Nexus D20 general skills thread

[garrowolf]

I am overhauling some of the skills in Nexus D20 and I need some feedback.

The structure I am working on for skills is that there are three levels of feats connected to skill levels.

Trained Feats are basic feats introducing the subject to the character. For example in Drive the Trained Feats are kinds of vehicles such as Motorcycles, Heavy Vehicles, etc.

Focused Feats are either more advanced subjects or maneuvers and tricks. In the Pilot skill the trained feats are kinds of aircraft but at focused Fighterjets become available because it takes more skill to fly them. Also there are various maneuvers such as evasive, carrier operations , etc. There are some more basic at trained.

Mastery Feats are things that a master can do. These are more epic and cinematic uses of the skill.

I've tried to integrate feats and skills together and eliminate +2 feats and such. Each feat in Nexus should open up a skill, not provide a bunch of small bonuses to keep up with. In a way all feats provide a -5 to the DC over someone who doesn't have that feat. Each feat expands the way you can use that skill.

One of the other factors is that I have set it so that in order to take a higher skill level you have to have enough feats at the lower level to justify it. You have expanded your understanding of that skill and are able to take these different uses in order to see how the whole works better. I tried to model it after how people learn and acquire skills.

So at trained you get 1 feat, at focused you need 2 trained feats and 1 focused feat, etc.

So my problem is the Craft skill. It has become a list of crafts at trained. At focused I added some stuff relating to Weird Science. However the skill doesn't really work. A normal person would not necessarily learn more then one craft. Many people used to learn just one craft and get good at it.

In this one skill the system doesn't seem to work. I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. I was thinking of expanding the skill to include something else but I can't think of what to add to it. Maybe some sort of Trade skill? Should I just make a note that the system doesn't work for this one skill? That doesn't seem elegant.

Here is the skill rules in more depth: http://www.wiki.garrowolf.net/index.php?title=Nexus_Skills

Help?

 

[TreChriron]

I like your skill breakup!

I would break out "what a skill covers" and "what a skill does" for all your broad skills. Then feats should enhance "what you can do with a skill". The base actions or checks for a skill should be built into the skill. Feats should make you better or special or more adept at certain activities.

I would create a "specialty" that is required for broad area skills like Academics or Science or Pilot and optional for other skills. Then you can have "proficiency" which covers "where I know how to use this skill". Essentially, broad skills like Academics are really a collection of more specific skills. If you define generically what a Skill can do, you have made the approach more efficient. Specialties might lower the DC further where non-proficiency provides a DC penalty. Maybe make proficiencies optional?

Feats shouldn't open up "what the skill does" but instead "what things in this skill am I really good at OR what additional things can I do outside the generic norm". So, a feat shouldn't open up Helicopters ,that should be a Proficiency or Specialty (you trained on Helicopters). Feats should open up new uses of the skill or enhance maneuvers, etc. They make my character "cooler". So, Barrel Roll might be a feat, or Dog Fighter.

I like the focus where feats don't add bonuses. That is an excellent approach that simplifies the execution of the game. I would stick with that approach.

Just my two cents...

 

[garrowolf]

Cool! Check out my system online. The core of the system is the Skill system.

Nexus Skills - Nexus D20 Wiki

You can see how I broke down everything.