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<blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 6044349" data-attributes="member: 53980">I don't see anything wrong with having Search and Spot as separate skills (Investigation vs Awareness) but I think having a Listen skill is going overboard.Overspecialization can lead to just as much silliness as over-generalization. Imagine a master mountain climber who can't climb a simple tree because all of his bonuses are in Mountain Climbing.I see the Spot/Listen split as being very similar. When I'm looking for someone (during a paintball game, for example) I don't cover my ears and just gaze around. I reach out with multiple senses. A noise might prompt me to look in a certain direction, or if I'm inside a vibration in the floor might indicate I should listen carefully. Having multiple checks for such things only penalizes the player (because they have more chances to fail).You can still distinguish better hearing or worse eyesight using non-skill modifiers. An elf might get a bonus to checks that involve hearing (whether that's an Awareness check to hear his ambushers shifting in the bushes, or an Investigation check to hear noises behind a secret door).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Fanaelialae, post: 6044349, member: 53980"] I don't see anything wrong with having Search and Spot as separate skills (Investigation vs Awareness) but I think having a Listen skill is going overboard. Overspecialization can lead to just as much silliness as over-generalization. Imagine a master mountain climber who can't climb a simple tree because all of his bonuses are in Mountain Climbing. I see the Spot/Listen split as being very similar. When I'm looking for someone (during a paintball game, for example) I don't cover my ears and just gaze around. I reach out with multiple senses. A noise might prompt me to look in a certain direction, or if I'm inside a vibration in the floor might indicate I should listen carefully. Having multiple checks for such things only penalizes the player (because they have more chances to fail). You can still distinguish better hearing or worse eyesight using non-skill modifiers. An elf might get a bonus to checks that involve hearing (whether that's an Awareness check to hear his ambushers shifting in the bushes, or an Investigation check to hear noises behind a secret door). [/QUOTE]

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