So I was talking to my friend, we'll just say his name is Zach, and he told me he had some issues with the skill system that 3.5 currently has so he homebrewed his own and I told him I'd post it to see what others thought since its obvious we'll be playing 3.5 for a while. so her we go:
At first level every character gets skill points, or as Zach called em, background points. Every character gets 20 + (5x the character's INT modifier). So for example a fighter with an INT of 12 gets 25 of these points. Class in the end doesn't make any kind of difference at 1st level so, just INT so it doesn't matter what class you are.
Next you place these points into the skills you want. There are no class skills lists in Zach's version you just place the points where you see fit but there is a limit however. You can only place up to five points into a single skill, and once you are done this thats all the placement you'll ever have to do as far as these points go.
Lasty you get one, what Zach called, Rank. This "rank" can be put into any one skill you are trained in and basically lets you have a free re-roll whe attempting the skill.
And when you attempt any skill you, as always, add in your ability modifier.
Now, its not done, There is a matter of leveling up. When you level up, you add half your current level rounded down to your skills, so say the example fighter mentioned form above is level 5 now and he put 5 points into climb and has a STR of 18 his over all climb bonus is +11(5pnts+ 4 STR mod+ 2 1/2lvl) and if he drops a "rank" in it then he gets a free re-roll.
However, merely adding 1/2 your level to your skill checks is not all you attain. You also get an additional rank based upon your character classes original skill point progression. This is where the character class actualy have an impact on the skills you have.
It goes like this:
8 skill pnts per level= a new "rank" every level
6 skill points= every 2 levels
4 skill points= every 3 levels
2 skill points= every 4 levels
These "ranks" can be put into any skill you have including the one you placed your first rank in. Through these placement of ranks you really define which skills your character is going to be really a master at.
So refrecing back to the 5th level fighter from above with a INT of 12 he'd have 25 character background points and 2 "ranks" one from 1st level and another gained at level 4th level.
So there you have it. I'll be checking into to see what people have to say. I thought it was interesting and I haven't had a chance to use it. I hope I posted everything clearly and I and my friend are waiting your responses.
p.s. skill focus feat: gives +5 to a single skill or +3 to two different skills.