Skill Decay?

[Winterbrass]

Love the idea of skill value decay. It promotes specialization, to put my reasons simply.

I do have to say, however, that I agree with theTrav - it's not intuitive if the skills don't improve through use. Too bad so many people are fuckheaded whiners about the possibility of the game turning into a grind. (I suspect that they're just pissy about the fact that the only skills that they would have to any degree would be combat skills.)

There is a point where abstraction of skill gain is too abstract, and D&D and games like it have been on the wrong side of the line since creation.

[bitza]

No, it's really fine the way it is. If I want to improve my sewing skill for instance, I don't want to waste time crafting ten thousand god damn leather boots or something. Or if I want to increase smithing, I don't want to deplete my mine by making a bunch of metal crap I don't plan on using

[Winterbrass]

deplete my mine

Hunting a bear should make you better at hunting, and nothing else.

[bitza]

Let me put it another way then, some of us choose to live alone or in very small communities, where we have to develop a wide range of skills in order to reach all of the game content. The only real finite resource any of us have is time; time to play the game. In a perfect world where I have infinite time to play h&h, I would be able to farm a 64x64 field of crops, craft several dozen sets of leather armor, craft several dozen swords, kill a bunch of animals, cook a grocery store worth of bread, and just throw it all away in order to increase those skills that I want. Unfortunately I (and most other people I'm sure) don't have the time to do all of these things. This is where the "get good at what you do" argument falls apart - not everyone wants to specialize in only a couple of skills.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert Heinlein (American science-fiction writer,1907-1988)

[Winterbrass]

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert Heinlein (American science-fiction writer,1907-1988)

I'm noticing that most of his list could be accomplished by a person in the navy with rudimentary medical training. Guess who was in the navy?

Heinlein is a douche for suggesting that unless people live his life, they're beneath him.

[Brickbreaker]

Let me put it another way then, some of us choose to live alone or in very small communities, where we have to develop a wide range of skills in order to reach all of the game content. The only real finite resource any of us have is time; time to play the game. In a perfect world where I have infinite time to play h&h, I would be able to farm a 64x64 field of crops, craft several dozen sets of leather armor, craft several dozen swords, kill a bunch of animals, cook a grocery store worth of bread, and just throw it all away in order to increase those skills that I want. Unfortunately I (and most other people I'm sure) don't have the time to do all of these things. This is where the "get good at what you do" argument falls apart - not everyone wants to specialize in only a couple of skills.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” -Robert Heinlein (American science-fiction writer,1907-1988)

Bitza as I said in an earlier post. You can do whatever you want, but the LP you get will be used to sustain and raise the skills you chose whether you do them or not!
For example I could mine all day long and spend the LP I get on hunting.

[Flame]

is a game. i dont see why, in the whole life of my chara, i could not learn almost everything. i'd like to learn a lot of stuff also in my real life, so the same is in a game.

[vikingdragons]

yah, this whole skill decay is kinda messed up. and i agree with blitza and the quote. besides, i trust science-fiction writers more than i trust actual scientists. but this system you are suggestioning where everyone has to either specialize, and thus team up with a village, or be crappy at everything in the game, is explained in one word: retarded. i personally, perfer a large group over a small one or solo, because of the sense of security, but not everyone is like that. there are lots of solo ppl out there, who would be totally ruined by this system. imo, you should drop this idea before it gets out of hand. but hey, you are entitled to your say...

[theTrav]

There is a point where abstraction of skill gain is too abstract, and D&D and games like it have been on the wrong side of the line since creation.

First ed DnD did skill gain pretty well IMO. Which in the vast majority of cases basically meant they allowed player brains and DM interpretation skill to have a vastly greater weight than the mechanics themselves.

[Brickbreaker]

Well ok, nice to hear everyones opinion on this . Although there is a lot of misunderstanding going on.
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