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<blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 6607449" data-attributes="member: 92305"><p><strong>-- LIVING SKILL POINTS --</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>One of the more fiddly bits of the d20 game system is the concept of skill points. I like what skill points accomplish--that of allowing characters to specialize in certain skills--but the bookkeeping aspect of skill points can be tedious at times. It's no wonder that skill points were dropped in D&D 5E.</p><p></p><p>Still, skill points represent an excellent way for a player to customize his character. </p><p></p><p>What I do in my game is try to take the tediousness out of the skill point system. At first level or when a character increases in level, I allow the player to spend as many skill points as he wishes. He can spend all of them, as per the normal rules, if he wishes.</p><p></p><p>But, in my game, a player can also not spend some of the points. I jot down how many and keep that in my GM's notebook. Anytime, during the game, when the character wants to boost a skill roll, he can take any amount of points out of his character's pool (subject to the game's limit, of course) and spend those on the skill immediately before rolling.</p><p></p><p>For example, let's say that the 1st level Argossean Thief, Yuri The Knife, has spent all of his skill points except for 10. I keep that information in my GM's notebook. After a few game sessions, there is a point in the adventure where Yuri comes across some foreign writing chiseled in stone on the wall of a cave. A Decipher Script check is needed to read the writing. Up until this point, Yuri has only put 1 skill point into Decipher Script (and the player only did that because it is a Trained Only skill). So, by the rules, this 1st level character can have as many as 3 more skill points placed in the skill (for a total of 4 ranks). </p><p></p><p>It's a class skill for the Thief, so he doesn't have to double up on his points. The player decides that this is where he wants to put his points, so he does. Then, the check in the game is made. </p><p></p><p>Once a player decides to spend points, the points are permanent. No changing allowed. This makes for an organic way of spending skill points--spending them where the character actually makes skill checks instead of having predict where the character will need the skill in the future.</p><p></p><p>The player can spend the points in his pool at any time he wants, between game sessions is fine. For example, during a game sessions, a player's scholar character spends a game day in a fine library, and so, it makes sense to the player that the subject being studied--Knowledge (Geography)--be increased. Fine. Do it.</p><p></p><p>Or, maybe a PC meets a NPC, and the NPC is master of an intriguing skill. It's OK for the player to say, "I've been following around Shevatas, the master thief, for some time now. I think I should increase my Move Silently and Hide skills."</p><p></p><p>Basically, you are taking the pressure off of the player to have to spend all the skill points as soon as a character levels. Let the player play the character a while and see what challenges lie ahead--then let the player spend the points as he sees fit within the context of the game.</p><p></p><p>This sure saves time if you introduce a new PC character in the middle of a game, too.</p><p></p><p>The only real rule here is: All of a character's skill points must be spent before he levels again. You cannot carry over a balance of skill points from one level to another. In my experience, the skill points are spent long before the character levels, even when we're speaking about a 1st level character.</p><p></p><p>One other thing to remember: In the Conan RPG, any skill points gained because of high INT score (13+) can be spent on any skill as if it were a class skill (thus, cross-class skills do not cost double when using these points). So, with regard to characters with High INT scores, the GM must keep two skill pools for such characters. One pool for the INT derived points, and another pool for the rest.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Water Bob, post: 6607449, member: 92305"] [b]-- LIVING SKILL POINTS --[/b] One of the more fiddly bits of the d20 game system is the concept of skill points. I like what skill points accomplish--that of allowing characters to specialize in certain skills--but the bookkeeping aspect of skill points can be tedious at times. It's no wonder that skill points were dropped in D&D 5E. Still, skill points represent an excellent way for a player to customize his character. What I do in my game is try to take the tediousness out of the skill point system. At first level or when a character increases in level, I allow the player to spend as many skill points as he wishes. He can spend all of them, as per the normal rules, if he wishes. But, in my game, a player can also not spend some of the points. I jot down how many and keep that in my GM's notebook. Anytime, during the game, when the character wants to boost a skill roll, he can take any amount of points out of his character's pool (subject to the game's limit, of course) and spend those on the skill immediately before rolling. For example, let's say that the 1st level Argossean Thief, Yuri The Knife, has spent all of his skill points except for 10. I keep that information in my GM's notebook. After a few game sessions, there is a point in the adventure where Yuri comes across some foreign writing chiseled in stone on the wall of a cave. A Decipher Script check is needed to read the writing. Up until this point, Yuri has only put 1 skill point into Decipher Script (and the player only did that because it is a Trained Only skill). So, by the rules, this 1st level character can have as many as 3 more skill points placed in the skill (for a total of 4 ranks). It's a class skill for the Thief, so he doesn't have to double up on his points. The player decides that this is where he wants to put his points, so he does. Then, the check in the game is made. Once a player decides to spend points, the points are permanent. No changing allowed. This makes for an organic way of spending skill points--spending them where the character actually makes skill checks instead of having predict where the character will need the skill in the future. The player can spend the points in his pool at any time he wants, between game sessions is fine. For example, during a game sessions, a player's scholar character spends a game day in a fine library, and so, it makes sense to the player that the subject being studied--Knowledge (Geography)--be increased. Fine. Do it. Or, maybe a PC meets a NPC, and the NPC is master of an intriguing skill. It's OK for the player to say, "I've been following around Shevatas, the master thief, for some time now. I think I should increase my Move Silently and Hide skills." Basically, you are taking the pressure off of the player to have to spend all the skill points as soon as a character levels. Let the player play the character a while and see what challenges lie ahead--then let the player spend the points as he sees fit within the context of the game. This sure saves time if you introduce a new PC character in the middle of a game, too. The only real rule here is: All of a character's skill points must be spent before he levels again. You cannot carry over a balance of skill points from one level to another. In my experience, the skill points are spent long before the character levels, even when we're speaking about a 1st level character. One other thing to remember: In the Conan RPG, any skill points gained because of high INT score (13+) can be spent on any skill as if it were a class skill (thus, cross-class skills do not cost double when using these points). So, with regard to characters with High INT scores, the GM must keep two skill pools for such characters. One pool for the INT derived points, and another pool for the rest. [/QUOTE]
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