The Profession skill?

[billd91]

The standard case is "Profession (Sailor)". Shouldn't I know stuff about knots and hence have some benefit with Use Rope?

I tend to look at it the other way around. Rope Use produces synergy bonuses for profession (something that uses knots a lot like hangman or sailor).

On the other hand, if I have Use Rope, Swim, Knowledge (Nature) and Balance, shouldn't I be decent sailor material?

Possibly. But the whole point of Profession is to give someone a way to become competent in a profession without having to spend skill ranks on all of the potential included skills.
Ultimately, someone with those skills may be a good deckhand, but without profession (sailor), he's never shown any competence at the big picture of operating a ship.

 

[Aurumvorax]

Mechanically, anything is useless unless the players and GM seek out ways to make it mechanically useful. A skill required for a prestige class is mechanically useless (in that respect) if one has no desire to take that class. Certainly, the uses of Profession are less obvious than, say, Climb, but that does not make the skill mechanically useless.

No, profession is literally useless by game mechanics. When I review a system, I take into account what the rules-as-written states. By RAW profession does absolutely nothing except make money for a week's worth of labor.

Obviously no GM worth his salt plays RPG systems by-the-book entirely but the fewer personal changes I make to a system, the better. I'm not spending $40 on a book so I can add a plethora of sticky notes.

 

[Celebrim]

I'm not spending $40 on a book so I can add a plethora of sticky notes.

Good luck with that. You are going to need it, especially considering that the first thing that companies do after releasing a book is start releasing a plethora of sticky notes that are supposed to correct errors and oversights in the book.

It's somewhere between rare and unheard of that an RPG rules system doesn't need some maintenance.

 

[AllisterH]

The problem with profession is that it is too broad of a skill given the granularity of the rest of the skills.

If for example, there were no other skills other than Craft, Profession works (and I've seen this in other RPGs where you just list one superskill and it's the player's that have to say how thy use said skill in an encounter).

In a system that actually went and had minor skills like Use Rope and took the trouble to separate Handle Animal from Ride (again other RPGS simply have this under 1 skill), Profession is way too broad.

 

[Raven Crowking]

No, profession is literally useless by game mechanics. When I review a system, I take into account what the rules-as-written states. By RAW profession does absolutely nothing except make money for a week's worth of labor.

It is funny that you would say, one one hand, that it has no mechanical value, and then in the same paragraph you include the most upfront mechanical value per 3.5 RAW. The upfront mechanical value is that it makes money.

However, the 3.5 RAW also allows you to "use the tools of your trade, [know] how to perform the profession’s daily tasks, how to supervise helpers, and how to handle common problems." So, while these things may not be of obvious and immediate mechanical value, it is incorrect to imagine that they are without mechanical value whenever such a task applies. By RAW, Profession does something besides make money for a week's worth of labour.

It may be easier to see when Climb or Ride might apply; I assure you that many games have made Profession apply per RAW.

Here's another way to look at it. Your argument is, essentially, that Profession is too narrow a skillset to be valuable in game, meanwhile

The problem with profession is that it is too broad of a skill given the granularity of the rest of the skills.

<snip>

Profession is way too broad.

Too narrow for some, too broad for others, and just right for still others. I hope you can see that this is very much a playstyle issue. Like, for that matter, so many other RPG issues.


RC

 

[LostSoul]

Watching that scene, there is no way that his knowledge of the smithy didn't directly contribute to the fight.

I don't see how that has anything to do with his Profession skill. If Jack worked in the smithy sweeping up and doing odd jobs - or if he was a clerk - he'd still have the same knowledge that he gains with the skill checks in your example.

I don't see why being a blacksmith would help you know where to throw your sword to pin doors shut, or to use a hot poker as a weapon.

Maybe profession would be better off if it were named "Background".

 

[Raven Crowking]

I don't see how that has anything to do with his Profession skill. If Jack worked in the smithy sweeping up and doing odd jobs - or if he was a clerk - he'd still have the same knowledge that he gains with the skill checks in your example.

I don't think so; certainly his "master" didn't have the same knowledge. And, obviously, I didn't transcribe the entire scene into gameplay. Moreover, your argument ignores the second fight; when Jack uses the spar to knock Orlando off the deck.

Maybe profession would be better off if it were named "Background".

Maybe, but that wouldn't cover the money-making aspects IMHO. Of course, as I said, tastes vary.



RC

 

[MichaelSomething]

Of course, as I said, tastes vary.

Personal taste does vary, but I think the people who don't use profession skills outnumber the ones who do. Some people prefer a Vegan diet over eating burgers, but its not like there are restaurant chains out there for vegans while there's are few places to get a burger.

 

[Raven Crowking]

You are probably right. That's why I said, at first, that you get out of them what you put into them. Perhaps few people want to put enough into them to make them worthwhile; that doesn't make them not worthwhile however.

 

[LostSoul]

Moreover, your argument ignores the second fight; when Jack uses the spar to knock Orlando off the deck.

That is a good example of using a Profession skill to make an attack - because he's actually working with the rigging. Maybe if Jack had Depp's head on the anvil and started beating him with a hammer...