Engineering Skills
Aeronautical & Aerospace Engineer
Architectural Design/Engineer
Chemical Engineer
Civil Engineer
Computer Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Genetics Engineer
Marine/Naval Engineer
Mining Engineer
Nuclear Engineer
Power Armour Engineer
Safety Engineer
Sanitary Engineer
Spacefold Engineer
Starship Engineer
Weapons Engineer
Aeronautical & Aerospace Engineer: Aeronautics seals with the whole field of design, manufacture, maintenance, testing, and use for both civilian and military purposes. It involves the knowledge of aerodynamics, structural design, propulsion engines, navigation, communication, and other related areas. Aerospace engineering is closely allied to aeronautics, but is concerned with the flight of vehicles in space, beyond the earth's atmosphere, and includes the study and development of rocket engines, artificial satellites, and spacecraft for the exploration of outer space. Base skill: 48% + 2% per level of experience.
Architectural: Design/Engineer: This skill area has to do with the designing and constructing of buildings. The techniques and sciences include the drawing of blueprints/drafting, construction materials and equipment, style, decoration, planning and budget. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Chemical Engineer: This branch of engineering is concerned with the
design, construction, and management of factories in which the essential process
consist of chemical reactions. Because the diversity of the materials default
with, the practice, has been to analyze chemical engineering problems in terms
of fundamental unit operations or unit processes such as the grinding or
pulverizing of solids. It is the task of the chemical engineer to select and
specify the design that will best meet the particular requirements of production
and the most appropriate equipment for the new applications. With the
advancement of technology, the number of unit operations increase, but
continuing importance are distillation, crystallization, dissolution,
filtration, and extraction. In each unit operation, engineers are concerned with
four fundamentals: (1) the conservation of matter; (2) the conservation of
energy; (3) the principles of chemical equilibrium; (4) the principles of
chemical reactivity. In addition, chemical engineers must organize the unit
operations in their correct sequence, and they must consider the economic cost
of the overall process. Because a continuous, or assembly-line, operation is
more economical than a batch process, and is frequently amenable to automatic
control, chemical engineers were among the first to incorporate automatic
controls into their designs. Base Skill: 25% + 3% per level of experience.
Civil Engineer: Civil engineering is perhaps the broadest of the
engineering fields, for it deals with the creation, improvement, and protection
of the communal environment, providing facilities for living, industry and
transportation, including large buildings, roads, bridges, canals, railroad
lines, airports, water-supply systems, dams, irrigation, harbours, docks,
aqueducts, tunnels, and other engineering constructions. The civil engineer must
have a thorough knowledge of all types of surveying, of the properties and
mechanics of construction materials, the mechanics of structures and soils, and
of hydraulics and fluid mechanics. Among the important subdivisions of the field
are construction engineering, irrigation engineering, transportation
engineering, soils and foundation engineering, geodetic engineering, hydraulic
engineering, and coastal and ocean engineering. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level
of experience.
Computer Engineer: The electronics of computers involve engineers in
design and manufacture of memory systems, of central processing units, and of
peripheral devises. Foremost among the avenues, of central processing units, and
of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) and new computer architectures. The field
of computer science is closely related to computer engineering; however, the
task of making computers more "intelligent" (artificial intelligence), through
creation of sophisticated programs of development of higher level of machine
languages or other means, is generally regarded as being in the realm of
computer science. One current trend in computer engineering is micronization.
Using VLSI, engineers continue to work to squeeze greater and greater numbers of
circuit elements onto smaller and smaller chips. Anther trend is toward
increasing the speed of computers operations through use of parallel processors,
superconducting materials, Multi-tasking, etc. The main concern is how to link
humans to the machines. Currently they have been connecting the brain waves of a
human into virtual reality type helmets to tell a computer what to do. This
should explain how the all of the Rifts mecha works. Base Skill: 20% + 5% per
level of experience. Requires: Computer Operation, Computer Programming,
Computer Language, Literacy, and Writing.
Electrical Engineer: Electrical Engineering deals with the research,
design, integration, and application of circuits and devices used in the
transmission and processing of information. Information is now generated,
transmitted, received, and stored electronically on a scale unprecedented in
history, and there is every indication that the explosive rate of growth in this
field will continue unabated. Electronic Engineers design circuits to perform
specific tasks, such as amplifying electronic signals, adding binary numbers,
and demodulating radio signals to recover the information they carry. Circuits
are also used to generate waveforms useful for synchronization and timing, as in
television, and for correcting errors in digital information, as in
telecommunications. This is the person you call on when something malfunctions
in a base and/or town. He/she has the knowledge of all electrical properties and
is properly the same person that built the base and/or town. This person designs
the electrical conducts in the house, base, building, etc. GM's remember there
is a difference between the military use and the civilian use of electronic
systems and their functions. Please keep this in mind when the characters are
using this skill. Base Skill: 35% + 5% per level of experience.
Genetics Engineer: Group of research techniques that manipulate the DNA
(genetic material) of cells in order to change heredity traits or produce
biological products. The techniques include the use of hybridomas (hybrids of
rapidly growing cancer cells and cells that make amounts of desired antibody) to
make monoclonal antibodies, gene splicing or recombinant DNA technique (in which
the DNA of a desired gene is inserted into the DNA of a bacterium, which then
reproduces itself, yielding more than a desired gene), and polymerize chain
reaction (which makes copies of DNA fragments and is used in DNA
Fingerprinting). Genetically engineered products include bacteria designed to
efficiently break down oil slicks and industrial waste products, drugs (human
and bovine growth hormones, human insulin, interferon), and plants that are
resistant to diseases and insects or that yield fruits or vegetables with
desired quantities. Because genetic engineering involves techniques used to
obtain patents or human genes and create patentable living organisms, it has
raised many legal and ethical issues. Questions have also been raised about the
safety of releasing into the environment genetically altered organisms that
might disrupt ecosystems. GM's remember there is a difference between the
military use and the civilian use of Genetics Engineer. Please keep this in mind
when the characters are using this skill. Requires: Biology, Botany, and Math:
Basic and Advanced. Base Skill: 15% + 5% per level of experience.
Marine/Naval Engineer: Engineers who have the overall responsibility for
designing and supervising construction of ships are called navel architects. The
ships they design range in size from ocean going super tankers as much as 1300
feet long to small tugboats that operate in rivers and bays. Regardless of size,
ships must be designed and built so that they are safe, stable, strong, and fast
enough to perform the type of work intended for them. To accomplish this, a
navel architect must be familiar with the variety of techniques of modern
shipbuilding, and must have a thorough grounding in applied sciences, such as
fluid mechanics, that bear directly on how ships move through water. Marine
engineering is a specialized branch of mechanical engineering devoted to the
design and operation of systems, both mechanical and electrical, needed to
propel a ship. In helping the navel vessel architect design ships, the marine
engineer must choose a propulsion unit, such as a diesel engine or geared steam
turbine, that provides enough power to move the ship at the speed required. In
doing so, the engineer must take into consideration how much the engine and fuel
bunkers will weigh and how much space they will occupy, as well as the projected
costs of fuel and maintenance. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Mining Engineer: This is an aspect of civil engineering and includes
basic concepts and principles of statistics as they apply to the laws of motion
(force, momentum, equilibrium, couples, trusses, frames, friction, fluids, mass,
and inertia), surveying topography, fluid mechanics (channel flow, hydraulics of
pipe flow, pumps); the composition, engineering proprieties and behaviour of
soils (strengths (excavation, bulkhead, walls, earth, slopes); drilling and
piping methods and control theory. Requires: Math: Basic and Advanced, and
Physics. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Nuclear Engineer: This branch of engineering is concerned with the design
and construction of nuclear reactors and devices, and the manner in which
nuclear fission may find practical applications, such as the production of
commercial power from the energy generated by nuclear reactions and the use of
nuclear reactors for propulsion and of nuclear radiation to induce chemical and
biological changes. In addition to designing nuclear reactors to yield specified
amounts of power, nuclear engineers develop the special materials necessary to
withstand the high temperatures and concentrated bombardment of nuclear
particles that accompany nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear engineers also
develop methods to shield people from the harmful radiation produced by nuclear
reactions and to ensure safe storage and disposal of fissionable materials. Base
Skill: 42% + 3% per level of experience.
Power Armour Engineer: This gives the character to build and design the
Power Armour. The character must have knowledge on the power consumption and
required to know the mechanics of this mecha already. The Armourer is a separate
skill, this is to apply the outer skin. One person with the proper equipment,
proper skills, proper parts, etc. can assemble a Power Armour in about 2 to 3
weeks. Base Skill: 25% + 5% per level of experience.
Safety Engineer: This field of engineering has as its object the
prevention of accidents. In recent years safety engineering has become a
specialty adopted by individuals trained in the other branches of engineering.
Safety engineers develop methods and procedures to safeguard workers in
hazardous occupations. They also assist in designing machinery, factories, ships
and roads, suggesting alterations and improvements to reduce the likelihood of
accident. In the design of machinery, for example, the safety engineer seeks to
cover all moving parts or keep them from accidental contact with the operator,
to put cutoff switches within reach of the operator, and to eliminate dangerous
projecting parts. In intersections, known to result in traffic accidents. Many
large industrial and construction firms, and insurance companies engaged in the
field of workers compensation, today maintain safety engineering departments.
Base Skill: 32% + 3% per level of experience.
Sanitary Engineer: This is a branch of civil engineering, but because of
its great importance for a healthy environmental, especially in dense
urban-population areas, it has acquired the importance of a specialized field.
It chiefly deals with problems involving water supply, treatment, and
distribution; disposal of community wastes and reclamation of useful components
of such wastes; control of pollution of surface waterways, groundwater's, and
soils; milk and food sanitation; housing and institutional sanitation; rural and
recreational-site sanitation; insect and vermin control; control of atmospheric
pollution; industrial hygiene, including control of light, noise, vibration, and
toxic materials in work areas; and other fields concerned with the control of
environmental factors affecting health. The methods used for supplying
communities with pure water and for the disposal of sewage and other wastes are
described separately. Base Skill: 30% + 5% per level of experience.
Spacefold Engineer: This is the complete understanding of how the
Spacefold engines work. Even gives the character the ability to design, build,
and install one of the extremely complex engines. Now if the character has an
I.Q. below 16 the character only has the complete understanding and CAN design,
build, or install these massive complex engines. Counts as twelve skills, unless
otherwise specified. If the character has an I.Q. 16 or above this will only
four other skills. Requires: Spacefold Engineer: Basic and advanced, Spacefold
Electronics, Math: Basic and Advanced, Basic and Advanced electronics, and Basic
Mechanics. Base Skill: 15% + 5% per level of experience.
Starship Engineer: Basic: This will provide the character the knowledge of a
general working of the space ships. In other words the character will have the
knowledge of general maintenance and repair of the spaceship and some of the
electrical systems. The character will have only some knowledge and will not
know exactly how the everything works, but can operate a good percentage of the
systems. This applies to all spacecraft like Horizonts, Garfish, and even the
SDF class vessels. Base Skill: 55% + 5% per level of experience.
Starship Engineer: This is the complete understanding of how the
Spaceships work. Even gives the character the ability to design and build one of
the extremely complex ships. This skill will enable the character to fix,
repair, maintain, build and design about 75% of the systems on the starships.
This applies to all spacecraft like Horizonts, Garfish, and even the SDF class
vessels. Counts as six skills, unless otherwise specified. If the character has
an I.Q. 16 or above this will only four other skills. Requires: Starship
Engineer: Basic and advanced, Math: Basic and Advanced, Basic Electronics and
Advanced Electronics, and Basic Mechanics. Base Skill: 15% + 5% per level of
experience.
Weapons Engineer: This skill is usually reserved for military personnel.
This enables the character to design, build, modify, maintain, repair, mount,
reload, and figure any weapons system know to man. This skill will be able to
help a character design new weapons (hand held and mecha), missile (Damage,
Range, Blast Radius), etc. With
this skill there are unlimited possibilities to designing and build new weapons
in the time of Rifts. A Reminder the GM has the final decision on any
modifications, new weapons (Mecha or not). GM's you should make sure to have the
weapons in your campaign that balance the power. Base Skill: 15% + 5% per level of experience.