Thoughts on modification to class skills inspired by SW Saga Preview 2

[igavskoga]

I got an idea yesterday while driving around running errands inspired by my mulling over the SW Saga 2 preview. Its still in the concept stage but I was curious what people thought of the concept. Being pressed for time lately I need to prioritize the little tinkering I do and I didn't want this idea to slip away before I get a larger surplus of free time. I'm still on the fence as far as doing away with skill points and tieing things directly to level, however, it occurred to me that the following might be interesting in regards to D&D, homebrew or core:

Keep (or modify) the class skill list for each class. Call them Trained Skills if you like. These are the core skills which anyone with your training will have some ability to use. Also, keep skill points. Get rid of the class/cross-class disparaty, assuming all skills cost 1 point to raise and retain the same level-based rank cap.

Now, have the benefit of this class list of Trained Skills not be a decreased cost or increased rank cap (a la class/cross-class), but have each skill on your classes list automatically gain 1 rank every other level (or every level if you like) subject to the normal level-based rank cap. This will allow for greater customization across character concepts, flexibility in character generation, while retaining a (likely smaller) pool of core skills which improve slowly simply through use or experience.

Thoughts? Interesting? Not at all?

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

THere was a thread earlier on this topic.. before the WOTC folks plagarized from us...{to bad EnWorld forums don't have a copyright...}

Anyway, the idea was to keep the class skill lists.
Starting characters gained skill points = class skill + INT bonus.
{fx, dumb fighter gets 2 points}
At every level after characters gain INT bonus points {minumum of 1}

You spend point to become 'trained' in a given skill or to turn a cross-class skill into a class skill.
In trained class skills, you have ranks as if you had maxed out the skill.
In untrained class skills you, you have ranks as if you had maxed as a cross-class skill.
In cross-class skills, you have 0 ranks.

As such, our dumb first level fighter takes his two points and spends them on Intimidate and Knowledge Arcane.
This gives him 4 ranks in Intimidate and 2 rank in Kn: Arcane
At second level he spends his 1 skill point on Kn: Arcane again, resulting in 5 ranks in both skills. All his other class skills would be at 2 ranks.


Following Saga's lead, synergies and skill focus would have to be changed.

This would make for a game where characters are highly skilled...getting into the 'you can do that?' as opposed to the 'what? you cant do that?' problem

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm not wild about the way that skill points are handled under the Saga system, but I do like the way that certain skills have been combined into a single one.

Like Spot, Search, and Listen being combined into a single skill called "Perception," Intimidate and Diplomacy being rolled into a single skill called "Persuasion," and so forth. I've always thought that there were too many skills in the 3.5 system.