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Message: <blockquote data-quote="IndyPendant" data-source="post: 1992097" data-attributes="member: 8738">I have long felt that skills are the most unbalanced aspect of DND.  Inspired by this thread, I have created a tentative list of the changes I think fit reasonably well (with shameless stealing of other people's ideas mixed in<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.  Suggestions and comments are welcome.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Skills that have not been changed:Concentration, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Use Magical Device.Skills that have not been changed, but may be examined later:Heal, Knowledge, Perform, Sleight of HandChanged skills:Acrobatics:A new skill that combines Balance and Tumbling.  While Tumbling really doesn’t need a boost to be useful, balance is all-but-useless in 98% of any situations PCs encounter, and there is no other skill (except perhaps Jump) that fits.  So tumbling gets a bit of a boost.  Merry christmas. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Alchemy:Can be used to ID potions (DC level to follow), and you do not have to be a spellcaster to take this skill.Appraise:Is a weak skill, and not worth it’s own spot as is.  So, it can now be used to identify whether an item is magical or not, and also whether an item is of masterwork quality.  Takes 1 minute’s examination per item, but can be combined with an attempt to determine the item’s value.  DC levels to follow, probably lowest for MW quality items and highest for major magic items.  Cannot determine any other information other than magical, and I will roll in secret.  Can take 10 or 20.  Must be done consciously; is not automatic.Athletics:Climb, Jump, and Swim are among the most useless skills in the game.  Therefore, not only are they combined into this one skill, but when a player chooses this skill they can pick a ‘specialization’.  That specialization gets a +2 bonus that stacks with all other bonuses.Decipher Script:This is the most useless skill in the game, bar none (unless you design an entire campaign around it).  Therefore, a successful use of this skill on a scroll will act as a Read Magic for that scroll.  (DC levels to be determined.)Diplomacy:This skill and Gather Information are weak skills.  Therefore, they have been combined into one.  Name may be changed if I find something better.  I also like the idea of using this skill to spread rumours; perhaps some rules will follow.Disable Device:This and Open Lock are arguably weak skills.  Therefore, Open Lock has been absorbed into Disable Device.Escape Artist:Another very weak skill, and so is Rope Use.  These two skills have limited similarity—but they also don’t really fit anywhere else.  So they have been combined into one skill.  I am also searching for a suitable name for this skill.Influence:Bluff and Intimidate are weak skills with limited application in a hack-and-slash system.  Therefore I have combined these skills into one.  One side-effect is a char can use Cha when trying to intimidate someone through force of personality (Str is still used when a char tries to intimidate someone physically).Language:Allows you to read and write as well as speak a language (assuming you are literate).  Costs 2 skill points per language if on your race/class list; 4 skill points (or more in rare cases) otherwise.Nature Lore:Survival is a somewhat useful skill—but most of the time, only as a foundation for tracking.  Handle Animal is a weak skill.  Therefore, these two skills have been combined.  Name may be changed to avoid confusion with Knowledge (Nature).Ride:Handle animal is a weak skill, except in animal-specific campaigns, or arguably for druids and rangers.  Therefore, ride can be used to train mounts and pack animals only.  It can also be used to control wagons, since only Vocation is another suitable candidate.  Merry christmas again. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Skullduggery:Disguise and Forgery are utterly useless skills in most cases.  This combination doesn’t address that fully, to bring them up to useful levels, but it’s a step in the right direction.  (I also don’t like the name, so I’ll probably be changing it when I find something better.)Vocation:Craft and Profession are never, ever taken except as PrC prereqs, or for pure flavour purposes.  Therefore, they have both been combined into this skill.  You would use Int to create a specific item, and Wis to earn a living.--------------------------------------------------------------------------Some mechanics still need to be worked out; synergy bonuses, which classes have access to which skills, etc etc.  But this is good enough for a Beta, to get some input from you.  What do you think?Thanks.</blockquote>

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