Distributing (dumping) Skill Points question

[Aidokast]

Hello,

I'm pretty new to pathfinder and such, so I would please like a clarification on distributing skill points into maxing out skill ranks.

There is only one rule governing this, and it is that the skill ranks cannot surpass the character's total level. Correct?

Nothing limits a character from "dumping" all of the available skill points he gains at a new level into just one skill. For example, a level 5 bard with 10 int, will gain 6 skill points per level. If he has been raising 6 different skills, each would all be capped at 5. There is no rule that prevents the bard from "dumping" all of his 6 new skill points into an untrained skill when he reaches level 6, is there? Or does a rule that states one rank increase per level exist in pathfinder?

Thank you for the help :)

[Whale_Cancer]

Correct. No 'dumping' rule exists.

[Avatar-1]

You can put as many ranks into one skill as you like, so long as the total number of ranks isn't higher than your level.

At level 6, you can have up to 6 ranks in any skill, even if it was 0 ranks at level 5.

Note that this refers to ranks, not the skill total. If you have 6 ranks in disable device with a 16 dex (+3), you can still have a total of 9 in your disable device skill. (6 ranks +3 dex = 9 skill).

[mcherm]

A good example is the Fly skill. You can't spend any points until you have a regular way to fly; after that you may wish to "catch up".