You guys obviously don't read Asgard. Great article on the professionals in there.
I think it is a tremendously useful skill if you have a DM who is trying to make a detailed world and not merely dungeon crawls. Not only is each skill broad, not only is each skill often synergistic with more tradiational adventuring skills, but there are somethings you simply cannot do without the skill. And some of these things are things that certain DM's (like me) who like throwing unconventional problems at PC's are going to expect PC's to find useful for solving those problems.
Just some examples of things I can't imagine someone in the party not learning sometime:
Profession (Boater): You can't paddle a boat succesfully on anything more than calm water with out it, and if you have it, you can paddle faster than those that don't. Does this suggest things to you? It does to me.
Profession (Sailor): Same thing, only bigger boats.
Profession (Lawyer): Diplomacy is nice, but unless you have a few ranks in this, you are going to be in over your head if the party ever gets in legal trouble. Do you think adventuring parties ever get into legal trouble? Not only that, but if you are always taking jobs retrieving the magic mcguffin for the local wizard, or saving the townsfolk for the local lord, who is reading the contracts? You mean your campaign doesn't have adventuring contracts? Licences to carry weapons on the King's highways? Hmmmm.
Profession (Healer): In my campaign, 'Heal' is for first aid and other physical acts of healing. Serious mental stuff, like diagnosing illness (especially before the ability draining symptoms appear) and perscribing the right medicines requires Profession (Healer). You mean your players don't get sick? Not with all those open wounds while crawling around in the sewers, swamps, jungles, and fungal forests? Not when stabbed by rusty bolts from decaying traps? Not when infested with lice and fleas from goblin lairs? Well, I can see why you don't need profession skills.
Profession (Cook): If you don't have wilderness lore (itself a very specialized profession skill), then if you eat food in the wild, guess what? Yep, more sickness, liver flukes, dysentary, etc. Profession (Cook) can save you from that and let you use your cleric's 3rd level spells for something better than stopping the runs.
Profession (Soldier): Need to interpret the evil warlords plan from a map you just found? Need to pretend you are a mercenary in the evil warlords army? Need to command troops in battle without them feeling uncomfortable because you are obviously a rank amatuer? Not that tactically savvy and want to try to weedle the DM into giving some suggestions on what you should do in a battle? This is the skill for you.
Remember, unlike craft, profession skills are TRAINED ONLY. So you can either do them or you can't. Since most profession skill checks are going to be fairly easy, it never hurts to have a few ranks in selected ones spread about the party. Plus, if I know DM's, most DM's are going to be tickled whenever you try to make creative use of a profession skill (as long as you are trying to be reasonable) and will reward you if the request seems even remotely reasonable, like, "I'm a Paladin. I don't have Intuit Direction, but I have a few ranks of Profession (Guide)...Hmm, OK, DC 20... I don't have Knowledge (Local), but I do have a few ranks of Profession (Guide)... Hmmm.... OK, DC 15....I don't have Knowledge (Geography), but I do have a few ranks of profession (Guide)...Hmmm, OK, DC 20.... I don't have Wilderness Lore
, but I do have a few ranks of Profession (Guide)...Hmmm OK, DC 15....
....
....
"Can I use my profession guide to open the lock?" Errr. Don't push it.
