Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="innerdude" data-source="post: 6029691" data-attributes="member: 85870">I'm going to have to disagree here. Does it serve any &quot;mechanical&quot; function other than the one you outline? Hmmm, not really. But the fact that a &quot;Perform: Instrument&quot; skill exists in the rules has a lot of &quot;unspoken,&quot; un-mechanically-defined consequences. <ol>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">It indicates to the players and GM, however imperfect the mechanic is, that characters have out-of-combat abilities, and that there's at least THE POSSIBILITY that they matter in the fiction. I know, I know, good players and GMs will find their own ways to express character backgrounds without needing the &quot;crutch&quot; of defined skills. But whether the mechanic is perfect or not, don't dismiss the significance this communicates to players and GMs. It's a tacit expression that there is a more &quot;complete&quot; world to be experienced, one that exists outside of killing things and taking their stuff. </li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">It's at least an attempt, however imperfect, for those who like &quot;nods to realism&quot; at attempting to codify how good the character is at their chosen skill. Because sometimes it MATTERS in the fiction whether your PC is a middlin' lute strummer, or a medieval Joe Satriani. And maybe a player or GM doesn't want to leave that to fiat. </li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ol">For some players, it provides a roleplaying &quot;hook&quot; for them to engage with. It may help them frame character desires and interactions, or more readily place their characters within the fiction, making their gameplay and interactions with the world more immersive. </li>
</ol>It's fine if the skill mechanic does none of those things for you. But the existence of the skill at all can clearly have more impact on gameplay than a roll of the dice to see whether you succeed on any particular performance.I find that the existence of the perform, profession, knowledge, and craft skills are at least as if not more important for setting a &quot;tone&quot; for world building as they are in actual PC implementation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="innerdude, post: 6029691, member: 85870"] I'm going to have to disagree here. Does it serve any "mechanical" function other than the one you outline? Hmmm, not really. But the fact that a "Perform: Instrument" skill [I]exists in the rules[/I] has a lot of "unspoken," un-mechanically-defined consequences. [LIST=1] [*]It indicates to the players and GM, however imperfect the mechanic is, that characters have out-of-combat abilities, and that there's at least THE POSSIBILITY that they matter in the fiction. I know, I know, good players and GMs will find their own ways to express character backgrounds without needing the "crutch" of defined skills. But whether the mechanic is perfect or not, don't dismiss the significance this communicates to players and GMs. It's a tacit expression that there is a more "complete" world to be experienced, one that exists outside of killing things and taking their stuff. [*]It's at least an attempt, however imperfect, for those who like "nods to realism" at attempting to codify how good the character is at their chosen skill. Because sometimes it MATTERS in the fiction whether your PC is a middlin' lute strummer, or a medieval Joe Satriani. And maybe a player or GM doesn't want to leave that to fiat. [*]For some players, it provides a roleplaying "hook" for them to engage with. It may help them frame character desires and interactions, or more readily place their characters within the fiction, making their gameplay and interactions with the world more immersive. [/LIST] It's fine if the skill mechanic does none of those things for you. But the existence of the skill at all can clearly have more impact on gameplay than a roll of the dice to see whether you succeed on any particular performance. I find that the existence of the perform, profession, knowledge, and craft skills are at least as if not more important for setting a "tone" for world building as they are in actual PC implementation. [/QUOTE]

Verification