Use rope- what do you actually use it for?

[Deepbluediver]

To me, it seems like the only function of the Use rope skill in 3.5 is to oppose Escape artist checks. As far as I can tell, Pathfinder did away with it entirely. In fact, except for low/no magic campaigns, practically everything a rope does is copied by class features or can be worked around with other skills.

Does anyone have any good ideas to expand the functionality of this skill or stories about it's use, or can we really just fold it an Escape artist into one package?

[Mystify]

Use rope is also used for securing grappling hooks, which is extremely useful at low levels, before the mages go "I have a spell for that" at every turn. It is much easier to get the party up a wall or over a ledge with a rope.

It can also be used for more complex tasks, like turning your rope into a net for a trap, lashing people together where there is shaky footing, providing a saftey line, tying a door shut, etc.

[Arbane]

And extra check for Climbing mishaps?

"Oh, looks like the rope wasn't as secure as you thought..."

[Psyren]

Good riddance, I say.

<----Pathfinder

[Drathmar]

And extra check for Climbing mishaps?

"Oh, looks like the rope wasn't as secure as you thought..."

My friend is using the basis of climbing and use rope together in our current campaign, where his character is based off of shadow of the colossus... he literally is made to climb monsters... specifically dragons.

[Gwendol]

Ropes and grappling hooks. Since the DCs are fixed this is an easy task.

[some guy]

In a seafaring campaign Use Rope is also very useful.

[Jagu]

Use Rope can create a lasso, a noose, a number of knots that could be used for climbing/rappelling, simple traps, it's rather necessary for any sailing you want to do, and you could rig up a rope hammock or net rather easily.

[Ksheep]

Use Rope to splice two or more lengths of rope together. Especially useful when traveling through a maze and using the rope to find your way out.

[Mystify]

Use Rope to splice two or more lengths of rope together. Especially useful when traveling through a maze and using the rope to find your way out.

or just tie the ends together. Splice rope has uses, but its normally unnecessary.

[Rubik]

I use it to put skill points into other, actually useful, skills. (See: D&D has an ignore function.)

Though I will put one rank on a factotum, just in case.

[Deepbluediver]

My friend is using the basis of climbing and use rope together in our current campaign, where his character is based off of shadow of the colossus... he literally is made to climb monsters... specifically dragons.


Use Rope can create a lasso, a noose, a number of knots that could be used for climbing/rappelling, simple traps, it's rather necessary for any sailing you want to do, and you could rig up a rope hammock or net rather easily.
{scrubbed}

[Seharvepernfan]

It's use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shortening_knots) depends on your creativity.

I think the best use of it is for mechanical advantage, or moving more weight than you otherwise could.

[Deepbluediver]

It's use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shortening_knots) depends on your creativity.

I think the best use of it is for mechanical advantage, or moving more weight than you otherwise could.
{Scrubbed}

[deuxhero]

Honestly, I'm not sure why they didn't throw the other uses into survival.

[Seharvepernfan]

I'm not intending to be spiteful to other posters, I understand that you are all trying to be helpful, but I don't really see investing points in this skill being terribly helpful, especially given that many adventures never get past the "kill everything that moves" mentality.

It was likely never intended to be terribly helpful, and it's not the creators fault that most people are stuck in basic mode. The creators also didn't expect people to put too many ranks in it, considering how the DCs are never more than 20, and you get a flat +10 bonus on opposed checks.

If you don't like it, don't use it. I have a couple of characters with 5 ranks in it, partly for synergy and mostly because I think it's cool, and I realize it's a suboptimal choice, but I don't care.

[Reaver225]

I personally used it in lieu of a craft(hammock) check, which I had even less skill ranks in

Animated rope tying people up needing use rope? Using wires, chains and other such items also.

[Chronos]

It's an extremely useful skill, but it also has low DCs, so a skillful character can usually do just fine with a single rank in it.

[Alleran]

Funnily enough, the succubus demon lord Shami-Amourae has what I think are maximum ranks in it. It's also a class skill for Thralls of Malcanthet. :smallamused:

[Vattic]

in any 3.0 or 3.5 game that i played, use rope was what we rolled when tying up prisoners in addition to all of the other things listed. we also used it quite a lot to toss rope from one edge of a chasm to someone waiting on the other edge, or to simply lasso a rock or something. in a campaign where someone doesn't pick up flight or something similar it is very useful. necessary, in fact. one interesting use was to toss a loop of rope over a flying creature's head/foot/wing/whatever as it was strafing and try to either bring it down or climb aboard.

tldr: your imagination fails, not the skill.

[GoatBoy]

{Scrubbed}

[elvengunner69]

Use Rope to tie up defeated foes that maybe you don't want to kill? Bandit King that has brought to justice? Assume maybe he surrender before getting killed?

If said BK was say a Rogue opposing checks him for escape and if you tied him up really well? Maybe your roll is his DC to escape? I guess there are way in other words to make it work.

[Polarity Shift]

Secure a Grappling Hook

Securing a grappling hook requires a Use Rope check (DC 10, +2 for every 10 feet of distance the grappling hook is thrown, to a maximum DC of 20 at 50 feet). Failure by 4 or less indicates that the hook fails to catch and falls, allowing you to try again. Failure by 5 or more indicates that the grappling hook initially holds, but comes loose after 1d4 rounds of supporting weight. This check is made secretly, so that you don’t know whether the rope will hold your weight.

Since all ropes either hold forever or for only a few rounds all you have to do is throw one, wait 5 feet over the ground for 4 rounds and see if it remains secure or not.

Completely useless even when compared to other skills. That's terrible.

[deuxhero]

Wow, I never noticed that. You can roll a 1 with no ranks when throwing a hook attached to a very long thing of rope and you'll hit your target. It won't secure, but you'll hit.

[Mystify]

Wow, I never noticed that. You can roll a 1 with no ranks when throwing a hook attached to a very long thing of rope and you'll hit your target. It won't secure, but you'll hit.

Actually.. If you want to only using it for really short durations, being horrible at it is better than being almost competant.

*throws hook* *rolls a -3 skill check* *DM rolls a 1* Now you have an entire round to climb up the rope, even though you did it in an absolutely incompetent manner.

[Lord Ruby34]

In a campaign without flight I've found it useful for lassoing dragons. They don't usually come down, but it lets me get up.

[Urpriest]

In a campaign without flight I've found it useful for lassoing dragons. They don't usually come down, but it lets me get up.

Eh, now that Lassos have weapon stats (BoED, entertainingly enough) you probably would use Craft:Weaponsmithing for the same effect.

Use Rope primarily exists so Nymphs can have it as a class skill.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff of Moddingham: Thread locked for trolling. Discussing games is kind of the point of this subforum and pointing out a game's flaws is certainly a typical topic around here. But asking a question and then mischaracterizing and mocking people's answers is completely inappropriate for this forum.