NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5711660" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, that is pretty much where I'm at too. Anything plot significant is worth a skill challenge, at which point playing off one guy's 'perform' check against another's is not really the focus. Since there's no reason to need a specific skill for NPCs the check is against a DC (and any 'perform' skill rank you gave an NPC in 4e would just be a DC written in a different form). Your background says "really good with a fiddle" well, you can give it a try, Joe the Dwarf over there, he's not even in the running, which for most everyday types of 'skills' is really where it should be. I threw pots for 5 years, I can throw a 3' high vase, someone that hasn't got that kind of experience? I don't care what 'level' they are or how high their 'dex' is or whatever, they have 0 chance, so I have background 'potter' and I can do it. If it came up in a skill challenge as a toss, well, its a DC whatever DEX check or somesuch.Backgrounds really did mostly solve the 'logically I should have this skill' thing. It could be better, I've advocated just giving every character any old 4 skills they want instead of the whole class list nonsense, but it hardly represents a glaring flaw in the whole skill system IMHO.The problem with just adding in "well, I want to be able to just call any old arbitrary thing a skill if I feel like" is it really DOES put a big monkey wrench in things. Martial Practices sort of have the same problem. As soon as you say you CAN get 'boating' as a skill, or 'potting' or whatever INSTANTLY any PC that didn't make that choice must logically be less competent or in many cases where something requires real SKILL at doing it, like throwing a 3' vase, all other characters really logically have to be incapable of even trying it without burning a skill slot. At least backgrounds are 'free' since they have no major mechanical implications that matter beyond the one you take to get a bonus skill/+2.</blockquote>

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