Why I Hate Skills

[Bill Zebub]

I suppose I could have titled the thread “What happens if you…” and then described a narrow definition of skill use.

I guess I learned all about clickbait thread titles from zaardnar.

 

[soviet]

Flashbacks!

Well no, time is linear. The only verisimilitudinous explanation is that the relevant knowledge spontaneously appears in the character's brain.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Well no, time is linear. The only verisimilitudinous explanation is that the relevant knowledge spontaneously appears in the character's brain.

But that’s TOO real. I might never be able to return to reality.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Pretty much all knowledge checks in skill-based systems basically acknowledge that a particular character's knowledge is all in a Schrodinger's box state; the check is just when we actually decide to open it.

I do think the check will generally have an in-fiction narration, though; it's the character taking a second to wrack their brain and try to remember a detail. That isn't always applicable, but I think it's pretty common for situations that call for some kind of Lore/Knowledge/Intelligence check.

Would you rather the GM write up/buyl a hundred pages of setting knowledge and give players access to certain parts based of class/background/intelligence/etc. ???

This will also require a system of gaining access to more bits based on PC actions.

 

[pemerton]

When you say clock do you mean it in the OSR "visual progress clock" sense, or does "the game runs on calendars and timelines and appointments and time tracking and encounter / event intervals" count?

I mean some sort of game-regulated countdown or measure that leads to consequences. Eg each action takes a turn, and a torch burns for 4 turns (light clock *); each action takes a turn, and every 4 turns the GM rolls for wandering monsters (*wandering monster clock); each actio takes a turn, and after X turns you get hungry (and so need to eat) and/or tired (and so need to rest) (hunger/exhaustion clock).

The first two sorts of clock are as old as D&D; the third is also found in a clear form in Moldvay Basic. The closest to a dungeon crawler that I play regularly these days is Torchbearer 2e, which has a light clock and a conditions clock.

 

[VHawkwinter]

I mean some sort of game-regulated countdown or measure that leads to consequences. Eg each action takes a turn, and a torch burns for 4 turns (light clock *); each action takes a turn, and every 4 turns the GM rolls for wandering monsters (*wandering monster clock); each actio takes a turn, and after X turns you get hungry (and so need to eat) and/or tired (and so need to rest) (hunger/exhaustion clock).

The first two sorts of clock are as old as D&D; the third is also found in a clear form in Moldvay Basic. The closest to a dungeon crawler that I play regularly these days is Torchbearer 2e, which has a light clock and a conditions clock.

I see.

In my case I was thinking more like "the patrols pass by every (varies, let's say 2 minutes); you have X amount of downtime for the week to allocate to working, studying, training, crafting, socialising, inventing, or researching, and thus only have so many hours to work with; you have enough savings to last three weeks; you have N days of rations and water for this expedition; you have X hours of daylight to work with while you're lost in the forest; and various faction plans are in motion and will complete by various dates if you don't intervene, uncovering what those timelines are isn't impossible but requires legwork; and the town's longterm food-stores are enough to last Y months, if guys don't procure more food to preserve, people will start starving in January.

Less abstracted, but still observable clocks and time to waste. My time is measured in rounds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months though, not abstract turns.

How long things take varies by the thing, but the time should usually matter, though sometimes you'll have some wiggle room.