Wizards getting 4 skill points per level

[0-hr]

In the campaign I'm playing in, a house rule is in place that gives wizards 4 skill points per level rather than 2. I'd like to hear some opinions on the pro's and con's of this from people with a good grasp of 3.5 class balance. Any input is much appreciated

 

[DanMcS]

That sounds unnecessary. Wizards are the class with the high Int scores to give bonus skill points; even at 2 per level, they're going to blow past most other classes in terms of skills, excepting rogues. And really, most all of a rogue's utility is in his skills, where the wizard has spells as his primary capability.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I think if you're going to bump up skill points, you might as well put everyone currently at two up to four. As DanMcS said, Wizards are usually going to have a high Int score, and thus a pretty good bonus to thier skill points. It's Fighters, Clerics, and the like that I think need it more than Wizards.

 

[Malin Genie]

Why Wizards, just out of curiosity? Given their focus on Intelligence, Wizards will often end up with more skill points per level than the '4+' classes (Monk, Barbarian, Druid) and sometimes even as many as the '6+' (Bard, Ranger.) Admittedly, given the restriction on class skills it tends to become 'max out Concentration and Spellcraft and then have a bunch of Knowledge skills' but in terms of sheer number of skill points...

If anyone suffers low skills it's Clerics/Sorcerors/Paladins/Fighters who not only have '2+' but generally (especially in point-buy) have to de-prioritise Intelligence.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Wizards already get loads of skill points. After all, Int is their prime stat and IME they'll put all their advances into it... Like DanMcS said.

Depending what you're after...

We houseruled that cross class skills cost 1 point per rank - with the same maximum as they would normaly have. This tended to give everyone a broader selection of skills, without actually changing anyones skill points... Particularly favours wizards - with their limited skill selection and large number of points.

Other option. Go into the Loremaster PrC... they've got 4+Int per level...

 

[Pielorinho]

IMC, I gave everyone an extra two points per level for the first three or four levels. I've found that without this, dumb fighters and barbarians (and there's a lot of dumb to go around in fighter and barbarian circles) really didn't have much to do in noncombat situations; since I tend to run 0-2 combats per session, that was a problem. Giving those extra points across the board helps the fighter-types without unbalancing them.

Daniel

 

[Shallown]

I gave all the characters in my recent game 2 extra kill points per level. I tend to run skill intensive campaigns where even fighters and such picked up knowledge skills. It was a matter of my game style would have been unfair/unbalanced with the points the PHB gives. It didn't change much. People still maxed out what I would have expected for the class and then had some personality based skills as well. Part of it was also I had lots of characters with stats of 10 so the stat range was lower than average for any stat not of primary importance to the class.

later

 

[maransreth]

So what if Wizards have a high Int and thus will have more skill points? They are meant to be studious and know many of the Knowledge skills.

In my house campaign I DO give Wizards 4 + Int mod. BUT half of their skill points must be spent on Knowledge skills. Eg an elven wizard with a 17 Int would get 7 skill points after 1st level and must spend 3 skill points on updating his Knowledge skills, the other 4 skill points would go to Spellcraft, Concentration, a Craft and a Profession skill. That way they can then know a number of Knowledge skills like I envisioned they would, being cooped up with books during their apprenticeship.

 

[Liquidsabre]

4 skill points/level may not sound like much of an increase but by 5th level that's 16 more skill points (that's 2 extra maxed out skills), an uneccessary advancement of skills. All of the study/practice time normally used for skills a wizard must instead devote to the study of their arcane spell-casting, hence only the 2 SPs/level. No real need to advance the skill points for the class, though I'd expect to see more wizards in this case perhaps.

Not too big a deal I suppose over a campaign but not a very good way to ensure all the classes are balanced between each other. The only way I'd increase skill-points for the wiz is to simply increase SPs across the board, again for balance reasons.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

So what if Wizards have a high Int and thus will have more skill points? They are meant to be studious and know many of the Knowledge skills.

In my house campaign I DO give Wizards 4 + Int mod. BUT half of their skill points must be spent on Knowledge skills. Eg an elven wizard with a 17 Int would get 7 skill points after 1st level and must spend 3 skill points on updating his Knowledge skills, the other 4 skill points would go to Spellcraft, Concentration, a Craft and a Profession skill. That way they can then know a number of Knowledge skills like I envisioned they would, being cooped up with books during their apprenticeship.

An excellent idea. Or, just give the wizard 2 bonus points per level to be used for knowledge skills. IMO, it isn't necessarily a consequence of being cooped up with books - just that the primary role of a wizard is to know stuff, whether or not he "studied." Gandalf's knowledge was more of an advantage than his magic, after all. Same for Merlin in some tales, and many other wizards of myth and story. It's a neat way to make the wizard feel a little more folkloric and give him an additional power besides the spells - he's the one who knows things. Raistlin and Elminster both had some magic-free adventures relying on their knowledge, yes?

Interesting theory on the derivation of the word: "Braggart" is "one who brags too much." "Drunkard" is "one who is drunk too much." "Wizard" is "one who is too wise."