D&D 4E Handling things like Riding and Craft with 4E Skills.

[DM_Blake]

Craft was honestly just a terrible, terrible skill.

Ok, now that we are back in town I'm going to start crafting my bow. Look up the price, convert the price into silver pieces, find the DC, pay 1/3rd the price in raw materials, make a skill check to see how much progress I make in a week, multiple that number if it succeeds by the DC of the item.

Week One - I make progress 361/3000 on a Mighty Composite Longbow that can handle a +2 strength modifier.

Bleh. You know what? Forget it. I'll spend the 300 gold. Done.

I do not miss the mechanical component of Craft (or Profession for that matter). If someone wants to know the formula so they can spend ten weeks crafting an item to try and save a little cash I am going to be immediately concerned.

Right.

Much better would be to ask the DM (or look it up yourself) and find out that making that bow takes x days and requires materials that cost 1/2 the price of the bow as listed in the PHB. Now make a single roll (or preferably a single series of rolls like a skill challenge so that failure is not dependend on one bad roll). Success means you have the bow, failure means you need to add more cash or more time to finish (you wasted time or resources through bad craftmanship) but doesn't require more rolling, critical failure could mean loss of all materials and your time was wasted.

Something basically like that takes 2 minutes to look up, and another minute to resolve.

 

[amysrevenge]

So when the princess wants to hop on her silver charger and go galloping through the clover fields, she needs the mounted combat feat?

Why in the world would feats, skills, and/or dice be involved with mundane riding?

 

[Toras]

I might be if there is a need for a chase scene, it might be a problem. As it might be if you were riding/driving a coach or cart. Trying to outrun a beast that you could not defeat or perhaps beat the Villian to a prize.

 

[DracoSuave]

I might be if there is a need for a chase scene, it might be a problem. As it might be if you were riding/driving a coach or cart. Trying to outrun a beast that you could not defeat or perhaps beat the Villian to a prize.

This sounds like a skill challenge involving the Athletics and Acrobatics skills of the mount, then Mounted Combat lets you sub in yours instead if they are higher.

Seems like the system already handles this just fine.

 

[Jhaelen]

I might be if there is a need for a chase scene, it might be a problem. As it might be if you were riding/driving a coach or cart. Trying to outrun a beast that you could not defeat or perhaps beat the Villian to a prize.

Well, IIRC, 'outrunning' someone or something was just as impossible in 3E as it is in 4E. RAW, you just compare movement rates, accounting for relevant feats (like Run, Endurance).

Skill challenges would probably be the best way to resolve a chase scene.

 

[AtomicPope]

You could always do what Savage Worlds does. SW has a "catch-all" skill called Common Knowledge. You can use this for anything related to your character's background.

This would be easy to implement in 4E because there are no skill points. Just give everyone a Common Knowledge skill with the +5 bonus for being trained. Another name might be Background Knowledge or Background Skills.

It's actually even easier than that! It's 1/2 level. Everyone gets it now.

 

[AtomicPope]

Using Character Backgrounds​

If your players create detailed backgrounds for their characters and their group, reward their efforts. Use their backgrounds to craft quests and adventures. Invent situations where their backgrounds are useful. Let the character who was raised by a blacksmith charm some important information out of the baroness’s blacksmith — or notice an important fact how a metal lock was forged. Give the characters important information they know because of their past history, such as the location of a particular shrine or magical location that appears in the lore of their original homeland. One small warning: Make sure you make every character’s background useful or important from time to time. Don’t let a whole campaign revolve around one character’s story.​

It's really simple in 4e. Just Roleplay it. There's no need to waste precious Skill Training for a nominal ability. ​

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[Regicide]

Why in the world would feats, skills, and/or dice be involved with mundane riding?

Or climbing, jumping, talking to another character, opening a lock, hiding behind something, remembering a fact about something. All pretty mundane.

You're right, heroes shouldn't be encumbered by mundane things, just get rid of skills altogether. If they want to do something mundane like craft something, they just do. Saves more time for combat.

 

[DM_Blake]

Or climbing, jumping, talking to another character, opening a lock, hiding behind something, remembering a fact about something. All pretty mundane.

You're right, heroes shouldn't be encumbered by mundane things, just get rid of skills altogether. If they want to do something mundane like craft something, they just do. Saves more time for combat.

Oh, I like this.

We could take this a bit farther, though.

Heroes shouldn't be encumbered by mundane things like worrying about whether they hit the moster with their swords, or whether they survive the dragon's fire or the troll's claws, just get rid of attack rolls and damage altogether. If they want to hit something, or avoid being hit, they just do. Saves more time for looting.

 

[jensun]

Or climbing, jumping, talking to another character, opening a lock, hiding behind something, remembering a fact about something. All pretty mundane.

You're right, heroes shouldn't be encumbered by mundane things, just get rid of skills altogether. If they want to do something mundane like craft something, they just do. Saves more time for combat.

Your ability to twist what someone said into something they clearly didnt say is impressive.

Truly you show your class for all to see.