Dagredhel
Explorer
I've been thinking lately that maybe Class Skills are an unecessary complication, a superfluous game mechanic. It seems to me that the number of skill points initially allocated and gained per additional level are a sufficient mechanic for skill acquisition and advancement. Having some skills cost twice as much seems almost punitive, especially for those classes that receive only 2 + Int modifier skill points. I feel that this is especially true for the fighter. I would prefer that a player was allowed to develop her character freely according to her individual conception, rather than see her character pigeon-holed by rule enforced stereotypes or punished for originality. I hate the idea that a player might be obliged to multiclass, adopting either a second core class or a prestige class, merely to acquire the sort of skills that the player imagines her character's background story and adventuring career would produce. Furthermore, it seems rather obvious to me that wilderness-oriented characters are unduly favored, receiving more skill points and a greater (better) selection of Class Skills.
So what do I think would be better? I'd scrap the notion of Class Skills entirely. "Exclusive" skills would still only be available to those classes to which they are currently allowed. I'd give the fighter 4 + Int modifier skill points, bringing her in line with the barbarian. I'd leave 2 + Int modifier skill progression to the spellcasters, and to those PrCs heavily loaded with class abilities. I can't see any reason why this would be unbalancing, and I believe it would allow players greater freedom in customizing their characters, while requiring only a very minimal rules change.
I got to thinking about this when I converted my favorite old character from 2E to 3E out of curiousity. Dagredhel was an elven fighter whose skills matched his background story. He was the son of a noble grey elven mother and a high elven father who served as weaponsmaster to the mother's family. Dagredhel grew up in the mountain city of the grey elves, where his mixed heritage was a social stigma. As the son of a mother of high station, he was schooled in the social graces and educated in the rudiments of the nobility. But as his father's son, he would never find acceptance as his mother's true heir, as a full-fledged member of grey elven high society. The father, not unhappy with his own station in life, trained his son to follow in his footsteps. As a intregal part of his weapons training, Dagredhel received instruction in dance, both as an art and as a component of his martial style, and in acrobatics complementary to both. Dagredhel had inherited his father's superior physical abilities and exceled at the dance of blades, but his father's stoic acceptance of his lot in grey elven society was beyond the young elf, whose pride led him to seek his fortune and place in life in the wider world. In the adventures that followed, Dagredhel was also well served by the stealth for which his kind is famed, relying on surprise as often as not to overcome superior numbers.
In 3E terms, Dagredhel had the following skills: Diplomacy, Jump, Knowledge (nobility), Perform (dance), and Tumble. In addition, as the character so often relied on stealth during play, Listen, Spot, and Move Silently would be appropriate under the new rules. Dagredhel could swim and sit saddle, but mostly due to his inherent strength and agility, rather than any particular expertise, as neither skill was a part of his upbringing in a mountain city.
In short, were I have played the character under the 3E rules, he would have developed only one skill from the fighter class skill list, Jump, and that skill only to complement his Dancing and Tumbling. When I converted Dagredhel's skills to 3E, I wasn't too pleased by the results.
At first, this led me to consider allowing a player to choose a certain number of class skills for his character that reflected the character's background and probable future development, subject to DM approval. But sometimes characters take on a life of their own during play, and a character becomes someone very different than originally envisioned. To allow and even encourage this, I've decided the easiest course would be to do away with Class Skills entirely, and leave it up to the player (with the DM's guidance) to select those skills appropriate to both the character's background and her exploits during the course of play.
So, what do you think?
So what do I think would be better? I'd scrap the notion of Class Skills entirely. "Exclusive" skills would still only be available to those classes to which they are currently allowed. I'd give the fighter 4 + Int modifier skill points, bringing her in line with the barbarian. I'd leave 2 + Int modifier skill progression to the spellcasters, and to those PrCs heavily loaded with class abilities. I can't see any reason why this would be unbalancing, and I believe it would allow players greater freedom in customizing their characters, while requiring only a very minimal rules change.
I got to thinking about this when I converted my favorite old character from 2E to 3E out of curiousity. Dagredhel was an elven fighter whose skills matched his background story. He was the son of a noble grey elven mother and a high elven father who served as weaponsmaster to the mother's family. Dagredhel grew up in the mountain city of the grey elves, where his mixed heritage was a social stigma. As the son of a mother of high station, he was schooled in the social graces and educated in the rudiments of the nobility. But as his father's son, he would never find acceptance as his mother's true heir, as a full-fledged member of grey elven high society. The father, not unhappy with his own station in life, trained his son to follow in his footsteps. As a intregal part of his weapons training, Dagredhel received instruction in dance, both as an art and as a component of his martial style, and in acrobatics complementary to both. Dagredhel had inherited his father's superior physical abilities and exceled at the dance of blades, but his father's stoic acceptance of his lot in grey elven society was beyond the young elf, whose pride led him to seek his fortune and place in life in the wider world. In the adventures that followed, Dagredhel was also well served by the stealth for which his kind is famed, relying on surprise as often as not to overcome superior numbers.
In 3E terms, Dagredhel had the following skills: Diplomacy, Jump, Knowledge (nobility), Perform (dance), and Tumble. In addition, as the character so often relied on stealth during play, Listen, Spot, and Move Silently would be appropriate under the new rules. Dagredhel could swim and sit saddle, but mostly due to his inherent strength and agility, rather than any particular expertise, as neither skill was a part of his upbringing in a mountain city.
In short, were I have played the character under the 3E rules, he would have developed only one skill from the fighter class skill list, Jump, and that skill only to complement his Dancing and Tumbling. When I converted Dagredhel's skills to 3E, I wasn't too pleased by the results.
At first, this led me to consider allowing a player to choose a certain number of class skills for his character that reflected the character's background and probable future development, subject to DM approval. But sometimes characters take on a life of their own during play, and a character becomes someone very different than originally envisioned. To allow and even encourage this, I've decided the easiest course would be to do away with Class Skills entirely, and leave it up to the player (with the DM's guidance) to select those skills appropriate to both the character's background and her exploits during the course of play.
So, what do you think?
