Person_Man
2014-01-15, 11:33 AM
In your opinion, what are the best and/or most useful and/or interesting and/or favorite Skill based abilities, Feats, spells, powers, vestiges, soulmelds, maneuvers, classes, etc? From any 3.X, Pathfinder, or 3rd party d20 product. Anything that that either requires a Skill to use, or augments a Skill so that it is more effective or gains an additional function. Some gems I've come across:
Skill Assistance: A very useful ability from the very obscure (and otherwise useless) Savant class in the Dragon Magazine Compendium. Allows you to replace allies (multiple) Skill attempts with your own results (for a limited number of Skills, with caveats/limitations). For example, you can use your Hide check result (1d20 + your skill ranks + the ally's ability score modifier, armor check penalty (if any), and other modifiers) in place of theirs. This is hugely important for Hide, Move Silently, and Disguise, as it allows your entire party to use stealth, instead of just the Skill Monkey.
Trapfinding: For many players, this ability raison d'etre for playing a Rogue/Psychic Rogue/Factotum/etc. Love em or hate em, traps are a very common aspect of exploration in D&D, and the ability to find them is generally considered a "required" role that must be filled by somebody.
Glibness: +30 Bluff. For some players, access to this spell is a huge reason to play a Bard.
Balance: If you have 10 or more ranks, you can make a Balance check (-10 penalty) in place of a Str or Dex check to resist being tripped. Defeats a very popular attack, with no additional investment needed in the Skill other then it's normal ranks. Comp Adventurer pg 97.
Incarnum in general: Although it has a deeply flawed implementation, I just love the idea of class abilities that provide useful well scaled bonuses to Skill checks, so that I don't have to go out and buy a magic item or permanently invest ranks in a Skill that I might use once per campaign. For this purpose, I'm particularly fond of Silvertongue Mask (Bluff and Diplomacy, with the ability to use Suggestion), Mage's Spectacles (UMD, Spellcraft, Decipher Script), Elder Spirit (UMD, Knowledge: history, Knowledge: arcana), and Acrobat Boots (Tumble, Balance, Escape Artist, Jump).
Additions? Thoughts?
Skill Assistance: A very useful ability from the very obscure (and otherwise useless) Savant class in the Dragon Magazine Compendium. Allows you to replace allies (multiple) Skill attempts with your own results (for a limited number of Skills, with caveats/limitations). For example, you can use your Hide check result (1d20 + your skill ranks + the ally's ability score modifier, armor check penalty (if any), and other modifiers) in place of theirs. This is hugely important for Hide, Move Silently, and Disguise, as it allows your entire party to use stealth, instead of just the Skill Monkey.
Trapfinding: For many players, this ability raison d'etre for playing a Rogue/Psychic Rogue/Factotum/etc. Love em or hate em, traps are a very common aspect of exploration in D&D, and the ability to find them is generally considered a "required" role that must be filled by somebody.
Glibness: +30 Bluff. For some players, access to this spell is a huge reason to play a Bard.
Balance: If you have 10 or more ranks, you can make a Balance check (-10 penalty) in place of a Str or Dex check to resist being tripped. Defeats a very popular attack, with no additional investment needed in the Skill other then it's normal ranks. Comp Adventurer pg 97.
Incarnum in general: Although it has a deeply flawed implementation, I just love the idea of class abilities that provide useful well scaled bonuses to Skill checks, so that I don't have to go out and buy a magic item or permanently invest ranks in a Skill that I might use once per campaign. For this purpose, I'm particularly fond of Silvertongue Mask (Bluff and Diplomacy, with the ability to use Suggestion), Mage's Spectacles (UMD, Spellcraft, Decipher Script), Elder Spirit (UMD, Knowledge: history, Knowledge: arcana), and Acrobat Boots (Tumble, Balance, Escape Artist, Jump).
Additions? Thoughts?