Grim Tales/D20 Modern skills conversion

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Curious for ideas among those who have Grim Tales experience what they would recommend for substitution of distinct skills in the D20 Modern system that Grim Tales doesn't have.

• Computer Use
• Demolitions
• Gamble (my guess, just eliminate)
• Investigate (my guess, split between Gather Info and Research)
• Navigate (my guess, use Survival)
• Pilot (my guess, use Drive (specific flying vehicle))
• Repair (my guess, roll into specific Craft skills)

Any thoughts and or suggestions? The Computer Use, Demolitions, and Repair were the ones that were giving me some pause.

 

[Hammerhead]

This is how it works in my game...

Computer Use is Knowledge: Computers for a lot of things, and Research for Googling stuff and using databases.

Demolitions is Craft Demolitions for making and setting explosives, Disable Device for disarming them.

Gamble is gone.

Navigate is Survival, I guess...what is Navigate used for?

Pilot becomes Drive Aerospace.

Repair becomes Craft Repair for to represent a skill at fixing things in general; characters with the appropriate skills like Craft Guns to repair guns, naturally.

 

[Maester Luwin]

Why couldn't you just add those skills as is into your game. Hammerhead's advice is also sound. Thanks Maester Luwin

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I took a closer look at Grim Tales' Survival skill and indeed D20 Modern's Navigation skill is rolled into GT's Survival. Grim Tales also has three Drive sub skills, (which I can't believe I forgot about), Drive (ground transport), Drive (nautical), Drive (aerospace).

Why couldn't you just add those skills as is into your game.

I'm very close to indeed adding some of the skills. Hammerhead makes good recommendations on the ones I hadn't come up with ideas about. Food to think about.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

If it's not listed, create it as a subskill in either Craft (if it involves turning a tangible resource into a tangible thing that can be sold), Knowledge, or Profession (if it creates wealth in an intangible way).

As you might surmise from that description, Gamble becomes Profession (Gambler).

Computers are very, very tough to adjudicate, because we use them to do so many things. No single skill really encompasses everything that computers can do.

Research is... well, research. This involves the ability to use a computer network from a layman's approach.

Craft: Computers would be used to build computers and computer components.

Knowledge (computers) might be used for programming or hacking.

If you make a living as a programmer, but you aren't really concerned with what software is actually produced, then go with Profession (computer programming).

As a GM, I would be tempted to allow all computer sub-skills to have synergy.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

As a GM, I would be tempted to allow all computer sub-skills to have synergy.

You never met my web developers....

In a modern or near future campaign, you either have to seperate out the Computer skills a fair bit or hold the line as to what it can be used for. So many important things can hinge upon it (hacking systems for info, research, bypassing building security, creating fake backrounds, etc), that letting it remain a single skill allows the players to max it and hit really absurd DCs across a wide variety of circumstances. There really isn't any single skill in D&D that hold such a place of high importance. (Even Gather Information can require Diplomacy, Bluff, Sense Motive, etc as an adjunct).

Make the characters spread the points around into K(Security Systems), Forgery, Research, K(Electronics) and such, and grant synergy bonuses from K(Computers) (subsitute relevant skills from your ruleset of choice).

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Computers are very, very tough to adjudicate, because we use them to do so many things. No single skill really encompasses everything that computers can do.

This reminds me of a time about 10 years ago when I has a job as a retail computer salesman. (the old Computer City chain.) It was nearing Christmas and the salesfloor was picking up, a man in about his 40s came up and asked me to help him pick out a computer for the home since his kids were getting old enough to start getting homework assignments where they could do the work at home on a PC. And since all their friends had them they were begging the dad to go out and get one for them.

What was so interesting about it all is the man professed total ignorance about all things PC. Mac or Windows, he was very embarrassed that he knew nothing. However had been working as a programmer for Cray for over a decade and never owned a PC much less could fathom how to make one work. Heh.

So I totally can buy that no one Computer Use skill could emcompass all levels of computer types. For me though, I'm willing to hand-wave all the realism and complexity away.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

From experience, I'll say that just a single Computer Use is way too powerful with the skill system as-is.

My wife's Dark*Matter character was built around Computer Use and other tech skills, but she could regularly hit DCs in the 30s, pretty easy. And, really, what CAN'T you do with computers these days? So it seriously became a situation of me, as the GM, having to say: "Here's the thing ... I agree, you can do _____ with a computer, and I agree, it wouldn't be MORE difficult than the hacking thing from last game, but everybody else would like to play too."

I, honestly, think sometimes that Hide/Move Silently should be rolled into "Sneak", that Spot/Listen should be rolled into "Notice", and that another skill, "Intuition", should be installed ... but that's for my games ... which rely quite a bit on investigation and occassionally a hefty dose of intuitive thinking ( which I usually use a Wisdom roll for, but would like to make a skill out of ). Break Computer Use into a couple skills, roll it into other skills, generally make it a Synergy Special ... 5 ranks in Knowledge (Computers) gets you SYNERGY to "Gather Information", etc, as opposed to doing the SAME THING as 5 other skills. With the net being so wide-spread today, everybody doing that kind of work would use a computer anyway ... so if you're Gathering Information online, it's not so special that you need a new Computer Use skill. If you're doing Research online ... etc.

--fje