Help with % based skill system

[The Human Target]

I'm working on a homebrew game with heavily modified d20 rules. I'm not happy with how skill checks work in standard DnD, they seem really broken at higher levels. I am workin on both a modified d20 skill system and a percentile based one. I never played AD&D so I'm unfamilar with the skill set up, though I know its % based. Can anyone give me advice on creating one or a good place to find one? The pros and cons of both skill resolution systems?

 

[smootrk]

You might have an easier time modifying the d20 skill checks to a 2d10 check. This creates a bell curve for the the result with the results averaging near the middle. This would tone down the high results you seem to fear.
Also, make DC for checks higher than the book suggested values, by 5 or 10. This levels the playing field. You can also scrap the take 20 or take 10 rules.

 

[The Human Target]

You might have an easier time modifying the d20 skill checks to a 2d10 check. This creates a bell curve for the the result with the results averaging near the middle. This would tone down the high results you seem to fear.
Also, make DC for checks higher than the book suggested values, by 5 or 10. This levels the playing field. You can also scrap the take 20 or take 10 rules.

Take 10 and 20 have been such a pain for me I may well scrap them outright, and use DM common sense when they would apply. I find that at high levels skill checks are either assured before you roll the dice or almost impossible. I think the system really gets bogged down after 10th level. The 2d10 is a good idea, but it might be a patch on a sinking ship.

 

[Terath Ninir]

This is kind of a hard thing to do. I don't know that d% is going to change anything other than change which numbers you're using. It'll still have a top end to it.

Raising the DCs on checks isn't a great idea, either. I remember the Bad Old Days of 1e and 2e when a thief failed most of his/her checks, most of the time. And you didn't have Evasion to reduce the damage you took from failure, either.

One thing I've tried in a set of homebrew Epic rules is Epic skills. If you have, say, 20 ranks in Jump, you can start taking ranks in a new skill: Flight. So characters would stop putting ranks in the "old" skills and start putting them in the "new" ones.

I never got a full set of Epic skills, nor did I work all the bugs out. Kinda hard to redesign an entire set of rules on your own. But maybe that idea could work for you.

 

[smootrk]

I feel the same about taking 20/10. Crap. DM should simply judge when auto success might be possible with a character taking time and the amount of time it might take.

On the 2d10 rule. If you wanted to tone down the effects even more, make the roll 3d6, and then you are removing even more top level results and more heavily weighing the results to 10-11. You may need to rethink auto-failures a bit with something like this, but I think it may work out well.
As DM though, you may need to keep DC's reasonable when you design encounters for your low level adventures, otherwise it could be too hard to succeed on a check, but then again the way the bell curve works will minimize very low results as much as it reduces the odds of very high results.

 

[Crothian]

I'm suprised to hear such problems with the skill system. Having taken groups as high as level 30 we have never had a problem with it. Sure, those DC 20 swim checks become a joke but I'm okay with that.

 

[The Human Target]

I'm generally happy with the skill system at large, but I think it has some bugs to work out. But more than that we are trying to play a different style game than standard DnD. I'd like to make characters overall better at lower levels and less godlike at higher. So I decided to go with a fixed HP system that gives you more HP at lowers levels and less at higher. We're using modified versions of the generic base classes in Unearthed Arcana, a modified skill list, feats, talent trees for class abilities. Almost every mechanic will be altered from the core rules. I want more magic from the PCs and less from a boat load of items. So I'm tryinmg to find a skill system that works better than standard D20, if any exists. Now that I crunch some of the numbers I'm liking the d20 skill rules a bit more, but I still want to refine them somehow.

 

[smootrk]

I'd like to make characters overall better at lower levels and less godlike at higher. So I decided to go with a fixed HP system that gives you more HP at lowers levels and less at higher.

I like your take on character development. Similar to the way I view character development ought to be.

 

[The Human Target]

I like your take on character development. Similar to the way I view character development ought to be.

I wish standard DnD was more along those lines. It always seems like my group rushes to get to 5th level and we never really want to go past 10th. After that keeping track of some game aspects gets to be a hassle. What kind of adjustments (if any) do you use?

 

[Crothian]

I'm generally happy with the skill system at large, but I think it has some bugs to work out. But more than that we are trying to play a different style game than standard DnD. I'd like to make characters overall better at lower levels and less godlike at higher.

Going with a simple bell curve instead a of a d20 roll will do that. tHe 2d10 works as does 3d6. Also, getting rid of taking 20 shouldn't be that bad and getting rif take 10 and the abilities that use use it is easy to do as well.