The next four careers are more straightforward since they exist both in 1e and 2e. So, without further ado:
BOATMAN (original 1e):
Skills: Fish, Orientation, River Lore, Row, 50% chance of Very Strong, 25% chance of Consume Alcohol, 25% chance of Boat Building
BOATMAN (modified):
Skills: Fish, Orientation, River Lore, Row, Sail, Swim, 50% chance of Very Strong, 25% chance of Consume Alcohol, 25% chance of Boat Building, 25% chance of Secret Language (Ranger), 10% chance of Speak Additional Language
There isn't too much to say here. I am a big fan of my boatmen and boat-women being able to both Sail and Swim as well as Row. Fish isn't a distinct skill in 2e, being merged into Outdoor Survival. I don't particularly have a problem with that given WFRP's career design although I think it could have been left as Trade (Fishing) or somesuch. River Lore was a much more problematic design choice, since it isn't clear why "River Lore" should be a unique and universal skill, but "Mountain Lore" and "Jungle Lore" and "Sea Lore" etc. aren't. The approach of 2e to skills is generally much better than in 1e, with all that really cleaned up. 25% chance of Boat Building is much higher than I would like it, on reflection: 5%, or removing it entirely and leaving the building of boats to the Artisan design-space, feels much better.
I do have some issues with the Advance scheme too which I will mention here, but will try to cover more comprehensively at a later date:
The Boatman is a decent example of an advance scheme which is just too fighter-orientated. The 2e is a bit better than the first but overall I would like to see much more emphasis on the personal characteristics than on the Weapon Skill and the Ballistic Skill; partly as I think it is just better game design but mainly because we would like our non-combat orientated characters to be more competent at their non-combat roles than their secondary combat functions. For example, the 1e could and should have advances available in Strength, Toughness and Dexterity; and could reasonably have advances in Leadership, Intelligence and Fellowship just as much as Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill.
BODYGUARD (Original 1e):
Skills: Disarm, Specialist Weapon - Fist Weapon, Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Stun, 50% chance of Very Strong
BODYGUARD (Modified):
Skills: Disarm, Dodge Blow, Specialist Weapon - Fist Weapon, Specialist Weapon Group - Parrying, Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Stun, 50% chance of Very Resilient, 50% chance of Very Strong
The above gives a modest increase to the number of skills without changing the character too much. Both editions' versions of the Bodyguard were slightly quirky: the 1e Bodyguard had an advance of +20 to WS which seemed a bit too high: higher than Protagonists and Troll-Slayers for example(!). Off-hand, I think only the Pit Fighter allowed equivalently high advances. And since Bodyguard gets the extra attack and the Pit Fighter doesn't(!) then Bodyguard was legitimately a contender for the hardest starting career. The other contender is Protagonist, since although it only as the +10 advance in Weapon Skill, it does have the Strike to Injure skill too which is arguably more useful than the extra +10 in WS. In any event, both Bodyguards are strong characters, but the modified Bodyguard particularly so.
BOUNTY HUNTER (Original 1e):
Skills: Follow Trail, Shadowing, Silent Move Rural, Silent Move Urban, Specialist Weapon - Lasso, Specialist Weapon - Net, Strike Mighty Blow, 50% chance of Marksmanship
BOUNTY HUNTER (Modified):
Skills: Follow Trail, Shadowing, Silent Move Rural, Silent Move Urban, Specialist Weapon - Lasso, Specialist Weapon - Net, Strike Mighty Blow, 50% chance of Marksmanship, 50% chance of Strike to Stun, 25% chance of Concealment - Rural, 25% chance of Concealment - Urban
There are a couple of possible extra skills here but the character remains more or less 'as is'; and there is nothing to mind about that since it was a pretty good career anyway. The main problem for the player between the two editions is that 1e Bounty Hunter could move straight into Assassin which was one of the most effective fighter careers of 1e but doesn't get to do that in 2e.
It might be worth mentioning the Marksmanship skill here, although very similar remarks might apply to Fleet Footed, Lightning Reflexes, Very Strong and Very Resilient. These skills (all were made talents in 2e, basically because skills are stackable in 2e and talents are one-time bonuses) all give straight bonuses to characteristics and are mechanically indistinguishable from a characteristic advance, except it is only available once. But although a character might have the Marksmanship skill, it doesn't mean that they are better at archery than a character who doesn't have it, since it all depends on the initial roll: a character with an initial Strength of '2' in 1e could enter a career that allows one to take the skill 'Very Strong', raises it to '3'...which is entirely average. I think that it would be better to allow characters with one of these skills to raise their starting characteristic to either the racial maximum, or at least the racial average, e.g. a human character who obtains the 'Marksmanship' skill is allowed to raise their 'starting' profile to 40, becoming 50 with the addition of the skill...or otherwise, can raise it to 31, becoming 41 with the addition of the skill.
COACHMAN (Original 1e):
Skills: Animal Care, Drive Cart, Musicianship - coach-horn, Ride - horse, Specialist Weapon - Firearms
COACHMAN (Modified):
Skills: Animal Care, Drive Cart, Musicianship - coach-horn, Orientation, Ride - horse, Secret Signs - Ranger, Specialist Weapon - Firearms, 30% chance of Haggle, 30% chance of Speak Additional Language
Not much to add here: a couple of additional skills make this character a little better, but no step-change in capability. I think the addition of coachmen and coachwomen is a nice touch, like the bounty hunters: hardly 'historical' but a useful addition to the setting.
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