I totally forgot Forgery is a skill...

[XenoGeno]

I don't think I've ever known a single person take it for any reason. Not for RP reasons, not as a pre-req for something... certainly not to use it. And I can't think of an example of a class feature or non-core feat boosting it specifically, which I can with Appraise. I also forgot Decipher Script was a skill, but I do recall using it in a game at least once, long ago. Has anyone ever used Forgery in their games, and is there a more useless skill?

[Tar Palantir]

I don't think I've ever known a single person take it for any reason. Not for RP reasons, not as a pre-req for something... certainly not to use it. And I can't think of an example of a class feature or non-core feat boosting it specifically, which I can with Appraise. I also forgot Decipher Script was a skill, but I do recall using it in a game at least once, long ago. Has anyone ever used Forgery in their games, and is there a more useless skill?

Forgery's uselessness is what makes it so useful. People take Sense Motive to counter Bluff, Spot to counter Hide, etc., but Forgery is opposed by...Forgery.

[ArcturusV]

I took Forgery quite often as a rogue/bard or other flimflam artist. It's one of those skills that... if you need it, you need it, and you're basically going to Autopass with minimal investment. Survival and Swim come to mind as others like it. The DCs being trivally low sometimes. But yeah. In almost any adventure module (Or homebrewed adventure), no one gives the guards something like ranks in Forgery. Need to break into a prison? Forge up a document saying you're there to transfer a prisoner. You just autowon an entire series of encounters with a single skill check.

... it'll piss off your DM. But I've done it (And had it done to me) often enough.

[Lateral]

Forgery's uselessness is what makes it so useful. People take Sense Motive to counter Bluff, Spot to counter Hide, etc., but Forgery is opposed by...Forgery.
Exactly this. Everyone knows that Forgery is useless, which is what makes it so powerful. A good combination of Bluff and Diplomacy can get you into most places with several minutes of work, but with a little bit of preparation, Forgery can get you into even more places with just the wave of a piece of paper.

[XenoGeno]

Interesting. Next time I play a skill monkey, I'll be sure to keep this in mind. However, the fact that it's a secret check that I don't even know the results to, combined with the jackassery of my usual DMs, makes me less than confident it will work as well for me. Still, something I'm going to at least try.

[Pickford]

Interesting. Next time I play a skill monkey, I'll be sure to keep this in mind. However, the fact that it's a secret check that I don't even know the results to, combined with the jackassery of my usual DMs, makes me less than confident it will work as well for me. Still, something I'm going to at least try.

I <3 Forgery. Most adventures have 'some' point where being able to forge documents comes in handy.

[Psyren]

In Pathfinder it got rolled into Linguistics, making it much easier for the stuffy bureaucrats etc. to counter.

[Mutazoia]

Exactly this. Everyone knows that Forgery is useless, which is what makes it so powerful. A good combination of Bluff and Diplomacy can get you into most places with several minutes of work, but with a little bit of preparation, Forgery can get you into even more places with just the wave of a piece of paper.

Assuming, of course, that the low level guards can even read ;)

[Psyren]

Assuming, of course, that the low level guards can even read ;)

You can always forge a wax seal or the like. If Game of Thrones taught us anything, it's how important great house seals are.

[Lateral]

Assuming, of course, that the low level guards can even read ;)
Well, if they can't read, you don't even need Forgery. All you need is a good Bluff check and a piece of paper. Of course, it's good to have an actual Forgery, as I'd expect that someone who's guarding a place where forgery would be useful would be able to read.

[ArcturusV]

What, all the guards are Barbarian 1s instead of Warriors/Experts/Fighters? :smalltongue:

[Squirrel_Dude]

In Pathfinder it got rolled into Linguistics, making it much easier for the stuffy bureaucrats etc. to counter.It's also something that far more characters are going to have because everyone likes having a couple extra languages in their back pocket.

[Rubik]

Interesting. Next time I play a skill monkey, I'll be sure to keep this in mind. However, the fact that it's a secret check that I don't even know the results to, combined with the jackassery of my usual DMs, makes me less than confident it will work as well for me. Still, something I'm going to at least try.Take 10 (or better yet, 20). It doesn't matter that you don't know the roll, since there isn't one.


What, all the guards are Barbarian 1s instead of Warriors/Experts/Fighters? :smalltongue:Since most fighter-types have Int as a dump-stat (with the exception of the occasional Int 13, for prereqs)...

Just hope you don't have a warblade around.

[Pesimismrocks]

I like having and using such skills. An epic level farmer with Prifession in the high 80s, a level 5 truenamer with a 16 in geography. Forgery can be a very useful skill. If bluff is a sorcerer forgery is a wizard.

[Lafaellar]

Forgery can be pretty useful in conjunction with bluff.

"I am the royal tax collector, it is time to pay your tenth!" *roll bluff*
"Uhm yes but I expected somebody else and you don't look that official, can I see some proof?"
"Oh yes, here it is." *hands out forged papers*
"Yes absolutely, give me a moment."

Forgery can make it easier to get away with your bluff check as bluff can be ruined by hard evidence against your claim but with forgery you can make your own evidence and the CR to see through your forgery is pretty steep.

Furthermore forge can be really fun actually because you can forge practically anything. Maps, documents, love letters...

[Vaz]

City Slicker is one of my favourite feats in the game for just that reason. Disguise and Forgery are always class skills. Combine with Detect thoughts and you can learn the surface thoughs, changing your speech to how they are perceiving you.

[Chronos]

By about tenth level, a single character of any class should be able to take down an army of thousands of low-level soldiers. Forgery is how a rogue does it.