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This trade (similar to ranger's slice) slices meat from a corpse into food portions but you don't get his skin.

This Tradeskill would be ideal for those characters that although aren't rangers spend quite time in the wilderness of Faerun, and rangers would be still needed if somebody needs skins.

Cutting up a corpse reguardless should always leave skin, otherwise what happens to it? If you don't want the skin wouldn't you just discard it?

Anyone with a butcher knife can easily cut a chicken in pieces, skinning a chicken (or other kind of animal) without destroying the skin in the process requires quite more effort methinks.

Alternatively one could cut the animal in pieces without caring about the skin,
having as subproduct patches of skin too small to do anything useful anyway.

Honestly, I just think any class should be allowed to train slice.

It's been argued before, but frankly, any and every person who ever had to fend for themselves or provide for a family outside city walls in the era of Faerun would have known how to kill to eat. And even many nobles had hunting as a pastime, regardless of needing to EAT the kill.

It has never stood to reason to me much, that only rangers and druids can hunt for meat. They are the only ones who can track, pathfind, sneak and hide in the wilds, that's fine, they got all that to keep them set apart. Let the common man eat for a change

In an optimal (according to me) system, we would have plenty of similar not-that-useful-but-still-not-useless skills that all characters could learn. Obviously, that does not work with a system where you can learn all you want, but only with a system where you have to make choices and pick up what you want your characters to know/what your character ICly would know (i.e., skill points system anyone?).

You could then pick up things like:
- skinning
- fishing
- haggling
- repairing things [perhaps divided into subcategories]
- smithing
- ...

I agree that they shouldn't be restricted to specific classes (though some classes might provide bonuses and so on).

Anyway. That's now compatible with what we have currently, and I have derailed from the original subject. Sorry for that

Currently, the only option (without a hard code change) is to give the 'slice' ability to all classes.

I am not opposed to slice being available to all classes, though there are consequences to such a change.

If the issue here is characters being able to feed themselves I would note that in almost all instances of killing a (suitable) mob you will end up with severed limbs or heart or somesuch which can be cooked to form food.

Kelemvor wrote:I am not opposed to slice being available to all classes, though there are consequences to such a change.

If the issue here is characters being able to feed themselves I would note that in almost all instances of killing a (suitable) mob you will end up with severed limbs or heart or somesuch which can be cooked to form food.

Aye, thats how my old dwarf fed himself for many nights in the tunnels. Cannot deny the usefulness of a good rat leg.

Maybe an idea could be limiting the maximum of trades that someone can learn by type, for example characters could be able to know only one "gathering" tradeskill and two "procesament" tradeskills.

Honestly I do not think that tradeskills should be limited to anyone, be it by area or code. And I do count slice as a tradeskill. It would be similar to being a lumberjack or an herb gatherer or a farmer.

Perhaps a middle point in the road could be learning those exclusive trades from the characters that have natural access to them.

Anyway what I don't like of trades is that some combinations of races/classes can get the basic component, process it and manufacture the processed component.

Given this line of thought though, why not give Hide to everyone? Or Steal? Or any other skill that is not magical? Any PC could hide, not all could do it as well as a thief, but they could. The same with steal. I am in favor of having class skills. Viva le difference! [or however you spell that!]

To be fair, Lathander, that is what the 3E and 3.5E PHB gives. Class skills, cross-class skills, and forbidden skills.

Not saying I want them, just playing Devil's Advocate.

I'm all for class-specifics myself.

I agree that it's EITHER

• open up all skills and make people choose which ones they learn by limiting their learning to X skills (per 3/3.5)

OR

• keep the current system where you can train all you want with no restriction and have class-specific skills

A mix where we keep the option to learn everything and open up all skills to all classes would not work, indeed, and would make all characters be copies of each other.

Note that we already have that clone problem currently amongst the classes. Pick up two fighters and you'll see that they are mostly identical in what they know (they both kick, bash and punch).

A MUD I am building for (that shall remain nameless, as I do not wish to violate any advertising rules) is going solely skill-based. With all skills open to everyone, similar to a 3.xE ruleset.

I am exceptionally nervous of it, given that I come from a 2E background, in which each class had a specific range of skills that 'defined' them.

That is, I may add, something I enjoy. Skill groupings, similar to the 2E Player's Handbook. Fighters can choose from "Warrior" and "General" groups, paladins from "Warrior," "General," and "Priest" groups, etc.

I am sure it would be seen as a step backward, but I figured I would offer my advice, for what it is worth.

That's an interesting idea too, yes.

The key element to make a system with "open" skills work is to make sure that all skills are useful. The worst situation for such a system is when there is an "obvious choice" that is clearly superior to all other choices.

Dalvyn wrote:That's an interesting idea too, yes.

The key element to make a system with "open" skills work is to make sure that all skills are useful. The worst situation for such a system is when there is an "obvious choice" that is clearly superior to all other choices.

Cookie cutter builds...ick. Hate to see those here.