Checks, Saves, and Skills (SHOTS)

## Checks and Saves

The Rulemaster may require ability checks (in order to perform a special action) or ability saves (in order to defend against certain actions). You roll the D20 and add your relevant attribute and compare it to the Difficulty set by the Rulemaster.

Examples of different kinds of checks or saves related to each attribute can be found below.

## Skills

The most common types of ability checks are referred to as Skills. Some abilities grant bonuses to specific skills. These function as any other ability check, but are simply more specific. A list of different skills by attribute they're associated with is found below.

Unless otherwise noted, using a skill is an action.

Additionally, some skills are **Contested**. These are marked with an asterisk (\*). Usually, this means you compare your check versus the target's, as if the target rolled a 10. Some other checks are **Opposed**, which means that anyone involved rolls their check and compares them to see whose is highest. Opposed checks are not always the same skill.

### Strength (STR)

* Athletics: Athletics represents checks made to climb, swim, jump, or throw things long distances
* Break: Break represents checks made to break items, including breaking down doors or smashing windows.
* \*Combat: Combat represents checks made in combat other than attacks, such as grappling or tripping. Combat checks are Contested checks made to see if you can disarm, trip, grapple, or otherwise take a combat action other than attack. You (the attacker) roll your Combat check as normal and compare to the target's combat, as if they had rolled a 10. The exception is Grappling, which is opposed.

### Dexterity (DEX)

* Acrobatics: Acrobatics represents checks made to balance, juggle, or move gracefully
* Sleight of Hand: Sleight of Hand represents picking locks, disarming traps, hiding items, or other fine motor skills.
* Stealth: Stealth represents moving quietly, hiding, pick pocketing, and otherwise going unnoticed. Stealth is Opposed by Perception

### Constitution (CON)

* Endurance: Endurance represents going long periods without sleep or food, and your ability to run for extended periods. Endurance does not cost an action. You may make endurance checks to avoid the effects of hunger, sleep, exhaustion, etc., whenever you would normally take the effects, but each time you do the RM increases the Difficulty by 2 and increases the frequency you must make the save by 1/4. (For example, a base DC of 10 to avoid falling asleep must be made after 16 hours. If you succeed at your Endurance check, you must make another at DC 12 after 4 hours, and another at DC 14 after 1 hour, and so on.) This does not have a limit, but resets upon failure.
* Extra Effort: Extra Effort represents going above and beyond what your body should be capable of. You may make an Extra Effort check to gain a bonus to any roll equal to your CON. Doing so does not cost an action. If you beat the DC, you are staggered for 1 round after the round your roll takes place.
* Withstand: Withstand represents an ability to shrug off damage from sources other than attacks, such as falling. Withstand is not an action, however if you spend an action bracing yourself to make a Withstand check, you gain a +1 bonus. When you would suffer damage from a source other than an attack, you may make a Withstand check. If your result is Equal to or greater than 10+ the damage you would take, you take half damage. If it is more than double the damage you would take, you take nothing. (For example, you dive out a 2nd story window and take 7 damage. You make a withstand check, rolling a d20 and adding your Con of 2. If you roll a 5-11, you take 3 damage. if you roll a 12 or higher, you take none). If you fail by 5 or more, you lose an action on your next turn.

### Speed (SPD)

* \*Escape: Escape represents getting out of a tough situation quickly, or getting away from a pursuer. Escape is a Contested check made to see if you can escape a pursuer.
* Hustle: Hustle represents getting things done faster than they would usually take.
* Initiative: Initiative checks are used to determine the order creatures act when in contest. Initiative checks are Opposed by Initiative, and do not count as an action.

### Intelligence (INT)

* Craft: Craft represents creating items or repairing broken things. Craft checks usually require more than one action.
* Investigate: Investigate represents an effort to learn more about something, such as searching through books for information or deducing the location of a hidden door/object.
* Knowledge: Knowledge represents knowing things. this can be sub-divided into many other categories at RM's discretion. Knowledge checks do not cost an action, unless being used to research, in which case they may require multiple actions. You are considered knowledgeable in a number of categories equal to your bonus to knowledge checks. Knowledge checks you are not knowledgeable in are made at disadvantage.
	+ Example knowledge would be: technology, pop culture, history, life sciences, religion and myths, occultism, medicine, gossip, codes/ciphers

### Wisdom (WIS)

* Insight: Insight represents your ability to read others to gauge if they are lying or gain a hunch about something. Insight Opposes Deceive, and is not an action.
* Perception: Perception represents your awareness of the world around you. Perception Opposes Stealth, and does not cost an action. You may, however, use one or more actions to attempt to uncover finer details or further investigate something.
* Survival: Survival represents tracking, fishing, hunting, and other knowledge for surviving in the outdoors. Survival is Contested if used to track something.

### Charisma (CHA)

* Deceive: Deceive represents your ability to lie or otherwise convince others of things that are untrue. Deceive Opposes Insight, and is not an action.
* \*Influence: Influence represents the impact you have on those around you, convincing others to help you or training animals. Influence is Contested, unless two different creatures are attempting to influence the same creature, in which case it is Opposed to the opponents Influence and then compared to the target.
* Perform: Perform represents your showmanship and ability to entertain.

### Resolve (RSV)

* \*Aid: Aid represents you bolstering others, which you can use to give bonuses to allies on certain other skill checks. Aid is special, as it is Contested against any other skill. When an ally attempts a check, you may attempt to aid. Aid costs an action even if the check being aided does not. Compare your Aid check to the skill check of the target, as if they rolled a 10. If your result is equal to or greater than the Difficulty, they gain a +1 to their check. If you succeed by more than 5, they gain an additional +1 (for a total of +2). If you fail by 5 or more, they instead take a -1.
* Concentrate: Concentrate represents your ability to maintain focus on a task. Driving a vehicle is a concentrate check.
* Stave Off: Stave Off represents your ability to power through certain affects for a short time, such as fear or stunning. Stave Off can be used to temporarily mitigate the effects of a negative affect, such as being stunned. You make your Stave Off check compared to the Difficulty of an effect you are undergoing +1, plus an additional 1 for each round the effect still has left in its duration. If you succeed, you are unaffected for this round, +1 additional round per 2 you succeed by. If you fail, the duration is increased by 1 round. You are still effected normally for the original duration after the Stave Off takes effect. You may not Stave Off a single instance of an effect more than once. Stave Off costs an action, but may be used when you are unable to take actions, such as if you are stunned. Doing so makes it so you would lose an action the next time you would be able to take them. (For example, if you are Scared for 5 rounds and Stave Off on the 3rd round, you would still be Scared for 3 rounds after your Stave Off takes effect. If you failed, you would instead be Scared for 6 total rounds).