Skill Titles and Bonus

[cibet2]

I would like to see skill ranks have meaning in addition to die roll bonuses. This would reward players that choose to add ranks to skills and could speed game play as well.

For example:

Skill Ranks/Skill Title
0/None
1-5/Novice
6-10/Advanced
11-15/Expert
16-20/Master
21+/Epic

Some very simple Skill Title bonuses:

Stealth Title Bonuses:
Novice:
None

Advanced:
-2 penalty for moving at greater than half speed (instead of -5).

Expert:
No penalty for moving at greater then half speed.
Can (if he so chooses) automatically take a 10 with no penalty on opposed Perception checks from non-expert (10 or less ranks) sources.

Master:
Can (if he so chooses) automatically take a 20 with no penalty on opposed Perception checks from non-expert (10 or less ranks) sources.
Can (if he so chooses) automatically take a 10 with no penalty on opposed Perception checks from non-master (15 or less ranks) sources.

Epic:
Can (if he so chooses) automatically take a 20 with no penalty on opposed Perception checks from non-master (15 or less ranks) sources.
Can (if he so chooses) automatically take a 10 with no penalty on opposed Perception checks from non-epic (20 or less ranks) sources.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering) Title Bonuses:
Novice:
None

Advanced:
Can attempt to detect the presence of an Ooze within 30ft (DC10 + HD of Ooze)

Expert:
Can attempt to detect the presence of an Ooze within 60ft (DC10 + HD of Ooze)
Can attempt to detect the presence of an Aberration within 30ft (DC10 + HD of Aberration)

Master:
Can automatically detect the presence of an Ooze within 30ft
Can attempt to detect the presence of an Aberration within 60ft (DC10 + HD of Aberration)
Can automatically bypass damage reduction of an Ooze during combat with HD <= Character Level

Epic:
Can automatically detect the presence of an Ooze within 60ft
Can automatically detect the presence of an Aberration within 30ft
Can automatically bypass damage reduction of an Aberration during combat with HD <= Character Level

[JBSchroeds]

This looks interesting. I really like the concept. Have you playtested this before? How do you think (or know if you've tested it) that it could speed up play? I would think that having to ask if you can take ten/twenty might give away too many of the cards the DM is holding depending on what the encounter is set up like, and constantly asking to detect presence might be obnoxious. With the right abilities this could be cool, but on the other hand it might just be too much to remember (one of the problems with high level play is increasing complexity slowing down the game).

[cibet2]

I think this would speed up game play because it would allow DMs to design skill challenges that certain "Titles" could defeat or do faster just by having enough ranks. Some examples:

Skill Challenge: Find Some Piece Of Planes Info
Success: Knowledge (Planes) DC 10 or Expert Level for automatic success
Duration: 1d4 hours for Novice or lower, 1d10 minutes for Expert or higher
Explanation: An "Expert" (11-15 ranks) in Knowledge(Planes) would automatically be able to find this piece of information in < 10 minutes, while others spend considerably more time and may not find it at all.

Skill Challenge: Jump over obstacle, grab a rope, swing to other side
Jump Check DC 10 or Expert Level for automatic success
Balance Check DC 10 or Expert Level for automatic success
Rope Use Check DC 10 or Master Level for automatic success
Duration: 3 rounds
Explanation: An Expert Jumper and Balancer would breeze through the first two pieces of this challenge but would still need to roll the final piece. A Master Rope User would have no problem with the swing at the end but might still need to make the Jump and Balance Checks.

Skill Challenge: Detect an Ooze hiding in the ceiling 20ft above
DM makes this check in secret for the players(s)
Success: Knowledge (Dungeoneering) Novice: No chance, Expert: DC10 + HD of Ooze, Master+: Automatic
Duration: 1 free action
Explanation: An Expert Dungeoneer may notice something about the room (like a smell or presence of a slime) that would give away the presence of the Ooze. A Master Dungeoneer would definitely notice something.

[Quentyn]

I think you may wind up with a lot of pages covering various specific bonus possibilities for each skill. Perhaps a more general set of rules or just a set of examples? Secondarily, this is going to add a lot of work to NPC's and to creature adaptions.

It might be simpler to alter the DC of skill checks and make each skill rank count as +2 or some such: it would accomplish the same general goal - widening the gap between an 11-rank expert and a first-rank novice, rather than allowing the range of a d20 to swamp it.

[Thunderbolt Kid]

I agree with Quentyn about all the extra paperwork it would take, but it sounds like a great idea. I might just simplify this to bonuses for achieving certain amounts of skill points (like Quentyn suggests)