Most undeniably nifty skills in LG [Archive] - Wizards Community

Most undeniably nifty skills in LG [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
EberronMoses
10-22-06, 02:24 AM I'm toying with making my first bard and I'd like to know what they most useful skills in the game are. I'm currently thinking sleight of hand, tumble, hide, move silently, diplomacy, bluff. Does anyone else know what skills are good for bard and even more importantly, which skills are the most important skills in LG. Which skills see the most use. Am I wasting skill points putting them in appraise or decipher script? I plan on hitting just about every meta-org of good repute in Yeomanry and would just like to know. I don't want to waste those o so valuable skill points.

Also, what are the rules on noble birth in Yeomanry and LG.
Iswald
10-22-06, 02:48 AM UMD.

There's a feat, Landless Noble, from one of the dragon magazines that you can take at first level. You could have your character start in one of the regions that allows it (Principality of Ulek, Geoff, Bone March (Knurl), or I hear the Shield Lands is supposed to have it even though it's not listed) and then move to the Yeomanry. Otherwise, you should ask your triad about being a noble.
copper_wyrmling
10-22-06, 11:51 AM UMD.

What do you use it for, exactly? Seriously, I have a L11 PC with +22 UMD, and I stopped putting ranks in it at about L8, because the only thing she ever uses it for is to activate wands of Cure Light Wounds.

Gather Information can be an extremely useful and important skill in LG: in certain investigative modules the fastest and easiest way to progress is by a good Gather Info check. Also, if you have high Int don't underrate the Knowledge skills.
Gwumph
10-22-06, 01:01 PM Non-Tactical skills for me are (if i had tons of points)

Gather Info (every mod)
Diplo
decipher script (comes up every time u need to read a note or inscription)
Balance (comes up often)
Jump (also comes up often)
Know Local (often)
Know religion (very often)
Know history (often)

Those would be my top 8 non-tactical skills to take
jstorrie
10-22-06, 01:08 PM Intimidate can be good if you're one of the odd builds that would favor it over Diplomacy. Just be sure you let the face try Diplomacy first.

Sense Motive comes up very very often. Spellcraft is nice to have. Gather Info is probably the most important, though, with Diplomacy #2.
clannagh
10-22-06, 07:32 PM well if you are an elf just take the dillettante feat and have them all :)

More seriously .. the mod specific (rather than character based like tumble or hide) that i have come across regularly in our regional mods are:

spot
search
gather information
survival/track

knowledge
- local (metaregion)
- religion
- nature
- planes
- arcana

spellcraft

bardic knowledge

languages - particualrly ur-flan and the planar languages
Mommy was an Orc
10-22-06, 08:14 PM What do you use it for, exactly? Seriously, I have a L11 PC with +22 UMD, and I stopped putting ranks in it at about L8, because the only thing she ever uses it for is to activate wands of Cure Light Wounds.

Various things I use UMD for(Bard 8/Marshal 1 with a +27 or so most of the time):
Divine Scrolls of Lesser Restoration, Divine Silence(cheaper than Arcane), Remove Fear, etc..at higher levels, I'll probably carry around a scroll of Divine Power for emergancy tanking - my hit points are going to be pretty decent at high level, with a +6 Con Item and Divine Power isn't based on caster level, it is based on character level.

Arcane Scrolls of Fly, Water Breathing, Protection from Evil, True Strike, etc...

Using wacky items. They're out there - any time an item implies that an item can only be used by the truly devout of a particular religion or alignment, check out the fine print. Sure, a normal cleric might be limited by the number of turning attempts per day, but UMD doesn't actually use the class feature, it just pretends to do so. If, as an example, an item was powered by turning attempts, a Cleric might only be able to use it 1-3 times a day. A UMD person can use it infinite number of times(note: for the record, as soon as I saw this, I pointed this out to the Circle first - it is still part of a legal mod, but someone remind me to spell it out once it no longer is.)

The big one though is using it to read scrolls while Craft Wondrous Item. At a certain point, I'm going to go out and buy 12 scrolls of Bear's Endurance and upgrade my Amulet of Health +2 to Amulet of Health +4(and then 20 more again to +6).
Lomiat
10-23-06, 12:31 AM Mommy's right that UMD is a great skill. My Wiz 11 uses it to cast Silence as a Contingent spell for his familiar (who has his own focus). Since a Wizard can't normally cast Silence, I have to burn a scroll each time, but it's 150 gp insurance against a Divine Spellpowered, Evil domain Blasphemy (or the party's Divien Spellpowered, Crack-beaded, Good domain Holy Word).

Crafting also makes UMD delicious, but wands of CLW and scrolls of any sort more than pay for the early skill ranks.

As far as skills go in LG, the following factor into nearly every mod:

Spot
Listen
Diplomacy
Gather Information
Heal
Knowledge (local, history, arcana, nature, or religion; hard to tell which will be most important)
Search
Speak Language (basically, the skill points invested in different languages)

The following provide PCs the opportunity to use them nearly every mod:

Concentration (spellcasters)
Decipher Script
Disable Device
Sense Motive
Spellcraft
Survival
Use Magic Device

Some skills show up infrequently, but they can make or break a moment:

Balance
Jump
Open Lock
Swim

And other skills that can be a lot of fun, but require the PCs to go out of their way to make use of them include:

Bluff
Climb
Forgery
Hide
Intimidate
Move Silently
Ride
Sleight of Hand
etc.

Basically, I think I've come across good opportunities to use every skill in the books in LG, though certainly, many of the skills show up less frequently. If you want to focus on certain skills (Forgery, Hide and Move Silently) that don't frequently come into play, you've got to: 1) make your PC *really, really* good at it so that when you go to step 2, you can make a good argument for the use of the skill, and 2) be able to convince the other players/PCs that the party will benefit from your use of the skills. In other words, a table of 6 players rarely waits for one player to do his scouting of the dungeon and come back with a full report, but if you can find a way to get through unseen, identify every threat within, and report back to the party, they might be willing to let you play solo D&D with the DM for 20 to 30 minutes. It's just a matter of making your efforts rewarding enough for the group....
Japangirl
10-23-06, 03:42 PM Forgery comes up a surprising amount of the time as well. Sure, you don't really *need* it but for getting in where you aren't supposed to be, or getting back out again, a forged pass is pretty damn cool.

There's some cool stuff in CV that helps out forgery checks and is pretty cheap as well. I've always thought a forgery bard or rogue would be really neat.
BEldred74
10-26-06, 08:37 PM Also, what are the rules on noble birth in Yeomanry and LG.

You should read up on the Yeomanry a bit.

We don't got no stinking nobles! If you want to be a noble, go live with the Keewees. :)
Samwise
10-26-06, 09:10 PM He means the civilized people.
The Yeomanry isn't socially advanced enough to have proper nobles. They just let whoever can inherit enough gold buy enough land to be "voted" random titles.

:P
_m_
10-26-06, 09:35 PM He means the civilized people.
The Yeomanry isn't socially advanced enough to have proper nobles. They just let whoever can inherit enough gold buy enough land to be "voted" random titles.

:P

proper nobles? have you SEEN the knights running around in perenland?

as for skills, i find knowledge arcan and nature get used more than the others. (my nature sucks, only +9, but my arcana is +27 (at level 9) )
not saying dont take the ohters, i just find those 2 come in handy more often. + with a +8 to int, 1 rank is plenty.
retro
10-26-06, 09:52 PM Stuff like Spot, Survival (with Track), Gather Information, the various Knowleges (mostly the creature-identify stuff, but don't neglect Local, and maybe a few points in oddball stuff like nob & roy, geography, or arch & eng) and Diplomacy are all good, but I'd like to put my hand up for Heal. It's not just for stabilizing and poisons- a fair few adventures let you use it for CSI-style stuff in murder mysteries, etc.
EberronMoses
10-26-06, 10:14 PM eh, ur rite about the nobility thing. I meant was a son of one of the greater landowners. U know, we're the confederate south. My daddy has a plantation, is that cool? hahahah
Morgen
10-27-06, 11:21 PM What do you use it for, exactly?

What do you use it for? Reading scrolls of Improved Invisibility, Blink, Greater Blink and any other thing you can think. I've seen UMD using archers doing 65+ damage an arrow because they always get to sneak attack. It is insane!

Plus there are the wonderful times when you just need something to work. Activate Blindly!

Honestly there arn't any skills that most people need at tables in LG that you won't need in a home game. Getting some points into some knowledge skills would definately help out in some major fights though. Don't forget your Knowledge History!
amnuxoll
10-31-06, 03:05 PM The skills I see used most often (in order from most to least used) are:

Spot
Concentration
Diplomacy
Knowledge(arcana)
Spellcraft
Knowledge(religion)
Search
Track (Survival)
Listen

Others get used certainly but these ones are key. As a mod author I *try* to put rare skills in where I can but the ones above are hard to avoid.

:AMN:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
EberronMoses 10-22-06, 02:24 AM	I'm toying with making my first bard and I'd like to know what they most useful skills in the game are. I'm currently thinking sleight of hand, tumble, hide, move silently, diplomacy, bluff. Does anyone else know what skills are good for bard and even more importantly, which skills are the most important skills in LG. Which skills see the most use. Am I wasting skill points putting them in appraise or decipher script? I plan on hitting just about every meta-org of good repute in Yeomanry and would just like to know. I don't want to waste those o so valuable skill points. Also, what are the rules on noble birth in Yeomanry and LG.
Iswald 10-22-06, 02:48 AM	UMD. There's a feat, Landless Noble, from one of the dragon magazines that you can take at first level. You could have your character start in one of the regions that allows it (Principality of Ulek, Geoff, Bone March (Knurl), or I hear the Shield Lands is supposed to have it even though it's not listed) and then move to the Yeomanry. Otherwise, you should ask your triad about being a noble.
copper_wyrmling 10-22-06, 11:51 AM	UMD. What do you use it for, exactly? Seriously, I have a L11 PC with +22 UMD, and I stopped putting ranks in it at about L8, because the only thing she ever uses it for is to activate wands of Cure Light Wounds. Gather Information can be an extremely useful and important skill in LG: in certain investigative modules the fastest and easiest way to progress is by a good Gather Info check. Also, if you have high Int don't underrate the Knowledge skills.
Gwumph 10-22-06, 01:01 PM	Non-Tactical skills for me are (if i had tons of points) Gather Info (every mod) Diplo decipher script (comes up every time u need to read a note or inscription) Balance (comes up often) Jump (also comes up often) Know Local (often) Know religion (very often) Know history (often) Those would be my top 8 non-tactical skills to take
jstorrie 10-22-06, 01:08 PM	Intimidate can be good if you're one of the odd builds that would favor it over Diplomacy. Just be sure you let the face try Diplomacy first. Sense Motive comes up very very often. Spellcraft is nice to have. Gather Info is probably the most important, though, with Diplomacy #2.
clannagh 10-22-06, 07:32 PM	well if you are an elf just take the dillettante feat and have them all :) More seriously .. the mod specific (rather than character based like tumble or hide) that i have come across regularly in our regional mods are: spot search gather information survival/track knowledge - local (metaregion) - religion - nature - planes - arcana spellcraft bardic knowledge languages - particualrly ur-flan and the planar languages
Mommy was an Orc 10-22-06, 08:14 PM	What do you use it for, exactly? Seriously, I have a L11 PC with +22 UMD, and I stopped putting ranks in it at about L8, because the only thing she ever uses it for is to activate wands of Cure Light Wounds. Various things I use UMD for(Bard 8/Marshal 1 with a +27 or so most of the time): Divine Scrolls of Lesser Restoration, Divine Silence(cheaper than Arcane), Remove Fear, etc..at higher levels, I'll probably carry around a scroll of Divine Power for emergancy tanking - my hit points are going to be pretty decent at high level, with a +6 Con Item and Divine Power isn't based on caster level, it is based on character level. Arcane Scrolls of Fly, Water Breathing, Protection from Evil, True Strike, etc... Using wacky items. They're out there - any time an item implies that an item can only be used by the truly devout of a particular religion or alignment, check out the fine print. Sure, a normal cleric might be limited by the number of turning attempts per day, but UMD doesn't actually use the class feature, it just pretends to do so. If, as an example, an item was powered by turning attempts, a Cleric might only be able to use it 1-3 times a day. A UMD person can use it infinite number of times(note: for the record, as soon as I saw this, I pointed this out to the Circle first - it is still part of a legal mod, but someone remind me to spell it out once it no longer is.) The big one though is using it to read scrolls while Craft Wondrous Item. At a certain point, I'm going to go out and buy 12 scrolls of Bear's Endurance and upgrade my Amulet of Health +2 to Amulet of Health +4(and then 20 more again to +6).
Lomiat 10-23-06, 12:31 AM	Mommy's right that UMD is a great skill. My Wiz 11 uses it to cast Silence as a Contingent spell for his familiar (who has his own focus). Since a Wizard can't normally cast Silence, I have to burn a scroll each time, but it's 150 gp insurance against a Divine Spellpowered, Evil domain Blasphemy (or the party's Divien Spellpowered, Crack-beaded, Good domain Holy Word). Crafting also makes UMD delicious, but wands of CLW and scrolls of any sort more than pay for the early skill ranks. As far as skills go in LG, the following factor into nearly every mod: Spot Listen Diplomacy Gather Information Heal Knowledge (local, history, arcana, nature, or religion; hard to tell which will be most important) Search Speak Language (basically, the skill points invested in different languages) The following provide PCs the opportunity to use them nearly every mod: Concentration (spellcasters) Decipher Script Disable Device Sense Motive Spellcraft Survival Use Magic Device Some skills show up infrequently, but they can make or break a moment: Balance Jump Open Lock Swim And other skills that can be a lot of fun, but require the PCs to go out of their way to make use of them include: Bluff Climb Forgery Hide Intimidate Move Silently Ride Sleight of Hand etc. Basically, I think I've come across good opportunities to use every skill in the books in LG, though certainly, many of the skills show up less frequently. If you want to focus on certain skills (Forgery, Hide and Move Silently) that don't frequently come into play, you've got to: 1) make your PC really, really good at it so that when you go to step 2, you can make a good argument for the use of the skill, and 2) be able to convince the other players/PCs that the party will benefit from your use of the skills. In other words, a table of 6 players rarely waits for one player to do his scouting of the dungeon and come back with a full report, but if you can find a way to get through unseen, identify every threat within, and report back to the party, they might be willing to let you play solo D&D with the DM for 20 to 30 minutes. It's just a matter of making your efforts rewarding enough for the group....
Japangirl 10-23-06, 03:42 PM	Forgery comes up a surprising amount of the time as well. Sure, you don't really need it but for getting in where you aren't supposed to be, or getting back out again, a forged pass is pretty damn cool. There's some cool stuff in CV that helps out forgery checks and is pretty cheap as well. I've always thought a forgery bard or rogue would be really neat.
BEldred74 10-26-06, 08:37 PM	Also, what are the rules on noble birth in Yeomanry and LG. You should read up on the Yeomanry a bit. We don't got no stinking nobles! If you want to be a noble, go live with the Keewees. :)
Samwise 10-26-06, 09:10 PM	He means the civilized people. The Yeomanry isn't socially advanced enough to have proper nobles. They just let whoever can inherit enough gold buy enough land to be "voted" random titles. :P
_m_ 10-26-06, 09:35 PM	He means the civilized people. The Yeomanry isn't socially advanced enough to have proper nobles. They just let whoever can inherit enough gold buy enough land to be "voted" random titles. :P proper nobles? have you SEEN the knights running around in perenland? as for skills, i find knowledge arcan and nature get used more than the others. (my nature sucks, only +9, but my arcana is +27 (at level 9) ) not saying dont take the ohters, i just find those 2 come in handy more often. + with a +8 to int, 1 rank is plenty.
retro 10-26-06, 09:52 PM	Stuff like Spot, Survival (with Track), Gather Information, the various Knowleges (mostly the creature-identify stuff, but don't neglect Local, and maybe a few points in oddball stuff like nob & roy, geography, or arch & eng) and Diplomacy are all good, but I'd like to put my hand up for Heal. It's not just for stabilizing and poisons- a fair few adventures let you use it for CSI-style stuff in murder mysteries, etc.
EberronMoses 10-26-06, 10:14 PM	eh, ur rite about the nobility thing. I meant was a son of one of the greater landowners. U know, we're the confederate south. My daddy has a plantation, is that cool? hahahah
Morgen 10-27-06, 11:21 PM	What do you use it for, exactly? What do you use it for? Reading scrolls of Improved Invisibility, Blink, Greater Blink and any other thing you can think. I've seen UMD using archers doing 65+ damage an arrow because they always get to sneak attack. It is insane! Plus there are the wonderful times when you just need something to work. Activate Blindly! Honestly there arn't any skills that most people need at tables in LG that you won't need in a home game. Getting some points into some knowledge skills would definately help out in some major fights though. Don't forget your Knowledge History!
amnuxoll 10-31-06, 03:05 PM	The skills I see used most often (in order from most to least used) are: Spot Concentration Diplomacy Knowledge(arcana) Spellcraft Knowledge(religion) Search Track (Survival) Listen Others get used certainly but these ones are key. As a mod author I try to put rare skills in where I can but the ones above are hard to avoid. :AMN: