6E: Legitimate Characteristics for Power Skill

[BobGreenwade]

I came across something using Hero Designer that I'm not too sure about. The book doesn't seem to explicitly forbid it (which is probably why HD shows it that way), but it just doesn't seem right to me.

 

Basically, it seems to be legal that the Power Skill (as well as Professional Skills) can be based off any Characteristic. Intuitively I'd limit this to those that already have declared Characteristic Rolls (STR, DEX, CON, INT, EGO, and PRE), but even PD, ED, SPD, and END are allowed.

 

It strikes me as not only counterintuitive but also unbalancing to allow a Power Skill based on END (given the cost of that Characteristic), but I suppose it's not inconceivable.

 

So the basic question is: Is it actually legal to have a Skill (Power or anything else) based on a Characteristic other than STR, DEX, CON, INT, EGO, or PRE?

[Steve Long]

Re: 6E: Legitimate Characteristics for Power Skill

 

First, as a general note for all questioners (and please note that I'm not just picking on Bob here, I've seen this several times recently and wanted to bring the point up): I don't care what a poster thinks about a given rule -- whether you think it's broken, unbalanced, illogical, or what have you. None of that's relevant, and I don't appreciate it when you in effect argue for a given answer in your post. Just post your question, with background explanation or example if you feel that's required, and I'll gladly provide an answer.

 

Now, as to the meat of this particular issue. The GM can certainly permit anything he wants. However, generally speaking, I would find it doubtful that a Skill Roll based on anything other than the Characteristics that have Characteristic Rolls — STR, DEX, CON, INT, EGO, and PRE — would be legitimate. I certainly would never put a Skill Roll based on any other Characteristic on an ability in a published book (or if I felt that was appropriate, I would be sure to explain exactly what I was doing and why).