ChazzahC's page

My first character, back with 1st edition in the 80s, was a human monk. I didn't know anything about D&D, but it seemed cool to have a character who wasn't helpless without weapons and armor. Luckily for me, the DM was very forgiving, so my character survived long enough for me to get to know the game and enjoy it. Since then, I've played with DMs who were not so forgiving, and I think I may never have gotten into D&D if I'd started with them...blood-thirsty b*stards. DMs make all the difference.

Just wondering what people started out as and why. My first character was a Dwarven fighter named Rurik Dunkil. I come from a Scot/Irish family and the dwarves have always stood out to me because of their accent. He is still my favorite and I still use him as an NPC.

Also what got you interested in D&D in the first place? My parents and uncles used to play, but I never did until my friend bought the V3 PHB and brought it to school. How about the rest of you?

I've never had to compromise in my games for religious reasons, nor would I. It's just a game, afterall. If anyone has a 'real' problem with D&D's 'imaginary' world, I simply suggest to them, if they've actually played, that they find another hobby, or, if they've never played, I suggest that they find 'real' issues to worry about instead. I used to try explaining, but that was often like talking to a wall. So now I just smile, nod, and tell them to have a good day ;)

Sorry, forgot to write something.

Have you ever had to compromise with your parents because they thought D&D was evil? What about your church? Has anyone ever judged you as an evil person for playing D&D?

Actually, I think these skills are pretty important, if used correctly, and add a lot of flavor to otherwise one-sided characters or hack-n-slash games. They encourage roleplaying, which is a big deal in my games. I always get at least a couple of these skills for my own characters regardless of class, and I create situations for my players in which they come in useful, which is easy to do. Only a true novice who lives to swing their sword and nothing else would overlook these skills. Craft and Profession have the obvious benefit of being able to earn gold as well as save gold by doing cetain things for oneself instead of having to pay someone else to do them. Plus, it's easy to imagine a situation in which someone in need of a particular skill or service could become a useful contact, friend or ally because of that relationship. Knowledge skills, on the other hand, are especially useful in providing information which can help characters in some way with just about any situation. Whether or not these skills prove 'useful' is up to the players and more importantly the DM.

I was just thinking about the Skills Craft, Knowledge and Profession, and how not many of my players seem to spend points for these skills. Is it because they're too vague? I understand that you can't list all the crafts and professions that exist, but how many player would spend skill points on Profession (Cook) or Craft (Basketweaving) when there's so many other more useful skills?

I'm thinking that professions could be something like a feat. An example would be something like the 'Sailor Feat' wich could give you some bonuses in use rope, swim, etc...

How does all this sound?

Ultradan