I have been inspired by some ideas crafted with expertise by our fellows:
Crafting Rules by Skio (sorry)
Low Power, High Impact Variant Rule: Talents by Herogoeth
Thank you for your help guys.
This is my new system for the great skills that were dropped in 4th. I want to open up potential paths for a character to take outside of their class.
Upon character creation you have any three secondary skills. These can be any Craft, Profession or Perform skill the DM okays.
Secondary skills are not rolled. They each provide special benefits to the game. These benefits can be enhance by gaining feats and training.
If you have a secondary skill you may seek further mastery of it by learning from someone who is better at the craft than you.
Example:
Secondary Skill (Profession):
Herbalist
Secondary Skill (Craft):
Blacksmith
Secondary Skill (Perform):
Floutist
Profession:
Show
To acquire a Profession, you must seek a trainer and work as an assistant. This requires a time commitment but allows you to have a steady income even during down-time. This income only comes if you spend your whole day working.
Your character may give special assistance to anyone with one of the profession feats even if he doesn't have the feat yourself. When you do this your master may perform other actions and still gain an income (This does not apply to adventuring, which is far too time consuming.) The amount of time they take off is based on their level of training. A Heroic Professional can spend 3 hours everyday elsewhere and leave his work in your hands. A Paragon Professional can spend 5 hours everyday elsewhere. An Epic Professional can spend 8 hours elsewhere. Providing assistance only works if you
spend your whole day working.
HEROIC PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Wis 12, You spend one month working with someone who has the Heroic Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You can find temporary work assisting local professionals. You understand your craft and can provide better assistance than the laymen. You may gain a +1 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 100gp.
PARAGON PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Heroic Profession, 11th level, You spend one month working with someone with the Paragon Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You are capable of doing your profession well by yourself. You probably own your own tools or have a meager workshop. Other professionals consider your assistance a boon. You may gain a +2 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 200gp.
EPIC PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Paragon Profession, 21st level, You spend one month working with someone with the Epic Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You are a master of your profession. You can build the tools you need to work and have a exceptional workshop. People come from miles around to gain access to your skills. You may gain a +3 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 500gp.
Example: You are attempting to cross a flimsy rope bridge. The party Rogue attempts to tighten the knots holding the bridge up. She points out that she has Profession(sailor) and therefore knows how to tie some complicated knots. The DM rules that it is applicable so she gains a +1 profession bonus from her Heroic Profession feat.
Your character may give special assistance to anyone with one of the profession feats even if he doesn't have the feat yourself. When you do this your master may perform other actions and still gain an income (This does not apply to adventuring, which is far too time consuming.) The amount of time they take off is based on their level of training. A Heroic Professional can spend 3 hours everyday elsewhere and leave his work in your hands. A Paragon Professional can spend 5 hours everyday elsewhere. An Epic Professional can spend 8 hours elsewhere. Providing assistance only works if you
spend your whole day working.
HEROIC PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Wis 12, You spend one month working with someone who has the Heroic Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You can find temporary work assisting local professionals. You understand your craft and can provide better assistance than the laymen. You may gain a +1 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 100gp.
PARAGON PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Heroic Profession, 11th level, You spend one month working with someone with the Paragon Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You are capable of doing your profession well by yourself. You probably own your own tools or have a meager workshop. Other professionals consider your assistance a boon. You may gain a +2 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 200gp.
EPIC PROFESSION
Prerequisites: Paragon Profession, 21st level, You spend one month working with someone with the Epic Profession feat, the applicable secondary skill.
Benefit: You are a master of your profession. You can build the tools you need to work and have a exceptional workshop. People come from miles around to gain access to your skills. You may gain a +3 Profession bonus to skill challenges that your profession applies to.
Paycheck: For every week you are employed you gain 500gp.
Example: You are attempting to cross a flimsy rope bridge. The party Rogue attempts to tighten the knots holding the bridge up. She points out that she has Profession(sailor) and therefore knows how to tie some complicated knots. The DM rules that it is applicable so she gains a +1 profession bonus from her Heroic Profession feat.
The original thread http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1060113
Interesting extension, I'll bookmark this to come back to when I have more time.
And the profession is a good idea for producing that cash you want to spend at the local brot... Pub.
Performance I don't quite understand, can you explain it a little better to me?
Perform was originally more of a "gain a small amount of money during downtime" skill but if that's why you want the perform skill you can just say Profession(street musician).
I'm not sure what you mean by free "feat", but I think it is a misunderstanding.
I'm thinking this write up is a little confusing. I'm hoping to slim it down, any ideas?
You can [sblock] stuff to make it easier to read.
Better explanation of how the system works. That's about the only thing I can say.
It's overcomplicated at the moment, very 3rd edition.
I will go back and modify the text.