Chapter 4: Skills

Cooking

WIS

Jordrak uses the Cooking Skill to make an impressive meal for the Dignitary

This Skill allows you to plan and prepare meals. You can also preserve food and prepare proper rations. Most of what you cook or bake tastes good.

Determining the difficulty: How complex or ambitions is the meal? How many people have to be served? Does the character have the proper ingredients and equipment, or are they forced to make substitutions?

Success: The meal turns out like you expect.

Failure: The meal turns out worse than you expected.

Domestic Proficiency

WIS

Stromboar uses the Domestic proficiency to get blood out of his shirt before meeting with the dignitary.

This Skill allows you sew, properly clean clothing, and run a household.

Determining the difficulty: How routine or abnormal is the situation? Does the character have the proper equipment?

Success: You accomplish what you set out to do.

Failure: You end up spending more time than you’d like, with poor results. You may try again, as circumstances allow.

Gamble

WIS

Barren uses the Gamble Skill to win some quick Silv before skipping town.

This Skill allows you a better chance of winning at games of chance.

Determining the difficulty: Often a character will be making opposed rolls against other’s Gamble Skill. Successfully cheating can add a bonus to a roll, but is also dangerous.

Success: You win a round.

Failure: Another player wins your money. Please, try again.

Listen and Spot

WIS

Vicmare uses the Listen and Spot Skill to notice someone following him in a crowd.

This Skill allows you to notice important events. It is used to oppose Hide and Move Silently tests, and Sleight of Hand tests.

Determining the difficulty: How small a detail is the possible clue? If opposing a stealthy action, what is the observer doing while this happens? Are there any distractions?

Success: You hear or see something. A good result reveals more.

Failure: Unsure or unaware, depending on the degree of failure.

Free: Characters get use a free Skill point on Listen and Spot checks any time a Listen or Spot check is requested from the GM. Trained characters add 1d8, untrained add 1d4.

The Feat Alertness adds some natural talent to this Skill.

Professional Proficiency

WIS

Gorm uses the Professional proficiency to build trust while speaking with the suspect.

This Skill means that you have a good understanding of many Eldlandrian occupations that require specialized training. You could make a living at one of these professions if you chose to do so. Professions include leather worker, shoe maker, tailor, blacksmith, bookkeeper, academic instructor, guild master, physician, brewer, solicitor, office labourer and others. It does not include the more technical Allterion professions.

Early on, a player with this Skill should declare and note down what area their character has expertise in. They are still familiar with other occupations, providing a good Skill check when needed.

Determining the difficulty: Is the task related to something they are experts at, or just familiar with? How general or specific is the knowledge required? Do they have time to look anything up, or are they being put on the spot? Are they telling or listening (checking for inaccuracy)?

Success: You know what you are doing.

Failure: You are faking it at best.

The Feat Medical Academy adds some ability to this Skill.

Heal

WIS

Blain uses the Heal Skill to make his magic spell Precise Healing more effective.

This Skill allows you to help someone recover from injury or illness. It can be extra powerful when combined with certain magic.

Rules: This Skill may be used on its own, with the aid of medical supplies. To stabilize someone or perform first aid, the DC is 15. Some form of bandages are typically required. A stabilized person stops loosing Hit Points. A good roll can heal 1d4 Hit Points at the GM’s discretion.

Treating an injury: If a person is hurt, the healer can help with their wounds. Salves, painkillers and other supplies are typically needed. The DC is average to challenging, depending on the condition of the patient (treating yourself adds significantly to the DC). Success heals 1d10 Hit Points. A healing test to treat an injury takes several minutes to around an hour, depending on the situation. The hurt character typically needs 24 hours before they can be looked at again.

Curing an illness: First the healer should try to diagnose the problem, which can range from Average to Formidable, depending on how common the illness is and how many symptoms are showing. The cure may require ingredients not easily obtainable. Once all of the supplies are possessed, the healer should make another role. The DC is based on how well their prescribed cure should work for the situation.

Curing a poison: If a character can determine the problem (DC 15), their appropriate actions can add +5 to the character’s next Fortitude test. Many healers are also capable of casting the Antidote spell, which also helps.

Healing with Magic: see the Precise Healing spell.

Related Topic: Healing (from the combat chapter).

The Feat Medical Academy adds some ability to this Skill.

Navigate

WIS

Sontag uses the Navigate Skill to find his way out of a bad part of town.

Possessing this Skill means you have a good sense of direction. You remember where you’ve been, and typically don’t get lost. You can plot a course or plan a route and follow it.

Determining the difficulty: How familiar is the landscape? Can the character see the sky? Were they able to see how they arrived? Do they have they a map, or ever seen one of the area?

Success: You know roughly where you are and how to get where you want to go. (In some circumstances you will not have the ability to know this.) You know what direction you’re facing. You know if you’re going in circles.

Failure: You’re not quite sure which way is which. You can retry at a slight penalty after looking around for a short while.

Sense Motive

WIS

Sergeant Stargrun automatically uses the Sense Motive Skill when he speaks to each visitor who passes through the gate, regarding the purpose for their visit.

This Skill allows you to know what’s up. What is a person really saying? What aren’t they saying? Who’s lying and telling the truth?

Determining the difficulty: The DC is based on the opponents Bluff Skill check (which has bonuses and penalties associated with it).

Success: You get a sense of what is going on. A good roll reveals more.

Failure: You don’t perceive any warning signs at this time.

Note: It is often up to a player to implicitly (though roleplaying) or explicitly to say that they want to use the Sense Motive Skill. Other times the GM might declare that some or all of the PCs should make a Sense Motive check.

The Feat Negotiator adds some natural talent to this Skill.

Survival and Hunting

WIS

Ronin uses the Survival and Hunting Skill to find food and shelter for the group, after escaping their captors.

This Skill allows you to survive for an extended period of time in the wilderness, with little or no supplies.

Determining the difficulty: The more food and tools a character starts out with, the easier the difficulty. The difficulty increases if a character must provide for additional people, they run out of supplies or if tools are lost or broken. Severe weather can also increase the difficulty.

Success: Your situation improves. You can survive for a couple more days outside.

Failure: Your situation does not improve, and possibly worsens. Physical attributes may start to temporarily decrease.

The Feat Self-Sufficient adds some natural talent to this Skill.

Tracking

WIS

Hawk uses the Tracking Skill to find the enemy camp.

This Skill allows you to follow the tracks of a person, vehicle or beast. It can help avoid being tracked.

Determining the difficulty: Is the ground covered in dirt or is it paved? How much other traffic has come by? How fresh are the tracks? What has the weather been like since? Are their other signs, such as lost hair, fur, etc, that might signal the tracker? Who is it that is being tracked, and are they doing anything evasive to avoid being tracked?

Success: You are able to follow the tracks for a good distance.

Failure: You’ve lost the tracks, maybe for good. By back tracking you might be able to retry, at a cumulative penalty.