Breen and Zalman in Era Report 3052

[Alex Keller]

Hello.  I have been enjoying playing through some of the characters in Era Report 3052.  My question concerns the Steel Viper warriors Natalie Breen and Perigard Zalman.

They are noted as being the finest warriors in the Steel Viper clan, a clan that has one of the toughest trial programs.  Strangely, both warriors are listed as veteran skilled warriors, even though they are tested leaders in elite clusters like the First Viper Guards and Triasch Keshik.  Their AToW stats don't seem to help them either... in fact it hurts both of them. 

Was this veteran rating an error? Should this be in the errata section? 

Thank you. 

[Alex Keller]

Lots of views... no answer. 

[J_Schmetzer]

They are noted as being the finest warriors in the Steel Viper clan, a clan that has one of the toughest trial programs.  Strangely, both warriors are listed as veteran skilled warriors.

Was this veteran rating an error? Should this be in the errata section? 

It should not. Piloting and Gunnery skill levels (and the abstract values of "veteran" or "elite") are only part of what makes "a warrior."  The text as written describes a great number of variables that may or may not be visible in the relatively limited scope of game rules.

That being said, if you'd prefer them to be best-of-the-best 0/0 with natural aptitude/gunnery and the marksman special ability in your game, pencil it in.  I find my games are more fun when people occasionally miss.   

[Alex Keller]

Thanks Jason. I think this speaks volumes about the relative strength (weakness, actually) of Clan Steel Viper. 

I'm not asking in the hopes that Breen or Zalman become 0/0 pilots, I just find the information provided on Breen and Zalman to be extremely curious.  They are rated as inferior in an abstract way against contemporaries like Vandervahn Chistu (Elite-level, Speed Demon, Off-Map Movement), Karl Bourjon (Elite-Level, Penalties with force larger than a Trinary), Lucian Carns (Elite-level, Combat Intuition, Off-Map Movement). 

If it were simply a matter of them having AToW traits to improve them (giving Breen Marksman, Blood Stalker, Hot Dog etc) I would understand.  Instead, we are told that Natalie Breen has Combat Paralysis and a poor grasp of tactics (like reverse Tactical Genius).  In other words, all the tactical bonuses that would offset a Veteran-level experience are not there.  In fact, they seem like tactical penalties. 

In other words, Breen and Zalman fall into the worst category of experience for their contemporaries (Veteran-level) and do not receive compensatory special ability bonuses.  (Zalman gets +1 initiative bonus but Impatient and poor grasp of Tactics again)

That said, I really appreciate the attention to detail on this product.  I'm looking forward to the next Era Report.  We'll get another chance to see Breen and Zalman in the Falcon-Viper conflict.