[FCTF] Skill points...

[SWAT]

Concerning the original Four Color To Fantasy (might concern the Revised too, but I don't have it). When someone takes a level of Hero, do they get 0 skill points or 0 + Int mod. skill points? I know the text only says 0, and that traditionally the Int bonus is indicated, but this seems a little harsh. Getting no advantage whatsoever from the high Int you might have doesn't seem like a lot of fun...

Thanks.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

It is harsh, but it's meant to indicate the difference between normal classes (earned by experience) and Hero levels, which are more like the Level Adjustment of a powerful race-- they're designed to give special powers, which is why the class also has minimum BAB and saves.

Also, if it's 0 + Int mod, it means that the class automatically gets the minimum 1 skill point per level.

Remember, there's the option to take 2 skill points for one Hero point, and if your first level is a Hero level, you get to count your first non-Hero level as your first level for the purposes of quadrupled skill points. Also, since there's no class skill list for Hero, it's safe to assume they can spend those two skill points per Hero point on any skills they want.

edit: If you want to soften that a little bit, you could always make a house rule that your human bonus skill and your INT modifier apply to skills you buy with Hero points, so if you spend one Hero point on skills, you get 2 + Int Mod, and can then spend more Hero points to get more skill points, like the more skilled classes do.

 

[RangerWickett]

Yes, it's just 0. You can spend Hero Points to get skill points, but this is to prevent some really weird powergaming options I wanted to avoid. My favorite one was the Skill Monkey, which I affectionately called Mojo Jojo, a Hero 19/Smart Hero 1 with a +14 Intelligence (total Int 32, or an extra 11 skill points per level). He also had all sorts of gadgets and stuff.

And the worst one was a multiclassed Monk/Paladin/Duelist/Hero who ended up with a 26 in every stat, and had an AC of something like 50 with magic items and super powers. Of course, few things could ever be as broken as the Shield Bashing wonder.