Post/Author/DateTime	Post
rydi123 09-18-06, 09:42 PM	so, as i said in a previous thread, i am working on my next game, and i am making some changes to the system. i wanted to run an idea for skills by the people here and see how they think it would effect the overall system, whether it would be good or bad, and why. the change: merge some of the skills. if anyone has played KOTOR, what i am proposing is similar to that. Hide+M.S.=Stealth. Spot+Listen=Awareness. all the physical skills (Climb, Jump, Swim, Tumble, Balance) become Athletics (dex) and Athletics (str). Bluff+Diplom=Persuade. Knowledges remain unchanged, as do a few of the exceptionally powerful/versatile skills. each of the merged skills could also have subheadings of the skills they are composed of, with equivalent scores. they would be present to allow racial and class bonuses to factor in without changing the actual point expenditure.
dizfactor 09-18-06, 10:33 PM	so, as i said in a previous thread, i am working on my next game, and i am making some changes to the system. i wanted to run an idea for skills by the people here and see how they think it would effect the overall system, whether it would be good or bad, and why. the change: merge some of the skills. if anyone has played KOTOR, what i am proposing is similar to that. Hide+M.S.=Stealth. Spot+Listen=Awareness. all the physical skills (Climb, Jump, Swim, Tumble, Balance) become Athletics (dex) and Athletics (str). Bluff+Diplom=Persuade. Knowledges remain unchanged, as do a few of the exceptionally powerful/versatile skills. It sounds good to me. The only thing I would say would be that I think that any evaluation of a modification to the skills system depends quite a bit on the nature of the game and the ways in which skills get used (or don't get used). Some games use a ton of stealth skills but almost no social skills, some are vice versa, some use both, some barely use skills at all, etc. I think this will make sense for most games, but I would caution anyone who's tinkering with their skill system to consider first how they use skills in their game. Each of the merged skills could also have subheadings of the skills they are composed of, with equivalent scores. they would be present to allow racial and class bonuses to factor in without changing the actual point expenditure. Very nice touch.
Szatany 09-18-06, 10:41 PM	For the sake of clarity and elegancy, I'd make atheltics (str) and acrobatics (dex). Also, some skills could easily be rolled into knowledges, like Spellcraft merged with Kn.Arcana. Spot, Listen and Search could become Perception or Notice. You could also merge Kn. nobility & royalty, Kn. History, and Decipher script into one skill. Open Lock and Disable Device should be one and the same (perhaps Knowledge: Mechanics to cut skill list even further).
airwalkrr 09-19-06, 02:46 AM	This is very similar to my house rule for skills. The basics are here (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=173311). I revamp the system a bit more than you do, but I like the changes overall as it simplifies the skill system a lot.
rydi123 09-19-06, 04:09 PM	thanks everybody for your comments and suggestions. i took a look at your rules airwalkrr, and though i liked them (made me think of 2nd ed in some ways actually) i dont think my upcoming game will be able to use them. szatany and dizfactor, your suggestions are noted, and ill tell you the campaign setting to give you an idea how the skills will be used. the whole point of my upcoming campaign is to run with a novel-like feel. the characters are in a low/medium magic setting, and are going to probably do as much or more roleplaying as they will rollplaying. the skill system as it is provides a power balance for the characters in combat with all its ambush, trap, and perception related skills, but to stay where you need to be on those skills, a character is forced to have their actual story building skills at lower levels. craft, profession, knowledges, and social skills usually suffer, but in my next game i want them to matter more, and i want characters to have enough skills to stay combat ready AND have character development. and of course ive never been that fond of the huge spread of skills in the current edition. i am actually using the above system right now, except i didnt separate the merged skills into subheadings (a mistake i think) and a few of the skill mergers were poorly done. it hasn't effected my current game badly, but it is a higher power game (free templates, all books open), so the cheese is already flowing like water. i wanted to get a more balanced perspective from you guys to compare to what i have already seen. so. thanks.
airwalkrr 09-20-06, 04:57 AM	I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I am always looking for good ideas to improve upon my own. Since you seem to have some similar thoughts on skill points we might be able to contribute to each other's systems. At any rate, I'd like to look at yours once you put it together.
rydi123 09-20-06, 05:27 PM	well, i think ive got the basics down. im going to post the revised version in a separate thread. i incorporated several peoples suggestions and i think it turned out well, but you guys be the judge.