D&D 5E Some thoughts on skills.

[Reynard]

This seems like an opportunity for those who want to see a more D&D 3.Xe spin on D&D 5e skills to publish something to that effect on the DM's Guild. If so many people are truly dissatisfied with just picking DC 10, 15, and 20, it should sell like hot cakes. I've been told D&D is under-monetized as is, so here's a chance to turn that around.

Why DMsGuild? You don't need any WotC IP to do it.

 

[iserith]

I don't think that actually addresses the concern presented. "This book is here to guide you" is good; "this book has one INCREDIBLY CRITICAL sentence which is buried 250 pages in" is not. Even if it's in a chapter entitled, "Running the Game," a single ultra-critical sentence changing many if not most instances of a common DMing interaction reflects poorly on that book and its ability to "guide."

If it's important, it's worth saying more than once, or worth at least highlighting. If it's genuinely critical to a large portion of the experience, it absolutely should be said more than once or highlighted. That it isn't is bad organization. Especially when the thing that sentence modifies is actually in a different section altogether.

"The DMG should be better organized" and "The DMG doesn't say anything about X" (when it does) are two different things. On the former, fine. It's the latter I'm objecting to.

 

[iserith]

Why DMsGuild? You don't need any WotC IP to do it.

Put it wherever - let's see if it sells. There are probably plenty of people who want to inject a strong dose of D&D 3.Xe into D&D 5e.

 

[Reynard]

Put it wherever - let's see if it sells. There are probably plenty of people who want to inject a strong dose of D&D 3.Xe into D&D 5e.

I've been asking for it for 8 years...

 

[tetrasodium]

Sorry, not interested in debating this one with you. Your "players are out to get me" perception of the social dynamics of play is simply not worth discussing.

How the heck did you leap to that conclusion from a starting point of PCs need to have room for their own niche to exist without crowding it till any distinction is eroded away?

You've grossly misinterpreted the point made in post 280 & 307 if you've jumped to that. When the skill system is designed to be so open accessible & broad that it's impossible for any particular player to lay claim to a particular niche those skills go from being useful hooks capable of supporting dramatic actions & story to a bland dogpile of mundanity. You have however demonstrated the way 5e's incomplete skill system sets up the GM as an easy target for for player resentment while providing players with the ability to just ignore the GM by not actually needing anything from the GM or having meaningful limitations of their own that provide room for other players to step into the spotlight.

 

[Aelryinth]

Three tiers of skills:
You are UNSKILLED with Skills outside your class list or not chosen, and take a -2 to them, and cannot take 10 or 20 on them.

You are Familiar with all Skills on your Class list, and may use them with no bonus or penalty. A Jack of All Trades would explicitly be able to take 10 or 20 with them as if they were Skilled.

You are Skilled and Get your proficiency bonus with any Skills you chose to be proficient in.

Where stat bonuses would fit into this would be either proficient or Jack of all Trades.

--- Then all you need to do is make the Class List of Skills, and you are good. So you can actually have a Wizard who can roll for all the Lore/Knowledge skills, for instance, even if he's not good at them.