Abstract
Problem: Combat skills in RPGs are already extremely useful in their primary context — fighting. Do they need additional utility outside of combat, and would that even be desirable?
Approach: Tim Cain explores several concrete design ideas for giving combat skills non-combat applications, drawing on his experience with Fallout and The Outer Worlds, where combat skills were used as dialogue prerequisites.
Findings: Making combat skills useful outside of combat can paradoxically reduce violence in RPGs. When players feel their combat investment has broader utility, they become more willing to try non-combat solutions — knowing they can always fall back on fighting if needed.
Key insight: Any non-combat use of a combat skill makes the player feel their investment was worthwhile, and may actually encourage less combat-focused play — a direct counter to the "murder hobo" problem in RPGs.
1. Companion Video
This is a companion piece to Tim's earlier video on using non-combat skills in combat, exploring the reverse direction: how combat skills can find meaningful use outside of fighting.
2. The Case For Non-Combat Utility
Violence is the default action expected in most AAA RPGs. Players can talk, sneak, and steal — but they're mostly expected to fight. Tim's hypothesis: if combat skills had more utility outside of combat, some players might be encouraged to try non-combat solutions. They'd think, "I've invested in these combat skills and they're useful everywhere — maybe I should try talking my way through this." They always know combat is a fallback.
3. Dialogue: Skill-Combined Intimidation
Tim's first idea is combining speech skills with combat skills to create unique, flavored dialogue options. Even if a game collapses all social ability into a single "Speech" skill, it can be paired with combat skills:
- Speech + Guns: Bandits block a bridge demanding money. The player says, "Look, I don't want to have to put a bullet in everyone here. Just let me cross." If both skills meet a threshold (individually or summed), the line succeeds.
- Speech + Unarmed: A bodyguard refuses entry. The player threatens, "Unless you want me to knock you unconscious right here and now, tell your boss I'm here." High unarmed makes this credible.
Players love seeing skills they invested in actively used in the world — not just providing passive bonuses.
4. Trap-Setting Bonuses
Many games let players set traps before or during combat. Tim suggests tying trap effectiveness to combat skills:
- Explosives skill → Exploding traps deal area damage to nearby enemies, not just the one who triggered it.
- Shotgun skill → Rig a shotgun to fire when enemies cross a tripwire or enter a room.
This gives players a way to tilt combat in their favor using preparation — similar in spirit to stealth attacks, but using entirely different skill investments.
5. Companion Skill Overflow
In games like Fallout where skills can exceed 100, Tim proposes that points above 100 in a combat skill could flow into companions' equivalent skills. A gun skill of 110 would give all companions +10 to their gun skills. While this is technically still combat-adjacent, the player isn't directly stronger — their team is. It's a leadership-flavored use of expertise.
6. Combat-Informed Healing
A perk could grant bonus healing when treating wounds caused by a weapon type the player is skilled in. High sword skill? Better at healing sword wounds. High spear skill? You know exactly how spear injuries work and can treat them faster. This creates interesting tactical calculations: "They're using spears, and I know spears — I can heal that damage quickly afterward."
7. Defensive Skills Against Traps
If a player has invested heavily in defensive combat skills like shields, those skills could reduce damage from traps — not just in combat. A high shield skill with a shield equipped means a trap explosion hurts less. This is elegant compensation: players who spent all their points on combat probably didn't invest in detecting or disarming traps, so reduced trap damage becomes a natural consolation.
8. Attribute-Skill Synergy
Tim suggests adding targeted synergies between combat skills and attribute checks in specific contexts:
- Dexterity check for wall climbing + high unarmed skill → bonus, because the player clearly has good hand coordination and grip strength.
- Strength check to bend jail bars + high lockpicking → bonus, because the player knows to bend the bars near the lock mechanism to pop it open.
These don't need to be large bonuses — just seeing the connection makes players feel their investment matters. Tim notes this could be implemented systemically in level editors, with UI dropdowns letting designers easily add "also modified by [combat skill]" to any check.
9. Crafting Gates and Bonuses
Combat skills could enhance crafting in two ways:
- Crafting bonuses: When making ammo or weapon mods, higher skill in that weapon type yields better results — more ammo per batch, slightly improved mods, optimized gunpowder loads.
- Recipe gating: The best weapon mods could require both crafting skill and weapon skill. You need to understand pistols deeply to craft the best pistol mod.
This makes different character builds craft differently. A medical-focused character and a combat-focused character would have access to different recipes and bonuses, adding meaningful build diversity to the crafting system.
10. Conclusion
Every non-combat use of a combat skill reinforces the player's sense that their investment was worthwhile — even if it leads them to fight less. In a genre plagued by the "murder hobo" problem, giving players more reasons to solve problems without violence (while still feeling their combat points weren't wasted) seems like a clear win.
11. References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_bbscwVvzc