Pathfinder 2E Here's The Pathfinder 2nd Edition Skill List!

It's another Tuesday, which means another look at the previous night's Pathfinder 2nd Edition preview! There's only a couple of month to go until the full playtest rules are released (I have the hardcover on pre-order). Until then, Paizo continue with their twice-weekly glimpses into the ruleset - and this time we look at skills!

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• 17 base skills down from 35.
• Lots of consolidation -- Athletics contains a bunch, and Use Magic Device is replaced by the relevant Lore skill
• You are trained in more skills than before -- fighter has an extra one, for example (3+ Int mod)
• Skill list --
  • Acrobatics (Dex)
  • Arcana (Int)
  • Athletics (Str)
  • Crafting (Int)
  • Deception (Cha)
  • Diplomacy (Cha)
  • Intimidation (Cha)
  • Lore (Int)
  • Medicine (Wis)
  • Nature (Wis)
  • Occultism (Int)
  • Performance (Cha)
  • Religion (Wis)
  • Society (Int)
  • Stealth (Dex)
  • Survival (Wis)
  • Thievery (Dex)
• Skill proficiency --
  • Untrained -2, trained +0, expert +1, master +2, legendary +3 (plus level and ability modifier)
  • Each level of proficiency unlocks new skill uses
  • Medicine's Administer First Aid ability is available at the untrained level, being trained allows you to Treat Disease and Treat Poison
• Skill feats --
  • Usually at even levels you choose a skill feat
  • Rogues get them every level
  • Prerequisite is a level of proficiency in a skill (e.g. "legendary in Medicine")
  • Example is the Legendary Medic, which lets you remove diseases and conditions.
  • Stealth has skill feats like Quiet Allies (help your party sneak), Swift Sneak (move at full speed while sneaking), and at legendary level you just sneak everywhere constantly.

[FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT]​

 

[Yaarel]

They mentioned in an earlier blog that since Perception was such a must-have skill, they just made it Trained for everyone.

Good enough.

But better, is to represent someone with a ‘trained eye’ to notice and discern certain kinds of things.

An alchemist will notice and recognize faint chemical smells, but might be oblivious to animal foot prints or to structural cracks in a supporting pillar.

A covert operative who studies stealth is better able to detect someone else who is employing stealth.

And so on.

 

[Mark Craddock]

Aside from Proficiency level unlocking skill uses, the range of skills is so flat, which would make sense to me if they were using bounded accuracy.

 

[Yaarel]

What is ‘lore’? Society seems to cover history, and religion any mythical events.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

perception?

EDIT: Nevermind, trained for everyone

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Another one that thinks char level shouldn't have such a large influence on proficiency rolls.

If a 0 lvl character is a Trained Farmer, she has a prof modifier of 0. She decides the heck with farming and takes up adventuring. Five years later, she returns as a 20 lvl character having never farmed another minute. But now she has a Farming prof modifier of 20. Char lvl of 20 + Trained (0) = 20. She is now a much better farmer, at least at basic farming skills, then her sister who has spent the last five years farming. Don't see this is a believable system.

That's not any worse than third or fourth edition, or Pathfinder 1E. You'd have to back to the previous millennium to find an edition where killing goblins didn't make you better at farming.

Fifth edition makes it less silly, since the level-based bonus only goes from +2 to +6 across twenty levels, but the underlying issue remains.

 

[prosfilaes]

If a 0 lvl character is a Trained Farmer, she has a prof modifier of 0. She decides the heck with farming and takes up adventuring. Five years later, she returns as a 20 lvl character having never farmed another minute. But now she has a Farming prof modifier of 20. Char lvl of 20 + Trained (0) = 20. She is now a much better farmer, at least at basic farming skills, then her sister who has spent the last five years farming. Don't see this is a believable system.

Isn't it much more important to the believability that in five years, she's gone from a nobody to being one of the most powerful beings on the planet? Yes, she's a much better farmer, too, but that seems to be missing the forest for the trees.

Pathfinder isn't concerned about realism in this fashion. There have been other systems that took more concern about that, that only let you put points in skills you've practiced, for example. General opinion seems to be that it wasn't fun. Pathfinder is all about big heroes doing amazing things, and that they fast outpace the NPCs in the world is not a problem.

 

[Charlaquin]

perception?

EDIT: Nevermind, trained for everyone

Not exactly. It's a thing everyone can do, but your level of proficiency with it depends on your class.

 

[Shasarak]

Another one that thinks char level shouldn't have such a large influence on proficiency rolls.

If a 0 lvl character is a Trained Farmer, she has a prof modifier of 0. She decides the heck with farming and takes up adventuring. Five years later, she returns as a 20 lvl character having never farmed another minute. But now she has a Farming prof modifier of 20. Char lvl of 20 + Trained (0) = 20. She is now a much better farmer, at least at basic farming skills, then her sister who has spent the last five years farming. Don't see this is a believable system.

Just make the sister an Expert at farming and that solves most of your problems.

 

[mellored]

Because I felt like counting...


Str: 1
Con: 0
Dex: 3
Wis: 4
Int: 5
Cha: 4

= 17

 

[mellored]

Seems a bit odd that a level 4 character who is untrained in a skill would have the same bonus as a level 1 who is a master...

Bonuses aren't everything. The master could still do more things with their skill than a high-level untrained person.

But overall I agree. I wish the +level bonus was reduced to +1/2 level, or +1/4 level (like 5e)