Animal Skill points? Calculated right? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Animal Skill points? Calculated right? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
yonman
06-03-05, 05:05 PM Alright, I was looking at Animals and how they are calculating their skill points.
I can't seem to reproduce their base skills so I'd like for anyone to shed some light. I do know that other types of monsters are consistent with how they are derived.

Okay, first animals are calculated as Clerics receiving (2+INT modifier) x4 skill points at 1 HD with a minimum of 1 skill point if they have at least an INT of 1.

Second, they receive 2+INT skill poins for each additional HD.

So,,,Riding Dog
from SRD:
Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp)
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Jump +8, Listen +5, Spot +5, Swim +3, Survival +1*
Feats: Alertness, TrackB
Skills
Riding dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Jump checks. *Riding dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.

Since it's INT is a 2 it gets 1 skill point x4 at 1 HD plus 1 skill point at 2 HD = 5 skill points.

1) Jump gets +2 STR, +4 Racial = +6 out of +8
2) Listen gets +1 WIS, +2 Alertness = +3 out of +5
3) Spot gets +1 WIS, +2 Alertness = +3 out of +5
4) Swim gets +2 STR = +2 out of +3
5) Survival gets +1 WIS = +1 out of +1

Therefore, there are 7 skill points it needs to achieve the totals they have in the monster manual. You only have 7 points to spend so WHERE ARE the other skill points coming from?

If you check other Animals you'll see similar calculations, but if you do other monsters you will NOT.

Any help here?
yonman
06-03-05, 05:24 PM Actually I checked a few other creatures like the Nixie and found similar discrepancies.

I hope i'm just not seeing something here or am miscalculating. Any input?
the_poison_elf
06-03-05, 05:59 PM you're not missing anything as far as i'm aware of. animals just don't seem to go by how many skill points it says they should have.
yonman
06-03-05, 06:05 PM Then what's the point in even having the skill point description for them at all...anyone else have input?
Wolf72
06-03-05, 06:44 PM the point is they're supposed to make sense across the board (well it took me forever to read that vermin don't really get skill points, they are just assigned bonuses to the skills)... someone (the writers) made quite a few skill point errors. I think it was a hasty cut/paste job and someone just wasn't paying as much attention as s/he should have.

most of the skill points aren't to far off though, so just live with it and correct it as you go along (small post-its come in handy for that)
was_fired
06-03-05, 07:31 PM Simple you calculated jump wrong:

+2 Str + 2 Speed + 4 racial = 8

It has no skillpoints invested into jump. It just as a natural speed of 40ft.
Wolf72
06-04-05, 02:23 PM good call WF
The Abominable Darkling
06-04-05, 02:40 PM Except that the bonus to Jump for having a high speed is +4, not +2. The dog ought to have Jump +10 without any skill ranks.
was_fired
06-04-05, 03:55 PM Huh your right, my bad. :P

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
yonman 06-03-05, 05:05 PM	Alright, I was looking at Animals and how they are calculating their skill points. I can't seem to reproduce their base skills so I'd like for anyone to shed some light. I do know that other types of monsters are consistent with how they are derived. Okay, first animals are calculated as Clerics receiving (2+INT modifier) x4 skill points at 1 HD with a minimum of 1 skill point if they have at least an INT of 1. Second, they receive 2+INT skill poins for each additional HD. So,,,Riding Dog from SRD: Hit Dice: 2d8+4 (13 hp) Abilities: Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6 Skills: Jump +8, Listen +5, Spot +5, Swim +3, Survival +1* Feats: Alertness, TrackB Skills Riding dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Jump checks. *Riding dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent. Since it's INT is a 2 it gets 1 skill point x4 at 1 HD plus 1 skill point at 2 HD = 5 skill points. 1) Jump gets +2 STR, +4 Racial = +6 out of +8 2) Listen gets +1 WIS, +2 Alertness = +3 out of +5 3) Spot gets +1 WIS, +2 Alertness = +3 out of +5 4) Swim gets +2 STR = +2 out of +3 5) Survival gets +1 WIS = +1 out of +1 Therefore, there are 7 skill points it needs to achieve the totals they have in the monster manual. You only have 7 points to spend so WHERE ARE the other skill points coming from? If you check other Animals you'll see similar calculations, but if you do other monsters you will NOT. Any help here?
yonman 06-03-05, 05:24 PM	Actually I checked a few other creatures like the Nixie and found similar discrepancies. I hope i'm just not seeing something here or am miscalculating. Any input?
the_poison_elf 06-03-05, 05:59 PM	you're not missing anything as far as i'm aware of. animals just don't seem to go by how many skill points it says they should have.
yonman 06-03-05, 06:05 PM	Then what's the point in even having the skill point description for them at all...anyone else have input?
Wolf72 06-03-05, 06:44 PM	the point is they're supposed to make sense across the board (well it took me forever to read that vermin don't really get skill points, they are just assigned bonuses to the skills)... someone (the writers) made quite a few skill point errors. I think it was a hasty cut/paste job and someone just wasn't paying as much attention as s/he should have. most of the skill points aren't to far off though, so just live with it and correct it as you go along (small post-its come in handy for that)
was_fired 06-03-05, 07:31 PM	Simple you calculated jump wrong: +2 Str + 2 Speed + 4 racial = 8 It has no skillpoints invested into jump. It just as a natural speed of 40ft.
Wolf72 06-04-05, 02:23 PM	good call WF
The Abominable Darkling 06-04-05, 02:40 PM	Except that the bonus to Jump for having a high speed is +4, not +2. The dog ought to have Jump +10 without any skill ranks.
was_fired 06-04-05, 03:55 PM	Huh your right, my bad. :P