Skills
Skills are more focused areas of experience. Unlike Attributes, your character doesn't begin with automatic dots in any Skill. There are many feats your PC can attempt only at a penalty, or not at all, simply because no one character can know everything. As with Attributes, Skills are divided into three categories: Mental, Physical and Social.
Skill details can be found on p.54 (Chapter 3)
| Mental | Physical | Social |
|---|---|---|
| Academics | Athletics | Animal Ken |
| Enigmas | Brawl | Empathy |
| Crafts | Ride | Expression |
| Investigation | Archery | Intimidation |
| Medicine | Larceny | Persuasion |
| Occult | Stealth | Socialize |
| Politics | Survival | Streetwise |
| Science | Weaponry | Subterfuge |
Choosing Skills
You must assign one Skill category as primary, one as secondary and one as tertiary, as with Attributes. A scholar who has made some effort to acquire non-academic skills but lacks much of anything in the way of physical potential likely has Mental as primary. Social as secondary and Physical as tertiary.
- • Divide 11 points among the skills in the primary category.
- • Divide 7 points among the skills in the secondary category.
- • Divide 3 points among the skills in the tertiary category.
- • Choose 3 Specialties
The following Skills are divided into three groups, just as with Attributes; Mental, Physical, and Social.
- • Novice: Basic knowledge and/or techniques.
- • • Practitioner: Solid working knowledge and/or techniques.
- • • • Professional: Broad, detailed knowledge and/or techniques.
- • • • • Expert: Exceptional depth of knowledge and/or techniques.
- • • • • • Master: Unsurpassed depth of knowledge and or techniques. A leader in the field.
Mental
Mental Skills are applications of a character's insight, acumen and focus, such as examining a crime scene for clues, unraveling an enigma or diagnosing an illness. These Skills are almost entirely gained from a period of formal education, and most characters with high Mental Skills can claim a degree or even a doctorate in their field of study. These traits are generally associated with your character's Mental Attributes, but can also be paired with Physical Attributes for hands-on applications such as performing surgery (Dexterity + Medicine Skill) or computer repair (Dexterity + Crafts Skill).
Untrained Skill Use: If your character doesn't have the necessary Mental Skill required for an action, she can still make the attempt. Roll her Attribute alone, but with a -3 penalty.
Physical
Physical Skills are applications of a character's might, endurance and coordination, such as climbing a mountain, riding a horse or drawing an arrow. They are most often paired with a character's Physical Attributes in various combinations, but can also be paired with Mental Attributes when the character tries to draw on his Skill to identify an object or answer a question. Intelligence + Archery is required to identify a particular bow, for example, or Intelligence + Survival to read a map. Physical Skill scores represent a combination of personal experience and/or formal training rather than extensive schooling. You can't earn a degree in fist-fighting, but you can graduate at the top of your class in the school of hard knocks.
Untrained Skill Use: If your character doesn't have the necessary Physical Skill required for a roll, he can still attempt the action. Roll his Attribute alone with a -1 penalty.
Social
Social Skills are applications of your character's bearing, charm and poise, such as negotiating with a bank robber, wooing a crowd or telling a faultless lie. These Skills most commonly represent innate capabilities honed by years of experience rather than by any formal training. You can teach someone the basic principles of Persuasion, but true leaders are born rather than made. These Skills are generally paired with your character's Social Attributes, but can also be used with Physical and Mental Attributes in cases such as bodily threats (Strength + Intimidation Skill) or orchestrating a complex deal (Wits + Persuasion Skill).
Untrained Skill Use: If your character doesn't have the necessary Social Skill required for a feat, he can still make the attempt. Roll his Attribute alone at a -1 penalty.
Specialties
A skill specialty represents an expertise in one aspect of a type of skill, such as Longbow for the Archery Skill. A skill specialty adds +1 die to rolls involving that specialty.
