WizarDru
Adventurer
As part of another discussion, the idea was tossed out that D&D might not have evolved toward the desire of the players on a number of fronts.
I'm curious how people feel about the Skill System as it has evolved in D&D. In OD&D*, there weren't really skills, but DM-adjudications. If your character was a Fighting Man and your back-story said you had been the son of a blacksmith, then your DM might allow you to do something as a blacksmith, with or without a roll. With 1e, we saw non-weapon proficiencies appear, mostly intended as back-filler to quantify that same idea. Now you KNEW you'd been a cooper before adventure called. With 2e*, we saw Skills and Powers introduce more complexity to the idea and give substats for specific tasks. With 3e, we saw skills come into their own, more approximating what GURPS and HERO had been doing for a long time. With 3.5e, we saw skills pared down and clarified. With 4e, we know that the designers are looking at re-jiggering the system again.
(* - Clarification: I never played OD&D OR 2e, so this information is second-hand based on discussions had here on the boards. Feel free to point out if I've misrepresented these details.)
My question then is this: would you play D&D without a Skill System? Has your expectation become such that you would expect D&D (and most RPGs) to possess one?
I'm curious how people feel about the Skill System as it has evolved in D&D. In OD&D*, there weren't really skills, but DM-adjudications. If your character was a Fighting Man and your back-story said you had been the son of a blacksmith, then your DM might allow you to do something as a blacksmith, with or without a roll. With 1e, we saw non-weapon proficiencies appear, mostly intended as back-filler to quantify that same idea. Now you KNEW you'd been a cooper before adventure called. With 2e*, we saw Skills and Powers introduce more complexity to the idea and give substats for specific tasks. With 3e, we saw skills come into their own, more approximating what GURPS and HERO had been doing for a long time. With 3.5e, we saw skills pared down and clarified. With 4e, we know that the designers are looking at re-jiggering the system again.
(* - Clarification: I never played OD&D OR 2e, so this information is second-hand based on discussions had here on the boards. Feel free to point out if I've misrepresented these details.)
My question then is this: would you play D&D without a Skill System? Has your expectation become such that you would expect D&D (and most RPGs) to possess one?
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