I think expanding proficiencies would be a great way to enhance some of the more mundane and balance out some of the over-powered/constantly used. It would create virtually endless opportunities to entice the player into choosing something they wouldn't normally use, all while keeping the balance and fun!
E.g.: "I check for traps." Perception or Investigation is a crutch used by players constantly. With the greater/lesser proficiencies in place, the current Perception becomes Greater Perception. Greater Perception requires the character to be level 3 or higher AND have a minimum of 10 in both their Wisdom and Intelligence. To make up for the steep skill requirement Greater Perception would give much more info on a successful check. The character would not only find the trap but recognize the type of trap and even see that it was set by a Gnoll (see the little tuft of hair there?). Passing a greater Perception check while examining the vase could reveal that it was made by some ancient civilization that you read about in your early years - you could wax-poetic about the culture forever, but also, they were know for imbuing their everyday containers with powerful magics. (this kinda steps on the history check). How about greater Perception could reveal that the ink used is a lethal green arsenic. With a little work, you could strip it to make a deadly poison coating or shot.
Lesser Perception wouldn't have a requirement but would be much less useful. In the above example, the character would notice some type of contraption, but not know what it does. Is it a secret door, is it a trap, is it an old, non-functional mechanism left by the original builders? Unless you have a character with Greater Perception/Investigation that's all anyone would be able to figure out.
Greater and lesser proficiencies could be handed out to certain classes to give those classes more of a niche, like a Rogue getting Greater Perception at level 1 as long as they have EITHER Wisdom or Intelligence at 10 or higher. The current proficiencies would become their greater or lesser variant (or something completely different), depending on the general consensus of that proficiencies’ power ranking.
You could still attempt a lesser perception check if you failed the greater perception check - or not - again, depending on how powerful the greater one is or the overall power ranking of that proficiency. Also, the greater requirement doesn’t have to be that steep, maybe just something the player has to adjust for during character creation. Having greater/lesser proficiencies could also mean less abuse of the dump-stat.
I think expanding proficiencies would be a great way to enhance some of the more mundane and balance out some of the over-powered/constantly used. It would create virtually endless opportunities to entice the player into choosing something they wouldn't normally use, all while keeping the balance and fun!
E.g.:
"I check for traps."
Perception or Investigation is a crutch used by players constantly. With the greater/lesser proficiencies in place, the current Perception becomes Greater Perception. Greater Perception requires the character to be level 3 or higher AND have a minimum of 10 in both their Wisdom and Intelligence. To make up for the steep skill requirement Greater Perception would give much more info on a successful check. The character would not only find the trap but recognize the type of trap and even see that it was set by a Gnoll (see the little tuft of hair there?). Passing a greater Perception check while examining the vase could reveal that
it was made by some ancient civilization that you read about in your early years - you could wax-poetic about the culture forever, but also, they were know for imbuing their everyday containers with powerful magics. (this kinda steps on the history check). How about greater Perception could reveal that the ink used is a lethal green arsenic. With a little work, you could strip it to make a deadly poison coating or shot.Lesser Perception wouldn't have a requirement but would be much less useful. In the above example, the character would notice some type of contraption, but not know what it does. Is it a secret door, is it a trap, is it an old, non-functional mechanism left by the original builders? Unless you have a character with Greater Perception/Investigation that's all anyone would be able to figure out.
Greater and lesser proficiencies could be handed out to certain classes to give those classes more of a niche, like a Rogue getting Greater Perception at level 1 as long as they have EITHER Wisdom or Intelligence at 10 or higher. The current proficiencies would become their greater or lesser variant (or something completely different), depending on the general consensus of that proficiencies’ power ranking.
You could still attempt a lesser perception check if you failed the greater perception check - or not - again, depending on how powerful the greater one is or the overall power ranking of that proficiency. Also, the greater requirement doesn’t have to be that steep, maybe just something the player has to adjust for during character creation. Having greater/lesser proficiencies could also mean less abuse of the dump-stat.
Thoughts??