Originally Posted by
ImperiousLeader
Since Bounded Accuracy and Modules are going to be things in 5th, may I suggest the following:
Skills are used as "DC reducers" and use an adjective ladder, as in Fate and one of Monte's early ruminations on skills. These adjectives match a series of standard DCs. For example:
Master: 20
Great: 15
Good: 10
Average: 5
For example, Bob, the skillful Rogue has "Great Stealth", "Good Diplomacy" and "Average Arcane Lore". When Bob is called to make a (DEX) stealth check, if the DC is less than Great, he doesn't need to roll, he simply succeeds. If the DC is higher, he rolls against a lower DC defined by difference between his skill and the DC required plus one step on the ladder. So a Master Level Stealth check for Bob requires a Good DEX check (DC 10), while untrained Laura has to make the 20.
This, to me, has a few advantages. One, it's allows skillful PCs to have that reliability, their skills mean something. It keeps number inflation down, and it doesn't require new information in an adventure. And PCs are still rolling their d20 + ability modifier whether skills are in the game or not.