Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 darkerdreams Jun 03, 2009 12:07:49	I've got a player who trained Acrobatics. Grabs don't come up often, and he's a melee striker, so he's not sure he cares when it does (I've discovered that grabbing the melee characters is probably a mistake unless the grab combines with other built in abilities). So, "Acrobatic Tricks" he says to me, "what can I do with that?" I look at him blankly until it dawns on me to just use the 3.5 tumble rules... He's still not wholly happy with the results, but it's better than nothing. What do you use for rules for "acrobatic tricks"? Similarly, what kind of "standard use" do you provide for History checks? All the other knowledge skills have some monster group attached (plus arcana has, like, all magic)... But history is essentially limited, by the RAW, to "interpret plot device clue." Do you provide any other general uses for this skill? (this one I haven't found any answer to) Heal in paragon... Are there any other skills you find hollow? How do you fill the holes?
#2 Goober4473 Jun 03, 2009 13:04:57	Acrobatics is useful for a lot of skill challenges. History is used to know things about most humanoid races.
#3 darkerdreams Jun 03, 2009 13:48:59	Acrobatics is useful for a lot of skill challenges. History is used to know things about most humanoid races. The difference between standard uses and Skill challenges is that a player decides when to try the standard uses. Both are only viable when the DM creates a situation where the skill is useful- but the skill challenge requires somewhat more concerted effort from the DM. As for history being used to know things about humanoid races- that actually isn't in the PH. Are you saying that you let History replace the standard Monster Knowledge check based on origin for creatures with the Humanoid type?
#4 Shiftkitty Jun 03, 2009 14:34:59	I use History in conjunction with Diplomacy or Bluff to be able to pass as a native in a foreign land, barring any obvious problems, like Mister Rogers trying to convince the deep-in-the-heart-of-the-Congo tribe that he's one of them. ("Oh, Mister Lmumbe! It's not polite to cut a stranger's heart out and eat it!") History is also good in Indiana Jones settings. Not only might a PC know that they are in a Miyeritari ruin, he might also know that it's an arcane academy, and if they're in the northern part of the High Moor, it's probably going to have some pretty lethal magic-based protections. PC1: Don't open that door. PC2: Why not? PC1: See that symbol on the knob? That's a Miyeritari abstraction of a lightning bolt, probably from the reign of Orithiir. If it's still active... PC2: Crap! Thanks! PC1: Now if I recall correctly, Orithiir himself was fond of secret passages. Look for anything with a coiled snake on it, but don't touch it until I've given it a looking over.
#5 vman3force Jun 04, 2009 15:15:23	like Mister Rogers trying to convince the deep-in-the-heart-of-the-Congo tribe that he's one of them. ("Oh, Mister Lmumbe! It's not polite to cut a stranger's heart out and eat it!") Roflcopter!
#6 rikiji Jun 05, 2009 0:25:07	I generally use History as a Parallel to Streetwise ... History is more book knowledge, or the kind of thing you'd pick up from a tourist brochure. Streetwise is more down and dirty and a lot more focused on the present. History is also the goto knowledge check for any kind of social or political organization. Acrobatic tricks are things like leaping on tables, swinging on the chandelier, leaping onto a moving vehicle (this is usually not an athletics check as the distance is less an issue than landing safely on a moving vehicle), or anything else you'd see in a half-way decent pirate or marial arts movie. They're generally worth throwing a DM's option +2 to if they're used in a creative way. Keep in mind that Acrobatics is a very useful skill regardless. It improves your balance and lets you reduce damage from a fall - those two qualities alone justify the investment.