Trading SkillPoints for Feats and vice versa

[Steven McRownt]

Very simple house rule.

Prerequisites for the house rules.
A character can save his skill points after he gains a level. He has not to spend them at once. (this prereq works better with training rules, where PCs has to find a mentor before gaining some more ranks in their skills)

THE HOUSE RULE
A charcater can swap 25 skill points for 1 feat.
A character can swap 1 feat for 20 skill points.

I am workin' on it, but after few diagrams nd calculations i think it's quite balanced.

i will now try to anticipate your comments
A fighter will probably think more to use this house rule (wow, even fighter thinks!). Sacrificing a feat for 20 skill points, can be pure gold for him, with his not high intelligence and minimum skill points per level.
A thief with average intelligence will have to renounce FOUR levels of skill points to have, at a fifth level a bonus feat. Perhaps a thief mastermind will take the idea in consideration, otherwise could be a great loss.
All the other character in the middle of the curse, will perhaps save some skill points, and see what will happen; my character in this way, found that 3 skill points the ranger saved, where indispensable to learn a skill to solve a puzzle: they found a mentor and used them in this way... the ranger started again later to save SkillP. for "better" times.

Is this system encourage the min-maxin munchkin? Perhaps. Probably yes. If you have such players in your groups, that's not my problem Skip this thread and find a way to eliminate them

Steven McRownt

 

[hong]

What problem are you seeking to solve with this house rule?

 

[Geoff Watson]

I'd probably allow swapping a Feat for skill points (about 4 points - has advantages and disadvantages compared with Skill Focus or a +2 to 2 skills Feat).
I don't think I'd allow feats for skill points though. It would either not work (as you can't normally save skill points) or would give Rogues (or high-Int characters) too many feats.

Geoff.

 

[AGGEMAM]

Or gain one extra feat at first level by giving up your x4 skill point multiplier at first level.

 

[Crothian]

I'd make the amount dependant on the amount of skill points the characters current class gets. It's easy fot the Rogue to get X number of skill points to trade for a feat, but very hard for the cleric.

So, I'd do something like:

skill points per level x3 can be traded for a feat. A cleric has to trade 6, a Ranger 12, and a rogue 24

And on the flip side a feat can be traded for skill points per level x 2. Fo a rogue can trade it for 16, but a cleric only 4.

Also, you'd have to use the class you just gained to get this. So, no taking one level of rogue to trade feats for that greater number of skill points. Or taking one level of cleric to be able to trade that small amount of skill points for a feat.

 

[Steven McRownt]

Hong, i am thinking at this house rule just because i want to give to my players the widest versatility in choices. There is no problem to be solved, nor i want to add a new one. I was simply trying to answer to a question a made to myself: is that possibile to trade skill points with feats? In which way?

Geoff, who will ever renounce to a feat just for skill points? They add, this is true, a couple of +2, but this bonus are made to break the level limit (Lvl+3 Class skill; Lvl+3/2 Cross Class skills), so their value is higher, much higher indeed.

Aggemam you point is a good one. It is impossible to take it a First Level . Consider this sentence added to the house rule.

Steven McRownt

 

[Steven McRownt]

Crothian You're right saying that a cleric will have a hard life with my house rule. In effect i was thinking to do something like your chart, but i would add -in this way- a sort of feat selection list (like the one the fighter has for the bonus feat, or the one in Monte Cook's Ranger).

What do you think?

Steven McRownt

 

[Crothian]

Would you do this for all classes? I think that would really add to this and I'd be tempted to allow PCs to get more out of it. Foir instance the cleric could spend less skill points to get a feat of a certain list. The reverse could salso be true. trading a feat or skill points for class skills would yield more skill points.

 

[Steven McRownt]

1st choice
Let's say that each feat has a different cost in skill points for each classes. That will make the trade quite good, but it will require a lot of work (too many feats around, now that there are so many handbooks available). And will leave unsolved the problem on the other directions: feats for skill points.

2nd choice
The original idea. Fix a tradind conversion table, different for each classes, because each classes has a different skill points per level progression.

3rd choice (something in the middle)
Using skill points for feat will allow each class to take a feats from a fixed list. Each class will have his conversion table. Perhaps it is not perfect, but quite versatile: no one has to calculate new conversion tables if new feats are throw into play, but make a quick consideration if put them in a list, or in another one...

Steven McRownt

 

[Crothian]

I like the first option. Instead of doing all this work by selecting the prive for each class for easch feat (and even just sticking with the PHB that would be too much work) just do it as you go. Worry only about the classes that PCs are playing. And even then do a few feats that are most common to get a base line. Then have the PCs ask how much different feats are and slowly complie a large data base of all the feats and the cost for the classes.

Of course if you find yourself with nothing to do one afternoon you can start pricing feats for future use. No one ever said the best way was the easy way. That is how I would do this if I were using such a system. It might take a few campaigns to get a complete list of everything, but it would be the most accurate way of doing things.