacked with Trigger happy. Would be nice to give them a chance to channel their destructive energies into setting raiders on fire.

Being incapable of violence or higher intellectual tasks is fine and can make part of a great story. Being completely 100% incapable of menial tasks is somewhat obnoxious and a detriment to good stories in my opinion. I would accept it somewhat if the pawn would refuse to do it until the situation was critical, but the current system is too inflexible.

I think what could be needed is a system where pawns can change mentally over time. Say you get a former noble who has a big penalty to cleaning and hauling and always prioritizes it last - essentially they'll always slack off and avoid it. But over time through random chance or through game events they come to accept it. Sometimes I wonder if whether the outcome of a mental break always has to be negative as well. Maybe a character who had a traumatized past and is incapable of violence could have a mental break during a raid and pick up a gun and start killing pirates (and maybe friendlies too).

Or other weird things, like a pawn who is mentally damaged taking a hit to the head and suddenly becoming a genius savant Or a pawn who keeps doing a certain task coming to like it more and become more passionate about it, or on the flip side resent having to do the same thing over and over again and growing to hate it.

I had a thought that the research skill could be a slightly more generic "science" skill. The idea is that it represents a pawns more theoretical skills rather than practical.

As far as gameplay mechanics is concerned, it would mean he is better with research (obviously), but also more advanced manufacturing, like knowing how to operate more advanced crafting tools like computerized assembly benches or 3D printers. Those aren't really in the game, but it would make sense to me if the component assembly bench was more advanced and you needed a high research pawn to operate that. Certain things would still require more practical hands on crafting and assembly skills, but stuff like components or high tech gear would require a brainy guy operating a computer.

Also I think it would make sense if that was the skill for drug fabrication. There are chemists who wouldn't know anything about how to handle a scalpel or bandage a leg, but would be really good at running a drug lab.

And as an aside, I think it would be interesting if some of the crafting required a production line of manufactured goods. Right now most crafting is mine steel, make gun. Would be interesting if late game equipment required more intermediate steps, like how some items require components that can be assembled at the component bench. This would either mean you need to setup a larger production line or you could trade more for the stuff you need.