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<blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1820492" data-attributes="member: 13098">There is a big difference between smelling well, which most animals do compared to humans, and scent, which is a special quality of creatures.&nbsp; Ayla could readily tell everyone that most animals have Scent.&nbsp; She can do this because she has spent skill points in Handle Animal and in Knowledge (Nature).&nbsp; Not because of any ephemeral - I could have learned this without using any skill points rationale.&nbsp; Allowing Tyrm to know this without using those skills begins to overlap on a PC that has spent those skill points.&nbsp; It is a minor concern now, but it becomes a more important concern further down the line as far as character progression is concerned.&nbsp; You don't like it.&nbsp; That's fine.&nbsp; The skill system in 3.x is flawed because it is designed to maintain class balance.&nbsp; (Not to mention that some of the skills have strange mechanics.&nbsp; C'mon, a guy wearing 50 lbs of metal in the form of Full Plate only takes a -6 to swim checks?&nbsp; Clearly that one was designed to make the game playable rather than have a PC die an ignomius death just because he was pushed into a lake.)&nbsp; Many, many people argue that the only skills that have any place in the game are the physical skills.&nbsp; The other skills should strictly be roleplayed.&nbsp; According to that school of thought, Diplomacy, Bluff, Sense Motive, knowledge skills, and the like should be thought and acted out by the player.Personally, I think that limits the character concepts some people are willing to try out.&nbsp; I am happy with the 3.x skill system because it allows a lot more variation.&nbsp; It is flawed, but we are playing a game where everything is abstracted and balanced against each other.&nbsp; Skill points are a precious commodity (though not as precious as feats) and you choose your character's strengths and weaknesses by spending them.&nbsp; The fact that some classes get more skill points than others is supposed to give certain classes more skill strengths as opposed to spellcasting, special abilities and combat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="BSF, post: 1820492, member: 13098"] There is a big difference between smelling well, which most animals do compared to humans, and scent, which is a special quality of creatures. Ayla could readily tell everyone that most animals have Scent. She can do this because she has spent skill points in Handle Animal and in Knowledge (Nature). Not because of any ephemeral - I could have learned this without using any skill points rationale. Allowing Tyrm to know this without using those skills begins to overlap on a PC that has spent those skill points. It is a minor concern now, but it becomes a more important concern further down the line as far as character progression is concerned. You don't like it. That's fine. The skill system in 3.x is flawed because it is designed to maintain class balance. (Not to mention that some of the skills have strange mechanics. C'mon, a guy wearing 50 lbs of metal in the form of Full Plate only takes a -6 to swim checks? Clearly that one was designed to make the game playable rather than have a PC die an ignomius death just because he was pushed into a lake.) Many, many people argue that the only skills that have any place in the game are the physical skills. The other skills should strictly be roleplayed. According to that school of thought, Diplomacy, Bluff, Sense Motive, knowledge skills, and the like should be thought and acted out by the player. Personally, I think that limits the character concepts some people are willing to try out. I am happy with the 3.x skill system because it allows a lot more variation. It is flawed, but we are playing a game where everything is abstracted and balanced against each other. Skill points are a precious commodity (though not as precious as feats) and you choose your character's strengths and weaknesses by spending them. The fact that some classes get more skill points than others is supposed to give certain classes more skill strengths as opposed to spellcasting, special abilities and combat. [/QUOTE]

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