Difference between revisions of "Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)"

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Revision as of 02:17, 19 June 2012

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Project Completeness:
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This is complete in many aspects, but information is sparse or incomplete in a few categories. If you are interested in joining this project as a contributor, please leave a message on this or the lead author's talk page. Please see our Homebrew Content Requirements for further information regarding projects.

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Author: Tarkisflux (talk)
Contributors: Bigode,
IGTN,
MisterSinister,
Parakee,
LeadPal
Date Created: Jan 22, 2008
Status: Skills complete(ish).
Cleaning up text and filling in additional chapters.
Editing: Clarity edits only please
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Introduction: The Importance of Skills

Welcome to the Tome of Prowess, Skills for the Mundane and the Masterful.

In the multiverse that D&D represents, people can begin their life as serfs and, through trials and challenges, end up as legendary heroes capable of amazing feats that rival the gods themselves. Some accomplish this by learning and exploiting the secrets ways of the multiverse, using magic to accomplish what some look on as miracles. Others train themselves extensively, and accomplish feats beyond lesser mortals through will and skill alone. Skill points represent that skill and training, and they are the primary method of utility ability advancement for those who put in hard work instead of cheating with magic.

Or at least this is what D&D would like you to think, given the weight the designers placed on skill points and skills themselves. In reality though, the skill totals required to do amazing things are only acquired up in the epic levels, and by that point spellcasters have been doing all of your fancy skill tricks for many levels and your neat trick just isn’t relevant. You’ve probably been doing it yourself with magic items and don’t even know or care that you can do it with that skill you’ve brought up with you.

This supplement for the 3.5 D&D game presents skills to correct that, but it does so by sacrificing the simplicity (and with it the irrelevance) of skills at mid and high levels. There’s a lot more abilities for each skill to keep track of with this modification. And that’s ok, because that’s what the non-spellcasting classes really need.

A Note on Balance
This modification, on its own, will add substantial power to the poor non-casters in the game, and a bit of power to the half casters. If completely utilized, it should bring the monk and fighter level classes up to or above rogue level, and allow all characters to contribute to the game longer than their chassis would normally allow. Keep in mind that if you prefer a lower power game, or your games don’t run past 9th level, this may not be something you should consider implementing. If your games often run into the high levels and you’re tired of fighters depending on magic items or casters to remain useful in the party, this is absolutely something you should consider thoroughly.

Contents

Chapter 1: Rules

General Rules
Retraining
Skill Bonus Changes
Converting to the Tome of Prowess

Chapter 2: The Revised Skills

Skill Summaries
Acrobatics
Affability
Appraisal
Arcana
Athletics
Bluff
Ciphers
Concentration
Creature Handling
Cultures
Devices
Dowsing
Endurance
Escape Artistry
Geomancy
Healing
Intimidation
Jump
Legerdemain
Perception
Psychology
Stealth
Survival
Thaumaturgy
Transformation

Chapter 3: Supporting Changes

Updated Class Features
Character Knowledge and Skills
Saving Throw Adjustments
Some Instantaneous Spells Aren't...
Optional Rule: Alternate Saving Throw Modifiers
Revised Rules
Animal Training Rules
Movement and Fatigue Rules
Pickpocketing Rules
Riding Rules
Spellcasting Interruption
Tracking Rules

Chapter 4: Playing the Skills Game

The Combat Game
Skills as Mobility
Skills as Offense
Skills as Defenses
The Infiltration Game
The Stealth Mini-Game
The "Walk Right In" Mini-Game
Combining Skills

Chapter 5: Characters in a Skilled Game

Feats for the Skilled
Standard Feat Descriptions
Tome Style Scaling Feats
Scaling Feat Descriptions
Gear for the Skilled
Example Skill Items
Creating Magical Skill Gear
Magic for the Unskilled
Removed Spells
Rewritten Spell Descriptions

Chapter 6: Running a Skilled Game

Skillful Monsters
Skill Abilities Available to Monsters
Setting the DCs for Abilities Used Against Monsters
Running a Skilled Society

Chapter 7: Going Further

Using Tome of Prowess with...
Lycanthropy
Psionics
Tome of Battle

Credits

While this work is largely my own, there are people who contributed material or other support and should be recognized.

  • Bigode is not a wiki contributor, but assisted with a rather thorough editing pass of the skills while I was posting them to the wiki in the second phase. Typos, incorrect references, junk abilities, and actual nonsense were all corrected or pulled as a result of his work.
  • IGTN is responsible in large part for the jump skill. His work to make a non-linear scaling jump was taken as the starting point, with his permission, for what eventually wound up in the book. It's posting to TGD also convinced me to put up some initial work I had been sitting on for a while to get some feedback. He was the first user to incorporate it into another complete wiki sourcebook, his Book of Elements sourcebook, despite that work being complete and this one still in process.
  • MisterSinister was an early adopter and source of continued motivation to finish things up. He also contributed the following skill feats: Shadow Focus.
  • Parakee contributed the following skill feats: Always Aware, Fast-Talker, ToP, Orator, Powerful Leader, Rumormonger.
  • LeadPal contributed to the "Playing the X Game" sections, including almost all of the Perception entry (minor edits were made from his version, which can be found here.
  • A special mention also goes out to Ghostwheel. While he hasn't contributed work to the project, he has served as a sounding board for abilities on several occasions and his interest in adapting this work to his other projects has helped me tighten things up where appropriate.



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Article BalanceUnquantifiable +
AuthorTarkisflux +
Completeness4 +
Identifier3.5e Sourcebook +
LikesA, B, C +
Rated ByLeziad +, Undead Knave +, MisterSinister +, Wildmage +, TK-Squared +, Foxwarrior +, Surgo + and DanielDraco +
RatingRated 3.8 / 4 +
SummarySkills for the mundane and the masterful. Skills that scale to all levels of the game and offer the skilled classes some of the utility previously only found within spells or items. +
TitleTome of Prowess +