The expert's class skills

[ManicFuel]

The NPC expert class chooses 10 skills as class skills. My question is around those skills that have a number of subskills: Craft, Knowledge, Perform and Profession. Can an expert choose Craft, for example, as a class skill, and have that apply to any Craft subskill? Or must they choose individual subskills as being class skills, and the others as cross-class?

 

[Wolf72]

um ... I would think they would get unlimited choices for craft ...

several PC classes already get those ...

not sure on knowledge though, b/c some classes have a specifiec list (ranger)

 

[Tessarael]

The NPC expert class chooses 10 skills as class skills. [..] Can an expert choose Craft, for example, as a class skill, and have that apply to any Craft subskill? Or must they choose individual subskills as being class skills, and the others as cross-class?

I would rule that Craft, Profession and Perform are chosen as one skill each. Primarily because these skills overlap - they're all ways of making money, and taking more than one is not substantially better than just taking one perform skill. (Craft Armor and Craft Weapons are useful of course, but you could just buy that masterwork armor and weapon somewhere.)

Knowledge skills don't "overlap" in the same way. They give you the ability to identify monsters and other bonuses. I'd argue that Knowledge skills must be taken separately.

Just my thoughts ...

 

[Ssyleia]

Actually, all classes but the barbarian have unlimited access to all craft and profession skills.
With knowledge, however, access is usually handled on a subskill by subskill basis. However, some classes have access to all knowledge skills (bard and wizard)

I would rule that experts selecting craft, profession, knowledge or perform get all subskills for one "choice slot" - after all, an expert can still max out only 6+Int Mod skills...

 

[ManicFuel]

I would rule that experts selecting craft, profession, knowledge or perform get all subskills for one "choice slot" - after all, an expert can still max out only 6+Int Mod skills...

This is how I've been building experts, with the same rationalization. But is it 3.5e canon? How can we get a clarification from WotC about this?

 

[Ottergame]

The entries in UA seem to indicate that all those skills, Profession Craft Perform and Knowledge, are not chosen seperatly. Once you chose Knowledge, for example, you can select each skill as a class skill.