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View Full Version : Two very simple proposals for skill points (PEACH)



Deepbluediver
2013-01-08, 10:56 AM
The standard rule in 3.5 was that you got four times your normal skill points at first level. Mostly, it seems, so that you could max out your entire selection of chosen skills right off the bat. Of course, if you where planning a multi-class character, this gave great incentive to take at first level whichever class gave you the biggest static skill boost, regardless of what that meant for gameplay or roleplay.

Pathfinder changed the skill rules a bit, making cross-class skills less onerous to acquire, doing away with the "times 4 at first level", and lowering the cap on ranks.


Personally, I like the idea of being able to got more than a +1 via ranks to any particular skill at first level, but I understand the desire to disincentivise players from picking up a level of rogue before splitting off into whatever their actual class was meant to be.

I think that more skill points are always better than fewer, and with rare exceptions giving more of them does not drastically unbalance or break the game. So I have two new, very simple, houserules, and I'd love to hear what people thought of them.


Rule One
At first level, players get a number of skill points equal to 10+their class skill points. The basic 10 skill points represent the skills that the player picked up during their childhood and adolesence, before begining their training to be a Bard/Warlock/Fighter/Dragon Shaman/whatever.

Update: If you are playing in a game with a higher power level, the DM should feel free to increase the number of skill points players get at level 1, similarly to how the the stats for character creation are adjusted.


Rule Two
The minimum value that your Intellect modifier can apply to your calculation for skill points acquired each level is -0, so that you never get fewer skill points than the static portion listed for each class. For example, a Fighter with a really low Intellect score would get a minimum of 2 skill points each level, and a Rogue with really low Intellect would get a minimum of 8 skill points.
The human racial trait or other features that grant you additional skill points stack with this value (So a human Fighter would get a minimum of 3 skill points each level).

Grod_The_Giant
2013-01-08, 10:57 AM
I like 'em.

nonsi
2013-01-08, 11:55 AM
I have another suggestion:
1. All characters start with 16 skill points (4x4); humans start with 20 (4x5) - unmodified by Int.
2. No multiplication of 1st level skill points.

This way, rogues don't get shafted too hard (29 + Int-mod is not that terrible) and 2-points-per-level classes still start with a reasonable package of things they can do.

TopCheese
2013-01-08, 12:59 PM
I like this and will implement this if I ever DM again.

I've always wondered why Int determined your physical skills such as climb, tumble, balance, and whatever other you want to do. Physical skills aren't just about what you know but how well your body can do something. I've seen many athletes (I was somewhat of a jock in highschool - college) that were dumb as bricks.. These guys could dunk a basketball, rock climb, and fight (judo/jujitsu) ... But could barely pass 9th - 12th grade (no they didn't have anything wrong with them...).

I would like to see mental skill points based off one stat (int or wis) which show either what your learned based on your natural mental talent or what you have learned or however you want to describe it.

Physical skill points could be based on con (or perhaps str or dex) to show how well a fighter's body really is. A fighter with a high con/str should be better at climbing than the wizard with low con/str.

I think the increase of skill points all around is nice and it really really fixes some problems in 3.5 and Pathfinder and your way would be easier to inject into a game than making different pools for skill points.

Deepbluediver
2013-01-08, 03:18 PM
I have another suggestion:
1. All characters start with 16 skill points (4x4); humans start with 20 (4x5) - unmodified by Int.
2. No multiplication of 1st level skill points.

This way, rogues don't get shafted too hard (29 + Int-mod is not that terrible) and 2-points-per-level classes still start with a reasonable package of things they can do.

Hmm, I can certainly increase the number of skill points you get at first level, but I do want to keep the calculation for class and Intellect modifier in there to a degree.

What about if everyone gets 15 skill points, and humans get 4 more at first level (which combined with their +1/level racial) grants them a nice round total of 20, plus class points. That way a rogue (of any race) won't have less than 23.


I like this and will implement this if I ever DM again.

I've always wondered why Int determined your physical skills such as climb, tumble, balance, and whatever other you want to do. Physical skills aren't just about what you know but how well your body can do something. I've seen many athletes (I was somewhat of a jock in highschool - college) that were dumb as bricks.. These guys could dunk a basketball, rock climb, and fight (judo/jujitsu) ... But could barely pass 9th - 12th grade (no they didn't have anything wrong with them...).

I would like to see mental skill points based off one stat (int or wis) which show either what your learned based on your natural mental talent or what you have learned or however you want to describe it.

Physical skill points could be based on con (or perhaps str or dex) to show how well a fighter's body really is. A fighter with a high con/str should be better at climbing than the wizard with low con/str.
I think the increase of skill points all around is nice and it really really fixes some problems in 3.5 and Pathfinder and your way would be easier to inject into a game than making different pools for skill points.

Oh dear...I LIKE complex things, and now you've got the gears spinning in my head. :smallwink: