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 coming! 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
What's Your "Sweet Spot" for a Skill system?
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="DeviousQuail" data-source="post: 8960508" data-attributes="member: 7025431"><p>I haven't come across a game that does everything I want with a skill system. Shocker. But as I've expanded my game knowledge I've been able to narrow down what I do and don't like.</p><p></p><p>The game should only include skills that make sense for the game. Don't try to shoehorn in skills just because they sound good/are standard in other games. Bonus points if the design allows adjusting what skills are in the game. That doesn't have to be a major aspect of the design, but I like it when that freedom is included.</p><p></p><p>Play the game and make sure there is some balance between each skill in terms of use. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it sucks to have a skill that never gets any use or another skill that feels mandatory for play. If there is an intentional unbalance that should be called out in the skill section so that everyone is aware. </p><p></p><p>I like when skills are grouped by how, when, or what they're used for. One long list doesn't do it for me anymore. Whether it's exploration/social/combat, general/advanced, or quick/normal/slow I think grouping them can give mechanical and character benefits. </p><p></p><p>Skill systems that are clear in what each one covers and minimizes overlap are my preference. If a situation calls for X or Y skills then I expect the success and failures of X to look different than those of Y. I'm okay with exceptions every once in a while. Just attempt to avoid that. </p><p></p><p>Each skill should come with an example of it's use and what we can expect to occur when we get certain rolls. Using D&D 5e as an example, XGtE does a decent job of this with the tools section (especially compared to the PHB skill section). Each tool gives a description of what it is used for, interactions with other skills, and a few DCs. Now a player knows with a DC X check they can expect certain results and build characters accordingly.</p><p></p><p>Don't hide a subsystem in your skill section. This is more of a layout issue, but if you have an encumbrance system it should not be hidden under the Brawn skill section. The Brawn skill section should mention that it can effect encumbrance. That's good. But the actual rules for encumbrance should be in their own section.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DeviousQuail, post: 8960508, member: 7025431"] I haven't come across a game that does everything I want with a skill system. Shocker. But as I've expanded my game knowledge I've been able to narrow down what I do and don't like. The game should only include skills that make sense for the game. Don't try to shoehorn in skills just because they sound good/are standard in other games. Bonus points if the design allows adjusting what skills are in the game. That doesn't have to be a major aspect of the design, but I like it when that freedom is included. Play the game and make sure there is some balance between each skill in terms of use. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it sucks to have a skill that never gets any use or another skill that feels mandatory for play. If there is an intentional unbalance that should be called out in the skill section so that everyone is aware. I like when skills are grouped by how, when, or what they're used for. One long list doesn't do it for me anymore. Whether it's exploration/social/combat, general/advanced, or quick/normal/slow I think grouping them can give mechanical and character benefits. Skill systems that are clear in what each one covers and minimizes overlap are my preference. If a situation calls for X or Y skills then I expect the success and failures of X to look different than those of Y. I'm okay with exceptions every once in a while. Just attempt to avoid that. Each skill should come with an example of it's use and what we can expect to occur when we get certain rolls. Using D&D 5e as an example, XGtE does a decent job of this with the tools section (especially compared to the PHB skill section). Each tool gives a description of what it is used for, interactions with other skills, and a few DCs. Now a player knows with a DC X check they can expect certain results and build characters accordingly. Don't hide a subsystem in your skill section. This is more of a layout issue, but if you have an encumbrance system it should not be hidden under the Brawn skill section. The Brawn skill section should mention that it can effect encumbrance. That's good. But the actual rules for encumbrance should be in their own section. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What's Your "Sweet Spot" for a Skill system?
Top