Variant: Skill Points

Instead of Skills granting a bonus equal to your proficiency bonus to ability checks, this variant provides a way for players to better interact and optimize their skills as they level up.

Starting Skill Points and Spending Skill Points

Starting Skill points. Characters have starting skill points equal to the number of skills they are proficient in + their Intelligence modifier.

Level Up Skill Points. Characters gain skill points equal to half the number of skills they are proficient in + their Intelligence modifier, rounded down one even levels and up on odd levels.

Characters spend these points on skills they are proficient with at first level or when they level up. . These spent points become skill ranks.

When spending points on skills, each skill costs 1 point per rank up until the skill rank is equal to your proficiency bonus. Any additional skill ranks cost 2 points to aquire in that skill instead of one up to a maximum of twice your proficiency bonus.

Any unspent skill points remain in your skill points pool, and can be spent on skills any time you gain a new proficiency or receive additional skill points from leveling up.

Any time you use make an ability check, you add your total skill rank in that skill to the check.

Class Proficient Skills Bard Choose any 6 Barbarian Choose 4 from Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival Cleric Choose 4 from History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion and Religion Druid Choose 4 from Arcana, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Religion, and Survival Fighter Choose 4 from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception and Survival Monk Choose 4 from Animal Handling, Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Religion, and Survival Paladin Choose 4 from Athletics, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion Ranger Choose 6 from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth and Survival Rogue Choose 8 from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth Sorcerer Choose 4 from Arcana, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Religion

Class Proficient Skills Warlock Choose 4 from Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Nature and Religion Wizard Choose 4 from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Medicine and Religion

Regaining Lost Skill Points

Whenever your Proficiency bonus increases, you gain 1 extra skill point for every two skills that are now equal to or higher than your proficiency bonus, rounded up.

Gaining Permanent Proficiency

Any time you gain permanent proficiency with a skill, you gain skill points to spend as if you had had the skill since first level. You add 1+ half your level (rounded down) to your skill point pool.

Expertise and Other Features

Any time you gain a feature that doubles your proficiency bonus when making an ability check with a certain skill, instead, the chosen skill costs no additional skill points to improve when improving it beyond your proficiency bonus. In addition, any time a feature is gained allows you to double your proficiency bonus in skills you are proficient in, such as a rogue's Expertise feature or a Knowledge domain cleric's Blessing of Knowledge feature, double the total number of chosen skills to be affected and gain skill points equal to the total number of skills improved.

Tool Proficiencies

Tool proficiencies function as they do without this variant. Expertise in a tool doubles your proficiency bonus when using that tool, such as Thieve's Tools. You do not spend Skill Points in tool proficiencies, nor do you gain any additional skill points for having proficiency in tools.

Temporary Proficiency

Any ability that grants temporary proficiency does not grant additional skill points nor does it benefit from spent skill points in the proficiency. It functions as proficiency normally does when not using the variant.

For example, when a Knowledge Domain cleric uses their Channel Divinity: Knowledge of the Ages, the chosen skill or proficiency gains your proficiency bonus when making ability checks using the chosen skill.