When you upgrade intelligence...

[The Creator]

When you have 15 intellegence and you put on, say, a headband of intellect +1, what happens to your skill points? Lets say you are level 5- do you only get an extra skill point when you next level up? Then couldn't you pass the headband around to other characters when they level up so they can get an extra skill point? Do you loose the skill points gained when taking off the headband? If so, do you get them back when you put it back on? How does it all work?

 

[Vurt]

Easy. Headbands of intellect do not give you extra skill points.

Headband of Intellect: This device is a light cord with a small gem set so that it rests upon the forehead of the wearer. The headband adds to the wearer’s Intelligence score in the form of an enhancement bonus of +2, +4, or +6. This enhancement bonus does not earn the wearer extra skill points when a new level is attained; use the unenhanced Intelligence bonus to determine skill points.

Cheers,
Vurt

 

[Azul]

I've always ruled it that if you had the headband on non-stop for the entire level (or at least the overwhelming majority of it), you got the benefit of the intelligence bonus on your skill points for that level. The idea here is that you were smarter and found it easier to learn during that time.

After you have leveled, you keep those extra skill points even if your remove the headband. The reason being that you don't unlearn things just because you removed the headband. You just won't gain its benefits on learning for the upcoming level.

In 3.0, this seemed like a reasonable ruling. 3.5 seems to have clarified the point in the item description, but my group liked the old house rule and kept it.

 

[Staffan]

As Vurt says, a headband of intellect specifically doesn't give you any new skill points. Looking at the issue in a more general way, a permanent (or at least semi-permanent) increase in Intelligence (such as that given by a Wish, or just by leveling up) will give you more skill points at future levels, but not retroactively. Similarly, if you get Int-drained you will have fewer skill points at future levels, but you won't lose the skills you've already learned.

Think of Int as your ability to learn stuff. If you have a higher Int, you can learn stuff faster, which translates to more skill points. If your Int changes, it doesn't change what you've learned in the past, but it will change how much you can learn in the future.

 

[The Creator]

Thanks. That does make my life easier.

 

[Crothian]

By the rules you can't, but I perfer to encourage people to increase intellegence so I let them gain skill points retroactively.

 

[Bront]

By the rules you can't, but I perfer to encourage people to increase intellegence so I let them gain skill points retroactively.

Good to hear someone does that.

I haven't ruled on that yet, but Intellegence is the only ability that it's full effects are marginalized in any way. (You gain full benifits with no restrictions on every other ability) And i agree that that encourages people to increase their intellegence besides casters/psions who use Int as their primary.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Good to hear someone does that.

It's not really a good idea. I'd advise you not to do it.

Btw, The Creator, there's no such thing as a headband of intellect +1, nor should there be.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I do retroactive increases, but only for permanent increases. Headbands of Intellect and Potions of Fox's Cunning just won't cut it.

I also require people to lose skills whenever they permanently lose Intelligence. There's a reason brain damage sucks so much in real life.

 

[Crothian]

It's not really a good idea. I'd advise you not to do it.

Why not?