There's a lot of talk about characters and classes who provide utility. So what the heck is it- and what isn't it? I'm hoping to advance my own understanding beyond categories like art and pornography where I know it when I see it.
As a start, let's take tasks like transportation, trap finding and disabling, nifty skill use (knowledges, stealth, linguistics to forge a particularly handy deed or simply to understand a language, etc.), and item creation such as wondrous items, weapons and armor, or even food.
Do we include in combat buffing like Prayer and Inspire Courage? Are healing spells part of the definition? -what's of greater utility than a Raise Dead or Reincarnate spell? What about debuffing- is that considered utility? And I can just hear the Am Barbarian argument of "Me smash enemy away. Me win utility game." - so do we include direct damage masters?
This isn't a cut and dried rules question, and it certainly doesn't have right and wrong answers exactly. I'm just trying to get a better grasp on a very important aspect of play.
So what do we really mean when when we describe a character as having utility?
So what do we really mean when when we describe a character as having utility?
I would be tempted to define it as EVERYTHING EXCEPT Combat and social skills and abilities. Because the game is so broad it is almost impossible to list everything that could be considered "utility".
The definitions of "out of combat roles" in Treatmonk's guides are a good start: Face (social skills), Sage (knowledge skills) and Scout (Stealth, perception, trap disarming and mobility). These are the most prevalent roles. These are the ones you a party is most likely to struggle if lacking.
You've touched on others too - mass and rapid long distance transportation, item creation, niche skill use. Often you get a slew of low level spells like endure elements lumped in here too, which tends to give prepared casters a big edge in "utility". Some spells, such as scrying, overlap with the key roles in the first paragraph.
I would not say that combat buffs and debuffs are utility. They can add to it (Inspire Competence!) but in general terms they're more about combat effectiveness.
I think there are two types of 'Utility'.
There's 'In-combat utility', which includes debuffing foes and other ways of winning besides huge amounts of damage. The key to this definition is flexibility - if you always win by using ray of enfeeblement that doesn't count. The point is that when a weird critter shows up, with a specific advantage, you can counter it, by dispelling it, or casting align weapon, or giving the fighter fly or whatever.
'Out-of-combat utility' is pretty much everything else - social skills, finding secret doors, unlocking doors. Of course there is overlap - fly is good in combat, but also can be used to overcome a wall. These abilities keep the plot from stalling, give the party control over how the plot advances, or somehow save resources (because you don't need to heal trap damage, or buy a special-purpose scroll.)