ok strap in for some big brain #3eish design re: the skill system
my draft was "1 skill rank = +1 on rolls, max ranks = level, cross class skills cost 2 pts a level" and "feats cost 2 points plus the number of feats you already have" but having made up a level 1 character as a test some problems emerge to me
skill points have become more valuable, both because i've reduced available totals of skill points per level (to 2/4/6 by class or int/3, whichever is higher) and because now feats compete for the same slots.
they're simply too valuable to spend for +1 on a single skill, especially when the benchmark for boring feats is "+2 on two different sorts of rolls," and especially at level 1, when that limit of one rank per skill can leave you with a +0 or negative modifier if it's in an ability with a penalty
and, looking towards advancement, there's no good time for players to invest in new feats because it will always come at the cost of keeping skills ranked maximum
so, to address these:
- same costs as above for skill ranks and feats, and same reduced point totals
- each rank is +2 on rolls (for class skills, on par with boring feats for the first feat and better, if more specific, after that. cross class is less economical than feats until after the fourth feat.)
- max skill rank is half character level, plus one (if you're just choosing skills to keep at maximum, the way most people do, those points are available to spend on feats every other level.)
this also means you won't have a zero or worse modifier in a skill you take at level one unless you have a -2 or worse in the key ability, which feels fairer to me (especially since i'm currently using 3:1 modifiers as opposed to 3e and onwards' 2:1 modifiers)
i'll need to think more seriously about cross-class casters being able to just by spell school skills though, not sure about the vibe there
oh, another advantage of this progression is that half level +1 can map directly onto max level of spells learnable, this gives anyone maxing out spell skills a 1-level leg up on the progression of full casters in RAW, which i think i'm ok with