[CONAN] Careers?

[Supplement Four]

In my game, the PCs are clansmen all tied to a village. We go off on adventures and then return to the "home base".



I've made all the PCs choose a career. At this point, one has become a hunter for the clan. His character has Profession (Hunter), and I use that skill for lots of things. For example, if the group runs out of provisions on an adventure, I'll have him throw on that skill to see how long it takes him to feed the party. He uses it to dress animals after they're killed. He uses it to know the right type of blah-blah to sprinkle on the meat (or where to get it/make it) to keep it fresh longer. He uses it like a Craft skill to earn wealth (no money--these people are on the barter system) from skins and trading food. So, when he's in the village, and the weeks that pass by in-between adventures, he throws on it to add to his wealth.



Another PC is a trapper. He uses Craft (Trapmaking) as his career skill. And antoher PC is a weapon smith (with the usual Craft (Weaponsmith)) skill. They get similar throws.



You get the idea.



Well, I have a new player coming into our group--a gamer I've long gamed with before that hasn't been in this particular campaign, can he's got a simple question: Why do I have to waste skill points on a career skill? Can't I just be a "warrior"?



This has made me wonder--



How many other GMs have their PCs have "jobs"?



Does a hunter have to have the Profession (Hunter) skill, or can he get away with not putting points into the skill just fine? Can he just use Survival and Move Silent and Listen and Spot and still be a fine hunter?







Not that I'm looking to change anything, but I am curious how/if other DMs approach this. I know a lot of groups just have a party of "adventurers" and get their wealth from adventuring. I guess my question goes out to those of you who do consider income and character livelihood in your games.



Thoughts?

 

[Spectator]

I remeber I posed this similar question a few years ago and Viincent von D even responded that profession points are silly if you are a PC (unless you are a sailor or a ranger.
Tribal warriors were a profession amerindians called them "braves" they did nothing but ranged the land, faught other indians and occasionally they would band together and conduct a buffalo hunt (where there low skills would be synergized by their sheer numbers).
I agree with your player.
Hell with profession, I want to boost my jump skill (critical for the proto-celts who faught w/ zero armor and would jump over enemy's shield and thrust downward) or whatever warrior type skill (like ambush skills), etc...

Barbarians dont get enough points to be piling them into profession.

 

[Jeraa]

While I have never required someone to pick a profession, when running my 3.5 games, I give out one extra skill point per level (4 at first) that can only be spent on Profession, Craft, Knowledge, or Perform. Both to represent a job or stuff they have just picked up in their travels.

And warrior wouldn't be a profession, unless he was a professional soldier, which wouldn't be likely in this case. All tribesman would have some sort of profession. I believe most tribal warriors were also hunters.


Unless the tribe is under attack all of the time. In which case I can see a professional, full-time warrior.

That being said, most skills can be used untrained. Like Craft. Maybe in his off-time, the warrior makes spears or something for his clan. Even if he doesn't put ranks in it, he can still do it. He'll just be bad at it... But as long as he can get a +2 bonus (doesn't have to be ranks, just something that gives a bonus) on the check, he can take 10 and craft simple weapons or hunting bows.

 

[Supplement Four]

I remeber I posed this similar question a few years ago and Viincent von D even responded that profession points are silly if you are a PC (unless you are a sailor or a ranger.

They are silly, a roleplaying waste of resources, if you will, unless you make them valuable to the player.

In my game, I'm going to make the profession skill the PC's primary source of wealth. I want them to want to roll on the profession skill--because it will give them more wealth to use to buy things that they need--better weapons, more armor, etc.

They can trade for what they want, but they need something to trade.

The PCs certainly aren't gaining a lot of wealth through the adventures, I'll tell you that. It will be their profession where they make money.

Tribal warriors were a profession amerindians called them "braves" they did nothing but ranged the land, faught other indians and occasionally they would band together and conduct a buffalo hunt (where there low skills would be synergized by their sheer numbers).

I'm curious....any idea how these warriors got arrows and new spears and stuff? Was it a socialistic society where the warriors were fed by the hunters and everyone was taken care of by everyone else?

Barbarians dont get enough points to be piling them into profession.

Except that I'm going to make the profession desireable with an economic system. Those that don't have a profession will be very poor in comparison.

 

[Supplement Four]

I use an Older version of Solo play pts system for Conan!

Solo play points system????