The Scoundrel, part 14: Miscellaneous Skills

Last set! Almost done with the Scoundrel class/skill system!

Street Lore: Knowing the current ins and outs of the underworld, or just the word on the street, as well as the going prices for gems and sundry treasure and where to find hirelings, etc. I'm thinking that this can be roleplayed, handwaved or flat out given by the ref if the character's background merits it. Verdict: Out

Hear Noise: Seeing whether your character hears something. Like Hear Noise through Door, I don't really get this one. I'll give particular events, NPCs or items a chance to make audible noise, not characters a chance to hear it. Verdict: Out

Tracking: Following some sort of quarry based on clues it leaves behind. Seems like this should be at least as available to fighters as scoundrels, and should improve with practice. Verdict: Skill

Minstrelsy: Singing and playing instruments, reciting lays and sagas, etc., usually to some effect, whether to make some silver, distract the crowds from what the rest of the party is up to, win an antagonistic NPC over, drum up the party's reputation or just entertain a tavern-ful of patrons for flavor and roleplaying's sake. I don't really see fighters, magic-users or clerics engaging in this kind of bardery, nor do I really want this to be something that works on a scale of improvement. Verdict: Ability

Foraging and Hunting: Generally being able to find good, wholesome food in the wilderness, and water, and firewood, etc. Sounds like a good way to abstract out hunting in the wilderness, but I'm not sure that's going to be common enough that it needs to be a skill. I don't plan on keeping meticulous-enough track of this to have it be a skill, anyway, though I may use Raggi's charts for determining how successful a hunt was. Verdict: Out

First Aid: This was the one ability that I threw in that wasn't in any of the classes and skill systems I referenced. The rangers I'm using in my current campaign can heal, and I've been borrowing from ranger classes, so I threw this in, since I was casting a wide net. Not really sure how I would adjudicate this as a skill, though I could see it as a useful ability for a scoundrel that's in and out of trouble a lot to have. I also try to spread the healing ability around, since I don't have clerics in my current campaign. Verdict: Ability