| nosamename |
I looked at the third alpha document some time ago, but never playtested. Just decided to stop by and see if my biggest peeve had been changed. From the look of the beta document I just downloaded, it wasn't. Please, correct me if I'm overlooking some dialog with the developers that says otherwise.
Scenario: A ranger and a rogue go on a quest to map the entire continent they live upon. During their years of adventuring along the way, they come across all sorts of terrain. Rivers, mountains, swamps, savanah, and so on. Each starts with 1 rank in knowledge: geography and spends one skill point per level to increase their skill ranks in it. The rogue has intelligence of 16 and the ranger has a 10. The ranger receives a +3 bonus from having knowledge: geography as a class skill, the rogue receives a +3 from being particularly smart. Each has the same chance of success on any check involving that skill. Both take the endurance feat. At level five, the ranger qualifies for the horizon walker prestige class, but the rogue does not. The rogue will not qualify until level ten.
Why not? They are both equally skilled. They have shared similar experiences. They are both engaged in becoming familiar with the basis of that prestige class, though they may choose different terrain mastery benefits once they qualify. So why are the rogue's ranks in the knowledge skill critical to this PrC only half as valuable as the ranger's in this facet, when (class skill list bonus qualification aside) they are equal in all others?