SWSE Tweaking Ability Score Increases

[wolfpunk]

Would it be unbalancing to allow a person to trade a maximum of one of their ability score increases at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level to instead learn one new skill from their class skill list?

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I don't think it would be unbalancing... if anything, it's probably a little weak, since a person can just take a level in another class to get the skill they want, right?

 

[wolfpunk]

Well they can add it to their list of class skills, but they have to take the Skill Training feat in order to gain a new trained skill.

 

[Nifft]

When your Int goes up by +2, you gain a bonus trained skill, don't you?

-- N

 

[ValhallaGH]

When your Int goes up by +2, you gain a bonus trained skill, don't you?

-- N

Yes you do.

 

[wolfpunk]

True, raising intelligence would allow for a bonus skill, but only 2 could be gained that way, where as, if I trade in an ability increase at each increase level I could get five new skills.

 

[ValhallaGH]

True, raising intelligence would allow for a bonus skill, but only 2 could be gained that way, where as, if I trade in an ability increase at each increase level I could get five new skills.

Actually, you can get as many as 3 if you start with an odd intelligence score.

 

[Kaffis]

True, raising intelligence would allow for a bonus skill, but only 2 could be gained that way, where as, if I trade in an ability increase at each increase level I could get five new skills.

Hence I'd say your proposal isn't strictly balanced. The rules as written set out an attribute-to-skill training balance of 2 attributes to one skill, by making skills from Int retroactive.

Perhaps you could argue that increasing Int has other bonuses and thus your sacrificing one attribute for a skill is balanced because you don't get the ancillary bennies from a higher int. But given that not all characters will necessarily make much use of the ancillary benefits, I have a hard time swallowing that.

RAW says to gain 5 skills, you get to spend all your points in Int. Your rule says that to gain 5 skills, you spend half your points in Int, and then get to have your cake after eating it by still getting to spend the other half in non-Int skills (or getting even more skills by spending them in Int).

I'd say just suggest your player increase his/her Int.

 

[wolfpunk]

I see your point, my question is, would it be all that terrible if a player did spend five points to get five more skills, and the other five points to raise intelligence to get a possible 3 more skills? I think, if the character started with a 20 int and increased it to 25, and spent the other increases for bonus skills and took the noble class and were human, they would have 19 skills. Two things though, not every skill is going to see a lot of use, and secondly they still have to make the roll to succeed at using the skill.

If a player wanted to spend all of their increases to add skills, they are sacrificing constant increases to their saves, forgoing constant increases to their attack and damage with melee weapons, etc. They would be giving up a lot of all the time applicable benefits to be able have a chance to make a skill check with any skill.

Maybe I just have the feeling that there are just not enough skill slots. With a point based system you didn't have to put all your points into the same skill every time the character levelled. You could have two skills that were half as good as maximum for example. Star Wars doesn't really give you that option.

 

[Nifft]

SW Saga promotes general competence rather than super specialization. The dual ability boost is part of that -- unlike D&D which rewards putting all your points in a single ability, SW Saga prohibits ability overspecialization.

It sounds like you want to specialize in Intelligence. That would be more specialization than SW Saga allows. I think SW Saga has good reasons for restricting specialization and for granting general competency, so I wouldn't allow it.

Cheers, -- N