Training rules: let's make the point.

Steven McRownt

First Post
Loads of people here in the house rules forum argue on training rules. Some of them defend the idea to death, other just kill threads were people talks about them, because can't stand no more of training....

I want to try to focus the attention of whom is interested in training rules to make an unique set of rules fro them. Let's try first on posting each personal rules. Then -let's say on Tuesday or Wednesday- we will bump the thread trying to make the final (and definite) rule concerning training.

Do you agree?

Steven McRownt
 

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Fine with me. Here are my personal training rules:

Training

Once a character has achieved enough experience to advance in level he must find a person of higher level then himself to train with. The trainer need not be of higher character level, just higher in whatever class is gaining a level in. The training takes time and money. The amount may wary from trainer to trainer with the following values being given as averages.

Character Level Cost in Gold Pieces
1-4 10xlevel
5-8 50xlevel
9-12 100xlevel
13-16 500xlevel
17-20 1,000xlevel

Time: Classes take 12 hours of training per level.
A normal person can train up to eight hours a day with no problems. One may attempt to train longer. For each hour of additional training the character must make a constitution check. The endurance feat helps with this. The DC is 12+1 per additional hour of training. If the attempt fails then the training is done for the day. If the attempt fails by more then five then the character must rest a full day due to mental and physical exhaustion. If the attempt fails by 15 or more then the character must rest an entire week or only one day if magical healing is available.

Once the training is complete the player may roll a percentile die to determine what extra is learned.

01-25 +1 Skill Point
26-50 +2 Skill Points
51-65 +1d6 Skill Points
66-75 +2 Skill Points (Must be spent on Class Skills)
76-80 +1d6 Skill Points (Must be spent on Class Skills)
81-85 +1d8 Skill Points (Must be spent on Class Skills)
86-95 Skill Focus (Must be on a Class Skill)
96-00 Toughness Feat


Since training rules are something that takes the characters time and money (arguibly their most important resouces) I feel it's nice to reward them with a random benefit. None of the benefits are game breakers. Most deal with skills which everyone seems to feel you never have enough of. So, I'm killing two birds with one stone.
 

First, I'm for training. However, the reason why they are only in the DMG as an option is because opinions concerning them vary from it should take lots of time to why bother?. Even my own rules have a certain amount of fluxuation (e.g., a Feat without any other Feats for a prereq taking 2 weeks, with a +1 multiple per Feat prereq, while becoming an Arcane Caster takes years).

Setting up training is a matter of campaign flavor, and it requires the individual group to be in agreement.

If you want help setting up yours, that's all good. I'd gladly help out, and those that don't believe in training rules should have enough curteousy not to rampage your thread because they simply disagree.
 

Here are my training rules. My players and I are still "fine-tuning" them, but for the most part they seem to work and the players are happy with them.

Gaining a new level in a class the character already possesses requires one week of training and costs 150 gp. Picking up a new class requires two months of uninterrupted training and costs the amount shown below:

New Class Cost
Fighter, ranger, or barbarian 200 gp
Cleric, druid, bard, or rogue 300 gp
Wizard or sorcerer 450 gp

Picking up a new skill costs 5 gp per rank and requires 1 week per rank to train.

Picking up a new feat costs 10 gp and requires two weeks to train.
 

Train Skills

IRL I design study programmes for a Private training provider using national Unit Standards. The basic formula used is 10 hours study for each 'Credit' (70% Practice, 30% Theory) with a full course of study being about 120 Credits (1200 Hours)

Translating this to Game I use 10 hours per Skill rank (so +1 = 10 hours study/practice)

I also remove any dependence on level or XP to train Class Skills - so a character could be first level and have 10 ranks in a class skill if they have rp'ed the training. Additionally RP'ed training may or may not have a gp cost - instead it may have a RP cost such as imposing an obligation

- eg if Mouse the Rogue 2 (Move Silently +5) roleplays 20 hours spent with a Master Thief training her lockpick skills she will gain +2 skill thus gaining 7 Ranks level stays the same.

XP is gained from adventures only by 'overcoming challenges - which might include use of skills. Any outstanding (creative, highly effective) use of skills may also result in a skill bonus to XP.
 

I'm not using training in my campaign right now, because the campaign is fast-paced and training would completely destroy the scope of the campaign. However, I once ran a campaign that was meant to last for a long while (game time), and as such, training and general downtime were there to ensure that the campaign would be long. The rules I used were pretty simple: 100 gp and 1 week per level* with an instructor, 50 gp and 2 weeks without one**.

*Character level: no matter if you're training for level 1 in a class or level 20 for another, it is always more difficult to learn more. Especially if you've dedicated a long time of your life to one particular activity, it is difficult to pick up a new.
**My campaign are all designed to end up at high- or epic level, which means that at one point, you cannot find someone willing to train you.

My only problem with training is the fact that, except if the character goes back to the person who first taught him the class, the game often ends up as a CRPG where there are guilds with teachers everywhere in the world...

Anyway, when you design the rules, could you take into account training on one's own?
 

I personally haven't tryed using training rules for core classes. Though I can see how they would be useful to explain multicalssing.

Here's my shot at it. You first class requires no training, since it is what you have focused on for your life. Once you begin to multiclass you must seek out a member of the assigned class or npc class equivlent (since students often surpass the teacher), you must spend 1 week per character level you have training prior to entering the class.
Ie; you need if you are a level 2 fighter and wish to enter rouge, you must spend 3 weeks training in the skills.
The reason the training gets longer every level is that, the higher you get the more focused you become in your current class/classes.

You must pay for all your equipment exspenses, and 100 gp per week. If you start as 0/0 multiclass neither one require special training. But any class added on after words requires the trainning mentioned above.

Also if you are multiclassing into a races favored class, it is more natural so you have a basic talent for it. You require only half as much training time, as it would normally take to train someone else.

Prestige Class Training;

To enter a prestige class, you must not only meet the requirments, but join a guild, or be invited to join the guild that gives special training. Once you become a member you spend two weeks training to learn the abilities. After which every level (that grants special abilities) requires special training. You gain the hit dice, skills, and saves of the prestige class, but must train for a week with a guild master to gain the spcial abilties.
 

IMC I use the following, simple system.

To gain a level and all the bonuses that entails, you train for 7 days (I'm considering changing the number of days but this is because my world does not have the concept of weeks in it).

If you pick up a brand new skill (no previous ranks) you must find a trainer and pay 50gp for that first rank. Further ranks can be taken automatically, however can't exceed half the trainers ranks (you cannot exceed your trainer).

If you pick up a new feat you pay 150gp. Yes fighters pay a lot, however they gain a lot as well.

As for taking a new class, you must train with an appropriate trainer for a period represented by the difference in starting ages of a 1st level character of your current class and your next class.

So for a human fighter who wants to become a wizard ... they must train for 1d6 years (+1d6 for fighter +2d6 for wizard hence 1d6).

If they have taken an appropriate 1st level feat representing previous training, then it halves the training time.

Of course I eyeball the time taken, but I dislike the idea of a Barbarian suddenly being able to read a wizard's spellbook and casting spells without training.

There are some excepts ... sudden divine inspiration for example, or a Paladin becoming a Cleric etc.
 

Well, the rough of my group's Skill Training Rules are >here<.

Feats are looking like they'll be similar. Class training's in the pencil-rough, but will be least imposing on Fighters and most imposing on Psionics and Arcane Casters. Level training will likely be minimal (related to Skills and Feats gained, etc.).
 

First of all i have to say sorry to everyone to have been vacant from the boards in those weeks, but i had to move a lot, without having connection to internet. I wish to say thanx to everybody for having so many ideas here, and i really hope that something good can be done together, with all those ideas. I truly think that reading the other training rules could help you already, but i still think that we can make something good for everybosy here, something that could encourage others to choose a training rule for their campaigns.

I will print all the post here, and start to work as soon as possible.

Steven McRownt
 

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