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phiwum · 12-20-2021, 07:59 AM

It is tricky to find advantage for many mundane talents, it's true. Some are not too bad. A trapper should be able to make simple traps suitable for animals, snares and such. A hunter should have some of the knowledge a naturalist has, but limited to typical game. A farmer knows a few things about plants, but this seems hard to payoff in-game.

I've allowed a fisherman to feed the party as a Woodsman would, at least when they are in a suitable setting. A beekeeper might know something about insects generally, but that doesn't seem all that helpful. They could, I suppose, find a means of protecting themselves from wasps in order to bypass a nest.

For a good role-player, these talents provide character. A good role-player uses the talents whenever appropriate, even to no particular advantage, just to round out the character. This is, of course, just a matter of "narrative advantage", as Shostak puts it, but it should entail some XP gain at least.

12-20-2021, 07:59 AM	#24
phiwum Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Boston area	Re: Mundane Talents and Backgrounds It is tricky to find advantage for many mundane talents, it's true. Some are not too bad. A trapper should be able to make simple traps suitable for animals, snares and such. A hunter should have some of the knowledge a naturalist has, but limited to typical game. A farmer knows a few things about plants, but this seems hard to payoff in-game. I've allowed a fisherman to feed the party as a Woodsman would, at least when they are in a suitable setting. A beekeeper might know something about insects generally, but that doesn't seem all that helpful. They could, I suppose, find a means of protecting themselves from wasps in order to bypass a nest. For a good role-player, these talents provide character. A good role-player uses the talents whenever appropriate, even to no particular advantage, just to round out the character. This is, of course, just a matter of "narrative advantage", as Shostak puts it, but it should entail some XP gain at least.