Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6176231" data-attributes="member: 2067">See, that's reasonable, but when you look at an adventure holistically, you can easily see where social expertise comes in handy -- get to know the local merchant, and you can travel in his caravan instead of braving the wilderness. Know how to speak Goblin and you might save your entire party some vicious wounds because you can intimidate the critters int o running. Why carry piles of treasure yourself when you can have smiling, willing peons from the local village haul it back to your palatial mansion for peanuts? If an adventure is not just a chronological series of encounters, but a complex goal to be achieved, social skill can be as valuable as strength and hardiness, because there is no script that necessarily puts you in a place of having to fight things. (as an aside, it might be worth noting that the original bard concept was much more of a magical warrior who wove powerful spells with her voice, and that kind of person is going to be much more useful in fights and in rough environments than a pretty minstrel is, but that's a bit irrelevant, since the pretty minstrel can still be a vital party member)</blockquote>