Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (
More info?)
Shawn Roske wrote:
> I don't seem to really understand the profession and craft skills. The
> books have not fleshed them out enough for me. What is the profession
> skill used for? Does service industry refer to what goes on in a hotel:
> cooking, cleaning, laundry, waiting on tables? Or, what is
> profession:innkeeper useful for, in a game-mechanic sense? Is it only
> to represent the char can make money running an inn?
The various profession and craft skills represent both knowledge
and experience with the profession or craft in question. Munchkins
use skills and professions solely for character moneymaking,
however these mechanics can enrich the game measureably, for example;
Vought is a 3/fighter, 2nd level rogue. Before he became a fighter
or a rogue, he was an apprentice Innkeeper. (3 Ranks Profession:
Innkeeper).
Vought knows how an Inn is run, he has a good idea of the supplies
required to keep an inn in business, and a good familiarity with
the Inn suppliers in his region of origin. In addition, when
visiting other Inns, he can make a skills check to determine if
the Inn he is staying in, is doing well financially, or is on the
ropes. Vought can also make better educated guesses as to what the
Innkeeper and the various staff is doing at any given time, while
watching them.
Vought can predict with better accuracy than the other players,
where the weak points or vulnerabilities of any given inn exist,
as well as determine the strong features. He can case an Inn
better than the average rogue, and can also protect it better. All
with the unique skill he learned Profession:Innkeeper, while he
was an Innkeepers Apprentice.
> It seems the profession skill represents a characters employment and is
> a way to make money. Profession:bookseller means the char knows how to
> run a store, profession:restaurant means the char knows how to run a
> restaurant, profession:cook means the char knows how to be a cook.
> Doesn't profession:merchant mean the char knows how to make money buying
> and selling things, generally?
A character could opt to make a Profession: Bookseller skills roll
in lieu of an Appraise roll to determine the value, origin, or
unique features of a book. Plus the character would have a better
chance to know other booksellers, bookbinders, scribes,
papermakers, and/or book suppliers.
Ditto that for the other professions.
> The craft skill seems so much more useful than the profession skill.
> What uses are there for profession otherthan picking up a few gp a week?
Knowing the schedules and routines in other professions. Very
useful, if one suspects a group of rogues or bandits has taken
over a business. The profession skills would also help a character
evaluate a business if he/she wanted to buy an existing one.
Tool, Armor, Survival, and Weaponmaking professions are always
useful to give the players an edge or a boost in unusual
circumstances. There is nothing better than having a few ranks in
Profession: Bowmaker and Profession: Fletcher, when your bow is
broke and the local hamlet or village has no weaponsmith shops.
Munchkins like to gloss over this part of roleplaying in favor of
Character Buffs, Combat, Treasure, and Character Min/Maxing, but
the little details add believeability, and can contribute to the
story or storyline significantly with memorable events when
roleplayed with a touch of passion.
Here is an example:
"Hamlet of Quemos Aln:LN Population: 136 A fishing hamlet located
about a mile upriver from the ocean. The folk here are a little
bit more orderly, and prefer a quieter life than the citizens of
Kelessa.
The village elder is none other than Odnana Ladnenth, an 8th level
Fighter Human.
Str:16 Int:9 Wis:12 Con:12 Dex:8 Chr:12 Lvl:8 AC: Htk:42
Damage/Attack: +1 Longsword / +3 Vs. lycanthropes and
shapechangers.(1d8+4/1d8+6), and a +3 crossbow of accuracy (1d6+3).
He wears a ring of fire resistance as well as carries a ring of
invisibility, which he uses often to check up on his fellow
villagers, and to follow any suspicious strangers that may wander
into the hamlet. exp:1200. Odnana is the only guardian of the
hamlet, although 2d6+2 militia men of 2d4 experience levels can be
called up, and organized for a fight in less than a day.
Quemos is unwalled, and many people here are spiritual or
religious. There is a leather armorer in town, as well as a a
small ale brewery that puts out six barrels a day of decent
quality ale, and a navigational shop that sells equipment, tools,
nautical charts, star charts, and cartography maps, primarily to
sailing navigators, but often to adventurers, and explorers as
well. Government buildings here include a town armory, where
weapons, and equipment for the local militia are stored, and a
waterworks, where water is siphoned off the river with a
watermill, and run through fine sand, then boiled, condensed, and
bottled or kegged, then sold to locals, visitors, and sailing
captains alike. The waterworks employs six people and provides the
funds for Odnana to purchase equipment for the local militia.
There are no taxes levied in this hamlet by the local government,
and the Hamlet has no Inn, but does have three taverns.
Re,
Dirk
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram