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Where is the point of medicine as a skill?
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<blockquote data-quote="Andor" data-source="post: 6381264" data-attributes="member: 1879"><p>Wow. Read a little past what was written? I said I removed them as system mastery traps, not to ensure that all non-combat interactions were removed from my table.</p><p></p><p>Here's what the Medicine skill says: </p><p></p><p>It doesn't even cover Poison by the rules, god only knows why. And what proficiency in the skill gives you is +2 to that check for the only levels where it can really be an issue. That's it. Past first level the party will have enough cash that everyone will have a healing kit. And you do not need the skill to make the roll. There are no "Skill required" skills in 5e. All any skill is is a modifier to a stat check. The DC to stabilize a dying creature is 10. </p><p></p><p>Also notice that a 1st level Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger spell, which can be cast as a ritual and therefore doesn't have any cost, at all, beyond 10 minutes of game time, will locate and diagnose any and all poison and disease within 30'.</p><p></p><p>Do you understand? Mechanically the Medicine skill is a complete and utter waste of a skill slot. I removed it from my game so that players could take something fun and/or useful with their skills like History or Investigate, which are not utterly obsoleted by a 5gp item or a common ritual spell. So get down off your high horse, in case you hadn't noticed this thread is full of house rules to try to make it so the skill isn't useless. Clearly those people also think that as written it is an inadequate return on investment for a skill slot. They simply chose the path of beefing it up instead of stripping it out.</p><p></p><p>Now it's fair to argue that Nature has legitimate space within the rules, but it does overlap with Survival.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Survival implicitly covers everything Nature does, plus adds practical skills on top of it. The only reason to split them up is if you wanted to create a character like the Doctor from Gondor again, who had the book learning, but not the practical experience. And if one of my players wanted to do that I would let them. But barring such a character concept, I'd rather just let someone roll Int(Survival) to recall the Elvish name for a Musk deer, rather than making them take one skill to recognize the tracks and another to recall that the name.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Andor, post: 6381264, member: 1879"] Wow. Read a little past what was written? I said I removed them as system mastery traps, not to ensure that all non-combat interactions were removed from my table. Here's what the Medicine skill says: It doesn't even cover Poison by the rules, god only knows why. And what proficiency in the skill gives you is +2 to that check for the only levels where it can really be an issue. That's it. Past first level the party will have enough cash that everyone will have a healing kit. And you do not need the skill to make the roll. There are no "Skill required" skills in 5e. All any skill is is a modifier to a stat check. The DC to stabilize a dying creature is 10. Also notice that a 1st level Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger spell, which can be cast as a ritual and therefore doesn't have any cost, at all, beyond 10 minutes of game time, will locate and diagnose any and all poison and disease within 30'. Do you understand? Mechanically the Medicine skill is a complete and utter waste of a skill slot. I removed it from my game so that players could take something fun and/or useful with their skills like History or Investigate, which are not utterly obsoleted by a 5gp item or a common ritual spell. So get down off your high horse, in case you hadn't noticed this thread is full of house rules to try to make it so the skill isn't useless. Clearly those people also think that as written it is an inadequate return on investment for a skill slot. They simply chose the path of beefing it up instead of stripping it out. Now it's fair to argue that Nature has legitimate space within the rules, but it does overlap with Survival. Survival implicitly covers everything Nature does, plus adds practical skills on top of it. The only reason to split them up is if you wanted to create a character like the Doctor from Gondor again, who had the book learning, but not the practical experience. And if one of my players wanted to do that I would let them. But barring such a character concept, I'd rather just let someone roll Int(Survival) to recall the Elvish name for a Musk deer, rather than making them take one skill to recognize the tracks and another to recall that the name. [/QUOTE]
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Where is the point of medicine as a skill?
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