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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 6151922" data-attributes="member: 66434">This can get messy in a class based system. For example, in 4E the various thief skills were generally available to other classes which kind of bumps the thief out of his specialty because the core abilities that the class used to operate on became more generic. The original concept for the thief was that the class exclusive abilities represented that beyond what a normal talented everyman could do. For example any adventurer without noisy gear could move pretty quietly if they tried. This is an everyman type of "skill" that doesn't require character building resources or specialized class training. In addition to being able to do this like everyone else, the thief had the ability to move silently. Because these abilities were more mechanically defined, the everyman ability to be pretty quiet was forgotten or dropped (or never existed for some newer groups).  This was the beginning of the end of everyman competency and the beginning of the age of something needing to be rigidly defined on the character sheet or else that character was assumed to be a complete boob and incompetent at the activity in question. Classes are broad archetypes for ease and simplicity. They are the primary focus of adventurer type and don't need to be loaded down with every mundane thing an active adventurer could possibly do. If used at all in a class based system, skills should be largely non-adventuring related ( performance, crafts, & mundane professions), and available to all classes equally in both selection and quantity. If you want characters to be more unique on the competency scale with regard to everyman adventuring skills, let players define an equal number talents and incompetencies. These would provide either a modest boost or penalty with certain everyman skills. Bob the ranger might be more talented at outdoor survival than riding for example. This way, skills can exist, and serve to help craft more unique characters without having to be a thorn in class balancing.</blockquote>

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