> Mark "Tipop" Williams
>
> I don't care to discuss whether D&D3e is balanced or not, but I don't
> agree that it's a skill-based system disguised in a package of classes and
> levels.
>
> Here's the difference:
>
> Picture Old Jeric the Watchmaker. He's been making watches, clockwork
> toys, and other devices for decades. His wrinkled eyes display a
perpetual
> squint from so many years of staring through magnifying lenses. His gray
> apron tinkles with the sound of the tools of his trade, and his glasses
rest
> atop the wispy gray hairs on his head.
>
> In a skill-based system, he's a weak old man with little remarkable
> about him except that he's a world-class clocksmith. An orc could kill
him
> with a particularly loud sneeze.
>
> In D&D3e he's a 20th level Expert (that's the only way to make his
> Clockwork skill high enough), which means he has about 70 HP, a Base To
Hit
> of +15/+10/+5, and probably dozens of other very high-ranked skills, or
else
> he's a jack-of-all trades, since he couldn't put *all* his skill points
into
> Clocksmithing. Now that's one bad-ass old geezer. He could kill a tribe
of
> orcs single-handed.
Ol Jeric seems like a fine fellow, but you've distorted him a bit to make
your point. To save space for those who don't care, I'll summarize and
leave my analysis for last. A 4th level Expert can routinely create
Masterwork items (Take 10 vs. DC 20), and if he were of Old age he would
have 6hp, on average. A single orc beats Jeric most of the time (Jeric
is -2 Init, +1 melee/AC 12 or -3 melee/AC 14 on the defensive, and that's if
he's even wearing armor), but the orc will have to do more than sneeze.
Obviously I'm splitting hairs. Age is the great equalizer here, and if
Jeric were younger and had been in the city watch in his youth he would be a
much more formidable opponent. Then again, the same would be true in a pure
skill-based system...
'Expert' NPCs are a great example of one of the shortcomings of 3e D&D - D&D
doesn't model people well if there isn't a class (or mix of classes) that
models them. Since pure skill-based games do this well, it's no surprise
that this is the most common argument I hear about the advantage of pure
skill-based systems. But comparing one game's strengths to another's
weaknesses isn't really fair.
The bottom line is that Jeric was never a player character. Rather he is an
NPC and it is well within the DM's purview to create any NPC he wants and
ignore the rules for creating player characters. The monsters certainly
don't follow the PC rules. As I'll show below, in this case you don't have
to bend the rules to do it.
I must surely acknowledge that the d20 System is not a pure skill-only
system, because it has grouped some skills (like combat) into packages
called Levels and packages called Classes, but 3e D&D is still skill-based
at its heart. This was not true of prior editions, but it is now.
-Brad
Assumptions (I probably missed a few, but here it is off the cuff):
Orc (Medium-Size Humanoid),HD: 1d8 (4 hp), Init: +0, Spd: 20 ft. (scale
mail), AC: 14 (+4 scale mail), Atks: Greataxe +3 melee; javelin +1 ranged,
Dmg: Greataxe 1d12+3; javelin 1d6+2, SQ: Darkvision 60 ft., light
sensitivity, SV: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will -1
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 8
Skills: Listen +2, Spot +2
Feats: Alertness
In combat, assume each creature rolls their own initiative.
Experts get 6 skill points per level, plus 18 bonus skill points on
creation. Clocksmithing is actually a bit beyond the 'average' technology
of D&D, but we'll assume that creating a clock (if the technology were
available) is roughly as tough as making a good lock, or a DC of 20. A
clocksmith needs skill in Craft Jewelry (pocket watches), Craft Woodwork
(wall clocks), and Craft Clockwork, plus Profession Clocksmith to make a
living. These are his 'core' skills, he has several more. He takes all of
his feats in Skill Focus until he has mastered all of his core skills.
Jeric is a Human of average stats. His Str, Con, and Wis are 10, his Dex,
Int, and Cha are 11. He is an old man, of Old Age, which means a total
of -3 to Str, Dex, and Con, an +2 to Int, Wis, and Cha. This changes his
stats to Str: 7 (-2), Dex: 8 (-1), Con: 7 (-2), Int: 13 (+1), Wis: 12 (+1),
and Cha: 13 (+1).
In combat, Jeric is limited to Light armor and Simple weapons. He chooses a
Chain Shirt for maximum protection, and a Shortspear for it's superior
Damage and Critical Hit multiplier. He knows he isn't much of a fighter, and
fights defensively all the time, giving him a +2 dodge bonus to his AC. His
combat stats are AC: 14 (+4 Chain shirt, -2 dex, +2 Dodge), and his Damage:
Shortspear is 1d8-2, x3 critical. If he were more of a fighter, well, he'd
be more of an adventurer than clocksmith.
At 4th level he has 7 ranks in all his skills, and has three Skill Focus
Feats, bringing his Craft Clockwork up to +10. He also has a bonus ability
score point, which he uses on his Int, bringing it up to 14 (+2). His total
Craft bonuses are +11, which is enough for him to craft Masterwork items and
Clockwork by taking 10, which is the same thing as saying that crafting
Masterwork items is a routine task to him - it is simply what he does. He
can fabricate 400gp per week of goods without fear of failure, for a profit
of 266gp. He is -3 to hit (fighting defensively) and has 6hp (4d6-8). A
single orc will cut him to ribbons.
At 12th level he has 15 ranks in all his skills, and Skill Focus all of them
as well. He has also raised his Int two more points, bringing it to 16
(+3). His bonus for all of his core skills is now +20, allowing him to Take
10 vs a DC of 30, enough to create Masterwork clocks in record time, and the
most wondrous and detailed clockwork creations as routine tasks, gifts fit
for a king of kings. He can fabricate 600gp of normal goods per week, at a
profit of 400gp per week. His base attack is now +8/+3, but age and
fighting defensively brings it to +2/-3, and has 12d6-24 dice, or 18hp. He
is a match for a single orc, but two will bring him low when they flank him.
At 20th level he has 23 ranks in all his skills, and has raised his Int yet
again to 18 (+5), bringing his core skill bonus up to +30, allowing him to
Take 10 vs. a DC of 40. Everything he touches cannot help but be a
masterwork, and can churn out 1600gp per week of DC 40 goods without
breaking a sweat. If he chose, he can reasonably expect to craft a 2500gp
work in about 5 months, a masterpieces rivaling the work of the gods
themselves. His base attack is now +15/+10/+5, but fighting defensively
brings it down to +9/+4/-1. He now has 20d6-40 hit dice, for 30hp. He will
kill three normal orcs every round other round, and has a reasonable chance
of beating a gang of 4. If his back is to the wall and 5 surround him, he
is lost.
If he were of Venerable age (70), his Str and Con would drop to 4 (-3), Dex
to 5(-3), dropping his AC to 13 (worse than an orc). His combat stats would
be -2 melee and 2hp at 4th, +1/-4 at 6hp at 12th, and +8/+3/-2 and 10hp at
20th. Even at 20th level, he has little hope of defeating a gang of 3 orcs
who corner him in a dark alley.
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