Adventurers are defined more by their skills than anything else. A skill measures learning, experience and expertise and suggests a great deal about the character’s background and upbringing. Skills define what an adventurer is capable of doing in a given situation and define what he can potentially achieve given time and the right resources.
Skills are recorded as a percentile, spanning from 0% to beyond 100%. A skill of 0% represents a complete lack of ability or knowledge. A 0% skill never stops a character from trying to do something, it just implies that they will almost certainly fail and maybe learn something from it. Skills trained beyond 100% do not assure 100% perfection, but they are useful for attempting tasks faster or more difficult than normal.
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Using Skills[]
An adventurer’s skills measure how proficient he is at a particular task. Under most circumstances, there is no need to make a skill check – a character with only a few percent in Riding can ride a horse from one village to another without problems, and there is no need to make a Language check when reading an ordinary scroll or talking to a friend. Checks should only be made in especially important or dangerous situations, when the adventurer is pressed for time, when the task is difficult or dramatic, or when the margin of success is important.
Roll d100 and compare this to the relevant skill’s score. If the dice roll is equal to or less than the skill’s score, the attempt is successful. If the total is greater than the skill’s score, then it has failed.
Success - Roll d100 equal to or less than the associated skill percentage. The lower the roll is compared to the skill percentage, the better it is generally completed.
Failure - Roll d100 greater than the associated skill percentage. The higher the roll is compared to the skill percentage, the worse it is generally failed.
Critical - If the roll is a double (11, 22, 33, 44, etc.) and successful, the skill is completed exceptionally!
Fumble - If the roll is a double (99, 88, 77, 66, etc.) but a failure, the skill has failed spectacularly!
Automatic Success/Failure - A roll of 1-5 is always a success. A roll of 96-100 is always a failure, with 100 being a fumble.
Opposed check[]
Two skills can be used versus one another with an opposed skill check (weapon vs. dodge, bluff vs. insight, perception vs. stealth, etc.).
- If both parties fail, the consequences are obvious. The situation is exacerbated for any involved parties that fumble (but other results are not affected).
- If only one party succeeds, the successful skill is accomplished without challenge.
- If both succeed normally or both critical, the lowest successful roll is the one that achieves the desired result.
- If the rolls are tied, the character with the highest skill is successful.
- If one party succeeds in a critical success and the other succeeds normally, the result is shifted. The other’s result is reduced to a failure, and the initial critical is reduced to a normal success.
Assistance[]
Characters often have the opportunity to help one another with particular skills. Every assisting character rolls the skill and adds 5% to the primary character’s skill if they succeed and another 5% if their roll is below his. A critical assistance adds 15% and a fumbled assistance may botch the whole effort.
Difficulty and Time[]
Sometimes modifiers are applied to a skill check based on the difficulty or time involved with the task. Modifiers affect the effective skill level of the character for the duration of the skill check and are never applied to the roll.
|
Difficulty |
Time |
Check modifier |
|---|---|---|
|
Very Easy |
Ten times normal time |
+60% |
|
Easy |
Five times normal time |
+40% |
|
Simple |
Double normal time |
+20% |
|
Normal |
Normal time |
+0% |
|
Difficult |
— |
-20% |
|
Hard |
Half normal time |
-40% |
|
Very Hard |
— |
-60% |
|
Nearly Impossible |
Almost instantly |
-80% |
Combat Skills[]
Melee Weapons[]
Weapon skills involve knowledge of not only combat experience with a type of weapon, but also different styles of fighting unique to each weapon as well as knowledge of their upkeep and maintenance.
Five melee weapon skills are used for two-handed weapon styles: Greataxe, Greatsword, Maul, Pike and Staff. Likewise, all bows are two-handed weapons.
Dagger (15)[]
Axe (10)[]
Greataxe (05)[]
Shortsword (10)[]
Longsword (10)[]
Greatsword (05)[]
Cudgel (20)[]
Maul (15)[]
Spear (15)[]
Pike (10)[]
Shield (20)[]
Staff (25)[]
Ranged Weapons[]
Sling (05)[]
Bow (10)[]
Exotic Weapon [specify] (00)[]
Several weapons are exotic
Martial Arts [specify] (00)[]
Using secret and disciplined fighting techniques to deliver more powerful blows against an opponent. Unlike other skills, Martial Arts is not rolled separately: if a character makes a Brawl attack and also rolls under a Martial Arts skill, the damage die (not the damage bonus) is doubled.
Types - Pankration, Dhanurveda (balanced), Bahu-yuddha (all-body), Musti-yuddha (boxing), Nara (dancing)
Brawl (25)[]
Striking in hand-to-hand combat, whether with a punch, head butt, kick, or even a bite. A successful Brawl attack does 1D3 points of damage to an opponent.
Wrestle (25)[]
Grappling or other means of open-handed combat involving pinning, throwing or locking opponents. The most highly regarded of sports in Gaia, wrestling is recognized as a contest of strength, virility and resolve.
Throw (25)[]
The hurling, tossing or casting of objects and weapons, such as a javelin or stone.
Finesse Skills[]
Craft [specify] (10) []
Creating or producing a physical item or fine work of art. Specialties of crafting are boundless, but typical crafting skills are listed below:
armor, baking, baskets, blacksmith, bows, brewing, calligraphy, carpentry, clothing, cooking, dying, glass, inscription, instruments, jewelry, leatherwork, locks, painting, pottery, sculpture, ships, shoes, stonemasonry, textiles, traps, weapons, wine
Some lifestyles involve the creation of artistic objects. Although not exclusively artistic, artwork crafts typically include: calligraphy, inscription, dying, glass, jewelry, painting, pottery, sculpture, and textiles.
Disable Device (00)[]
Used to disarm traps and open locks. In addition, this skill lets you sabotage simple mechanical devices, such as catapults, wagon wheels, and doors.
Disguise (05)[]
Concealing identity or appearance, or using some combination of makeup and costume to appear as someone or something else.
Escape Artist (5+DEX-SIZ)[]
Your training allows you to slip out of bonds and escape from grapples.
Repair (15)[]
Fixing something broken, jammed, disassembled, or otherwise inoperable. Also used to craft simple equipment, tack, rafts and so forth.
Sleight of hand (05)[]
Feats of prestidigitation and misdirection, such as pick-pocketing, palming coins, and other small illusions.
Stealth (15+DEX-SIZ)[]
Sneaking around to avoid detection or making otherwise concealed and furtive movements.
Use Rope (30)[]
Preparing, securing, tying and knotting ropes and ropelike materials. Used when binding a captive and frequently aboard ships.
Mental Skills []
Alchemy (00)[]
Concocting and inventing substances, draughts, potions and strange mystical objects is a highly dangerous and volatile art but at least as heady. The skill is somewhat more accepted in Achaea than wizardry, but still regarded with suspicion. Basic alchemical creations include: acid, alchemist’s fire, smokesticks, antitoxin, etc. More complex creations include: draughts of health and mana (invest 3MP/9MP for success/critical into potion, return HP or MP equal to that when quaffed), and even magical items (permanently spend 1PSY, item can store 3MP/6MP for success/critical).
First Aid (10)[]
Treating minor injuries. Each successful use restores 1D3 hit points to a wounded character. A critical success restores 1D3+3 hit points. First aid cannot heal disabled or maimed wounds, nor can be used more than once until the patient has recovered completely.
Gambling (INT+PSY)[]
Knowledge of the rules and odds of various games of chance (bones, dice, etc.) and winning.
Lore, Common (INT)[]
Familiarity with general knowledge an average person may know, including recent history, gossip, laws, customs, traditions, religion and notable figures of their homeland. Common lore can concern almost any topic, but does not cover any specialized knowledge. A savvy barkeep with many interesting tidbits to share has a high common lore, while a clueless scholar with his nose in a scroll has a low common lore.
Lore [specify] (00)[]
Specialized knowledge of other subjects generally requires research or a concordant lifestyle. Lore skills generally cannot be improved without research. The possibilities for Advanced Lore specializations are limited only by a player’s imagination, but a list of potential areas of study are listed here:
agriculture, arcana, art, astronomy, commerce, culture, dungeoneering, engineering, gambling, geography, heraldry, herb, history, law, literature, logistics, mathematics, military tactics, mineral, monsters, nature, nobility, philosophy, planes, politics, poison, regional, religion, sea, streetwise
Literacy (See Upbringing)[]
Understanding and comprehension of the written word.
Medicine (00)[]
Treatment of serious medical conditions including grievous wounds, poisons and disease through long-term care, medication or surgery. This is a time-consuming process and does not restore hit points immediately.
Research (05)[]
Using a source of references to discover desired pieces of information. It may be used to learn new spells or increase knowledge, research takes extensive time and resources. A successful research check increases the improvement roll by 10% but doubles the required downtime. Skills which may be researched include: Alchemy, Appraise, Craft, First Aid, Lore, Language, Literacy, Medicine, Ritual, Sorcery, and Spellcraft. Research may also be used to add an experience pip to a Lore skill during an adventure, if access to related knowledge is in abundance and time is taken to absorb it.
Perception Skills[]
Appraise (05)[]
Judging the value of an item, or determining some aspects of its capabilities that are not immediately apparent.
Awareness (15)[]
Your senses allow you to
Insight (05)[]
Evaluating another character’s concealed thoughts and/or motives based on subliminal clues.
[]
Charting and following a path through recognizable landmarks, constellations, or using a map to find a course.
Perception (25)[]
Your senses allow you to notice fine details and alert you to danger. Perception covers all five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Sense (10)[]
Being able to detect subtle or hidden things with any combination of scent, taste, and touch.
Survival [specify] (05)[]
Surviving in the wild and navigating in the wilderness. Survival specialization are taken by biome:
Biomes: Marsh, Mountain, River, Steppe, Desert, Forest, Tundra, Sea, Jungle, Underground
Track (05)[]
Trailing creatures across terrain, using tracks, spoor and broken vegetation among other clues.
Physical Skills[]
Acrobatics (15)[]
Keeping balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces. Also used to dive, flip, and roll to avoid attacks, soften falls and overcome obstacles.
Boating (05)[]
This covers the use of small waterborne craft propelled manually by oars or sometimes paddles.
Climb (40)[]
The ability to scale walls, ropes or other difficult surfaces.
Dodge (2xDEX)[]
Avoiding injury from a physical attacks or incoming objects.
Drive (10)[]
The ability to drive a wagon or chariot at speed. Also includes knowledge of their preparation and use.
Jump (25)[]
Leaping up to the character’s height vertically, or up to twice their height horizontally. Halve these distances if the character cannot run up to the jump.
Ride (20)[]
Riding an animal and controlling it in difficult situations. Each type of animal (horse, pegasus, sea serpent, etc.) is a specialty.
Shiphandling (00)[]
Covers the operation of large waterborne craft that are driven by sail or rows of oars.
Swim (15)[]
Guiding oneself through the water with the intent of movement or prevention of drowning. A rare skill, even among sailors and fishermen.
Social Skills[]
Bluff (05) []
Deception, fast talk, confusion and silver-tongued trickery. Bluffing can trick a victim into believing something, only to later realize the flaws in the argument.
Command (05)[]
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Etiquette (00)[]
Knowing what to say and how to behave in a particular situation, as well as understanding the various niceties of a particular social class.
Handle Animal (05)[]
Working with animals to teach them tricks, get them to follow simple commands, or even domesticate them.
Intimidate (05)[]
Manipulating another creature through threats, fear and displays of prowess.
Language [specify][]
Speaking and understanding a language. Generally, characters do not need to make Language rolls to converse in their native languages with other speakers of the same language.
Native language or dialect (INTx5)[]
Other languages (00)[]
Perform [specify] (05)[]
Performing is a large skill with many Lyre, Kithara (large lyre), Salpinx (long bronze horn), Flute, Pan flute, Tambourine, Tympanon (hand drum), Crotalum (castanets), Bukane (curved trumpet), Drum, Harp, Sistrum (bronze rattle)
Act
Performance as another person or role, typically as part of a play for an audience. Acting is also usually used to reinforce the authenticity of a disguise, or further the effectiveness of a bluff.
Oratory
Giving a speech which calls to the emotions of an audience.
Dance
From the exuberant, drunken flailing of the Caydean reveler to the practiced, controlled steps of the Dwarven priest, dancing is a natural and unavoidable form of expression, entertainment and festivity.
Persuade (10)[]
Imparting kn
Teach (05)[]
Imparting knowledge to others. See Experience and improvement for additional rules.
Spiritual Skills[]
Meditation (PSY)[]
Self-regulation or religious practices which bring calm, clarity, and concentration. Meditating returns spent magic points at a rate of 2/hour. It may be substituted for other skills in cases of concentration (with magic, for instance) or appropriate situations of reflection.
Ritual [specify] (00)[]
Powerful, time-consuming magical procedures that require extensive training in the tutelage of outcast sorcerers or foreign mages.
Sing [specify] (05)[]
Singing is a fundamental part of Hellenic life, calling forth the gods’ favor in rituals, festivals and before battle. These songs affect people in powerful ways. They are of course sung to entertain as well.
There are eleven specializations of songs: Paean, Epinikia, Hymnos, Dithyramb, Threnoi, Hyporchema, Prosodion, Ode, Elegiac, Iambic, Rhapsodoi
Spellcraft (00)[]
The study of magic and the ability to shape arcane energies to greater effect, as well as recognize spells evoked by others.
Sorcery (00)[]
The study of magic and the ability to shape arcane energies to greater effect, as well as recognize spells evoked by others.