Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg
Because no universe provides balanced "real payoff" to adventurers no matter what they choose to do with themselves! "I became a master cheesemaker instead of learning Fireball - why isn't the GM giving me cheese-based adventures?" "Yeah, the GM should look up that issue of Roleplayer that has the entire College of Cheese Magic developed, with Cheese Missile designed to be competitive with Fireball!"
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I could kill right now for some saganaki!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg
Maybe that's why there are more adventurers with weapon talents than there are master guitarists. On the other hand, there are also some clever players, who may figure out that they might be able to do things like create a compelling distraction with a masterful guitar performance, and/or impress various NPCs, and/or get into close range of important people by being entertainment fit for a king, etc.
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This puts me in mind of Robert Culp's character in the sixties TV series "I Spy". Us boomers will recall he was a touring master tennis player who was secretly a CIA agent, on tennis tours in foreign countries that otherwise would be highly suspicious of any American visitor. He completed covert operations under this cover, because he was a creditably good tennis player.
Perhaps the GM would allow a goblin with Master Guitarist to be admitted to the Elf Queen's ball, when other goblins wouldn't get past the guards. But this one does because he's a reputable master at a form of something the typical bards can't provide. Or the Goblin King allows a dwarf to work at his palace because he's a master brewer and the court loves his beer.
Granted though these would be mostly special case scenarios. But it's hardly unheard of for players to build a new character specifically designed for an upcoming adventure, if the GM has telegraphed what or where that adventure may be.
Masters of mundane talents are probably more likely to be NPCs the GM drops into a story as a plot device. We used to occasionally give an NPC to a player to keep for their own when they needed a replacement character in the middle of an adventure. It might be amusing to saddle a player with such a character, just to see if they could create a use for a mundane talent they never would have chosen on their own.