I proposed variant 1 of this houserule some time ago in the forums here www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

In this post I propose also variant 2.

Variant 1 .

Houserule : for each skill, decide on a set of characterisctics that could influence your chances in a skill. Add all those characteristics, divide by the number taken, then round. That will be the basic value for your skill. Examples:

• Weapons Skill: Strength, Agility and Intelligence.
• Ballistics Skill: Agility, Intelligence and Willpower.
• Intimidation could be calculated using Strength, Fellowship and Willpower.
• Intuition could be calculated using Intelligence and Willpower.
• Ride a mix of Agility, Strength and Willpower.

Reasoning :

1. Most skills are not directly influenced by just one characteristic, so simulation wise it makes sense.
2. This makes min-maxing characters much more difficult, so people will concentrate on what really matters in an RPG: character background.
3. Change is easy. You don't need to do the calculation every time you have to check a skill. Just calculate the basic stats for skills when you create a character. You only need to recalculate them when one of your basic characteristics changes. Write the values by your skill, in your character sheet.
4. Skill dice are much more important that Characteristics dice when deciding the success of the action, so this adds some spice to every character without heavily influencing the "balance" of the characters (not that I care much about character balance anyway, but just for those of you who care).

Variant 2 .

Houserule : during character creation or each time you gain a new skill, for each skill, once you have the basic stats (using variant 1 or the core rules), roll one 10 sided die. On a result of 1-3 reduce by 1 your skill basic value; on a result of 8-0 increase it by 1; on a result of 4-7 leave it as it is.

Example : your character has a Strength characteristic of 4. You roll 1d10 for Weapon Skill and get a 3... bad luck! Your character starting WS value is a 3.

Reasoning :

1. Again, this tries to simulate that there are many factors that influence one skill, not only your basic characteristics.
2. This can be an interesting variant for those of us that like random character generation.
3. It's simple to implement. You only need to do this change when creating your character and when you get a new skill. Just write the starting value of your skill in your character sheet and that should be enough.
4. Skill dice are much more important that Characteristics dice when deciding the success of the action, so this adds some spice to every character without heavily influencing the "balance" of the characters (not that I care much about character balance anyway, but just for those of you who care).