Sammael
Adventurer
I've had a slight problem with 3.x skills for a while now. It seemed that A) there were too many skills which were, essentially, useless (Use Rope, anyone ?); B) picking skills always took too long during character creation and level-up; C) most characters tended to specialize, and there was no way to represent the fact that high-level characters should likely be better in the use of pretty much all skills than their low-level counterparts; dabbling in all but a few skills was a waste of skill points.
So, when I first saw SW Saga skills, I thought it was a step in the right direction, but still flawed - the detailed customization was gone and the resulting system was perhaps a bit too simplified. Naturally, 4E followed in that same direction, but I decided that I wanted to do a full overhaul of the skill system myself.
Additionally, I've been playing WoD games a lot lately and figured that the mix'n'match of skills and attributes was a great idea - and it made a lot of sense. Thus, I decided not to tie skills to particular ability scores; in the final version of my skills document, each described skill use will have a suggested ability score to go with it, but, ultimately, it should be up to the DM to call the appropriate check. To give an example, the Perception in this system here replaces Listen, Search, and Spot. Noticing hidden foes requires a Perception + Wis check, while searching a room for clues requires a Perception + Int check.
Let'sl begin with the list of skills, which is categorized for easier viewing (the categories currently have no mechanical bearing on the game):
Adventuring
Physical
Social
That's seven skills per category (I like symmetry, so sue me), for a total of 28 (3.5 had 45 skills, counting the various Knowledge subcategories). Not an insignificant cut, but still far from 4E's 17 skills (too few, if you ask me). It should also be noted that the three major forms of combat (Brawl, Marksmanship, Melee) are now considered to be skills, and that the three saves have also been folded into skills (Fort into Endurance, Ref into Celerity, and Will into Resolve). That should simplify the system quite a bit, overall.
How does one improve skills?
First of all, each character starts with a small competence bonus (+1 or +2) in one or two background skills.
Second, each race (except for humans) grants a +2 inherent bonus to two skills:
At 1st level and every odd level thereafter, you get some skill points, as determined by your class (I'm still working on the exact numbers) or your Intelligence modifier (whichever is greater). For instance, a fighter would usually get 2 skill points, but if he has an Int of 16, he would get 3 skill points instead. This makes Int more important for low-skill point classes, but less important for high-skill point classes (e.g. rogue). With the reduced number of skills, nearly every class should receive fewer skill points than in 3.x.
Humans gain 1 bonus skill point per level (as before).
You can spend skill points on your class skills. You can never spend more than one point on any one skill at one time. Your class skills are determined by your primary class (the one you took at 1st level). Every time you multiclass, you may add one class skill from your new class' list to your list of class skills. For instance, a fighter who multiclassed as a rogue could choose to add Deception to his list of class skills. You can also take a Skill Training feat, which allows you to choose an additional class skill.
At 2nd level, and every even level thereafter, you gain a +1 bonus to all skills (as per 4E). Basically, this shows your overall progress; as you gain more experience, you become more skilled at... well, everything.
Items may provide item bonuses to various skills, but these bonuses should be considerably lower than in 3.x (+1 as a default, +2 for truly extraordinary items).
Obviously, the system needs some more work (and playtesting), but I am generally pleased with how it's shaping up. I think I've managed to capture the best of both worlds (3.x and 4E), but only time will tell... Needless to say, I'd appreciate any and all feedback.
So, when I first saw SW Saga skills, I thought it was a step in the right direction, but still flawed - the detailed customization was gone and the resulting system was perhaps a bit too simplified. Naturally, 4E followed in that same direction, but I decided that I wanted to do a full overhaul of the skill system myself.
Additionally, I've been playing WoD games a lot lately and figured that the mix'n'match of skills and attributes was a great idea - and it made a lot of sense. Thus, I decided not to tie skills to particular ability scores; in the final version of my skills document, each described skill use will have a suggested ability score to go with it, but, ultimately, it should be up to the DM to call the appropriate check. To give an example, the Perception in this system here replaces Listen, Search, and Spot. Noticing hidden foes requires a Perception + Wis check, while searching a room for clues requires a Perception + Int check.
Let'sl begin with the list of skills, which is categorized for easier viewing (the categories currently have no mechanical bearing on the game):
Adventuring
- Dungeoneering: underground survival, underground creature lore, spelunking, etc.
- Engineering: crafting metal, wood, and stone objects; familiarity with mechanical devices, including locks and traps
- Healing: first aid, long-term care, removal of poison and disease effects
- Legerdemain: sleight of hand, using rope
- Perception: using senses to examine the environment
- Stealth: sneaking, shadowing, concealment
- Survival: living off the land, hunting, tracking, orienteering, handling animals, natural lore
- Alchemy: creation of alchemical items, analysis of unknown substances
- Arcana: knowledge of arcane magic, magic items, rituals, constructs, magical creatures
- Heraldry: history, lore, etiquette, knowledge of nobility and royalty
- Linguistics: speaking languages, deciphering coded texts, forgery
- Netherlore: life after death, undeath, planes and planar denizens
- Religion: major and minor religions and cults, rituals, religious items and customs
- Warcraft: tactics, strategy, operation of siege engines, leadership in battle
Physical
- Acrobatics: balancing, jumping, tumbling
- Athletics: climbing, riding, swimming
- Brawl: unarmed combat, wrestling, tripping, martial arts
- Celerity: initiative, reaction, reflexes, speed
- Endurance: fortitude, resilience, ability to carry heavy loads
- Marksmanship: ranged combat
- Melee: close combat
Social
- Deception: bluff, disguise, impersonation
- Expression: creating works of art, giving musical performances, oratory
- Insight: empathy, sensing other people's intentions, reading auras
- Intimidation: extortion, blackmail, questioning
- Persuasion: diplomacy, negotiations
- Resolve: willpower, concentration
- Streetwise: gathering information, urban survival
That's seven skills per category (I like symmetry, so sue me), for a total of 28 (3.5 had 45 skills, counting the various Knowledge subcategories). Not an insignificant cut, but still far from 4E's 17 skills (too few, if you ask me). It should also be noted that the three major forms of combat (Brawl, Marksmanship, Melee) are now considered to be skills, and that the three saves have also been folded into skills (Fort into Endurance, Ref into Celerity, and Will into Resolve). That should simplify the system quite a bit, overall.
How does one improve skills?
First of all, each character starts with a small competence bonus (+1 or +2) in one or two background skills.
Second, each race (except for humans) grants a +2 inherent bonus to two skills:
- Dwarf: +2 Endurance, Engineering
- Elf: +2 Arcana, Perception
- Gnome: +2 Alchemy, Deception
- Half-elf: +2 Perception, Persuasion
- Half-orc: +2 Endurance, Survival
- Halfling: +2 Resolve, Stealth
At 1st level and every odd level thereafter, you get some skill points, as determined by your class (I'm still working on the exact numbers) or your Intelligence modifier (whichever is greater). For instance, a fighter would usually get 2 skill points, but if he has an Int of 16, he would get 3 skill points instead. This makes Int more important for low-skill point classes, but less important for high-skill point classes (e.g. rogue). With the reduced number of skills, nearly every class should receive fewer skill points than in 3.x.
Humans gain 1 bonus skill point per level (as before).
You can spend skill points on your class skills. You can never spend more than one point on any one skill at one time. Your class skills are determined by your primary class (the one you took at 1st level). Every time you multiclass, you may add one class skill from your new class' list to your list of class skills. For instance, a fighter who multiclassed as a rogue could choose to add Deception to his list of class skills. You can also take a Skill Training feat, which allows you to choose an additional class skill.
At 2nd level, and every even level thereafter, you gain a +1 bonus to all skills (as per 4E). Basically, this shows your overall progress; as you gain more experience, you become more skilled at... well, everything.
Items may provide item bonuses to various skills, but these bonuses should be considerably lower than in 3.x (+1 as a default, +2 for truly extraordinary items).
Obviously, the system needs some more work (and playtesting), but I am generally pleased with how it's shaping up. I think I've managed to capture the best of both worlds (3.x and 4E), but only time will tell... Needless to say, I'd appreciate any and all feedback.
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