Resourceful? (part 1)

If you've ever watched “Burn Notice,” the character of Michael Westen is an ingenious burned spy who creatively overcomes many obstacles and situations through his resourcefulness. In all honesty, my entire reasoning for the Resourcefulness skill in Solar Echoes was because of Michael Westen—I wanted the players to be able to do the kind of stuff he did. The skill at first seems to be very general and open-ended. However, when players invest a rank in this skill, they will find it to be quite useful on any mission. At its core, resourcefulness is the ability to use what you have on hand or to gain insight into a situation beyond what common sense would normally avail. Behind the scenes, though, this skill gives the MC (Mission Controller—the GM in Solar Echoes) an opportunity to drop hints to the players through a game mechanic. If the team seems unsure of how to proceed, the MC can simply ask a player with ranks in the skill to make a resourcefulness check (the MC can set the difficulty to match the situation.) If the player succeeds, the MC can then give helpful hints. “You notice...” or “There seems to be...” are examples of ways to drop the hints in-game. However, the use of this skill doesn't end there...