Improving amount of skill points a good idea?

[Sound of Azure]

Decision!

Okay,

I've decided to go with a region-based aproach to the extra skill points. Every character gains +2 skill points at every level that they can spend on skills that are from their region.
Characters may become part of a new region by gaining 2 ranks in the Local Knowledge skill of that region.

At the moment, a character receives 1 extra feat at 1st level they can use for a regional feat, though I am considering improving the rate of feat acquisition as some of you have suggested.

Thanks for the input, I hope you'll take a glance at my setting thread below, in my sig.

 

[Nyaricus]

Okay,

I've decided to go with a region-based aproach to the extra skill points. Every character gains +2 skill points at every level that they can spend on skills that are from their region.
Characters may become part of a new region by gaining 2 ranks in the Local Knowledge skill of that region.

At the moment, a character receives 1 extra feat at 1st level they can use for a regional feat, though I am considering improving the rate of feat acquisition as some of you have suggested.

Thanks for the input, I hope you'll take a glance at my setting thread below, in my sig.

Hey SoA, I see you're still tinkering

Here's what I do... thanks to a combination of my own ideas and a plethora of feedback from different ENnies, I've decided that one of the following two systems is going to make it into my games:

(1) At 1st level, a character gets 4 bonus skill points, which he must spend on any combo of Craft, Profession, Knowledge or Appraise (note: appraise is broken up into individual skills, like craft). These are 'Background Skill Points'. Or....

(2) In addition at first level, on top of receiving x4 Skill points, PCs treat all skills as class skills. These are 'Background Skill Points'.

I also hand out a feat every other level

 

[Sound of Azure]

Nyaricus

Yeah, I need to come with a label

"Always tinkers with D&D: Handle with Care"

This feat every other level thing seems popular... hmmm.

 

[szilard]

One thing that I was toying with was giving each character a number of skill points equal to their ability score bonuses that are useable at character creation on skills tied to those ability scores. If a character has a 16 strength and a 14 intelligence, for instance, he could put three points into some combination of Jump, Climb, Swim, etc. and two points into Knowledge, Craft, Spellcraft, or whatever.

-Stuart

 

[Nyaricus]

Yeah, I need to come with a label

"Always tinkers with D&D: Handle with Care"

LoL

This feat every other level thing seems popular... hmmm.

I think it's popular because it allows you to up the feat quotient per player without going "nuts" and giving them 1 every level. Many would scoff at 1/level - I know I've seen some do so on the boards.

With 10 feats at 20th level, anyways, it gives your character a little more versatiliy and life, while not really changing all that much. It's simply and not overpowered AND it works.

 

[Sound of Azure]

I reckon it would be pretty popular with the players, too. Possibly take the sting off of the slower level advancement.

'course, it's good for NPCs too

Alarm bells would probably ring off with Feats every level (even if it's not that bad), being used to the usual manner of things. Which is possibly ironic, coming from me (Players ask me - "So, what are the house rules THIS time?").

Ah, well

 

[Kisanji Arael]

One thing that I was toying with was giving each character a number of skill points equal to their ability score bonuses that are useable at character creation on skills tied to those ability scores. If a character has a 16 strength and a 14 intelligence, for instance, he could put three points into some combination of Jump, Climb, Swim, etc. and two points into Knowledge, Craft, Spellcraft, or whatever.

-Stuart

Then you might like this:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=170223

And to the rest of you -I really like these ideas. I think it's interesting how many people think that Wizards was wrong when it set the skill points so low.

 

[Nyaricus]

I reckon it would be pretty popular with the players, too. Possibly take the sting off of the slower level advancement.

Yeah, it's nice being able to look forward to a feat every other level

'course, it's good for NPCs too

That's the key in this - equal application. NPCs must abide under the same house rules that PCs do, otherwise there'sa contradiction and a contradiction cannot exist in reality, thus the whole thing collapses like a deck of cards.

Alarm bells would probably ring off with Feats every level (even if it's not that bad), being used to the usual manner of things. Which is possibly ironic, coming from me (Players ask me - "So, what are the house rules THIS time?").

Ah, well

heh heh. I am trying to get a new group together via this neat site called D&D Meetups and I am going to spring on a few minimal house rules for the first few campaigns - and then destroy the hope in their pitiful mortal souls

 

[Nyaricus]

And to the rest of you -I really like these ideas. I think it's interesting how many people think that Wizards was wrong when it set the skill points so low.

Well, I have been considering upping the number of skill points gained every level myself, but doing so in a mathematical way, with percents.

Let's assume the rogue is ground level, shall we? He gets the most skill points in the game - 100%, IOWs. I want to give the rogue 10 SkP/level. So....

• For the 2/level classes, they have 25% of 8 SkP/level. I am going to round up and give classes with 2 SkP/level 3, very possibly.
• 4 SkP/level get 50% of 8 SkP/level, so they'll get 5 SkP/level under the new way.
• 6 SkP/level get 75% of 8 SkP a level, so they'll get 8 SkP/level, rounded up like before.

Actually though, I don't really like that - it's kinda scatterbrain, really.

Maybe If I gave rogues 12 SkP/level, that'd be easy.

• 3 SkP/level for those that now get 2 SkP/level
• 6 SkP/level for those that not get 4 SkP/level
• 9 SkP/level for those that not get 6 SkP/level

I dunno, what do people think of this?

 

[Abe.ebA]

Maybe If I gave rogues 12 SkP/level, that'd be easy.

• 3 SkP/level for those that now get 2 SkP/level
• 6 SkP/level for those that not get 4 SkP/level
• 9 SkP/level for those that not get 6 SkP/level

I dunno, what do people think of this?

I'd say it goes the wrong way around. Rogues already get a goodly volume of skill points while fighters get shafted. This way the rogues (and others with good skill points) get not only more but more more than anyone else. I think people need more skill points in general but especially those who get a piddly 2 points a level (and who traditionally don't have the Int to make up for it), so I'd probably do the opposite:

• 6 SkP/lvl for people who get 2 SkP/lvl
• 7 SkP/lvl for people who get 4 SkP/lvl
• 8 SkP/lvl for people who get 6 SkP/lvl
• 9 SkP/lvl for people who get 8 SkP/lvl

Which evens out the playing field a good bit. It does take away the rogue and bard's skill-monkey schitck but I don't find that entirely repugnant.

One thing to keep in mind when expanding the number of skill points given to classes that traditionally don't get many is their class skill selection. If you bump fighters up to 6 SkP/lvl (or even just 4) they don't really have that much to spend them on. Sorcerers also need a hand (in my opinion) since their skill list is curiously lacking in Cha-based skills given they're a Cha-based casting class.