Contact Networks

Even the most far-sighted Jedi and most powerful entrepreneurs can't see or predict everything, but the wisest know that there are many ways of gathering information. Anyone successful in this wild galaxy follows the example of the old dogs by learning from whomever they can, whether those individuals realize it or not. They gather a wide range of contacts to themselves from criminal informants to notable scholars, and draw on the knowledge shared between them to solve problems that they could not approach alone.

In game terms, these groups of additional information sources are referred to as Contact Networks. These are each associated with a specific type of Knowledge Skill. Contacts at a prestigious Core World university might be associated with Knowledge (Education) while a snitch in a smuggling ring would be tied to Knowledge (Underworld). A character's contact networks provide a means of acquiring information that might not be available otherwise, although they can only offer information related to their area of expertise.

Acquiring a Contact Network
A Contact Network may be obtained two ways. They may be awarded to a player by the GM after they prove themselves to be prominent figures within a relevant field. Alternatively, they may be bought with experience points during play.

A new contact network costs 10 XP, while raising the Scope or Expertise costs 5 XP times the new rating. Purchasing a new contact network or upgrading a contact network associated with a non-career skills costs 5 additional XP for each purchase or upgrade. In general, contact networks grow slowly and with effort so they will likely be created through a combination of investments of XP and GM grants.

Rating: 1
Scope: A handful of individuals, such as a single street gang or the staff or a single department at a small university.
Expertise: Dabblers and dilettantes with the bare minimum of knowledge to be worth consulting. The network consists of students, amateur explorers, minor enforces, or similar figures.

Rating: 2
Scope:  Up to fifty individuals working together closely or around two dozen in correspondence across a planet.
Expertise:  Typical professionals within their fields, such as professors, doctors, scientists, or gang leaders.

Rating: 3
Scope: Fifty to one hundred individuals operating across an entire world or star systems.
Expertise:  The members of the network are accomplished members of their field.

Rating: 4
Scope: One hundred or more individuals, spread across several star systems.
Expertise: Network members include noteworthy and well-known figures in their various fields, such as widely published scholars, cartel bosses, or the discoverers of new worlds or hyper lanes.

Rating: 5
Scope: A vast network stretching across an entire sector of space or more.
Expertise: Leading members of the field in question are included in the network.

Using a Network
A roll for information while using a Contact Network is conducted by using the Rating as their "Proficiency" (Yellow) in that skill while their Intellect Characteristic will be used as the "Ability" (Green) for the roll. The obscurity of the information will determine the difficulty of the roll and will be set by the GM. Alternatively, a Contact Network could choose to call in a favour instead or charge nominal fee for the information, either instead or in addition to a roll.