This is still just a working idea, but one idea I like is purchasing skill "tiers" rather than ranks, mostly for purposes of speeding up character generation. I'd use 4E's idea of giving a flat +1/2 character level bonus to all of your skill rolls. In addition, you get extra effects based on your tier:Lago PARANOIA wrote:[*] Skills: Honestly, I have no idea how to do that. 3E's system where after a certain point you kept dumping your same skill points into the same skills and never got a chance to use a new one was unsatisfying. However I also found 4E's system where skills advanced universally unsatisfying too. Suggestions?
Untrained
Minimum level: 1
Either you can't use the skill (if it's trained-only), or you can use it with just the basic functionality.
Proficient
Minimum level: 1
You gain a +4 competence bonus in your skill, and you have access to all the basic gimmicks of your skill.
Expert
Minimum level: 3
Any skill that takes more than one round takes half as long. You gain access to expert tricks for your skill. These are the things that you would expect from a "badass normal" type. They're still within line with what you'd expect from a "real" person, but they're definitely beyond ordinary. Extra long jumps, climbing difficult surfaces at increased speed, spotting something at an extreme distance, or hiding in plain sight with minimal distraction.
Master
Minimum level: 6
You can roll skill checks twice and take the better result. You can do really awesome stuff with your skills, such as: run up walls, balance on stuff like smoke, jump over buildings, see invisible stuff, hide in plain sight, sense magical auras, and whatever else seems cool.
The numbers here can totally be reworked, at what level you get them, and how many tiers there are. I just wrote this up assuming 10 levels. You might want one or two more tiers (paragon and virtuoso?) for a 20 level game. I haven't thought up a good advancement method. Obviously, skill points as they exist would have to be changed. What I like about this approach is it's relatively fast, it keeps people on the RNG, and you can do cool stuff with the skills based on your skill and not some stupid crazy high DC that you might hit at low level by cheesing magic items.