I made a homebrew guidebook for the optional skill rule and I'd like to hear your thoughts and feedback before publishing it on DMs Guild. 

I stumbled upon this amazing skill variant that we've now been using lately. It allows players to use different abilities for skill checks. The problem is, I can never come up with anything useful in the heat of the moment aside from Strength Intimidation - which gets boring after a while.

Long story short, I made a complete guidebook to fully utilize this Variant. The pdf consists of examples for almost every possible Skill/Ability combination. Ultimately the DM decides if your suggestion is acceptable, so these are just ideas to get your creative engine started. :) 

A few examples from the guidebook to give you a little taste:

INTELLIGENCE DECEPTION- BAFFLED BY YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE MANY DUTIES AND HARDSHIPS OF A CITY GUARD, THEY DON’T EVEN REALIZE THAT YOUR GUARD INSIGNIA WAS ACTUALLY BOUGHT FROM A LOCAL TOY STORE. (YOU MIGHT END UP CHATTING LONGER THAN YOU INTENDED)

WISDOM INTIMIDATION- YOU KNOW INSTINCTIVELY WHAT TRIGGERS THIS PERSON. YOU KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO MAKE YOUR POINT ABSOLUTELY CLEAR. (YOU MAY HAVE TO OBSERVE THE PERSON FOR SOME TIME BEFORE YOU CAN DO THIS)

STRENGTH PERFORMANCE- SHOW THEM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF – LITERALLY. SHOW THEM YOUR MUSCLES AND HOW AMAZINGLY STRONG YOU ARE – EVEN IF YOU’RE PERFORMING IN A PLAY OR DANCING. TRUST ME, THEY’LL FORGET HOW TERRIBLE YOU ARE. (THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY REALIZE HOW TERRIBLE BY YOU ARE, BUT THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED ANYWAY)

DEXTERITY ATHLETICS- AGILE AND ACROBATIC PEOPLE ARE OFTEN GOOD CLIMBERS. YOU CAN EASILY CLIMB ON TOP OF BUILDINGS AND CLIFFS. (CLIMBING FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, FOR EXAMPLE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING, MAY REQUIRE A LOT OF RESTING. YOU MAY ALSO BE LIMITED TO ONLY CARRYING LIGHT EQUIPMENT WHEN CLIMBING.)

STRENGTH SLEIGHT OF HAND- THE CLASSIC BUMP-AND-LIFT PICKPOCKET TECHNIQUE, EXCEPT YOUR VERSION IS MORE OF A “RAM-AND-LIFT". YOU BUMP INTO ANOTHER PERSON SO HARD THAT THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO PAY ANY ATTENTION TO YOU EMPTYING THEIR POCKETS. (YOU MAY BE CONSIDERED INCREDIBLY CLUMSY, ILL-MANNERED, RUDE, SELF-CENTERED AND EVEN AGGRESSIVE)

CHARISMA STEALTH- INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BE UNSEEN, YOU CAN TRY TO HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT BY BLENDING IN OR ACTING LIKE YOU BELONG THERE. (THIS MIGHT RESULT IN DIFFICULT SOCIAL SITUATIONS)

 

And many more in the actual guidebook!

I hope I don't violate any Forum rules by posting this. I tried to check the Homebrew rules. If I do, please let me know, so I can remove the post. :) 

Download Here - Link leads to my Google Drive / pdf file.

The contact information on the PDF is for development purposes. The email address is one that I use for my public projects, so it's not personal information as per the forum rules.

WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK AM I LOOKING FOR?

The feedback I'm looking for is either useful or encouraging

So if you see flaws or problems, I'd like to hear actual suggestions or even just crude ideas on how to fix them. Also just reflecting on possible problems/concerns is useful. 

As a part of the development process, I will try to tackle the criticism or issue that is brought up and kind of "defend" my decision. This may seem defensive, but it's a part of my learning/reflection process. Either I realize that I cannot find a logical argument to support the decision or I get better at explaining why I made that particular decision. Quite often it's somewhere in between and I end up making small adjustments to improve it, but also become more confident about the idea in general. Either way this helps me to become a better developer. 

And if you like something, I'd like to hear what made you enjoy it. :) 

The only type of comments that I'm not keen on hearing are the ones that just criticize without any substance or value. So basically comments like "this is useless/boring/stupid/painful to read". If it is painful to read, please tell what made it painful to read. 

Thank you all! I hope you find this guidebook useful. :) 

/SerLoxy

I like this. Im always happy to allow players to use their imagination when coming up with ideas to circumnavigate a situation.

This is a usefull guide 

Quote from GreyCartographer >>

I like this. Im always happy to allow players to use their imagination when coming up with ideas to circumnavigate a situation.

 

This is a usefull guide 

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the feedback and that you took the time. 😄