Does anyone even use the profession skill?

[J Lloyd]

Of the three campaigns I ran that lasted 6+ months, not one of my players took the Profession skill.

I do believe adding game mechanics to the skill, such as giving synergy bonuses to other skills that have a connection with a particular profession, is a good way to add life to this almost neglected skill.

 

[Sejs]

Yes. I've seen all kinds of useful Profession skills in use.

Profession (Fisherman)

Profession (Apothecary/Herbalist)

Profession (Locksmith)

Profession (Cartographer)

Profession (Sailor)

Profession (Librarian/Scribe)

Profession (Miner)

Profession (Cook)

Profession (Brewer)

Profession (Siege Engineer)

Profession (Teamster)

Profession (Soldier)

have all seen recent use in games I've been in. Profession is actually one of my favourite skills, because you can do so damn much with it.

 

[Ace]

I have a charcter with Profession Gambler as a flavor skill. IN our Pyrates game we get a lot of use out of Profession "Sailor"

 

[Crothian]

Proffesion skills are greatt to get people to talk to you. People like to talk about what they know so not only can you show interest in it, but also talk intelligently about it. It's a great way to get townsfolk to open up to strangers.

 

[Magius del Cotto]

In two years of gaming with the group, which has run countless campaigns together (we sorta make new characters a lot), I've only seen three characters with any craft/profession ranks, two of them mine. One (well, two really, one mine, the other my friends) was a Jedi Knight who sorta had a thing for his ship (he happens to be a wookie, which is odd enough, from the Old Republic, who had designed a ship that could literally shoot anywhere along the ship, and, against any single target, could aim a lot of guns at it.
The other guy was a weapon/armorsmith who basically built all the stuff for the adventures. Never even got the XP for what bit I was able to play him. Other than that, nada.

 

[KnowTheToe]

The problem is there are so many skills and so few skill points. It realy is a waste for most characters. I can hardly cover the base skills for my character let alone background skills.

 

[Mistwell]

Profession skill for the power gamer

I think the big complaint about the Profession skill is that it is difficult to power-game with it. It appears on its surface to be more of a fluff skill, rather than a crunchy one.

Personally, I found the KOK Player's Guide changes that a bit, with things like Profession:Herbalist or Profession: Apothecary(though you use the Craft rules to create the herbs under these skills, you still use your Profession ranks). The Herbal Concoctions list can create some pretty brutal, and useful, items.

On a related note, I don't understand why Alchemy is its own skill, instead of a Profession, Craft, or Knowledge skill.

 

[BluWolf]

I had an assassin character that had several profession skills as part of his cover identities,

Prof: Scout
Prof: Cartographer
Prof: Merchant

He used them quite a bit.

 

[Rel]

My wife's wizard has Profession (Merchant) and I let her use that skill instead of Bluff or Sense Motive any time she is buying or selling anything. It is a bargain for her since Bluff and Sense Motive are not class skills.

 

[clockworkjoe]

I just have a hard time thinking of skills that wouldn't be covered by craft or knowledge.

But profession sailor and gambler are great ideas!