The Pathfinder RPG has made some very positive changes to the skill system. Especially good is the idea that cross-class skills cost the same amount as class skills, yet are capped at half the maximum level.
As I have found with my group, however, however, there is a loss of flexibility and character customizability at first level(s), where a character can only place one skill point into a skill and unlike in 3.5E, he cannot spread skill points around if he instead wants to be broad-based rather than specialized. There are other improvements that could also be had (see the benefits section below) by modifying the system.
I would, therefore, advocate a partial reversion to the 3.5E system, but with a twist to maintain the benefits of the Pathfinder RPG system. Instead of basing initial skill points on class, we could base them on race or make them generic:
1) The +3 bonus to class skills would be removed and maximum skill-level would revert to Level + 3 for class skills and half that for cross-class skills.
2) Apart from the class-based skill point progression, which would remain as is (including for 1st level), every race would also grant 12 bonus skill points + 3 x Int. bonus. Humans would, of course, get extra 3 skill points on top of that. Note that this is equivalent to a race being a 4 skill-point per level class in 3.5E.
3) High-skill point classes would be compensated for the lost skill points by getting the following class abilities:
Skilled 1: Character gains 2 extra skill points
Skilled 2: Character gains 4 extra skill points
Skilled 3: Character gains 6 extra skill points
6-skill point per level classes would get Skilled 1 at level 1 and Skilled 2 at level 2. 8-skill point per level classes would receive the same abilities, but would also gain Skilled 3 at level 3.
Skilled abilities of the same level (1, 2 or 3) would not stack. This would discourage level-dipping to abuse the system.
Benefits:
1) Slightly greater backward compatibility with 3.5E, particularly in terms of maximum skill levels and prestige-class prerequisites
2) Greater flexibility of character creation, especially at level 1 and low levels
3) Fairer in terms of multiclassing - the number of skills a character can max-out is no longer dependent on the order in which he multiclasses
4) Less prone to abuse - the +3 bonus was abusable more easily, by spreading skills in such a way as to obtain effectively many more skill-points than the character would have received in 3.5E
5) Enables better fleshing out low-skill point classes (Fighters, Clerics, Wizards) with background skills, as they receive more starting skill points than they would otherwise, yet does not change their actual skill-progressions over time and thus maintains respectable backward compatibility on the matter
Thats to complected for me. I just give a min of 4 skill points per level, that seems to work fine.
Thats to complected for me. I just give a min of 4 skill points per level, that seems to work fine.
Well, in the initial post, I tried to provide the reasoning, which complicated it. It is not actually very complicated at all. I will try to show it in simplified manner below. I tend towards the verbose, however, so I can only hope I succeed:
1) Class skill points per level remain the same
2) Every character gets 12 + 3 times Intelligence modifier bonus skill points at level 1
3) Class skills are capped at level + 3 and cross-class skills at half that (this is no different than 3.5E)
That's all there is to it.
The only two additional things are:
1) +3 extra skill point for humans (this would be a standard human ability - no different how they get +3 extra skill points at level 1 in 3.5E)
2) Some classes might gain abilities that give them additional skill points. These would be included in class descriptions.
You know very well that the base skill point progressions for classes are not going to be changed. That has been stated many times before by Jason and maybe even other designers.
shrug , if ya gonna do it like that might as well leave it as it was. I like the ease of the new system. Its 2 skills per level that is the issue not the system it's self.
