40+ Skill Tricks! [peach]

[Realms of Chaos]

Yeah… skill tricks.
It occurred to me the other day that almost nobody has ever homebrewed these things so I just made up a huge batch for everyone here, more than doubling the amount out there. Some of them are probably a bit too powerful or random to be used in a real game so I’d appreciate any assistance in pointing them out and fixing them. After all, there isn’t exactly a guide out there for making skill tricks (at least as far as I know).

Spoiler

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Gentle Landing [Movement]
You are an expert of landing from tall heights.
Prerequisites: Jump 5 ranks, Tumble 5 ranks
Benefit: When you fall or jump down from at least 10 feet up, you may spend an immediate action to negate a single dice of falling damage and to land on your feet.

Connoisseur [Mental]
Your fine tastes allow you to appraise fine and exotic materials with greater accuracy.
Prerequisites: Appraise 5 ranks
Benefit: When you fail on an appraise check meant to appraise a rare or exotic item, you may spend a swift action to gain a rough estimate of its worth, ranging from 50% to 150% of its actual worth (much like with a failed appraisal of more common items).

Eyes on the Prize [Mental]
You have trained your eyes to pick out valuable items out with but a cursory glance.
Prerequisites: Appraise 8 ranks, Spot 5 ranks
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can make a DC 20 Appraise check to recognize the single most visibly valuable item within your range of sight (disregarding unseen factors such as most magic) and of which other items are visible worth at least 100 gp. The precise value of items is not revealed in this way.

Master of Balance [Movement]
You can move faster while balancing without problems.
Prerequisites: Balance 8 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you may eliminate the penalties to balance checks you make for moving at full speed or for charging at up to your full speed while charging for 1 round.

Innocent Act [Interaction]
You are a master of looking honest and innocent, making your lies more believable.
Prerequisites: Bluff 12 ranks, Perform (acting) 5 ranks
Benefit: When you make a bluff check, your acting skills can make the bluff seem one category more believable (PHB, page 68).
You can use this skill trick once per day.

Infallible Deception [Interaction]
It is almost impossible for others to see directly through your lies.
Prerequisites: Bluff 8 ranks, Deceitful
Benefit: As a swift action, you can make your next bluff made within the round impossible to see through, preventing listeners from piercing through your deception even if their Sense Motive result is 10 points or higher than that of your Bluff check. A creature may still fail to believe the bluff if it is utter nonsense (such as claiming gravity doesn’t exist or that you are a tree) or if there is sufficient evidence to the contrary (such as claiming to be a certain person to that person or claiming that they aren’t seeing something clearly visible, though bluffing that they are seeing illusions or hallucinations may work in such a situation).

Distracting Wit [Interaction]
You can momentarily distract foes with your words before catching them unaware.
Prerequisites: Bluff 8 ranks, Diplomacy 8 ranks, Deceitful or Negotiator
Benefit: As a standard action, you can attempt to distract and mislead a foe, making a Diplomacy or Bluff check (DC 10 + target’s HD + target’s Sense Motive modifier). If you succeed, the next attack made against the target before the start of your next turn treats them as being flat-footed. Furthermore, a hostile foe affected in this way becomes merely unfriendly towards you and your allies for 1 round or until attacked. Mindless creatures are unaffected by this ability.

Personal Message [Interaction]
You can deliver a personalized hidden message, one that others wouldn’t understand.
Prerequisites: Bluff 5 ranks
Benefit: When you deliver a secret message, you may spend a swift action to make it specific to a single person or a small group of people (up to 4 individuals). Other creatures take a –5 penalty to sense motive checks made to intercept a message if it is directed at an individual or a –2 penalty if it was directed to a group.

Titan Wrestler [Movement]
You have mastered the art of grappling larger creatures
Prerequisites: Climb 8 ranks, Improved Grapple
Benefit: When grappling a creature two or three size categories larger than you, you may spend a swift action to gain the ability to make a grapple check against them (you do not automatically fail on this roll as normal) until the end of the turn. If you succeed, you establish a hold on the creature (but may not pin them) and may continue the hold until you fail a grapple check against them.

Wall Grab [Movement]
When you fall, you can catch yourself on a wall or slope.
Prerequisites: Climb 8 ranks
Benefit: As an immediate action, you can attempt to catch yourself on a wall or slope while falling, even if you have already failed to do so once within the same round. You do so using the normal rules described on page 69 of the player’s handbook.

Quick Crafter [Manipulation]
You can craft and jury-rig cheap items in almost no time at all.
Prerequisites: Craft (any) 8 ranks
Benefit: With 10 minutes of work, you can craft an item with one of your craft skills worth up to 1 gp per rank you possess in that skill. You must possess full access to all normal tools that would be needed to make the item, however.
You can use this skill trick once per day.

Quick Reader [Manipulation]
You’ve trained your mind to read through short bits scriptures and texts quickly.
Prerequisites: Decipher Script 5 ranks
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can make a DC 10 Decipher Script check. During that action, you read and digest the contents of up to 1 page of text (or its rough equivalent) plus 1 additional page per 5 points by which your check exceeded the DC. This check does not also perform normal function of the Decipher Script skill.

Haggler [Interaction]
You can talk others into making more profitable transactions, at least for yourself
Prerequisites: Diplomacy 5 ranks, Negotiator
Benefit: As a full round action, you can make a DC 15 diplomacy check against an indifferent, friendly, or helpful merchant. If you succeed, you may increase the amount that you sell a single item for or decrease the amount that you buy a single item for by 1d6 gp + 1d6 gp for every 5 points by which your check exceeded the DC. If the item is worth at least 1,000 gp, multiply this result by 10. If the item is worth at least 10,000 gp, multiply this result by 100. You may not increase or decrease the price of any item beyond 75% of its market price in this way.
You can use this skill trick on a given merchant once per day.

Disable Dweomer [Manipulation]
You can disarm many enchantments just as you can disarm traps.
Prerequisites: Disable Device 12 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Magical Aptitude
Benefit: With 2d4 rounds of work, you may attempt do disrupt the flow of a spell. Spells targeting a creature (such as hold person) or resulting in a creature (such as summon monster I) can’t be disrupted in this way. The DC to remove such a spell is 25 + caster level. Magical traps cannot be removed in this way.
You can use this skill trick once per day

Delayed Sabotage [Manipulation]
You can set an object to break after a certain amount of use.
Prerequisites: Disable Device 5 ranks
Benefit: When making a Disable Device check to sabotage an item, you can spend an extra full-round action to gain greater control over when it breaks. You can set the item to break after a set number of usages (up to 100) or to break after a set amount of time (up to one week).

More You than You [Interaction]
You can trick others into thinking the one you impersonate is the imposter.
Prerequisites: Disguise 12 ranks, Diplomacy 8 ranks
Benefit: If both you and a creature you disguise as are visible in the same place and at the same time, you may spend a swift action to make a disguise check opposed by the original’s diplomacy check with a +10 bonus. If you succeed, all creatures who haven’t pierced through your disguise assume that the original is the fake (though future evidence may place this in doubt).

Quick Crawler [Movement]
You can squeeze through tight spaces with greater speed than others.
Prerequisites: Escape Artist 5 ranks
Benefit: When squeezing through a tight space, you may spend a swift action to move 10 feet further than you would normally be able to, up to a maximum of your normal speed. Alternately, you may use this swift action to increase the distance you can travel while prone with a move action by 10 feet.

Split-Second Forgery [Manipulation]
You can forge a short note, message, or memo with the greatest of ease.
Prerequisites: Forgery 5 ranks
Benefit: As a full-round action, you may make a Forgery check with a –5 penalty to write down a short message with up to one word per rank in Forgery you possess.

Interrogation [Interaction]
You can learn what people know by pressing them for information
Prerequisites: Diplomacy or Gather Information 5 ranks, Sense Motive 5 ranks
Benefit: With 1d4 minutes of interaction with a sentient creature, you can make a Diplomacy or Gather Information check against them, opposed by a Sense Motive check with a bonus equal to the target’s HD. If you succeed, you may ask them a single question and gain a truthful response from the target. The target is not compelled to answer, however, if doing so would put their life or the life of a loved one in danger. Creatures affected by a Glibness effect are also immune to this ability.
You can use this skill trick on a given creature once per day.

Empathetic Soul [Interaction]
You have a way with animals, letting them know that you mean no harm.
Prerequisites: Handle Animal 8 ranks
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can make a Handle Animal check against a hostile or unfriendly animal as if making a diplomacy check. If you increase its attitude towards you to at lest indifferent, it does not attack, snarl, or bark at you so long as you and your companions leave it (and its family, if any) alone. You cannot increase an animal’s attitude to helpful in this way, though you can make it friendly.

Animal Trainer [Manipulation]
You can teach an animal a trick in practically no time at all
Prerequisites: Handle Animal 5 ranks
Benefit: With but one hour of training with an indifferent or friendlier animal, you can make a Handle Animal check with a –5 penalty to teach it a trick for 24 hours, even if this would place it over it’s maximum number of tricks.
Unlike with normal tricks, you must make a new Handle Animal check with a –5 penalty as a swift action against the same DC whenever you want the animal to perform its trick.
You can use this skill trick once per day.

Resuscitation [Manipulation]
You can save the life of a suffocating creature
Prerequisites: Heal 5 ranks
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can make a DC 20 Heal check against a suffocating creature. If you succeed, and the target is in an environment where it can breathe, it stops suffocating.
Note: If the drowning creature was previously below their current hit points before they started drowning, this skill trick has no effect on them. Nice try, though.

Tend to the Many [Manipulation]
You can provide medical care to a great many people.
Prerequisites: Heal 12 ranks
Benefit: By spending an extra eight hours tending to the sick, you can provide long-term care for up to one person per rank of Heal that you possess, rather than just for 6 individuals.
You can use this skill trick once per day.

Absolute Submission [Interaction]
You can frighten a target into absolute obedience.
Prerequisites: Intimidate 12 ranks, Persuasive
Benefit: When you succeed on intimidating a foe outside of combat by 10 points or more, you may spend a swift action to make them utterly subservient to you, treating them as helpful towards you for as long as you are around and for one hour afterwards.
You can use this skill trick once per day.

Quick Sneak [Movement]
You can move faster without giving away your location.
Prerequisites: Hide 5 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you can move up to 10 feet further than normal without taking a penalty to Hide checks for 1 round. This skill trick does not improve your speed in any way, however, and does not mitigate the penalty to hide checks for charging. If you possess the Rapid Padfoot skill trick, you may activate it as part of the same action.

Opportunistic Concealment [Movement]
You can use the flow of combat to retreat back into hiding.
Prerequisites: Hide 12 ranks, Stealthy
Benefit: When an ally hits an opponent in combat, you may spend an immediate action to make a hide check with a –10 penalty even if you are being observed. You must possess either cover or concealment to make this hide check, as normal (unless you don’t normally possess this requirement).

Leap to Safety [Movement]
You can leap out of the way in the nick of time
Prerequisites: Jump 12 ranks, Lightning Reflexes
Benefit: As an immediate action, you may make a DC 25 Jump check to leap 5 feet in any direction. If this skill trick is used to move beyond the reach of an attack or the area of an effect, it has a 50% chance of affecting you.

Kangaroo Leap [Movement]
You can use the inertia from one jump to make another
Prerequisites: Jump 5 ranks, Athletic
Benefit: If you have jumped at least 10 feet within the past round, you may spend a swift action to avoid doubling the DCs of Jump checks made without running starts for a single round. If you do make a running start, you gain a +4 bonus to the check.
You can use this skill trick twice per encounter.

Mid-Air Assault [Movement]
You can attack an enemy in mid-jump.
Prerequisites:Jump 8 ranks, Spring Attack
Benefit: When you make a jump check, you can spend an immediate action to make a single attack against an opponent in mid jump.

Trivia [Mental]
Your research in one area of study has turned up a few interesting facts related to other studies; facts that have stuck in your head.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (any) 8 ranks
Benefit: As a free action, you may make a knowledge check using another knowledge skill, taking a –10 penalty on your check. You may not use this skill trick if you have already used the appropriate knowledge skill for a knowledge check already.

Practical Knowledge [Mental]
Your knowledge has given you some fascinating insights.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (any) 5 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you may make a DC 20 knowledge check. If it is successful, you gain a +1 insight bonus to a single skill check or saving throw made within the next round.

Research [Mental]
You can quickly research information that you may have forgotten
Prerequisites: Knowledge (any) 5 ranks
Benefit: If you possess access to a library or similar source, you may spend one hour to make a Knowledge check with a +2 insight bonus (in addition to any circumstance bonus the library would otherwise provide). This check may be made even if a similar knowledge check on the same subject has failed in the past.
Note: I am aware that research is a (poor and overly complicated) feat from the eberron campaign setting. Much like Investigator, it just allowed people to do what most DMs had already allowed their players to do. This skill trick, however, a) costs 2 skill points instead of a valuable feat slot and b) actually adds onto what DMs normally allow, shortening normal research time and adding an extra bonus to the check.

No Need for Eyes [Mental]
You can avoid attacks using only your ears to guide you.
Prerequisites: Listen 12 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you can make a DC 20 Listen check to gain blindsense out to 5 feet and retain your Dexterity bonus to your AC against unseen attackers for 1 round.

Rapid Padfoot [Movement]
You can move faster without making nearly as much noise
Prerequisites: Move Silently 5 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you can move up to 10 feet further than normal without taking a penalty to Move Silently checks for 1 round. This skill trick does not improve your speed in any way, however, and does not mitigate the penalty to Move Silently checks for charging. If you possess the Quick skill trick, you may activate it as part of the same action.

Inspiring Oratory [Interaction]
Your words inspire the hearts of others.
Prerequisites: Perform (oratory) 5 ranks
Benefit: As a move action, you may make a DC 20 Perform (oratory) check. If you succeed, a number of allies up to your number of ranks in Perform (oratory) who can see and hear you gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and Will saves against fear effects for 1d4+1 minutes. If you possess the inspire courage class feature, these bonuses stacks with those of inspire courage.

High Roller [Mental]
You tend to take greater chances in everyday life. It tends to pay off… sometimes…
Prerequisites: Profession (gambler) 8 ranks
Benefit: As an immediate action, you may take a –2 penalty to your next d20 roll made this round. If you roll an 11 or higher on that roll, however, you gain a +1d8 bonus to the result.

Ride the Dragon [Manipulation]
You can ride upon another creature, guiding its actions for a short period of time.
Prerequisites: Ride 12 ranks, Climb 8 ranks
Benefit: If on a creature up to two size categories larger than yourself, you may spend a full-round action to make a Ride check (DC 25 + target’s HD). If successful, you can make the target take one move action at the start of their next turn, controlling where they move during it. The target is free as normal to take a standard action during that round but if they take another move action instead (and use it to move), you direct that movement as well.

God Speed [Movement]
You can spur your mount onto incredible speeds for short distances.
Prerequisites: Ride 8 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you can make a DC 25 Ride check. If successful, the speed of your mount is increased by +30 feet for 1 round. Afterwards, however, the mount is fatigued and takes 5 damage.

Uncanny Awareness [Mental]
You have a knack for spotting the hidden, even when not actively trying to.
Prerequisites: Search 8 ranks, Spot 5 ranks, Investigator
Benefit: As a swift action, you can make a single Search check as if searching all squares within 20 feet that you possess a line of sight, learning as much as if you had taken 10. This does not enable you to notice details obviously hidden from your line of sight (such as writing written on the underside of a table).

Deep Analysis [Mental]
You can read into every small movement that a person makes to tell more about them.
Prerequisites: Sense Motive 12 ranks, Negotiator
Benefit: When you succeed by 10 or more points on a Sense Motive check made to get a hunch about somebody, you may spend and immediate action to learn their general emotional state. In addition, you learn if the target is morally or ethically opposed to you (if their alignment opposes yours in any respect).

Pass It On [Manipulation]
Rather than stealing items from a creature, you can plant them on a creature’s person.
Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 5 ranks
Benefit: As a standard action, you can make a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to plant an object on another creature’s person. The object must be at least two size categories smaller than both you and the target in order for this ability to work. As always, observers are entitled to an opposed spot check to notice the attempt. Against a creature with no noticeable pouches, pockets, or bags of any sort, you take a –5 penalty on your check. At your option, the item planted may be easy to find (DC 10 search check) or difficult (DC = Sleight of Hand result).
You can use this skill trick twice per encounter.

Master Tracker [Mental]
You have seen hundreds of tracks before, allowing you to identify them on sight.
Prerequisites: Survival 8 ranks, Track
Benefit: As a swift action, you may make a Survival check in place of a knowledge check to identify what kind of creature left a set of tracks (though no other information is provided in this way).

Hasty Tumble [Movement]
You can tumble further and faster than most
Prerequisites: Tumble 8 ranks
Benefit: As a swift action, you can tumble at full speed for one round without taking a penalty to your Tumble check.

Underfoot [Movement]
You can occupy another creature’s square
Prerequisites: Tumble 12 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Medium size or smaller
Benefit: As a swift action, you may move into and remain in an adjacent creature’s square, so long as they are at least one size category larger than yourself. While in such a square, you gain cover against all attacks but take a –2 penalty against all creatures but the one whose space you occupy. This ability does not allow you to move along with the creature.

Quick Dive [Movement]
You can cover greater distances in shorter amounts of time.
Prerequisites: Tumble 8 ranks
Benefit: As a free action, you may make a DC 20 Tumble check. If you succeed, you may move 5 feet in any direction (unless immobilized or otherwise incapable of motion). This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

[flabort]

Uh... Is a skill trick a variation of a feat?

a weakened feat?

[EdroGrimshell]

Uh... Is a skill trick a variation of a feat?

a weakened feat?

No, you gain them by spending skill points (2 to be precise). They are from Complete Scoundrel

[Morph Bark]

A lot of interesting ones in there, definitely.

For Ride the Dragon though, I'd add that you can only do so if the target is willing. Unless that is not your intention? Because if it isn't, it should require a Will save (and it'd prolly be too strong for just a skill trick).

[Realms of Chaos]

Keep in mind that skill tricks are only 1/encounter (2/encounter if you have a PrC). This means that even ride the dragon could only control a dragon's movement for a single round, enough to lower it to the groud, sure, but not nearly enough to guarantee a victory.

Also, changing it to a Will save would actually LOWER the DC most of the time:

The DC I Set: 25+HD
Will save of a creature with Good Will: 1d20+2+Wis Modifier+1/2 HD

Unless the target's Wisdom Modifier > 1/2 HD+3 (Requiring a Wisdom Score of 38 for a 20 HD creature, for perspective), my DC is higher.

[lightningcat]

This question has been bugging me fora while, but as skill tricks are considerably less powerful then feats, but do they need to be restricted to only being used once per encounter?
Some of these skill tricks have alternate use restrictions, and this seem to be a better method then the "one size fits all" restriction.

[Unrest]

Master of Balance: isn't it meant to be "spend a swift action to eliminate penalties for moving at full speed while balancing"? Current wording implies moving at full speed AS a swift action.

Infallible Deception: it's kinda confusing... maybe not much, but lots of text can sometimes mean "lots to interpret" rather than "lots cleared up". Perhaps just rule that they only pierce it on a natural 20?

Distracting Wit: it's like feinting, isn't it? I imagine the "hostile to unfriendly" useful only in situations where people really could have doubts as to whether to strike you or not (a knife fight in a court, with there being as many factions as combatants, could be one such example) - but that is nothing bad.

Titan Wrestler: do Powerful Build and the like affect grappling? Using this could give some synergy that would need thinking about. (I don't get grappling at all!)

More You Than You: isn't it too dependent on the situation to give it a straight mechanical Save-or-Suck? The notion is cool, but I don't know about usability.

Inspiring Oratory: +1 per every 5 the result exceeds the DC? And the move action. You dance a dance of war? xD (sorry)

Uncanny Awareness: perhaps have it apply only to those you could do on a Take 10? As in, you can spot stuff that you could normally spot?

[Realms of Chaos]

Lightningcat: Take a look at what you just wrote.
If I already put some variation in the usage, that automatically means that I'm not using a one-size-fits-all approach.

1/encounter is just the factory default, as it were. 2 skill points just aren't worth a nifty at-will ability (nope, not even if it's worse than a feat).

Unrest: Infallible deception: unfortunately, there's nothing that I can do to cut down on the text. Most of the textiness comes from a single large sentance that is needed in order to show what type of lies you can't get away with using that trick.
1. You can't claim something obviously untrue. Ex: Gravity is Gravy, I am a tree.
2. They see through your lie if they have enough evidence: Ex: You claim to be Bob Fiddle but that's me.

Distracting Wit: Unfriendly foes do not attack. That is a strictly hostile action as outlined in the PHB. It stops a single foe from attacking for one round and makes them flat-footed when they're attacked.

More You than You: It's VERY situational but there's no other way in existance for an imposter to mechanically claim to be the "real so-and-so" and so this is made for certain BBEGs and for character concepts reliant on diguise (and there are more of those than you'd think).

Inspiring Oratory: Nope, just the +1. It lasts for minutes so it's just a quick thing to do before combat.

[lightningcat]

I don't think I explained what I mean very well. I like your variations on usages, but it seems to me that most skill tricks are equivalent to 1 part of a tactical feat, and so the it is rare that you can use them more then once in an encounter under most circumstances, but do you need that restriction?

For example:
Gentle Landing [Movement]
You are an expert of landing from tall heights.
Prerequisites: Jump 5 ranks, Tumble 5 ranks
Benefit: When you fall or jump down from at least 10 feet up, you may spend an immediate action to negate a single dice of falling damage and to land on your feet.

I can see some instances where this ability could be great, but most of the time it would do very little for you. So, what is the reasoning for only be able to use it once per encounter? Most of WotC's skill tricks seem to have the same lack of reasoning for the limit. This is my main issue with the 1/encounter limit.
Now some skill trick do need a limit, but it seem to me that they should be the exception rather then the rule.

Did I explain it better this time?

[Realms of Chaos]

You explained it well enough but to put things simply, I don't see enough reason to drop the 1/encounter.

I kind of agree with WotC that granting a small ability, even one that comes up rarely, isn't quite worth 2 skill points. As such, the limitation helps to keep things kosher. This is just one of those rare times when I agree with WotC, I guess.

If you want to go into a larger discussion of whether they should have such a restriction and if they are overpowered without them, that sounds like it deserves a thread of its own over on the gaming forum.

[lightningcat]

/threadjack

Back to peaching.

Haggler [Interaction]
You can talk others into making more profitable transactions, at least for yourself
Prerequisites: Diplomacy 5 ranks, Negotiator
Benefit: As a full round action, you can make a DC 15 diplomacy check against an indifferent, friendly, or helpful merchant. If you succeed, you may increase the amount that you sell a single item for or decrease the amount that you buy a single item for by 1d6 gp + 1d6 gp for every 5 points by which your check exceeded the DC. If the item is worth at least 1,000 gp, multiply this result by 10. If the item is worth at least 10,000 gp, multiply this result by 100. You may not increase or decrease the price of any item beyond 75% of its market price in this way.
You can use this skill trick on a single merchant once per day.

Do you mean "You can use this skill trick on a given merchant once per day."?

[The Tygre]

Realms, you've done it again! Another masterpiece collection for the ages!

[Temotei]

Delicious. I'll have to find the time to look through all of these, because I've been itching for more skill tricks.

[Eloel]

Resuscitation [Manipulation]

This is very abusable.

Delay Death (or Frenzied Berserker). Get damaged however much you want before time is up. Jump into water (or use a bucket) to suffocate yourself. You're now at -1 HP. Someone uses this. Ta-daa, instant, epic healing.

[The Tygre]

This is very abusable.

Delay Death (or Frenzied Berserker). Get damaged however much you want before time is up. Jump into water (or use a bucket) to suffocate yourself. You're now at -1 HP. Someone uses this. Ta-daa, instant, epic healing.

You'll have to pardon me when I say, what the Hell kind of DM allows that? I mean, what, within roleplaying context, they'll just buy you jumping into the water to dry and drown yourself just so you can come back to life? Seems kind of... stupid. To me anyway.

[Morph Bark]

You'll have to pardon me when I say, what the Hell kind of DM allows that? I mean, what, within roleplaying context, they'll just buy you jumping into the water to dry and drown yourself just so you can come back to life? Seems kind of... stupid. To me anyway.

"He is John, the Eternal Self-Baptist!"

[Eloel]

You'll have to pardon me when I say, what the Hell kind of DM allows that? I mean, what, within roleplaying context, they'll just buy you jumping into the water to dry and drown yourself just so you can come back to life? Seems kind of... stupid. To me anyway.

RAW is RAW.

[Realms of Chaos]

ozgun92: To adress this issue, everyone on earth has heard of the concept of healing via bucket of water but RAW be damned, I have never heard of any DM, except maybe as a joke, allowing it. EVER! Allowing that is pretty much like allowing pun-pun in your game. Both are possible by RAW but no DM will allow either.
I chose to ignore that "loophole" on purpose and if your DM allows it, you deserve to play with the abusability.

[Eloel]

Bold, huge, capital letters (aka shouting) were uncalled for.
PEACH = Please Examine and Critique Honestly

I was trying to be honest about potential abuse of your homebrew, so maybe you could somehow edit it in(out?) (no idea how - you're the brewer).

Sure, it might be a stupid rule to get people to -1. Sure, it might be a stupid rule to have Monks (or Wizards) in game. If you're not actively stating a houserule- I'll have to assume it goes by RAW when answering a PEACH.

[Realms of Chaos]

Ah, my apologies. I get worked up too easily sometimes and thus, the shouting. I do desire honest critique and I'll edit out the prior rudeness.

The thing is, about 90% of games out there don't run on RAW, instead running on an implicitely agreed upon series of alterations to the game rules (in which drowning does not heal you, monks are proficient with unarmed strikes, etc.) so when most of us ask for critique, we're asking for critique within the bounds of these agreed alterations.

If somebody were to post up an item that improved a monk's unarmed strikes, nobody on these entire boards would respond by pointing out that monks still suck with thier unarmed strike because they don't get proficiency with it (a lesser example, but the same principle applies). We have all agreed in our own way that the monk does is proficient with his primary weapon regardless of what RAW says and seek criticism within the bounds of this pseudo-RAW. As far as I know, that is what pretty much every single poster is asking for what they post their material here.

In case you've never noticed, the frenzied berserker + bucket of water is kind of a running joke on the boards (though it hasn't appeared that recently), often appearing alongside antics such as the commoner railgun. Nobody includes it in their honest appraisals and critiques because it never comes up and, once again, we've pretty much agreed that the rules don't work that way.

That said, do you thing that it would be worthwhile putting a note beside the skill trick specifically stating that the skill trick can't be used in this way?

[Eloel]

Sure, why not? Brings down the RAWtards (myself included )

[Mulletmanalive]

Research...might actually get used in this form. Investigate...well, as a guy who ran gumshoe games before it, i like: clear and simple rules that a player who is good enough to plug the gap doesn't need.

Resucitate... as I do with most discussions of RAW...I honestly have no idea what you guys are on about because is seems like a purposeful misreading of the words of the SRD; "your HP drop to 0...your hp drop to -1" for the number to rise, despite the use of a diminuative.

It should probably be more along the lines of "restoring you to HP = your Con score or your previous hp, whichever is less" if we were going for realism. While i was in cadets, i saw a guy get the breath of life then walk down the mountain to a land ambulance [high winds prevented an airlift] with minimal help...

none of these seem overpowered for their prerequisites and as with feats, i suspect that i will rue the day that the catalogue got this big...maybe i should alter those "extra skill trick" feats to make them add two instead of one freebie...

[Cieyrin]

Mid-Air Assault: Meant to be a poor man's Bounding Assault? As you need Spring Attack for it, you can already do what the trick calls for without an immediate action, so the only thing I can think of for its use is getting a second blow in.

Pass It On: Strangely enough, considering they talk about doing this in the Planar Handbook, in reference to loading people down with Elemental Loadstones, I thought you could already do this with just the skill. Weird, that.

Quick Dive: I suppose that's easier than the DC 40 Tumble OA requires to do the same but any time you want to.

Quick Sneak and Rapid Padfoot: It's a shame you can't do both in the same round, since you have only one swift action.

High Roller: I would totally make a Luckstealer/Magical Trickster just to be able to use this trick often.

Otherwise, good stuff, good stuff, I approve!

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

[Realms of Chaos]

Mid-Air Assault: Meant to be a poor man's Bounding Assault? As you need Spring Attack for it, you can already do what the trick calls for without an immediate action, so the only thing I can think of for its use is getting a second blow in.

Actually, this might surprise you but I've never heard of anybody actually using spring attack in that way. This may be because some people interpret "you can move both before and after the attack" to not mean "you can make an attack midway through your movement".
Seriously, I've seen at least 5 PrCs on this board alone (most of which are associated with scythes... for some reason) that work by jumping and hitting enemies in midair. If there's ever been an official sage ruling on this topic or if it has been solved conclusively in a thread somewhere, please point me in the right direction. Otherwise, I'm a bit confused.
Even if that's the case, however, it does appear to be a poor man's bounding assault (would it be balanced if I took away the spring attack prereq but limited the attack to creatures not on the ground?).

Pass It On: Strangely enough, considering they talk about doing this in the Planar Handbook, in reference to loading people down with Elemental Loadstones, I thought you could already do this with just the skill. Weird, that.

The thing is, even though Planar Handbook does reference it, there is no rule for sneaking objects onto someone else. Anywhere. Maybe it's to keep PCs from getting their hands on cheap cursed equipment and sneaking it onto their enemies.
Anyhow, I created this skill trick at least in part so that elemental loadstones can actually be used this way.

Quick Dive: I suppose that's easier than the DC 40 Tumble OA requires to do the same but any time you want to.

Oh right, forgot all about OA. The skill trick has now been altered to give you an extra 5 feet of movement instead of actually giving you a 10-foot step, meaning that the two abilities could be combined.

Quick Sneak and Rapid Padfoot: It's a shame you can't do both in the same round, since you have only one swift action.

Text has been added in so that activating one allows you to activate the other with the same action (but it takes your use for the encounter of both tricks)

High Roller: I would totally make a Luckstealer/Magical Trickster just to be able to use this trick often.

Thank ye.

Otherwise, good stuff, good stuff, I approve!

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

Thanks very much for your critique.

Edit: The talk about drowning yourself in the bucket of water emerged because some people (as you've seen) seem to think that the rules function in this way and, in the off-hand chance that one such person ends up as the DM (or as the DM's loyal rules lawyer), the skill trick does not suddenly turn broken.
Edit 2: The haggler feat indeed only works on a given merchant once per day. The text has been altered.

[Cieyrin]

Actually, this might surprise you but I've never heard of anybody actually using spring attack in that way. This may be because some people interpret "you can move both before and after the attack" to not mean "you can make an attack midway through your movement".
Seriously, I've seen at least 5 PrCs on this board alone (most of which are associated with scythes... for some reason) that work by jumping and hitting enemies in midair. If there's ever been an official sage ruling on this topic or if it has been solved conclusively in a thread somewhere, please point me in the right direction. Otherwise, I'm a bit confused.
Even if that's the case, however, it does appear to be a poor man's bounding assault (would it be balanced if I took away the spring attack prereq but limited the attack to creatures not on the ground?).

I've always seen the attack that Spring Attack provides as an interruption to normal movement, as you're essentially using your Standard action to move and attack somewhere in the middle of it. Perhaps that's just me but I'm not seeing anything inherently unbalancing about that interpretation. Reading Spring Attack, I don't really see anything refuting that view point. The FAQ doesn't talk about the requirement to stop movement, either.

As for removing Spring Attack, since you can essentially do it once per encounter without shenanigans, anyways, I see no problem having such, especially in how limited a fashion your skill trick requires to get it to go off.

The thing is, even though Planar Handbook does reference it, there is no rule for sneaking objects onto someone else. Anywhere. Maybe it's to keep PCs from getting their hands on cheap cursed equipment and sneaking it onto their enemies.
Anyhow, I created this skill trick at least in part so that elemental loadstones can actually be used this way.

Works for me.

Oh right, forgot all about OA. The skill trick has now been altered to give you an extra 5 feet of movement instead of actually giving you a 10-foot step, meaning that the two abilities could be combined.

Woot! 15 feet of free move once per encounter! Travel Devotion will be so envious!

Text has been added in so that activating one allows you to activate the other with the same action (but it takes your use for the encounter of both tricks)

Yays!

[ShriekingDrake]

Here are a couple more.

Hogtier [Manipulation]
You can bind a creature quickly.
Prerequisites: Use Rope 5 ranks
Benefits: You can effectively bind a prone, pinned, grappled, unconscious, or otherwise immobile creature in 1 round with a rope, sash, vine, or cord.

Hostage Taker [Manipulation]
Your facility with ropes makes it more difficult for bound creatures to escape.
Prerequisites: Use Rope 7 ranks
Benefits: When you have bound a creature with a rope, vine, or cord, you gain +1/level when you make an opposing role against that creature's escape artist check.

[Cieyrin]

Here are a couple more.

Hogtier [Manipulation]
You can bind a creature quickly.
Prerequisites: Use Rope 5 ranks
Benefits: You can effectively bind a prone, pinned, grappled, unconscious, or otherwise immobile creature in 1 round with a rope, vine, or cord.

Hostage Taker [Manipulation]
Your facility with ropes makes it more difficult for bound creatures to escape.
Prerequisites: Use Rope 7 ranks
Benefits: When you have bound a creature with a rope, vine, or cord, you gain +1/level when you make an opposing role against that creature's escape artist check.

Hogtier I like, as otherwise you have to go into Justicar to do that with any kind of speed.

Hostage Taker I'm not so sure about, as you already receive a +10 bonus by default, which seems more than enough to me. It's not like there's a great way to optimize Escape Artist, either, so I don't see a lot of efficacy to Hostage Taker.

[AugustNights]

I'm not keen on Hostage Taker either, 2 skill points to gain a +4 scaling bonus on a skill check, while specific, seems broken. Even 1/encounter.

[ShriekingDrake]

That's good feedback. I'm trying to create some incentive to take ranks in Use Rope. How about . . .


Hostage Taker [Manipulation]
Your facility with ropes makes it more difficult for bound creatures to use magic to escape.
Prerequisites: Use Rope 7 ranks
Benefits: When you have bound a creature with a rope, vine, or cord, Freedom of Movement will not enable that creature to avoid an escape artist check.

[AugustNights]

1/encounter counter to FoM... It is more incentive to take Use Rope... It's also very powerful. Perhaps too powerful for L.4.

I'd say 10 ranks in Use Rope, making it L.7, when most casters will get access to FOM. Seems to be a standard for Counter Abilities, being available, at earliest, when the ability it counters is available.