NUMBER OF SKILL POINTS Characters get more skill points per level, but some will go to weapon skills (which is what I'm using for weapon proficiencies). All classes get 1 skill point per level (and quadruple that number at 1st level) in addition to the numbers given in the rules. The Fighter class yet another 2 sp/level, to account for their weapon skills (defined as feats in the standard rules, as skills in Fivtoria). SKILL LIMITS The limit on how many ranks a character may have in a skill does not depend on whether or not the skill is in-class. The limit is always the character_level+3. (By standard rules, cross-class ranks not only cost double, but also have half the limit.) Pushing a skill up beyond the normal level+3 limit is possible, but if level advancement catches up, that extra effort ends up being lost, so it is best for those who rarely advance in level, and who very much want a particular skill as high as possible. (It may also commonly be done for fighterly characters one weapon skill rank away from a bonus. See the rules elsewhere for weapon skills.) BUYING RANKS IN SKILLS As I've written or mentioned several times, I consider it important to be able to recreate a character from relatively few details. It has been my experience that characters often need to be recreated from memory. For this reason, I want to have the order of advancement be irrelevant to the result - if the order were to matter, then you would need to keep track of that order to properly reconstruct the character. By Third Edition rules, to recreate a multi-classed character you need to remember when you bought each skill rank. So, what you need in order to (mostly) reconstruct a Fivtoria character is race, ability scores (at 1st level or some other specified level), knowledge of the character's personality (including general choice of skills and feats), number of levels in each class, and what was the starting class. There are a few more details, such as possessions and special bonuses, but most of what matters comes from the character's personality and a few simple facts. As a result, a character does not have in-class or cross-class skills. Instead, he has a certain number (maybe zero) of in-class potential ranks in the skill, and any ranks he buys beyond that number are cross-class ranks, costing double (2 skill points per rank), up to his limit of character level plus 3. It doesn't matter when the skill points were spent or how many ranks of the skill were "in-class" when the points were spent. The skill points in the skill at any time will each translate to a rank in the skill, up to the in-class-ranks limit, then every 2 skill points in the skill will translate to a further rank in the skill, up to the level+3 limit. Example: Fred is a 7th-level character, with 5 levels of Rogue and 2 levels of Ranger. His first level was in Rogue, so he gets 3 extra levels worth of Rogue skill points, giving him 8 levels of Rogue skill points and 2 levels of Ranger skill points. The Climb skill is an in-class skill for both Rogue and Ranger, so Fred can get up to 10 ranks in Climb at 1 skill point per rank. The Heal skill is in-class only for Ranger, so Fred can get only 2 ranks of that skill at normal (in-class) cost, and up to 8 more at double (cross-class) cost. Let's say he spent 4 skill points, and so has 3 ranks in Heal. When Fred gets his 8th and 9th levels he advances in Ranger level (up to 4th Ranger), but does not put any more skill points into the Heal skill. He is now allowed up to 4 ranks of Heal at normal cost, and has already put 4 skill points into Heal, so his number of ranks in Heal rises from 3 to 4, without regard to what level he was when he spent those skill points. ACQUIRING GENERAL SKILL To allow for the Jack of all Trades (JOAT) class: For 16 skill points, you can get 1 global rank that applies to *all* skills, but these global ranks cannot exceed half of your level-limit on skill ranks. (I.e. to max out a skill, the other half of the ranks would need to come from non-global use of skill points.) If a skill is out-of-class this global rank only counts half toward the skill. (All skills are in-class for a JOAT.) PARTICULAR SKILLS Concentration: Note that "casting defensively" has been disallowed. Craft(Alchemy): Generally less useful than described in the PHB, since the world doesn't include some of the listed alchemical products. Craft(illusion): Useful for keeping illusions from being too easy to disbelieve. Craft(any): The D&D mechanic for masterwork items is inadequate. Use it for simple enhancements to an object, but more extensive enhancements entail both a higher masterwork DC and a higher masterwork price. The DC will depend on the difficulty of the enhancement, as will the masterword price, but the price will also vary with the object of the effort, since a greatsword takes much longer to forge than does a dagger. Sense Motive: (Not changing any rules.) When you make a successful Sense Motive roll, if there's no stress behind the truth/lie, or if there is otherwise a lack of clues, it is harder to discern whether you are being bluffed (there is a circumstance penalty to come to a conclusion). Standard ways to increase the clues (and eliminate the penalty) include intimidation, pointed questioning, or even testing someone (e.g. with a request). Spellcraft: As documented in the PHB, identifying a ball of fire as a Fireball spell requires a succesful check at DC 23 (20 + spell level). But any dolt who has heard of a Fireball can tell you that a ball of fire is probably a Fireball spell, and most dolts can pretty accurately tell you how big one is or describe the effect in advance of seeing it. (Such spells often appear in the stories of bards.) Below is a list of spell frequency as I've labelled them, and the DC modifier to identify the spell. (To know enough about the spell for the player to be allowed to look up its description even during a combat. Of course, players may look up spells their characters have, even during combat.) The DC to merely recognize the spell's effect and a know a few of its features is 5 lower, and Spellcraft can be used untrained for this purpose. DC mod FREQ EXAMPLES -4 standard shield, fireball, wish -2 common shocking grasp, dimension door 0 uncommon alarm, gate +2 rare (usually not in PHB) +5 vary rare (usually not in PHB) +10 nearly unique (not in PHB) Also, the DC is at a further -5 for very clear evidence of the spell's effect (fireball, dragon breath) or mechanism (wish). - Standard: Almost anyone capable of casting the spell wants it and has it on their "short list" of spells. - Common: Almost anyone capable of casting the spell wants it available, but may go months without casting it. - Uncommon: The usefulness of the spell is a matter of style, or it is needed for relatively rare situations. - Even less common: Spells that are generally available but not in the PHB are one category less common than they would be if they had been in the PHB. Spells that are not in the PHB and are less available (e.g. only in another geographic area, to casters of a certain army), or that are much less available (only to members of a small guild, or to a particular unit in a particular army) are two categories less common than they would have been if in the PHB. Spells rarely used by anyone who is not evil are treated as one category less common. Spells meant to be shrouded with secrecy and/or cast only in private are treated as one category less common. Spot: When travelling for hours, you "take 10" on spot rolls -- it is the hide roll (and your spot bonus) that determines if you've noticed an ambush. When travelling in a group, you have a circumstance penalty to Spot unless you have an unobstructed view of the enemy. Also, where there is standardly a -1/10' distance penalty on the check, it is often dependent on the terrain. Two flying elephants can see each other at a range of more than a couple of hundred feet. The penalty of terrain is -1 per range increment, as listed here: Increment Terrain 100 feet open air 50 feet grassland with little cover, open plain 20 feet scrub, brush or bush, light fog 10 feet light forest, also the default 5 feet jungle, dense forest, clutter, medium fog 2.5 feet smoke, heavy fog, dense crowd, extreme clutter When the Spot increment is small, listen will often be the skill that warns of enemies (DC 5-20, or as opposed by Move Silently, + 1/10'). Divide the increment by 4 if you are trying to spot something really flat against a surface that is facing mostly perpendicular to your line of sight. Examples of this are footprints on the ground (for a grounded spotter who doesn't have significant altitude), and text written on a wall (when you are standing in a space abutting that wall). Invisible opponents are usually easier to spot than the D&D rules suggest, because there are many potential circumstance bonuses to spot them. The +20 or +40 hide bonus invisible creatures get assumes they are either flying or on a hard stone surface. Tumble: Unless in a clear space, the DC is likely to be +2 or worse for terrain. NEW SKILLS Strategy - No game-mechanical effect (yet). Is useful for choosing your fights, rather than winning the ones that take place. For example, Strategy could result in a battle with 1/2 the enemy at a time, rather than all of them at once. It could also give your side more advance knowledge of a fight, allowing for more preparation. In class: Fighter. Untrained: yes. Key ability: Intelligence. Tactics - On a good skill roll, adds +1 or +2 to your initiative for an encounter, and/or adds -1 to a chosen opponent's initiative. Neither use of Tactics provokes an attack of opportunity. Friendly bonus: Adds to your initiative if you can outsmart an enemy (or group of enemies) in battle. This is a move-equivalent action requiring a Tactics check, opposed by your enemy's Tactics check (or Intelligence check), and that beats the DC. The DC is 5 plus the minimum Intelligence of the enemy's maneuvers (monster int for a pack, minimum front-line fighter int for a small melee, or minimum sergeant or lieutenant int for a larger battle). You need to see the enemy force in action to use this skill (either knowing how trolls, for example, fight, or having fought a particular tribe of goblins). Therefor, the Tactics skill often kicks in after both sides in the battle have taken a round's action, shifting your initiative numbers for later rounds. The result is usually a personal +1 intiative bonus that lasts for the duration of the combat. With either recon or control of battlefield setup, a successful check gives an individual +2 initiative bonus (group +1 with a huddle beforehand). Reconnaissance generally requires at least a full action (more often a minute or more), and a huddle takes a full action, helping only those nearby at the time (typically within 10') and following your full action with one of their own. A "huddle" that is overheard by the enemy will cancel any initiative bonus for Tactics, and will give a -2 initiative *penalty* (if you don't know you were overheard), since your plans can be used against you. A later successful opposed Tactics check can cancel this -2 penalty and give a bonus. Multiple Tactics initiative friendly bonuses overlap (do not stack), so only the best one applies. Enemy penalty: In addition to improving your own (or your group's) initiative for a combat, you can reduce the initiative of a single enemy who you threaten. By sacrificing an attack that would have been able to reach that enemy, you get an opposed Tactics check with that enemy. If you win, his initiative is instantaneously lowered by 1. Multiple attacks can be used in this way to shift the initiative of multiple enemies. Of course, if the opponent performs a Refocus or Ready action, your effort in adjusting his initiative number may go to waste. In class: Fighter, Wizard. Untrained: yes. Key ability: Intelligence. Team Casting (Con; Trained Only; Armor Check Penalty) - The leader of any team casting must make a check against DC 15 + spell level for each full hour of casting. For less than one hour, the DC is reduced by 2. The leader can "take 10" on any Team Casting check if the team has cast together successfully several times before, which is generally assumed to be the case (casting a few cantrips as a warm-up). The team has a +2 on all Team Casting checks for spells that they have previously cast together successfully (with the exact same team and leader). When all members of a divine-casting team are of the same religion, or when they are all team members are blood relatives, the check is at a further +4. There are penalties for casting with a ring team of more than 3, for casting with a star team of more than 5, and for adding or removing members of a team while casting. Special: If you have 5 or more ranks of Concentration, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Team Casting checks. Weapon (Various ability scores; Useable untrained) - You have some skill in fighting with a particular weapon or group of weapons. Benefit: This skill provides the means to become proficient in the use of a weapon. As with Craft and Profession skills, this skill may be taken multiple times, with a different weapon or weapon group each time. For example, a Fighter may have both the Weapon(blades) and Weapon(longbow) skills. Depending on the particular use of this skill, different ability modifiers might be applied as bonuses, but for most uses it is only the number of ranks that matters. See the house weapon rules for details. Feinting in combat: The Bluff skill allows you to fool an opponent with a check opposed by Sense Motive, so he is left unprepared for the following attack. The Weapon skill allows you to perform a combat feint in the fencing sense of the word: rather than fooling your enemy into thinking you are fleeing or are stunned, you instead fool your enemy into defending against an attack you do not make, leaving him open for the attack you really had in mind. The mechanics are the same as with Bluff, but the check is opposed by the enemy's weapon skill (typically the 3 or 4 ranks needed for proficiency, even if the weapon is a natural one), and two additional modifiers are always applied: The feinter's non-proficiency penalty (or high-skill bonus) with his own weapon, and the non-proficiency penalty (if any) the feinter would have if using the opponent's weapon. The former modifier is typically zero or a small bonus, and the latter modifier is usually either -4 or -0. If the feinter wins the opposed check, once in the following round he may designate any one of his attacks (before the attack is rolled) to deny the opponent his dexterity bonus (if any), and otherwise to treat the opponent as momentarily flat-footed. There are a few special cases of weapon feints. First, the attacker can feint by sacrificing just one attack (rather than feinting as a standard action), but suffers an additional -10 penalty on the opposed check, and if successful deprives his opponent of the dexterity bonus for the very next attack opportunity against that target (even if an "attack of opportunity"). Failure to attack at that time loses the benefit of the feint. Second, the defender can oppose the Weapon feint attempt with a Tumble skill check instead of his own weapon skill check. And finally, if the defender has the "Uncanny Dodge (Dex bonus to AC)" class feature (or equivalent), he cannot be denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, so the feint gives no advantage. Some more information on the opposed check to feint: Treat the Weapon skill as having Intelligence as its key ability for purposes of the opposed check. If details of the enemy's skill are lacking, assume the enemy has the minimum number of ranks in Weapon required for proficiency (simple: 3, martial: 4, exotic: 5). Your check suffers the same penalties as does a Bluff feint for creatures with an non-native body type (-4) or very low Intelligence (-8 or impossible).