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Not just an idea, but a carefully considered one:
When you radically increase the number of skills, (E.g., instead of or in addition to lore, specific knowledge categories,) you should increase the number of skill points awarded at each level by the same percentage. That is, if you increase the number of skills 25%, you should increase the number of skill points by 25% for all classes. Otherwise, you end up with classes that either do not take any special skills (some of which may be required or their classes) or skip skills required for their classes to take new additional skills.
There was a warning about this in Unearthed Arcana (version 1.5), also in version 2, and it was repeated in version 3. I am unsure about version 3.5 or 4.
Note that the increase is a percentage equal to the perentage of new skills, not an across the board extra 5 points (as example). That means that less than a 50% increase will not benefit a fighter without intelligence modifiers, although it would increase a rogue's skill points. Other classes would fall between.
An alternative is to make all added skills trainable and separate from those skills purchased by skill points awarded. There are pros and cons both ways on that. The main problem with training is whether to award training based on payment of a fee, amount of game time invested, or a combination of the two.
I have mentioned in previous posts that I do not believe a PC should be able to master a craft simply because a PC cannot invest sufficient time and effort to merit being ranked beside one that has devoted a lifetime of concentrated effort to a craft. (Not that even devoting a lifetime to a craft guarantees mastery, but a split focus generally guarantees that mastery will not be attained. That is why a fighter [or samurai] might become the master of one weapon, but cannot become the master of many weapons.)
When you radically increase the number of skills, (E.g., instead of or in addition to lore, specific knowledge categories,) you should increase the number of skill points awarded at each level by the same percentage. That is, if you increase the number of skills 25%, you should increase the number of skill points by 25% for all classes. Otherwise, you end up with classes that either do not take any special skills (some of which may be required or their classes) or skip skills required for their classes to take new additional skills.
There was a warning about this in Unearthed Arcana (version 1.5), also in version 2, and it was repeated in version 3. I am unsure about version 3.5 or 4.
Note that the increase is a percentage equal to the perentage of new skills, not an across the board extra 5 points (as example). That means that less than a 50% increase will not benefit a fighter without intelligence modifiers, although it would increase a rogue's skill points. Other classes would fall between.
An alternative is to make all added skills trainable and separate from those skills purchased by skill points awarded. There are pros and cons both ways on that. The main problem with training is whether to award training based on payment of a fee, amount of game time invested, or a combination of the two.
I have mentioned in previous posts that I do not believe a PC should be able to master a craft simply because a PC cannot invest sufficient time and effort to merit being ranked beside one that has devoted a lifetime of concentrated effort to a craft. (Not that even devoting a lifetime to a craft guarantees mastery, but a split focus generally guarantees that mastery will not be attained. That is why a fighter [or samurai] might become the master of one weapon, but cannot become the master of many weapons.)
^
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