Editing Hammercalled: Specializations and Talents

A while back I was working on an editing pass for Hammercalled and I didn't get quite to the core of the system.

One of my focuses this week has been in going back and doing stuff to polish the game.

I will say this: some parts of it hold up really well.

I did notice a few major issues, however.

The Specializations system was working basically in the exact opposite form as intended, with the IAAT mechanic which has long been a core system feature being a footnote to a fairly obtuse system. IAATs are now first-and-foremost as they should be.

I've also cleaned up some needlessly verbose points, since they tended to be sources of confusion for my players.
Talents have also been overhauled a little. Mostly just wording improvements, but some tweaks to balance power levels and keep everything consistent in the system are in there too.

I removed the Helper talent, because it's so bad in its current form.

Helper (1, 2, or 3)
A Helper is someone that provides the character with assistance as they go about their missions. Helpers have a rating of 25 in all attributes (and equivalent statistics in other ways), and one Profession at a rating of +15 experience.
A Helper purchased for 1 point will help a character once per session, if doing so is not dangerous for them. A Helper purchased for 2 points will help a character so long as they are near, but will not follow the character or do particularly dangerous things for them. A Helper purchased for 3 points will follow a character around and take actions for them.
Helpers do not typically engage in combat, though they can if pressed (they will typically need to be lent a weapon, except at the GM's discretion). They retreat after taking a single hit, unless such a hit would likely kill them outright.
A Helper who is killed, incarcerated, or has a major falling-out with the character who purchased them may be replaced, but this requires the expenditure of one Destiny point.

The problems here are three-fold. First, it adds a lot of book-keeping and Helpers always suck compared to a half-decent character. Second, it's very marginal and overlaps with Destiny. Last but not least, it's just not useful in any way.

You can get better results simply through playing a character without the talent.

I also removed the Tough talent, because it's not interesting:

Tough (2)
The character gains 2 Stamina and 1 Wound. This Talent may be purchased up to three times.

I'll probably replace Tough with some other booster for Stamina and Wounds, but as it stands it's just a point sink. It also suffers hugely from use/cost issues.

Weapon Training also bit the dust, because it does something that is no longer really useful:

Weapon Training (2)
If you do not have a Specialization that allows you to use a particular weapon, you get a +15 bonus with it as if you were getting a Specialization bonus.
Bonuses gained in this way do not stack with a Specialization's bonus, though the greater bonus applies if you use a weapon that you have less specific proficiency with.

I don't have a real style guide for talents yet, but I should probably start working on one for the next editing pass.