Skills

SKILLS

Skills represent some of the most basic and yet most fundamental abilities your character possesses. All characters can perform these skills unranked at no bonus unless otherwise noted. As your character advances, he can add ranks to his skills and improve his existing skills dramatically.

When your character uses a skill, he isn’t guaranteed success. In order to determine success, whenever you attempt to use a skill, you must make a skill check. Each skill rank grants a +2 bonus on checks made using that skill. When you make a skill check, you roll 1d20 and then add your ranks and the appropriate ability modifier to the result of this check. Skills can be further modified by a wide variety of sources—by your race, by a class ability, by equipment, by spell effects or magic items, and so on.

If the result of your skill check is equal to or greater than the difficulty class (or DC) of the task you are attempting to accomplish, you succeed. If it is less than the DC, you fail. Some tasks have varying levels of success and failure depending on how much your check is above or below the required DC. Some skill checks are opposed by the target’s skill check. When making an opposed skill check, the attempt is successful if your check result exceeds the result of the target.

This section describes each skill, including common uses. Characters can sometimes use skills for purposes other than those noted here, at the GM’s discretion.

Acrobatics: Dexterity
You can keep your balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces. You can also dive, flip, jump, and roll to avoid attacks and overcome obstacles. You can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling. Finally, you can use the Acrobatics skill to make jumps or to soften a fall.
Special: You also receive +3 to AC when fighting defensively at first rank. At fifth rank it is increases to +6.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus +3 AC
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus +6 AC

Appraise: Intelligence
You can evaluate the monetary value of an object. An Appraise check determines the value of a common item. If you succeed by 5 or more, you also determine if the item has magic properties, although this success does not grant knowledge of the magic item’s abilities. If your fail the check by less than 5, you determine the price of that item to within 20% of its actual value. If you fail this check by 5 or more, the price is wildly inaccurate, subject to GM discretion. Particularly rare or exotic items might increase the difficulty of this check by 5 or more. You can also use this check to determine the most valuable item visible in a treasure hoard. Additional attempts to Appraise an item reveal the same result.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Bluff: Charisma
Bluff is an opposed skill check against your opponent’s Sense Motive skill. If you use Bluff to fool someone, with a successful check you convince your opponent that what you are saying is true. Bluff checks are modified depending upon the believability of the lie. Note that some lies are so improbable that it is impossible to convince anyone that they are true (subject to GM discretion). If you fail to deceive someone, further attempts to deceive them are at a –10 penalty and may be impossible (GM discretion).
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Feint: Dexterity
You can feint in combat, causing your opponent to be denied your Feint modifier to his AC against your next attack. The difficulty of this action is your opponent’s Sense Motive check. You can attempt to feint against someone again if you fail.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Innuendo: Intelligence
You can pass hidden messages along to another character without others understanding your true meaning by using innuendo to cloak your actual message. If you are successful, the target automatically understands you, assuming you are communicating in a language that it understands. If your check fails by 5 or more, you deliver the wrong message. Other creatures that receive the message can decipher it by succeeding at an opposed Sense Motive check against your Innuendo result. Secret messages can be relayed again if the first attempt fails.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Climb: Strength
You are skilled at scaling vertical surfaces, from smooth city walls to rocky cliffs. With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds). A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained. You need both hands free to climb, but you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. Anytime you take damage while climbing, make a Climb check. Failure means you fall from your current height and sustain the appropriate falling damage.
Special: Characters with the fly skill may make a Fly check to prevent falling on a failed Climb check. This option is available at GM discretion based on the situation.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Profession: Wisdom
You are skilled in the creation of a specific group of items, such as armor and weapons. Profession is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks. A Profession skill is specifically focused on creating something. You can practice your trade and make a decent living, earning half your check result in gold pieces per week of dedicated work. You know how to use the tools of your trade, how to perform the profession’s daily tasks, how to supervise untrained helpers, and how to handle common problems. The basic function of the Profession skill, however, is to allow you to make an item of the appropriate type. Profession checks are made by the week.
Special: You may take this skill multiple times for multiple trades. Available trades are blacksmith, gunsmith, woodworker, leatherworker, jeweler, alchemist, botanist, tailor, inventor, architect, mason, shipwright, and enchanter. You may purchase up to 5 ranks in each trade. At fifth rank you gain the ability to create sentient items. You must roll a natural 20 in order for an item to become sentient. Otherwise it will be a masterwork item.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Diplomacy: Charisma
You can use this skill to persuade others to agree with your arguments, to resolve differences, and to gather valuable information or rumors from people. This skill is also used to negotiate conflicts by using the proper etiquette and manners suitable to the problem. You can change the initial attitudes of nonplayer characters with a successful check. If you succeed, the character’s attitude toward you is improved. If you fail the check by 4 or less, the character’s attitude toward you is unchanged. If you fail by 5 or more, the character’s attitude toward you is decreased. You cannot use Diplomacy to influence a given creature’s attitude more than once in a 24-hour period. If a request is refused, the result does not change with additional checks, although other requests might be made. You can retry Diplomacy checks made to gather information.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Disable Device: Dexterity
You are skilled at disarming traps and opening locks. In addition, this skill lets you sabotage simple mechanical devices, such as catapults, wagon wheels, and doors. When disarming a trap or other device, the Disable Device check is made secretly, so that you don’t necessarily know whether you’ve succeeded. If the check succeeds, you disable the device. If it fails by 4 or less, you have failed but can try again. If you fail by 5 or more, something goes wrong. If the device is a trap, you trigger it. If you’re attempting some sort of sabotage, you think the device is disabled, but it still works normally. You also can rig simple devices such as saddles or wagon wheels to work normally for a while and then fail or fall off some time later.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Disguise: Charisma
You are skilled at changing your appearance. Your Disguise check result determines how good the disguise is, and it is opposed by others’ Perception check results. If you don’t draw any attention to yourself, others do not get to make Perception checks. If you come to the attention of people who are suspicious (such as a guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate), it can be assumed that such observers are taking 10 on their Perception checks. You get only one Disguise check per use of the skill, even if several people make Perception checks against it. The Disguise check is made secretly, so that you can’t be sure how good the result is. The effectiveness of your disguise depends on how much you’re changing your appearance.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Escape Artist: Dexterity
Your training allows you to slip out of bonds and escape from grapples. Making an Escape Artist check to escape from rope bindings, manacles, or other restraints (except a grappler) requires 1 round of work. Escaping from a net or an animate rope, command plants, control plants, or entangle spell is a full-round action. Escaping from a grapple or pin is a standard action. Squeezing through a tight space takes at least 1 round, maybe longer, depending on how long the space is. You can make another check after a failed check if you’re squeezing your way through a tight space, making multiple checks. If the situation permits, you can make additional checks as long as you’re not being actively opposed.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Fly: Constitution
You are skilled at flying, through either the use of wings or magic, and can perform daring or complex maneuvers while airborne. Note that this skill does not give you the ability to fly. You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting. If you are flying using wings and you take damage while flying, you must make a Fly check to avoid losing altitude. If you are using wings to fly and you collide with an object, you must immediately make a Fly check to avoid plummeting to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage. You cannot take ranks in this skill without a natural means of flight or gliding. Characters can also take ranks in Fly if they possess a reliable means of flying every day (either through a spell or other special ability).
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Handle Animal: Intelligence
You are trained at working with animals, and can teach them tricks, get them to follow your simple commands, or even domesticate them. This task involves commanding an animal to perform a task or trick that it knows. If your check succeeds, the animal performs the task or trick on its next action. Rather than teaching an animal individual tricks, you can simply train it for a general purpose. Essentially, an animal’s purpose represents a preselected set of known tricks that fit into a common scheme, such as guarding or heavy labor. If the check fails, your attempt to teach, rear, or train the animal fails and you need not complete the teaching, rearing, or training time. If the check succeeds, you must invest the remainder of the time to complete the teaching, rearing, or training. If the time is interrupted or the task is not followed through to completion, the attempt to teach, rear, or train the animal automatically fails.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

First Aid: Wisdom
You are skilled at tending to wounds and ailments. You usually use first aid to save a dying character. If a character has taken critical damage and is dying you can make him stable. You can tend to as many as six patients at a time. You need a few items and supplies (bandages, salves, and so on) that are easy to come by in settled lands. Giving long-term care counts as light activity for the healer. You cannot give long-term care to yourself.
Special: A character with the Self-Sufficient ability gets a bonus on First Aid checks. A healer’s kit gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on First Aid checks.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Intimidate: Charisma
You can use this skill to frighten your opponents or to get them to act in a way that benefits you. This skill includes verbal threats and displays of prowess. You can use Intimidate to force an opponent to act friendly toward you. If successful, the target gives you the information you desire, takes actions that do not endanger it, or otherwise offers limited assistance. After the Intimidate expires, the target treats you as unfriendly and may report you to local authorities. If you fail this check by 5 or more, the target attempts to deceive you or otherwise hinder your activities. You can use this skill to cause an opponent to become shaken for a number of rounds. If you are successful, the target is shaken for 1 round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you beat the DC. You can only threaten an opponent in this way if it can clearly see and hear you.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Knowledge: Intelligence
You are educated in a field of study and can answer both simple and complex questions. Like the Perform and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties. Below are listed typical fields of study.
• Arcane (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols,
constructs, dragons, magical beasts)
• Dungeoneering (aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking)
• Engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications)
• Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people)
• History (wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities)
• Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions,
humanoids)
• Nature (animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles,
weather, vermin)
• Nobility (lineages, heraldry, personalities, royalty)
• Planes (the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the
Ethereal Plane, outsiders, planar magic)
• Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition,
holy symbols, undead)
An example of using Knowledge would be to use this skill to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities. A successful check allows you to remember a bit of useful information about that monster. For every 5 points by which your check result exceeds the DC, you recall another piece of useful information.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Linguistics: Intelligence
You are skilled at working with language, in both its spoken and written forms. You can speak multiple languages, and can decipher nearly any tongue given enough time. Your skill in writing allows you to create and detect forgeries as well. You can decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic forms. If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing about one page long (or the equivalent). If the check fails, you may have to make check to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text. (Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; failure means that you do.) Both the Linguistics check and (if necessary) the failure check are made secretly by the GM, so that you can’t tell whether the conclusion you draw is true or false. Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged. To forge a document on which the handwriting is not specific to a person, you need only to have seen a similar document before, and you gain a +8 bonus on your check. To forge a signature, you need an autograph of that person to copy, and you gain a +4 bonus on the check. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of that person’s handwriting is needed. The Linguistics check is made secretly, so that you’re not sure how good your forgery is. As with Disguise, you don’t make a check until someone examines the work. Your Linguistics check is opposed by the Linguistics check of the person who examines the document to verify its authenticity.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Perception: Intelligence
Your senses allow you to notice fine details and alert you to danger. Perception covers all five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Perception has a number of uses, the most common of which is an opposed check versus an opponent’s Stealth check to notice the opponent and avoid being surprised. If you are successful, you notice the opponent and can react accordingly. If you fail, your opponent can take a variety of actions, including sneaking past you and attacking you. Perception is also used to notice fine details in the environment. The DC to notice such details varies depending upon distance, the environment, and how noticeable the detail is.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Perform: Charisma
You are skilled at one form of entertainment, from singing to acting to playing an instrument. Like Knowledge and Profession, Perform is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Perform skills, each with its own ranks. Each of the nine categories of the Perform skill includes a variety of methods, instruments, or techniques, a small sample of which is provided for each category below.
• Act (comedy, drama, pantomime)
• Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling)
• Dance (ballet, waltz, jig)
• Keyboard instruments (harpsichord, piano, pipe organ)
• Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling)
• Percussion instruments (bells, chimes, drums, gong)
• String instruments (fiddle, harp, lute, mandolin)
• Wind instruments (flute, pan pipes, recorder, trumpet)
• Sing (ballad, chant, melody)
You can impress audiences with your talent and skill in your chosen performance type. Trying to earn money by playing in public requires anywhere from an evening’s work to a full day’s performance. The bard’s special Perform-based abilities are described in that class’s description.
Special: The Bard and False Prophet must have ranks in specific Perform categories to use some of their class abilities.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Ride: Constitution
You are skilled at riding mounts, usually a horse, but possibly something more exotic, like a griffon or pegasus. If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount, you take a –5 penalty on your Ride checks. Typical riding actions don’t require checks. You can saddle, mount, ride, and dismount from a mount without a problem. The following tasks do require checks.
Guide with Knees: You can guide your mount with your knees so you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount. This does not take an action.
Stay in Saddle: You can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action.
Fight with a Combat-Trained Mount: If you direct your wartrained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally.
Cover: You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as cover. You can’t attack or cast spells while using your mount as cover. If you fail your Ride check, you don’t get the cover benefit. Using this option is an immediate action, but recovering from this position is a full round action.
Soft Fall: You negate damage when you fall off a mount. If you fail the Ride check, you take minor damage and are prone. This usage does not take an action.
Leap: You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. If the ride check to make the leap succeeds, make a check using your Ride modifier to see how far the creature can jump. If you fail your Ride check to make the leap, you fall off the mount when it leaps and take the appropriate falling damage.
Special: Ride is a prerequisite for the Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, and Trample general abilities (coming soon).
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Sense Motive: Intelligence
You are skilled at detecting falsehoods and true intenions. A successful check lets you avoid being bluffed (see the Bluff skill). You can also use this skill to determine when “something is up” (that is, something odd is going on) or to assess someone’s trustworthiness. This use of the skill involves making a gut assessment of the social situation. You can get the feeling from another’s behavior that something is wrong, such as when you’re talking to an impostor. Alternatively, you can get the feeling that someone is trustworthy. You can also tell that someone’s behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect even if that person isn’t aware of it. You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Innuendo skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Innuendo check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a –2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you might infer false information.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Sleight of Hand: Dexterity
Your training allows you to pick pockets, draw hidden weapons, and take a variety of actions without being noticed. A Sleight of Hand check lets you palm a coin-sized, unattended object. When you use this skill under close observation, your skill check is opposed by the observer’s Perception check. The observer’s success doesn’t prevent you from performing the action, just from doing it unnoticed. You can hide a small object (including a light weapon or an easily concealed ranged weapon, such as a dart, sling, or hand crossbow) on your body. Your Sleight of Hand check is opposed by the Perception check of anyone observing you or of anyone frisking you. In the latter case, the searcher gains a +4 bonus on the Perception  check, since it’s generally easier to find such an object than to hide it. A dagger is easier to hide than most light weapons, and grants you a +2 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it. An extraordinarily small object, such as a coin, shuriken, or ring, grants you a +4 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it, and heavy or baggy clothing (such as a cloak) grants you a +2 bonus on the check. If you try to take something from a creature, you must make a Sleight of Hand check. The opponent makes a Perception check to detect the attempt, opposed by the Sleight of Hand check result you achieved when you tried to grab the item. An opponent who succeeds on this check notices the attempt, regardless of whether you got the item. You cannot use this skill to take an object from another creature during combat if the creature is aware of your presence. You can also use Sleight of Hand to entertain an audience as though you were using the Perform skill. In such a case, your “act” encompasses elements of legerdemain, juggling, and the like.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Stealth: Dexterity
You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes or strike from an unseen position. This skill covers hiding and moving silently. Your Stealth check is opposed by the Perception check of anyone who might notice you. You can move up to half your normal speed and use Stealth at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than half but less than your normal speed, you take a –5 penalty. It’s impossible to use Stealth while attacking, running, or charging. If people are observing you using any of their senses (but typically sight), you can’t use Stealth. Against most creatures, finding cover or concealment allows you to use Stealth. If your observers are momentarily distracted (such as by a Bluff check), you can attempt to use Stealth. While the others turn their attention from you, you can attempt a Stealth check if you can get to an unobserved place of some kind. You can use Bluff to allow you to use Stealth. A successful Bluff check opposed by the viewer’s Sense Motive can give you the momentary diversion you need to attempt a Stealth check while people are aware of you.
Special: If you are invisible, you gain a +40 bonus on Stealth checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if you’re moving.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Survival: Wisdom
You are skilled at surviving in the wild and at navigating in the wilderness. You can keep yourself and others safe and fed in the wild. You also excel in keeping yourself alive in extreme situtations.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Track: Intelligence
You are good at following trails left by creatures. To find tracks or to follow them for 1 mile requires a successful Track check. You must make another Track check every time the tracks become difficult to follow. If you are not trained in this skill, you can make untrained checks to find tracks, but you can follow them for a short distance. Alternatively, you can use the Perception skill to find a footprint or similar sign of a creature’s passage, but you can’t use Perception to follow tracks, even if someone else has already found them.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus

Swim: Strength
You know how to swim and can do so even in stormy water. Make a Swim check once per round while you are in the water. Success means you make progress while swimming. If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress. If you fail by 5 or more, you go underwater. If you are underwater, either because you failed a Swim check or because you are swimming underwater intentionally, you must hold your breath. You can hold your breath for 1d4 rounds.
Ranked:
1 Rank   3CP   +2 bonus
2 Rank   6CP   +4 bonus
3 Rank  12CP   +6 bonus
4 Rank  24CP   +8 bonus
5 Rank  48CP  +10 bonus