House rules for feats that make skills a class skill...

[Adagna]

I'm curious if anyone has a house rule for any feats that make a skill a class skill, where a character already has that class skill.

These feats usually give a +2 to the skill and then also make that skill a class skill for that character. I was contemplating making it an additional +1 if it is already a class skill. It seems like many of these skill feats are geared towards non-rogue classes. Rogues already have most of these skills as class skills, so while the bonus is nice half the feat is "wasted" since it has no real effect.

Any thoughts?

[DM_Blake]

I already don't take these feats. With so many good feats to choose from, these don't even make my list.

Choosing two skills as class skills is, at best +3 to each skill for a total of +6. If someone already has one of those, they lose half the benefit which is worth +3. Replacing that lost half with only +1 means the entire feat is about 2/3 as good as it is for someone who fully benefits from it.

For a feat that is, IMO, not worth taking in the first place (most of the time; there may be certain situational exceptions), making a house rule to drop it down to 2/3 its base usefulness only makes it less appealing.

Why not simply replace ALL of these with a single feat like this (for example):

Highly Skilled (General)

You are trained in using many skills above and beyond those common to your profession.

Benefit: Choose any two skills that are not class skills for you. These skills become class skills for you.

Special: This skill can count as a prerequisite for any other feat that lists a prerequisite feat that makes one of the two chosen skills into a class skill for you. For example, Uncanny Alertness feat lists Alertness as a prerequisite feat, but characters who chose Perception or Sense Motive when they selected this feat can count this feat as a substitute prerequisite for purposes of taking Uncanny Alertness. You can take this feat more than once; each time you do, choose to different skills that are not class skills for you.

[Adagna]

That's not a bad idea. I was also considering the option to make it like an improved skill focus if it was already a class skill so the standard +2, then +3 if it were already a class skill, which would put you at a +8 with one skill rank invested. I just thought perhaps this make it too good. But this might actually entice someone to take these skill feats which seem to languish, as you say being fairly useless as they are.

I guess I am trying to make some of the lesser taken feats actually worth taking. Everyone seems to focus on the same few feats since they are so much more helpful then some of the others.

[Aelryinth]

IN addition, in 3.5 there were several feats which granted multiple skills as class skills.

The one that comes to mind is Scholarly (all Knowledge skills as class skills), and I think there was one for the diplomacy triad (Bluff, Diplomacy, Sense Motive) and Perform (all skills).

Not sure about others.

Note that you can take TRAITS that give you +1 or +2 and make a skill a class skill, so a feat should be at least twice as good.

==Aelryinth

[Ciaran Barnes]

Most of the traits grant a +1 and make it a class skill, or a +2 to a specific use of a skill. Feats that grant +2 or more to one or more skill usually do not also make them class skills. There are exceptions of course.

[JuanAdriel]

You can burn a feat to take two more traits, right?

[Ughbash]

JuanAdriel wrote:

You can burn a feat to take two more traits, right?

Yes, but you are still limited to one feat from each category.

[JuanAdriel]

Oh, I forgot about that, you right.