Skill Groups

[ydirbut]

Any mechanics that would encourage me to "generally keep the same ones"?

If you wanted to advance those skills further, you'd have to. OOtherwise they would have to be taken as cross class skills.

 

[Nifft]

If you wanted to advance those skills further, you'd have to. OOtherwise they would have to be taken as cross class skills.

Consider the fact that one is allowed to put more than one rank in a skill each level.

Now consider the implications.

If you don't get why it's a problem, repeat.

-- N

 

[ydirbut]

Consider the fact that one is allowed to put more than one rank in a skill each level.

Now consider the implications.

If you don't get why it's a problem, repeat.

-- N

That is a problem. I guess then it'll have to be choose at level 1 and stick with it.

 

[Nifft]

Now we're talkin'!

Okay, consider this: every class has a fixed number of "skill groups" that are always available. Some classes have extra skill groups (chosen when you take your 1st level of this class). For example, Experts get to choose 4 skill groups, and Bards always get (Acrobat, Thief, Knowlege, etc.?) plus one extra.

Fighters get nuthin'. Clerics may have one or two extra depending on Domains.

New Feat:
Skill Group [General]
You are skilled in a specific area.
Benefit: You consider the skills in one particular group to always be class skills for every class you take.

The hard work is going to be dividing all the skills up into groups that are reasonably similar to what existing classes get.

-- N

 

[ydirbut]

Now we're talkin'!

Okay, consider this: every class has a fixed number of "skill groups" that are always available. Some classes have extra skill groups (chosen when you take your 1st level of this class). For example, Experts get to choose 4 skill groups, and Bards always get (Acrobat, Thief, Knowlege, etc.?) plus one extra.

Fighters get nuthin'. Clerics may have one or two extra depending on Domains.

New Feat:
Skill Group [General]
You are skilled in a specific area.
Benefit: You consider the skills in one particular group to always be class skills for every class you take.

The hard work is going to be dividing all the skills up into groups that are reasonably similar to what existing classes get.

-- N

That's agood system, but the whole reason i created this system is to customizable for all character classes. Thats why i was using half of your skill points in skill groups.

 

[Tonguez]

The hard work is going to be dividing all the skills up into groups that are reasonably similar to what existing classes get. -- N

Um isn't that essentially what the core system does - you know divide them into Fighter Skills group, barbarian SKills group, Bard skills group, cleric skills group etc etc.

I can still see how your idea would work - the whole Fighters get 1 group, Barbarians 2 groups, Bards 4 groups sort of thing. But only if its all done at character creation or on a very limited basis (like 1 new group per five levels). I'd also allow the feat so as to access bonus groups

Actually by giving each group a bonus feat I could see the Skill Groups idea working like Cleric Domains (or the Occupations of D20 Modern) so for instance I could take a basic fighter and customise it to be

1. Swashbuckler = Acrobat skill group (group feat bonus: Dodge)
2. Military Commander = Leadership skill group (group feat bonus: Persuasive)
3. Survivalist = Self-sufficient skill group* (group feat bonus: Track)
4. Sapper (Military Engineer) = Engineering skill group (group feat bonus: Nimble Fingers)
5. Sentry = Awareness subgroup (group feat bonus: Awareness)

A 'Knight' might be
Fighter = Rider group (mounted combat)+ Statesman group (Negotiator) + Leadership group (Negotiator)

*Self sufficient group is too broad atm and imho significantly better than the other groups - so how can that be 'balanced'

 

[Nifft]

Um isn't that essentially what the core system does - you know divide them into Fighter Skills group, barbarian SKills group, Bard skills group, cleric skills group etc etc.

Yep! And that's why IMHO it's a good starting point. Let's see if we can emulate the Core system before we go off changing stuff. That way, each change can be viewed in an isolated context, and evaluated for balance more accurately.

-- N

 

[ydirbut]

*Self sufficient group is too broad atm and imho significantly better than the other groups - so how can that be 'balanced'

I agree. However, Not all skills have the same usefullness, so i was trying to balance it out by having alot of not very useful skills or a couple useful skills.

Um isn't that essentially what the core system does - you know divide them into Fighter Skills group, barbarian SKills group, Bard skills group, cleric skills group etc etc.

But in that system there is to much overlap. For instance, a fighter gains alot more new skills picking up wizard or cleric than barbarian.

Yep! And that's why IMHO it's a good starting point. Let's see if we can emulate the Core system before we go off changing stuff. That way, each change can be viewed in an isolated context, and evaluated for balance more accurately.

-- N

An excellent idea

 

[ydirbut]

Bump

 

[Afrodyte]

I dig this idea, but the groups themselves seem a little awkward. Perhaps this is because they are tied to a specific setting. I think something a bit more generalized would be work a little better since it'd be easier to use across different types of campaigns. However, there is still the question of precisely how to define the skill groups and what to include in them. I can easily see something working like the following:

Academic skill group: Knowledge (each taken individually), Speak Language
Athletic skill group: Balance, Clumb, Jump, Swim, Tumble
Criminal skill group (can't think of a better name): Disable Device, Disguise, Forgery, Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand
Magic skill group (can't think of a more appropriate name): Concentration, Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Social skill group: Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, Sense Motive
Survival/Travel skill group: Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (nature), Ride, Survival
Vocational skill group: Appraise, Craft (each taken individually), Handle Animal, Knowledge (local), Perform (each taken individually), Profession (each taken individually), Use Rope
Undecided: Listen, Search, Spot, everything else.