Elder-Basilisk
First Post
Appraise: The use of this skill depends upon the DM. If you tell the players "you find a gem worth x gp" it's completely unnecessary. If you say, you find a clear cut gem that seems to sparkle in the light, they need an appraise to know if the jeweler they take it to is telling the truth "Hmm. This is a very fine cubic zirconium--tell you what, I'll give you ten gold for it." Smart PCs will be able to find ways around having it (for instance, getting it appraised by a trusted jeweler who they pay for the appraisal but who knows that they will be selling it to someone else--Detect Lie, Sense Motive, and Detect Thoughts could come in handy here as well when making up for a lack of appraise skill).
Balance: Again, this one depends upon the DM. If you put uneven footing which requires balance checks into your adventures, then it'll be useful. If you don't, it won't be. There is a fine line though between occasionally making balance useful via balance checks and screwing the fighters and paladins for wearing armor and neither having significant numbers of skill points or balance as a class skill.
Decipher Script: This one is usually superceded by comprehend languages. However, a cave complex full of inscriptions in an unknown language would require PCs to be discerning in their use of Comprehend Languages--if you only have three scrolls, you don't want to waste them to understand that "Basura" means trash. And the only way you'll know what's important enough to know precisely ahead of time is to decipher script. The code suggestion is also good.
Escape Artist: This is useful if you're tied up and need to escape. Characters with the skill may also use it to escape grapples or move through web spells, etc. In fact, it's about the only way for a halfling rogue to have a prayer of escaping a grapple.
Forgery: This one will depend upon the campaign and the players. If the players aren't playing shady characters, the only reason they would use it would be to detect forgeries. If documents and deception don't play a big part in your campaign then forgery won't be used. But that's ok. If combat doesn't play a big part in your campaign, greatswords probably won't be used either. If large groups of weak enemies don't make regular appearances in your campaign, wizards won't learn fireball.
Handle Animal: Five ranks give a nifty synergy to ride bonusses that most mounted combatants won't miss out. This skill also is necessary to train animals or get teams of animals to do what you want. If your players don't use animals at all, they'll have no use for this skill. If they keep watch dogs or war dogs with them and/or want to train hippogriffs as mounts they'll want Handle Animal.
Innuendo: It's a useful skill if you are playing an intrigue campaign where you want to be able to communicate without others overhearing. You can also use it as a kind of hand code for a stealthy campaign. The real problem is that everyone has to have it for it to be useful.
Intimidate: It's like diplomacy when you're threatening people. I use it for "Do you dare question a knight of the crown?" as well as "Do it or I'll cut your lungs out with a spoon." In other words, it's useful for indirect threats or exerting authority as well as threats of immediate physical violence.
Open Locks: This will be useful to the kind of characters who want to sneakily take stuff from behind locked doors. A paladin who issues a challenge at the gate, batters down the door and slays the bad guys with his sword won't have much use for this. Different characters will. Also note that having or lacking this skill is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If characters don't have it, they'll use knock spells and bash doors in. If they do have it, they'll use it. A situation which requires stealth and features locked doors (for instance, the real crown of testing has been substituted for a fake crown so that the princely imposter will not be revealed at his coronation--the priests are in on this or don't believe the PCs so they have to replace the fake crown with the real one if they want the imposter to be exposed--and they obviously can't have it known that there was any switching or the imposter will say the switched the real crown for a fake one. So they need stealth as well) should demonstrate the usefulness of this skill though.
Pick Pockets: This also is useful for palming and concealing small objects. If someone wanted to smuggle a knife past a guard, pick pockets might be the appropriate skill to move the knife out of the guards search pattern without him noticing. I might also use this for drawing a small weapon without being observed (synergy bonus if someone distracts the observers with a bluff check).
Ride: If PCs don't have it, they won't use it. If they do, they will. That being said, it looks an awful lot more attractive the first time the ground bound PCs are beset by a squad of light cavalry who use mounted archery, and ride by attack to hurt the PCs while staying out of their reach and who are too fast for the PCs to outrun.
Scry: This is an essential skill for PCs. As soon as they make an enemy of a high level wizard and you start asking for scry checks (to notice his scrying), they'll realize its importance. If they don't get it then, they will when the wizard teleports a squad of his thugs in to harrass the PCs and then teleports away. Pretty soon, they'll realize they want to notice that scrying before the wizard behind it hurts them.
Swim: This is an often overlooked skill. That being said, it's primary use is on waterbound adventures and most PCs who lack the skill will figure out a way to make up for it (water breathing, levitation, fly, etc). Still, putting the PCs abourd a raft will make them very quickly take stock of their swim score.
Use Rope: This can be substituted for by using masterwork manacles but it still comes up every now and then. Are you tying the rope off at the top of a cliff so your party can climb up after you--what's your use rope skill? The DM rolls for the player behind the screen (unless the player is clever and says "it's +2 so I take ten for a 12) and says "You think your knot should hold. . . ."
Balance: Again, this one depends upon the DM. If you put uneven footing which requires balance checks into your adventures, then it'll be useful. If you don't, it won't be. There is a fine line though between occasionally making balance useful via balance checks and screwing the fighters and paladins for wearing armor and neither having significant numbers of skill points or balance as a class skill.
Decipher Script: This one is usually superceded by comprehend languages. However, a cave complex full of inscriptions in an unknown language would require PCs to be discerning in their use of Comprehend Languages--if you only have three scrolls, you don't want to waste them to understand that "Basura" means trash. And the only way you'll know what's important enough to know precisely ahead of time is to decipher script. The code suggestion is also good.
Escape Artist: This is useful if you're tied up and need to escape. Characters with the skill may also use it to escape grapples or move through web spells, etc. In fact, it's about the only way for a halfling rogue to have a prayer of escaping a grapple.
Forgery: This one will depend upon the campaign and the players. If the players aren't playing shady characters, the only reason they would use it would be to detect forgeries. If documents and deception don't play a big part in your campaign then forgery won't be used. But that's ok. If combat doesn't play a big part in your campaign, greatswords probably won't be used either. If large groups of weak enemies don't make regular appearances in your campaign, wizards won't learn fireball.
Handle Animal: Five ranks give a nifty synergy to ride bonusses that most mounted combatants won't miss out. This skill also is necessary to train animals or get teams of animals to do what you want. If your players don't use animals at all, they'll have no use for this skill. If they keep watch dogs or war dogs with them and/or want to train hippogriffs as mounts they'll want Handle Animal.
Innuendo: It's a useful skill if you are playing an intrigue campaign where you want to be able to communicate without others overhearing. You can also use it as a kind of hand code for a stealthy campaign. The real problem is that everyone has to have it for it to be useful.
Intimidate: It's like diplomacy when you're threatening people. I use it for "Do you dare question a knight of the crown?" as well as "Do it or I'll cut your lungs out with a spoon." In other words, it's useful for indirect threats or exerting authority as well as threats of immediate physical violence.
Open Locks: This will be useful to the kind of characters who want to sneakily take stuff from behind locked doors. A paladin who issues a challenge at the gate, batters down the door and slays the bad guys with his sword won't have much use for this. Different characters will. Also note that having or lacking this skill is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If characters don't have it, they'll use knock spells and bash doors in. If they do have it, they'll use it. A situation which requires stealth and features locked doors (for instance, the real crown of testing has been substituted for a fake crown so that the princely imposter will not be revealed at his coronation--the priests are in on this or don't believe the PCs so they have to replace the fake crown with the real one if they want the imposter to be exposed--and they obviously can't have it known that there was any switching or the imposter will say the switched the real crown for a fake one. So they need stealth as well) should demonstrate the usefulness of this skill though.
Pick Pockets: This also is useful for palming and concealing small objects. If someone wanted to smuggle a knife past a guard, pick pockets might be the appropriate skill to move the knife out of the guards search pattern without him noticing. I might also use this for drawing a small weapon without being observed (synergy bonus if someone distracts the observers with a bluff check).
Ride: If PCs don't have it, they won't use it. If they do, they will. That being said, it looks an awful lot more attractive the first time the ground bound PCs are beset by a squad of light cavalry who use mounted archery, and ride by attack to hurt the PCs while staying out of their reach and who are too fast for the PCs to outrun.
Scry: This is an essential skill for PCs. As soon as they make an enemy of a high level wizard and you start asking for scry checks (to notice his scrying), they'll realize its importance. If they don't get it then, they will when the wizard teleports a squad of his thugs in to harrass the PCs and then teleports away. Pretty soon, they'll realize they want to notice that scrying before the wizard behind it hurts them.
Swim: This is an often overlooked skill. That being said, it's primary use is on waterbound adventures and most PCs who lack the skill will figure out a way to make up for it (water breathing, levitation, fly, etc). Still, putting the PCs abourd a raft will make them very quickly take stock of their swim score.
Use Rope: This can be substituted for by using masterwork manacles but it still comes up every now and then. Are you tying the rope off at the top of a cliff so your party can climb up after you--what's your use rope skill? The DM rolls for the player behind the screen (unless the player is clever and says "it's +2 so I take ten for a 12) and says "You think your knot should hold. . . ."
