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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Philotomy Jurament" data-source="post: 3226485" data-attributes="member: 20854">Well, while it isn't representative of all rules-light systems, I'll explain why I like the coarse-grained approach.  In a nutshell, I like the simplicity and the ease, and I don't find that additional complexity makes a significant difference in play.  So I find it a good tradeoff.  For example, C&C uses an approach that is similar to what you describe (i.e. "my PC is good at Dex stuff"), although there's a bit more to it than that.  A PC gets two or three Prime stats, and is good at activities that are governed by those stats (i.e. he gets a bonus).  Also, if the activity is central to the PC's concept/class, the PC can add his level as an additional bonus.  So a Rogue (who automatically has Dex as Prime) is going to be reasonably good at all Dex-type stuff (e.g. ballroom dancing), but he'll be especially good at the Dex-type stuff that is covered by his class abilities (e.g. move silently).  And he'll get better at the class/concept stuff as he rises in level.  Now, it's true that he'll be equally good at all the class/concept Dex stuff, but I don't see that as a big deal.  In fact, in d20, it's common to see a Rogue max out his ranks on classic rogue stuff, anyway, so you end up with very similar results.  One might protest: "What if I want a rogue who doesn't care anything about picking pockets?"  Well, okay.  Chances are that rogue isn't going to pick any pockets, in any case.  Anyway, it just isn't that significant a concern; you give up some detail for simplicity, but the loss is less significant than the gain, in my opinion.  YMMV.Where you want to be on the rules-light vs. rules-heavy scale is a matter of taste, as we've both agreed.  Taken to ridiculous extremes, either end of that scale seems silly, to me.  In any case, I don't think anyone in this discussion is advocating taking simplicity or complexity to extremes, so "choose-your-own-adventure," or "gathering around a table with a spinner," or similar scenarios don't seem terribly relevant.</blockquote>

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