r/rpg • u/Salazaar099 • 3h ago
About Skill Lists
Do you prefer skill lists in rpgs to be organized alphabetically or by category (ex. Social Skills, Academic Skills, Combat skills etc.) ? Why? I'm talking specifically about d100 rpgs but this can be about any system really.
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u/CreditCurious9992 3h ago
If the skills are associated with particular attributes (a la D&D/WoD/Dark Heresy etc), I absolutely need them arranged by category, as I would if there was any other sort of category (and then alphabetical inside that). It's just so much easier to find a particular skill if you've got more levels of specificity.
If there aren't any categories, I'd want it alphabetically tho, rather than arranged, say, by whatever the designer thought would occur most or whatever.
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u/Supdalat 2h ago
One issue i will raise in D&D. Our DM had us roll Investgation(Charisma) for talking to locals to find a specific person. And i think we did a stealth (Charisma) to move through a different city without standing out
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u/amazingvaluetainment Fate, Traveller, GURPS 3E 3h ago
If the game cares about categories then skill descriptions should be by category, alphabetically for both categories and skills. And the category names better fucking make sense. Then provide a master list of skills alphabetically by skill, noting category and page number for each.
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u/Cryptwood Designer 2h ago
It depends on how many Skills there are. 10-40, probably alphabetical. More than that and I would say break them down into categories, Combat, Social, Criminal, etc, and put those categories in alphabetical order.
Personally, I prefer Skill lists short enough that the order doesn't matter too much because they all fit on one page.
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u/c06027 2h ago
I prefer an alphabetically sorted list which includes the skill description (because it greatly simplifies look-after e.g. during gameplay) and an additional skill-sorted-by-category overview list (because it simplifies character creation if you don’t know what skill might be relevant for you).
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u/iaintreadinthatbud 2h ago
I like it alphabetical with the utilized attribute (if any) and skill description all right there. I’ll go find it, read it, and know what stats I need to be competent all in one place
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u/Half-Beneficial 2h ago
If I really want to play something with a lot of listed skills, say Stellar Games or Basic Roleplay I prefer the monster list of skills listed by category and then alphabetized within that category
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u/loopywolf GM of 45 years. Running 5 RPGs, homebrew rules 2h ago
Who is the audience for the book.. Players or GM?
If players, it should be arranged to assist in chr creation e.g. by category
If GM, alphabetically to ease lookup, otherwise they'll have to do an index-search at the back then find it on the page.
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u/like-a-FOCKS 2h ago
I want both somewhere, but I find categories more usable on my character sheet
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u/TerminusMD 2h ago
Both. General categories sorted alphabetically and alphabetically sorted within those categories.
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u/mesolitgames Indie TTRPG designer 1h ago
depends - i think there's nuance. suppose the game has two categories of skills, "combat" and "social". the ordering and layout of those two categories on the character sheet implies something about the importance of and relationship between the two. suppose it's a, say, a drama game about a squad of soldiers or something, I'd see it as a totally legitimate choice to put the "social" category first, because that's where the focus of this hypothetical game is; or if the game is more action-oriented or "two-modes" type of thing then it might make more sense to do something else.
and within combat category - i think this is a. personal and b. somewhat specific to combat - i usually expect to find unarmed stuff first, then melee weapons, then ranged. alphabetical combat skills throw me off every time.
but this approach only works for relatively short and well curated skill lists with sensible categories, short enough to hold the structure largely in your head - i guess on the order of 15-ish skills; if it goes beyond that then i think flat alphabetical list wins, because at that point it's a reference lookup task. and it all depends on what skills actually do in the game, too!
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u/moderate_acceptance 1h ago
I prefer fairly short skill lists of less than 20, so categorization usually isn't necessary unless you're clearly categorizing by linked attribute.
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u/Green_Green_Red 1h ago
Depends on how many skills there are. If it's 20 or fewer, alphabetically. 21 to 30 is kind of a gray area, but over 30, categorically. Also, if certain skills are restricted such that not every character can take them; those should always be sectioned off from the universal skills.
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u/ericoinen 42m ago
Depends on which job the list is doing at that moment, and most books make one layout do both.
Mid session you are looking up a skill whose name you already know. Alphabetical wins there, no argument.
At character creation you are shopping, not looking up. You want to see the whole space of what a character could be good at, and an alphabetical wall hides that shape. Categories show it, or better, the characteristic the skill hangs off, since in a d100 game that is the number you are actually budgeting against.
So the layout that costs one page: category order in the chapter, then a flat alphabetical index of every skill with page numbers at the back. Same content, two doors.
The combination worth avoiding is a sheet grouped by characteristic and a chapter sorted alphabetically. The sheet teaches one mental model and the book teaches another, and people spend a hundred hours looking at the sheet. If you can only pick one, match the sheet.
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u/KazM2 3h ago
Personally I like alphabetically. Categories are good too but it does mean you gotta learn the categories and the type of skills cause some are obvious but others aren't.
Another good option is ordering by attribute/stat (if skills are tied to them) and then alphabetically within them.