Been pondering on implementing a skill revision, thought I would post it to see what you guys have to say.
Strength
Athletics (Climb, Jump, Swim, and all other strength based tests of athleticism, including many sports)
Smithing (Weapons and Armor)
Craft
Profession
Dexterity
Acrobatics (includes Escape Artist)
Disable Device
Sleight of Hand
Stealth
Craft
Profession
Constitution
Concentration
Endurance
Profession
Intelligence
Arcana (Spellcraft, Arcane Lore, Magical Beings, Planes)
Engineering (clever players can get a lot of use out of this, and my players can be pretty clever)
Heraldry (Nobility, Courtly Etiquette, Military Knowledge)
History (Local and Ancient, must spend one month in a new area or in study of a new source of ancient history to gain bonuses)
Linguistics
Nature (Geography, Animal and Plant Lore, Wilderness and Subterranean Knowledge)
Religion (Spellcraft, Divine Lore, Planes, Undead)
Craft
Profession
Wisdom
Animal Handling (includes Ride)
Healing (Herbalism and Treatment)
Insight (Sense Motive and Intuition)
Mercantile (Appraise, Business Practices and Etiquette)
Perception
Survival
Craft
Profession
Charisma
Deception (Bluff and Disguise)
Intimidate
Persuasion
Perform
Profession
As you can see, I combined a few skills and expanded on the uses of others. All Craft and Profession skills will be handled on a case by case basis and assigned to the skill that makes the most sense, Art/Painting/Calligraphy will be a Dex based craft for example, and as you probably noticed Smithing gets its own entry under Str. There is no Use Magic Device skill, instead Rogues, Bards, and Alchemists get it as a class ability. 4+Int becomes the minimum skill points per level, all classes that get 2 are bumped up to 4.
I like it... I won't use it, but I like it...
However, as with almost all other skill systems in D20 I've seen, I miss stamina / con based skills ... It could be some athletics, Long distance swimming, running etc...
Ya know what, you're right, Con does deserve a little attention. I'm going to add an Endurance skill, pulled straight out of Star Wars Saga. And I think I might add Concentration back in as a skill also (though this will probably require a little bit of playtesting), also adding more general uses to it than being just for spellcasting purposes.
Not a fan of the Concentration skill; it's just a skill tax for casters.
I don't see how crafting anything is STR based; it doesn't matter how hard you pound the metal if you don't know how to do it right.
Not a fan of the Concentration skill; it's just a skill tax for casters.
I don't see how crafting anything is STR based; it doesn't matter how hard you pound the metal if you don't know how to do it right.
Actually the more I have been thinking about it today, I too dont want to add Concentration back in, the PF way of doing it is fine. I do like Endurance though, and it turns many mundane things that would be Fort saves into skill checks.
Regarding Str based crafting, the act of putting skill points into Smithing (for example) is in fact "knowing how to do it right", the training comes from the skill points, the stat just aids in the process. I mean how many smiths do you see that arent rocking guns for arms?