Uses of the Profession skill

[Nornalhorst]

I'm a bit curious are there any uses for the profession skill that makes it worthwhile to put a point in?

With a creative player crafting can be very useful but what about profession? Any interesting uses of profession you had in your own campaigns?

[prufock]

Other than meeting prerequisites for feats and prestige classes and making a piddling amount of money (compared to adventuring), most uses of the profession skill could be subsumed into other skills. Generally, though, there are a few good ones.

Profession (sailor) in a seafaring campaign is quite useful.
Profession (siege engineer) in a war campaign is also pretty good, I've heard.

I always allow certain profession types to substitute for other skills - ie profession (herbalist) to sub for knowledge (nature) and survival when it comes to identifying/finding plants and poisons.

[Annos]

Proffession (Miner) also has it's uses... especially fof kobalt's

[Farm_Ecology]

I always put points into professions for flavour purposes.

But I and my DM have allows professions to be alternatives to certain other skills. Having the profession (hunter) for example can be used to get food in place of survival. We allow profession (herbalist) to heal extra HP at rest in a forested area in a way that's similar to heal.

Generally it adds charater, but can also be used for synergy bonuses that might not already be present: Scribe-Spellcraft, hunter-survival, stablehand-ride. etc.

[Diovid]

Profession (Sailor) --> See Stormwrack
Profession (Siege Engineer) --> See Heroes of Battle
Profession (Miner) --> See Races of the Dragon

[Sgt. Cookie]

Profession (Executioner), Book of Vile Darkness

With a great axe/sword and a helpless opponent, it's a mundane no-save-just-die.

[Greenish]

Generally it adds charater, but can also be used for synergy bonuses that might not already be present: Scribe-Spellcraft, hunter-survival, stablehand-ride. etc.Wouldn't Profession (Scribe) grant synergy bonus to Decipher Script (since it's not like being a scribe has anything to do with identifying magic gestures and utterances) and Profession (Stablehand) give bonus to Handle Animal (which is what stablehands actually do for living)?

Does Profession (Stablehand) even make any sense when Handle Animal is already a skill?

[Diovid]

Does Profession (Stablehand) even make any sense when Handle Animal is already a skill?
Isn't Handle Animal the ability to handle animals and Profession (Stablehand) the ability to use your ability to handle animals to earn money?

[Greenish]

Ins't Handle Animal the ability to handle animals and Profession (Stablehand) the ability to use your ability to handle animals to earn money?Well, yes, but does that make any sense? :smalltongue:

[hymer]

I've had a private player take Profession (Soldier) to account for major tactics and knowing or guessing corporal stuff that deals with armies and soldiers in general (pardon the puns - they seemed like a good idea at the time).

[Aotrs Commander]

I generally treat profession (and craft skills to a lesser extent) as something that can be creatively applied in problem solving or as another form of information dispersal to the PCs. Profession (soldier) is a common one in my campaign world, too, where professional armed forces (e.g. Roman legionary equivilents) are common place. I allow their use basically if the PCs can come up with a plausible reason why it would apply to certain situations (with Profession (soldier), digging earthworks properly, recognising same and so on). There is a lot of room for latitude, and overlap with other skills this way, but I think the flavour it adds is worth it.

(For good measure, I make my PCs select a culture as well as a race, which typically grants +2 to 2-3 craft or profession (and occasionally knowledge) skills, they will all have one or two.)

[Diovid]

Well, yes, but does that make any sense? :smalltongue:
I do believe there's a big difference between being good at something and being able to make money with it, yes.

I've had a private player take Profession (Soldier) to account for major tactics and knowing or guessing corporal stuff that deals with armies and soldiers in general (pardon the puns - they seemed like a good idea at the time).
I believe either Complete Warrior or Heroes of Battle says such knowledge is part of Knowledge (History).

[Greenish]

I do believe there's a big difference between being good at something and being able to make with it, yes.Eh, fair enough, though Craft and Perform have a direct relation there.


I believe either Complete Warrior or Heroes of Battle says such knowledge is part of Knowledge (History).Heroes of Battle, though it says "in a military campaign".

[Nornalhorst]

I always put points into professions for flavour purposes.

But I and my DM have allows professions to be alternatives to certain other skills. Having the profession (hunter) for example can be used to get food in place of survival. We allow profession (herbalist) to heal extra HP at rest in a forested area in a way that's similar to heal.

Generally it adds charater, but can also be used for synergy bonuses that might not already be present: Scribe-Spellcraft, hunter-survival, stablehand-ride. etc.

I was wondering where do you find these professions? Or do you just make up professions?

The usefulness of Craft and profession seem to depend on the DM, with a pretty laidback DM you could probably weaponcraft a flamethrower sword or something.
http://images.wikia.com/fallout/images/d/d7/F3Shish01.jpg
I wonder what the DC for this would be:smallbiggrin:

[ArcturusV]

Well... it depends in part.

I mean some are actually referenced at points. Like "Profession: Herbalist" is actually referenced in the Savage Spellcasting feat from Frostburn. It allows you to find a particular material component you can add to spells that don't use material components to increase their power.

But it's all very adventure/setting/campaign specific. The most common one I've seen come up? That would by far be Profession: Sailor.

Pretty much anytime PCs get on a boat, there is going to eventually be a cause for using it. For navigation, to ride out a storm, to repair a ship, to know how to properly maneuver and try to run away from Pirates or Cross the T on them, etc.

Others have come up for various reasons. For low level characters it is often a good source of income. Sometimes it has come up in odd ways like a Fighter character in a campaign of mine who had Profession: Farmer, and was using his skill ranks to help make the village he was taking over more productive and propserous, and helping them grow and cultivate rare ingredients that could be used for medicines and alchemy.