Revamped skill feats

[rferries]

Here are buffed versions of Alertness and it's cousins - intended to facilitate new archetypes. Organised roughly according to relevant ability score. All skill point gains are retroactive as well.

Agility [General]
You are graceful even in battle.

Prerequisites
Dex 12

Benefit
Balance, Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Balance, Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble.

Perspicacity [General]
You are remarkably observant.

Prerequisites
Wis 12

Benefit
Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot.

Sagacity [General]
You are well-versed in lore.

Prerequisites
Int 12

Benefit
All Knowledge are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in Knowledge skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Knowledge skills.

Suavity [General]
You are adept at the social graces (and the inverse thereof).

Prerequisites
Cha 12

Benefit
Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate.

Tenacity [General]
You are incredibly self-sufficient.

Prerequisites
Con 12

Benefit
Concentration, Escape Artist, Heal, and Survival are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Concentration, Escape Artist, Heal, and Survival.

Vitality [General]
You have tremendous physical prowess.

Prerequisites
Str 12

Benefit
Climb, Jump, Ride, and Swim are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Climb, Jump, Ride, and Swim.

[AOKost]

Here are buffed versions of Alertness and it's cousins - intended to facilitate new archetypes. Organised roughly according to relevant ability score. All skill point gains are retroactive as well.

Agility [General]
You are graceful even in battle.

Prerequisites
Dex 12

Benefit
Balance, Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.
I'm glad Pathfinder grouped Hide and Move Silently into Stealth and Balance and and Tumble into Acrobatics... It makes things so much less skill intensive!

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Balance, Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble.
I like it... great incentive for any stealth type character to take this modified feat!


Perspicacity [General]
You are remarkably observant.

Prerequisites
Wis 12

Benefit
Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.
Another case where I'm happy that Pathfinder has incorporated sever skills into one: Perception thankfully covers Listen, search and Spot, so this feat could work with Perception and Sense motives perfectly. Making this a great feat for any character to take. Especially since it virtually would almost gaurontee (if you've got Sense Motive and Perception maxed already) that you could keep those skills easily maxed at all times.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot.

Sagacity [General]
You are well-versed in lore.

Prerequisites
Int 12

Benefit
All Knowledge are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in Knowledge skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Knowledge skills.

Simply yes!

Suavity [General]
You are adept at the social graces (and the inverse thereof).

Prerequisites
Cha 12

Benefit
Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate.

Perfect for any Face character if they normally wouldn't be!

Tenacity [General]
You are incredibly self-sufficient.

Prerequisites
Con 12

Benefit
Concentration, Escape Artist, Heal, and Survival are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Concentration, Escape Artist, Heal, and Survival.

Perfect for the Scout/Ranger kind of character. Very nice. I like it a lot.

Vitality [General]
You have tremendous physical prowess.

Prerequisites
Str 12

Benefit
Climb, Jump, Ride, and Swim are always considered class skills for you. Gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat.

You gain two bonus skill points each level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on Climb, Jump, Ride, and Swim.
Again, very nice.


These feats are wonderful adaptations! I very much appreciate them, though some might feel they are a little too powerful, granting too many class skills or too many skill points. I feel they can very easily help flesh out a character's back ground story and give some nice bonuses. Sagacity would be a feat I'd take as virtually any character that didn't have Knowledge skills. Then again, I usually play characters that want to delve into knowledge even if their start off as a barbarian... they usually have at least a 12 Int...

[rferries]

Ha thanks! Yes they're much more powerful than the base 3.5 feats, but hopefully nothing game-breaking.

[johnbragg]

Ha thanks! Yes they're much more powerful than the base 3.5 feats, but hopefully nothing game-breaking.

They are more powerful than the book feats, but that's not a bad thing--the PHB skill feats are very mediocre. These allow a character to diversify at the cost of a single feat--a Fighter can be a passable face or an educated minor noble. I don't see much potential for abuse--they only really benefit a character who's expanding outside of their class stereotype.

I'd suggest one to represent an outdoorsy background--Ride, Knowledge(NAture), Handle Animal, Survival. You were raised in the woods so's you knew ev'ry tree, etc. Even if you grew up to be some class other than druid/ranger/barbarian.

[Baby Gary]

I really like this, If you don't mind I think I might talk to my DM about letting me use this. can I use this?

[rferries]

They are more powerful than the book feats, but that's not a bad thing--the PHB skill feats are very mediocre. These allow a character to diversify at the cost of a single feat--a Fighter can be a passable face or an educated minor noble. I don't see much potential for abuse--they only really benefit a character who's expanding outside of their class stereotype.

I'd suggest one to represent an outdoorsy background--Ride, Knowledge(NAture), Handle Animal, Survival. You were raised in the woods so's you knew ev'ry tree, etc. Even if you grew up to be some class other than druid/ranger/barbarian.

There's plenty of room for expansion - this set was focused around what I felt were the best skills for each ability score. There could easily be an outdoorsy one like you suggest, a Bluff/Disguise/Forgery etc one for duplicitous characters, an Disable Device/Open Lock/Sleight of Hand/etc one for pseudo-Rogue characters, etc.


I really like this, If you don't mind I think I might talk to my DM about letting me use this. can I use this?

Sure, that'll be $999.99 please! (Ha go wild, and I'm glad you approve!).

[Baby Gary]

maybe change it to something like you chose one ability and chose 3 or 4 (up to you to decide) skills that use that ability. Then you have to have at least 13 in that ability (you can change that) and you get the good things in the OP. I think that that would be very useful in helping character having a broader expertise.

[rferries]

maybe change it to something like you chose one ability and chose 3 or 4 (up to you to decide) skills that use that ability. Then you have to have at least 13 in that ability (you can change that) and you get the good things in the OP. I think that that would be very useful in helping character having a broader expertise.

Yeah, that works too (except for Constitution, its only associated skill is Concentration). Perhaps even something totally general, like this:

Savant [General]
You are adept at a few select skills.

Prerequisites
Int 12.

Benefit
Choose four skills. The chosen skills are always treated as class skills for you (gain one skill point for each cross-class rank you have already invested in those skills when you take this feat).

You gain two bonus skill points per level (with quadruple skill points for first level). Spend these skill points only on skills you chose for this feat.

Special
You may select Savant more than once. Each time you do, choose four new skills. The bonus skill points from Savant may spent on skills you chose from a different instance of selecting Savant.

[Baby Gary]

I think that int 14 would be better, that is a rather powerful feat

[johnbragg]

Savant pick-whatever is a lot less flavorful. I'd still recommend background-based feats.

You were raised in a seagoing village, so Profession-Sailor, Use Rope, Swim and maybe Climb are in-class skills.
Country boy--Ride, Handle Animal, Survival, Knowledge-Nature.
Downwardly mobile nobility--Knowledge History, Nobility, Arcana and Religion.
Street urchin--Hide, Bluff, Sense Motive, Knowledge-Local

[redwizard007]

I love the concept. It gives a lot of flexibility to the feat heavy classes, and Lord knows that one in particular needs that.

I do think they are a little over powered, but nothing over the top. The only changes I'd suggest would be increasing the ability requirements to 14, and allowing each feat to affect 2 (maybe 3) skills. It would still allow customization but be a little less of a "must take."

I'm also curious to see how this could impact qualifying for prestige classes at earlier levels. I believe there are a few that use skill ranks from separate class lists to achieve their entry requirements.

[jqavins]

So many new feats that I've read seem to come from a place of "Wouldn't it be cool if a character could..." and end up granting a cool but overpowerful ability that contributes to general character power inflation. (New classes are the same.)

This is not one of those. Sure, it's more powerful than the existing skill buff feats, but as John Bragg stated, the existing ones are terribly underpowered to begin with.

For a generalized version, I would drop the requirement that all four skills use the same stat, and replace it with a requirement that the skills be related by a common theme. The prereq would then be that all the applicable attributes be 12 (or 13 or 14?) or better; that would lead to their often being all the same, but they needn't be. The issue then is what "related by a common theme" means. It would have to be a matter of the player selling it to the GM. The player should be encouraged to relate the theme to a backstory, and the GM should be encouraged to make it a pretty easy sale as long as the player is giving it a reasonably good try. I know some people are bothered by rules that require judgment calls, but I would be OK with it; I guess it depends on the group you play with.