A thought on a replacement for the +2/+2 feats

[kaomera]

Sudden brainstorm: What if, instead of just adding a fixed bonus to the given skills, feats like Alertness, Athletic, Stealthy (& etc.) allowed you to spend 1 skill point to purchase 1 rank in each of those skills?

Too powerful? Still useless? Would you need to add "X and Y skills are class skills" as an additional prerequisite? (Or, possibly, the feats would allow you to spend 2 skill points for 1 rank in each if one or both skills where cross-class...)

 

[Li Shenron]

...allowed you to spend 1 skill point to purchase 1 rank in each of those skills?

Too powerful? Still useless? Would you need to add "X and Y skills are class skills" as an additional prerequisite? (Or, possibly, the feats would allow you to spend 2 skill points for 1 rank in each if one or both skills where cross-class...)

I'm not getting the point. Do you mean that the feat would give you an extra amount of skill points (e.g. 2) to immediately spend on those 2 specific skills? How could this be better than the normal feat, that gives you the equivalent of 4 points AND lets you go beyond the normal maximum?

 

[kaomera]

I'm not getting the point. Do you mean that the feat would give you an extra amount of skill points (e.g. 2) to immediately spend on those 2 specific skills? How could this be better than the normal feat, that gives you the equivalent of 4 points AND lets you go beyond the normal maximum?

No, I meant that when you spend skill points to purchase skill ranks (at each level-up) you would be able to spend 1 skill point to purchase 2 skill ranks, 1 in each of the given skills. So, for example if you took the Alertness feat at first level, thereafter you could spend skill points on Spot and Listen as if they where a single skill.

This might cause some extra book-keeping in some cases, but by-level skill point expenditures is something I would think you would normally have to keep track of anyway, because of the way skill points are earned and allocated.

It also means that there's no way to get the extra +2 bonus normally achieved with these skills; the only reason I usually see them taken is to get a net +5 bonus from feats, allowing higher total bonuses.

Does that make more sense?

 

[Stormborn]

I think it would be easier to combine realted skills into groups like in Iron Heroes and then eliminate the +2/+2 feats all together.

However I do kinda like the idea of "Favored Skill (X) Prerequsite: X must be a class skill Benifit: when you purchase ranks in X you gain 2 ranks for every 1 skill point. Your max ranks in a Favored Skill is equal to your level + 5. Normal: Skill ranks for class skills cost 1 skill point each and you cannot have more than your level +3 ranks."

To keep things balanced I think you would still have to limit the number of ranks one can have in any skill, even favored skills, but the above might free up skill points and give those with a favored skill a small edge based on their level. And a chance to qualify for PrC early.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Your not the first to have this brainstorm

Thread: Feats - "+2 bonus to ..." feats

My version ended up as:
The end result for my HR folder is as follows:

Skill Focus provides:
+ 3 to the chosen skill
The chosen skill becomes a class skill for the character
At 7th rank, and every 3rd rank after, the bonus increases by +1


An alt "This skill and that skill" feat is changes similarly to provide:
+ 2 to each of the related skills
At 8th rank, and every 5th rank after, the bonus increases by +1


THere are a number of other ideas in the thread Here ...

 

[Li Shenron]

No, I meant that when you spend skill points to purchase skill ranks (at each level-up) you would be able to spend 1 skill point to purchase 2 skill ranks, 1 in each of the given skills. So, for example if you took the Alertness feat at first level, thereafter you could spend skill points on Spot and Listen as if they where a single skill.

This might cause some extra book-keeping in some cases, but by-level skill point expenditures is something I would think you would normally have to keep track of anyway, because of the way skill points are earned and allocated.

It also means that there's no way to get the extra +2 bonus normally achieved with these skills; the only reason I usually see them taken is to get a net +5 bonus from feats, allowing higher total bonuses.

Does that make more sense?

I see... So basically for a feat you get potentially the benefit of +1 skill point per level (if you maximise those 2 skills) but restricted to the two skills specified by the feat.

I think it's not a bad idea at all. It would helps characters with few skill points per level that want more skills, but without just handing down extra skill points. I think it's definitely better than giving just +1 sp/lv with a feat.

 

[kaomera]

I see... So basically for a feat you get potentially the benefit of +1 skill point per level (if you maximise those 2 skills) but restricted to the two skills specified by the feat.

I think it's not a bad idea at all. It would helps characters with few skill points per level that want more skills, but without just handing down extra skill points. I think it's definitely better than giving just +1 sp/lv with a feat.

Yeah, my thought was to have something between the standard system and a SWSE-style reduction in the skill lists. I simply don't find that I ever have enough skill points to do what I want with a character...