Exceeding Skill Rank limits

[Rasyr]

One of the rules in Novus says that you you are limited to no more than 1 rank in a skill for every 20 XP (or portion thereof) in the character.

A starting character is 100 XP, so that puts a cap of 5 ranks in any given skill.

But as I just discovered in attempting to make a character (Dwelf/Arboreal/Treewraith/Scout), you can end up with more than 5 ranks in a skill (this build ended with 6 ranks in Stealth and I have not yet purchased any skill ranks yet).

I figure that we have 2 options for correcting this:

• Leave it be -- just put a note that sometime package combinations can grant higher than normally allowed skill ranks , and that those skill simply cannot have ranks purchased in them until such time as their CP/XP Total is high enough to allow it. (in the above case, the character I am building would not be allowed to buy ranks  Stealth until he has 120+ points combined in  XP and also has the CP needed to purchase another rank in Stealth)
• Shift to another Favored Skill -- As it says, points above those allowed are shifted to a different Favored Skill, thus the +6 in Stealth becomes +5 and the point is moved to a different Favored Skill from the Training Package (limited to the Training Package since that is the lst package to be acquired, it is what would logically be adjusted, allowing the character to adjust their training accordingly.

Each has its positives and negative. Personally, while I do not like exceeding the limits, it is the simplest solution and the easiest to verify for those GMs who might have players who like to use creative accounting when making characters

Thoughts? Comments?

[witchking20k]

I say leave it be. It can be corrected later if it's a real problem.

[Fidoric]

I was not even aware of that limit...

Leave it be as it is not an unbalancing factor.

[witchking20k]

& clarify that a 7th rank can't be added until 140 points?

[Rasyr]

I say leave it be. It can be corrected later if it's a real problem.

That is what I was thinking too. But I still want to add a warning that it can happen

For example, the secon paragraph of the skill chapter reads as follows:

The number of skill ranks that a player may have in a
given skill is limited, and it is based on the total number of
Character Points (CP) and Experience Points (XP) that the
character has. The maximum number of ranks is limited to 1
rank for every 20 CP and XP combined (or portion thereof).
A starting character usually has a total of 100 points, thus
limiting the player to no more than 5 ranks in any skill until
he earns some CP. If he has between 101 and 120 points
total, he is limited to 6 ranks in any given skill, and so forth.

And so, I would change it to read like this:

The number of skill ranks a player may have in any give skill is limited to 1 rank for every 20 CP/XP or portion thereof (i.e. 100 CP/XP has a limit of 5 ranks, 101-120 CP/XP has a limit of 6 ranks, 121-140 has a limit of 7 ranks, etc.).

Please be aware that come Culture/Background/Training Package combinations may exceed this limit. In such cases, the player simply cannot purchase any new ranks in the skill until he has enough CP/XP to do so.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[witchking20k]

Works for me.

[Sunwolf]

Two thumbs up