Comments on: Skill Focus: History

By: Ameron

Ameron — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:29:16 +0000

@Daniel M. Perez, The Gamer Traveler
Thanks, Daniel. I too like the History skill because of its extreme versatility. As an art history buff myself, I find I know a lot about history because of my love for art. Applying this kind of relationship between History and art/culture in D&D always fascinated me. I think 4e really encourages a broad scope on skills which is only limited by the player’s imagination.

By: Month in Review: March 2009 — Dungeon's Master

Month in Review: March 2009 — Dungeon's Master — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:29:43 +0000

[...] Focus: Endurance and Skill Focus: History we present 10 new and creative ways to use these [...]

By: Daniel M. Perez, The Gamer Traveler

Daniel M. Perez, The Gamer Traveler — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:46:03 +0000

Excellent post! This skill, in all its various edition incarnations, has always been one of my favorite to take precisely because of the versatility it brings. History helps me via game mechanics get glimpses of the living world beyond the adventuring party, and the uses you list above are perfect examples of how those glimpses add richness to the setting while helping out in-game.

By: Ameron

Ameron — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:00:56 +0000

@Dawn Raven
I find that in many situations more than one skill can be used to achieve success. It all depends on how the PC role-plays the encounter. I agree that Streetwise could also yield similar results for 1 and 10. But keep in mind that History does cover laws, local customs and politics. I guess the PC would have to decide if they want to use Streetwise or History. I think they’ll end up using whichever skill provides a better bonus. Thanks for the feedback.

By: Dawn Raven

Dawn Raven — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:43:16 +0000

I feel that the first and tenth might be better used as Streetwise. What do you think? Overall though, the others are great ideas. I’ve already had my players use history for 7, 8 and 3 along with allowing them to put pieces of the story’s puzzle together through various historical clues and relationships.