Zaq
2014-07-24, 06:54 PM
What classes can you think of that give you a big (ideally, I'm thinking at least +4, but this is all just theoretical anyway) bonus to one or more skills for only a level (maybe two) in the class? The skill bonuses should be either constant or at-will. (This isn't for a character who's ever going to see the light of day—I'm just considering what's out there.)
I got thinking about this by considering the Warlock and the DFA, both of which have invocations that give +6 to certain skill checks. Two levels of Warlock can get you, say, Beguiling Influence and Leaps and Bounds (or Otherworldly Whispers or All-Seeing Eyes), and a level of DFA will get you Draconic Knowledge. Then we have the Marshal, which gives +CHA to X-based skills for a one-level dip, where X is your favorite stat. One level will get you one stat, or three levels will get you two stats.
Then there's the Ardent. The Knowledge mantle's granted power gives you a +5 on any Knowledge check when you expend your focus. This isn't a constant bonus, but at least it's at-will.
The Incarnate and the Totemist get very little other than skill bonuses at low levels, but the skill bonuses they get are pretty decent, especially if you have a point of essentia from your race or something. You can pick a couple key soulmelds and get a consistent +4 or +6 from them.
After that, though, I'm not sure where else to look. A Changeling with Racial Emulation can spend five levels as a Wizard to get a floating +6, using the Elf Generalist 3rd level ability to double the typical +3 from a familiar and the Changeling Wizard 5th level ability to change their familiar at-will, but that's a lot of investment compared to the one-and-done you can get from the rest of the things I mentioned.
There are probably some PrCs that are worth looking into. Exemplar gives you a +4 on a skill of your choice when you take your first level. Blade Dancer is a pain in the butt to enter, but it nets you a whopping +10 on Balance/Jump/Tumble as its first level.
Of course, I have to mention the Truenamer, which can give you a +5 on ALL skill checks if you can reliably use Universal Aptitude on yourself. That's far from a trivial investment, though.
If we're counting the Ardent, we might as well mention a few psionic feats that let you expend your focus for a nice skill bonus, specifically Inquisitor and Mental Leap. Those aren't constant, and they're feats instead of classes, though of course we can get them with a dip in Psion or Psychic Warrior, as either of those classes will give us a bonus psionic feat at first level.
What else is out there? I like the idea of a highly unconventional skill monkey who has unnaturally high skill checks from a whole bunch of disjoint sources. I feel like there's got to be more out there. So help me out, Playground. What other classes (base or prestige) give you nice meaty skill bonuses as soon as you enter them?
I got thinking about this by considering the Warlock and the DFA, both of which have invocations that give +6 to certain skill checks. Two levels of Warlock can get you, say, Beguiling Influence and Leaps and Bounds (or Otherworldly Whispers or All-Seeing Eyes), and a level of DFA will get you Draconic Knowledge. Then we have the Marshal, which gives +CHA to X-based skills for a one-level dip, where X is your favorite stat. One level will get you one stat, or three levels will get you two stats.
Then there's the Ardent. The Knowledge mantle's granted power gives you a +5 on any Knowledge check when you expend your focus. This isn't a constant bonus, but at least it's at-will.
The Incarnate and the Totemist get very little other than skill bonuses at low levels, but the skill bonuses they get are pretty decent, especially if you have a point of essentia from your race or something. You can pick a couple key soulmelds and get a consistent +4 or +6 from them.
After that, though, I'm not sure where else to look. A Changeling with Racial Emulation can spend five levels as a Wizard to get a floating +6, using the Elf Generalist 3rd level ability to double the typical +3 from a familiar and the Changeling Wizard 5th level ability to change their familiar at-will, but that's a lot of investment compared to the one-and-done you can get from the rest of the things I mentioned.
There are probably some PrCs that are worth looking into. Exemplar gives you a +4 on a skill of your choice when you take your first level. Blade Dancer is a pain in the butt to enter, but it nets you a whopping +10 on Balance/Jump/Tumble as its first level.
Of course, I have to mention the Truenamer, which can give you a +5 on ALL skill checks if you can reliably use Universal Aptitude on yourself. That's far from a trivial investment, though.
If we're counting the Ardent, we might as well mention a few psionic feats that let you expend your focus for a nice skill bonus, specifically Inquisitor and Mental Leap. Those aren't constant, and they're feats instead of classes, though of course we can get them with a dip in Psion or Psychic Warrior, as either of those classes will give us a bonus psionic feat at first level.
What else is out there? I like the idea of a highly unconventional skill monkey who has unnaturally high skill checks from a whole bunch of disjoint sources. I feel like there's got to be more out there. So help me out, Playground. What other classes (base or prestige) give you nice meaty skill bonuses as soon as you enter them?