[3.5] Granting Skill Tricks for Free

[Dsurion]

So, I like skill tricks. I really like skill tricks, because they allow you to do moderately useful things that are generally pretty cool, and make skill-based characters a lot more interesting. What I don't like, is the prerequisites for most of them, and the fact that you have to sink skill points to even use the tricks in the first place.

I'm thinking of just allowing my players to do any trick with a skill check of a high enough DC (which I'll probably have to arbitrarily assign case-by-case). Does this seem imbalanced? Anyone have any thoughts on the idea in general?

[prufock]

So, I like skill tricks. I really like skill tricks, because they allow you to do moderately useful things that are generally pretty cool, and make skill-based characters a lot more interesting. What I don't like, is the prerequisites for most of them, and the fact that you have to sink skill points to even use the tricks in the first place.

I'm thinking of just allowing my players to do any trick with a skill check of a high enough DC (which I'll probably have to arbitrarily assign case-by-case). Does this seem imbalanced? Anyone have any thoughts on the idea in general?

Allowing the tricks essentially for free is going to change the skill system a bit. The only one I've used is Never Outnumbered, which allows you to demoralize all enemies within 10'. If you want to apply a bonus to enemies' opposed rolls based on how many there are, that could work.

I don't think it would be game-breaking (but again, limited experience), but I think the system is fine as is.

[RebelRogue]

How about giving them out for free at some rate, like one per two levels or whatever, perhaps different rates for different classes? Also, are there enough skill tricks out there to make that a viable idea?

[Eldan]

Well, I never liked the idea of skill tricks.

Or, to expand on that a bit: I never liked the idea that you actually had to learn the kind of thing on that list by sinking resources into it. If one of my players wants to get a hand free while climbing to fire a crossbow, sure. That's a dexterity and/or climbing check, done. Not something you should have to learn.

So yes, I'd consider either giving the players the tricks for free when they reach a certain point, making them just skill check DCs or just taking the list as a suggestion for what kind of thing can be done with skills.

[Endarire]

What about Collector of Stores for +5 competence Knowledge?

[gbprime]

Paying for skill tricks is really only an issue for those classes that get 2 per level and aren't based on INT. Skill monkeys never have this issue, but then there's the poor cleric who can keep Concentration maxxed but has to flip back and forth between Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (Religion), and Spellcraft... then when the PC's are high level and you run into demons the cleric still has to say "uh... I dunno. I never had enough points for Knowledge (The Planes)."

I know, poor clerics, right? I suppose I could have used "fighter with an 8 INT" as an example, but the idea is there.

One possible solution... houserule it so that all classes with 2 skill points per level hereby get 4 skill points per level instead. Then they can make use of their class skill list instead of just the core 1 or 2 and they can buy their own skill tricks.