Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Sailing without a crew
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 1838907" data-attributes="member: 812"><p>Interesting points. Sort of.</p><p></p><p>Of course it's unreasonable. That's the whole point, that it's unreasonable to assume this. As has been pointed out numerous times in this thread, sailing ships were the most complicated machines of their time. It is indeed unreasonable to think that the entire populace is proficient with the most complicated machines around.</p><p></p><p>And defining Profession (sailor) or Knowledge (navigation) is NOT defining new skills. The skills already exist -- you're just saying, "Here's another field in which these skills apply." I don't expect at the start of a campaign that EVERY field of knowledge and EVERY human endeavour is already defined. There is clearly some specialized knowledge involved in sailing ships that a guy who spends his life camping in the forest isn't going to have. It's not crazy talk to suggest that knowledge ought to be encapsulated in a skill besides Survival.</p><p></p><p>It seems clear to me that even a fisherman (who spends his life on the waves, albeit in a not very complicated craft) has a very, very different skill set from a hunter (who spends his life in the forest). Do they both just have equal ranks in Survival? I find that kind of a strange suggestion.</p><p></p><p>The truth is, however, that the right answer is going to depend on how you want your campaign to run. If you want your players to be able to jump to the rigging and tool about in a sailing ship, obviously you can say, "Use Survival to find your way, and um, got some ranks in Use Rope and Balance? Okay, you're fine. Off you go." </p><p></p><p>I would be fine with a DM who said that. Obviously in this campaign being able to sail a ship isn't the point of anything, so let's just move on. We get to where we're going and continue with the story.</p><p></p><p>I would also be fine with a DM who said, "Well, your character's never been on a ship before, and knows nothing about its operation. You pretty much stare up at the tangled mass of ropes and sheets and masts and have no idea what to do. The ship is drifting on to a rocky shore, and looks like it's going to crash into the breakers in about four rounds. What do you do?"</p><p></p><p>Either way is fun. Neither way is stupid. Which is right? Well, it depends, I guess.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 1838907, member: 812"] Interesting points. Sort of. Of course it's unreasonable. That's the whole point, that it's unreasonable to assume this. As has been pointed out numerous times in this thread, sailing ships were the most complicated machines of their time. It is indeed unreasonable to think that the entire populace is proficient with the most complicated machines around. And defining Profession (sailor) or Knowledge (navigation) is NOT defining new skills. The skills already exist -- you're just saying, "Here's another field in which these skills apply." I don't expect at the start of a campaign that EVERY field of knowledge and EVERY human endeavour is already defined. There is clearly some specialized knowledge involved in sailing ships that a guy who spends his life camping in the forest isn't going to have. It's not crazy talk to suggest that knowledge ought to be encapsulated in a skill besides Survival. It seems clear to me that even a fisherman (who spends his life on the waves, albeit in a not very complicated craft) has a very, very different skill set from a hunter (who spends his life in the forest). Do they both just have equal ranks in Survival? I find that kind of a strange suggestion. The truth is, however, that the right answer is going to depend on how you want your campaign to run. If you want your players to be able to jump to the rigging and tool about in a sailing ship, obviously you can say, "Use Survival to find your way, and um, got some ranks in Use Rope and Balance? Okay, you're fine. Off you go." I would be fine with a DM who said that. Obviously in this campaign being able to sail a ship isn't the point of anything, so let's just move on. We get to where we're going and continue with the story. I would also be fine with a DM who said, "Well, your character's never been on a ship before, and knows nothing about its operation. You pretty much stare up at the tangled mass of ropes and sheets and masts and have no idea what to do. The ship is drifting on to a rocky shore, and looks like it's going to crash into the breakers in about four rounds. What do you do?" Either way is fun. Neither way is stupid. Which is right? Well, it depends, I guess. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Sailing without a crew
Top