Okay, I think I got this worked out. There's no more hierarchy system. Skills is skills, and ranks is ranks. No multipliers.
1 Skill point or $1000 buys 1 + ability bonus Non-Combat Training ranks.
Skills are no longer very generalized or very specific. Jump is jumping. Bluffing is bluffing. Check the Hypertext d20 and the WOTC links to the right for lists and descriptions (On the WOTC link check the SRD links for System Reference Documents).
The only difference is some consolidation. For instance Craft Electronics, Repair, and Disable device under the d20 Modern system are all the same skill: Electronics. If you have ranks in Electronics, you can use, craft, repair, or disable electronic devices. Same for Mechanics, Architecture, Chemistry, etc.
I also just discovered the Skill Synergies which I think is an idea good enough to rip off-I mean use, or should I say "leverage" because that's all the fucking rage nowadays. Anyway, the gist is for every 5 ranks in one skill you get +2 in another related skill. DM's discretion.
Character sheets have been adjusted, everything is pretty close to where it was, excepting the ridiculous.
Training Adjustment Again
Musings on the Training System
I don't like my training system. It is too complicated for a "quick" d20 system. Quick for me since I know the math and do it quickly, a bitch for anyone else. The hierarchical system leads to an extremely rapid advancement of bonuses, which makes low level characters too powerful. The answer, I thought, would be to advance difficulty ratings just as quick. But there's a limit in that, when rolling a d20, the entire point in the first place, becomes useless.
For example, the sort of quantum physics mathematics Dr. Ritenrong uses is very difficult. In very short order he's achieved a +34 to do it. Which means the highest non-critical success he can achieve is 19+34, a DC of 53. He will never (non-critically) fail any DC under 36.
However, in general math, his range is 16 to 35. He will almost guaranteed solve the math problem if it is a complex dimensional topography equation, but if its a relatively simple calculus problem he will potentially fail it.
While this makes for an interesting, sort of absent minded, totally focused on one thing character, it seems to be the only kind of character this system will produce (if hierarchies are employed).
Take jumping. The hierarchy goes:
Athletics 1 (+1) ->Jumping 1 (+2) ->Long Jump 1 (+3) -> Jumping the Crick 1(+4)
Lets say Doc puts some training into jumping the crick. 1 skill point buys 1+Str. Bonus (0), so 1 rank. Now it's Jumping the Crik 2 (+8). The crick jump is a DC 10. At +8, Doc will never fail this jump (unless it's a critical failure). What if he's making the jump in a heavy thunderstorm (DC+5) while carrying an 80lb backpack (DC+5)? Now the DC is 20, and Doc has a better chance of failing it; he has to roll at least a 12.
Now lets bump Doc's training a bit more; another rank in Crick Jumping gives him a +12. Now he has to roll 8 or better to succeed. Another bump gives him +16, he has to roll 4 or better. At 5 ranks in Crick Jumping he's got a +20, and will never fail this jump in these conditions.
The next time he jumps the crick, it's hailing grapefruits, the ground is covered in ice, he's carrying a backpack and Thunderhorse, who is also wearing a backpack. Lets make this a DC 40. Add another 5 training ranks to Crick Jumping and he's at +40 and cannot fail the jump.
Let's look at the hierarchy again:
Athletics 1 (+1) ->Jumping 1 (+2) ->Long Jump 1(+3) -> Jumping the Crik10 (+40)
We've never added any ranks to Long Jump or even Jump. He can make an incredible, superheroic leap across the crick, but has little chance of winning a high-school track meet.
We've spent 10 points in training him. If Doc learns nothing but crick jumping for two levels, he's got this outrageous bonus. Lets say Doc has an 18 strength. Each time he trains in a strength skill, he gets 5 ranks in it. He gets this +40 bonus by only spending two skill points. If he spent the entire two levels jumping the crick, he's got a bonus of +200. He can jump the crick while it's raining molten lead, the area is undergoing a 10.0 earthquake, the crick is flooding with lava, the banks of it have become entirely frictionless, he's suffering from radiation sickness, he's carrying a full-scale solid depleted-uranium sculpture of Orson Wells on horseback, and he does a 10-point backflip. At level 2. Yet he still can't get over the high-bars. What's his success-fail range, again? 202 - 219. No real point in rolling dice anymore, is there?
Now let's say that you can't put more ranks into training deeper into the hierarchy than you have higher up. Lets go back to level 1:
Str: 18 (+4)
Athletics 10 (+14) -> Jump 5 (+14) -> Long jump 5 (+19) -> Crick Jumping 5 (+24).
We've spent 5 skill points, and we had to put one into Athletics before we can advance anything else. At level two, we keep going:
Athletics 15 (+19), Jump 15 (+34), Long jump 10 (+34), Crick Jumping 10 (+44)
Now what if, instead, we just put all 10 skill points into athletics in the first place?
Athletics 50 (+54).
Athletics covers a broad range of skills including jumping, swimming, climbing, etc. At level 2, Doc can defeat any superheroic strength challenge (although he can't do much else). There's no point putting ranks into training deeper in the hierarchy, he'll get a much better score against a much larger range of situations if he doesn't.
If we remove the ability bonus to training ranks, we remove the superhero acceleration problem, but the problem of hierarchy devaluation remains the same.
Athletics 3 (+7), Jump 3 (+10), Long Jump 2 (+10), Crick Jump 2 (+12)
vs.
Athletics 10 (+14)
Lets go way back to the original scheme: No ability bonus to training and no restrictions on rank placement other than having at least 1 rank in a higher place on the hierarchy (still Str 18):
Athletics 1 (+5), Jump 1(+6), Long jump 1 (+7), Crick Jump 7 (+32).
vs.
Athletics 10 (+14)
Okay, that's better, probably why I did it that way in the first place. Still have the problem of imbalanced skill. Doc can still practically walk on air over the crick, but still has trouble with the pole vault. A little more reasonable, but still imbalanced system.
Oh, well, it was a fun experiment, but a revamping is definitely required. I'll be working on it, and I'll post more about it later.
Training
*NOTE: This article is outdated
Characters start out with 5 Training classes appropriate to his/her chosen profession.
Characters also start out with 1 Combat training skill depending on Race. All human characters can use Clubs without penalty.
1 Skill point or $1000 buys 1 + applicable ability bonus Non-Combat Training ranks, or 1 Combat training rank.
Studying a training class from a book or other media takes two weeks per rank and has a challenge rating appropriate to the material, while researching new classes on your own takes a month per rank and also has a challenge rating appropriate to the subject.
Non-Combat Training
Non-combat classes grant the character bonuses to D20 checks in specific situations. They are associated with an Ability, and it's bonus is applied to any checks made against the training.
Combat Training
Combat classes include Techniques and Proficiencies. Proficiencies are applied to weapons or classes of weapons. The levels are Use, Proficiency, Specialization, and Master. General Use negates the -4 penalty associated with using that equipment. Proficiency grants the character a +2 to attack and damage, or defense and maneuverability in the case of armor. Specialization is a +4 to the applicable statistics for a particular style or model of weapon/armor. Mastery grants a +6 or better.
Some Techniques can be Improved, Advanced, or Master. Some have specific requirements in order to get them, such as a high Dexterity, or other techniques.
Non-Combat Classes *These classes may only be used if Trained, meaning that class or subclass has ranks.
- Strength classes
- Jump
- Climb
- Swim
- Lift
- Play [Sport]
- Dexterity classes
- Balance
- Tumble*
- Hide
- Sneak
- Sleight of hand*
- Escape artist*
- Drive [Vehicle]
- Pilot [Vehicle]
- Ride [Animal]
- Constitution classes
- Concentration
- Hold Breath
- Tolerance [chemical/condition] (alcohol, iocane powder, the flu, dehydration, etc)*
- Intelligence Classes
- Knowledge of [Science / Study]
- [Specific languages]*
- Search
- Research
- Investigate
- Navigation
- Mechanics
- Electronics
- Architecture
- Chemistry
- [Craft, Repair, Disable other Device/Medium]
- Wisdom Classes
- Survival
- Gambling
- Listen
- Spot
- Sense Motive
- Treat Injury
- Meditation
- Animal Handling
- Charisma Classes
- Barter
- Bluff
- Intimidate
- Diplomacy
- Gather info
- Disguise
- Craft [Art]
- Perform [Medium] (Act, dance, sing, comedy, etc)
- Play [Instrument]*
- Light Armor (leather, kevlar, etc)
- Medium Armor (ceramic, chainmail, etc)
- Heavy Armor (full plate, led-lined etc)
- Shields (bucklers, wood shields)
- Medium Shields (body shields, riot shield, etc)
- Heavy Shields (tower shields, etc)
- Clubs (wood clubs, nightsticks, improvised objects, etc)
- Maces (hammers, small flails, etc)
- Warhammers (heavy flails, etc)
- Blades (daggers, bayonets, etc)
- Swords (short swords, longswords, katanas, etc)
- Great Swords (dai-katanas, claymores, etc)
- Axes (hatchets, wood axes)
- Battle Axes (war axe, tomahawk, etc)
- Great Axes (heavy battleaxe, etc)
- Poles (spears, pikes, staves, etc)
- Long Poles ( halberds, forks, naganata, etc)
- Heavy Pikes (heavy halberds, etc)
- Bows (slingshots, short bows, dartguns)
- Long Bows (English bows, compound bows, etc)
- Crossbows
- Firearms (simple weaponshand guns, shotguns, rifles)
- Advanced Firearms (assault rifles, mortars, RPGs, machine guns)
- Heavy Weapons (cannons, artillery, missile launchers, etc)
- Throw (sling, atlatl, improvised items, etc)
- Knives (daggers, shuriken, etc)
- Heavy Thrown Weapons (tomahawks, javelins, discus, etc)
- Hand-To-Hand: Improve non-lethal hand-to-hand damage to 1d6
- Combat Martial Arts - Hand-to-hand does 1d6 lethal damage, Atk +3 required
- Advanced Hand-to-Hand: Improve non-lethal h2h damage to 1d8
- Advanced Combat M. Arts - H2H does 1d8 Lethal damage, Atk +6 and Combat MA required.
- Master Hand-to-hand: Improve non-lethal hand-to hand damage to 1d10
- Master Combat M. Arts - H2H does 1d10 Lethal damage, Atk +9 and Adv. Combat MA required.
- Knockout Punch: Critical hit for H2h combat is a natural 19-20, 13 Str required
- Advanced Knockout: Critical hit for H2H is 18-20, 15 Str Required
- Master Knockout: Critical hit for H2h is 17-20, 17 Str required
- Combat Reflexes: Make up to 1 + Dex Bonus Attacks of Opportunity per round
- Counter-attack: Take an attack of opportunity when an opponent misses you, Dex 13 required
- Defensive Martial Arts - +1 to dodge melee attacks
- Advanced Defensive MA - +2 to dodge melee attacks, Dex 13 Required
- Master Defensive MA - +4 to dodge melee attacks, Dex 15 Required
- Combat Throw - +2 to Str/Dex on trips and grapples
- Advanced Combat Throw - Free trip when opponent misses, Atk +3 required
- Elusive Target - -4 to ranged attacks against you in melee, Dex 13 required
- Unbalance Opponent - Opponent does not receive Str bonus to melee attacks against you, only damage, Atk +6 required
- Dodge - +1 dodge bonus to single opponent, Dex 13 required
- Advanced Dodge - +2 dodge to 1 target or +1 to 2 targets, Dex 15 required
- Master Dodge - +3 dodge to 1 target, +2 to 2, or +1 to 3, Dex 17 require
- Mobile Target - -4 penalty to attacks of opportunity against you, Dex 13 required
- Spring Attack - Move, attack, move again. Atk +4 required
- Marksmanship techniques: (must be able to use firearms or bows)
- Long Shot - increase ranged weapons reach by 50%
- Dead Aim - +2 to attack if spent a full round aiming
- Precise Shot - Negate -4 penalty on firing ranged weapons into melee
- Bounce Shot - Ignore cover, -2 to attack, -1 to damage
- Quick Draw - Draw weapon as free action, Atk +1 Required
- Quick Load - Reload weapons as free or move action instead of move or full round
- Point Blank Shot - +1 to attack and damage on ranged attack up to 30'
- Double-tap - -4 to attack, double damage for semi-auto weapons, Dex 13 required
- Two Arrows - -4 to attack, double damage for bow weapons, Dex 13 required
- Burst Fire - -4 to attack, double damage on full-auto ranged weapons
- Strafe - Area of effect for Automatic weapons can be 20' by 5'
- Power Attack - Subtract from melee attack to add to damage, Str 13 required
- Cleave - Extra attack after dropping and opponent
- Improved Cleave - Cleave repeatedly while dropping opponents
- Dual Wield - Penalties for dual wielding are reduced to -2/-6, Dex 13 required
- Advanced Dual Wield - DW penalties are -0/-4, Dex 15 required
- Master Dual Wield - DW Penalties are -0/-2, Dex 17 required.
