Skill points & magic enhanced intelligence

[Jdvn1]

I think it was a problem because people could qualify for PrC's and such while using a headband, and they could trade the headband around to qualify for PrC's.

"Hm, before I level, could I borrow your +4 Int item? ... Great, thanks. *level* Oh, look I qualify for a PrC earlier than I'd normally be able to. Cool. All right, you can have it back since I don't lose any abilities for losing the prereq's after I level. I might want to borrow it next level too, though, so I can do the same thing."

It's kind of stupid and non-sensical to let Int boosting items increase skill points.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

We rule that a headband of intellect gives you skill points just as if you had that int score yourself - as long as you wear it the whole time you would be gaining those skills. So if you wore it from 3rd level until you leveled at 4th, then you would get skill points calculated using your modified intel. Now, to stop someone wearing a headband of intel for 10 levels or so to get killer skills and then ditching it, if you remove the headband for too long (DM's call on how long is too long) you then lose the skill points you earned by wearing it. I don't see how people can argue that this is unbalanced - if you wear gloves of dex your AC, reflex save and to-hit w/ranged is increased: while wearing it your character may survive where without it he would not. Same goes for Con, Str, etc..

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Though the 3.5 rules are abundantly clear, I agree with Crothian's view regarding the sensibility of it.

An Int boosting item wouldn't be worth any more than the other attribute boosting items if it granted extra skill points. That's what Int does. That's what makes Int (theoretically) balanced with the other attributes, such as Dex which grants a bonus to AC, Initiative, Reflex Saves, and Ranged attack rolls.

And let's face it, once someone gets an attribute enhancing item, they don't take it off. It's pretty much permanent unless the DM destroys it, or until they get a new, more powerful attribute enhancing item.

I've House Ruled Int items to allow bonus skill points. It's really no problem at all for a PC to recall when he got his Int boosting item, IME. When creating high-level NPCs or PCs, I find it equally simple to assign a level at which they gained an Int boosting item, depending on their wealth level and how much of that wealth the desired item would represent.

 

[Crothian]

I think it was a problem because people could qualify for PrC's and such while using a headband, and they could trade the headband around to qualify for PrC's.

"Hm, before I level, could I borrow your +4 Int item? ... Great, thanks. *level* Oh, look I qualify for a PrC earlier than I'd normally be able to. Cool. All right, you can have it back since I don't lose any abilities for losing the prereq's after I level. I might want to borrow it next level too, though, so I can do the same thing."

It's kind of stupid and non-sensical to let Int boosting items increase skill points.

It never allowed characters to get into prestgeclasses early. More skill points never help with how many ranks you can have on a skill, that's level dependant. Plus anything in the rules that can be called "stupid and non-sensical" is the DM's job to fix for that group.

Which leads to yet another problem of the game, too many people DMing who have no right or ability to do so.

 

[Jdvn1]

It never allowed characters to get into prestgeclasses early. More skill points never help with how many ranks you can have on a skill, that's level dependant.

More skill points never help with max ranks. If I need 15 ranks in K(Arcana) and I haven't been maxing it out, then it's going to help me get into a prestige class earlier than I'd normally be able to enter it.

Plus anything in the rules that can be called "stupid and non-sensical" is the DM's job to fix for that group.

Which leads to yet another problem of the game, too many people DMing who have no right or ability to do so.

Well, I think the rules serve as a protection from subpar GMs as well. That's what balance is for.

 

[Hypersmurf]

All right, you can have it back since I don't lose any abilities for losing the prereq's after I level.

Read the paragraph on Prestige Classes and Prerequisites at the start of the PrC chapter of Complete Warrior.

-Hyp.

 

[Jdvn1]

Read the paragraph on Prestige Classes and Prerequisites at the start of the PrC chapter of Complete Warrior.

-Hyp.

Was that how it worked in 3.0 as well?

 

[FireLance]

Here's a variant that can make each Headband more unique and keep the numbers balanced: Each headband has a set of skills that it "knows" and you can gain those skill points from the increased intelligence of the headband. You lose those skill points when you take off the headband because you never really knew the skills, the headband did.

Edit: The only problem comes when the wearer has maxed out ranks in all the headband's skills, it won't balance out.

This is something I would do, too. If it really becomes an issue, it probably isn't too much bookkeeping for a player to choose the skills he wants, or even the skill ranks that he wants, on the understanding that these will disappear if he takes off the headband.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Was that how it worked in 3.0 as well?

Yup. If you lost a requirement, you lost access to all class features except BAB, base save bonuses, and hit dice.

-Hyp.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Yup. If you lost a requirement, you lost access to all class features except BAB, base save bonuses, and hit dice.

-Hyp.

Unfortunately, it seriously messes with some PrC's, like dragon disciple, and makes little to no sense for others where suddenly you can forget how to wear armour because you don't have access to evasion...

Before that, though.

I get a +int item. I gain skill points. I spend them in skills that I need.

I remove +int item.

I put +int item on again. So I again choose skills that I need.

It's a really great way to get pick lock for only the times when you need it, and have, say, concentration or knowledge(arcana) the rest of the time...

And that's why you don't get skill points for int-enhancing items.