Special abilities as skills?

[Jeph]

This would probably go best in some classless system. Here are some extraordinary / spell-like ability skills.

Sneak Attack (Dex, Trained Only)
With this skill, you may make deadly surprise attacks.
Check: You may make a Sneak Attack check any time a Rogue could perform a Sneak Attack. Your bonus damage is determined by your check result:

Result . . . . . . Bonus d6 Sneak Attack Damage
14 or lower . . +1d6
15-17 . . . . . . . +2d6
18-20 . . . . . . . +3d6
21-23 . . . . . . . +4d6
24-26 . . . . . . . +5d6
27-29 . . . . . . . +6d6
+3. . . . . . . . . . +1d6

Healing (Wis, Trained Only)
Use this skill to magically heal others.
Check: You may make a Healing check once per day per rank in this skill, and doing so is a standard action. With a successfull Healing check (DC 15), you heal a single touched creature of 1d8 damage. For every 4 full points by which you beat the DC, you heal an extra d8 damage, to a maximum of 1d8 per point of your Wisdom bonus. Alternatively, you may deal the same damage to an Undead creature. Instead of healing a touched creature, you may instead choose to heal all in a 20' radius burst, but if you do, the healing dice are only d6s, and you use up two daily healing attempts. Undead are allowed a Fortitude save (DC 10 +1/2 your ranks in this skill) for half damage.

Uncanny Dodge (Dex, Trained Only)
Use this skill to gain unusual defensive insight.
Check: Whenever you would be denied your Dex bonus to AC due to being flat footed or being struck by an invisable attacker, you may retain your Dex to AC with a successful check (DC 17). A check (DC 20) lets you negate the effects of being flanked. When you would be attacked by or forced to make a Reflex save against a trap, for every 5 ranks in Uncanny Dodge that you have, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC or Reflex save. When an opponent would use their Uncanny Dodge skill to make you lose a bonus to attack against them, you may negate the loss of the bonus if your Uncanny Dodge check result is higher than theirs. Using Uncanny Dodge is always a reaction.

Rage (Con, Trained Only)
Use this skill to fly into a rage.
Check: With a Rage check (DC 16), you may fly into a Rage, as the Barbarian. You may make a Rage check once per day for every 3 full ranks in Rage that you have. A character with at least 18 ranks in Rage gains the benefits of the Barbarian's Greater Rage ability. A character with at least 23 ranks in Rage gains the benefits of the No Longer Winded After Rage ability.

Channel Energy (Cha, Trained Only)
Use this skill to channel raw Fire, Air, Earth, or Water. This skill is really 4 seperate skills, one for each element. When you gain a rank in this skill, decide which sub-skill you are putting the rank into.
Check: Making a Channel Energy check is a full-round action, and you may make a Channel Energy check once per day for every 2 ranks you have in the skill. The effects of the check depend on which element you are channeling.
Air: A target within 10 feet per rank you have in this skill is subject to a Bull Rush attempt. Treat the target as if they were being rushed by a Medium-Sized creature with a Strength score equal to your check result.
Fire: With a successful check (DC 15), a five foot cube within 5 feet per rank you have in this skill explodes into flame. Any creature cought in the blast takes 1d6 fire damage, +1d6 damage for every three points by which you beat the DC. They are allowed a Reflex save for half damage (DC 10 + 1/2 your ranks in this skill).
Earth: With a successful check (DC 15), you animate a Small area of earth, which takes on the traits of a Small fire elamental. A check DC 20 lets you create a Medium elemental, 25 for Large, 30 for Huge, 35 for Greater, and 40 for Elder. The animated earth retains it's ability to move for 1 round per 2 ranks you have in this skill.
Water: As above, but you create a Water elemental.

so, what do you think? good idea? bad? nuetral?

 

[Crothian]

That 's a very interesting idea. The only change I'd make is increaseing the DCs for the Sneak Attack. A hlafling rogue with a 20 dex, max ranks, and skill focus would have +11 at first level. Average roll gives him +4d6 and a good roll gives him +7d6. That might be a little much at first level.

 

[threefallentrees]

I've done the rogue sneak attack as a skill thing, but modelled after Iaijutsu Focus in its bonus dice (well, actually what I did was fold IF and SA into a single skill...)

My mechanic had Sneak Attacks doing (check/3)-4 d6 damage, and IF attacks doing (check/5)-2 d6 damage.

So, each type of attack gets its first bonus die at DC15, and each then ramps up by 5 for IF and 3 for SA.

I like that because of the ability symmetry. Rogues still get their characteristic use of the skill, at better die progression and with more uses than IF users, but it's one clean mechanic.

The results of this are slightly stronger low-level rogues and slightly weaker high-level rogues, assuming average key ability with stat increases going there, max skill ranks, but not feats.

 

[Happiest_Sadist]

I would change a couple of things. These should all be exclusive skills. Otherwise a human fighter18, rogue 1, barbarian 1 with decent intelligence can rage as well as a barbarian 20, sneack attack like a rogue 20, and have huge numbers of bonus feats.

Also I don't like the implementation of rage. I'd like to see the effects change with the check. Maybe the rage lasts 1 round/4 points rolled. By subtracting 4 rounds from the duration, the barbarian can enter a greater rage. By subtracting 4 rounds from the duration, the barbarian can be no longer winded after raging. These uses must be announced before the rage is rolled. If the duration is less than 1 round, the barbarian suffers the afteraffects of the rage he requested, but gains none of the benifits.

 

[JackRasityr]

I think leaving the special abilities as special abilities is just fine as is. Just looking at the skills above... it reeks of power-filled goodness that a DM does not need the headache of worrying about. In fact, it gets way too lopsided at higher levels.

At Level 20, a character will be able to use the Healing skill/ability 23 times, if he so chooses to put 23 ranks in it. Therefore, 23 times a day, the character will have an absolute minimum of 3D8-spells to throw around (that is assuming the character has a +0 Wisdom modifier, and rolls a 1 every time.)

Think of that... 69D8 minimum worth of healing a day! EEK! That is a DM's nightmare! And, if the character has a +6 WIS modifier and rolls 20's the entire time... that would be a maximum of (23 x 9D8)... 207D8 per day! (Yep, that's 1656 HP of damage... so... do any deities or demigods need a quick healing?)

And that is just one example. The Sneak Attack... ::shudder:: gets pretty obscene at high levels. (With Sneak Attacks of +13D6! Though not as obscene as the Healing one... still... all for a skill?!!?!!)

Anyway, I'm sure you had the best of intentions in making these abilities into skills, but I believe some long-term test-playing of these skillbilities (heh... a new word) will be more than enough proof that this is a dream come true for munchkins worldwide.

 

[Jeph]

It was just a thought, maybe to work in with a d20 Modern campaign. I haven't actually been thinking of even playtesting them, I just typed them off the top of my head. :: shrugs ::

 

[willpax]

One other caution would be the ease of creation skill bonus magic items. . .

Actually, you could combine these special abilities with some other limiting mechanism, such as a subdual damage cost, to limit their abuse. Making them restricted skills would also help. Then you would be coming closer to a hybrid magic system.

If I ever have the time, I'll post my latest (and actually playtested) skill-based magic system. It works on similar principles.

 

[Jeph]

If I ever have the time, I'll post my latest (and actually playtested) skill-based magic system. It works on similar principles.

that would be sweetness! Wow, someone actually playtested a skill-based magic system. This I must see (and, if it is up to par, yoink).

 

[willpax]

I never find any of my own creations perfect; I'm always tweaking in some way or other. My players (who are all either brothers or friends of 15+ years now) know this about me and tolerate it.

One variation on all of these skills would be to use something other than a linear scale for progression. The first level of effect (say, 1d6 of sneak attack or 1d8 for healing) occurs at some base DC (say, 15). Each additional level comes at an increasingly higher DC: 17 for 2d, 20 for 3d, 24 for 4d, 29 for 5d, and so on. That might be more suitable for games with lower power levels, as it preserves the ability at the lower levels without unbalancing the upper power reaches. Of course, some people like their powerful characters to be truly powerful, so such a system wouldn't be for everyone. Tweak the numbers to taste.

One further minor observation: it migth be less unbalancing (in comparison to the other skills) for the water channeling skill to have the skill create a fluid current of a strength proportional to the skill check. Being able to propel your own boat can be very useful in some situations. . .