Skills System (Simplified)

Sturm_Brightblade · Sep 1, 2008

Hello guys!!

Since I've read here quite a good deal of discussion regarding the Skills System we use and how the "new stuff" (Pathfinder, True20, et. al.) has treated the subject, I expose here my own thoughts on the subject.

Inspired by Pathfinder's Alpha 1 Playtest, I tried to develop a Skills System which is simple, easy-to-use and extensively enough to cover the most "important" (mechanical and fluffy) skills without creating a huge amount of rules for it.

My final list goes as follows:

Acrobatics DEX
Balance DEX
Escape Artist DEX
Tumble DEX
Use Rope DEX

Appraise INT

Arcana INT
Concentration CON
Knowledge (Arcana) INT
Spellcraft INT
Use Magic Device CHA

Athletics STR
Climb STR
Jump STR
Swim STR

Craft INT

Deception CHA
Bluff CHA
Disguise CHA
Intimidate CHA

Diplomacy CHA
Diplomacy CHA
Gather Information CHA
Knowledge (Nobility) INT

Engineering INT
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) INT
Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) INT

Handle Animal CHA

Heal WIS

History INT
Knowledge (Local) INT
Knowledge (History) INT

Linguistics INT
Decipher Script INT
Forgery INT

Nature INT
Knowledge (Nature) INT
Knowledge (Geography) INT

Perception WIS
Listen WIS
Search INT
Spot WIS

Perform CHA

Profession WIS

Religion INT
Knowledge (Religion) INT
Knowledge (Planes) INT

Ride DEX

Sense Motive WIS

Stealth DEX
Hide DEX
Move Silently DEX

Survival WIS

Theft DEX
Disable Device INT
Open Lock DEX
Sleight of Hand DEX

This creates a list of 22 Skills that embodies (at least for me) almost anything the players/DM could need. The changes can be made to classes/prestige without a lot of trouble.

What are your opinions/comments about it? Is it too simplified? Useful?

Sturm.

Jeff Wilder · Sep 2, 2008

I'm working on a similar simplification, using Pathfinder as the base.

There has to be a balance among all of "usefulness," "realism," and "simplicity," IMO. With an eye on the balance of class skills.

For example, is Sleight of Hand really useful enough to stand on its own? If not (in my games, it's definitely not), what could it be rolled into, to make things simpler? Well, realistically sleight of hand is at least as much about misdirection as it is about a deft touch. So ... what about Bluff? Bluffing is all about misdirection, including the "feint" use of the skill. Why not sleight of hand? The only class that ends up with Sleight of Hand that didn't have it available already is the sorcerer, and I actually really like the idea of the sorcerer as charlatan, so bonus.

Directly from your list, along these lines, I've never played in a game where Ride was important enough to stand on its own. So I've folded it into Handle Animal. (Why should whether or not you can get an animal to do something depend so much on whether you're physically atop it?)

I am also considering -- in an instance of great minds thinking alike -- folding Climb, Jump, and Swim into, you guessed it, Athletics.

Committed Hero · Sep 4, 2008

You get rid of enough skills, you should start thinking about decoupling ability scores from them. For instance, I'm sure you can envision circumstances in which Dex and Con might apply to an Athletics check, along with just Strength.

Sturm_Brightblade · Sep 4, 2008

That idea of decoupling Skills sounds good... Although it could add complexity to the system that I don't know if it is necessary or not.

Thanks for the replies guys. Specially you Jeff, I'm pretty much interested in what you have said about this topic in another thread of the forum.

Best regards,

Sturm.

Committed Hero · Sep 8, 2008

Sturm_Brightblade said:
That idea of decoupling Skills sounds good... Although it could add complexity to the system that I don't know if it is necessary or not.

It's worked that way for 100 World of Darkness books over 15 years. You don't need a comprehensive list of what scores apply in what circumstances; the player and DM have to agree on what applies when.

Jeff Wilder · Sep 8, 2008

If I thought it wouldn't noticeably slow down my game, I'd seriously consider decoupling skills from attributes.

The problem is, I have a few players for whom adding two single-digit numbers takes literally a few seconds. They're not stupid, it's just that something about doing arithmetic on the fly gives them brain-lock. One of them has me gnashing my teeth during combat already, because it takes him so long to calculate modifiers, and for some reason he, despite repeated reminders (slowly edging into warnings), won't write numbers on the battlemat. Adding an additional calculation to skills would lead to me killing him.