Skills

### Gaining & Using Skills

Your skills represent a variety of abilities, and your character get better at them as they go up in level. When creating a character at level 1, your character starts with *8+INT modifier* **Skill Points** to add into any of their **Skill Scores**.

When assigning **Skill Points**, skills cost as much as the level they’re being increased to. Therefore, if you’re making a new character and are upgrading a skill from 0 to 1, it will cost 1 **Skill Point**. However if you then want to upgrade that skill from 1 to 2, it will cost 2 **Skill Points**.

Skill Leveling Chart
 Two
 Three
 Four
 Five
 Six

Any skill can be upgraded to a max of 6, therefore in order to get a skill from 0 to max, it will cost a total of 21 **Skill Points**. The **Skill Score** is added as a **DM** into any Skill Check using that skill.

Every time your character levels up they gain additional **Skill Points** in an amount based on their **Background** to assign to any of their Skill Scores.

### Skill Proficiencies

Your character *(through their **Background** or their **Level Features**)*, will gain one or more **Skill Proficiencies**. Your **Skill Proficiencies** are skills that your character is so equipped to handle that they get additional bonuses to **Skill Checks** involving that skill. These bonuses come in their **Ability Modifiers** acting as **DMs** for their **Skill Checks**.

### Skill Descriptions

* **Acrobatics(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to dive, roll, somersault, flip or do a number of other acrobatic accomplishments. It can also be used to dodge physical traps that are moving towards your character.
* **Adamancy(WIL)**: Your character’s inability to be influenced or swayed. Can be used to barter better deals in sales and negotiations. This is also used as a counter to another creature using an Intimidate or Persuade skill check on your character. This is the skill roll made when your character is attempting to resist Bewildered, and Frightened statuses.
* **Alchemy(INT)**: Your character’s ability to take raw ingredients either purchased or found in the wild, and turn them into wondrous substances. Potions and poison making are determined by this skill.
* **Animal Handling(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to calm, train, approach, and ride animals. This can stretch from the ability to mount and ride trained show horses to calming down an outraged bear mother whose cubs your group got too close to.
* **Appraise(INT)**: Your character’s ability to judge the worth of objects. This can range from determining that an old rusted sword is an ancient Elphen heirloom, to learning that a piece of beautiful jewelry is nothing but cheap metal with a fake diamond inserted.
* **Arcane Knowledge(INT)**: Your character’s knowledge on a number of arcane topics, such as: rituals, magicians both modern and ancient, arcane history, arcane cults, arcane symbols, and rune reading.
* **Balance(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to keep right side up in even the most tumultuous of circumstances, such as: walking on uneven ground, walking on a beam or a tightrope, or being thrown or dropped and landing on their feet.
* **Bind(INT)**: Your character’s ability to use rope and tie knots. This is also their ability to bind creatures. Other creatures must make a Escape skill check in order to escape these bindings.
* **Climb(END)**: Your character’s ability to climb up walls. This stretches from simple vertical climbs up scaffolding, all the way to climbing sheer mountain cliffs.
* **Concentration(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to keep focused on the task at hand even when surrounded by chaos. This skill is especially important for spellcasters with spells that last multiple turns, as concentration dictates whether they can continue their spell casting after being hit.
* **Deception(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to convince someone of something through lies or manipulation, and have the other person fall for it. Target creatures must make an Insight Skill Check to see through your Deception.
* **Decipher(INT)**: Your character’s ability to look at anything written in code or in a language they don’t understand and come away with the general idea of the writing by analyzing the script at its most basic level.
* **Disable Device(INT)**: Your character's ability to look at a mechanism, engine, or machine and make it stop functioning. Primarily used for disarming traps or stopping vehicles.
* **Disguise(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to craft and pull off convincing disguises, this translates to copying voices and mannerisms as well. Other creatures must make an Investigate Skill Check to see through your Disguise.
* **Escape(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to wriggle themselves out from bindings or escape confinement. This is also used as a counter to another creature using a Bind skill check on your character.
* **Foraging(INT)**: Your character’s ability to find food, supplies, and other resources out in the wild. This is also the knowledge your character has on what forageable foods are edible and which ones are deadly.
* **Forgery(INT)**: Your character’s ability to study, make note of, and replicate important documents, handwriting, art, and other noticeable traits in order to make fake documents or works. Other creatures must make an Investigate Skill Check to see through your Forgery.
* **Hide(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to find shadows or hiding spots and then blend themselves into the scene, becoming and remaining hidden from sight. Other creatures must make an Investigate Skill Check in order to detect you.
* **Historic Knowledge(INT)**: Your character’s knowledge on a number of historic topics, such as: general history, cities, customs, royal lineages, wars, architecture, and local traditions.
* **Intimidate(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to convince someone of something through physical intimidation and threats, and have the other person succumb to it. Target creatures must make an Adamance Skill Check to attempt to not be intimidated.
* **Insight(WIL)**: Your character’s inherent ability to understand a person or situation at a glance. It is also your character’s gut feeling on whether a situation feels right. This is also used as a counter to another creature using a Deception skill check on your character.
* **Investigate(INT)**: Your character’s ability to deeply look into a situation or surrounding to gain profound knowledge about the world around them and any dangers they may face. This can be used to spot hidden objects, discern weakness and construction flaws, or find traps. This is also used as a counter to another creature using a Hide skill check to not be seen by your character.
* **Jump(STR)**: Your character’s ability to jump. This refers to jumping both great distances, as well as their ability to leap vertically.
* **Lift(STR)**: Your character’s ability to move and lift extremely heavy objects.
* **Lockpick(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to use tools to pick locks, this can be any locked object, a padlock, handcuffs, a train car, a chest, doors and even great gates.
* **Medicine(INT)**: Your character’s underlying medical knowledge. Can be used to assist a dying character, detect poisons, diagnose a disease, or end a status effect such as Bleed, Poison, Burn, or Frostbite. This is the skill roll made when your character is attempting to resist Poisoned, and Bleeding statuses.
* **Nature Knowledge(INT)**: Your character’s knowledge on a number of historic topics, such as: geography, seasons, flora and fauna, weather, and the fae.
* **Perform(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to perform in a number of ways: public speaking, singing, poetry, musical instruments, etc.
* **Persuade(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to convince someone of something through charisma and logic, and then have the other person succumb to it. Target creatures must make an Adamance Skill Check to attempt to not be swayed.
* **Perception(WIL)**: Your character’s inherent ability to take notice in passing, whether that be a sight, sound, or any other means of detection. This is also used as a counter to another creature using a Sleight of Hand skill check against your character, or a Sneak skill check to not be seen by your character.
* **Pilot(INT)**: Your character’s ability to use, control, and navigate using land vehicles and air vehicles, such as trains and zeppelin.
* **Religion Knowledge(INT)**: Your character’s knowledge on a number of religious topics, such as: gods and goddesses, mythic history, rituals, cults, holy symbols, holy magic, and dark magic.
* **Sail(INT)**:Your character’s ability to use, control, and navigate using sea vehicles, such as sailing ships and steamboats.
* **Spellcraft(INT)**: Your character’s ability to peak into the magical veil and identify the magic around them. This is used to learn new spells, as well as to identify a spell someone else is using. This can also be used to identify magical traps, and also arcane or cursed items and what their intended use is.
* **Sleight of Hand(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to get meddlesome with their hands and have no one notice. This can be used to pickpocket or to plant an item in someone's pocket, or inject them with something unknowingly. Other creatures must make a Perception Skill Check in order to detect you.
* **Sneak(DEX)**: Your character’s ability to move around silently to evade detection. Unlike Hide this skill is specifically used while moving when already hidden or when another creature is unaware of your presence near them. Other creatures must make a Perception Skill Check in order to detect you.
* **Swim(END)**: Your character’s ability to swim in water. This includes their form and speed, as well as their stamina in the water and how long they can swim.
* **Survival(WIL)**: Your character’s ability to survive in the face of overwhelming odds. This is the skill roll made when your character is attempting to resist Burning, Frostbite, and Paralysis statuses. It is also the skill roll made when making your Death Roll.
* **Tinker(INT)**: Your character’s ability to shape and craft something out of raw materials. Whether it’s woodworking, metal working, making crafts, making machines, etc, your character would use this as the skill check.