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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5025541" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, I've never really quite understood the objection to using backgrounds for this. But that's a whole long-running 4e debate that need not get dragged back out here in its entirety. There are a number of issues that you're going to have to deal with though:Skill Challenges as a whole mechanical system will simply not work with a bunch of narrow skills. The chance that PCs have the requisite skills to succeed is inversely proportional to the number of skills in the system. The same issue exists with any sort of point where a DM desires to use a skill check. PCs are very unlikely to have the more obscure and infrequently used skills, so how can the DM actually integrate them into his adventure with any confidence? Certain particular skills are just going to be gold and others are going to be neigh to useless. Everyone will just pick up the highly useful ones. It becomes hard to build a party. The rogue really needs skills X, Y, and Z to function as a rogue. So what happens when Z is missing? The party lacks a basic element of functionality. With broad skills its unlikely anything major will be missing.What is the difference between almost trivially different skills like "Disable Device" and "Open Lock". They seem like the same skill set. When a DM is deciding which skill is the closest fit to some mechanical manipulation task he's now got multiple overlapping skills that might apply. Whichever way he decides any player that has a character with the OTHER skill is going to argue that it doesn't make sense they can't apply their skill. A LOT of the subskills have this issue. If you simply say "OK, you can apply any of X, Y, and Z then why break them up in the first place?"I assume you are going to propose some form of sub-skill system here. The above questions are the ones it is going to have to address in real play. So those are things to think about. You will also probably want to think carefully about how this is really an improvement on background based bonuses (which BTW are part of the rules). Those are less well spelled out but honestly I think that is a strength personally.</blockquote>

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