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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steverooo" data-source="post: 2204761" data-attributes="member: 9410">I disagree that skill rolls are out of hand.  I agree that climbing a tree should always be DC:15 (-2, if it's wet and slippery).  Now allow PCs to take 10, outside of combat, and... Voila!  Even a first-level Fighter, with his Climb skill maxed out, and +2/+3 STR Bonus will be making it all the time (depending upon armor modifier).Now MY solution for spreading out skill points come in multiple parts, and a lot of people will disagree with it, because they will disagree with my assumptions...  I like intelligent, capable, knowledgable heros, not dumb, incompetent ignoramous stumble-bums, or "Two-Trick Ponies".So the first thing that I do is to give ALL characters (PCs & NPCs) a number of Racial Background Skill (RBS) points, equal to (4 + INT) for each 15 years of starting age...  These can only be spent upon the RBSs for their race, with a cap of three ranks.  RBSs always include some Crafts, Knowledge skills, Performance styles, and Professions, and may also include some adventuring skills.  (Dwarves, for instance, live in caves, and can select Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Climb, Balance, Rope Use, Knowledge (Nature) to cover their knowledge of giants, all races get Knowledge (Local), Dwarves can select Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty), as they tend to have them, Knowledge (History) as they are long-lived, and Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) due to their stonework...  They also can select Perform, any Craft dealing with metal or stone, and certain Professions, such as Bookkeeper (Dwarves like to count their gold!), Brewer (they also like their ale!), etc....  All races can also select to learn any remaining languages that their Racial Background would teach them, if they don't already know them, and at one skill point/language.  Which ones they can learn is determined by the racial description in the PHB.  Unlisted Crafts, Languages, & Professions can be bought "Cross-Class", but other skills cannot.)  Halflings, for instance, get some Crafts, Knowledge skills, Languages, Performance styles, and Professions, but the only other skills they can select from are Survival and Escape Artist (since the PHB describes them as having these skills).Once a character has been generated, to this point, they then take on a Career.  For most, this will be "Commoner", but for the PCs, this will be Fighter, or whatever.  They then get (2 + INT) x 4 skill points to spend, as usual, with all of the usual Cross-Class skills, but with a special Bonus Twist!...Every character gets +1 Rank/level in EVERY Class skill.  Thus, a typical Fighter, with 14 INT (+2) will have (2 + 2) x 4 = 16 skill points, plus one Rank/Level in Climb, Jump, Ride, etc.  Now since it takes THREE skill points to max out any class skill, a Fighter could max out FIVE skills, at first level, and still have a point to spare.  Also, once a skill is maxed out, it will always REMAIN maxed out, and no more skill points ever need to be put into it!Now, what does the Fighter do with the four skill points that he gets every level?  Well, he COULD put three more into another skill, and max it out, too... or he could go Cross-Class, and get two ranks of Spot and Listen, for instance.(Note that Craft, Profession, Knowledge, & Perform get ONE Rank/Level, not one of each Craft/level.  Thus, the Rogue gets one Rank of Knowledge (Local)/Level, the Bard & Wizard get one Rank/Level of their choice, The Paladin gets one Rank Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty)/Level, but the Ranger gets one each of Knowledge (Dungeoneering, Geography, AND Nature), since they're listed separately.)All the normal rules (Cross-Class Rank limits and doubled cost, Rank-limits for Class skills, etc.) still apply.  What I find that this does is allows characters to be more Knowledgable (how many people are truely ignorant of their local area?), pick up a craft and/or profession, or maybe sing and/or play an instrument, if they care to.  Since RBSs are "free", and usually apply to things that the race would favor, but a PC wouldn't, the points tend to get spent on things that the PC ordinarily wouldn't take, due to cost.  Since it costs them nothing (because RBSs are "free"), Knowledge skills that are otherwise unavailable tend to get taken (A Fighter takes ranks in Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering, History), for instance.)Like I said, some won't like it, but I prefer smart, knowledgable, capable heroes, and this certainly produces them!</blockquote>

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