Most useful/robust profession skill?

[TheCorsairMalac]

RAW, profession is used to earn a pittance of gold in your off time, but I've heard of people using it for other uses.

Profession (brewer) working in a wagon and bribing/poisoning with ale.
Profession (builder) making fortifications to defend camp.
Profession (hunter) purely for synergy bonus to hide/move silently.

I've thought of a few, but none of them make me feel particularly interested in taking Profession as anything more than flavor. What are some useful uses for Profession that you guys have come up with?

[Xefas]

Profession (Attractive Person). Not only can you use it to get paid merely for being attractive, but you create a standard of attractiveness in the game world that can cause far-reaching skill point taxes for any character that also wishes to be attractive. How attractive is the bar wench? Well, you've got 8 ranks in Profession (Attractive Person) and she has zero, so obviously she's far less attractive than you are. By RAW - Nymphs? zero ranks. Succubi? zero ranks. Graz'zt? zero ranks.

Then, if you work on it a while, and manage to bring up your objective mechanical attractiveness enough, the GM might in turn start spending skill points to give his NPCs ranks in the skill, merely as a measure against you harping on about how you're so much hotter than the ripped elven bard BBEG he's planning on throwing at you. And that's fewer points they have to spend on important things! Like Swim, Use Rope, and Perform (Rudimentary Household Tasks). With a little elbow grease, you've managed to turn a Profession skill into a no-save infinite range (Ex) debuff effect! What other profession could be so practical?

[deuxhero]

I saw someone suggest Profession: Adventurer somewhere, with the earned gold representing gifts/services given for your heroism.

[RavynsLand]

Profession (Attractive Person). Not only can you use it to get paid merely for being attractive, but you create a standard of attractiveness in the game world that can cause far-reaching skill point taxes for any character that also wishes to be attractive. How attractive is the bar wench? Well, you've got 8 ranks in Profession (Attractive Person) and she has zero, so obviously she's far less attractive than you are. By RAW - Nymphs? zero ranks. Succubi? zero ranks. Graz'zt? zero ranks.

Then, if you work on it a while, and manage to bring up your objective mechanical attractiveness enough, the GM might in turn start spending skill points to give his NPCs ranks in the skill, merely as a measure against you harping on about how you're so much hotter than the ripped elven bard BBEG he's planning on throwing at you. And that's fewer points they have to spend on important things! Like Swim, Use Rope, and Perform (Rudimentary Household Tasks). With a little elbow grease, you've managed to turn a Profession skill into a no-save infinite range (Ex) debuff effect! What other profession could be so practical?

This just destroyed my whole world.

[mabriss lethe]

There actually is a RAW secondary mechanical benefit to Profession: Sailor, though I don't remember what it is off the top of my head.

As for making odd use of a profession skill, my favorite was Profession: Fortuneteller. Our party was very low power (with no reliable access to divinations, etc.) and I jokingly started using the skill any time the party got stuck on a plot point. The DM rolled with it and thought it was an excellent vector for feeding us enough information to keep the game moving.

[Jon_Dahl]

Profession (gambler) might be worth the try.

[cricricri13]

using proffesions for more stuff apart from gaining money, it should be on a very, very limited basis. Like one of those "make a city" games (the adventurers grab a destroyed city and gotta make sure it comes back to life, bringing people and stuff. Those are weird games, but funny). For a normal game, you shouldn't, simple as that. It just makes the game unbalanced everytime. I say this from my personal experience. When I'm DM I allways try to let my players innovate a bit with everything. With the professions they just end overkilling everytime. It's not worth it.

[squiggit]

Well, you've got 8 ranks in Profession (Attractive Person) and she has zero, so obviously she's far less attractive than you are. By RAW - Nymphs? zero ranks. Succubi? zero ranks. Graz'zt? zero ranks.
By RAW that's not what it means. It means you're a better professional attractive person, not that you're more attractive. In the same way that Profession(Fortune Teller) doesn't make the fourth level rogue better and predicting the future than the twenty second level diviner.

Besides, there are plenty of models that are pretty gross on close inspection (which is essentially what that profession is).

[DCraw]

Well, Profession(Courtier) could arguably be used in place of Knowledge(Nobility) or Diplomacy in appropriate circumstances. Thinking along the same lines, you should be able to use Profession(Hunter) in place of survival. Trying to use Profession(Blacksmith) instead of Craft (Weapons) or Craft(Armor) may be pushing it, though.

You could also try to use Profession(Town Guard) to try to talk your way out of any legal entanglements. They take care of their own.

[Komatik]

Craft(Basketweaving).

[torrasque666]

There actually is a RAW secondary mechanical benefit to Profession: Sailor, though I don't remember what it is off the top of my head.

Stormwrack uses it for ship-related maneuvers.

[XmonkTad]

Profession(Barrister) can help if you've sold your soul (it's Profession(solicitor) for rules lawyering).

Profession(siege engineer) shows up a lot in Heroes of Battle for things like reloading ballistas and such.

[Master of Doink]

Profession (mathematician) for a synergy bonus to range increments?

[Necroticplague]

Profession(miner) is actually used to allow you to dig through things in one book. I think it was races of dragon, with the skill beech described while talking about kobolds.

[TheCorsairMalac]

Well, Profession(Courtier) could arguably be used in place of Knowledge(Nobility) or Diplomacy in appropriate circumstances. Thinking along the same lines, you should be able to use Profession(Hunter) in place of survival. Trying to use Profession(Blacksmith) instead of Craft (Weapons) or Craft(Armor) may be pushing it, though.

You could also try to use Profession(Town Guard) to try to talk your way out of any legal entanglements. They take care of their own.

I agree with you about Profession (Blacksmith) not replacing Craft (Armor/Weapon). The Player's Handbook makes it quite clear that when the result of the roll is an item it should be a craft check. Which actually invalidates several of my ideas. :(

Ah! Using Profession (Whatever) in place of other skills in its field. That's a good idea. Thank you for sharing!

[TheCorsairMalac]

Craft(Basketweaving).

Lol! Is there a joke I'm missing here? Or is there some sublime use for baskets that I've overlooked?

[Komatik]

Lol! Is there a joke I'm missing here? Or is there some sublime use for baskets that I've overlooked?

Granted, this isn't necessarily of super great use in a standard D&D game, but...
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/02/basketry-the-art-of-producing-sustainable-consumer-goods.html

Basically, don't think "basket, the item" but what you might want to do with "woven fibre construction", and a world of possibility opens up.

[Ikeren]

Lol! Is there a joke I'm missing here?

https://xkcd.com/1053/

http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1121371

Basically, there are some really famous old jokes about optimizers versus roleplayers that resulted in an optimization series based around basketweaving.

[TheCorsairMalac]

Basically, don't think "basket, the item" but what you might want to do with "woven fibre construction", and a world of possibility opens up.


Basically, there are some really famous old jokes about optimizers versus roleplayers that resulted in an optimization series based around basketweaving.

Hmm! So Craft (Basketweaving) is actual the ultimate multitool. XD You can make boats, traps, houses, backpacks...

[Andezzar]

Profession(Barrister) can help if you've sold your soul (it's Profession(solicitor) for rules lawyering). I don't think it works that way. To help you with that you probably need Craft (contracts). Profession skills do not produce any item, but the craft skill does. It also lets you evaluate the work of other crafters (i.e. the contract that stipulates you exchange your soul for something else)

[Erik Vale]

Actually, the Fuestian contract rules allow you to make a profession [barrister] roll as one of the rolls for saying that 'No, I didn't actually sell my soul', alongside a perform [acting] and another.

[DCraw]

I don't think it works that way. To help you with that you probably need Craft (contracts). Profession skills do not produce any item, but the craft skill does. It also lets you evaluate the work of other crafters (i.e. the contract that stipulates you exchange your soul for something else)

As a general rule, contract is an agreement, not an item. Unless your DM says otherwise, there's no reason why it would need to be a physical item. This is why verbal contracts can be considered valid. A written document may contain the terms of the contract (and in many settings destroying the written version is deemed to be equivalent to declaring the contract void/that you refuse to acknowledge that you are bound by it), but the contract itself typically exists in the agreement, not the scroll.

As such, I would argue that Profession(Barrister) would be appropriate - perhaps with a Craft(Document) roll to see if the written version is accurate.

[Andezzar]

Well the question is whether the ideas contained within verbal contracts are items. Additionally the PHB for some reason makes a distinction between craft and profession. Formulating a contract, whether verbal or written is a creative process and as such should be in the purview of the Craft skill.

This distinction gets particularly ridiculous for manufacturers. For example someone with Craft (armorsmithing) could create suits of armor but probably could not make a living of it (can only sell at half price, cost is greater than the 1/3 of market price in raw materials). On the other hand someone skilled in Profession (smith) would earn a living with his vocation but would not create a single item.

Why don't we go with Profession(lawyer) to not make the question more confusing due to the weird distinction between barrister and solicitor of British law?

[DCraw]

Well, if you're arguing that ideas count as items, Knowledge checks should be Craft(Knowledge)...

As for British lawyers, the easiest way to think about it is in terms of doctors and surgeons. A solicitor is like your doctor. Some handle general issues, while others specialise in a given area. Most even some minor surgery. If you're looking at major surgery, though, you get your doctor to refer you to a surgeon to perform it. Similarly, solicitors deal with most legal issues (although many specialise in a given area of law), and can deal with minor court appearances. If you're looking at a major court case, though, you'll want your solicitor to brief a barrister to represent you in court.

That said, while both barristers and solicitors could conceivably be asked to draft a contract, Profession(Lawyer) is probably better as a generic term.

Note: In accordance with the rules of this forum, this post is just a general explanation, not professional advice. I am not a lawyer.

[hymer]

We've had some cases of Profession (soldier) having some useful effects, unsurprisingly. Knowing about army organization and logistics can be useful for direct purposes, but it's also very useful for infiltration and intelligence gathering.

[Shining Wrath]

If you have Profession(chef) you can open a restaurant, and then lots of possibilities open up for gathering information, poisoning & robbing people, meeting important people, and so on. You have to hire someone with craft(meal) to keep the place open while you're away.

Profession(tax collector) could have uses working for The Man if you're so inclined.

[XmonkTad]

I went back to look at barristers, and the A&EG lists their primary skill as Diplomacy. This makes sense given the rules in FCII on diabolic trials.

Profession(nursemaid) is a thing. Might be useful for a male character that can't otherwise lactate (or does that require wet nurse)?

[TheCorsairMalac]

Profession (gambler) might be worth the try.

That would make for a fun bard or rogue for certain!... or a very ironic paladin. 8D

[deuxhero]

Weirdest part is that you can't actually LOSE money as a professional gambler.

[TheCorsairMalac]

Weirdest part is that you can't actually LOSE money as a professional gambler.

XD Oh the quirks that get pointed out! I wish I was that good at gambling.

[GoblinArchmage]

Profession (Forum Moderator)