ZombieRoboNinja
First Post
Since they've mentioned that the skill list is still under heavy revision, how do you guys think it should look?
I'd start with the 4e list as a basis:
Versus the last playtest list (additions italicized):
First big change: they've unpacked Thievery back into its 3e constituent skills. This makes some sense because if they kept the 4e skills intact, every rogue would be trained in half the skill list. But I'd still get rid of Find and Remove Traps because it's weirdly specific. Make it a standard Spot check to find a trap and straight Int to disarm it.
Second change: a bunch more Lore skills. I'm not sure if I like this so much.
Now, I'm guessing they've taken out Athletics, Acrobatics, and Endurance to refocus the game a bit on ability scores. I think the question is, "Can you imagine someone with high [key stat] who sucks at [skill]?" If not, it shouldn't be a skill.
So bye bye athletics and endurance. If I've got a good Con that MEANS I can run far and hold my breath and so on. But I'd like to see Acrobatics come back in its constituent parts. All rogues are dextrous, for example, but not all rogues can walk a tightrope or (more to the point) tumble across a battlefield. So bring back Jump, Climb, and Tumble.
I also would rename Bluff to Deception so that it can take in some related things like forgery and disguise.
As for the Lore skills... I think they're trying to be open-ended with these to some degree, but I'm not sure how successful it is. /shrug.
Also, Animal Handling should be part of Nature Lore.
So here's my proposed list of skills:
What do you think?
I'd start with the 4e list as a basis:
Acrobatics
Arcana
Athletics
Bluff
Diplomacy
Dungeoneering
Endurance
Heal
History
Insight
Intimidate
Nature
Perception
Religion
Stealth
Streetwise
Thievery
Versus the last playtest list (additions italicized):
Animal Handling
Bluff
Diplomacy
Find/Remove Traps
Insight
Intimidate
Open Locks
Sleight of Hand
Spot (now same as 4e Perception)
Stealth
Streetwise
Survival
(Various Lore skills)
First big change: they've unpacked Thievery back into its 3e constituent skills. This makes some sense because if they kept the 4e skills intact, every rogue would be trained in half the skill list. But I'd still get rid of Find and Remove Traps because it's weirdly specific. Make it a standard Spot check to find a trap and straight Int to disarm it.
Second change: a bunch more Lore skills. I'm not sure if I like this so much.
Now, I'm guessing they've taken out Athletics, Acrobatics, and Endurance to refocus the game a bit on ability scores. I think the question is, "Can you imagine someone with high [key stat] who sucks at [skill]?" If not, it shouldn't be a skill.
So bye bye athletics and endurance. If I've got a good Con that MEANS I can run far and hold my breath and so on. But I'd like to see Acrobatics come back in its constituent parts. All rogues are dextrous, for example, but not all rogues can walk a tightrope or (more to the point) tumble across a battlefield. So bring back Jump, Climb, and Tumble.
I also would rename Bluff to Deception so that it can take in some related things like forgery and disguise.
As for the Lore skills... I think they're trying to be open-ended with these to some degree, but I'm not sure how successful it is. /shrug.
Also, Animal Handling should be part of Nature Lore.
So here's my proposed list of skills:
Climb
Deception
Diplomacy
Insight
Intimidate
Jump
Open Locks
Sleight of Hand
Spot
Stealth
Streetwise
Survival
Tumble
(Various Lore skills)
What do you think?