Wednesday 15 July 2015

LL/5e Mashup: Skills

As I mentioned on Google+, I've been thinking about how it might look to take some of the bits I like about D&D 5 into a simpler rules system like Labyrinth Lord. One of my favourite bits of the new edition is the simple skills / proficiency system. This forms a foundation for some other stuff, so I'll lay that out first.

Skill Checks
1d6 based, like LotFP. All characters have a base 1 in 6 chance of success.

Modifiers:
  • Relevant ability score above 14: +1 in 6 chance of success.
  • Relevant ability score below 7: -1 in 6 chance of success.
  • Proficient: +1 at 1st level, +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level.
  • Difficulty: easy tasks may increase, difficult tasks reduce the chance of success (as the referee wishes).
Notes:
I've never been a fan of the d20 system, so in considering a skill system suitable for bolting onto Labyrinth Lord, I knew immediately that I'd be looking for something else. I went for a d6 based skill system for several reasons: its precedent in the basic rules in the form of rolls to hear noises or find secret doors, surprise, etc; its use in LotFP, which I'm familiar with and have always admired. You could bolt on another system easily enough; you just need to make sure the proficiency bonus progression and any bonuses granted by other abilities match it.

List of Skills
Acrobatics
Arcana (detect magic -- 1 turn)
Awareness (surprise / notice hidden)
Climbing
Engineering (stone stuff, dwarves are proficient)
Lore (legends, history)
Medicine
Nature (knowledge, connection with animals)
Performance
Religion (detect divine or infernal influence -- 1 turn)
Search (find secret doors / hidden things)
Sleight of hand
Stealth
Survival
Swimming

Notes:
  • I chose to split athletics into climbing and swimming as a nod to the traditional thief, who's great at climbing but whom I don't see as great at other athletic activities.
  • The uses of arcana and religion to detect magic or cosmic influence are house rules I've used for years in LL. They seemed to fit these skills perfectly.
  • I've chosen a list without any "social" skills. You could add them back in, if you like. The exact list doesn't really matter that much.

2 comments:

  1. With social skills, I can see proficiency bonuses applied to reaction rolls, to situations that apply. Although, LL's reaction rolls are 2d6-base -- making adjustments less effective than a d6 roll -- and bonuses would become minuses, given the derangement of the table.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, that could work well. I'd perhaps phrase it as another type of proficiency (in addition to skills, tool, weapon, and armour proficiency) which gives a -1 bonus to reaction rolls given certain conditions. This might be things like: when trying to intimidate or deceive someone, when encountering an animal, etc. Could be quite flexible.

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