New Talents

[Anders]

I added Disguise (Animal) and Weather Sense to Outdoorsman, because the vanilla version seemed a little underwhelming for me.

Knight
Axe/Mace, Broadsword, Lance, Riding, Savoir-Faire, Shield. 5 points/level.

This is also a power talent for the Chivalry power, making it worth 10 points per level in toto.

[Prince Charon]

I thought about creating a thread like this, but dedicated specifically to martial talents. One that I've been working on in my head, but would like suggestions for:

Horse Archer, 5 points

Skills: Animal Handling (Equines), Bow, Fast Draw (Arrow), Riding (Horse), Soldier.

Reaction Bonus: +1 per level from other horse archers, and military commanders who use them.

Alternative Benefit: <Not sure; suggestions?>

Thought about adding Armory, but wasn't sure it would fit.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Anders

I added Disguise (Animal) and Weather Sense to Outdoorsman, because the vanilla version seemed a little underwhelming for me.

Indubitably! I should have given it more thought.

[Donny Brook]

Las Vegas Dog Catcher talent

Animal Handling, Driving, Area Knowledge, Gambling, Net.


Ironman Church Minister talent

Running, Bicycling, Swimming, Religious Ritual, Theology, Public Speaking


Singing Cowboy talent

Singing, Performance, Musical Instrument (Guitar), Animal Handling, Sport (Rodeo), Survival (Plains)

[Phantasm]

Donny Brook, I must say, I am seeing a total *LACK* of common theme in the skills of your talents, excepting the singing cowboy one.

Could you explain the logic behind them, starting with your first collection? Thanks in advance.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Donny Brook, I must say, I am seeing a total *LACK* of common theme in the skills of your talents, excepting the singing cowboy one.

Could you explain the logic behind them, starting with your first collection? Thanks in advance.

You've caught me. I'm being a sarcastic instigator. I think that Talents have been allowed/encouraged to creep far beyond their original and appropriate mandate and restrictions. It seems like these days (certainly since PU3) any old collection of skills can be justified as a talent as long as some sort of moniker can be slapped on them.

[AlexanderHowl]

In general, I forbid talents that do not have a narrative theme associated with them. Just grouping skills together so players can have cheaper PCs is a point crock (though it is less of an issue in my games because I give a -1 to penalties to a skill for every 4 CP invested in that skill and its associated techniques).

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I'm being a sarcastic instigator.

The fact that some people didn’t spot that immediately suggests a tragic shortage of awareness of irony round here...

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Some talents from the Marvel Reboot thread/document/not-a-wiki:

I think a lot of those would really better be covered by Wildcard skills. Supers and other comic-book characters who are just arbitrarily really good at everything within their theme, with little logical justification but buckets of “because it’s what they do”, are really what Wildcards were made for. Whereas Talents are at least sonewhat realistic.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

I think a lot of those would really better be covered by Wildcard skills. Supers and other comic-book characters who are just arbitrarily really good at everything within their theme, with little logical justification but buckets of “because it’s what they do”, are really what Wildcards were made for. Whereas Talents are at least sonewhat realistic.

I agree that they probably can be made Wildcards with a little elbow grease. The Natural Swordsman one could easily just be Blade!, after all. (And while it's a house rule, I let Talents work as conditional bonuses to Wildcards; someone with Inventor! and Psychotronicist can invent anything, but is better at inventing psychotronics that project illusions into a mind at a distance than a new radar-absorbing completely non-ferrous jet plane.)

IMO, the Classic Homemaker one is a case of "Job Training", with the "job" as "doing low-tech housework". Natural Swordsman is just as useful in a low-tech swashbuckling or swords-and-spaceships space opera game as it is in a superhero game.

All that said, I think they have a better unifying theme for games that permit Talents but not Wildcards (I've been in a few of those) than some Talents in this thread.