Skills

Jason

Let’s talk about skills. (Well, I’ll type about them and you’ll read what I type… it’s sort of a lopsided, one-way talk, except you’re not getting a lecture from the principal this time.)

Skills are things that you can do that may or may not succeed, and therefore require a roll. You can improve your chances at succeeding by putting ranks in a skill. Your class will give you a certain amount of skill points per level, which will generally be 2, 4, or 6 + your Intelligence modifier. If your modifier is negative and the total is 0 or less, you still get 1 point every level. You pay for ranks with your points on a one-to-one basis.

Here are some important things to know:

  • You can’t have more ranks in a skill than you have levels: at 1st level, you can only put one rank in any skill.
  • Some skills require training to use. They usually have an asterisk on the character sheet. What this means is, if you don’t have any ranks in that skill, you can’t use that skill. For example, while anyone can try to be quiet with Stealth, only a person who has put work into it can have any hope of using Disable Device, and only people who have studied up can remember things with a Knowledge skill.
  • Your class will give you a list of class skills. These are skills that your class naturally can do well. For example, a barbarian may be great at Intimidate, while a wizard will likely have Knowledge (arcana).
  • If you have at least one rank in a class skill, you get a +3 bonus to that skill.
  • If you aren’t in a rush, you can Take 10 on a physical skill check instead of rolling for it. It represents taking your time and getting an average result. Some skills (like Knowledge or Bluff) don’t allow this, because they represent knowing something or bluffing someone right then and there. When you take 10, you pretend you rolled a 10, then add your bonuses as normal.
  • If you have a lot of time, you can Take 20 on those skills, too. This represents working very, very slowly, making completely sure you’re doing your best job possible. Pretend you rolled a 20, and add your bonuses as normal.

Here are all the skills in the game. Be aware that, since this is the official site, it has a lot of info from a lot of different sources, including ones that probably won’t apply to you. (For example, if you’re looking at Perception, you can safely ignore the “Read Aura” section and everything below it.)

Favored Class Bonuses

Now’s a good a time as any to address this.

“Favored class” isn’t anything you generally have to worry about unless you’re planning on taking three or more classes. Just mark your level-1 class as your favored class and you’ll be golden.

Your class may have specific favored class bonuses for your race. You can take one bonus every level, OR you can choose to add one extra hp or add one extra skill point. Most of the time, I think you should take the hp or the skill point.

And in case it wasn’t clear, you get one of these bonuses at first level, too!

Humans

If you’re a human, you get one extra skill point per level. So if your class says “2 + Int modifier”, you really get “3 + Int modifier”.

Humans also get a second feat at 1st level for free, no -2 racial stat penalty, and a +2 bonus to any stat (Strength, Intelligence, etc) of your choosing. This is why human is a popular choice. Don’t be afraid to be human if none of the other races really mesh with your personality.

Multi-Skills

Craft, Perform and Profession are special skills, in that they are actually multiple skills. If you put a rank into one of these, you must choose a specific type.

The types of things you can Craft are: alchemy, armor, baskets, books, bows, calligraphy, carpentry, cloth, clothing, glass, jewelry, leather, locks, paintings, pottery, sculptures, ships, shoes, stonemasonry, traps, and weapons.

The Perform skill can be used for: act, comedy, dance, keyboard, oratory, percussion, string, wind, and singing.

The list of Professions is architect, baker, barrister (lawyer), brewer, butcher, clerk, cook, courtesan, driver, engineer, farmer, fisherman, gambler, gardener, herbalist, innkeeper, librarian, merchant, midwife, miller, miner, porter, sailor, scribe, shepherd, stable master, soldier, tanner, trapper, and woodcutter.

You are free to put ranks in as many of these as you’d like. You can craft weapons and baskets, while also singing and dancing, making you the best baker/sailor the world has ever seen!

Background Skills

This is an optional rule we’re using. In a typical Pathfinder game, some skills get used more often. Like, a LOT more often. But you may want to explore other options without setting yourself back by not investing in the “right” skills. This lets you do both.

This is how it works:

  • Use your normal skills points to get ranks in whichever skills you want.
  • After you’ve done this, you get two bonus skill points that can only be used in these skills:
    • Appraise
    • Craft (all of them)
    • Handle Animal
    • Knowledge (engineering)
    • Knowledge (history)
    • Knowledge (nobility)
    • Linguistics
    • Perform (all of them)
    • Profession (all of them)
    • Sleight of Hand
  • The normal rules for skills still apply: if it’s a class skill, you get that +3 bonus, and you can’t have more than one rank per level.

Skill Advice

Here are some tips I recommend:

  • Perception is probably the most important skill in the game, so try to keep it maxed out.
  • The Knowledge skills help you identify monsters you encounter, potentially letting you know their strengths and weaknesses. If you have any of these Knowledge skill as a class skill, I recommend investing in them:
    • Arcana identifies constructs (golems and the like), dragons and magical beasts (unicorns, griffons and other mostly-animal beasts).
    • Dungeoneering identifies aberrations (bizarre, unnatural monsters) and oozes.
    • Local identifies humanoids (goblins, giants and more).
    • Nature identifies animals (the regular kind), fey, monstrous humanoids and plants.
    • Planes identifies elementals and outsiders (creatures from other planes).
    • Religion identifies undead.
  • Appraise, Disguise, Heal, Profession and Use Magic Device generally aren’t worth your time: Willow will probably identify values for us; I’ve never, ever seen Disguise used; magic works a thousand times better than Heal; adventuring will earn you tons more money than a Profession; and it’s better (and safer) to give a magic item to someone who can use it naturally rather than risk trying to use one yourself.
  • Climb and Swim are rarely useful, but they do come up from time to time.