Third party sourcebook search... (3.P)

[The-Mage-King]

So, I've been digging through my collection of 3.0 and 3.5 splatbooks from third party publishers, and I'm realizing something.

No one has written an overhaul of the skill system, from what I've seen. Does anyone know of a third party splatbook that makes changes to the skill system as a whole, since it is one of the most neglected portions of the system?

[Fizban]

I believe Drop Dead Studios was soliciting opinions on a Spheres of (skill stuff) proposal not too long ago.

[Palanan]

Well, Pathfinder Unchained creates a subsystem of “skill unlocks,” but that’s calibrated for the Pathfinder approach to skills.

Not sure if that’s quite what you’re looking for…just mentioned it on account of the “3.P” in the thread title.

[The-Mage-King]

I believe Drop Dead Studios was soliciting opinions on a Spheres of (skill stuff) proposal not too long ago.

Ehhhh.... I've heard questionable things about their sense of balance. I'll certainly take a look, though.


Well, Pathfinder Unchained creates a subsystem of “skill unlocks,” but that’s calibrated for the Pathfinder approach to skills.

Not sure if that’s quite what you’re looking for…just mentioned it on account of the “3.P” in the thread title.

Not quite. That's first party for Pathfinder, not 3rd party for either. I'm looking for more obscure stuff, or to be pointed at books I might already have.

[Fizban]

Ehhhh.... I've heard questionable things about their sense of balance. I'll certainly take a look, though.
I certainly agree, but it's the only one I've ever actually heard of. I don't think they've actually got anything in the works yet, or if they do it's definitely not out. You can probably drop by one of their current threads and ask or search up the old one.

One thing you might do is rip skill systems from other systems. No reason you couldn't graft on the pile of d10's from the White Wolf games or whatever they use in something else that seems good. The d20 system is nice and simple but makes for weird skills, so maybe check out some non-d20 systems.

[stack]

As a freelancer for Drop Dead Studios and one of the co-authors for Sphere of Might, I can say that SoM intersects with the skills systems but we are not fully reworking it as part of that project. A number of spheres are skill-based and give options for those skills (see alchemy, athletics, beastmastery...). Any major re-thinking of the skills system will be part of a potential future project by the studio, though not necessarily the same authors.

On a sidenote, we would welcome any feedback people have regarding balance. SoM is going to an open playtest shortly, so any thoughts would be very welcome! If the complaints are in regards to Spheres of Power, that feedback is also welcome. Errata is an ongoing project and sometimes misunderstandings lead to the appearance of imbalance, so let us know! The Ask Me Anything thread here works for that. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?509636-Spheres-of-Power-Ask-Me-Anything-2)

[The-Mage-King]

I certainly agree, but it's the only one I've ever actually heard of. I don't think they've actually got anything in the works yet, or if they do it's definitely not out. You can probably drop by one of their current threads and ask or search up the old one.

One thing you might do is rip skill systems from other systems. No reason you couldn't graft on the pile of d10's from the White Wolf games or whatever they use in something else that seems good. The d20 system is nice and simple but makes for weird skills, so maybe check out some non-d20 systems.

Yeah. Skills need more degrees of success than the d20 system usually allows for. I figured I'd check for skill systems that already were made to work with it, before going further afield

[stack]

Degrees of success would be a nice feature across the entire system, not just in skills.