flavor skill bonuses?

[alsih2o]

i have the thought that it might be neat to give flavor skills (painting? pottery? some knowledge skils?) at 2 for 1 to encourage players to not just load up on adventurer skills.

has anyone tried this? has anyone come up wiht a better way to encourage players to make their characters people more than adventuring machines?

 

[Carnifex]

I like the idea of giving every character an additional 2 skill points at creation which *have* to be spent on background/flavour skills, like Craft and Profession.

 

[Sanackranib]

there hasn't been the need in my game as my players are taking those on their own anyway.

 

[Gregor]

Why not give them a certain ammount of free skill points that can be used on profession or craft. These skill points are free and are gained each level. The only catch is that these must be spent on craft or profession or whatever. Moreover, these skills points can only be used if the player seeks out instruction, demonstration or apprenticeship in the profession, etc.

Thus you provide an incentive to receive free points but you also promote role-playing by forcing them to work for a while and learn. Interaction with artists, chefs, leatherworkers etc help to flesh out a PC and can even dictate a path of employment when the adventuring days are over.

Just some ideas...

Cheers,

 

[Crothian]

I give bonus skill points as background skills as well as expanding upon the craft and profession skills. The way I expand upon them is being able to talk compitently to others with that skill. Sure, questioning the local farmers goes okay for the Charismatic Bard, but the fighter who knows farming and can relate to the farmer actually does better, and knows what to ask to get all the info they need.

 

[JoeBlank]

Almost by happenstance, the PCs in a game I co-DM ended up spending a few months in a small community run by followers of a deity who espouses crafting and labor. They roleplayed the situation well, and everyone ended up leveling during their stay, so I told them that everyone who spent skill points on applicable skills while being trained in that community would receive ranks 2 for 1.

All but one of the PCs took the offer, and one spent all his skill points that level, plus plans to devote some in the future. And he became engaged to the fair maiden who trained him in the crafts.