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Legends & Lore: Skills
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<blockquote data-quote="Kinneus" data-source="post: 5585233" data-attributes="member: 48215"><p>I agree that there needs to be a greater level of description and roleplaying when it comes to skills. I think one of the (many) pitfalls of the skill challenge system is that puts skills in a very limited box. It says, "PCs can use Diplomacy to convince the duke that this is a bad idea for one success." They can't turn the entire scene into a diplomatic scene because... um, because the skill challenge isn't written that way. You have to use Intimidate and Athletics and Arcana to get the rest of your successes, and god help the poor bastard that wants to use Bluff!</p><p> </p><p>Once, I was playing in a campaign with an otherwise very good DM. I was playing a Genasi Swordmage with a very strong lightning and storms theme. We encountered a trap that was basically massive static charges flinging from one rock to the next. We had to figure out how to disarm it so we could safely rest in the area.</p><p> </p><p>I asked the DM if, being an elemental being of lightning, I could use Endurance to try to simply absorb the shock. "No," he told me.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay," I said, "can I use Arcana to try and nullify the energy?"</p><p> </p><p>"No," he told me.</p><p> </p><p>And then the halfling monk said, "I use Thievery," and he rolled a 16, and the DM said, "You succeed."</p><p> </p><p>Now, a pessimist might argue that I was simply trying to find ways to make my character's best skills applicable (and I totally was). But I would have to ask <em>what the heck is wrong with that</em>? If a PC can figure out a way to use his skill in a manner that's interesting and creative and makes narrative sense, isn't that better than "I use Thievery?"</p><p> </p><p>4e needs more of the former and less the latter, and Skill Challenges saying "You can only use skills X and Y for successes, and Z for marginal modifiers. All other skills are totally irrelevant" isn't doing anybody any favors.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kinneus, post: 5585233, member: 48215"] I agree that there needs to be a greater level of description and roleplaying when it comes to skills. I think one of the (many) pitfalls of the skill challenge system is that puts skills in a very limited box. It says, "PCs can use Diplomacy to convince the duke that this is a bad idea for one success." They can't turn the entire scene into a diplomatic scene because... um, because the skill challenge isn't written that way. You have to use Intimidate and Athletics and Arcana to get the rest of your successes, and god help the poor bastard that wants to use Bluff! Once, I was playing in a campaign with an otherwise very good DM. I was playing a Genasi Swordmage with a very strong lightning and storms theme. We encountered a trap that was basically massive static charges flinging from one rock to the next. We had to figure out how to disarm it so we could safely rest in the area. I asked the DM if, being an elemental being of lightning, I could use Endurance to try to simply absorb the shock. "No," he told me. "Okay," I said, "can I use Arcana to try and nullify the energy?" "No," he told me. And then the halfling monk said, "I use Thievery," and he rolled a 16, and the DM said, "You succeed." Now, a pessimist might argue that I was simply trying to find ways to make my character's best skills applicable (and I totally was). But I would have to ask [I]what the heck is wrong with that[/I]? If a PC can figure out a way to use his skill in a manner that's interesting and creative and makes narrative sense, isn't that better than "I use Thievery?" 4e needs more of the former and less the latter, and Skill Challenges saying "You can only use skills X and Y for successes, and Z for marginal modifiers. All other skills are totally irrelevant" isn't doing anybody any favors. [/QUOTE]
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