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General Tabletop Discussion
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Thoughts on 5e skills.
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<blockquote data-quote="Croesus" data-source="post: 7147123" data-attributes="member: 35019"><p>One of the things I like to do with skills is differentiate between what a trained character can do vs. an untrained. For example, anyone can attempt an Arcana check, but if the character isn't trained, there's some information he simply won't get, no matter the roll. This helps avoid the problem of every player attempting a roll, hoping one person rolls high. (Group checks also handle this problem well.)</p><p></p><p>It also helps with lesser-used skills like Animal Handling. Knowing how to get a pack of wolves to not attack, that certain creatures are only active at night, how to tame a young bulette so you can train it as a mount...all those things can be useful, but only to the trained. Unfortunately, I've noticed that my current players rarely think of such things - if it's not obvious, default to swords and spells. So I have to nudge them - sometimes more than nudge - so they start thinking along different lines. </p><p></p><p>Oh, and I have seen Performance used once to great (and hilarious) success. The party wanted to infiltrate an old, broken down keep. The Tiefling Bard approached the gate and put on a exotic dance performance to distract the guards, while everyone else scaled the walls. I didn't think much of the idea, until she rolled a natural 20. So I had the gate guards holler to the other guards, "Hey, come look at the babe with the horns!" The rest got in and sacked the place. Never would have happened if the player hadn't been thinking outside the box. So as Iserith stated, it all depends on the campaign, and the group, as to which skills are most useful.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Croesus, post: 7147123, member: 35019"] One of the things I like to do with skills is differentiate between what a trained character can do vs. an untrained. For example, anyone can attempt an Arcana check, but if the character isn't trained, there's some information he simply won't get, no matter the roll. This helps avoid the problem of every player attempting a roll, hoping one person rolls high. (Group checks also handle this problem well.) It also helps with lesser-used skills like Animal Handling. Knowing how to get a pack of wolves to not attack, that certain creatures are only active at night, how to tame a young bulette so you can train it as a mount...all those things can be useful, but only to the trained. Unfortunately, I've noticed that my current players rarely think of such things - if it's not obvious, default to swords and spells. So I have to nudge them - sometimes more than nudge - so they start thinking along different lines. Oh, and I have seen Performance used once to great (and hilarious) success. The party wanted to infiltrate an old, broken down keep. The Tiefling Bard approached the gate and put on a exotic dance performance to distract the guards, while everyone else scaled the walls. I didn't think much of the idea, until she rolled a natural 20. So I had the gate guards holler to the other guards, "Hey, come look at the babe with the horns!" The rest got in and sacked the place. Never would have happened if the player hadn't been thinking outside the box. So as Iserith stated, it all depends on the campaign, and the group, as to which skills are most useful. [/QUOTE]
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