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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nyeshet" data-source="post: 2822598" data-attributes="member: 18363">Suppose I have 17 ranks in a skill. The next lowest five would reduce me to 12. If I am using a variant rule for a synergy increase every five ranks, then I would (understandably) lose the synergy bonus. The same would be true if I had 7 ranks; the fifth lowest after would be 2 - well beyond the synergetic fifth level. Thus this ruling does not necessarily help. Also, I don't see anything wrong with losing a synergy bonus. If the character does not use the skills, why should they still have them or gain any bonuses from them? Also, recall that the PC is only losing one rank per level. Thus it would take 5+ levels of continual non-use of a skill that already has 5 ranks in it for it to fall to 0 ranks. I find it more likely that every level a different skill will come up as least used, with perhaps a single skill chosen at lower levels but rarely used since eventually pettering out around mid to high levels. Thus I don't think placing an upper limit on a skill is really necessary. Also, it increases the bookkeeping, as the PC or DM must keep track of how many times the skill has lost a rank - which is not necessary if there is no upper limit. And recall, the skills that slowly vanish are those least used - and thus the ones arguably least useful to the character. Escape Artist and Use Rope are Dex skills, and I think if I were several years out of practice (ie: a few levels) I would be less willing to attempt an Escape Artist check and would have difficulty remembering most of the knots I used to know. In fact, I know this is true. I recall perhaps four or five basic knots out of over a couple dozen I used to know 10+ years ago in Boy Scouts. The only Con skill is Concentration - which arguably shouldn't even be a skill but a Will save instead. That leaves Strength. Tell me, if you were a professional mountain climber 5-10 years out of practice in climbing, would you be willing to climb a difficult sheer cliff face? Even in an enclosed area with ropes, nets, etc? It wouldn't just be a matter of strength loss. You would have less ability to judge whether a hand hold is a good one, whether a foot hold will truly hold your weight, whether the next hold is uncomfortably too far or just withing comfortable reach. Also, there would be decreased muscle mass in the hands and feet, but that is not adequetly described in the Str score - which more accurately depicts the arms, legs, and back rather than the digits. Thus, I do not think that any skill should be exempt from a potential decrease. Any skill can atrophy with lack of use. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/Laman Stahros, it occurs to me that your 'retraining' idea may be linked to the similar idea in the new PHB2. I am due to receive the book either tomorrow or early next week. I'll take a look over it, but from what I recall the system is used to re-allot skill points, feats, spells, etc. If that is the case then it is a more complicated version of the +1 skill pt / -1 skill point I am talking about, and it is not every level but instead upon demand - thus negating the 'lose due to lack of use' which I am attempting to install into the game for greater realism. However, I will consider it - or a variant of it.</blockquote>

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