Post/Author/DateTime

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InkBlot 08-01-07, 09:01 PM

When Saga came out, the gears in my head, like those in so many other people's heads, started turning and churning. In particular, the changes to the skill system highlighted what I don't like about D&D's skill system, but I still don't like Saga's. It goes too far in the opposite direction; it doesn't allow for enough differentiation between characters. So here's my proposal: - Nix skill points - Nix cross class skills - Classes have a list of skills they are proficient with - Nonproficiency with a skill means you take a -2 penalty to checks with it - You can increase your ranks in a number of different skills equal to the number of skill points you would have gotten under the default rules. You can forego increasing one skill in exchange for a skill trick (other trick prereqs remain). - Skills start at +1 at 1st level, instead of +4. All DCs and skill requirements are decreased by 3 to adjust for this. For example, lets say you're playing a bard with a 13 Int. Each time you level up, you choose any 7 skills to increase by +1 each. If you try to make a Ride check, you take a -2 penalty because bards aren't proficient in the Ride skill. If next level you took a level of Fighter, you would become proficient in the Ride skill, but you could only choose 3 skills to increase by +1 each. This is designed to increase the variety of skills each character is good at using, while still allowing customization. This way you can have skill challenges in your adventures without having to constantly check to make sure the PCs have enough ranks in those skills. That seems to have been the intent behind Saga's skills.