Quick houserule: Larger Ability Checks [PEACH]

[Amechra]

All creatures gain a Perfection bonus to all ability checks equal to half of their Hit-Dice, to a maximum of that ability score's modifier.

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Yes, this means that high-level characters get their Dexterity to Initiative twice. I see no real problem with this.

[TuggyNE]

I assume the wording is intended to exclude skill checks, despite those essentially being ability checks that also add skill bonuses?

[PeacefulOak]

I'm not sure that an Initiative check is an "Ability Check" per se.

As written, I would read an Ability check as any straight Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha check, without other modifiers. Thus, a higher level warrior could add twice their strength bonus to bend bars or break doors.

Not a bad rule, though. I think that a more experienced person should be better able to apply their natural attributes than an inexperienced person.

[Amechra]

Initiative is explicitly a Dexterity check; second sentence on the page. (http://dndsrd.net/initiativeAndAoO.html)

And skills also aren't ability checks; there is a reason where anything that gives a bonus to ability checks and skill checks explicitly calls it out.

For example, it won't say "Intelligence checks", it will say "Intelligence checks and Intelligence-based skill checks."

It is actually anally difficult to find stuff that gives long-term bonuses to ability checks. Hence this.

[Vadskye]

And skills also aren't ability checks; there is a reason where anything that gives a bonus to ability checks and skill checks explicitly calls it out.

Minor point: Untrained skill checks are considered ability checks. Thus, a character with 1 rank in a skill would conceivably have a lower modifier than a character without that rank.

[Amechra]

Where is that rule? I just checked, and all it mentions is that you don't add your rank to the check, because you don't have one.

And that does not make it an ability check; they are explicitly different things.

I mean, I know it is kinda weird when you think about it, but a skill check without ranks is still a skill check, which are, again, something entirely different from ability checks.

I mean, I could add a houserule that you get a number of virtual ranks in all of your skills equal to half your HD, up to a maximum of the ability score that that skill is based off of. Those ranks wouldn't stack with normal ranks.

Bardic Knack allows you to replace your ability score modifier in the above with half of your Bard level, if that would be higher.

[Vadskye]

Where is that rule? I just checked, and all it mentions is that you don't add your rank to the check, because you don't have one.
Player's Handbook, p. 5, under Ability Checks. Of course, given that you're houseruling this, you could very reasonably just add an additional house rule that says that untrained skill checks are not, in fact, ability checks. That would make more sense anyway.

[Amechra]

Huh. Yeah...

When I have time.