tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296104283452210018.post775573930397276130..comments2024-03-28T05:12:54.089-05:00Comments on Uncle Matt's Blog: Old School Methods 3: Appraisal SkillMatt Finchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07678557558458924177noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296104283452210018.post-36351075583874548362015-09-01T13:41:36.549-05:002015-09-01T13:41:36.549-05:00Thanks, Steve! I'll probably start on the seri...Thanks, Steve! I'll probably start on the series again tomorrow. I'm fairly busy with the Northlands Kickstarter launch, but that frees up once the initial rush is done.Matt Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07678557558458924177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296104283452210018.post-65669906808632138672015-09-01T08:36:45.820-05:002015-09-01T08:36:45.820-05:00Nice to see you posting on the blog again. It'...Nice to see you posting on the blog again. It's a pleasant respite to the day reading some thoughtful OD&D posts.<br /><br />Thanks.squeenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975523149573452984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296104283452210018.post-5905018400619250462015-08-31T22:37:32.210-05:002015-08-31T22:37:32.210-05:00One way that I've tried to adjudicate various ...One way that I've tried to adjudicate various knowledge skills (of which I would consider appraisal to be a specialized version), is to ask the player to tell me how they would have acquired the knowledge from their character's background, NPCs known, books read, etc. This is a bit "narrative" for many old school folks, but I find it more entertaining than a dice roll.<br /><br />For example:<br />"Joe the Fighter learned about tapestries when he was a guard on the caravans across the Boiling Desert between the Kingdom of Day and the Kingdom of Night."<br />DM: well, Joe doesn't recognize the embroidery because it is different than the methods of the Night Kingdom needle workers. Still, you know it was made from a highly skilled artist and the local markets would pay at least 200gp.<br /><br />What it tests is whether the player can come up with something that the DM (me) feels fits within the described game world, or matches what I've written or imagined for the artifact. Some may call that pixel bitching but to me it tests how well the player understands the world I've been describing. And yes, if I think the player's answer is better than mine I take it.redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600098550347299095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2296104283452210018.post-55375515510097000242015-08-31T22:34:10.672-05:002015-08-31T22:34:10.672-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600098550347299095noreply@blogger.com