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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6199809" data-attributes="member: 1465">I think Knowledge skills work in a different way compared to others, and this is why in the previous packet they ended up with the idea of using a huge bonus to Lores.It's not only a conceptual problem to have a Wizard, albeit low-level, only have a 10-20% better chance than the other at knowing Arcana stuff. It's also a practical problem, because any clever player immediately realizes that everyone should ask to roll knowledge checks if the Wizard fails. It's just so convenient to try, that every group would better default to everybody rolling, every time there is a knowledge task at hand, and personally this is a huge let-down for me. And because of the swinginess of d20, a larger group of PC without any of them trained in Arcana, might end up having better chances than a smaller group with someone trained. This can happen also to other skills, not only with Lores.Personally I think the 3ed solution to this problem was good: make some skills trained-only. Don't let everybody try. The downside, is that the occasional group without any PC having a certain trained-only skill, can never use that skills. Apparently a lot of gamers consider this unacceptable... but I find it hard to agree, especially since the game in the last 10 years has seen a progressive increase of skills per characters and a progressive merging of skills, to the point that it's rare to have a group of PC that doesn't have everything covered. In general terms, it's nice to have one system to represent all skills, but it's undeniable that many skills work differently... besides knowledge, there are skill tasks where sometimes the worst of the group will determine the outcome (e.g. the whole group sneaking past guards = each PC making a Stealth check, one failure means group failure) while others where the best of the group determines the outcome (e.g. all knowledge checks, all perception checks except for determining surprise). It's very hard to keep both types in the same bucket, especially since other times the same skill check may be needed by one PC only (e.g. only the Rogue needs to sneak to steak the key) or has individual consequences (e.g. perception checks to avoid being surprised in the first round of combat).All in all, I think it's too late to revise skills, so most likely we are stuck with this system.What they can still easily do, and likely will, is to simply grant Wizards (and others who get a bonus proficiency in a lore skill) expertise in such skill. There might also be other sources for Expertise in a skill, such as a background trait or a feat.</blockquote>

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