Skill Points and Proficiency
The skill system has been modified to offer a more flexible and progressive method for skill advancement. Instead of the base D&D system where skills are trained, characters now accumulate skill points that reflect their proficiency.
The maximum number of skill points that can be invested in a single skill is determined by the Proficiency Bonus from the character’s class. For characters with multiple classes, this maximum is calculated using the multiclass proficiency table. Each skill point assigned to a skill provides a +1 bonus to checks made with that skill.
At character creation, your background grants a +1 bonus to each skill associated with it, and your class provides a +1 bonus to a selected skill from the class list. Additionally, you start with extra skill points equal to your Intelligence modifier + 3 (a flat value of 2 + the point at first level), with a minimum of 0. These extra points can be freely distributed among any skills of your choice.
At each level, you gain an additional skill point to allocate freely among your skills, with the maximum number of skill points determined by the Proficiency Bonus in your character table.
If a feat, feature, or other ability grants proficiency in a skill, it provides a +2 bonus to that skill. If this bonus exceeds the maximum allowable skill points for that skill, any excess points can be redistributed to other skills of your choosing.
Skill expertise operates similarly to the normal proficiency bonus. You select a skill to have Expertise in. Each skill point grants a +2 bonus to checks with the expertise skill. Additionally, skill expertise also grants 4 extra skill points that can be applied to any skill.
In case of need, this is the maximum number of skill points that can be applied to a single skill per level:
| Level | Proficiency Maximum on a Single Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 2 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 4 |
| 10 | 4 |
| 11 | 4 |
| 12 | 4 |
| 13 | 5 |
| 14 | 5 |
| 15 | 5 |
| 16 | 5 |
| 17 | 6 |
| 18 | 6 |
| 19 | 6 |
| 20 | 6 |
Why This Change?
In the standard D&D 5e progression, characters with similar classes end up being quite similar. This system aims to create more unique character growth over time and throughout a campaign. It allows for a more dynamic skill progression tied to character levels rather than proficiency bonuses, and it highlights the Intelligence modifier, which is often a “dump stat.”
The table below compares the base D&D skill progression with the new system, assuming three different tiers of Intelligence:
| Lvl | Base | Int 8 | Int 10 | Int 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 2 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 11 |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 |
| 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 |
| 5 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 14 |
| 6 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 |
| 7 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 |
| 8 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| 9 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 |
| 10 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 19 |
| 11 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 20 |
| 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 |
| 13 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 22 |
| 14 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 23 |
| 15 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 24 |
| 16 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 25 |
| 17 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 26 |
| 18 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 27 |
| 19 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 28 |
| 20 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 29 |
The base amount remains relatively constant with an average Intelligence score. This change benefits base classes that have only two skills to choose from, making them more customizable and allowing for exploration of different builds within the same set of abilities and class features.
Note that with the average class (two skills proficiency from background and two proficiency from the class), and an average Intelligence score, a character will be one level behind the traditional progression. This is intentional, as the progression is designed to increase gradually rather than making large jumps with each proficiency increase.
This graph better display the “jumps” and the “linear progression”