An idea from another game

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by Goober4473

You could say, "you should have paid poitns for that, then," but if it would be an utter waste of points and take away from useful abilities, why would the player want to do that?

Because it may not be an "utter waste of points." The wording above comments that you don't consider social abilities terribly useful.

Sure, if all you're doing is dungeon crawls, and a character wants to sing in a one-off bar scene, then it's probably cool. But, why should your unskilled, untrained fighter be able to perform with the same ability as the bard--who is trained and skilled at singing?

This idea fits pure-cinematic games much better than a game going for any semblance for realism. It's easy to believe that John McClaine is an acomplished ballroom dancer or that John Matrix is an exquisite painter when all we're doing is seeing the characters in a single, specific light. Because, well, let's be honest, those characters are pretty one-dimensional.

The idea would work fine in a campaign like Action, Dungeon Fantasy or possibly even Monster Hunters where the focus is on the action happening and not on the lives surrounding the characters. But, in any game built, with even a little focus, around social interaction the idea jumps out the window, taking a massive chunk of plot with it.

So, for some games, it could be used for one-off, interesting scenes, but for a game that focuses on the characters, it's pretty useless.

[Edman]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

Because it may not be an "utter waste of points." The wording above comments that you don't consider social abilities terribly useful.

Sure, if all you're doing is dungeon crawls, and a character wants to sing in a one-off bar scene, then it's probably cool. But, why should your unskilled, untrained fighter be able to perform with the same ability as the bard--who is trained and skilled at singing?

This idea fits pure-cinematic games much better than a game going for any semblance for realism. It's easy to believe that John McClaine is an acomplished ballroom dancer or that John Matrix is an exquisite painter when all we're doing is seeing the characters in a single, specific light. Because, well, let's be honest, those characters are pretty one-dimensional.

The idea would work fine in a campaign like Action, Dungeon Fantasy or possibly even Monster Hunters where the focus is on the action happening and not on the lives surrounding the characters. But, in any game built, with even a little focus, around social interaction the idea jumps out the window, taking a massive chunk of plot with it.

So, for some games, it could be used for one-off, interesting scenes, but for a game that focuses on the characters, it's pretty useless.

But even in such a game, would it be useful? I mean, how often do you have to make a roll to be good at your profession, and would a character who had a profession that required one major skill, like Driving, really be that much more limited than one who needed several (a mechanic, for instance, comes to mind).