Skills

General Discussion

A Skill is an inate ability that can be used as often as desired. It does seem somewhat unreasonable that a person with some intelligence, cunning, and/or percerverence could not learn new skills such as swimming, blacksmithery, or the like. Skills have to be learned, of course - the length of time required varies with each skill. Generally, the length of time required is the skill cost points * 4 weeks. For each point of intelligence over that required for the Skill, deduct one day. For each point of intelligence under that required for the Skill, add one to the skill cost points, and then calculate the time required to learn.

The initial aquisition of a skill does not imply mastery or even expert level knowledge of a subject but a usable skill in this area, i.e., you're not great at it, but you are much better than a novice. Many skills can be taken more than one time. As more points are put into a skill, the mastery becomes greater. Some Skills have prerequisites such as a related Skill or an specified attribute (e.g., dexterity) of a certain level - these prerequisites must be enforced!

A character is allowed to trade weapon proficiencies for skill points at a 1 to 2 ratio (i.e. one proficiency may be traded in for two skill points) - skill points cannot be traded for proficiencies!

If the character is multi-class, he receives the skill points of only the most favorable class. If the character is dual-class, he receives skill points in the normal manner.

EXPERIMENTAL RULE: If the person playing the character has a real, recognizable proficiency at one of the skills listed, the DM (at his option) may award a "free" skill point in that particular skill. We are not talking about letting empty boasts earn a free skill; there must be some real talent in the particular area. Completion of high school should be sufficient for the Literacy/Cyphering skill; a college degree in Mechanical Engineering would be sufficient for the Mechanics skill; having a First Aid merit badge would fulfill the requirements for that particular skill. If this optional rule is used, standards must be maintained or else everyone will have every skill (thus rendering the whole idea useless). The DM may wish to put a limit on the number of skills that can be carried over from "Real Life" - say one or two skills - even if the person is a World Expert On Every Subject Known To Man. (The idea behind this use of the skill is to allow people to put a little bit of themselves into their characters.)

skills by class

Initial Points
CLASS Points Gained Inherent Skills (prerequisites apply)

Acrobat n/a 1 Acrobatics Acute Hearing Climbing
Silent Movement

Assassin 2 1 Disguise Spying

Barbarian 2 1 Fishing Naturalist Hunting
Running

Bard 1 1 Art (Music) Literacy/Cyphering

Bounty Hunter 1 1 Acute Hearing Alertness Silent Movement

Cavalier 2 1 Courtly Graces Heraldry Horsemanship

Cleric * 1 First Aid Literacy/Cyphering Religious Knowledge

Druid * 1 First Aid Naturalist Religious Knowledge
Weather Recognition

Fighter 4 2 <none>

Houri 1 1 Courtly Graces Sex Appeal

Illusionist 0 1 Literacy/Cyphering

Magic-User 0 1 Literacy/Cyphering

Monk * 1 Acrobatics Acute Hearing Alertness
Running Silent Movement

Paladin * 1 Courtly Graces Literacy/Cyphering Religious Knowledge

Ranger 1 1 Alertness Naturalist

Thief 1 1 Acrobatics Acute HearingClimbing
Silent Movement

Witch * 1 Literacy/Cyphering

* 1 or 2 points, to be used for a skill related to their deity - the DM must approve. In these cases, the intelligence requirement may be waived at the DM's discretion.

required skill multiple
Skill Intelligence points points? Prerequisites and Comments

Basketry 6 1

Diving 6 1 Swimming

Fire Building 6 1 once

Fishing 6 1

Portering 6 1

Riding 6 1

Running 6 1

Swimming 6 1

Acute Hearing 7 1 intact ears

Animal Noise 7 1

Climbing 7 1

Expert Horsemanship 7 1 Riding, Horsemanship

Horsemanship 7 1 Riding

Horticulture 7 1 once

Husbandry 7 1

Netting 7 1

Pottery 7 1

Rope Use 7 1

Seamanship 7 1

Sex Appeal 7 1 Charisma > 8, Comeliness > 8

Teamster 7 1

Alertness 8 2

Barbery 8 1

Blacksmithery 8 2

Brewery 8 1

Carpentry/Woodcrafting 8 2

Cooking 8 1

Coopery 8 1

Dyeing 8 1

Fletching/Boyery 8 1

Hunting 8 1

Literacy/Cyphering 8 1 takes six months per language to learn

Recognize Value 8 2

Service 8 1

Tailoring 8 1

Weaving 8 1

Acrobatics 9 2 Dexterity > 12

Armory 9 2 once

Art 9 1

Boating 9 1

Calligraphy 9 1 Literacy/Cyphering, Dexterity > 6

Farming 9 2

First Aid 9 1

Flying 9 1

Glassblowing 9 1

Leatherworking 9 1

Map Reading 9 1

Mining 9 2

Mountaineering 9 1

Naturalist 9 1

Perfumery 9 1

Silent Movement 9 1 Alertness

Tanning 9 1

Torture 9 1

Boatwright 10 2 Boating Skill

Business Sense 10 2 Recognize Value

Courtly Graces 10 1 Charisma > 6

Falconry 10 1

Gaming/Gambling 10 1

Public Speaking 10 1 Charisma > 7

Sleight of Hand 10 1 Dexterity > 11

Tracking 10 1

Two Weapons 10 3 once Dexterity > 9

Weather Recognition 10 1

Bookkeeping 11 1 Literacy/Cyphering

Gold/Silversmithing 11 2 Blacksmithery or Jewellery/Gemcutting —
the cost is 1 if both skills are known

Heraldry 11 1

Jewellery/Gemcutting 11 2

Locksmithing 11 3

Navigation 11 1

Taxidermy 11 1

Disguise 12 2

Foreign Language 12 1

Forgery 12 2 Literacy/Cyphering

Magistry 12 2

Master Armory 12 3 once Armory

Religious Knowledge 12 1

Ventriloquism 12 2

Weaponsmith 12 2

Piloting 13 1 Navigation

Cartography 13 2 Calligraphy, Map Reading, Navigation

Engineering 13 3 Literacy/Cyphering; takes 8 months to learn -
the cost is only 2 if Mechanics is known

Linguistics 13 2 Literacy/Cyphering

Mechanics 13 3 Literacy/Cyphering, -
the cost is only 2 if Engineering is known

Spell Recognition 13 1

Spying 13 1 once Silent Movement, Alertness, Forgery, Disguise

once again, but alphabetically:

required skill multiple
Skill Intelligence points points? Prerequisites and Comments

Acrobatics 9 2 Dexterity > 12

Acute Hearing 7 1 intact ears

Alertness 8 2

Animal Noise 7 1

Armory 9 2 once

Art 9 1

Barbery 8 1

Basketry 6 1

Blacksmithery 8 2

Boating 9 1

Boatwright 10 2 Boating Skill

Bookkeeping 11 1 Literacy/Cyphering

Brewery 8 1

Business Sense 10 2 Recognize Value

Calligraphy 9 1 Literacy/Cyphering, Dexterity > 6

Carpentry/Woodcrafting 8 2

Cartography 13 2 Calligraphy, Map Reading, Navigation

Climbing 7 1

Cooking 8 1

Coopery 8 1

Courtly Graces 10 1 Charisma > 6

Disguise 12 2

Diving 6 1 Swimming

Dyeing 8 1

Engineering 13 3 Literacy/Cyphering; takes 8 months to learn -
the cost is only 2 if Mechanics is known

Expert Horsemanship 7 1 Riding, Horsemanship

Falconry 10 1

Farming 9 2

Fire Building 6 1 once

First Aid 9 1

Fishing 6 1

Fletching/Boyery 8 1

Flying 9 1

Foreign Language 12 1

Forgery 12 2 Literacy/Cyphering

Gaming/Gambling 10 1

Glassblowing 9 1

Gold/Silversmithing 11 2 Blacksmithery or Jewellery/Gemcutting —
the cost is 1 if both skills are known

Heraldry 11 1

Horsemanship 7 1 Riding

Horticulture 7 1 once

Hunting 8 1

Husbandry 7 1

Jewellery/Gemcutting 11 2

Leatherworking 9 1

Linguistics 13 2 Literacy/Cyphering

Literacy/Cyphering 8 1 takes six months per language to learn

Locksmithing 11 3

Magistry 12 2

Map Reading 9 1

Master Armory 12 3 once Armory

Mechanics 13 3 Literacy/Cyphering -
the cost is only 2 if Engineering is known

Mining 9 2

Mountaineering 9 1

Naturalist 9 1

Navigation 11 1

Netting 7 1

Perfumery 9 1

Piloting 13 1 Navigation

Portering 6 1

Pottery 7 1

Public Speaking 10 1 Charisma > 7

Recognize Value 8 2

Religious Knowledge 12 1

Riding 6 1

Rope Use 7 1

Running 6 1

Seamanship 7 1

Service 8 1

Sex Appeal 7 1 Charisma > 8, Comeliness > 8

Silent Movement 9 1 Alertness

Sleight of Hand 10 1 Dexterity > 11

Spell Recognition 13 1

Spying 13 1 once Silent Movement, Alertness, Forgery, Disguise

Swimming 6 1

Tailoring 8 1

Tanning 9 1

Taxidermy 11 1

Teamster 7 1

Torture 9 1

Tracking 10 1

Two Weapons 10 3 once Dexterity > 9

Ventriloquism 12 2

Weaponsmith 12 2

Weather Recognition 10 1

Weaving 8 1

skill descriptions

acrobatics (intelligence 9 required — 2 points/skill)

This skill allows some abilities (explained below), including controlling a fall so as to avoid damage, pole vaulting, and tightrope walking.

FALLING

Reduce the amount of damage taken (in terms of hit points) by double the number of points taken in this skill; results of less than zero are treated as zero. Example: Frito the Fighter decides to take the Acrobatics skill. Good thing too, since immediately after the graduation ceremony he trips and falls off the 20' stage. The damage rolled is four points; therefore he takes zero points of damage ((4) - (2 x 2) = 0). If the damage roll had been two points, the damage taken would have been zero; if the damage roll had been five points, Frito would have sustained only one point of damage.

VAULTING

A novice may attempt to vault a barrier of 8' or less by using a springboard, pole, etc., by making their Pet/Poly save with a -6 modifier. A person with the Acrobatics skill may vault a barrier of 9' or less by making their Pet/Poly save. For every 1/2' below the height rating, add 1 to the saving throw; for every 1/2' above the height rating, subtract 2 from the saving throw. Each additional point put into the skill past the two required to buy it will add 1/2' to the base height that can be vaulted.

base height
# of skill points that can be vaulted saving throw

1 8 feet save vs. PetPoly at -6
2 9 feet save vs. PetPoly at -4
3 9.5 feet save vs. PetPoly at -2
4 10 feet save vs. PetPoly at parity

Each point of dexterity over 14 adds one to the saving throw. Each point of dexterity below 9 subtracts one from the saving throw.

TIGHTROPE WALKING

This assumes a tightrope 60' long and at no more than 45 degrees slant (a little more slant is allowed if you are going down). For each additional 60' segment a new saving throw must be made. Success depends on making the Pet/Poly save. Failure means falling. Novices save at -6; people with the skill save at parity. Each point over the two required to buy the skill will add one to the saving throw. Each point of dexterity over 14 adds one to the save; each point below 9 subtracts one from the saving throw. Other bonuses (such as use of a really good balancing pole) or penalties (such as trying to do the walk in a hurricane) may be added on at the DM's discretion.

acute hearing (intelligence 7 required — 1 point/skill)

This is somewhat related to the Alertness skill. However, instead of quick reactions, the heightened sensory ability manifests itself as the person being better able to hear things. For example, a normal human has a 5% chance of hearing noises behind closed doors. Beings with this skill have roughly twice the chance of hearing noise -- a 10% chance of hearing noise behind a closed door. (Racial Modifiers are applicable.) This ability to hear faint noises can be applicable to other situations. For example, this skill allows the character to add 1 to his rolls to see if he wakes up due to noise. Additional points may be put into this skill. Each additional point aids the "hearing noise" percentage by 2 percent and adds +1 to "wake up" rolls.

alertness (intelligence 8 required — 2 points/skill)

A person with the Alertness skill gives himself, and possibly his party, an "edge". The character will be surprised only 25% of the time (instead of the normal 33%). This skill also aids in the detection of invisible people. Characters with this skill suffer a -3 ToHit penalty when attacking invisible beings, instead of the normal -4. The character is also allowed to add 5% to his resistance against all pickpocket attempts directed at him, and to add 1 to his rolls to see if he wakes up due to noise. Each additional point will lower the surprise percentage by 3% (to a minimum of 1%), add 3% to pickpocket resistance, and add one to his rolls to wake up. Every two additional points helps the ToHit against invisible beings by one, to a maximum of parity at eight points put into this skill – the benefits are cumulative.

animal noise (intelligence 7 required — 1 points/skill)

This skill allows the imitation and identification of certain animal noises and calls. The success roll is made by adding the better of the character's Intelligence or Wisdom score together with the number of points put into this skill. This number or lower must be rolled on a d20. If the roll is missed, the character has just made some nonsensical (and possibly embarrasing) noise. If this roll is made, the animal still gets a save (on a d20) versus its Wisdom (if the Wisdom score is unknown, assume it is the same as the creature's Intelligence). If the animal's save is missed, it will believe the character's noises to be legitimate and may act accordingly. If the animal makes its save, it will either ignore the noises entirely or may act in an entirely different manner than what was intended (it could be bad news to have accidentally made a rhino's mating call while in the savanna). Identification of a naturally made learned call/noise is automatic. Faked noises can be identified as such if the character makes his save versus his Wisdom (just as if he were the animal trying to be faked out). Each point put into this skill allows the imitation and identification of ten animal calls and/or noises. (Keep track of which calls/noises are learned with the expenditure of each point.) Additional points in this skill also add to the chances of success with calls learned previously (+1 to the calls/noises in a particular block, this is cumulative). Anyone who does not have this skill (or who has it, but doesn't have the particular creature call) may make an attempt to fake a call by subtracting two from the first roll and adding eight to the creature's saving throw.

armory (intelligence 9 required — 2 point/skill)

This skill allows field repairs and the fashioning of most types of armour. The types of armour that can be fashioned are from padded up to banded mail; the manufacture of plate or better requires the Master Armory skill. Ten working days per AC class are required to build armour. Armour up to (and including) plate mail can be repaired by use of the skill. This generally takes a day for minor repairs, three days for resizing armour or making a moderate repair, and seven or more days to make major repairs to armour.

art (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

The Arts include a wide variety of pursuits such as Acting, Architecture, Dancing, Limning, Music, Painting, Sculpting, etc. A point is spent to buy a skill in one particular Art. Such skill provides enough ability to make a (very) small living doing whatever Art one has trained for. Multiple points can be put into a particular Art to improve one's skill or can be used to buy an ability in another Art. If you are interested in becoming the "equivalent" of Duncan in Dancing, Picasso in Painting or Mozart in Music, consider spending at least two dozen points in your particular field. Becoming an Art Critic requires no points.

barbery (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill allows the character to cut hair, trim beards, perform pedicures and manicures and other such things. In addition, the barber can concoct special creams and potions to do such things as dye hair (95% chance of success), remove hair and make it stop growing for a month at a time (85% chance of success), restore hair growth where it is absent (25% chance of success). Barbers also know the proper way to apply leeches so as to remove the visible signs of bruises (50% chance of success) and to possibly remove insinuative poisons (5% chance of success, must be attempted within one turn of poisoning; if it is successful half the hit points lost due to the poison are regained - note that if a person died from the poison, they stay dead). Each extra point spent on this skill adds five percentage points to all success rolls.

basketry (intelligence 6 required — 1 point/skill)

The Basketry skill allows characters to fashion serviceable baskets, mats, etc. from materials at hand (if any). These baskets can hold ~10GP of weight for every 10 minutes(/# of skill points in this area) spent making the basket. Multiple points in this area will make the resultant baskets more esthetic and easier to build

blacksmithery (intelligence 8 required — 2 points/skill)

This skill allows the fashioning of metal implements such as horseshoes, shovels, hoes, etc., out of easy to work hard metals such as bronze, brass, iron, etc. Extra points will allow more intricate items to be made such as pump heads, etc. Also allowed for more points will be the ability to work harder metals such as mithril and adamantium. Note that this skill is not a substitute for the Weaponsmith skill.

boating (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

This gives the character the ability to "captain" small boats such as rowboats, canoes, rafts, and small sailboats - craft that require only three or fewer people (not counting passengers) to properly sail (contrast this with the Piloting skill). These may only be used on inland waters and very near the shore of seas or oceans. A prime boat type (a "major") must be chosen which will have a skill rating of one, but some ability in all small craft is gained (equivalent to a skill rating of 0). With such a person at the helm, the craft will move at a rate of 10% faster than the normal (printed) speed and will be 2% less likely to capsize if it is a boat in which the character has a major. If the person has the Boating skill and is piloting a craft that is not one of his majors, the speed and chance to capsize are normal. If a party is trying to use a boat without anyone having the Boating skill, the speed of the craft will be reduced by 10% and the chance to capsize will increase by 2%. Multiple points spent in this area can be used to add more majors or to increase the ability with respect to a previously known major; each additional point in a major will increase the boat speed by another 10% and lessen the chance to capsize by 2%. For example: Guido the Cleric likes small sailboats so much that he decides to spend two skill points on learning how to pilot them. When he is at the helm of such a boat, it will move 20% faster than normal and will be 4% less likely to capsize. He can also use other small craft such as canoes at the normal speed and chance to capsize.

boatwright (intelligence 10 required — 2 points/skill)

One point in this skill gives the ability to build canoes, kayaks, and other small boats of average quality. Additional points buy the skill to make other types of bigger and/or more elaborate boats and to make higher quality smaller boats. The prerequisite is knowledge (i.e. the particular skill) of how to use the particular boat/ship to be built.

Boat Type I Boat Type II Boat Type III Boat Type IV

Canoe, River Barge, Corvette,
Kayak, Small Sloop, Sloop, Frigate, Man 'O War,
# of skill points Small Sailboat Large Sailboat Small Merchantman Large Merchantman

1 cannot cannot cannot cannot
2 5 cannot cannot cannot
3 6 cannot cannot cannot
4 7 5 cannot cannot
5 8 6 cannot cannot
6 9 7 5 cannot
7 10 8 6 cannot
8 11 9 7 5
9 12 10 8 6

The success roll is made by subtracting the Quality Number from 12. Rolling this baseline number or more on 2d6 means you have successfully fashioned an average boat (a 5 on a 1 to 10 scale). For every three points over the baseline number (round down), the quality of the boat is raised by one point. For every two points rolled below the baseline number (round down), the boat quality drops by one. A boat of Quality two is barely seaworthy and may sink. A boat of Quality one will sink within 2d6 days of first being launched.

Example: Guido the Cleric likes boats, knows how to sail all types of boats and ships, and decides to learn to build them. He enthusiasticly puts four skill points into the effort. He builds a Kayak and needs only a 4 (Quality rating of 8 on Type 1 boats - 12-8=4) or better on 2d6 to build at least an average kayak. He rolls a 12! Thus the quality of this Kayak is 2 points better than normal (12 - 4 = 8; there are 2 threes in 8; therefore Quality = 7). This kayak will move faster, more easily, and take more damage before sinking than an average quality one. If Guido had rolled a two, he would have wound up with a Quality 4 kayak - a slower, lumbering, hulk of a kayak. Guido would have had a chance of turning out a TYPE 2 boat (such as a river barge) provided he knew how to sail the type of boat he was trying to build. He would have had to expend more skill points to be able to try to build a Frigate or a Man 'o War.

bookkeeping (intelligence 11 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill gives advanced knowledge, accuracy, and speed in arithmetic. It also gives a basic knowledge of laws and procedures for taxation and tariffs for various areas. A character with this skill who is running a business should be able to make 1d6 * # of skill points more money per year (due to more efficient record keeping, better knowledge of tax loopholes, etc.). Finally, this skill is essential to have a good chance of successfully manipulating the books "creatively".

brewery (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

By means of this skill, a character may brew simple, potable alcoholic beverages such as beer, ale, and wine. A single point will give the ability to make mediocre beverages as well as the ability to put together simple brewing equipment. Additional points will buy the ability to make finer beers, ales, and wine; these tasting better and being worth more money. Other beverages such as whiskey, brandy, schnapps, etc. will be gained as more points are invested in this skill. One skill point gives an 85% chance (success on a 4 or higher on a d20) of making potable beer, ale, or wine. Each additional point adds 5% to the base chance of success as well as adding an additional category of drink that can be brewed, with a base chance of success of 85%. Some categories are whiskey, brandy, schnapps, vodka, malt liquor, scotch, etc. Keep track of the chance of success for each category. A roll of one on a success roll indicates failure (possibly catastrophic in nature) no matter what adjustments may be applicable. An adjusted roll of over 20 indicates a truly fine batch of liquor. For example, a person with five skill points in this ability might have:

Beverage Type Chance of Success Chance of Fine Vintage

Beer, Ale, or Wine 105% 5%

Whiskey 100% no chance

Vodka 95% no chance

Brandy 90% no chance

Absinthe 85% no chance

In all categories, a roll of one will indicate utter failure no matter what the adjustments.

business sense (intelligence 10 required — 2 points/skill)

This gives the person a better chance at driving bargains and making shrewd financial decisions. This is accomplished by gaining skill in bargaining techniques and practices (everything from knowing how to give out free samples of roast yak to giving out free samples of gold). It provides skill in elementary business law and bookkeeping. (However, it is not a substitute for either the Magistry or Bookkeeping skills). As a general rule, a character with the Business Sense skill will be able to get a five to ten percent better price for most items (buying or selling). Additional points will provide better knowledge of local trade laws and customs, more discounts, etc.

calligraphy (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill allows the production of fine manuscripts, posters, notices, etc. with the number of different scripts available being equal to the Calligrapher's intelligence score. This skill also lowers the chance of failure of penning a scroll by 3% (to a minimum of a 1% chance of failure). Each additional point added to this skill will improve the overall performance somewhat (add 5% if you use a die roll to judge the artfulness of the manuscript) and lower the chance of failure of penning a scroll by 1% (once again subject to a minimum of 1% chance of failure). Additional points also add additional scripts -- an additional script per point.

The skill also allows the calligrapher to make usable ink out of a variety of normal materials - black ink from lampblack and lindseed oil, for example.

carpentry/woodcrafting (intelligence 8 required — 2 points/skill)

This allows the making of wooden items from cabinets to houses (the building thereof, not the design). The initial investment in the skill will allow the character to build plain but serviceable furniture, cabinets, and structures of wood. The volume that may be worked is 75 cubic feet per day. The character may provide directions to up to four other people, each of whom will produce (on the average) 75 cubic feet per day. (This means that up to 375 cubic feet of "structure" may be constructed by such a carpenter and his crew.) Each additional point in this skill will increase the complexity of tasks that may be attempted, increase the craftsman's volume by 10 cubic feet per day, add one to the number of helpers that may be directed, and increase the helpers' output by 5 cubic feet per helper per day.

cartography (intelligence 13 required — 2 points/skill)

This allows the making of highly accurate maps from various sources of information. It provides a limited knowledge of art and calligraphy skills that would be essential for the drawing of maps. Perhaps more importantly, a character with the Cartography skill can draw dungeon maps much more quickly and accurately in game terms. (The DM may allow the skilled character to occasionally get an accuraccy check of a particular map - this does not mean that the DM allows the character to take his map.) This would be complimentary with the Navigation skill.

climbing (intelligence 7 required — 1 point/skill)

As opposed to the skill of Mountaineering, Climbing is the skill of scaling man-made and less ambitious natural objects. The base chance of success for this skill is 75% plus whatever modifiers are applicable (such as race, dexterity, armour, etc). This chance must be rolled every 1" of the climb (minimum of at least one roll); if the roll is failed, the character falls and takes appropriate damage.

base percentage racial adjustment
1st Level Thief 85% Gnome - 15%
Novice 40% Halfling - 15%
Climbing Skill 75% Dwarf - 10%
Elf 0%
Human 0%
Half Elf 0%
Half-Orc + 5%
Half-Ogre + 10%

dexterity adjustment armor adjustment
3 or less - 35% Plate (or similar) - 100%
4 or 5 - 30% Chain - 15%
6 - 25% Splint - 15%
7 - 20% Scale - 15%
8 or 9 - 15% Banded - 15%
10 - 10% Studded Leather - 5%
11 - 5% Leather 0%
12 to 14 0% Cloth + 5%
15 or 16 + 5% none + 10%
17 + 10%
18 + 15%
19 + 20%

Regardless of adjustments, a roll of 01% will always succeed (there is always a chance you will luck out) while a roll of 100% will always fail.

Each additional skill point beyond the first will increase the climbing chance by 1%.

cooking (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

Most characters can prepare edible meals. This skill will give a character the ability to make good, appetizing meals plus knowledge of proper preparation of the table (somewhat like a limited Courtly Graces ability in setting the table). Additionally, the character with the Cooking skill might know how to properly prepare and dry herbs and preserve foods (if possible). Another benefit of the skill is the recognition of tainted food. Normally characters may detect whether food or drink is tainted by rolling their Wisdom or lower on a d20. Characters with the cooking skill may subtract four from this detection roll. Spoiled food is automatically detected by all but the most stupid creatures (bear in mind that one creature's garbage pile is another's gourmet dinner). Each additional point will add more to the character's ability and subtract 1 from tainted food detection rolls.

coopery (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill allows the making of barrels, kegs, casks, etc. One point in this skill allows the construction of the equivalent of a 30 gallon drum/keg or smaller with a base chance of success (i.e. it does not leak when liquids are poured in) of 90%. Construction of such a container takes one hour per five gallons of capacity. Doubling the time spent constructing the container will increase the chance of success by 5%, tripling the time will increase the chance of success by 10% and so on. Each additional point added to the skill will allow the construction of larger containers in less time according to the table below.

Largest container Time to construct container
# of skill points that can be constructed (per unit volume)

1 30 gallons 1hour/5 gallons
2 40 gallons 50 minutes/5 gallons
3 50 gallons 40 minutes/5 gallons
4 60 gallons 30 minutes/5 gallons

The minimum time to construct a container per unit volume is 10 minutes per 5 gallons.

courtly graces (intelligence 10 required — 1 point/skill)

The correct form of address and proper social manners are learned through this skill. The first point earned will aid the character in becoming couth and preventing awkwardness when appearing in any court. Further points can be applied to a particular court (e.g., Aeserd, Katana, etc.) that will actually make the character smooth and graceful, almost always saying the correct thing, making the proper motions, using the proper etiquette for each level of person addressed, and so on. This "familiarization" point is most helpful, in fact just short of necessary, for any kind of finesse dealing with court intrigue. Of course, it might be difficult to find someone willing to teach you the ins and outs of the desired realm.

disguise (intelligence 12 required — 2 points/skill)

The Disguise skill allows the character to look like someone (or something) else. There is a base chance of 85% that the disguise assumed will work - this assumes that the proper attire and assessories are used. Contrast this with the base 25% chance that a normal character without this skill has. A character with this skill can change their apparent height by up to ±4 inches, change their apparent weight by up to -20%/+200% of their actual weight, change their apparent sex, and change their apparent profession. Trying to look like a different sex, race or character class may entail some penalties; these are detailed below.

Trying to look like a different sex

-2% for either direction (male to female, female to male)

Trying to look like a different race

character tries to disguise himself as
character
is Dwarf (all) Elf (all) Gnome HalfElf Halfling HalfOgre HalfOrc Human

Dwarf (all) — 10 2 8 6 8 8 4

Elf (all) 10 — 8 2 6 15 15 4

Gnome 2 10 — 8 4 10 10 4

HalfElf 8 2 6 — 4 8 8 2

Halfling 6 8 6 4 — 15 10 2

HalfOgre 10 15 10 15 10 — 4 6

HalfOrc 6 15 6 10 8 2 — 2

Human 6 4 6 2 4 8 2 —

For example, if Gimme the Dwarf and Rock the HalfOgre try to disguise themselves as each other, the "race penalty" would be 10% for Rock, but only 8% for Gimme. Please note that all numbers in this table are percentages, and are all penalties … the table reads as it does for legibility.

Trying to look like a different class

character tries to disguise himself as

Acrobat/ Illusionist/
character Assassin/ Cavalier/ Bard/ Magic-User/
is Thief Barbarian Paladin Cleric Druid Fighter Witch Monk Ranger

Acro/Ass/Thief — 6 10 6 4 2 4 4 4

Barbarian 6 — 10 4 2 2 20 15 2

Cav/Pal 20 15 — 5 10 4 15 10 4

Cleric 4 8 2 — 2 2 6 4 2

Druid 4 2 10 2 — 4 6 10 2

Bard/Fighter 2 2 4 4 4 — 10 6 2

Ill/MU/Witch 4 15 10 6 4 8 — 6 6

Monk 2 10 4 6 4 4 4 — 4

Ranger 6 2 4 4 2 2 4 4 —

For example, if Ironfist the Monk and Guido the Cleric try to disguise themselves as each other, the "class penalty" would be 6% for Ironfist, but only 4% for Guido. Please note that, as before, all numbers in this table are percentages, and are all penalties … the table reads as it does for legibility.

All penalties are cumulative. The DM may apply extra penalties or bonuses according to the situation; for example:

Character knows skills related to the disguise[1]: + 4% each.

Character spends time studying his target: + 2% for each day (up to +20%).

Character is improvising on the spur of the moment: -15%.

There is always at least a one percent chance of discovery.

Each additional point spent on the skill increases the chance of success by 2%.

diving (intelligence 6 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill allows the character to dive gracefully and safely into water or any other liquid (although diving into a vat of acid, while winning StylePoints, might cause the DM to require another kind of roll). The impact with the water will be softened so that the damage taken (if any) will be at (-1 for each point acquired in this skill - minimum of zero) on each die. Results of zero or less are treated as zero for the die. If a success roll is required, it will be against Pet/Poly with full dexterity bonuses plus one for each point taken in the skill. For example, GunSight the Mage has taken two points in this skill. He happens to fall off of Flash Bazbo the Psychedelic Dragon at 150 feet over a lake. GunSight executes a triple gainer with a half twist; the DM executes rolling a double handful of dice with the following results:

1 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 5 + 5 for a total of 53 points of damage.

The DM rules that this is a routine dive (GunSight is not trying to jump into a 55 gallon drum or something equally as difficult - if he had, he would have been saving versus Pet/Poly with a bonus of +3 {plus one from a 15 dexterity plus two from the number of points put in the skill}) and therefore waives a success roll. The damage roll then becomes:

0 + 0 + 2 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 0 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 2 + 0 + 3 + 3 for a total of 25 points of damage.

The prerequisite for this skill is Swimming.

dyeing (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

The Dyeing skill allows the character.to manufacture dyes from natural substances and to use these to color cloth and thread of various sorts. The dyes manufactured will be permanent and the result of dyeing will be even. Additional points will allow the character to make dyes that will work on things such as leather.

engineering (intelligence 13 required — 3 points/skill)

This skill is essential for the proper design of large buildings, bridges, and other large structures that must be able to support structural loading. The designs that are developed will be sturdy but plain unless the services of an Architect are employed to add aesthetics to the design. Additional points added beyond those initially required will enable the Engineer to build stronger structures than normal or build normal strength structures with fewer materials.

expert horsemanship (intelligence 7 required — 1 points/skill)

This skill imparts the following abilities:

1. The character will never lose control of his horse due to natural causes.

2. The character can attempt to vault into the saddle from a running start and begin riding in a single segment. 3d6 are rolled (or more than 3, if the DM determines that the particular attempt is even more difficult, such as from a second-story window) and if the total exceeds (the character's Dexterity + 2), he has missed and possibly taken damage from falling to the ground.

3. The character can urge his mount to unusually great leaps and jumps.

4. The character can urge his mount to greater speeds - an increase of 6" (excluding all other modifiers, magical or otherwise) for up to three turns, after which he must dismount and walk the horse for one turn to cool it down.

5. The character can guide his horse with his knees, allowing both arms free for other maneuvers.

6. The character can hang along the side of his horse to protect himself from attack or conceal himself from viewers, lowering his AC by four. Note that if the character is a worshiper of certain deities who revere horses (Frey, for example) and this maneuver leaves the horse open to damage, the deity might take offense.

7. The character can make a spectacular flying dismount, leaping from the saddle (even at full gallop) to either attack someone or land on his feet, ready for further maneuvers. This saving throw vs. PetPoly is at -4 due to the difficulty, but all normal bonuses such as dexterity are allowed. Blowing the save indicates a clean miss and damage appropriate to the speed at which the character attempted the leap. Three guesses what a critical fumble would do in this situation - while a critical success would not only impress everyone witnessing the event, but might even add to the character's ToHit (either directly or through a reduction in the opponent's AC due to stunned amazement)!

8. The character is granted basic Horsemanship skills when riding mounts other than the chosen type of mount for Expert Horsemanship.

9. The character may add 1" to the base movement of his mount at all times.

10. The mount gains the same Saving Throw as its rider or a +1 on its normal save, whichever is better according to the situation.

falconry (intelligence 10 required — 1 point/skill)

Falconry has always been considered a noble sport, something to be enjoyed by those of the court. Characters with this skill know how to hunt with these birds of prey, while additional points earned will either (at their option) increase their chances of success while hunting or give them the skill to train and handle young falcons. See page 55 of Oriental Adventures for further details on Falconry.

farming (intelligence 9 required — 2 points/skill)

This skill allows the character to maintain large areas of land for raising plants and/or livestock. The amount of land that can be cultivated will vary somewhat according to the crop but will average about 10 acres. In addition, for each farmhand that he has, increase the cultivated acreage by one. For each farmhand that has the Horticulture skill, increase the cultivated acreage by two. The maximum number of farmhands that can be directed is equal to ten times the number of skill points invested in the Farming skill. Each additional skill point invested will increase the amount of land that the farmer can cultivate personally by three acres, increase the number of farmhands that can be supervised by ten, and increase the productivity of each farmhand by 10%.

fire building (intelligence 6 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill allows the character to start fires with great ease from available flammable materials. It is so useful that there is even a good chance to succeed using nothing but wet wood. The amount of time necessary to start a fire ranges from ~10 segments for good materials and conditions to 3d12 rounds for poor materials and rotten conditions. The only time that a success roll is needed is if the conditions are absolutely atrocious (such as trying to start a fire during a cloudburst with wet wood). In this case, roll a d20; a roll of one indicates utter failure. This failure takes 3 turns to accomplish. Another attempt cannot be made for another hour.

first aid (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill teaches how to apply emergency aid or treatment, ranging from a simple attempt to halt bleeding to properly dressing a serious wound. An important result of this skill is knowing not only how to give aid, but what to do - for instance, if someone has broken certain bones, a character with this skill would know that the person should absolutely not be moved. Without any equipment at all, someone with this skill could probably stop a person from losing any additional hit points. In addition, it allows the proper use of natural medicines, plants, etc. that may help ease pain, neutralize poison, and so on: 5% chance of knowing what the cure is for a disease or poison (if there is one) per skill point taken, with a modification of 1% per point of Wisdom and/or Intelligence above 14. Thus, a first level cleric would have a 5% chance plus Wisdom and/or Intelligence bonuses. Note that knowing what is the cure is not the same as having the materials handy and being able to administer them.

fishing (intelligence 6 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill gives the character the knowledge to fashion poles, line, hooks, etc. from natural materials. It also gives knowledge of the best ways to catch fish with such equipment. Such a skill will enable the character to catch 3d6 times the number of skill points spent in this area (with modifiers at the DM's option). Contrast this with the 1d6-2 fish that a person without this skill can catch, provided they have adequate, premade equipment.

fletching/boyery (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

This enables the fashioning of normal bows, arrows, bolts, etc. Additional points are required to build more complicated weapons such as a crossbow.

flYING (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill enables the character to make greater use of spells or devices that enable a character to fly. For example, non-proficient characters who try to attack while flying are at -1 to hit and -1 on damage with hand and missile weapons. Their manueverability class is also hurt by one place. Each proficiency point adds one to the "to hit" and every second point adds one to the damage inflicted. The manueverability class is normal with one proficiencey. Additionally, this will aid the character if he polymorphs into a flying form. (Just because you look like a hawk doesn't mean you can fly as well as one - unless you have sufficient proficiencies in the Flying skill.) Non-proficient characters must subtract 10% of the base flying speed of the form that has been taken through a polymorph.

Note that taking this skill does not give the character the ability to fly per se, it just improves their ability when they do it.

foreign language (intelligence 12 required — 1 point/skill)

This skill enables a character, at a cost of one skill point per language, to learn more languages than his intelligence allows. However, only human/humanoid/demi-human languages can be learned through this Skill. This skill is related to the Linguistics skill.

forgery (intelligence 12 required — 2 points/skill)

By means of this skill the character can fake various documents, writings, and signatures. The chance of success varies according to the difficulty of the feat — faking a simple signature would be far easier than faking an official pass that includes wax seals, emblems, etc. The Calligraphy skill would possibly aid in performing certain types of forgeries. Additionally, the Forgery skill will make the detection of a forgery easier (but not automatic).

gaming/gambling (intelligence 10 required — 1 point/skill)

With this skill, the character will possess detailed knowledge concerning how to play all common games, including those of chance. In addition, he will be able to cheat, although not very successfully, and also spot others cheating. Further points earned in this skill will allow him to either learn other games that are too esoteric to be learned at first, or specialize in one game (greatly increasing both the "cheat" and the "spot cheater" chances).

glassblowing (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

Allows the manufacture of flasks, beakers, tubing, etc. and appropriate marking and coloration of the same. This skill would be of particular use to someone who deals a lot with liquids and such - like a mage or alchemist. Additionally, panes of glass may be made.

gold/silversmithing (intelligence 11 required — 2 points/skill)

By means of this skill the character can cast and forge various items made of gold, silver, and other soft precious and semi-precious metals. This also allows the assaying and alloying of such metals.

heraldry (intelligence 11 required — 1 point/skill)

The Heraldry skill allows the character to recognize and fashion coats of arms, shield devices, and other heraldric emblems. This can aid in the identification of the person(s) or authorities behind the device.

horsemanship (intelligence 7 required — 1 point/skill)

The Horsemanship skill allows the character to properly care for a chosen type of common mount (horse, elephant, camel, etc.) including attaching a saddle (and minor maintenance of the same), shoeing, etc. This also helps the character's chances of executing difficult maneuvers with his chosen mount. In addition, the rider may add 1" to the base movement of his mount when the character is upon it. A character with the Horsemanship skill can also control a panicked mount (such as a non-warhorse in a pitched battle 80% of the time (16 or lower on a d20). This skill also gives the mount a +1 on all saves while being ridden by the character. Some bit of ability is gained with other common types of mounts (treat as if the character had the Riding skill with these other common mounts). Finally, this improves the character's mounted combat ability (see Mounted Combat section). Additional points in this skill may only buy additional majors; a vast improvement in ability will come only through the Expert Horsemanship skill.

horticulture (intelligence 7 required — 1 point/skill)

By means of this skill, the character may raise a small patch of crops (one acre or less) and/or assist on a farm (where he would be twice as productive as an unskilled farmhand). The exact chances of success vary quite a bit, but the character's intelligence or wisdom (whichever is higher) will come into play. Additional points in this skill will either allow for a higher chance of success or will buy the Farming skill.

hunting (intelligence 8 required — 1 point/skill)

The Hunting skill gives the character a better chance of setting traps and finding various game in the wild. This skill gives the character the knowledge to fashion hunting aids from natural materials. It also gives knowledge of the best ways to catch game with such equipment. Such a skill will enable the character to catch 2d6 animals of various sorts times the number of skill points spent in this area (with modifiers at the DM's option). Contrast this with the 1d4-2 animals that a person without this skill can catch, provided they have adequate, premade equipment.

husbandry (intelligence 7 required — 1 point/skill)

By means of this skill, the character may raise a small herd of animals (up to ten) and/or assist on a farm (where he would be twice as productive as an unskilled farmhand). The exact chances of success vary quite a bit, but the character's intelligence or wisdom (whichever is higher) will come into play. Additional points in this skill will either allow for a higher chance of success or will buy the Farming skill.

jewellery/gemcutting (intelligence 11 required — 2 points/skill)

This skill allows the character to make various items of jewellery such as chains, rings, etc. In addition, this enables the character to identify, cut, and polish gemstones of various types.

leatherworking (intelligence 9 required — 1 point/skill)

The Leatherworking skill allows the character to work various types of hides into useful items such as saddles, shoes, and so forth.. Each point invested in this skill allows the character to either make more items or higher quality items. This skill is complementary with the Tanning skill.

linguistics (intelligence 13 required — 2 points/skill)

While not enabling a character to learn a particular language merely through acquiring this skill, Linguistics will, in most cases, decrease the amount of time it takes the character to become fluent in a language, including non-humanoid languages. Once this skill is learned, each point spent on the Foreign Language skill will give the character three languages instead of one (this applies retroactively to any points already spent on the Foreign Language skill). The amount of time depends upon what language the character is trying to learn and what languages the character already knows; for example, knowing Spanish makes learning Portuguese almost simple, while knowing German counts for very little when trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. The other use of this skill is to recognize, and perhaps even translate successfully, an unknown tongue - whethe