Alternative General Skills System - Deminhumans
by ParzivalI think for Dwarves (and Elves) a case could be made that the ability to make magic items is inherent to the race itself. They’re not humans, after all. GAZ 6 already gives a dwarf the skills of Mining and Engineering, but these still take up two of the four standard starting slots. I would reject that, on non-human grounds— for dwarves, mining and engineering are culturally if not racially innate. They live and work underground from birth on; a dwarf’s favorite childhood toy is a child-sized rock pick. Indeed, my approach is that dwarves all have the following General Skills:
Engineering
Mining
Knowledge: Mineralogy and Metallurgy.
And can assess the value and quality of any metallic or mineral-based physical object with complete accuracy.
I might even allow a dwarf a skill check to determine if weapons or armor found on an adventure are magical.
These come without cost of a skill slot— a dwarf is typically around 30 or 50 years old when he begins adventuring— an older adolescent or young adult in dwarf terms— he’s had plenty of time to pick up extra skills or knowledge, even to a mastery level. That’s what young dwarves do, all day long. You spend two or three decades learning “as your beard grows,” and you’ll put a human adult craftsman to shame.
Elves have the following skills:
Astronomy (can be used for Celestial Navigation, too).
Nature Lore
Survival: Woodlands
Tracking
History: Elves (and possibly any human societies in contact with an elf’s particular clan or nation)— after all, they’ve lived it! (As I’ve noted elsewhere, an Elf can outlive the average tree. That orc invasion your great-great grandfather fought off? The elf at the table next to you fought in that same war himself, and knew your ancestor as a close personal friend when great-great grandpa was in his twenties. Elves are OLD, even in the D&D game— they just don’t look it.)
Halflings get:
Cooking (including Baking).
There’s no such thing as a halfling who doesn’t understand the basics of making breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, and “late night nibbles.”
And in my house rules, Halflings get to take any two Thief Abilities in place of any two skill slots— the exception being “Climb Walls.” They’re just not built for that (doesn’t mean they can’t take Climbing as a skill, though). They advance in these two abilities (if taken) by level just as a Thief does.
Halflings are much closer to human lifespans— longer, yes, but not all that much.
Remember, 1st level human adventurers are generally assumed to be in their teens or early twenties (one can decide differently, of course). In fact, perhaps boosting a skill should assume a couple of more years in the starting age.
So in any case, it’s certainly reasonable to assume that a dwarf already has sufficient skill as a craftsman to create a magical item once he reaches sufficient level. (I don’t use GAZ 6’s magic creation rules by the way… I just noted that it has a system one can use. My preference is simplicity along with thematic rationale— and “spending experience points” is neither.)
My thinking is that adventuring Elves who join human or multi-race parties are inherently more interested in other societies than more isolationist elves. In elf culture, such adventurers are an odd bunch. Note that I limit History (beyond Elf history) to societies in immediate contact with the elf’s own. So an elf of the (oddball) adventuring persuasion in Karameikos might know the history of Karameikan humans, within obvious and localized limits, but nothing about Darokin, Ylaurum, Glantri, etc.. And an NPC elf of several centuries who adventured in his younger “Wandering” days certainly knows the history of his time among humans because he participated in it. (Take the Tolkien example of Elrond. He knows in detail the history of Numenor and Gondor because the rulers of both are his nephews— all of them— via his own brother, Elros. He’s got a massive family connnection there, and he actively took part in much of the history of these lands— as well as the history of Arnor and so forth. Galadriel has significant knowledge herself, despite having partially removed herself to the Elf enclave of Lothlorien. Legolas, however, has very limited knowledge of human history outside of the realm of Eriador and the men of the Long Lake. He knows *that* history because he saw a good deal of it first hand— as the son of Thranduil, it’s hard to imagine that he wasn’t present at the Battle of the Five Armies in some fashion (indeed, it might be that Bilbo’s mithril shirt could have been intended for a very young Legolas in the time before Smaug came…). So even in a D&D setting with more limited lifespans, there’s always a chance that an elf remembers some detail about the world around him, especially if he likely took part, even if only as an observer.
As for astronomy, I associate Elves with knowledge of nature and the heavens and time. Some of that is indeed Tolkien, but In legend in or out of Tolkien, elves are associated with starlight gatherings and studying the eternal heavens. Seems like a good thing to be doing on a Midsummer’s Eve when you’ve been alive for three hundred years… You’re gonna notice the details. One could even conceive of them as being able to read signs and portents— adding Astrology to the Astronomy (it is a fantasy setting, after all). “The Hunter pursues the Swan, but the Maiden intercedes.” A nice reading for the Elf PC that leaves the players wondering “Okay, what does that mean?”
It’s all about enriching the game. And for me, part of that is making certain everyone understands that Elves and Dwarves and Halflings are not just human beings with pointy ears, an overgrown beard, or hairy feet. They are different, and both the cultures and the individuals should reflect that.