Sammael
Adventurer
I'm currently working on my own revision of the 3.5 system, and I'm just about done with the classes (at least the ones which will be used for PCs in my first pre-alpha-test campaign), so I'm back to skills (which were among the first things I drafted). I'm generally pleased with my current skill list (28 skills), but there's something that's been bothering me for a while now - the names of certain skills.
Since I'm not a native English speaker, I figured I could toss this issue in front of the community and get some input which would perhaps help me make the final decision. One slight catch is that I would prefer each skill name to be a single word. The skills in question are:
1) Dungeoneering - I adopted the 3.5/4E term for lack of a better one, but I really, really hate it. This skill is supposed to be a combo of underground survival, knowledge (underground creatures), with a dose of what used to be dwarven stonecunning, and spelunking and such added for good measure.
2) Engineering - this is basically open locks + disable device + craft (trapmaking) all in one. I thought about Security, but it doesn't sound too good in a medieval fantasy context.
3) Sleight of Hand - I tried "Legerdemain" but my players' blank facial expression told me it was not a good choice. "Knavery" is another synonym I found, but I don't like the sound of it. The usual terms "conjuration" and "prestidigitation" are out of the question because of their specific game connotations.
4) Naturalism - Knowledge (Nature) + Handle Animal, but the name to me still evokes images of naked people at the beach rather than fur-clad druids. The 4E solution, "Nature," doesn't work for me.
That's it. Just for reference purposes, the other skills are:
Crafting
Healing
Perception
Survival
Arcana
Heraldry
Linguistics
Netherlore
Theology
Warcraft
Acrobatics
Athletics
Brawl
Endurance
Marksmanship
Melee
Stealth
Deception
Expression
Insight
Intimidation
Persuasion
Resolve
Streetwise
Since I'm not a native English speaker, I figured I could toss this issue in front of the community and get some input which would perhaps help me make the final decision. One slight catch is that I would prefer each skill name to be a single word. The skills in question are:
1) Dungeoneering - I adopted the 3.5/4E term for lack of a better one, but I really, really hate it. This skill is supposed to be a combo of underground survival, knowledge (underground creatures), with a dose of what used to be dwarven stonecunning, and spelunking and such added for good measure.
2) Engineering - this is basically open locks + disable device + craft (trapmaking) all in one. I thought about Security, but it doesn't sound too good in a medieval fantasy context.
3) Sleight of Hand - I tried "Legerdemain" but my players' blank facial expression told me it was not a good choice. "Knavery" is another synonym I found, but I don't like the sound of it. The usual terms "conjuration" and "prestidigitation" are out of the question because of their specific game connotations.
4) Naturalism - Knowledge (Nature) + Handle Animal, but the name to me still evokes images of naked people at the beach rather than fur-clad druids. The 4E solution, "Nature," doesn't work for me.
That's it. Just for reference purposes, the other skills are:
Crafting
Healing
Perception
Survival
Arcana
Heraldry
Linguistics
Netherlore
Theology
Warcraft
Acrobatics
Athletics
Brawl
Endurance
Marksmanship
Melee
Stealth
Deception
Expression
Insight
Intimidation
Persuasion
Resolve
Streetwise
