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]​

 

[Parmandur]

Oddly similar to the ratios in 5E: only difference, in fact, is hat 5E has a fifth Wisdom skill in Perception.

 

[Koloth]

The veteran who has reached level 20 is better at sowing seeds, watering and weeding because she has developed an ability to stay on task, regardless of distractions, fatigue, or conflicted motives. Her brother, at level 0 and Proficient or Expert in farming, may slow down when he gets bored or tired; he may get sloppy and do a half-assed job, even though he knows *how* to do a better job. She is used to following through on tasks as if her life depended on it... because it has.

"Gettin' clear o’ dirtiness, gettin' done with mess,
Gettin' shut o' doin' things rather-more-or-less"
- Kipling

Your veterans apparently are far more task oriented then the ones I run with. Most of the ones around here are "Oh, Lassie said Timmy fell down the well? Rescuing the Prince can wait, we must save Timmy! " While attempting to save Timmy, the 'Well' turns out to be an orc/(lvl appropriate monsters) infested cave complex. Three weeks later...

Besides, farmers have to complete their tasks in a timely fashion or they tend to starve. And most fantasy type settings don't have crop insurance.

I might buy off on the returned veteran being able to apply herself to the task of getting caught up on her farming skills faster then the average commoner. But I don't see her having a +20 to her skill rolls while the person who has been farming constantly for 5 years can have at best +3(Legendary).

 

[Tony Vargas]

[*]17 base skills down from 35.
[*]Lots of consolidation -- Athletics contains a bunch, and Use Magic Device is replaced by the relevant Lore skill

An excellent move. Nothing hurts a game quite like skill proliferation, IMHO. (hmm... 17 sounds familiar...)

Some 3.5 skills were actually open-ended skill placeholders, though - is crafting still like that, could you blow all your skills on just crafting various different things?
Are any others?

 

[Ghal Maraz]

Your veterans apparently are far more task oriented then the ones I run with. Most of the ones around here are "Oh, Lassie said Timmy fell down the well? Rescuing the Prince can wait, we must save Timmy! " While attempting to save Timmy, the 'Well' turns out to be an orc/(lvl appropriate monsters) infested cave complex. Three weeks later...

Besides, farmers have to complete their tasks in a timely fashion or they tend to starve. And most fantasy type settings don't have crop insurance.

I might buy off on the returned veteran being able to apply herself to the task of getting caught up on her farming skills faster then the average commoner. But I don't see her having a +20 to her skill rolls while the person who has been farming constantly for 5 years can have at best +3(Legendary).

If the farmer has got to Legendary, he would actually have at least +18 (before characteristic modifier) and, probably, 7 specific Skill Feats.
He would be able to do all manner of amazing things with his skill, not even needing to roll at all for the majority of tasks, while the Level 20 dungeon veteran would only be able to do the most basic things.

 

[Imaculata]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little bit disappointed. It feels like they just took the basic 3rd edition skills and renamed some of them. There's hardly anything new. Are third edition (and by extension Pathfinder) so stuck in their core skill set?

 

[Aldarc]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little bit disappointed. It feels like they just took the basic 3rd edition skills and renamed some of them. There's hardly anything new. Are third edition (and by extension Pathfinder) so stuck in their core skill set?

What more were you expecting?

 

[Imaculata]

What more were you expecting?

Well, some changes would be nice. I don't see why we need to be stuck to these same skills after so many iterations of the game.

I see people calling these Pathfinder skills, and 'similar to 5th edition skills'. But lets be honest here, these are third edition skills just renamed a little.

 

[psychophipps]

Considering this skill list, and the mechanic associated with skill advancement, are in a pre-playtest state (as in the rough draft of the rough draft) I wouldn't panic here. There is gonna be mad grips of players hammering on this section of the house. It's certainly fun to think that we're the only people to see these apparent glaring issues, it's sadly not the case.

 

[prosfilaes]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little bit disappointed. It feels like they just took the basic 3rd edition skills and renamed some of them. There's hardly anything new. Are third edition (and by extension Pathfinder) so stuck in their core skill set?

When something works, why change it? Innovation for innovation's sake is not what people expect from the second edition of Pathfinder, or really the second edition of any game.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Well, some changes would be nice. I don't see why we need to be stuck to these same skills after so many iterations of the game.

Of the problems with PF1E that would need to be changed, I don't think the selection of skills would rate very highly for anyone. The major problems with the skill system were just that Perception was mandatory, that you needed to maximize your ranks in any skill you cared about (in order to stay viable with level-appropriate challenges), and that some classes simply didn't get very many skill points. All of those issues are being addressed in the playtest.