Increasing Skill Cap

[Morph Bark]

Is there a way to increase the cap on skills, to the point of allowing them to have a skill (even just one skill) with an amount of ranks in it equal to their level+4 (instead of the standard +3)?

[ExLibrisMortis]

There's a feat for it in Cityscape, Primary Contact, but it only works for one skill (it provides 1 bonus rank). There are bloodline levels, in Unearthed Arcana, which are often banned for being too powerful/badly written. There are also some (third party?) feats in the Ravensloft books.

[Uncle Pine]

There's also the Moment of Clarity ability of the Void Disciple, although it requires a bit more planning than the other ways:


Moment of Clarity (Su): A void disciple of 4th level or higher can grant an ally the temporary ability to perform any skill or feat (with the exception of ancestor feats). The void disciple must use a standard action to touch the target. The target gains either one feat or a number of ranks in one skill equal to his relevant ability modifier for that skill. For example, a character with Dexterity 14 could gain 2 ranks in Ride, for a total skill modifier of +4. The effect lasts for 1 round per level of the void disciple. The void disciple can use this supernatural ability twice per day at 4th level, plus an additional use for every four additional levels she attains.

[ShurikVch]

Well Traveled (regional Greyhawk feat, Dragon #319) give you (among with couple other things) 2 ranks in the Knowledge (local) skill.
Since usual skill rank cap doesn't mentioned, it may increase Knowledge (local) up to HD+5

[Dread_Head]

For extra cheese have a Bard use Inspire Greatness to add two bonus hit die to your character. Then have a Psion manifest Psychic Reformation on you to move skills ranks round up to your new cap of level+3+2 (extra hit die from Inspire Greatness). These skills should remain when the Inspire Greatness effect ends.

[Pippin]

For extra cheese have a Bard use Inspire Greatness to add two bonus hit die to your character. Then have a Psion manifest Psychic Reformation on you to move skills ranks round up to your new cap of level+3+2 (extra hit die from Inspire Greatness). These skills should remain when the Inspire Greatness effect ends.
Is Inspire Greatness 1st-party? I couldn't find it on le site.

[Lo77o]

There is a feat that increases the cap on all INT based skills by 2.. But i cant for the life of me remember where i found it. Might have been one of wizards online articles, or maybe something like kalamar or dragonlance or ravenloft etc.

[Chronos]

Not only is Inspire Greatness first-party, it's core (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/bard.htm#inspireGreatness).

[Rubik]

Contract lycanthropy, and add your skill ranks in your animal HD skills. Then gain a level and add ranks in the class skills that your animal HD didn't have as class skills. Then cure your lycanthropy. The animal HD go away, but you'll still have those skill ranks from your class level, which now exceeds your normal HD-based cap.

[Morph Bark]

For extra cheese have a Bard use Inspire Greatness to add two bonus hit die to your character. Then have a Psion manifest Psychic Reformation on you to move skills ranks round up to your new cap of level+3+2 (extra hit die from Inspire Greatness). These skills should remain when the Inspire Greatness effect ends.

Since by RAW the skill rank limit is HD+3, it wouldn't work. The ranks would disappear with the HD.

[Chronos]

That depends on how the cap is worded. I don't think that's in the SRD; does anyone have the exact wording handy? Does it say you can't gain ranks over that cap, or that you can't have them?

[Xerlith]

Well, there are also, you guessed it, Bloodlines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/bloodlines.htm). Using the most sensible wording, they're a pre-bought-off LA that raises the caps for all skills. Bit cheesy, but it's there. They're a variant rule though, so that's that.