D&D 3E/3.5 Regarding Skill Point Calculation for Humans in Slaine - the Role-Playing-Game of Celtic-Heroes...

[Ukko the Scribe]

We just completed skill selection for a female human Seminary Witch and then I find out that she gets another four skill points added to her skill point total because, she is human. Is this added to the other 4 when it gets also added to the Intelligence modifier and then multiplied by another 4 or added after this calculation? Because this makes a huge difference...

 

[Alzrius]

While I'm not very familiar with Slaine, it sounds like this is the same feature that humans have in D&D 3.X, i.e. that they receive 4 extra skill points at 1st level (due to all sources of skill points being quadrupled at 1st level), and 1 extra skill point each level thereafter. This is in addition to any other skill points they receive from their class levels and Intelligence bonus.

For example, a 4th-level human rogue with an Intelligence of 14 will have 77 skill points. At first level he gains 44 skill points (8 from his class level + 2 from his Int. modifier + 1 for being human; all multiplied by 4), and then 11 skill points at each level thereafter.

 

[Ukko the Scribe]

So, I would assume that it all gets added together before being multiplied. There-fore, they get much much much more skill points...

 

[Ukko the Scribe]

You know the first time, we calculated her skill points & got something like 38 skill points because of her 18 intelligence and now, I slipped in the extra four into the equation, I think I'm still getting the same amount of skill points. So, the second time around, I think I might have missed something vital to figuring out the correct amount. Now so far, I have four extra points (From just being Human) to add onto to base number of 4 + her intelligence modifier which is another 4 which is then multiplied by another 4. OKay, I was wrong, as it turns out to be 48 skill points after all that. What I would really like to know now is if I had missed anything, like another number to add to the equation? Should I stick with the 48 skill points. It does seem like a lot, at fist level, but she is very intelligent...

 

[Ukko the Scribe]

Oh, I almost forgot, Seminary Witches get a extra 6 skill points to add to the grand total, but all 6 of them need to be spent on Knowlege skills. This now brings the previous total up and the new total up to 54 Skill points.

 

[Alzrius]

You know the first time, we calculated her skill points & got something like 38 skill points because of her 18 intelligence and now, I slipped in the extra four into the equation, I think I'm still getting the same amount of skill points. So, the second time around, I think I might have missed something vital to figuring out the correct amount. Now so far, I have four extra points (From just being Human) to add onto to base number of 4 + her intelligence modifier which is another 4 which is then multiplied by another 4. OKay, I was wrong, as it turns out to be 48 skill points after all that. What I would really like to know now is if I had missed anything, like another number to add to the equation? Should I stick with the 48 skill points. It does seem like a lot, at fist level, but she is very intelligent...

You've made an error in your calculations: humans get 4 skill points at 1st level as a result of all skill points you get at that level being quadrupled; you're not supposed to then quadruple it again.

To put it another way, figure out how many skill points you'd get at any particular level after 1st; that's what you get at 1st level, but multiplied by four.

So if you get 4 skill points from your class, another 4 from your Intelligence bonus, and 1 from being human, then at 1st level you'll get 36 skill points.

 

[Pedantic]

It may be easier as a general practice to pick a number of skills to keep at maximum rank (level+3) based on your available skill points. A base 3.5 Human Rogue with Intelligence 14 will have 1 (from Human) + 8 (rogue) + 2 (Intelligence) for a total of 11 skills that could be at maximum. You might decide to give up one or more maximized skills to pick up a few ranks in other skills, or to remain at half max rank in another 2 skills.

 

[Ukko the Scribe]

You've made an error in your calculations: humans get 4 skill points at 1st level as a result of all skill points you get at that level being quadrupled; you're not supposed to then quadruple it again.

To put it another way, figure out how many skill points you'd get at any particular level after 1st; that's what you get at 1st level, but multiplied by four.

So if you get 4 skill points from your class, another 4 from your Intelligence bonus, and 1 from being human, then at 1st level you'll get 36 skill points.

Now you got me a little more confused. Where did you get the 1 from? Because in my Slaine RPG, it says because she's human, she gets another 4 points added to her other skill points at first level and then she get another 1 added each time she goes up a level. Just for being human.

Because she is Witch though, she gets another 4 skill points, + her intelligence modifier (+4) with that 1 extra point at each addtional level. Making it 9 skill points per level.

 

[billd91]

When a human character gets 4 bonus skill levels at 1st level and 1 point per level thereafter, you do NOT multiply that initial 4 bonus points. The D&D 3e (both 3.0 and 3.5) Player's Handbook is explicit about this. I don't know of Sláine is similarly explicit because the text may have been cut from the SRD on which the d20 Sláine was based. But the intent is the same - humans can maintain 1 additional class skill at full investment over non-human characters. That translates to 4 skill points at 1st level, +1 skill point per level after that. You do not multiply that 4 skill points further because it has already been calculated into the statement.

So, if the witch gets 4 skill points/level (16 at 1st, 4 per level thereafter), is human and so gets 1 skill point/level (4 at 1st, 1 per level thereafter), and has an intelligence of 18 for 4 skill points/level (16 at 1st, 4 per level thereafter), she should start with 36 skill points. She will then add 9 skill points per level thereafter (4 for witch, 1 for human, 4 for intelligence).
Any character's starting skill points will always be 4x what they get per level thereafter. So your calculation of 9 skill points per level in the post above mine is right - and tells you that she gets 36 skill points at 1st level.

 

[Ukko the Scribe]

Thank you everybody who has tried to help by replying, but right now it's almost 5 in the morning after working on this all night. I think some much needed sleep is in order for me right now. I'll get back into this later on today and will eventually figure this out, hopefully according to all your instructions. Your help is really appreciated.