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#1 Xeviat-DM Aug 09, 2014 2:32:51

Okay, lets start this out by not turning this into a flame war. This is a thread for people looking for a way to codify improvisations so that DMs can feel empowered to not imbalance their games and so Players can feel empowered to make choices that won't be nerfed by DMs. It begins with the premise that spellcasters have more codified things they can do through their spells, and that non-casters want to be able to do cool things as well.   The goal for a Skill Trick system is to give non-casters (though casters can certainly use the system too) something cool to do in combat (and also exploration/interaction) with their skills. It cannot use a limited use resource. I'd prefer it to not have a feat buy in. The only buy in should be proficiency in a skill, though I'd entertain the idea that "low level" tricks can be done by anyone. Maybe tricks could have ability score requirements, which would partially limit certain things to higher levels. What the system does have to work with is action economy; skill tricks should cost actions, bonus actions, movement, or have penalties for failure. Bonus action tricks could be used to expand upon the Rogue's Cunning Action feature, making them masters of skill tricks.   As a reminder, here are the skills we have:   Strength - Athletics Dexterity - Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth Intelligence - Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion Wisdom - Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival Charisma - Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion   What are some benchmarks we have right now for what an action can do? First, we have Help, which is an action that gives an ally advantage on their next check; I'd say that spending an action on something that doesn't normally require an action could possibly give advantage to yourself (taking a little more time to do something right).   Dash allows double movement. When using a skill that normally calls for half speed, spending an action effectively returns that speed to full. Disengage and Dodge show the defensive applications of a spent action.   Before I start showing my ideas on what tricks we could have, does anyone else have any input on metrics for tricks? What types of things would you want to see skill tricks do? I'm intending on plumbing the depths of the spells, and perhaps even 4E's skill trick system (martial rituals almost) for ideas.