Cruiser1
2007-02-01, 12:32 AM
A problem with skill points as they currently stand in D&D is that there's too much emphasis on INT. It's annoying that a low strength Wizard can overtake a high strength Barbarian in a STR based skill like Jump simply because the Wizard has so many more skill points available. Physical skills like Jump don't really improve by you intelligently thinking about them, but rather from you physically practicing them.
It's also annoying that there are relatively few skill points available. Even a Wizard has few skill points left once they've maxed out the important skills Concentration, Spellcraft, and Knowledge (Arcane). If I want to do something interesting roleplay-wise like have a Wizard skilled at riding horses, I have to choose between that and the important skills. It would be nice if there were a separate pool of skill points that could be used for fun things like this.
The proposal: When a character is created or levels up, they receive six different pools of skill points, one for each stat. Each pool of skill points may only be used on those skills under that stat. For each stat, characters receive one skill point per modifier bonus (natural bonus without equipment). Skill checks still work the same way, where their rank gets the modifier (current bonus with equipment) added to it. This proposal only changes the way available skill points are determined.
For example, consider a Wizard with: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 18, WIS 14, CHA 10. On level up they get 3 DEX skill points, 1 CON skill point, 4 INT skill points, and 2 WIS skill points. They don't get any STR or CHA skill points because those modifiers are 0 or below. That Wizard will likely bump Concentration with their CON point, and Spellcraft and three Knowledge/Craft skills with their INT points. Their WIS points can go into things like Listen or Spot, and their DEX points into any number of skills such as Ride.
For situations where a class gets more skill points, they get a number of bonus skill points across all stats (regardless of their modifier, even if negative). For example, if a class currently gets 4+INT on level up (like Druid or Monk) instead of the default minimal 2+INT, then they get 1 extra skill point in each of the six slots. If a class gets 6+INT on level up (like Bard) then they get 2 extra skill points per slot, and so on. At first level, classes get 4x the number of skill points based on modifier and bonuses, just as they do now.
For example, consider a Rogue with: STR 10, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 16. Rogue currently gets 8+INT on level up, so they start with 3 skill points in each slot. This gets the stat bonuses added to it, resulting in skill points per level of: 3 STR points, 7 DEX points, 4 CON points, 3 INT points, 5 WIS points, 6 CHA points. At first level they get 4x these values: 12 STR points, 28 DEX points, 16 CON points, 12 INT points, 20 WIS points, 24 CHA points.
This does change the game in a few ways. Characters tend to have higher skills, due to usually having a larger total number of skill points, but they're distributed more evenly across more skills. It also requires characters to have an acceptable value in a certain stat to be able to significantly raise that stat's skills, e.g. a party face needs to have at least some CHA bonus in order to be able to effectively pump CHA skills.
It's also annoying that there are relatively few skill points available. Even a Wizard has few skill points left once they've maxed out the important skills Concentration, Spellcraft, and Knowledge (Arcane). If I want to do something interesting roleplay-wise like have a Wizard skilled at riding horses, I have to choose between that and the important skills. It would be nice if there were a separate pool of skill points that could be used for fun things like this.
The proposal: When a character is created or levels up, they receive six different pools of skill points, one for each stat. Each pool of skill points may only be used on those skills under that stat. For each stat, characters receive one skill point per modifier bonus (natural bonus without equipment). Skill checks still work the same way, where their rank gets the modifier (current bonus with equipment) added to it. This proposal only changes the way available skill points are determined.
For example, consider a Wizard with: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 18, WIS 14, CHA 10. On level up they get 3 DEX skill points, 1 CON skill point, 4 INT skill points, and 2 WIS skill points. They don't get any STR or CHA skill points because those modifiers are 0 or below. That Wizard will likely bump Concentration with their CON point, and Spellcraft and three Knowledge/Craft skills with their INT points. Their WIS points can go into things like Listen or Spot, and their DEX points into any number of skills such as Ride.
For situations where a class gets more skill points, they get a number of bonus skill points across all stats (regardless of their modifier, even if negative). For example, if a class currently gets 4+INT on level up (like Druid or Monk) instead of the default minimal 2+INT, then they get 1 extra skill point in each of the six slots. If a class gets 6+INT on level up (like Bard) then they get 2 extra skill points per slot, and so on. At first level, classes get 4x the number of skill points based on modifier and bonuses, just as they do now.
For example, consider a Rogue with: STR 10, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 16. Rogue currently gets 8+INT on level up, so they start with 3 skill points in each slot. This gets the stat bonuses added to it, resulting in skill points per level of: 3 STR points, 7 DEX points, 4 CON points, 3 INT points, 5 WIS points, 6 CHA points. At first level they get 4x these values: 12 STR points, 28 DEX points, 16 CON points, 12 INT points, 20 WIS points, 24 CHA points.
This does change the game in a few ways. Characters tend to have higher skills, due to usually having a larger total number of skill points, but they're distributed more evenly across more skills. It also requires characters to have an acceptable value in a certain stat to be able to significantly raise that stat's skills, e.g. a party face needs to have at least some CHA bonus in order to be able to effectively pump CHA skills.