I'm a little confused about converting skill points for animals. It says they have 2 points + their Int mod, which is negative, leaving them just one point per HD? Is that correct? So if I was converting a raven, it would have just Perception +1 + its Wis mod + the +3 class skill bonus, giving it Perception +6?
Director of Brand Strategy
|
Most animals will get their skills bumped up to the right level by the ubiquitous 'racial bonus'.
Consider that a raven, as you used in your example, is tiny, so it gets major bonuses to Stealth, and it's natural fly speed (with average maneuverability grants it a bonus on Fly skill checks as well. While these aren't actual ranks, it does provide bit more in the skills section of a stablock than just perception.
Most animals will get their skills bumped up to the right level by the ubiquitous 'racial bonus'.Consider that a raven, as you used in your example, is tiny, so it gets major bonuses to Stealth, and it's natural fly speed (with average maneuverability grants it a bonus on Fly skill checks as well. While these aren't actual ranks, it does provide bit more in the skills section of a stablock than just perception.
Good point. I'll keep size in mind while converting... though I've never caught on to the system behind the size of the racial bonuses some creatures get. +6 to Fly, maybe? *guessing*
|
Director of Brand Strategy
|
Average maneuverability in 3.5 is a +0 racial bonus, so it should only have its Dex mod and the +3 class skill bonus. Net +5 check. Alertness in 3.5 should really just be converted as Skill Focus (Perception), so it should probably have Skills: Fly +5, Perception +6.
I hadn't thought of using Skill Focus as a way of incorporating racial bonuses into conversions, but it's a good idea. Much easier to keep track of than the sometimes long lists of racial modifiers that can come into play.
The biggest hurdles I've run into so far are scent and track. Since scent it now really just part of perception, creatures with a natural scent ability don't have a calculable bonus as of yet, and track has been completely removed from the game. Adding these as Skill Focus (Perception) for scent based checks and Skill Focus (Survival) to track might be an option.
I'm a little confused about converting skill points for animals. It says they have 2 points + their Int mod, which is negative, leaving them just one point per HD? Is that correct? So if I was converting a raven, it would have just Perception +1 + its Wis mod + the +3 class skill bonus, giving it Perception +6?
Animals are an exception for skill points. They don't gain them according to their HD and Int modifier, but rather have a fixed number of skill points (between 15 and 20 iirc).
Animals are an exception for skill points. They don't gain them according to their HD and Int modifier, but rather have a fixed number of skill points (between 15 and 20 iirc).
How do get this idea? Skills work for for animals like for any other creature.
|
I'm a little confused about converting skill points for animals. It says they have 2 points + their Int mod, which is negative, leaving them just one point per HD? Is that correct? So if I was converting a raven, it would have just Perception +1 + its Wis mod + the +3 class skill bonus, giving it Perception +6?Animals are an exception for skill points. They don't gain them according to their HD and Int modifier, but rather have a fixed number of skill points (between 15 and 20 iirc).
That was 3.0. Animals and Vermin both had 10-15 skill points.
In 3.5 they're calculated the same way as everything else, according to type (Animal is 2 + Int mod per HD, minimum 1 per HD). And if I can be bothered to really read my own ideas, a raven should be Fly +6, Perception +8. 1 rank, +2 from Dex, +3 for class skill, and 2 from Wisdom; and 0 ranks, +2 from Wisdom, +3 for a class skill, and +3 for Skill Focus (Perception).
Again, that's Fly +6, Perception +8, with feats being Skill Focus (Perception) and the bonus Weapon Finesse feat.
Do you get the class skill bonus without taking any ranks? I thought that nifty +3 only applied if you spent at least 1 rank on it.