5e without a skill list?

Tommy Brownell · September 07, 2014, 02:11:39 PM

Quote from: Panjumanju;785625I couldn't agree more. I'm a "less is more" kind of gamer - if there are too many options too spelled out I feel constrained that all the rest of the possibilities of the universe are discouraged. I tend to feel better in older versions of D&D because there are fewer spelled-out options, and therefore felt like there were a lot more options.

I GM a lot more than I play, and I notice the same thing among beginning players - if there's all this crap on their sheet, like a skill list, then they keep going through the skill list until they find something agreeable and then verbally 'press the button'. If they don't have that skill list, then they imagine responding as their character.

I'm getting set to run a 5th edition game soon, and I'm considering the same thing you are, if it's worth it just to say "we'll base proficiency application on what is understandable from your race, class and background", or to actually have people write down the 5 or so skills they get. I'm not sure where I'm going to fall on the issue, yet.

//Panjumanju

13th Age does this, with the "what makes sense with your background". With 5th Edition, using proficiencies is literally only the difference between adding 2 to your roll or not...and by the time you start getting higher level and that bonus goes up, what your character knows and does not know should be pretty well established.

Simlasa · September 07, 2014, 04:23:52 PM

Quote from: Will;785626What I worry, with the freeform approach, is constant debate and the possibility of 'whomever can bullshit the GM best gets lots of goodies.'

That doesn't seem to be what happens in the various OSR games I've played... where there are no skills but Players can make a case for what they should be able to pull off.
Maybe that comes down to the people I've played with... it doesn't come off as 'bullshit' or 'Mother May I'... and like Tommy Brownwell mentions, after a short while it should be obvious who is good at what.

QuoteAt this point I strongly believe in a middle ground, where you have some structure to provide consistency and not need constant house ruling, but give folks an easy way to sidestep the system.

I guess I see Background, Stats and Class as that middle ground structure.

Really, I know it's kind of silly that Skills in D&D bug me at all... but it sounds trying it without is worth a try, for me.

mcbobbo · September 08, 2014, 09:07:06 AM

Dittoing what others have said: go for it.

It's basically a non-change from what I can tell. The same basic skills are still going to be used with the same freqency, but they're not going to be explicitly on the sheet.

No biggie.

RPGPundit · September 16, 2014, 04:28:42 AM

The way skills are handled in 5e is the least intrusive of any recent edition, in my opinion. But that said, yeah, there's no reason you can't just skip using them explicitly and use class/race/background as the key to where the proficiency bonus applies.

5e without a skill list?

Tommy Brownell

Simlasa

mcbobbo

RPGPundit