Skill Specialties

PDF – Optional Rules Skill SpecialtiesPlease enjoy a new optional rules module, Skill Specialties! (PDF of the rules module here.) Did I miss a specialty? Let me know and I’ll add it! And some background…

OPTIONAL RULES: SKILL SPECIALTIES

Recently, Mike Mearls (designer on 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons) tweeted a couple of things that got me thinking about the design of the game. The tweets are as follows:

I love choices that are really flavorful and dramatically different in games. Makes your choice really matter and reflects game’s reality.

— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) June 14, 2017

My designs try to capture that aesthetic whenever possible. Big, impactful, dramatic choices. Don’t always hit it, but it’s what I aim for.

— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) June 14, 2017

This brought to mind the feats of 5th edition, which I think follow this design policy effectively. Less granular, more dramatic, and frankly they feel a lot better than past editions.

But is granularity bad in of itself? I’ve recently been doing a lot of research into GURPS, and I believe some of what makes that game great at differentiating characters are some of the more small impact choices, such as the Quirks and Perks which have very little mechanical effect on your character.

Thus, I decided to come up with a rough optional rules module: Skill Specialties. In this, you can choose a couple of your skills and gain an edge when using them in a specific way, representing specialized training. The impact is small (hopefully), but I think it can help define who your character is.

Anyway, I am considering this a feedback release. If you wouldn’t mind reading and suggesting any changes or new specialties I should add, I would be highly appreciative. Thanks!

PDF – Optional Rules Skill Specialties