Ezri said:
We only had one instance of PC tracking - but they didn't need craftsman skills to do it (even though one player had several ranks). It had snowed earlier that night, so they followed ACTUAL tracks. Naturally the player that got caught wasn't particularly happy about it, but they really didn't get any help from plot other than "you see what you see."
if you ask me this is how tracking should be, real.
in my opinion if you want to use a Craftsman skill in game i think you should learn to do it for real. saying your character can do something then asking the plot team to fill in for your lack of ability just looks silly.
you wanna track someone? learn how to track, you wanna know what a wall is made of? do some research! now if something in game isn't the same as what it is out of game then that would justify asking. and plus i think if people put the work into learning these things it would really add to the character and the world.
i know when i eventually make a full alchemist PC i'm gonna want to research alot of things so that i can properly roleplay the character. (and this comment will be biting me in the butt i'm sure...)