[Rules] Skills

by **Matthew Gothel** 3/14/2015, 8:21 am

All characters have 25 "skill points" when they start, allowing them to make a unique and versatile character. Skills rely on a system that avoids the normal D&D system. Skills can range from Weaving to Swordplay to Pyromancy to Necromancy to Acupuncture to Speech to Mentoring and more. Any learned skill will have one of 5 ranks: Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, and Master. Each rank requires one more Skill Point or SP than the previous rank. Therefore, having Master rank in any skill will require 15 SP (1+2+3+4+5=15).

It is suggested that you list how many points you have in each skill for easy reading. For example:

Master Acrobatics (15)
Adept Swordplay (6)
Adept Speech (7)
Novice Stealth (2)

If the above numbers seem off, read the section about Mentors and Skill Progression at the bottom.

Note that there may be some skills that rely on one name. For instance, Speech includes bartering, haggling, and persuasion, so if you enter a skill labelled as Haggling or Bartering or Persuasion, I will edit your skill list and change that skill to Speech. You will not lose your skill points; this is just for a sense of uniformity between skill lists for easy comparison.

by **Matthew Gothel** 4/2/2015, 6:52 am

Characters with Master rank in a skill will be able to teach that skill to others, but normally they can only teach one skill point worth to each player (in other words, up to Novice rank). To advance a skill further, you will need to find organizations or Mentors capable of teaching you the desired skill. Sometimes, this may require going to another world to find training.

Organizations such as guilds and gangs can offer skill training up to Expert rank. The groups can choose how much training to give per character, the requirements to receive training, and even reserve the right to not train someone. Characters may need to join a guild, find another guild that teaches a skill, or receive "private" training from a guild member. A character will get an immediate skill boost upon fulfillment of task(s) or payment.

Mentors are special characters who have Master rank in a given skill at character creation, making them eligible to teach that skill as if they were an organization. They have all the training rights a group would, but can train others up to Master rank as opposed to Expert. However, you cannot become a Mentor in a skill if you acquire Master rank in a skill after character creation. You may notice that this means you can only be a Mentor in one skill based on your initial skillset. A character will get an immediate skill boost upon fulfillment of task(s) or payment.