Skills

Trainable Skills

• Athletics (includes both base athletics and acrobatics)
• Sleight of hand (pickpocketing, etc… not picking locks)
• Stealth
• Arcana
• Investigation (active perception)
• Streetwise (gather information socially on the streets)
• Intrigue? Networking? Connections? (gather information socially in high society)
• Nature (survival, tracking)
• Insight
• Medicine
• Perception
• Endurance
• Persuasion
• Intimidate
• Thievery (picking locks, disable device)

Working with the Descriptive Skill Ranks Concept

A Descriptive Skill System

First, compare your training against the complexity of the task. This puts you in one of several buckets:

• Auto-succeed (100% success)
• Easy but with some risk (35% success)
• Normal challenge (65% success)
• Stretch challenge (35% success)
• Impossible

• Simple (DC 5)
• Basic (DC 10)
• Routine (DC 15)
• Trained (DC 20)
• Expert (DC 25)
• Master (DC 30)
• Legendary (DC 35)

All checks start out at DC 15. You can only attempt checks at your skill rank or below.

Mathematically similar: each skill rank gives you +5 in the skill. You also add your ability modifier.

Take 1

Skill check DCs are associated with descriptive ranks:

Rank	DC
Untrained	5-15
Trained	20
Expert	25
Master	30
Legendary	35

In order to attempt a check, your proficiency level in the skill must at least be equal to the skill’s rank. For example, a character must be trained in a skill in order to attempt tasks with a DC of 20 or greater. (alternative option to consider: you can attempt checks above your rank, but you suffer a -5 penalty on them and if you fail you automatically fail any retries).

Each proficiency level gives you a +5 bonus to checks using that skill. You also gain your ability modifier (ability score -10) and any circumstance bonuses to the check.

Abilities as Skills

Rework the system so that ability scores have relatively little influence on combat. Instead, they cover for skills. Characters no longer have proficiencies in skills. Instead, they can take skill feats that give them bonuses on certain specialized checks and unlock unique abilities.

Reorganize ability scores around groups of skills:

• Strength
  • Athletics
• Dexterity
  • Balance
  • Escape
  • Sleight of Hand
  • Performance (musical instruments)
• Intellect
  • Knowledge
  • Logic
  • Medicine
  • Appraise
  • Decipher Script
  • Puzzles
  • Spellcraft
  • Tumble
• Cunning
  • Deception
  • Bluff
  • Tracking
  • Insight
  • Animal Handling
  • Manipulate Devices (lockpicking and disable device, though these are locked behind feats)
  • Forgery
  • Nature
  • Use Rope
• Resolve
  • Intimidation
  • Endurance
  • Faith
  • Concentration
• Charisma
  • Persuasion
  • Performance (showmanship)
  • Gather Information
• Awareness
  • Perception
  • Insight
  • Search
  • Investigation

Call these ability checks. You add your ability score to all ability checks. Renormalize scores (get rid of starting at 10). All other modifiers are one of three types: circumstance, skill, and item. Circumstance bonuses do not stack – the DM just assigns one circumstance modifier for the check. Feats and background grant skill bonuses.

General rule for stacking bonuses within a type: Take the highest bonus. Separately, you may add up all your bonuses from other sources. If those other bonuses equal or exceed the highest bonus, you get +1 on top of your highest bonus. (for noncombat skills, instead gain a +1 bonus to your highest if you have any other skill bonuses, and gain a +2 bonus if your other skills equal or exceed your highest).

Skill Feats

Athletics: Cautious Climber

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks to climb, grab onto ledges, or hang onto items. When climbing you can reroll a failed climbing check once per turn.

Athletics: Fast Climber

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks to climb, grab onto ledges, or jump for height. Your climbing speed increases.

Athletics: Mountaineer

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks to climb, maintain your balance in difficult terrain or weather, or manipulate ropes. You can secure climbing ropes and rig up harnesses without making an ability check.

Athletics: Spider Climb

Gain a +2 skill bonus to ability checks to climb, grab onto ledges, or hang onto items. You gain a climb speed and no longer need to make climb checks to traverse vertical surfaces. You can climb on ceilings (with a check).

Athletics: Combat Climb

You can defend yourself and fight effectively with one hand while climbing.

Knowledge: Loremaster

Gain an additional lore.

Spellcraft: Arcane Sense

Your deep study of magic allows you to instinctively sense its presence.

Nature: Bonded Animal

You forge strong connections with animals.

Nature: Speak with Animals

You forge strong connections with animals.

Endurance: Break Control

You can hold your breath for a long time.

Acrobatics: Cat Fall

You take less falling damage.

Persuasion: Charming Demeanor

You can charm targets you spend time with.

Jump: Cloud Jump

Jump impossible distances.

Climb: Combat Climber

Fight better while climbing.

Deception: Confabulator

Recover when caught in a lie.

Investigation: Networker

You know how to make connections and gather information from high society.

Medicine: ???

Patients heal faster.

Persuasion: Courtly Graces

Make impressions in high places.

Persuasion: Streetwise

Earn respect in low society.

Investigation: Expeditious Search

Search areas faster.

Investigation: Trap Sense

Chance to spot traps before they go off.

Perception: Situational Awareness

Better chance to avoid ambushes.

Stealth: Experienced Smuggler

Hide items on your person.

Nature: Tracker

Follow tracks.

Perform: Fascinating Performance

Can fascinate a watcher.

Stealth: ???

Reroll failed stealth chechs.

Nature: Forager

Subsist in wilderness.

Persuasion: Glad-Hand

Make a good first impression.

Persuasion: Hobnobber

Gather information through conversation.

Perform: Impressive Performance

Win fans through performing.

Intimidate: Intimidating Glare

Make people avoid you.

Cunning: Inventor

Macguyver tools.

Acrobatics: Kip Up

Stand up from prone as a free action.

Intimidate: Lasting Coercion

Coerce lasts longer.

Decipher: Codebreaker

Decipher text quickly.

Speak Language: Linguist

Learn a new language.

Thievery: Pick Locks

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks that involve fine manipulation with tools. You can use tools to pick locks. Lockpicking is a Cunning ability check. You can generally repeat a lockpicking attempt until you succeed. Each attempt takes a round, and failure by 5 or more means you draw attention while doing it.

Thievery: Disable Trap

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks that involve fine manipulation with tools. You can quickly identify the mechanisms behind traps and find ways to discharge them harmlessly or prevent them from triggering. Failure by 5 or more means you accidentally set off the trap while working on it.

Thievery: Rig Trap

Gain a +4 skill bonus to ability checks that involve fine manipulation with tools. You can build simple booby traps or, with preparation and proper materials, assemble more detailed traps with mechanical triggers.