Skills
When you attempt something that comes with a chance of failure or a negative outcome, your MC might ask you to make an attribute check.
Attribute Checks
Like attacks, attribute checks involve rolling 1d20 and adding your attribute to the roll. MCs will only ever ask for one of seven attribute Checks: STR, DEX, END, AWR, INT, CHA, or LUCK. MCs will not ask for COR attribute checks, given that COR functions differently from the other seven attributes.
Strength (STR) Checks can determine whether you succeed at kicking down a door, climbing a wall, or some other feat of strength.
Dexterity (DEX) Checks might be needed if you run along a precipice or try to nimbly sneak past a guard.
Endurance (END) Checks represent your ability to withstand extreme weather and march or run for long stretches of time without giving in.
Awareness (AWR) Checks determine how attuned you are to sensory input. It might help you spot traps or hidden motives.
Intelligence (INT) Checks can show how much you recall or can deduce about learned information, as well as your capacity to quickly encode new data.
Charisma (CHA) Checks represent your ability to talk their way through social situations by charming or deceiving, and to lead or convince the people around you.
Luck (LUCK) Checks can represent the twists and turns of fate. If you’re looking through a cupboard in an abandoned farmstead for some food, a LUCK check might determine whether you find any.
Player Skills
Whenever a rule or ability warrants using a specific skill, the rule will signify this mentioning the skill immediately following the attribute, such as CHA/Persuading. A creature without the Persuading skill can still attempt such a check, simply rolling CHA.
While the MC will only ever ask for one of the attribute checks described above, players have the chance to use skills, which give them a greater chance of success under specific circumstances.
You will have a variety of skill points granted by your background and your profession. Your lineage and talents will occasionally give you skill points as well. You assign these skill points to specific skills, such as Balancing, Deceiving, or Distance Running.
When your MC asks you for an attribute check and one of your skills associated with that attribute is situationally relevant, you may add that skill bonus in addition to your attribute.
You may never have more than 20 points in a single skill.
| For example if Hanniah Sharptooth and Marcus Luxxor are adventuring together and both need to dash after a carriage to catch it before it leaves town, they would need to make STR checks to sprint after it.
Assuming they are both level 1, Hanniah and Marcus both have 2 STR. However, Hanniah has +1 in the Sprinting skill. This means that Marcus rolls 1d20+2 (adding his STR), while Hanniah rolls 1d20+3 (adding her STR and her Sprinting skill). |
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Circumstantial Bonuses
If you perform well on one skill that impacts another skill, then your MC might grant you a circumstantial bonus on the second skill check. This might be as low as a +1 or as high as a +5, depending upon what the MC feels is appropriate to the situation.
Complete list of skills
Skills are related to a specific attribute and cannot be used with mismatching attributes. Skills are also organized by tags; if you gain an ability that lets you gain a skill with a specific tag, check the table below to see your options. Each skill is organized first by attribute, then by tag. Skills are described in more detail after these tables, although these descriptions are not comprehensive and your MC may allow other applications of these skills if you come up with creative ideas.
| SKILLS BY ATTRIBUTE | |
|---|---|
| STR | Applied Force, Athletics, Menacing, Sprinting |
| DEX | Balancing, Contorting, Dancing, Sneaking, Tumbling |
| END | Distance Running, Forced March |
| AWR | Animal Handling, Eavesdropping, Foraging, Intuiting, Investigating, Navigating*, Perceiving, Sheltering, Tracking |
| INT | Alchemy*, Appraising, Arcana, Art, Astrology, Astronomy, Biology, Brewing*, Calligraphy*, Carpentry*, Cartography*, Chemistry, Cobbling*, Cooking*, Disguising*, Dungeoneering, Economics, Evading, Forging*, Geography, Glassblowing*, History, Jeweling*, Law, Leatherworking*, Lockpicking*, Masonry*, Medicine*, Military, Nature, Painting*, Politics of [choose region], Pottery*, Religion [choose one], Smithing*, Sleight of Hand, Weaving*, Woodcarving*, Vehicles [Land], Vehicles [Water] |
| CHA | Deceiving, Empathy, Entertaining, Gossipping, Instrument* [choose one], Intimidating, Leadership, Persuading, Savoir Faire |
| LUCK | Fortuity, Scavenging |
| SKILLS BY TAG | |
|---|---|
| Acrobatics | Balancing, Contorting, Tumbling |
| Athleticism | Applied Force, Athletics, Sprinting |
| Crafting* | Alchemy, Brewing, Calligraphy, Carpentry, Cartography, Cobbling, Cooking, Glassblowing, Jeweling, Leatherworking, Masonry, Painting, Pottery, Smithing, Weaving, Woodcarving |
| Influence | Deceiving, Empathy, Gossipping, Intimidating, Leadership, Persuading |
| Knowledge | Arcana, Art, Astrology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Geography, History, Law, Medicine*, Military, Politics of [choose region], Religion [choose one], Vehicles* [land], Vehicles* [water] |
| Luck | Fortuity, Scavenging |
| Observation | Appraising, Eavesdropping, Intuiting, Investigating, Perceiving |
| Performance | Dancing, Entertaining, Instrument* [choose one], Savoir Faire |
| Stamina | Distance Running, Forced March, Menacing |
| Subterfuge | Disguising*, Evading, Forging*, Lockpicking*, Sleight of Hand |
| Survival | Animal Handling, Dungeoneering, Foraging, Nature, Navigating*, Sheltering, Sneaking, Tracking |
ANIMAL HANDLING = AWR, Survival You might use this skill when riding a mount (see p. 330) or when trying to train an animal that views you as a friendly creature. APPLIED FORCE STR, Athleticism You can use this skill to break down doors, use a crowbar to leverage heavy weights, and similar applications of pure strength with or without a mechanism to assist you. APPRAISING INT, Observation This skill can help you determine how valuable something is, or whether the materials are genuine. If you also have a Crafting skill, your MC might let you use that skill when appraising a particular craft, or even let you make an INT/ Appraising check and a skill check using that Crafting skill, taking the higher. ARCANA INT, Knowledge You can use this skill when trying to recall information related to planar entities or trying to recall factual information about any of the five Sources of Magic. You can also use this skill to manipulate magical devices. ART INT, Knowledge This skill can help you determine factual information about art, such as the materials used or the message that the artist was trying to convey. Your MC might also let you add ½ your Art skill when trying to produce art, although if you have any points in a Crafting skill, you are more likely to just use that skill. ASTROLOGY INT, Knowledge You can use this skill when recalling information about astrological symbols and their significance. Your MC might rule that you can make an INT/Astrology check to give you a circumstantial bonus on a CHA/Empathy check or an AWR/Intuiting check when interacting with someone, as your understanding of their astrological signs might lend you insight into their character or unconscious motives. ASTRONOMY INT, Knowledge You might use this skill whenever you want to recall or infer information related to space and the orbit of planets, satellites, and the like. Your MC might let you add ½ your Astronomy when trying to navigate, although if you have the Navigating skill you are likely to use that instead. ATHLETICS STR, Athleticism This skill represents your general athletic capacity. When climbing or swimming, and at your MC’s discretion when jumping, you might use this skill. If you have a climb speed or a swim speed, this skill will not come up as often. BALANCING DEX, Acrobatics You might use this skill when traversing tricky and narrow terrain, such as the lip of a cliff or the pinnacle of a rooftop. BIOLOGY INT, Knowledge This skill will help you to recall or research any information related to biological studies. Your MC may allow you to make an INT/Biology check to gain a circumstantial bonus when making an INT/Nature check or an AWR/Animal Handling check. BREWING* INT, Crafting If you have the appropriate tools, you can attempt to brew craft beers, wines, or spirits. Your MC might also allow you to attempt to make potions, using ½ of your Brewing skill in place of Alchemy. You may use this skill when trying to recall or discern intellectual information about the practice of brewing, and doing so does not require any tools. CALLIGRAPHY* INT, Crafting When you have the appropriate tools, you can use this skill to create beautiful calligraphic works. CHEMISTRY INT, Knowledge You can use this skill to recall or research any information related to chemistry and chemical studies. COBBLING* INT, Crafting If you have the appropriate time and tools, you can use this skill to repair shoes or make new ones. CONTORTING DEX, Acrobatics This skill allows you to contort your body and squeeze through spaces that would otherwise be too tight for a creature of your size. Especially tight contortions will be more difficult during combat. COOKING* INT, Crafting Given the appropriate time and tools, you can use this skill to cook delicious food. You can also make checks to determine the quality or sourcing of food and similar cooking-related topics, regardless of whether you have tools.