A Land Far Away

Question...

Shouldn't skills like "nature knowledge" and "animal handling" be based on wisdom , instead of INT and CHA?

rorax wrote:Question...

Shouldn't skills like "nature knowledge" and "animal handling" be based on wisdom , instead of INT and CHA?

I don't think so, both are the correct canon (read: PnP) abilities.

Imho it makes sense, too: Knowledge skills are just that, knowledge, which is helped by your analytical intellect and memory, hence INT.

Charisma also seems the most appropriate stat, since it's not only about reading the animal but also handling it, relaying your own intentions, calming it, perhaps even forcing your will onto it, and so on.

So, I'm quite in agreement with the stat choices there... but hey, it wouldn't be RP if we didn't disagree about interpretations of skills and abilities .

Cheers,

Well... that's how it works in PnP...

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/knowledge.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/handleanimal.htm

All Knowledge (whatever) skills are Int based. Sometimes they provide synergy bonus to other skills which are not necessarily Int based though, 5 ranks Knowledge (Nature) can give a +2 to Survival, which is WIS based for example.

Handle Animal is CHA, the good ol' dump stat! Call it force of personality to dominate / impress / intimidate / coax / cajole a critter. That skill is typically "trained only", but there's a little nod to Druids and Rangers being able to use it untrained but solely in respect of their own companions... not exactly "all about WIS", but there's a little gimme for nature classes relating to this skill.

Well.... canon is above all even logic.

Actually it's not... especially for our format of a 24/7 CRPG PW, PnP can't be, and isn't, the measure of all things for ALFA. We deviate from it wherever the platform requires it, or where common sense simply presents a better option . Of course, all deviations have to be worth the effort... changing abilities for a skill, especially as those abilities are the best fitting already, probably hast too minor an impact on the game to begin with.

Now, cue discussion about int vs. wis and summon a very certain player to debate over the definition and use of cha .

rorax wrote:Shouldn't skills like "nature knowledge" and "animal handling" be based on wisdom , instead of INT and CHA?

Intelligence, by it's very (D&D) definition, has to be the stat to boost (or penalise) all Knowledge skills. We're talking about being book-smart after all, not actual recognition or interpretation of plant, animal or cloud behaviour. Wisdom would clue you in as to that gnarling dog's intent. But not that it actually is a dog - just that it's a gnarling bitey-beast.

I could see how a case could be made for adding the Wisdom modifier to Handle Animal, since knowing what the donkey is thinking would be of use when trying to get it to move. But D&D only ever lets one Attribute modify a skill roll, and Charisma is simply the more appropriate one of the two.