Teos Abadie

Yeah, it's timely based on our earlier conversation. And so on EthanYen.com, Ethan talks about how different RPGs provide an approach to saying, hey, you're good at this, right, versus how somebody else may or may not be that good at it. And so he kind of puts together a chart that has four different boxes and the titles kind of go across intersecting on these two axes.

Yeah, it's timely based on our earlier conversation. And so on EthanYen.com, Ethan talks about how different RPGs provide an approach to saying, hey, you're good at this, right, versus how somebody else may or may not be that good at it. And so he kind of puts together a chart that has four different boxes and the titles kind of go across intersecting on these two axes.

One is whether you have skill ranks. So some RPGs will say you can improve your skills by having, you know, rank one, rank two, whatever it is, while other RPGs have a binary approach that say you have the skill or you don't. And skill ranks allow character definition. So there's some great positives, right? I'm a master tracker and varying levels of competency, right? I am okay at diplomacy.

One is whether you have skill ranks. So some RPGs will say you can improve your skills by having, you know, rank one, rank two, whatever it is, while other RPGs have a binary approach that say you have the skill or you don't. And skill ranks allow character definition. So there's some great positives, right? I'm a master tracker and varying levels of competency, right? I am okay at diplomacy.

And someone else says, well, I'm an expert at it, right? But the math can be intimidating or problematic. And it can mean that not having a bonus can shut down a player. I don't have a bonus in diplomacy, so I don't want to talk. Right. And so he talks about these issues and looks at that axis. Then on the other axis, he looks at having a list of skills to choose from and how this defines play.

And someone else says, well, I'm an expert at it, right? But the math can be intimidating or problematic. And it can mean that not having a bonus can shut down a player. I don't have a bonus in diplomacy, so I don't want to talk. Right. And so he talks about these issues and looks at that axis. Then on the other axis, he looks at having a list of skills to choose from and how this defines play.

So if you know you can pick a lock, maybe and we get into one of our earlier questions, that means that you think the only way to interact with a lock is to pick it. and forget that there you could bash the door or the chest or convince someone to open it for you or some other way of looking at it because you kind of turn to your skill list to solve all the problems in the game.

So if you know you can pick a lock, maybe and we get into one of our earlier questions, that means that you think the only way to interact with a lock is to pick it. and forget that there you could bash the door or the chest or convince someone to open it for you or some other way of looking at it because you kind of turn to your skill list to solve all the problems in the game.

If you go the other way, you have a free form approach to skills. Now you may be able to define what your character does, but that can also lead to some interactions not being covered. And I thought it's a really cool read to go over this. It made me think a lot about games like Gumshoe that have an alternate approach where you say yes,

If you go the other way, you have a free form approach to skills. Now you may be able to define what your character does, but that can also lead to some interactions not being covered. And I thought it's a really cool read to go over this. It made me think a lot about games like Gumshoe that have an alternate approach where you say yes,

I am skilled at shooting, but everybody's rolling a D6 to shoot and everybody succeeds on a four. But what you're doing, maybe it's a three. I forget which one. I think it's a four. But what you get to do is to burn points to succeed when you want to. And eventually you'll run out of points and the points are equal to your skill ranks.

I am skilled at shooting, but everybody's rolling a D6 to shoot and everybody succeeds on a four. But what you're doing, maybe it's a three. I forget which one. I think it's a four. But what you get to do is to burn points to succeed when you want to. And eventually you'll run out of points and the points are equal to your skill ranks.

So if you have a six and shooting six times or six, you could give six pluses at any number of times until you run them out of them. And that kind of lets you be competent as in a spy movie, but only so many times. And someone who doesn't have very many points can still hit that one shot they need to hit. And that's a very interesting take on it, right?

So if you have a six and shooting six times or six, you could give six pluses at any number of times until you run them out of them. And that kind of lets you be competent as in a spy movie, but only so many times. And someone who doesn't have very many points can still hit that one shot they need to hit. And that's a very interesting take on it, right?

Free League games we talked about that have that low threshold of success, but skills or... Equipment or whatever lowers that and makes it easier. 13th age feels a lot like D&D, but you get to say what your skills are on a very broad level. Like, you know, I am a master linguist or I worked in a royal court. I was a sailor. Right.

Free League games we talked about that have that low threshold of success, but skills or... Equipment or whatever lowers that and makes it easier. 13th age feels a lot like D&D, but you get to say what your skills are on a very broad level. Like, you know, I am a master linguist or I worked in a royal court. I was a sailor. Right.

And then your DM just says, yeah, OK, I'll give you, you know, a boost because of the fact that you have that skill background. Right. That the definition of your character is different. It was very interesting to think about this, and I love the way Ethan picks apart game game aspects, and this is definitely a good read.

And then your DM just says, yeah, OK, I'll give you, you know, a boost because of the fact that you have that skill background. Right. That the definition of your character is different. It was very interesting to think about this, and I love the way Ethan picks apart game game aspects, and this is definitely a good read.

And I have one last plug that I forgot to make, which is I've been playing this Ooh, Clank.

And I have one last plug that I forgot to make, which is I've been playing this Ooh, Clank.