missing skills

[Lackhand]

This thread caused me to dust off my old 2nd Edition PHB. It reminded me how my group used weapon and non-weapon proficiencies for the mechanical stuff and Secondary Skills for the character background skills. Sure it meant most everyone's parents were smiths, fletchers, hunters and the like, but we still had something to fill those RP gaps without reducing our combat and skill options.

I like a lot of what has happened in Dungeons and Dragons since 2nd edition, but I think I'll always love it best (and yes, a ton of that sentiment is pure nostalgia, but what's life without fond memories.)

This. I'm fond of "hobbies" -- each point of intelligence grants a bonus language dependent on race and, to a lesser degree, class, right?

Each point of wisdom grants access to a trade (either a craft or a profession), and each point of charisma grants a form of perform (poetry, dance, writing, painting, singing in a specific style, playing a specific instrument).

Voila! Instant background skills!

(for the Bard and Bardlike Characters, this simple hobby-perform isn't sufficient. But on the other hand, I suspect that their powers won't be tied to "optionally trained skills" anymore, so I've nothing to worry about.)

 

[UngeheuerLich]

This. I'm fond of "hobbies" -- each point of intelligence grants a bonus language dependent on race and, to a lesser degree, class, right?

Each point of wisdom grants access to a trade (either a craft or a profession), and each point of charisma grants a form of perform (poetry, dance, writing, painting, singing in a specific style, playing a specific instrument).

Voila! Instant background skills!

(for the Bard and Bardlike Characters, this simple hobby-perform isn't sufficient. But on the other hand, I suspect that their powers won't be tied to "optionally trained skills" anymore, so I've nothing to worry about.)

nice idea!

 

[Keenath]

(for the Bard and Bardlike Characters, this simple hobby-perform isn't sufficient. But on the other hand, I suspect that their powers won't be tied to "optionally trained skills" anymore, so I've nothing to worry about.)

That's true. Rather than "make a charisma-based skill check", it'll be based on "Attack: Cha vs Will" or some such combination, where you make a charisma-based attack to use your magical music.

But why wisdom to determine number of background skills? That seems a little messed up. I think I'd prefer my previous idea of just three background skills each.

 

[hong]

I think that characters should get a number of "hobbies" in addition to their normal skills. These skills would include things like crafts, professions, farming, cooking, gambling, etc. In other words, all of those skills that add character but have little in-game use and aren't worth sacrificing a "good" skill for.

"It's a great new fantasy roleplaying game. We pretend we're workers and students in an industrialised and technological society."

 

[vulsuck]

"It's a great new fantasy roleplaying game. We pretend we're workers and students in an industrialised and technological society."

Where can I find this game?

 

[Keenath]

Where can I find this game?

It's from the 1st edition DMG, page 111.

It's one of the silly comics they had in that version. See the Why We Aren't Funny article for other examples.

The picture shows a priest and a magic user (wizard) rolling dice at the table, and they're saying that line to the fighter.

 

[Amphimir Míriel]

...like my current game, #thieves, set in Sharn, where we have a trap and lock expert, a sleight of hand gambler, a con man, a second story thief, etc

Wow... just add a Thug and you've got the A-Team

What an awesome campaign...

 

[SteveC]

One of the things that I like about the siloing concept in 4E is that it opens up avenues to handle things like this so that they don't interfere with the adventuring part of a character's life.

By that, if the only skills that are defined are those used in adventuring, we can have an add-on system that develops background skills and keeps them entirely separate from those used in adventuring. I think that might be an exceptional product for a third party to come up with. The rules could be written in such a way to make them edition proof -- i.e., they could be used in any version of the game.

There is a lot of power that comes from taking rules like this out of the core and giving them over to the GM. The most important thing it does is let a GM who cares about them to incorporate them into the game while keeping others from needing to do so. I find it very frustrating to play a game where the GM encourages me to spend many skill points, feats and class levels for purely roleplaying purposes, and then never lets those choices matter in the game!

--Steve

 

[MaelStorm]

One of the things that I like about the siloing concept in 4E is that it opens up avenues to handle things like this so that they don't interfere with the adventuring part of a character's life.

By that, if the only skills that are defined are those used in adventuring, we can have an add-on system that develops background skills and keeps them entirely separate from those used in adventuring. I think that might be an exceptional product for a third party to come up with. The rules could be written in such a way to make them edition proof -- i.e., they could be used in any version of the game.

There is a lot of power that comes from taking rules like this out of the core and giving them over to the GM. The most important thing it does is let a GM who cares about them to incorporate them into the game while keeping others from needing to do so. I find it very frustrating to play a game where the GM encourages me to spend many skill points, feats and class levels for purely roleplaying purposes, and then never lets those choices matter in the game!

--Steve

Not a bad idea, this is what I envisioned to add in my game too if the game designers didn't thought about this.