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<blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 4670036" data-attributes="member: 7635"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost" target="_blank">Opportunity cost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a> is a economic term that references the cost of choosing one option against all possible options. For example, if your rich uncle leaves you $40,000 on your 18th birthday, you could spend that money on fast cars &amp; loose women, or you could spend it on college. The opportunity cost the the intangible &quot;cost&quot; of choosing one of these options; college is hard work but it means more money in the future (by path of a good career) while fast cars and partying creates enjoyment now at the cost of long term gain. Any choice carries an opportunity cost; the cost is what is &quot;lost&quot; by choosing X over Y.Now, back to D&amp;D. The opportunity cost of devoting two ranks to a skill you will otherwise not use (such as diplomacy) vs. spending those ranks on a skill you use all the time (say, spellcraft) is the frequency of use vs. surprise bonus. If I make spellcraft checks regularly (to identify spells, to identify potions, etc) than that +2 (10% boost) is regularly used. Your much more likely to roll that skill and thus have that +2 come into play than a skill you do not use regularly or only use in &quot;forced&quot; situations (such as your &quot;The King dislikes the bard and asks the cleric what he thinks&quot;). Sure, that +2 is nice when it comes in handy, but you'll get more miles out of putting those 2 skill points into your spellcraft which you roll multiple times per game session.Of course, D&amp;D puts a bit of a crimp in that by making certain skills have earlier caps than others. Skills that face a static DC (such as climb, balance or tumble) often have &quot;cut off&quot; points where further ranks is wasted (such as no need to raise tumble over a net +24 bonus, synergy and ability mod included). Those &quot;wasted&quot; ranks often show up in vanity skills or to shore up other skill point oddities (multi-classing, int boosts).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Remathilis, post: 4670036, member: 7635"] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost]Opportunity cost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url] is a economic term that references the cost of choosing one option against all possible options. For example, if your rich uncle leaves you $40,000 on your 18th birthday, you could spend that money on fast cars & loose women, or you could spend it on college. The opportunity cost the the intangible "cost" of choosing one of these options; college is hard work but it means more money in the future (by path of a good career) while fast cars and partying creates enjoyment now at the cost of long term gain. Any choice carries an opportunity cost; the cost is what is "lost" by choosing X over Y. Now, back to D&D. The opportunity cost of devoting two ranks to a skill you will otherwise not use (such as diplomacy) vs. spending those ranks on a skill you use all the time (say, spellcraft) is the frequency of use vs. surprise bonus. If I make spellcraft checks regularly (to identify spells, to identify potions, etc) than that +2 (10% boost) is regularly used. Your much more likely to roll that skill and thus have that +2 come into play than a skill you do not use regularly or only use in "forced" situations (such as your "The King dislikes the bard and asks the cleric what he thinks"). Sure, that +2 is nice when it comes in handy, but you'll get more miles out of putting those 2 skill points into your spellcraft which you roll multiple times per game session. Of course, D&D puts a bit of a crimp in that by making certain skills have earlier caps than others. Skills that face a static DC (such as climb, balance or tumble) often have "cut off" points where further ranks is wasted (such as no need to raise tumble over a net +24 bonus, synergy and ability mod included). Those "wasted" ranks often show up in vanity skills or to shore up other skill point oddities (multi-classing, int boosts). [/QUOTE]

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