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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 7168159" data-attributes="member: 6669384">Simple question:  How does a character suddenly and retroactively learn skills that they never studied?As a character gains a level, they assign points to skills, either to new ones or they increase their old ones.  These, in theory at least, are supposed to reflect study and work the character undertook to develop those talents during the time spent earning that level.Now an extra dose of any ability score will immediately boost the bonus in any related skills.  No problem with that, even when the bump is temporary.  The Hit Point bump for a Con boost, or the drop for a Con loss is immediate and complete because it has nothing to do with how tough you were when you gained that Level.  But the Skill changes from an Int boost or drop for Int loss is only applicable going forward, because it affects how easy it is to learn things.Presume a Touch of Idiocy spell, or a Curse that saps Int:  Do you require the player to go through and reduce or drop some number of skill ranks, until the spell expires?  Not talking about the Int bonus to Int based skills, I'm talking about the whole skill list.  And how would you/they choose which skills they have to lose?  See the insanity of this?  Yeah, it's nice to get a whole bunch of skill points when a higher level character gains Int, and it's far easier for a character sheet/spreadsheet to calculate skills if the current score is considered your forever score (I think that's the "simplified" part that was referred to), but it's power gaming.I had a player in my group who always started his characters with a level of Rogue.  Max 1st level skills, and he thought that this kept those skills as "In Class" forever more.  I showed him the page in the book that said otherwise.  He was devastated, he hated it.  He argued that it "made no sense".Apparently Pathfinder lets you keep all of the "In Class" skills, even when your class changes.  I had to remind him, for about the seventeenth time, that we were playing D&D, not Pathfinder.Getting back on topic though, it makes no sense, in game terms, for an Int bonus (or loss) to retroactively grant (or deny) learning opportunities.</blockquote>

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