Are we sure we need a skill guy?

[Remathilis]

Actually... that gives me an idea.

Maybe what I want is to combine 2 Unearthed Arcana concepts: Gestalt Generic Classes. You can be a Warrior/Expert or an Expert/Spellcaster.

Actually, the two work just well on their own. Gestalt fighter/ranger, cleric/bard, or wizard/rogue all are viable options, and it gets better when you branch beyond the core (barbarian/scout, sorcerer/spellthief, monk/ninja, etc)

OTOH, the generics allow you to define your skill list. A warrior could have climb, jump and intimidate, but he could also go bluff, tumble and move silently.

I'm not sure how well the two together would look, but either option is a good way of adding skills to non-skilled PCs.

 

[RFisher]

If you want the "OK at fighting, good at skills" & "good at fighting, OK at skills" distinction, then I think a separate Rogue/Expert classes makes sense.

The idea this thread suggests to me is the "everyone's an Expert" path. Either you are "good at fighting, can't cast spells, & good at skills" or "fair/bad at fighting, can cast spells, & good at skills". Yeah, effectively something similar to gestalt Warrior+Expert & Adept+Expert, I suppose.

Turning this whole discussion on its head a bit, I'm wondering about giving other classes skill points equal to a Rogue/Expert class, but giving the Rogue/Expert a higher max ranks.

 

[Doug McCrae]

or torturing every NPC you're coming across

That's the PC style

 

[Ry]

That's the PC style

It's the only way to be sure you'll get XP.