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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1075461" data-attributes="member: 3146">I think there's room for adventures dealing with mystery, intrigue, and exploration. (I've played Call of Cthulu D20--however, even in Call of Cthulu, I wouldn't spend all my skill points on craft: underwater basketweaving and profession: newsboy. Nor would I spend my feats on skill focus (Profession: newsboy). Because when you find what you're looking for, point blank shot and the 10 guage double-barrelled shotgun make the difference between losing 12 san and you (and most of your gaming buddies) moving to backup characters. Even in games based on mystery, intrigue, and exploration, combat ability is usually necessary).The CoC example is appropriate though. The game system differs significantly from D&D. The non class-based system in CoC allows all the characters in the party the skills to be effective in a game of mystery, intrigue, and exploration. The D&D class system encourages a stronger emphasis on combat and threatening environments than CoC or other intrigue/exploration/mystery based games. Any game where an expert with no combat ability is a viable PC (not that I would class most intrigue/exploration games in that category--as I said before, it's not really a viable option in CoC) is a game where a single classed fighter or barbarian probably isn't a viable PC. And that's a highly unusual D&D game. (To make such a game work well, the mechanics from other D20 games--such as CoC D20--would probably work much better than D&D).It's not that all adventures are romps through the dungeon killing things and dealing with traps. It's that in D&D, you usually have to do one or the other at least every other session (sometimes two or three times per session) and it makes no sense from either an in-character or an out of character perspective to be in that situation regularly unless you can handle yourself in it. (If I were tossed into that kind of enviroment, either I'd spend a heck of a lot more time practicing martial arts and I'd learn how to use a gun/sword/whatever I could get or find a way to get back to being an ordinary grad student ASAP).--Edit--I think the mechanics also work out such that noncombat and non-trap related skills are usually unnecessary to take skill focus in as well. If I want to construct a persuasive character, I can do so quite well without skill focus--the DCs rarely exceed 25 and I can usually take 10 and/or get assists from other party members. (Or maybe, I've just never been in a situation where I started thinking, "you know, +10 diplomacy just isn't enough for my 7th level cleric" but I've been in quite a few situations where I've said, "+17 concentration isn't quite enough for my 11th level fighter/wizard/spellsword") Disable Device, DCs, OTOH, start at 20 or 25 and go up past 34 with astounding rapidity--and only a rogue can assist. Sense motive, bluff, diplomacy, and intimidate are great skills (although sense motive generally does little good unless it's maxed considering that IME most of the time, NPCs are either really good at lying (non-maxed ranks won't help) or really poor at lying (non-maxed skills aren't necessary))--edit--</blockquote>

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