Do you use "professions/careers" in your game for PC's?

[Emirikol]

Do you use "professions/careers" in your game for PC's? I'm talking of course "going beyond" just the class rulesets. I'd be interest to hear how you've integrated them.

I've been using Warhammer Fantasy's basic careers for extra character background and the advanced careers for other stuff (including a bonus feat if you qualify for an advanced career with at least one equivalent talent/feat.

How are you guys doing them?

jh

 

[77IM]

I created a system of "Background Skills" for my players. The full rules are here, but the summary is, "Pick two areas of expertise that are relatively useless during an adventure (like contract negotiations, playing a flute, or being a farmer). You get a +2 bonus on any skill check related to these areas of expertise."

It's worked OK so far -- about half the characters have used their Background Skills in some fashion, usually for role-playing purposes. I'm thinking about giving each character a third, implicit Background Skill relating to their race or culture (so that the dwarf gets a +2 bonus on dwarf-related stuff, the eladrin gets a +2 bonus on eladrin-related stuff, etc). People kind of expect those sorts of bonuses to be in place but I prefer to mention them all explicitly so that all the characters have about the same amount of bonuses (so no one can just say "My character is a world traveler and an expert on other cultures" and expect to get a +2 bonus all the time).

-- 77IM

 

[MarauderX]

I use a set of skills in addition to those given by class & race.

Correl: Return of Knowledge » Skills - Expanded

It's simple to keep the game moving, but it allows players to use their PC backgrounds in unique ways to either use their professional/craft skill or for a bonus as applicable. That way characters are flat as based on their stats but can also incorporate what they were doing before their adventuring career.

 

[defendi]

I listen to character's backgrounds. If they do something that their backgrounds would warrant them having training in, I have them roll and add stat + 1/2 lvl +5 in my head when they do it. No one's abused it, so I haven't had to put any limits on it. Then again, I never tell them if I'm adding the +5, and they've never asked.