Increasing max skill ranks

[Efrate]

Title say it all. What ways exist for increasing max skill ranks?

Only things coming to mind is one feat from somewhere I remember seeing once for plus one, and bloodlines. Specifically Hide and Move Silently. Got a PC who wants to try to early entry into assassin, but I can't think of a way but I am sure there is one somewhere. Something from Dragon maybe? Any help?

[daremetoidareyo]

Title say it all. What ways exist for increasing max skill ranks?

Only things coming to mind is one feat from somewhere I remember seeing once for plus one, and bloodlines. Specifically Hide and Move Silently. Got a PC who wants to try to early entry into assassin, but I can't think of a way but I am sure there is one somewhere. Something from Dragon maybe? Any help?

be possessed by a quori? (Monster from Eberron) May require the wrest possession feat...

particularly: Kalaraq quori: Secrets of Sarlona p.158:

[Catarang]

The only way I know getting extra RANKS of skills (even beyond maximum) is the Primary Contact feat from Cityscape, which give you a +1 rank in a skill associated with an organization you're a part of. Only works once and requires another feat to get. Page 61.

Check here for outside of 3.5 material that may also help you if you can get it houseruled in.

https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?454319-3-5-Feats-That-Increase-Actual-Skill-Rank-Not-Just-Bonus

[Bullet06320]

there are a few ideas hiding here
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?491181-Alternative-ways-to-get-new-Class-skills

Feat
Laborious Training - Ravenloft: Legacy of the Blood - Your maximum rank in any Intelligence-based skill equals 5 + your character level. must have Int 13, Knowledge (any one) 5 ranks

Items
The Codex Anathema (LoM p 214) grants an inherent +2 int/-2 wis, as well as 5 ranks Knowledge (dungeoneering) and 2 ranks each of Knowledge (arcana) and (the planes)

Yenejg Togan's Planar Syllabus (Dungeon 88 p 104) grants 6 ranks in Knowledge (the planes)

the items don't say you can exceed your maximum, but don't say they cant, DM call

[Shadowquad]

You can recruit a Bard NPC of at least 9th level, and have him inspire greatness you, while you level up.
You have extra HD while the bard inspires you, so you can spend more ranks in your skills than you'd normally be allowed to. Once your level up is done, there's nothing that prevents you to have more ranks in a given skill than your HD+3.

[weckar]

Useful to note that inspire greatness is an overall +2 bonus in HD.

[CasualViking]

You can recruit a Bard NPC of at least 9th level, and have him inspire greatness you, while you level up.
You have extra HD while the bard inspires you, so you can spend more ranks in your skills than you'd normally be allowed to. Once your level up is done, there's nothing that prevents you to have more ranks in a given skill than your HD+3.

Psychic Reformation or other instant retraining instead of leveling up.


Useful to note that inspire greatness is an overall +2 bonus in HD.

Or more, depending on cheese.

[Necroticplague]

Lycanthropy gives you more HD, which raises your skill caps. Thus, you could contract lycanthropy, assign skill points, level up as an Assassin until you'd have enough ranks to meet prereqs without lycanthropy, then get cured of your lycanthropy.

[Mordaedil]

You could also like, lower the requirements for entering the class. It's more like a guild than a straight up set of abilities anyway.

[Vaz]

Polymorph into a Dusk Giant (CL 6, 6HD required). Eat creatures, gaining HD, and use the a Bard to give you temporary Skill Points, which you can then Psychic Reformation them into the higher cap.

If you want to break it even more, Dark Chaos Shuffle with an item granting you a feat (~20K, Arms and Equipment Guide), and use it to get the Open Minded Feat for 5 Skill Points which can apply to your new cap.

[weckar]

I don't think it needs mentioning, but trying anything beyond the third post at an actual table will likely end up with flying DMGs inbound.

[Telonius]

Maybe this doesn't matter, but why exactly does the player want early entry? Level 6 really isn't all that long to wait.

[Efrate]

We are starting at level 3 and he wanted to get it next level. I think i can manage, the inspire greatness trick i can do easily enough, for a pretty minor wbl investment. Thanks giant.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

The illithid savant PrC explicitly allows you to increase your ranks past your maximum. The bard's inspire greatness ability boosts your HD by 2, and using the psychic reformation power during this time to swap your skills around would leave you with additional ranks in the ones you boosted to their max. The BoVD's curse of lycanthropy spell (or just inflicting regular lycanthropy on yourself) will give you bonus HD (along with extra skill points), and if you then take a single negative level, your XP will reset to your new ECL. Then use greater restoration to fix your negative level, store your XP total in a thought bottle, cure your lycanthropy, and then retrieve your XP from the bottle.

[Afgncaap5]

We are starting at level 3 and he wanted to get it next level. I think i can manage, the inspire greatness trick i can do easily enough, for a pretty minor wbl investment. Thanks giant.

Weird question, but it might be relevant for some players new to the game: does your player want to "be an assassin" (ie., one who takes money for killing people with skill and discretion while wearing a cool cloak), or does your player want to "take levels in the assassin class"?

Because the first one is pretty easy. He can give himself a single rank of Profession (Assassin) when he levels up. Or, like... seven ranks if he wants to. Then he just needs to find a black cloak somewhere and start killing people for money.

Sort of like how some interpretations of Conan would have him as a multiclass Fighter/Rogue who merely has ranks in Profession (Barbarian), and like how WotC wanted any player of any class to be able to call themselves a Ninja before they caved and made the Ninja class(es).

[MaxiDuRaritry]

How about filling in the levels between now and his first level of the assassin PrC with some swordsage?

Or just avoiding assassin altogether and focusing on the above?

[Max Caysey]

If you're into 3rd party, which most are not, there are one or two feats in Ultimate Feats, under the Feats of Skill section which does exactly that!

Indeed 3rd party is just published homebrew, but that does not mean that it cant be good, or have a nice flavor/story to it.

[Efrate]

I remember looking through Ultimate feats at one point and time. Doesn't it also have a feat that gives you +1 BaB?

The entry into assassin will likely be swordsage, possibly factotum, but likely swordsage.

And he wanted to be an assassin as the class. Not just a guy who gets paid to kill people/monsters. We call all of those just adventurers.

Psychic Reformation with an inspired greatness bard is the way I am likely to do it. Thanks as always giant for helping me with all my weird stuff, everyone here is awesome. :smallbiggrin: