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Skills over the top
- Thread starter shouit
- Start date
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
Look in your PHB. 
Halfings do get a racial bonus to Move Silently checks, not Hide Checks.
(And why does everyone except that you roll a 18, or even buy the cost for a ability score of 18? Do you all cheat when rolling your characters? )
Mustrum Ridcully
Halfings do get a racial bonus to Move Silently checks, not Hide Checks.
(And why does everyone except that you roll a 18, or even buy the cost for a ability score of 18? Do you all cheat when rolling your characters?
)Mustrum Ridcully
Thanee
First Post
I want to point out here, that there is a cleric spell (I think from MoF), which grants a +10 bonus on any one skill.
With this spell you can (at least at some crucial moments) boost whatever skill you need right now! And it's first level!
I agree with Tzarevitch, that most fixed DCs are too easy to beat for someone who has learned the skill. OTOH they are next to impossible to beat for everyone else.
Bye
Thanee
With this spell you can (at least at some crucial moments) boost whatever skill you need right now! And it's first level!
I agree with Tzarevitch, that most fixed DCs are too easy to beat for someone who has learned the skill. OTOH they are next to impossible to beat for everyone else.
Bye
Thanee
Furn_Darkside
First Post
Pardon my absurd moment...
Yeah, how dare someone with an exceptional/rare physical attribute (20 dex) who has spent their young life training hard at a particular skill (4 ranks in Hide) that relates to that attribute.. how dare they be better at it then anyone else?!
Why should an adventurer be any better at anything then the street sweeper down the lane?
I suggest you put in a house rule that anyone who has high stats in your campeign is forced to do something to counter it. Perhaps people with high dex are forced to wear lead boots, of varying weight, until they have an equivilant to a 10 Dex.
With only a 10 Int in play, most classes will have an average amount of skill points.
And, haha, with such low stats- those elitist spell casters won't be able to cast spells that non-casters can't cast. This is just a side bonus- but while we are dealing with this skill problem, we might as well nail this problem as well.
To be fair though, there are people who are below average in attributes- and it would be costly to raise them to average. So, I think it would be only fair to lower everyone to an 8 in every stat.
So.. skill focus is too powerful?
Someone spending a rare feat to get a bonus to one (or two) skill is overpowered?
I had not considered it before, but when I hear a professional musician with a lot of talent play a Stradivari violin.. well.. it is really offensive that they are producing good music on a regular basis.
FD
shouit said:
Yeah, how dare someone with an exceptional/rare physical attribute (20 dex) who has spent their young life training hard at a particular skill (4 ranks in Hide) that relates to that attribute.. how dare they be better at it then anyone else?!
Why should an adventurer be any better at anything then the street sweeper down the lane?
I suggest you put in a house rule that anyone who has high stats in your campeign is forced to do something to counter it. Perhaps people with high dex are forced to wear lead boots, of varying weight, until they have an equivilant to a 10 Dex.
With only a 10 Int in play, most classes will have an average amount of skill points.
And, haha, with such low stats- those elitist spell casters won't be able to cast spells that non-casters can't cast. This is just a side bonus- but while we are dealing with this skill problem, we might as well nail this problem as well.
To be fair though, there are people who are below average in attributes- and it would be costly to raise them to average. So, I think it would be only fair to lower everyone to an 8 in every stat.
So.. skill focus is too powerful?
Someone spending a rare feat to get a bonus to one (or two) skill is overpowered?
I had not considered it before, but when I hear a professional musician with a lot of talent play a Stradivari violin.. well.. it is really offensive that they are producing good music on a regular basis.
FD
BiggusGeekus
That's Latin for "cool"
Mustrum_Ridcully,
A lot of us use point buy. Actually, this is why I perfer the standard array: 15,14,13,12,10,8, but that's a topic for a different discussion.
shouit,
Yes, a lot of skills are easy to pump up. It gets worse when you move away from the core rules and use just about any campaign setting. Hide and Sneak doesn't bother me so much as Scry and Tumble. Those last two have rather low, fixed DCs that a PC can reasonably achieve after only a couple of levels.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. The character will be hidden a lot. Big deal. He'll get off a lot of sneak attacks, but not nearly as much if the rogue had dumped points into Bluff. Just remember that fighters get spot and listen as class skills and let it slide. Don't try to uncover him at every encounter. The only monsters you want to "protect" (ie make sure they are a challenge) are the "boss" NPCs/monsters.
Happy gaming!
A lot of us use point buy. Actually, this is why I perfer the standard array: 15,14,13,12,10,8, but that's a topic for a different discussion.
shouit,
Yes, a lot of skills are easy to pump up. It gets worse when you move away from the core rules and use just about any campaign setting. Hide and Sneak doesn't bother me so much as Scry and Tumble. Those last two have rather low, fixed DCs that a PC can reasonably achieve after only a couple of levels.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. The character will be hidden a lot. Big deal. He'll get off a lot of sneak attacks, but not nearly as much if the rogue had dumped points into Bluff. Just remember that fighters get spot and listen as class skills and let it slide. Don't try to uncover him at every encounter. The only monsters you want to "protect" (ie make sure they are a challenge) are the "boss" NPCs/monsters.
Happy gaming!
Furn_Darkside
First Post
Salutations,
Scry is limited a bit by magic availability, but I would agree Tumble at a fixed DC is a problem. The idea of ever being able to confidently tumble by a dragon in battle concerns me.
One of the WOTC splat books suggest making the tumble check vs. target reflex save- which I found to be a satisfactory solution.
FD
Scry is limited a bit by magic availability, but I would agree Tumble at a fixed DC is a problem. The idea of ever being able to confidently tumble by a dragon in battle concerns me.
One of the WOTC splat books suggest making the tumble check vs. target reflex save- which I found to be a satisfactory solution.
FD
The Furious Puffin
First Post
Well, generally I just eliminate as many static DC checks as possible by making the opposed checks. This goes some why to stop the hide/Move silently problems.
Secondly, I have housed ruled tumble. Initally I did it of Base Attack Bonus, but when I saw the reflex save solution, I switched over.
Finally with Scry and such I just generally don't worry very much about it.
Secondly, I have housed ruled tumble. Initally I did it of Base Attack Bonus, but when I saw the reflex save solution, I switched over.
Finally with Scry and such I just generally don't worry very much about it.
Who cares about Hide?
For one thing, it's easily defeated by Extraordinary senses. (Tremorsense and Scent basically neuter a nonmagical thief.)
For another, the *party* frequently renders it useless - I mean, it's great to have Hide and Move Silent +20, but if you're adventuring with a bunch of morons in platemail, you will have fewer opportunities to use it. (I love the Rogue class, but that used to get on my nerves something fierce.)
Personally, I hate Bluff and Diplomacy monsters.
For one thing, it's easily defeated by Extraordinary senses. (Tremorsense and Scent basically neuter a nonmagical thief.)
For another, the *party* frequently renders it useless - I mean, it's great to have Hide and Move Silent +20, but if you're adventuring with a bunch of morons in platemail, you will have fewer opportunities to use it. (I love the Rogue class, but that used to get on my nerves something fierce.)
Personally, I hate Bluff and Diplomacy monsters.
So does everyone use different DC's then the ones that are listed? Do you make them up? Ie well, since a DC of 25 is too easy for them, lets make it 35 instead? How do you guys handle this case? I have ran two campaigns of d20 and am going to start up another one. Have played in a bunch of them, and I am trying to figure out what to do with skills and DCs. Thanks for any advice and for all the advice already given.
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