Specific Professions and Ability Scores Modifiers


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

In the CRB, the Profession skill description lists different common professions under different mental scores. My question is if those are specifically only for those ability modifiers, or can they be switched around. Like, say, could my Engineer use Intelligence for his Profession: Bounty Hunter, or is that always a Wisdom profession?

I'm specifically wondering this for SFS, but I am curious for guidance on how to rule this when my players inevietably ask me the same question.

Scarab Sages

Phylotus wrote:

In the CRB, the Profession skill description lists different common professions under different mental scores. My question is if those are specifically only for those ability modifiers, or can they be switched around. Like, say, could my Engineer use Intelligence for his Profession: Bounty Hunter, or is that always a Wisdom profession?

I'm specifically wondering this for SFS, but I am curious for guidance on how to rule this when my players inevietably ask me the same question.

Per the description of the skill profession on p.146 CRB

"When you put ranks in a profession skill you must choose the ability score keyed to that skill"
If you want a different stat used you need a different profession.

Example; My technomancer character has Profession: Ecoglaceologist based on Intelligence. He knows about all of the professional information relating to the ecology of ice, taiga, and tundra regions. If he instead wants to be good at surviving in those climates I might change it to Profession: Ice climber and have it be based on wisdom.

Silver Crusade

So to clarify, you are saying that this:

"Common Wisdom-based Profession skills include bounty hunter, cook,
counselor, dockworker, farmer, gambler, general contractor,
herbalist, maintenance worker, manager, mercenary, merchant,
miner, and smuggler."

... means that Bounty Hunter is always wisdom based?

Edit: I realized this could come off as confrontational, and I wish to make abundantly clear that is not my intent. I'm just wanting to figure out how this was meant to be read so I need to know if I can use Intelligence for my theme stuff or if I just need to swallow the need for Wisdom and be slightly sad.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Yes, I think the intention was to associate specific professions with specific ability scores. It looks like they combined to old skills of Craft (Int), Perform (Cha), and Profession (Wis) from Pathfinder into a single skill that way as their starting point before doing further updates and rearrangements.

Silver Crusade

Alright, that's how I interpreted it too. Sad day to be a potato bounty hunter.

Scarab Sages

Phylotus wrote:
Alright, that's how I interpreted it too. Sad day to be a potato bounty hunter.

It's basically saying you use your survival skill (WIS based skill) to track down your bounties and using intuition to find them. IF you want to Make an Int based bounty hunter Make up your own profession that relates to Using intelligence to track down bounties.

Example: Datanet bounty hunter, you hunt bounties through information you track down using your Computers and Knowledge skills, maybe you don't physically take them down but you deliver the information to the proper authorities.

Or TV Personanlity/Bounty Hunter, think Dog The Bounty Hunter. Hunt down Bounties for entertainment value.

As long as you a have a mechanical reason to use a different stat make your own profession.

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

Bug bounties! Professional computer security evaluator.


Eh, I wouldn't care what stat you used. You wanna be a smart bounty hunter, go ahead.

Silver Crusade

In my home games,using a different stat or making up a similar profession would be fine, but since this is an SFS character I'd rather avoid table variation as much as possible as it relates to the Bounty Hunter theme, so I'll just stick with Wisdom and Bounty Hunter for it

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