Skills that PC shouldn't get?

[Henry]

My FR Game uses Appraise and Diplomacy all the time - any time they find an art object, I write down what it is, what it's worth, and what they THINK it's worth. They got ripped off QUITE A LOT at low level until one or two of them got smart and started bumping up appraise and diplomacy.

Skills we've never used - forgery, read lips, innuendo, handle animal, use rope. Jump, climb, decipher script, disguise, etc. see lesser use, but still come in handy from time to time.

I think Jump gets more use now that the rules aren't so laborious in 3.5.

PCat, if there's anything worth stealing IMMEDIATELY from 3.5 for your 3.0 game, it's the new Jump rules. (now, keeping in mind your players Wind Walk 8 hours a day, it's not as helpful, but they defintely promote use over stagnation.)

 

[stevelabny]

this is pretty sad. i'm gonna go thank my dm for working every skill into the game. i play a rogue/bard who doesnt have ANYTHING maxed out, so i have skill points everywhere...and i've used them all.

Including the Uh oh, enemy wizard is getting away...run after him... BALANCE on wet slipper dock, JUMP onto the little boat he's escaping in, failed the listen check to hear the command word of his magical dagger but hey, READ LIPS works. And then criticalled him into oblivion and had a magical dagger WITH the command word. go me.

forgery is the only skill I've never seen used by a PC and its because I'm the rogue and I don't have any ranks.

Some skills get used less than others but they ALL get used.
This kind of goes along with the rule that all DMS should look at their PCs character sheets and then work in as many oppurtunities to use skills/feats/abiltities as they can.

 

[Mystic_23]

I'd say we use Appraise quite a bit. But that's just because the group I'm in like to know how much the at least think they can get before trying to sell something.

 

[dreaded_beast]

Skills that became "useless" as soon as a "magical" alternative was found (not that I find anything wrong with a magical alternative, since I think that is what the purpose of magic is for ):

Search: Wand of Detect Secret Doors
Jump: Fly
Swim: Water Breathing/Freedom of Movement
Ride: Fly
Use Rope: Spider Climb/Fly (or just buy some masterwork manacles)
Climb: Spider Climb/Fly
Speak Language: Comprehend Languages/Tongues
Disguise: Disguise Self

Skills that were just "useless" either because of the campaign/playstyle or lack of finding any practical uses by the players/DM

Appraise: we don't really enjoy trying to find the correct worth, just as long as it is in the ballpark (or the DM just gives out gold or tells us straight how much something is worth)

Profession/Craft: Never any downtime. No other uses came to mind other than earning GP. (If we needed GP, we explored a dungeon or went on an adventure)

Handle Animal: Never really had to deal with "handling animals". The DM just ran them as "NPCs". (Which was cool in my opinion)

Diplomacy: More trouble than what it is worth when everyone just "roleplayed" and didn't bother to roll. And if you did roll and got a "1", it sucked even more.

Bluff: Same as above

Gather Information: Regardless, the DM told us what we needed to know and kept from us what he wanted, no matter the roll.

Skills that were "useless" because unless you had some really high ranks, there was no point in taking it, due to either DM house rules or the PHB rules themselves.

Intimidate: the high amount of ranks and also for the same reasons as Diplomacy and Bluff

Tumble: with the variant tumble rules from Arcane Unearthed, you need a tumble skill at least as high as your opponents total attack bonus.

Escape Artist: better off using your attack bonus in our campaign

Probably more, but this is atm.

 

[heirodule]

All the comments on the uselessness of ballance make me wonder why ballance isn't used in Trip attacks.

 

[Felix]

I have to stick up for Heal.

Every party has times when it's run ragged and the cleric is out of healing spells and everybody is waiting for the once-per-day HP gain. There is nothing better than to have some guy let everyone in the party gain back double HP.

Allows poor Fort save guys a much better chance to save against Poison. Similarly helps against Disease.

I'm a fan of Heal. But it only really makes sense for a Ranger or a Barbarian as they have the skill points for it, and are nature-boys anyway.

Oh, and 3 ranks of Escape Artist can create a 5 point swing in the grapple check if the character is small... they have both a size penalty and a racial penalty to Str. Don't have to have much, but what little you do put into this skill can be vital.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I have to stick up for Heal.

I've had players take max cross-class ranks in Heal it comes up so often in my games... even the epic game that ended a few months ago.

 

[Arnwyn]

I've never seen Escape Artist and Forgery used.

Every other skill I've seen used, some a fair number of times (Use Rope, for example, is used a whole lot). I try to work in a lot of skill checks when I DM, though.

 

[Ylis]

For this campaign: Swim. Not too useful in landlocked desert

In general: Speak Lanuage and Heal...people never seem to even pick these two...

 

[Cor Azer]

As a DM I try to give every skill a chance to shine, but I will admit, I'm not always successful. And sometimes non of the players' characters seem inclined to take ranks in a particular skill, not matter how useful I make it seem.

That said, I think I've been able to get every skill a chance to shine in my current campaign, although not so much recently. Of course, with a more political bend coming to it, the skill stuff is likely to return as the combats start to wane.