Revision as of 17:59, 26 June 2008

So, this is where we're going to talk about skills.

Skill Basics

Every skill has a rank. This is not a rank in the traditional d20 use of the term, so pay attention.

Every skill has a die associated with it. If you do have no training in the skill, you do not get any dice (some skills can be used untrained; in this case, use the dice for whatever other attributes the skill is tied to, when you try to use it). When you train the skill, you gain a dice pool for that skill.

The first rank towards a skill grants you 1d4. For each rank thereafter, the dice pool improves, based upon the standard Journey dice pool progression (1d4 => 1d6 => 1d8 => 1d10 => 1d12 => 2d6 => 2d8 => 2d10 => 2d12 => 2d12+1d4 => and so on).

Actually noting rank is not necessary, but you may want to do so for ease of math when improving your skills later on (so if you know that 1d8 is rank 3, you won't need to look that up; if you don't know that off-hand, then you will).

Skills

Skills are broken down into a few different categories, for now. Because I'm like that.

Some definitions.

• Base Attribute: This is the attribute the skill is tied to. If, for instance, you want to use your Open Lock skill, you should note that Open Lock is based on Dex; when you attempt to use your Open Lock skill, you take the dice pool from your Open Lock skill, and your dice pool from your Dexterity attribute, and roll that total pool of dice as your skill check.

Example: Let's say you have Open Lock at 1d6+2, and your Dexterity is 1d8+4. When you attempt to open a lock, you roll 1d8+1d6+6.

• Cost/Rank: This indicates how much XP you must spend to improve the skill. Each skill has this denoted as "# + #/rank." Whenever you put a rank into the skill, you must pay this much XP. The "#/rank" indicates that, if you have previously put ranks into the skill, you must pay that many additional points for each previous rank you have.

Example: Let's say your Melee combat skill is at 1d8+5, and you want to improve it to 1d10+5. You must spend 3 points, plus an additional 2 points per rank you have (4, in this case). Thus, you need to spend 11 XP to improve your Melee skill by one die.

• Cost/Modifier: This indicates how much XP you must spend to gain a modifier to the dice pool for this skill. Each skill has this denoted as "#/bonus." Whenever you wish to increase the bonus, you must pay this much XP per point of bonus you wish to have; note that you cannot skip bonuses (so you cannot go from a +2 to a +4). Also, the maximum bonus on a skill is equal to your Potential.

Example: Let's say your Defense combat skill is at 1d4+1, and you want to improve it to 1d4+3. You must spend 2 points per plus, so to increase it to +2 requires 4 points, then to +3 requires 6 points, for a total of 10 XP.

Combat Skills

Because of how the combat system works, combat skills do not have associated ability scores or base attributes.

TABLE: COMBAT SKILLS
Melee
Archery
Firearms
Defense

Skill Descriptions

Melee
  Base Attribute: n/a
  Cost/Rank: 3 + 2/rank
  Cost/Modifier: 2/bonus
  
  This skill is a measure of your ability to strike creatures with a melee attack, such as swords, fists, and other close-combat
  weaponry.

Archery
  Base Attribute: n/a
  Cost/Rank: 3 + 2/rank
  Cost/Modifier: 2/bonus

  This skill is a measure of your ability to strike creatures with an archery attack, such as bows, slings, and other ranged weapons
  that require skill.

Firearms
  Base Attribute: n/a
  Cost/Rank: 3 + 2/rank
  Cost/Modifier: 2/bonus

  This skill is a measure of your ability to strike creatures with a firearm attack, such as crossbows, guns, and other ranged
  weapons that require less skill.

Defense
  Base Attribute: n/a
  Cost/Rank: 4 + 3/rank
  Cost/Modifier: 2/bonus

  This skill is a measure of your ability to defend yourself, be it by dodging, parrying, blocking, or simply knowing how to get the
  best out of your armour.

Old Crap that Doesn't Matter Much Now

Some ideas about skills.

Acrobatics (Dex)
Athletics (Str)
Awareness (Per)
Craft (Int) <1>
Dungeoneering (Wis)
Endurance (Con)
Heal (Wis)
History (Int)
Initiative (Dex)
Insight (Wis)
Language (Int)
Lore <1>
Mechanics (Int)
Nature (Int)
Pilot (Dex)
Religion (Int)
Stealth (Dex)
Streetwise (Cha)
Thievery (Dex)

1 When you take this skill, you must choose a specialization.

Or maybe...

Acrobatics (Dex)
Athletics (Str)
Awareness (Per)
Craft (Int) <1>
Dungeoneering (Wis)
Endurance (Con)
Heal (Wis)
Initiative (Dex)
Insight (Wis)
Knowledge (Int) <1>
Language (Int)
Lore <1>
Mechanics (Int)
Pilot (Dex)
Stealth (Dex)
Streetwise (Cha)
Thievery (Dex)

1 When you take this skill, you must choose a specialization.