Skill Index

Alright, you know how to make & roll Dice Pools, all about looking for Bonuses and avoiding Penalties. What sorts of Skills can you apply these things to? Well the list is vast. This is only a sampling below. If you’re looking for something specific but can’t quite find it then ask your DM. If there’s no Skill close to it, then you may have just invented a new Skill. Beneath each Skill is listed a few suggestions on Favorite Uses for that skill though again, these are not a complete list. Be imaginative and make your DM work a little!

Accounting
Probably not the most heroic skill out there. Or near the top. Those with the Accounting skill will likely find themselves at home in the world of business. Sure busting a drug cartel or pirating on the high seas sounds terrific, but someone has to count the beans and pay for swords. It’s almost tragic how many organizations, heroic and piratical, need a good accountant.

Favored Uses: Fencing Goods, Quartermaster, Investigating Finances

Acrobatics
Rolling, flipping, twisting, and other things that make the circus worth seeing. Acrobats may put on a death defying show for the masses or fly through the air in a martial arts battle. It’s stylish, and your next dark & broody rogue needs it.

Favored Uses:Tightrope Walking, Long Jumping, Wall Running

Acting
Thespians galore! Acting is the art of being someone else whether you’re putting on a play or a con. The props and costumes help of course but it’s the actor that brings life to the stage, or the wool over the eyes. Superb actors can do more than play a role, they may stir up emotions with a heartfelt monologue. While it’s no substitute for the Persuade skill, a good actor can work the crowd towards a point of view, or just putting some coins in a hat.

Favored Uses: Impersonation (Specific Person), Woo to Tears, Comedy Routine (Vaudeville)

Administration
Someone has to call the shots, and then someone has to make those shots happen. Administrators have the skills to run an empire even if they’re doing it behind the throne. These are the people who organize the world. It’s usually dull and thankless but where would your evil king be without someone to sort the spy reports? If you plan to build a faction then hire at least one of these guys, and watch your new vizeer very closely.

Favored Uses: Factory Management, Mercenary Contracting, Murdering Bastard (Vizeer)

Animal Handling
People like animals or else they wouldn’t print Human Interest articles about them. Those with the Animal Handling skill are adept at not only caring for the animals they love but training the animals to be useful. Animal Handlers also know how to gain an animal’s trust. Whether you’re a knight riding to battle or a horse thief riding to market this skill is worth your time.

Favored Uses: War Hounds, Soothing Wild Animals, Cyberbeasts

Architecture
The adventurous world of drafting awaits! Maybe this looks to be as exciting as Accounting at face value but everyone from ancient kings to future kahns has need of Architects. They design the monuments as well as the fortresses. Those characters with an interest in building their own keep, a better tomorrow, or a diabolical farm dungeon are well advised to take note of this skill.

Favored Uses: Medieval Castles, Skyscrapers, Demolitions

Astrogation
Going boldly where no man has gone before is fine but it’s advised you take a map, and someone to read it. Astrogation is the art of navigating in space. Whether this is the black beyond the rim or Wildspace beyond the heavens, Astrogaters know how to find their place, the place they want to get to, and the course to reach that point. Orbital mechanics are their play things and the cosmos is their backyard.

Favored Uses: Charting Gravimetric Anomalies, Navigating Planetary Rings, Pirate Jump Points

Augury
Sometimes with crystal balls, sometimes with entrails, or maybe even with cards an Augur will claim they can foretell the future. Precisely how accurate this is depends both upon the setting, and how vague the Augur can make his predictions. Just how accepted such practices are will depend much upon the culture. This skill is for all the mysterious gypsy women, namelss soothsayers, and court magicians of the multiverse.

Favored Uses: Entrails, Palm Reading, Runes

Bribery?? - Intimidate, Persuade, & Streetwise

Carousing
You’re the life of the party! Whether it’s a high class sorie or slumming through the dockside taverns you know how to have a good time and everyone around you usually joins in. Skilled Carousers also tend to be heavy drinkers and as such can usually maintain their composure for longer than the light weights. Much study in universities around the multiverse has gone into this fine art resulting in both legendary parties, a few fighting styles, and most schools of philosophy.

Favored Uses: Staying Upright, Speaking Clearly, Drunken Master

Climbing
Be it ladders or castles this skill is about starting from the bottom and working your way to the top. Granted anyone can attempt a climb off their Body Trait alone, with a penalty, but skilled Climbers can make ascents the average citizen can only wonder about. Granted not every situation needs this skill, most people use ladders just fine, but any career with great heights, or great depths, in its future will want this skill.

Favored Uses: Rock Climbing, Parkour!, Second Story Jobs

Cartography
Navigation by land, sea, or air is easier with maps. Cartographers know how to not only read such charts but they can map new locations. Charting courses is a breeze. If you’re taking a long voyage then be sure to pack along a Cartographer and his gear. Whatever form the maps might take, a Cartographer will require them and their associated tools. Without proper tools there’s little chance a Cartographer will find their way for any length.

Favored Uses: Ocean Navigation, Stellar Cartography, Cave Mapping

Communication Tech
Radios, TV’s, and Interossiters usually fall into this category. The art of Communication Technology might have a lot to it, but the basic principles tend to be the same from universe to universe. While anyone can pickup and use a radio those with Communication Tech training know how to do more than just press the little button. This is important when the radio stops making noise.

Favored Uses: Radio Repair, Signal Jamming, Broadcast Encryption

Computers
Characters from a technological society can be assumed capable of browsing the internet. For anything more complex you'll want to invest in this broad skill. It covers everything from programming to hacking and beyond. If you need to do anything beyond PowerPoint then this is your goto skill.

Favored Uses: Hacking, Virus Coding, Network Security

Craft
This isn’t a skill per se as much as it is a catchall category of skills. Crafting applies to making anything without the need for heavy machinery. You can craft a Breastplate at a smithy but Tank Armor will require other talents. Likewise you can fold delicate paper figures but soldiering delicate circuits is another track. Things that fall under the heading Crafts tend to be things of the High Fantasy world and modern hobbies. Those with Crafts might be considered ‘handy’ in most things but they’ll be especially good in one thing, their Favorite Use.

Favored Uses: Brewing, Carpentry, Forgery

Cryptography
Making and breaking codes is what this skill is all about. It could be a written code or maybe a system of hand gestures. Sometimes it’s pictures of dancing stickmen. Whatever form the code might take is up to the imagination of the code maker. Identifying if something is even encoded in the first place is a task for the code breaker.

Favored Uses: Fan Gestures, Computer File Encryption, Alphabet Cyphers

Disguise
Make yourself look old, or lame, or even like a piece of furniture. The Disguise skill allows you to alter the appearance of yourself and your friends, depending on what materials are available. It’s hard to turn a sailor into an old crone without makeup (usually). Costumes help as well though without anything else the Disguiser can at least alter the way he walks in an attempt to throw off pursuit.

Favored Uses: Quick Public Change, Aging Makeup, Specific Person

Dodge
Getting out of harm’s way is sage advice for any long term adventurer, mercenary, or standup comic. This skill is most often used in a fight when Blocking or Parrying just won’t do. After all there’s little a buckler shield will do against a dragon’s firebreath.

Favored Uses: Taking Cover, First Melee Evasion, Ground Fighting

Driving
Another catch all category of skills, Driving applies to land-based vehicles. Personal transports, cargo haulers, and most tanks all fit neatly into their own Driving categories. For each category of vehicle the character can operate they’ll need to purchase, and maybe level up, a separate driving skill. Those without such skill should have their licenses revoked.

Favored Uses: Street Racing, Four-wheeling, Ramming

Etiquette
If Carousing is how to party the hardest, Etiquette is how to be invited a second time. Those skilled in Etiquette not only know what fork to eat with but whether or not they can mention your second cousin’s problem. Most mercenaries write off these skills as wastes of time but successful diplomats know a little courtly behavior, and some knowledge of local customs, can open doors. In some societies, Etiquette is the difference between keeping an important alliance or getting molten gold poured over your head.

When taking a Favorite Use, specify the culture you have in mind.

Favored Uses: Orlesian Court, House of Mohg, Mandalorian Hunters

Engineering
Another catch all skill, Engineers know how to make things, sometimes on a grand scale, and how to use the heavy machinery needed. Mecha, Starships, and cities all need different kinds of Engineers. Even Gunsmithing is but a kind of ballistic Engineering. When you take this skill, specify what your area of expertise is with the Favorite Use.

Favored Uses: MechaMechanics, Gunsmithing, Starship Warpdrives

Escape
Bindings fail and grapples slip when an Escape artist applies this talent. Contortionists are the pinnacle of such practices. Whether trying to slip bonds, wiggle between bars, or squirm out of a grapple this is the skill you need.

Favored Uses: Contortionist, Grapple Escape, Rope Twisting

Fighting
If you're brawling with your fists, dueling with a rapier, or angling for a perfect Iaijutsu strike you are employing your Fighting Skill. Of course learning to fight with one weapon doesn't make you proficient in every weapon. When you take the Fighting Skill you need to note what weapon or fighting style the skill applies to. Fighting, Swords is much too broad but Fighting, Longswords is a perfect example. For unarmed fights you'd want Fighting, Unarmed for your Skill. This Skill covers Attack Rolls but it also applies to the Parry/Block Roll as well. If you want to be proficient with your Shield's ability to Block then it's worth your time to invest a little in the appropriate Fighting Skill for your type of shield. The full details on just how Combat works can be found in the Combat System.

Favored Uses:Disarm Opponent, Full Guard, Focused Strike

Gambling
Games of chance, skill, or just picking a horse all involve odds. There's a whole school of mathematics revolving around explaining why the House always wins. Those with skill in Gambling are adept at walking away from the table with a little more than they started, usually. While other skills can adjust the odds in your favor (Thievery to 'draw' a better card) the Gambling Skill is about winning the game with its own rules.

Favored Uses: Giants & Halflings, Poker, Horse Races

Gunnery
Favored Uses:

Healing
Healing is the skill of long term patient care. You know how to help someone recover from wounds or debilitating conditions, including disease. Medicine aids with recovery from wounds over days making Herbalism a frequently paired Skill.

Favored Uses: Breaks, Diseases, Serious Wounds

Herbalism
Herbalism is the knowledge of plants and their uses. This skill includes how to find and prepare herbs and other plant products. A large part of knowing what plants are good to use includes knowing what plants are not good to use. This has led to a thriving, if regrettable, industry in toxins ranging from the recreational to the quite lethal.

Favored Uses: Medicinal Herbs; Poisons; Hallucinogens

Intimidation
The skill of winning friends and influencing others through hostile actions, overt threats, and deadly persuasion. Intimidate can be used in both Intrigue Contests and combat encounters. The precise method of intimidation can vary from offering to remove teeth in exchange for not enough money to a full song & dance after killing the dragon overlord. This is one of the Intrigue Skills.

Favored Uses: Outnumbered in a Fight, Blackmailing, Interrogation

Investigation
Favored Uses:

Knowledge
Favored Uses:
 * Specific area of study
 * Geography
 * Specific region/world/faction

Languages
It is assumed that everyone speaks a common language. Throughout history traders have made sure such lingo existed. That means all characters are fluent in at least one, commonly used, Language and never need to roll on it. At your DM's discretion you may be fluent in a second racial language based on your background, such as an Elf being fluent in the Common tongue as well as their native Elven. For the others, each Language is bought & improved as a separate skill.

Usually instead of rolling the Language Skill itself you make a roll with the appropriate Social Skill, such as persuasion. As a rule, the DM may choose to limit the use of social skills and the like by your highest Language die. For example, if you're trying to conduct negotiations in Dwarven you might have 2d12 in Persuasion but your Language, Dwarven is only 1d8. Your fumbling with the language barrier prevents you from using your full talents limiting you to your 1d8 and whatever Trait Dice you can include.

There are some pseudo-languages in the multiverse. Things like Thieves' Cant and the Druid Tongue are two of the more well known examples. These aren't Languages per se but rather a coded lingo specific to a trade or society. For these you'll substitute your Background or Career Dice as the DM determines appropriate rather than buy a whole new Skill.

Favored Uses: Formal Events, Local dialect, Archaic Forms

Lock-picking
Possessed by many thieves, all swearing to hearts of gold, this skill is the art of physically entering places someone would rather you didn't or opening things people would like to keep closed.

Favored Uses: Doors, Chests, Safecracking

Meditation
The skill of focusing one's mind and harnesing one's thoughts.

Favored Uses: While burning incense, In Church, Alone in nature

Navigation (planetside)
Determining location & direction using the sun, moon, and stars with a timepiece or other instrumentation. Any ship passing out of sight of the shore needs a navigator.

Favored Uses: On the Sea, In the Mountains, In the Desert

Perception
Use Perception to notice clues, detect secret doors, spot imminent dangers, find traps, follow tracks, listen for sounds behind a closed door, or locate hidden objects. This skill is also used against another creature’s Stealth.

Favored Uses: In the woods, At Night, Things out of place in a city

Performance
Favored Uses:

Persuasion
The ability to prepare speeches, speak convincingly to a crowd, or to win a debate. A skilled orator will know how to read a people’s emotions, and ad-lib appropriately. That makes this skill much in demand for everything from political campaigns to diplomatic missions and more. This is one of the Intrigue Skills.

Favored Uses: Inspiring Troops, Business negotiations, Addressing Crowds

Piloting

 * Starships
 * Mecha
 * Multipeds
 * Hovercraft
 * Aerospace

Favored Uses:

Resolve
You can hold your breath for long periods of time, forestall the debilitating effects of hunger and thirst, and swim or tread water for extended periods. Some environmental hazards — including extreme temperatures, violent weather, and diseases — require you to make an Endurance check to resist and delay debilitating effects. This is used with the Intrigue Skills.

Favored Uses: Against magic, Facing hated enemy, Fighting in Formation

Riding
This is the skill for riding anything from animals to 'cycles. When riding a mount, no combat skill can be higher than your highest Riding die (known as the Riding Limit.) For example, if your highest Riding die is d8, then none of your To-Hit Dice (while riding) can be larger than d8.

Favored Uses: Racing, In Combat, Trick Riding

Sailing
So you’ve taken the bandits boat, now what? Can you steer a current or trim a sail? To do so you will need the Sailing Skill. This covers any craft on the water from river rafts to ocean barges, be they modern or ancient.

Possible Favored Use: Sailed; Poled; Paddled;

Pulled

Favored Uses: Schooner,

Shooting
This is the skill to use any sort of bow, crossbow, or firearm. It might even be a hand held laser depending upon your setting. Whatever sort of ranged attack weapon you use will want to make use of this skill. As a side note, thrown weapons use the Fighting skill as they can be used hand-to-hand or thrown.

Favored Uses: With my favorite weapon, Striking from Ambush, Focused Strike

Stealth
Make a Stealth check to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, and sneak up on people without being seen or heard. This skill is used against another creature's passive Perception check or against a DC set by the DM.

Favored Uses: At night, In a crowd, In the woods.

Streetwise
This is the skill of mingling with the criminal element, to know the “word on the street” and whereto go to get certain unsavory services. When in a settlement—a village, a town, or a city—make a Streetwise check to find out what’s going on, who the movers and shakers are, where to get what you need, and where not to go.

Favored Uses: Finding a fence, Getting Dirt on Someone, Finding 'Talent'

Survival
Survival is the skill of finding food and shelter in the wilderness.

Favored Uses: Finding shelter, In the Mountains, In the Desert

Swimming
This skill determines how fast and how well you can swim. Over the years many cultures have found games and performance arts related to movement in the water making this skill just as useful for showing off as for diving to the bottom of the deeps.

Favored Uses: Diving, In Ocean, Synchronized Swimming

Tactics
Tactics is the skill of fighting as a group in combat. Any group of combatants that has a leader — that is, one of their members is universally accepted as the party leader — may opt to employ Tactics. The Leader rolls an Intrigue Skill (Intimidation, Persuasion, Streetwise) to inspire or cajole the group into action. Group members then substitute their own Tactics dice and the leader’s Intrigue Roll for their Initiative Dice. Those not trained in Tactics have no idea to roll, they depend on their leader's result for their Initiative.

For example, Grayson rolls his Persuasion to organize his troops and results in a 3. Every soldier trained in Tactics rolls their Tactics Dice Pool and includes a 3 as one of the results. One soldier, Lori rolls her 2d6 (Trained in Tactics and a career die of d6) coming up with a 2 & 4. She adds in Grayson's 3 to the pool giving her 2, 3, 4 in her Initiative Dice Pool. Lori's Initiative is 4.

Favored Uses: With a specific cadre, Springing an Ambush, Commanding Mecha

Taunt
This is one of the Intrigue Skills.

Favored Uses:

Thievery
You have picked up thieving abilities and can perform tasks that require nerves of steel and a steady hand: disabling traps, opening locks, picking pockets, and sleight of hand. The DM might decide that some uses of this skill are so specialized that you are required to be trained in it to have a chance of succeeding.

Favored Uses: Disabling Electric Alarms, Card Tricks, Safe-cracking

Tracking
A must for any hunter, this skill lets you follow tracks, as well as identify them. Skilled trackers can also tell details about their quarry, such as the make of their shoes, their size and weight, and their speed of travel. For characters with keen noses, this skill is expanded to include odors and scents.

Favored Uses: Local game, For People, At night

__NONEWSECTIONLINK__