The D&D Skills You Should be Using: Alternative Skill Checks | Web DM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- We're showing you how we use the D&D 5e variant skill rules to make skill checks dynamic, fun, and engaging!
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fyi...that phone books thing was john jacobs and the power team...i know this well as my mother forced me to watch them all the time when i was a runt...they were on TBN back in the 90's
I was hoping that you'd address that using bows and crossbows should require a STRENGTH check instead of a dexterity check because in reality, bows and crossbows have a little something called DRAW WEIGHT, and WAR ones in particular have a very HIGH draw weight; TTRPGs are perpetuating the MYTH of them being the weakling's weapons, and it's disappointing that you guys DIDN'T address it.
@@chuckluggage the point I'm making is that due to having a high draw weight, bows and crossbows should ALWAYS require a strength check, NOT a dexterity one; they're NOT the weakling's weapons.
Ezra Faulk you seem to have a real chip on your shoulder about this. I think if your DM is making you roll any ability check to draw a bow they must have rolled a 20 on their pedantic check. Furthermore, a 10 strength means you can carry 150 lbs for 8 hours before having to rest. That’s pretty strong. But you’re right they definitely should have addressed it. Please respond and use a lot of ALL CAPS.
@@chuckluggage in the players handbook for 5e DnD it says attacks with ranged weapons use the player's dexterity modifier; maybe I wasn't clear, and maybe I mixed the message I was trying to deliver up (that sometimes happens), but when I said that attacks with bows and crossbows should require a strength check, I meant that they should use the player's strength modifier instead of the dexterity one.
Also, there's no need to get sarcastic; I only type some words in all caps to communicate EMPHASIS.
hahaha I love that you guys are green screening and changing camera angles... your editor is a holding the party together.
I kinda like how the green screen angles just stay the same and it's like a videogame sprite always facing the camera
I usually listen to this as an audio podcast but I like the green screen effect. Made me smile each time I looked at the screen cause like TheMaskedArcanum said, its like video game sprites who always look at the camera
Intelligence performance?
never split the party!
Pruitt: "How does a Constitution Sleight of Hand work?"
Jim: "...When you're hiding something in a bOdY cAviTy..."
Jesus.
Sometimes you just can’t hide something anywhere other than the ol prison wallet. (Just got to that part in the video.... unintentional quote)
ye ol' flesh pocket.
Had the exact thought when Pruitt asked the question.
Jim: "Give yourself a minute to let that sink in."
John Albert that’s also what my last cell mate told me.
Constitution + Herbalist tools = "I've spent the last several years developing an immunity to iocane powder..."
I think its easier to replace any physical skill with another (str,con,dex,) and mental stats as well, its the crossovers that you have to take a moment to figure out, and where the crazy and cool situations can develop.
Dexterity + Deception = "I am not left handed"
Dexterity + Intimidation = "I am not left handed either"
Constitution Deception: “Pfft, is that all you’ve got? Are you trying to torture me or put me to sleep?”
"It's just a flesh wound!"
That's what I was thinking
"Is he dead?" "He ain't breathing." (PC desperately trying to _not_ inhale)
How's this one: Constitution Arcana - the ritual takes three days, you've got to do it solo, if you fail the ritual feedback kills you. Good luck.
@@Vespuchian The former sounds like Con + Performance, to me!
How about the Filibuster? If I can talk long enough about nothing in particular, my party can get their Short Rest in!
I do that all the time, my players never know what Stat i'm gonna use for any check.
And btw that really helps the roleplay, because they think about what their characters really want/would do instead of what Stats or Skills they're good at.
I think this point was kind of glossed over in the video. I think this works so well for encouraging creative roleplay.
exactly. and I have found with newer players whose RP may not be strong, giving them a skill you know they are proficient in but with a different skill for suggestions and also when they do describe something that doesnt exactly for with regular mods can really really make players think out of the box and try different solutions rather than, "idk I snap their neck?"
u are a lvl 1 wizard... how are you doing it with like making a pulley and rope trap or something? boom now it can be sleight of hand intelligence.
Strength:
+Persuasion: Convincing someone to follow you into battle by proving you can carry them through to the end (possibly literally).
+Survival: Your ability to hunt by chucking heavy things at prey, or by being able to lift objects that might have food beneath them (grubs, bugs, etc). Hauling carcasses you otherwise couldn't make use of. Noodling (the fishing technique/rural sport involving sticking one's whole arm into a catfish hole and trying to pull one out).
+Tinkers Tools: The ol' "hit the machine until it starts working" trick.
Constitution:
+Stealth: Holding your breath to escape detection; ex. by hiding in a pool of water, or evading a Jianshi that detects prey by their breath.
+Deception: No-selling a strong attack or the effects of a poison, to appear mightier than you really are. (Going back to Stealth, sneaking while suppressing the pain of an injury or poisoning).
+Perception: Keeping your eyes peeled, despite the effects of lack of sleep.
+Survival: Making food out of things that would be unsafe to eat. Navigating wilderness by deliberately taking paths that would be arduous to take (hot deserts, snowy mountaintops, strong river current), and _enduring_ the trip to completion.
Charisma:
+Sleight of Hand: Keeping a target's attention where you want, while you pick their pocket or whatever. Distraction.
+Stealth: Moving with such visible purpose that anyone who sees you assumes you are _supposed_ to be there, or in such an assuming way they fail to notice your presence despite you being in full view.
+Medicine: Alleviating a person's symptoms through a good bedside manner and/or snake oil. Exploiting the Placebo Effect (or weaponizing it, in the case of making someone ill by convincing them they are).
+Survival: Pretending to be a dying animal, to attract predators (so you can make prey of them). Or pretending to be so non-threatening that prey animals don't flee, until it's too late.
I tried to get my DM to let me use Strength Performance a few times as my character was formerly a strongman turned Paladin. I took the Warlock and put on big flashy shows to distract the crowd while the Rogue broke into buildings.
I feel like noodling would be a Dex survival, tbh. or wisdom sleight of hand, maybe
@@druid_zephyrus You need Strength to wrestle the catfish out with one hand.
The thing is that most of these cases are already covered by other mechanics or the standard skill check.
@@genericusername546 That would depend on how you are doing the thing. Kind of the whole point of the episode really
One of my favorite examples of this is Intimation + Whatever ability that character uses for combat. This is kind of overarching Strength + Intimidate, but I feel like the finesse fighter with a rapier should be able to do some Zorro shit and cut somebody's belt and the wizard should be able to shoot a firebolt just off to the side to barely singe someone
A Constitution Acrobatics roll reminds me of the scene in Dune when Paul and Jessica have to cross 3 kilometers of open desert with randomized steps of movement to get past the worms. I guess it could also be Constitution Stealth!
Or Constitution Deception.
@@Bluecho4 YOU ARE TRYING TO DECEIVE THE WORM? really? against what? the worm passive perception..
may be Constitution stealth ;) ;)
@@eliasvernieri you're trying to convince them you aren't a person, aren't you?
So.... Constitution Acrobatics, Stealth or deception. any could be justified in some way :P but we all agree on constitution + something right?
@@eliasvernieri for 3 kilometers? Yeah
"I want to make a strenght history check"
"A what?"
*Smash can of coke on forehead*
"did I stutter?"
I’d say if you were trying to learn something from a collapsed temple, it would make sense. Strength to access what clues you could find and history to decipher the clues and other things you find.
The Old Angry Carpenter method.
Honestly, that would just be for replicating historical feats of strength in which historical knowledge grants you some insight in the proper technique.
@@matthewporter7871 if you're ok with collapsing an entire dungeon delve into a single ability check, i suppose. might be good if you need to resolve something in downtime extremely quickly.
@@matthewporter7871 Sounds more like strength investigation to me, because clues.
The big one that I’ve always wanted is how animals do the Intimidate skill. Like, a bear or a lion should be able to Intimidate, but in the game as is, no beast has a Charisma score higher than 7.
Againt another animal STR+intimidate. Against an konwledgable adventuring party ? CR+intimidate, because why not ?
the thing with 5e is that the adventuring party isnt really supposed to be intimidated by mechanics but just by discribing something maybe intimidating, if at all. i got into pathfinder recently and something like having the players save against the shaken condition is really fitting game mechanic wise to intimidate the player party. but eh what do i know :v
I often make players use STR for Intimidate instead of CHA. A big burly half orc with the personality of a goldfish can often be more intimidating than a charming runt
@@lechauvesouris2969 I like this. I may steal it.
I actually have a sentient bear with a 20 str and 7 charisma. He absolutely uses strength for intimidation.
"let that sink in"
My constitution is very high but I don't think a sink would fit
Ouch
@@WebDM You know what they say, everything but the kitchen sink.
You know what they say, everything butt.
Just started a campaign where my Bard has 20 con at first level.. Now my options are wide as my wallet.
@@chasebalcziunas4289 who needs a wallet when you got 20con?
I have CON come up for pain tolerance regularly.
Among others, "They want to cut your hand open for the ritual."
"Okay, but I want to stay tough and composed to impress them."
"Roll CON."
Or, time when players have been stealthing but take incidental damage. "Roll CON to see if you scream."
We use con for madness rolls and against phobias that come up during play (usually they're wisdom or intel checks ) as sometimes it's a matter of seeing how well a player can push through dealing with something that would typically send the average npc crazy. It might also give the character a chance to overcome the fear they would normally suffer from and make them feel like they're getting a mini arc with thier character and how brave they are.
I can attest from personal experience while on active duty in the military holding a position with your rifle for an extended period is not a matter of physical strength or agility but of actual endurance if not utter willpower
This is probably a great place to refer folks to Burning Wheel's insistence on clarifying task and intent before making a roll.
Burning wheel is such a great system. Its so hard to get people to play it though.
@@MrGameadd1ct Mood.
Having played a bit, I’m going to run a 5E game with BW mechanical flavoring. I’m excited.
Yeah! More Burning Wheel fans! I miss playing it. I learned so much about good GMing from the game and the forums back in the day. Task and intent, let it ride, BITs are great for milestone leveling and inspiration.
@@kaydencox1561 That's dope! Allowing for an Instinct or two, and maybe using d4s for Persona can be dope!
My most used alternative skill check is when the party attempts to whisper to each other like 10 feet from someone they don't want to hear them I ask them to make a CHA(Stealth) check
Its still a challenge for me to run games in an "Ability Score First" mindset. I try to preach the idea that the skills arent just buttons you push to make things happen, but it doesnt help when thats the main interface with the game worlds. This video is helping to convince me of a new style where I pick the ability score type, and then the player offers up a skill they think is relevant based on their characters intentions, and then we come to a mutual agreement.
Hahah, the most meta intro yet! This is one of my favorite topics because there’s so much room for creativity with the amount of skills in 5e
Took me a while to notice they weren't actually at a table. Guess I failed my passive wisdom investigation check.
Don't worry. the illusion magic had a high DC to succeed at an investigation check. Their special effects wizard must be at a pretty high level.
@@bensonprice4027 I did a Strength (Perception) check, squinted REAL hard, and noticed that the background lighting was different than the lighting on our speakers.
It is well done, that’s for sure.
Made a constitution perception check to ignore the slightly different lighting.
Thanks for giving so many different views on how to run a game. Its made being a DM so much more fun.
Thank you Logan!
I use this system all the time! Here are some of my favourites:
Cha(Investigation) - asking around town to find information
Cha(Stealth) - speaking softly and quietly
Int(Intimidation) - using cold logic to strike fear
Dex(Survival) - tying fancy knots
One of the things that I have found very useful as a guideline is thinking about it as Goal and Method. What do you want, and how are you going to do it? The goal is normally the proficiency. Players want to be stealthy, persuasive, insightful. Then I think about how they are doing it, which is normally an ability. Are you being stealthy by being quick and nimble or are you being stealthy in a social setting while beguiling charm? Are you being persuasive by being smart, or by giving the mother of all handshakes? Are you being insightful by feeling out a situation or analyzing it?
Doing this and using this method of determining what combos well has worked well for me. I've used Charisma (Investigation) for finding info, Charisma (Stealth) to blend into a crowd, the classic Strength (Intimidation), and they all feel really good.
I'll have to remember to swap around some of the Strength and Dex abilities and skills for stuff, especially Constitution. That poor guy needs some love.
One of my favorites as a DM is Strength - Insight. Strength relates to your martial training and prowess. A Strength Insight check could be used to size up an opponent, or read the body language of an NPC in relation to combat.
I'd let all Fighters use Strength - Investigate to recognizing scars as those from combat/sparring. Or recognizing muscle tone to tell a trained warrior from a labourer, both strong, but different in different muscles.
Two buff men tear their shirts off and flex. "I see you are also a man of culture "
I let intelligence be paired with any skill, but it almost always gets information and a bonus of some sort, if it succeeds. The actual implementation of that information is a different roll, unless it’s something like Arcana.
Int + Athletics doesn’t let you lift something heavy. It lets you know just the right form and the tricks behind the lift, what muscles to use. In a lift, it means that even if you roll low you won’t hurt yourself, and you’d get an Intuition Die based on how good you rolled.
"Stay in your lane, Dexterity" -Strength
I'd love to see a conversation about when something would be a skill check as opposed to when it would be a tool or other (like vehicle, land) check
You guys got me thinking about Survival (Charisma) checks for travelling in outer planes. Charisma is already associated with saves against banishment and applying it to survival can literally be using your force of personality (especially if you're using character and planar alignments) to navigate an alien environment. Great discussion!
In terms of setting up the show in the new digital world, this is the best setup. The quality of the show has greatly improved since the pandemic has started. Great job!
A quick bit of feedback. I think this is the first episode where the Patreon/WebDemons and other assorted required YT self-promoting happened in the beginning and not the end. And at first it completely broke my brain. But I like this format more than the previous way because I loved the original format of: episode ends, outro tune, stinger. It's nice to see that come back like the from the before times before WebDemons existed on the channel.
In terms of the episode. Another amazing job boys! I'm still trying to break out of the habit of hearing a PC describe something sneaky and saying "make a stealth check" (as an example). Need to break that habit so I can think for a second and decide if a different Attribute (stealth) check would be better.
As a free example of a successful hybrid check, I had PCs who wanted to get from point A to B in a city sneakily but had to go through a market district. I asked them are you trying to sneak in shadows and not be seen or is your approach more act causal/hide in plain sight and just pretend you belong and move through crowds. When they said the latter I said make a Charisma (stealth) check and my Rogue player nearly cried. (Oddly the wizard PC also nearly cried; just not a people person apparently).
Hear me out: the Battle of Wits in The Princess Bride is literally two characters making a series of Intelligence checks against each other. It starts out as Westley making an Intelligence: Deception check (or you could maybe argue an Intelligence: Slight of Hand check), proceeds with a series of Intelligence: Intimidation checks by Vizzini (trying to gain an advantage roll against Westley, trying to get him to give something away), and ultimately ends with a (failed) Intelligence: Insight check by Vizzini.
And then of course, a failed Constitution saving throw by Vizzini. Westley didn't even have to make the save because he's immune.
Son of a gun, I think I'm gonna need to insert a Battle of Wits in my next game.
Really appreciate the attention paid to the topic, as it's one I was unfamiliar with and I really like how it lets you more accurately reflect the story in the mechanics. Also- and this is what pushed me to comment- kudos for using literally literally. Diet literally chafes.
I loved the edits of this video, the show producer deserves a medal.
I've had a great moment as a DM where a PC was attempting to 'appear like he was supposed to be there'. In a private, but fairly crowded area he wasn't supposed to be in. With the way he described it and thinking for a second, I decided to call for a Stealth (Charisma) check to model that instead of dex (since his ability to actually 'not be seen' is not at play) or Performance (since he's not saying or doing anything or even trying to impress).
I think it was the right call. I know I've done others many times, but that one comes to mind the most clearly.
When he said avatar in reference to breaking a mount, I thought there weren't any examples in the last airbender and then I remembered that there was a blue Pocahontas movie called Avatar as well
Yip yip
I think he was talking about The Legend of Korra where Milo is training the winged lemurs.
@@rafaelroaf-esparza4176 Nah, the James Cameron Avatar has the lead really wrestle with some beast to break it in.
I watched this video when it came out and again just now and I've made that mistake both times before realizing what he meant lol.
Player: can i make a strength investigation check?
DM: okay how are you doing this?
Player: i want to smash the wall & look at what i think could be hidden inside it.
DM: oh shit, yah roll strength investigation lol
DM: "You don't know who might be hiding, if anyone."
Player: "Strength Perception check."
DM: "Wut."
Player: "I start tossing furniture and banging around on surfaces, to see who scatters or makes surprised yelps."
DM: * Shrugs * "Roll."
Player: Charisma perception
DM: wut?
Player: I unbutton the top button on my shirt, lean forward, and listen for grunts of discomfort.
DM:
Player:
DM: …roll.
for when you're in a hurry and don't have the time to smash and seek separately- use a Strength-investigation!
You guys are the best ... Made being a DM a treat not a chore thanks dudes 🤘
Thanks!!
I’m currently writing an RPG of my own and something I made sure to do with my skill system is not assign a single attribute to each skill. I want to make it more obvious for both the players and GM to do the things outlined in this video
just don't forget to add examples of the most common uses of a skill and what attributes correspond with it and you're good.
Also be sure to check out white wolf aka vampire, etc or exalted, they’re fully decoupled.
This was a really thought provoking discussion, I loved it. I'm preparing to start DMing myself and although I don't want to get too complicated on my first go seeing how you guys really expand on what the rules suggest does get the creative juices flowing. For example, the discussion about a sniper not moving and putting that into constitution just makes a lot of sense, but if the task isn't itself particularly physically arduous it could also be Charisma, as it would be a test of willpower and having the conviction to not move, overcoming agitations that would otherwise cause a lapse in your ability to stay still. We've all been in that place where we've needed to sneeze and had to hold it in, the check could be on something silly like that.
I really love listening to you guys talk about this stuff, you're changing the way a fledgeling like myself is thinking about things.
They mentioned a STR (Insight) check to analyze someone. I'd use that if you were sparing with them; using the light combat to gain insight on them.
Back at it with my favorite dnd content on TH-cam
For me, I just think of the skill as what you’re trying to do and the modifier as how you’re trying to do it.
Really good, I don’t treat mixing and matching abilities and proficiencies as a variant rule, being able to do this is one of my favourite things about 5E. I don’t think you need to stop at skill proficiencies either. For the “display of weapon prowess” one, I think Charisma plus the proficiency in the weapon can work.
Constitution Sleight of Hand could be a war surgeon consecutively suturing multiple patients or someone conducting brain or heart surgery. Granted those two types of surgery may not come up in play often but still could be used in those situations.
Love your guys gaming philosophy, my #1 ttgaming channel. I always feltalt that 5e was made to be played this way. I discourage my players from writing down their skill calculations, and encourage alt skill-attribute combos. I also think that if there is a solid precedent for two skills being applicable to a skill check, they should get advantage on the check. Like your ceiling-pin example in the early half of the vid, could get advantage if they are proficient with both stealth and acrobatics (strength).
I loved this concept back when I played White Wolf WoD games.
Still watching. The insight these guys give is invaluable. Thanks guys!
great video! i especially like the section at the end for players. its always good to see some reminders that you can interface with the game in ways other than your intimidate rolls or your perception rolls. this mentality also ties into the previous video on passive checks-- sometimes if you are clever in how you approach the situation, you may not need to roll at all.
I love that you used ‘Kayfabe’
It's a very useful term
I'm curious if either of y'all are wrestling fans or just fans of old-timey lingo. (I sometimes call people "heels" because of Archie comics lol)
I appreciate the Gallagher reference! Thank you Web DMs.
I've never thought of using different abilities with the same skill.
Edit: I think the reason they put medicine in Wisdom is because "Cleric is healbot". But I think it can be justified in terms of not so much knowing the proper medicine, but having tended so many similar wounds in the past you just know what works through trail and error.
Was recently looking for some Homebrew subclass for artificer (as we wanted some variety in our Eberron campaign and three subs isn't enough in a world where artifice is extremely common) and we found one for a doctor who uses healing magic as knowledge (intelegence + wisdom in combination) based checks which was rather interesting. Instead of relying of divine intervention you'd be using practical know how from experience for using salves, dealing with breaks ect (essentially a fantasy field medic). It makes alot more sense than a cleric in that setting and is reflavours the dragon marked house of healing to have the functionality of a hospital rather than a church doing resurrection magic (and essentially pretending it's not necromancy)
www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/304768-doctor
The fact that a lot of these overlap gives nice room to say a player can choose. Like how charisma athletics and constitution performence can be the used for the same task. People do things different ways, some argue with logistics, others with sentiments and both can be effective, it lets you give characters not only a number that sais how good they are, but tags that describes the way they do it; their style.
So glad I found this video, definitely validates something I've been doing since I started as a DM. There's always a couple stats that could govern any of the skills. It always blew my mind that they don't list wisdom AND intellect for skills like medicine, arcana, religion and history. For thousands of years, and even today in some cultures, shaman/ medicine men/ elders were responsible for the spiritual and physical health of their people as well as passing down their own history. Were they intelligent in the modern sense? Probably not. Were they wise? Definitely. Conversely, anything that would traditionally take decades of gaining knowledge and wisdom on a subject you can bypass by being brilliant and studious.
One of my PCs just reminded me of a roll I had the party make in the first session of our current campaign. They were hiding from a beholderkin, and had to stay *perfectly still* in order to avoid detection. I had them choose Con or Wis + Stealth, to represent being physically or mentally able to suppress those tiny little automatic movements and adjustments that could give them away in that moment.
Nice topic! This just opened up sooo many combinations I hadn't thought about before.
Your social distancing production quality is top notch.
Fantastic example, right off the bat. I often ask my players if they want to justify using a different ability for certain checks, and I love seeing the creativity it inspires when they take the reins and ask to justify that same kind of thing unprompted.
I love this. We were playing Kids on Bikes recently that system lends itself really well to creative skill checks. One of us successfully made it down a precarious climb and described how to do it to the next character so they could use intelligence instead of strength to make it down. Thank you for coming up with so many varied examples of how that thinking fits into D&D as well! -Jill
PS- Also, awesome editing! I didn't even notice you weren't in your actual room together for a second there after the intro. haha
Very fun video! As a DM I will encourage and start using these options more. We have done (off the top of my head) STR intimidate, Wis Religion, Con performance and STR acrobatics.
In some first aid training, I can see why medicine is wisdom. If I see someone unconscious, I have to see certain information to know the best out come. It also can be about keeping your wits in a tense situation. Let's say someone is just trying to stabilize someone in the middle of combat. That's keeping your head straight to apply a tourniquet, stop the bleeding for now, but feel out how tight you applied to tourniquet to not cause permanent damage off the bat. Also, its called practicing medicine, so some of it is practical experience, not just book smart.
A strength intimidation check isnt about the words but about how dangerous you look. I really like these alternative skill checks
This is another great episode. I had a thief in my campaign fail his Rex sleight of hand to steal something it ended up just being a strength sleight of hand to wrestle it out of the npc’s grasp.
Excellent discussion. This is going on the favorites list, so I can share with other players and DMs.
I kind of want to make a spreadsheet now that pairs every skill with every attribute modifier to create a hypothetical situation. That constitution + slight of hand example was hilarious and really convinced me that with enough creativity you could probably make a rational argument for many unintuitive pairings.
I remember reading about this and thinking it was sort of optional but it definitely should be the norm. Glad to see way more examples than in the book, also in the comments.
Very good video, guys. I do this at my tables every chance I get. I love "weird" skill checks
A lot of these examples also double as an amazing series of skill challenges for a character during a solo session/outing.
It actually took me a while to notice that they weren't actually there. It was the lightimg on Jim's face that gave it of. Well done though, this is really cool
I love calling for stealth charisma checks. And I love it every time.
I think Con Survival is gunna be a new favorite in my games, plenty of times in an adventure where the characters may find themselves exhausted if they fail the check
My favorite one is Charisma (Investigation): I use it a lot when my party is wandering around a new town asking people about things like, have they seen anything out of the ordinary.
Much needed perspective. Thank you.
Geezer here......
Good vid.
Could anyone clue me in, Please.
That intro looked like the battle mat had the standard grid. But had main squares sub divided???
Love the thought.
Anyone know where to find such a beast...
Brings to mind. Would be great for those pesky kobold tunnels and so on.
Game on.
Non Ya my guess would be for tiny creatures, as you can fit 4 into a 5 ft square.
Those are 5 ft squares on a battle mat. The mini is in a 15 x 15 room.
Thanks all for your reply.....
Old guy eyes I guess....
Have been pondering a kobold lair.....
The only tunnels 5' wide will be traps and tribute collection points...
@@nonya9120 that sounds fun! Kobolds are one of my favourite monsters to use.
Very good episode guys really interesting!
The Strength-Stealth check reminded me of the scene in the 80s movie The Beastmaster when the creepy witch crawls on the ceiling above Marc Singer's character as he swings his sword around.
I always appreciated this type of flexibility from the World of Darkness system. Skills get added to your attributes in many interchanging ways that depend on the specific situation and it really feels more organic and that you can be more creative with your character.
19:40
"Snipin's a good job, mate."
Great work on compositing the images.
It is RIGHTLY assumed that a Cleric or Paladin knows most if not everything about their own religion. But what, if anything, do they know about someone else's religion? My father was a minister. My great uncle is a minister. My father was a very intelligent man. My uncle....is not..."stupid" by any means, but is none the less very....let's say "he's a man of simple interests". They both had/have great knowledge of our religious beliefs and principles. But my father was also very well studied in the religious beliefs and principles of many other faiths and cultures from around the world. he had an entire wall in our living room filled with shelves of books about other peoples' religions. My uncle? Not so. My uncle knows everything there is to know about what we believe, but he really doesn't know much if anything about other religions. My father knew everything there is to know about our faith, and he also knew a great mighty deal about other peoples' religions as well! So yes! Religion is an intelligence based skill! If you have a faith you generally are raised in it and know all you need to about it, but to know about OTHER faiths, you must undertake conscious effort to study them!
That is very insightful and I hadn't thought of that. I'm playing my first game of D&D tomorrow and was wondering why my paladin wouldn't be particularly good with religion checks.
I often use this when I have the impression that there is more to the check than usual and I often give my players two options. In the Sytem we use there is the skill warfare. Had the mercenary half orc try to convice an arrogant knight of course of action. And I ruled he could do either a intelligence-persuasion or charisma-warfare check. Because his arguments had to be good but he also needed to overcome the obstacle that the knight just thought of him as a lowlife.
Great concept and kudos to the editor lol.
Hey btw I wanted to say I really respect you guys maintaining the distance show. Buy your editor a beer :)
I've always though with regards to grapple, that the initial grapple check you can use DEX vs STR to illustrate someone slipping the grab or feinting out the way (unless the opt to use STR), but if they fail and they're grappled then it's STR vs STR every check there after. Makes more sense to me when you watch MMA and someone blocks a takedown.
a strange but often pertinent one, i've started to do wisdom (investigation) rolls for memory checks. perhaps they are trying to recall something that happened weeks ago in the campaign world, or their fragmented mind is part of the narrative, and they are uncovering bits of lore or selfhood as they go. putting this information behind a roll often gives it more magnitude than if i were to just give it over immediately when asked.
I went rock-hunting with a friend in New Mexico. She knew what we were looking for, but having a brawny lad like me to break, carry, and haul big slabs of rock up and down boulders was handy. I feel like together we made a solid Strength(Survival) or Strength(Nature) check.
That was probably Strength(Nature). Building a shelter out ice or stone? Maybe that's Strength(Survival).
- environmental/conditional hazards are a great way to impose [check]+[check].
- I like situations that requires a players to focus on something in a bad environment. [puzzle] requires X turns of [check] + [check] to comprehend and complete it. In this way, you can create a fight that will not end until the ritual is complete (door opens, something is banished, etc.)
for example
-you are in a place that challenges your verbal component (dry arid, underwater, nauseous gas) so you need a CON save to muster your voice, but you also need an arcana check to comprehend the puzzle/book/ritual to declare out loud.
- your hands are shackled. you can wiggle your hands enough to get your semantics, but it requires a STR + concentration just to cast something.
- you are in a room where a construct slows you down by magic means. you need to make INT save in order to melee effectively.
- Short rests require a successful stealth average to do in a dangerous area, and a successful survival check if you want to heal HP with hit dice.
The thing I like most about dynamically changing the attributes and skills is how it can create more nuanced consequences. Str+Intimidate is the "I'm going to beat you up if you don't do what I say." Which works great for low-level thugs, but will get you thrown in jail if used on the King. Cha+Intimidate works on the King great though, "What will your people think of you if you don't do what I say?"
I just wanna add that I combine skills for checks as a DM. Liking giving advantage on an intimidation because they’re strong
Love using these
First off, I really like the idea of this variant rule. My only issue with it is that it seems a little inconsistent with other class features outside of ability/skill checks.
For example, Berzerker Barbarian gets a feature called "Intimidating Presence" whose DC relies on Charisma instead of Strength. The idea being that they have gone crazy in battle and have decided to use their intimidating presence to scare their combatants, hopefully giving them the frightened condition.
That being said, if you're the DM you may want to adjust some of these other class features as well if you decide to use this variant rule for ability/skill checks.
yeah, that Con/Stealth for a sniper/assassin - I immediately thought of a Ghosts of Saltmarsh NPC who "hid...in the attic above a noble’s bedroom, waiting in a trance-like state for three days and nights..."
Great show, very important. This doesn't get considered often enough.
I had a player last night that wanted to press their hands and feet up against the walls of a 5 foot wide corridor so they could they could cross it without touching the pressure plate floor. It was a 50 foot long stretch so I had them roll Constitution (Athletics) which was a happy surprise to them since they were a Dexterity Fighter with low Strength
Medicine as Wisdom as the default makes sense to me; in the moment, you gotta work quickly and calmly, so it's not just applying knowledge it's keeping a cool head and making snap decisions in the moment, using your own experience. though in certain cases Intelligence does seem to be a more correct choice like studying a dead body or figuring out what kind of illness someone has
Wisdom medicine is knowing without needing to think what is wrong with your patient. It's not intuitively knowing what to use
another Great Video defiantly got me thinking.
11:20
I had a gladiator fighter gnome, he had 20 on carisma, 7 on strenght, and 14 on dex. He wasnt the best fighter, but this guy was the best gladiator of his kingdom, because whe he was acting, he make it fell like he was a master swordsman, he made the Crowd sheer his name, and love his fights, because even if this guy isnt the strongest swordsman, he sure was the one that made it seem like it.
This is why I base it ALL on 1D6. Your skills are what you practice at. Each instance determining cause & effect & it's numerical value to be achieved. Can't fake the truth.
Another interesting possibility is the use of spells in an action and using the spellcasting modifier for the ability check. For example, it could be argued that a cleric using thaumaturgy to make their voice boom like thunder could make a Wisdom Intimidation check, since the check is based around their ability to cast the spell.
My dad, who's 5'3", was hauling a pair of mules in a trailer once, and the trailer had a flat tire in the middle of a big city. The mules were so heavy they had to be off loaded to change the tire. The miles refused to get back on the trailer until my dad grabbed one by the bridle and punched it in the nose. They both trotted right back onto the trailer.
This looks very cleverly made
Oh shit, did you guys just whip out The Power Team?!?!? I am going to bring those dudes into my campaign!!! Holy crap.
Great video!