Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6029061" data-attributes="member: 42582">A PC in my game has the Linguist feat, plus a Book Imp familiar to give him mastery of another language. This being so, I set up situations where speaking languages matters. It's not that hard within the context of the default 4e setting. (The same PC also has two Skill Training feats, as well as a multi-class feat. And is the party ritualist. And is planning to take the Sage of Ages epic destiny.)Now maybe my player is the only such example around - I don't know. What proportion of players in 3E spent skill points on languages? And maybe I'm the only GM who, having Linguist PCs, framews situations in which language matters. Who else does that?But I regard the example as sufficient proof that 4e offers viable support for non-combat oriented PC builds.It has always been true of D&D that it lavishes more fine-grained attention on combat than on other fields of endeavour. As I noted upthread, 3E cares whether your sword training is in shortsword, longsword, scimitar or rapier. Yet, when it comes to the Perform skill, all we have for a clarinetist is the following category: Wind instruments (flute, pan pipes, recorder, shawm, trumpet). Not only does this not distinguish different schools and techniques within interests (say jazz trumpet vs classical trumpet), it doesn't even distinguish woodwind from brass!I would say the game would involve a lot of climbing, yes. It may not be about climbing: it may be about (say) human endurance, or compassion, or folly. I can't tell what it's about from your limited description of it. (Trail of Cthulhu makes investigation skills special; I'm not therefore sure that it's a game about investigation.)I don't think that there need be any claim or implication that the game is about combat. But I agree with  [MENTION=6684526]GreyICE[/MENTION] and  [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] that combat is a fundamental mode of action resolution in D&D.Anyone who thinks that 3E cares as much about musicianship as about swordsmanship needs to explain the anomaly I identify above: that it distinguishes longsword and scimitar proficiency, yet treats skill with the jazz trumpet and skill with classical flute and skill with folk bagpipes as not worth distinguishing.The game has made clear choices about which distinctions it thinks are worth drawing, and which are not. Having made those choices, the rest of the character build rules should affirm them, not occlude or lie about them.</blockquote>

Verification