The situation
Use this build just as an example:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 1156493773
As it is now, this build suggests players save up skill points, and then, when they reach level 27, dump all their saved points into discipline. This is because if you spend skill points earlier, it will cost 2 for one point and you will only be able to raise it half as much- equivalent to getting half a level per point. But if you save up the skill points and dump them all into discipline at once, at level 27? You can get twice as many. It's the difference between 30 points for 15 discipline and 30 points for 30 discipline.
The problem
This system is unfriendly to new players and could be made more convenient. When I first started playing, I assumed something to "fix" this already existed! You don't reach level 30 in a day, and I'd rather be able to "live in the moment", but it simply doesn't feel good to know the options are to waste skill points now and have exactly half as high a skill later, or to have unspent points at my current level and have to level as fast as possible. I don't want to have to choose between either completely lacking skills now and gaining them later, or having skills now and knowing I will have objectively lower skills later. I think fixing it would be a good quality of life thing.
The suggestion
I considered a few options for how this might be changed. Inf suggested one solution I proposed would be easiest for devs.
Suppose a sorcerer reaches level 10, and takes a level in ranger. If they haven't spent any skill points before, it will take them 10 points to reach 10 discipline... but if the sorcerer tried to get discipline earlier, then it will have cost them 10 points to reach level 5, and then it will cost 5 more points to reach level 10.
I suggest when first taking a level in a new class, the character gets one skill point refunded for every level they have in that class' new skills. Because that sorcerer had already put five points into discipline (when it cost them 10 before), they will get five more skill points. They can then put these points into discipline. This way, in both cases, the sorcerer reaches level 10 discipline with 10 skill points. On the other hand, if the sorcerer has five points in heal skill, that won't get refunded- heal is a skill for both classes, so there's no burned skill points to refund. So, this just lets people take skills (at reduced effectiveness) early, so they can plan out their levels more easily. I doubt this will have major balance implications, considering -relevel already exists and this only effects the decisions of lower leveled characters. Perhaps it could also be done as a command.
My original idea was to simply double the skills in the new class instead of refunding a point, but according to Inf, while both ideas should be possible, this solution could be similar to existing code for giving INT gift characters more skill points.
