If they "silo" spells, why not skills?

[Cadfan]

I agree entirely with the OP. I have thought exactly this for quite some time.

Some skills are more important than others. Lets say my survivalist Ranger knows how fletchery, so he can last longer in the wilderness. Chances are I will never use that in a campaign, or if I do, it will be incredibly unimportant. But its important for character background. To consistently make masterwork bows and masterwork arrows, I need a ridiculously large investment in skill points. This trades off with the skills I will actually use, like Hide, Move Silently, Spot, Listen, Climb, Jump, Swim, Ride, Survival, and so forth.

I think the game would have greater depth if players could add background skills to their characters without giving up gameplay power. The current system encourages characters to make less multidimensional characters, because resources spent on non gameplay skills (not non combat, people still put ranks in Bluff, non gameplay, like Profession: Cook) trade off from gameplay skills.

Siloing would prevent this. I'm all for it.

 

[The_Gneech]

Lingo check: "siloing"?

-The Gneech

 

[Insight]

Lingo check: "siloing"?

-The Gneech

All of your spells (and I guess skills in this case) go into a big metal tubular building on Aunt Edna's farm.

 

[The_Gneech]

All of your spells (and I guess skills in this case) go into a big metal tubular building on Aunt Edna's farm.

That's what I thought; I just wanted to make sure.

-The Gneech

 

[Branduil]

All of your spells (and I guess skills in this case) go into a big metal tubular building on Aunt Edna's farm.

So that's what she had in there. I always wondered.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Easy solution: every character gets 2 background skill points per level (x4 at level 1) + Int bonus which may be used on "background" skills: all Knowledge, Profession, and Craft skills. Class-derived skill points may be spent on background skills; background skill points may only be spent on background skills.

 

[Nikosandros]

Easy solution: every character gets 2 background skill points per level (x4 at level 1) + Int bonus which may be used on "background" skills: all Knowledge, Profession, and Craft skills. Class-derived skill points may be spent on background skills; background skill points may only be spent on background skills.

But will they keep skill ranks? It's quite possible that they'll go the SAGA route and get rid of them.

 

[Branduil]

Easy solution: every character gets 2 background skill points per level (x4 at level 1) + Int bonus which may be used on "background" skills: all Knowledge, Profession, and Craft skills. Class-derived skill points may be spent on background skills; background skill points may only be spent on background skills.

That sounds like an elegant solution. I was thinking of doing lists for each class, but this is much simpler.

I would use the skill system from Saga though, with "ranks" eliminated in favor of a simpler "trained" system and consolidated skills.

 

[Irda Ranger]

But will they keep skill ranks? It's quite possible that they'll go the SAGA route and get rid of them.

This would be my second choice. Then, just let there be a "Ranger" skill, which is stuff Rangers are good at (fletching arrows, repairing leather armor, setting up tents, etc.) but isn't integral to the combat / tactical wargame that is the heart of character class leveling.

And by the way folks, I wasn't suggesting that the rules for Alchemy or Profession "go away", just that they not be linked to level advancement. Let a character have 50 ranks in Craft at 1st level, or 0 ranks at 20th level. Craft isn't part of your class, so you should be able to have as much or little as you want, regardless of class level.

Open Lock, OTOH, as a "class ability", would be linked to level. This is still D&D, after all, not a all-skills game.

 

[Andor]

I was always annoyed by the way skills were handled in D&D. Especially the crap skill lists/points that some classes like fighters have. Suppose I want to make a fighter who was a skillled sailor? Sorry, can't be done. Heck a skilled sailor is an almost impossible goal for most classes. Assuming your campaign has nautical technology more sdvanced than the coracle or canoe a sailor should have decent ranks in climb, balance and rope use at a dead minimum. Spot, swim, Navigation (a skill they actually forgot to put in the book, so you kind of have to split it up into survival and Profession Navigator,) Craft wood, and languages are also desireable skills. That's 3 to 9+ skills and we still haven't covered skills sailors were noted for like Perform Dance, Singing, or Scrimshaw.

Apparently all decent sailors are rogues and maybe experts. *checks skill list* A ranger could make a stab at it, although the class lacks balance (oddly enough for a class that snipes from tree limbs in half the fantasy art ever drawn.)