House rule for skills, skill points and Campaign traits

All classes which receive only 2-4 skill points:

- increase that amount to 5 skill points per level. The extra skill points above the base line may be used on background skills at the players own whim. Thus fighters can spend 3 skill points on background skills if they so wish.



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All classes:

1.  The alternate skill rules: Background skills, are used and in effect in the Middle-Earth campaign.

-Player characters and NPC´s in the Middle-Earth Campaign Setting use the background skill rules. Two per level to be spent on skills found on the background skill list:

Appraise
Artistry
Craft
Handle Animal
Knowledge (engineering)
Knowledge (geography)
Knowledge (history)
Knowledge (nobility)
Linguistics
Lore
Perform
Profession
Sleight of Hand

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2. Career class skills:
- All classes have their own list of class skills. In addition to those class skills, every character get to pick two extra skills to become class skills for them. Career class skills are similar to class skills; easy for your character to become more proficient in these skills, as they represent an extended part of the character´s professional training and constant practice.

The career class skills does not grant more skill ranks per level!

Example 1: Fighters can choose sense motive and perception from the skill list, and thus turning them into Career class skills for them.

Fighters with experience at investigating and talking with people, make them more valid for guard duty. Without such skills a soldier guarding a city gate would have great difficulty in stopping smugglers to enter the city, and finding any stolen or illegal goods they might carry.

Example 2: Barbarian with Knowledge: nobility and Knowledge: Local as Career class skills:

The aristocrat which have dabbled into slave politics all of his life, has given him the belief that anybody should have the possibility to be free and live their own life. Whenever he sees innocent people enslaved and forced to work a rage inside him builds up to a point where he is about to burst. The barbarian manages to keep his calm, and focus on other and better ways to help those in captivity. He will fight with politics firsthand. And then, if words does not suffice, maybe the barbarian will pull out his bastard sword and free them himself.



These skills represent a personal preference of the character or career which they pursue, and should reflect areas which they favor or wish to focus on.



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Skill alterations:

- Use magic device is still a class skill to Rogues, and counts as if they are a caster when touching a wand. Thus they suffer less retribution on mishaps with wands.



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Commoners and experts in the daily life work hard, educate themselves and train. 1 skill point usually represents 1 year of hard work. Thus a young expert with [Craft: armor] and [Craft: weapon] as class skills, most likely have spent at least 4 years to improve his craft as an experienced smith if he has 2 skill points in both skills.

He might be good, but not yet good enough to become a grand smith who is able to create Castleforged weapons and armor (masterwork items) to the local lord and his soldiers. He will need to work harder for many years to become better to catch the attention of the nobility. Finding and working under a tutor is be a good way to speed up his progress.

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Mages guild member:

Even individuals without magical aptitude may be allowed to join the mages guild at rank 1, as long as they have something to contribute to the guild. You will receive basic training in spellcraft and the wonders of the world, body and mind. These members will never rise in rank unless they show a unmatched effort of dedication, or by aiding the guild in such a way as to draw attention from the higher ranked members. High level members with low rank usually serve as guardians of the mages guild (monster hunters, witch hunters, guild knights).

You may choose to invest skill points in Spellcraft, and receive a +1 [guild bonus] to spellcraft (+2 if the character is an elf as magery comes more natural to elves) after spending at least one rank in the skill. The membership grants you access to the magic vaults archives, which yields a +1 [guild bonus] to checks involved in magic item research, Knowledge Arcana, The Planes and Dungeoneering. May also barter with the mages guild. You may teach Spellcraft to other members as long as the guild approves. Teaching outsiders without approval may result in loss of membership and all its benefits and appliances.

Reaching level 5: Earns you an increase in the mages guild rank by one step, usually to Rank 2. The new rank grants a +2 guild bonus (+3 if elven). May barter for more powerful magic items or spells.


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Skill utility:

Silent Sliding: Stealth. You can use Stealth to manipulate objects silently that would otherwise make noise, such as squeaky doors, floors, or winches. You must have a set of thieves’ tools and spend a full-round action silencing the object, or you take a -2 penalty on the check.


Spellcraft: Smell the Supernatural I.

Requirement: elf, dark elf, celestial or fiendish blood, gnome or other similar magical race (GM´s discretion). Other races get a +10 to the DC.

You can make Spellcraft checks or Caster level chekcs to determine the presence of supernatural abilities or creatures in within 60 feet or which you’ve seen in action. Does not reveal information like detect magic does or when using spellcraft to identify spells or powers. Can also use Smell the Supernatural to sense mana zone changes in the air.

At 5 ranks in spellcraft [Smell the Supernatural II]: Concentrate for a full round and sense the spiritual power, Ki, psionic energy, or any supernatural energy which a entity radiate passively. Roll a spellcraft check to determine the strength of the aura (same as the "power aura table" described under the Detect evil spell) DC:15+HD. Failure: works like [Supernatural I]. Failure and the targets HD is greater than yours; only reveal that there is an overwhelming aura of power so great that it instills fear in you, rendering you shaken for one round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you fail the DC.


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