CTT

In the Army, we have something called Common Task Tests (CTT). Basically, CTT is what every soldier should know (Land Navigation, How to Maintain Your Weapon, etc.) and we spend quite a bit of time training on our CTT skills. Which makes sense: you don't want to have to go to war with someone who doesn't know what they're supposed to do. But it got me thinking: what would be the CTT skills for the SCA.

In the Army, the skills are broken up into two categories: Common Core and MOS (job) Specific. Now the common core tasks are truly what everybody needs to know - how to maintain your weapon, basic first aid, that sort of thing - while the MOS specifics are the tasks only people in a certain job need - how to set up a mortar, how to drive a tank, and so on. And long those same lines, the Army further separates the tasks based on a soldier's skill level. After all, a private does not normally need to know how to lead troops. These separations would probably work in the SCA, too. After all, an artisan does not need to make a spear for armored fighting and a fighter doesn't really need to understand the differences between a minstrel and a bard.

So what would the common core tasks be for the SCA? Here's some ideas:

Skill Level 1 (Beginners and Occasional Players)

• Basic Garb Construction


• Basic Persona


• Bowing or Curtseying


• Camping Etiquette


• Court Etiquette


• Feasting Etiquette


• Field Etiquette


• Importance of Favors


• Office Identification


• Rank Identification and Proper forms of Address


• Weapon Etiquette

Skill Level 2 (Lord/Lady and Above)

• Field Heraldry


• How To Set Up/Tear Down a Pavilion


• Officer Identification


• Persona History


• Retinue Identification

Skill Level 3 (Lordship/Ladyship and Above)

• Care and Treatment of Royalty


• Coordinating Land Grabs for Local Groups/Households


• Setting up an Event/Serving as Head Cook

As you can see, these tasks aren't nearly as martial as most of the Army's CTT tasks. In fact, most of them fall under learning to play nice with each other. That changes when you get into job specific skills, at least for some of the jobs. Now, I'm not qualified to say what a budding artisan or herald should know, but I can come up with a list for fencers that should, actually, apply pretty well to armored fighters.

Fighter Skills, Level 1 (Authorized Fighters):

• Blow Calibration


• Combat Authorization


• Combatant Field Etiquette


• Fighting as Part of a Group


• Inspection and Maintenance of Armor


• Inspection and Maintenance of Weapons


• Rules of the List


• Salute


• Types of Marshals

Fighter Skills, Level 2 (Gold Scarves, Squires):

• Basic Melee Tactics


• Basic Period Fighting Techniques


• Duties of A Champion


• Field Marshalling


• Serving as a Team Leader


• Running A List

Fighter Skills, Level 3 (White Scarves, TANKs):

• Armored Combat/Rapier Marshal Authorization


• Intermediate Melee Tactics


• Intermediate Period Fighting Techniques


• Running a Tournament


• Small Group Leadership


• Teaching Fighter Skills

Fighter Skills, Level 4 (Laurels of Fence, Masters of Arms, Knights):

• Advanced Melee Tactics


• Advanced Period Fighting Techniques


• Large Group Leadership


• Knight Marshal/Rapier Marshal Requirements


• Running a Melee

Now I'm basing my skill levels off of awards received, even though I realize it is not a perfect indicator of a person's experience either as a fighter or in the SCA as a whole (who doesn't know somebody who'd been playing for 10 years before receiving the AoA?). The other thing to remember is that this list is of what people should know by the time they attain a certain level. So a newly authorized fencer not only needs to know all of the Level 1 fighting skills, but should also start working on the Level 2 skills.

So, how does my list look? Is there anything you can see that I missed?