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I would feel a lot more comfortable with the core math, and it would avoid silliness like a level 10 Str 10 untrained-athletics wizard handily outwrestling a level 1 Str 18 barbarian, if the effects of level in proficiency rating were reduced the effect of rank was increased. Being trained in a skill, a weapon, or whatever else should really matter. To wit:
Level: Level contribution is reduced to 1/2 level.
Rank: Add an extra rank tier. The ranks go as follows:
- Untrained gives -4.
- Trained gives +0. Any skills, weapons, armor, saves etc signature to a class are automatically trained at 1st without having to spend proficiencies. Anyone else can get them at level 1. Assurance is baked in to proficiency and gives you a 10.
- Expert gives +2. It can come online at level 1 for signature traits, or level 3 otherwise. Assurance gives you a 15.
- Specialist gives +4. It can come online at level 3 for signature traits or level 9 otherwise. Assurance gives you a 20.
- Master gives +6. It can come online at level 9 for signature traits or level 15 otherwise. Assurance gives you a 25.
- Legendary gives +8. It can come online at level 15 for signature traits, and never comes online otherwise. Assurance gives you a 30.
Signature: Signature just means you get to advance proficiency one step higher than your level would otherwise allow. It's not actually a cap. Things that give you extra signature, like race or background abilities, are still desirable but not necessary unless you're pushing optimization.
Equipment: This is why I kept Trained at +0, to line up with how they did equipment tiers. It means an average, decent but unexceptional item is still +0, lining up with Trained. There is an extra equipment tier to correspond to the extra proficiency tier, but equipment bonuses are half of your proficiency rank gives you: +1 expert, +2 specialist, +3 Master, +4 legendary. Actual artifacts ("mythic" items) are the only way to get a +5 item.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Being trained, expert etc in a skill actually mean something. While level is still a factor, a level 1 barbarian with Str 18 and expert athletics can now consistently outwrestle the weak untrained wizard until the wizard is at the very highest levels, at which point whatever, the wizard is just innately magicking everything they do.
DCs and monster ACs / saves would have to come down some from what is in the published text, sure... But it's not like the whole math system has to be rejiggered. You just reduce DCs a bit at higher levels; a reduction of 2 at low-mid levels to 5 at high levels, with the enhanced proficiency ratings and extra equipment tier, means they still line up with current success rate expectations. Though they should come down more imo, because a mere 55%-60% chance of success at on-level tasks in a skill or with a weapon you're optimized for is really terrible, but that's a separate design consideration from keeping the math largely the same.
Skill feats with the extra tier can represent a smoother curve of potentiality, instead of meh, good, break reality. A feat for a trained character represents being actually good at a particular thing, increasing to really great at expert, normal peak of human potential at specialist, action movie hero or absurdly good csi cop but still /plausible/ at master, then pushing past accepted notions of reality at legendary.
Proficiency can still apply to AC and saves and it works fine.
If bonus damage dice were to be decoupled from magic weapons, it works well with the revised rank system. Expert, Specialist, Master and Legend give a bonus damage die. A good martial character like a fighter or monk can be doing a bonus damage die from training right from level 1, a barbarian can be given an extra die while in rage, a rogue gets a sneak attack / trick attack that goes off more often instead, the Paladin can get smite back. Training is only a few levels behind for non signature classes, so a barbarian doesn't have to wait until the teens of level advancement to become expert, because it's a consistent progression.
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I like it. I think I'd put untrained back to -2, which would give a nice even +/-10 spread between characters at the same level. -2 is a pretty major penalty, -4 feels a bit overwhelming, to my thinking anyway. Probably would still make Assurance a separate feat, even for the 10.
I definitely find it awkward that monks start as expert at level 1 in unarmored, then don't get a boost again til 13th. Fighter gets Weapon Mastery at 3rd, Specialization at 13th. 10-13 level gap between increasing major core class features? That just seems very odd to me.
And the fact is, they didn't really put anything reality breaking in as Legendary Skill feats, so there's not actually any good reason that the number gap should be so small. For proficiencies there's literally nothing. +1 AC is the only reason to care about Legendary Unarmored. That's...just kind of boring. I was okay with the small spread, but I wanted to be able to do cool stuff with it.