Guidelines for choosing Abilities.

From: Doyle Wayne Ramos-Tavener <DWRT_at_...>
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 21:11:55 -0500


I am _extremely_ reluctant to become involved in the current Broad Skills discussion, but I am about to start a campaign, and I would very much like to hear some pros and cons about the following guidelines I intend to give my players as they start their skill selections in character generation:

You can pick any skill or ability you wish, but I would keep in mind the following:

  1. If you pick an ability that resembles skills and abilities in other role playing games (like 'Sneak Around', 'Persuade', 'Decipher Writing') you can expect to use these abilities quite a bit in contests, with few improvisational modifiers.
  2. If you pick an ability that can be used for many different purposes (like 'Strong' or 'Quick') you won't be able to use it in contests except with a heavy improvisational penalty. Most of the time, you will use it to augment some other ability.
  3. If you pick an ability that is very narrow (like 'Hate McGuffin', or 'Summon the Seven Winds') you won't use these abilities in contests or as augments very much, but when they are appropriate, resistances will be very low, or will receive a substantial bonus to the ability.

Currently, my thinking is that if my players follow these guidelines (hah) they will wind up with mostly boring abilities (con), but that they will be happier in the long run because the abilities will be more generally useful (pro).

Doyle Wayne Ramos-Tavener

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