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<blockquote data-quote="Unwise" data-source="post: 7860131" data-attributes="member: 98008">I like to run a skill system that is just a series of statements about the character, based on their background, personality and experiences.So instead of Survival Skill, we have &quot;spent 5 years as a frontiersman and shepherd in the wild marchers&quot; and you would apply that proficiency any time it is relevant. E.g. setting up camp, tracking predators, herding, talking to other rural folk from similar regions, etc.Another person who would have Survival might have &quot;Grew up on ships. After a shipwreck was stranded on a deserted island for a long time&quot;. He will also know how to forage for food and make a camp, but probably not run a ranch or interact with rural folk. He would know his way around a ship and sailors bars though.This really fleshes out characters and means that two people with what would have been the same skills are not necessarily doubling up on specific tasks. It also means that they might have gaps in their knowledge. It also means that you can pick the right person for social encounters, rather than just going for the guy with the highest persuasion skill. A big city bard might not know how to interact with pirates as well as the ex-buccaneer ranger.Also, as far as high skills stuffing up investigations and mysteries go, I have seldom found that. In fact, PCs having low investigation/perception/persuasion/insight and missing clues is far more annoying. I put the clues there because I want them to be found. They still have to work out what to do with the information.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Unwise, post: 7860131, member: 98008"] I like to run a skill system that is just a series of statements about the character, based on their background, personality and experiences. So instead of Survival Skill, we have "spent 5 years as a frontiersman and shepherd in the wild marchers" and you would apply that proficiency any time it is relevant. E.g. setting up camp, tracking predators, herding, talking to other rural folk from similar regions, etc. Another person who would have Survival might have "Grew up on ships. After a shipwreck was stranded on a deserted island for a long time". He will also know how to forage for food and make a camp, but probably not run a ranch or interact with rural folk. He would know his way around a ship and sailors bars though. This really fleshes out characters and means that two people with what would have been the same skills are not necessarily doubling up on specific tasks. It also means that they might have gaps in their knowledge. It also means that you can pick the right person for social encounters, rather than just going for the guy with the highest persuasion skill. A big city bard might not know how to interact with pirates as well as the ex-buccaneer ranger. Also, as far as high skills stuffing up investigations and mysteries go, I have seldom found that. In fact, PCs having low investigation/perception/persuasion/insight and missing clues is far more annoying. I put the clues there because I want them to be found. They still have to work out what to do with the information. [/QUOTE]

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