A Look at Skills

[Swift-13]

All manner of Palladium titles share a mess of the same skill listings, from ancient WPs to the catch-all Technical category. Nothing wrong with the system, either. Roll 2d10 to see if you succeed, all skills increase as you level (I'm lookin' at YOU, D20!). That's cool. Currently, I find Rifts Ultimate to have the most comprehensive list so far, such as accounting for low Literacy in a world where education is a rare thing.

But I've got some improvement ideas for some of the skills, themselves.
-Barter: a nice, shiny new skill! But seriously too limited in who can/can't have it.
-Computer Repair: nix it. Basic Electronics and Computer Programming can handle this. No one knows how to fix a computer without turning it on (psychics don't count).
-Laser Communications/Optic Systems: aren't these the same thing?
-Sign Language: I think this should count as a Language skill the same as any spoken lingo.
-Detect Ambush: change to "Ambush Tactics" so a character can recognize them *and* know how to set one up!
-Detect Concealment: ditch and replace with Perception rolls.
-Vehicle Armorer: nothing wrong with the skill itself, but I think Basic Mechanics should be a requirement, not a freebie skill.
-Crime Scene Investigation: can be replaced with a Perception roll and the appropriate *other* skill, such as Chemistry or Biology.
-Psychology: nix the Biology and Chemistry requirements. Psychologists aren't the ones that deal out meds; that's a Psychiatrist.
-Field Armorer: nothing wrong with the skill, but it really doesn't need Basic Mechanics as a freebie.
-Find Contraband: more of an Espionage and Rogue skill than a Military one.
-Military Etiquette: does anyone actually use this skill??
-Naval Tactics: not a bad skill, but something like Small Unit Tactics should be there, too. It would get used more often.
-Roadwise: I'd count this more as a Pilot-Related skill than a Rogue one.
-Appraise Goods: I don't have a problem with this one, but it sure does leave out the fun stuff.
-Breed Dogs: Animal Husbandry, anyone?
-Gemology: scratch out and replace with Geology. Gem Appraisal could be a sub-skill.
-Lore: Faeries and Creatures of Magic: nothing wrong with skill, just needs a shorter name.
-Hunting: go ahead and give it a percentile chance. Could represent a day's success or not. Works for Fishing, right?

I don't actually have a problem with any of these skills, just a few tweaks came to mind recently.

[Swift-13]

Oh! I wasn't suggesting that Palladium change their books to my whim.
I was simply pitching my take on some rules. But I did find a Strategy/Tactics rule in the Military skills of the Nightbane main book! Now that is a handy-dandy skill.

[Stone Gargoyle]

No game system is perfect, and everyone has their own ideas of what should be classified as what.

If you're the GM, I suggest you modify your house rules to match your take on it.

Agreed. You will never get people to agree on how skills should be modified in a discussion like this. Everyone has different ideas on how they would do things. It is ultimately up to the GM to decide how things are in their game.

[Swift-13]

No game system is perfect, and everyone has their own ideas of what should be classified as what.

If you're the GM, I suggest you modify your house rules to match your take on it.

Agreed. You will never get people to agree on how skills should be modified in a discussion like this. Everyone has different ideas on how they would do things. It is ultimately up to the GM to decide how things are in their game.

I realize that.
Especially after Snuzzles said it.
I was simply sharing my take on skills, as a GM. Particularly after an experience of going through RUE's list of skills with a potential new player who had a habit of overanalyzing the choices. Seriously, dude kept thinking "Animal Husbandry" was funny.
To be honest, I wouldn't mind hearing another GM's take on skills. It's one of the reasons I started the topic!

[Cinos]

-Crime Scene Investigation: can be replaced with a Perception roll and the appropriate *other* skill, such as Chemistry or Biology.

This is the one I'd disagree with, Crime Scene Investigation is a trained skill in how to prevent tampering with the scene, due diligence when collecting and finding possible bits of information (where blood might splatter, troublesome spots that prints might stick to or be missed during a wipe down, etc). While Chemistry or Biology should be used for matching DNA samples (or getting said samples from their equipment), they don't really have a direct use on the scene itself, may officers in the field doing the investigations likely don't possess those skills. I'll use Dexter and Breaking Bad as an example; Dexter would have all three skills, Investigation, chemistry and Biology, he both knows how to find the prints, collect samples without contaminating them, handling them as well as process them and use that data effectively. Meanwhile, Walter of course knows Chemistry. He might be able to figure out how to -get- a DNA reading from a sample, but he's not going to be the guy you want to collect the data from the scene itself, he's likely going to mistakenly tamper with the sample before hand, and he's not necessarily going to understand how blood splatters work to determine weapon type or method of attack (type of swing or thrust used), and without using sampling of rotting flesh, it's unlikely he'll get a very narrow time of death. On the other side of that, Dexters Sister would have Crime Scene Investigation, without the Chem or Biology to back it. She would be able to get an okay time of death based on the corpse, understands blood splatter, more about cause and motivation that might lead to clues, and how to inspect a scene without damaging evidence. She doesn't however, know how to process samples or the underlying mechanics of the other sciences.

Military Etiquette is another one I disagree with, I actually use that skill a lot for military games, understanding proper procedure and respect for various branches of your or another military is essential to anyone trying to climb the ladder. I use Animal Husbandry (and breed dogs) far less in a given game.

I'd agree with the rest of your ideas though, rider skills where just a poor idea since they're so obviously efficient and useful, and the over laps between things like Breed Dogs and Husbandry or Gemology and Geology really don't warrant another skill choice.

[Swift-13]

Hmm...I can see your point about the CSI skill (you listening out there, Bruckheimer?!). I'll admit, it doesn't come up much in my games; hard to find clues out of plasma-blasted tech-bandits!
Still, Military Etiquette doesn't come up much, either, at least for me. My group tends to consider that sort of knowledge more of a roleplaying thing. I've found that a handy knowledge of tactics of some sort tends to cut down on incidents such as those found in "Full Metal Jacket." Or promote that kind of thing...rolling a 100% is a pain.