New Uses for Skills

 

Skills were absent from OD&D and 1E. But they were introduced as such in BECMI, as non-weapon proficiencies in 2E. And then, from 3E forward some version of the skill system we are all now most familiar with. The list of skills has waxed and waned over the editions and how they are scored (by point or by level).

My goal in this post is not to expand the list of skills but to differentiate them or to re-skin them by increasing the scope of what they do.

INVESTIGATION VERSUS PERCEPTION

As written:

Investigation: Find obscure information in books or deduce how something works.

Perception: Using a combination of senses, notice something that's easy to miss.

What I would add to this is the notion of the use of an active skill versus one that is largely more passive in nature. Here is how I would rewrite the descriptions to clarify the difference.

Investigation: Used for research and search. Find obscure information in books or deduce how something works. Search the room for secret doors, treasure or traps.

Perception: Essentially situational awareness. Using a combination of senses to notice something that's easy to miss. Used actively it means that you are straining your senses to peer into the darkness or to hear the faintest sound.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS
Rather than including more knowledge skills to the game, forcing players to budget their choices even more closely as a result, I propose adding more facets to their scope instead. Right now, I've only got two cases of uses I want to further include:

Law: For campaigns like Ravnica or such, where there is an emphasis on knowing and understanding the law. USE History.
Philosophy: For campaigns like Theros or such, where philosophy can often supplant religion in importance. Well ... USE Religion.

--LM