Shattered Kingdoms

I mentioned alertness in another thread, one that I think was about griffons, and people mentioned it's useless. Which was kind of why I suggested giving it to griffons, It will in no way over power griffons giving them that boost. Then I thought, why have a skill that's so useless you can just hand it out like candy?

I mean alertness is the detect magic of the skills, it really is. Sure it tells you if you need to use a vial of detect hidden or invis, but by the time you figure that out you might be being killed. Detect magic tells you stuff too but most people don't care enough to know what detect magic will tell you to use it. So I'm suggesting a buff to alertness.

The kind of buff I'm suggesting is as follows, alertness gives you an increased chance to detect plant or steal, dependant on the level of the barbarian. A GM barbarian might be nearly impossible to plant things on or steal from.

I was also thinking alertness should increase your chances of countering an attack like a strike from a certain cabal or an opening strike like hamstring, backstab, and cleave from an unseen opponent but I'm assuming blind fighting does that.

Any thoughts, idea's, additions, alterations, or criticisms?

Im pretty sure the chance to counter is decently high as is. It's high enough that I would rather start with a dirt kick from behind someone tough than a backstab.

I dont like the steal/plant thing, but since I play a rogue I might be a little biased. As it is, they are already pretty much guaranteed not to be backstabbed, should they be impossible to steal from as well?

I'm of the opinion that barbs really don't need any help countering more than they already do. I do, however, like the idea of making it harder to steal from them or plant things on them. I don't know how useful it will be, considering anyone can just put things in a container, but I still like it.

Pretty much, yes. There are classes that are pretty much anathema to one another. I think barbs really should be nearly impossible to steal from. It's not as if you can't circlestab/hamstring/scroll them to death, if you need to. Besides, if you look at it this way...there would still only be one class you have trouble stealing from.

I approve but am also biased by the fact that I play a barbarian.

Have you ever watched a mugging?

I don't -think- that's the same idea as the steal skill...

...

Though even not considering that, I have no idea what you're driving at.

No, my brother and I have intimidated our way out of one though, if that counts.

Witherwood has intimidate - (mastered)

From a D&D mechanics point of view, alertness (the feat) gives you a +2 to listen and spot checks, and Sleight of Hand (steal) uses a set success DC in addition to an opposed sleight of hand vs spot check to be detected. Meaning that alertness doesn't make one harder to steal from per se, it just makes it harder to get away with stealing attempts undetected.